Here is video of Nick Tucker trying to explain to Governor Palin how difficult life in the rural native communities has become.

(Please click the title to have your heart broken by Nick Tuckers emotional plea and Governor Palin's dismissive response.)

Look how eloquently Mr. Tucker expresses the needs of his people and look how uncomfortable Palin becomes when he will not accept her standard BS in lieu of a real solution to their crisis.

I cannot believe she still has the gall to use her husband as an example of a "native that did good" by leaving the villages. The place that he grew up in Dillingham, Alaska , is NOTHING like the small villages in the Yukon Delta! That is so incredibly insulting! And he NEVER worked on the slope and returned to live in Dillingham either! (I covered that on February 20th.) That is an out and out lie!

God she is absolutely empty inside.

President Obama talks about his budget plan and gears up for a fight.

Concerning Special Interests and Lobbyists: "I know they are gearing up for a fight as we speak. My message to them....So am I."

Damn I just love this guy!

Not only does he talk to us like we are grownups but he does not pretend that things are better then they are, or that the solutions to our problems will be painless. (Remember George Bush? "Shop more.")

You know I am still suffering this weird reflex every time I hear something that is coming out of the White House or is attributed to the President.

I immediately get distrustful and suspicious.

It has nothing to do with Barack Obama, it is just my learned response after eight years of George Bush and his administration.

But I think I am getting better, and I look forward to a day when I will hear of something coming from the White House and just assume it is both good and positive.

New Rules for 2-27-09

Very funny, and very true, but I kept getting distracted at the end by that damn Snuggie.

"Babygate " conspiracy theorists, this post is for you!

Truthseeker a frequent visitor to this blog, Mudflats, and Palin's Deceptions has taken the travel expense reports and painstakingly compared them to the events that we know were happening around those dates and times and comes up with some fairly startling revelations.

Just put on your tinfoil hats and click the title, I don't believe you will be disappointed.

Nick Tucker, the man whose letter brought national attention to the plight of rural Alaskans, finally gets some face time with Sarah Palin.

(Photo of Nick Tucker courtesy of Dennis Zaki.)

Palin, with evangelist Franklin Graham at her side, arrived Feb. 20 with planeloads of food for rural Alaskans beset by a cold winter, sickening fuel costs, poor commercial fishing and staggering unemployment. The governor’s arrival scene was repeated later the same day in another Western Alaska village.

Palin spread a message of hope in Russian Mission and Marshall, and said often that youths should get resource-development jobs so they can earn money and return to their village part of the year.

The entourage’s short visit to each village mixed a campaign-trail energy with brief elements of a church-rally. (It is unsurprising that when confronted with a problem like this that Palin resorts to her comfort areas, campaign style interactions with large audiences and faith based solutions to the "problem".)

Palin worked the adoring crowds, squeezing cheeks, bending low to pose with elders and kids and bear-hugged strangers as if they were old friends.

“I’m so happy to be here, especially to get to meet all the kids in this village. You are beautiful kids!” she shouted, doing a sort-of gunslinger motion with her index fingers. ("Duck kids she is channeling her wolf hunting personality!")

She said the rest of Alaska and the nation care about the village. (Which is the only reason you will find her ass in such a god forsaken place.)

“As your governor, we’re here to partner with Samaritan’s Purse and other churches and other people across the nation who recognize Alaska’s uniqueness and recognize that Alaska faces some challenges right now with the high costs of food and high costs of energy,” she said. “Just know that we ask for God’s blessing over this part of Alaska also and those things the state government can do to assist, we’re here to help.” (But we are really hoping God does something because we Republicans just don't believe in spending too much time with people who cannot make large contributions to our political campaigns.)

Yoo know it still bothers me that Sarah Palin went to these two villages. And I am not the only one who is confused by the choice.

Several people in Marshall and Russian Mission said most people have enough to eat, but they said they appreciated the help.

George Owletuck, a middle-age man and former tribal law professor in Fairbanks who recently moved back to Marshall, said some elders were amused by a television news report that people were starving in the village when there’s so much fish around.

So as I said in a previous post this was nothing more then a glorified photo op which allowed Sarah Palin to appear to be doing something about the native Alaskans in crisis while avoiding the potential embarrassment of running into actual natives in crisis who are angry with her lack of response. Going to Emmonak meant interacting with people who have been suffering terribly and who are demanding that something be done to keep this same thing from happening next year.

But you know what they say, if you cannot get Mohammad to the mountain, then bring the mountain to Mohammad.

Nicholas Tucker flew to the villages to personally hand Palin the letter he’d written six weeks earlier. His plea for help described vivid stories of hunger in Emmonak, another village down the Yukon River from Russian Mission and Marshall.

Throughout the day, Tucker listened and watched Palin. Not being from Russian Mission or Marshall, it would be rude to steal their chance for attention, he said.

But in the Russian Mission gym, he jostled his way through the crowd and caught up to Palin.
During a four-minute conversation, he thanked her for coming, and asked if she could provide help to create jobs in the villages.

She bent over to speak close, and said resource development can create jobs for young people.

“So working together — you and the local communities and state government — we’re going to be able to allow these economies to be revitalized,” she said. (This is Palin talk meaning that if the damn Democrats will just let the oil companies drill in ANWR or if she can somehow get her natural gas pipeline through then the streets of Emmonak will be paved with gold. Beyond that she simply has no solutions.)

He said what the Native people really want is “to get restored back to who we are. The Native people are very strong people and this is probably the only time they … cried out for help.”

Tucker gave her his letter and asked her to read it.

She said she would.

Then she waded back into the crowd.

Look I know that I can be very cynical sometimes, and I really hope that she took that letter with her and read it on the plane on her way back to Anchorage, but I cannot help but feel that somewhere between Russian Mission and Wasilla that letter found itself deposited in a handy trash receptacle.

Just to lighten the mood today I am going to share this hysterical exchange last night between John Stewart and NBC anchor Brian Williams.

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Brian Williams

Daily Show Full Episodes
Important Things With Demetri Martin

Political Humor
Joke of the Day

It is always a hoot when these two get together and I think last night was one of their best interviews thus far.

Mayor who sent White House watermelon garden photo in e-mail is going to resign.

The mayor of a small Southern California city says he will resign after being criticized for sharing an e-mail picture depicting the White House lawn planted with watermelons under the title "No Easter egg hunt this year."

Los Alamitos Mayor Dean Grose issued a statement Thursday saying he is sorry and will step down as mayor at Monday's City Council meeting.

Grose came under fire for sending the picture to what he called "a small group of friends." One of the recipients, a local businesswoman and city volunteer, publicly scolded the mayor for his actions.

Grose says he accepts that the e-mail was in poor taste and has affected his ability to lead the city. Grose said he didn't mean to offend anyone and claimed he was unaware of the racial stereotype linking black people with eating watermelons.

He was "unaware of the racial stereotype linking black people with eating watermelons"? WTF?

Then why in the hell would he have sent the picture out in the first place?

I mean really how dumb does this guy think we are?

We are learning every day just how ingrained racial stereotypes and insensitivity is in our society. I think it is safe to assume that these kinds of "jokes" have been exchanged for years with no backlash.

I can't help but wonder if Americans will start cleaning up their act altogether now, or if the hurtful jokes will continue right up until the subject gets THEIR shot at being President of this country.

• So blond jokes are fine until Hillary gets elected.
• Jokes about Jews are acceptable so long as we keep Lieberman out of the White House.
• Funny stories about bad Asian drivers are still hysterical as long as Jackie Chan is not our Commander and Chief.
• Making fun of wetbacks is still a rib tickler until Bill Richardson gets his shot.
• And until Dolly Parton finally achieves her Presidential destiny jokes about boobs are perfectly reasonable late night fodder.

I guess my point it why does it seem okay to make fun of any group of individuals until they achieve the power or influence to punish you for picking on them? In this day and age shouldn't we all just know better?

Sarah Palin comes out in favor of parental consent for abortions.

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is backing legislation that would require parental consent for a minor to have an abortion in Alaska.

Palin has voiced strong anti-abortion views, which endeared her to social conservatives in the recent presidential race, but has not pushed that agenda until now.

The bill would revise the Parental Consent Act passed by the Legislature in 1997, which was overturned 3-2 by the Alaska Supreme Court in 2007. The court held that the parental consent requirement was unconstitutional because it infringed on a pregnant teen's right to reproductive freedom.

The court is more conservative now with a Palin-appointee replacing a justice who cast a vote to overturn.

Gee we almost went an entire day without the Palinator raising her evil head.

So now she is going to decide that young women cannot be in charge of their own bodies until they are old enough to leave their parents houses? You know lady not every mother is willing to strap on an empathy belly and pretend to be pregnant to protect their little snowflake from the embarrassment of being a unwed teenage mother. (Of course in Governor Sarah's case that is a one time offer, for the second pregnancy it is national ridicule and a trip under the bus tires for you.) Some young women may actually be expected to raise the product of their drunken prom fling while working at Hooters five nights a week to pay for baby formula and diapers.

Alaska judges have already found this law to be unconstitutional and just because Palin managed to find one of her Palinistas to join the Alaska Supreme Court does not make it right to revisit this issue.

Look I know this whole thing is controversial, and I am just a man so my opinion matters very little, but I work with many of the children who have been abandoned by mothers who found out that making a baby was a lot more fun then raising one.

The idea that every unwanted child will automatically be adopted by some loving family that is desperate to provide them a home, a college education, and a trust fund, is huge pile of horse shit.

The reality is that a number of these children end up being dumped on the very grandmother who refused to let their baby girl have a tiny bundle of cells removed from her body, while the young mother tries to grow up fast enough to both care for the child and also find some poor schmuck that will stand in for the absentee father.

Or if not that then the child ends up in the foster care system when the teenage mothers unsophisticated attempts to parent them damages the child to the point that they become unmanageable. Then the child finds themselves shuffled from one home full of people who want to be called "Mommy" and "Daddy" to another asking for the same privilege but ready to expel them the minute they do not turn out to be some version of the little boy from "Leave it to Beaver". The foster care system in Alaska is literally bursting at the seams.

And sure the third scenario is that they actually give birth to a beautiful healthy baby that they still find the strength to give up so that it can be adopted by a family that cannot have one of their own. But that scenario works out best when your child is Caucasian. If your baby is an Alaskan native, or African American, or some other less desirable minority, the chances of that perfect solution is greatly reduced. I mean Angelina Jolie cannot adopt every unwanted child in the world.

I know I am coming off a little insensitive here, but nothing could be further from the truth.

You see I have cared for these children that are left behind. I have taught them to read when they were seven years old and nobody ever took the time to even help them learn the alphabet. I have held them as they cried when the scheduled visit with their biological parents fell through again because mom was too high to show up. I have advocated for their rights when it seemed nobody else could care less. And I have taught them that not all grownups make promises that they cannot keep.

I never talk about my jobs on this blog, but trust that I have earned the right to say that if you have any doubt about whether you want to be a parent, then DON'T BE ONE. Being a parent is not something you can try for awhile and then quit when it proves too hard. Being a parent when you are a child yourself means that you will always feel you have had something stolen from you, and you may even blame your own baby. Being an unwed mother means that you not only have to find somebody who loves, you, but also somebody who loves the baby that you made while loving somebody else. Nothing about it is easy.

And nobody should have the right to make you do it, if you are not ready. Not even the Governor.

Bristol Palin herself said that teaching "abstinence only" is not realistic. And that may be the smartest thing to come out of a Palin's mouth in years.

So yeah teenagers are gong to have sex. Tell them to wait until marriage if you want to , but also teach them that if they are going to have sex (and they are), to be responsible with their irresponsibility and wear a condom, take the pill, put in a diaphragm, and hell keep a fire extinguisher by the bed while you are at it as well. In other words just take as many precautions as humanly possible.

Because choices made as a teenager should not change our lives forever.

Howard Fineman points out that Obama is moving quickly and staying one step ahead of his critics.

If you are like me you have been struggling to stay positive about this new President while trying to make sense out of all of the frustrating information that the media keeps revealing concerning the struggles his new administration is having, the promises that may not be kept until late in the term if at all, and how many Bush policies are being left in place.

Some days I actually say to myself, "I simply have to have faith". But I am not a person known for blind faith. Instead I ask questions, examine answers, and ponder what is not being revealed.

Now Howard Fineman of Newsweek helps to put my mind at ease as he reveals that Obama may have more tricks up his sleeve then David "freaking" Copperfield.

Obama wants to pile up a crushing lead on the scoreboard early in the game—when his popularity is high and he can still lay all the blame on his predecessor—and hope that the resulting momentum will impress the world (he goes to Europe for the G-8 in April), reluctant global investors (the sovereign wealth funds are sitting on trillions) and, of course, American voters and consumers.

The guy appears laid back, and he can be patient when he has to be, but right now he believes in motion—lots of it. If you move fast enough, he also knows, people don't have time to flyspeck details—and some of the details in his new budget, the outlines of which he released Thursday, are either squishy, controversial or both. There are literally hundreds of things in the budget to focus on, but I will pick out just three:

1. War Arithmetic. In a clever bit of budget making, Obama is taking advantage of George W. Bush's dishonesty to make his own budget look better. The former president's administration never counted spending on Iraq and Afghanistan in the regular budget it sent to Congress. By taking the hit early, and including that spending—now roughly $140 billion a year—Obama will be able to claim major savings down the road. In 2011 and 2012, that spending is slated to decline to $50 billion a year. So Obama and his budget crew can book savings of $180 billion—assuming, of course, that Obama is in fact able to wind down those wars.

2. Rosy Scenario. The simplest way to make the future look good is to assume that it will be. That is what Obama's budget does. Independent experts, on the Hill and in the private sector, are predicting that economic growth in 2010 will be (to average their estimates) about 1.7 percent. The president is assuming that growth will be nearly double that number. The rosier outlook allows Budget Director Peter Orszag to pencil in much smaller spending numbers for things such as unemployment insurance, and larger ones for receipts from income and employment taxes. Bottom line: much smaller deficits in the famous "out years."

3. Taxing Carbon. The "cap-and-trade" concept originated in the world of environmentalism, but it has dawned on federal officials and politicians that it's potentially a colossal source of tax revenue. Lord knows we have more air pollution than we know what to do with, so why not tax the heck out of those who produce it? Specifically, the scheme would tax carbon emissions by the pound, and allow polluters to trade the "right" to pollute by paying taxes. The original aim was to encourage electric utilities to develop new, non-carbon technologies, on the theory that if they didn't need the "carbon credits," they could sell them to those who still do. Obama is hoping to raise $79 billion in 2012 by implanting this system.

Some of these ideas are absolutely brilliant, and some of the others in the stimulus plan are concerning, but what cannot be argued is that Obama recognized that he had to move, and move fast, or else the economic and military tiger traps left behind by the Bush administration would have crippled his presidency and made him a one term Democratic anomaly.

George Bush and the Republicans purposefully sabotaged our economy, stuck us in an intractable military conflict, and damn near broke the country, all so they could turn around and blame the whole mess on the Democrats and their new President, in order to return to power in four years. The only way such a hateful plan will work is if people believe the Republican talking points constantly spouted by the MSM, and lose confidence in President Obama.

Obama may be the coolest politician I have ever seen. And I have wondered if that is not simply a facade that is just one catastrophe away from crumbling completely. But as I watched him deliver his speeches, work the crowds during economic townhalls, and deliver the goods in interview after interview I have come to believe that the hype actually may not have been hype at all. President Obama really is going to make everything okay.

I have no earthly idea how he can pull such a thing off, but for some reason, and totally out of character for me, I really believe he is the one man that can do it. And perhaps keeping our hope alive until we start to see results may be exactly the kind of help that our new President needs to deliver on his promises.

So from way up here in Anchorage, Alaska I am still with you Mr. President. And I still have my hope.

"Kenneth the Page" from the show "30 Rock" responds to the Bobby Jindal comparison.

When you have a piece of tape as easy to parody as the Bobby Jindal trainwreck from the other night it is almost impossible to resist jumping on the bandwagon. And boy do I enjoy riding around on a bandwagon.

Jon Stewart discusses Obama's speech to Congress, and the Republican's pathetic rebuttal.

First Obama gives us the hard facts decorated with sprinkles of hopefulness.

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Optimist Prime

Daily Show Full Episodes
Important Things With Demetri Martin

Funny Political News
Joke of the Day

And then Republican Bobby Jindal brings out his creepy cruising for for high school girls personality.

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Bobby Jindal's Republican Response

Daily Show Full Episodes
Important Things With Demetri Martin

Funny Political News
Joke of the Day

That guy is the future of the Republican party? Wow, no wonder they keep hoping Sarah Palin gets smarter!

Now Palin must reimburse the state for ten unnecessary travel expenses for her children instead of nine. Only 132 left to go to achieve justice.

I was going to take this ADN news story, pick it apart, and add a little snark for flavoring, but I have to say that reporter Lisa Demer did such an excellent job of explaining the complexities of this case that it would be a shame to alter it in any way.

I encourage you to click the title and read the news story as written.

The ADN may be a dying newspaper but it does still have a few talented reporters.

However I will add that JUST because the Governor, and the Lt. Governor, "are not considered employees of the state for the purpose of state personnel laws relating to travel allowances", does not excuse them from demonstrating the kind of ethical integrity promised by Sarah Palin when she ran for the office of Governor back in 2006.

Just because there is no consequence for doing something unethical does not mean it is magically transformed into an ethical behavior.

Let us close a few chapters on the "Trailblazer" book shall we?

Much of this book, as you can probably imagine, is full of the kind of masher notes that junior high school boys write to the girls they have crushes on, only in this case that crush is on Sarah Palin. The idea that this thing is anything but a pro-Palin puff piece is ridiculous.

For instance in Chapter Eleven the book talks about the marital problems between Trooper Wooten and Sarah's sister Molly. It reports ALL of the claims made by the Palin and Heath families as if they were factual and essentially makes Wooten out to just a few beers shy of being a homicidal maniac.

It does at least handle the famous tasering incident a little more evenly.

The book states that Wooten's eleven year old stepson BEGGED him to let him feel what it was like to be tasered. (It also points out that this may in fact have been the boys attempt to impress his cousin Bristol Palin.) The book then accurately describes that Wooten did not fire the probe into the boy, but rather taped it to his arm. Then, after putting a few pillows around to protect the boy if he fell, "turned the taser on for like a second, turned it off." (Chapter Eleven pg.150)

According to the book the boy was unhurt and even wanted to do it again, which sounds just like an eleven year old boy to me.

The book also points out that Bristol Palin's statement in a police report that "her cousin got scared and the force of the Taser knocked him back" was probably false and brings up an ADN interview with an expert on Tasers who said that if the Taser were safely attached and turned on for a second "it would feel like your funny bone was hit, but a quick jolt wouldn't knock you over". (Chapter Eleven pg.151)

Now I am certainly not a defender of Mike Wooten, he is not a very likable individual, but I believe that the real crime he committed was breaking Sarah's little sister's heart. And for daring to anger the Palin-Heath clan he found his life turned virtually upside down.

Chapter Eleven also covers much of the Governor's race and does not reveal much of anything that most people who have been paying attention to Palin these last five months don't already know.

However Chapter Twelve offers some interesting tidbits as well as a little foreshadowing of things to come.

For instance we have this bit from when Palin was selecting her cabinet and agency positions.

A week later, she made five other appointments, none more curious than Talis Colberg of Palmer, a small-town worker's compensation lawyer Sarah choose as her attorney general. Sarah cited his honesty and work ethic and his prior experience serving on the Mat-Su Borough Assembly, similar to a country government. (Chapter Twelve pg.170)

His "honesty"? I guess Sarah Palin's and my definition of that word don't exactly jive now do they?

You will love this next part.

Colberg himself seemed somewhat surprised at the appointment, having expressed no opinions on the prevailing issues of the day, such as benefits for partners of gay state employees. Nor did he have any criminal trial experience or management background to supervise a department of five hundred employees. "Certainly it's an improbable event that I would be here today," he told a reporter. (Chapter Twelve pg.170)

It does not take a genius to see what Palin was doing with this appointment. She wanted somebody who could be molded to do what she wanted him to do. Colberg, by all accounts was a very nice guy, but he was not ready for the manipulations of "Sarah-cuda" and she essentially wrapped him around her little finger. If nothing else she is usually a good judge of (a lack of) character.

And speaking of "foreshadowing" just check this quote out: "He's something of a blank slate," said Democratic Anchorage Sen. Hollis French. "I'm looking forward to getting to know him better." (Chapter Twelve pg. 170)

Oh if only he knew how much better he was going to get to know Sarah Palin's AG. But I guess nobody could have guessed just how things were about to play out now could they?

Something else of interest from this chapter.

In the weeks that followed, Sarah made several other appointments--old pals from Wasilla High and members of her church.....While critics raised questions about the qualifications of some of her choices, Sarah prized loyalty above all else.

As we all came to learn later, competence among the Palin appointees was certainly in short supply, but loyalty was to be had by the truckload. To this day NOBODY from her administration has really turned on Sarah Palin, with the exception of Walt Monegan, the one man who refused to be charmed, seduced, or bullied into compliance by Sarah Palin. Ahh but that episode is awaiting us in Chapter Thirteen and we are not yet done dissecting Chapter Twelve.

However brave hearts that is all I can bring you for today. I sometimes feel it would be easier to cut a path through a South American rainforest with a butter knife then it is too read through this drivel. Oh well somebody has to do it, why not me.

Stay tuned as we take on the "Further Adventures of Caribou Barbie in the land of Alaskan Politics". Next up: Sarah has to decide between keeping a personal chef or making moose chili for her family and charging the state of Alaska a $60 Per Diem. Betcha can't guess how that one comes out!

Jason Jones of the Daily Show asks the question "Is Obama the Anti-Christ, or Hitler, or a pimp"?

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Unusual Suspect

Daily Show Full Episodes
Important Things With Demetri Martin

Funny Political News
Joke of the Day

Wow! It is absolutely amazing that people like this exist in the world.

And the truly frightening thing is that both of these men have congregations that undoubtedly listen to them and believe them. And the fact that FOX News and CNN give them any credibility is absolutely stunning.

Sarah Palin, who wanted Obama to vote against the Stimulus Bill, is now asking for 285 million MORE money then Alaska is being offered.

Gov. Sarah Palin submitted a spending bill to lawmakers on Tuesday asking that they authorize $461 million from the federal stimulus package for infrastructure projects in Alaska.

Palin's supplemental bill is asking for more than $285 million over what the state expects to receive in transportation projects from the stimulus bill.

The state, instead, expects about $175 million. But state transportation officials earlier this week told lawmakers that the administration would be requesting additional spending authorization in case Alaska receives money that was destined for other states that failed to meet the "use it or lose it" deadline.

Whoa hold on just a damn minute. Didn't Governor Palin express disdain for this bill? Didn't she even go so far as to suggest that Obama veto his own Stimulus Package? Yes she did.

Sarah Palin was on Fox News ’s On The Record With Greta Van Susteren, where she voiced her opposition to the Obama stimulus bill because Congress didn’t know what was in it, and it would add people to the rolls. The problem is that no one, including Gov. Palin seems to know what she is talking about.

Palin said, “I wish he would veto it and send it back until our lawmakers can read it and know what’s in it. I think I speak for a lot of Alaskans who say also understanding that the impacts on individual states that this stimulus package has, they are unknown impacts. So until our guy and our gals in Congress can read it and understand what the impacts are, I don’t want to see it signed.”

"I don't want to see it signed."

But now that it is signed Palin is not happy with the piddly amount that Alaska is getting for transportation costs and has the audacity to request even more.

WTF? How can you come out publicly against this bill and then demand even more money from it later?

And how does she plan to spend this money that she didn't want before she did want it?

At the top of the highway spending list is $107.4 million for the governor's priorities relating to infrastructure for the proposed natural gas pipeline.

Her requests include $55 million in improvements to the Dalton Highway that links interior Alaska with the North Slope, and $25 million in rut repairs to the Glenn Highway.

Ahh of course the gas pipeline! Sarah Palin's doomed pet project. So Governor Palin is asking for MORE stimulus money to throw away on a project that is already writhing in it death throes.

This woman is absolutely devoid of any sense of shame or hypocrisy.

Barack Obama's Presidential Address to Congress in full.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Amazing, uplifting, and enlightening speech. I lost track of the number of standing ovations Obama received, but it was probably the most exercise some of those corpulent politicians have received in years.

Palin agrees to pay state of Alaska back for unnecesary travel expenses for her children.

The charges that Palin has agreed to reimburse include the cost of her daughter Piper flying on a state plane to the start of the Iron Dog snowmachine race in 2008, and airfare and one meal for daughter Bristol to accompany Palin in October 2007 to New York for a women's leadership conference, according to the settlement.

The settlement was signed by Palin and Anchorage lawyer Tim Petumenos, who was hired by the state Personnel Board to investigate the complaint.

The settlement doesn't specify how much Palin will repay the state, but Petumenos said he was given an estimate from the governor's staff of about $7,000. For some trips, only a portion of the children's expenses will be repaid because parts of the trip were determined to be legitimate.

The vast majority of trips that included the Palin children appeared appropriate, Petumenos said. He said he examined more than 40. But for nine trips, the personal benefit outweighed the public benefit, he found.

It is taking some time, but bit by bit, little by little, Sarah Palin is finally learning what it means to be held accountable. Alaskans will no longer stand by and allow themselves to be taken advantage of by their public officials.

In other words "We are mad as hell, and we are not going to take this anymore"! (I always wanted to say that.)

John Ziegler is a complete ass. Oh did you know that already?

I saw this on my friend Phil Munger's site, Progressive Alaska, and simply had to borrow it for myself.

Apparently there is yet ANOTHER cable show about dating called "The New Dating Story", that is so hard up for participants they were even willing to have misogynistic John Ziegler completely disappoint a nice young woman on camera for the world to ridicule.

So start the ridiculing.



Wow! Can you believe what a total dick that guy is?

No wonder he fawned all over Sarah Palin, that must be as much action as he has received from a female in quite some time. What a sad little man.

(Click the title to visit Phil's site and see his take on this video.)

Governor Palin attempts damage control in Per Diem allegations. And fails.

Clearly the constant drumbeat of criticism surrounding Sarah Palin's Per Diem charges for staying in her own home and the food she ate while in her own home have rattled the Governor who has sent her lap dog Bill McAllister out shovel bullshit at us until we stop talking about it. (Here is the video.)

Nice try.

Gov. Sarah Palin, under scrutiny for charging the state for expenses while living in her Wasilla home, is actually living much more inexpensively than her two immediate predecessors, according to an analysis provided Monday by her staff.

Officials compared Palin's expenses for items including travel, lodging, and meals to that of former Govs. Frank Murkowski and Tony Knowles. They said she's spent about $900,000 less in her first two years than Murkowski did his last two years.

Big deal! Murkowski was a crook and that is why his political career came to a screeching halt. Comparing yourself to a criminal to demonstrate you are less guilty and therefore innocent is not a very effective strategy.

Her expenses were also lower than for Knowles his last two years, though the difference was not as dramatic.

This statement is made without explaining that the reasons for Knowles higher expenses seem to stem from the fact that while in Anchorage he rented a hotel room because his RESIDENCE WAS IN JUNEAU! NOT WASILLA! Tony Knowles actually spent a great deal of time in the Capitol doing the states business, imagine that.

Most of the criticism of Palin and her living expenses concerns the $60-a-day for meals and incidentals she collects when she works outside her assigned duty station, which is Juneau. That money will now be taxed as income.

Since taking office in December 2006, she's collected more than $18,000 in meal money during the time she was staying in her Wasilla home. That figure is higher than has been previously reported because it includes charges through Dec. 14.

So to get this straight the Governor charged the state of Alaska for food she bought and prepared IN HER OWN HOME. Now if she had been living in Juneau and, because of the demands of her job, had to eat in Anchorage, then this would have been acceptable. But the only reason that she did this IS BECAUSE SHE CAN. She doesn't need to charge the state, both she and Todd make plenty of money to feed their family, she did it because there is a loophole in the Per Diem rules that allows her to take advantage of the citizens of Alaska. Period!

McAllister said that meal money is minor in the scheme of things, and that she's saving more than enough in other areas to make up for it.

No Mr. McAllister is not "minor in the scheme of things". It is "major in the scheme of things" because it demonstrates a certain sense of entitlement that the Governor seems to possess and which we see demonstrated in her Vice Presidential run, her interactions with the press, and the manner in which she treats her job. This Governor seems to spend the majority of her time explaining why the things she does are not as bad as they seem, and hardly any time doing her damn job! If her job were simply photo ops and mall openings, she would be the best Governor ever. But our state is facing some very serious problems and Sarah Palin cannot stop making sure "she gets hers" long enough to help provide any real solutions.

Update: Here is the PDF that compares the expenses of all three Governors.

President Obama calls on ex-rival John McCain during fiscal meeting and McCain takes opportunity to jealously attack Obama over new helicopter fleet.

Does anybody really believe that John McCain would not be giddy with excitement about his new helicopter if HE had been elected President?

Hell Cindy McCain probably would have asked that it be painted pink and taken the Bedazzler to it.

And of course Sarah Palin would have asked that it be outfitted with machine gun turrets to help with "predator control" in Alaska.

But you have to admire how easily Obama handled his clearly disgruntled ex-Presidential rival. The guy is smooth.

The Daily Show is back!

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=218391&title=clusterf#@k-to-the-poor-house

Daily Show Full Episodes
Important Things With Demetri Martin

Funny Political News
Joke of the Day

So the Republican Governor's say they will not take the Stimulus money in order to make a political point, but we all know they are full of shit. Especially OUR Republican Governor, who could not turn down free money if her life depended on it. Per Diem's anybody?

I wonder how hard it would be to work the phrase "sawdust covered, calloused man hands" into a conversation? Maybe if I was talking about Ann Coulter....

The biggest danger to the Beluga whales of Cook Inlet is not predation, or lack of food. No it is Governor Lipsticked Pitbull herself, Sarah Palin.

Palin's old-school approach to wildlife management is legendary. Despite her incongruous penchant for sporting a polar bear pin, the governor's antipathy for federal protections for the polar bear has led her administration to sue the federal government over the bear's threatened status. Palin's gruesome policy of supporting aerial hunting of wolves is so infamous that Defenders of Wildlife has launched an entire "Eye on Palin" campaign, starring actress Ashley Judd. The site has prompted the governor to denounce the venerable environmental organization as an "extreme fringe group." Now, new federal protections to protect the belugas of Cook Inlet are Palin's latest target.

(One can almost imagine Palin's own little Alaskan animal checklist. "Let's see fight to keep Polar Bears off of the Endangered Species List, check. Increase predator control by allowing both wolves and bears to be shot from airplanes, check. Now sue to keep Beluga Whales off of the Endangered Species List as well, double check.)

On Jan. 14, 2009, the Alaska governor announced that the state had filed a 60-day notice of intent to sue the federal government for protecting the whales, arguing that Alaska is already doing enough for the whales in the Inlet. Palin's chief of staff published an Op-Ed in the Anchorage Daily News on Jan. 28 titled "Protection Requirements for Cook Inlet Belugas Are Silly."

While there are five stocks of beluga whales in waters near Alaska, the ones in Cook Inlet are isolated and genetically distinct from their cousins. That population has declined dramatically since the 1980s, from over 1,000 to about 375 now. More than 300 whales perished in one four-year stretch (1994 to 1998) alone, according to the National Marine Fisheries Service. Marine mammal biologists and conservationists were hopeful that sharply limiting subsistence hunting of the whales by native Alaskans would see the whales bounce back. But despite only five whales being killed by hunting since 1999, when new regulations went into effect, the whales have not rebounded.

Even the Bush administration took note of the Cook Inlet belugas' decline, after being pressured by environmental groups. In October 2008, the National Marine Fisheries Service announced the listing of the Cook Inlet population of beluga whales as a full-fledged endangered species. Yes, the Bush administration, infamous for its disdain for science when it came to protecting endangered critters, saw fit to offer protections to the belugas living in Cook Inlet. But not the Palin administration.

"It's hard to imagine that anyone could be more anti-environmental than Bush, but Palin is Exhibit A," says Brendan Cummings, oceans program director for the Center for Biological Diversity. "Here we had the most anti-environmental administration in U.S. history, and Palin still feels compelled to sue over one of the few environmentally positive things to come out of that administration."

(Wow! Essentially Sarah Palin is "more Bush then Bush". Doesn't THAT make the hairs on the back of your neck stick straight up?)

That's what's got the Palin administration's goat. "The fear is that the Endangered Species Act listing of the beluga will lead to regulation of essentially unfettered industrial activity in Cook Inlet," explains Cummings. Today in Cook Inlet, the oil industry is still allowed to dump its toxic waste into areas with fisheries. That seemingly outrageous practice is grandfathered into law because the industry's activities predated the Clean Water Act of 1972. "Cook Inlet remains in this kind of 1950s regulatory backwater," says Bob Shavelson, executive director of Cook Inlet Keeper, a nonprofit advocacy group working to protect the watershed.

So let's be clear, Palin wants to keep the Belugas off of the Endangered Species List so that the oil companies can continue to dump toxic waste into the Cook Inlet where local salmon can ingest it before they are caught by Anchorage fisherman and then fed to their trusting families. Is this yet another example of Sarah Palin putting the "needs of Alaskans first"?

Is it too much to hope that Sarah Palin gets chased by a wolf into the Cook Inlet where she is carried by a Beluga Whale and delivered to the ravenous jaws of a Polar Bear who then devours her, lipstick and all? Yeah I guess that would be asking a little too much.

Do you think that YOU could do a better job of deciding who should get a bailout and who should just get slapped? Well this is the webgame for you!

Players of the game, created by AddictingGames.com, are given one trillion play dollars with which to "rescue the US economy before total economic meltdown strikes.

In the game, homeowners and corporate CEOs pop out of a New York City skyline requesting taxpayer-funded handouts, and it is up to you to decide who deserves a hand out and who deserves the back of your hand.

After a weekend of sporadic reading I am ready to share a few more tidbits from "Trailblazer: An Intimate Biography of Sarah Palin"

I have noticed that while much of this book is full of information that is already well known, and now considered old news, there are a few little revelatory bits that make me stop and go WTF?

I found one of those in chapter eight which covers Sarah's unsuccessful bid to be the Lt. Governor. This comes courtesy of her Deputy Mayor Judy Patrick:

"Todd was our sign man," Patrick explained. "we made these four-by-eight-foot yard signs , and Todd would put them in his truck and leave Wasilla early in the morning, drive 300 miles to Fairbanks, another 75 miles to Delta Junction, and then back to Glenallen, and then he'd be back in Wasilla by 3 a.m. He'd cover 700 miles in a day."

Did you get that? Regardless of what else can be said about Todd Palin he obviously supported his wife's political career wholeheartedly and definitely went that extra step to help her get elected.

And was the Mrs. equally supportive of Todd? Well let's see.

To reciprocate, Sarah would leave town with the kids when he was getting ready for the Iron Dog. "I remember she took the kids to Hawaii for a week so he would have time to work on his machine and practice until 3 a.m. It was each of them supporting the other when they did their thing," Patrick said. (Chapter eight, pg. 122)

Here is where the "WTF?" comes in. So Todd supported Sarah by driving 700 miles through inclement weather in one day to further her career, and she supported him by abandoning him and going to Hawaii for a week? I am surprised she did not leave the children with him as well. You know as " little helpers".

Well great! Now I feel sorry for Todd as well as Bristol and Trig Palin.

The Today Show takes on "Media Malpractice".

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

No wonder this documentary maker John Ziegler hearts Sarah Palin, he acts just like her!

No matter what question Matt Lauer asks him he acts as if it is an attack and turns it back on Matt. Is there some sort of school where these idiots are taught to be evasive and insulting?

Clearly this moron, besides being a complete whore when it comes to hawking his little video, is trying to make the point that Sarah Palin was treated unfairly because of how much publicity her embarrassing interviews garnered.

What he is clearly ignoring, on purpose in my opinion, is that the majority of America did not know who Sarah Palin was (for that matter neither did most Alaskans), and her answers to Katie Couric's questions were stunningly vacuous and troubling when people tried to imagine her having the second most powerful leadership position in this country. Of course that received a lot of press coverage. How could it not?

And by the way you will notice that Ziegler confronts Lauer and essentially makes him admit that he does not think Sarah Palin is a moron, clearly Matt cannot answer any other way without starting a firestorm of Republican anger directed at the Today Show. But as an Alaskan who is living under Sarah Palin's Governorship, let me answer that question for Matt.

YES she is indeed a moron. She is also a liar, a fraud, and a narcissist. And I have reams of evidence to back that up. As a matter of fact most of it can be found right here on this blog.

Palin supporters asked not to use Google for searches. Are now directed to use "PalinIt.com" instead. No I am not joking.

Here is what the description says.

Use www.PalinIt.com as your main internet search! Its the same great search you're accustomed to using,only you will be supporting Conservative Republican Organizations that share your vision for America. This is the free and easy way for people who share common values to raise money for a common cause.

Can you believe these people?

Alaska Game Board to again open debate on predator control.

Wolves and bears will be in the cross hairs when the Alaska Board of Game this week begins another contentious discussion of how to manage predators in the 49th state.

From villages and small communities in the Aleutian Islands east along the south side of the Alaska Range all the way to Cordova come proposals to kill wolves and bears or both to eliminate competition for the moose and caribou, or -- in some cases -- for simple public safety.

These are not views universally held by urban Alaskans, even less so by the masses of Americans who live Outside and look north longingly at the last, great American wilderness.

Earlier this month, the environmental group Defenders of Wildlife began a preemptive strike against new Alaska predator control programs. The organization attacked high-visibility Gov. Sarah Palin for supporting wolf control programs already in place. Defenders' high-profile spokeswoman, actress Ashley Judd, decried Alaska's intensive management that aims to increase moose and caribou numbers by reducing predation.



Palin dismissed the accusations as nothing but a fundraising scheme. Defenders' Alaska representative Wade Wilson on Friday called that "crap."

Wilson said his organization is trying to bring some reason to wildlife management in Alaska. He noted that a fair number of biologists with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game have criticized the intensive management program over the years.

It is simplistic, he added, to blame wolves or bears, or both, for all fluctuations in wildlife populations when a variety of factors can be at play. Weather, food availability, hunting and poaching all affect moose, caribou and Dall sheep numbers in Alaska, but, Wilson said, "everyone just wants to blame the boogeyman, the wolf."

Twice in the past Alaskans have voted against using planes to shoot and kill wolves and bears, and twice the people have been overridden by the state and their vote derided as “ballot box biology.”

Have you ever wondered just WHAT the rules are for participating in this "predator control program"?

Then just check here. But you will be gratified to know the following.

You may NOT:

• Use a helicopter or control activities unless specified under the conditions of the permit.
• Use poison or other substances that temporarily incapacitate wildlife, without written permission from the Board of Game.
• Use a machine gun, a set gun, or shotgun larger then a 10 gauge. (A "set gun" is a gun rigged with a trip wire that shoots when an animal steps on it. This is clearly for the bravest of the "Great White Hunters".)

Doesn't THAT put your mind at ease? There is more but none of it does anything at all to give the animals a fair chance at escaping their fate. Once a hunter in a plane or helicopter gets an animal in his sights the creatures fate is sealed.

I am mightily embarrassed to have this type of activity promoted by my Governor and my state. In my opinion all it is is an excuse to shoot animals more effectively while taking all of the hiking, tracking, and failing out of it. This is a guaranteed way for a man who does not like to come home empty handed (or get his cool leather hunting boots all wet and muddy), to bring home a genuine wolf or bear hide, once and for all proving that despite their childlike penis they are in fact a "real man".

I have been living in this state with these adolescent assholes my entire life and I can only hope that we will soon have some intelligent leadership in Alaska that will be able to address the issue of the reduced number of ungulates by some other method then promoting the increased killing of predators in order to increase the amount of prey that the humans then get the opportunity to kill. Did you follow that?

Update: Here is a link to Shannyn Moore's excellent Huffington Post article on this very subject.

US News has a new poll that you may find a little sexist but interesting nonetheless.

The poll asks this question "If you had a choice of four daycare centers run separately by Michele Obama, Sarah Palin, Hillary Clinton, and Nancy Pelosi, which would you choose?"

For reasons that I find virtually unfathomable, Sarah Palin is currently ahead of Michele Obama by a cool 13%.

If you find this as unacceptable as I do then click the title and vote on which one of these ladies you would trust with your precious children.

And no I have no idea why there were no male politicians included. Personally I would trust Barack, Joe Biden, Mark Begich (he is great with his son), or any number of other male politicians before I would trust "double fisted Blackberry user" Sarah Palin with my child. Unless of course you want a daycare center where the children are cared for by eight year old Piper Indie Grace Palin (Yep that is her full name)who seems to provide the most childcare in the Palin home.

(The poll can be found on the right side of the page.)

Obama has done more in his first month then most Presidents do in their entire first term, but it looks like he is just getting warmed up.

President Obama is putting the finishing touches on an ambitious first budget that seeks to cut the federal deficit in half over the next four years, primarily by raising taxes on businesses and the wealthy and by slashing spending on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, administration officials said.

In addition to tackling a deficit swollen by the $787 billion stimulus package and other efforts to ease the nation's economic crisis, the budget blueprint will press aggressively for progress on the domestic agenda Obama outlined during the presidential campaign. This would include key changes to environmental policies and a major expansion of health coverage that he hopes to enact later this year.

Even before Congress approved the stimulus package this month, congressional budget analysts forecast that this year's deficit would approach $1.2 trillion -- 8.3 percent of the overall economy, the highest since World War II. With the stimulus and other expenses, some analysts say, the annual gap between federal spending and income could reach $2 trillion when the fiscal year ends in September.

Obama proposes to dramatically reduce those numbers, said White House budget director Peter Orszag: "We will cut the deficit in half by the end of the president's first term." The plan would keep the deficit hovering near $1 trillion in 2010 and 2011, but shows it dropping to $533 billion by 2013, he said -- still high but a more manageable 3 percent of the economy.

To get there, Obama proposes to cut spending and raise taxes. The savings would come primarily from "winding down the war" in Iraq, a senior administration official said. The budget assumes continued spending on "overseas military contingency operations" throughout Obama's presidency, the official said, but that number is lower than the nearly $190 billion budgeted for Iraq and Afghanistan last year.

Just the other day somebody brought up the deficit and asked when I thought "my President" was going to take on that fight? I am sorry to admit that I made excuses saying that with so much damage left in the wake of the Bush administration that the deficit may have to wait until Obama's second term.

Apparently I underestimated our new President a little. Obama looks like he has a very clear idea of what he needs to do, and how he needs to do it. That is what I get for second guessing the guy.

Hey maybe he really is Superman!

Senators Mark Begich and Lisa Murkowski discuss the new Stimulus Bill.

While I am not very impressed that Murkowski voted against this stimulus bill, choosing partisanship over the needs of Alaska, I am at least pleased to see that she is not a complete obstructionist like Governor Palin.

If Senator Murkowski is smart she will stick close by Mark Begich and use his popularity and Democratic connections to gain some non-partisan appeal.

In the race for Mayor of Anchorage candidates are offering possible solutions for the coming recession. Today Claman vs Monegan.

I am not an economist, but even I can see that the financial problems facing this city in the next few years will mean a reduction in some services or multiple layoffs within the city government.

Neither of these is likely to make the new mayor very popular.

Here is what acting Mayor Matt Claman has just done to address this problem.

For the first time in decades, the Anchorage Fire Department closed one fire station and parked two fire trucks at other stations Friday in an effort to save money in the face of ongoing budget woes.

Station 15 in Bayshore was closed all day, while a truck at the downtown Station 1 and another at the Dimond Boulevard station, No. 12, were unstaffed until 9 p.m., said Anchorage Fire Chief Craig Goodrich.

It was the first time any city fire services have been suspended since the mid-1970s, Goodrich said.

"It beats closing any station permanently," said division chief Bridget Bushue. "Hopefully this is a temporary fix."

Tom Wescott, president of the Anchorage firefighters union, disagreed with the decision, though. "It's a gamble," he said. "When you close down Station 15 ... you are keeping your fingers crossed that nothing happens there that requires a timely response."

By closing down three fire rigs, he said, the city lost 15 percent of its 20 fire apparatuses for a day. That, he says, is too much.

While the closures might not have shut down any ambulances per se, he said, it did affect medical response times because when the city's seven or eight ambulances can't get to a person, which they sometimes cannot, it's the paramedics and EMT's on the fire trucks who respond instead. "They get everything started and going, they just can't transport," Wescott said.

What the hell! Look man if you have a patient whose arm is injured, you don't cut out his freaking heart!

There are undoubtedly a lot of places where waste can be cut from the city budget that does not potentially determine if a taxpayers house burns to the ground or his children make it to the hospital in time to save their lives! How do vital emergency services make it to the top of the cost cutting list?

I have never been horribly impressed with Matt Claman but this is so irresponsible that I am having trouble believing that he spent any time thinking it over before he issued the budget cutting measures.

Hell maybe he doesn't want the job.

So are there any other potential budget cutting ideas that don't include just sitting back and watching houses burn?

Well according to mayoral candidate Walt Monegan, yeah.

With the Municipality of Anchorage (MOA) facing a projected $17.5 million budget shortfall, Monegan offered his spending priorities and ideas for new revenue streams for the City.

Among other strategies, he will focus on protecting core services such as education, public health and safety, and transportation. In his statement, Monegan stated, “While all departments will feel the pinch of the budget shortfall, there are a number of departments that need to be protected as much as possible. Even though the Anchorage School District is largely funded (more than 60%) by monies from the state and federal governments, we must seek ways to maximize their budget, such as adopting standard designs for new and remodeled schools saving millions in design costs.”

“Also, in our current economic condition, public safety will be more important than ever. Historically, when the economy weakens, crime rates increase, and increased crime threatens property values and tourism revenues. As tight household budgets becomes tighter still, some may cut back energy to heat homes or cook meals; and using alternative heating sources or the improper methods of thawing of frozen water pipes can increase the chance of filling a home with lethal CO or can cause fire. Yet, even in public health, safety, and transportation, we may have to delay certain enhancement projects, though we must still focus on such essential services like elder and child care, food inspection, and snow removal.”

Regarding the specter of worker lay-offs, Monegan will examine each individual departments staffing structure, to see if economy can be found in the management levels first. Laying off only those actually on the line who directly render the service to our community would not be in the best interest of public service.

In light of the growing popularity of the repairing the property tax cap initiative that will appear on the April ballot, Monegan both supports the initiative and is also carefully considering a sales tax plan. Property taxes can be further reduced without sacrificing city services if they are offset dollar for dollar by a small sales tax. Monegan is looking at a focused and well-crafted sales tax after reviewing the sales tax models currently in place in a number of Alaskan communities. Approximately 90 communities in Alaska have some type of sales tax. Monegan commented, “In order to minimize the negative effects of a broad-based tax, it is imperative that we put meaningful sideboards on a sales tax. I will work towards a balanced sales tax proposal that at least:

• excludes groceries and prescription medications,
• includes a limit on a total sales tax amount on individual purchases, and
• has a sunset date to give the assembly and my administration the ability to thoroughly analyze the success and impact of that tax.”

In addition to his spending and revenue proposals, Monegan offered to revisit innovative approaches to encouraging economic development such as enterprise zones. Enterprise zones are economically depressed neighborhoods that can be renovated through tax incentives and were initially proposed by former HUD Secretary Jack Kemp and re-introduced in Alaska in 2001 by former Fairbanks Rep. Joe Hayes (D-Fairbanks). Enterprise Zones offer short-term tax exemptions for new business enterprises in traditionally economically depressed areas.

Lastly, Monegan will take a 10% reduction in salary and will ask the same of his immediate appointed staff. Monegan stated, “I want it to be absolutely clear that I will not be asking this of all municipal employees. I will respect and abide by all of the collective bargaining agreements currently in place. However, I will not ask any city employee to take a reduction before I and my executive team take a reduction first.”

As of yet I am still on the fence as to which candidate (if any) I will endorse for mayor. But if all the other candidates are going to make it as easy to dismiss as Matt Claman just did this might not take very long at all.

Here is some video of Sarah Palin and Franklin Graham before they ride off to rescue the simple native folk of Alaska.

Well according to Governor Sarah all the rural native Alaskans have to do to solve their difficulties is to leave their ancestral homes and run to the big cities just like her husband Todd, who according to Palin worked on the Slope and then "come back to the village after a, one and one, or a two and two, week schedule and still lived a subsistence lifestyle."

Now you know I just hate to disagree with the Governor but when I heard her make this statement I remembered something I had read in that future bestseller "Trailblazer: An Intimate Biography of Sarah Palin."

In chapter four page 56, of this riveting manuscript I read the following:"When they returned to Anchorage, Todd moved in immediately with the Heath sisters (This was right after their marriage on August 29th, 1989) and shared a room with Sarah. He had applied for an oil-company job on the North Slope and was waiting for an offer. In the meantime, he drove snow-removal trucks in Anchorage, usually working the red eye shift."

"Eight months separate the August 29 wedding day from Track's date of birth, April 20, 1989." (pg. 57)

"Before Track's arrival, Sarah and Todd moved back to Wasilla and bought a modest condo near the high school." (pg. 58)

""In 1989, Todd was hired by British Petroleum. which drastically changed the couples lifestyle." (pg. 58)

So let me see if I understand this correctly. Todd Palin was living a subsistence lifestyle in Wasilla? Really? Were Todd, and Sarah, and little Track subsisting on fish and berries and wild game that they hunted when Todd was not working on the North Slope?

Or does Governor Sarah believe that Todd deciding to walk into the woods and shoot a moose, or go to the Knik river and catch some fish, is a direct correlation with how the rural Alaskans in villages like Emmonak live their lives?

How could somebody who has lived the majority of her life in Alaska, and has served as Governor for three years, still be so completely out of touch with the reality of life in these villages?

Later in the video you see the Governor once again stressing how these people need to get out there and work. I wonder how Nick Tucker feels after listening to his Governor imply that the reason his people suffered so much this winter is because they did not "get out there and work"? Perhaps one of us should call him and ask for his opinion on this topic.

What a circus! I half expected to see trained seals and a tightrope act. I am amazed that they believe this will fool anybody.

Kyle Hopkins of ADN covers the newest episode of "Sarah Palin and the Evangelicals ride to the rescue"!

You know I was convinced to go a little easy on Reverend Graham and his Samaritan's Purse evangelical charity organization. But for me things have changed.

Finally, one of the planes from Graham’s international Christian relief group landed and we all watched for Graham to emerge. He flew out with Palin. Parnell and Anchorage Baptist Temple Pastor Jerry Prevo took a second King Air.

Jerry Prevo? Freaking Jerry "Alaska Moral Majority" Prevo? Jerry Prevo is a snake oil salesman of the highest order, who has built one of the largest, most influential, most politically active, houses of illogical thinking and brain damaged mythology that it has ever been my displeasure to visit. This guy is a Jerry Falwell apostle who believes there should be absolutely no separation of church and state and who consistently directs his large congregation to vote for the conservative candidate of his choosing.

Knowing that Jerry Prevo is involved in this "humanitarian outreach" is all I need to hear to know that there going to be an emphasis on missionary work and only a perfunctory effort given to meet the real needs of these rural native people.

Here are the responses to Kyle Hopkins questions:


What are your goals for the trip? How would you describe the purpose of the trip for you?

PALIN: Really, it's to show that it's the public-private partnerships are the key here. The solutions to meeting a lot of the challenges in Alaska, government's not going to be the solution. Can't be entire answer that is sought for those who are in need.

But it's working with the faith-based community, with other non-profits, with charitable individuals who know that Alaskans and others, you know we all pull together when people are in need and this is going to illustrate that."

Another purpose of the trip today, is not just delivering food for a short-term solution, but to remind those, especially young people, in rural Alaska of the job opportunities that are available, albeit it requires in some cases leaving the village for a short time. Perhaps for seasonal work or with shift work, either on the slope or in mining operations, or in the fishing industry, or state service. ( This is total bullshit, there are very few jobs available in these communities. And as for the "slope" jobs I wonder who Palin is going to pressure to open these jobs to native people. The North Slope is one of the whitest job markets in Alaska. Just go up there sometime and count the number of rural native Alaskan faces you see. You won't even need both hands.) We're going to look for those who would perhaps want to become VPSOs or troopers or teachers in their own community, remind people of job opportunities, because it is a cash-based society right now.

We can help with providing food and providing fuel, but in a cash-based society, there needs to be income, also, in the community. There needs to be some economic vitality. The only way that that happens is for people to know that there are job opportunities to get to work, and make sure that that is part of the solution here.
(In other words what Palin is saying is that the government who helped create this terrible situation should not be expected to rectify the situation. One would have to imagine that her answer would be different if this problem had occurred in say...Wasilla for instance.)


Can you tell us just how this trip came about ...

(Lt. Governor Sean)PARNELL: I can do that. Dr. Graham contacted me on Saturday and said, 'I understand that we've got some villages in need. Understand that that there have been some hoops that have been hard to jump through for state transportation purposes,' even though we have been able to get to Kotlik and Emmonak and Dillingham.

He made a very generous offer, saying that Samaritan's Purse would be willing to offer their airplanes to transport food and then that turned into Samaritan's Purse also buying substantial quantities of food and groups like Carlisle here offering to truck the food and volunteers in the Valley who have boxed the food from the faith-based community ... So it's just become kind of an all-community, all hands on deck effort to move this food to Western Alaska.
(With a show of hands how many of you believe that Franklin Graham, simply called up out of the blue and suggested that his evangelical group ride to the rescue of these villagers? Yeah I don't buy it either.)


Q: How would you respond to people who said that you should have made this trip, you know, a month ago or six weeks ago? Why wait until now?


PALIN: Well from the day that Sean Parnell and I got elected, our efforts have been to make sure that we have a revitalized economy in Alaska. And that job opportunities would be seized by all Alaskans. Especially those in rural Alaska to recognize that instead of importing our workforce as we do today, to such a large extent, we want the young people in rural Alaska to get these jobs. That has been our effort from the day we got elected. (Oh God I think my head just exploded! How can she say this with a straight face?)

Now, as for personally what Sean and I have done as individuals to help in rural Alaska, in faith-based communities, you know I think, well I think Matthew 6:3 says it best. (Is she really going to quote scripture while she is on the job as Governor of our state?) It’s a scripture that says, 'let not your right hand know what your left hand is doing.' If you’re going to do a personal charitable effort ... what we do personally to support and tithe and offer assistance to some of these missions, I’m going to keep that to myself. (Translation: I have done absolutely nothing and I don't want to talk about it.)


Q. But just as governor, why not go to the region, to the lower Yukon earlier, to see if things are as bad as they’re being described?
(Palin and Parnell looked at each other.)

PARNELL: Frankly, the first weekend that this particular regional hardship hit the web from Emmonak, both the governor and I tried to get our there and we were hampered due to weather. (Dennis Zaki raised the money to go out to Emmonak in one day and managed to make it out there six days later. He faced weather delays as well. but by God he made it!) But a team did go out there, as you know, and in fact this whole week a team has been out there that includes state officials. (A) food bank official. The director of advocacy is out there, they have helped determine that Emmonak and Kotlik have the food they need. They are looking for jobs and economic opportunity now. We want to give the same hope to Russian Mission and Marshall now.” (Are these places even asking for help?)

Q: Is it possible for these communities that you’ll be visiting, the communities that we’ve been hearing about, to sustain their population that they have now 10 or 15 year from now?

PALIN: It is certainly a possibility.

Some of these areas … they may need to see some change in leadership within the community, also. (In other words they need leaders who will not write letters and embarrass me in the media.) For the leaders whom are looked to for guidance with the young people, that these leaders show them where opportunities are also. So they can, as I just mentioned, seize opportunities for jobs, at the same time being able to be such a strong part of their communities still. It is possible. (WTF? Did anybody understand that sentence?)


Q. What makes you say that? How do you see a lack of leadership? (Great follow up question!)

PALIN: I’m not saying it’s a lack of leadership, I’m just saying with new ideas, with new energy in some of these communities, with people not being afraid at all to just call it like they see it and let people know perhaps what their own experience has been in terms of finding success and being a part of the community, at the same time, having income -- there’s nothing wrong with that. And in some of the communities I would say that perhaps new leadership would help provide solutions. (Once again I seem to have misplaced my Palin to English dictionary and have no damn idea what she is trying to say here! You know Governor you cannot simply string a bunch of words together and call it a "sentence" it has to kind of make sense! Those are the damn rules!)

I have to give a huge hat tip to Kyle Hopkins who showed some balls and asked the important questions of this Governor and her administration that many others are too timid to ask.