Alaska AG: Palin subpoenas won't be honored
And five Alaska lawmakers file suit to end ‘Troopergate’ probe
Assoicated Press - September 16th, 2008
JUNEAU, Alaska - Alaska's investigation into whether Gov. Sarah Palin abused her power, a potentially damaging distraction for John McCain's presidential campaign, ran into intensified resistance Tuesday when the attorney general said state employees would refuse to honor subpoenas in the case.
In a letter to state Sen. Hollis French, the Democrat overseeing the investigation, Republican Attorney General Talis Colberg asked that the subpoenas be withdrawn. He also said the employees would refuse to appear unless either the full state Senate or the entire Legislature votes to compel their testimony.
Colberg, who was appointed by Palin, said the employees are caught between their respect for the Legislature and their loyalty to the governor, who initially agreed to cooperate with the inquiry but has increasingly opposed it since McCain chose her as his running mate...
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Alaska AG: Palin subpoenas won't be honored
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Neither McCain, Palin capable of running business
Neither McCain, Palin capable of running business
September 16, 2008
WASHINGTON (AFP) — Neither John McCain nor his running mate Sarah Palin is capable of running a large business, one of the Republican presidential candidate's top economic advisors said Tuesday.
Carly Fiorina, the former chairman of Hewlett Packard, and a senior economics advisor to McCain was asked by a local Missouri radio: "Do you think (Palin) has the experience to run a major company, like Hewlett Packard?"
"No, I don't," Fiorina replied, before adding. "But you know what? That's not what she's running for."
Palin, the governor of Alaska, was McCain's surprise pick for the party's vice presidential nominee and was endorsed by the Republican convention earlier this month.
Fiorina said she believed that Palin "has more experience" than McCain's Democratic rival Barack Obama has in the executive branch of government.
Asked later by the MSNBC news channel if she regretted what she had said about Palin's business acumen, Fiorina replied: "Well, I don't think John McCain could run a major corporation."
Obama spokesman Tommy Vietor wondered why, if McCain's advisor did not think he was capable of running a business, she thought he could run the world's biggest economy in the midst of a financial crisis.
Read the story here:
Neither McCain, Palin capable of running business
September 16, 2008
WASHINGTON (AFP) — Neither John McCain nor his running mate Sarah Palin is capable of running a large business, one of the Republican presidential candidate's top economic advisors said Tuesday.
Carly Fiorina, the former chairman of Hewlett Packard, and a senior economics advisor to McCain was asked by a local Missouri radio: "Do you think (Palin) has the experience to run a major company, like Hewlett Packard?"
"No, I don't," Fiorina replied, before adding. "But you know what? That's not what she's running for."
Palin, the governor of Alaska, was McCain's surprise pick for the party's vice presidential nominee and was endorsed by the Republican convention earlier this month.
Fiorina said she believed that Palin "has more experience" than McCain's Democratic rival Barack Obama has in the executive branch of government.
Asked later by the MSNBC news channel if she regretted what she had said about Palin's business acumen, Fiorina replied: "Well, I don't think John McCain could run a major corporation."
Obama spokesman Tommy Vietor wondered why, if McCain's advisor did not think he was capable of running a business, she thought he could run the world's biggest economy in the midst of a financial crisis.
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Neither McCain, Palin capable of running business
Sarah Palin and the Environment
Sarah Palin and the Environment
Governor Sarah Palin has an extreme anti-conservation record on issues ranging from global warming, energy and drilling to wildlife and habitat protection.
Aerial hunting of wolves and bears
Governor Palin is an active promoter of Alaska's aerial hunting program whereby wolves and bears are shot from the air or chased by airplanes to the point of exhaustion before the pilot lands the plane and a gunner shoots the animals point blank.
Palin offered a $150 bounty for wolves to entice hunters to kill more wolves in certain parts of the state, with hunters having to present a wolf's foreleg to collect the bounty.
She actively opposed a ballot measure campaign seeking to end the aerial hunting of wolves by private hunters and approved a $400,000 state-funded campaign aimed at swaying people's votes on the issue.
She also introduced legislation to make it easier to kill wolves and bears and which would have also removed the aerial hunting initiative from the ballot and block the ability of citizens to vote on the issue.
The Board of Game, which she appoints, has approved the killing of black bear sows with cubs as part of the program and expanded the aerial control programs.
The media is currently looking into reports that state officials implementing one of the aerial wolf killing programs illegally killed five-week old wolf pups just outside their dens.
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Sarah Palin and the Environment
Governor Sarah Palin has an extreme anti-conservation record on issues ranging from global warming, energy and drilling to wildlife and habitat protection.
Aerial hunting of wolves and bears
Governor Palin is an active promoter of Alaska's aerial hunting program whereby wolves and bears are shot from the air or chased by airplanes to the point of exhaustion before the pilot lands the plane and a gunner shoots the animals point blank.
Palin offered a $150 bounty for wolves to entice hunters to kill more wolves in certain parts of the state, with hunters having to present a wolf's foreleg to collect the bounty.
She actively opposed a ballot measure campaign seeking to end the aerial hunting of wolves by private hunters and approved a $400,000 state-funded campaign aimed at swaying people's votes on the issue.
She also introduced legislation to make it easier to kill wolves and bears and which would have also removed the aerial hunting initiative from the ballot and block the ability of citizens to vote on the issue.
The Board of Game, which she appoints, has approved the killing of black bear sows with cubs as part of the program and expanded the aerial control programs.
The media is currently looking into reports that state officials implementing one of the aerial wolf killing programs illegally killed five-week old wolf pups just outside their dens.
Read the rest of the story:
Sarah Palin and the Environment
Lawmakers sue to stop 'Troopergate' probe of Palin
Lawmakers sue to stop 'Troopergate' probe of Palin
By STEVE QUINN Associated Press September 26, 2008
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Five state Republican lawmakers want a judge to stop an investigation into Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's firing of a public safety commissioner.
A bipartisan oversight committee had unanimously approved an inquiry into whether Palin, now the Republican vice presidential nominee, dismissed the commissioner because he wouldn't fire her ex-brother-in-law, a state trooper.
In Anchorage Superior Court on Tuesday, three state representatives and two state senators sued to stop the investigation. Palin had said months ago that she welcomed the inquiry. The lawsuit called the investigation "unlawful, biased, partial and partisan."
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Lawmakers sue to stop 'Troopergate' probe of Palin
By STEVE QUINN Associated Press September 26, 2008
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Five state Republican lawmakers want a judge to stop an investigation into Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's firing of a public safety commissioner.
A bipartisan oversight committee had unanimously approved an inquiry into whether Palin, now the Republican vice presidential nominee, dismissed the commissioner because he wouldn't fire her ex-brother-in-law, a state trooper.
In Anchorage Superior Court on Tuesday, three state representatives and two state senators sued to stop the investigation. Palin had said months ago that she welcomed the inquiry. The lawsuit called the investigation "unlawful, biased, partial and partisan."
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Lawmakers sue to stop 'Troopergate' probe of Palin
The Ugly New McCain
The Ugly New McCain
By Richard Cohen
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Following his loss to George W. Bush in the 2000 South Carolina primary, John McCain did something extraordinary: He confessed to lying about how he felt about the Confederate battle flag, which he actually abhorred. "I broke my promise to always tell the truth," McCain said. Now he has broken that promise so completely that the John McCain of old is unrecognizable. He has become the sort of politician he once despised.
The precise moment of McCain's abasement came, would you believe, not at some news conference or on one of the Sunday shows but on "The View," the daytime TV show created by Barbara Walters. Last week, one of the co-hosts, Joy Behar, took McCain to task for some of the ads his campaign has been running. One deliberately mischaracterized what Barack Obama had said about putting lipstick on a pig -- an Americanism that McCain himself has used. The other asserted that Obama supported teaching sex education to kindergarteners.
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"We know that those two ads are untrue," Behar said. "They are lies."
Freeze. Close in on McCain. This was the moment. He has largely been avoiding the press. The Straight Talk Express is now just a brand, an ad slogan like "Home Cooking" or "We Will Not Be Undersold." Until then, it was possible for McCain to say that he had not really known about the ads, that the formulation "I approve this message" was just boilerplate. But he didn't.
"Actually, they are not lies," he said.
Actually, they are.
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The Ugly New McCain
By Richard Cohen
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Following his loss to George W. Bush in the 2000 South Carolina primary, John McCain did something extraordinary: He confessed to lying about how he felt about the Confederate battle flag, which he actually abhorred. "I broke my promise to always tell the truth," McCain said. Now he has broken that promise so completely that the John McCain of old is unrecognizable. He has become the sort of politician he once despised.
The precise moment of McCain's abasement came, would you believe, not at some news conference or on one of the Sunday shows but on "The View," the daytime TV show created by Barbara Walters. Last week, one of the co-hosts, Joy Behar, took McCain to task for some of the ads his campaign has been running. One deliberately mischaracterized what Barack Obama had said about putting lipstick on a pig -- an Americanism that McCain himself has used. The other asserted that Obama supported teaching sex education to kindergarteners.
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"We know that those two ads are untrue," Behar said. "They are lies."
Freeze. Close in on McCain. This was the moment. He has largely been avoiding the press. The Straight Talk Express is now just a brand, an ad slogan like "Home Cooking" or "We Will Not Be Undersold." Until then, it was possible for McCain to say that he had not really known about the ads, that the formulation "I approve this message" was just boilerplate. But he didn't.
"Actually, they are not lies," he said.
Actually, they are.
Read the rest of the story:
The Ugly New McCain
Why Does Sarah Palin Hate God’s Creatures?
Why Does Sarah Palin Hate God’s Creatures?
FireDogLake.com
Kirk James Murphy, M.D. Tuesday September 16, 2008
When I was in Sunday School, the Book of Genesis we read there taught us all the living creatures on Earth were God's creation. Though different Biblical translations and versions use different words, I've never heard of any version of Genesis that left out God's role in creating all life on Earth; I'm confident even Sarah Palin's atavistic, violence-loving Dominionist sect tells the Genesis story this way. So why does Sarah Palin have it in for so many of God's creatures?
To make the bit of God's Creation we call Alaska safe for Big Carbon, Sarah Palin ordered Alaska's Department of Fish and Game to go forth and oppose the Federal proposal to list polar bears as threatened...
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Why Does Sarah Palin Hate God’s Creatures?
FireDogLake.com
Kirk James Murphy, M.D. Tuesday September 16, 2008
When I was in Sunday School, the Book of Genesis we read there taught us all the living creatures on Earth were God's creation. Though different Biblical translations and versions use different words, I've never heard of any version of Genesis that left out God's role in creating all life on Earth; I'm confident even Sarah Palin's atavistic, violence-loving Dominionist sect tells the Genesis story this way. So why does Sarah Palin have it in for so many of God's creatures?
To make the bit of God's Creation we call Alaska safe for Big Carbon, Sarah Palin ordered Alaska's Department of Fish and Game to go forth and oppose the Federal proposal to list polar bears as threatened...
Read the rest of the story:
Why Does Sarah Palin Hate God’s Creatures?
Fact Check: McCain-Palin energy figure inflated
Fact Check: McCain-Palin energy figure inflated
Associated Press - September 16, 2008
WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican presidential candidate John McCain and running mate Sarah Palin, Alaska's governor, say her state's production of one-fifth of the country's domestic energy supply is an important credential to put them in the White House. Their figure is inflated.
THE SPIN: Palin and the McCain campaign repeatedly have claimed her status as governor of an energy-producing state as a national security credential, most recently in the interview with ABC News anchor Charles Gibson. But Palin has been sloppy in how she states her argument that Alaska is a major player in the energy market.
