Guys - I just got this from a friend with an Alaskan connection - about sarah palin

[calimary]

One of my fellow mom friends in the neighborhood just sent me this. Turns out I know the author of the original email - another fellow mom from our same elementary school. I've never had reason to distrust her word, OR the word of my close friend who sent this.

To All:

I received this from a friend whose former classmate is from Alaska and thought it should be passed around. xo Wendy


Dear Classmates -

As an Alaskan, I am writing to give all of you some information on Sarah Palin, Senator McCain's choice for VP.

As an Alaska voter, I know more than most of you about her and, frankly, I am horrified that he picked her. The most accurate description of her is red neck. Her husband works in the oil fields of Prudhoe Bay and races snow mobiles. She is a life time member of the NRA and has worked tirelessly to allow indiscriminate hunting of wildlife in Alaska, particularly wolves and bears. She has spent millions of Alaska state dollars on aerial hunting of these predators from helicopters and airplanes, dollars that should have been spent, for example, on Alaska's failing school system. We have the lowest rate of high school graduation in the country. Not all of you may think aerial predator hunting is so bad, but how anyone (other than Alaska wolf-haters, of which there are many, most without teeth) could think this use of funds is appropriate is beyond me. If you want to know more about the aerial hunting travesty, let me know and I will send some links to informative web sites.

(insert from calimary: see The World Wildlife Fund, Defenders of Wildlife, and other worthy organizations)

She has been a strong supporter of increased use of fossil fuels, yet the McCain campaign has the nerve to say she has "green" policies. The only thing green about Sarah Palin is her lack of experience. She has consistently supported drilling in ANWR, use of coal-burning power plants (as I write this, a new coal plant is being built in her home town of Wasilla), strip mining, and almost anything else that will unnecessarily exploit the diminishing resources of Alaska and destroy its environment.

Prior to her one year as governor of Alaska, she was mayor of Wasilla, a small red neck town outside Anchorage. The average maximum education level of parents of junior high school kids in Wasilla is 10th grade. Unfortunately, I have to go to Wasilla every week to get groceries and other supplies, so I have continual contact with the people who put Palin in office in the first place. I know what I'm talking about. These people don't have a concept of the world around them or of the serious issues facing the US. Furthermore, they don't care. So long as they can go out and hunt their moose every fall, kill wolves and bears and drive their snow mobiles and ATVs through every corner of the wilderness, they're happy.

I wish I were exaggerating. Sarah Palin is currently involved in a political corruption scandal. She fired an individual in law enforcement here because she didn't like how he treated one of her relatives during a divorce. The man's performance and ability weren't considered; it was a totally personal firing and is currently under investigation. While the issue isn't close to the scandal of Ted Steven's corruption, it shows that Palin isn't "squeaky clean" and causes me to think there ay be more issues that could come to light. Clearly McCain doesn't care. When you line Palin up with Biden, the comparison would be laughable if it weren't so serious.

Sarah Palin knows nothing of economics (admittedly a weak area for McCain), or of international affairs, knows nothing of national government, Social Security, unemployment, health care systems - you name it. The idea of her meeting with heads of foreign governments around the world truly frightens me. In an increasingly dangerous world, with the economy in shambles in the US, Sarah Palin is uniquely UNqualified to be vice president. John McCain is not a young man. Should something happen to him such that the vice president had to step in, it would destroy our country and possibly the world to have someone as inexperienced and inappropriate as Sarah Palin.

The choice of Palin is a cheap shot by McCain to try to get Hillary supporters to vote for him. when McCain introduced her today, Palin had the nerve to compare herself with Hillary and Geraldine Ferraro. Sarah Palin, you are no Hillary Clinton. To those of you who, like me, supported Hillary and were upset that she did not get the nomination, please don't think that Sarah Palin is a worthy substitute. If you supported Hillary, regardless of what you think the media and the democratic party may have done to undermine her campaign, the person to support now is Obama, not Sarah Palin.

To those of you who are independent or undecided, don't let the choice of Palin sway you in favor of McCain. Choosing her shows how unqualified McCain is to be president. To those of you who are conservative, I guess you have no choice for president. But please try to see how the poor choice of Palin tells us a great deal about McCain's judgment.

While the political posturing inherent in the choice of Palin is obvious, the more serious issue is the fact that the VP is, literally, a heartbeat away from the presidency. Sarah Palin is totally and unequivocally unqualified to be vice president, let alone president. I know this is a lengthy and emotional email, but the stakes are high. I thought it might help for all of you, regardless of political affiliation, to know something about Palin from someone who has to live with her administration in Alaska on a daily basis.

Jackie S

[vaberella]

1. Fantastic post and thank you for this. Directly on the issues that we need to attack her on. n/t

[calimary]

20. I thought some of our DU brothers and sisters might be able to make use of it.

Wolf Blitzer is sounding as though this is going to completely remake the republi-CON brand by the way they respond to it. He called it a potential "game changer."

SHIT I hate talk like that.

[liberalcanuck]

118. God, Wolf and CNN's "analysis" is soooooo bad - I can't stand talk like that either

McBush is obviously pandering to the so-called "disaffected Hillary voters" AND trying to shore up his right-wing wackjob base.

While it would be great to have a woman as VP or Prez it's important to have the RIGHT woman.

[krawhitham]

25. Attack her on everything and hope something sticks, It is how the repugs have been winning for years

It sucks and I hate it, but we must do anything and everything to win this election.

NO WAY we can allow McCain to pick 3 or more supreme court justices, not to mention he might start WWIII

[Lorien]

78. Amen. The powder has been kept dry long enough. Time to hit them

and hit them hard, over and over again!

[ForeignSpectator]

89. I don't see how this would be campaigning like the republics...

after all, these things are TRUE. It's not as if we make this stuff up. THAT's the difference! They make up outrageous lies and hope they stick.

If Democrats (finally) point out the real corruption of their opponents, that's perfectly fair. And necessary.

[rontun]

94. I totally agree!

I simply believe the truth is all that's needed. No trumped up charges, no misleading BS. Just let people know the truth. That was the basis for a column I had published in my local newspaper No Regard For Truth Or Integrity. Somehow we have to work very hard to inform voters. We can't rely upon the media, that's for sure.

[calimary]

120. Welcome to DU! You're correct - we can't rely on the media.

And we can't rely on reasoned common sense from American voters. I fear too many of them will not look beyond palin's attractive cover to see how her book really reads.

And I'm frankly still a little concerned about enough disgruntled Hillary Clinton supporters who decide it's more important to "send a message" and "teach Obama a lesson" than to worry about how you'll still be able to walk after you've shot yourself in both feet. I just went over to HuffPo where they've got lots of pieces about palin and you should read some of the comments. Yep, they're out there. And the knuckle-draggers are already in love. And enough of America votes with its "gut" and its love of a drinking buddy than not. That's how bush got close enough to steal it, both times.

[liberalhistorian]

139. Don't they realize the horribly negative things she's

said about Hillary and how she even said Hillary's "whining" got on her nerves? Don't they realize that her positions are diametrically opposed to Hillary's? Or are they so militantly blinded that they just don't care?

[calimary]

147. Not unless WE make it an issue that can't be avoided in the neighborhood, OR

in the blogosphere. If it's a big enough uproar, like this whole pregnancy thing, it will be unavoidable by the mainstream media, and they'll at least have to bring it up.

[classof56]

125. Awesome column and response to "Anonymous"

I just read and bookmarked it for future reference. Thanks for posting the link, and welcome to DU! Oh--and thank you for your service to our country. I know I speak for the millions who admire and appreciate you!

[rontun]

137. Thank you!

I really do need to spend more time at DU! Mostly I limit myself to posting information about what's happening in my area of New Hampshire.

[DaLittle Kitty]

146. RECOMMENDED AND KICKED!

:)

[1_cali_dem]

148. Hear Hear

GOBAMA. Thanks for the post. Rec.

[liberal N proud]

2. K&R

[InvisibleTouch]

3. K & R n/t

[libnnc]

4. kick

[grasswire]

5. conservatives DO have a choice -- Bob Barr

If they can't vote for Obama, they can vote for Barr. Or vote Libertarian.

[DesertRat]

7. Bob Barr the Libertarian candidate

They could also vote for Ron Paul.

[Cha]

10. I was thinking that

too.

[Muttocracy]

6. thanks for substance. nt

[HughMoran]

8. Nice letter, though nothing new there - sounds just like the conservatives up here in NH

They hunt and do all the things they described. I call them red-necks, but I'm not sure that's a "correct" term to be using in a high-profile (now that it's posted) letter about Palin.

Only the ethics issue and the fact that she is an air-head are points (already known) that we should be emphasizing.

[calimary]

16. Even so, anything we can use, I figure, is worth presenting here.

My friend who sent me this today said she wasn't sure if the woman who relayed it was a schoolmate from college or law school, but evidently this originated from a real person instead of some disingenuous construct. The mom who relayed it isn't into sending many political emails or sticking her neck out. Until this moment I wasn't even sure which side of the party line she leaned. Now I know. But when a noncombatant (relatively speaking) feels moved to send something like this around, you know the concern here is pretty damn significant.

[Blue_In_AK]

80. Calimary, see my post below.

Your friend is right on.

[trueblue2007]

24. I don't trust Sarah Palin !!! She is not Worthy.

I don't trust this woman to take care of MY COUNTRY! Other comments call her "cunning" and that her family is dysfunctional. Imagin her poor judgement exhibited in her own life "baby-gate" to overstepping her authority in firing that Alaskan official. Sarah is NOT Vice Presidential material IMHP.

[HughMoran]

28. I agree - she is a mindless right-wing dolt

No more Bush-like morans in the WH!

[Oak2004]

53. Yes: nothing wrong with being a "redneck"

I like rednecks. Hey, I love hunting, I would rather be living in a small town again, and I'm a life member of the NRA to boot.

I'm not fond, however, on political sleeze, electing airheads, and government by parties which have one foot planted firmly in the turdpile of fascism and the other foot inching over to join the first foot.

But rural people living a rural lifestyle? Sounds like good people to me.

[Preening Fop]

97. The Founding Feudal Fathers looked upon the lower classes as "Rapacious Rabble"...

Rabble who were viewed as, wantonly ignorant and highly superstitious,
who must be controlled through a
gamed two political party business set up
known as the "Electoral College".

[calimary]

149. Welcome to DU!

Amazing to hear the storming of the aftermath of palin's selection.

I'm watching the convention coverage on Tuesday midday, and even michael smerkonish is unsettled about it.

Correctly so! We SHOULD be asking these questions. If mcsame can't be bothered to vet her, then we have to. And I'm glad it's the talk of the town.

[Cha]

9. Thanks, calimary..one

discrepancy I noticed was in this paragraph ..

"I wish I were exaggerating. Sarah Palin is currently involved in a political corruption scandal. She fired an individual in law enforcement here because she didn't like how he treated one of her relatives during a divorce. The man's performance and ability weren't considered; it was a totally personal firing and is currently under investigation. While the issue isn't close to the scandal of Ted Steven's corruption, it shows that Palin isn't "squeaky clean" and causes me to think there ay be more issues that could come to light. Clearly McCain doesn't care. When you line Palin up with Biden, the comparison would be laughable if it weren't so serious."

According to TMP..

"When Palin became governor they went for another bite at the apple. Palin, her husband and several members of her staff began pressuring Public Safety Commissioner, Walt Monegan -- a respected former Chief of the Anchorage police department -- to can Wooten. Monegan resisted, arguing that the official process regarding Wooten was closed. And there was nothing more that could be done. In fact, during one of the conversations in which Palin's husband Todd was putting on the squeeze, Monegan told Todd Palin, "You can't head hunt like this. What you need to do is back off, because if the trooper does make a mistake, and it is a terminable offense, it can look like political interference."

Eventually, Palin got fed up and fired Monegan from his job. (Palin claims, not credibly, that she fired Monegan over general differences in law enforcement priorities.) This is an important point. Wooten never got fired. To the best of my knowledge, he's is still on the job. The central bad act was firing the state's top police official because he refused to bend to political pressure from the governor and her family to fire a public employee against whom the governor was pursuing a vendetta -- whether the vendetta was justified or not.

Soon after this, questions were raised in the state about Monegan's firing and he eventually came forward and said he believed he'd been fired for not giving in to pressure to fire Wooten."

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/211769.php

But, he could be fired by now..:shrug: Thanks for this calimary..it doesn't look like she was even Vetted by mccain's team in their expediency to try and keep ObamaBiden from "going into the Stratesphere"!

[1Hippiechick]

14. Transcript of telephone interview 2 hours before she appeared in PA yesterday in which she states:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=6848419&mesg_id=6852198

Q. Is Troopergate going to hurt your candidacy?

A. No, not when you consider ... I did not pressure commissioner Monegan to hire or fire anybody. And commissioner Monegan confirmed that again today. As he had been confirming all along but I think that had been ignored.

And so, no I'm not worried about that.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MY question:
If Troopergate is not an issue: "...And commissioner Monegan confirmed that again today...."
WHY was ANYONE in a conversation w/Monegan just yesterday in which he confirmed AGAIN YESTERDAY that Palin had not put pressure on Monegan to hire or fire anybody?

