It was little surprise that Sarah Palin’s first visit to our home and native land (of public health care and gay marriage) would be in Calgary. It also shouldn’t be surprising that she was able to curry favour with the local crowd by speaking at length and with much authority about the Alaska government’s process of securing TransCanada for the Alaska Pipeline Project.
What was fascinating about the ever-fascinating Sarah Palin’s speech was another of her Canadian connections. One that didn’t involve hockey.

“My first five years of life we spent in Skagway, Alaska, right there by Whitehorse (180km away. see map). Believe it or not – this was in the ‘60s – we used to hustle on over the border for health care that we would receive in Whitehorse. I remember my brother, he burned his ankle in some little kid accident thing and my parents had to put him on a train and rush him over to Whitehorse and I think, isn’t that kind of ironic now. Zooming over the border, getting health care from Canada.”

Given all the politician-turned pundit’s warnings about the ills of expanding government role in U.S. health care (see: panels, death), this was, yep, pretty ironic-sounding. Now in fairness, she was born in Idaho and them moved to Alaska as an infant in 1964, two years before the Medical Care Act that established national medicare came to Canada. Several years after universal coverage came to acute hospital care like burns, mind you. But then, it’s not exactly anybody’s political choice where they receive medical attention when they’re less than five years old, to say nothing of the political ideologies one doesn’t really develop around that age.
SOURCE

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has always tried to portray herself as tough on national security.

On Sunday, however, Palin may have taken it too far. Speaking to Fox News’ Chris Wallace, the onetime Republican vice presidential nominee signaled that she supported war with Iran, referring to a recent online column by conservative Pat Buchanan.

“Say he played, and I got this from Buchanan, reading one of his columns the other day,” Palin quipped. “Say he played the war card. Say he decided to declare war on Iran, or decided to really come out and do whatever he could to support Israel, which I would like him to do. But that changes the dynamics in what we can assume is going to happen between now and three years.”

Only, Buchanan said the opposite thing.

“Should war come,” he wrote Friday, “that would be the end of GOP dreams of adding three-dozen seats in the House and half a dozen in the Senate.”

[snip]

Palin, seemingly misreading Buchanan’s piece, remarked, “Things would dramatically change if he decided to toughen up and do all that he can to secure our nation and our allies.”

REST OF ARTICLE

Sarah Palin, who regularly rips the media, is becoming a television pundit at a place where she’s likely to feel at home.

A Fox News executive says the network will shortly announce that the former vice-presidential nominee is signing on as a contributor.

Palin, who resigned as governor of Alaska last summer, will appear as a commentator on various Fox shows. She will also host an occasional program that will examine inspirational tales involving ordinary Americans.

Palin will join Mike Huckabee as a Fox contributor who was also involved in the 2008 campaign. The exposure can only help Palin if she decides to pursue a 2012 presidential bid.

REST OF ARTICLE

Last week, it was revealed that Sarah Palin had been booked to deliver a $200,000 speech at a hospital fundraiser in Canada. ThinkProgress was the first to report that the event seemed odd given the fact that the hospital — which offers the same advanced directive service that Palin derided as “death panels” — is part of a “socialist” health care system Palin abhors. Now, the Toronto Sun reports that Palin has “been given the boot” and will no longer appear at the fundraiser for St. Peter’s hospital.

REST OF ARTICLE

Just FYI, Article II, Section I of the Constitution says:

No person except a natural born citizen, or a citizen of the United States, at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the office of President; neither shall any person be eligible to that office who shall not have attained to the age of thirty five years, and been fourteen Years a resident within the United States.

Obama is a citizen of the U.S. and that should be enough said.

Sarah Palin declared on Thursday that the legitimacy of President Obama’s birth certificate is “rightfully” an issue with the American public, and that it is “fair game” for politicians to question Obama’s citizenship.

The comments came during an interview with conservative radio host Rusty Humphries, who asked Palin whether she planned to “make the birth certificate an issue” if she runs for president in 2012.

“I think the public rightfully is still making it an issue,” Palin said. “I don’t have a problem with that. I don’t know if I would have to bother to make it an issue, because I think that members of the electorate still want answers.”

SOURCE

In a later flip flop:

Sarah Palin scrambled away from the birther movement last night after giving them a wink and a nod on a conservative radio talk show yesterday. Posting on her Facebook page at 1:16am, Palin writes that, “at no point – not during the campaign, and not during recent interviews – have I asked the president to produce his birth certificate or suggested that he was not born in the United States.” She tries to dismiss her birther flirtation as just an acknowledgment of voters’ right to know: “Voters have every right to ask candidates for information if they so choose. I’ve pointed out that it was seemingly fair game during the 2008 election for many on the left to badger my doctor and lawyer for proof that Trig is in fact my child.”
SOURCE

I guess one looney tune deserves another.  I don’t think “many” on the left got into that Trig is not Sarah’s child.  It was a group of nuts.

SOURCE

For more information see Rumproast

When Sarah Palin burst onto the American stage little more than a year ago as John McCain’s running mate, she was a virtual unknown in the Lower 48 and a relative political novice even in Alaska. A slim fifteen months later, Palin is now an iconic figure in American culture who reflects the troubling confluence of image and celebrity in our national polity.

[snip]

With all the incumbent hype, one might have expected that Going Rogue would have risen above many of the petty and even vicious traits that Palin exhibited on the campaign trail last fall revving up the GOP faithful with incendiary attacks on Obama. Instead, Going Rogue sinks even further into Palin’s unique brand of narcissism and victimhood. She remains an unapologetic warrior in our country’s culture wars and the most divisive politician of our time.

While not nearly as garbled as some of Palin’s more memorable “word salads” (so delightfully parodied by Tina Fey on Saturday Night Live), Going Rogue, written by Palin with evangelical author Lynn Vincent, is both uneven in its composition and erratic in its argumentation. It is also riddled with the many of the lies, half-truths and distortions for which Palin has become notorious.

The Palin portrayed in Going Rogue is surprisingly unlikable. She is vengeful, mean-spirited and spiteful — and this in a narrative she has crafted herself. She takes cheap shots at the likes of Michelle Obama, John Kerry and Alec Baldwin, and describes Katie Couric as “the lowest-rated news anchor in network television.” While Palin claims that her life “is in His [God's] hands,” vengeance would seem to be her guiding light.

REST OF ARTICLE

The America I know and love is not one in which my parents or my baby with Down Syndrome will have to stand in front of Obama’s “death panel” so his bureaucrats can decide, based on a subjective judgment of their “level of productivity in society,” whether they are worthy of health care. Such a system is downright evil.

You know what is really downright evil? Purposely making up ridiculous accusations to scare people and to dash any chance of reforming a system that doesn’t work for millions of Americans.   This  spreading of disinformation is the work of someone intellectually challenged and lazy and amounts to nothing  more than an effort to create hysteria among the right wing fringe.   If you can’t attack a bill with something it does say you should keep your mouth shut.

And who does she credit for giving her this information? The OTHER looney tune. Rep. Michelle Bachmann.

Rep. Michele Bachmann highlighted the Orwellian thinking of the president’s health care advisor, Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, the brother of the White House chief of staff, in a floor speech to the House of Representatives. I commend her for being a voice for the most precious members of our society, our children and our seniors.

I took a screen shot of her Facebook account as I refuse to link to it.

The National Down Syndrome Congress rightly points out that those with Down Syndrome have problems getting insurance because of a pre-existing condition. At least the national public option would prevent insurance companies from excluding coverage for the pre-existing condition of Down Syndrome.

For those people with Down syndrome who do have congential or other health conditions requiring medical intervention, insurance companies have denied them access because of their preexisting conditions. SOURCE

Isn’t that something the loon from Alaska should be aware of? And isn’t she the one that said her children shouldn’t be used for political purposes.  And suggesting that the public option would call for death panels hurts the very people she said she wanted to help.

For Palin to suggest that the public option includes a “death panel” hurts the very people who most need the ability to get insurance that was previously denied to them for pre-existing conditions.   The parents of other Down Syndrome children have a hard enough road to travel as it is, they need real information and options and not fear mongering lies.

Hat tip to TPM for the original story.

The lawyer also said David Letterman’s jokes “demonstrated to her that there’s some sort of disconnect here.”  Whatever that means.  Seriously, part of her decision to quit was because of tasteless jokes from a comedian known for tasteless jokes?  Isn’t this the same woman who criticized Clinton for her handling of the press.  I suppose it was fine for a conservative commentator to attack Hillary Clinton by accusing her  of “pimping out Chelsea”…….that wasn’t the least insulting to Chelsea was it?

Palin said “Fair or unfair, I think she does herself a disservice to even mention it. You gotta plow through that. You have to know what you’re getting into — which, I say this with all due respect to Hillary Clinton…..” VIDEO

With all due respect, Sarah, you’re an idiot.

She continued to ramble about any kind of perceived whine not helping women in politics.  She even had the audacity to tell Hillary Clinton to “work harder”.  Excuse me you bumbling twit, you could only  dream of having the work ethic and intelligence of Hillary Clinton.  Talk about not helping women in politics.  Palin’s statement on resigning was a lesson in hysterical incoherency and an embarrassment to women in politics everywhere.  Her running argument with Levi Johnston was fodder for a Jerry Springer show and comedians and she then wonders why she is made the butt of jokes?

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (CNN) — No legal “bombshell” or personal scandal lies behind Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s resignation, but off-color jokes by talk-show host David Letterman contributed to her decision to step down, Palin’s attorney said Monday.

Sarah Palin’s attorney said there is no legal reason that compelled her to resign as governor.

Palin, the Republican vice presidential candidate in 2008, abruptly announced Friday that she would leave office in late July. The decision to resign a year and a half before her term ends, and her rambling, often-disjointed resignation speech, have fueled days of debate among political analysts.

But Thomas Van Flein, Palin’s personal lawyer, said no surprises await. The governor needed a break after being “on duty now for two and a half years solid,” he said.

“There is no bombshell. There is no shoe to drop. There are no investigations of any type that I’m aware of — no IRS audit, no federal investigation, no state investigation,” Van Flein told CNN. “There is no legal reason in terms of a legal problem that compelled the governor to resign.”

[snip]

Despite leaving office about two-thirds of the way through her term, Palin “is not a quitter,” Van Flein said. He added that she “already accomplished her major goals,” including winning legislative approval for a massive natural gas pipeline. SOURCE

Sarah, Sarah, Sarah, step away from the microphone – the level of stupid is overwhelming.

Naturally, skeptical observers have wondered how Palin would handle being president if some ethics complaints are enough to make her unable to run a state. Palin’s answer: if she was president, the department of law would protect her. SOURCE

Okay, then…..nice to know we have a  department of law. Palin, like Sanford, doesn’t know when to cut her losses and continues to try to defend the indefensible.   We get it, she quit. We get it, she thinks she’s a victim of the press. We get it that 2 1/2 years on duty was just too much for her. What she doesn’t get is that it’s time for her to show some maturity and dignity and just walk away from the spotlight…..bless her heart.  (If you’re a southerner you’ll get it.)

PS….the ultimate irony is Palin followers trying to get David Letterman fired.  His ratings went up and Sarah quit.

Here is the video mentioned above: