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.