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Though many of us suffer from Palin Factor Fatigue, it is irrefutable that there is a nagging curiosity to have the question answered, ?How in the world did Sarah Palin become so popular and why do we still need to hear about her?? My book answers these questions in detail and urges us all to be vigilant. She is one of a small pool of ?rising stars in the republican party? as John McCain stated as recently as January 25, 2009 on Fox News Sunday.
As unbelievable as her meteoric rise was we cannot delude ourselves, turning our backs once again, into thinking that she and those like her are going away. This woman is joined by millions of loyalists whose perception is that she was persecuted in the media, stifled by McCain, and mocked by liberals - and now the theocratic conservatives are regrouping with a vengeance!
"Blue Oasis" began in 2005 in its Blogger format (now an archive) and became possibly the first Alaska Blog on Progressive Politics. At the 2008 Democratic National Convention, Celtic Diva's Blue Oasis was honored to represent Alaska as the state blog.
Transition--Community Blog
In September 2008, Celtic Diva's Blue Oasis moved to a Soapblox Community Blog format. Readers can become full participants by registering on the blog to comment and write "diaries." Diary titles appear on the right sidebar for folks to read and provide comments. Blog editors may choose to move some of these diaries to the front page.
While this Community was formed specifically with Alaska in mind, all "friends of Alaska" are welcome as members!
**Note about registering** Scroll down the right side until you find the link to register. Then, just follow the instructions!
**Note about comments** To comment on a story, click on the heading and then look for the "comment bar" at the bottom (it's light grey, I can't seem to change it). I believe the font color NOW permits you to see the "post comment" text.
YOUR BLOGMISTRESS
My name is Linda Kellen Biegel and I am a former 15-year Federal employee. Thirteen of those years were spent working for the US Army Corps of Engineers. I am also semi-retired from the Alaska music scene (singer, sound tech, stage manager, logistics).
When the blog was chosen to represent Alaska in the DNCC State Blogger Pool at the Denver Convention, I attended with the help of Alaska Real blogmistress, Writing Raven and my daughter Morrigan. On August 29th, one day after Barack Obama's inspiring speech at Invesco Field , my life took another turn as it did for all Alaska bloggers when Gov. Sarah Palin was chosen to be John McCain's VP running mate. Since then, I've either assisted or have been interviewed by media from the UK, Italy, Australia and Germany as well as national media outlets such as Wall Street Journal, NY Times, ABC Good Morning America's Kate Snow, National Journal, Dallas Morning News, LA Times, and NPR.
Presently, I work as a freelance writer, PR, event coordinator, community organizer, wife to computer programmer Josh and mother to 11-year-old Morrigan. Our family especially enjoys our summers in Alaska where we get to subsistence set-net fish Sockeye salmon as well as halibut fish/whalewatch in the family's homemade aluminum boat, "The Neverdone" (when it's working). We reside in Anchorage, Alaska.
Origin of "Celtic Diva"
I've used "Celtic Diva" as a screen name since the early 1990's on Web TV.
"Folks have asked about my Celtic heritage, especially in light of my name. What they don't realize is that I'm adopted. I was born Valerie Morehead of the Clan Muirhead. I was adopted at three-months-old by the Kellens. I always "knew" I was Celt even before really knew. I was drawn to all things Scottish, especially music. That's why my parents eventually told me at age 16."
"Linda is well-known in Alaska & beyond as the prominent progressive political blogger Celtic Diva of Celtic Diva?s Blue Oasis. But back in the day, the early 1990s, I knew her as Linda Kellen, a member of the local folk/rock band Sky is Blu, which amongst other things performed in at least a couple or so of the annual women?s show Celebration of Change, in which I also performed. And if you don?t already know, let me tell you: Linda is one fine damn singer."
I went on after the break-up of "Sky is Blu" to perform with various Alaska musicians and work with national folks like Bo Diddly, Coco Montoya, Debbie Davies, Taj Mahal, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Bad Company, Creedence Clearwater, Carny Wilson, etc...
USA Women's Olympic Hockey Team Star Kerry Weiland with our friend Isabella and my daughter Morrigan at St. Baldrick's Day
(Scroll down to find posts.)
(Please register to participate in diaries and comments! We'd love for you to join our Community!)
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One of the first things that struck me when I started going through MSNBC's 3000 pages of emails from the State of Alaska is that whomever was making the decisions on what to "redact" and what to release was much more lax with these emails than with my records request. A number of these emails were VERY embarassing for Palin in that they irrefutably back-up what former friends and ex-supporters alike have repeatedly stated--that Palin will throw the most loyal, dedicated worker under the bus. The conversation threads provide a facinating look into Palin's behavior and thought(?) process when it comes to what she demands of her supporters.
Take the case of Glen Biegel. Glen has a long history as a Republican supporting conservative issues in Alaska. The most significant of these is his long-time participation and leadership role in Alaska Right to Life...a group that "coincidentally" was a very important constituency for Palin. Alaska-Right-to-Life-ers were the ones manning the phones, standing on street corners waving signs, etc...They provided a good chunk of the ground forces Palin needed during her campaign for Governor.
As mentioned on Palingates this morning, Glen became a strong member of Palin's campaign team, putting in countless hours as a speechwriter. Glen was also involved in a number of strategy discussions and campaign decisions, including their direction on oil and gas. Another former Palin campaign worker once stated to me that the dedication of both Glen Biegel and John Bitney made Palin's abuse of them and their fall-from-grace even more offensive.
Glen talked about these emails himself when he filled-in on Dan Fagan's Show (H/T Palingates):
What both "offenses" have in common...he answered questions about them on the air, including on the radio show of her hated enemy, Dan Fagan.
Glen has been a board member of the Alaska Home Education Alliance...another very important constituency for the credibility of anyone attempting to portray themselves as a Conservative. That plus his position on the Palin campaign and as her supporter made him the obvious recipient of mail from other homeschool parents wanting to know the status of Palin's campaign promises...especially when, as the email thread demonstrates, the Palin Administration had been non-responsive since July 2007. The first email of the thread is actually listed seperately and is the one Palingates partially posted in their article. Three hours later, Glen sent a response:
From: Glen Biegel
To: Palin, Sarah (GOV sponsored)
Sent: Wed Sep 12 09:25:25 2007
Subject:: Fw: Letter from Governor Palin
Governor,
Here is a copy of a letter from Lynn Smith and an email from one of our parents.
