Sarah Palin's rape kit controversy
Jim Tankersley
ABC26.com
When legislators run for president, they have to answer for every little vote they ever cast - yes, no or, er, present. When former mayors run for vice-president, we're learning this week, they have to answer for every policy in place in their town when they were in office.
Which brings us to the case of Sarah Palin and the town that charged victims for rape kits.
As Mary Pemberton of the Associated Press reports in a story headlined "Palin's town billed rape victims to get evidence":
When Sarah Palin was mayor of Wasilla, the city billed sexual assault victims and their insurance companies for the cost of rape kits and forensic examinations.
Palin had been in office for four years when the practice of charging rape victims got the attention of state lawmakers in 2000, who passed a bill to stop the practice.
Former Democratic Rep. Eric Croft, who sponsored that bill, said he was disappointed that simply asking the Wasilla police department to stop didn't work. Croft said he doubts she was unaware of the practice.
Maria Comella, a McCain-Palin campaign spokeswoman, said Palin "does not believe, nor has she ever believed, that rape victims should have to pay for an evidence-gathering test." To suggest otherwise, she said, is a "misrepresentation of her commitment to supporting victims and bringing violent criminals to justice."
Read the rest of the story:
Sarah Palin's rape kit controversy
Friday, September 12, 2008
Alaska Lawmakers Vote to Subpoena Todd Palin
Alaska Lawmakers Vote to Subpoena Todd Palin
By SERGE F. KOVALESKI NY Times Online
Published: September 12, 2008
ANCHORAGE — Alaska lawmakers voted Friday to issue a subpoena to Todd Palin, the husband of Gov. Sarah Palin, in an escalation of the inquiry into whether Ms. Palin improperly tried to have her former brother-in-law dismissed from his job as a state trooper.
The subpoena was one of 14 approved by the Judiciary Committee of the State Senate in a vote of 3 to 2 in a joint hearing with the House Judiciary Committee, which served in an advisory role during the proceeding. The subpoenas were requested by the legislative investigator conducting the inquiry, Stephen E. Branchflower, a former Anchorage prosecutor who now lives in South Carolina.
The vote set the stage for a possible legal clash between the Legislature and the Palin administration, which threatened this week to go to court to quash any subpoenas. Ms. Palin, the Republican candidate for vice president, has hired a lawyer, who did not return calls seeking comment.
“It seems that we are heading for a branch-against-branch smack-down,” said Senator Gene Therriault, a Republican who voted against approving the subpoenas and instead advocated that the investigation be handled by the state Personnel Board. “This is a nuclear route that should be avoided at all costs.”
Read the rest of the story:
Alaska Lawmakers Vote to Subpoena Todd Palin
By SERGE F. KOVALESKI NY Times Online
Published: September 12, 2008
ANCHORAGE — Alaska lawmakers voted Friday to issue a subpoena to Todd Palin, the husband of Gov. Sarah Palin, in an escalation of the inquiry into whether Ms. Palin improperly tried to have her former brother-in-law dismissed from his job as a state trooper.
The subpoena was one of 14 approved by the Judiciary Committee of the State Senate in a vote of 3 to 2 in a joint hearing with the House Judiciary Committee, which served in an advisory role during the proceeding. The subpoenas were requested by the legislative investigator conducting the inquiry, Stephen E. Branchflower, a former Anchorage prosecutor who now lives in South Carolina.
The vote set the stage for a possible legal clash between the Legislature and the Palin administration, which threatened this week to go to court to quash any subpoenas. Ms. Palin, the Republican candidate for vice president, has hired a lawyer, who did not return calls seeking comment.
“It seems that we are heading for a branch-against-branch smack-down,” said Senator Gene Therriault, a Republican who voted against approving the subpoenas and instead advocated that the investigation be handled by the state Personnel Board. “This is a nuclear route that should be avoided at all costs.”
Read the rest of the story:
Alaska Lawmakers Vote to Subpoena Todd Palin
Gov Sarah Palin Biography Video
This video was put out on September 4, 2008. Boy, have we learned a lot in the past 8 days! The only thing that still rings true here is that she loves moose stew.
Palin confused on Social Security, other issues
Palin confused on Social Security, other issues
September 12, 2008
BY LYNN SWEET Sun-Times Columnist
WASHINGTON--Sarah Palin, talking about domestic policy with ABC's Charles Gibson in his second day of exclusive access on Friday, seemed confused about entitlement programs -- and unaware that Congress has little say in significantly reducing the costs of Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare.
When she seemed to equate these entitlement programs to agencies "where we can find efficiencies in every department" Gibson lectured her that agencies are not involved in entitlements. Palin -- who as governor of Alaska should be well versed in Medicaid since it is a joint state and federal program -- did not skip a beat, just plowing on about the growth of government.
When she seemed to equate these entitlement programs to agencies "where we can find efficiencies in every department" Gibson lectured her that agencies are not involved in entitlements. Palin -- who as governor of Alaska should be well versed in Medicaid since it is a joint state and federal program -- did not skip a beat, just plowing on about the growth of government.
Other points of the Palin interview -- in the segment shown on the ABC Nightly News on Friday, and not including what was scheduled to be on 20/20 later Friday -- suggested that a Vice President Palin was not going to crusade on the hot button social issues of abortion, embryonic stem cell research and homosexuality and would embrace John McCain's positions. She referred to the Arizona senator as "McCain" several times in the interview.
Read the rest of the story:
Palin confused on Social Security, other issues
September 12, 2008
BY LYNN SWEET Sun-Times Columnist
WASHINGTON--Sarah Palin, talking about domestic policy with ABC's Charles Gibson in his second day of exclusive access on Friday, seemed confused about entitlement programs -- and unaware that Congress has little say in significantly reducing the costs of Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare.
When she seemed to equate these entitlement programs to agencies "where we can find efficiencies in every department" Gibson lectured her that agencies are not involved in entitlements. Palin -- who as governor of Alaska should be well versed in Medicaid since it is a joint state and federal program -- did not skip a beat, just plowing on about the growth of government.
When she seemed to equate these entitlement programs to agencies "where we can find efficiencies in every department" Gibson lectured her that agencies are not involved in entitlements. Palin -- who as governor of Alaska should be well versed in Medicaid since it is a joint state and federal program -- did not skip a beat, just plowing on about the growth of government.
Other points of the Palin interview -- in the segment shown on the ABC Nightly News on Friday, and not including what was scheduled to be on 20/20 later Friday -- suggested that a Vice President Palin was not going to crusade on the hot button social issues of abortion, embryonic stem cell research and homosexuality and would embrace John McCain's positions. She referred to the Arizona senator as "McCain" several times in the interview.
Read the rest of the story:
Palin confused on Social Security, other issues
Palin and Troopergate: A Primer
Palin and Troopergate: A Primer
Thursday, Sep. 11, 2008 By NATHAN THORNBURGH
TIME Magazine
On July 11, 2008, Walt Monegan, the public safety commissioner (or top cop) for the state of Alaska, was fired. On the face of it, there was nothing wrong with that. He was a Palin appointee, and she had the right to fire him. But at first with prodding from his union, and then on his own, Monegan began telling people about the persistent pressure he claimed to have felt, in the months leading up to his dismissal, from the governor, her staff and her husband to get rid of a state trooper named Mike Wooten. Wooten happened to be Palin's former brother-in-law and had been involved in a bitter divorce and custody dispute with Sarah Palin's younger sister Molly McCann since 2005.
Monegan's refusal to remove Wooten was, he said, part of what led to his firing. If Monegan's accusations are true, it would be a serious abuse of the power of the governor — not to mention a major blow to her image as a good-government reformer — suggesting that she used her office and the office of many of the state's top functionaries to settle an old family score. On Friday, the retired Alaska prosecutor investigating whether Palin abused the power of her office in the matter asked state lawmakers for the power to subpoena 13 witnesses and the phone records of a key Palin aide. The request is expected to be granted...
Read the rest of the story:
Palin and Troopergate: A Primer
Thursday, Sep. 11, 2008 By NATHAN THORNBURGH
TIME Magazine
On July 11, 2008, Walt Monegan, the public safety commissioner (or top cop) for the state of Alaska, was fired. On the face of it, there was nothing wrong with that. He was a Palin appointee, and she had the right to fire him. But at first with prodding from his union, and then on his own, Monegan began telling people about the persistent pressure he claimed to have felt, in the months leading up to his dismissal, from the governor, her staff and her husband to get rid of a state trooper named Mike Wooten. Wooten happened to be Palin's former brother-in-law and had been involved in a bitter divorce and custody dispute with Sarah Palin's younger sister Molly McCann since 2005.