BTW - the audio of this transcript is also on that site.

[Cha]

19. Yes, Monegan said he had been pressured and

evidently has proof so she's sounding like a bald face liar who really wants that vp next the Warhog.

Couple more snips from the article..

"Just yesterday, Monegan gave an interview to the Washington Post in which he said that not only Palin's aides, but Palin's husband and Palin herself had repeatedly raised the Wooten issue with him and pressured him to fire him. And now he says he has emails that Palin sent him about the matter. (In an interesting sidelight, that may end up telling us a lot, Monegan says no one from the McCain campaign ever contacted him in the vetting process.)

The investigator appointed by the state legislature began trying to arrange a time to depose Gov. Palin last week -- in other words, in the final days before her selection."

[trueblue2007]

29. Palin is a LIAR

she phoned Monegan's office and TALKED WITH HIM 24 TIMES. It is documented.


>~~~~~~~~> LISTEN TO THIS CAREFULLY.

According to this news report, PALIN CALLED FORMER ALASKA COMMISSIONER MONEGAN 24 TIMES to try and get her brother in law fired.

Monegan told her she should remove herself from the investigation. Soon after, he was fired.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpkhhWyY-SU&feature=related

[1Hippiechick]

90. Well, great!. The radio interview DOCUMENTS her lying as late as Saturday! :) n/t

IOW, she hasn't changed her story or tried to put a different spin on it. (Don't you KNOW she is bound to have heard by now that there are baby rumors flying around. This e-mail is priceless, IMO.)

Edited to add K&R

[rucognizant]

91. SHe does know what's going on in cyberspace.

SHe responded to the many criticisms re: her hair do ( don't ) by wearing it down yesterday!
Nothing wrong with the redneck life style...........live out in the woods shoot animals tote a gun, ride your ATV, snowmobile. ( gas hog!)
Just keep your uninformed self out of MY GOVERNMENT! Lot of people like that up here in Maine. They just ignore current events,are easily fooled by lying politicians ( Collins for Senator? yup yup!)

[Blue_In_AK]

81. Wooten's still on the job.

He's a sleaze, no doubt. He has been caught drinking in a patrol car, tazering his 11-year-old son (because the kid wanted to know what it "felt like"), taking moose out of season. I personally think he should have been dismissed from the force a while ago for these kinds of things, but apparently the Troopers thought a reprimand was enough. I don't know how he treated Sarah's sister, but my guess is he was an asshole. Sarah's mistake was letting her personal life intrude into her public life, and she did abuse her power. Firing Monegan was a mistake, even though Monegan probably should have fired Wooten.

[Divernan]

117. The "moose out of season" charge was extremely hypocritical.

Wooten's wife had a permit to shoot a moose, had it in her sites and then couldn't pull the trigger. Wooten took the gun and shot it. Palin's FATHER (Wooten's father in law) was there and the bunch of them skinned, butchered and shared the moose meat. Sarah's favorite dish is moose stew! She like mooseburgers! But when the divorce proceeding got ugly, Palin's father & sister included this incident in a list of things they sent in to Wooten's employer to try to get him fired.

As for the tasering incident - no one denies the 11 year old son asked his stepfather to taze him (with the gun set on the mildest setting). I find it very believable that in the macho Alaskan culture, this would be completely acceptable. Sort of a redneck Vision Quest. I have no doubt the 11 year old was bragging to all his friends about it. There's no report of medical treatment being sought or any complaint filed by the mother at the time this happened. I know one Juneau woman who has a grizzly/brown bear skin on her living room wall, and said apologetically that she was late in killing her first grizzly - 13 years old; while her brother got his first at age 11. It IS a different culture there. If Cokie Roberts thinks Hawaii is foreign and exotic, she should spend a week in Alaska.

I love Alaska - it's a unique place of powerful natural beauty. Alaskans are proud of the fact that they are tough enough to live in this Last Frontier. Most Alaskans are and need to be, extremely fit, outdoors oriented people. As one Alaskan posted on DU, there is nothing exceptional about Sarah Palin's hunting, fishing, outdoor jogging in frigid weather. He said his thirteen year old daughter does all those things too, and serves as first mate on his fishing boat. But I digress. Bottom line, all but 5 of the Palin family's charges (they hired a private investigator) against Wooten were dismissed and he was suspended for 5 days.

[Blue_In_AK]

136. Your facts are basically correct.

I've lived here in Alaska since 1975, so I agree that Sarah's background is not unusual at all, especially coming from the Matanuska Valley, as she does. I just don't know how well Alaskan values will translate to the national stage. It seems a very odd fit to me.

I don't know Trooper Wooten personally, just from what I've read from people who do. I certainly agree that Sarah overstepped her bounds -- I just don't know if a five-day suspension was enough for his continued bending of the rules.

[FatDave]

11. Wait. This is new, isn't it?

"She has spent millions of Alaska state dollars on aerial hunting of these predators from helicopters and airplanes"

That's a strong allegation. That's misappropriation of funds, isn't it?

[roguevalley]

40. we voted to ban this three times. she ignores it.

[FatDave]

65. I understand that part.

The part I'm asking about is that this email says she uses state funds to pay for her hunting excursions. At least that seems to be the way it reads to me. Am I misinterpreting?

[roguevalley]

68. state funds are used to make this program go but her own hunting

stuff, I don't think so. Its probably a personal photo that got into the public. Since we don't want aerial hunting and said so three times, I guess you could say state funds are being used improperly but not how you think you read it.

[FatDave]

70. OK, thanks for clarifying. (nt)

[Blue_In_AK]

82. Yeah, I really dislike her for that...

and that 'NO ON 4" shit really burned me up.

[texastoast]

71. Depends on what the legislature let her have

She did support a legislative appropriation to combat the referendum to stop the horrific practice.

[hay rick]

123. aerial wolf hunting link

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zr183lk-wQk

be forewarned: "hunting" scene fairly repulsive.

[Chovexani]

129. Absolutely disgusting

Funny how these creationist scumbags seem to have the least respect for creation.

[Kajsa]

127. Aerial hunting of wolves

is not banned, FatDave,

in spite of our many, many attempts to ban it.

The fight continues!

:(

[mnhtnbb]

12. Thanks for posting.

[crazylikafox]

13. "The only thing green about Sarah Palin is her lack of experience"

Luv that line

[calimary]

17. Welcome to DU!

That's a great line, isn't it? There's a lot of useful and intriguing info in this one.

[Maven]

32. Loved that one too!

[yellerpup]

15. Thank you!

This is the kind of ammunition we need in political hunting. Great stuff. :kick:

[calimary]

18. Hey, I figure every little bit helps.

Even if we say it thousands of times, it's always good to add yet another voice. Especially one of a noncombatant. Input from Alaskans is really valuable at this moment.

