A Repository of Sarah Palin Information
BIRTH DATE/LOCATION
Age 44; born Feb. 11, 1964; Sandpoint, Idaho
EDUCATION
Bachelors Degree, University of Idaho: 1987 (journalism)
Aspired to be a sports reporter for ESPN
-Academics were apparently a challenge for Palin. She could not seem to deal with the rigors of a University education. She attended 5 schools in 6 years, hopping from one institution to another.
The Institutions Are (in order):
-The University of Hawaii
-Hawaii Pacific University
-North Idaho College
-University of Idaho
-Matanuska-Susitna College- Alaska
-Then returned to the University of Idaho
Source- the LA Times
EXPERIENCE
Beauty Queen/Model. Miss Wasilla, 1984
TV Sportscaster: 1987-1989 see here
City Council; Wasilla, Alaska: 1992-1996
Mayor; Wasilla, Alaska (population: approx 6,000 at the time): 1996-2002
-- Although Palin hired an administrator to handle day to day operations
Chair, Oil and Gas Conservation Commission: 2003-2004
Governor, State of Alaska: Dec 2006-Present (one full year as Governor at the time of VP selection)
FAMILY
Husband, Todd; five children
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Blog Links
John McCain/Sarah Palin Get KO'd on MSNBC (Keith Olbermanns Special Comment)
Keith Olbermann Special Comment on Palin's Dirty Politics, and her connections to an Anti-American group.
L.A. Times endorses Obama - See the reasons why
Obama Effigy Hung from a Tree in Ohio...as part of Halloween display.
More sickness from another Rally - Man Holds up racist Obama Monkey effigy at McCain/Palin Rally
More ignorance from a McCain/Palin Rally.
See the Hostility, Ignorance, and Xenophobia at a Palin Rally in Strongsville Ohio.
Palin Supporters Now Calling For The Death of Obama
Troopergate Investigation Complete - Concludes Palin Broke the Law and Abused the Powers of Her Office
7 Witnesses Have Now Agreed To Talk About Troopergate.
Did Sarah Palin Lie About Darfur?
A Great Commentary By one of our bloggers, entitled "Surviving Is Not Winning" (regarding Palin's Debate performance).
Review of the VP Debate
One Brave Witness in Troopergate Scandal Agrees to Talk
Preview of the Palin-Biden VP Debate - My analysis Turned Out to Be Pretty Close
More from the Katie Couric Interview- Plain Unable to Name One Newspaper She Reads
Palin Image Slipping Now That She Has Been Vetted
Saturday Night Live Takes On Palin Again
Palin Crashes and Burns Again in an interview with Katie Couric- Palin Caught Unprepared for a question about McCain advisor who turned out to be a major Lobbyist for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac...in fact, he was taking their money while working for the McCain campaign- A huge conflict of interest. She was also caught off guard by questions about McCain's background as a supporter of less oversight of Banking system. He has been a staunch supporter for less regulation, not more.
Keith Olbermann Tallies Up The Palin Lies (there have been many more lies since our earlier list)
Palin Gets Special Treatment for VP Debate with Biden
Obama camp finally responds to the Lie Campaign of McCain/Palin designed to fool voters
NPR helps Knock Down Palin's Bridge to Nowhere Claim
Palin caught unaware of The Bush Doctrine during interview with Charlie Gibson - A major theme of the Bush Administrations foreign policy. The Bush doctrine = mainly the idea of preemtive war...that the U.S. can use its military to attack any Country before that Country or its actors can attack the U.S. It also spelled out the idea that nations were either with the U.S. or against it. This was an illogical (now largely failed) policy that was thrown together as a response to September 11th... and it helped the U.S. with establishing the excuse to go into Afghanistan and laid the groundwork for the invasion of Iraq a year later.
DNC Sets up a McCain Lie Page
Palin Connected to Right Wing anti-American Fringe Group
Palin Recently Praised Obama’s Energy Plan
Palin Almost Recalled and Removed as Wasilla’s Mayor
Palin Made Rape Victims Pay For Investigations
Palin - Is She A Racist?
According to Karl Rove, Palin Isn’t Qualified to be Vice President
Palin’s Religion is outside of the mainstream - Should a Fundamentalist Have the Power to wage war?
AIP official mentioned Sarah Palin as a former member on video at Secessionist event last year
If Sarah Palin Where Black....
Palin The Sports Reporter - Ready to be President?
Republicans Belittle Community Organizers
The Lies Told By Sarah Palin
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Outside Links
More on Palin and Rape Kits
Walt Monegan, the former Alaska Public Safety Chief, Talks About Why He Was Fired By Palin
Sarah Palin's Not So Hidden Extremism
Palin caught lying already.... Did she really lead the effort to Kill The Bridge to Nowhere?
Palin's own former colleagues don't believe she is qualified
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Troopergate
Palin Not Cooperating with Troopergate Investigation
Palin Warned By Judge to Stop Abuse of Mike Wooten and his Children
ABC Reports on Troopergate
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Click Here To See An Updated Rolling List of Palin Posts and Articles
(Label Search)
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Useful Palin Posts
Post Link
The lies just kept coming during the Republican Convention....
Below are some of the lies told by Sarah Palin
Sidenote: Palin didn't write the speech....it was prepared for her by Republican handlers.
Lie/Distortion #1: She claimed to be an advocate for Special needs children and presented the McCain/Palin Ticket as Shepards for Childrens health.
Fact: John McCain voted against expanding Schip to millions of American children. Remember the 12 year old boy who Republicans attacked last year? Here's a link to refresh your memory.
