Jindal Attacked By Fellow Republican

After the President's first joint statement to Congress last month, Gov. Bobby Jindal's speech had him go from one of the brightest stars in the Republican party to just another GoOPer for Independents and Democrats to laugh at. While the news of that night has long since quieted down, the part about volcano monitoring hasn't been forgotten, even by members of his own party.

From TPM:

Bobby Jindal's denunciations of federal spending to monitor volcanoes is now attracting some serious critcism from a Republican Senator -- namely Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, whose state has been recently disrupted by a series of eruptions from Mount Redoubt.

"Recently there were some comments made about federal spending for volcano monitoring being wasteful," Murkowski said from the Senate floor, without naming Jindal directly. "I can assure you that monitoring volcanoes is critically important to the nation and especially to my home state of Alaska."

In Jindal's speech, he said: "While some of the projects in the bill make sense, their legislation is larded with wasteful spending. It includes ... $140 million for something called 'volcano monitoring.' Instead of monitoring volcanoes, what Congress should be monitoring is the eruption of spending in Washington, DC."

Senator Murkowski in no way wants to be tied to Jindal and his idiotic and politically-opportunistic comments. When there are possiblly deadly natural disasters at your doorstep, the last thing a conscious elected official would think of doing is pooh poohing federal money that is meant to mitigate any potential damage to life and property. Murkowski's statement was a smart move on her part, but it does nothing to curb the meme that the Republican party is falling apart on message control or having any kind of real unity that they had enjoyed during most of the Clinton and Bush years.

Begich Takes The Lead In Alaska!

Last week I wondered why in the hell Alaskans would vote to send a convicted felon back to the United States Senate. Then it was noted that the totals were way off from 2004. Well it turns out that it wasn't a majority of them that checked off Ted Stevens name but only a portion of the votes that Diebold had initially counted. When an additional 90,000-plus ballots were found, the totals magically changed.

From DailyKos:

Sweet. Begich leads.

Stevens (R) 125,016
Begich (D) 125,019

About 40,000 votes are in from today's batch of absentee, early, and question ballots to be counted today, so we still have another 12,000 or so votes to go before the day is finished. And remember, the districts that will be counted later this week are all Begich districts. While we need to wait for every vote to be counted, chances are we will win this thing if Begich ends up the day leading.

And right now, it looks like that's what we're going to get.

There are still tens of thousands of ballots to be counted and it all looks good from here for Mark Begich. Let's hope those blue districts live up to their names and ensure a solid margin of victory for the next Senator from the State of Alaska, and a resounding defeat for one of the newest convicted criminals from there as well. Not are things looking good for Begich, but unfortunately not so much for Ethan Berkowitz's challenge against Congressman Don Young. Merely ethically-challenged Young is up by over 15,000 votes or nearly six percent of the totals.

Update: And the lead grows!

Voter Fraud In Alaska?

The Presidential race is over, Barack Obama had a landslide victory, picking up electoral votes in such places as Indiana and even one of Nebraska's. Nothing like Florida in 2000 or Ohio 2008 happened and the race was called early at 11pm EST. Yet after many of us went to bed, the polls closed in Alaska one hour after the crowds were cheering for Obama and the results from up north are extremely troubling.

From RawStory:

Even though the polls this year have generally been pretty accurate, they were way off in Alaska. Stevens was running between 7% and 22% behind his Democratic challenger in the polls, but now he is narrowly ahead in the vote count

Polling analysis website 538.com comments, "The emerging conventional wisdom is that there was some sort of a Bradley Effect in this contest -- voters told pollsters that they weren't about to vote for that rascal Ted Stevens, when in fact they were perfectly happy to. Convicted felons are the new black, it would seem. The problem with this theory is that the polling failures in Alaska weren't unique to Stevens."

The polls also consistently showed Rep. Young as losing by at least 6%, but he is currently ahead in the vote count by 8%. Even in the presidential race, where polls showed McCain leading by 14% or less, the vote count has him winning by 61% to 35% -- precisely the same margin as George Bush in 2004. That represents a polling error of at least 11% to 14% in all three races.

