Hey remember when you forgot you were a Governor and instead tried to be teen model? Well you did!

Oh this day just keeps getting better and better.

You have GOT to see these pictures to believe them!

"Look at me everybody! Aren't I the cutest Governor in the whole US of A? Can you believe I am the mother of five, count them five, children?"

Actually no I can't Governor. Four? Yes. Five? Not so much.

(By the way I "borrowed" this picture from Runners World so please click the title and visit their site so they do not sue me for copyright infringement. That would totally harsh my mellow.)

Update: Okay I set up a new Yahoo mail account so that all of you can contact me without having to go through the comments section. The e-mail adddress is Gryphen2009@yahoo.com. But let's try not to abuse it, okay my friends?

SarahPAC 4th of July video. Oh you are definitely going to need an antacid after this! Updated!

Is Sarah really using the Bush-like flight suit photo op which failed so miserably for King George to make herself seem MORE Presidential than Barack Obama?

Can any human being really be THAT clueless?

Sorry I forgot who I was talking about. My bad.

Okay folks, let her rip. This deserves nothing but truckloads of snark in the comments section.

Update: The original I embedded was removed, but here is a new embed. Enjoy!

"It came from Wasilla!" Vanity Fair comes up with the best Sarah Palin headline ever!

The article is pretty critical of Palin but the author, Todd S. Purdum, misses a few important pieces.

Here are a few notable excerpts from the article:

Concerning the venom spewing Meg Staplton:
She created a political-action committee—Sarahpac—with the help of John Coale, a prominent Democratic trial lawyer. But just months into its existence the pac’s chief fund-raiser, Becki Donatelli, a veteran of Republican campaigns, suddenly quit. One person familiar with the situation told me that Donatelli could not stand dealing with Palin’s political spokeswoman in Alaska, Meghan Stapleton, who has drawn withering fire from Palin friends and critics alike for being an ineffective adviser.

The loss of powerful Alaskan supporters:
Walter Hickel, 89, a former two-term governor and interior secretary, and the grand old man of Alaska politics, who was co-chair of Palin’s winning gubernatorial campaign, in 2006, now washes his hands of her. He told me simply, “I don’t give a damn what she does.”

Her crazy Wasillabilly family:
The clouds of tabloid conflict and controversy that swirl around her and her extended clan—the surprise pregnancies, the two-bit blood feuds, the tawdry in-laws and common-law kin caught selling drugs or poaching game—give her family a singular status in the rogues’ gallery of political relatives. By comparison, Billy Carter, Donald Nixon, and Roger Clinton seem like avatars of circumspection. Palin’s life has sometimes played out like an unholy amalgam of Desperate Housewives and Northern Exposure.

Her lack of vetting by the McCain campaign:
McCain had spent only a couple of hours in Palin’s presence before choosing her, and she had pointedly failed to endorse him after he clinched the nomination in March. The difficulties began immediately, with the McCain team’s delivery of the bad news that the pregnancy of Palin’s daughter Bristol, which was already common knowledge in Alaska and had been revealed to the McCain team at the last minute, could not be kept secret until after the Republican convention. (Ooooh, so close Purdum, but you failed to discover the REAL truth behind why Bristol had to be thrown under the bus.)

When the McCain people first began to discover that Sarah Palin has a slippery relationship with the truth:
After she was picked, the campaign belatedly sent a dozen lawyers and researchers, led by a veteran Bush aide, Taylor Griffin, to Alaska, in a desperate race against the national reporters descending on the state. At one point, trying out a debating point that she believed showed she could empathize with uninsured Americans, Palin told McCain aides that she and Todd in the early years of their marriage had been unable to afford health insurance of any kind, and had gone without it until he got his union card and went to work for British Petroleum on the North Slope of Alaska. Checking with Todd Palin himself revealed that, no, they had had catastrophic coverage all along. She insisted that catastrophic insurance didn’t really count and need not be revealed. This sort of slipperiness—about both what the truth was and whether the truth even mattered—persisted on questions great and small. By late September, when the time came to coach Palin for her second major interview, this time with Katie Couric, there were severe tensions between Palin and the campaign.

Trying to decipher Sarah's craziness leads top staffers to ridiculous conclusion:
When orders or advice from McCain headquarters began to conflict with her own impulses, aides told me, she simply did what she wanted to do. “The problem was she came down from Alaska with basically Todd as a sort of trusted bellwether adviser,” one McCain friend says. “She was given this staff of 20. It was probably too big a staff. To be real honest with you, I don’t think she could figure out who to trust.” All the while, Palin was coping not only with the crazed life of any national candidate on the road but also with the young children traveling with her. Some top aides worried about her mental state: was it possible that she was experiencing postpartum depression? (Palin’s youngest son was less than six months old.) (Dude spend some time reading the internet before writing such an important article! You totally missed the biggest Palin scandal of all!)

My new favorite Sarah Palin nickname:
One longtime McCain friend and frequent companion on the trail was heard to refer to Palin as “Little Shop of Horrors.”

Author does manage to reveal just how ridiculous, and bizarre, Sarah Palin's official pregnancy cover story is at least:
But there were ominous signs—indications of an erratic nature. This is the third thing McCain could have discovered about Palin—a woman, after all, who kept a pregnancy secret for seven months, flew all the way home from Texas to Alaska with a near-full-term baby while leaking amniotic fluid, and then finally drove the 45 minutes from Anchorage to a hospital in Wasilla, all so that the child could be born in the 49th state.

And here is an issue that has been raised on this blog, as well as many other blogs, multiple times in the last nine months:
More than once in my travels in Alaska, people brought up, without prompting, the question of Palin’s extravagant self-regard. Several told me, independently of one another, that they had consulted the definition of “narcissistic personality disorder” in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders—“a pervasive pattern of grandiosity (in fantasy or behavior), need for admiration, and lack of empathy”—and thought it fit her perfectly. When Trig was born, Palin wrote an e-mail letter to friends and relatives, describing the belated news of her pregnancy and detailing Trig’s condition; she wrote the e-mail not in her own name but in God’s, and signed it “Trig’s Creator, Your Heavenly Father.”

Aahh the truthfulness of young Levi Johnston!:
After Levi told Tyra Banks that he had often spent the night in the Palin home, in the same room as Bristol, and assumed that the governor knew they were having sex, Palin, through her spokeswoman, released a blistering statement expressing disappointment “that Levi and his family, in a quest for fame, attention, and fortune, are engaging in flat-out lies, gross exaggeration, and even distortion of their relationship.” On the CBS Early Show, days later, Johnston seemed resigned. “They said I didn’t live there. I ‘stayed there,”’ he said. “I was like, O.K., well, whatever you want to call it. I had my stuff there.”

Have any lessons been learned?:
When I ask Bitney (Old high school friend and political advisor to Sarah Palin) what he makes of the whole Palin phenomenon, he sighs. “What do I take away from this?” he asks. “Oh, I don’t know. I don’t know. It’s just a lot of emotions and stuff. I find it’s frustrating dealing with Sarah, because it seems we’re always dealing with emotional crap and we never seem to be able to focus on the business at hand that needs to be done. I don’t know whether to blame her or pity her for all this emotional upheaval that we’re always going through with her. Now we all get to listen to Levi and Bristol. Check my feet for horseshoes if I have to sit there and listen to another talk show. I got involved in helping her become governor because we needed to change some policy directions. Teen abstinence is not why I waved signs for her.”

