Final Palin segment
Posted By: Sandy on 2008-09-13
In Reply to:
I was very impressed with Charlie Gibson. I am not an ABC news watcher, so I did not know what to expect. He brought up all the important issues involved in the contradictions between Maverick and Reformer claims including per diem, keeping the money from bridge to nowhere, lobbyists for Alaska, abuse of power in Troopergate, etc. I thought he allowed her to expose her lack of knowledge on foreign affairs. I thought he, for the most part, keep questioning her on points when she tried to evade questions by throwing out the slogans and talking points.
The one point that I had not heard before was the fact that the sendoff for the soldiers she staged in Alaska was timed to be on 9/11 for the publicity, and that the soldiers were not in fact going to leave for 2 to 3 more weeks.
All in all, I thought it was a good introduction of the actual Sarah Palin. When you add the tape of McCain disparaging mayors and short-time governors, it was a definitive package for those who have not yet made up their minds in this election.
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Did anyone see the 60 Minutes segment...
...Sunday night about the cancer clinic that's closing due to lack of funds? I can't begin to describe how angry I became when I saw this.
After greedy, immoral Wall Street crooks created a worldwide economic crisis, while walking away with millions or billions, there are Americans who have been handed death sentences because of lack of MONEY.
I believe the entire health "insurance" industry needs to become extinct (except for maybe one or two companies for the "elite" in this country who believe they're superior and can afford astronomical rates). These links are a little old, but they give you an idea of how much healthcare "insurance" executives earn: http://blogs.webmd.com/mad-about-medicine/2007/08/ceo-compensation-who-said-healthcare-is.html and http://www.harp.org/hmoexecs.htm.
Certainly, these outrageous salaries, combined, plus all the other auxiliary costs that go along with this "industry" would go a long way toward funding a single-payer NONprofit healthcare plan. No doubt that much of their income comes as an incentive for denying benefits to patients.
You insure your car because you MIGHT have an accident someday. You insure your home because you MIGHT need to file a claim someday. The premiums are based on overall risk. However, EVERYONE will become ill at some point in his/her life, and we have now become a country that will only accept "survival of the fittest," while systematically "thinning out the herd" based on who has the least amount of income. To "insure" health is like buying an insurance policy to insure that your bread won't go stale at some point after you buy it; it's completely irrelevant to whether a person has a job. And if that person, God forbid, LOSES that job, then COBRA kicks in with usually much more expensive premiums. So once again, if someone has no or little income, it costs MORE to insure his/her health.
Capitalism is good for some things, but it's the absolute most immoral idea that one's ability to live or die in a country like America is contingent on how rich that person is. Left unchecked, these companies, in my opinion, are well on their way to becoming the next AIG that the government will bail out because they're "too big to fail," while leaving millions of people to die.
It's pretty bad when someone like Hugo Chavez, who provides healthcare to the citizens of his country, treats sick people much better than Americans do.
Nixon had a different "mindset" about health insurance back in the 1970s when he discovered with glee that insurance companies could make more money by denying services, so HMOs were invented. It's again time to adopt a different mindset, one that's moral and one that doesn't literally leave Americans to die. (Reagan had the bright idea to "deregulate" banks, an idea which Clinton enthusiastically embraced and Bush was only too happy to continue, and we see where that got us: The Wall Street crooks won, and the people who trusted them with their money lost.)
After I saw this segment, I've NEVER been so ashamed to be an American. This has to stop.
GET RID OF HEALTH INSURANCE COMPANIES ALTOGETHER.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/04/03/60minutes/main4917055.shtml?source=RSSattr=HOME_4917055
P.S. Sorry for the rant and sorry if my words might not make sense in some spots, but this really upsets me because I'm one of those people. I don't qualify for Medicaid and can't afford or can't obtain (preexisting conditions) private or work-offered health insurance.
Also, did anyone look at the Hardball segment listed on the Conservative board?
It was called "The Truth about Iraqi Freedom," I believe. I THINK it was considered meaningful dialogue supporting the neocons. However, I felt it was damning. The only "Truth" the rather strange and creepy neocon lady reporter seemed to come up with was that the soldiers handed out candy and softballs. The other guest was a former soldier in Iraq who, if only given time, was making some excellent statements regarding the real truth of the war. The whole segment was rushed and, well, kind of weird. As I said, check out the lady reporter - she seemed most disagreeable and offensive. Or maybe it was just my take on it!!!!
final result
I think pretty much this debate was McCain's best hope. His strength, according to most, is foreign policy. I thought that all O really needed to do was avoid being seen as weak on foreign affairs. He more than lived up to that. The clear frontrunner is O. This debate did not change that. The next two pres debates will show O's strengths and Mc weaknesses. The Sarah/Joe debate is going to be high theatre. I am so looking forward to that one.
Another point. I don't get all misty when Mc tells his bracelet/POW stories. I think they are blatant attempts at pulling emotional strings and I cringe when anyone, anywhere tries to manipulate me. I am saying he uses stories for his benefit instead of feeling them. So as far as I am concerned they backfire.
Yes, and regarding that final paragraph re: Iran
Seymour Hersh has yet to get it wrong, no matter how much the King George and his men attack.
http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/articles/060821fa_fact
Saddam's in his final hours....sm
By CHRISTOPHER TORCHIA and QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - The official witnesses to Saddam Hussein's impending execution gathered Friday in Baghdad's fortified Green Zone in final preparation for his hanging, as state television broadcast footage of his regime's atrocities.
With U.S. forces on high alert for a surge in violence, the Iraqi government readied all the necessary documents, including a red card - an execution order introduced during Saddam's dictatorship. As the hour of his death approached, Saddam received two of his half brothers in his cell on Thursday and was said to have given them his personal belongings and a copy of his will.
Najeeb al-Nueimi, a member of Saddam's legal team in Doha, Qatar, said he too requested a final meeting with the deposed Iraqi leader. His daughter in Amman was crying, she said 'Take me with you,' al-Nueimi said late Friday. But he said their request was rejected.
An adviser to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said Saddam would be executed before 6 a.m. Saturday, or 10 p.m. Friday EST. Also to be hanged at that time were Saddam's half-brother Barzan Ibrahim and Awad Hamed al-Bandar, the former chief justice of the Revolutionary Court, the adviser said.
The time was agreed upon during a meeting Friday between U.S. and Iraqi officials, said the adviser, who declined to be named because he is not authorized to speak to the media.
Saddam will be handed over shortly before the execution, the official said. The physical transfer of Saddam from U.S. to Iraqi authorities was believed to be one of the last steps before he was to be hanged. Saddam has been in U.S. custody since he was captured in December 2003.
Al-Nueimi said U.S. authorities were maintaining physical custody of Saddam to prevent him from being humiliated before his execution. He said the Americans also want to prevent the mutilation of his corpse, as has happened to other deposed Iraqi leaders.
The Americans want him to be hanged respectfully, al-Nueimi said. If Saddam is humiliated publicly or his corpse ill-treated that could cause an uprising and the Americans would be blamed, he said.
Munir Haddad, a judge on the appeals court that upheld Saddam's death sentence, said he was ready to attend the hanging and that all the paperwork was in order, including the red card.
All the measures have been done, Haddad said. There is no reason for delays.
As American and Iraqi officials met in Baghdad to set the hour of his death, Saddam's lawyers asked a U.S. judge for a stay of execution.
Saddam's lawyers issued a statement Friday calling on everybody to do everything to stop this unfair execution. The statement also said the former president had been transferred from U.S. custody, though American and Iraqi officials later denied that.
Al-Maliki said opposing Saddam's execution was an insult to his victims. His office said he made the remarks in a meeting with families of people who died during Saddam's rule.
Our respect for human rights requires us to execute him, and there will be no review or delay in carrying out the sentence, al-Maliki said.
State television ran footage of the Saddam era's atrocities, including images of uniformed men placing a bomb next to a youth's chest and blowing him up in what looked like a desert, and handcuffed men being thrown from a high building.
About 10 people registered to attend the hanging gathered in the Green Zone before they were to go to the execution site, the Iraqi official said.
Those cleared to attend the execution included a Muslim cleric, lawmakers, senior officials and relatives of victims of Saddam's brutal rule, the official said. He did not disclose the location of the gallows.
Raed Juhi, spokesman for the High Tribunal court that convicted Saddam, said documents related to the execution would be read to Saddam before the execution. The documents included the red card, al-Maliki's signed approval of the sentence and the appeal court's decision.
On Thursday, two half brothers visited Saddam in his cell, a member of the former dictator's defense team, Badee Izzat Aref, told The Associated Press by telephone from the United Arab Emirates. He said the former dictator handed them his personal belongings.
A senior official at the Iraqi defense ministry also confirmed the meeting and said Saddam gave his will to one of his half brothers. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
Saddam's lawyers later issued a statement saying the Americans gave permission for his belongings to be retrieved.
An Iraqi appeals court upheld Saddam's death sentence Tuesday for the killing of 148 people who were detained after an attempt to assassinate him in the northern Iraqi city of Dujail in 1982. The court said the hanging should take place within 30 days.
There had been disagreements among Iraqi officials in recent days as to whether Iraqi law dictates the execution must take place within 30 days and whether President Jalal Talabani and his two deputies had to approve it.
In his Friday sermon, a mosque preacher in the Shiite holy city of Najaf called Saddam's execution God's gift to Iraqis.
Oh, God, you know what Saddam has done! He killed millions of Iraqis in prisons, in wars with neighboring countries and he is responsible for mass graves, said Sheik Sadralddin al-Qubanji, a member of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, known as SCIRI, a dominant party in al-Maliki's coalition. Oh God, we ask you to take revenge on Saddam.
Head in the sand....final thoughts
You said: I am truly sorry that any of you on the right equate not wanting to fight, not wanting to kill, eshewing revenge shrouded as justice and preferring diplomacy to preemptive attacks with **lily-liveredness.**
My answer: First of all, to say that going into Iraq was revenge does a huge disservice to the people who died on 9-11 and to the soldiers who have died in Iraq since. I think a statement like that is unconsciable. It is your right to say it, my right to disagree strongly, which I do. I have a hard time understanding how any American could think that.
Second, I have never referred to anyone as lily-livered. No one WANTS to kill. You and the left keep saying that like Republicans or anyone NOT liberal (sound familiar?) WANTS to kill. That is just nuts. However, some people do believe that our way of life, our country, are worth dying for or killing for if necessary. That being said, for diplomacy to work, both sides have to be interested in a peaceful outcome. In what alternate reality do you imagine that Saddam Hussein, Al Qaeda, Al-Zawahiri, the Taliban, or ANY terrorist would be interested in a peaceful outcome, when their stated purpose is the destruction of the United States and Israel, and eventually anything not Muslim? Where in there do you see ANY room for diplomacy? THAT is what I mean when I (not others who post, I cannot speak for them) say *head in the sand.* Do you actually believe that diplomacy will work with these people? I do not for the life of me understand how you can look at the history of terrorist attacks, their escalation, and say that somehow talking with these people will make a difference. Perhaps you can clue me in on the possibility that you see in diplomatically stopping the terrorist threat? How that could possibly happen? I would be willing to listen.
You said: I see those as strength of character, the courage of conviction and fairhandness.
I say: Strength of character is also standing tall and saying *your plan of terrorizing and separating this country and her people will not work. If you plan to attack us, know that we will fight back.* Strength of character is also not kowtowing to bullies. Common sense tells you bullies do not respond to diplomacy. Bullies win by intimidation, sneak attacks, and fear. It is impossible to negotiate with these people, because you cannot give them what they want. Saddam violated how many UN resolutions before 9-11? His word was worthless, absolutely worthless. Simply because YOU desire that kind of diplomacy and YOU have those kinds of values, if they are absent on the other side, you might as well chop your own head off and save them the trouble. Yes, I remember how you said you did not fear having your head chopped off. The trouble is, it is not just YOU they are after, and your seeming lack of caring for what happens to your country and other Americans is pretty darn scary. THAT is what I mean when I say the left has become about me, me, me and the heck with the rest of you. And look at Kim Jong Il and Admadinejad...diplomacy is really working with them, isn't it? When are you and the left going to learn, for it to work both sides have to WANT it to work.
Please demonstrate to me how terrorists will respond to courage of conviction or fair-handedness. When did they ever show fair-handedness? They make cowardly craven attacks designed to murder as many as possible in one strike. There is no courage or fair-handedness in 9-11, in the Achille Lauro, in Beirut marine bombing, in the Cole, and the gazillion suicide bombings over the years, the embassy bombings...where in ANY of that do you think diplomacy would work? They are not of a country with whom you CAN negotiate. And you are willing to just keep the courage of your convictions, even knowing there is no possibility that will work, and allow yourself AND your fellow Americans who might not be like-minded to be murdered? And that is okay with you? No, sorry, I will NEVER understand that.
You said: No need for you to comment on this because I already know **I have my head in the sand** and do not need to hear you tell me again what a naive person I am, but they are my beliefs and I honor them and are proud of them because, no matter what happens, they are good and decent values and Iraq will not change my mind or my values.
I say: I do not believe you are naive. I believe you just choose to ignore and or rationalize what does not fit with your stated ideals, and I believe you have some noble ideas, and perhaps with a strong charactered, fair-handed enemy those ideals would be fruitful. They are not. They are the antithesis of strong character and fair-handedness.
But, I am sure you will be relieved to hear, I get it. I will not be foisting my opinion on you any longer, because as you say, there is no changing your mind, which is EXACTLY the point I am trying to make. As married as you are to your ideals, multiply that by about a gazillion and you know how the terrorists are married to their ideals. THEY are not going to change THEIR minds either, and we are NOT going to change THEIR minds by talking to them about strength of character and fair-mindedness.
And the rest of the story is that as long as there are still some Americans like us remaining, who are willing to go to the mat for America and ALL Americans, perhaps you will not ever have to give up the country and the way of life that let you form and hold those ideals.
You're welcome.
God bless.
never say cinch till the final tally is in!
x
She didn't have to be leading going into the final round to win, obviously!
There wouldn't be much point in the final round otherwise, would there? All five contestants in the final round are there because they have high enough scores that any of them can win.
About the same damage Clinton did in his final months after the election (NM)
x
Final roll call House on bailout bill. sm
http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2008/roll681.xml
Please print it and remember those who voted to pick your pocket. They are clearly operating outside the consent of the people.
Sarah Palin fans are as whack as Palin.
Even John McCain's top adviser referred to Sarah Palin as a whack job.
Vote McCain and Palin! -oh and why does Palin
nm
Palin over Biden any day. Make fun of Palin all you
nm
Sarah Palin makes Sarah Palin look stupid!
The Democrats did not make Sarah Palin look stupid. Sarah Palin does a fine job of looking stupid without help from anyone. All she has to do is open her mouth!
Palin might not have taken it anywhere
but it is not her job to seek taking books off shelves, period. And you don't know if this is "political crap" or not because the media has not been permitted to ask her any questions. Once voters get these answers, then they will have the necessary information with which to make a decision as to whether or not this is who we/they want in office. I, for one, am not going to skew her with a pitchfork or defend her as I have no information with which to do so, either way. I need answers to these questions that have been floating out there. Questions and answers are very important in our form of government called democracy which is for the people, of the people and by the people. Freedom comes with a gigantic amount of responsibility, is not to be taken lightly, and is very fragile.
and Palin
accused Hillary of whining when she protested. Talk about unity among women.
What Palin said is exactly right....
we haven't fought Iraqis since Baghdad fell. We have been fighting the insurgency "Al Qaeda In Iraq" since then. And if I am not mistaken, AL Qaeda was responsible for 9-11.
It appears there are others than Sarah Palin who are "clueless."
Sarah Palin is not running for President. Obama is. ANd he has been running for 18 months. If he had done an interview 3 weeks into it, he would have done no better than she did, and probably worse.
lol.
Why would Palin do this? sm
She banned reporters from her 1st meeting with world leaders. Only allowed access to photographers and a television crew. I'm just curious as to if anybody read as to why.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080923/ap_on_el_pr/palin_leaders
Now if only Palin would say....
for the love of Pete.....LOL! I say that all the time and get teased horribly for it. 
Palin
Palin has many shady contacts also:
She has backed the Alaska Independence Party. Its platform calls for the defense of "states rights," to "seek the complete repatriation of the public lands, held by the federal government, to the state and people of Alaska in conformance with Article 1, Section 8, Clause 17, of the federal constitution." Basically, the AIP wants a vote on secession. The AIP says that Gov. Sarah Palin used to be a member of the party. Earlier this year, Palin recorded a welcoming address to the AIP's convention.
Officials of the Alaskan Independence Party say that Palin was once so independent, she was once a member of their party, which, since the 1970s, has been pushing for a legal vote for Alaskans to decide whether or not residents of the 49th state can secede from the United States.
And while McCain's motto -- as seen in a new TV ad -- is "Country First," the AIP's motto is the exact opposite -- "Alaska First -- Alaska Always."
In an interview of extremists Mark Chryson and Steve Stoll helped launch Palin’s political career in Alaska, and in return had influence over policy. “Her door was open,” says Chryson — and still is.
So, this is group is just one of her past supporters. They helped her get where she is today. And dont even get me started on McCain.
Palin
Just dont try to marry into her family and then divorce because then she will come after you with all her power that the VP will give her. Talk about abuse of power! They they flat out refuse to testify? I didnt know anyone had that right.
Palin
Because SHE wanted to be there.
What exactly is it about Palin you don't like?
I like the fact that Mccain chose her after only meeting her once or twice. If he had chosen someone he has known for 20 years or so or someone he is buddies with, everyone would have jumped on him for choosing a friend.
And please don't get on about how she talks, etc., (not just saying this to you gourdpainter, to everyone) how many people have actually looked past how she talks and what she has named her children to what her stance is on the issues?
You can make fun of her for saying seeing Russia from Alaska is foreign policy experience (she WAS joking!) but then Obama turned around and said there are 57 states... they all make gaffes.
I think that she is a strong woman and she has a good moral base. Yes, her daughter got pregnant, but really, did you all listen to your moms on everything? I know when I was a teenager I went to parties, drank, smoked, even though my mommy told me not too. You can tell your children everything, but believe me, they aren't going to listen to you! Not until they hit about 22 and go "oh crap, mom and dad WERE RIGHT!"
The fact that she brought her Down syndrome child into the world just shows how much love she has. It's nice to see her husband is so active in the raising of their children. I know quite a few dads who aren't. It goes to show she will have a good support group if she becomes VP.
As for her experience, we obviously need to throw the experience argument out this election since Biden and Mccain are about equal and Obama and Palin are about equal.
Also, everyone keeps talking about how they want change and don't want the same old politicians in the white house but then they want to harp on Palin and say "oh she was governor of Alaska, what does she know??" I think it would be refreshing to have someone that isn't from a big city and hasn't been in the Senate. I mean Biden has been there for what, ever? And so has Mccain. So maybe by having this "small town girl" to check him on some things will be good.
I think people just need to get off her case. Dems, if SNL was making fun of Obama every week, you would be furious, and a lot of people would claim racism, etc. I think it is sickening that ANY of our candidates have been reduced to a comedy routine in which they are portrayed in such a bad light. Regardless of what we think of them, our leaders need to be respected. If we can't respect them, then we need to vote them out.
I'm sorry, but if no one can admit that the liberal media has been very biased this election, they have been living under a rock. Even comedy shows, like SNL, Daily show, Colbert, etc have been very left sided. There is no longer any unbiased news. And then because maybe one or two sources go against the grain and lean right they are considered a poor source. That is totally unfair. We are supposed to believe everything the liberal news says, but not what the conservative news says? C'mon. You have to know by now when you watch the news NO MATTER WHO IS REPORTING you need to take it with a grain of salt!
Once again, this is no longer an election. It is a popularity contest. Sad.
Okay...first of all Palin can't
fart without the media reporting about it. LOL! I just do not see where you guys say she was being all sneaky. Did she steal the money from the RNC? NO....they gave it to her to buy clothes. Do you want a receipt of every thing the RNC has spent and who they have spent it on because if that is the case, we can request that of the DNC because I'm sure they have similar things they have paid for. At least Palin didn't say that the clothes were just in her closet like Obama said about Ayers just living in his neighborhood. I don't see where Palin has tried to hide anything and when it came out....she was honest about it. That is more than I can say for Mr. Obama who says he never heard Rev. Wright preach any message of hate in the 20 years he attended that church which is all I've ever heard out of Wright's mouth when he has been interviewed on TV.
Q&A re Palin
> > Question: What is America 's first line of missile
> > interceptor defense that protects the entire United States ?
> >
> > Answer: 49th Missile Defense Battalion of Alaska National Guard.
> >
> >
> >
> > Question: What is the ONLY National Guard unit on
> > permanent active duty?
> >
> > Answer: 49th Missile Defense Battalion of Alaska National Guard
> >
> >
> >
> > Question: Who is the Commander in Chief of the 49th Missile
> > Defense Battalion of Alaska National Guard?
> >
> > Answer: Governor Sarah Palin, Alaska
> >
> >
> >
> > Question: What U.S. governor is routinely briefed on
> > highly classified military issues, homeland security, and
> > counter terrorism?
> >
> > Answer: Governor Sarah Palin, Alaska
> >
> >
> >
> > Question: What U.S. governor has a higher classified
> > security rating than either candidate of the Democrat Party?
> > Answer: Governor Sarah Palin, Alaska
> >
> >
> > According to the Washington Post, she first met with McCain
> > in February, but nobody ever found out. This is a woman used
> > to keeping secrets. She can be entrusted with our national
> > security, because she already is.
> >
> > Now you know too, please, pass it on!
> >
> > ?
> >
> >
> >
> > Commander....
> >
> > 49th Missile Defense Battalion of Alaska National Guard
>
Go Palin ----NOT!
http://alaskareport.com/news98/x61620_rape_palin.htm
Maybe neither she nor Palin consider her to be in ...
"a fix." What if your daughter chose life? Gonna send her to Alaska to Palin?
What I see Palin as....
is an absolute insult to women in this country. She was simply put on the ticket to try to get Hillary supporters, and seemingly was okay with that. Women have worked just as hard as any other minority in this country for equality. Regardless of that, she ran on a ticket that did not support equal wages for equal work (check out McCain's record), was against choice when it came to abortion, would like to overturn R v Wade, and every time she opens her mouth ignorance abounds.
No, I don't want her to succeed because I would hate for any other country to think she is actually a portrayal of women in this country. She is an absolute joke.
Palin fun...(sm)
Point and click on everything -- several times (especially animals behind doors)
http://www.palinaspresident.us/
ROFL
Me Too -Go McCain and Palin!
nm
Palin does have brains.
She could not have gotten where she is today without having brains especially since she started in the PTA and moved up. She didn't have mommy or daddy in politics bringing her name up every chance they got. She is a very admirable women, IMHO. I would be very proud to have her as VP. A woman who can raise 5 kids and be a governor......that is just remarkable. I admire the way she still had her youngest son even though the doctors told her he would have Down syndrome. She isn't afraid to stand up for what she believes. She is more of a real person to me. She hunts, she is a hockey mom. She is no b!mbo. And lastly....she is a beautiful woman and I'm not just speaking about her outer appearance. She cares. She is for the people. I think McCain made a great choice when he picked her.
Go McCain and Palin 2008!!! 
Everyone is talking about Palin? NOT.
McCain's self-destructive stunt sucked the air out of nothing. The big speech is still resonating for those 84,000 who filled the seats of the Mile High stadium and the 38,000,000 TV viewing audience. We have all noticed the deafening silence from the McCain camp on the 19 points Obama raised in the big speech, which comes as no surprise since we are used to seeing republicans run in the opposite direction as fast as their feet can carry them when confronted with any sort of intellectual challenge. If you, your party and McCain want to make jokes instead of taking the real issues seriously, you will just be digging yourselves in deeper and deeper. In fact, let me loan you the shovel.
Just because you choose to wimp out in the face of intelligent dialogue on the very grave issues that our nation face, some of which have been raised in these posts, does not mean they have disappeared. It just means that they do not exist to you. All of the articulate posts that have appeared today have been ignored by the stupefied and responded to by the informed. The DNC does not have to tell PUMA anything, but the attitude behind such a comment is just another example of the misguided, miscalculated notions McCain employed when he made his VP selection. Then again, the republicans have always been a smug bunch who have a tendency to underestimate their opposition.
These are grown women (PUMA) who have minds of their own and have the sense to be just as insulted as the rest of our gender who are not supporting a party who will outsource their jobs 'til the cows come home, kill any initiatives that guarantee fair/equal pay for equal work, treat women like political cattle, use them as tokens to pump life into a dead campaign and select a woman who would submit herself to this blatant and transparent exploitation….all for the sake of a policy that would attempt to wrestle free choice away from women to control their own bodies and reproductive functions and cram right-wing Christian dogma down their throats.
Hillary supporters and women with brains don't take kindly to these policies, anymore than they subscribe to the NeoCon positions of the republicans' latest hand-picked celebrity. The hypocrisy is breath-taking. McCain has gambled away his experience card and his celebrity card and played the gender card, all the while accusing the Obama camp of playing the race card….a political stunt that is already backfiring right in his face, and we are only 36 hours into the aftermath.
Sarah Palin
Sarah Palin has just announced her 17-year-old daughter is pregnant and will be marrying the baby's father!
What I LIKE about Palin .... flame away
I like the fact that she is NOT a Washingtonian ..... Obama took a big hit with me - all that talk about change and then he picks Biden -- who has been in Washington most of his life, who does the Democrat double talk better than most!
I like the fact that she stands up for what she believes in and fights the big boys when necessary.
I like the fact she is a normal person .... sure, they have some money but .... she has problems and is dealing with them. Her husband is blue collar worker, and to me that is a plus.
Do I think she is ready to be VP? I have to do more thinking and soul searching about that ...
Be honest about it -- they both chose their running mates based on what they hoped would help them win the most votes ... not who they really wanted or thought was most qualified!!
I wanted a McCain/Lieberman ticket myself.
BUT....... she does NOT deserve the crap she is taking. That is what is wrong with politics in this country.
The people who COULD do the best job -- WON'T EVEN RUN. They won't subject themselves to the BS they have to endure .....
JMHO .. I will be watching, reading and listening over the next few months. Tough decisions to be made!
Go McCAIN and PALIN!
nm
Then we would be as well off with Palin as with Obama...
in fact, better. He doesn't have any foreign policy experience either...nor any executive experience...has never run anything in his life. He is a rookie on all levels. She has made executive decisions. She ran a state with a big state budget. She made executive decisions every day. Obama has made zero. She is already ahead of him. So...what was your point again?
Does this bother you about Palin?
The first time she applied for a passport was in 2007.
Palin/Biden
I don't know, I heard Obama denounce bringing the kids into the politics and he seemed pretty forceful and pretty snarly himself. My opinion is the kids ought to be off limits but when the candidates (both of them) trot them out, that takes the "hands off" out of play for me. They can't have it both ways. If they really care about the kids, leave them out of the spotlight TOTALLY. Although I admit the little girl licking her hand and smoothing the baby's hair was pretty endearing..............BUT fairplay, don't show that and then say that it isn't fair to talk about the unwed daughter's pregnancy....so leave her off the camera, don't trot in the boyfriend to participate too. Ridiculous!
Palin family...
They looked great to me. Cindy McCain reached for the child, it wasn't handed off to her. Bristol looked anything but terrified. She looked proud of her mother. And well she should be. She is running for VP of the United States. I thought it was especially sweet with the little girl licked her hand to smooth down the baby's cowlick. Circus freaks are the last words I would use to describe this family.
Palin not stonewalling....
In response to Palin’s statement that she had nothing to hide, in August 2008 the Alaska Legislature hired Steve Branchflower to investigate Palin and her staff for possible abuse of power surrounding the dismissal, though lawmakers acknowledge that “Monegan and other commissioners serve at will, meaning they can be fired by Palin at any time.”[52] The investigation is being overseen by Democratic State Senator Hollis French, who says that the Palin administration has been cooperating and thus subpoenas are unnecessary.[53] The Palin administration itself was the first to release an audiotape of Bailey making inquiries about the status of the Wooten investigation.[50][54]
Sarah Palin was asking because
the voters were concerned about the language in some of them and felt it inappropriate for their children. This was to help keep bad language away from children. Not get rid of them because a certain race, nationality, etc. wrote them. The Nazis burned books written by Jews. This is entirely different.
As for my supposed untruth about Obama being Muslim at one time:
Obama's Kenyan birth father: In Islam, religion passes from the father to the child. Barack Hussein Obama, Sr.
Obama's Indonesian family: His stepfather, Lolo Soetoro, was also a Muslim. In fact, as Obama's half-sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng explained to Jodi Kantor of the New York Times: "My whole family was Muslim, and most of the people I knew were Muslim." An Indonesian publication, the Banjarmasin Post reports a former classmate, Rony Amir, recalling that "All the relatives of Barry's father were very devout Muslims."
The Catholic school: Nedra Pickler of the Associated Press reports that "documents showed he enrolled as a Muslim" while at a Catholic school during first through third grades. Kim Barker of the Chicago Tribune confirms that Obama was "listed as a Muslim on the registration form for the Catholic school."
Koran class: In his autobiography, Dreams of My Father, Obama relates how he got into trouble for making faces during Koranic studies, thereby revealing he was a Muslim, for Indonesian students in his day attended religious classes according to their faith.
Mosque attendance: Obama's half-sister recalled that the family attended the mosque "for big communal events." Watson learned from childhood friends that "Obama sometimes went to Friday prayers at the local mosque." Barker found that "Obama occasionally followed his stepfather to the mosque for Friday prayers." One Indonesia friend, Zulfin Adi, states that Obama "was Muslim. He went to the mosque. I remember him wearing a sarong" (a garment associated with Muslims).
This along with his association with sketchy people including Ayers and his 20-year attendance to a church that promotes hates messages.....I feel I am justly right to be concerned about Obama and have reason to not trust him one iota.
I am not even religious. I like Palin because she is
nm
Palin - racist?
Alaskans Speak (In A Frightened Whisper): Palin Is “Racist, Sexist, Vindictive, And Mean”
 by Charley James –
“So Sambo beat the btch!”
This is how Republican Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin described Barack Obama’s win over Hillary Clinton to political colleagues in a restaurant a few days after Obama locked up the Democratic Party presidential nomination.
According to Lucille, the waitress serving her table at the time and who asked that her last name not be used, Gov. Palin was eating lunch with five or six people when the subject of the Democrat’s primary battle came up. The governor, seemingly not caring that people at nearby tables would likely hear her, uttered the slur and then laughed loudly as her meal mates joined in appreciatively.
“It was kind of disgusting,” Lucille, who is part Aboriginal, said in a phone interview after admitting that she is frightened of being discovered telling folks in the “lower 48” about life near the North Pole.
Then, almost with a sigh, she added, “But that’s just Alaska.”
Racial and ethnic slurs may be “just Alaska” and, clearly, they are common, everyday chatter for Palin.
Besides insulting Obama with a Step-N’-Fetch-It, “darkie musical” swipe, people who know her say she refers regularly to Alaska’s Aboriginal people as “Arctic Arabs” – how efficient, lumping two apparently undesirable groups into one ugly description – as well as the more colourful “mukluks” along with the totally unimaginative “f**king Eskimo’s,” according to a number of Alaskans and Wasillians interviewed for this article.
But being openly racist is only the tip of the Palin iceberg. According to Alaskans interviewed for this article, she is also vindictive and mean. We’re talking Rove mean and Nixon vindictive.
No wonder the vast sea of white, cheering faces at the Republican Convention went wild for Sarah: They adore the type, it’s in their genetic code. So much for McCain’s pledge of a “high road” campaign; Palin is incapable of being part of one.
Tough Getting People Who Know Her to Talk
It’s not easy getting people in the 49th state to speak critically about Palin – especially people in Wasilla, where she was mayor. For one thing, with every journalist in the world calling, phone lines into Alaska have been mostly jammed since Friday; as often as not, a recording told me that “all circuits are busy” or numbers just wouldn’t ring. I should think a state that’s been made richer than God by oil could afford telephone lines and cell towers for everyone.
On a more practical level, many people in Alaska, and particularly Wasilla, are reluctant to speak or be quoted by name because they’re afraid of her as well as the state Republican Party machine. Apparently, the power elite are as mean as the winters.
“The GOP is kind of like organized crime up here,” an insurance agent in Anchorage who knows the Palin family, explained. “It’s corrupt and arrogant. They’re all rich because they do private sweetheart deals with the oil companies, and they can destroy anyone. And they will, if they have to.”
“Once Palin became mayor,” he continued, “She became part of that inner circle.”
Like most other people interviewed, he didn’t want his name used out of fear of retribution. Maybe it’s the long winter nights where you don’t see the sun for months that makes people feel as if they’re under constant danger from “the authorities.” As I interviewed residents it began sounding as if living in Alaska controlled by the state Republican Party is like living in the old Soviet Union: See nothing that’s happening, say nothing offensive, and the political commissars leave you alone. But speak out and you get disappeared into a gulag north of the Arctic Circle for who-knows-how-long.
Alright, that’s an exaggeration brought on by my getting too little sleep and building too much anger as I worked this article. But there’s ample evidence of Palin’s vindictive willingness to destroy people she sees as opponents. Just ask the Wasilla town administrator she hired before firing him because he rebelled against the way Palin demanded he do his job, or the town librarian who refused to hold the book burning Walpurgisnach Mayor Palin demanded.
Ironically, Palin was pushed into hiring the administrator by the party poobahs who helped get her elected after she got herself into trouble over a number of precipitous firings which gave rise to a recall campaign.
“People who fought her attempt to oust the librarian are on her enemies list to this day,” states Anne Kilkenny, a Wasilla resident and one of the few Alaskans willing to speak on-the-record, for attribution, about Palin. In fact, Kilkenny actually circulated an e-mail letter about Palin that was verified and printed by The Nation.
For good measure, Palin booted the Wasilla police chief from office because, she told a local newspaper, he “intimidated” her.
Running on Extreme Fringe Evangelical Views
Sarah Palin drew early attention from state GOP apparatchiks when, during her first mayoral campaign, she ran on an anti-abortion platform. Normally, political parties do not get involved in Alaskan municipal elections because they are nonpartisan. But once word of her extreme fringe evangelical views made its way to Juneau, the state capitol, state Republicans tossed some money behind her campaign.
Once in office, Palin set out to build a machine that chewed up anyone who got in her way. The good, Godly Christian turns out to be anything but.
“She’s doesn’t like different opinions and she refuses to compromise,” Kilkenny notes. “When she was mayor, she fought ideas that weren’t hers. Worse, ideas weren’t evaluated on their merits but on the basis of who proposed them.”
Sound familiar? Palin may well be Dik Cheney’s reincarnate.
Something else has a familiar Republican ring to it: Her tax policies, and a “refund surpluses but borrow for the future” attitude.
According to Kilkenny and others in Wasilla as well as Juneau, Palin reduced progressive property taxes for businesses while mayor and increased a regressive sales tax which even hits necessities such as food. The tax cuts she promoted in her St. Paul speech actually benefited large corporate property owners far more than they benefited residents. Indeed, Kilkenny insists that many Wasilla home owners actually saw their tax bill skyrocket to make up for the shortfall. Two other Wasillian’s with whom I spoke said property taxes on their modest, three bedroom homes rose during the Palin regime.
To an outsider, it would seem hard to do, but an oil-rich town with zero debt on the day she was inaugurated mayor was left saddled with $22 million of debt by the time she moved away to become governor – especially since nothing was spent on things such as improving the city’s infrastructure or building a much-needed sewage treatment plant. So what did Mayor Palin spend the taxpayer’s money on, if not fixing streets and scrubbing sewage?
For starters, she remodelled her office. Several times over, as a matter of fact.
Then Palin spent $1 million on an unnecessary, new park that no one other than the contractors and Palin seemed to want. Next, Sarah doled out more than $15 million of taxpayer money for a sports complex that she shoved through even though the city did not own clear title to the land; now, seven years later, the matter is still in litigation and lawyer fees are said to be close to at least half of the original estimated price of the facility.
She also worked hard to get voters approval of a $5.5 million bond proposal for roads that could have been built without borrowing. Anchorage may not be the center of the financial universe but, like good Republicans everywhere, Sarah Palin knows how to please Alaskan bankers and bond dealers.
For good measure, she turned Wasilla into a wasteland of big box stores and disconnected parking lots.
Sarah Barracuda
En route to the governor’s igloo, Palin managed to land what Anne Kilkenny says is the plumb political appointment in the state: Chair of Alaska’s Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (OGCC), a $122,400 per year patronage slot with no real authority to do anything other than hold meetings. She took the job despite having no background in energy issues and, as it turned out, not liking the work.
“She hated the job,” an OGCC staff member who is not authorized to speak with the news media told me. “She hated the hours and she hated what little work there was to do. But she couldn’t figure out a way to get out of the thing without offending Gov. Murkowski” and the state Republican Party regulars, some of whom were pssed off they didn’t get appointed.
But ever the opportunist, Palin quickly concocted a way. First, she waged a campaign with the local news media claiming that the position was overpaid and should be abolished – despite the fact that she lobbied Murkowski hard to get it. Then, mounting what she saw as a white horse, Palin raised a cloud of dust by resigning from the OGCC and riding away with an undeserved reputation as a “reformer.”
But when a local reporter dared to suggest that the reformer Empress has no clothes, Palin tried to get her fired.
“She came at me like I was trying to steal her kids,” said the targeted reporter, who now works for an oil company in Anchorage. “I heard she had a wild temper and vicious mean streak but it’s nothing like you can imagine until she turns it on you.”
Not surprising since some of her high school classmates still openly call her “Sarah Barracuda,” Kilkenny insists.
Still, as a Republican Party hack Palin managed to get herself elected running under the false flag of a “reformer.”
And what did she bring to the job? No legislative experience other than a city council of a village of 5,000 people, which is smaller than some high schools in Chicago. Little hands-on supervisory or managerial experience; after all, she needed to hire a city administrator to run Wasilla. No executive experience, except for almost being recalled as mayor. A philosophy of setting public policy based on one word: No.
And what has she done since winning the job?
According to Kilkenny, nothing. Well, nothing other than suggesting the state’s multi-multi-million dollar, oil-generated surplus be distributed to residents and finance future state needs by borrowing money. Gee, doesn’t that sound precisely what George Bush did with the surplus he inherited from Bill Clinton in 2001 and we all know in what great shape Bush’s economic policies left the nation.
It may explain why, when asked by reporters, including me, what she thought about Palin being picked to be McCain’s running mate, her mother-in-law replied with a sardonic, “What has Sarah done to qualify her to be vice president?” Of course, when the woman – said by many I spoke with to be well-respected in Wasilla – was running to succeed Palin as mayor, Sarah refused to endorse her, so that may explain the family tension.
As Governor, Palin gave the legislature no direction and budget guidelines, according to the chair of a legislative committee. But then she staged a huge grandstand play of line-item vetoing countless projects, calling them pork. “They were restored because of public outcry and legislative action,” the aide said. “She vetoed them mostly because she had no idea what they were or why they were important.”
But it was enough to get the McCain, who is mostly unobservant of the world around him anyway, to think Palin has a reputation as being “anti-pork”.
In fact, Juneau observers note that Palin kept her hand stuck out as far as anyone for pork ladled out by indicted Sen. Ted Stevens. She only opposed the “bridge to nowhere” after it became clear that it would be politically unwise to keep supporting it, these same insiders assert. Then, Palin fell back on her old habits and publicly humiliated him for pork-barrel politics.
As for being “ready on day one” to be commander in chief, despite the repeated public claims she’s made, the Alaska National Guard commander said that, “she has made no command decisions, other than sending some troops to help fight a few brush fires and march in parades at county fairs.”
“Sambo Beat the Btch”
“Palin is a conniving, manipulative, a**hole,” someone who thinks these are positive traits in a governor told me, summing up Palin’s tenure in Alaska state and local politics.
“She’s a bigot, a racist, and a liar,” is the more blunt assessment of Arnold Gerstheimer who lived in Alaska until two years ago and is now a businessman in Idaho.
Juneau is a small town; everybody knows everyone else,” he adds. “These stories about what she calls blacks and Eskimos, well, anyone not white and good looking actually, were around long before she became a glint in John McCain’s rheumy eyes. Why do I know they’re true? Because everyone who isn’t aboriginal or Indian in Alaska talks that way.”
“Sambo beat the btch” may be everyday language up in the bush. Whether it – and the outlook, politics and worldview Palin reflects when she says such things in public – should be part of a presidential campaign is another thing altogether. The comment says as much about McCain as it does about Palin, and it says a lot of things about Americans who overlook such statements (as well as her record) and vote anyway for McCain.
by Charley James
U R right - Palin is just a prop
z
And McCain/Palin's could be
;D
Palin and cronyism. sm
Is it true or has anyone else read that when Palin was elected as gov. she fired people and hired friends, who otherwise would have no experience or credentials to do what they were hired for. The article I mentioned said at least 5 and it gave a specific incident of a friend she hired to run the $2-mill. Agriculture dept. This friend was previously a real estate agent and cited her qualifications as a "childhood love of cows". If this is true then Palin obviously is all for cronyism and I suspect that if they are elected it will be business as usual.
If this isn't true please site the link or source where it was refuted. There is so much crap out there that sometime it is really hard to know what is valid or not.
Pelosi and Palin
Nancy Pelosi has NO charisma but she is both knowledgeabe and competent. Both parties agree. Even the diehard Republlicans in both houses are embarrassed by John McCain's choice of Sarah Palin and many are now calling for her to be replaced. I genuinely feel badly for her.........she was chosen only to prove he is a "maverick" and did not strictly follow party lines.She was not given much time to prepare before being thrust in the spotlight. This will probably destroy what could have been a bright future for her.
Seriously, did anyone see her interview with Katie Couric? She has to get "her head arount Putin's"??? I was genuinely embarrassed for her.
 I also wondered can't she just look in his eyes like George Bushi did and see his soul?
Pelosi and Palin
I will NEVER post again to this board. Such vitriol from some of the posters and it is not worth it. I do not like the feeling of being attacked for a simple statement.
We all have our own personal beliefs and opinions.I am just wondering, though, how many people running for a powerful office are routinely filmed being blessed by their pastors for "protection against witches".
I also wonder how many "Christians" would slash their state's Special Olympic budget and then objectify their own special-needs child for political gain.
What a lot of pressure Palin had on her...sm
last night. I really feel sorry for her. She knew that John McCain was finished if she did not perform last night. Even though I am not a fan, as a woman, I was rooting for her. Me thinks the men of the party will discard her when she is no longer useful, i.e., a Democratic victory in November. I think she did her best, and considering everything, she did a good job. Now McCain needs to take control and tell us specifically why we should vote for him. I am looking forward to the next two debates.
McCain and Palin.......
No, I was talkig about "I'll help the poor, needy, and uneducated" Obama. That man is clueless as to what keeps most people poor, and I am NOT talking about those who really try and have fallen on hard times for reasons beyond their control.
I'm talking about the lazy souls that Obama knows will vote for him because they know he will continue the social programs, the free handouts, which will only continue to keep them poor and feeling entitled, with no motivation to do anything else for themselves. He talks a big talk like throwing more money at those kids is going to help their situation. He needs to get with the program...more money won't do a thing to help educate those children. Taking them from parents who are worthless might though, then the child might actually be able to make something of themselves and won't feel entitled and be fooled into those Obama scare tactics of how they NEED the government to take care of them. You better believe, millions will vote for him because they are afraid their monthly check might stop.
Palin is encouraging this...
http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/story.html?id=2e893ff3-04bf-4184-8ab6-41fe69f75532
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