Saturday, September 06, 2008

The Great and Unvetted Sarah Palin

One of Sarah Palin's great moments in her speech the other night was where she put her fiscal credentials on display by declaring that she had put a state (of Alaska) airplane up for sale on eBay. She gave the impression that she sold it on eBay even though she never used the word "sold". It turns out she did not sell the plane on eBay. Sure, she listed it on eBay, but wound up selling it through a broker and for a loss. I it let go in my own mind because she never actually used the word "sold", even though that was the clear impression she was trying to make. It was presented as a mavericky method to simplify government in a way we can all appreciate and understand: eBay!.

Well, I just finished watching a video clip of John McCain giving a recent speech and smugly proclaiming that Sarah Palin had "sold" (yes, he used that word) the plane on eBay. He went on in an in-your-face manner to declare that it had also been sold at a profit. Both statements are lies. Or maybe he picked Palin with so little vetting that even he was misled by her rhetoric. Either way, this is reflects very poorly on McCain. He's either a liar or completely incompetent.

(By the way the "luxury" plane had previously been used extensively to transport Alaskan prisoners to Arizona for incarceration because Alaska doesn't have enough prison space.)

And as long as we are discussing Mrs. Palin's cred with public finances, dig this:

WASILLA, Alaska -- The biggest project that Sarah Palin undertook as mayor of this small town was an indoor sports complex, where locals played hockey, soccer, and basketball, especially during the long, dark Alaskan winters.

The only catch was that the city began building roads and installing utilities for the project before it had unchallenged title to the land. The misstep led to years of litigation and at least $1.3 million in extra costs for a small municipality with a small budget. What was to be Ms. Palin's legacy has turned into a financial mess that continues to plague Wasilla.

...

Litigation resulting from the dispute over Ms. Palin's sports-complex project is still in the courts, with the land's former owner seeking hundreds of thousands of additional dollars from the city.

A $1.3 million dollar boondoggle for a town of less than 9,000. That's some great experience she's bringing to the ticket.

23 comments:

Anonymous said...

hey let's not forget that Ms. Palin has more "experience" than Obama.

For two years she has commanded the Alaskan National Guard. That's two whole years! By that token, Governor Blago would make a grand Vice-President.

And let's not forget, she is governor of a state right next door to Russia. If anyone knows the statregic importance and implications of that, it would be Ms. Palin. We need to get behind Ms. Palin...she can kill a Caribou and a Russian with her bare hands just by being in command of the national guard in her state.

Anonymous said...

And the Repubs exaggerated her Nations Guard experience also.

Anonymous said...

I find it hilarious that you guys are getting worked up about the vp pick. Why is that? Could it be because her ratings are higher than The Obama's.. but wait, The Obama was a community organizer....that is one step abouve dog catcher...where he obviously caught the 3rd Williams sister.

Anonymous said...

i'm not worked up over her being the vp pick. She just seems like a real Blagojabitch.

she sees like she got bit too many skeletons in the closet and is nothing but an attack dog who no one has the balls to attack back because of her sex.

Anonymous said...

What's to get worked up about? I love every minute of it. I find it hilarious that that she’s being exposed as a typical politician; not a maverick Republican, not an experienced leader or courageous woman like they keep trying to convince me she is. And I’m particularly enjoying how the McCain campaign is looking more and more foolish and incompetent with each passing gaff. I, for one, can’t wait for what’s next: like I wonder what the National Enquirer has to say about her. You know, if that rag could be trusted by some many to tell the truth about John Edwards……well, I’m sure they’ll be just as accurate about her. I mean, the McCain campaign IS threatening to sue...what more proof do you need..?

Oh, and on behalf of community organizers everywhere...ignorant insults like yours keep putting more money into Obama's coffers so...keep up the good work!

Anonymous said...

Anon,

Thanks for making my point.

Anonymous said...

No.....thank YOU!

JeromeProphet said...

McCain lies like shit. I wrote a post in which I said McCain either has Alzheimer's or he is a liar.

I think he's in early stages of cognitive decline, something we don't need in a President, and that he's dishonest as hell - another thing we really need a break from.

Check out Youtube for McCain's flip flopping (lies), and you'll see the character of this man - war hero or not.

JP

Anonymous said...

JP,

Dont forget Obama lies too. I will reference his statement that his uncle helped liberate Auschwitz.

Obama:"I had a uncle who was one of the, who was part of the first American troops to go into Auschwitz and liberate the concentration camps and the story in our family is that when he came home, he just went up into the attic and he didn’t leave the house for six months, right. Now obviously something had really affected him deeply but at that time there just weren’t the kinds of facilities to help somebody work through that kind of pain,”


Auschwitz is in Poland, it was liberated by the Soviets on Jan. 27, 1945. So unless Obama's uncle was in the Red Army, Obama gets caught in another lie.

Anonymous said...

McCain is going to win. America seems to be infactuated with a woman who can hunt and pray...and that is just about it. Let's prepare for another eight years of GOP imbecilic buffoonery.

Dave said...

RM,
His uncle DID help liberate a concentration camp in WWII. Obama got the name wrong. He later corrected himself. That isn’t a lie, you idiot. But you knew that. So in effect you are lying or at least deliberately trying to mislead. Go back to listening to Rush please.

Anonymous said...

Oh, I see, when a republican makes a mistake it is a lie, but not when a democrat does it. Ok. As long as we know the rules.

So I assume that when Obama referred to his Muslim Faith on Stephanopolus' show the other day, that too was a mistake?

Or when Obama mentioned all 57 states, that was a mistake too.

Can we really afford all of these mistakes? I mean didnt Obama go to Harvard?

What you really mean is that Obama can get a pass on anything, others cant.

JeromeProphet said...

BLEVINS:

Don't buy into the bullshit. CNN is a whore for the oil industry. Just about every other commercial they've been run pre-election has been from Exxon.

O.K. I stretch the truth a bit here, but I've NEVER seen as many commercials for the oil industry since way back, and I mean way back thirty and forty years ago when oil companies used to compete with each other at the neighborhood gas pump.

These commercials have nothing to do with selling gas as much as they're selling the oil industry.

And CNN is sucking it down hard and long.

GE owns NBC, and GE makes parts for nuclear reactors. GE also makes wind turbines, and will even operate entire wind farms for other companies.

GE will make tens of billions from any move toward renewables, and thus we see MSNBC migrating to the left.

Obama has taken money (not in the presidential campaign) from the nuclear industry, and has worked with the nuclear industry. His acceptance speech very specifically mentions nuclear, and nuclear will be a part of his energy plan.

So if you want to see polls, or positive coverage on Obama watch MSNBC.

If you want to hear half truths and lies watch CNN, and FOX.

Everyone knows that polls of registered voters do not represent who will win.

In fact I suspect polls are used by the right wind media to discourage voters from voting.

It's who is likely to vote in very specific swing states that matters.

There are about seven swing states that matter. If Obama loses four that's still o.k. as long as he takes Colorado, and Nevada.

Now there are other ways for Obama to cinch this, but that's pretty much the scenario.

That doesn't mean you shouldn't vote, but don't buy into the bullshit you see on CNN.

I saw more CNN Present's the life and times of John McCain - like five times on CNN!!!!!!!

How many times do you think they ran Obama's?

I believe only twice.

If you visit the CNN website during the week of the convention I saw continual, and captured images of examples, continual negative stories on their front page of Obama, while during the week of the GOP convention they ran, and continue to run positive stories on Palin.

CNN is fixed, and crooked as can be. But most Americans are aware of this, and I don't believe it will work this time.

I know we were raised to believe that great institutions within the U.S. - like the MSM weren't crooked, and for some out there who have been in the media who may defend MSM it may be difficult to accept, but the U.S. press is no more sacred than that in Russia, China, Pakistan, or Mexico.

Their all pretty much controlled, or corrupted by the state, or powerful interest.

That's why I put my money where my mouth is.

Get depressed?

Donate to the Obama campaign.

That's what I do.

Get angry about unfair, and biased "news coverage"?

Go donate to the Obama campaign.

A lot of words gets posted to these blogs, but words are only words - if we want to change things it takes sacrifice.

Donate, or volunteer. It's now, or never.



The electoral college is not based upon the national majority of votes as we have seen

Anonymous said...

Dave,

Ok, just so I am clear. When Obama says that he will accept federal matching campaign funds in order to try to reduce the influence of money in this race; and then says that he will forego those funds and continue to raise money, that is NOT a lie because Obama can get away with it????

Anonymous said...

JP,

You are correct that it is the EC that counts.

By the way, I am watching Michelle Obama's Chief of staff right now on MSNBC.....wtf? Why in the hell does Michelle Obama have a Chief of Staff?

As much as the national polls are leaning McCain Palin over Obama Biden..(I actually like the way that Obama Biden flows)...Obama is leading in the EC.

JeromeProphet said...

Rickmonday:

The debates are coming up. We'll see McCain for the corrupt old man he is.

You know everyone is supposed to treat McCain with kid gloves because his aircraft was shot down over Vietnam, and he spent time in a POW camp, and was tortured.

I'll recognize his sacrifice in that one respect, but that doesn't mean he's qualified by experience, ability, judgment, or temperament to be President.

His flip flops are those of a desperate man that would say, or do, anything to grab control - and this shows exactly how little he should be trusted.

I've seen Obama struggle to answer questions about subjects that most politicians would simply take a pass on.

I've actually learned about subjects by listening to Obama answer questions.

He's incredible. That's the kind of leader I want running the country. Someone who is as smart, or smarter than I am.

I've seen GOP moron, after GOP moron rise to power by using the same divisive politics pitting Americans against each other with the slyness of the devil all to keep the middle class down.

And sadly it works.

Keep the elderly white women scared of the blacks who want to break into their homes at night.

Keep the uneducated white male blue color types fearful of losing their manhood by the encroachment of gay rights.

Attack science, and play on religious bigotry.

Always appeal to people's darker, more ignorant side.

Make things seem very simple, very black and white.

And pretend that you have easy answers.

It works. The old people of that generation aren't well educated. The blue color types don't have much of an education.

The less educated, the easier it is to convince people of lies.

The GOP is based upon lies. The lie that helping the rich to exploit the poor and middle class is somehow in the average Joe's best interest is quite a feat.

And the only way to accomplish it is breeding fear, and exploiting ignorance.

So it doesn't surprise me that McCain lies like shit, because that's the party he represents.

And it doesn't surprise me that you post comments which are based upon petty dishonest allegations, because your folk have little but lies to tell each other.

Like this one, "Hey, if I vote for John McCain then that's going to keep the U.S. safer because it will keep our troops in Iraq, which will keep all the terrorist trapped in Iraq".

Or how about this one, "Hey, if I vote for John McCain then we'll pump American oil and we will be free of dependence upon foreign oil".

Or how about the biggest one of all, "Hey, if I vote for John McCain one day I too will be a millionaire".

Anonymous said...

RM,
McCain signed the paperwork, he accepted the federal matching funds which limits his spending. Now McCain is breaking the law on a spending cap. It must be another McCain moment, since McCain helped write the law.

What law did Obama break? I forgot, laws just not apply to Republicans.

Anonymous said...

geek,

Obama didnt break a law, he broke something worse, his word.

Anonymous said...

JP,

Sure the GOP uses their scare tactics. But not any more than the dems play their scare cards.

The democrats have been playing the class envy card for so long now that is really becoming boring.

I mean, have you have tried to get a job from a poor guy?

JeromeProphet said...

The GOP isn't so much the party of the rich as it is the party of greed, and immediate consideration.

When a corporation announces it's profits and losses for a quarter that announcement drives the cost of its stock, and thus we have corporate managers in the U.S. planning how they'll guide their company's actions with a very short term point of view, based entirely upon short term profitability.

I'm not saying that corporations shouldn't look at the next quarterly statement, but bigger companies usually must look at longer term goals in order to make their company work.

The U.S. needs a leader, and set of leaders who look at long term goals.

Short term goal, let's see: eliminate the gasoline tax, proposed by the corrupt John McCain, the effect of which harms the nation's infrastructure, and the well being of the nation in coming years.

Right there is enough evidence to see that John McCain is not a patriot at all, he cares about himself more than the nation.

And anyone who has paid any attention could come up with hundreds of similar examples of how the GOP has damaged the country.

Why would they do this?

Greed.

I'm a nationalist.

I care about America, not Mexico, Saudi Arabia, or China.

I know if I'm into quick profits I'll want to destroy the Middle Class in America by importing as many illegal aliens as possible to bring down the price of labor.

I'll want to export service jobs such as customer service, Internet Technology, Engineering, etc., to India to bring down cost.

I'll want to export agriculture, and manufacturing to China to cut cost.

If I live off my investments, and not my labor I'll laugh my ass off as I see millions of unemployed people beg for handouts, while I drive my imported cars, and live in a spacious home financed by China, burning imported oil, employing illegal aliens to cut my lawn, and cook my food.

I'll fill my home with imported goods, and foods.

I'll want as much law and order as possible to protect me from people who live a few miles away in smaller homes.

And when people talk about how the nation's unemployment rate has increased, or any other concern that a people of a nation might have, I'll label them envious of my social status, and call them unpatriotic, and socialist.

For me life is good, and to hell with all the rest of you bastards. To hell with America, to hell with the Middle Class, to hell with the future, to hell with the Earth.

I'm for me, for me, for me, and to hell with everyone else.

I laugh at global warming. I laugh at concerns that anyone who depends upon the fruits of their labor may have, because I live off my investments in multinational corporations which have located overseas.

I'll make enough to live on while America falls apart, and I only gain from other's pain - at least that's my plan.

That is who runs the GOP.

But I'm a nationalist. I believe in America, and Americans. And when your kind rounds my kind up into labor camps I'll still believe in this nation.

True patriotism has nothing to do with flag pins. Do you think that our boys who died on the beaches of France died so we would have a bunch of snide cold and calculating politicos use flag pins as a test of patriotism?

Greed should not be the highest moral value of a nation.

When the millions of young people, and then the millions of African Americans join up with the well to do and better educated, and the labor unions, and the teachers - you'll see the results soon enough.

We're going to take our country back this time Rickmonday.

And all the corrupt radio talk show host, and corrupt corporate controlled Main Stream Media in the world won't be able to discourage me from doing everything I can to help.

JP

Anonymous said...

JP,

All I can say is "give 'em hell!" :)

That was beautiful...too bad not more Americans weren't of your mindset. You know, the ones who are captivated by bells, whistles and simple catchphrases like "9-11" and "war on terrar."

Anonymous said...

Now Obama is sounding like a republican. Dont think there is anyone left who thinks like you do JP.

Democrat Barack Obama says he would delay rescinding President Bush's tax cuts on wealthy Americans if he becomes the next president and the economy is in a recession, suggesting such an increase would further hurt the economy.

from the AP 2 days ago
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5isOFwdbq0tsqatW6vJpkDRTI1gMgD931VT500

www.encontactos.com said...

This can't have effect in actual fact, that's exactly what I believe.