Kudos to Another Blogger

Ron came across this blog entry. The entry alone has received 1,724 responses. Jealous as I am, it deserves more media attention, so here is the story. The link is at the end, but the title below is hyperlinked also. Quote:

‘Alaska Women Reject Palin’ Rally is HUGE!

14 09 2008

I attended the Welcome Home rally for Sarah Palin this morning. Hooo. It was an experience. About a thousand (maybe) hard-core Palin supporters showed up to hear her speak at the new Dena’ina Convention Center in downtown Anchorage.

After shaking it off with a good double shot of espresso, and a brisk walk back to my car, it was time to head to the Alaska Women Reject Palin rally. It was to be held outside on the lawn in front of the Loussac Library in midtown Anchorage. Home made signs were encouraged, and the idea was to make a statement that Sarah Palin does not speak for all Alaska women, or men. I had no idea what to expect.

The rally was organized by a small group of women, talking over coffee. It made me wonder what other things have started with small groups of women talking over coffee. It’s probably an impressive list. These women hatched the plan, printed up flyers, posted them around town, and sent notices to local media outlets. One of those media outlets was KBYR radio, home of Eddie Burke, a long-time uber-conservative Anchorage talk show host. Turns out that Eddie Burke not only announced the rally, but called the people who planned to attend the rally “a bunch of socialist baby-killing maggots”, and read the home phone numbers of the organizers aloud over the air, urging listeners to call and tell them what they thought. The women, of course, received many nasty, harassing and threatening messages.

So, as I jettisoned myself from the jaws of the ‘Drill Baby Drill’ crowd and toward the mystery rally at the library, I felt a bit apprehensive. I’d been disappointed before by the turnout at other rallies. Basically, in Anchorage, if you can get 25 people to show up at an event, it’s a success. So, I thought to myself, if we can actually get 100 people there that aren’t sent by Eddie Burke, we’ll be doing good. A real statement will have been made. I confess, I still had a mental image of 15 demonstrators surrounded by hundreds of menacing “socialist baby-killing maggot” haters.

It’s a good thing I wasn’t tailgating when I saw the crowd in front of the library or I would have ended up in somebody’s trunk. When I got there, about 20 minutes early, the line of sign wavers stretched the full length of the library grounds, along the edge of the road, 6 or 7 people deep! I could hardly find a place to park. I nabbed one of the last spots in the library lot, and as I got out of the car and started walking, people seemed to join in from every direction, carrying signs.

Never, have I seen anything like it in my 17 and a half years living in Anchorage. The organizers had someone walk the rally with a counter, and they clicked off well over 1400 people (not including the 90 counter-demonstrators). This was the biggest political rally ever, in the history of the state. I was absolutely stunned. The second most amazing thing is how many people honked and gave the thumbs up as they drove by. And even those that didn’t honk looked wide-eyed and awe-struck at the huge crowd that was growing by the minute. This just doesn’t happen here.

Then, the infamous Eddie Burke showed up. He tried to talk to the media, and was instantly surrounded by a group of 20 people who started shouting O-BA-MA so loud he couldn’t be heard. Then passing cars started honking in a rhythmic pattern of 3, like the Obama chant, while the crowd cheered, hooted and waved their signs high.

So, if you’ve been doing the math… Yes. The Alaska Women Reject Palin rally was significantly bigger than Palin’s rally that got all the national media coverage! So take heart, sit back, and enjoy the photo gallery. Feel free to spread the pictures around (links are appreciated) to anyone who needs to know that Sarah Palin most definitely does not speak for all Alaskans. The citizens of Alaska, who know her best, have things to say. Unquote

http://mudflats.wordpress.com/2008/09/14/alaska-women-reject-palin-rally-is-huge/

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Sarah Palin: Myth vs. Fact - Rolling Stone Magazine

Sarah Palin's credentials as a "reformer" are nothing but spin. She has continually sided with Big Oil, lobbied to increase pork spending, raised money for one of the nation's most flagrant pork barrel abusers, and mismanaged public funds through her own neglect and ineptitude. Here's a guide to separating myth from fact. THE MYTH: "She took the luxury jet that was acquired by her predecessor and sold it on eBay. And made a profit!" — John McCain, at a campaign stop in Wisconsin THE FACTS: No one bought the jet online. It was eventually sold through an aircraft broker — at a loss to taxpayers of nearly $600,000 - to one of her largest campaign contributors, who is reportedly now seeking $50,000 in taxpayer money to pay maintenance costs. THE MYTH: "I told the Congress 'Thanks, but no thanks' on that Bridge to Nowhere." — Sarah Palin, convention speech THE FACTS: Supported the infamous pork project in her 2006 run for governor, even after Congress had killed the bridge; derided its opponents as "spinmeisters." Reversed her stance a year later — but kept the money, doling out the $223 million in federal funds to other pork projects throughout the state. THE MYTH: "We ... championed reform to end the abuses of earmark spending by Congress." — Sarah Palin, convention speech THE FACTS: As mayor, employed a lobbyist who also worked for Jack Abramoff to secure $27 million in pork spending for Wasilla — more than $4,000 per resident. In her two years as governor, requested $453 million in earmarks. Alaska ranks first in the nation for pork, raking in seven times the national average. Alaska ranks number one in federal spending per resident ($13,950) but sits at number eighteen in taxes paid per resident ($5434), meaning all of us taxpaying non-Alaskans spend $8500 per year on each and every resident of Palin's model of "rugged self-sufficiency". THE MYTH: "I found ... someone who stopped government from wasting taxpayers' money." — John McCain, introducing Palin THE FACTS: Signature accomplishment as mayor: building a $15 million hockey arena that plunged the city (whose annual budget is just $20 million) into debt. She broke ground on the project without finalizing the city's purchase of the land, with the resulting fiasco leading to years of litigation and forcing taxpayers to pay six times the original market price for the property the city ended up seizing from a private citizen using eminent domain. This cost Wasilla an additional $1.3 million — roughly $200 per resident. Palin funded the project by pushing a special referendum that raised the city sales tax by 25 percent. City hall records show the referendum was passed by just twenty votes. THE MYTH: "Our opponents say, again and again, that drilling will not solve all of America's energy problems — as if we didn't know that already." — Sarah Palin, convention speech THE FACTS: Apparently Ms. Palin did not know that just the month before: "I beg to disagree with any candidate who would say we can't drill our way out of our problem." — Sarah Palin, July 2008 THE MYTH: "We began a nearly $40 billion natural-gas pipeline to help lead America to energy independence." — Sarah Palin, convention speech THE FACTS: With federal approval years away, not a single section of the pipeline has been laid. State could end up paying the pipeline's contractor $500 million — even if it never breaks ground on the project. THE MYTH: "She's from a small town with small-town values." — Fred Thompson, convention speech THE FACTS: Wasilla and the surrounding valley were recently named the "meth capital of Alaska", with 42 meth labs busted in a single year. Charles Wohlforth, in a Frommer's travel guidebook on Alaska, described Wasilla as "the worst kind of suburban sprawl of highway-fronting shopping malls and gravel lots." THE MYTH: Palin has "taken on the political establishment in the largest state of the union." — Fred Thompson, convention speech THE FACTS: Served until 2005 as director of fundraising group associated with indicted senator Ted Stevens. Citizens Against Government Waste is a frequent critic of Stevens' affinity for pork and keeps a list of his projects. Ted Stevens has taken criticism for a wide variety of positions and actions taken in the Senate. He placed a secret hold on a bill that would allow easier accountability and research of all federal funding measures, and supported pork barrel projects such as the Gravina Island Bridge and the Knik Arm Bridge (collectively known as the "Bridges to Nowhere"). In December 2003, the Los Angeles Times reported that the Stevens had taken advantage of lax Senate rules to use his political influence to obtain a large amount of his personal wealth. According to the article, while Stevens was already a millionaire "thanks to investments with businessmen who received government contracts or other benefits with his help," the lawmaker who is in charge of $800 billion a year, writes "preferences he wrote into law" that he benefits from. On July 29, 2008 Stevens was indicted by a federal grand jury on seven counts of falsely reporting gifts. The charges relate to renovations to his home and to more than $250,000 worth of gifts he has allegedly received from VECO Corporation. The indictment followed a lengthy investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for possible corruption based on his relationship with Bill Allen, an oil service company executive, who has pleaded guilty to bribing Alaskan legislators, including Stevens' son, former State Senator Ben Stevens. THE MYTH: "She's fought oil companies." — John McCain, introducing Palin THE FACTS: Collected $13,000 in campaign contributions from oil and gas lobbyists, including Exxon, BP, Shell and Chevron. BP was a major sponsor of her inaugural ball. THE MYTH: "She's been to Kuwait. She's been over there. She has been with her troops. The National Guard that she commands, who have been over there and had the experience." — John McCain, highlighting Palin's national-security credentials THE FACTS: Never had a passport before 2007, when she made a brief photo-op trip to visit her son's batallion in Germany and Kuwait. Claimed to have visited Ireland, but this was a refueling stop and she never got off of the plane. Has never been to Iraq, and has not met a single foreign head of state. THE MYTH: "I have protected the taxpayers by vetoing wasteful spending." — Sarah Palin, convention speech THE FACTS: As governor, sought travel reimbursement for 312 nights she spent in her own home!!! Source: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/23140513/the_truth_about_sarah_palin

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Alaskan Women Protest Sarah Palin

Alaskan Women Protest Sarah Palin

By Maggie Taylor | Article Date: 9/15/2008 12:50 PM

Hundreds of anti-Sarah Palin protesters turned out for the Alaskan Women Reject Sarah Palin rally in Anchorage on Sunday, which drew a larger crowd than the official Welcome Home Rally for their returning governor and John McCain’s vice presidential nominee.

The rally was held on the lawn at the Loussac Library, where nearly 1,000 fired-up women and men joined together with the singular view that Palin does not represent all women, according to The Huffington Post.

"Last week this was just 10 women sitting around talking about this perception that all of Alaska supports Sarah Palin," one of the rally's organizer's Charla Sterne told The Washington Post. "We apparently hit a nerve and started a movement."

“Not all women support the McCain / Palin agenda,” said one woman in YouTube clip at the rally. “Not everyone is pro-Palin.”

Protesters held homemade signs and chanted and “the line of sign wavers stretched the full length of the library grounds, along the edge of the road, 6 or 7 people deep!” The Huffington Post blogged.

The crowd came out against Alaska’s Governor amidst threats from conservatives once they’d announced plans to rally. Rally organizers said they’d received threatening phone messages according to KTUU.com.

Conservative talk show host Eddie Burke, a self-proclaimed “Palinista,” lashed out at members of the Alaska Women Reject Palin.

"They're a bunch of socialist maggots, that's what I'm going to call them -- socialist maggots, that's what they are, a bunch of socialist baby-killing maggots," Burke said on-air, according to KTUU.com.

But threats and on-air rants didn’t keep the anti-Palin protesters from turning up in droves to express their views against the Palin juggernaut.

Women at the protest touched on disagreeing with Palin’s views including teaching Creationism in schools and her pro-life stance. “I could go on and on,” about Palin’s poor policy, one woman at the rally opined.

Regarding Palin’s support of off-shore drilling, one protester said, “I think Sarah’s very frightening in terms of environmental policy. She doesn’t understand that ‘Drill baby drill’ feeds our oil addiction and that it is dangerous to our national security.”

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Confused?

I'm a little confused. Let me see if I have this straight..... * If you grow up in Hawaii, raised by your grandparents, you're "exotic, different." * Grow up in Alaska eating mooseburgers, a quintessential American story. * If your name is Barack you're a radical, unpatriotic Muslim. * Name your kids Willow, Trig and Track, you're a maverick. * Graduate from Harvard law School and you are unstable. * Attend 5 different small colleges before graduating, you're well grounded. * If you spend 3 years as a brilliant community organizer, become the first black President of the Harvard Law Review, create a voter registration drive that registers 150,000 new voters, spend 12 years as a Constitutional Law professor, spend 8 years as a State Senator representing a district with over 750,000 people, become chairman of the state Senate's Health and Human Services committee, spend 4 years in the United States Senate representing a state of 13 million people while sponsoring 131 bills and serving on the Foreign Affairs, Environment and Public Works and Veteran's Affairs committees, you don't have any real leadership experience. * If your total resume is: local weather girl, 4 years on the city council and 6 years as the mayor of a town with less than 7,000 people, 20 months as the governor of a state with only 650,000 people, then you're qualified to become the country's second highest ranking executive. * If you have been married to the same woman for 19 years while raising 2 beautiful daughters, all within Protestant churches, you're not a real Christian. * If you cheated on your first wife with a rich heiress, and left your disfigured wife and married the heiress the next month, you're a Christian. * If you teach responsible, age appropriate sex education, including the proper use of birth control, you are eroding the fiber of society. * If , while governor, you staunchly advocate abstinence only, with no other option in sex education in your state's school system while your unwed teen daughter ends up pregnant , you're very responsible. * If your wife is a Harvard graduate laywer who gave up a position in a prestigious law firm to work for the betterment of her inner city community, then gave that up to raise a family, your family's values don't represent America's. * If you're husband is nicknamed "First Dude", with at least one DWI conviction and no college education, who didn't register to vote until age 25 and once was a member of a group that advocated the secession of Alaska from the USA, your family is extremely admirable. OK, much clearer now.

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The Letter That Has Been Going Around

Normally, when friends send me clips, I always ask what was the source? Many times I go to Snopes.com to see if it is real or some hoax before sending it forward. It is my intent to use some critical thinking about what is truth and what is a "good story", but without any backbone. This letter came to me seven times from seven different people. I found two sources that suggest it is true. Snopes states Anne Kilkenny did indeed write the letter. However, I also found on the Alaska Daily News website what follows below. Words in bold within the article are my highlights.

"I have known Sarah since 1992..."

Posted by Alaska_Politics

Posted: September 4, 2008 - 12:11 pm

From David Hulen in Anchorage --

The e-mail below has been bouncing around the Internet since Sunday. It was written by Anne Kilkenny of Wasilla - stay-at-home mom, letter-to-the-editor writer and longtime watcher of Valley politics. She's a registered Democrat. She was one of the delegates to the Conference of Alaskans in Fairbanks back in 2004. Her bio from the conference is here.

She e-mailed this letter over the weekend to family and friends Outside, and (despite her request not to post it) it went viral on the Internet very quickly, showing up on blogs and Web sites all over. Since then, Kilkenny has been inundated with phone calls and e-mails. She said she stayed up until 3 a.m. last night answering e-mails, and found nearly 400 new ones waiting when she logged on this morning.

It's posted here with her permission.

***

Dear friends,

So many people have asked me about what I know about Sarah Palin in the last 2 days that I decided to write something up . . .

Basically, Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton have only 2 things in common: their gender and their good looks. :)

You have my permission to forward this to your friends/email contacts with my name and email address attached, but please do not post it on any websites, as there are too many kooks out there . . .

Thanks, Anne

ABOUT SARAH PALIN

I am a resident of Wasilla, Alaska. I have known Sarah since 1992. Everyone here knows Sarah, so it is nothing special to say we are on a first-name basis. Our children have attended the same schools. Her father was my child's favorite substitute teacher. I also am on a first name basis with her parents and mother-in-law. I attended more City Council meetings during her administration than about 99% of the residents of the city.

She is enormously popular; in every way she's like the most popular girl in middle school. Even men who think she is a poor choice and won't vote for her can't quit smiling when talking about her because she is a "babe".

It is astonishing and almost scary how well she can keep a secret. She kept her most recent pregnancy a secret from her children and parents for seven months.

She is "pro-life". She recently gave birth to a Down's syndrome baby. There is no cover-up involved, here; Trig is her baby.

She is energetic and hardworking. She regularly worked out at the gym.

She is savvy. She doesn't take positions; she just "puts things out there" and if they prove to be popular, then she takes credit.

Her husband works a union job on the North Slope for BP and is a champion snowmobile racer. Todd Palin's kind of job is highly sought-after because of the schedule and high pay. He arranges his work schedule so he can fish for salmon in Bristol Bay for a month or so in summer, but by no stretch of the imagination is fishing their major source of income. Nor has her life-style ever been anything like that of native Alaskans.

Sarah and her whole family are avid hunters.

She's smart.

Her experience is as mayor of a city with a population of about 5,000 (at the time), and less than 2 years as governor of a state with about 670,000 residents.

During her mayoral administration most of the actual work of running this small city was turned over to an administrator. She had been pushed to hire this administrator by party power-brokers after she had gotten herself into some trouble over precipitous firings which had given rise to a recall campaign.

Sarah campaigned in Wasilla as a "fiscal conservative". During her 6 years as Mayor, she increased general government expenditures by over 33%. During those same 6 years the amount of taxes collected by the City increased by 38%. This was during a period of low inflation (1996-2002). She reduced progressive property taxes and increased a regressive sales tax which taxed even food. The tax cuts that she promoted benefited large corporate property owners way more than they benefited residents.

The huge increases in tax revenues during her mayoral administration weren't enough to fund everything on her wish list though, borrowed money was needed, too. She inherited a city with zero debt, but left it with indebtedness of over $22 million. What did Mayor Palin encourage the voters to borrow money for? Was it the infrastructure that she said she supported? The sewage treatment plant that the city lacked? or a new library? No. $1m for a park. $15m-plus for construction of a multi-use sports complex which she rushed through to build on a piece of property that the City didn't even have clear title to, that was still in litigation 7 yrs later--to the delight of the lawyers involved! The sports complex itself is a nice addition to the community but a huge money pit, not the profit-generator she claimed it would be. She also supported bonds for $5.5m for road projects that could have been done in 5-7 yrs without any borrowing.

While Mayor, City Hall was extensively remodeled and her office redecorated more than once.

These are small numbers, but Wasilla is a very small city.

As an oil producer, the high price of oil has created a budget surplus in Alaska. Rather than invest this surplus in technology that will make us energy independent and increase efficiency, as Governor she proposed distribution of this surplus to every individual in the state.

In this time of record state revenues and budget surpluses, she recommended that the state borrow/bond for road projects, even while she proposed distribution of surplus state revenues: spend today's surplus, borrow for needs.

She's not very tolerant of divergent opinions or open to outside ideas or compromise. As Mayor, she fought ideas that weren't generated by her or her staff. Ideas weren't evaluated on their merits, but on the basis of who proposed them.

While Sarah was Mayor of Wasilla she tried to fire our highly respected City Librarian because the Librarian refused to consider removing from the library some books that Sarah wanted removed. City residents rallied to the defense of the City Librarian and against Palin's attempt at out-and-out censorship, so Palin backed down and withdrew her termination letter. People who fought her attempt to oust the Librarian are on her enemies list to this day.

Sarah complained about the "old boy's club" when she first ran for Mayor, so what did she bring Wasilla? A new set of "old boys". Palin fired most of the experienced staff she inherited. At the City and as Governor she hired or elevated new, inexperienced, obscure people, creating a staff totally dependent on her for their jobs and eternally grateful and fiercely loyal--loyal to the point of abusing their power to further her personal agenda, as she has acknowledged happened in the case of pressuring the State's top cop (see below).

As Mayor, Sarah fired Wasilla's Police Chief because he "intimidated" her, she told the press. As Governor, her recent firing of Alaska's top cop has the ring of familiarity about it. He served at her pleasure and she had every legal right to fire him, but it's pretty clear that an important factor in her decision to fire him was because he wouldn't fire her sister's ex-husband, a State Trooper. Under investigation for abuse of power, she has had to admit that more than 2 dozen contacts were made between her staff and family to the person that she later fired, pressuring him to fire her ex-brother-in-law. She tried to replace the man she fired with a man who she knew had been reprimanded for sexual harassment; when this caused a public furor, she withdrew her support.

She has bitten the hand of every person who extended theirs to her in help. The City Council person who personally escorted her around town introducing her to voters when she first ran for Wasilla City Council became one of her first targets when she was later elected Mayor. She abruptly fired her loyal City Administrator; even people who didn't like the guy were stunned by this ruthlessness.

Fear of retribution has kept all of these people from saying anything publicly about her.

When then-Governor Murkowski was handing out political plums, Sarah got the best, Chair of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission: one of the few jobs not in Juneau and one of the best paid. She had no background in oil & gas issues. Within months of scoring this great job which paid $122,400/yr, she was complaining in the press about the high salary. I was told that she hated that job: the commute, the structured hours, the work. Sarah became aware that a member of this Commission (who was also the State Chair of the Republican Party) engaged in unethical behavior on the job. In a gutsy move which some undoubtedly cautioned her could be political suicide, Sarah solved all her problems in one fell swoop: got out of the job she hated and garnered gobs of media attention as the patron saint of ethics and as a gutsy fighter against the "old boys' club" when she dramatically quit, exposing this man's ethics violations (for which he was fined).

As Mayor, she had her hand stuck out as far as anyone for pork from Senator Ted Stevens. Lately, she has castigated his pork-barrel politics and publicly humiliated him. She only opposed the "bridge to nowhere" after it became clear that it would be unwise not to.

As Governor, she gave the Legislature no direction and budget guidelines, then made a big grandstand display of line-item vetoing projects, calling them pork. Public outcry and further legislative action restored most of these projects--which had been vetoed simply because she was not aware of their importance--but with the unobservant she had gained a reputation as "anti-pork".

She is solidly Republican: no political maverick. The State party leaders hate her because she has bit them in the back and humiliated them. Other members of the party object to her self-description as a fiscal conservative.

Around Wasilla there are people who went to high school with Sarah. They call her "Sarah Barracuda" because of her unbridled ambition and predatory ruthlessness. Before she became so powerful, very ugly stories circulated around town about shenanigans she pulled to be made point guard on the high school basketball team. When Sarah's mother-in-law, a highly respected member of the community and experienced manager, ran for Mayor, Sarah refused to endorse her.

As Governor, she stepped outside of the box and put together of package of legislation known as "AGIA" that forced the oil companies to march to the beat of her drum.

Like most Alaskans, she favors drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. She has questioned if the loss of sea ice is linked to global warming. She campaigned "as a private citizen" against a state initiative that would have either a) protected salmon streams from pollution from mines, or b) tied up in the courts all mining in the state (depending on who you listen to). She has pushed the State's lawsuit against the Dept. of the Interior's decision to list polar bears as threatened species.

McCain is the oldest person to ever run for President; Sarah will be a heartbeat away from being President.

There has to be literally millions of Americans who are more knowledgeable and experienced than she.

However, there's a lot of people who have underestimated her and are regretting it.

CLAIM VS FACT *"Hockey mom": true for a few years.

*"PTA mom": true years ago when her first-born was in elementary school, not since.

*"NRA supporter": absolutely true

*social conservative: mixed. Opposes gay marriage, BUT vetoed a bill that would have denied benefits to employees in same-sex relationships (said she did this because it was unconstitutional).

*pro-creationism: mixed. Supports it, BUT did nothing as Governor to promote it.

*"Pro-life": mixed. Knowingly gave birth to a Down's syndrome baby BUT declined to call a special legislative session on some pro-life legislation

*"Experienced": Some high schools have more students than Wasilla has residents. Many cities have more residents than the state of Alaska. No legislative experience other than City Council. Little hands-on supervisory or managerial experience; needed help of a city administrator to run town of about 5,000.

*political maverick: not at all

*gutsy: absolutely!

*open & transparent: ??? Good at keeping secrets. Not good at explaining actions.

*has a developed philosophy of public policy: no

*"a Greenie": no. Turned Wasilla into a wasteland of big box stores and disconnected parking lots. Is pro-drilling off-shore and in ANWR.

*fiscal conservative: not by my definition!

*pro-infrastructure: No. Promoted a sports complex and park in a city without a sewage treatment plant or storm drainage system. Built streets to early 20th century standards.

*pro-tax relief: Lowered taxes for businesses, increased tax burden on residents

*pro-small government: No. Oversaw greatest expansion of city government in Wasilla's history.

*pro-labor/pro-union. No. Just because her husband works union doesn't make her pro-labor. I have seen nothing to support any claim that she is pro-labor/pro-union.

WHY AM I WRITING THIS?

First, I have long believed in the importance of being an informed voter. I am a voter registrar. For 10 years I put on student voting programs in the schools. If you google my name (Anne Kilkenny + Alaska), you will find references to my participation in local government, education, and PTA/parent organizations.

Secondly, I've always operated in the belief that "Bad things happen when good people stay silent". Few people know as much as I do because few have gone to as many City Council meetings.

Third, I am just a housewife. I don't have a job she can bump me out of. I don't belong to any organization that she can hurt. But, I am no fool; she is immensely popular here, and it is likely that this will cost me somehow in the future: that's life.

Fourth, she has hated me since back in 1996, when I was one of the 100 or so people who rallied to support the City Librarian against Sarah's attempt at censorship.

Fifth, I looked around and realized that everybody else was afraid to say anything because they were somehow vulnerable.

CAVEATS I am not a statistician. I developed the numbers for the increase in spending & taxation 2 years ago (when Palin was running for Governor) from information supplied to me by the Finance Director of the City of Wasilla, and I can't recall exactly what I adjusted for: did I adjust for inflation? for population increases? Right now, it is impossible for a private person to get any info out of City Hall--they are swamped. So I can't verify my numbers.

You may have noticed that there are various numbers circulating for the population of Wasilla, ranging from my "about 5,000", up to 9,000. The day Palin's selection was announced a city official told me that the current population is about 7,000. The official 2000 census count was 5,460. I have used about 5,000 because Palin was Mayor from 1996 to 2002, and the city was growing rapidly in the mid-90's.

Anne Kilkenny August 31, 2008

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Laugh or Cry, Laugh or Cry?

Laugh or cry, that is the question now that McCain has chosen his VP. There are a three American B and B guests here when the announcement came in. Five of us in total were flabbergasted, but definitely not speechless. The way we questioned what was he thinking, you would have thought that we were Republicans who felt slighted by not being in the loop on what seems to be a moronic decision. Personally, I believe that Obama and Biden can make this work for them, if they are smart. If they don't I will have lost all hope for American politics. Let's use some critical thinking just off of the surface. Palin is a first time governor and only for two years, in a state that ranks 47 in population. The only states with smaller numbers are North Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming. Alaska does not even have one million residents, if you only count humans. Before this, she was a mayor of a small town. With this information, the Republicans had the audacity to state that she has had fiscal experience since she had to draft the State budget for two years along with military experience since she heads the Alaska National Guard. EXCUSE ME? How is any of this comparable to the US as a whole? Well she is a mother of five and was a hockey mom. She is a good Christian. Well, how does the good mother of five plan to divide her time as a good Christian mother between her children and helping to run a country. Her last child was born with Downs. She knew this ahead of time, but made the decision not to do anything to end the birth. I can respect that; however, she went back to work three days later. Is this a responsible mother with a special needs child? Any time women want to make any gains in maternity rights in the workplace, they will point to Sarah as a shining example of women who are warriors equal to men. On the other hand, where are those Christian family values people who believe the family unit in the most important thing. She left a special needs child to return to work, a child who would especially need his mother. She does not believe in birth control or abortion. Hmmm...she just had a baby, so we can guess she has not gone through menopause yet and surely that is a sign she and her oil rigger husband are still doing the wild thing on ocassion. Now let's think. Yesterday, McC turned 72. If he should have a stroke while in office, we will have a mother of five, potentially a mother of six or seven, with no experience for more that 700,000 people running a country with a populaton of 281,421,906, but that was in 2000 at the last census. Let me do the math here. Gosh, that is a whole lot of people the president is responsible for. I bet the federal budget is a wee bit more expansive than the budget of Alaska. Maybe, the US military services have a few more people than the Alaska National Guard, you think? Her son joined the military on September 11th. If my son, if I had one, did that during these times, I would kidnap him while dragging him to a deprogrammer or the Canadian border. She believes that the Adam and Eve story should be taught in schools. We have had almost eight years of being the laughing stock of the world, can we survive four more without imploding. The US was the greatest nation in the world; China is creeping up on our tail with their economic supremecy and they hold a giant bag of American dollars in reserve, as does Japan. If either decide to cash out, 1929s bank crash will seem like a walk in the park.

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