parah salin?

[chuck]

Sorry to be the continual bringer of light banter about what is arguably one of the more important political processes this year, but this SNL clip is great.

Gov. Palin and Senator Clinton address the nation.

[BeautifulBurnout]

Originally Posted by chuck

Sorry to be the continual bringer of light banter about what is arguably one of the more important political processes this year...

I tell you what, though. If I don't keep laughing at the possibility of McCain/Palin in charge of The Button, I think I will cry. So keep 'em coming.

[Deckard]

Originally Posted by Sean

Alaskan Republicans who were formerly critics of Palin's now closing ranks around her.
...
"I'm hearing from my friends on the right, the truth doesn't matter. It's about the team," Fagan complained on his KFQD show this week.

Doesn't this just sum up the problem perfectly? Teams. Tribes. The Enemy. Sheesh.

[Sean]

Originally Posted by Deckard

Doesn't this just sum up the problem perfectly? Teams. Tribes. The Enemy. Sheesh.

It does unfortunately. I can understand party loyalty and such, but when it comes at the expense of the well-being of the country, or basic things like truth, I lose my empathy.

The New York Times has just put out an article about Palin's governing style that I hope gets some attention. A couple excerpts:

Throughout her political career, she has pursued vendettas, fired officials who crossed her and sometimes blurred the line between government and personal grievance, according to a review of public records and interviews with 60 Republican and Democratic legislators and local officials.

and...

Interviews show that Ms. Palin runs an administration that puts a premium on loyalty and secrecy. The governor and her top officials sometimes use personal e-mail accounts for state business; dozens of e-mail messages obtained by The New York Times show that her staff members studied whether that could allow them to circumvent subpoenas seeking public records.

Rick Steiner, a University of Alaska professor, sought the e-mail messages of state scientists who had examined the effect of global warming on polar bears. (Ms. Palin said the scientists had found no ill effects, and she has sued the federal government to block the listing of the bears as endangered.) An administration official told Mr. Steiner that his request would cost $468,784 to process.

When Mr. Steiner finally obtained the e-mail messages — through a federal records request — he discovered that state scientists had in fact agreed that the bears were in danger, records show.

“Their secrecy is off the charts,” Mr. Steiner said.

and...

Last summer State Representative John Harris, the Republican speaker of the House, picked up his phone and heard Mr. Palin’s voice. The governor’s husband sounded edgy. He said he was unhappy that Mr. Harris had hired John Bitney as his chief of staff, the speaker recalled. Mr. Bitney was a high school classmate of the Palins and had worked for Ms. Palin. But she fired Mr. Bitney after learning that he had fallen in love with another longtime friend.

And those are just from the first page and a third of a five page article.

Sorry....had to add this from page 3 of the article:

...in 1995, Ms. Palin, then a city councilwoman, told colleagues that she had noticed the book “Daddy’s Roommate” on the shelves and that it did not belong there, according to Ms. Chase and Mr. Stein. Ms. Chase read the book, which helps children understand homosexuality, and said it was inoffensive; she suggested that Ms. Palin read it.

“Sarah said she didn’t need to read that stuff,” Ms. Chase said. “It was disturbing that someone would be willing to remove a book from the library and she didn’t even read it.”

“I’m still proud of Sarah,” she added, “but she scares the bejeebers out of me.”

[kagenaki koe]

for national security experience, Palin's claim to fame is that Russia is her neighbor and you can see Russia from an island in Alaska

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...a_Jul_2006.jpg

that's the island on the left, russian territory on the right.

view from above http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:B...t-close-VE.jpg

Palin National Security Experience FTW!

[BeautifulBurnout]

Originally Posted by kagenaki koe

for national security experience, Palin's claim to fame is that Russia is her neighbor and you can see Russia from an island in Alaska

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...a_Jul_2006.jpg

that's the island on the left, russian territory on the right.

view from above http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:B...t-close-VE.jpg

Palin National Security Experience FTW!

Yeah I know!

There was almost a fatal plane crash today too when both the pilot and co-pilot died in the cockpit. The Stewards put out a tannoy, but luckily Sarah Palin was on board and she used to live next door to an airport...

*Badumching*

[dubman]

this AP article is practically hemorraging frustration.

these snippets made me lol

the Alaska governor also said Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama "wants to raise income taxes and raise payroll taxes and raise investment income taxes and raise business taxes and raise the death tax. "But John McCain and I know that's not the way you grow the economy," she added.
In fact, independent groups such as the Tax Policy Center have concluded that four out of five U.S. households would receive tax cuts under Obama's proposal, which include higher income and payroll taxes only for the wealthiest wage-earners.

"I've got another idea that I think Senator McCain likes. In Alaska, we took the state checkbook and put it online, so everyone can see where their money goes. We're going to bring that kind of openness to Washington," she said.
In fact, there already is a searchable database that allows the public to track federal grants and contracts, and Obama was a principle force behind the 2006 law that created it, along with Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla.

[Sean]

And hey...seriously, you need to read the New York Times article I linked. It's the most comprehensive look into her governing style I've seen yet, and it's terrifying.

[kagenaki koe]

Sarah Palin told congress "Thanks, But No Thanks" for that Bridge To Nowhere*

translation: FU Ketchikan, I'm taking that money and build a bridge to Wasilla instead:

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/20...illion_oth.php

[BeautifulBurnout]

Originally Posted by kagenaki koe

Sarah Palin told congress "Thanks, But No Thanks" for that Bridge To Nowhere*

translation: FU Ketchikan, I'm taking that money and build a bridge to Wasilla instead:

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/20...illion_oth.php

Yeah but there is no need to worry about driving whales into extinction for a bridge nobody needs, cos the Rapture is on its way in her lifetime....

So there really is no need to worry about global warming, ecology, conservation or any of that stuff as Jesus is on his to sort it all out. And all power (i.e. funding/arms) to Israel's elbow too, cos the Rapture won't happen until the Promised Land is back in force.(She even has a little Israeli flag in her office, which is kind of bizarre for the Governor of a State that has barely any Jewish population at all.) So the sooner Israel is back to being the land as described in the Bible the sooner Jesus will be back amongst us. Or something.

I have no quarrel with Israel as long as they are not out to destroy Palestine (and vice versa, for that matter). But I am a tad worried by someone who might one day be responsible for policy decisions of one of the most powerful nations on earth - and one of the most heavily armed - believing vehemently that supporting Israel in whatever she does is the way to bring about the second coming, the Rapture and Armageddon.

She has every right to believe what she believes. Just don't let her anywhere near power over international affairs, for all our sakes.