Please vote this Tuesday November 4th/08.
I used to have a friend who said presidential elections in this country were rigged and surely the one eight years ago was. George W. Bush was never meant to be president of this here United States. I still have hope for this place I now call home. I believe that my vote my counts. I have hope, that's what keeps me going. Please, join me in making our choice so overwhelmingly clear to the Republicans they know who we want sitting in the Oval office.
Put on your best pants and go vote.
Thank you.
P.S. Do not wear any paraphernalia showing your political party affiliation.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Sunday, October 5, 2008
The End of Gump
I thought there was some sort of glitch in her computer board. Did a VP candidate for the United States of America just wink at me? Then it happened again and again and I realized this was no mistake. Someone actually planned this out and thought it was a good idea.
Sarah Palin did okay in the debates last week. She at least took some attention away from her painful interviews. What's fascinating is how this election has become a Rorschach inkblot test of where this nation is at, region by region. Eight years ago, the winking and tough talk might have seemed cute. Now it's a little insufficient. What was once charming is now unsettling. The age of Forrest Gump politics sunsets with George Bush.
In the 90s, Americans turned a blind eye to a morally-questionable candidate because he seemed smart and always seemed to be flirting with us. Bill Clinton turned out to be everything he was advertised as in '92. He was smart, a bit chaotic in his thinking and governing, and someone who could lie easily. It was in the mid 90s when Forrest Gump came ou, followed by movies like "Dave." Americans wanted something nostalgic and folksy. Gump was the epitome of 'aw chucks' momma-isms. It was more than a hit movie but a cultural shift. Amidst relative peace and economic prosperity we also wanted Mayberry. Awash in dotcoms, OJ Simpson, Lewinsky, and Whitewater many people craved simplicity and earnest.
Gumpism took hold in the mid-90s. I remember watching the movie on a debate team bus trip. Many of my high school classmates promised that I would love Forrest Gump. I was probably the only one on the bus who hadn't seen it once. What I saw was something surprising and almost appalling. On a bus of so-called educated, critical thinking young adults they laughed and cheered Gump as he rambled and stumbled through history and into fortune and fame. Throwing all the ideals of education, rhetoric, dialogue, and historical analysis my classmates just wanted to be Gump. They would surrender all they had learned to just be lucky and stupid.
Republicans cornered the market on Gump politics. Building a base of rural voters, evangelicals, and angry white men the party practiced the very same complex wheeling and dealings as the Dems but would hide behind small-town folkism. Fred Thompson was a Gump politician. So were many Republicans who came to power in the 90s. They were a counterpoint to Clintonism. Nevermind the fact that Clinton truly did come from poverty and the South and fought his way up to the presidency, and most of the Republicans claiming to be from a small-town actually came from rich, well-heeled families. A shift had been made in the American public's mindset that culminated in the 2000 election of the ultimate Gump: George 'Dubya' Bush.
Bush had plenty of gumption. He was a cowboy (who didn't ride horses). A fighter (who skipped all fights). A rancher (who used his ranch as a movie set). Bush made his inability to effectively communicate seem like a plus. He was simple folk. And so it came to pass that we had a simple mind in charge of the most complex nation in the world.
Eight years later we are seeing what Gump did for us. As our country stands on the verge of a depression, our military is badly beaten and damaged in two different unwinnable wars, our diplomatic leverage is spent, our prestige is gone, and our laws are shredded, Americans are no longer so fond of Gump politics. It's good to have smart people in power. It's a plus to be knowledgeable and qualified. It's not too attractive to mangle your words and thoughts. And people care a little bit less about mommaisms and folksiness.
Palin has come eight years too late to the party. Her schtick seems tired, rehearsed, and desperate. I never thought it was possible but because of her, a Black man stands a good chance at getting elected president. Don't get me wrong, I don't think rural voters in Ohio and Pennsylvania want to vote for Obama. In the Dem. primaries he was destroyed by Hillary Clinton in the big states on the basis of White rural voters. They very much do not want to vote for Obama. But thanks to Palin many are seeing the light: they have no choice. Palin is so obviously underwhelming to blue collar voters that they have been flooding in droves over the past few weeks to switch.
Obama was once 15 points down in Florida. Now he's ahead bout 5-10 points. That's a 20 % reversal and it's mainly because of Palin dragging McCain down. McCain still might win the presidency but it will be despite Palin not because of her. Americans are wary. They now know that life is not a box of chocolates.. Ignorance isn't charming, it's dangerous.
Sarah Palin did okay in the debates last week. She at least took some attention away from her painful interviews. What's fascinating is how this election has become a Rorschach inkblot test of where this nation is at, region by region. Eight years ago, the winking and tough talk might have seemed cute. Now it's a little insufficient. What was once charming is now unsettling. The age of Forrest Gump politics sunsets with George Bush.
In the 90s, Americans turned a blind eye to a morally-questionable candidate because he seemed smart and always seemed to be flirting with us. Bill Clinton turned out to be everything he was advertised as in '92. He was smart, a bit chaotic in his thinking and governing, and someone who could lie easily. It was in the mid 90s when Forrest Gump came ou, followed by movies like "Dave." Americans wanted something nostalgic and folksy. Gump was the epitome of 'aw chucks' momma-isms. It was more than a hit movie but a cultural shift. Amidst relative peace and economic prosperity we also wanted Mayberry. Awash in dotcoms, OJ Simpson, Lewinsky, and Whitewater many people craved simplicity and earnest.
Gumpism took hold in the mid-90s. I remember watching the movie on a debate team bus trip. Many of my high school classmates promised that I would love Forrest Gump. I was probably the only one on the bus who hadn't seen it once. What I saw was something surprising and almost appalling. On a bus of so-called educated, critical thinking young adults they laughed and cheered Gump as he rambled and stumbled through history and into fortune and fame. Throwing all the ideals of education, rhetoric, dialogue, and historical analysis my classmates just wanted to be Gump. They would surrender all they had learned to just be lucky and stupid.
Republicans cornered the market on Gump politics. Building a base of rural voters, evangelicals, and angry white men the party practiced the very same complex wheeling and dealings as the Dems but would hide behind small-town folkism. Fred Thompson was a Gump politician. So were many Republicans who came to power in the 90s. They were a counterpoint to Clintonism. Nevermind the fact that Clinton truly did come from poverty and the South and fought his way up to the presidency, and most of the Republicans claiming to be from a small-town actually came from rich, well-heeled families. A shift had been made in the American public's mindset that culminated in the 2000 election of the ultimate Gump: George 'Dubya' Bush.
Bush had plenty of gumption. He was a cowboy (who didn't ride horses). A fighter (who skipped all fights). A rancher (who used his ranch as a movie set). Bush made his inability to effectively communicate seem like a plus. He was simple folk. And so it came to pass that we had a simple mind in charge of the most complex nation in the world.
Eight years later we are seeing what Gump did for us. As our country stands on the verge of a depression, our military is badly beaten and damaged in two different unwinnable wars, our diplomatic leverage is spent, our prestige is gone, and our laws are shredded, Americans are no longer so fond of Gump politics. It's good to have smart people in power. It's a plus to be knowledgeable and qualified. It's not too attractive to mangle your words and thoughts. And people care a little bit less about mommaisms and folksiness.
Palin has come eight years too late to the party. Her schtick seems tired, rehearsed, and desperate. I never thought it was possible but because of her, a Black man stands a good chance at getting elected president. Don't get me wrong, I don't think rural voters in Ohio and Pennsylvania want to vote for Obama. In the Dem. primaries he was destroyed by Hillary Clinton in the big states on the basis of White rural voters. They very much do not want to vote for Obama. But thanks to Palin many are seeing the light: they have no choice. Palin is so obviously underwhelming to blue collar voters that they have been flooding in droves over the past few weeks to switch.
Obama was once 15 points down in Florida. Now he's ahead bout 5-10 points. That's a 20 % reversal and it's mainly because of Palin dragging McCain down. McCain still might win the presidency but it will be despite Palin not because of her. Americans are wary. They now know that life is not a box of chocolates.. Ignorance isn't charming, it's dangerous.
Saturday, September 13, 2008
My thoughts on Sarah Palin
I don't hate Sarah Palin. Recently, I saw an email inviting me to join a website called "We Hate Sarah Palin," and it struck me as very misogynistic. La Missus is misogynistic herself, don't think I am blind to that fact. Even though, I am totally pro letting people know where La Missus stands in her politics that same kind of hate was used on Hilary when she was campaigning. I don't HATE Sarah Palin, I do hate corruption, people stealing from the poor, greedy rich people... even the latter are questionable. They disgust me more than anything. How do I feel about Sarah Palin? She's a smart lady playing for the wrong team. I don't know why she's playing for the wrong team, one can only speculate those things. Do I think she should be the VP of the U.S.A.? ABSOLUTELY NOT. But can you imagine if she had applied all that moxie campaigning for a woman's right to choose? Can you imagine if she had put all that effort into fighting for better health care, the protection of the environment or gay rights? Alas, all that energy and motivation are going to intolerant and stupid thinking at the GOP headquarters. The GOP, a party that doesn't know who it is anymore. Trying to show us that they are diverse and forward-thinking with their ONE token woman, La Missus.
I'm sorry Sarah Palin, you could've been a true pioneer.
I'm sorry Sarah Palin, you could've been a true pioneer.
Saturday, September 6, 2008
ON SARAH PALIN - FROM AN ALASKAN
ABOUT SARAH PALIN
I am a resident of Wasilla , Alaska . I have known Sarah since 1992.
Everyone here knows Sarah, so it is nothing special to say we are on a
first-name basis. Our children have attended the same schools. Her
father was my child's favorite substitute teacher. I also am on a
first name basis with her parents and mother-in-law. I attended more
City Council meetings during her administration than about 99% of the
residents of the city.
She is enormously popular; in every way she's like the most popular
girl in middle school. Even men who think she is a poor choice and
won't vote for her can't quit smiling when talking about her because
she is a "babe".
It is astonishing and almost scary how well she can keep a secret. She
kept her most recent pregnancy a secret from her children and parents
for seven months.
She is "pro-life". She recently gave birth to a Down's syndrome baby.
There is no cover-up involved, here; Trig is her baby.
She is energetic and hardworking. She regularly worked out at the gym.
She is savvy. She doesn't take positions; she just "puts things out
there" and if they prove to be popular, then she takes credit.
Her husband works a union job on the North Slope for BP and is a
champion snowmobile racer. Todd Palin's kind of job is highly
sought-after because of the schedule and high pay. He arranges his
work schedule so he can fish for salmon in Bristol Bay for a month or
so in summer, but by no stretch of the imagination is fishing their
major source of income. Nor has her life-style ever been anything
like that of native Alaskans.
Sarah and her whole family are avid hunters.
She's smart.
Her experience is as mayor of a city with a population of about 5,000
(at the time), and less than 2 years as governor of a state with about
670,000 residents.
During her mayoral administration most of the actual work of running
this small city was turned over to an administrator. She had been
pushed to hire this administrator by party power-brokers after she had
gotten herself into some trouble over precipitous firings which had
given rise to a recall campaign.
Sarah campaigned in Wasilla as a "fiscal conservative". During her 6
years as Mayor, she increased general government expenditures by over
33%. During those same 6 years the amount of taxes collected by the
City increased by 38%. This was during a period of low inflation
(1996-2002). She reduced progressive property taxes and increased a
regressive sales tax which taxed even food. The tax cuts that she
promoted benefited large corporate property owners way more than they
benefited residents.
The huge increases in tax revenues during her mayoral administration
weren't enough to fund everything on her wish list though, borrowed
money was needed, too. She inherited a city with zero debt, but left it
with indebtedness of over $22 million. What did Mayor Palin encourage
the voters to borrow money for? Was it the infrastructure that she said
she supported? The sewage treatment plant that the city lacked? or a
new library? No. $1m for a park. $15m-plus for construction of a
multi-use sports complex which she rushed through to build on a piece
of property that the City didn't even have clear title to, that was
still in litigation 7 yrs later--to the delight of the lawyers
involved! The sports complex itself is a nice addition to the
community but a huge money pit, not the profit-generator she claimed it
would be. She also supported bonds for $5.5m for road projects that
could have been done in 5-7 yrs without any borrowing.
While Mayor, City Hall was extensively remodeled and her office
redecorated more than once.
These are small numbers, but Wasilla is a very small city.
As an oil producer, the high price of oil has created a budget surplus
in Alaska . Rather than invest this surplus in technology that will
make us energy independent and increase efficiency, as Governor she
proposed distribution of this surplus to every individual in the state.
In this time of record state revenues and budget surpluses, she
recommended that the state borrow/bond for road projects, even while
she proposed distribution of surplus state revenues: spend today's
surplus, borrow for needs.
She's not very tolerant of divergent opinions or open to outside ideas
or compromise. As Mayor, she fought ideas that weren't generated by
her or her staff. Ideas weren't evaluated on their merits, but on the
basis of who proposed them.
While Sarah was Mayor of Wasilla she tried to fire our highly respected
City Librarian because the Librarian refused to consider removing from
the library some books that Sarah wanted removed. City residents
rallied to the defense of the City Librarian and against Palin's
attempt at out-and-out censorship, so Palin backed down and withdrew
her termination letter. People who fought her attempt to oust the
Librarian are on her enemies list to this day.
Sarah complained about the "old boy's club" when she first ran for
Mayor, so what did she bring Wasilla? A new set of "old boys". Palin
fired most of the experienced staff she inherited. At the City and as
Governor she hired or elevated new, inexperienced, obscure people,
creating a staff totally dependent on her for their jobs and eternally
grateful and fiercely loyal--loyal to the point of abusing their power
to further her personal agenda, as she has acknowledged happened in the
case of pressuring the State's top cop (see below).
As Mayor, Sarah fired Wasilla's Police Chief because he "intimidated"
her, she told the press. As Governor, her recent firing of Alaska 's top
cop has the ring of familiarity about it. He served at her pleasure
and she had every legal right to fire him, but it's pretty clear that
an important factor in her decision to fire him was because he wouldn't
fire her sister's ex-husband, a State Trooper. Under investigation
for abuse of power, she has had to admit that more than 2 dozen
contacts were made between her staff and family to the person that she
later fired, pressuring him to fire her ex-brother-in-law. She tried to
replace the man she fired with a man who she knew had been reprimanded
for sexual harassment; when this caused a public furor, she withdrew
her support.
She has bitten the hand of every person who extended theirs to her in
help. The City Council person who personally escorted her around town
introducing her to voters when she first ran for Wasilla City Council
became one of her first targets when she was later elected Mayor. She
abruptly fired her loyal City Administrator; even people who didn't
like the guy were stunned by this ruthlessness.
Fear of retribution has kept all of these people from saying anything
publicly about her.
When then-Governor Murkowski was handing out political plums, Sarah got
the best, Chair of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission: one
of the few jobs not in Juneau and one of the best paid. She had no
background in oil & gas issues. Within months of scoring this great
job which paid $122,400/yr, she was complaining in the press about the
high salary. I was told that she hated that job: the commute, the
structured hours, the work. Sarah became aware that a member of this
Commission (who was also the State Chair of the Republican Party)
engaged in unethical behavior on the job. In a gutsy move which some
undoubtedly cautioned her could be political suicide, Sarah solved all
her problems in one fell swoop: got out of the job she hated and
garnered gobs of media attention as the patron saint of ethics and as a
gutsy fighter against the "old boys' club" when she dramatically quit,
exposing this man's ethics violations (for which he was fined).
As Mayor, she had her hand stuck out as far as anyone for pork from
Senator Ted Stevens. Lately, she has castigated his pork-barrel
politics and publicly humiliated him. She only opposed the "bridge to
nowhere" after it became clear that it would be unwise not to.
As Governor, she gave the Legislature no direction and budget
guidelines, then made a big grandstand display of line-item vetoing
projects, calling them pork. Public outcry and further legislative
action restored most of these projects--which had been vetoed simply
because she was not aware of their importance--but with the unobservant
she had gained a reputation as "anti-pork".
She is solidly Republican: no political maverick. The State party
leaders hate her because she has bit them in the back and humiliated
them. Other members of the party object to her self-description as a
fiscal conservative.
Around Wasilla there are people who went to high school with Sarah.
They call her "Sarah Barracuda" because of her unbridled ambition and
predatory ruthlessness. Before she became so powerful, very ugly
stories circulated around town about shenanigans she pulled to be made
point guard on the high school basketball team. When Sarah's
mother-in-law, a highly respected member of the community and
experienced manager, ran for Mayor, Sarah refused to endorse her.
As Governor, she stepped outside of the box and put together of package
of legislation known as "AGIA" that forced the oil companies to march
to the beat of her drum.
Like most Alaskans, she favors drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife
Refuge. She has questioned if the loss of sea ice is linked to
global warming. She campaigned "as a private citizen" against a state
initiaitive that would have either a) protected salmon streams from
pollution from mines, or b) tied up in the courts all mining in the
state (depending on who you listen to). She has pushed the State's
lawsuit against the Dept. of the Interior's decision to list polar
bears as threatened species.
McCain is the oldest person to ever run for President; Sarah will be a
heartbeat away from being President. There has to be literally millions of Americans who are more
knowledgeable and experienced than she. However, there's a lot of people who have underestimated her and are
regretting it.
CLAIM VS FACT
•"Hockey mom": true for a few years
•"PTA mom": true years ago when her first-born was in elementary
school, not since
•"NRA supporter": absolutely true
•social conservative: mixed. Opposes gay marriage, BUT vetoed a bill
that would have denied benefits to employees in same-sex relationships
(said she did this because it was unconsitutional).
•pro-creationism: mixed. Supports it, BUT did nothing as Governor to
promote it.
•"Pro-life": mixed. Knowingly gave birth to a Down's syndrome baby
BUT declined to call a special legislative session on some pro-life
legislation
•"Experienced": Some high schools have more students than Wasilla has
residents. Many cities have more residents than the state of Alaska .
No legislative experience other than City Council. Little hands-on
supervisory or managerial experience; needed help of a city
administrator to run town of about 5,000.
•political maverick: not at all
•gutsy: absolutely!
•open & transparent: ??? Good at keeping secrets. Not good at
explaining actions.
•has a developed philosophy of public policy: no
•"a Greenie": no. Turned Wasilla into a wasteland of big box stores
and disconnected parking lots. Is pro-drilling off-shore and in ANWR.
•fiscal conservative: not by my definition!
•pro-infrastructure: No. Promoted a sports complex and park in a city
without a sewage treatment plant or storm drainage system. Built
streets to early 20th century standards.
•pro-tax relief: Lowered taxes for businesses, increased tax burden on
residents
•pro-small government: No. Oversaw greatest expansion of city
government in Wasilla's history.
•pro-labor/pro-union. No. Just because her husband works union
doesn't make her pro-labor. I have seen nothing to support any claim
that she is pro-labor/pro-union.
WHY AM I WRITING THIS?
First, I have long believed in the importance of being an informed
voter. I am a voter registrar. For 10 years I put on student voting
programs in the schools. If you google my name (Anne Kilkenny +
Alaska ), you will find references to my participation in local
government, education, and PTA/parent organizations.
Secondly, I've always operated in the belief that "Bad things happen
when good people stay silent". Few people know as much as I do because
few have gone to as many City Council meetings.
Third, I am just a housewife. I don't have a job she can bump me out
of. I don't belong to any organization that she can hurt. But, I am no
fool; she is immensely popular here, and it is likely that this will
cost me somehow in the future: that's life.
Fourth, she has hated me since back in 1996, when I was one of the 100
or so people who rallied to support the City Librarian against Sarah's
attempt at censorship.
Fifth, I looked around and realized that everybody else was afraid to
say anything because they were somehow vulnerable.
CAVEATS
I am not a statistician. I developed the numbers for the increase in
spending & taxation 2 years ago (when Palin was running for Governor)
from information supplied to me by the Finance Director of the City of
Wasilla, and I can't recall exactly what I adjusted for: did I adjust
for inflation? for population increases? Right now, it is impossible
for a private person to get any info out of City Hall--they are
swamped. So I can't verify my numbers.
You may have noticed that there are various numbers circulating for the
population of Wasilla, ranging from my "about 5,000", up to 9,000. The
day Palin's selection was announced a city official told me that the
current population is about 7,000. The official 2000 census count was
5,460. I have used about 5,000 because Palin was Mayor from 1996 to
2002, and the city was growing rapidly in the mid-90's.
Anne Kilkenny
I am a resident of Wasilla , Alaska . I have known Sarah since 1992.
Everyone here knows Sarah, so it is nothing special to say we are on a
first-name basis. Our children have attended the same schools. Her
father was my child's favorite substitute teacher. I also am on a
first name basis with her parents and mother-in-law. I attended more
City Council meetings during her administration than about 99% of the
residents of the city.
She is enormously popular; in every way she's like the most popular
girl in middle school. Even men who think she is a poor choice and
won't vote for her can't quit smiling when talking about her because
she is a "babe".
It is astonishing and almost scary how well she can keep a secret. She
kept her most recent pregnancy a secret from her children and parents
for seven months.
She is "pro-life". She recently gave birth to a Down's syndrome baby.
There is no cover-up involved, here; Trig is her baby.
She is energetic and hardworking. She regularly worked out at the gym.
She is savvy. She doesn't take positions; she just "puts things out
there" and if they prove to be popular, then she takes credit.
Her husband works a union job on the North Slope for BP and is a
champion snowmobile racer. Todd Palin's kind of job is highly
sought-after because of the schedule and high pay. He arranges his
work schedule so he can fish for salmon in Bristol Bay for a month or
so in summer, but by no stretch of the imagination is fishing their
major source of income. Nor has her life-style ever been anything
like that of native Alaskans.
Sarah and her whole family are avid hunters.
She's smart.
Her experience is as mayor of a city with a population of about 5,000
(at the time), and less than 2 years as governor of a state with about
670,000 residents.
During her mayoral administration most of the actual work of running
this small city was turned over to an administrator. She had been
pushed to hire this administrator by party power-brokers after she had
gotten herself into some trouble over precipitous firings which had
given rise to a recall campaign.
Sarah campaigned in Wasilla as a "fiscal conservative". During her 6
years as Mayor, she increased general government expenditures by over
33%. During those same 6 years the amount of taxes collected by the
City increased by 38%. This was during a period of low inflation
(1996-2002). She reduced progressive property taxes and increased a
regressive sales tax which taxed even food. The tax cuts that she
promoted benefited large corporate property owners way more than they
benefited residents.
The huge increases in tax revenues during her mayoral administration
weren't enough to fund everything on her wish list though, borrowed
money was needed, too. She inherited a city with zero debt, but left it
with indebtedness of over $22 million. What did Mayor Palin encourage
the voters to borrow money for? Was it the infrastructure that she said
she supported? The sewage treatment plant that the city lacked? or a
new library? No. $1m for a park. $15m-plus for construction of a
multi-use sports complex which she rushed through to build on a piece
of property that the City didn't even have clear title to, that was
still in litigation 7 yrs later--to the delight of the lawyers
involved! The sports complex itself is a nice addition to the
community but a huge money pit, not the profit-generator she claimed it
would be. She also supported bonds for $5.5m for road projects that
could have been done in 5-7 yrs without any borrowing.
While Mayor, City Hall was extensively remodeled and her office
redecorated more than once.
These are small numbers, but Wasilla is a very small city.
As an oil producer, the high price of oil has created a budget surplus
in Alaska . Rather than invest this surplus in technology that will
make us energy independent and increase efficiency, as Governor she
proposed distribution of this surplus to every individual in the state.
In this time of record state revenues and budget surpluses, she
recommended that the state borrow/bond for road projects, even while
she proposed distribution of surplus state revenues: spend today's
surplus, borrow for needs.
She's not very tolerant of divergent opinions or open to outside ideas
or compromise. As Mayor, she fought ideas that weren't generated by
her or her staff. Ideas weren't evaluated on their merits, but on the
basis of who proposed them.
While Sarah was Mayor of Wasilla she tried to fire our highly respected
City Librarian because the Librarian refused to consider removing from
the library some books that Sarah wanted removed. City residents
rallied to the defense of the City Librarian and against Palin's
attempt at out-and-out censorship, so Palin backed down and withdrew
her termination letter. People who fought her attempt to oust the
Librarian are on her enemies list to this day.
Sarah complained about the "old boy's club" when she first ran for
Mayor, so what did she bring Wasilla? A new set of "old boys". Palin
fired most of the experienced staff she inherited. At the City and as
Governor she hired or elevated new, inexperienced, obscure people,
creating a staff totally dependent on her for their jobs and eternally
grateful and fiercely loyal--loyal to the point of abusing their power
to further her personal agenda, as she has acknowledged happened in the
case of pressuring the State's top cop (see below).
As Mayor, Sarah fired Wasilla's Police Chief because he "intimidated"
her, she told the press. As Governor, her recent firing of Alaska 's top
cop has the ring of familiarity about it. He served at her pleasure
and she had every legal right to fire him, but it's pretty clear that
an important factor in her decision to fire him was because he wouldn't
fire her sister's ex-husband, a State Trooper. Under investigation
for abuse of power, she has had to admit that more than 2 dozen
contacts were made between her staff and family to the person that she
later fired, pressuring him to fire her ex-brother-in-law. She tried to
replace the man she fired with a man who she knew had been reprimanded
for sexual harassment; when this caused a public furor, she withdrew
her support.
She has bitten the hand of every person who extended theirs to her in
help. The City Council person who personally escorted her around town
introducing her to voters when she first ran for Wasilla City Council
became one of her first targets when she was later elected Mayor. She
abruptly fired her loyal City Administrator; even people who didn't
like the guy were stunned by this ruthlessness.
Fear of retribution has kept all of these people from saying anything
publicly about her.
When then-Governor Murkowski was handing out political plums, Sarah got
the best, Chair of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission: one
of the few jobs not in Juneau and one of the best paid. She had no
background in oil & gas issues. Within months of scoring this great
job which paid $122,400/yr, she was complaining in the press about the
high salary. I was told that she hated that job: the commute, the
structured hours, the work. Sarah became aware that a member of this
Commission (who was also the State Chair of the Republican Party)
engaged in unethical behavior on the job. In a gutsy move which some
undoubtedly cautioned her could be political suicide, Sarah solved all
her problems in one fell swoop: got out of the job she hated and
garnered gobs of media attention as the patron saint of ethics and as a
gutsy fighter against the "old boys' club" when she dramatically quit,
exposing this man's ethics violations (for which he was fined).
As Mayor, she had her hand stuck out as far as anyone for pork from
Senator Ted Stevens. Lately, she has castigated his pork-barrel
politics and publicly humiliated him. She only opposed the "bridge to
nowhere" after it became clear that it would be unwise not to.
As Governor, she gave the Legislature no direction and budget
guidelines, then made a big grandstand display of line-item vetoing
projects, calling them pork. Public outcry and further legislative
action restored most of these projects--which had been vetoed simply
because she was not aware of their importance--but with the unobservant
she had gained a reputation as "anti-pork".
She is solidly Republican: no political maverick. The State party
leaders hate her because she has bit them in the back and humiliated
them. Other members of the party object to her self-description as a
fiscal conservative.
Around Wasilla there are people who went to high school with Sarah.
They call her "Sarah Barracuda" because of her unbridled ambition and
predatory ruthlessness. Before she became so powerful, very ugly
stories circulated around town about shenanigans she pulled to be made
point guard on the high school basketball team. When Sarah's
mother-in-law, a highly respected member of the community and
experienced manager, ran for Mayor, Sarah refused to endorse her.
As Governor, she stepped outside of the box and put together of package
of legislation known as "AGIA" that forced the oil companies to march
to the beat of her drum.
Like most Alaskans, she favors drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife
Refuge. She has questioned if the loss of sea ice is linked to
global warming. She campaigned "as a private citizen" against a state
initiaitive that would have either a) protected salmon streams from
pollution from mines, or b) tied up in the courts all mining in the
state (depending on who you listen to). She has pushed the State's
lawsuit against the Dept. of the Interior's decision to list polar
bears as threatened species.
McCain is the oldest person to ever run for President; Sarah will be a
heartbeat away from being President. There has to be literally millions of Americans who are more
knowledgeable and experienced than she. However, there's a lot of people who have underestimated her and are
regretting it.
CLAIM VS FACT
•"Hockey mom": true for a few years
•"PTA mom": true years ago when her first-born was in elementary
school, not since
•"NRA supporter": absolutely true
•social conservative: mixed. Opposes gay marriage, BUT vetoed a bill
that would have denied benefits to employees in same-sex relationships
(said she did this because it was unconsitutional).
•pro-creationism: mixed. Supports it, BUT did nothing as Governor to
promote it.
•"Pro-life": mixed. Knowingly gave birth to a Down's syndrome baby
BUT declined to call a special legislative session on some pro-life
legislation
•"Experienced": Some high schools have more students than Wasilla has
residents. Many cities have more residents than the state of Alaska .
No legislative experience other than City Council. Little hands-on
supervisory or managerial experience; needed help of a city
administrator to run town of about 5,000.
•political maverick: not at all
•gutsy: absolutely!
•open & transparent: ??? Good at keeping secrets. Not good at
explaining actions.
•has a developed philosophy of public policy: no
•"a Greenie": no. Turned Wasilla into a wasteland of big box stores
and disconnected parking lots. Is pro-drilling off-shore and in ANWR.
•fiscal conservative: not by my definition!
•pro-infrastructure: No. Promoted a sports complex and park in a city
without a sewage treatment plant or storm drainage system. Built
streets to early 20th century standards.
•pro-tax relief: Lowered taxes for businesses, increased tax burden on
residents
•pro-small government: No. Oversaw greatest expansion of city
government in Wasilla's history.
•pro-labor/pro-union. No. Just because her husband works union
doesn't make her pro-labor. I have seen nothing to support any claim
that she is pro-labor/pro-union.
WHY AM I WRITING THIS?
First, I have long believed in the importance of being an informed
voter. I am a voter registrar. For 10 years I put on student voting
programs in the schools. If you google my name (Anne Kilkenny +
Alaska ), you will find references to my participation in local
government, education, and PTA/parent organizations.
Secondly, I've always operated in the belief that "Bad things happen
when good people stay silent". Few people know as much as I do because
few have gone to as many City Council meetings.
Third, I am just a housewife. I don't have a job she can bump me out
of. I don't belong to any organization that she can hurt. But, I am no
fool; she is immensely popular here, and it is likely that this will
cost me somehow in the future: that's life.
Fourth, she has hated me since back in 1996, when I was one of the 100
or so people who rallied to support the City Librarian against Sarah's
attempt at censorship.
Fifth, I looked around and realized that everybody else was afraid to
say anything because they were somehow vulnerable.
CAVEATS
I am not a statistician. I developed the numbers for the increase in
spending & taxation 2 years ago (when Palin was running for Governor)
from information supplied to me by the Finance Director of the City of
Wasilla, and I can't recall exactly what I adjusted for: did I adjust
for inflation? for population increases? Right now, it is impossible
for a private person to get any info out of City Hall--they are
swamped. So I can't verify my numbers.
You may have noticed that there are various numbers circulating for the
population of Wasilla, ranging from my "about 5,000", up to 9,000. The
day Palin's selection was announced a city official told me that the
current population is about 7,000. The official 2000 census count was
5,460. I have used about 5,000 because Palin was Mayor from 1996 to
2002, and the city was growing rapidly in the mid-90's.
Anne Kilkenny
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Not that hot...
Ill and in Pain, Detainee Dies in U.S. Hands
He was 17 when he came to New York from Hong Kong in 1992 with his parents and younger sister, eyeing the skyline like any newcomer. Fifteen years later, Hiu Lui Ng was a New Yorker: a computer engineer with a job in the Empire State Building, a house in Queens, a wife who is a United States citizen and two American-born sons.
But when Mr. Ng, who had overstayed a visa years earlier, went to immigration headquarters in Manhattan last summer for his final interview for a green card, he was swept into immigration detention and shuttled through jails and detention centers in three New England states.
In April, Mr. Ng began complaining of excruciating back pain. By mid-July, he could no longer walk or stand. And last Wednesday, two days after his 34th birthday, he died in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement in a Rhode Island hospital, his spine fractured and his body riddled with cancer that had gone undiagnosed and untreated for months.
On Tuesday, with an autopsy by the Rhode Island medical examiner under way, his lawyers demanded a criminal investigation in a letter to federal and state prosecutors in Rhode Island, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont, and the Department of Homeland Security, which runs the detention system.
Mr. Ng’s death follows a succession of cases that have drawn Congressional scrutiny to complaints of inadequate medical care, human rights violations and a lack of oversight in immigration detention, a rapidly growing network of publicly and privately run jails where the government held more than 300,000 people in the last year while deciding whether to deport them.
In federal court affidavits, Mr. Ng’s lawyers contend that when he complained of severe pain that did not respond to analgesics, and grew too weak to walk or even stand to call his family from a detention pay phone, officials accused him of faking his condition. They denied him a wheelchair and refused pleas for an independent medical evaluation.
Instead, the affidavits say, guards at the Donald W. Wyatt Detention Facility in Central Falls, R.I., dragged him from his bed on July 30, carried him in shackles to a car, bruising his arms and legs, and drove him two hours to a federal lockup in Hartford, where an immigration officer pressured him to withdraw all pending appeals of his case and accept deportation.
“For this desperately sick, vulnerable person, this was torture,” said Theodore N. Cox, one of Mr. Ng’s lawyers, adding that they want to see a videotape of the transport made by guards.
Immigration and detention officials would not discuss the case, saying the matter was under internal investigation. But in response to a relative of Mr. Ng’s who had begged that he be checked for a spinal injury or fractures, the Wyatt detention center’s director of nursing, Ben Candelaria, replied in a July 16 e-mail message that Mr. Ng was receiving appropriate care for “chronic back pain.” He added, “We treat each and every detainee in our custody with the same high level of quality, professional care possible.”
Officials have given no explanation why they took Mr. Ng to Hartford and back on the same day. But the lawyers say the grueling July 30 trip appeared to be an effort to prove that Mr. Ng was faking illness, and possibly to thwart the habeas corpus petition they had filed in Rhode Island the day before, seeking his release for medical treatment.
The federal judge who heard that petition on July 31 did not make a ruling, but in an unusual move insisted that Mr. Ng get the care he needed. On Aug. 1, Mr. Ng was taken to a hospital, where doctors found he had terminal cancer and a fractured spine. He died five days later.
The accounts of Mr. Ng’s treatment echo other cases that have prompted legislation, now before the House Judiciary Committee, to set mandatory standards for care in immigration detention.
In March, the federal government admitted medical negligence in the death of Francisco Castaneda, 36, a Salvadoran whose cancer went undiagnosed in a California detention center as he was repeatedly denied a biopsy on a painful penile lesion. In May, The New York Times chronicled the death of Boubacar Bah, 52, a Guinean tailor who suffered a skull fracture and brain hemorrhages in the Elizabeth Detention Center in New Jersey; records show he was left in an isolation cell without treatment for more than 13 hours.
When Mr. Ng died last week, he had spent half his life in the United States, his sister, Wendy Zhao, said in a tearful interview.
Born in China, he entered the United States legally on a tourist visa. Mr. Ng stayed on after it expired and applied for political asylum. He was granted a work permit while his application was pending, and though asylum was eventually denied, immigration authorities did not seek his deportation for many years.
Meanwhile, his sister said, Mr. Ng (pronounced Eng), who was known as Jason, graduated from high school in Long Island City, Queens, worked his way through community technical college, passed Microsoft training courses and won a contract to provide computer services to a company with offices in the Empire State Building.
In 2001, a notice ordering him to appear in immigration court was mistakenly sent to a nonexistent address, records show. When Mr. Ng did not show up at the hearing, the judge ordered him deported. By then, however, he was getting married, and on a separate track, his wife petitioned Citizenship and Immigration Services for a green card for him — a process that took more than five years. Heeding bad legal advice, the couple showed up for his green card interview on July 19, 2007, only to find enforcement agents waiting to arrest Mr. Ng on the old deportation order.
Over the next year, while his family struggled to pay for new lawyers to wage a complicated and expensive legal battle, Mr. Ng was held in jails under contract to the federal immigration authorities: Wyatt; the House of Correction in Greenfield, Mass.; and the Franklin County Jail in St. Albans, Vt.
Mr. Ng seemed healthy until April, his sister said, when he began to complain of severe back pain and skin so itchy he could not sleep. He was then in the Vermont jail, a 20-bed detention center with no medical staff run by the county sheriff’s office. Seeking care, he asked to be transferred back to Wyatt, a 700-bed center with its own medical staff, owned and operated by a municipal corporation.
In a letter to his sister, Mr. Ng recounted arriving there on July 3, spending the first three days in pain in a dark isolation cell. Later he was assigned an upper bunk and required to climb up and down at least three times a day for head counts, causing terrible pain. His brother-in-law B. Zhao appealed for help in e-mail messages to the warden, Wayne Salisbury, on July 11 and 16.
“I was really heartbroken when I first saw him,” Mr. Zhao wrote Mr. Salisbury after a visit. “After almost two weeks of suffering with unbearable back pain and unable to get any sleep, he was so weak and looked horrible.”
The nursing director replied that Mr. Ng had been granted a bottom bunk and was receiving painkillers and muscle relaxants prescribed by a detention center doctor.
But his condition continued to deteriorate. Once a robust man who stood nearly six feet and weighed 200 pounds, his relatives said, Mr. Ng looked like a shrunken and jaundiced 80-year-old.
“He said, ‘I told the nursing department, I’m in pain, but they don’t believe me,’ ” his sister recalled. “ ‘They tell me, stop faking.’ ”
Soon, according to court papers, he had to rely on other detainees to help him reach the toilet, bring him food and call his family; he no longer received painkillers, because he could not stand in line to collect them. On July 26, Andy Wong, a lawyer associated with Mr. Cox, came to see the detainee, but had to leave without talking to him, he said, because Mr. Ng was too weak to walk to the visiting area, and a wheelchair was denied.
On July 30, according to an affidavit by Mr. Wong, he was contacted by Larry Smith, a deportation officer in Hartford, who told him on a speakerphone, with Mr. Ng present, that he wanted to resolve the case, either by deporting Mr. Ng, or “releasing him to the streets.” Officer Smith said that no exam by an outside doctor would be allowed, and that Mr. Ng would not be given a wheelchair.
Mr. Ng told his lawyer he was ready to give up, the affidavit said, “because he could no longer withstand the suffering inside the facility,” but Officer Smith insisted that Mr. Ng would first have to withdraw all his appeals.
The account of his treatment clearly disturbed the federal judge, William E. Smith of United States District Court in Providence, who instructed the government’s lawyer the next day to have the warden get Mr. Ng to the hospital for an M.R.I.
The results were grim: cancer in his liver, lungs and bones, and a fractured spine. “ ‘I don’t have much time to live,’ ” his sister said he told her in a call from Rhode Island Hospital in Providence.
She said the doctor warned that if the family came to visit, immigration authorities might transfer her brother. Three days passed before the warden approved a family visit, she said, after demanding their Social Security numbers. Late in the afternoon of Aug. 5, as Mr. Ng lay on a gurney, hours away from death and still under guard, she and his wife held up his sons, 3 and 1.
“Brother, don’t worry, don’t be afraid,” Ms. Zhao said, repeating her last words to him. “They are not going to send you back to the facility again. Brother, you are free now.”
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Reading into a Story
Some times I like to read the news as if it were a fairy tale. Often it makes for a better read. This morning I saw this story in my hometown paper, The Miami Herald....
Contrite Crackhead Mugger Turns Himself In
By Tim Chapman
He's a violent crackhead who punches women and steals cars. But at least he's contrite.
Armando Pena, 44, mugged Gladys Gonzalez early Tuesday morning as she was arriving for work, punched her in the face, slammed her to the ground, snatched her white Ford Taurus and roared off.
And then he came back 12 minutes later, professing regret for his actions.
To the disbelief of Miami cops and paramedics, Pena parked the car, stepped out, and said, ``I did it. I did it.''
They slapped him in handcuffs.
Asked why he punched the woman and shoved her to the pavement, Pena replied, ``drugs, drugs.''He admitted smoking crack cocaine minutes before the attack at 1912 SW 17th Ave.
The happy ending might not have happened if not for quick-acting Omar Grass, a Miami officer who had just finished his midnight shift and was driving home in his police cruiser.
Gonzalez, 60, had arrived at the address, the La Arboleda apartment complex, and had stepped out of her car to open a gate to a parking area. She cares for an elderly woman at the complex. That's when she was mugged.
Grass, 41, was headed home when he saw the white Taurus speed off and Gonzalez sprawled on the ground. He thought it was a hit-and-run.
Rather than pursue the car, Grass went to assist the woman.
''That kind of thing stays with you,'' he said. But he radioed in a description of the car and the mugger.
Dispatchers sent other officers to the area to hunt down the fugitive. Miami Fire Rescue also responded. Gonzalez was bleeding from the face and hurt her hand when she went down.
''When you see that, you think of your own mother,'' said Officer Jairo Lozano, a 27-year Miami police veteran.
A group of officers and paramedics were tending to Gonzalez, preparing her for the trip to Jackson Memorial Hospital, when the contrite mugger reappeared.
Lozano was the one who cuffed him.
''He was coherent,'' Lozano said. ``He knew what he did.''
Asked why he came back, the handcuffed Pena said: ``I felt bad.''
There are several things are amazing about the story. The enormous level of compassion and service being done by all three parties is apparent.
1. the victimized woman, Gladys Gonzalez, who arrived in the morning to help out an elderly lady
2. the police officer, Omar Grass, finishing a midnight shift who, instead of going after the fast chase of getting the 'bad guy,' stops to help out the fallen woman.
3. even the drug addict, Armando Pena who turned himself in when he could've gotten away with a vehicle worth several thousand dollars.
4. the action: Gladys was there to take care of the woman, the cops came in to take care of her, and the criminal came back and took care of the cops job. The circle of action and reaction was completed within the three main people.
5. The lead cop saying that he thought 'what if that was my mother?'
Now I re-read the story and then see how many different links I can make in it. With that in mind, there is also some very funny names used in the piece. Coincidental or not, the different words in the story are unusual.
1. The location: La Arboleda. That translates to 'the woods.'
2. the car: White Ford Taurus. Taurus is a mythological figure. White Cow or a male cow, which is a bull.
3. Gladys Gonzalez, the woman was punched and hurt her hand, is similar to flower but also means 'hurt' or 'injured' in the feminine form.
a. There is a popular cartoon called Gladys, whose titular character is a...cow.
b. Gonzalez comes from latin variation on gund, which means war.
c. So her name loosely translated means 'daughter of hurtful war'
4. Armando Pena was the criminal's name. Armando means soldier in Italian.
a. Pena means sorrow.
b. So Armando Pena name means 'sorrowful soldier.'
5. Omar Grass, the cop's name.
a. Omar means 'first born son' and also 'long living and thriving'
b. Grass means...well grass
c. So the cops name means 'long-living and thriving grass' or 'son of the grass.'
6. The lead officer who sums up the story is named Jairo Lozano.
a. Jairo means voice of God
b. Lozano means 'God helps'
c. Jairo Lozano together means 'the helping voice of God."
Reconstituting the story as a fable using these names it could read as follows...
One morning the 'Daughter of the Hurtful War' went to 'the woods' to take care of an elderly woman. She rode on her White Bull. In the woods she came across a 'sorrowful soldier' of the war who struck her down and rode off with her White Bull. As she lay on the ground, the 'long-living grass' picked her up. The grass tended to her and treated her wounds and called upon others who took care of the 'daughter of the hurtful war.' After a few minutes of riding around, the 'Sorrowful Soldier' felt guilty. He returned to woods with the White Bull and submitted himself to punishment, and the Helping Voice of God spoke to them and said 'when you see this, think of your own mother.'
It is a whole lot more interesting to read the news looking for clues and hints at mythology. It can even give a simple story about a remorseful criminal more color, life, and meaning.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
A little pride
Today Manhattan was filled with pride. Gay pride. All over downtown Manhattan women in love with women and men in love with men walked the streets holding hands and waiving rainbow flags. Of course, not everybody shared in the pride. A few of my friends and I were walking down St. Marks street when one of the people in our group was called a fag. I turned around to say and do nasty things with my fingers and mouth- all actions were completely warranted. The girl, should I say woman, who called my acquaintance the epithet, seemed to be very young, white, and had green hair. "Really?" I thought to myself, "a very young lady in the middle of a very alternative street in Manhattan (FULL OF GOTHS AND PUNKS) calling somebody a fag?"
Things just haven't changed enough.
Aren't young people more enlightened by now? Was that girl angry at the world and the only way she knew how to show her discontent was to call somebody an offensive name? Fuck it. If this happens in Manhattan, what the hell can we expect from places in the Midwest? Now more than ever we need to show people that being a bigot is never acceptable. Now more than ever we need allies, people who are willing to stand up for what's right. No excuses. Show no fucking fear. Do not tolerate this kind of behavior from anyone even if it isn't you who the bigot(s) is insulting.
I know this is cheesy... to some, but it's relevant. Read it. You need it. I need it to remind myself that if I don't take action things could be worse. That if I don't speak up for somebody who's down then who will speak up for me when I'm down? Who will speak up/stand up for my loved ones when they need it most?
In Germany they first came for the Communists
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist.
Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew.
Then they came for the trade unionists
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Catholics
and I didn't speak up because I was a Protestant.
Then they came for me
and by that time no one was left to speak up.
--The Reverend Martin Niemöller, a pastor in the German Confessing Church who spent seven years in a concentration camp.
Things just haven't changed enough.
Aren't young people more enlightened by now? Was that girl angry at the world and the only way she knew how to show her discontent was to call somebody an offensive name? Fuck it. If this happens in Manhattan, what the hell can we expect from places in the Midwest? Now more than ever we need to show people that being a bigot is never acceptable. Now more than ever we need allies, people who are willing to stand up for what's right. No excuses. Show no fucking fear. Do not tolerate this kind of behavior from anyone even if it isn't you who the bigot(s) is insulting.
I know this is cheesy... to some, but it's relevant. Read it. You need it. I need it to remind myself that if I don't take action things could be worse. That if I don't speak up for somebody who's down then who will speak up for me when I'm down? Who will speak up/stand up for my loved ones when they need it most?
In Germany they first came for the Communists
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist.
Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew.
Then they came for the trade unionists
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Catholics
and I didn't speak up because I was a Protestant.
Then they came for me
and by that time no one was left to speak up.
--The Reverend Martin Niemöller, a pastor in the German Confessing Church who spent seven years in a concentration camp.
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