McCain Was Against Palin Earmarks

Unbelievable. While mayor, Palin earmarks made John McCain's own naughty "pork list" three times. The LA Times has the skinny.
-AF

*Update: Time has oh, so much more in "Mayor Palin: A Rough Record"...

John McCain was clear about why he picked half-term Alaska governor Sarah Palin to be his running mate. "I found someone with an outstanding reputation for standing up to special interests and entrenched bureaucracies," he said in introducing her in Dayton, Ohio, on Friday. Palin was someone, he noted, "who reached across the aisle and asked Republicans, Democrats and independents to serve in government."

McCain does have a serious potential post-Senate career as an insult comic.

** Update #2: TPM sez that last year, Palin requested more earmarks per person than any other state -- including some that were criticized by McCain himself.

They Said It. I Repeat It.

"The fires of hell are frozen glaciers compared to my hatred for the American government. And I won't be buried under their damn flag. I'll be buried in Dawson. And when Alaska is an independent nation they can bring my bones home."

Joe Vogler, Alaska Independence Party Founder

(H/T) TPM

Palin Belonged To & AK Secession Party

Palin's back story gets more and more bizarre. In the '90's she belonged to the Alaska Independence Party (AKIP's server's currently down. Wikipedia article here). Earlier this year she even recorded a message for their convention.


The AKIP wants Alaska to split for the US.

This is who McCain wants a heartbeat away from the Presidency.

ABC News has the poop.

-AF

*Update (9/3/08): Josh Marshall has more:

Sarah Palin supposedly wasn't a member of the AIP. But she courted the group repeatedly over the years, and her husband was a member for around seven years.

In Case You Hadn't Noticed

I went AWOL for most of the summer. I was pretty far out of pocket for most of that time but the truth is more complicated.

In early June, I learned that a literal lifelong friend has end-stage cancer. I was in shock then and am still. Now I can't say that we were super-close but she has always been exceedingly generous and kind to my entire family. This person has been one of the few constants in my life. I'm also taking this so hard because I lost another such constant three years ago in a horrific car accident.

As you can imagine, my heart and mind just weren't in writing. But I've since accepted that there's nothing I can do. I have to hope for the best and get on with my life. You're never far from my thoughts, B. Godspeed.

-AF

Palin's Pastors

I'm an unabashed fan of Harper's Ken Silverstein. Ken takes a hard look at Sarah Palin's pastors. Her current Pastor Mike Rose has links to wannabe Armageddon catalyst John Hagee.

Here's a few of Pastor Mike's greatest hits:

“Do you believe we’re in the last days? After listening to Newt Gingrich and the prime minister of Israel and a number of others at our gathering, I became convinced, and I have been convinced for some time. We are living in the last days. These are incredible times to live in.”

Then there's: “

If you really want to know where you came from and happen to believe the word of God that you are not a descendant of a chimpanzee, this is what the word of God says. I believe this version.”

and who could forget that all-time great:

“Those that die without Christ have a horrible, horrible surprise.”

Nice stuff. Has that classic feel to it. No wonder the Dobson and the rest signed-off on Palin.

David Pepper, the senior pastor at her "home" church, is equally scary:

“The purpose for the United States is… to glorify God. This nation is a Christian nation.”

Man, have we ever got to put a stop to these people from completely taking over this country.

-AF

Radical Christian Group Picked McCain Veep

Yep, it was billed as The Return of The Maverick! The McCain campaign may want us to believe "his" Palin pick was intended as gesture to disaffected Hillary supporters (which just so happens to call attention to Dem disunity too). Nothing could be further from the truth. He sold out to the Jesus masters.

Via Talk To Action:

Last week, while the media focused almost obsessively on the DNC's spectacle in Denver, the country's most influential conservatives met quietly at a hotel in downtown Minneapolis to get to know Sarah Palin. The assembled were members of the Council for National Policy, an ultra-secretive cabal that networks wealthy right-wing donors together with top conservative operatives to plan long-term movement strategy.

CNP members have included Tony Perkins, James Dobson, Grover Norquist, Tim LaHaye and Paul Weyrich. At a secret 2000 meeting of the CNP, George W. Bush promised to nominate only pro-life judges; in 2004, then-Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist told the group, "The destiny of the nation is on the shoulders of the conservative movement." This year, thanks to Sarah Palin's selection, the movement may have finally aligned itself behind the campaign of John McCain.

Though Dobson and Perkins reportedly attended the recent CNP meeting in Minneapolis, a full roster of guests would be nearly impossible to require. The CNP deliberately operates below the radar, going to excessive lengths to obscure its activities. According to official CNP policy, "The media should not know when or where we meet or who takes part in our programs before or after a meeting." Thus the CNP's Minneapolis gathering was free of reporters. I only learned of the get-together through an online commentary by one of its attendees, top Dobson/Focus on the Family flack Tom Minnery.

The 2008 Republican Vice-Presidential nominee was chosen by America's most powerful radical Christian activist leaders and their rich friends.*

Scary shit, folks. I called it on Friday.

I would have far rather been wrong.

-AF
(H/T: Crooks&Liars)

*Update: McCain's campaign raised $47 million last week including $10 million since the Palin picked. CNP's pals have deep pockets indeed.

Separated At Birth?

Sarah Palin and Tina Fey.

-AF

Archaelogy Is So Cool

Gold Wreath Discovered In Northern Greece:

A priceless gold wreath has been unearthed in an ancient city in northern Greece, buried with human bones in a large copper vase that workers initially took for a land mine.

The University of Thessaloniki said in a statement Friday that the "astonishing" discovery was made during excavations this week in the ruins of ancient Aigai. The city was the first capital of ancient Macedonia where King Philip II — father of Alexander the Great — was assassinated.

The find is highly unusual as the rich artifacts appear to have been removed from a grave during ancient times and, for reasons that remain unclear, reburied in the city's marketplace near a shrine of the goddess Eukleia.

I eat this stuff up. I'm an unabashed love of history and a wanna-be archaeologist. Greece has long been right up there with the UK and France (ancestral homes of the Foresters -- Natch) as one of my top travel destinations.

-AF

McCain Veep Choice = Pure Pandering To Christian Right

The Boston Globe's Articles of Faith blog has the skinny on Sarah Palin's religious views and how they dictate her politics. Here's a clue, it's not pretty:

"We've both been very vocal about being pro-life," she said in the AP interview.

But wait, there's more:

In October of 2006, the Anchorage Daily News described Palin's positions on social issues in a lengthy profile:

"A significant part of Palin's base of support lies among social and Christian conservatives. Her positions on social issues emerged slowly during the campaign: on abortion (should be banned for anything other than saving the life of the mother), stem cell research (opposed), physician-assisted suicide (opposed), creationism (should be discussed in schools), state health benefits for same-sex partners (opposed, and supports a constitutional amendment to bar them)."

And earlier that year, the Anchorage Daily News reported that Palin said the following about creationism at a debate:

"Teach both. You know, don't be afraid of information....Healthy debate is so important and it's so valuable in our schools. I am a proponent of teaching both. And you know, I say this too as the daughter of a science teacher. Growing up with being so privileged and blessed to be given a lot of information on, on both sides of the subject -- creationism and evolution. It's been a healthy foundation for me. But don't be afraid of information and let kids debate both sides.

Her science teacher mom must be soooo proud.

-AF
(Emphasis mine)
*Update: Over at TPM Cafe Ruth Rosen investigates Feminists for Life's intellectual dishonesty -- an organization of which Sarah Palin is a proud member.

More They Said It. I Repeat It.

"Every time Barack Obama speaks, an angel has an orgasm."

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart