What happened to Troopergate?

I'm surprised by the lack of coverage on the Sarah Palin Abuse of Power story.
Friday, when the report was released, CNN seemed to be confused by the findings. Obviously, they didn't read it, but relied on the spin of their 'political contributors' (instead of a legal analyst) to tell the story... and it seems they didn't read it either. Since that embarrassing evening, CNN has been strangely quiet; making no almost no mention of it. It seems they'd already blocked their time with the 'Race on Race' story, and weren't going to cover breaking news after flubbing the story out the starting gate.

Rachel Maddow on MSNBC got it right that night.. she read findings directly from the report on the air. Unfortunately, others didn't seem to pick it up. The other news sources were tying this whole thing into one neat package the way the McCain campaign was spinning it; focusing on the 2nd finding's one sentence saying firing Monegan was within her discretion even if the Trooper Wooten issue played a part in the decision.

It seems the Republican spin machine has managed to cloud the issue sufficiently that the weekend news shows didn't even make MENTION of it. WHAT'S GOING ON ???

Here's the specifics - and this is completely clear to anyone who reads the actual report:

There were 2 major findings:
1st - That Governor Palin was guilty of Abuse of Power, and violating the public trust (a violation of state law; ie. criminal) by pressuring, and allowing her Husband to use the office of the Governor to pressure various members of the Alaska State Troopers, and various state officials and personnel agencies to fire Trooper Mike Wooten, her sister's ex-husband.

2nd - That the firing of Walt Monegan was legal, in spite of the fact that his refusal to fire Trooper Wooten likely contributed to the decision.

Now, the McCain campaign and Gov. Palin keep pointing to the 2nd finding - and claim that this exonerates Palin of any wrongdoing. They intentionally combine this with the Abuse of Power finding, to confuse the issues. They are clearly spelled out in the report as separate issues.

The 1st finding is a violation of Alaska State law, and is an impeachable offense. Abuse of Power is a very serious charge. No matter how much the McCain spin team ignore and refuse to address this issue, it is a fact.

Palin's lawyers know it's serious. They issued a 3 page document contesting the findings, claiming that the ethics statute requires financial gain. The report already addresses that point, specifically refuting the 'financial' aspect as a requirement of the law.

The funny thing is looking through the deposition transcripts, it was so heavy handed that it's almost comical. There was NO consideration for what might happen if it were to come to public light; even though the Palin's and others acting on their behalf were warned of the possible legal issues with their continuing to press about a closed case.

Finally there is an article on Time Online now that covers thing pretty well.

I'm waiting to see if the Alaska legislature decides to take further action. Don't be surprised if they wait until after November 4th. If McCain/Palin win, it becomes moot, as she will no longer be Governor. If not, Alaska will be able to clean up the embarrassing mess without the glare and scrutiny the national spotlight.

The Pastor that clashed with Palin

So if you've been following the blog, you've seen the post that talks about Palin's attempt to ban books from the public library in Wasilla.

This article by David Talbot is about an author of one of those books. - Howard Bess

Quoted in entirety, it's important reading, especially since it provides a broader context that helps to understand what Sarah Palin is all about; and that this censorship attempt was not out of context with her other activities; but just one component of a strong fundamentalist/evangelical view that is integral to her decision making as a government official.

Sept. 15, 2008 WASILLA, Alaska -- The Wasilla Assembly of God, the evangelical church where Sarah Palin came of age, was still charged with excitement on Sunday over Palin's sudden ascendance. Pastor Ed Kalnins warned his congregation not to talk with any journalists who might have been lurking in the pews -- and directly warned this reporter not to interview any of his flock. But Kalnins and other speakers at the service reveled in Palin's rise to global stardom.

It confirmed, they said, that God was making use of Wasilla. "She will take our message to the world!" rejoiced an Assembly of God youth ministry leader, as the church band rocked the high-vaulted wooden building with its electric gospel.

That is what scares the Rev. Howard Bess. A retired American Baptist minister who pastors a small congregation in nearby Palmer, Wasilla's twin town in Alaska's Matanuska Valley, Bess has been tangling with Palin and her fellow evangelical activists ever since she was a Wasilla City Council member in the 1990s. Recently, Bess again found himself in the spotlight with Palin, when it was reported that his 1995 book, "Pastor, I Am Gay," was among those Palin tried to have removed from the Wasilla Public Library when she was mayor.

"She scares me," said Bess. "She's Jerry Falwell with a pretty face."

"At this point, people in this country don't grasp what this person is all about. The key to understanding Sarah Palin is understanding her radical theology."

Bess -- a fit-looking, 80-year-old man in a gray University of Illinois sweatshirt and blue jeans – spoke with me over coffee at the Vagabond Blues, a cafe in Palmer with a stunning view of the nearby snow-capped Chugach Mountains. The retired minister moved to the Mat-Su Valley with his wife, Darlene, in 1987, after his outspoken defense of gay rights at Baptist churches in the Santa Barbara, Calif., area and Anchorage landed him in trouble with church officials. In the Mat-Su Valley, Bess plunged into community activism, helping launch an assortment of projects, from an arts council to a shelter for the mentally disabled.

Inevitably, his work brought him into conflict with Palin and other highly politicized Christian fundamentalists in the valley. "Things got very intense around here in the '90s -- the culture war was very hot here," Bess said. "The evangelicals were trying to take over the valley. They took over the school board, the community hospital board, even the local electric utility. And Sarah Palin was in the direct center of all these culture battles, along with the churches she belonged to."

Bess' first run-in with Palin's religious forces came when he decided to write his book, "Pastor, I Am Gay." The book was the result of a theological journey that began in the 1970s when Bess was asked for guidance by a closeted homosexual in his Santa Barbara congregation. After deep reflection on the subject, Bess came to the conclusion that "gay people were not sick, nor they were special sinners."

In his book, Bess suggests that gays have a divine mission. "Look back at the life of our Lord Jesus. He was misunderstood, deserted, unjustly accused, and cruelly killed. Yet we all confess that it was the will of God, for by his wounds we are healed ... Could it be that the homosexual, obedient to the will of God, might be the church's modern day healer-messiah?"

When it was published in 1995, Bess' book caused an immediate storm in the Mat-Su Valley, an evangelical stronghold dotted with storefront churches. Conservative ministers targeted the book, and the only bookstore in the valley that dared to stock it -- Shalom Christian Books and Gifts – soon dropped it after the owner was barraged with angry phone calls. The Frontiersman, the local newspaper that ran a column by Bess for seven years, fired him and ran a vicious cartoon that suggested even drooling child molesters would be welcomed by Bess' church.

And after she became mayor of Wasilla, according to Bess, Sarah Palin tried to get rid of his book from the local library. Palin now denies that she wanted to censor library books, but Bess insists that his book was on a "hit list" targeted by Palin. "I'm as certain of that as I am that I'm sitting here. This is a small town, we all know each other. People in city government have confirmed to me what Sarah was trying to do."

Soon after the book controversy, Bess found himself again at odds with Palin and her fellow evangelicals. In 1996, evangelical churches mounted a vigorous campaign to take over the local hospital's community board and ban abortion from the valley. When they succeeded, Bess and Dr. Susan, a Palmer OB-GYN, fought back, filing suit on behalf of a local woman who had been forced to travel to Seattle for an abortion. The case was finally decided by the Alaska Supreme Court, which ruled that the hospital must provide valley women with the abortion option.

At one point during the hospital battle, passions ran so hot that local antiabortion activists organized a boisterous picket line outside Dr. Lemagie's office, in an unassuming professional building across from Palmer's Little League field. According to Bess and another community activist, among the protesters trying to disrupt the physician's practice that day was Sarah Palin.

Another valley activist, Philip Munger, says that Palin also helped push the evangelical drive to take over the Mat-Su Borough school board. "She wanted to get people who believed in creationism on the board," said Munger, a music composer and teacher. "I bumped into her once after my band played at a graduation ceremony at the Assembly of God. I said, 'Sarah, how can you believe in creationism - your father's a science teacher.' And she said, 'We don't have to agree on everything.'

"I pushed her on the earth's creation, whether it was really less than 7,000 years old and whether dinosaurs and humans walked the earth at the same time. And she said yes, she'd seen images somewhere of dinosaur fossils with human footprints in them."

Munger also asked Palin if she truly believed in the End of Days, the doomsday scenario when the Messiah will return. "She looked in my eyes and said, 'Yes, I think I will see Jesus come back to earth in my lifetime.'"

Bess is unnerved by the prospect of Palin -- a woman whose mind is given to dogmatic certitude -- standing one step away from the Oval Office. "It's truly frightening that someone like Sarah has risen to the national level," Bess said. "Like all religious fundamentalists -- Christian, Jewish, Muslim -- she is a dualist. They view life as an ongoing struggle to the finish between good and evil. Their mind-set is that you do not do business with evil -- you destroy it. Talking with the enemy is not part of their plan. That puts someone like Obama on the side of evil.

"Forget all this chatter about whether or not she knows what the Bush doctrine is. That's trivial. The real disturbing thing about Sarah is her mind-set. It's her underlying belief system that will influence how she responds in an international crisis, if she's ever in that position, and has the full might of the U.S. military in her hands. She gave some indication of that thinking in her ABC interview, when she suggested how willing she would be to go to war with Russia.

"Alaskans liked that certitude when she was dealing with corrupt politicians and the oil industry -- and there is something admirable about it. But when you're dealing with a complex and dangerous world as commander in chief, that's a different story."

Bess said that he and fellow valley residents have long been charmed by the Sarah Palin who is now dazzling the American public. Despite their strong political differences, "she always has a warm greeting for me when we bump into each other. She's the most charming person you'll ever know."

"But," Bess adds, "this person's election would be a disaster for the country and the world."

A thought about Sarah Palin's Lipstick

Governor Palin has said that the difference between an Alaska Hockey Mom and a Pit Bull is lipstick.

She claims to be an Alaska Hockey Mom - a fact borne out by the image of her wearing lipstick;
although she's been described by various supporters as a Pit Bull as well.

But the question in my mind is:

Would it be a good thing to have either a Hockey Mom or a Pit Bull as President of the United States?

When I ponder that question, I think - Hell No !!

Would you want your neighborhood 'Hockey Mom' answering the phone at 3am? Would you want a 'Hockey Mom' representing our country at the G8 economic summit (does she know what that is?) or in a sensitive international crisis? I think not!! This Hockey Mom has been sequestered for almost 2 weeks since her name was announced - NO press interviews, NO public questions. She's getting educated so she'll know how to respond to questions - she's learning the republican 'line'. How would this work in the real world, where the demand is to respond in 'real time', when there is no 'script' to learn or 'my staff will get back to you' option?

The Pit Bull option took just slightly longer to consider, at least for me.
Some would argue that being a Pit Bull is a good quality for a President. I disagree.
A Pit Bull snaps at the least provocation - is stubborn and won't let go. A Pit Bull doesn't listen or want other opinions. A Pit Bull is all about strength, and nothing about finesse.
International relations and negotiations, foreign policy, and consensus building are not well suited to Pit Bulls. The status of our current problems in international relations after 8 years of the GWB 'big stick' is proof enough that being a Pit Bull is NOT the way to go.

Sorry folks, but however clever the speech connecting Hockey Mom to Pit Bull, I don't want either one of them anywhere close to the White House.

Give me a President with finesse; thoughtful and measured, confident yet willing to examine his own choices and respectful of alternative positions.

What is it that we are NOT hearing?

What is it that we are not hearing?

When was the last time you heard about a plan for providing Health Care in this country?

When was the last time you heard about a new energy plan ?

When was the last time you heard about a plan to fix the economic issues?

When was the last time you heard discussion about Global Warming?

When was the last time Environmental Issues were the subject of a speech?

Where do the Candidates (and their VP picks) stand on Sex Education?
Where do they stand on Abortion?
Where do they stand on Stem Cell research?
Where do they stand on Environmental Protection?

Have you noticed that ISSUES are no longer being talked about by the Candidates?

Since the end of the Republican Convention, the republicans have effectively shut down campaigning on the issues, and turned this into a 'Personality' race. Very few people know what Sarah Palin stands for, and according to republicans (and apparently a significant number of other undecided voters) it doesn't matter. They are now talking about 'change' but don't say what change that is - is it putting in conservative Supreme Court Judges who will overturn Roe v. Wade? Is it drilling in the ANWR - environment (and polar bears) be damned?
You hear only vague references to 'change' that goes undefined. They throw political jibes at Obama, forcing him to respond and pulling him off track.

I have to say, I did hear Joe Biden on a sound bite talk about Stem Cell research - and now some republicans are trying to spin it into an attack on Sarah Palin. That is the classic strategy - attack them on issues, and now they can call you Sexist, because they have a woman on the ticket - how shameful and transparent.

Quit whining about it. Sarah Palin isn't taking ANY questions - not even from the public at her numerous appearences next to John McCain, and certainly not from the press! Ask for an interview, and the argument given is that the press is being unfair to her, and so why should she do an interview? Another version of 'Sexist' - unfair to the woman candidate. They have sequestered her on the bus, and all she's been doing is repeating bits and pieces of the only speech she's given - one that was written by a Carl Rove protege. The republicans want to keep this about Sarah Palin - John McCain has faded into the background. No one knows her, and they are hoping to keep it that way until November 5.

Sarah Palin Supports Banning Books from a Public Library

OK.. I'm on a roll.. and up late working, so here's the last entry for the night.

There is a pattern of abuse of power in Governor Palin's political career. She is currently under investigation for abuse of power as Governor. The pattern, however has been there since her first term as Mayor of Wassila, as this article brings to light.
This is about as blatant as it gets. Not only the abuse of power, but the that as mayor, she wanted to ban books from the public library. Outrageous!!

I was investigating resources referenced on the Wiki for Sarah Palin and came across this NYT article. Please read the entire article, a snippet quoted below:

Ann Kilkenny, a Democrat who said she attended every City Council meeting in Ms. Palin’s first year in office, said Ms. Palin brought up the idea of banning some books at one meeting. “They were somehow morally or socially objectionable to her,” Ms. Kilkenny said.
The librarian, Mary Ellen Emmons, pledged to “resist all efforts at censorship,” Ms. Kilkenny recalled. Ms. Palin fired Ms. Emmons shortly after taking office but changed course after residents made a strong show of support.

The Twisting of the Truth - Wikipedia is Spun

One of the best things about the phenomena that is the Internet are sites like Wikipedia.org.
An amazing 'Encyclopedia' of the web, it depends on the Internet's millions of users and contributors to collect, categorize, organize and publish information. Generally self-policed, and governed by a set of rules that contributors follow; articles are vetted by providing referenced sources, and the peer review of other contributors both for form and content. It's really an amazing place to do research on just about any subject or person you can think of.

It is however, sad to see even a great resource like Wikipedia being 'spun' by the Republican technocrats. One only has to look at the bio of Sarah Palin. In the few days since being nominated by John McCain there have been many hundreds of edits to her biographical article. Granted, all of the intense interest is going to generate updates with further details to her 'Wiki', but when you actually look at the edits, and the hundreds of discussion thread entries associated with the article it becomes clear that a LOT of the edits are about removing, 'clarifying', and modifying the content of the existing article, not about adding new, further details.

The battle rages; turning the Wiki into the latest political talking point, campaign spin rag, instrument of politically motivated 'correctness'; cleansed of important, interesting information.
Sure, there are those that fight to keep all the information in the Wiki, and to be fair, there are comments and additions that get added that should be removed for lack of proper reference or obvious bias, but there is an obvious effort being made by some to 'clean up' the data, so it reads better for their newest VP candidate.

It's a sad day, and I can only hope that the structure that is Wikipedia will eventually survive the onslaught, and not become just another 'news' outlet or political mouthpiece for the spin doctors, no matter what their bent.

McCain Taps Lifetime NRA Member for VP, Shoots Self in Foot

John McCain pulled the trigger today and announced his choice for VP on the Republican ticket; Sarah Palin, Governor of Alaska. Proving that he is still capable of making major mistakes in spite of the recent obvious management of his political campaign by his 'handlers'; the failing McCain of the early primary days is back in force; pulling off a "Cheney" with a quick blast to his own foot.

McCain's has said directly that his primary criteria for his VP choice is their ability to step in and take over the role of President. Is this the best choice he can come up with?
This speaks directly to McCain's judgement when it comes to major decisions. He's impulsive, he's reckless, and he goes off half cocked. This major decision was made on the basis of a single meeting between McCain and Palin. It's a huge gamble. Is this what we can expect from him if he was in the White House? Is he going gamble our country with his reaction to a crisis?

This choice appears to be an obvious pandering to women voters by someone who is completely out of touch with Women's Issues. Somehow in his mind he thinks that a significant number of Hillary Clinton supporters who were not (at least prior to the Democratic Convention) in the Obama camp would rather vote for this "hockey mom" from a small town in Alaska.

Sorry John, but you got it wrong.
The only things working in Palin's favor at the moment, is her likability and that no one knows who she is. Sure, she's smart and well spoken, and may attract those who don't look any further; but what will happen when they look at her stand on the issues? She's as far away from Hillary Clinton as you can get. You don't give Hillary's supporters enough credit.

You might try to position her as being 'against big oil', because she's increased taxes on the oil companies. Read it more as 'sharing the wealth' of big oil then fighting them - Alaska depends on big oil tax payments to subsidize energy and government costs for Alaskans. She's been spending the tax dollars by funneling direct cash payments to her constituents. No wonder she's popular; and Alaskans are in favor of drilling in the ANWR. She's promoted an state economy that is addicted to oil company tax revenue; and bought her popularity with the people. That's the way things have been done in Alaska for a long time. She's hardly a reformer.

She supports expanding oil drilling - in the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve (yep.. she's to your right John..right there with GWB).

She's against putting Polar Bears on the Endangered Species List - why? because doing so might interfere with the construction of the Alaska Natural Gas Pipeline; another cash cow for the state of Alaska.

She's a sceptic on Global Warming (hi there GWB - again!) - in spite of the obvious changes in the state of Alaska.

She's Pro-Life -- (No Exceptions - not even for rape) -- yet.. she approved the hunting of wolves from helicopters, setting a $150 bounty for each killed wolf.

She's a Lifetime NRA member.

She believes in and supports the teaching Creationism in Public Schools. (Ala Pat Buchanan)

As for her political career - (from Wikipedia) Here's a sample of what we know to start:
2 three-year terms as Mayor of Wasilla, AK, a town of under 8,000 (about 1200 votes cast in the election!).

In January 1997, Palin fired the Wasilla police chief and library director. In response, a group of 60 residents calling themselves Concerned Citizens for Wasilla discussed attempting a recall campaign against Palin, but then decided against it. The fired police chief eventually sued Palin on the grounds that he was fired because he supported the campaign of Palin's opponent, but his suit was eventually dismissed when the judge ruled that Palin had the right under state law to fire city employees, even for political reasons.

While Mayor of Wasilla, Palin supported the presidential bid of conservative Pat Buchanan in 1996

As Governor:

Palin initially expressed support for the Gravina Island Bridge project,[21] commonly known outside the state as the "Bridge to Nowhere." However, once it had become a nationwide symbol of wasteful earmark spending and some Federal funding was lost, Palin cancelled the bridge. She was able to keep the Federal money[22] because Alaska's congressional delegation was unable to prevent the state of Alaska from having to pay for part of the bridge's construction.[23][24] She proposed to send Alaskans $1,200 directly, paid for partially by the money given to the state of Alaska that was to be spent on the "Bridge to Nowhere" .[42]

In 2007, Palin approved a $150 cash incentive for each Alaskan wolf to be killed by hunters in helicopters.[43] The incentive was called a "bounty" for killing wolves by Alaska Wildlife Alliance Director John Toppenberg.[43]

Public Safety Commissioner dismissal
Main article: Alaska Public Safety Commissioner dismissal
As of August 29, 2008, Palin is being investigated by an independent investigator hired by the Alaska Legislature[51] to determine whether she abused her power when she fired Public Safety Commissioner Walter Monegan. [52][53]
On July 11, 2008, Palin dismissed Monegan and instead offered him a position as executive director of the state Alcoholic Beverage Control Board, which he turned down.[54][55] Her power to fire him is not in dispute. Monegan alleged that his dismissal may have been tied to his reluctance to fire Palin's former brother-in law, an Alaska State Trooper, Mike Wooten, who had been involved in a divorce and child custody battle with Palin's sister, Molly McCann.[56] Governor Palin on the other hand expressed executive concerns regarding her appointed commissioner's performance and cooperation with her staff in pursuing her administration's goals. This investigation is ongoing and results are pending.

Quoting her directly:
"[A]s for that V.P. 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 V.P. does every day? I’m used to being very productive and working real hard in an administration. We want to make sure that that V.P. slot would be a fruitful type of position, especially for Alaskans and for the things that we’re trying to accomplish up here for the rest of the U.S., before I can even start addressing that question."

(Nice National perspective there - and so knowledgeable about National Office!)

In May 2008, Palin objected to the decision of Dirk Kempthorne, the Republican United States Secretary of the Interior, to list polar bears as an endangered species. She threatened a lawsuit to stop the listing amid fears that it would hurt oil and gas development in the bears' habitat off Alaska's northern and northwestern coasts. She also called the global warming theory supported by Kempthrone and most scientists "unreliable", and asserted that human activity has not caused Arctic ice to melt.

Wow.. what fodder for the news! McCain has confirmed Obama's criticism of the Republican ticket in dramatic fashion.
McCain must be banking on the short time between now and November 4 will not be enough time for people to really understand the risks of this person sitting next to a 72 year old president who has fought cancer 4 times.