Now You See It - Now You Don't

A couple of posts ago, I blogged about Sarah Palin's intentions to run for US President in 2012.  She did start a PAC, and her name was listed in the Federal Election Commission's Web site as a candidate for President in 2012.  Other people took both of these happenings as a strong indication of her ambitions, in spite of her denial, "No, not at all, not at all, no," when asked if her PAC signaled her intent to run.

I was not the only one to notice these events.  Apparently, though, if someone starts a "committee-to-elect" someone (like David L. Kelly of Colorado Springs, CO -- coincidentally home to beleaguered ex-pastor Ted Haggard -- apparently did), they have to give the name of the someone they want to see elected.  So it might have been possible that someone other than Sarah, and without her knowledge or approval, filed with the FEC and listed her name, and that's how she came to appear in their database.

Fine, I said.  Maybe some of the Team Sarah people got ambitious (a couple years early).

Then I went back to check the FEC filing today.  And surprise, surprise, Candidate ID P20001939 has been wiped from the database.

 

So, okay, what happened?  Did David Kelly change his mind?  Did Sarah tell him to put the KABOSH on any public announcement of her ambitions?

Inquiring minds want to know.  Especially in light of the recent ethics violations filings, and how absent Sarah has been from Juneau or any pressing Alaska Governor issues.  Is she mounting a stealth campaign now?  Stealth seems to suit her ... in fact, one might say that deception is her modus operandi.

Where to Begin?

[Updated to remove list item - further research indicates that the McCain-Palin Compliance Fund, even though established in 2/2008, did not add Palin's name until late August, 2008.]

I've been puzzling for a few days about how to proceed in my campaign to keep shining light on the politician from Alaska who has made it obvious she has national aspirations.  Every time I start writing a blog entry, the research I do uncovers yet another great take on the falsehoods or deceptions or outrageousness of Alaska's current Governor.  So what I've decided to do is re-hash what has already been said, and along the way, if I can uncover anything new, I'll post it.

Current categories for future posts are lies, contradictions, and things that are missing.

Under lies, we have:

1. Sarah was surprised in late August, 2008, to learn that she was selected to be McCain's VP pick.  The truth is that Sarah likely knew well ahead of the announcement, that she would be named as McCain's running mate.
   
2. Sarah ignored the ruling and results of the Legislative committee charged with investigating Troopergate.  Sarah says, in full voice, that she was cleared of any wrongdoing.  The report clearly states that she was guilty of ethics violations.
3. Sarah claimed that she was responsible for telling the US Congress, "Thanks, but no thanks," when it came to a hefty earmark for "the bridge to nowhere."  The truth is Sarah pushed hard for that earmark, and only when it was nationally laughed at did she back off her support.  And then, even though the specific project was canned, the Congress still provided the funds which were used for general infrastructure projects.  Sarah did not return one cent of the money as she implies.
   
4. Sarah claims she has shown her medical records, proving that she gave birth to Trig.  The truth is, she has not permitted even one medical record to be released.

Under contradictions we have, so far...

1. Sarah says on one hand that she hid her (alleged 2007-2008) pregnancy with fashion-assisted camouflage, and on the other that she did nothing to hide it because she believed that women need to show they can do a job and have babies too.
2. Sarah claims on one hand that the McCain campaign kept her from doing more interviews with members of the press, and on the other, that the McCain campaign insisted she keep on with interviews (esp. Katie Couric) even when Sarah felt they were not going well.
3. Sarah's spokesperson keeps insisting that Sarah is keeping Alaska first now, and has only initiated SarahPAC so that she can "draw a bright line" between her activities as governor and her activities as a potential 2012 presidential candidate.  Meantime, Sarah does not have time to meet with Alaska's Mayors, or travel to Emmonak, or show up in Juneau during the current legislative session -- but she does have time, for instance, to go to D.C. for the Alfalfa Club dinner among other self-promotion activities.
   
4. Sarah blasted media in general for failing to take the extra step to investigate dastardly rumors concerning her alleged maternity, yet when her own state's premier news organization tried to get unbiased, verifiable information to disprove the rumors, she refused to provide it, calling the requests outrageous.

And then, things that are in-your-face missing:

1. We've got no confirmation of the date of birth, or the place of birth, for Trig Palin.
2. Following what seems to be a pattern, we also have no confirmation of the date of birth or place of birth (not to mention proof of birth) for Tripp Johnston.  This is critical because if Bristol was pregnant with Tripp and gave birth to him in December 2008, that makes it extremely unlikely that the rumors that Bristol is Trig's birth-mother are true.

I'm sure there are plenty more lies, contradictions and things that are missing.  But that's a start!  Let me know if I should include more items on any one of these lists.  I plan to do individual blog posts for each.

Off With the Gloves

Sarah Palin,

I've been hoping you would realize the futility of pursuing a national political career.  In fact, I've been waiting for signs that you were going to be content to remain in Alaska and keep "progressing that great State" until you were voted out of office by another candidate for Governor come 2010.  And then I was not going to spend more time on my blog pointing out your weaknesses, foibles, and deceptions.

But then I heard you started your very own political action committee (PAC).

 

And sure enough, you did. I won't link to it, because anyone with access to Google can find it easily enough.  

If that weren't bad enough, a poster at Alaska Daily News (ADN) noticed that you've filed with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) as a presidential candidate for 2012.

 

And I'll be darned if you didn't do that too!  Just so that folks don't think I'm making this up, here's the link to the record image showing your "Office Sought: President" in "Election Year: 2012" filing.

So, quit blaming the media and the bloggers, Sarah.  You entered national politics and you've now clearly stated your intention to remain a contender.  The gloves are off as far as I am concerned, and everything that can be known, or figured out, about you is fair game for exploration and discussion. 

Count on endless replays of Katie Couric interviews and that Sarkozy spoof.  Look for Bellygate to keep on growing.  Watch out for those fresh ethics complaints and a revival of interest in who told the Troopergate truth. Then there's Pebblegate and the elephant in the room, Gaslinegate.  It should be a fun couple of years ahead!

Tripp-in'

Back in late August, 2008, the media and blogosphere were asking, "Sarah who?"  John McCain's VP pick took a lot of people by surprise, so those who like to be informed about Vice Presidential candidates started trying to find out about Sarah.

When Sarah introduced herself to the country from Ohio on August 29, 2008, she presented four members of her family as well -- husband Todd, daughters Bristol, Willow and Piper, and baby Trig.  Bristol was wearing a burp-cloth and nestling Trig during Sarah's speech (video).

Immediately, the Internet began buzzing about rumors (that had already persisted for many months in Alaska) suggesting Bristol was the one who had been pregnant with Trig, not Sarah.

McAllister was an Anchorage TV reporter before working for Palin. He said Palin once approached him - before people knew she was pregnant - assuming he'd been hearing rumors.

"She said it's not true about Bristol," McAllister said.

At the time, the rumor would have been that Palin's daughter was pregnant.
(ADN)

(Sarah had made her surprise announcement that she was 7 months pregnant on March 4, 2008, so her attempt to dispel rumors that Bill McAllister may have heard would have been earlier -- February? January?)

Three days after Sarah's entrance on the national stage, through a statement released by the McCain campaign on 9-1-2008, Sarah acknowledged that one rumor was, at least sort of, true.  Bristol was expecting a baby.  She was "about 5 months along," according to an aide who asked not to be named (CNN).   The campaign said this news was released in order to squelch the other rumor that Sarah was not Trig's biological mother.  Someone who gave birth 4-1/2 months ago could not also be 5 months pregnant.

At that time, the Internet storm subsided somewhat and people took a "wait and see" approach.  Would Bristol deliver on or about her (first announced) due date of December 18?