In the interview, she claimed the state "produces nearly 20 percent of the U.S. domestic supply of energy." McCain, too, has said Palin is "in charge of 20 percent of America's energy supply." More recently, Palin modified her claim to "20 percent of the U.S. domestic supply of oil and gas."
THE FACTS: The statements are exaggerated, some wildly so, according to figures from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
The most recent figures show Alaska produced 3.4 percent of the nation's total energy output in 2005. The state's largest contribution to that figure was its oil production, which runs about 14 percent of the U.S. total. Alaska contributes about 2 percent of the nation's natural gas production. It produces negligible amounts of coal and renewable energy, and has no nuclear energy...
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Fact Check: McCain-Palin energy figure inflated
Associated Press - September 16, 2008
WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican presidential candidate John McCain and running mate Sarah Palin, Alaska's governor, say her state's production of one-fifth of the country's domestic energy supply is an important credential to put them in the White House. Their figure is inflated.
THE SPIN: Palin and the McCain campaign repeatedly have claimed her status as governor of an energy-producing state as a national security credential, most recently in the interview with ABC News anchor Charles Gibson. But Palin has been sloppy in how she states her argument that Alaska is a major player in the energy market.
In the interview, she claimed the state "produces nearly 20 percent of the U.S. domestic supply of energy." McCain, too, has said Palin is "in charge of 20 percent of America's energy supply." More recently, Palin modified her claim to "20 percent of the U.S. domestic supply of oil and gas."
THE FACTS: The statements are exaggerated, some wildly so, according to figures from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
The most recent figures show Alaska produced 3.4 percent of the nation's total energy output in 2005. The state's largest contribution to that figure was its oil production, which runs about 14 percent of the U.S. total. Alaska contributes about 2 percent of the nation's natural gas production. It produces negligible amounts of coal and renewable energy, and has no nuclear energy...
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Fact Check: McCain-Palin energy figure inflated
Changing the Subject From Sarah Palin to Wall Street
Changing the Subject From Sarah Palin to Wall Street
September 16, 2008 US News and World Report - Bonnie Erbe
Wall Street's Monday lurch has wiped Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin off the front pages. That's probably a good thing for Palin as her former press secretary made the loony claim that "Obama operatives" have "hijacked" for political purposes the Alaska investigation into the firing of her public safety commissioner.
From CNN.com:
Former Palin Press Secretary Meg Stapleton told reporters in Anchorage that the power probe has been 'hijacked' by 'Obama operatives' for the Democratic presidential nominee—namely, Alaska state Sen. Hollis French, the Democratic lawmaker managing the investigation and an Obama supporter. French has denied working on behalf of the Obama campaign.
Rarely in the annals of American political history have claims so far-fetched been made by a high-level aide, whether present or former. Remember, dear readers, the Palin investigation was launched well before Palin was on the McCain team, and at a time when her name as a vice presidential prospect was barely being mentioned.
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Changing the Subject From Sarah Palin to Wall Street
September 16, 2008 US News and World Report - Bonnie Erbe
Wall Street's Monday lurch has wiped Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin off the front pages. That's probably a good thing for Palin as her former press secretary made the loony claim that "Obama operatives" have "hijacked" for political purposes the Alaska investigation into the firing of her public safety commissioner.
From CNN.com:
Former Palin Press Secretary Meg Stapleton told reporters in Anchorage that the power probe has been 'hijacked' by 'Obama operatives' for the Democratic presidential nominee—namely, Alaska state Sen. Hollis French, the Democratic lawmaker managing the investigation and an Obama supporter. French has denied working on behalf of the Obama campaign.
Rarely in the annals of American political history have claims so far-fetched been made by a high-level aide, whether present or former. Remember, dear readers, the Palin investigation was launched well before Palin was on the McCain team, and at a time when her name as a vice presidential prospect was barely being mentioned.
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Changing the Subject From Sarah Palin to Wall Street
Palin: wrong woman, wrong message
Palin: wrong woman, wrong message
By Gloria Steinem
September 4, 2008
Here's the good news: Women have become so politically powerful that even the anti-feminist right wing -- the folks with a headlock on the Republican Party -- are trying to appease the gender gap with a first-ever female vice president. We owe this to women -- and to many men too -- who have picketed, gone on hunger strikes or confronted violence at the polls so women can vote. We owe it to Shirley Chisholm, who first took the "white-male-only" sign off the White House, and to Hillary Rodham Clinton, who hung in there through ridicule and misogyny to win 18 million votes.
But here is even better news: It won't work. This isn't the first time a boss has picked an unqualified woman just because she agrees with him and opposes everything most other women want and need. Feminism has never been about getting a job for one woman. It's about making life more fair for women everywhere. It's not about a piece of the existing pie; there are too many of us for that. It's about baking a new pie.
Selecting Sarah Palin, who was touted all summer by Rush Limbaugh, is no way to attract most women, including die-hard Clinton supporters. Palin shares nothing but a chromosome with Clinton. Her down-home, divisive and deceptive speech did nothing to cosmeticize a Republican convention that has more than twice as many male delegates as female, a presidential candidate who is owned and operated by the right wing and a platform that opposes pretty much everything Clinton's candidacy stood for -- and that Barack Obama's still does. To vote in protest for McCain/Palin would be like saying, "Somebody stole my shoes, so I'll amputate my legs."
Read the rest of the story:
Palin: wrong woman, wrong message
By Gloria Steinem
September 4, 2008
Here's the good news: Women have become so politically powerful that even the anti-feminist right wing -- the folks with a headlock on the Republican Party -- are trying to appease the gender gap with a first-ever female vice president. We owe this to women -- and to many men too -- who have picketed, gone on hunger strikes or confronted violence at the polls so women can vote. We owe it to Shirley Chisholm, who first took the "white-male-only" sign off the White House, and to Hillary Rodham Clinton, who hung in there through ridicule and misogyny to win 18 million votes.
But here is even better news: It won't work. This isn't the first time a boss has picked an unqualified woman just because she agrees with him and opposes everything most other women want and need. Feminism has never been about getting a job for one woman. It's about making life more fair for women everywhere. It's not about a piece of the existing pie; there are too many of us for that. It's about baking a new pie.
Selecting Sarah Palin, who was touted all summer by Rush Limbaugh, is no way to attract most women, including die-hard Clinton supporters. Palin shares nothing but a chromosome with Clinton. Her down-home, divisive and deceptive speech did nothing to cosmeticize a Republican convention that has more than twice as many male delegates as female, a presidential candidate who is owned and operated by the right wing and a platform that opposes pretty much everything Clinton's candidacy stood for -- and that Barack Obama's still does. To vote in protest for McCain/Palin would be like saying, "Somebody stole my shoes, so I'll amputate my legs."
Read the rest of the story:
Palin: wrong woman, wrong message
McCain tested on economy
McCain tested on economy
Defends his credibility and experience
Boston Globe Staff / January 26, 2008
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - In a race increasingly centered on the economy, Republican candidate John McCain yesterday found himself on the defensive over his credibility on the subject, claiming a career of experience dealing with the issue and unique abilities in "leadership, not management."
Those words were aimed at former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, a longtime consultant and venture capitalist, who has emphasized his corporate background in recent weeks. For much of last year, Romney downplayed his business experience while trying to appeal to conservative voters largely on social and moral issues.
A Romney ad now airing in Florida highlights his experience in the private sector. "I know how America works, because I spent my life in the real economy," he boasts, in front of the Jacksonville skyline.
"Governor Romney is touting his qualities and his experience and resume as a manager; I am telling the American people - and they know it - that I am a leader," McCain said at a news conference in Fort Lauderdale. McCain was challenged at the news conference over an answer he gave in a debate the previous night when asked by moderator Tim Russert if he had said he was "not well versed on" economic issues.
"Actually, I don't know where you got that quote from," McCain replied.
McCain conceded yesterday that he had made such a remark.
"It was in the context of a conversation on my qualifications to serve: that I am proud of my record as chairman of the commerce committee, of being involved in every single major issue that affects this country," he said.
In fact, on numerous occasions over the course of the campaign, McCain has volunteered that he is unsatisfied with his lack of knowledge about aspects of economics...
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McCain tested on economy
Defends his credibility and experience
Boston Globe Staff / January 26, 2008
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - In a race increasingly centered on the economy, Republican candidate John McCain yesterday found himself on the defensive over his credibility on the subject, claiming a career of experience dealing with the issue and unique abilities in "leadership, not management."
Those words were aimed at former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, a longtime consultant and venture capitalist, who has emphasized his corporate background in recent weeks. For much of last year, Romney downplayed his business experience while trying to appeal to conservative voters largely on social and moral issues.
A Romney ad now airing in Florida highlights his experience in the private sector. "I know how America works, because I spent my life in the real economy," he boasts, in front of the Jacksonville skyline.
"Governor Romney is touting his qualities and his experience and resume as a manager; I am telling the American people - and they know it - that I am a leader," McCain said at a news conference in Fort Lauderdale. McCain was challenged at the news conference over an answer he gave in a debate the previous night when asked by moderator Tim Russert if he had said he was "not well versed on" economic issues.
"Actually, I don't know where you got that quote from," McCain replied.
McCain conceded yesterday that he had made such a remark.
"It was in the context of a conversation on my qualifications to serve: that I am proud of my record as chairman of the commerce committee, of being involved in every single major issue that affects this country," he said.
In fact, on numerous occasions over the course of the campaign, McCain has volunteered that he is unsatisfied with his lack of knowledge about aspects of economics...
Read the rest of the story:
McCain tested on economy
Economy roars back to center of the campaign
Economy roars back to center of the campaign
With Wall Street crisis, McCain and Obama forced onto new proving ground
By Dan Balz and Robert Barney - Washington Post
WASHINGTON - Yesterday's meltdown on Wall Street brought the economy roaring back to the center of the presidential campaign, and the question for the final seven weeks of the general-election campaign is whether Barack Obama or John McCain can convince voters that he is capable of leading the country out of the morass.
McCain faces the bigger challenge. As the Republican nominee, he must answer for what has happened on President Bush's watch and offer a plausible explanation for why his conservative administration would be genuinely different. Obama already is attacking him as ill-equipped to deal with the financial crisis and has aggressively moved to tie a future McCain administration to a lobbyist-dominated Washington culture.
Obama's challenge is different. He begins with the reality that Democrats are seen as the party that is more trusted to deal with the economy. Despite that, he has struggled through much of the year to develop a compelling economic message. Where he remains suspect is on the strength of his leadership and his ability to connect with working- and middle-class voters.
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Economy roars back to center of the campaign
With Wall Street crisis, McCain and Obama forced onto new proving ground
By Dan Balz and Robert Barney - Washington Post
WASHINGTON - Yesterday's meltdown on Wall Street brought the economy roaring back to the center of the presidential campaign, and the question for the final seven weeks of the general-election campaign is whether Barack Obama or John McCain can convince voters that he is capable of leading the country out of the morass.
McCain faces the bigger challenge. As the Republican nominee, he must answer for what has happened on President Bush's watch and offer a plausible explanation for why his conservative administration would be genuinely different. Obama already is attacking him as ill-equipped to deal with the financial crisis and has aggressively moved to tie a future McCain administration to a lobbyist-dominated Washington culture.
Obama's challenge is different. He begins with the reality that Democrats are seen as the party that is more trusted to deal with the economy. Despite that, he has struggled through much of the year to develop a compelling economic message. Where he remains suspect is on the strength of his leadership and his ability to connect with working- and middle-class voters.
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Economy roars back to center of the campaign
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