Thanks
Glen
Here also is a paste from a different email about a response to Lynn Smith and a
conversation that She, Sally Javier and I had
The attached information, seen HERE, included an education questionaire Palin responded to during the campaign which made specific promises regarding homeschooling. Palin is obviously still irritated:
From: Palin, Sarah (GOV sponsored)
To: Glen Biegel
Sent: Wednesday, September 12, 2007 1:49 PM
Subject: Re: Letter from Governor Palin
I was not provided all this infomation/communications Glen. Thanks for bringing it to my attention- but this is all the more reason a more responsible venue should have been found for you to air your grievences instead of playing into our known critic's hands. Fagan seemed to be using you, big time. All I could think of when listening to you was: "With friends like this, who needs enemies".
And it's not personally "hard on me" to go through things like that yesterday, but a conservative agenda gets squashed when those who could be working together to accomplish something are set up like you were yesterday. That was brutual Glen, and I've heard from others saying worse things than "brutal". Please don't pass these thoughts on to Fagan - he hates me and my administration enough as it is.
Yes, it's brutal to ask a politician about their timeline regarding campaign promises...especially when she is the politician being held accountable. It's also obvious that Palin has her own obsession with Fagan.
From: Glen Biegel
To: Palin, Sarah (GOV sponsored)
Sent: Sat Sep 15 06:38:06 2007
Subject: Re: Letter from Governor Palin
Governor,
I still don't have any indication on how you want to proceed (Timeframe, next steps, meetings, etc). I am having to make guesses on what will happen in the future without any guidance, and then speak about it on the air. I will indicate on air that I did not get the information to you or to the right people and that I have every confidence that this issue will turn out, but it would be nice to have something more than your response below.
I don't want to make things worse (if they can get worse).
Thanks
Glen
Another sin...Glen very civily and subtly pointed out that Palin had neither answered the question nor provided any requested information.
So, Palin comes back at him again:
Glen- i am in Juneau. I got your message a couple of days ago, have been tasking folks to find out what I'm missing so you could receive an appropriate response with going back and forth again. Without fail, each person has reported back that they were confident they had communicated with you about our desire to help.
They had "communicated with you about our desire to help." She was still providing none of the information that was requested and was getting nastier about the fact he kept asking.
I had people spend more than a day looking for "my" letter to you that seemed to have been the catalyst for the miscommunications on the air, because we wanted all info in front of us in order to respond. That letter was nonexistent, I believe you clarified then about the letter. That was less than three days ago. We're still seeking info on this issue so there will be no more miscommunications, damaged relationships, distrust, missed opportunities to help, etc. I believe you overreacted and you left many people with the impression that their homeschool issues will be better dealt with in a different administration.
It doesn't seem wise to me for you to "make guesses" about anything, then speak about it on the air. I have not had the chance to sit down with the AG to speak about this, as your request is to speak to him, so though it's not wise, nor fair, to "make guesses" again on the air, I can not tell you what to say on air... I've already expressed the committment to help, the tasking of staff to gather more information so the board can more aggressively tackle the issues, I've insisted homeschoolers get adequate time to address the board... etc.
So, Palin feels it's "not wise, nor fair" to "make guesses" on the air. Yet she also states that "I can not tell you what to say on the air..."
She can't tell a talk radio host what to say on the air when he is trying to help her Administration?
The last communication in this series between Palin and Biegel comes from Glen:
Subject: Re: Letter from Governor Palin
Thank you for the response. That helps me a lot.
God Bless,
Glen
There is no way to know for sure from this email if the "That helps me a lot" was meant sarcastically.
Palin then forwards the email string to Talis Colberg, her AG at the time, and adds the rest of the "inner sanctum" folks on the CC: list (the two last email addresses are Todd and Frank Bailey). Not surprisingly, we don't get to know the content of that message:
From: Palin, Sarah (GOV sponsored)
Sent: Saturday, September 15, 2007 7:17 AM
To: Colberg; Talis J (LAW)
CC: Tibbles; Michael A (GOV); Perry; Kristina Y (GOV); Smith; Lynne M (GOV);
'fek9wnr@yahoo.com'; 'ftb907@yahoo.com'
Subject: Letter from Governor Palin
Talis
REDACTED
I don't think you'd be surprised to discover that it was around this time, Eddie Burke had started to become the Palin's bestest radio buddy! He's not impeded by an intellect as sharp as Glen's!
Another email thread between Glen and the former Governor happened several months later, December 2007. Again, it was the result of Glen asking for clarification regarding a tax issue, not getting it, and then doing his best to address the issue on the air.
The most interesting aspect of this exchange is when Palin does something that makes me wonder how often it's happened...she sends her response to the "inner sanctum," but seemingly forgets that Biegel is still on the "TO" line:
----- Original Message -----
From: Patin, Sarah (GOV sponsored)
To: Glen Biegel; 'fek9wnr@yahoo.com'
Cc: 'ftb907@yahoo.com'; Perry, Kristina Y (GOV) ; Anders, Bruce F (DNR) ; Galvin, Patrick S (DOR); Irwin, Tom E (DNR) ; Rutherford, Marty K (DNR) ; Tibbles, Michael A (GOV) ; Leighow, Sharon W (GOV)
Sent: Thursday, December 13, 2007 9:12 PM
Subject: Re: Questions on the interest of the Admin for a lock in of Tax rates for Gas.
Does he not understand that CP's "proposal" doesn't meet the state's "must haves"... they admit it's far outside the law (AGIA) and even CP has admitted locking up tax rates for 30 yrs (!) as Glen suggests is unacceptable to the legislature, the Alaskan public, this administration, and the Constitution. THEY don't even ask for a 30 year lock-up.
He said that "the campaign" didn't have a problem with that fiscal certainty? Huh? And that he was the gasline consultant to the campaign? Huh? Tell that to the Magnificant 7 who publicly explained the folly of Murkowski's plan, and my willingness to embrace their advice and consultation.
Surely he knows we would not divulge any AGIA info to him that we wouldn't share with the public at the appropriate time... despite the megaphone he has with his radio show and his frequent visits with Dan Fagan on
Fagan's show.
Glen responds twice to an email he wasn't supposed to see, once HERE and then, a clarification HERE. Both times, he took the high road.
However, there is a third branch to this thread, where we see Palin sending Glen the response she MEANT for him 19 MINUTES after sending the one she DIDN'T mean to send!