Monegan's refusal to remove Wooten was, he said, part of what led to his firing. If Monegan's accusations are true, it would be a serious abuse of the power of the governor — not to mention a major blow to her image as a good-government reformer — suggesting that she used her office and the office of many of the state's top functionaries to settle an old family score. On Friday, the retired Alaska prosecutor investigating whether Palin abused the power of her office in the matter asked state lawmakers for the power to subpoena 13 witnesses and the phone records of a key Palin aide. The request is expected to be granted...
Read the rest of the story:
Palin and Troopergate: A Primer
'Troopergate' Inquiry Reaches Palin Husband
'Troopergate' Inquiry Reaches Palin Husband
State Legislators Approve Subpoena of Todd Palin
By RHONDA SCHWARTZ and JUSTIN ROOD ABC News
September 12, 2008
Alaska state legislators approved subpoenas for the husband of GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin and 12 others, as part of an ongoing investigation into whether Palin abused her power as state governor.
Troopergate investigator Sen. Hollis French seeks subpoenas for 13 witnesses and the phone records of Sarah Palin aide.
(ABC News)
In a nondescript conference room filled to capacity, a Republican-dominated panel of lawmakers voted to issue subpoenas to force testimony by Alaska "First Gentleman" Todd Palin and a dozen current and former state officials, including aides to Gov. Palin, to determine whether she had misused her authority in firing one of her commissioners in July.
A lawyer for Palin and her aides, Thomas V. Van Flein, said the subpoenas were "a legal issue that will have to be evaluated and discussed with clients."
Read the rest of the story:
'Troopergate' Inquiry Reaches Palin Husband
State Legislators Approve Subpoena of Todd Palin
By RHONDA SCHWARTZ and JUSTIN ROOD ABC News
September 12, 2008
Alaska state legislators approved subpoenas for the husband of GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin and 12 others, as part of an ongoing investigation into whether Palin abused her power as state governor.
Troopergate investigator Sen. Hollis French seeks subpoenas for 13 witnesses and the phone records of Sarah Palin aide.
(ABC News)
In a nondescript conference room filled to capacity, a Republican-dominated panel of lawmakers voted to issue subpoenas to force testimony by Alaska "First Gentleman" Todd Palin and a dozen current and former state officials, including aides to Gov. Palin, to determine whether she had misused her authority in firing one of her commissioners in July.
A lawyer for Palin and her aides, Thomas V. Van Flein, said the subpoenas were "a legal issue that will have to be evaluated and discussed with clients."
Read the rest of the story:
'Troopergate' Inquiry Reaches Palin Husband
Sarah Palin Supports the Aerial Hunting of Wolves
The controversial aerial wolf program - mostly in Southcentral and the Interior - is designed to help hunters by killing the wolves that eat moose.
McCain and Palin's Top 20 Lies, Myths and Flip-Flops
McCain and Palin's Top 20 Lies, Myths and Flip-Flops
By Isaac Fitzgerald and Tana Ganeva, AlterNet.
Posted September 12, 2008.
Agents of change? Symbols of feminism? A roundup of these and other ridiculous tall tales coming from McCain's increasingly desperate campaign.
The corporate media won't say it and the Obama campaign isn't saying it enough, so we're saying it loud and clear: John McCain is a liar. And so is the woman he now shares the Republican ticket with. Yes, Sarah Palin is a liar, too. Together they are responsible for one of the most inaccurate and misleading presidential campaigns, in a business known for inaccuracy and misdirection. But even by the standards of American politics, the McCain-Palin ticket seems to be in a race with itself to set new standards of low.
This isn't opinion, this is fact. Time and time again, on the campaign trail, in press briefings and in interviews, McCain and Palin flip-flop on the issues, propagate myths they know to be false, and flat-out lie to the American people.
Unlike the McCain campaign, we have to back up our assertions, so here is a quick, short and cited list of the top 20 lies, myths and flip-flops that have come from the McCain/ Palin ticket so far...
Read the rest of the story:
McCain and Palin's Top 20 Lies, Myths and Flip-Flops
By Isaac Fitzgerald and Tana Ganeva, AlterNet.
Posted September 12, 2008.
Agents of change? Symbols of feminism? A roundup of these and other ridiculous tall tales coming from McCain's increasingly desperate campaign.
The corporate media won't say it and the Obama campaign isn't saying it enough, so we're saying it loud and clear: John McCain is a liar. And so is the woman he now shares the Republican ticket with. Yes, Sarah Palin is a liar, too. Together they are responsible for one of the most inaccurate and misleading presidential campaigns, in a business known for inaccuracy and misdirection. But even by the standards of American politics, the McCain-Palin ticket seems to be in a race with itself to set new standards of low.
This isn't opinion, this is fact. Time and time again, on the campaign trail, in press briefings and in interviews, McCain and Palin flip-flop on the issues, propagate myths they know to be false, and flat-out lie to the American people.
Unlike the McCain campaign, we have to back up our assertions, so here is a quick, short and cited list of the top 20 lies, myths and flip-flops that have come from the McCain/ Palin ticket so far...
Read the rest of the story:
McCain and Palin's Top 20 Lies, Myths and Flip-Flops
In ABC Interview, Palin Seen As Struggling With Foreign Policy
In ABC Interview, Palin Seen As Struggling With Foreign Policy
Friday, September 12, 2008
CAMPAIGN NEWS US News and World Report
While the presidential campaign's back and forth was largely suspended on Thursday's anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, ABC World News used the occasion to run extended excerpts of Charles Gibson's exclusive interview with Republican vice presidential nominee Gov. Sarah Palin, her first televised interview since coming on the national stage. ABC ran 10 minutes of the interview at the top of its broadcast, and another 2 1/2 minutes at the close.
Reviews of her performance tend to be more negative than positive, with a focus on her labored efforts to deal with foreign policy questions. The AP says Palin "struggled with foreign policy, unable to describe President Bush's doctrine of pre-emptive strikes against threatening nations and acknowledging she's never met a foreign head of state." The Chicago Tribune also notes Palin "seemed unfamiliar with the 'Bush doctrine,' which says the United States does not need to wait to be attacked before going to war." The New York Times says in "choosing Mr. Gibson as Ms. Palin's interlocutor, the campaign was going with a journalist known for having a mild manner but the gravitas to be taken seriously. But the interview was hardly gentle." Gibson "expressed exasperation" with Palin, complaining that she "had buried him in 'a blizzard of words.'" The Washington Times reports Gibson "also asked her about her travel experience, and she acknowledged that before a recent trip to Kuwait to visit Alaskan National Guard troops she had only visited Mexico and Canada and had not met personally with any foreign leaders."
Read the rest of the story:
In ABC Interview, Palin Seen As Struggling With Foreign Policy
Friday, September 12, 2008
CAMPAIGN NEWS US News and World Report
While the presidential campaign's back and forth was largely suspended on Thursday's anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, ABC World News used the occasion to run extended excerpts of Charles Gibson's exclusive interview with Republican vice presidential nominee Gov. Sarah Palin, her first televised interview since coming on the national stage. ABC ran 10 minutes of the interview at the top of its broadcast, and another 2 1/2 minutes at the close.
Reviews of her performance tend to be more negative than positive, with a focus on her labored efforts to deal with foreign policy questions. The AP says Palin "struggled with foreign policy, unable to describe President Bush's doctrine of pre-emptive strikes against threatening nations and acknowledging she's never met a foreign head of state." The Chicago Tribune also notes Palin "seemed unfamiliar with the 'Bush doctrine,' which says the United States does not need to wait to be attacked before going to war." The New York Times says in "choosing Mr. Gibson as Ms. Palin's interlocutor, the campaign was going with a journalist known for having a mild manner but the gravitas to be taken seriously. But the interview was hardly gentle." Gibson "expressed exasperation" with Palin, complaining that she "had buried him in 'a blizzard of words.'" The Washington Times reports Gibson "also asked her about her travel experience, and she acknowledged that before a recent trip to Kuwait to visit Alaskan National Guard troops she had only visited Mexico and Canada and had not met personally with any foreign leaders."
Read the rest of the story:
In ABC Interview, Palin Seen As Struggling With Foreign Policy
Russia’s loss may be McCain’s big gain as Mrs Palin works her magic
Russia’s loss may be McCain’s big gain as Mrs Palin works her magic
Wales Online
Sep 11 2008 David Williamson
FOREHEADS of foreign policy pundits furrow when they imagine Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin steering the US through an international crisis.
JFK radiated cool at moments during the Cuban Missile Crisis when even a cucumber would perspire. How would the woman described by the wife of her running mate as a “reform-minded, hockey-mommin’, basketball-shooting, moose-hunting, salmon-fishing, pistol-packing mother-of-five” respond to such a challenge?
Russia’s dramatic intervention in Georgia has reminded the world that the former superpower has a multitude of tanks – many of which are still in working order.
Read the rest of the story:
Russia’s loss may be McCain’s big gain as Mrs Palin works her magic
Wales Online
Sep 11 2008 David Williamson
FOREHEADS of foreign policy pundits furrow when they imagine Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin steering the US through an international crisis.
JFK radiated cool at moments during the Cuban Missile Crisis when even a cucumber would perspire. How would the woman described by the wife of her running mate as a “reform-minded, hockey-mommin’, basketball-shooting, moose-hunting, salmon-fishing, pistol-packing mother-of-five” respond to such a challenge?
Russia’s dramatic intervention in Georgia has reminded the world that the former superpower has a multitude of tanks – many of which are still in working order.
Read the rest of the story:
Russia’s loss may be McCain’s big gain as Mrs Palin works her magic
Sarah Palin Threatens War With Russia
And her foreign policy experience?
"You can see actually see Russia from land here in Alaska"
"You can see actually see Russia from land here in Alaska"
Alaskans Notice Palin Sticking to Her Script
September 11, 2008, 9:51 pm
Alaskans Notice Palin Sticking to Her Script
Wall Street Journal Blog
Elizabeth Williamson reports from Fairbanks, Alaska, on the presidential race.
Alaskans hang on every word Gov. Sarah Palin has been saying on the campaign trail — and they’re noticing a lot of those words are the same.
The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner today had a big above the fold piece on Gov. Palin’s homecoming Wednesday that called her out with the headline: “Palin sticks close to same speech.” The lede of the story noted that the state’s governor “offered many of the same lines Wednesday at her welcome home rally that are fast becoming her standard.”
That’s what stump speeches are all about, but Alaskans clearly expected straight talk from their favorite daughter: the story notes virtually every made-for-Alaska deviation in the speech. Even Gov. Palin seemed to pick up on the “duh” moment she was providing for people in this oil-rich state, as she served up her canned plea for oil drilling. After the briefest pause, she added: “I feel like I’m preaching to the choir.”
The McCain campaign is tightly controlling Gov. Palin’s media availability. Other than the ABC interviews running now, they have shielded her completely, and she has made no casual forays into the press section of the plane on her Alaska trip.
The media are none too happy about this — but it may be her friends in Alaska who miss the unscripted Sarah the most.
Read the rest of the story:
Alaskans Notice Palin Sticking to Her Script
Alaskans Notice Palin Sticking to Her Script
Wall Street Journal Blog
Elizabeth Williamson reports from Fairbanks, Alaska, on the presidential race.
Alaskans hang on every word Gov. Sarah Palin has been saying on the campaign trail — and they’re noticing a lot of those words are the same.
The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner today had a big above the fold piece on Gov. Palin’s homecoming Wednesday that called her out with the headline: “Palin sticks close to same speech.” The lede of the story noted that the state’s governor “offered many of the same lines Wednesday at her welcome home rally that are fast becoming her standard.”
That’s what stump speeches are all about, but Alaskans clearly expected straight talk from their favorite daughter: the story notes virtually every made-for-Alaska deviation in the speech. Even Gov. Palin seemed to pick up on the “duh” moment she was providing for people in this oil-rich state, as she served up her canned plea for oil drilling. After the briefest pause, she added: “I feel like I’m preaching to the choir.”
The McCain campaign is tightly controlling Gov. Palin’s media availability. Other than the ABC interviews running now, they have shielded her completely, and she has made no casual forays into the press section of the plane on her Alaska trip.
The media are none too happy about this — but it may be her friends in Alaska who miss the unscripted Sarah the most.
Read the rest of the story:
Alaskans Notice Palin Sticking to Her Script
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