It looks like Sarah helped break the Department of Health and Social Services by forcing a competent person out and replacing them with a Palin-bot!

So I talked to my relative again this morning and asked when he thought things had gotten so difficult for the elderly in state care. He said that it was hard to put a date on it but that it seemed to him that things had really changed in the last year or year and a half.

Now that seems particularly interesting to me because of this little tidbit right here:

(Karleen) Jackson has been with the department since 2003, when she became deputy HSS commissioner in the Murkowski administration. She took over as commissioner in 2005 and was not replaced when Governor Palin took office last year. But Jackson says she recently compared notes with Palin and it was clear they had a difference of opinion. She says she offered her resignation and the governor accepted. Jackson declined to be more specific.

Now this took place on March 9, 2008. And after Jackson had cleaned out her desk, Palin replaced her with this guy:

July 24, 2008, Anchorage, Alaska - Governor Sarah Palin today announced the appointment of Bill Hogan (see above picture) as Commissioner of the Department of Health and Social Services.

“I am pleased to have Bill Hogan join the cabinet,” Governor Palin said. “With his experience and five years working for the department, he can continue promoting and protecting the health and well-being of Alaskans. Bill has already started implementing priorities for the department including battling substance abuse, promoting health and wellness, continuing with health care reform, developing a plan for caring for seniors in Alaska and meeting the needs of vulnerable Alaskans.”

It appears obvious that Bill Hogan failed miserably to accomplish that last part. So much so that the Federal government had to ride in to rescue elderly Alaskans who were being left to die alone and uncared for.

So who is this Bill Hogan guy?

Hogan holds a bachelor of arts degree in sociology from State University of New York and a master of science degree in social work from West Virginia University. Hogan has served as chair of the Alaska Mental Health Board, board member of the Alaska Community Mental Health Services Association and executive director of the New York State chapter of the National Association of Social Workers.

Well it sounds like the guy was very qualified. So how could he have dropped the ball so badly that the Feds had to be called in?

Before joining the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services in 2003, Hogan was Chief Executive Officer of Life Quest, a private, nonprofit community mental health center located in Wasilla, Alaska.

I hate to make the accusation that every single person that comes from Wasilla is somehow unqualified, or a Sarah Palin lapdog, but I will say that if it is a person from Wasilla that she picks for a cabinet position or to head an important agency then it is a solid bet that they will jump through whatever hoop Palin holds up.

And you can find evidence of that here where Mr. Hogan explains the reason that Beverly Wooley had to leave her job as the state public health director: Hogan described Wooley as having difficulty articulating the governor's position on the abortion measure, as well as teen pregnancy prevention.

And WHAT was Wooley's terrible act of insubordination?

She intended to refer to studies from states that already had passed similar legislation, she said. Some of the research shows that, with parental involvement requirements, girls tend to get abortions later in their pregnancy, which is riskier and more expensive, she said. Other research shows fewer girls get abortions, which abortion foes like Palin likely would applaud. Wooley cautioned that the studies are small and not definitive because such laws are still fairly new.

"You let those facts speak for themselves. And truly, people will interpret those facts differently based on their own personal history and experience," said Wooley.

You see THIS is the problem with people that Sarah Palin does not hand pick from Wasilla. They rely on scientific studies to help them to make the appropriate decisions pertaining to the health and well being of the citizens of Alaska.

It is clear that Bill Hogan did not have such constraints and was free to simply do whatever Queen Ester demanded that he do. And because of that blind obedience we see how many of our elderly have suffered from lack of compassionate care.

(By the way I have not confirmed it yet, but I will bet dollars to doughnuts that Hogan was a member in good standing at Sarah's church. This whole thing smacks of the kind of broken Christianity practiced out there in the Valley.)