It turns out that there has been a birth - maybe. All the media outlets who picked up on the story referred to People Magazine as the source. According to People, Bristol's great-aunt (who lives in Washington State) got an e-mail from Bristol's grandfather, Chuck Heath, saying that Tripp Easton Mitchell Johnston was born to Bristol Palin and Levi Johnston on Sunday, December 28, 2008 and weighed 7lbs 4oz.  The date and birth weight shifted a bit over the next few days and is now reported as taking place on Saturday, December 27, 2008 / 7lbs 7oz.  The same issue of People tried to get a statement from Sarah.

Bill McAllister, a spokesman for Gov. Palin said, "This office will not be issuing any statements on [Bristol's baby]. We’re here to talk about state government and that matter falls outside of that."  (People Magazine)

However, the Alaska State Web site did publish a news release about the birth on New Year's Eve, 12-31-2008.  Here's Bill McAllister again:

The governor's office previously declined to comment to honor the family's wishes that the event remain as private as possible. However, the high volume of press inquiries, along with some erroneous information that was published, prompted the governor to make a statement. (AK.US Press Archive)

The people who were waiting and seeing since September 1, 2008, are still waiting but not seeing anything yet.  Where's Tripp? 

The Fine Art of Discrimination

 

What do you see?

In order to make sense of the vast flow of information in which we bathe daily, we need to acquire the ability to discriminate -- to become discriminating, to be able to distinguish between the objective and the subjective, to discern the difference between an original and a copy for example. This skill is not routinely taught in even our best schools, although a broad education lays the foundation for acquiring it.

What we can see or know or understand (S-K-U) is a function of what we allow ourselves to S-K-U. We must draw upon the times we have stretched our minds to encompass all that we might S-K-U had we taken the time and spent the energy to really think about the subject.

I was struck by a phrase used by a poster on a blog that I frequent:

I truly believe [...]. I have never questioned it.

If we never question, are we not then willing dupes?  Think back to January, 2003.  We were told Saddam's Iraq posed a grave, looming threat.  We were told about massive stockpiles of Weapons of Mass Destruction and Saddam's desire to unleash them on us.  Some of us never questioned it, but the information was untrue and acting on that belief, we ended up losing and wasting many precious things.

Believing without sincere, in-depth questioning is always dangerous.  Has not belief in one or another radical religious tenet or political principle caused untold death, destruction, torture and suffering throughout human history?

The first step to S-K-U what is right or true is to question.  Here is a simple practice that can be done anywhere.  Select an event or object from daily life and ask oneself questions about it such as: what are its origins? how did it occur? what is it made of? what will happen to it over time? who has been involved in it?  Attempt to explore the event or object in as many different ways as possible.

Unless we acquire and practice the ability to be discriminating, we will surely fail to achieve our potential as individuals and as a society.  And in that case, we become nothing more than cogs in someone else's machine -- used and eventually discarded when we wear out.

What a Difference Three Days Makes

The image on the left (source here) was taken in Juneau, Alaska, on April 10, 2008. The image on the right (source here), according to KTVA's Andrea Gusty, was taken on April 13, 2008.

To Pursue, or Not to Pursue...

I confess to a certain morbid fascination with the doings and sayings of Sarah Palin, the current Governor of Alaska, former runner up in a beauty pageant, and former (thanks to a citizenry who was so fed up!) candidate for Vice President on the Republican ticket.

I also confess to a persistent curiosity regarding the numerous scandals that seem to surround her, much like the dirt cloud that surrounds PigPen.  There are so many.  Troopergate.  Clothing-gate.  Per Diem-gate.  Bridge-to-Nowhere-gate. Pipeline-gate. Coal Mine-gate.  Husband-as-shadow-governor-gate. E-mail-gate. Baby-gate. Etc, etc.

It's baby-gate I want to blog about today.  There are a few very fine sites out there examining this issue in great detail.  As a result of reading them, I've been inspired to present some investigative results of my own.


What follows is, I hope, a reasonable debunking of a particular image that supposedly shows a pregnant Sarah Palin during an interview with Elan Frank in April 2008, the same month that she supposedly gave birth to her 5th child, the Down syndrome baby boy named Trig.

The Elan Frank video (which I would credit) is now no longer available online that I can find. I watched it once, and am kicking myself for not having downloaded it at the time.  However, the person behind BoJack.org has grabbed a frame from the video. For those who know the video, it is one of the frames where Sarah is sitting in her kitchen and roundly thumps (smacks) her supposedly pregnant belly with her hands.  Here's a cropped version of the image on BoJack's site:

 

Granted, this is of poor quality.  However, as they say, a picture tells a thousand words.  Here is the same image below, only with a shadow-enhancing filter (lighten shadow 50%) applied:

What this manipulation does is brighten the dark areas in the image, making it clear just what is shadow and what is dark fabric.  I'm already stunned that the lower abdomen shadow barely breaks from a straight line across.  And the upper abdomen is appearing as a straight line too.  I went a step further and applied a sharpening filter, to really accentuate the folds in the fabric that are covering Sarah's belly.  (What IS she wearing anyway?)

Here is a visual of what it looks like when the image is sharpened (450 sharpen radius 5):

 

The sharpening accentuates where the real folds are in whatever covers the skin here, and makes it quite plain that both the upper and lower abdomen (the supposed pregnant belly) are demarcated by straight lines.  What also strikes me here is how her pelvis is not encroached upon... that is, the lower part of the belly is still well above where her legs join her torso.  And she's sitting.  Which shortens or should shorten the distance.  Yet we can see the lower line of the "pregnant belly" well above the tops of her thighs.  The shadow at the bottom middle of the image looks to me to be where her pants fold under at her crotch.

Now, let's take a look at real pregnant bellies.  BTW, these images were all grabbed from Google by doing an image search for "pregnant woman sitting." 

Notice how ROUND these bellies are.  Notice how especially the lower extremes of the shapes are quite ROUND.  Now go back and take a look at Sarah's belly.  The real pregnant bellies round out and virtually "sit" on the laps of the women.  Yet Sarah -- ostensibly just days before delivering a normal-weight baby -- can somehow hold the full roundness up above her lap, and even square it off above her pubic region.

I've had three children, and I can vouch for the fact that pregnant bellies are taut, tight even!, and very round.  It's not like you have a bowl of jello inside you.  It doesn't sound hollow when you "thump" your belly.  It's solid, it doesn't give easily.  There's your skin, a thin layer of fat and muscle, and then the incredible muscle tissue that is the uterus, then the amniotic fluid and then the baby.  You could much more easily create a depression with a finger pressing into your inner thigh (unless you are a muscle-builder clenching those muscles) than you can with a finger pressing into your truly pregnant belly.

I would like to credit the following sites:

• Bojack.org, from which I grabbed the original image taken from the no-longer-available-online Elan Frank video (otherwise I would have taken a frame of my choosing for this work)
• Palin's Deceptions, probably the premier site now supporting research into the Palin Baby-gate scandal (be sure to visit the blog)
  

I would also like to reveal that I used Adobe Photoshop Elements 6 for the modest manipulation I've done to the original image.

If you have any information that either supports or refutes the notion that Sarah Palin is fibbing about all or part of her birth of Trig story, please leave a comment and a way to contact you!

Year End CleanUp

There's pardons in the wings.  Who shall get the wings of release?

There's a baby supposed to be born, the one that would make it 'impossible' for the much-rumored mother of Trig Palin to actually be his mother.

There's the findings of the State Legislative body that Sarah Palin broke Alaska's ethics laws.  But what will come of that?

Then we recently learned that Dick Cheney knew and gave approval for torture.  And he also knew and was in part responsible for revealing Valerie Plame as a covert agent.  Will anything come of that?

Even though this year ends on a faintly hopeful note, given the results of the November election, there are quite a few lies to punish and liars to catch.  I wonder how many of these will be brought to justice in the year ahead.

Meantime, a most happy holiday to all.  Let us be grateful that we have electricity, food, shelter, and warmth over the cold days of winter.

All in a Rush

Bush.  Pardoning turkeys and being totally out of it for any other Presidential duty.

Obama.  Holding press conferences almost daily now, answering questions in full.  Doing public service on the day before Thanksgiving.  An excellent example.

Palin.  Pardoning a turkey and making an ass out of herself given the turkey rendering going on behind her during the following press conference.

 Right wing talking heads.  Trying to generate bullcrap about Obama's picks for the various positions open.  May they die a slow, painful death.

Why We Can't Let Up on the Sarah Story

Andrew Sullivan has a spot-on article today on why we cannot get off Sarah Palin's case.

Let's be real in a way the national media seems incapable of: this person should never have been placed on a national ticket in a mature democracy. She was incapable of running a town in Alaska competently. The impulsive, unvetted selection of a total unknown, with no knowledge of or interest in the wider world, as a replacement president remains one of the most disturbing events in modern American history. That the press felt required to maintain a facade of normalcy for two months - and not to declare the whole thing a farce from start to finish - is a sign of their total loss of nerve.

Please visit The Daily Dish for his incisive article named, "Why Palin Still Matters."

Sarah Palin Bites the Dust

Sarah Palin disagrees with those who say her campaign messages were negative.  She replies that she was just asking questions that were important—questions about Barack Obama's character and judgment.  How could he "pal around" with domestic terrorists, after all?  And for sure, Sarah said, her supporters really wanted to hear that Joe the (not) Plumber thought Obama's economic plans sounded like socialism to him.  And my goodness, this was the wrong time to experiment with socialism!  Terrorist!  Arab!  Muslim!  Socialist!  Marxist!  Kill him!  That's not negative, Sarah said.  That was just asking questions that people wanted answers to.

Sarah Palin denies she acted like a diva, and boy, she sure would like to know who would say such a thing.  She'd also like to know who told the world she didn't have a clue about Africa being a continent and all, and who spilled the beans about her greeting McCain aides wrapped in a bath towel.  She just won't even respond to the allegations of being a Wasilla hillbilly because hey, if you say that sort of thing anonymously, you can't expect her to address it at all.  And don't forget, she was completely exonerated of any wrong-doing whatsoever in Troopergate—the front page of the newspaper even said so, even though the front page of the same newspaper said exactly the opposite just a few weeks earlier.

Sarah Palin blames McCain aides for not noticing that she had this exclusive phone interview with French President Sarkozy all set up.  How could they be so incompetent?  And how was she to know it was a prank call?  He sounded French, and gosh darnit, what friendly world leader wouldn't want to have a little chat with her seeing as how she was almost the Vice President and all?  How was she supposed to know that she should've mentioned it?

There's a lot of chatter now about what happens to the Alaskan un-diva.  Can she be rehabilitated and show up again in 2012?  I don't think so, and here's why:

She is inherently lazy.  She participated in a beauty pageant in the hopes of winning prize money to pay her college tuition instead of getting a job and working her way through school.  She hired someone (for $50,000 a year) to handle the mayor-stuff in her village of 5-6000 people when she was the mayor.  She quit her job at  the Oil and Gas Conservation Commission because it involved travel and work away from home.  Even now, she would rather stay at home instead of travel to do her job as Governor of Alaska—witness the thousands of dollars of per diem she's charged.  The AK Legislature started wearing buttons saying, "Where is Sarah?" 

She thinks all it takes is prayer to be catapulted into office.  This is convenient because it means she doesn't have to prepare or learn more.  After all, she's been anointed as "the one" by the dominionists, and as long as Pastor Muthee and the rest keep praying, all she has to do is show up and file the paperwork on time.  She believes she already knows all she needs to know.  ("I know that I know that I know...") That's why she doesn't blink.

She is irredeemably provincial.  She's lived in Alaska and Idaho, two of the most red states in the union.  She is hopelessly unaware of the world as it exists outside those borders.  She only learns the names of those who can further her career directly, which explains why she didn't pause when the prankster referred to Canada's Prime Minister as Steph Carse.  Alaska is her whole world.

She is an unconscionable liar.  She denied being found in violation of Alaska ethics laws by her own state's Legislative Council.  She kept saying she refused the earmark funds for the "Bridge to Nowhere" which never got built, but she kept the funds.  She keeps denying she spent any money on a lavish wardrobe (including silk boxers and $20-40,000 more in men's wear for Todd) but the receipts keep coming in to RNC central.  She repeatedly implied that her biggest achievement as Governor was working to get a massive gas pipeline to deliver energy to the lower 48, yet the ground-breaking ceremony for this pipeline is 8-10 years away, if it even happens.

And finally, she fails to understand how woefully unprepared she still is for national office.  If she had acknowledged her shortcomings, she would have blinked in the first place... if she accepted that she needed serious schooling, she be talking about educating herself more now... if she admitted mistakes at all she wouldn't be playing the blame game.   Instead, she blames the media for raining on her parade.  She blames the Democrats for outing Joe the Plumber.  She blames the sexist people in the lower 48, saying they are not as advanced as Alaskans.  Sadly, for the GOP faithful who still see her as a viable competitor, they are doomed to be disappointed again.

Sarah, I wish we did not know ya
Like we do now, you bet'cha
I'll guarantee we'll keep an eye on ya
And we'll never ever let'cha
Hit the ballot on the national scene again.

I Can't Stop Smiling

To our President-Elect Barack Obama, you have given us cause to hope.  Do not disappoint us.  I celebrate your victory and have used a whole box of tissues following your campaign and your speeches.  I have donated to you, volunteered for you, attended rallies for you, voted for you, and now I will be watching to make sure you make good on your promises.

'Nuff said. 

Election Eve Crazy Thoughts

So, why isn't there a capsule to make a woman smaller? 

Two Words - Two Days

The blue candle is lit and slowly effusing a sweet scent, next to a street-side window.  Armed with a new (and first for me) camcorder, I've signed up for duty on November 4, as needed, through Video The Vote.  Now that it's dark, I've lit the lights inside O'Pumpkin and placed it back on the rail of the front porch.  That's O'Pumpkin's place every night between October 29 and November 5.

 

Be sure to vote, and then help others vote.  Our voices must be heard this time, no matter how hard some try to suppress the sound.  Two days.  Hope is alive.

Fall Foliage, Voting and Chickens

By this time in October our deciduous trees are usually well done with shining golden, orange and red.  The chill autumn wind, brisk and cleansing, would have stripped the brightly colored leaf-confetti from the branches, blowing candy corn-tinted swirls across the yards and down the streets.  But on this day in late October, many leaves are still green and well-attached to their branches.  I'll call it anecdotal confirmation of global warming.

October 28, 2008 in Jefferson County, WV

But back to voting and chickens.  :)

I went to our local courthouse for early voting today — about 10:00 AM on a workday.  There was a steady stream of folks coming in the doors, with at least 30 people in line or voting at any one time.  First stop was at a table where two clerks helped sign us in, comparing our signatures with records they seemed to have on their computer screens. We then moved down the corridor to wait in line to enter a fairly small anteroom with six voting stands where we received a large two-sided ballot.  The process only slowed down when a few people finished voting at the same time and waited to return their completed optical scan ballot to the single clerk whose job it was to slip the paper ballot from its outer jacket into the reader and then pronounce, "Congratulations, you've just voted."

The fellow who was sitting by the entry, separating voters from other courthouse visitors and pointing them to the end of the early voting line, told me the turnout has been much larger than he's ever seen. I hope that is a good sign.

While there, I verified when and where the poll tapes would be posted, and plan to return (on November 5th) to take a photo of the results from the machines.  

But tell me if this isn't at least a little strange — at the top of the ballot we had the option to vote for a straight party ticket.  Here's what those ovals and descriptions looked like:

Image from 56th District, Jefferson Co., WV ballot

The Republican Party has a proud, wings-outstretched eagle, the icon of American patriotism.  The Mountain Party has an emblem depicting, well, mountains, as in 'purple mountain majesties,' and all that.  But the Democratic Party gets ... a chicken?  An indignant chicken even?  There's no pronounced comb or wattle befitting a rooster, so it must be a chicken.  Call me silly, but I have to wonder who is responsible for this imagery.  What's wrong with elephants and donkeys?

I don't understand how West Virginia became a red state.  It never used to be.  We have two Democratic Senators and a Democratic Governor.  Yes, well, my congressional district does have Republican S.M. Capito but I'm hopeful her Democratic opponent can unseat her.  Half the local races for positions like County Clerk, Sheriff, and Judge didn't even have Republican contenders.

On the way home I took comfort in noting that my neighborhood's Obama signs clearly outnumber the McCain ones.  I spotted two new Obama signs today, one at the house right across the street from me.  Now if the leaves would only turn color and drift down, we chickens would be able to rake up some fun piles to scratch in.

Only on Fox

I don't usually browse Fox Web sites.  But I ran across this image and just found it striking -- and sorry, ladies, I'm not referring to your smiling blonde heads.  Well, not individually that is.  But there are five of you, and the similarity is, frankly, striking!

I suppose Hemmer gets top billing because of his last name.  Alphabetical, right? Not some subtle message about male superiority.  Or even masculine wet dreams about multiple femmes.

But seriously, Fox -- these "reporters" are supposed to bring us fair and balanced coverage?  It looks like your hiring practices could stand a little scrutiny.  When I walk around my small town, I see all kinds of faces, but never five in a row the same!  Not even five in a year the same!

And ladies, have you no shame?  Or self-pride?  Or individuality?

What If Sarah Fails a Background Check?

According to CBS and other sources, the McCain campaign added Sarah Pailin's name to the list at a late date and the FBI did not perform a background check before she was picked as the Vice Presidential nominee.

Now that she has officially accepted the nomination, what happens if further checks turn up something awkward, or illegal, or even questionable?  Can she be un-nominated?  Would the McCain campaign send her back to Alaska?  Would the campaign even let us know about it?

On another blog somewhere, I read a comment that went like this:

What does it say about our media when we have to go to the National Enquirer for facts about politicians?  They earned some 'street cred' by staying on and being right about the John Edwards affair story.

Hey, Sarah Palin...

If you haven't already, visit Mudflats blog for a straightforward peek into who Sarah Palin is.

McCain Picks Palin: Lots of Real Stories

Depending on who you read, you'll get a different angle on what "the real story" is around the Republican nominee's VP pick. Here are just a few, accompanied by an image of Sarah Palin in Feb. 2008, reportedly 6+ months pregnant:

1. Sarah Palin's family values
• Endangering her unborn child with Down Syndrome, about to be born prematurely, by flying cross-country instead of seeking qualified medical care once her water broke
• Revealing to the world that her 17 yr old unwed daughter was pregnant, in order to counter viral internet rumors suggesting she had faked her pregnancy to cover the 17 yr old's pregnancy (let that one sink in a bit)
  
• Accepting the McCain campaign's offer to become the vice presidential candidate, a stressful and demanding role, instead of personally taking care of her special needs infant, her 7 yr old daughter, her 14 yr old daughter, and her pregnant 17 yr old daughter
2. Sarah Palin's ethics
   
• Alleged abuse of power as Mayor, firing two city officials and pushing two other city officials out for supporting her opponent in the mayoral election
• Alleged abuse of power as Governor, firing the state's chief law enforcement official because he would not buckle under pressure to fire a state trooper who was involved in a bitter custody battle with her sister
• Alleged abuse of power as Governor, summarily firing her own legislative liaison at the request of her husband who was distressed because the man was dating the soon to be ex-wife of the husband's friend
• Allegedly hacked into fellow Alaskan Oil and Gas Commission member's computer, obtaining 'dirt' on the member who was later fined for doing party work on government computers
• Alleged use of Mayor's office computers to do political work in her unsuccessful bid for lieutenant governor in 2002
  
3. Sarah Palin's ability to govern well
   
• Hiring a deputy administrator to run the mayor's office for her, and leaving the town $20 million in debt when she left
  
• Disbanding the state's Agricultural Board because one of their subcommittees made recommendations she disagreed with, and hiring a new Board that ended up making the same recommendations, after costing the state an additional $900,000
• Replacing Alaska's public safety commissioner (whom she fired) with a man who had to resign two weeks later due when his sexual harassment history emerged, and then giving this man a $10,000 (or $15,000, I've heard both) separation paycheck
  
4. Sarah Palin's education and life experience
   
• Holding only a BS in journalism (1987), with no evidence of continuing education
  
• Obtaining a passport for the first time in 2007 for her only trip overseas to date
  
5. Sarah Palin's religious influence
   
• Exhorting members of her church to pray for a gas pipeline because it was God's will that the pipeline go through
• Supporting teaching creationism in public schools
  
• Attempting to get certain books (on evolution?) banned from her local library while she was Mayor
• Believing that the US Military is doing God's work in Iraq
  
6. Sarah Palin's job history
   
• 1988—briefly worked as a sports reporter
• 1992-1995—Wasilla city council member
• 1996-2001—Mayor of Wasilla (pop. 5469 in 2000)
  
• 2003—Chair of Alaska Oil and Gas Commission, but then resigned
  
• 2003-2005—one of 3 directors of a 527 PAC supporting Ted Stevens
• December 2006-present—Governor of Alaska
7. Sarah Palin's honesty
   
• Ran for Governor on a "build-the-bridge" platform, but after Congress rescinded the earmark, claimed that she was the one who told Congress no thanks on "the bridge to nowhere"
  
• Claimed that no one in the Governor's office had pressured anyone to fire the state trooper (her sister's ex-husband) but later admitted it when e-mails and recorded conversations were released
  
8. Sarah Palin and "Country First"
   
• Associating with the Alaska Independence Party for more than a decade, addressing their convention from her Governor's desk with words of support and encouragement
  
• Happy about her candidacy because it will be "great for Alaska"
  
9. John McCain's wisdom (or absence thereof)
   
• Campaign didn't go through routine vetting process
• McCain met her once
  
• FBI didn't vet her either
  

In other Alaska news, attorneys for embattled Senator Ted Stevens will try to keep certain audio tapes from the jury—saying the FBI illegally wiretapped an Alaska oil contractor and just happened to get Ted on tape 105 times. The irony is delicious.

P.S. Here's a truly terrific blog about Alaska, and Sarah Palin in particular!

Watch the Sleight of Hand

Here we have John McCain under fire for failing to fully vet his recent VP pick.  Sarah Palin came on stage bragging about her "maverick-ness" in challenging the status quo.  As it turns out, she supported the "bridge to nowhere" before she opposed it.  Sarah Palin came on stage touting her fundamentalist Christian values.  But that was before the blogosphere investigated, and eventually Sarah had to admit that her 16-17 yr old daughter, unwed, was pregnant.

Don't count on the speakers at the disrupted (thanks to hurricane Gustav) convention to bring up either of these points.  And you can bet they will steer clear of the fact that VP nominee Sarah Palin had to hire lawyers in the probe about her abuse of power when firing Walt Monegan.  There are at least 3 more examples of Palin's vindictiveness and abuse to back it up.

But instead, the Republican National Convention will once again try to tie in 9/11 as a reason to vote Republican.   As many of us already know, the elevation of 9/11 to its sacrosanct position is pure theatre.  And even if 9/11 was not the egregious hoax that it was, Ms. Palin and Mr. McCain had precious little to do with the events of that day.

Maybe we should just call the Republicans the 9/11 party -- the people who perpetrated it, who promoted it, who let it happen, and who benefited from it immensely.