Republicans don't have much of a track record supporting the needs of children or the healthcare of Americans.
Lie/Distortion #2: She compared herself to Harry S. Truman (as a way of saying that he was from a small town too....and as a way to deal with the experience question).
Fact: Yes, Truman was from a small town in my home State. But before being nominated for Vice President, Truman had years of experience as an Army officer and Veteran of World War I, was a Judge, and was a U.S. Senator for a decade.
This woman can't be serious.
Lie/Distortion #3: Claimed extensive experience to be VP based on her time as Mayor of Wasilla Alaska, and her one full year as Governor. She claimed in the speech that she would explain what her daily duties were as Mayor... but she never got around to explaining.
Fact: The town of Wasilla had a population of about 6 or 7 thousand when she was Mayor. This is hardly proper preparation to run a Country of 300 million and to deal with a $3 Trillion annual budget....the biggest budget in the World. Pat Buchanan (who Palin once supported) and other respected commentators, and former officials agree....she's not ready. Even Karl Rove agrees; Palin does not meet the qualifications for Vice President.
Lie/Distortion #4: She stated that she has a track record of governing with integrity and goodwill.
Not quite, Mrs. Britney Spears of politics.
Fact: She is currently under investigation in Alaska for ethics violations...(also known as Troopergate) for the wrongful firing of her Public Safety director. Palin wanted the Public Safety director to illegally fire a State Trooper, Mike Wooten, who happened to be Palin's brother in law. Wooten was involved (and still is) in an ugly divorce and custody battle with Palin's sister.
As if that's not bad enough, before becoming Governor, Palin was involved in the firings of several Wasilla City officials... who she did not agree with politically. These city officials were not fired because they were not doing their jobs...they were fired for petty political reasons. Sarah Palin was also nearly recalled as Mayor of Wasilla.
Lie/Distortion #5: She is a reformer...and she killed the Bridge to Nowhere.
The "Reformer" title is a stretch...and the Bridge to Nowhere story is a lie.
Fact: In Alaska, Palin took full advantage of wasteful earmarks (when she was on the receiving end of the money). She also initially supported the Bridge to Nowhere...and was a big supporter of her mentor Ted Stevens... who was indicted recently on corruption charges. Palin was in cahoots with the same corporate donors who sent money to Stevens. See more on the Bridge To Nowhere from the Huffpost.
Lie/Distortion #6: Claimed that her efforts to develop Alaska's oil industry would lead the nation to energy independence.
Fact: We can't get that much oil out of Alaska...not enough to free us from foreign oil dependence. And even if Alaska had half the oil that would be needed for energy independence... it would take at least a decade before we would see any benefit...and even then, it wouldn't be a significant savings for Americans. The Republicans keep framing the debate...and making voters believe that more drilling today will lead to lower prices at the pump next week. That's not going to happen.
The best way to achieve energy self sufficiency is to use a broad mix of sources (including some additional drilling)... but the main focus should be to move from oil as a mainstay of our energy policy. That's old thinking. Breaking dependence on outside oil will eventually require an energy policy built around new forms of energy....alternative energy... wind, solar, hydrogen vehicles, new battery technology, ethanol, natural gas, nuclear, and limited clean coal resources.
Palin is looking out for Alaska when she is talking about boosting the oil industry there...she's not looking out for the U.S.
Lie/Distortion #7: Obama never wrote or sponsored one piece of reform legislation.
Well....she was partly right... he didn't write or co-sponsor just one piece of legislation on reform... he helped write/ or co-sponsored at least 3. All significant.
This woman is going to be worse than Cheney.... we will have fond memories of Dick Cheney by the time Palin settles in as VP.
Fact: Obama co-sponsored ethics reform legislation as a Senator in the State of Illinois. After entering the U.S. Senate... Obama co-sponsored a Bill curbing gifts and gratuities for members of Congress... He also supported laws that require more transparancy (supported a Federal Website for the public) so that voters can see how Congress is spending their tax money. There have also been other ethics Bills supported or sponsored by Obama.
Highlights:
Honest Leadership & Open Government Act of 2006
Legislative Transparency & Accountability Act of 2007
The Coburn-Obama Bill (Federal Funding Accountability & Transparency Act of 2006)
Obama's Work in Illinois Senate
Obama's work with Russ Feingold
See Obama's Page on Ethics and Lobbying reform.
Obama has been applauded for his work on ethics and lobbying reform.
Lie/Distortion #8: Obama is against producing energy.
Fact: No response really needed here. But Obama has been the leading candidate (since early in the Campaign), along with John Edwards, for reforming U.S. energy policy and breaking U.S. dependence on foreign oil. McCain didn't become the Alternative Energy guy until he stole Obama's message about 3 months ago. And he only became the "change" candidate about a month ago.
Lie/Distortion #9: McCain will show compassion to the powerless.
Fact: McCain's record simply does not match the infomercial that the Britney Spears of politics was trying to promote.
From SCHIP (healthcare for poor/needy children) to his lack of support for a better GI Bill for Veterans... and his 19 votes against raising the minimum wage; (and so many other issues) McCain's record just doesn't match the rhetoric.
Lie/Distortion #10: She stated she received more votes as Mayor than Joe Biden received during his latest run for President.
Fact: She wasn't even remotely close to the truth on this. As a matter of fact, she wasn't close to the truth on hardly any of her major claims.
The plane she sold on Ebay?
ANOTHER LIE
The above list represents lies that I caught myself... Fact Check may have more. See here.