I encourage you to read the entire article. It is very good, despite completely missing the "babygate" boat.

Palin tweets lies about Emmonak, with a little help from her new rural administrator John Moller. UPDATED!

So here is what Sarah Palin tweeted about the current situation in Emmonak:

According to Gov. Sarah Palin's posts on Twitter, half of the people in Emmonak have met subsistence needs and the other half believe they can do the same.

Palin says her rural advisor, John Moller, recently returned from Emmonak and those were his findings.

However THIS is our friend Martin Moore's take on the situation:

Emmonak's city manager, Martin Moore, says he's skeptical that as many people are doing as well as the Palin administration indicates.

With depleted king salmon runs and resulting cuts to subsistence and commercial fishing, he's not convinced food and financial opportunities are plentiful.

Not sure who to believe? Well don't you worry because the Alaska bloggers have their very own man, Dennis Zaki, right there in Emmonak to give us the straight poop.

Last week Palin Tweeted that Emmonak had 50% of their subsistance quota. I've heard all around town that that was false. So this morning I took a poll around town and John Moller is bullshitting everybody. Out 64 people polled, 5 said they have met their quota. 51 said they have less then 50% of their quota. The limited time of the openings are making it hard to fish. "the hell with Sarah Palin" is the best quote I got. These people get pissed when I tell them what Moller said about 50% having their quota.

Three people told me they can't fish because they don't have money to retrieve boat parts at the Post Office. They can't make money because they are commercial fishermen and with the fishery closed to commercial fishing, can't get a loan until it opens.

Story Two: Homeland Security hasn't paid the workers out here for flood work. They were supposed to be paid last Friday but were told the money was late getting deposited then and would be available Monday. I just ran into the pissed off workers outside the city office here and they were just told the money never was actually deposited. Those guys need the money to buy fuel tonight for the opening so they can go fishing. Lots of frustration here. They are getting BS from government all around. Natives getting lied to by government - sound familiar?

And THAT my friends is why we raised money to send Dennis back out to Emmonak and get the real story.

I just hope that our local newspapers and television stations are smart enough to contact Dennis and get the TRUTH from him instead of relying on the bullshit falling out of Palin's mouth again.

Update: ADN now has this story as well. (Scroll to the bottom to see the quote from Dennis.)

Behold the new Palinista!

Okay that headline was not fair, let's give the guy a chance.

The turnover continues in Gov. Sarah Palin's public relations staff, with her top spokesman, Bill McAllister, forced out after less than a year in the position.

Replacing McAllister is David Murrow, an author of Christian books who lives in Chugiak.

McAllister moves to a newly created position as communications director of the Department of Law.

Murrow said he was too busy to talk to the Empire on Friday, but earlier told the Alaska Budget Report Newsletter he began the job June 10 and is paid $103,716 annually.

What? The guy is Palin's new spokesperson since June 10, makes over a hundred thousand a year, and is too busy to talk to the press? Okay that was his chance and he screwed it up!

The governor's office has not publicly announced the new appointment, and has been slow to announce the hiring of the last three communications directors.

Embarrassed by our choices are we?

Murrow told the Budget Report that he owned a media production company that once did work for a Palin campaign, and is also author of two books on Christian men and church.

Uh oh, this does not bode well.

According to the American Library Association's Booklist, "Murrow advocates injecting a strong shot of testosterone into the proceedings to restore the masculine spirit to the church," in his first book, "Why Men Hate Church," published in 2004.

Are you freaking kidding me? Somebody once gave me that book in order to get me to go back to church. It was one of the DUMBEST things I have ever read!

I kid you not, the premise was that men simply don't go to church because they want to watch sports and work on their cars. (You can read some it for yourself right here. )

It seems fairly obvious to me that the idea of sitting down on hard pews and being told that you're going to hell and that the only way to find salvation is to submit to a higher authority is simply not a masculine ideal.

This guy is clueless. He may in fact be a perfect match for Governor Palin.

Of course none of this really makes any difference because we all know that when Governor Sarah REALLY wants to express herself she turns to the venomous Meg Stapletongue. "Get'em Meg, get'em! Make those liberal bloggers sorry!"

Wow! What a weekend THAT was!

Loyal readers of this blog probably noticed that there was a little excitement over the weekend, but actually that was only a small part of the actual behind the scenes goings on.


I had promised one of the kids that I would take him to see the big weekend blockbuster "Transformers2: Revenge of the Fallen".

Did I like it? Oh yeah!

Explosions, Megan Fox, giant robots, Megan Fox, funny script, Megan Fox, amazing special effects, and of course this new actress who I barely noticed named Megan Fox.

It was good fun.

Before and after this movie I kept running back to check the comments on the blog and hitting the publish button. I have to admit I did not read through them very carefully, and though there seemed to be a focus developing around a certain moderator for a certain Palin supporting website, they did not appear to be all that inflammatory.

I went shopping, had a little dinner, tried to call my kid a few times, and then settled down to relax for the remainder of the evening. THAT is when I started to get e-mails and phone calls asking me to check my comments because things had become ugly.

So I sat down and read the comments from start to finish and realized that there was information posted that revealed some personal details about this moderator that are not already public knowledge.

The purpose of this blog is to reveal the truth and hold our politicians and leaders accountable, NOT private citizens. Now admittedly there is some grey area here as SOME people have taken it upon themselves to speak out publicly in support of Sarah Palin and coordinate vicious attacks against ANYBODY who dares hold her accountable. But just because they engage is such scurrilous tactics does not mean we should lower ourselves to follow suit.

However in my opinion the comments went over the line and I deleted them. I also deleted other comments which were not terribly revelatory, but which did not make much sense on their own because they referenced comments that I had removed.

That was the first time I have EVER cleaned up the comments section like that. And I did not like it.

Here is how I view the conversations that take place on this blog.

It is like I have invited a bunch of friends over for dinner. I serve the meal, we have a drink or two, and then conversations start amongst the guests. They usually start off about how good the dinner was, or what a nice home I have, and so on.

But then the conversations take on a life of their own. They can be about new information that is introduced and shared with the group, criticisms of the host, other parties they have attended, and just about any topic that occurs to them. And all of that kind of talk is welcome.

Now if somebody picks a fight with another party guest I perk up and walk over to monitor the conflict. If it stays fairly civil and nobody starts getting vicious or making threats then I will let it play out. But if the attacks become ugly and it looks like a fight is about to break out, then I put a stop to it. After all it is MY party and I don't want the other guests to feel uncomfortable or unwelcome. However usually I favor just letting the conversation take place, because most of the time they do work themselves out. And believe it or not, some people come here JUST to start an argument, and that also serves a purpose. It makes us better debaters and forces us to research our point of view, and the opposing point of view, more thoroughly.

So from this point forward I will read my un-moderated comments more carefully so that the conversation remains civil enough that, even if we do not always agree, we can feel free to express our opinions without being attacked personally. Does that seem fair?

Okay now that brings me to Sunday.

Wow! Sunday was an absolutely gorgeous day outside!

I spent almost the entire day working in my garden, washing my filthy car, and biking all over Anchorage. I kept stopping during my bike trip and marveling at the beauty of the sky and how I could suddenly be deep within nature while only a few miles from my home.

I kept my bike in its highest gear so as not to leave my companion too far behind and my legs got that great pump that makes the muscles swell and bulge which made it kind of hard to get my sweat pants off after the ride. (I guess I should have worn shorts.) So not only did I see a lot of gorgeous scenery, but I also got a pretty good leg work out. That qualifies as a twofer!

I love Alaska! And my only regret is that all of you cannot come up on days like yesterday and see why so many people believe this is the most beautiful place on earth.

Anyhow that was my weekend. I only hope yours was at least half as enjoyable as mine.

Namaste my friends, Namaste.

Now THIS is what I call "iconic".

One of my very good friends thought that I might like a REAL iconic image of Palin.

You know the sad thing is that many of her more rabid followers would probably say "Yeah that's about right."

(My apologies to any REAL Christians who may be offended by this. However it is my firm belief that REAL Christians would NEVER find something like this offensive anyhow.)

This site compares the David Letterman/Sarah Palin faux pregnancies. Personally I think Letterman was much more convincing. But that's just me.

One of my commenter's believes this is about to hit the MSM.

Gosh wouldn't that be great?

By the way for those of you who are "parody-impaired" this was done in the interest of COMEDY, with just enough bite to make it "edgy".

Of course it COULD lead to something other than simply laughs. Only time will tell.

More Emmonak pictures from Dennis Zaki.

As many of you already know the Yukon Delta was hit by floods during breakup this year. In this picture you can see just how much damage it did to the banks of the river.

And here as well. According to Dennis the whole right side used to be covered in trees, about twenty feet of land was swept away by the flood waters.

The villagers try desperately to hold the flood waters at bay by gathering rocks and logs to keep the water from stealing huge chunks of land from their village.

This young lady is learning to cut fish for the first time. This is a skill that she will be called upon to use quite often as the people of Emmonak rely very heavily on fish for their survival.

Here you see Lenora Hootch showing the youngsters how it is done.

Thank you Dennis! These are amazing pictures!

The Sarah Palin exercise plan: Or how to keep baby weight off until the seventh month and then drop it all again only weeks after giving birth.

To keep in shape, Palin, a mom of five, is an avid runner. "Conventional running is my sanity," she has said. "I usually write my best speeches and letters [in my head] while out running." (You know THIS could explain a lot.)

In fact, Palin routinely ran 7 to 10 miles almost every day but switched to aerobics classes when she became pregnant with her fifth child, Trig (who was born in April 2008). After his birth, Palin worked her way back up to running three miles every other day. (Sooo much easier to run without that big strap-on tummy!)

During the summer, she sometimes runs as late as midnight, and in the winter (when it's dark), Palin runs outdoors in the afternoon or on her treadmill at home in the evening. Palin, a former Miss Alaska runner-up, also adheres to a healthy diet. "My family and I eat a healthy diet heavy in wild Alaskan seafood, moose, caribou and fresh fruit," she said. (I just hate it when people try extra hard to appear all "Alaskan-like" by claiming only to eat wild game and fish. I am surprised she did no also list Muktuk and Eskimo ice cream. I will bet dollars to donuts that Sarah and her family eat foods that are much like people in the lower forty eight eat. Only at twice the price of course.)

I once wrote a post that Sarah should write a book on exercise due to her amazing weight loss after the birth of little Trig Palin, and I still think it would be a big seller. I mean it seemed like the weight just "fell off" almost like somebody simply undid a clasp or something. Weird huh?

Happy Saturday! Hey let's piss off some Palin-bots!

I have seen a LOT of versions of this picture, but this is by far my favorite.

You can find more versions here.

(H/T to my pal Shannyn Moore who sent this out to me and my fellow progressive bloggers.)

WCWWJC? (What Caliber Weapon Would Jesus Carry?)

For tomorrow's service at his church in Kentucky, a pastor has invited his congregation to bring along their Bibles, a tin of canned food, a friend - and their guns.

Ken Pagano, who packs a pistol of his own, wants his parishioners to openly wear their firearms at the New Bethel Church in Louisville to mark the 4 July Independence anniversary and celebrate the part guns played in the making of the nation.

I think it is becoming more and more obvious every year that the "Christianity" practiced by most churches has little or nothing to do with the teachings of Jesus Christ.

I have read through the New Testament more than a few times and I cannot imagine the man depicted on those pages being able to step inside one of these buildings supposedly erected in his name.

Now they seem like places to fleece the flock, speak out against homosexuals, and promote the preachers own brand of politics. The Jesus Christ I read about would have had none of it.

And it is this kind of damaged hateful thinking that allows things like this to happen in the name of Jesus as well:



I believe it is time for the REAL believers in the words of Jesus Christ to stand up and take their religion back.

I get e-mails.

One of my blogger buddies just sent this to me and I knew I had to share it with all of you.

Boy aren't WE having a lot of fun with photoshop this week.

Gee I hope this doesn't make anybody angry. LOL!

Sarah Palin gives speech in Kosovo. Now where is my Palin-speak to English dictionary?

You know I think it unusually self aware of our Governor to realize that she is a "misfit".

Okay let's go down the check list:

Slam Joe Biden. Check.

Quote Ronald Reagan. Check.

Say freedom a zillion times. Check

Mention her kids. Check. (Must remind the base that she is still just a simple hockey mom.)

Remind troops that her son is serving in Iraq Check.

(Wait did she say she prays for the wounded soldiers to get better and have fun? Nothing spells F-U-N like getting your leg blown off.)

The word for today is "Selfless". Write that down kids.

I love how she feels the need to explain what a "Falcon" is to the soldiers. ("It flies proud". I have absolutely no idea how she came to that conclusion.)

There are dangerous "machines" threatening more and more places on the globe? Did she just watch the "Transformers" movie before leaving town? What in the hell is she talking about?

Why can't this woman say the word "feel" correctly?

Wait! Who is she blaming for cutting money needed to return troops home after serving overseas? Has anybody else heard of this?

One of my commenter's said that she stole the John Kerry joke she tells at the end of the video from David Letterman. I cannot say that would surprise me one little bit.

Shannyn Moore (everybody's favorite blonde liberal firebrand) needs our support!

As many of you know AKM has been chosen to receive a Netroots Nation scholarship to attend a conference in Pittsburgh.

But what you may NOT know is that there is still a chance to help our very own Shannyn Moore get the very same scholarship!

So please take a moment to click here and vote to send Shannyn to help AKM represent all of Alaska's wonderful bloggers at this important event.

Thank you ahead of time for your support. We could not do what we do without you guys.

Does it seem a little extra sane in Alaska right now? Oh now I get it.

"Okay let me get this straight soldier. Are you saying the best way to take out one of those liberal bloggers is to shoot them in the keyboard or wound them in one of their typing hands? And are you sure this is more effective than sicking the Stapletongue on them?"

Gov. Sarah Palin is visiting U.S. troops in Kosovo. Palin's office had said the governor traveled Wednesday to see Alaska National Guard troops at an undisclosed overseas location (Let's ping her phone and see if it comes back "Argentina", I hear that is where all the cool Governors hang out). On Thursday, her office said she was visiting about 140 aviators with the Guard in Kosovo.

Her spokeswoman, Sharon Leighow, says that for security purposes, the governor's office could not release Palin's destination until it was cleared by the Department of Defense. (Security reasons? Who the hell does Sarah have to fear in Kosovo? The people she needs to worry about are right here in Alaska.)

