Another day an other scandal from the most corrupt president in American history. One of the things our president promised during his campaign, in his best Orwellian "newspeak," was transparency. Of course, like everything else Barack Obama uttered, this too was a lie.
Let’s look at some of the lies Obama has told, just about transparency alone: Obama promised health care negotiations would be broadcast on C-SPAN. Never happened. Instead, most of the negotiations were held behind locked, closed doors.
Obama promised that all legislation would be made available online for every American to read before it was signed into law. What we got in reality was such a strong push to bamboozle the public, and pass horrible legislation, that not only were the American people actively prevented from seeing legislation before it was passed, so were members of Congress!. We’ve had bills with thousands of pages of insanity, crafted in the dark of night, behind closed doors, that have been signed into law by the president, without being read in total by a single sitting member of the most corrupt Congress in history.
The president has promised bi-partisanship, and continues to give it lip service, but in reality the Republican party has been locked out of all negotiations on every issue.
In short this is the most secretive and corrupt government we have ever had.
This latest scandal regarding transparency involves one of Sarah Palin’s areas of strong expertise, energy. As everyone knows, America has more than enough natural resources to become energy independent, but the zealots and flat earthers are doing all they can to prevent this from happening.
This, of course, is insanity. At a time when we have massive unemployment, and rising energy costs, it is criminal for the nation to have it’s own energy resources placed off limits by an out of control, radical, tyrannical government. We send nearly one trillion dollars a year overseas, often to hostile regimes, in order to purchase the lifeblood of our economy, oil.
This is simply insane.
Sarah has found a new scandal concerning energy that must be highlighted. It seems now that the Obama administration is actively trying to hide the fact that most Americans are demanding we use our resources. In her latest Facebook post Sarah discusses this:
Drillgate
Many of us appreciated the President mentioning in his State of the Union address that "tough decisions" had to be made regarding offshore drilling. People have had doubts about his seriousness in regards to domestic energy policy because our Department of the Interior dragging its feet on Virginia’s offshore oil and gas leases. Still, we’ve held out hope that America’s voice will be heard on energy.
In April of 2009, during a discussion about offshore exploration in San Francisco, Salazar said that President Obama directed him to "to make sure that we have an open and transparent government" and that "these are not decisions that are going to be made behind closed doors." Salazar went on to say that President Obama wanted to make sure that DOI was "maximizing the opportunity for the public to give us guidance on what it is that they want to do."
Yet, more than four months after the comment period ended, the Department of the Interior has failed to make any public announcement about the results, even though sources have told American Solutions for months the comments show a 2-1 advantage in support of offshore drilling.
It tookAmerican Solutions almost four months and the power of the Freedom of Information Act to finally uncover indirect confirmation that, out of over 530,000 comments submitted, pro-drilling comments outnumbered anti-drilling comments by a 2-1 margin.
In an email dated October 27, 2009, Liz Birnbaum, director of the Minerals Management Service, informs other Interior officials that a preliminary tabulation of the results of the comment period had not yet gone to Secretary Salazar, adding "[s]o the Secretary can honestly say in response to any questions that he’s [SIC] has not yet seen the analysis of the comments – staff is still working on it. I did, however, confirm to him the 2-1 split that these guys [at American Solutions] are emphasizing."
When a public employee is on record condoning purposeful deception of the American people, the taxpayer should no longer have to fund his or her job. Secretary Salazar should immediately fire Liz Birnbaum for purposefully deceiving him, and in turn, the American people. It’s not possible for the Secretary to honor pledges of openness, honestly, and transparency in government if his staff is going to deliberately undermine such pledges.
Public opinion polls already measure near 70% support for offshore drilling, so the results from a public comment period that reflect the same public sentiment should not be surprising. But after all this talk of wanting the public’s input, Secretary Salazar and his team must find it a real stumbling block to have to explain all their anti-energy development actions in light of the comment period results to which they previously attached such great importance.
As Haley notes in his article, it’s astonishing that the Obama administration is dragging its feet on offshore drilling at a time when we’re so desperate for economic recovery and jobs. It’s no surprise that an overwhelming majority of Americans support offshore drilling: it will provide millions of good jobs and billions in revenue, and it will make us more secure by reducing our dependence on foreign oil.
Mr. President, we appreciate you asking for our input. We’ve provided it, so thank you for accepting it. With no time to waste, it’s time to listen to the American people – finally – and drill, baby, drill!
- Sarah Palin
Another outrageous web of lies and deceit from the Obama administration.
This is some powerful information and I urge readers to take the time to go to every link that Sarah has supplied to learn even more.
Energy is the lifeblood of our nation’s economy. It effects every aspect of our lives. As the American Energy Alliance notes, offshore drilling would significantly add to our nation’s economic health. Some of the benefits include:
* $8 trillion in additional economic output (GDP)
* $2.2 trillion in total tax receipts;
* 1.2 million new, well-paying jobs annually across the country; and
* $70 billion in additional wages each year.
At a time we have massive unemployment and underemployment, and an unsustainable national debt, and budget deficit, it is simply criminal not to be exploring for energy in every crack and crevice where we know there is energy to be had.
Folks ask us from time to time why we support Sarah Palin so fervently, well there are many issues on which we feel Sarah is eminently more qualified to lead the nation than anyone else, but it is her expertise on energy issues, her understanding of the significance of energy independence that we respect the most.
Being free and independent is a basic American right, but as long as we must bow to other nations, nations that do not have America’s best interests at heart, we will never be truly free, or independent. We will never have true national security.
Sarah gets it.
It’s time we hold the most corrupt president and the most corrupt Congress in our nation’s history accountable. It’s time we demand they listen to us and do as we say. In short, it’s time to Drill baby, drill!
Thunder is good, thunder is impressive; but it is lightning that does the work.
–Mark Twain
I’ve been on this earth a half a century. I’ve experienced a lot of history first hand, and studied history even further, and in all of my time I have never experienced anything or anyone like Sarah Palin.
To say that Sarah Palin is a dynamic figure is a gross understatement. Sarah is a woman who commands attention, and commands respect. Oh yeah, she has her detractors, everyone does, but they are only making themselves more and more irrelevant with each passing day. These Palin deniers might try and tell themselves that Sarah Palin doesn’t matter, but that simply doesn’t make it so!
The radical left and the media (yes, yes..I know, same thing) have tried to set up a narrative that Sarah doesn’t matter, that she is irrelevant. And yet, they follow her every word. It has become quite comical to watch the Palin deniers twist themselves into knots every time she says or does something.
Take this past weekend. Sarah Palin was everywhere. On a weekend that featured not only the Super Bowl but the kick off to the NASCAR season, Sarah was the big story, the one getting all of the attention.
Let’s take a look at her itinerary starting on Friday. As we reported, Sarah made a stop in Salina, Kansas to speak to the local Chamber of Commerce. This was reportedly the largest ever such gathering for a Chamber meeting.
Wait a minute, hold the phone! That sure didn’t sound like some airhead speaking, did it? I guess the Palin deniers didn’t bother to listen to this speech. I know they certainly don’t want you to listen!
What I heard was an experienced Chief Executive talking about success, and how to duplicate it. Now I know that Sarah doesn’t have slick marketing slogans or tired generalizations like "hope and change," but I think we can "settle" for some real solid ideas, and knowledge, can’t we?
From Salina, Sarah went on to Nashville where she headlined the first annual National Tea Party Convention.
To say that Sarah Palin knocked it out of the park with her rousing speech would be like saying that Shakespear fellow "wrote some good plays!" Sarah was remarkable. Strong, confident, and on target.
While Sarah spoke on her signature issues: fiscal responsibility, and energy independence, but she spent the largest portion of her speech talking about national security. Something President Obama, a total failure in this arena, avoided like the plague in his State of the Union Speech.
The left tries to portray her as someone with no knowledge of foreign affairs. They don’t dare tell people that it was Sarah’s strong answers on foreign policy and national defense that led John McCain to choose her of 24 other candidates as his running mate!
Sarah speaks very strongly on issues of national security, and when it comes to fighting terrorism, takes a page out of Reagan’s policy on fighting evil, simply stating her position: "We win, they lose."
Sarah, was introduced to the large crowd by media mogul Andrew Breitbart. She received multiple standing ovations and continuous loud applause from the audience. Her speech which totally eclipsed the President’s State of the Union speech, was followed by a question and answer session.
Video courtesy of Palin TV:
After the speech, the corrupt, Obamacentric media didn’t know what to do or say. They simply couldn’t refute her speech, or her facts. They absolutely couldn’t deny her strong support from those in attendance.
Now generally, the left tries to tell everyone that Sarah is dumb, or that her speeches "ramble" and are "dis-jointed and incoherent" but America has come to realize the left is just projecting, and if anything, they are describing their leader, Barack Obama, who can’t give a coherent, substantial speech to save his life. In fact, as Obama’s popularity has slipped, his speeches have become more and more erratic and incoherent.
What we witnessed in Nashville was a powerful woman who knows exactly what she is trying to do, and is doing it well. It was incredibly fitting that Sarah gave this speech on the 99th birthday of one of our greatest Presidents, Ronald Reagan.. Sarah was nothing short of Reaganesque in her delivery. She was solid, and engaging. Sarah laid out her vison for America, an America that is prosperous, safe, and free.
So, unable to refute Sarah, unable to compete in the marketplace of ideas, the media, which is basically a propaganda arm for Obama, Inc., went on to become a full parody of itself.
In what looked more like a Saturday Night Live skit poking fun of the media, the press, decided that they would focus on the fact that Sarah had some words written on her hand!
This reached high levels of absurdity very quickly, with slow motion replays and all. Frankly, it was simply delicious. It proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that the left is done. They literally have nothing left. They have been defeated soundly by this housewife and mother from Wasilla, Alaska!
While the left was tying itself in knots with their mental gymnastics over Sarah’s scriblings, Sarah was on the move. Taped on Saturday, an interview with Chris Wallace for Fox News Sunday was next:
To me, this may have been Sarah’s best interview. Part of the credit goes to Chris Wallace. The guy asks the tough questions. No one could accuse this of being a "soft ball" interview. Poised and confident, this is the kind of interview that makes Sarah shine. This interview was the most watched in FNS history, and beat out all of the other Sunday shows in ratings.
