The report that Palin's town charged for rape exams is true enough, in that that Wasilla was one of several small Alaskan police forces with limited budgets that found it difficult to deal with the cost of forensic medical examinations. Wasilla had a policy of allowing the City to bill victims (or more likely, their insurers) for rape kits, which can cost up ot $1,000.

The policies allowing billing the victims in ALL these small towns was finally outlawed by the state in 2000.

Palin was mayor of Wasilla from 1996 until the time the state law (AS 18.68.040) banned the practice of charging victims August 12, 2000.

A subsequent enquiry detirmined....

'The Finance Department searched all financial records on our system for fiscal year 2000, 2001 and 2002. There are no records of billings to or collections from rape victims or their insurance companies in our system. The financial computer system goes back to the beginning of fiscal year 2000, and accounts receivable backup documentation goes back six (6) years per our records retention schedule.

A review of files and case reports within the Wasilla Police Department has found no record of sexual assault victims being billed for forensic exams. State law AS 18.68.040, which was effective August 12, 2000, would have prohibited any such billings after that date.'

Police Chief Long has stated that from 1996 to 2000
"A review of files and case reports within the Wasilla Police Department has found no record of sexual assault victims being billed for forensic exams"

So where did this 'story' come from?

'The entire "scandal" seems to have been manufactured around September 9, possibly from a small obscure blog called Stop All Monsters

The blog, features a tagline of "A blog dedicated to rooting out and stopping all monsters. Sarah Palin, for instance," has only been in existence since July, and is written by a character who claims to be a writer/stand-up comedian based in Los Angeles.

The fact that it has been disemminated so rapidly and throughly even making the mainstream media is more worrying.

The fact that people desperately have a need to believe it and urge others to do so is more worrying still.

I dislike Sarah Palin's opinions but please attack the truth of these and NOT the 'monster' created by disguised elements of the 'opposition'