Leighow says Palin will be on the trip through the weekend. (One can only imagine that the birds will sing more sweetly, the air will smell much fresher, and that Eddie Burke will touch himself while imagining her in a camouflage nightie, during her absence. Have a safe trip Governor, we will be right here anticipating your triumphant return with keyboards at the ready.)

First pictures from Emmonak!

Once again a great big thank you to those who donated and made this trip possible.

I will post updates from Dennis as they come in.

Look how happy those children are to have their pictures taken. So damn cute.

Michael Jackson has died today.

Once he was not just considered a joke or creep, instead we knew him as an amazing talent who made beautiful music.

This is how I am choosing to remember Mr. Jackson.

Update: I wanted to embed this Thriller video earlier, but the embedding was disabled so I could not. But I just I want to provide this link because it is both my daughter's and my favorite Michael Jackson video. I cannot tell you the number of times my four year old baby girl played this on our VCR, and danced across the living room.

Wow! Well that memory certainly choked me up.

Palin camp desperately lashes out at progressive Alaskan blogger.

This is what issued forth from the vile depths of Megan Stapletongue's facial orifice:

Recently we learned of a malicious desecration of a photo of the Governor and baby Trig that has become an iconic representation of a mother's love for a special needs child.

The mere idea of someone doctoring the photo of a special needs baby is appalling. To learn that two Alaskans did it is absolutely sickening. Linda Kellen Biegel, the official Democrat Party blogger for Alaska, should be ashamed of herself and the Democratic National Committee should be ashamed for promoting this website and encouraging this atrocious behavior.

Babies and children are off limits. It is past time to restore decency in politics and real tolerance for all Americans. The Obama Administration sets the moral compass for its party. We ask that special needs children be loved, respected and accepted and that this type of degeneracy be condemned.

This of course is in response to Linda's Kellen Biegel's use of a photoshopped picture of Sarah Palin holding a baby with Eddie Burke's face superimposed over the babies face. (Sorry baby)

This was clearly done to parody Eddie Burke's mommy complex concerning our Governor, and it wasn't even the first time that this picture was altered for humorous effect.

However the Cee4Pee'ers went out of their collective pea sized minds and started to send Linda a bunch of crazy venom soaked e-mails (Look I don't know how you soak e-mails in venom either. They just did!). And now we see that somebody has yanked the chain on the Governor's spokes-pitbull and reminded her that she works for the mentally deranged fringe that simply must attack ANYONE who dares challenge the ethics of "Ester queen of the frozen north".

So thank you Meg for proving that the hard work done by Celtic Diva, and the other Alaskan bloggers, is having such a profound effect on the Governor and her supporters. If not for your constant reinforcement we would not be sure we were having any impact at all.

Oh and thanks for helping Linda's fundraising efforts. Because as soon as she was attacked by Eddie Burke, C4P, TeamSarah, and now Megan, Linda started raising MUCH more money than she was raising before all of the attention.

Perhaps we owe you dinner Meg. What time do they usually throw raw meat into your cage?

Update: CNN has picked up this story now as well.

Update 2: I just got off the phone with Linda and she is only about $700 away from her goal. If you CAN give then please DO give, it would amazing if she were to reach her goal today and that it could be the direct result of the Palin supporters so called "outrage". Poetic justice, no?

Click here to visit Linda's site.

ICEBERG!!! Three more ethics charges and an IRS scandal are headed Sarah Palin's way. Collision is unavoidable.

This from the Alaska Report:

AlaskaReport has learned that at least 3 more ethics complaints will be filed against Sarah Palin in the near future. Of course her cronies at the Personnel Board will probably sweep them under the rug - but at least the crimes will have a light shined upon them before they do... Also - A long simmering embezzelment/IRS scandal is still being looked at by the feds. Stay tuned...

This is going to be a gigantic scandal folks.

There is a very good chance that the Governor's career will soon be resting on the bottom of the ocean right alongside the Titanic.

Just for fun: The BBC's Graham Norton Show pokes fun at script for new Sarah Palin porn video.

The script seems to focus on Sarah's "alleged" affair with her husband's business partner Brad Hanson.

And it is hysterically read by Ricky Gervais and Thandie Newton.

Oh yeah this kind of international ridicule should really help Palin's chances of getting a GOP nomination! You have to admit it is funny though.

Governor Mark Sanford admits to having an affair. Well at least the Argentinian part of this story turned out to be true.

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

Okay they cut right to the chase in this video embed, but I watched the press conference while on the elliptical machine at my gym and it took this guy FOREVER to finally tell everybody where he had been and with whom.

At one point I literally yelled at the TV for him to get to the damn point! (I may have to apologize to a few people the next time I go work out.)

So another so called "Family Values" Republican bites the dust. Anybody surprised? Yeah me neither.

Is it wrong that I am jealous of South Carolina right now? Why can't my Governor do something as cut and dried as banging some guy in Tijuana and lying about it? Just think how much simpler it would be to get rid of her.

But if this kind of thing keeps up our Sarah may really BE the only choice the GOP has left to nominate in 2012. Damn it, I need to get busy!

Palin pays $8,100 in reimbursements undoubtedly with money donated by simpletons.

Palin paid the state $8,143.62 on Friday for nine trips taken between January 2007 and February of this year, her attorney, Thomas Van Flein, said Tuesday. Van Flein and state administrative director Linda Perez sent The Associated Press copies of the check and other documents of the transaction.


The reimbursement, which was due today, stems from a Feb. 23 agreement filed by an Alaska Personnel Board special investigator that resolved an ethics complaint alleging Palin abused her power by charging the state when her children traveled with her. (And by "paid" he means "paid a small portion of the real cost to shut up her critics".)


The personnel board found no wrongdoing, but Palin agreed to reimburse the state for costs associated with trips found to be of questionable state interest. (Translation: "The Personnel Board tried desperately to find in the Governor's favor but finally had to admit she done screwed up and made her pay a small fine for making their job so damn hard.")

Well I guess the best I can say is that at least Sarah Palin finally had to demonstrate accountability for ONE of her many ethical lapses, even if it was just this tiny pittance more than likely paid for by her wingbat supporters over on the other side of the internets.

But a chink in her armor, is still a chink in her armor.

Combining all of the stories to explain the disappearance of Mark Sanford it appears that he was hiking naked, while writing a book, in Argentina?

Sanford, in an exclusive interview with The State Media Company, said he decided at the last minute to go to the South American country to recharge after a difficult legislative session in which he battled with lawmakers over how to spend federal stimulus money.

We have had a lot of fun with the disappearance of South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford, but it just turns out that the guy left his wife and kids during Father's Day, and lied to his staff, while he took a little time off to visit South America. IS that so wrong? Oh yeah!

Any bets on just how much more bad news for Sanford's political career is going to come out in the next few weeks?

Update: I missed the Daily Show last night so I did not know they had done this segment. But now that I have seen it this post simply cries out for its inclusion.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Governor Mark Sanford Is Missing
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Jason Jones in Iran

It is time to visit Emmonak again and check on how our friends are doing six months after our amazing food drive.

Our buddy Dennis Zaki wants desperately to return to Emmonak and film the circumstances that the people of Emmonak and the Yukon Delta continue to face despite the generous donations from the readers of this blog, Mudlats, and many others.

Below you can read the letter he sent out to all of us asking for our help.

Dear readers,

It is a matter of great urgency that I be in Emmonak ASAP. The Federal Subsistence Board has called a meeting with the Emmonak tribal leaders and residents to discuss the Yukon's king salmon subsistence and commercial fishing crisis. At the State meeting last January, I was not allowed to film. Residents later told me the State did not want that meeting on film.

The people of Emmonak have been prohibited from commercially fishing for early run King Salmon. Alaska, the feds, and the North Pacific Fisheries Management Council have chosen the marginal benefit of a few commercial pollock fishermen from Seattle over the livelihood of the villagers of Emmonak, and others of Alaska's Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta.

The fact is indisputable that the salmon bycatch of Seattle's pollock fishermen is the direct cause of the steep and devastating decline of king salmon in the waters of Western Alaska. However, few, if any, of our state's government officials have the courage to bring up this topic on the record, presumably due to the fact that they would be championing the "hapless" Natives (not a new concept in our history) over the strong, wealthy, lobbyist-backed (non-Alaskan) pollock industry.

What this intolerable situation needs is to be brought to the attention of the American people, even as it is being swept under Alaska's political rug. A few months ago, when the heating fuel/food crisis in Emmonak first surfaced, I flew there with my camera and interviewed the victims of the crisis. My filming gave their plight national exposure on CNN and other national outlets. I want to follow up the story and do it again. We cannot let this problem just fade away as if our fellow Alaskans mean nothing. This is not just the problem of the villagers of Emmonak. As Alaskans, this is our problem just as much as it is theirs. (See: Lack of King salmon in the Deshka River, Ship Creek, Bird Creek, Kenai River, etc., etc.)

Help me get to Emmonak to do something about it. The trip will cost $1080. That is $720 airfair and 4 nights in the Emmonak hotel.

Dennis Zaki

You can find a donate button for Dennis on his site right here. I know that many of you have already given to help Celtic Diva and we all appreciate that. If you can give thank you, but if you cannot we completely understand as all of us have found ourselves stretched a little thin lately.

I believe that Dennis is going to do an amazing job of bringing the plight of the Yukon Delta people to the rest of the world so that all can see just how poorly our state takes care of those who were here originally. Just like he did last time.

UPDATE!!!

Dennis just called and he has enough money already! Thanks to everybody who donated!

If you did not get a chance you will have to wait until the next time because Dennis pulled his button off of his site already.

Will she or won't she?

Top Republicans and Democrats across Alaska are quietly lining up to run for governor amid growing speculation that Sarah Palin will not seek reelection in 2010.

No candidate, including Palin, has yet filed papers with the Alaska Public Offices Commission. Palin’s office declined an opportunity to explain her thinking on the 2010 race, and the Republican Governors Association said it would not comment on discussions it has had with the governor.

But a number of Democrats and Republicans in Alaska an dWashingtonwho spoke to POLITICO believe her silence is a sign she will not pursue a second term as governor so that she can play a larger role on the national political stage.

“There is nothing that she has done that leads me to believe she will seek reelection,” said Andrew Halcro, a former Republican state legislator who ran for governor as an independent candidate in 2006 and is weighing another run. “If you’re Palin, once you’ve flown first class, you don’t go back to coach. She’s been to the show and certainly seemed to like it there.”

“I have no doubt in my mind that, barring some unforeseen collapse on the national stage, she won’t seek reelection,” he added.

This is a question that my fellow progressive bloggers have revisited more times than I care to remember. Most of the time we are all convinced that she won't run. But sometimes things happen which are confusing and then we start to waiver. "Maybe she WILL run" somebody will say. "Nah, she is over Alaska" says somebody else. Right now I do believe that we are all in agreement that she will NOT run.

However we are also ALL in agreement that she WILL run for President in 2012, which never fails to blow my freaking mind!

How this woman believes that she has a snowball's chance in the most blistering corner of hell of actually being elected if she ran against Barack Obama is completely baffling to me. How unbelievably lacking in self-awareness must she be not to realize how damaged she has become as a result of her own actions and the media scrutiny that she compulsively sought after?

But everything that she has done, from starting up a PAC, fundraising for Lisa Murkowski, and even taking on late night talk show hosts, demonstrates that she is absolutely convinced that she not only has a chance but that she has the BEST chance of winning from among the admittedly slim number of choices offered by the GOP. Which I think shows more than just about anything how badly damaged the Republican brand has become.

But let me make this prediction. If by some miracle Palin were chosen to be the Republican nominee in 2012, and I very much doubt that scenario will occur, after she loses THIS time she will have a complete and total nervous breakdown. I think that our Governor is just barely holding it together right now (as evidenced by her scary weight loss) and one more public humiliation is going to send her right over the edge.

Of course all of this is moot, because I know that Palin's career is about to take a number of brutal hits from which she is absolutely not gong to be able to recover. (While I am on the topic can you all STOP asking me about the "iceberg"? The iceberg was not about me and what I am working on, it is about something completely different though equally damaging. And YES I AM still working on my post, and NO I cannot tell you when it will be ready. One thing I have learned during this whole enterprise is that patience is a virtue.)

HE'S BACK!!!

I just heard on MSNBC that missing South Carolina Governor, Mark Sanford, is okay and will return to his office in the next few days.

So finally our very brief national nightmare is over, and we can all breathe a sigh of "I really never gave a shit about this story".

I am sure that Mark Sanford will explain to his constituents, and the American people, just why he disappeared right before Father's Day (leaving his children alone and fatherless), and what he learned during his sabbatical. Did he see God? Did he have some sort of revelation? Were there hookers involved? I think the people of South Carolina and the cable news channels have a right to know.

So the only question now is how can Sarah Palin get the limelight back from that media whore bitch Mark Sanford?

Should she take a walk along Turnagain arm and get stuck in the mudflats like these people? (I know one local blogger who would really love that!)

Should she get lost in the woods of Wasilla, miraculous get rescued by Willow (Who we will all mistake for Bristol), and somehow manage to blame it all on Obama's Stimulus package?

Or should she step off of a curb in her Franco Sarto red high heels and snap her ankle so that she can get some of that sweet Lisa Murkowski and Sonia Sotomayor sympathy?

Oh well however she does it you can count on the fact that Governor Sarah will grab back that spotlight somehow. You betcha!

Update: Oh you are going to love this!

Adam Fogle, writing for the Palmetto Scoop, asks, "Why would a sitting governor just up and disappear to the mountains without telling a single soul — including his family?"

"Well, The Palmetto Scoop have discovered the answer to all the secrecy: the governor may have gone for a naked hike," Fogle writes. "No, really."

I am sorry. I am laughing too hard to type anymore.

Jon Stewart points out some of the flaws with how cable networks cover the Iran situation. In a humorous way of course.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Crisis in Iran
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Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Jason Jones in Iran

Oooh this second part features "foreign looking correspondent" Aasif Mandvi. I LOVE Aasif Mandvi!

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Crisis in Iran - Westerners Are to Blame
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South Carolina Governor goes missing after fighting hard against accepting stimulus money! Is Sarah Palin next?

Where is South Carolina's governor?

The lieutenant governor doesn't know, and neither does a state senator who's a close confidante. Even Gov. Mark Sanford's wife is in the dark.

Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer said he's been told the governor's staff is in contact with the second-term Republican, but Sanford's wife said she hasn't heard from him in several days, including Father's Day.

"He was writing something and wanted some space to get away from the kids," Jenny Sanford told The Associated Press while vacationing with the couple's four sons at their Sullivans Island beach house. She said she didn't know where he was, but wasn't concerned.

Sanford, who's also chairman of the Republican Governors Association, earned a reputation as the nation's most vocal anti-bailout governor by refusing $700 million in federal stimulus money for schools until he lost a court battle earlier this month.

His spokesman Joel Sawyer released a statement saying the governor was taking a break after losing the fight.

"Gov. Sanford is taking some time away from the office this week to recharge after the stimulus battle and the legislative session and to work on a couple of projects that have fallen by the wayside," Sawyer said.

Okay I don't really think anything nefarious has happened to Governor Sanford, nor do I really believe that Governor Sarah will disappear anytime soon (Despite all of my prayers). But I did find it kind of a coincidence that after such a public drubbing that Governor Sanford drops off the face of the planet. Hmm interesting.

I am sure that Sanford will arise like the phoenix and return to his office ready to make more bad decisions and spew out Republican talking points along with the best of them.

And I would just like to go on record as saying if anything untoward did happen to the Governor from South Carolina I would follow the story and post any information I learned even if it turned out that Rahm Emmanuel had choked him to death and hidden his body in a swamp somewhere. And if something similar were to happen to our lovely high heeled Governor Sarah I would leave no stone unturned until the culprit was brought to justice.

Despite my criticism of our Governor I certainly do not wish her any harm. However having said that, it WOULD be kind of nice if she disappeared off of the face of the planet for awhile.

I am just saying.

EARTHQUAKE!!!

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- An earthquake rocked Southcentral at about 11:30 a.m. Monday.

The 5.3 magnitude quake occurred about 30 miles southwest of Talkeetna, according to preliminary data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

There is no tsunami expected, NOAA said.

A small one actually.

It did not shake the foundation of my house like usual. It just shook the windows and rumbled a little.

Still it served to wake me up a little.

Good Morning! Let's start off today with a list of the 18 (Yes that is a whopping 18!) ethics charges that have been filed against our Governor.

1. - July 28, 2008 - Alaska lawmakers launched an investigation into whether Gov. Sarah Palin abused her power when she fired Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan over his refusal to let go a state trooper involved in a contentious divorce with Palin's sister. Stephen Branchflower, a special counsel leading the investigation, concluded Oct. 10 that Palin violated a state ethics law that prohibits public officials from using their office for personal gain. The firing itself was deemed lawful since Monegan was an at-will employee.

2. - Aug. 6, 2008 - Complaint filed by outspoken Palin critic Andree McLeod of Anchorage contended Palin and some staff members used their influence to get a Palin supporter a job in state government. Complaint alleged Palin staffers helped Tom Lamal, who once co-hosted a Palin fundraiser, to get a job as a surveyor. Dismissed by state personnel board, although the board's investigator recommended ethics training for one staffer who made questionable comments in e-mails.

3. - Aug. 20, 2008 - Complaint accused Palin of breaking election law by taking a public position on a mining ballot initiative days before the vote. Filed by Brian Kraft, founder of the Bristol Bay Alliance, a group that opposed the Pebble Mine prospect. Rejected May 8 by the Alaska Public Offices Commission.
- Aug. 29, 2008 - Palin named as John McCain's running mate.

4. - Sept. 2, 2008 - Palin filed a "self disclosure" with the state personnel board over the Troopergate affair, saying a state legislative probe had become too political. On Nov. 3 - the day before the election - Timothy Petumenos, a lawyer hired by the board, said that Palin violated no ethics laws when she fired Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan. (This is the one that is costing Palin the most money. The one she filed against herself.)

5. - Sept. 3, 2008 - Complaint by the Public Safety Employees Association alleged Palin or her staff had unauthorized access to and improperly disclosed information from personnel records of Trooper Mike Wooten, Palin's ex-brother-in-law. Complaint was later amended to include an allegation of harassment. The PSEA's allegations were investigated alongside Palin's filing and also dismissed.

6. - Oct. 13, 2008 - Monegan asked the board for a hearing to clear his name. Petumenos, in his Nov. 3 Troopergate report to the panel, said there was no legal basis or jurisdiction for such a hearing.

7. - Oct. 23, 2008 - Complaint with the Federal Election Commission by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics alleged the $150,000-plus designer wardrobe the Republican Party bought to outfit Palin in her vice presidential quest violated Federal Election Campaign Act. The Washington watchdog group argued that candidates aren't supposed to use donor money for personal expenses. The FEC ruled May 19 that party money is not covered by the ban.

8. - Oct. 24, 2008 - Complaint contended Palin abused her power by charging the state when her children traveled with her. The personnel board found no wrongdoing, but in a Feb. 23 settlement Palin agreed to reimburse the state about $10,000 for costs associated with 10 trips found to be of questionable state interest among 72 travel authorizations studied. The money is due to the state on Tuesday.

9. - Nov. 14, 2008 - Accused Palin of partisan "post-election damage control" for talking to reporters about the campaign in her state office. Filed by Zane Henning, a North Slope worker from Wasilla, Palin's hometown. Dismissed by state personnel board March 23.

10. - Dec. 2, 2008 - Alleged Palin violated ethics law by campaigning for Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss of Georgia. Filed by Anthony Martin of Talkeetna. Dismissed by state personnel board March 23.

11. - Dec. 18, 2008 - Complaint contended Palin misused funds of the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute, a quasi-government entity, to promote her political ambitions with advertisements featuring her, violating ethics law. The ads promoting Alaska seafood ran in the National Fisherman last year through November. Dismissed Jan. 12 after a personnel board investigation determined Palin's only involvement was to give permission to use her image long before she was named McCain's running mate.

12. - Jan. 12 - Complaint alleging interference in a job hiring was filed under the name of Edna Birch, a busybody character on the British soap opera Emmerdale. Palin's attorney, Thomas Van Flein, said no one by that name could be found living in Alaska and the filer refused to use a real name, so the complaint was dismissed Feb. 20. (WTF? Okay THIS one might have been frivolous.))

13. and 14. - Jan. 26 - Two complaints filed by McLeod alleged two of Palin's top aides misused their official positions for Palin's personal and political gain. The complaints said then-press secretary Bill McAllister and Kris Perry - director of the governor's Anchorage office - worked on state time to benefit Palin's interests during and after her vice presidential quest. Pending.

15. - March 18 - Contended Palin improperly used state staff, property, time and equipment for partisan political purposes. One of the grievances cited was Palin's posting of her veep candidacy on the official state governor's Web site - http://gov.state.ak.us/archive.php?id=1439&type=1 Complaint filed by McLeod. Dismissed May 27 as lacking merit by personnel board May 27.

16. - March 24 - Contended conflict of interest by Palin because she wore Arctic Cat logo gear during the Tesoro Iron Dog snowmobile race. Palin's husband, Todd, is sponsored by Arctic Cat in the race. Filed by Linda Kellen Biegel, a Democratic blogger. Dismissed June 2. (Yay Linda!)

17. - April 22 - Alleged that work with Palin's political action committee violated two provisions of the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act by misusing her official position and accepting outside employment. Filed by Anchorage resident Sondra Tompkins. Dismissed as lacking merit by state personnel board May 8.

18. - April 27 - Contends Palin is misusing the governor's office for personal gain by securing unwarranted benefits and receiving improper gifts through the Alaska Fund Trust. The fund was recently established by supporters to help Palin pay off more than $500,000 in legal debts stemming from other ethics complaints, including troopergate. Complaint filed by Eagle River resident, Kim Chatman. Pending.

Okay I am going to go out on a limb and say that this is probably a record.

That's right, our Governor is waaay more unethical than your Governor!

Suck on that Illinois!

(By the way this article comes to us courtesy of the Fairbanks Newsminer. They tend to be much more fair and balanced than the ADN.)

AP writer gets most of the facts right about the ethics complaints against Palin, but leaves some important facts out. Here allow me to help.

This article was written by AP reporter Rachel D'oro, who did a fair job. My additions are in bold and filled with snark. You can't miss'em!

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin says her political enemies are abusing state law with a flurry of frivolous ethics complaints against her, putting her more than $500,000 in legal debt.

Those filing the grievances — there have been at least 18 cases so far — say it's their legal right to hold the Republican governor accountable for what they see as abuses of power.

The truth is probably somewhere in between. (If by "in between" you mean definitely slanted toward those filing the complaints then we agree.)

"Are Alaskans outraged, or at least tired of this yet — another frivolous ethics charge by a political blogger?" Palin asked in one statement. (Uh nope. So long as you keep behaving unethically then this is one Alaskan who is all for ethics charges being filed against you. And I know numerous Alaskans who feel the exact same way.)

Most of the complaints have been filed since last August, when GOP presidential candidate John McCain picked Palin as his running mate. And most have been denied.

Palin's office has called the multiple dismissals "mounting evidence that accusations of wrongdoing by the governor lack merit and have been politically or personally motivated."

Even some of Palin's critics question the validity of some of the complaints, and her supporters have waged a weeklong Webathon to raise money for a legal defense fund set up for the governor, ringing up more than $109,000 by day seven, Sunday. ("Sorry kids no vacation for you this year, your mom has sent all of our savings to help that Palin woman again!")

But the number of filings may also reflect a broader awareness of ethics law in Alaska, where any citizen can send in any number of complaints. Some say they're taking Palin up on her own challenge to Alaska voters. (Yep! Just being good citizens.)

"She said she was going to be open, transparent and wanted people to hold her accountable," said Kim Chatman, an Eagle River resident whose complaint against Palin is among the few still pending. "I took her for her word."

All the complaints have been brought by Alaskans, except for one filed by Washington-based Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics alleging the $150,000-plus designer wardrobe the Republican Party bought to outfit Palin in her national quest violated the Federal Election Campaign Act. That complaint was dismissed.

One complaint, in which the Alaska Personnel Board found no wrongdoing, concluded with the governor agreeing to pay the state $10,000 for trips taken by her children — money that is due Tuesday. (Of course this is after they dismissed 31 of the trips with no explanation as to why those trips were inappropriate and the remaining 9 were not.)

Another complaint, filed by Democratic blogger Linda Kellen Biegel, said Palin wore a jacket that promoted the sponsor of her husband's snowmobile racing team. That complaint, dismissed June 2, prompted Palin's statement about "frivolous" ethics charges. (Of course now we learn that our Governor is desperately trying to keep from having to disclose how much of a "discount" she and her husband received for that gear which sounds suspiciously like somebody who has something to hide. Oui?)

Elected in 2006, Palin enjoyed an unprecedented 18-month honeymoon with Alaska residents and lawmakers alike until last July, when she fired Walt Monegan, the state's popular public safety commissioner.

Monegan believed he was terminated over his refusal to let go a state trooper who was involved in a contentious divorce with Palin's sister. Palin cited budgetary disagreements.

State lawmakers investigated, ultimately concluding the governor broke an ethics law that prohibits public officials from using their office for personal gain, although the firing itself was considered lawful since Monegan was an at-will employee.

Days after being named McCain's running mate, Palin said the legislative probe had become too political (Translation: They were going to find her guilty.) and filed a "self disclosure" with the Alaska Personnel Board, whose three members are appointed by the governor. The day before the presidential election, that investigation concluded that Palin violated no ethics laws. (You all remember that don't you? She was guilty, and then "POOF" she wasn't guilty. Who needs a genie in a lamp when you have your very own Personnel Board to make the bad things go a way?)

Palin was wrong to publicly criticize the complaints before the appropriate government body — the personnel board in most cases — had a chance to analyze them, said Gregg Erickson, a Juneau economist and longtime watcher of Alaska politics. That's simply bad politics, he said.
"She rises to the bait fairly quickly when they troll these things by her," he said. "I think it's a weakness." (Gee ya think?)

Chatman said she voted for Palin to be governor, but now sees her as unethical, sacrificing the state's interest to advance her national ambitions. Palin is widely believed to be considering a 2012 presidential run. (Proving that some people simply cannot learn.)

Chatman's complaint alleges Palin is misusing the governor's office for personal gain by securing unwarranted benefits and receiving improper gifts through the Alaska Fund Trust, which was established by supporters in April to help Palin pay her legal bills.

Alaska law mandates that ethics grievances remain confidential unless a public accusation is filed or the accused person agrees in writing to make it public. However, most complainants have ignored this requirement and have publicly discussed their grievances without any legal consequences. (This is false and was explained away quite effectively by Linda Kellen Biegel on her blog Celtic Oasis. "The confidentiality piece in the Ethics Act does not apply against private citizens who file ethics complaints--The spirit of the confidentiality portion of the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act (while the verbiage is rather nebulous) seems to be geared towards the Department of Law, employees of the State and the Personnel Board in its normal role with personnel issues.")

"Why is confidentiality so important? So the process does not become a forum for partisan attacks, headline seekers and disgruntled wing-nuts," Palin attorney Thomas Van Flein said in an e-mail. "This is exactly the type of political gamesmanship the confidentiality clause was intended to prevent." (And so that the voters don't learn how unethical their Governor is behaving while supposedly representing them.)

Chatman said she spoke with an attorney and learned she wouldn't breach confidentiality if she talked about her grievance before filing it in late April. She said she did just that, based on a lack of trust in the Palin administration.

"I thought it would be swept under the carpet if the public didn't know about it," she said. (BINGO! And that is exactly why the Governor keeps bringing this up, in the hopes that they will be thrown out or that the next ones will not be publicized.)

(Thanks ProChoiceGrandma for bringing this article to my attention.)

If you sniff the air and wonder what that horrible smell is, well that is the smell of freedom being quelled and Iran in flames.

Iranian police have used water cannon, batons, tear gas and live rounds to break up protests over the presidential election, witnesses in Tehran say.

A BBC reporter said he saw one man shot and others injured amid running fights.
Defeated candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi repeated calls for the election to be annulled on the grounds it was rigged.

US President Barack Obama urged Iran's government "to stop all violent and unjust actions against its own people", saying the "world is watching".

As we enjoy Father's day with our families today, let us offer a prayer of hope to those who are desperately fighting to have the same kind of freedom that we enjoy every day of our lives.

I am not usually one for prayer, but desperate circumstances call for desperate actions.

Health Care discussion yesterday with Senator Mark Begich.

(Photo borrowed from Mudflats)

Alaskans who crowded the Wilda Marston Theatre on Saturday told Sen. Mark Begich overwhelmingly they wanted Congress to create a "public option" for health care as an alternative to the nation's existing system based on private insurance.

The question of whether health care reform should include a public health insurance plan to compete with private insurers is drawing intense attention. President Obama strongly favors it and most congressional Republicans are opposed, with the sides sparring over cost, fairness and quality of care.

Begich, an Alaska Democrat, on Saturday held a "town hall" forum on health care at the Anchorage venue as the debate over the issue rages nationally. Begich said there are many ways to have a public option and it doesn't mean a government takeover of the health care system. He suggested an idea that was part of his campaign for the U.S. Senate last fall: letting members of the public buy into the health benefit program federal employees use.

"It's such a big group, we are able to negotiate a lot of our cost factors," Begich said.

The theater, which has a capacity of about 230, was almost full for the forum. Begich asked audience members to raise their hands if they supported a "public option" -- which he broadly defined as something that was not owned and operated by the insurance companies. The vast majority of people raised their hands.

I attended this townhall meeting yesterday morning and was struck by the diversity of the group that gathered to hear Senator Begich, and the personal stories that I heard. It was a much more civil discussion then the one I had heard only a few days earlier in this same room concerning the equal rights ordinance, but the opinions were just as diverse and deeply felt.

Our Senator (I always want to call him Mark) made it clear that this was a very complicated issue and that new versions of the bill were being created almost on a daily basis. The message seemed to be, "don't hold your breath, because this is something that is not coming anytime soon."

That actually depressed me a little, even though I already knew that intellectually. I guess sometimes I get a little overanxious when I think a great thing is just over the horizon. (Yes I was one of those kids who did not sleep very well on Christmas eve.)

Senator Begich also talked about the different ways that health insurance can be structured to encourage people to start taking better care of themselves. He used the Safeway stores as an example, saying that they offer two different plans to their employees. One plan for the employees who do not smoke, and take the time to exercise and eat right, and another more expensive plan for the people who start the day with a donut and a Marlboro cigarette.

Now as some do you may know I am a HUGE advocate for exercise and eating right. In my mind that is "health care" and what the doctors and hospitals do is "sick care". Once you need the help of the medial profession you are no longer receiving real health care.

So here is my lame brained idea, see what you think.

I would also like to see health insurance offered that took into consideration a person's lifestyle.

But I would like to see that idea expanded on.

I would like larger corporations to really encourage and facilitate more healthy lifestyle choices for their employees. I would like to see running tracks and work out facilities on their premises (Google does this). I would like the company to offer benefits to those employees who take the time to exercise at least three to five hours a week, and pay them to do it right there at the work site (One of the main reasons I hear for people not working out is that they are too busy and simply do not have the time, but if your job paid you to work out at least three hours a week that excuse would no longer be valid).

I would like them to provide personal trainers and dietitians to help the employees to access this healthier lifestyle, and have cafeteria's that offer fresh fruit and vegetable, lean meats, and healthy carbohydrates.

This may seem costly at first, but just imagine how much the company would save with fewer sick days, more productivity, and a happier healthier work environment. The amount the company pays for health care could be adjusted to suit their more healthier work force and the savings would easily offset the cost of the facility, the time spent exercising, and the personal trainers.

Overall this attitude and change in behavior would potentially save the company hundreds of thousands, or depending on its size, millions of dollars. And it would save our country billions of dollars.

Now I know that right about now you are thinking that Gryphen has gone off of the deep end, NO company will make such a fundamental change in their company's philosophy, but it is already happening. And what is more I have already done the same thing in a few of my work places. I have introduced healthy eating and exercise programs that have helped my co-workers lose weight, eat healthier, and feel much better about themselves. The result was a much happier and energetic work environment that had both higher productivity and employee retention numbers. I know it can work, and I believe it should be a large part of President Obama's health care program. Because I believe we should focus on "health care" and not just "sick care".

And that is exactly what I am going to tell Jule Hasquet, Mark Begich's Communication Director, later on this week when I call her with this proposal. Wish me luck!

Anchorage Assembly co-chair Harriet Drummond brings delightful Top Ten list to my attention on Facebook.

1) Being gay is not natural. Real Americans always reject unnatural things like eyeglasses, polyester, and air conditioning.

2) Gay marriage will encourage people to be gay, in the same way that hanging around tall people will make you tall.

3) Legalizing gay marriage will open the door to all kinds of crazy behavior. People may even wish to marry their pets because a dog has legal standing and can sign a marriage contract.

4) Straight marriage has been around a long time and hasn't changed at all; women are still property, blacks still can't marry whites, and divorce is still illegal.

5) Straight marriage will be less meaningful if gay marriage were allowed; the sanctity of Brittany Spears' 55-hour just-for-fun marriage would be destroyed.

6) Straight marriages are valid because they produce children. Gay couples, infertile couples, and old people shouldn't be allowed to marry because our orphanages aren't full yet, and the world needs more children.

7) Obviously gay parents will raise gay children, since straight parents only raise straight children.

8) Gay marriage is not supported by religion. In a theocracy like ours, the values of one religion are imposed on the entire country. That's why we have only one religion in America.

9) Children can never succeed without a male and a female role model at home. That's why we as a society expressly forbid single parents to raise children.

10) Gay marriage will change the foundation of society; we could never adapt to new social norms. Just like we haven't adapted to cars, the service-sector economy, or longer life spans

Harriet Drummond and I are Facebook friends and she posted this wonderful Top Ten list for all of her pals to enjoy. (I don't think she was the original author, but I am giving her credit because she is the one that brought it to MY attention.)

Anyhow I thought I would share it with you, my pals, right here on this blog. Enjoy my friends.

This is my clarion call for all seekers of truth and justice to help support the effort to gain access to Sarah Palin's mystery e-mails.

Sarah Palin's minions are doing everything they can to keep us from revealing the truth about the Governor and her shady dealings with some of her supporters and media types. Including charging exorbitant prices for a simply e-mail search.

Linda Kellen Biegel (Celtic Diva) needs approximately $5552.64 to pay for "administrative costs" to search for these e-mails. (Apparently the effort to help keep the public informed is very taxing for these state employees, and they must be compensated adequately for the mental exhaustion they may suffer and the carpal tunnel they may be afflicted with. Poor babies!)

Here is what Linda is requesting:

1) any and all email contact to/from Governor Palin, Office of the Governor employees Linda Perez, Mike Nizich, Bill McAllister, Kris Perry, Sharon Leighow that are to/from Alaska residents Eddie Burke and/or Sheila Toomey,
2) any and all emails to/from the Governor and those same Office of the Governor employees that discuss Eddie Burke or Sheila Toomey,
3) all records requests submitted which target emails to or from Alaska resident Andree McLeod, and
4) all fee breakdowns, invoices or any other documents which assesses the cost of retrieving the McLeod emails and whether or not those fees have been/will be charged to the requester.
The date range for the request is July 1, 2008 to May 11, 2009.

To donate simply click the title which will take you to her site and find the donate button is on the top left corner.

I thank you ahead of time for whatever you are able to spare to assist Sarah Palin in keeping her promise of transparency. Remember we are not attacking her, we are simply helping her to keep her campaign promises.