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Sarah Palin as Miss Wasilla
This woman is not qualified to be dogcatcher. The idea that we can have the Paris Hilton of politics half a heartbeat away from the Presidency should scare the Hell out of anybody with a brain….regardless of Party affiliation. The idea that she could become VP is just as troubling. Yes I said half a heartbeat…. Not the cliché of “one heartbeat away“. We are dealing with a man who is half dead already. Let’s not beat around the Bush. The man is the cousin of Frankenstein.
"Oh Angry Independent, you are just being a sexist pig about this". The Hell I am. The Presidency and Vice Presidency are serious business…. This is not Wasilla Alaska…a town of six, seven, or eight thousand with a budget of a few million dollars. Being a beauty pageant girl, the Mayor and City Council member for a very small town, Being the Governor of Alaska - one of the smallest States by population- for only one full year does not make you ready for the second highest office in the land. It doesn’t come close to making you ready.
This is not about gender for me. I have no problem at all with a female Vice Presidential candidate or even a female Presidential candidate. I have no problem with that whatsoever. In fact, I would like to see one elected in the near future, it has been long enough. But don’t send me the Paris Hilton of politics. Give me a woman who is actually qualified for the job. I guess Kay Bailey Hutchison was unavailable. Was Elizabeth Dole unavailable as well? What about Olympia Snowe (A damn political giant….regardless of what you think about her Party or her politics)? But Olympia Snowe is not Conservative enough. There are at least 2 or 3 other powerful Republican women I could name…. But the 3 I mentioned pretty much make my point. These are Margaret Thatcheresque Stateswomen who, without any doubt, could handle the job of Vice President or President. But McCain is off his rocker. He couldn’t do any better than give us a beauty pageant contestant?
More of the Same Sinister Republican Politics
This was a sinister choice designed for 2 purposes: #1. To exploit the weaknesses within the Democratic Party and to steal some of the female Hillary Clinton supporters who are still upset about the Primary and who are reluctant to vote for a Black candidate…and simply needed an excuse to jump to the other side (even if it means voting against their own interests). And #2. To inject some energy into his Conservative political base. It has been reported that the McCain campaign received $10 million or more in the 2 days that followed the Palin announcement, despite the fact that she isn’t even close to being qualified. Her Conservative credentials trump everything else.
So yes… it was a sinister choice….and tactically, it was brilliant. I will admit that. It was clearly a ploy to fool voters. And unfortunately, it may work for McCain. Why? Because American voters are woefully stupid when it comes to politics, current events, world affairs, history, understanding why at least some qualifications are important for President and Vice President, knowledge of candidates and the issues, etc. Most voters couldn’t tell you who their local members of Congress are. So yes, it appears as though voters are taking the bait on Sarah Palin. And McCain understood this woeful ignorance among the American electorate…and took advantage of it, like only Rovian Politics could.
The Hillary supporters have been rejoicing about the Palin choice…. Giving credence to the McCain approach….showing why and how it just might work…and why it may have been a brilliant move. Only time will tell for sure. But on the same token I think that the rejoicing of the disgruntled Hillary supporters says a lot more about them than it does about McCain’s choice… a choice that some are calling “inspired”… inspired my ass…. Inspired by Karl Rove tactics… that’s about all the inspiration I see behind this choice. This was a calculated, sinister move…. Period! What does this say about the disgruntled Hillary supporters who are now celebrating the Palin pick and will vote for McCain? It shows one of two things (or both). #1. That these women were primarily concerned about gender all along, and were not really Progressive Democrats concerned about their greater interests and the best interests of the Country. They are willing to vote against their own best interests to put a women into the Presidency or Vice Presidency. Or #2. These women (especially White Female Hillary supporters) were so full of racial prejudice that they were looking for an excuse not to vote for a Black candidate. Some probably were not going to vote for Barack Obama anyway. It also shows that many of these women were more Conservative than some may have believed…which might explain Hillary’s Conservative campaign tactics in the Primary, and her support among so many White Moderates and Independents in places like Pennsylvania and Ohio. Many of the Hillary Clinton/Palin supporters are women who are new to politics and have never really followed events closely before. This may be all new to many of them. These women were attracted to the current political cycle when Hillary Clinton announced her candidacy. So some of this erratic behavior on the part of Hillary supporters should not be all that surprising. It's troubling....but it shouldn't necessarily be surprising. Their main concern all along (this is what I noticed) seemed to be gender...not policy. Gender was Hillary Clinton's appeal to many of these women... not much else. That is why they saw any attack on Clinton's positions as an attack on her womanhood....because for them, it was all about getting a woman elected. So far, women's views of Palin seem mixed.
Some women seem to like her, while others are not being fooled by the Republican tricks.
Sarah Palin as Miss Wasilla
And it turns out that McCain didn’t even know this woman. How do you offer the #2 spot to a person that you don’t even know? It appears that this may have been more of a spur of the moment move. Definitely not a good thing when you are talking about the Vice Presidency. Despite this, Republicans seem to be overjoyed by McCain's choice- not surprising. They are already spinning it to their advantage, and the mainstream media (as usual) allows the Republicans to frame the discussion on their terms. This is a person who essentially becomes President the moment John McCain is incapacitated (the swearing in nonsense is for the cameras…to promote confidence in the Nation if the unthinkable happens). The VP has authority over nuclear forces (they have their own football unit that travels everywhere with them), they can control the armed forces…if something catastrophic were to happen and the President can’t be reached, and he has his own National Security Advisor, military attaché, and on and on. This is not the PTA. But McCain didn’t think this was important. This is a person who he only talked to briefly once or twice…and offered the job after meeting her once. Good Lord!!! What does this say about the man’s judgment in general terms? Is this the kind of man who should be in charge during a crisis with Russia, China, Israel, Iran, or Pakistan or any other significant geo-political crisis? I know I don’t want McCain chairing these crisis meetings in the situation room. I definitely don’t want McCain in charge of the nations armed forces, especially the nuclear arsenal.
I have not had time to post about Palin over the last few days because I have been swamped…. But another reason is that I keep finding out more and more interesting things about this woman that are blowing my mind. I feel like a bloodhound … I keep digging things up and I’m not even looking hard. Details keep emerging about this woman faster than I can adjust and wrap my brain around them. And she was vetted? Vetted by who? She certainly wasn’t fully vetted by the McCain camp. But the blogosphere will certainly have a field day doing what the McCain camp was too lazy to do. Now even the usually lazy mainstream media is finding that Palin is a Gold mine. Hopefully there are a few real investigative journalists who won’t let McCain and Palin off the hook.
This choice shows that McCain is a gambler….and is subject to making rash decisions. Is this the kind of person who should be in the White House? I mean, the Bush administration is full of evil bastards…. Perhaps a few crazy evil bastards… but even they have a certain level headedness, despite being arguably the most reckless Administration in American history. McCain seems to lack this important trait.
If McCain was really inspired to choose a woman…. If McCain genuinely wanted to put a woman on the ticket and make history, there were qualified women available. This was not about making history… this was about the Republicans doing what they always do… doing whatever it takes to win, no matter how dirty the tactics. They are a cutthroat bunch… and quite frankly, the Democrats could learn a thing or two about their aggressiveness and “go for the throat” approach to politics. I have stated several times that Democrats should stop fooling around and get just as serious about winning as the Republicans are. With the Palin decision, the McCain camp has been able to erase any Convention "bounce" that Obama could have gotten. It is amazing that in a year that Democrats should be leading by double digits, we are looking at a horse Race. And the election will ultimately come down to Obama being a Black man and whether White America will be comfortable with that or not. We could be looking at the Bradley Effect on steroids.
Women, including the disgruntled Hillary supporters, should be insulted by McCain’s ploy, which was nothing more than an effort to fool them. It shows that McCain thinks that women are stupid. It’s the same thing that George H.W. Bush did with his nomination of Clarence Thomas. He thought Blacks would appreciate the choice…and he assumed that there was some sort of comparison between Thomas and Marshall. Palin is the same Trojan Horse candidate. McCain has revealed what he really thinks of women with this pick. He assumes (and it may be partially true among some segments of the electorate) that women are not doing their homework, that they are not knowledgeable enough about politics to understand what is really going on…and that they are stupid enough to vote against their own best interests…choosing gender over policy. I hope this doesn’t describe most Hillary supporters. But then again they did tend to represent the less educated women. They also made up a good portion of the 15-20% of people in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and elsewhere who stated that Race was a factor in their decision to vote for Hillary Clinton over Barack Obama. But again, McCain and his people understood this very well…so tactically, it may have been a smart move. But morally it was sinister…one of the most sinister political moves that I can recall.
What kind of responsible national leader (who claims to care about the Country) puts such an unqualified person in the #2 spot, especially considering the fact that he could kick the bucket from natural causes at any moment? The VP spot is supposed to inspire confidence among Americans of all political stripes- confidence that there is a proper Shepard in place for the nation if/when they are needed. The Palin choice doesn’t even come close.
Palin recently disrespected the office of Vice President… not only that, but she recently stated, in pure Britney Spears/Paris Hilton style, that she didn’t even know what the Vice President does on a daily basis.
In an interview just a month ago, she said that the VP job didn’t seem “productive.”
From The Huffpost and Politico.
Amazing! You can’t make this stuff up.
I guess she doesn’t understand the responsibility of being ready to launch a counter-attack against foreign enemies if the President is taken out, as I mentioned above. I guess she doesn’t understand the role of the VP as a chief ambassador for the U.S. around the World. I guess she doesn’t understand that the VP has to have the same situational awareness that the President does….which requires the VP to deal with a grueling schedule…to read/and listen to intelligence reports, and maintain his or her own intelligence staff (the VP gets his own daily briefing- just like the President, has his own national security advisor, his own travel staff, has his own military liaisons, etc…almost like a shadow government, so that a possible transition would be seamless). I guess she doesn’t understand the VP’s responsibility as an advisor to the President, Or as the leader in the White House's Situation Room or Emergency Ops Center (if an incident occurs when the President is out of Town). I guess she doesn't understand the VP's official role as the President of the Senate… albeit much of it is ceremonial… on the same token, much of the work with Congress is not merely ceremonial in nature. The VP has been known to push the Presidents agenda through Congress. The VP also sells the Presidents agenda to the American people… with constant appearances on the major political programs (that’s not done so that they can look pretty on TV). In the run-up to the invasion of Iraq… who did we see more than anyone else? Dick Cheney (right or wrong…that will be debated until the end of time… the point here is… that was his role). And I guess meeting with World leaders is a joke to Palin as well. I doubt that she could even name 10 world leaders. Scary!!!! George W. couldn’t name half that number of World leaders when he ran… but stupid American voters put him in office anyway… with the help of shenanigans in Florida. This woman doesn’t seem to have an understanding of any of this.
Here is even more evidence that Sarah Palin is not Presidential or Vice Presidential material. Palin is not even in the same galaxy as a qualified VP candidate.
Had enough yet? If not, there’s more….
Troopergate
Palin is currently the subject of an ethics investigation for abuse of power stemming from the firing of her Public Safety director, Walt Monegan. Monegan apparently didn't agree with Palin's effort to get her brother-in-law fired from his job as a State Trooper. The Trooper is involved in a bitter divorce from Palin's sister. Since Monegan didn't want to go along with the illegal efforts to fire the Trooper, he himself was fired by Palin.
Palin has now had to hire attorney's to defend herself. This is yet another debacle for the Republicans. But it seems that they are so used to political scandal....that they did not see this as a big deal. Corruption seems to be part of the Republican Party's culture. Now I know what the pundits meant when they said that Palin is a "good fit" for John McCain and the Republican Party.
Read the Story of Trooper Mike Wooten, and Why Walt Monegan was Fired.
(Do we really want a woman like this in charge of our government?)
Palin Chooses Oil Industry over the Environment
Palin has also aligned herself with the oil industry in Alaska, fighting for Big oil interests over the States environmental interests. In fact, she even has more extreme right wing views about climate change and the environment than the Bush Administration does… she is in the hip pocket of the Alaskan oil industry. She even threatened to sue the Bush Administration over its decision to list the Polar Bear as threatened, because the decision might harm the oil industry. (Now if the Bush Administration lists the Polar Bear as endangered… then to me, it shows the seriousness of the climate situation and the threat to the Polar Bear’s habitat…which is Sea Ice).
From the Anchorage Daily News:
Below are some of the lies told by Sarah Palin
Sidenote: Palin didn't write the speech....it was prepared for her by Republican handlers.
Lie/Distortion #1: She claimed to be an advocate for Special needs children and presented the McCain/Palin Ticket as Shepards for Childrens health.
Fact: John McCain voted against expanding Schip to millions of American children. Remember the 12 year old boy who Republicans attacked last year? Here's a link to refresh your memory.
Republicans don't have much of a track record supporting the needs of children or the healthcare of Americans.
Lie/Distortion #2: She compared herself to Harry S. Truman (as a way of saying that he was from a small town too....and as a way to deal with the experience question).
Fact: Yes, Truman was from a small town in my home State. But before being nominated for Vice President, Truman had years of experience as an Army officer and Veteran of World War I, was a Judge, and was a U.S. Senator for a decade.
This woman can't be serious.
Lie/Distortion #3: Claimed extensive experience to be VP based on her time as Mayor of Wasilla Alaska, and her one full year as Governor. She claimed in the speech that she would explain what her daily duties were as Mayor... but she never got around to explaining.
Fact: The town of Wasilla had a population of about 6 or 7 thousand when she was Mayor. This is hardly proper preparation to run a Country of 300 million and to deal with a $3 Trillion annual budget....the biggest budget in the World. Pat Buchanan (who Palin once supported) and other respected commentators, and former officials agree....she's not ready. Even Karl Rove agrees; Palin does not meet the qualifications for Vice President.
Lie/Distortion #4: She stated that she has a track record of governing with integrity and goodwill.
Not quite, Mrs. Britney Spears of politics.
Fact: She is currently under investigation in Alaska for ethics violations...(also known as Troopergate) for the wrongful firing of her Public Safety director. Palin wanted the Public Safety director to illegally fire a State Trooper, Mike Wooten, who happened to be Palin's brother in law. Wooten was involved (and still is) in an ugly divorce and custody battle with Palin's sister.
As if that's not bad enough, before becoming Governor, Palin was involved in the firings of several Wasilla City officials... who she did not agree with politically. These city officials were not fired because they were not doing their jobs...they were fired for petty political reasons. Sarah Palin was also nearly recalled as Mayor of Wasilla.
Lie/Distortion #5: She is a reformer...and she killed the Bridge to Nowhere.
The "Reformer" title is a stretch...and the Bridge to Nowhere story is a lie.
Fact: In Alaska, Palin took full advantage of wasteful earmarks (when she was on the receiving end of the money). She also initially supported the Bridge to Nowhere...and was a big supporter of her mentor Ted Stevens... who was indicted recently on corruption charges. Palin was in cahoots with the same corporate donors who sent money to Stevens. See more on the Bridge To Nowhere from the Huffpost.
Lie/Distortion #6: Claimed that her efforts to develop Alaska's oil industry would lead the nation to energy independence.
Fact: We can't get that much oil out of Alaska...not enough to free us from foreign oil dependence. And even if Alaska had half the oil that would be needed for energy independence... it would take at least a decade before we would see any benefit...and even then, it wouldn't be a significant savings for Americans. The Republicans keep framing the debate...and making voters believe that more drilling today will lead to lower prices at the pump next week. That's not going to happen.
The best way to achieve energy self sufficiency is to use a broad mix of sources (including some additional drilling)... but the main focus should be to move from oil as a mainstay of our energy policy. That's old thinking. Breaking dependence on outside oil will eventually require an energy policy built around new forms of energy....alternative energy... wind, solar, hydrogen vehicles, new battery technology, ethanol, natural gas, nuclear, and limited clean coal resources.
Palin is looking out for Alaska when she is talking about boosting the oil industry there...she's not looking out for the U.S.
Lie/Distortion #7: Obama never wrote or sponsored one piece of reform legislation.
Well....she was partly right... he didn't write or co-sponsor just one piece of legislation on reform... he helped write/ or co-sponsored at least 3. All significant.
This woman is going to be worse than Cheney.... we will have fond memories of Dick Cheney by the time Palin settles in as VP.
Fact: Obama co-sponsored ethics reform legislation as a Senator in the State of Illinois. After entering the U.S. Senate... Obama co-sponsored a Bill curbing gifts and gratuities for members of Congress... He also supported laws that require more transparancy (supported a Federal Website for the public) so that voters can see how Congress is spending their tax money. There have also been other ethics Bills supported or sponsored by Obama.
Highlights:
Honest Leadership & Open Government Act of 2006
Legislative Transparency & Accountability Act of 2007
The Coburn-Obama Bill (Federal Funding Accountability & Transparency Act of 2006)
Obama's Work in Illinois Senate
Obama's work with Russ Feingold
See Obama's Page on Ethics and Lobbying reform.
Obama has been applauded for his work on ethics and lobbying reform.
Lie/Distortion #8: Obama is against producing energy.
Fact: No response really needed here. But Obama has been the leading candidate (since early in the Campaign), along with John Edwards, for reforming U.S. energy policy and breaking U.S. dependence on foreign oil. McCain didn't become the Alternative Energy guy until he stole Obama's message about 3 months ago. And he only became the "change" candidate about a month ago.
Lie/Distortion #9: McCain will show compassion to the powerless.
Fact: McCain's record simply does not match the infomercial that the Britney Spears of politics was trying to promote.
From SCHIP (healthcare for poor/needy children) to his lack of support for a better GI Bill for Veterans... and his 19 votes against raising the minimum wage; (and so many other issues) McCain's record just doesn't match the rhetoric.
Lie/Distortion #10: She stated she received more votes as Mayor than Joe Biden received during his latest run for President.
Fact: She wasn't even remotely close to the truth on this. As a matter of fact, she wasn't close to the truth on hardly any of her major claims.
The plane she sold on Ebay?
ANOTHER LIE
The above list represents lies that I caught myself... Fact Check may have more. See here.
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Sarah Palin Would Make A Great Vice President
...of her local PTA
Post Link
Sarah Palin's Secessionist Background
Sarah Palin - A former Secessionist. Learn About Her Secessionist Connections. (Let's see how long it takes the Mainstream media to really look into this). hat tip to the Jed Report.
Clearly Unqualified
This woman is not qualified to be dogcatcher. The idea that we can have the Paris Hilton of politics half a heartbeat away from the Presidency should scare the Hell out of anybody with a brain….regardless of Party affiliation. The idea that she could become VP is just as troubling. Yes I said half a heartbeat…. Not the cliché of “one heartbeat away“. We are dealing with a man who is half dead already. Let’s not beat around the Bush. The man is the cousin of Frankenstein.
"Oh Angry Independent, you are just being a sexist pig about this". The Hell I am. The Presidency and Vice Presidency are serious business…. This is not Wasilla Alaska…a town of six, seven, or eight thousand with a budget of a few million dollars. Being a beauty pageant girl, the Mayor and City Council member for a very small town, Being the Governor of Alaska - one of the smallest States by population- for only one full year does not make you ready for the second highest office in the land. It doesn’t come close to making you ready.
This is not about gender for me. I have no problem at all with a female Vice Presidential candidate or even a female Presidential candidate. I have no problem with that whatsoever. In fact, I would like to see one elected in the near future, it has been long enough. But don’t send me the Paris Hilton of politics. Give me a woman who is actually qualified for the job. I guess Kay Bailey Hutchison was unavailable. Was Elizabeth Dole unavailable as well? What about Olympia Snowe (A damn political giant….regardless of what you think about her Party or her politics)? But Olympia Snowe is not Conservative enough. There are at least 2 or 3 other powerful Republican women I could name…. But the 3 I mentioned pretty much make my point. These are Margaret Thatcheresque Stateswomen who, without any doubt, could handle the job of Vice President or President. But McCain is off his rocker. He couldn’t do any better than give us a beauty pageant contestant?
More of the Same Sinister Republican Politics
This was a sinister choice designed for 2 purposes: #1. To exploit the weaknesses within the Democratic Party and to steal some of the female Hillary Clinton supporters who are still upset about the Primary and who are reluctant to vote for a Black candidate…and simply needed an excuse to jump to the other side (even if it means voting against their own interests). And #2. To inject some energy into his Conservative political base. It has been reported that the McCain campaign received $10 million or more in the 2 days that followed the Palin announcement, despite the fact that she isn’t even close to being qualified. Her Conservative credentials trump everything else.
So yes… it was a sinister choice….and tactically, it was brilliant. I will admit that. It was clearly a ploy to fool voters. And unfortunately, it may work for McCain. Why? Because American voters are woefully stupid when it comes to politics, current events, world affairs, history, understanding why at least some qualifications are important for President and Vice President, knowledge of candidates and the issues, etc. Most voters couldn’t tell you who their local members of Congress are. So yes, it appears as though voters are taking the bait on Sarah Palin. And McCain understood this woeful ignorance among the American electorate…and took advantage of it, like only Rovian Politics could.
The Hillary supporters have been rejoicing about the Palin choice…. Giving credence to the McCain approach….showing why and how it just might work…and why it may have been a brilliant move. Only time will tell for sure. But on the same token I think that the rejoicing of the disgruntled Hillary supporters says a lot more about them than it does about McCain’s choice… a choice that some are calling “inspired”… inspired my ass…. Inspired by Karl Rove tactics… that’s about all the inspiration I see behind this choice. This was a calculated, sinister move…. Period! What does this say about the disgruntled Hillary supporters who are now celebrating the Palin pick and will vote for McCain? It shows one of two things (or both). #1. That these women were primarily concerned about gender all along, and were not really Progressive Democrats concerned about their greater interests and the best interests of the Country. They are willing to vote against their own best interests to put a women into the Presidency or Vice Presidency. Or #2. These women (especially White Female Hillary supporters) were so full of racial prejudice that they were looking for an excuse not to vote for a Black candidate. Some probably were not going to vote for Barack Obama anyway. It also shows that many of these women were more Conservative than some may have believed…which might explain Hillary’s Conservative campaign tactics in the Primary, and her support among so many White Moderates and Independents in places like Pennsylvania and Ohio. Many of the Hillary Clinton/Palin supporters are women who are new to politics and have never really followed events closely before. This may be all new to many of them. These women were attracted to the current political cycle when Hillary Clinton announced her candidacy. So some of this erratic behavior on the part of Hillary supporters should not be all that surprising. It's troubling....but it shouldn't necessarily be surprising. Their main concern all along (this is what I noticed) seemed to be gender...not policy. Gender was Hillary Clinton's appeal to many of these women... not much else. That is why they saw any attack on Clinton's positions as an attack on her womanhood....because for them, it was all about getting a woman elected. So far, women's views of Palin seem mixed.
Some women seem to like her, while others are not being fooled by the Republican tricks.
And it turns out that McCain didn’t even know this woman. How do you offer the #2 spot to a person that you don’t even know? It appears that this may have been more of a spur of the moment move. Definitely not a good thing when you are talking about the Vice Presidency. Despite this, Republicans seem to be overjoyed by McCain's choice- not surprising. They are already spinning it to their advantage, and the mainstream media (as usual) allows the Republicans to frame the discussion on their terms. This is a person who essentially becomes President the moment John McCain is incapacitated (the swearing in nonsense is for the cameras…to promote confidence in the Nation if the unthinkable happens). The VP has authority over nuclear forces (they have their own football unit that travels everywhere with them), they can control the armed forces…if something catastrophic were to happen and the President can’t be reached, and he has his own National Security Advisor, military attaché, and on and on. This is not the PTA. But McCain didn’t think this was important. This is a person who he only talked to briefly once or twice…and offered the job after meeting her once. Good Lord!!! What does this say about the man’s judgment in general terms? Is this the kind of man who should be in charge during a crisis with Russia, China, Israel, Iran, or Pakistan or any other significant geo-political crisis? I know I don’t want McCain chairing these crisis meetings in the situation room. I definitely don’t want McCain in charge of the nations armed forces, especially the nuclear arsenal.
I have not had time to post about Palin over the last few days because I have been swamped…. But another reason is that I keep finding out more and more interesting things about this woman that are blowing my mind. I feel like a bloodhound … I keep digging things up and I’m not even looking hard. Details keep emerging about this woman faster than I can adjust and wrap my brain around them. And she was vetted? Vetted by who? She certainly wasn’t fully vetted by the McCain camp. But the blogosphere will certainly have a field day doing what the McCain camp was too lazy to do. Now even the usually lazy mainstream media is finding that Palin is a Gold mine. Hopefully there are a few real investigative journalists who won’t let McCain and Palin off the hook.
This choice shows that McCain is a gambler….and is subject to making rash decisions. Is this the kind of person who should be in the White House? I mean, the Bush administration is full of evil bastards…. Perhaps a few crazy evil bastards… but even they have a certain level headedness, despite being arguably the most reckless Administration in American history. McCain seems to lack this important trait.
If McCain was really inspired to choose a woman…. If McCain genuinely wanted to put a woman on the ticket and make history, there were qualified women available. This was not about making history… this was about the Republicans doing what they always do… doing whatever it takes to win, no matter how dirty the tactics. They are a cutthroat bunch… and quite frankly, the Democrats could learn a thing or two about their aggressiveness and “go for the throat” approach to politics. I have stated several times that Democrats should stop fooling around and get just as serious about winning as the Republicans are. With the Palin decision, the McCain camp has been able to erase any Convention "bounce" that Obama could have gotten. It is amazing that in a year that Democrats should be leading by double digits, we are looking at a horse Race. And the election will ultimately come down to Obama being a Black man and whether White America will be comfortable with that or not. We could be looking at the Bradley Effect on steroids.
Women, including the disgruntled Hillary supporters, should be insulted by McCain’s ploy, which was nothing more than an effort to fool them. It shows that McCain thinks that women are stupid. It’s the same thing that George H.W. Bush did with his nomination of Clarence Thomas. He thought Blacks would appreciate the choice…and he assumed that there was some sort of comparison between Thomas and Marshall. Palin is the same Trojan Horse candidate. McCain has revealed what he really thinks of women with this pick. He assumes (and it may be partially true among some segments of the electorate) that women are not doing their homework, that they are not knowledgeable enough about politics to understand what is really going on…and that they are stupid enough to vote against their own best interests…choosing gender over policy. I hope this doesn’t describe most Hillary supporters. But then again they did tend to represent the less educated women. They also made up a good portion of the 15-20% of people in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and elsewhere who stated that Race was a factor in their decision to vote for Hillary Clinton over Barack Obama. But again, McCain and his people understood this very well…so tactically, it may have been a smart move. But morally it was sinister…one of the most sinister political moves that I can recall.
What kind of responsible national leader (who claims to care about the Country) puts such an unqualified person in the #2 spot, especially considering the fact that he could kick the bucket from natural causes at any moment? The VP spot is supposed to inspire confidence among Americans of all political stripes- confidence that there is a proper Shepard in place for the nation if/when they are needed. The Palin choice doesn’t even come close.
Palin recently disrespected the office of Vice President… not only that, but she recently stated, in pure Britney Spears/Paris Hilton style, that she didn’t even know what the Vice President does on a daily basis.
In an interview just a month ago, she said that the VP job didn’t seem “productive.”
From The Huffpost and Politico.
Larry Kudlow of CNBC’s “Kudlow & Co.” asked her about the possibility of becoming McCain's ticket mate.
Palin replied: “As for that VP talk all the time, I’ll tell you, I still can’t answer that question until somebody answers for me what is it exactly that the VP does every day?
Amazing! You can’t make this stuff up.
I guess she doesn’t understand the responsibility of being ready to launch a counter-attack against foreign enemies if the President is taken out, as I mentioned above. I guess she doesn’t understand the role of the VP as a chief ambassador for the U.S. around the World. I guess she doesn’t understand that the VP has to have the same situational awareness that the President does….which requires the VP to deal with a grueling schedule…to read/and listen to intelligence reports, and maintain his or her own intelligence staff (the VP gets his own daily briefing- just like the President, has his own national security advisor, his own travel staff, has his own military liaisons, etc…almost like a shadow government, so that a possible transition would be seamless). I guess she doesn’t understand the VP’s responsibility as an advisor to the President, Or as the leader in the White House's Situation Room or Emergency Ops Center (if an incident occurs when the President is out of Town). I guess she doesn't understand the VP's official role as the President of the Senate… albeit much of it is ceremonial… on the same token, much of the work with Congress is not merely ceremonial in nature. The VP has been known to push the Presidents agenda through Congress. The VP also sells the Presidents agenda to the American people… with constant appearances on the major political programs (that’s not done so that they can look pretty on TV). In the run-up to the invasion of Iraq… who did we see more than anyone else? Dick Cheney (right or wrong…that will be debated until the end of time… the point here is… that was his role). And I guess meeting with World leaders is a joke to Palin as well. I doubt that she could even name 10 world leaders. Scary!!!! George W. couldn’t name half that number of World leaders when he ran… but stupid American voters put him in office anyway… with the help of shenanigans in Florida. This woman doesn’t seem to have an understanding of any of this.
Here is even more evidence that Sarah Palin is not Presidential or Vice Presidential material. Palin is not even in the same galaxy as a qualified VP candidate.
Had enough yet? If not, there’s more….
Troopergate
Palin is currently the subject of an ethics investigation for abuse of power stemming from the firing of her Public Safety director, Walt Monegan. Monegan apparently didn't agree with Palin's effort to get her brother-in-law fired from his job as a State Trooper. The Trooper is involved in a bitter divorce from Palin's sister. Since Monegan didn't want to go along with the illegal efforts to fire the Trooper, he himself was fired by Palin.
Palin has now had to hire attorney's to defend herself. This is yet another debacle for the Republicans. But it seems that they are so used to political scandal....that they did not see this as a big deal. Corruption seems to be part of the Republican Party's culture. Now I know what the pundits meant when they said that Palin is a "good fit" for John McCain and the Republican Party.
Read the Story of Trooper Mike Wooten, and Why Walt Monegan was Fired.
(Do we really want a woman like this in charge of our government?)
Palin Chooses Oil Industry over the Environment
Palin has also aligned herself with the oil industry in Alaska, fighting for Big oil interests over the States environmental interests. In fact, she even has more extreme right wing views about climate change and the environment than the Bush Administration does… she is in the hip pocket of the Alaskan oil industry. She even threatened to sue the Bush Administration over its decision to list the Polar Bear as threatened, because the decision might harm the oil industry. (Now if the Bush Administration lists the Polar Bear as endangered… then to me, it shows the seriousness of the climate situation and the threat to the Polar Bear’s habitat…which is Sea Ice).
From the Anchorage Daily News:
The State of Alaska will sue to challenge the recent listing of polar bears as a threatened species, Gov. Sarah Palin said.
She and other Alaska elected officials fear a listing will cripple oil and gas development in prime polar bear habitat off the state's northern and northwestern coasts.
Palin argued there is not enough evidence to support a listing. Polar bears are well-managed and their population has dramatically increased over 30 years as a result of conservation, she said.
Climate models that predict continued loss of sea ice, the main habitat of polar bears, during summers are unreliable, Palin said.
The announcement drew a strong response from the primary author of the listing petition.
"She's either grossly misinformed or intentionally misleading, and both are unbecoming," said Kassie Siegel of the Center for Biological Diversity. "Alaska deserves better."
Siegel said it was unconscionable for Palin to ignore overwhelming evidence of global warming's threat to sea ice, the polar bear's habitat.
"Even the Bush administration can't deny the reality of global warming," she said. "The governor is aligning herself and the state of Alaska with the most discredited, fringe, extreme viewpoints by denying this."
As marine mammals, polar bears are regulated by the federal government, not the state. Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne last week made the listing decision and said it was based on three findings.
"First, sea ice is vital to polar bear survival. Second, the polar bear's sea-ice habitat has dramatically melted in recent decades. Third, computer models suggest sea ice is likely to further recede in the future," he said.
Summer sea ice last year shrank to a record low, about 1.65 million square miles, nearly 40 percent less than the long-term average between 1979 and 2000.
Palin’s Connections To Other Corruption Scandals
There are also questions about Palin’s connections to the VECO Corporation, the same company at the center of the Ted Stevens corruption case. She has apparently been in bed with these folks for a number of years. Reformer? I don’t think so. She’s playing the game of wagging her finger at the oil industry with one hand, and taking their money with the other.
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