Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin wrote in her line-item veto changes by hand in this copy of a 2008 spending bill obtained by The Washington Post.By Paul Kane
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."
Palin's own daughter, Bristol, is five months pregnant and has plans to wed.
"Bristol and the young man she will marry are going to realize very quickly the difficulties of raising a child, which is why they will have the love and support of our entire family," Palin said in a statement released by the McCain campaign. "We ask the media to respect our daughter and Levi's privacy, as has always been the tradition of children of candidates."
Earlier today the Associated Press reported that Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, opposed funding to prevent teen pregnancies, a position that Palin also took as governor. "The explicit sex-ed programs will not find my support," she wrote in a 2006 questionnaire distributed among gubernatorial candidates.
Reporters asked McCain in November 2007 whether he supported grants for sex education in the United States, whether such programs should include directions for using contraceptives and whether he supports President Bush's policy of promoting abstinence.
"Ahhh, I think I support the president's policy," McCain said.
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Since Sarah Palin didn't write her own speech, of course, we can't wait to hear her debate foreign policy with Biden...
Putting Words in Palin's Mouth by Hiatt (Washington Post.com)
There was a flutter of attention when McCain campaign manager Rick Davis told a group of Post reporters and editors yesterday that his team was having to rework the vice presidential acceptance speech because the original draft, prepared before Gov. Sarah Palin was chosen, was too "masculine." While we all wondered to ourselves what might make a speech masculine or feminine, no one batted an eye at the underlying revelation: that the campaign was writing the nominee's speech before knowing who the nominee would be.
Even staunch right-winger Dr. Laura Schlesinger says she is "extremely disappointed in the choice of Sarah Palin as the Vice Presidential candidate of the Republican Party...I’m stunned - couldn’t the Republican Party find one competent female with adult children to run for Vice President with McCain?... But really, what kind of role model is a woman whose fifth child was recently born with a serious issue, Down Syndrome, and then goes back to the job of Governor within days of the birth?I am haunted by the family pictures of the Palins during political photo-ops, showing the eldest daughter, now pregnant with her own child, cuddling the family’s newborn. When Mom and Dad both work full-time (no matter how many folks get involved with the children), it becomes a somewhat chaotic situation. Certainly, if a child becomes ill and is rushed to the hospital, and you’re on the hotline with both Israel and Iran as nuclear tempers are flaring, where’s your attention going to be? Where should your attention be? Well, once you put your hand on the Bible and make that oath, your attention has to be with the government of the United States of America. (From http://www.drlaurablog.com/)
The Sarah Palin Saga Only Gets Worse
by Robert A. Kezelis
When Vegas starts posting odds on when a VP nominee's name will be withdrawn from consideration, you know that something is brewing.
It turns out that there's more fire than smoke. The questions keep growing, so let's keep it simple, who, how, why, when, and where.
WHO
Even I hate to admit it, especially after Hillary joined them, there is a hidden conspiracy that stands against America, our constitution, our future, our freedoms. It is a Christian cabal. A D.C. centered group of rich, insane, power-hungry, conspirators who wish to control the destiny of this country in their direction. It is not a direction of which our founding fathers would have approved. It is, more than any other danger that our country faces, our most evil enemy. It also selected Sarah Palin. They met recently, vetted her, approved of her religious fascism, and promoted, then sold her to John McCain.
The Nation, one of the finest independent papers in this country, has the story:
The members of the Council for National Policy are the hidden hand behind McCain's Palin pick. With her selection, the Republican nominee is suddenly -- and unexpectedly -- assured of the support of a movement that once opposed his candidacy with all its might. Case in point: while Dobson once said he could "never" vote for McCain, he issued a statement last week hailing Palin as an "outstanding" choice. If Dobson's enthusiasm for Palin is any indication, he may soon emerge from his bunker in Colorado Springs to endorse McCain, providing the Republican nominee with the backing of the Christian right's single most influential figure.
http://www.thenation.com/blogs/campaignmatters/352...
HOW
John McCain has long ceased being his own person. From 2000 to today, the differences between McCain the Maverick, to McCain the NeoConMan are striking. Parsing the difference in behavior and personality is difficult. Some, including me, have suggested that he suffers from Senile Dementia. Others simply call McCain a political whore, willing to do and say anything to get elected. Still others simply say that he is a convenient politician. What works is convenient.
No matter the cause, no matter the reason, or combination thereof, McCain has sold his campaign to the Rovian club he recently collected, and then sold his soul to the ultra far right fringe of Christian theology. The Council chose Sarah Palin for him, in exchange for their support.
WHY
Do not believe the polls. The idea that 4 more yrs of Bush would ever receive 42% support in a national election is ridiculous. Internal polling shows a bigger lead for Obama, despite a serious impact of racism.
Sarah Palin, like any former beauty queen, is there simply to be a distraction. Avoid the hard questions, confuse and confound the enemy, and always change the discussion and the topic. The Rovian leaders within the McCain camp know how bad the future is, and this bowing to the ultra-religious-dominionist Cabal is a brilliant, timely, calculated move. On one hand, it throws those insane nuts a handful of crumbs. When she is replaced, (and rest assured, she will be), they will have been pacified. On the other hand, if she somehow manages to survive what is looking more and more like a serious vetting by serious investigators, she pretty much locks up the fundie vote for McCain. Despite being a Creationist nutcase herself.
WHE
When did the fall of Sarah start? Early, often, consistently.
When she demanded what amounted to a loyalty oath from her tiny town's employees, she showed her true colors. When she fired capable people simply because they did not kiss her feet sufficiently, she laid out her future behavior. When she headed a Senator Stevens 527 group, pushing for his re-election, despite serious ethical charges building up, she showed how corrupt she herself is. When she stood up next to Ted, pledging her support, she confirmed it. And when she scrubbed her website of those events, she showed that her campaign has a high school student on board with some smarts.
Palin's name is listed on 2003 incorporation papers of the "Ted Stevens Excellence in Public Service, Inc.," a 527 group that could raise unlimited funds from corporate donors. The group was designed to serve as a political boot camp for Republican women in the state. She served as one of three directors until June 2005, when her name was replaced on state filings.
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/09...
I just hope whoever cleansed her website isn't impregnated at the age of 16. That might impact Sarah's family values positions.
Oh, wait. That already happened.
WHERE
Where will America find out about the true Sarah? Certainly not on cable news. Never on your local borecasts. Not in your local newspaper, especially when too many subscribe to the AP service, a failing, politicized, dysfunctional group that would rather protect the status quo than to fix their growing Fournier problem. WaPo tries. NYT tries. Even some western papers are investigating and reporting. But Gustav visuals are simply too "gnus-worthy"
Where will you learn about the real Sarah Palin? The Netroots. Be grateful they exist. It might just save this country yet.
OBAMA'S MAGNIFICENT NIGHT
Obama has transcended petty partisan politics by uniting us all in a speech that was severe, hard-hitting and transformational. He is a true leader and not a "celebrity." This election is about US: you and me, patriotic Americans joining together against the dark forces of corporate greed, cronyism, oil and war profiteering. Obama is a symbol of the American Dream and of our enlightened nature as a people. No matter what devious political maneuvering McCain and the Rovebots engage in — the TRUTH will win, for the truth has a liberal bias. Obama simply told the truth with strength, passion, empathy and honesty. - Lydia
For the spiritual solution to every problem in life please check out our other blog: at The Peacemakers * The Light of Truth
Lydia Cornell on CSPAN's Book-TV