Sarah answered a number of questions that are on the people’s minds, and gave a pretty solid answer about the question of will she or won’t she, regarding 2012.
Of course, there was no time for Sarah to relax and take it all in. Sunday afternoon Sarah was in the Great State of Texas to rally supporters for Governor Rick Perry. It was a large vocal crowd that met her there. Sarah is incredibly popular here in Texas. She represents the strong, independent spirit of the Lone Star State very well. With that in mind, Governor Perry bestowed on her one of the greatest honors a person can achieve, and named Sarah an honorary Texan!
Video of her speech:
Solid, red meat stuff from Sarah Palin!
Oh and the hand thing? Sarah showed the media just how little they, and their criticism matter to her:
As we wrote yesterday, this is why we know Sarah will be our next President. This woman is fearless, and unlike most pols, absolutely doesn’t give a damn what the media thinks of her!
Last June Sarah was talking about the fact that her opposition wanted her to just sit down and shut up. Her response was "Politically, if I die, I die, but I won’t sit down, and I won’t shut up!" This has turned into a battle cry for all patriots, as Sarah has inspired millions to not "sit down and shut up" and to get out there and let their voices be heard, to make a real difference!
If Sarah Palin never does anything else in her life, she will have had a positive influence on America by just inspiring so many to answer the call to action, and to stand up and hold our corrupt government accountable. Sarah has been one of those who have sparked a real revolution in this country, a revolution that is seeing those corrupt government officials fall, one by one, and real patriots take their places.
This was an incredible weekend for Sarah Palin. Sarah established herself solidly as the true leader in America. There is absolutely no doubt now, that if she chooses that path, the presidency in 2012 is hers. There is simply no other leader in America that has the ability and the courage to bring America back from the brink of disaster.
Rich Galen’s Mullings column over the weekend reinforces something that has been true since the day Sarah Palin burst onto the national scene. If you remember, during the 2008 campaign, once Sarah was introduced to the world, the Obama campaign rarely ran against, or mentioned John McCain. They were always running against Sarah Palin. Sarah Palin was considered, for their purposes, Obama’s equal.
As Rich points out, Sarah Palin is still Obama’s equal:
* Here's how you know, if you are the President of the United States, that things are going in the wrong direction.
You have scheduled a speech to the Democratic National Committee meeting in Washington, DC.
It snows about 20 inches in Washington, DC weakening your arguments for cap-and-trade legislation
A car spins into the press van traveling with your motorcade
You do the speech and generate headlines like this one from the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram:
Obama Seeks to Rally Glum Dems Amid GOP Challenges
* Meanwhile Sarah Palin's keynote speech to the Tea Party meeting in Nashville, Tennessee, is covered like your State of the Union Address had been two weeks earlier, leading the chattering class to compare your appearance with that of Gov. Palin.
* Palin's speech generated headlines like this in the Nashville Tennessean:
Palin: Tea Party Movement is a Call to Action
* Here's a basic rule of political counter-punching: You want your lowest ranking person in a public fight with your opponent's highest ranking person - preferably your opponent.
* For example, if you are managing the campaign for the guy running against an incumbent for Congress, you want to have the kid who does the morning clips in a public argument with the Congressman.
* That diminishes the Congressman and enhances the clips kid.
* Over weekend the losing candidate for Vice President was, for all intents and purposes, treated as the political equal of the President of the United States.
*This, if you are in the political shop at the White House, is not good.
You can read more here.
Now as far as we are concerned, Sarah Palin is far superior to Barack Obama in any and every category, but in the context, Sarah Palin is indeed the equal of the President of the United States. Sarah commands the same amount of attention as the President, and her words are just as powerful as those that come from the Office of the President.
As we witnessed throughout the summer and fall of 2009 and still witness today, just a few words written by Sarah on Facebook have the power to change history. While she didn’t do it alone, Sarah’s tough talk on both ObamaCare and cap and tax helped scuttle both disastrous initiatives.
Sarah commands our attention and respect because she is working hard. Sarah is working hard to take the commonsense conservative message to everyone in the country. With that in mind, Monday morning, Sarah was still in Houston and appeared as a motivational speaker at a business conference headlined by some of our nation’s strongest leaders that included herself, Rudy Giuliani, Lou Holtz, Zig Ziegler, Colin Powell, and Microsoft President Rick Belluzzo.
Once that was over, Sarah was on her way to Redding, California where she had two sold out appearances at the Sierra Cascade Loggers Conference. You can read more here.
Oh, and written on the palm of her hand: "Loggers Rule!"
Unless you live under a rock, you know that over the past few days Sarah Palin has rocked the world. Sarah spoke at what is being reported as the largest ever Chamber of Commerce meeting in the country on Friday night, and by Sunday afternoon, was sharing the stage with Rock and Roll icon Ted Nugent in Houston, Texas, where, in front of an enthusiastic, overflow crowd, Governor Rick Perry gave her a proclamation naming her an honorary Texan.
Now being a Texan, I can tell you that is something that we don’t take lightly. Being born a Texan is a special blessing, and we don’t hand out the honorary stuff to just anyone.
Of course, the really big deal this weekend, proclamation notwithstanding, was Sarah’s appearance at the first ever National Tea Party Convention, where she spoke to the nation, it was the real State of the Union speech, if you will.
The speech was incredible. It was stirring and emotional, Sarah pulled no punches. The speech was followed by a lively question and answer session from the event moderator. Sarah also set down with Fox News Sunday’s Chris Wallace for a hard hitting interview, where she hit another home run.
We’ll have a video and analysis coming. (Hey... it’s the weekend!)
Anyhow, the Saturday night speech in Nashville was a game changer. It was very fitting that Sarah gave such a powerful speech on the occasion of the 99th birthday of one of our greatest Presidents, Ronald Reagan.
So powerful was the speech that the moonbats on the left weren’t sure how to attack her. I mean let’s face it, progressives can’t compete in the marketplace of ideas. They know they will lose. It’s why all of their attacks on their opponents have to be so personal. (and false) If forced to argue strictly on the merit of their ideas, progressives would be laughed off the planet, so...they lie, hate, and scheme.
The best (worst?) Of the bunch at spreading lies and hate is the Huffington Post. We’ve long reported the ties that Zsa Zsa over there has to the money people behind the smears on Sarah Palin. We’ve also reported on the various members of Obama’s Alaska Mafia, hate mongers and serial liars like Shannyn Moore and Jeanne Devon, who she provides editorial space to, so they can spread their lies and hate.
Anyhow, these are ridiculous little people devoid of any worth to humanity whatsoever, and totally without one single redeeming quality.
Now again, none of these people could argue with Sarah’s red meat speeches or interviews. I mean how do you argue against liberty, freedom, and a strong national defense?
So they went looking. What did these loons come up with?
Oh the horror, Sarah Palin had a few notes scrawled on her hand! That’s right, this "rube" wrote a few things on her hand. How unsophisticated. How common, how ordinary.
Andrew Marcus over at Big Government has the "evidence" of the scribblings here.
Now the left is all over the place on this. To some it means she’s not "presidential" because she did something that pretty much everyone of us have done at least once in their life. To others it means she’s "dumb" because she needed notes to give a speech. Never mind Obama takes his teleprompter with him everywhere, lest he be left to his own devices, which is not pretty, as Obama is more gaffetastic than his famously gaffe prone Vice President.
I mean this guy has to have a teleprompter in a staff meeting, and while talking to school kids! How sad.
Anyhow, the left has just been having a field day with all of this today. They actually think this is something anyone with a brain cares about. That somehow this hurts Sarah.
I love the smell of desperation on the morning!
The far left moonbats like Huffington and her writers are so out of touch with America it’s simply pathetic. This is why the corrupt, Obamacentric media is going broke. They have no idea who their audience is or what they care about.
Most Americans look at Sarah and see themselves. Sarah is every man/woman. She’s one of us. And ya know, gosh darn it, she does things just like we do ‘em.
For Sarah’s part, she just punked the hell out of Zsa Zsa and her writers over at HuffPo!
If you look closely, the writing on Sarah's hand says "Hi mom!"
This dear readers is why Sarah Palin will be the next President of the United States. Oh, we’ll elect her because of her stellar record of achievements, for her strong record of getting the job done, of course, but it’s her spirit, her absolute refusal to lay down and play dead when the hate mongers on the left go after her that puts her heads and shoulders above anyone and everyone else in politics today.
Just as Ronald Reagan was smiling down on our Sarah on Saturday night, he was having a hardy chuckle with her on Sunday afternoon! Reagan was a master at hammering his opponents with a smile. It’s obvious that Sarah is cut from that same presidential cloth!
The reason Sarah Palin will be President in 2012, distilled in one picture
Hi Mom.
That’s what Sarah Palin wrote on her hand today, technically, before speaking at a campaign rally for Rick Perry in Texas.
"Hi Mom" can also be loosely translated as "F-U, Lefties".
Here’s what Sarah Palin did today, and why it’s not only brilliant, but it’s the chief reason this woman will be our 45th President.
She hit the Left back, in a subtle way that drives them crazy. THAT, friends, is quite an art form. We respect everyone alive who practices this sort of Fu.
Palin knew the Left, particularly the Huffington Post, has been trying to create an issue of several words Palin wrote on her hand before the Tea Party Convention speech yesterday: Energy, Taxes, American Spirit.
We do this too, FYI, whenever we have to do any public speaking, since we don’t usually take notecards with us or have a podium in front of us. We just write down a few key words, on our palm, so that we cover the three or four things we really wanted to talk about…lest we miss one of them. Unlike the current president, we don’t have a TelePrompTer traveling with us everywhere we go. Neither does Palin.
We hope Palin makes the "Hi Mom" thing a regular inside-joke.
The Huffalumps tried to make an issue of her palm-notes…and obsessed over staring at pictures of them yesterday…so Palin sent them a message today, letting them know she’s aware they are scrutinizing her palms…so she might as well send her Mom a message.
Those of you who met Mrs. Heath on Palin’s book tour have told us she’s a VERY nice woman (Mr. Heath too)…so we say "Hi Sarah’s Mom" today too.
Palin is quick with responses to the lunatics on the Left, which is remarkable. She gets in front of a story before it becomes an issue. She hits back hard when needed, but can use more subtle smacks when those are more appropriate.
We think she effectively disarmed this issue, in a humorous, fun way that’s relatable to average Americans.
Her ninja throwing star Facebook dispatches are well-crafted and deadly to her opponents.
Today, she proved her more subtle hits can be just as effective.
This woman has all the skills she needs to become President in two years.
All that’s missing is her ground team…of which we, and hopefully YOU, will surely be a part.
Go, Sarah, Go!
They are so right! Here’s the thing Sarah has that no other political figure in the country, on either side, has: Courage.
Sarah Palin is fearless. She got her "Sarahcuda" nickname while playing championship high school basketball. She was a tough player then, and an ever tougher player now.
This is the kind of leader a great nation deserves. Someone who doesn’t lay over and play dead when they are attacked by guttersnipes and low-lifes. Someone who doesn’t seek the approval of the radical elements of society.
Sarah is a hard nosed, tough minded leader. She also has a wicked sense of humor. I’m sure Ronnie would approve, I know we do!
So I wake up Friday morning to read multiple silly hit pieces on Sarah Palin. I’m wondering why this is coming on a Friday before the Super Bowl. A day normally held with almost religious reverence by those that follow the sport, and most certainly a day that news outlets run a nauseating level of stories about the game and everything surrounding it.
For the record, I’m OK with that, because it’s also Speed Weeks in Daytona and I fully expect to be bombarded by that near religious experience for the entire next week, leading up to the Daytona 500. And of course, the boys and girls will be going over 320 MPH in Pomona next weekend, as well, at the 50th Annual NHRA Winternationals.
We’re dealing with a lot of stuff here! Serious stuff!!.
So I’m wondering just why in the world the lamestream media is set at DefCon 2. Why are they throwing every silly non-story they can about Sarah Palin hoping something will stick?
Then I remembered, Sarah is giving the keynote address at the Tea Party Convention in Nashville on Saturday night. You remember the Tea Party Convention, the one operatives on both the left and the right tried to scuttle? The one"they" said would never work, or "was in trouble" ?
Yeah, that one, the one that is completely sold out and filled with happy, excited patriots!!
The media, progressives (yeah, I know, one in the same) and the old guard Republicans are losing their ever loving minds because Sarah Palin will be speaking live to the nation tonight from the Tea Party Convention. Millions upon millions will tune in to see America’s real leader give her version of the State of the Union.
So....the media is going all out! Nothing is too dumb, too petty, or too just downright silly to try to smear America’s Governor with.
This one wins the prize hands down though!
You see, the media is shocked, shocked to find that Sarah Palin’s husband, Todd, actually gave her some advice! Actually offered his opinion on a thing or two. MSNBC, and others seem genuinely bewildered that someone would give their spouse advice! That a married couple would actually talk!
So what is the catalyst for this smear? Well it seems some 3000 personal e-mails from Sarah’s time as Governor have been released to the media. As expected, most of it is rather boring stuff. Of course, sprinkled in the mix is the "First Dude’s" opinion on things.
Of course, this is where MSNBC thinks they got ‘em. It’s the strawberries, the strawberries, I tell you, they got ‘em with the strawberries!
Let me also proudly bestow the Captain Phillip Francis Queeg Award on these idiots while we are at it!
The idea that leaders in business and government don’t talk to their spouses about important, and even minor things at work is ludicrous. Of course they talk! Ever heard the saying "behind ever great man there is a great woman" ? Well it also seems that behind this great woman is a great man!
It seems to me that not that long ago we were celebrating a certain President and his wife as a "buy one, get one free" sort of deal. You know: "Elect me, and get Hillary for free!"
At least Todd never led an effort to "reform health care." Never botched one either!
Oh, and I don’t think Alaska has a "travel office."
Of course, Barack Obama was going to send Michelle out to help shill for his health care "reform" but was afraid too many people would find out about the patient dumping scheme Michelle, Valerie Jarrett, and David Axelrod cooked up for the Chicago hospital she worked at.
We could go down the list of First Ladies, from Laura Bush to Martha Washington, and you’ll find every one had some sort of input on things, and every President, at least in modern times, openly acknowledged their participation and support. In fact, the President’s praise is almost expected.
You think this sort of thing doesn’t also go on with the Chief Executives of every state as well?
What really, really, really makes this story a double award winner though is the fact that MSNBC quotes noted "cleavage inspector" Andree McLeod, the "falafel lady."
Anyone who even has a passing knowledge of Alaskan politics and Sarah Palin knows who Andree is. She was filing crazy ethics complaints against Governor Palin before Obama’s Alaska Mafia made it cool!
Much of Andree’s lunacy comes from the fact that she has been repeatedly denied a job working for the state. Nothing say "hire me" like being a serial stalker, ya know!
It sort of figures MSNBC would use such an impeachable source, doesn’t it.
Really sad.
The hate bloggers over at the Huffington Post chimed in on this deal as well, but they are just so boorish, they don’t deserve an award.
For his part. Sarah’s attorney, Thomas Van Flein, who had to be fighting the urge to just burst out laughing at the mass stupidity exhibited by the media, released a statement:
A recent article discusses what purports to be a new "revelation" that Todd Palin was a "powerful first dude." To most Alaskans, and to the millions of people who read "Going Rogue" this is neither new nor a revelation. Like many married couples, including political 'power couples,' it is common for a spouse to play the role of key advisor to the other spouse. The Palins were no different. Todd Palin had official and unofficial duties, but one thing was clear: he was a key advisor to Governor Palin and involved in her efforts to improve the State of Alaska. Officially, in addition to the duties traditionally expected of the spouse of the Governor, Todd Palin was put in charge of a Workforce Development commission with the goal of increasing vocational education opportunities and awareness. But unlike some spouses of elected officials, Todd Palin did not travel with an entourage, had no designated office, had no title other than "First Dude", received no pay, and had no staff. He donated his time to the people of Alaska by assisting the Governor. Each spouse of the chief executive is free to define his or her own role. From the policy oriented Hillary Clinton, to the more traditional and charitable work of Laura Bush, to the combined policy/traditionalist role of Michelle Obama, the first spouse takes on the duties within their interests and within the context of their marriage to the chief executive. Todd was no different.
What is interesting is that the same media outlet that today breathlessly reports how close the Palins were while Sarah Palin was Governor--too close for at least one reporter--earlier reported that the Palins were not close enough and headed for divorce. Consistency is not necessarily a hallmark for investigative journalists, but certainly truth should be. Let's look at the most serious accusation made. The article posits that Todd Palin "passed financial information marked 'confidential' from his oil company employer to a state attorney." The author clearly implies that Todd Palin, who was not a member of the British Petroleum management team, obtained secret "financial" information and surreptitiously gave it to a State assistant attorney general. The true facts are as follows: Todd Palin received an email from a third party (an email that was apparently making the rounds in Alaska) and he forwarded that to a state attorney on August 29, 2007. But the information in the email itself was dated February 19, 2004--three and half years earlier--and the information addressed safety performance for 2003 and overall productivity. Of course, as a highly regulated producer in Alaska, this is largely the same information provided to state regulatory agencies, taxing authorities, and even publicly disclosed to its shareholders. See BP Annual Report and Accounts 2003. The latter part of the email referred to performance data for 2005 again analyzing production, costs and safety. So there are two distinct errors in the article: (1) the email itself was circulating in Alaska and was simply forwarded to Todd by a third party, it was not an email that was sent by BP to Todd Palin wherein he was told it was "confidential" and (2) the type of information within the email was years old and all, if not most, was a matter of public record under the tight regulatory strictures BP operates under and its release of data to shareholders, securities regulators, the department of Revenue, and the state oil and gas commission, among others.
The bottom line is that this story reveals nothing new. Todd Palin was, and remains, a close advisor to the Governor. Those in the administration knew this, and the public knew this. There is nothing unusual, untoward or inappropriate for a spouse of a chief executive to provide guidance, input and hands on assistance.
- Thomas Van Flein, Personal Attorney for Sarah Palin
Tommy Report over at Conservatives For Palin has more on this, here.
In closing, congratulations to MSNBC, you have once again proved how irrelevant you, and the rest of the corrupt, Obamacentric have become. While you and yours are in full panic mode, we are getting ready to kick back and enjoy Sarah Palin’s State Of The Union speech tonight that will be carried live on Fox News, CNN, and many other outlets.
I’m sure your viewers will be enthralled by Lockup: Pendleton and Lockup: Raw, which you have scheduled to run during that time period.
On the night before her big keynote address to the nation via the National Tea Party Convention that will be carried live on Fox News, CNN, Pajama TV, and many others, Sarah Palin was in Salina, Kansas addressing a huge enthusiastic crowd.
SALINA — Before a crowd of 6,000 cheering fans, Sarah Palin received rock star treatment Friday night.
The former vice presidential candidate and former Alaska governor drew a sell-out crowd to the Bicentennial Center for the Salina Area Chamber of Commerce annual meeting — an event that routinely draws big names to the central Kansas community. Past speakers have included Colin Powell, George H.W. Bush, Bob Costas, Margaret Thatcher and Cal Ripken Jr.
"We've had great speakers in the past," said Todd Davidson, of the chamber. "No one has generated this amount of interest — even President George H.W. Bush, who came here when he was a sitting president, did not drive this kind of a response."
Since her role in John McCain's ill-fated presidential run, Palin has attracted plenty of attention from people who both love and loathe her. Palin recently joined Fox News as a pundit, released her best-selling book "Going Rogue" in November and is on her way to speak at the first national Tea Party Convention this weekend in Nashville, Tenn.
On Friday, the crowd treated Palin as a conservative darling while she served up her mix of tough talk and folksy mannerisms.
"Everyday folks love you because you are one of us, and you tell it straight," said Rep. Jerry Moran, R-Kan.
Even Palin couldn't ignore the excitement her appearance generated. Back stage, she said, a chamber member told her, " 'Man, this is like a Van Halen concert.' I said, 'Man, I wish.' "
In her speech, Palin sounded off on national security, government bailouts and limited government ideals. And she offered lots of praise for the hometown crowd.
"In a time when folks so fear that much is going wrong, your town is an example of how to get it right and how to soar," said Palin, who was joined in Salina by her daughter, Piper. "Shoot, your state's motto even has it right: to the stars through difficulties."
Palin began by relating her experiences as a city councilwoman and mayor in Wasilla, Alaska. What worked there, she said, was cutting taxes, focusing on a few core services and spending responsibly. As governor, she said she learned to take tough stances.
"I'd have to butt heads with my own party officials and the other party, of course, too, and the media," said Palin, who didn't meet with reporters on her trip to Salina. "Some things never change. It wasn't always the easy path, but it was the right path."
Telling the crowd she was going to "call it like I see it," she said Washington, D.C., politicians need to "back off." While Americans have lost jobs and learned to live with less, she charged that government has become more bloated.
"Over the past year, Washington has replaced private irresponsibility with public irresponsibility," she said.
The country, she said, needs health reform "not backroom deals." She suggested measures like allowing insurance purchases across state lines and tort reform.
Also, she said the country needs to go after an "all-of-the-above-approach to energy." She said increased drilling for oil must be pursued.
"Drill here and drill now, and tap our own plentiful energy supplies," she said.
The Obama administration, she said, has lost its way on foreign policy. She said people wonder if the United States is still a "beacon of hope" for freedom.
"We need a foreign policy that distinguishes America's friends from her enemies and recognizes the true nature of these threats that we are facing," Palin said.
In the end, her speech brought the crowd to its feet.
Earlier in the night, Verlene and Joyce Jackson, of Chapman, said they hope to see Palin as president someday and like the fact that she hasn't "always been in that ivory tower."
"She has a fresh outlook," Verlene Jackson said. "She speaks for us. She's a down-home girl. I feel like personally, I think she would do a good job representing us."
DeVee Smalley drove in from Superior, Neb., to join her two daughters for Palin's speech.
"I think she is somebody who is trying to reach out to the heartland of America," Smalley said.
Palin will be back in Kansas on May 2 to speak in Wichita at a fundraiser for a Christian school.
We were following Barbara live on Twitter tonight, and at one point she mentioned that this may have been the largest ever Chamber of Commerce gathering in the United States. You can check Barbara out on Twitter here.
This is a very big weekend for Sarah. Kansas Friday night, then she is doing an interview with Chris Wallace that will air on Fox News Sunday on Saturday morning, followed by her historic speech Saturday night,
It must be said, Sarah is giving her keynote speech to the nation on what would have been Ronald Reagan’s 99th birthday. I imagine Ronnie is looking down and smiling at this too.
Sunday Sarah will be in the Great State of Texas, Houston, to be exact, headlining a campaign rally for Governor Rick Perry. Then on Monday morning she will be one of the stars of the Get Motivated! motivational conference, also in Houston, before hopping a plane for Reading , California where she has two sold out speeches booked.
Then of course, next week she will be in Daytona, speaking to their Chamber of Commerce. From what we understand, the venue for the speech there has changed to a larger facility to handle the huge sellout crowd!
You know, if one didn’t know better, one would think Sarah was running for President or something! One thing is for sure, Sarah is tirelessly spreading her message of commonsense conservatism nationwide.
For sane people, this should be a no brainer , but we are talking Obama and his communist thugs. They are determined to destroy this country one way or the other. What better way than to run up a debt so large that it can never be paid?
Now some may say, well so what! Others may say that well...we will just print money. Oh sure, hyper-inflation will follow, and it’ll take a bushel basket full of money to buy a loaf of bread, but we’ll get by. (Yes, there really are people saying that!)
But there are other more serious issues people need to think about. As we get further in debt, we lose our influence in the world. It used to be that much of the world made policy based on how the United States would feel about it, how we would react. That is quickly going by the wayside.
Now I know the radical left hate America and love the fact that America won’t be "bullying" the rest of the world. But as an American, I like the idea that other nations respect, and yes, even fear us. That keeps everything fair. Keeps us from being screwed over. Keeps us relatively safe and secure!
As we run out of money, we lose the ability to defend our nation. Never mind making war, basic national defense is very expensive. Of course, Obama and his band of lunatics just as soon turn over United States sovereignty to the United Nations and be done with it, creating some sort of one world government. Another subject to discuss another time
Back in the real world, as the greatest nation on earth, we are the target of a lot of hate, just because we are the best. Thus, we need adequate defense. The radical left, headed by Obama, will absolutely hinder our ability to defend ourselves, with his incredible debt.
It also means, at some point, we’ll have so much debt that taxes will have to be raised, thus hurting the economy even more. We are already reaching a point where just the interest on our debt is more than our entire national defense budget!
Think about THAT for a minute!!
The bad thing is Obama and his people absolutely hate capitalism, and hate business. They have already made the U.S. a hostile environment for business. Their insane plans will only send more companies overseas to countries that have more favorable business environments.
Of course, the biggest casualty in all of this would be personal liberty and freedom. The government, though higher taxes, and insane Obama programs, will control more and more of our lives.
Our money won’t go as far, severely effecting our quality of life. That’s what communism is, shared misery.
Before I ramble on more though, lets listen to what Sarah has to say:
Freedom, Influence, Security Shrink as Budget Balloons
The White House recently announced its pricey Childhood Obesity Initiative to tell us what we should feed our kids. Helpful I’m sure – but most Americans would rather see government focus on other important areas right now. We know what our kids should eat: more healthy food, less junk food. There – we just saved Washington a ton of money by announcing that finding on personal responsibility.
What does demand our full attention is the newly released $3,800,000,000,000 federal budget. The president and Congress have a huge job tackling the problem staring right at us as we look at a budget we obviously can’t afford. America’s freedom and security are endangered as we become beholden to other nations, thanks to ballooning deficits and debt. One congressman just warned that our nation may become insolvent if we don’t make better decisions starting now. As noted in a New York Times article today, unless "miraculous growth" or miraculous unforeseen change is on the horizon, America’s freedom, influence, and security will continue to erode. (Personally, at this point I believe it wouldn’t hurt to ramp up our nation’s humble request for the divine miraculous change and wisdom we’ll need to see us through.)
Getting our arms around this will take all of us working together, making sacrifices, taking more personal responsibility, and sending elected leaders to Washington that we can trust. That’s why some of us may come across as strident in our efforts to call out the White House and Congress. We want to trust you, Washington; we want to work with you, but we cannot stomach some of the things being rammed down our throats. Your actions to pile on more debt make no sense, so we must question your motives and intentions. For instance, there’s just no room for expensive, dangerous, and unsustainable new initiatives like Obamacare, Cap and Tax, and a dramatically expanded federal payroll. These government-growing proposals will obviously cause more problems than they’ll solve. They are just further steps towards insolvency.
Steps towards insolvency are steps away from freedom. They’re steps towards destruction. It’s the reason we ask why we should swallow what's coming out of Washington.
The Wall Street Journal has a brilliant column by Gerald Seib today. It reads in part:
The U.S. government this year will borrow one of every three dollars it spends, with many of those funds coming from foreign countries. That weakens America’s standing and its freedom to act; strengthens China and other world powers including cash-rich oil producers; puts long-term defense spending at risk; undermines the power of the American system as a model for developing countries; and reduces the aura of power that has been a great intangible asset for presidents for more than a century.
"We’ve reached a point now where there’s an intimate link between our solvency and our national security," says Richard Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations and a senior national-security adviser in both the first and second Bush presidencies. "What’s so discouraging is that our domestic politics don’t seem to be up to the challenge. And the whole world is watching."
In the 21st-century world order, the classic, narrow definition of national-security threats already has expanded in ways that make traditional foreign-policy thinking antiquated. The list of American security concerns now includes dependence on foreign oil and global warming, for example.
Consider just four of the ways that budget deficits also threaten American’s national security:
• They make America vulnerable to foreign pressures.
The U.S. has about $7.5 trillion in accumulated debt held by the public, about half of that in the hands of investors abroad.
Aside from the fact that each American next year will chip in more than $800 just to pay interest on this debt, that situation means America’s government is dependent on the largesse of foreign creditors and subject to the whims of international financial markets. A foreign government, through the actions of its central bank, could put pressure on the U.S. in a way its military never could. Even under a more benign scenario, a debt-ridden U.S. is vulnerable to a run on the American dollar that begins abroad.
Either way, Mr. Haass says, "it reduces our independence."
• Chinese power is growing as a result.
A lot of the deficit is being financed by China, which is selling the U.S. many billions of dollars of manufactured goods, then lending the accumulated dollars back to the U.S. The IOUs are stacking up in Beijing.
So far this has been a mutually beneficial arrangement, but it is slowly increasing Chinese leverage over American consumers and the American government. At some point, the U.S. may have to bend its policies before either an implicit or explicit Chinese threat to stop the merry-go-round.
Just this weekend, for example, the U.S. angered China by agreeing to sell Taiwan $6.4 billion in arms. At some point, will the U.S. face economic servitude to China that would make such a policy decision impossible?
Please read the rest of Seib’s column here. Our out-of-control spending is weakening our country. We can no longer afford to kick the can down the road to the next generation. We need to have a serious discussion about our spending priorities before it's too late. Commonsense conservatives have a sincere desire to work with the White House on these challenges, and we’re thankful for those in Congress making the offer to help.
Nope, our out of control spending, without any regard to the dangers, is a crisis that will destroy our nation, the greatest nation ever to exist on earth. Mankind’s last best hope. Never forget that the demise of America will be the demise of liberty and freedom for all of mankind.
Something that suits progressives, like Barack Obama and his kind, just fine.
