A Lawyer Reviews the Palin Ethics Report

This makes it pretty easy to understand.

The McCain camp, as usual, blatantly continues to lie about the situation.

First, in a rather bizarre twist, the day before the report was issued, after the Alaska Supremes cleared the way judging against a team of McCain lawyers trying to have the report closed down, the McCain camp basically came out and said that Sarah cleared the hurtles and was innocent. This prior to the release of the report. Now, of course, they say she is still innocent.

Nice try.

Now, of course, they just deny it. I'm waiting for Palin to admonish, "I am not a crook."

Second, they continually refer to the report as a politically influenced report ala Obama. Nothing could be farther from the truth. There is absolutely NO evidence anyone from the Obama campaign has attempted to interfere. There is plenty of visible (and invisible) evidence that the McCain campaign has attempted to interfere, by several lawsuits and through a bevy of operatives sent to Alaska early on and who remain.

Third, and something the press reports about half the time, is that the entire body of 8 republicans and 4 democrats signed off unanimously on the report. This is the legislative committee that the Alaska legislature gave the duty to investigate.

Fourth, the press sometimes mentions a three-person personnel panel also doing an investigation. This came after Sarah SUED HERSELF, triggering their involvement. This board can:

1. Work entirely in secret and has no obligation to release ANY information collected to the media or the public or explain how they came to their (future) conclusion.
2. All were appointed by Palin.

Sarah has a problem with truth, that is clear enough. From the Bridge to Nowhere (which, by the way, is not dead... plans and drawings are still moving ahead) and earmarks she said she had no involvement with, denying she was deep in lobbyists, to denying any involvement in making women pay for their rape kits in Wasilla (she signed the budget which included this, so she either is directly lying or didn't bother to read it, neither of which is good). She also has a problem with her taxes--read potential tax fraud. In fact, Palin had a penchance for meeting with big biz hauling lobbyists around with them.

This ambitious woman has left ethics and truth behind in her sprint to the White House. I called Palin a bellicose bully in one of my blog posts, and more and more I find this to be characteristic.

Meanwhile, Obama remains as cool as a cucumber taking the high road, always. Good for him.

UPDATE: Fr. Christian has his own take... and for a chuckle, read it here.

McCain/Palin Awash in Lobbyist Trouble and Pork

GOP VP candidate Palin has said that the lower 48 doesn't understand Alaska. Yup, yup. She is so very right. So let's embrace her thinking--her life--for a moment, shall we? Let's get to know the independent economic frontier politics of the self-reliant earmarkless, next-best-thing-to-the-Virgin-Mary Palin.

Earmarks, Reform: Yup, Yup.

Recently, there has been a spat about earmarks. It started with the infamous bridge. We now have that settled. She lied.

Reformer Palin has brought a new meaning to the word Maverick and so has McCain.

Palin supported the bridge before it was nixed and when the writing was on the wall, and congress (led by McCain) kept citing the bridge as an example of bizarre earmarks and withdrew its support, she did too... but kept the money. No, she didn't tell them... well you know. We have heard the lie a thousand times now.

Then when that lie wouldn't work, enter McCain. McCain said as Governor of Alaska, population of 670,000 in 2006, Palin asked for no ear marks.

BUUUUUUZ. Sorry, John, wrong answer, but nice try. Your gal Palin was porkin' at the trough.

Here is a list of earmarks specifically requested by Governor Palin in 2008 before her miraculous rapture to the VP position as reformer and Maverick, candidate of "change"--31 earmarks for $197.8 million. Go Sarah! We're lovin' this change!

Okay, so that won't work either. While McCain was talking to the ladies on The View, Sarah was taping an interview with Charlie Gibson (a series of three broadcasts). So, enter Palin to try out yet a new line.

In the last interview with Charlie Gibson, 9/12/08--on the same day that McCain insists she requested no earmarks as governor--Palin insists that earmarks aren't all that bad! As long as those earmarks are up front, no problem. We just need transparency. No back room deals for her! As long as you do it the way she does... 'hey, stuff your earmarks and get out of my face'. Given her love for slaughtering living things, I wouldn't push it. As McCain brags, she can field dress a moose. Apparently a new qualification for the second highest office in the land. Given she hasn't a clue on foreign policy, good that John is makin' stuff up.

Here is what she last said about her earmarks. Go here for the whole transcript of this press interview:

GIBSON: Governor, this year, requested $3.2 million for researching the genetics of harbor seals, money to study the mating habits of crabs. Isn't that exactly the kind of thing that John McCain is objecting to?

PALIN: Those requests, through our research divisions and fish and game and our wildlife departments and our universities, those research requests did come through that system, but wanting it to be in the light of day, not behind closed doors, with lobbyists making deals with Congress to stick things in there under the public radar. That's the abuse that we're going to stop. That's what John McCain has promised over and over for these years and that's what I'm joining him, also, saying, you're right, the abuse of earmarks, it's un-American, it's undemocratic, and it's not going to be accepted in a McCain-Palin administration. Earmark abuse will stop.

And I guess John missed this precious little bit of Palin prognostication:

"The federal budget, in its various manifestations, is incredibly important to us, and congressional earmarks are one aspect of this relationship," she wrote in a newspaper column.
--LA Times, 9/3/2008

The fact is that the state of Alaska (a welfare state) hauls in more welfare pork dollars per capita than any other state in the union by far. Arizona less than any.

So there you have it. The the snout and butt of the federal pork scheme. Ironically, Palin really is where the lipstick should be (her state is number one) and McCain where the tail should be, and fast becoming the butt of of his running mate's reality.

But McCain picked her cuz gee, that gal is a real reformin' type. She just kicks butt. You know, that aeroplane thing on the intertubes and all and the bridge and everythin'. Yee haw, what a gal!

On Lobbyists: Yup, yup!

Palin doesn't like lobbyists. You know those long Alaska nights have a way of just sort of easin up on the memories of the past. But come spring, new fresh daisies of information come to light. Oops.

Sarah was busy hiring lobbyists who worked in the same firm as now convicted jail-sentenced Abramhoff (who is tied to McCain through hearings, records of the corruption hearings sealed by McCain) to get her little Wasilla 6,000-person town earmarks to the tune of $26.9 million including a rail project (here we go again!) from Wasilla to now-indicted US Alaska Senator Steven's town.

Oh, did I mention Palin was Director of and worked for Sen. Stevens' 527, "Ted Stevens Excellence in Public Service, Inc.," (no, that is not my humor!) a 527 group that could raise unlimited funds from corporate donors and was a signatory to its incorporation?

Prior to being indicted, Sen. Stevens endorsed Palin for Governor, something she was absolutely thrilled about and bragged about on her Governor's site until, um, he was indicted and even then she stood by him through thick and thin until...

On the day Palin was named VP candidate, Stevens' treasured endorsements vanished from her site. Vanished. Bye-bye. Don't need that there right now. But thanks to the net, you can still see it here.

And speaking of reform, and particularly of lobbyists, let's just talk for a wee moment about Palin's faithful leader, McCain and his take on--or perhaps from--lobbyists. This was released just hours ago. Hardly a lefty rag. You can read the pdf here. McCains awash--snout to butt--in lobbyists. So maybe we should have a future discussion on parasites, because the ol boy sure is awash in them.

A more thorough take (and actually a better net news paper) on his well-known lobbyist problem is here from a few months back. The list of lobby problems and McCain is absolutely endless. Google it, and you will see. My eyes are spinning, and so is my wallet.

Yep, that's our ol' reformer boy! That Maverick son of a gun with sidekick "Yahoo Palin"! Those rough riders gonna bust some butt in Washington alright!

Unfortunately, that butt will be yours and mine.

Finally, an amusing take on what you hear from the hallowed malls of American on the McCain/Palin Ticket and their really nifty version of reform, change and about the (sound of the whip) Mavericks:

So you go my little reform girl! You really are change! What a freaking Maverick! I'm tellin' ya, Palin and McCain just embody the kind of honest reform we need--the integrity this country needs--right now! No more lies, you just get out there and boldly ask for earmarks to study crab mating habits girlfriend! Get it out in the light! We folks from the midwest are behind ya! We really wanna know about crab mating habits! I swear, it's all we talk about! I'm tellin' ya I've never seen anything like this real reform! This is truly amazing! The woman is a true red, white and blue inspiration! McCain is a God for finding this amazing Betsy Ross! McCain knows exactly what we need! He da man!

Oops.