-----Original Message-----
From: Paln, Sarah (GOV sponsored)
Sent: Thu 12/13/2007 9:31 PM
1 ROSTON 01234
To: 'Glen Biegel'; 'fek9wnr@yahoo.com'
Cc: 'ftb907@yahoo.com'; Perry, Kristina Y (GOV); Anders, Bruce F (DNR); Galvin, Patrick S (DOR);
Irwin, Tom E (DNR); Rutherford, Marty K (DNR); Tibbles, Michael A (GOV); Leighow, Sharon W
(GOV)
Subject: Re: Questions on the interest of the Admin for a lock in of Tax rates for Gas.
Glen- I sent this reply with all due respect, and in confidence between you and my administrators who have been working hard on getting Alaska's gasline project up and running.
"...WITH ALL DUE RESPECT?" Where was that "respect" 19 minutes ago when she sent the snipe-fest to the "inner sanctum?"
From now on, everytime Palin says the phrase "with all due respect," I'll wonder what Palin ACTUALLY said just minutes before. (Joe Biden at the VP debate?)
And once again, we see something else that may be a pattern...finishing an email thread with a REDACTED email:
From: Anders, Bruce F (DNR)
Sent: Thursday, December 13, 2007 10:20 PM
To: Palin; Sarah (GOV sponsored); 'fek9wnr@yahoo.com'
CC: 'ftb907@yahoo.com'; Perry; Kristina Y (GOV); Galvin ; Patrick S (DOR); Irwin ; Tom E (DNR);
Rutherford; Marty K (DNR); Tibbles ; Michael A (GOV); Leighow; Sharon W (GOV)
Subject: RE: Questions on the interest of the Admin for a lock in of Tax rates for Gas.
REDACTED
The MSNBC emails are a treasure trove of information as long as someone is able to put them in context for the general public.
(**NOTE**I truly appreciate the folks who have been sending me information, links to interesting emails and questions about what they have read. Many of you have been asking whether Glen and I are related--the answer is "yes, we are." Glen is the older brother of my husband. However, it is not pertinent to the story...it would be hard for us to be more diametrically opposed in our ideologies. Therefore, we NEVER discuss politics...ever...nor do we discuss our blog posts/radio programs. Consequently, we've never discussed any of this and I learned about the existence of these emails with the rest of the world.
Any information in this post is already public knowledge somewhere on the Internet, over the airwaves or from other sources. The only deference I gave to Glen as a family member took the form of waiting for him to talk about this in a public forum first before I posted anything about it. Matt Felling of KTVA already mentioned something about it on Twitter last week and Palingates posted Glen's disclosure this morning.)
Today I did some more reading of Todd Palin's revealed emails from MSNBC's records request. I hope to post something tomorrow regarding questions some of you have been asking. I also want to thank all those folks who have been pointing out emails they find interesting. I'm making notes of them and researching to see if they are significant.
It seems that everyone, right and left, are reading the emails. However, this struck me as friggin' amazing on Twitter today. It seems that there was one email from Sarah regarding Piper Palin that a bunch of the Teabaggers thought was "so cute." I expected something like the hair-flattening moment at the Republican Convention so I decided to check it out. Imagine my horror when I read this:
From: gov.sarah@yahoo.com [mailto :gov.sarah@yahoo.com]
Sent: Tuesday , January 15 , 2008 9:08 AM
To: Kelly, Russell T (GOV); Tibbles, Michael A (GOV); Frank Bailey ; Perry, Kristina Y (GOV);
Leighow, Sharon W (GOV); Leschper, Beth (GOV); Frye, Ivy J (DOA)
Cc: Balash , Joseph R (GOV); Todd ; Anders, Bruce F (DNR); Irwin , Tom E ( DNR); Rutherford, MartyK (DNR); Sally Heath ; Molly; Chuck
Subject: Lyda vs Piper
Oh no. Last night Piper overheard me griping about Lyda's action - and she said : "Can you pull her hair?"
From: Frye, Ivy J (DOA) [/O=SOA/OU=FIRST ADMINISTRATIVE GROUP/CN=RECIPIENTS/CN=IJFRYE]
Sent: Tuesday, January 15, 2008 9:11 AM
To: External Ernailgsp
Cc: fek9wnr@yahoo.com
Subject: RE: Lyda vs Piper
Now that's the best idea I've heard yet! What a smart kid!
So we think it's funny to suggest beating up a grandma who is a cancer survivor? We already knew Sarah's lack-of-class regarding Ms. Green. We have it recorded when she giggled incessantly while Bob Lester called Lyda a "bitch" and a "cancer."
Of course, the spin back then was that she was just laughing because she didn't know what else to do, yet these emails are totally backing the "Mean Girl" persona Sarah's former friends and co-workers have described. Isn't it facinating how the "real" Sarah is leaking out all over from these private-account emails?
The scariest part is that Piper (what was she in 2008, 7 or 8 yrs old?) is being encouraged to exhibit those same personality traits by someone like Ivy Frye who is around her all of the time. ("The Babysitter")
Piper and Willow fighting while Ivy Frye looks on--at the Governor's Picnic in Anchorage, July 2009
My 12-year-old daughter has NEVER said ANYTHING like that before...and she'd be in trouble if she ever said it about anyone, even Sarah Palin.
(I hear banjos in the distance...)
So, on to more pleasant pursuits...
Planting artichokes
I planted my seeds today in the make-shift greenhouse-on-a-card-table I put together in front of a southern window.
I used a tomato seed-starter because they are for larger seeds. While the directions for the tomatoes said to put three seeds in each, I only put one artichoke seed in, since the plants are much larger.
I only planted 12 seeds, since I'm saving 4 of those tomato starters for leeks. Believe it or not, leeks have a long growing season as well and I need to start them in a couple of weeks.
If you look at the picture of the table, I have a pile of seed packets and many more seed starters. As the spring gets closer, I'll be starting more seeds for the garden. I may have to set up another table at a different window!
sigh...back to the quitter...
Sarah Palin's Teabagger Speech
Well, she's trying to go back to those days of yesteryear--the days of the Republican Convention when she was shiny and new...where Sarah Palin could be the smiling hate-monger...the pitbull with lipstick...and have all the Republicans and even some Independents love her.
Sarah, dear, those days are gone. We know you now. The only people you excited with this speech are people that are already excited by you. As I've pointed out the last several days, those numbers are dwindling as your facade cracks and greedy, narcissistic Sarah keeps leaking through.
It's pretty clear that she didn't bring any moderates into the fold today:
Of course, one thing that Sarah Palin single-handedly managed to do with this speech was completely demolish the anti-teleprompter meme against President Obama. If there is any doubt about that, all we have to do is see it in the words of loyal Palinistas:
@BlondeAmerican: @SarahPalinUSA is looking down at her notes a lot. No teleprompter? This is ONE area where she can actually learn from the president.
about 7 hours ago from Twitter
She also made herself a laughingstock by writing notes on her hand like a teenager...and then trying to hide it afterwards.