At the same time, total voter turnout appears to be about 11% lower in Alaska this year than in 2004 -- despite over 20,000 new registrations, heavy turnout in the primaries, record early voting, long lines at the polls on Election Day, and the state's own governor being on the ballot, all of which had led to an expectation of record participation.

A possible "Bradley effect" in the opposite way is one possibility for Stevens' narrow margin that puts him ahead of Mayor Begich, but it doesn't add up for the other races at the Presidential level and for the Congressional seat. If I had to put on my Captain Obvious glasses, I might just see that Democratic votes were wiped off the tallies. Now who would do such a thing?

Well can you guess who tallies the vote up in the Last Frontier State? If you said "Diebold" then congratulations, but for the voters in the state, I apologize. Of course, Alaskans already know the company's miserable track record, with possible illegalities in 2004 as well as the primary race in 2006 with a state that scoffs at those that would dare question Diebold's accuracy. It is still early, but one thing is for sure, this whole thing smells fishy.

The Disasta Returns To Alaska

Large (or small) crowds are gone, as are the free clothes and the chartered jets to ferry Sarah Palin around the country. She is now off to return to the Great White North and resume her gubernatorial duties (or not). One thing that is up in the air right now is her political future, whether that be for the national GOP, her re-election in two years or even the remaining amount of time left for her current term. What is certain though, is that the Alaska she left is not the same place she left two months ago.

From The Anchorage Daily News:

In the 68 days since Alaska's governor began her run for vice president, things have changed on the home front. Some of her former allies are fuming, and former enemies are lying in wait. Public perceptions of the governor have also changed. Has the governor changed as well?

Questions about Palin's future began to circulate at Alaska's Election Central on Tuesday night almost as soon as the national election results came in.

Palin is expected to arrive in Alaska sometime today in a campaign plane. Will she be the old Palin, a populist who worked with Democrats to achieve victories in the Legislature, or the sharp partisan from the national campaign?

At an Alaska Obama gathering Tuesday night, some celebrants said they were disappointed by the new Palin they saw in the campaign.

Well it is good of the Obama supporters up there to realize that, but we are talking about a state that just might have re-elected a convicted felon to the United States Senate. Alaska just might embrace her again, especially with some time for the liberals up there to cool down from the vicious attacks that their governor lobbed on them. As for a future on a national scale, the extremists would have to win out their party's civil war before she could come back down here. Meanwhile McCain's people are busy destroying whatever credibility she has left.

Jury Confirms Sen. Ted Stevens Is A Corrupt Bastard

The fact that Senator Ted Stevens is a corrupt public official from Alaska isn't shocking or surprising. The fact that a jury of his peers convicted him of multiple crimes of corruption is fantastic news though. It is a great day for America when the system shows that it still works when an elected official can be held accountable for breaking the public trust and justice is served. Senator Stevens had put his self-interest ahead of his Alaskan constituents long ago and now he will have to pay the price for it.

From Yahoo News:

WASHINGTON – Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens has been convicted of lying about free home renovations and other gifts he received from a wealthy oil contractor.

The Senate's longest-serving Republican, Stevens was found guilty on all seven counts of making false statements on Senate financial documents.

The verdict throws the upcoming election into disarray. Stevens is fighting off a challenge from Democrat Mark Begich and must now either drop out or continue campaigning as a convicted felon.

The trial hinged on the testimony of Stevens' longtime friend, who testified that his employees dramatically remodeled the senator's home.

Stevens faces up to five years in prison on each count but, under federal sentencing guidelines, will likely receive much less prison time, if any.

Yeah so he probably won't go to jail which is a shame. Though the guy is 84 and doesn't have much time left as it is. He really should be put in jail or be forced to resign from office because the man clearly does not have the dignity required to leave office on his own accord. Now it is up to Alaskans to make sure Stevens goes on a long, permanent vacation and replaces him with Mark Begich.

You're A Socialist Too Sarah

John McCain and Sarah Palin are throwing the kitchen sink and then some with the hope of knocking Barack Obama and Joe Biden from their lead over them. Bill Ayers and ACORN hasn't seemed to work, so now they're going with "Nah, nah, nah, nah, you're a socialist!" The problem with that is, with their standards, Sarah Palin is a socialist too.

From Crooks and Liars:

McCain's last ditch effort is too say that Obama is a socialist. Wallace called him out on it.

WALLACE: But, Senator, you voted for the $700 billion bailout that's being used partially to nationalize American banks. Isn't that socialism?

As we know Conservatism has ran up the largest debt this country has ever known, started two wars and destroyed Wall Street under the compassionate one, but be afraid of Obama.I saw Sarah Palin saying the same thing.

On Sunday, she went a step further.

“Barack Obama calls it spreading the wealth,” she said. “Joe Biden calls higher taxes patriotic. But Joe the plumber and Ed the dairy man, I believe that they think that it sounds more like socialism. Friends, now is no time to experiment with socialism.”

Didn't she redistribute the wealth in Alaska? You know, take the oil profits, impose a tax and kick it back to Alaskans?

Nevermind those pesky facts, it wouldn't be a good ol' fashioned GOP attack if it didn't reek of hypocrisy. You know, kinda like the whining Rick Davis has done about the $150 million that Obama raised last month. Expect plenty more of this crap over the next two weeks, that is for sure.

Senator Stevens Knew He Was Guilty

Not all the news on corruption out of Alaska is about Sarah Palin. She may be the one running for VP, but Senator Stevens is campaigning for his re-election to the Senate and his little criminal trial is starting to get in the way. Instead of being able to hold rallies and fundraisers in Alaska, he is stuck in Washington so that a jury can decide whether he is guilty or innocent. Too bad for Stevens, he already knew he was guilty, though when he said it he was unaware that he was being recorded.

From Yahoo News:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens told an oil-executive friend, in recordings played on Monday at the Alaska Republican's corruption trial, they both risked going to jail -- but he didn't think it would come to that.

"These guys can't hurt really us. They're not going to shoot us. It's not Iraq. What the hell?," Stevens told Bill Allen, founder of the former VECO Corp. oil-services firm based in Alaska.

Stevens is charged with lying on Senate disclosure forms from 2001 to 2006 to conceal more than $250,000 in renovations to his property and other gifts provided by VECO.

"The worst that can happen to us is we run up a bunch of legal fees, and might lose and we might have to pay a fine, might have to serve a little time in jail. I hope to Christ it never gets to that, and I don't think it will," Stevens said.

However, he said, "We've got a fight out there ahead of us, and we're going to win, because we didn't do anything wrong. You've got a right to spend all the money you've got to support the party you believe in."

If Stevens thought he wasn't doing anything wrong, then he wouldn't have lied and concealed all the gifts he received. Sorry Senator, I'm afraid logic has its way of blocking your path to innocence. The recording clearly shows that Ted knew that what he was doing was illegal and gambled on the outcome of being bribed. For him, giving attention to rich oil companies was more important than representing Alaskans. Stevens figured that by throwing as much pork as he could their way that they'd be happy, but clearly Ted never gave his constituents much credit.

Thankfully for them, they can put their trust in a man who will put Alaska first, Senate candidate and Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich.

Palin's Problem Isn't Debating, Its Still Troopergate

From the moment she was selected as McCain's running mate, she was preparing for the debate and anyone aware of that fact knew she would probably survive ninety minutes with Joe Biden. While the McCain campaign put in all that time cramming her full of talking points, they have also been hard at work trying to stall the justice system in Alaska. McCain lawyers have done all they can so that the truth about Palin and her trooper-gate fiasco does not make its way into broad daylight. Even worse than that, if the report due out next week is bad enough, it'll go to the State House for a possible impeachment inquiry. Despite the GOP's best efforts, justice is slowly but surely staying on course.

From CBS News:

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) An Alaska judge on Thursday refused to block a state investigation into whether Gov. Sarah Palin abused her power when she fired her public safety commissioner this summer.

Judge Peter Michalski threw out the lawsuit filed by five Republican state legislators who said the investigation had been tainted by partisan politics and was being manipulated to damage Palin shortly before the Nov. 4 presidential election.

''It is legitimately within the scope of the legislature's investigatory power to inquire into the circumstances surrounding the termination (of) a public officer the legislature had previously confirmed,'' the judge wrote in his decision.

The probe is looking into whether Palin, who is the Republican vice presidential candidate, and others pressured Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan to fire a state trooper who was involved in a contentious divorce from Palin's sister, and then fired Monegan when he wouldn't dismiss the trooper. Palin says Monegan was ousted over budget disagreements.

The five Republican lawmakers had argued that the legislative body that ordered the investigation exceeded its authority. Their attorney, Kevin Clarkson, said the political bias was demonstrated by the plan of the Legislature's independent investigator to issue a report by Oct. 10 although the full legislature won't consider until reconvening in January.

So the real, impeach and convict stuff won't come until Barack Obama is in office, but the report will still be significant. Republicans will cry about partisanship no matter how independent the commission is, but voters will see through their whining. What counts is Palin's reputation and what the undecided public wants to do about that. She has been tanking ever since she stepped out on stage with McCain. While last night helped stem the bleeding, a report showing that she abused the Governor's office for her own personal vengeance will open that wound up quicker than a vat of blood thinners.

A Song To Sarah: "I Can See Russia From Alaska"

Matthew Brookshire picks up the Ukelele and plays an ode to Sarah Palin:



Absolutely brilliant! I wonder if those animals in the music video live in ANWR? Hmmm...

Oh and on a side note, the New Yorker seems to think it would take a powerful set of binoculars to even catch a glimpse.

Palin Lied To Couric About "Trade Missions"

Even though we haven't seen all of the footage from the Katie Couric interview of Sarah Palin, so far it has been quite painful to listen to her answers. On Saturday Night Live, Tina Fey used the responses verbatim, no need to tweak something for the audience when it is already laugh out loud funny (tragically so I might add). We also know she is a pathological liar and not unexpectedly, there was a whopper in there about Alaska and Russia.

From RawStory:

Research doesn't show a single Alaska-Russia trade mission since former Democratic governor Tony Knowles visited Siberia in 1997, when Palin was running Wasilla, according to Salon.com.

When the reporter asked gubernatorial spokeswoman Kate Morgan about this issue, she refused to answer. Morgan claimed she couldn't legally discuss the matter because she is a state employee and the reporter had learned about the trade missions through the Couric interview, which stems from her bid for the Oval Office.

Spokespeople for the McCain/Palin campaign did not respond to requests for comment.

Palin has never visited Russia and had never traveled outside of North America until last year, the Associated Press reported. The vice presidential candidate had never met a foreign leader until a trip to New York this week.

Another day, another lie care of Sarah Palin. Now how exactly do Republicans say with any credibility that she's trustworthy? Oh yeah thats right, they don't.

What Sarah Palin Dreams Of At Night

From Daily Kos:



Scary stuff, ain't it?

Palin Has Road Building Experience

One of the big complaints people have about Sarah Palin is that she has no experience and definitely not enough to be a heartbeat away from the Presidency. Yet that isn't entirely true, especially being Governor of our nation's eastern-most, northern-most and western-most state. That has to count for something (and I'm surprised if Palin hasn't mentioned it yet) but even if you think that simply living somewhere doesn't give you foreign policy experience, then her infrastructure and Federal earmark skills will simply wow you over.

From Yahoo News:

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's transportation department has completed a $25 million gravel road leading to the site of a bridge that Palin, as John McCain's vice presidential candidate, now boasts that she stopped, so as to save taxpayers money. The road was built with federal tax dollars.

Ketchikan Mayor Bob Weinstein said the 3.2-mile road will be useful for road races, hunters and possibly future development. But with no bridge to serve it, that's probably about it.

"I think it will be good for recreational things like a 5K and a 10K," Weinstein said. "And instead of people walking through brush, it may be used for hunting in the area."

You could even say she is promoting a good health lifestyle for Americans so they'll jog on roads that lead to nowhere. Then they'll be able to eat a nice meal by going out and hunting some moose. If she could do that with just $25 million dollars of money she said "Thanks but no thanks," to, imagine what she'd do with the world's largest economy.

Scary shit, eh?

Sen. Stevens Trial Starts Today

Its been fifteen years since Kay Bailey Hutchinson was indicted for abuses of power and now a comrade in the Senate GOP caucus is about to stand trial as she did back then. To be fair to Hutchinson, the decisions of the Grand Jury didn't speak to her budding Senate career, simply as a local politician. Stevens on the other hand has been a Senator almost as long as Alaska has been in the Union and he knows very well what he's been up to with his cronies. Now his trial will start tomorrow regarding those lobbyist relationships and specifically how he hid gifts from VECO.

From The Washington Post:

The first sitting senator to face a federal trial in more than two decades, Stevens, an 84-year-old Republican icon of both the Senate and his home state, was indicted eight weeks ago on charges that he failed to disclose lavish gifts he received from executives of an oil services company. If convicted, Stevens could face prison time, his 40-year Senate career would meet an ignominious end, and Republicans would probably lose a normally reliable Senate seat.

While battling prosecutors in what is expected to be a month-long trial, Stevens also will be running an uphill reelection campaign from the same Washington courthouse -- 3,500 miles from Anchorage. He may have to debate his Democratic opponent well after midnight by teleconference and make arduous red-eye flights to attend weekend campaign events.

It's a risky strategy but perhaps the only one that could result in his reelection, analysts say.

"We have an Alaska Senate race that's about to be decided by 12 residents of the District of Columbia," said Jennifer Duffy, a senior editor of the nonpartisan Cook Political Report. "If he's acquitted, he goes home, and it becomes more of a victory lap than a campaign."

Twelve D.C. residents sure sounds like a nice metaphor for the United States' system of justice and the possible outcome for Stevens. Ultimately it is how they judge his actions and decide whether or not it is time to hold criminals like him accountable for screwing with our democracy. With six weeks to go in this race Stevens is seriously handicapped while Mark Begich campaigns around the state. He needs to get his name out and meet people, so that he can convince them that representing Alaska is not all about bringing home an obscene amount of pork while slicing yourself a nice piece of the national taxpayers' money.

The More We Learn About Palin, The Scarier She Gets

Since Sarah Palin was a political unknown up until about two weeks ago, tons of information has come out about her. Being kept in the spotlight since then and continuing up until election day will produce a steady stream of news as Americans become increasingly involved in the upcoming election. After the deluge of the first week, a strong and steady stream of facts persists. This weekend the NY Times chronicled her tenure as Governor and Mayor, showing her to play a personal and local game of politics that involved hiring her friends that weren't competent for their positions. Vendettas were executed with the power of the state government behind them, when at most they should have had the force of Maury or Jerry Springer.

The litany of interviews and accounts from her record were appalling, especially to people that care about reform and not just using the word as a slogan. Yet even a lengthy article in the Times couldn't detail everything. Since then we've learned that she had a tanning bed installed in the Governor's Mansion shortly after she took over (not too much sun in Alaska during the winter months) and the state paid for a timely rewiring of the Mansion around the same time. Of course this has nothing to do with her potential policy decisions as Vice-President (though she doesn't even know what a VP does, so we might be O.K. there). Yet in American politics today, such things as a $400 haircut and windsurfing have profound impacts on the electorate, so who knows where that one will go.

Another disturbing fact is her virulent activism against those that choose to have abortions. She is firmly on the side of the choice debate that is against women from deciding what to do with their bodies and so far right that in her mind, abortions should be against the law even in the case of rape and incest. While she fights against the rights of Americans, she has dedicated time to blocking access to abortion clinics in the past.

Thankfully Americans are beginning to see the real Sarah Palin and not the carefully crafted politician that so many GOP operatives have been working overtime on. Just this weekend, one of the largest political rallies was held in the history of Alaska in honor order to protest their Governor(where the image above is from). If you get that type of response in supposedly "red" Alaska that knows Sarah, you can only imagine the reaction the other forty-nine states will have once they know her as well.

Palin Caught In Bold-Faced Lie, Continues To Show No Shame

Charlie Gibson confronted Sarah Palin about her repeated lie that she never supported the infamous "Bridge to Nowhere." Yet she shows absolutely no remorse for misleading and lying to the American people about her position, despite the indisputable facts on the matter:

New Ad Shows Sarah Palin's Savagery

Savagery is a strong word to use about someone's actions. But after you see this one minute describing Sarah Palin's actions as Governor in relation to the killing of wolves (warning: graphic images inside) then you'll understand where Defenders of Wildlife is coming from.

As Mayor, Palin Made Rape Victims Pay For Their Own Forensic Tests

The act of rape has to be one of the most violating acts one human being can commit against another. It is a disgustingly brutal practice that allows the attacker to feel more powerful by exerting their will over their victim. Rapists need to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, but we as a society must be able to care for their victims as much as we possibly can. However Sarah Palin and her police department in Wasilla did not feel that way eight years ago and the state of Alaska had to override their decision to charge rape victims for forensic exams.

From McClatchy:

Speaking to a teleconference audience of reporters around the nation, former Gov. Tony Knowles and current Ketchikan Mayor Bob Weinstein -- both Democrats -- accused Palin of misleading the public in her new role as the vice presidential running mate of Arizona Sen. John McCain.

While some of their complaints have already been aired, Knowles broke new ground while answering a reporter's question on whether Wasilla forced rape victims to pay for their own forensic tests when Palin was mayor.

True, Knowles said.

Eight years ago, complaints about charging rape victims for medical exams in Wasilla prompted the Alaska Legislature to pass a bill -- signed into law by Knowles -- that banned the practice statewide.

"There was one town in Alaska that was charging victims for this, and that was Wasilla," Knowles said.

I don't even think this classifies as "compassionate conservatism" for the GOP. Charging victims for the tests that help bring their rapists to justice is absolutely disgusting. Grover Norquist wants to reduce government so that it can drown in a bathtub, but this is just beyond the pale. Honestly, as a taxpayer I am glad to pay my share where a small fraction goes to funding these tests that run a few hundred dollars. Any conservative that thinks Palin is still a good choice should be ashamed of themselves, not just for their failed ideology but the true heartlessness that Palin's adherence to that ideology shows the residents of Wasilla, Alaska and the entire country.

Judge Found Palin To Be A Surrogate Child Abuser

Sarah Palin claims to have values as a mooseburger-eating hockey mom, but Judge Suddock of Alaska's family court begs to differ. The current investigation of her abuse of power concerning the firing of a state commissioner for not bending to Palin's wishes to have him fire her ex-brother in law has exposed a new twist on the story. While she claims to have done nothing wrong and that there was no reason to suggest she'd conduct a personal campaign against her ex-inlaw with the power of the Governor's office, the facts prove her wrong. The facts even go back to before she was Governor.

From Newsweek:

An Anchorage judge three years ago warned Sarah Palin and members of her family to stop "disparaging" the reputation of Alaska State Trooper Michael Wooten, who at the time was undergoing a bitter separation and divorce from Palin's sister Molly.

Allegations that Palin, her husband Todd, and at least one top gubernatorial aide continued to vilify Wooten—after Palin became Alaska's governor and pressured state police officials to take action against him—are at the center of "Troopergate," a political and ethical controversy which has embroiled Palin's administration and is currently the subject of an official inquiry by a special investigator hired by the state legislature.[...]

Court documents show that Judge Suddock was disturbed by the alleged attacks by Palin and her family members on Wooten's behavior and character. "Disparaging will not be tolerated—it is a form of child abuse," the judge told a settlement hearing in October 2005, according to typed notes of the proceedings. The judge added: "Relatives cannot disparage either. If occurs [sic] the parent needs to set boundaries for their relatives."

So if she committed actions back then that warranted a statement such as that from a family court judge, how hard is it to believe that she would abuse the Governor's office to continue her personal vendetta? This is the woman that people are considering to be the Vice-President of the United States. To think that she has a shot of obtaining that office is absolutely sickening.

Palin's Teen Pregnancy Hypocrisy

When the news of Bristol Palin's pregnancy broke I could hardly believe what I was reading. It was hilarious and for a second, I honestly thought it was a joke. Finally when I noticed that there were no "snark" tags on the story I just started laughing again, and making quips about it with every liberal I knew. Of course the second I mention it to an Independent, I got a skeptical response and "the Democrats are certainly not perfect either" line.

However, I tried to explain to said Independent, it isn't about Bristol, it is the hypocrisy of the matter that gets me. Ideologues like Palin can help take care of their teenager's babies all day and night and that is a great thing for the budding portion of their family. What gets me is when they act hypocritically and legislate the exact opposite way for others who are dealing with a pregnant teen. Lo and behold, one day later we find that the caring, compassionate Mom of five decided to slash funding for teenage mothers in her state.

From The Washington Post:

ST. PAUL -- Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the Republican vice-presidential nominee who revealed Monday that her 17-year-old daughter is pregnant, earlier this year used her line-item veto to slash funding for a state program benefiting teen mothers in need of a place to live.

After the legislature passed a spending bill in April, Palin went through the measure reducing and eliminating funds for programs she opposed. Inking her initials on the legislation -- "SP" -- Palin reduced funding for Covenant House Alaska by more than 20 percent, cutting funds from $5 million to $3.9 million. Covenant House is a mix of programs and shelters for troubled youths, including Passage House, which is a transitional home for teenage mothers.

According to Passage House's web site, its purpose is to provide "young mothers a place to live with their babies for up to eighteen months while they gain the necessary skills and resources to change their lives" and help teen moms "become productive, successful, independent adults who create and provide a stable environment for themselves and their families."

She opposes sex-ed programs that aren't abstinence only, but as she and her family proved so explicitly, it doesn't work that way in the real world. Oh and guess what, John McCain feels the same way. His exact words? "Ahhh, I think I support the president's policy." So if you are okay with right-wing Republicans being allowed to do what they want while dictating to the public to be "morally pure then McCain/Palin is your ticket. If you want a President and a Vice-President who want to help those that don't always live a perfect Judeo/Christianity life (including the politicians) then you know who to vote for two months from now.

Peter King Is Clearly Ignorant About Sarah Palin And Political Parties

While at the Republican convention this week in St. Paul, Minnesota, Congressman King (R-Long Island) has been good about spouting the recently generated talking points for veep choice Sarah Palin. You know, "Obama bad, Palin good, woo hoo!" In the middle though he got off topic and talked about his admiration of Joe Lieberman, and forgot who was in what party when, and where they are now.

From The Daily Politics:

Rep. Peter King revealed this morning that he shared John McCain's reported interest in having Sen. Joe Lieberman run for vice president on the GOP line, but said he understands why the party's conservative base wouldn't stand for that.

"Actually, I was a strong supporter of Joe Lieberman myself; Joe Lieberman's a great guy," King said. "But there is a reality of selecting someone from another party as vice president at the Republican convention. So, I don't think that it's unreasonable that people resisted that."

Well Peter you are correct, Joe is technically in another party, his own. The problem concerns Sarah Palin and her party, or shall I say, parties. While she is currently a Republican, she was part of the Independence Party not too long ago and still keeps ties with them. In case you haven't heard, the Independence Party in Alaska advocates for secession from the United States. Is that something for people to resist as well Peter? So not only is she a corrupt, book-burning ideologue, she's a supporter of a party that favors Alaska seceding from the United States.

Now does that mesh with McCain's new "Country, First" poster?