ABOUT SARAH PALIN ( Archived) (28)

Sep 10, 2008 6:03 PM CST ABOUT SARAH PALIN
Magnetic
MagneticMagneticgreensboro, North Carolina USA56 Threads 83 Posts
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.
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Sep 10, 2008 6:03 PM CST ABOUT SARAH PALIN
Magnetic
MagneticMagneticgreensboro, North Carolina USA56 Threads 83 Posts
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).
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Sep 10, 2008 6:04 PM CST ABOUT SARAH PALIN
Magnetic
MagneticMagneticgreensboro, North Carolina USA56 Threads 83 Posts
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.
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Sep 10, 2008 6:06 PM CST ABOUT SARAH PALIN
Magnetic
MagneticMagneticgreensboro, North Carolina USA56 Threads 83 Posts
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
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Sep 10, 2008 6:08 PM CST ABOUT SARAH PALIN
WhatUwish4
WhatUwish4WhatUwish4St. Augustine, Florida USA2 Threads 7,986 Posts
Well there's a perfectly good waste of six pages.
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Sep 10, 2008 6:16 PM CST ABOUT SARAH PALIN
tipaly81
tipaly81tipaly81Moscow, Idaho USA56 Threads 15 Polls 950 Posts
Yeah, I got this in my email as well. Fell asleep and nearly knocked my coffee over onto my labtop when I came to.

I have a degree in history, we learned who to fill a book w/o saying a darn thing. This is just a compact version of the same concept.

No body really cares how good a neighbor the president or VP is or was. I would like to know what they read and know, and how they apply that to their job!
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Sep 10, 2008 6:20 PM CST ABOUT SARAH PALIN
Spaghetti
SpaghettiSpaghettiGreensboro, North Carolina USA1 Threads 151 Posts
Magnetic: Little hands-on supervisory or managerial experience; needed help of a city administrator to run town of about 5,000.

Well I'm sold. She should do as well as our current 'president'. (I used quote marks to show the term is used very loosely here.)

drinking
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Sep 10, 2008 6:22 PM CST ABOUT SARAH PALIN
mlj1225
mlj1225mlj1225Moreno Valley, California USA27 Posts
I actually appreciate the info.....
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Sep 10, 2008 10:02 PM CST ABOUT SARAH PALIN
mlj1225: I actually appreciate the info.....


Me too, the more I hear about this person the less I want her anywhere near the Whitehouse OR possibly making Supreme court appointments. If McCain wins and croaks, you can kiss the Constitution goodbye, they'll be teaching creationism in place of biology in schools, women will lose control over their bodies, books will be removed from libraries and bookstores, religeon will be forced onto people and we'll be at war permanently. This woman is totally unqualified to be president of the United States. It doesn't matter that she was a mayor of some backwoods town in Alaska or even Gov of the state. she's just too damn far out in right field. If she inherits the presidency there will be all out civil war between the right & left in this country and it will be torn apart. If anyone thinks this country is polarized now, well, you aint seen nothing yet.
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Sep 10, 2008 10:10 PM CST ABOUT SARAH PALIN
dazzling_dave
dazzling_davedazzling_daveWaynesboro, Virginia USA4 Threads 1,993 Posts
Civil war? I don't think it will be much of a war, since the left is so anti-war. What will they do, talk the opposition to death?
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Sep 10, 2008 10:11 PM CST ABOUT SARAH PALIN
WhatUwish4
WhatUwish4WhatUwish4St. Augustine, Florida USA2 Threads 7,986 Posts
laugh laugh laugh

wave wave
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Sep 10, 2008 10:14 PM CST ABOUT SARAH PALIN
mlj1225: I actually appreciate the info.....


Same here.
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Sep 10, 2008 10:19 PM CST ABOUT SARAH PALIN
yoursuperman
yoursupermanyoursupermanLynchburg, Virginia USA34 Threads 3 Polls 838 Posts
She is pretty Hot dancing
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Sep 10, 2008 10:20 PM CST ABOUT SARAH PALIN
Arlene101
Arlene101Arlene101Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia Canada9 Threads 3,320 Posts
ooby_dooby: Me too, the more I hear about this person the less I want her anywhere near the Whitehouse OR possibly making Supreme court appointments. If McCain wins and croaks, you can kiss the Constitution goodbye, they'll be teaching creationism in place of biology in schools, women will lose control over their bodies, books will be removed from libraries and bookstores, religeon will be forced onto people and we'll be at war permanently. This woman is totally unqualified to be president of the United States. It doesn't matter that she was a mayor of some backwoods town in Alaska or even Gov of the state. she's just too damn far out in right field. If she inherits the presidency there will be all out civil war between the right & left in this country and it will be torn apart. If anyone thinks this country is polarized now, well, you aint seen nothing yet.
I totally agree with you and mlj! WOW, I wish all this info would reach the New York Times. She sounds like a wishy washy power monger ( I mean b__ch! Thank you for the info.handshake thumbs up
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Sep 10, 2008 10:22 PM CST ABOUT SARAH PALIN
Lionhearted1967
Lionhearted1967Lionhearted1967London, Ontario Canada143 Threads 10 Polls 9,887 Posts
Magnetic: 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.



HUH? Ypu r profile says you live in greensboro, North Carolina USA . Whatever dude.. I guess you fell for the media hoopla..lool
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Sep 10, 2008 10:22 PM CST ABOUT SARAH PALIN
WhatUwish4
WhatUwish4WhatUwish4St. Augustine, Florida USA2 Threads 7,986 Posts
Well here's another letter from Alaska that I posted earlier this afternoon... It is very authentic and has a little more information you might appreciate...

Hi Eddie:

Fishing is good here at Wildman and I rarely have time for politics, but many of our friends are asking us "Who is Sarah Palin?" Of course, as Alaskans, Kathy and I are extremely proud of her. We just want to let you know that Sarah "Barracuda" Palin is a straight shooting, hard charging, get it done gal. She knows when to listen, how to analyze the facts and how to make a decision, then implement the plan. She doesn't do a poll before jumping in with both feet like too many of the Washington types. She has little legislative experience because she has always held the EXECUTIVE position; in private life, as mayor of Anchorage's largest bedroom community or more recently as Governor of our State. She is a smart, attractive home grown Alaska girl with excellent moral and family values. She can see what needs to be done and does not hesitate to get it done.

One of our State's major problems is that its Capital is in Juneau, 500 miles from the nearest road and 800 air miles from the population base which is Anchorage, Wasilla and Fairbanks. Our legislature and most of the State government is in Juneau and they ALL behave like a bunch of freshmen in a college town. It has been this way since Statehood in 1959. When Sarah moved to Juneau, so did accountability and responsibility When the oil revenue started flown and a barrel of North Slope Crude hit $23.00, these people began spending mo ney like drunken sailors. You can only imagine what was happenings when oil hit $100.00 a barrel, about the time Sarah took command. My wife Kathy has first-hand experience with this fiasco, as her father and also her ex-husband were Alaska Legislators who served in Juneau as Senators, Senate President, or members of the State House for a combined period spanning nearly three decades.

continued...
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Sep 10, 2008 10:23 PM CST ABOUT SARAH PALIN
WhatUwish4
WhatUwish4WhatUwish4St. Augustine, Florida USA2 Threads 7,986 Posts
About the time Sarah took the HELM as Governor of Alaska, about half of the State legislature was in the pocket of big oil companies or contractors doing big projects for Native Corporations around Alaska, all funded by State oil revenue. Alaska government was nothing but a good old boys club riding the perpetual wave of prosperity. This filtered down from the legislature, through the Department of Natural Resources, Department of Labor and even spilled in to the Public Safety who are supposed to "preserve and protect".
When Sarah walked into the Governor's Mansion, she promptly dismissed the State Trooper detachment assigned to Governor and had her and her husband's gun case brought in from Wasilla. Then, she got rid of the former Governor's STATE Jet and told legislators that there were no more free rides, they would have to fly Alaska Airlines, just like her and her family if they wanted to travel. Next came the nut cutting (the Barrac uda part) the heads that rolled were too numerous to name, but when Sarah finished cleaning house, a number of our legislators ended up in jail for on corruption charges, or tendered their resignations along with numerous department heads and those who have been riding the gravy train for way too long, AND THEN SHE HAD LUNCH. By the end of the day, Sarah Palin had saved the people of Alaska millions and has not yet slowed down.

She has truly brought CHANGE to Juneau. I personally know several persons in the private sector in Alaska, that hold her in high esteem. She surrounds herself with smart people, many from my hometown of Anchorage, she listens to them but makes her own decisions. Sarah Palin is a no B.S. politician. It is refreshing that there is such a thing anymore. You want to talk about CHANGE? You should see a before and after picture of the State government in Alaska. That's CHANGE!

Sarah will bring a number of things to the election. I am sure she will appeal many voters who my otherwise could have gone the other direction on election day. The conservative block will not be for Barack. We have their vote. We need what Sarah will bring, first to the election and second, what she will bring to Washington D.C. McCain has been advised well, Let's just hope the American people can get the straight scoop on her in the weeks ahead.& nbsp;

This is just the opinion of one Alaska Bush Pilot and Guide, who pays attention to national politics, watches the news and is deathly afraid of the direction our nation is headed. I guarantee that if Sarah gets a chance to dig her spurs into the flanks of the liberal Washington types, they will know that she is in the saddle.

Butch King
Pilot/Guide
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Sep 10, 2008 11:06 PM CST ABOUT SARAH PALIN
Don216
Don216Don216Cocoa, Florida USA1 Threads 463 Posts
dazzling_dave: Civil war? I don't think it will be much of a war, since the left is so anti-war. What will they do, talk the opposition to death?


That seems like their only option. Doubt it will work ... just ask Jimmy Carter.

rolling on the floor laughing professor cheering
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Sep 10, 2008 11:10 PM CST ABOUT SARAH PALIN
dazzling_dave
dazzling_davedazzling_daveWaynesboro, Virginia USA4 Threads 1,993 Posts
Don216: That seems like their only option. Doubt it will work ... just ask Jimmy Carter.


applause rolling on the floor laughing
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Sep 10, 2008 11:13 PM CST ABOUT SARAH PALIN
shipoker58
shipoker58shipoker58Las Vegas, Nevada USA30 Threads 2,969 Posts
If she ever becomes president, everyone will be trying to screw the U.S.
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