If you missed the speech, here are a number of links where folks live-blogged it, reviewed it and covered the "hand writing" phenomenon.
There was a section of the Q&A that set off alarm bells as I was busily chatting on Twitter and Political Carnival. I didn't really catch all of it so I went looking for a recap afterwards. Sure enough, my favorite British newspaper, The Guardian, covered it (emphasis mine):
The weirdest part of the evening came not during the speech but during the following Q&A session. Asked what she thought that a Republican-controlled congress's top three priorities should be, she answered: stop spending, energy policy and ... well, here's the whole quote, judge for yourself:
I think, kind of tougher to put our arms around, but allowing America's spirit to rise again by not being afraid to kind of go back to some of our roots as a God fearing nation where we're not afraid to say especially in times of potential trouble in the future here, where we're not afraid to say, you know, we don't have all the answers as fallible men and women so it would be wise of us to start seeking some divine intervention again in this country, so that we can be safe and secure and prosperous again. To have people involved in government who aren't afraid to go that route, not so afraid of the political correctness that you know - they have to be afraid of what the media said about them if they were to proclaim their alliance to our creator.
She was careful enough to say "God fearing" rather than "Christian"...but I'm sure the people who were supposed to get that message understood it perfectly. This was targetted towards the Dominionists like Fred Dobson and Focus on the Family, Franklin Graham and his followers, and the hundreds of evangelicals out there who have focused all of their time and energy to turn the US into a theocracy.
Sarah Palin used that speech and Q&A to reassure them that she was still their girl.
You KNOW President Obama laughed at THIS one!
Finally, I leave you with one hysterical skit from Saturday Night Live of "Rahm Emmanuel" asking Sarah Palin for an apology. I just couldn't stop giggling and the shots at Palin just made me cheer! (H/T Shannyn Moore)
Last week, I don't think I was the only Progressive who felt a little (OK, a LOT) depressed about the news. The most serious blow nationally was obviously the Supreme Court decision in the Citizen's United case, that Corporations could use millions of dollars under the guise of the First Amendment. Locally, it was our own Alaska Superior Court's (via the "drunk judge") decision to allow public officials to make their emails inaccessible to...well...the public. Then, of course, it seemed that the Sarah Palin misinformation campaigns were winning while the very-real experiences Alaskans and others had with her unethical behavior were being swept under the rug.
What a difference a week makes!
While President Obama helped fuel a certain upswing in moods with his recent brilliant performances in Q&As with Congress, we've had progress on the Palin front as well: her true ethics are now being seen publicly.
--We started to see disenchantment when many grassroots tea partiers discovered that the much-touted Tea Party Convention was actually a for-profit exercise costing each attendee about $500.00. The true disenchantment came when it was revealed that over $300.00 of that cost was a banquet, where Ms. Palin was speaking for a $100,000 fee. While others like Michelle Bachmann pulled out of the event (BTW...she was doing it for free) because of the unrest and even some sponsorship bailout, our Sarah stayed strong and promised to "stick with it." She also stated that she wouldn't profit from that $100,000.00 speaking fee...but was VERY short on details as to how that was going to work.
(I hope everyone has enough popcorn and soda to watch the speech on Fox Saturday night AND the Superbowl the next day. I plan to be Tweeting away...I'm sure many of you will be as well. Think of the Saturday speech as a pre-game event...sort of the "sinners" before the "Saints.")
An interesting development, Conservative slime bag Dan Riehl, (who started a national campaign to slander our own Gryphen in the worst way so that Dan could show his undying love for Sarah) has become increasingly cynical about the former Governor since her affiliation with the Tea Party Convention. This week, he expressed disgust at that and her SarahPAC money donations to non-tea-party candidates like Rand. He points out all of this as reflecting the hypocrisy of her claim that the appearance in Nashville does not benefit her directly.
-- I'm sure that everyone saw the great article our own AKM did on Mudflats and Huffington Post about the "Palin cabin" Sarah is so fond of dicussing, yet the property is assessed (and taxed) as having no cabin! The AP took it viral and also did further research with the Mat Su Borough property assessors, only to discover that it IS the responsibility of property owners to notify the State about changes they make to their property that changes the assessment.
Of course, die-hard Palin fan-bois and gals have the same ethical viewpoint as their fearless leader, as we see with the Freepers on Free Republic:
To: All
Lived in AK for 25 years and NEVER reported any improvemnents to my properties or purchases.
You wanna tax me Borough? Then do your job. It's not my job as a state citizen to hand you new ways to tax me and my families hard earned purchases.
13 posted on Thursday, February 04, 2010 8:17:57 PM by liberty or death
To: liberty or death
Lived in AK for 25 years and NEVER reported any improvemnents to my properties or purchases.
I have lived in the same house in Pennsylvania for as long and never once asked for a building permit for stuff I have done on my house because all they would do is up my taxes.
They might discover it the next time the county does a reassessment, but in the mean time, if I spend my own money to improve my property, it's none of their damn business.
48 posted on Thursday, February 04, 2010 8:50:06 PM by Ditto
To: highlander_UW
Property tax is unconstitutional anyway. It removes the ability to own land as property. Instead you only lease it. As soon as you fail to pay taxes that land can be taken away...so when you buy you may get control over the land but only as long as you pay rent to the gov't.
Bingo. you dont own something you have to pay taxes on.
53 posted on Thursday, February 04, 2010 8:57:54 PM by ColdSteelTalon
So, according to the Freeper brain trust:
Sarah Palin = gooooooood
Paying Property Taxes = baaaaaaaad
Dishonesty = acceptable when it benefits MEEEEEEE
Breaking the Law = Patriotic
Fine, upstanding Americans these Palinistas!
--Another big problem for Sarah Palin this week: they allowed the wackiest of whack-jobs to open the National Tea Party Convention.
For example: Tom Tancredo spent his time laughing at the literacy of Democratic voters. As someone who gets some of the biggest affronts to the English language every day in the form of right-wing hate mail, I find it hysterical to hear a Conservative complain about literacy:
And then there is Joseph Farah, owner of Wing Nut Daily and birther who made the point that "even Jesus Christ understood the importance of a birth certificate!" Huh?
The crazy...it burns...
The good news for Sarah...Palin's speech may look brilliant in comparison.
--Finally, MSNBC came into possession of over 1,200 emails from the State of Alaska which include Todd Palin somewhere in an address line. I've been going through these all day and there is definitely some interesting information. These were emails from the private accounts and it's obvious the senders didn't think they'd ever go public. There are even a couple so far where Sarah Palin shows her true colors. Yes...I mean bitch...
However, I've barely scratched the surface. I'll continue to go through them over the next several days and report back.
Back in April, I did THIS POST when a then-unknown Kim Chatman joined the Juneteenth lawsuit, legitimizing it with an Alaskan resident so it could move forward in the courts. The basis of the lawsuit: Sarah Palin did not issue a proclamation celebrating Juneteenth in 2007, even after numerous reminders from Alaska residents.
Making this proclamation is part of Alaska law:
Juneteenth, a holiday observance which celebrates the freeing of the last remaining slaves in Galveston, Texas on June 19, 1865, has been adopted in 29 states and was signed into law in Alaska in 2001. The bill known as HB 100 specifies that the "governor shall issue a proclamation observing the day."
Officials were also concerned that this was just part of a pattern of behavior:
In a related development, National Juneteenth Chairman Rev. Ronald V. Myers, Sr., M.D has requested a meeting with Governor Palin to allow her an opportunity to reconcile the conflict surrounding Juneteenth, stating that in addition to the 2007 failure, Palin "not responding to invitations to participate in the annual Alaska Juneteenth Celebration has created doubts in the minds of Alaska Juneteenth leaders about ever receiving any support for Juneteenth from the governor".
Washington, DC (PRWEB) November 4, 2009 -- Former Governor Sarah Palin, in the wake of her much publicized book and upcoming interview on Oprah, has rejected a settlement offer in the 2009 Juneteenth lawsuit (Case no. 3:09-cv-00091 United States District Court of Alaska). The plaintiffs' settlement offer, made by jazz musician Gregory Charles Royal and former Palin supporter Kim Chatman, was for Palin to merely follow through on what Alaska Assistant Attorney General Margaret Paton-Walsh said Palin would do: issue the 2007 proclamation.
Palin has been accused by the plaintifffs and has publicly admitted that she failed to issue the 2007 Juneteenth Day Proclamation which was required under Alaska statute. Palin has also been accused by African American leaders in Alaska as being the first governor in the state not to support the holiday observance.
The Alaska Attorney General's office said that former-Governor Palin would honor the settlement. There is no way the Asst. AG said that without corroboration with the Palin camp.
Commenting on Walsh's statement made in a July 2009 Associated Press article "that the governor is going to issue the 2007 proclamation" and that "a very big deal is being made out of a very small clerical error", Royal said: "Palin's choice, which should be clear to everybody at this point, to defy the African-American observance demonstrates exactly why we pushed in a lawsuit, what some called a trivial issue. We knew what she would do and just sat back to watch it play out. Her motivations, which as far as their racial component, we will let the public debate. Her claims that public resources have been wasted fighting ethics complaint is, well need I say more? The cost of our settlement for her to comply with the law, zero. The continuing cost to the state for her to evade issuing the proclamation, I'm sure she knows the math."
Palin's refusal to comply proves that this was no "small clerical error." So Palin lied...again.
This doesn't surprise any of us who truly know the nature of Sarah Palin. However, I am always flabbergasted that Palin refuses to make the logical, adult decision and instead chooses the spoiled high school cheerleader solution...blatant defiance no matter what the consequence.
But it doesn't end there.
The most interesting part of this case is the extremes Palin seems willing to go to in order to get her way...extremes that are clearly pushing the patience of the judge:
In a October 26th order, Alaska District Court judge Timothy Burgess has also ordered Palin to explain by November 4th, her claims that she has not been served the lawsuit which sparked a flurry of motions in August:
"It is unclear to the Court whether the defendant continues to contest that she was served"...."If service is still contested, the defendant must explain what steps she believes the plaintiffs must now take in order to properly serve her, and how she suggests this be accomplished." " The defendant is cautioned that so long as a party receives sufficient notice of the complaint, Rule 4 is to be liberally construed to uphold service'"......"Among other attempts at service, the plaintiffs filed an unexecuted service of summons stating that when their process server attempted to serve the defendant at the Governor's Office, her executive secretary refused to accept service."...."Sufficient service may be found where there is a good faith effort to comply with the requirements (for service) and further compliance ... is only prevented by the defendant's knowing and intentional actions to evade service."
If you think for a minute that secretary's refusal to accept the documents from the process server was NOT at the behest of the former Governor, read Andrew Halcro's tantalizing post. He shares some newly-gleaned information from one of the co-authors of former Palin aide Frank Bailey's upcoming book, "...the book that will contain the REAL Sarah Palin story, "Renegade: Sarah Palin's Hatchet Man." The new information surrounds Frank Bailey's infamous call to State Trooper Rodney Dial, requesting his help to get Palin's former bro-in-law Mike Wooten fired:
Todd Palin refuted that they ever pressured Bailey into calling Dial, however this is a great example of the plausible deniability that they've become so adept at.
Minutes after Bailey's phone call to Dial in February 2008, he sent an email via his Blackberry to Ivy Frye, another one of the three close insiders to the Palin family that were hired in her administration. Just got off the phone with Rodney, Bailey wrote to Frye, I don't think he gets it.
Phone records also show that the night before Bailey's call to Dial, Todd Palin placed several phone calls to Frye leading up to Bailey's call to Dial.
So who pressured Bailey into calling Dial? It seems that Todd Palin pressured Frye into pressuring Bailey into making the call, thus Bailey's revalation to Dial that he was calling on behalf of Sarah and Todd and in doing so Todd could deny culpability.
I'm practically giddy in anticipation of THAT book!
But back to the Juneteenth case: it seems that Palin is supposed to provide information by the end of today to explain herself. Based on my experience with her legal manuevers, if she bothers to provide the paperwork, I don't believe it will be particularly explanatory.
This is just one more legal issue to put on the list of "cases to watch."
If Todd Palin had said something about coming there for a social event (instead of me), you know what would have happened - he would have been trashed....which would have been unfair. The reporter may have been working - but he was not. He was at a social event and not looking to be ambushed by a surprise interview.
So, Ms. Garafalo should have been fully prepared for an ambush interview by Fox when she was coming out of Starbucks minding her own business yet Todd Palin should have been protected at a public function involving media?
...fair and balanced my *ss...
So what's the REAL story, Greta, cough it up:
a) Are the Palin's paying you?
b) If not, have they reported your pro-bono bodyguard and publicist services as gifts?
It seems like long ago, but in Part I, we discussed some background regarding gift "issues" that the Governor has been facing as a result of her campaign for Vice President. (If she'd turned over the governing of the state to the Lite Gov., she wouldn't be in this mess...but I digress.)
We also discussed the yearly reporting requirements under the Alaska Public Offices Commission and mentioned testimony given by Andree McLeod at their latest quarterly meeting regarding those gifts.
You may have wondered: Why was Andree McLeod testifying at that APOC meeting?
On the agenda, the APOC was going to provide the answers to several "Advisory Opinion Requests" put in from Linda Perez for her boss, the Governor. (Requests for "Advisory Opinions" come from candidates or other public employees who may be confused as to whether or not they need to report something specific on any of their APOC documents. Here, we were talking about gifts so it was in reference to the Governor's financial disclosure form (POFD).)
The first of the Advisory Opinion Requests from Linda Perez was AO-09-05-POFD:
If Governor Palin donates to third parties the gifts that were received by her or her family as a result of her vice-presidential candidacy, must she report those gifts under Alaska's Public Official Financial Disclosure Laws?
Per the APOC:
The short answer is yes. Even if a gift is donated to a third party, it must still be reported on the Governor's annual Public Official Financial Disclosure form.
So in other words, if the Governor...say...donates a bunch of clothes she just wore a couple of times to a charity organization, she must still report it on her gift disclosure forms. Hmmmmm...
The second Advisory Opinion Request, AO-09-06-POFD, was related:
If a public official receives a gift, and returns that gift to the individual who gave it, must the public official report the gift under Alaska's Public Official Financial Disclosure Laws?
Per the APOC:
The short answer is no. A proffered gift which is not accepted by a public official does not need to be reported on a Public Official Financial Disclosure Form.
So, hypothetically, if you were "given" a bunch of clothes by the Republican Party but you gave them back to the Republican Party then you wouldn't have to report them on your POFD.
Or would you?
When dicussion on this came up at the meeting, there was a spirited debate among the Commissioners because one important issue was not addressed in the response...the fact that NO BENEFIT could be derived before the "gifts" were returned.
The decision was made for a rewrite of the response for the next meeting to address the issue of "no benefit." So, hypothetically, the next meeting (June) the decision will be made whether wearing clothes before they are given back derives a benefit.
As I stated before, Ms. McLeod testified the day before in anticipation of the answers to Linda Perez's Advisory Opinion Requests. Two of the issues Ms. McLeod raised were the subject of much discussion during "unfinished business" section on the second day.
1) Would you please request Palin to submit the appropriate amendments to her [financial disclosure] report instead of waiting for a complaint?
2) Why did Palin not completely disclose gifts she received last year? There have been reports of hundreds upon hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of clothes, hair and make-up services that she and the family received yet they are missing from the report, although the travel costs are included. Though on the campaign trail, Sarah Palin was still in the role of governor and must abide by Alaska financial disclosure laws. For consistency's sake, could you please request a full accounting of those clothes, hair and make-up services? Even if they were given away, they were still gifts that she and her family did receive and must be accounted for in the report, as well as other gifts she received on the campaign trail.
During the discussion, it was clear that one of the members of the Commission (Kathleen Fredrick, the Republican member from Wasilla) felt that anyone who saw anything they believed to be incorrect should be forced to file a complaint before the APOC should investigate. In other words, that would completely put the responsibility for honest politicians and campaigns on the shoulders of the public. Commission Chair Elizabeth Hickerson did not agree, stating that Commissioners had the authority to investigate without the need for a formal complaint.
Several of the Commissioners agreed that they found the first two items of Andree McLeod's testimony disturbing and upon discovery that the staff regularly sent out inquiries to public officials even without a complaint on file, they requested that the staff ask Governor Palin for clarification.
1) Are there gifts which have been received by you or your family in your personal capacity during calendar year 2008, which have not been reported on your 2009 public official financial disclosure statement covering the period January 1, 2008 through December 31, 2008? If so, please amend your most recent disclosure statement to reflect this information.
This question was directly related to the public testimony given by Andree McLeod at the meeting.
The second question surprised me:
2) You have reported a "discount on snow machines" by Arctic Cat for Todd Palin. Was this discount exercised during calendar year 2008 and what was the amount of it?
Why is this question significant? Governor Palin only listed the names of Todd's Iron Dog sponsors on her 2009 (covering calendar year 2008) financial disclosure statement, not any amounts. This is different from her 2008 financial disclosure (calendar year 2007), where the Palin's claimed a total of $7,500.00 income/gifts from Arctic Cat. Listing only the names of the sponsors and not the amounts is "legal" as long as the gifts for each sponsor total LESS THAN $1,000.00.
Remember, 2008 was the year AFTER he and Scott Davis won. Also remember this is now a separate question coming directly from APOC regarding "disclosure" on her forms. It's not affiliated with any other agency.
(Next: we'll look at the pieces of a smear campaign orchestrated by "Chief of Backlash" Mike Nizich against Andree McLeod.)
*UPDATED with links to Gov. Palin's financial disclosure forms for 2008 and 2009.
*All information for this piece was obtained:
1) - through attendance at the quarterly APOC meeting in April
2) - through $5.00 purchase of the CDs containing the raw recording information used in the eventual minutes of the meeting. The minutes will not be available until the June meeting.
3) - through hard copies of the the "Advisory Opinion Requests" from Linda Perez and APOC's responses to those requests.
Here is her appearance on Good Morning America, which she also did this morning:
She appeared on The Today Show with her dad, Todd, who inadvertantly called Tripp "a mistake." Ooops... (note: my blog hates the MSNBC video code...sorry)
And Levi appeared on The Early Show today, talking about how the new "abstinence only" message is "unrealistic"...much like what Bristol said earlier on Greta's show (video below)...before the abstinence message suddenly became more important. Hmmm, wonder why? (h/t to Palingates for embed of video...I couldn't figure it out this morning)
Matt Lauer is going to ask her some of those hard-hitting questions...like whether or not she's met the other Candie's spokesperson, Brittany Spears.
I'm sure he won't ask her how she's justifying her new spokesperson role with this interview on Greta's show:
It's official...Bristol is her mother's daughter:
Maria Dolgetta, a spokeswoman for the foundation, said Palin will be paid for her appearance but declined to disclose how much.
Not a lot of "open and transparent" there either. Nice that they could get someone to fund Bristol's "anti-Levi damage-control" tour. Do you think Matt Lauer will ask her how she justifies that when Levi wasn't paid for his interviews?
Nah...
I had such high hopes for Bristol...perhaps Willow can still be saved?
Todd Palin's half-sister was arrested Thursday after police say she broke into a Wasilla home for the second time this week to steal money.
Palin is the husband of Gov. Sarah Palin. He declined comment.
Diana Palin, 35, entered a home near Wasilla's Multi-Use Sports Complex and attempted to steal cash from the owner's bedroom, police said.
She also broke into the same house on Tuesday and stole $400, they said.
She was arrested Thursday morning on felony charges of first-degree burglary and misdemeanor charges of criminal trespass and theft, police said. Friday morning, she remained jailed at Mat-Su Pretrial Facility in Palmer in lieu of $10,000 bail and court-approved third party custodian.
Diana and her husband, Scott McLean, live in a different neighborhood from the location of the home she is accused of burglarizing.
Ummmm...can things get much worse for her? I'm afraid to ask!
The most amazing thing about this...while the Governor has hit the "bad decision trifecta" in Alaska today (more on the next post), she's now going to take a hit in the "hearts and minds" of her right-wing base if they believe what the Johnstons are saying.
At least we are starting to understand the reason for Palin's wild and wacky behavior. When all of these family issues come crashing down and there's goin to be a quite unflattering interview between the Johnston family and Tyra Banks, I guess I'd feel the need to try to control SOMETHING!
A rare opportunity to see Governor Sarah Palin actually in Alaska, standin' by her man Todd as he hopes to continue his winning streak.
So, I'm taking wagers about the Governor's wardrobe in this AP photo:
Since Todd's sponsor is "Artic Cat," what do you think the chances are that Governor Palin actually paid for that very expensive, head-to-toe snow machining ensemble? Will we see it on future "gift reports?"
Speaking of the Iron Dog, it was subject to the biting wit of I Eat Gravel.
I have an exclusive source that's following the Davis/Palin team. Let's check in with him now.
*Cut to my top-secret reporter in the field. We'll call him Hollis.
Me: Mr. Fren... err, I mean Hollis. What can you tell us about the team?
*After an awkward 3-second delay:
Hollis: Thank you, Mr. Gravel. It's been an interesting turn of events. The Davis/Palin team had a malfunction with their GPS navigation equipment and strayed way off course. They're now hundreds of miles west of where the course led to the North. They're currently in a village called Emmonak, working on getting supplied up in order to make it back on course, and hopefully back into the race. Let's listen in right now.
You'll have to go to his blog and read the rest. Let's just say it's quite topical...and very funny!
Speaking of topical, CNN is running more of Dennis Zaki's Rural Alaskan video. My blog hates their format so you'll have to go to the link (Dennis's blog) to see it.
Dennis's videos provide an invaluable service to the people of Rural Alaska in getting the information out about their plight.
"Local government specialists in the state Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development continue to crunch numbers and seek creative approaches to finding a statutorily acceptable way to justify a disaster declaration, which would open the door to federal aid, as well," deputy press secretary Sharon Leighow said.
Leighow said Palin is sending her new rural advisor, John Moller, to the area next week, accompanied by representatives of the Alaska Food Bank.
Yet, after all this pressure, she still isn't going herself.
Lee Tompkins, BSN, is a labor and delivery nurse I met in September. She has been disturbed by the focus on the conspiracy and lack-of-focus on the medical implications of Governor Palin's fateful ride from Texas to Wasilla and subsequent birth of Trig in April 2007.
In light of the recent exploitation of that conspiracy by Palin herself, I am honored that Ms. Tomkins chose to write this article for our little blog. You've never seen an article like this one before because this is the first time someone in the medical profession has chosen to speak of it publicly.
The Birth of a Conspiracy; Delivering the Real Issue
by Lee Tompkins, BSN
"Captive Alien Held in Area 51 by U.S. Military!"
"Elvis Is Alive!"
"U.S. Government Fakes Moon Landings!"
"Sarah Palin Fakes Pregnancy, Claims Daughter's Child as Her Own!"
All very sexy headlines and all conspiracy theories that some continue to believe to this day. Are any of them true? Who knows? What is more interesting is how and why such claims are picked up and seized by a segment of the American public. The first three are ones that I can't really comment on but the Sarah Palin one I can, having watched the story closely from the time the Anchorage Daily News reported the curious story of Trig Palin's birth last April, and having the requisite background in the medical field as a labor and delivery nurse as well as the necessary swiftness of foot and mind to avoid stepping in any BS in the field.
To some extent these stories are all crazes that took hold because people wanted to believe them. The world has been enchanted with the idea of space aliens all the way from a love affair with H.G. Wells to the Great Gazoo. The idea of E.T. being held captive in Roswell was one that our Star Trek-Star Wars-Lost in Space generation of baby boomers would latch onto with all the fierceness of a lassoed Bantha.
Everybody loves Elvis. Who wouldn't want to see him alive and performing at the Sands in Vegas?
The faked Apollo moon landing theory rocketed during a time in which Americans had a high degree of distrust in the government, who were either trying to draft you to go fight a war in a rice paddy or up to their usual dirty tricks breaking into the Watergate hotel. Would it really be a stretch that such a government would totally fabricate their proudest, most historic achievement?
Which bridges us to the case of Sarah Palin.
Let me say categorically that I think the widely disseminated rumor that Sarah Palin is not the mother of her child Trig is totally false, although I know many well-informed and well-educated people who believe otherwise, and I certainly understand their theory.
I'm going to spend some time discussing the reasons why I think the Palin faked pregnancy story is not true, but first I think it is of interest to comment on why this story has really caught hold of the imagination of many.
Sarah Palin, after being thrust into the national consciousness as a Hail-Mary VP pass by McCain and the Republican Party, gave disastrous interviews with Charlie and Katie, which allowed the public begin to see the real unscripted Palin. All the while Troopergate was coming to head in Alaska, as well as other ethical issues dug up by a curious national news media. And a general consensus was formed about Sarah Palin by the public, and that consensus, held by all but her most ardent supporters, was that they disliked her. They saw her as phony, hypocritical and frightfully unprepared to be anywhere near the White House. She ended up with the highest negativity rating ever for any VP candidate, and an all-you-can-eat late night comedy feast.
So, the public loved Elvis and wanted to see him alive and there was a hopeful expectation that maybe he was still. And the general public disliked Sarah Palin and when the bizarre circumstances of the birth of her child Trig became generally known, the public wanted to believe that she was capable of faking a pregnancy in order to bolster her standing as a "family values" candidate by avoiding the baggage of a daughter who was about to become an unwed teenage mother. Avoiding that didn't quite work out for Palin as it turned out, but that didn't stop a vocal minority of conspiracy theorists to believe Palin capable of such chicanery earlier. The public wanted to believe the worst of Sarah Palin.
Which is kind of funny in a sad way when you think about it, because what the evidence very strongly suggests is that Palin was guilty of recklessly endangering the life of her unborn child, which to me is far worse than faking a pregnancy, to protect her political ambition and perhaps the reputation of her daughter. It's just not as sexy of a story, not one the public could latch onto with such fervor. Discussing ruptured membranes ain't exactly something to talk about at the dinner table. And since "life imitates art more than art imitates life" it's highly doubtful the Desperate Housewives' writers will be opening next season with one of the wives flying transcontinentally with preterm premature rupture of membranes.
Today was the much-anticipated speech of Walt Monegan's at the Democratic Bartlett Club Luncheon, which happens once a week on Thursdays at the Denny's on Debarr. I have never seen the room as packed to the rafters as it was this week. (I was surprised not to see media but I did get his speech plus the question/answer session afterwards on a .wav file.)
I attended Walt's speech at UAA last week and this one carried some of the same themes, especially that of the responsibility of leaders earning the public's trust. However, the phrase he seemed to drum home a bit harder was that of the public's responsibility to "hold our leaders accountable." As a Deputy Treasurer with Alaskan's for Truth, you can imagine that had my attention and I wonder if Mr. Monegan is directing his speech in the public forum partially to our Legislature. I didn't get a chance to ask him that but I truly hope so.
Walt didn't make any announcements but it sounded like we might hear something after the holidays. I PRAY he won't be running for Anchorage Mayor...don't get me wrong, he'd make a great one but there are already 3 non-Conservative candidates going for the job:
Eric Croft (listening hear as Walt Monegan was speaking,
Recently retired Anchorage Police Lietenant Paul Honeman (in the black shirt),
and Sheila Seilkregg, seen here at her fundraiser last week talking to my daughter.
I encourage Walt to think more "state-wide"...like possibly in 2010?
Another Alaskan encouraging us all to hold our leaders accountable, and being specific about it when it comes to our Legislators and the Branchflower Report, is our own CC from KUDO. She spoke at the Bartlett luncheon last weeks and got rave reviews on her talk about "Alaskans for Truth."
Of course sometimes opportunity is thrust upon us and that was certainly the case with Syrin the first week of December.
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who has made a crackdown on gift-giving to state officials a centerpiece of her ethics reform agenda, has accepted gifts valued at $25,367 from industry executives, municipalities and a cultural center whose board includes officials from some of the largest mining interests in the state, a review of state records shows.
The 41 gifts Palin accepted during her 20 months as governor include honorific tributes, expensive artwork and free travel for a family member. They also include more than $2,500 in personal items from Calista, a large Alaska native corporation with a variety of pending state regulatory and budgetary issues, and a gold-nugget pin valued at $1,200 from the city of Nome, which lobbies on municipal, local and capital budget matters, documents show.
About a quarter of the entities bestowing gifts on the governor are represented by one of Alaska's most influential mining lobbyists, who said in an interview that she was not involved in the tributes. The lobbyist, Wendy Chamberlain, has a relationship with the governor's family through the friendship of their teenage daughters.
Over the weekend, I commended Dan Fagan for his op-ed piece in the Anchorage Daily News. Today, I was cheering Lyda Green for the great job she did on Rachel.
Now, I have to applaud her for her interview on...no, I'm not kidding...Mother Jones MojoBlog:
For two years, Green feuded with Palin over key policy matters. But in recent days, Green has become even more dismayed with the Palin pick, for she believes the McCain-Palin campaign has undermined the rule of law in the Last Frontier. She says she has watched with outrage as McCain-Palin operatives have flown into her state and interfered with the so-called Troopergate investigation--the official, approved-by-the-legislature inquiry into whether Palin dismissed her public safety commissioner because he refused to fire her ex-brother-in-law, a state trooper who went through a messy divorce with Palin's sister.
Calling herself a "raging Republican," Green says, she is "absolutely disgusted, embarrassed, and ashamed" by the McCain-Palin campaign's intervention in the Troopergate probe.
I feel like I've slipped into a parallel universe...
I have to give Fagan and Lyda Green their props. They are reportedly taking an unbelievable amount of abuse from fellow Republicans (remember, they are hearing from the same Palinistas who called the leaders of the Women's Rally and said nasty things to them). As some of us have learned over the years, it's much easier to stand up against one's "enemies" than it is to stand against those who are normally one's allies.
In this Palin issue, I have to stand with them and give them my support.
The most important piece that folks need to take from this is that fearing the damage Palin could do in the White House is definitely NOT a partisan thing. The fact that Fagan, Lyda Green and Andrew Halcro are saying the same things as many Democratic Legislators and Liberal blogger-types is a good indication of just how afraid everyone should be.
Anytime I can find a reason to post my girl Rachel it's usually a good thing. However, this time it was somewhat depressing. Rachel's account of the "Troopergate" investigation after "Too Odd" told everyone he was also refusing to testify...that it may be mostly "quashed"...seemed pretty friggin' accurate to me.
So yes, I was a little depressed until I got a phone call that boosted my spirits...
Palin should stop the cover-up and come clean --by Kay Brown and Patti Higgins (used with permission)
Anchorage - Governor Palin should stop stonewalling the Legislature's bi-partisan investigation of Trooopergate, come clean about her role, and stop the cover-up, Alaska Democratic Party Chair Patti Higgins said today.
"The fact that subpoenas had to be issued in order to compel members of her administration to talk to the Legislature's investigator shows that she is stonewalling and trying to bury this investigation. As Governor she could direct her administration to cooperate, as she promised earlier she would do before being nominated for Vice President. Palin even called for the investigation herself, saying that it would clear her name," Higgins said. "Since she became the VP nominee, there has been nothing but foot-dragging, stonewalling, cover-up and delay."
"As the Republican Chair of the House Judiciary Committee said - the investigation was going along fine until Palin was selected as the VP candidate. Why is she now refusing to cooperate? What is she hiding? Her lawyers have even threatened to quash the subpoenas, which could trigger a constitutional crisis," Higgins said. "Palin should come clean and deal with this situation honestly."
Below are key dates and statements about Troopergate:
