BS: Wasilla, Alaska speaks about Palin

Subject: RE: BS: Wasilla, Alaska speaks about Palin
From: Bee
Date: 18 Oct 08 - 12:44 PM

Rick Mercer comes at the importance of the internet in politics from a slightly different direction - what aspiring politicians leave lying scattered in the Google-able past themselves.

The whole article is worth a read. So is the whole blog, IMO. I love Rick Mercer.

"But now I love blogs again. Blogs are serving an exciting new purpose: making politics interesting again. When I turn on the news and hear that another candidate is in trouble because of something they said on their blog I am like a kid at Christmas.

We are in a brave new time. In this election, like all of them before, there are people stepping forward for the first time. Candidates in their 20s and 30s (Reid is 28 years old, Warwa is 32) represent a generation of Canadians who's every movement from the womb to the ballot has been electronically recorded." - Rick Mercer

http://www.rickmercer.com/blog/index.cfm/2008/9/28/Who-can-survive-a-good-googling

Subject: RE: BS: Wasilla, Alaska speaks about Palin
From: Alice
Date: 18 Oct 08 - 12:34 PM

By the way, you can raise the visibility of those videos and the open letter by clicking on the "Digg" logo.

Subject: RE: BS: Wasilla, Alaska speaks about Palin
From: CarolC
Date: 18 Oct 08 - 12:30 PM

Now that we have the internet to help us get the truth and spread it around, I think it's important for us use to use it, and to start making the politicians stop lying to us and start working for the electorate instead of special interests.

The more the voters do this, the harder it will be for the politicians to continue with business as usual.

Subject: RE: BS: Wasilla, Alaska speaks about Palin
From: Alice
Date: 18 Oct 08 - 12:28 PM

If you watch the Wasilla videos, you will see how much Palin's church has to do with her politics.

Here is an open letter to Sarah Palin from a former Assemblies of God Fundamentalist.

Dear Sarah...http://www.opednews.com/articles/1/An-open-letter-to-Sarah-Pa-by-Marlene-Winell-

"And so, your decisions would not be based on expert advice or even your own reasoning, but on your gut-level, intuitive interpretation of God's will."

"Marlene Winell is a Bay Area psychologist who specializes in recovery from fundamentalist religion. She is author of Leaving the Fold: A guide for former fundamentalists and others leaving their religion. She is the daughter of Assemblies of God missionaries."

Subject: RE: BS: Wasilla, Alaska speaks about Palin
From: Ron Davies
Date: 18 Oct 08 - 12:16 PM

As usual, Ake oversimplifies.   As I've indicated, the problem is the issues raised had nothing to do directly with governing Wasilla, but deep pockets from outside the area were willing to support her campaign since she was pushing their point of view.

That's different from the narrowly cynical view "that's politics".

She made statewide--or even nationalized--a political process which up to that time had dealt with more parochial issues--issues which were the legitimate concern of Wasilla citizens as being essential to governing the town. Your stand on abortion and homosexuality is not--or should not be-- a determining factor in whether you will be effective as a mayor.

Subject: RE: BS: Wasilla, Alaska speaks about Palin
From: Ron Davies
Date: 18 Oct 08 - 12:07 PM

Thanks for that information, Alice.   It's harrowing---if not surprising. I had read that the main way she won her race for mayor was by bringing in issues which had nothing directly to do with governing Wasilla, but had people from outside willing to bankroll her--i.e. the "religious Right" and issues like abortion and homosexuality.   This fits that pattern.

Subject: RE: BS: Wasilla, Alaska speaks about Palin
From: katlaughing
Date: 18 Oct 08 - 12:06 PM

Thanks for the links, Alice. I hope Keith and Rachel publicise this effort by the citizens of Wasilla.

Subject: RE: BS: Wasilla, Alaska speaks about Palin
From: akenaton
Date: 18 Oct 08 - 12:04 PM

Its called GETTING ELECTED!
I've watched dozens of elections and this is how it works. Politicians tell their supporters what they want to hear and tell lies to their opponents...They are all the same Republicans, Democrats, Labour, Conservative, even Scottish Nationalist(very infrequently).

Don't get excited Alice, I think you will find that when elected these politicians stop lying and continue to behave just as they did before the election, all looking after the interests of the rich(and their own) at the expense of the poor.
It is common for partisan supporters of either of the parties to lose all sense of reason or judgement and start throwing stones and dodgy videos around.

When the disorder reaches this stage, chances of recovery are said to be poor..

Subject: RE: BS: Wasilla, Alaska speaks about Palin
From: Alice
Date: 18 Oct 08 - 11:47 AM

The second video in the series:

Her slogan for running for mayor was "The First Christian Mayor" even though the mayors before her were Christian.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZoErGvHnDqg Religion in Politics


Sarah's campaign for mayor targeted the local hospital and the only doctor locally who could perform safe abortions. The doctor became afraid for her life after the picketing of her office. Palin's church became involved in taking over the local board of the hospital, and after they gained control of the board, they immediately stopped any access to abortion services through that hospital.

Subject: BS: Wasilla, Alaska speaks about Palin
From: Alice
Date: 18 Oct 08 - 11:36 AM

There are Alaskans speaking out about Sarah Palin who have documented her background in you tube videos called the Wasilla Project.

In this video, the third in the series, Alaskans describe what happened in Wasilla when Palin became mayor.

She campaigned saying she would cut the salary for their mayor's position. She reduced the salary from $68,000 to $64,000, but did not have the abilities to manage the city, so she soon hired a city administrator for $50,000.

From using her mayoral administrative assistant to help her campaign for Lt Governor to remodeling her office without approval to building a building on property the city did not own, Palin is not the "fiscal conservative" she claims to be.

Witnesses to what happened under Palin's time as mayor speak out in this video.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qm6SeDXqd-g The Wasilla Project