[yellerpup]

21. Absolutely true.

First person reports work well for getting out the truth, especially when they come from such a small and islolated community. Gonna kick it again! :kick:

[calimary]

26. Thanks!

I just got another email from - well, I guess - um - one of the more - um - "republi-CON maverick" types I know - she and her husband live near Anchorage and he's as hopeless a knuckle-dragger as you'll find. And they're starting to huff and puff about "what they're sending around down south" and the link was to "mcsame's Dangerous Choice" - first issued by MoveOn.org.

I responded with this, and with my own selected links (one of 'em mine):

http://www.worldnewstrust.com/wnt-reports/commentary/cue-lloyd-bentsen-mary-lyon.html

Also - this one just came out on Youtube...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RN5xbWtNSU

DO NOT miss the Youtube piece. DO NOT miss it. Another DUer, dancingme, AND jefferson_dem, too, posted it here earlier. THE GREATEST! Reminded me of my late dad - who was something of a dirty old man, much to my mother's endless chagrin. I thought I was just seeing things (or TRYING to see things) when I watched mcsame's introduction of palin, but this just verified it. Sigh...

[yellerpup]

31. I read the Mary Lyon piece last night and have been using those talking

points all day. Very pleased to make that connection! Also, the youtube video--I really like the Julie Andrews accompaniment to this but I absolutely gag when he starts twisting where his wedding band ought to be. He is checking out her butt. Definitely perving all over the 'runner up' to Miss AK. That takes me back, back, back in the way back machine to the time before men like McCain could get in trouble for sexual harrassment. He doesn't seem to notice how she is avoiding him when he steps in too close. Me, I like No Drama Obama and Joe Biden, both of whom really like women and truly love and respect their wives. In the youtube comments, people who don't want to see it don't see it. I'll never understand political blindness. Thanks for the links.

[neomonkey]

48. Body language 101

Yeah, agreed. McDimbo is a case study in repressed sexual tension. I loved the way he grabbed his ring finger as if it was his schlong. Each time he surveys SP's backside, his beady eyes go helter skelter and he blinks nervously.

This whole thing smells of a really rancid arranged political marriage.

[yellerpup]

110. Rancid already! Looks that way to me as well.

It would be so much more disturbing if they didn't deserve each other.

[calimary]

59. Thank you!!!! I'm so honored to hear that!

There are SO MANY eloquent people posting here on DU. SO many good insights and great ways of phrasing things. It's such a WORLD-CLASS resource that we're all fools if we don't take full advantage of it. You just never know. You never know which turn-of-phrase or which argument or little random factoid or buzz phrase or clever pun or whatever will actually crack the armor and get through to somebody. You just never know. We all are very good at arming each other. This isn't just a website, it's a THINK TANK!!! I'm quite honored to be part of it, and I know damn well it's made me smarter and more articulate about the issues and the candidates by reading through here and taking note of the many excellent posts here. I wouldn't know half of what I DO know now, were it not for hanging out here.

[yellerpup]

111. I can't stay away!

I started lurking here when there were only 1,268 posters and I dropped by every Monday to see who made the Conservative Idiots column. I didn't start posting until 2004 when I started getting involved in GOTV efforts in NC but I have visited just about every day since and often spend more time here than I do working. Taking our country back is my first priority and I am tremendously grateful to DU for giving me the words and the tools to help friends/family/whomever will listen get over the propaganda of the MSM and get involved in Democracy again. Thank you, calimary!!!

[drm604]

56. I like that video.

:rofl:
Has that been posted in the videos forum yet?

[rucognizant]

92. Damn I missed that totally!

I was trying so hard to catch a glimpse of that poor 16 year old holding the baby behind him, I missed his oogling!
SHe looked SO miserable I picked up instinctively, something wrong ( before Babygate broke)

[Punkingal]

100. Just watched it...

Unbelievable! Twisting the wedding ring is a psychological giveaway. He is disgusting.

[FirstLight]

114. what is the purpose, man?

Mccain and the way his eyes go shifty then he smiles to try and look "normal"...that's just so creepy, it will haunt me all day.
I could see the way she tries to avoid him too in the bidy language. I would hate to be alone in a room with this monster if I were her...;(

so what's the deal?
des he even care about the job of vp and who fills it?
did he make this dcision, without even getting other opinions, or vetting?
sounds like his you-know-what made the call!

that's just gross, and scary...and we CANNOT LET THIS CREEP BE PRES!!!!

[KoKo]

22. Thanks...the dossier on Palin is growing...let's hope this goes out everywhere as more

of those who knew how Palin walked up that ladder come forward.

Plus there were posts here on DU that Palin was one of the "CHOSEN" by Phyllis Shafley and her minions of RW Conservatives to be "groomed" for their new "Hitler Youth Type Crew."

We know that "Regent University" fills our US Department of Justice...so they have their "minions and recruits and disciples" in ALL WALKS OF OUR AMERICAN GOVERNMENT... Palin seems true to this Fundie Christian, Opus Dei, Likkudist, Wall St. Corporatist/Global/Norquist/Friedman view of Philosophy for the NEW AMERICA...free of Roosevelt type Reforms.

[calimary]

27. By all means share it. This is ONE email whose provenance I actually know.

And I take both women in this chain of custody very seriously. They're no flakes. They're moms and they're committed to their children's future. They're also both Catholics, and this woman scares the bejeezus out of both of them. I'm Catholic too, and the woman shivers my timbers.

[NJCher]

30. Schlafly clone

Plus there were posts here on DU that Palin was one of the "CHOSEN" by Phyllis Shafley and her minions of RW Conservatives to be "groomed" for their new "Hitler Youth Type Crew."

I didn't know that but from the minute I laid eyes on this woman, Phyllis Schlafly is who I thought about. She is the 2008 equivalent of her.

In the early years of feminism, we were up against Schlafly who constantly garnered media time. I recall advising my fellow feminists that we needed to smile and to not appear angry. Schlafly was on television constantly grinning her fool head off.

Like Schlafly, Palin intends to run around the country promoting her image as a mother but in fact letting others mother her children.

Here's a Quicktime video interview with Schlafly. By the end of the video, you will audibly gasp at how ignorant this woman is. "He forgot her birthday." What a ninny.

http://www.maryannbreschard.com/schlafly.html

At the end of the video, note the description of the Queen Bee. Is Palin a Queen Bee?




Cher

[Blue_In_AK]

83. Sarah is religious for sure,

but I have appreciated that she hasn't tried to cram that down our throats while she's been governor. She really couldn't get away with it up here, where we're all too ornery to go along with too much religion. Her fundiness might come more to the fore on the national stage.

[oldcoot]

23. Her Priorities Are Wrong

According to this article( http://www.adn.com/politics/story/463340.html), Palin wanted to cut government spending in public safety and other departments. However, violent crime is a major problem in Alaska (http://dwb.adn.com/news/alaska/crime/story/9368207p-9282028c.html). Now what would you rather spend money on killing wolves or fighting crime?

[roody]

55. Palin, the puppy killer.

[Maven]

33. "Sarah Palin, you are no Hillary Clinton"

WORD.

Thanks for posting calimary! :hi:

[nikto]

37. What a wonderful GIFT from the GOP...

...To help soothe Democratic feelings and give us more unity and resolve.

Millions and Millions of devoted
Hillary fans take one look at Palin and almost unanimously, PUKE.

They start feeling a WHOLE LOT better about Barack.


Palin isn't worth Hillary Clinton's used toilet paper.

'Nuff said.

[calimary]

47. Welcome to DU! You spoke eloquently there!

I hope that's how it turns out. What a week this one's gonna be...

[calimary]

51. I wanted to share it as far and wide as I could. This one's for all the emails YOU get

that annoy and frustrate you, from bushbots and dick-lovers and would-be neoCONS trying to further the RNC/rove smears. We need an arsenal of OUR OWN response emails to send back to them. Consider this a good one, 'cause it's from palin Country.

I guess what made the biggest impression on me was that these two women (the one who relayed the original from her Alaska friend and the one who forwarded it, second-hand, to me) are non-political. They are strictly civilian, not activists, and their main priorities are their day-to-day Mom'ing. They don't hang on every word from the political blogs or parse every burp and fart from the mainstream media or punditocracy the way we do (certainly the way I do myself). That they feel compelled to pass a message like this along tells me quite a bit. And I'd like to honor their efforts and have their back.

I realize it's an "Oh yeah?" "Yeah!" type of pingpong game. But you HAVE TO ANSWER THESE THINGS! You HAVE to respond! Well, at least, if you have the time and the motivation. Not to respond to these does several things:

1) It is tantamount to a confirmation or validation of the original smear-email if it's allowed to stand unchallenged or unrebutted. The operative mentality here is "Well, they didn't say anything. I guess it must be true then." See John Kerry and 2004 swiftboating if you're not convinced.

2) You have the opportunity to educate. When I've responded to these things, I've traced back through the "forward to" email chain and sent my response to EVERYBODY on it - the sender to me, and the person he/she got it from, and the person(s) THAT sender got it from, etc. I have made a small handful of people angry, as far as I've been able to follow through this little adventure. But I've also collected several new friends who hated getting those emails, too, and usually deleted them and tried to forget about them because it was upsetting or pissed them off. I've had quite a few of them actually email me (one just a few minutes ago) to say thanks, or to tell our mutual friend that what I had sent "really hit the nail on the head for them." Probably surprised our mutual friend, too. So it's a risk you take, but I have found through my own experience that there's a net gain. You give solidarity to those non-activist email recipients who may feel under seige, or surrounded by knuckle-draggers, and don't think there's anybody out there who shares their view. You make them feel far less isolated, and even empowered (NO! You're NOT crazy!!!), and you've just strengthened their backbones.

3) Yes, sometimes you piss off a knuckle-dragger or two, which is GOOD! People like them tend to get their only information from having mainlined flush limbaugh and Pox Noise, so they're a bunch of regular Johnny One-Notes. They may never have heard an unvarnished and unspun liberal or Democratic viewpoint before. You MIGHT just crack the ol' armor there with some of 'em, or at least made them stop and think. And I have also found that on occasion, you actually do stop one or two of 'em from sending you any further such Neanderthal emails. It's like having Neighborhood Watch or home security or an annoying yapping dog, that makes your place more of a hassle for burglars to target than it's worth. If you make yourself a difficult target, chances are some of these weasels will say "screw it" and go find somebody else to annoy instead of you, because suddenly you're too much trouble to have to deal with. These folks have had almost an entire generation in time of having the last word, and being able to monopolize the discussion without any challenge or comeback or rebuttal or a single question. They're basically lazy and quite spoiled in this regard. And they're not used to somebody from our side getting back in their faces. And they don't like it. Not one bit! :rofl: And they'll snivel and pout and whine like phil gramm about it, screeching "NO FAIR!" and kick and scream and throw tantrums and other infantile reactions. Just another one of those great republi-CON entitlement programs in action. They feel they're entitled to force their views on you and you're not allowed to contest or challenge or say anything to debunk their bullshit. You know what I'd say to that? FUCK 'em. They need to Get Used To It. Their free ride is OVER.

4) They ALSO need to know that this level of opposition is out there, very much indeed, alive and well and flourishing. And that they will NOT be able to get away with shilling this kind of crap without consequence. This is one reason why I always heartily recommend calling your reps - EVEN IF THEY'RE republi-CON. Even THEY need to know that they are NOT operating in some sort of CONservative, knuckle-dragger vacuum where everybody everywhere is marching in jackbooted lockstep with them. They NEED to know that the walls are closing in on them, and that they're swimming against a rather healthy current. If nothing else, it will unsettle them a little, knowing their steps are on ground that's not as firm as they assumed. WHENEVER POSSIBLE, destabilize the enemy. At EVERY opportunity.

[BearSquirrel2]

113. I had an uncle come at me recently ...

I had an uncle come at me recently about how we needed to vote for McCain because of abortion. And how killing babies was wrong.

I've had this conversation with this guy before. I explained that I respect the anti-abortion position based on their belief that a fetus is a child and explained the opposite position that the fetus is NOT YET A CHILD. I'm sick of being accused of being for killing babies.

So, I told him that the Republicans haven't done crap for abortion during Bush's term. That they didn't care and they were just using religious folks to get them to vote for policies favoring the wealthy. He brought up the "partial birth abortion" bill and I proceeded to say it was a women killing bill as it banned life saving procedures against women who desperately needed care.

He didn't take that very well at all. They don't like being accused of being women killers. For that matter, they really don't like being accused of killing hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqi civilians in an unnecessary war. I'm sick of being reasonable and I now just want to sling all their shit back into their smug, pious faces.

And maybe that's whats needed, a good fight down in the mud. They bashed president Clinton and Democrats for years until Larry Flynt start outing their membership, then they started whining about the "politics of personal destruction". We are dealing with people with no morals, no ethics, and no code of conduct beyond their own self advancement and self preservation. There is no sense in trying to be reasonable as they have no reasoning skills. So when they hit, it's best to hit back and then watch them go crying off to mama like every other school bully.

Yes, Obama is above the fray and he needs to be. But the rest of us should put on our mud-wrestling duds and get in their faces. I'm sick of their bullshit.

[me b zola]

121. +1

:kick:

[FatDave]

34. Anybody ever heard the "helicopter hunting with state funds" bit before? (nt)

[GrannyK]

69. I get updates from

World Wildlife Federation or Fund and in the past several months aerial hunting of bears and wolfs in Alaska has been a major issue with them. Polar bears are another issue. She filed suit against the Federal government to try and stop them from being added to endangered list. But I don't know all the details.

[calimary]

73. Welcome to DU!

I get updates myself - lots of animal welfare stuff.

BTW - Shameless plug: A good thing to do at Christmas time or other gift-giving occasions - ESPECIALLY for children, is to order a stuffed polar bear or wolf or sea turtle or otter or bald eagle etc. There are several organizations that offer this and you get a cute little stuffed toy, a certificate, some educational materials about your new "adoption", sometimes also a Christmas ornament or something. And they ship it for you with a greeting and a message of congratulations to your recipient. In exchange, whichever organization you ordered from gets a donation! I believe it is also deductible. I find it a great way to get some holiday shopping handled with no hassles, no schlepping, no gas consumption, no traffic, no parking, no crowds.

End commercial. And now we return to our program.

Member FDIC.






Sorry. Hey, it's late. I'm in a goofy mood.

:D

[sunnystarr]

126. If polar bears were added to the endangered species list

it would interfere with her goal of drilling for oil since it would protect their habitat.

[Claire Beth]

35. Thanks for the post! n/a

[grillo7]

36. I've lived in Alaska most of my life...

and this is all true. If we lose this election, we're fucked.

[calimary]

60. Welcome to DU!

This thread just gets better and better. We need ALL this input, especially from folks like you from Alaska who know the turf personally. Glad you're here!

[Blue_In_AK]

84. Grillo, did you see that Ethan Berkowitz

is co-writing her ethics position paper with her? I'm about to gag. I kept telling people to vote for Diane Benson for House, and the Alaska Dems were too damn stupid to do it. I'm sitting this one out. "Our" Democratic nominee working for the McCain campaign. It's just too awful to contemplate.

[snappyturtle]

138. WARNING: Remember this happened to us already! You're so right!

I met my husband August 2000. Native Texan born in Austin. He told me story after story that fall leading up to the election about junior shrub. He painted a terrible scenario,, one that I could never see happening even if * was elected. You know what? As terrible a picture as he drew, I know now it wasn't even close to what has happened. So-o-o, we do need to get this out to everyone we know. Thanks to you and fellow Alaskans for the great fodder and a heads up! K&R

[ladywnch]

38. let us not forget the 20million of debt she saddled Wasilla with

when she was mayor!

[downticket gumbo]

39. Palin and Schmidt in skull session?

caption this photo contest!


http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/Republican-Party-Republican-presidential-candidate-Alaska-Gov-Sarah-Palin-Republican-National-Convention-Cindy-McCain/ss/events/pl/011902gop/s:/ap/cvn_loyal_opposition/im:/080901/480/0836739c28174070a47d9e525c14cdc6/print

[calimary]

62. Gidget Goes Campaigning. Welcome to DU!

Glad you're here. Looks can be deceiving. I read a blog somewhere online here that parsed some new poll - women weren't receptive to palin but more men were won over and the blogger said it's because "they think she's hot." Maybe that's why mcsame put Paris Hilton in one of his ads? Evidently they're thinking with their "other" head...

[quidam56]

41. Plain Jane

Am so relieved to learn after watching Hannity and Colmes that Plain Jane is the perfect choice to be vice president because she is even more experienced than Obama !!!!! Biden, be nice....

www.samsva.org

www.caringbridge.org/visit/timmullins

[calimary]

44. Oh yeah, and their darling Mensa President steve doocy says she's fine on foreign policy

issues because Alaska is so close to Russia.

For the Love of God. :banghead:

And even worse, apparently cindy mcsame said something similar on one of the Sunday morning shows. :puke:

BTW - Welcome to DU! We need you. We have LOADS of work to do.

[Politicalboi]

50. I heard the Russia

Quote from I think it was Nora O'Donnell. I know it was MSNBC. I had just heard about Steve Douchbag and then about 30 minutes later on MSNBC.

[jillan]

42. Can you imagine her meeting with people like Olmert? Putin? Abbas?

They would laugh in her face. This woman would have NO credibility with them.

She is a joke.

[roody]

57. They should be used to meeting with our idiots by now.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

43. Fantastic post!

The signs all point to this. It's good to have confirmation from someone who lives there.

What I want to know, though, is why she has such a high approval rating. Is it bogus? Or is it because Alaska's filled with people who don't give a shit about their own state?

Thanks for posting this! :yourock:

[Blue_In_AK]

86. She's a major charmer.

I met her personally a couple of years ago when she was running for governor. I was out on a street corner waving signs for Diane Benson for Congress and Sarah was across the street in the Sears parking lot with her sign-waving supporters. We happened to meet up with her in the Holiday gas station where we were all standing waiting to pay for our lattes. She was very approachable, down-to-earth, chatted with us while we were there, just about the election, wishing Diane good luck. She was really nice. I liked her. That's the dangerous part about her, and why she's so popular here. She's too damn likable.

[rucognizant]

93. AND through NO EFFORT on her part........

Everyone in ALaska got a check for $3,300. because of the high price of fuel these days. Through a 25 year old agreement, every citizen gets a check yearly for the lease of he land that is drilled on. Apparently the oil companies pay for their land lease proportionally. Alfred E Neuman could have been Gov.& they (Alaskans) still would have benefited this year! The knuckledragging, snowmobiling, animal killers would credit her for it!

[rucognizant]

95. Reference Huffpo?

I read so much yesterday I don't remember the sources..... sorry. I have my own personal shock doctrine ) hell here. My hard wired smoke alarms have gone off, 3 out of the 4 last mornings at 3:30, 4 am.... Circuit breaker doesn't shut them up. Fire Chief bought 5 new batteries and brought them over because I am dragging in to my next SS income on empty. They skipped a day & went off this AM.?
Once was enough to scramble my brain cells for several days. Those poor people at Gitmo, have been subjected to this sort of thing for 5 years? It co-incides with my beginning to read, Klein's Shock Doctrine, with the early 50's experiments at McGill U in Canada, funded by the CIA.
I now realize..........tasering as crowd/crime control; cloaked as saving lives rather than killing, is vicious!
Someone ought to do a follow up study on the long term, mental condition of those who have been tasered. Guess the FLa U student hired by Greg Palast would be the one to do that job.

[BearSquirrel2]

116. Sorry here but ...

Sorry but why bash people for driving snowmobiles? There are some people who drive sleds irresponsibly. I'm sure most people are in bounds and in a state as large as Alaska and a population so small, it's difficult to imagine a lot of damage even if they TRIED.

4x4s is another issue. But that's rural and again, the place is so big and there are so few people ... you get my point.

[Blue_In_AK]

134. That isn't entirely correct.

Our PFD this year will be over $2,000, but Sarah did push through an additional $1200 "energy rebate" to be added to each check, most particularly to help rural Alaskans whose energy costs are stratospheric. Those of us in the cities are paying considerably less, but our gasoline here in Anchorage is still $4.30, and natural gas and electricity are going up. The Permanent Fund was set up to invest oil royalties and the dividend is based on the interest earned on the investments. Alaska is an "owner state." Our constitution set it up so that we the people own the resources. The oil companies just lease.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

102. I get the feeling she is sincere...

like many conservatives I've met and liked.

It's a pity they cling so strongly to their misguided beliefs.

[jenmito]

45. K&R. Hopefully, her honeymoon with the media will soon end.

[AuntPatsy]

46. A good one to kick.

[Bobbie Jo]

49. K&R

:kick:

[Politicalboi]

52. This is probably

MaGoo's fantasy. To have 2 women.

[calimary]

63. That's what I'm suspecting. He took one look at her and decided that's what he'd

like to be able to look at for at least the next four years.

Maybe you saw the Youtube item upthread? The one about his "Wandering Eyes"?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RN5xbWtNSU

I realized he's nothing but a dirty old man. I would not be sleeping peacefully at night if I were cindy mcsame. Is sarah his next younger, prettier arm-candy?

[Douglas Carpenter]

54. RECOMMENDED!!! This needs to go out everywhere!!

[Beausoir]

58. Palin is dead in the water. I really believe McCain is insane.

Every person I talk to about her is astonished and shocked at how weak she is on the issues.

This was a disasterous choice for McCain. Could not have been worse.

Palin is a PATHETIC person. Pathetic.

[BrklynLiberal]

61. K&R

[BrklynLiberal]

64. and this does not even mention her affiliation with Christian Dominionists

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=6857499&mesg_id=6857784

[calimary]

66. Yeah, but you did. All kinds of superb points have been added to this thread.

Greatly enhanced its value!

We don't all see every post here with details that are important like this one you offered. Thanks for including it! The more we know about her, the better we'll be able to beat back any knuckle-draggers we know who run their shit up the flag pole hoping everyone will mindlessly salute it. We need ALL this input.

Hmmm... just think about it. The more we know about her... Whatever the case, it'll be far more than john mcsame did when he picked her. Probably still is.

:yourock:

[BrklynLiberal]

67. When I saw that she had a connection to them, it made the hair on the back of my neck stand up.

[calimary]

72. Funny, I had that same feeling when I watched george w. bush in 2000 stand in front of all

those flags after he'd been introduced by the Democratic speaker of the Texas legislature. And he came out and made a brief acknowledgement of how close the race was. I watched that and thought to myself - "uh-oh... here's trouble." And at the time I had no idea why. No idea, really. I knew a few things - that dubya was a bush and I just sensed that he wasn't to be trusted, and I wasn't at all convinced about that "compassionate conservative" stuff, and I knew his much-vaunted Harvard MBA CEO schtick included three consecutive bankruptcies - in the oil business of all endeavors! Mostly though, what I'd known for years was that few people on earth were better, better suited, or better prepared to be POTUS than Al Gore.

It was just this visceral, instant, unconscious thing that I remember clear as a bell to this very moment. I didn't know why that feeling came over me, but I do now, in retrospect. You're probably feeling the same way, only I think you're far more informed on this particular aspect than I am at the moment. Either way, this is a creepy lady and an even creepier choice. Never think - "nobody will ever be worse than (name/s here) has been." We all said that about nixon, too.

[vaberella]

103. Even zealot Christian RWers will run from that.

Actually I know the he lost the Catholic vote totally on that end. Catholics are not really open minded to other religions and if you're not even a Protestant religion, then you're like as one of my Catholic priests likes to say, "A crazy mormon."

That needs to go everywhere. Send it to HP, KO, Obama, and any bloody blogger who will listen. n/t

[judasdisney]

74. Outside the beltway bubble, incl DU, there are zero negatives for Palin as VP

Redneck, inexperienced, bonkers Christian fundamentalist, creepy sociopath?

It all adds up to Charles Bukowski's quote that Americans only want to vote for the person who most reminds them of themselves.

[Idaho_Independent]

77. Bingo

I am inclined to agree. Thoughtful Americans only make up a fraction of the electorate. The popularity of the Iraq war when it was implemented illustrated this conclusively.

:hide:

[calimary]

104. Welcome to DU! It's very distressing.

Nobody ever lost money over-estimating the intelligence of the American electorate. Look who they allowed into the White House for the past two terms.

[WinkyDink]

99. She has EXECUTIVE EXPERIENCE!!

[chatnoir]

75. K&R

:kick:

Thank you for posting this!

[QueenOfCalifornia]

76. Rec #109

Thanks for the OP and the thread that follows - brilliant.

:yourock:

[Blue_In_AK]

79. Thank you.

That is exactly correct, and is damning enough without all the "Bristol was pregnant" crap. Everything that is said here about Sarah Palin is true -- but the scariest part, and what isn't mentioned here, is that she's very, very charming while holding all these bad, bad positions. She has been very popular here with an 85% approval rating -- and is actually more popular with Democrats than with Republicans. The Monegan firing has tarnished her reputation a bit, but there are a lot of exigent circumstances which make it not quite a black-and-white issue.

I think people underestimate Sarah Palin at their peril. She was far outspent by Frank Murkowski and John Binkley in the 2006 Republican primary, and went on to trounce Tony Knowles and Ethan Berkowitz in the general, again spending far less money. Now I just received this press release from Berkowitz, who is now the Democratic nominee for House (not my choice, however) after last Tuesday's primary:

Berkowitz Congratulates Governor Sarah Palin

ANCHORAGE, AK, AUGUST 29, 2008: Alaska Democratic Congressional nominee Ethan Berkowitz joins fellow Alaskans in congratulating Gov. Sarah Palin on having been selected as the Republican nominee for Vice President.

“This is an exciting day for Alaska,” said Berkowitz. “Governor Palin has made her name fighting corruption within her own party, and I was honored when she stepped across party lines and asked me to co-author her Ethics White Paper. I wish Governor Palin, her husband Todd, and their children, the best of luck as they embark on this journey.”



THIS IS DANGEROUS STUFF. Ethan Berkowitz, Alaska's Democratic nominee for Don Young's seat, is, in essence, working for the McCain campaign. You see the power Sarah Palin wields with her charm.

[Raine]

85. This pick shows that McSAME is totally NUTZ an IDIOT

to boot. :silly:

[liberaldem4ever]

87. K&R!!

[mwb970]

88. It is becoming clear that this was a fatal blunder for McCain.

Thank God! We couldn't have survived with such an awful person as president. I never want to see him again, to tell you the truth. But I guess we'll all have to put up with him until we trash him in November.

What a loser!

[sellitman]

96. Between this horrible pick and the oncoming storm....

McSame is screwed.

[WinkyDink]

98. OMG. This is scary. Someone like her would NEVER have gotten to VP level from the lower 48.

Sorry, AK'ers, but that's my opinion. I think the news of her wouldn't be just now coming out if she were a redneck from, say, Alabama. Remoteness has served her very well.

[mucifer]

101. my MOM just emailed me this. Apparently this letter is going viral.

:)

[AFSCME girl]

105. This is a great post...

thank you calimary. I'm wondering.....does anyone have Olbermann's email? How about sending this to him? (Although, he probably has most of this information already).

[calimary]

108. Here:

General MSNBC who-to-contact: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3303518/

[email protected], [email protected]

We need this to go to Daily Kos, too. I don't post there, not sure how to proceed and I'm always too busy over here.

[AFSCME girl]

109. Excellent!

Thanks, calimary. I will put something together to send to Olbermann. I wish Rachel's show was on the air already, as I'm sure she would be all over this too! :hi:

AFSCME girl

[AFSCME girl]

115. Just sent an email to Keith Olbermann

and "cc'd" [email protected]. Thanks, again, calimary!

[faithfulcitizen]

106. It would be great to get Jackie S on TV!

[Mad_Dem_X]

107. K&R - she is exactly what we DON'T need

We need to spread this far and wide.

[MassLiberal]

112. K&R

[jpertello]

119. More scared than ever

Now I am more scared than ever. If John McCain were to somehow get the presidency I would be praying very sincerely for his health. As much as I dislike him, at least he has many years of experience in government. S. Palin scares the shit out of me.

[calimary]

144. Yeah, me, too. Welcome to DU!

From what I've been reading, this threw a huge, juicy, meaty bone at the CONservatives and fundies who have now eagerly returned to the reservation. They weren't energized before but they are, now. 'Cause they know how old john mcsame is, too, and they know their princess will be a 72-year-old heartbeat away from the Oval Office. GOD FORBID!!! I can see grizzly bear rugs and maybe even some nice stuffed bald eagles moved in for decoration. And maybe a wall of shotguns or some such.

[nam78_two]

122. K&R.nt

[CGrantt57]

124. Please don't confuse the issue

The idea of draggin away disaffected Hillary voters is what they WANT you to think.

In actuality, Palin is a sop to the Fundies.

She's the most socially conservative pick I have ever seen. As such, the fundies are drooling over the chance to get "one of their own" into office.

This pick was made solely to energize the Christo-fascists who now own the Republican party.

Regards,

[jonestonesusa]

128. Great post, K & R!

Thanks for helping us get to know McCain's VP nominee.

[Chovexani]

130. K&R

Thank you so much for this! Will spread this around.

[southerncrone]

131. Thanks for sharing this! Needed personal info! K&R!!

[tinrobot]

132. "The average maximum education ... in Wasilla is 10th grade."

That says it all.

[Rainbowreflect]

133. Thanks for the additional info!

[hasssan1]

135. I Also Got another Email with some Good information as well. READ HERE PLEASE

August 29, 2008

Shocking Choice by John McCain WASHINGTON-- Senator John McCain just announced his choice for running mate: Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska. To follow is a statement by Rodger Schlickeisen, president of Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund.

³Senator McCain¹s choice for a running mate is beyond belief. By choosing Sarah Palin, McCain has clearly made a decision to continue the Bush legacy of destructive environmental policies.

³Sarah Palin, whose husband works for BP (formerly British Petroleum), has repeatedly put special interests first when it comes to the environment. In her scant two years as governor, she has lobbied aggressively to open up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling, pushed for more drilling off of Alaska¹s coasts, and put special interests above science. Ms. Palin has made it clear through her actions that she is unwilling to do even as much as the Bush administration to address the impacts of global warming.
Her most recent effort has been to sue the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to remove the polar bear from the endangered species list, putting Big Oil before sound science. As unbelievable as this may sound, this actually puts her to the right of the Bush administration.

³This is Senator McCain¹s first significant choice in building his executive team and it¹s a bad one. It has to raise serious doubts in the minds of voters about John McCain¹s commitment to conservation, to addressing the impacts of global warming and to ensuring our country ends its dependency on oil.² ### The Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund
(www.defendersactionfund.org) provides a powerful voice in Washington to Americans who value our conservation heritage. Through grassroots lobbying, issue advocacy and political campaigns, the Action Fund champions those laws and lawmakers that protect wildlife and wild places while working against those that do them harm.

[AXIS_bold.as.love]

140. WORLDWIDE DEFENSE OF WILDLIFE IS AWESOME

go there it really is cool sign petitions, donate money, learn about the cruelty of aerial hunting....

[calimary]

142. Welcome to DU! This is a good one, too.

Defenders of Wildlife is another good one:

http://www.defenders.org/index.php

World Wildlife Fund:

http://www.worldwildlife.org/

I've ordered endangered species animal "adoptions" as gifts - they go over REALLY well with the lucky recipients. Talked about that some more farther upthread.

These organizations are obviously going to be under seige if somebody like palin gets into high office. She is NOT their friend or ours. Doesn't even believe that human recklessness causes global warming. Another one of THOSE - head-in-the-sand types. You'd think with all those kids she has that she'd be even minimally concerned about what will be left of their heritage on this planet.

What a mess.

[Name removed]

141. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[RoccoR5955]

143. K&R n/t

[calimary]

145. OMG - 193 recs - hard to count that high. Thank you!

I appreciate this and thank you on behalf of my two friends. I hope this is helpful. We need all the material we can find. This isn't going to be easy and it's not a slam dunk for Obama. I suspect the republi-CONS are going to try an extreme makeover, using the hurricane and enjoying the absence of bush and cheney to reset things. The fundy wackos evidently are appeased by the palin selection, or at least that's how it looks from the comments to various blogs that I've read so far. They're back on the reservation and newly fired up. WE NEED TO STAY THAT WAY, TOO!!! Lots of work to do between now and November.

:patriot: