British Columbia Welcome U

It’s a lot easier for the Democratic candidate to do his job when the media glare is off of him and onto Hurricane Sarah. But there’s a very specific reason for Obama’s post-convention bounce, captured by at least four new polls. Let’s break it down.

1) Have a pitch-perfect convention. Despite the abominable media coverage of the event, the DNC carried off very well. Over 38 million people watched Obama’s prime-time address, one of the few unfiltered moments, and the reviews were very favorable. He framed the message of the campaign - that John McCain represents another four years of the same - skillfully, and put meat on the message of change by specifically citing where he would take the country. The other speeches and events reinforced this theme.

2) Mind your business. With all the Hurricane Sarah stuff flying around, Obama has wisely stayed completely out of that conversation, explicitly warning the press to “back off” all these reports about the Vice Presidential nominee’s pregnant daughter, a move that earned him praise across the political spectrum. There’s no need for him to pile on to the Palin stuff - she’s doing a perfectly good job of defining herself, and in the negative.

3) Bring everything back to the core message. Instead of attacking Palin, Obama has relentlessly attacked McCain - and explicitly tied him to George Bush. Here’s ad number one:

And number two.

The “more of the same” message appears at the end of every ad and inside every speech.

Finally, look how Obama rhetorically used yesterday’s near-miss of Hurricane Gustav as a launching pad to talk about the “silent storm” of workers displaced, struggling and suffering while Bush-McCain economic policies offer them nothing (it’s implicit message here, but it’s undeniably present).

All across America there are quiet storms taking place. There are lives of quiet desperation. People in need of just a little bit of help. Now, Americans are a self-reliant people, we’re an independent people. We don’t like asking somebody else to do what we can do ourselves, but you know what we understand is that every once in a while somebody’s going to get knocked down. Every once in a while somebody’s going to go through some hard times. When we least expect it tragedy may strike. And what has always made this country great is the understanding that we rise and fall as one nation, that values and family, community and neighborhood, they have to express themselves in our government. Those are national values. Those are values that we all subscribe to. And so, the spirit that we extend today and in the days to come as we monitor what happens on the Gulf, that’s the spirit that we’ve got to carry with us each and every day. That’s the spirit that we need in our own homes and it’s the spirit that we need in the White House. And that’s why I’m running for president of the United States of America.

4) Do you job. In addition to messaging the McCain-Bush connection, the Obama campaign is not pollwatching, not putting together their tactics based on short-term political advantage but based on winning those 18 battleground states, based on raising their segment of Obama voters and moving the underlying data, based on registering and contacting as many potential voters as possible, based on meeting targets, and knowing that the game plan, if adhered to, will be successful. While DC insiders were trying to apologize for poll numbers a couple weeks ago, the Obama campaign ignored them - and did their work.

This is why those undecideds are collapsing, with many moving in Obama’s direction. Those undecideds were probably decided anyway, but getting contact from the Obama campaign, hearing a message of change, a message of a break from Bush, without stepping into the Palin mess, and a clear direction of where the country ought to go has unquestionably sealed the deal for a lot of people, who won’t be coming back out of that column. We focus a lot on what the other side is doing wrong, but I think we have to hand it to the political team that’s getting the past two weeks right.

In the end, voters are schizophrenic. They want specifics beyond a change message and then they also say that they care more about character than issues. What this distills down to is that voters want to see the cues of how you run your campaign as a proxy of how you will run the country. And Obama is delivering. Talking about specifics over soaring rhetoric was as important as the specifics themselves. Using points of contrast with Bush-McCain instead of making anything out of Hurricane Sarah was a window into the man’s character. Running a tight ship concerned with meeting numbers and registering voters instead of erratically freaking out about the latest fad from minute to minute displays confidence and competence. There are non-verbal cues that Obama is tapping into here, and the results are unquestionable.

UPDATE: When Obama’s campaign was asked to address the elephant, or rather the elephant’s VP pick, in the room, they kept the focus on John McCain. They could have thrown in the fact that he wasn’t allowed to pick his on VP candidate because the Christianist wing of the party has held him hostage, but I’m not going to quibble. This is good stuff:

“The way the process was done should be of interest to voters because I do think it speaks to how things will be managed and executed as president,” said David Plouffe, who manages the Obama campaign. “At the end of the day, it may work out for them, but the process is a transparent moment for voters to decide how these two people will go about major decisions.” […]

In an interview here on Tuesday, Mr. Plouffe said voters should instead judge Mr. McCain for what he called an “impulsive” decision to choose Ms. Palin, who has served as governor of Alaska for 20 months. He said Ms. Palin’s governmental record in Alaska is fair game for examination in the final two months of the campaign, but not her family.

“You have to assume that when you’re making this pick – if something happened to you – you are choosing the 45th president of the United States,” Mr. Plouffe said. “And it’s a big decision.”

UPDATE 2: Bill Burton hit the other half of this earlier in an interview about Joe Lieberman with Fox News:

BILL HEMMER: That is our lead tonight. Fox has learned that Joe Lieberman will give a speech, quote, like no other in primetime this evening. He’s campaigning for the person he considers his best friend in the U.S. Senate, John McCain. How will democrats react when one of their own is onstage in primetime? Bill Burton is the Obama campaign national spokesman. How will democrats react?
BILL BURTON: I think that what he would have done is not just have Joe Lieberman give a speech but put him on the ticket like it is reported that he wanted to. He didn’t, apparently, because he is beholden to the right wing interest in his party. I think folks ought to know that. Yes, Joe Lieberman is speaking but the reason he is speaking instead of on the ticket is because there’s a choice in this election between Barack Obama who is for a woman’s right to choose and John McCain who wants to overturn Roe vs. Wade to the point he kept Joe Lieberman off the ticket.
HEMMER: We were pointing a built earlier today — let’s dissect this, ok? The Lieberman camp is saying that he is putting country before party, which is the same thing with John McCain and country first. Is this an age of cynicism? Could America use a few more Joe Liebermans?
BURTON: I think that America could use some more leaders who didn’t back George Bush’s catastrophic policy and didn’t support George Bush’s tax cut for the top 1% like Joe Lieberman and John McCain do. There is a real choice in this election. I think the speakers tonight help to show what this choice is.
HEMMER: Is he going to be treated differently after this?
BURTON: Well, look, I think when people know what senator Lieberman’s politics are, and know that he has been in lockstep with John McCain when it comes to things like tax cuts for the wealthy, when it comes to George Bush’s foreign policy, especially in Iraq, and so I think that people know where he’s been and where he stands, but the bottom line is, you know, last week we had some great Republicans who spoke at our convention. We had Susan Eisenhower, we had former Congressman Jim Leach speak, and we had the mayor of Fairbanks.
HEMMER: But this is primetime. This is the national audience. This is 10:30 eastern time. You can’t get a better slot than that, Bill.
BURTON: Sure, I understand what you’re saying, but like I said, if John McCain really wanted to show he’s the maverick he purports to be, he wouldn’t just have had Joe Lieberman giving a speech. He would have put Joe Lieberman on the ticket, but he was forced not to by the right wing of his party.
HEMMER: Thank you Bill Burton from the Obama campaign.

That’s pretty darn good.

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So with Hurricane Gustav thankfully rerouting away from New Orleans and with the damage more minimal than expected, the Republicans will try to fire up their red meat machine in force tonight to make up for lost time. Of course, the looming hurricane didn’t stop them from partying with the band “Hookers & Blow” last night.

The problem is there’s another hurricane in the Gulf that could hit Florida and Georgia on Thursday, and with the GOP already on record as refraining from attacks in the midst of a natural disaster, they are constrained and in a box here. So it’s kind of a hybrid convention instead of the expected full-fledged assault on Barack Obama. They had to shuffle the schedule, and tonight Unca Fred Thompson and Droopy Dog Lieberman are on tap, along with President Bush. They couldn’t even dodge that bullet of having Bush associated with McCain at the convention; literally everything he says tonight can be made into 30-second TV commercials. And the behind the scenes stuff is delicious:

Almost certainly, Bush had to cancel his planned speech while Gustav loomed. But the sources say he didn’t like the idea and felt pushed. Bush is described by sources as “furious” at McCain for being deprived of his last appearance before his party, which nominated him twice, as a sitting president. He believes he is being treated disrespectfully.

Shuttering the convention for a night was probably inevitable given the hurricane, but to provide a cover-up for scratching Bush and Cheney it became absolutely necessary. But once the hurricane passed, Bush asserted his primacy as president and forced his way back on the schedule to deliver a satellite speech to the convention.

McCain is desperately seeking ways to pivot from Bush, whose in-person appearance on the first night of the convention threatened to obliterate his message as a “maverick” and “reformer.” Even though McCain himself would not be onstage, Bush and Cheney would have dominated the opening and underlined continuity between their administration and McCain. The cancellation of the first night of the convention is a small price to pay for their absence.

McCain’s campaign is perfectly aware of the mortal danger of Bush’s embrace. He has needed the president to rally the Republican base. But once he has the nomination his imperative is to project himself as an antidote to what has gone wrong with Republicanism.

This is the reason for putting Lieberman on the same night as Bush, to somehow show that McCain’s Republican Party is even crazier than Bush on foreign affairs moderate and post-partisan. So much so that Lieberman has previously praised Obama to the hills, which won’t be repeated tonight.

The Republicans wanted a week of sustained attacks on their opponent. But they got a muddled convention filled with distractions over hurricane on the ground and Hurricane Sarah Palin and Hurricane Bush’s Ego. Not to mention that there’s a 10,000-strong contingent of Ron Paul supporters having a bigger and more interesting convention right next door, which is starting to get some media attention.

There’s no room at the Xcel Energy Center for maverick Ron Paul, so his acolytes have packed their cars, hitched rides on “Ronvoys” and will pitch tents at Ronstock ‘08 in defiance of next week’s GOP convention in St. Paul, Minn.

Almost 9,800 tickets had been sold for the Rally for the Republic, being held in Minneapolis, which seeks to bring together activists who are anti-war, anti-government regulation, anti-immigration, anti-taxes, anti-Federal Reserve, anti-outsourcing, pro-individual liberty, pro-civil liberties and pro-Paul.

The Ronvoys — fleets of buses and vans carrying Paul’s loyalists — were to begin arriving Saturday. A few rally-goers planned to walk from Green Bay, Wis., and join up with Paul for the final miles of their Walk4Freedom. Other attendees are driving, carpooling or flying in for the convention alternative.

The McCain camp blocked Paul from speaking on the convention floor despite his getting more votes than Giuliani or Thompson in the primaries. He’s expecting 18,000 at his own rally today.

The Paul movement is the only real one in St. Paul today. The conservative movement is flailing.

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Senator McCain Cuts and Runs, Governor Palin’s “Labor” Day, and a New Hurricane Called, Um, Ike? Who Writes This Stuff?

Tuesday, September 2nd, 2008

Well, I guess God got my email and answered my prayer. Man, the power of the Internet! He even emailed me back! I’ll share that with you in the next few days. Proof there is a God in heaven? Never explain comedy or satire or the ironic comment. Those who get it, get it. Those who don’t, never will…

John McCain said “it’s time to take our Republican hats off and put our American hats on.” Really? It would have been nice if Sen. McCain had put on his American hat in the three years since Katrina. Just so no one is fooled by all his fake concern for the people on the Gulf Coast, let’s look at his record post-Katrina, compliments of Chris Hayes of The Nation:

If (McCain) cared about New Orleans and the Gulf Coast he could have done something these past three years. He could have made Gulf Reconstruction his issue, he could have excoriated his party for pushing federal dollars into the hands of cronies, for providing inadequate resources, for allowing the further destruction of the wetlands that serve as the only natural barrier to storm surges. He could have taken on the insurance companies that have been serially screwing the residents of the gulf. But he was too busy pushing for more troops, and more war and running for president.

Instead this is his record [via Mother Jones]:

Though McCain issued a statement the next week (after Katrina) calling on Congress to make sacrifices in order to fund recovery efforts, he was quoted in The New Leader on September 1 [2005] cautioning against over-spending in support of Katrina’s victims. “We also have to be concerned about future generations of Americans,” he said. “We’re going to end up with the highest deficit, probably, in the history of this country.”

That attitude was borne out in McCain’s actions and votes. Forty Senators and 100 members of Congress visited New Orleans before he did; he finally got there in March 2006. He voted against establishing a Congressional commission to examine the Federal, State, and local responses to Katrina in med-September 2005. He repeated that vote in 2006. He voted against allowing up to 52 weeks of unemployment benefits to people affected by the hurricane, and in 2006 voted against appropriating $109 billion in supplemental emergency funding, including $28 billion for hurricane relief.

So honestly, it’s an insult to watch him make a show of concern now. …

The possibility of a storm (a storm that never hit New Orleans, and was no longer a hurricane by last night) was enough for McCain to essentially cancel most of the first day of the convention. Cut and run? The AP reported yesterday that conventions have always been held when the nation was facing perilous moments. Right smack in the middle of World War II, the Republicans and the Democrats both held full conventions. Thousands of Americans were being killed every week. The Republicans held their convention in Chicago less than two weeks after D-Day. No one faulted them for that. In fact, it made Americans feel good that, no matter what happens, NOTHING stops Democracy. No retreat, no surrender…

So McCain and company used the hurricane for political advantage, to have an excuse to not have Bush and Cheney live and in person in St. Paul (Bush will appear Tuesday night via satellite). And he used the hurricane as a chance to release a potentially controversial story in the hopes that the hurricane would dominate the news and not many would notice. One hour after Gustav hit land, the McCain campaign announced that Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s teenage daughter is pregnant. I don’t want to say much more beyond this, as I agree with Barack Obama that “people’s families are off limits, and people’s children are especially off limits.”

I do feel very sorry that this minor, this child, now has to have her privacy sacrificed because her mother accepted an offer to run for VP. Obama’s right — the children are off limits. I remember when John McCain cruelly trashed Chelsea Clinton when she was a child in the White House. He told reporters that she was “ugly” “because Janet Reno is her father.” Of course, McCain would like us now to accord Palin’s daughter the respect he wouldn’t give Chelsea.

This does not mean that a discussion about the stupidity of “abstinence-only” sex ed classes is off the table; nor should we not talk about the right of a teenager to terminate a pregnancy (a right that has been essentially eliminated as the Supreme Court believes forcing a child to have a child against its will is not a form a child abuse), or Gov. Palin’s desire to make abortion illegal for anyone who is raped, a victim of incest or who may die if they bring the fetus to term. She’s “proud” of her daughter’s “decision to have her baby.” Uh-huh. Ok…

Word comes tonight that McCain’s people lied about Palin being vetted — the FBI has admitted they did NOT vet her. So McCain has dispatched ten operatives and investigators to Alaska to find out if there’s anything else that’s about to hit the fan regarding his veep pick, a woman he had run into only once in his life and then called her on her cell phone two weeks ago at the Alaska State Fair. That was it before she made the short list and was selected. McCain’s radar — honed perhaps during his own self-admitted indiscretionary phase of his life — is telling him there’s more to the Palin story. You mean things like her support of the Alaska Secessionist Party or being one of the directors of recently-arrested Sen. Ted Stevens’ political action groups? Heck, I dunno. We shall see…

But before everyone gets all smug and self-righteous about the Palin selection, remember where you live. You live in a nation of gun owners and hunters. You live in a country where one out of three girls get pregnant before they are 20. You live in a nation of C students. Knocking Bush for being a C student only endeared him to the nation of C students. Knock Palin for having kids, for having a kid who’s having a baby, for anything that is part of her normalness — a normalness that looks very familiar to so many millions of Americans — well, you do this at your own peril. Assuming she’s still on the ticket two weeks from now, she will be a much tougher opponent than anyone expects. You live in a country that voted for Dan Quayle.

I’ll close with this report on ABC tonight by investigative reporter Brian Ross. It shows Republicans in St. Paul taking off their Republican hats and putting on their American hats. In the meantime they should keep those hats ready as a new hurricane was announced today. No, not Hannah. She’s already on her way to Florida for Friday. The new one is called Ike, scheduled to hit the Gulf early next week. Ike. He’s the one who warned us about the “military-industrial complex.”

More to come…
Michael Moore
MMFlint@aol.com
MichaelMoore.com

I’M NOT A LEFT WINGER
NOR AM I A RIGHT WINGER…..

I’M THE FUCKING GOALIE
SO TAKE YOUR BEST SHOT
AND GET WITH THE PROGRAM

written by \\ tags: gulf islands

Australian Network NewsHour with Jim Middleton
[watch via here: http://australianetwork.com/newshour/archives.htm ]

East Timor is battling chronic unemployment and the future of its potentially biggest asset - gas - is under a cloud. Jim Middleton speaks to Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao.

East Timor may be one of the world’s poorest nations but it does have one very valuable asset - oil and gas.

Woodside Petroleum wants to exploit the Greater Sunrise field but has rejected Dili’s proposal to process the gas in East Timor. Now a confrontation appears to be looming with East Timor’s Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao insisting it’s not just up to the company, but his country also has a say.

Jim Middleton spoke to Mr Gusmao during his whirlwind visit to Australia.

Jim Middleton:Prime Minister, thank you very much for your time. You sometimes seem like a very reluctant Prime Minister, if I can put it that way. I saw you say that you’d prefer to be growing pumpkins, I think it was. How are you enjoying the job these days?

Xanana Gusmao, East Timorese Prime Minister:Well, if you ask me how I enjoy the job I must tell you that by the daily achievement you can enjoy your, you can fulfill your promise to the people. It is the way how you enjoy your job. If you don’t get to solve the problems, of course you will be, at night you will have say, bad nights.

Jim Middleton:So are you sleeping well?

Xanana Gusmao:Sometimes very badly, but many times I feel that I am getting, I’m sleeping well because things are going, the country’s calm now, it’s stable. Many of the problems that we inherited are solved.

Jim Middleton:You’ve talked a lot while you were in Australia about the need to provide jobs for the unemployed in East Timor. Is providing work for those without jobs the key to political stability in East Timor, do you think?

Xanana Gusmao:They need jobs. Every year we receive 15,000 to 16,000 youth to the job market. The problem is that we don’t have this market and we have to provide job, we have to assist them to gain skills and it’s why we are asking to help us in this.

Jim Middleton:I was speaking to President Jose Ramos-Horta earlier in the year and he was pointing out to me that Cuba, for example, was educating doctors for you and yet Australia was not able to see its way clear to do, to provide similar skills training for East Timorese. Do you find that a little ironic?

Xanana Gusmao:Well, everyone can see this. Of course, we are trying also to get other options to send our people to study…

Jim Middleton:I guess what I’m saying is should Australia be doing more?

Xanana Gusmao:But if Australia thinks that it can help in this way, of course we will appreciate very much. And we send already 54 civil servants to Indonesia to have post-evaluation abilities.
The problem for us is the education is better here but also very expensive.

Jim Middleton:Do you think that the refusal at this stage of the Australian government to allow your people to participate in the new guest worker scheme reflects some dissatisfaction on the part of the Australian administration in the steps you have taken yourself and your government, to provide employment and encourage employment in East Timor?

Xanana Gusmao:We understand, we understand, we understand that we are not part of Pacific Islands. And that is why by the statements from Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, he said that in the end of the year we will see what we can do or Australia can do. And we hope, we hope.

Jim Middleton:What do you say to your critics within East Timor who suggest that in your current budget too much is being spent on or wasted I think they would suggest on recurrent expenditure and not enough is being spent on capital investment - 15 per cent I think as opposed to 85 per cent.

Xanana Gusmao:This is the difference - capital investment in what?

Jim Middleton:Well in education, in health, in schools?

Xanana Gusmao:Well we are investing more than $US2 million to scholarships, to human resources. That never happen. That never happen.

And every year we will spend more and more to prepare our young generation for 10 to 15 years to take over the country. That is why it is not true.

And in my campaign I said we have to cut this vicious cycle, to fix holes and to create new holes.

It is not capital investment for my understanding. That is why we are studying how to invest in proper way to push the development growth.

If not, we will not. We will just say, oh I have more two or three police posts this year, three or four schools here. But our people live, our children live far away from schools. There is a big rate of dropouts. Our people live far away from the health service. Our people cannot bring their product to the cities or to the towns because of bad roads. Our people, our children cannot study because they don’t have light at night. Our small enterprises, our medium enterprises cannot do anything because we don’t deliver electricity, power to their houses.

And what will move the economy? Not only the big investments but also the rural capability to make sure that productive activities are there, are in place in the rural communities. It is what we think about capital development.

Jim Middleton:While you were in Australia you’ve met with executives from Woodside Petroleum about their plans for exploitation of the gas field at Greater Sunrise. They seem to think that they will not proceed with plans to process the gas in East Timor. Is that a disappointment and is that the end of the story as far as you’re concerned?

Xanana Gusmao:I don’t believe so.

Jim Middleton:Do you have other options? I mean is it actually a matter for Woodside to decide?

Xanana Gusmao:… the end of the story because the decisions should be from all of us.

We did one decision, important decision in our history - unilateral proclamation of independence in ‘75, nobody, no-one supports this, no-one, only a few countries supported us. Unilaterally it is the wrong way to seek for solutions, no? We have to seek for other options also. It is in our interest.

We cannot go and discuss something that we don’t know. We have to know, we have to look at the possibilities.

Jim Middleton:So are you saying there are other options beyond Woodside?

Xanana Gusmao:We are trying, we are trying to, we are doing the feasibility studies. For us the problem will be, the problem for us, the decision will be more in technical factors - feasibility, safety, commercial viability, including the cost in each options - will be the deciding factors for this issue.

That is why we promise that in the first quarter of the next year we will announce our own findings. Because it is fair that you, somebody present in the table, one part present his options, and another part present also its options. And only the technical and commercial factors will decide, and we will decide together.

Jim Middleton:So are you saying it’s not up to Woodside alone to determine how it proceeds, it is up to East Timor as well?

Xanana Gusmao:Of course.

Jim Middleton:East Timor as well and you could say no to the whole deal?

Xanana Gusmao:Of course. We will discuss. We’ll be, there will be Commission for Greater Sunrise. Also we are drawing the protocol to make clear the rules of engagement. We, next year we will announce the strategic planning, the development planning. This is not unilateral problem. It is bilateral problem.

Jim Middleton:Let’s go to one final subject which of course is the traumatic events at the beginning of the year with the assassination attempt on Jose Ramos-Horta, I think also yourself.

Has the country been able, do you think, in the intervening months been able to put that entirely behind it? Do you think that has now, the trauma is over, stability has returned? Do you think it’s as simple as that now?

Xanana Gusmao:Yes. Only by one factor. We started to understand that the fragile state only can come when the institutions of the state don’t work together. But if they are together in big national interest issues the state is not fragile. The state can consolidate year by year. And by only this factor I can tell you yes.

Jim Middleton:Prime Minister, it’s been a pleasure to talk to you.

Xanana Gusmao:Thank you.

Published: 28/08/2008

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Now that the Democrats have won the argument (Republican Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin said over and over again last night that she was for reform, challenging the special interests, and change; I’m sure McCain will do the same tonight), it’s up to the American people to judge who might actually deliver a different set of policies. Here’s one response to the dozens of lies she offered last night:

PALIN: “Our opponents say, again and again, that drilling will not solve all of America’s energy problems - as if we all didn’t know that already. But the fact that drilling won’t solve every problem is no excuse to do nothing at all.”

REALITY: PALIN SAID SHE WOULD BEG TO DISAGREE WITH ANY CANDIDATE WHO SAID WE CAN’T DRILL OUR WAY OUT OF OUR PROBLEM

Palin Said She Would Beg to Disagree With Candidate Who Said We Can’t Drill Our Way Out of Our Problem. Asked by Invester’s Business Daily “Some politicians and presidential candidates say we can’t drill our way out of our energy problem and that drilling in ANWR will have no effect. What’s your best guess of the impact on prices?” Palin responded, “I beg to disagree with any candidate who would say we can’t drill our way out of our problem or that more supply won’t ultimately affect prices. Of course it will affect prices. Energy being a global market, it’s impossible to venture a guess on (specific) prices.” [Investor’s Business Daily, 7/11/08]

PALIN: “In fact, I told Congress — I told Congress, ‘Thanks, but no thanks,’ on that bridge to nowhere.”

REALITY: PALIN WAS FOR THE BRIDGE TO NOWHERE BEFORE SHE WAS AGAINST IT.

October 2006” Palin Supported Bridge To Nowhere. In 2006, Palin was asked, “Would you continue state funding for the proposed Knik Arm and Gravina Island bridges?” She responded, “Yes. I would like to see Alaska’s infrastructure projects built sooner rather than later. The window is now–while our congressional delegation is in a strong position to assist.” [Anchorage, 10/22/06, republished 08/29/08]

2006: Palin: Don’t Allow “Spinmeisters” To Turn Bridge To Nowhere Project “Into Something That’s So Negative.” “Part of my agenda is making sure that Southeast is heard. That your projects are important. That we go to bat for Southeast when we’re up against federal
influences that aren’t in the best interest of Southeast.’ She cited the widespread negative attention focused on the Gravina Island crossing project. ‘We need to come to the defense of Southeast Alaska when proposals are on the table like the bridge and not allow the
spinmeisters to turn this project or any other into something that’s so negative,’ Palin said.” [Ketchikan Daily News, 10/2/06]

REALITY: PALIN ONLY ANNOUNCED OPPOSITION TO ONE “BRIDGE TO NOWHERE,” STILL SUPPORTS THE OTHER ONE

Palin Refused to Fund Ketchikan Bridge, But Did Not Stop Funding for Knik Arm Bridge.“ Among the earmarks: $449 million for what critics have ridiculed as two ‘bridges to nowhere’ — one in Ketchikan and one across Knik Arm in Anchorage formally named Don Young’s Way. Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, also a Republican, last month refused to use any more money for the Ketchikan project, redirecting it for other purposes.” [Anchorage Daily News,11/11/07]

As Recently as June, State Asking for Cost Estimate Proposals for Knik Arm. “An independent party will be called in to look at one of the most elusive aspects of a proposed bridge linking Anchorage and Mat-Su: the price tag. Gordon Keith, regional director for the state Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, said his office will be putting the job of estimating the cost of the controversial project out for bids in coming weeks. He said the task of coming up with a price could cost up to $200,000 and take up to 3½ months. ‘The issue keeps swirling around, so we thought it best to go ahead and do an independent estimate,’ he said. The cost to get the estimate is going to be high ‘if you want to do it correctly,’ he said. The cost of a span reaching across Knik Arm from Anchorage to Point MacKenzie has ranged over the years from $450 million to $1 billion, depending on what kind of bridge is envisioned and what starting date is plugged into the formula… Randy Ruaro, a special assistant to Gov. Sarah
Palin, said the administration, even in the face of the recent lengthy report from the bridge authority, was having trouble getting an accurate picture of everything that is involved in the project, of the timing of the phases, and of the costs. He said the independent estimate is expected to answer those questions. Mary Ann Pease, spokeswoman for the authority, said she welcomes the effort to get updated costs.” [Anchorage Daily News, 6/22/08]

PALIN: “Senator McCain also promises to use the power of veto in defense of the public interest - and as a chief executive, I can assure you it works.”

REALITY: PALIN OPPOSED CRUCIAL EDUCATION, HEALTH CARE AND SENIORS FUNDING

EDUCATION/CHILDREN

Total: 396,000.

Anchorage – Fire Lake Elementary School Replacement of Unsafe Sports Equipment. Palin vetoed $10,000. [FY08 Budget]

Tanana City School District – Repair School Bus. Palin vetoed $36,000. [FY08 Budget]

American Lung Association of Alaska – Asthma Control Program and Champ Camp. Palin voted $350,000. [FY08 Budget]

HOSPITALS/HEALTH CARE

Total: $4,527,500.

Ketchikan General Hospital Surgical Suite Expansion/Relocation. Palin vetoed $4,400,000. [FY09 Budget]

Ketchikan General Hospital – Replacement of Outdated Equipment. Palin vetoed $70,000. [2007 Legislature Supplemental]

Sitka – Community Hospital – Medical Equipment. Palin vetoed $31,000. [2007 Legislature Supplemental]

Kenai Peninsula Borough – Diagnostic Hospital Equipment. Palin vetoed $26,500. [2007 Legislature Supplemental]

SENIORS

Total: $600,000.

Ketchikan Senior Citizens, Inc. – Access Road for Pioneer Heights. Palin vetoed $300,000. [FY08 Budget]

AARP Ketchikan – Access Road for Ketchikan Senior Housing Project Palin vetoed $100,000. [2007 Legislature Supplemental]

Catholic Community Services – Angoon Senior Center Stove, Refrigerator and Freezer. Palin vetoed $20,000 twice. [FY08 Budget, 2007 Legislature Supplemental]

Alpha Omega Life Care, Inc. – Delivery Van and Moveable Building. Palin vetoed $20,000. [FY09 Budget]

Older Persons Action Group – Senior Voice Equipment Upgrade. Palin vetoed $20,000. [FY09 Budget]

Statewide Independent Living Centers – Assistive Technology for Alaska’s Centers for Independent Living. Palin vetoed $125,000. [FY09 Budget]

Kodiak Senior Center – Facilities repair and Equipment. Palin vetoed $15,000. [2007 Legislature Supplemental]

PALIN: “Before I became governor of the great state of Alaska, I was mayor of my hometown.”

REALITY: UNDER PALIN, WASILLA GOVERNMENT SPENDING & DEBT SKYROCKETED.

Total Government Expenditures Increased 63 Percent Under Palin. In fiscal 2003—the last fiscal year Palin approved the budget—the total government expenditures of Wasilla, excluding capital outlays, were $7,046,325. In fiscal 1996—the year before Palin took control of the
budget—the expenditures were $4,317,947. The increase was 63 percent. [Wasilla Comprehensive Annual Financial Report 2003, Table 1]

Palin Supported Increasing Wasilla Sales Tax From 2 to 2.5 Percent to Build $14.7 Million Sports Center. “Wasilla residents have given the go ahead to building a new multiuse sports center in town and to raising the city sales tax to pay for it. With the final votes counted
Friday, residents voted 306 to 286 in favor of a measure to raise the city sales tax from 2 percent to 2.5 percent to pay the estimated $14.7 million cost of building the center…Mayor Sarah Palin, who supported the measure, said the tight vote will motivate city officials to keep a close eye on the budget for the center.” [Anchorage Daily News, 3/9/02]

Palin Left Behind Almost $19 Million In Long-Term Debt, Compared to None Before She Was Mayor. In fiscal 2003—the last fiscal year Palin approved the budget—the bonded long-term debt was $18,635,000. In fiscal 1996—the year before Palin took control of the budget—there was no general obligation debt. [Wasilla Comprehensive Annual Financial Report 2003, Table 10]

PALIN: “It was the spirit that brought me to the governor’s office, when I took on the old politics as usual in Juneau … when I stood up to the special interests, the lobbyists, big oil companies, and the good-ol’ boys network.”

REALITY: PALIN HAS A LT. GOVERNOR WHO IS A FORMER OIL LOBBYIST, HIRED
WASILLA’S FIRST FEDERAL LOBBYIST (A FORMER STEVENS STAFFER) & HAD THE
SUPPORT OF ENTRENCHED ALASKA POLITICIANS DURING HER 2006 RACE.

Palin’s Oil & Gas Appointee Is Former Lobbyist for TransCanada. “Marty Rutherford, who leads Gov. Sarah Palin’s gas pipeline team, made $40,200 in 2003 while consulting in Juneau for a pipeline subsidiary of TransCanada. TransCanada is one of the companies bidding for a state license to build a pipeline to carry gas to market from Alaska’s North Slope. It’s not a disqualifier, but the past connection deserves a second thought.” [Anchorage Daily News editorial, 12/15/07]

Palin “Counting on Her Lieutenant Governor Candidate… Former Oil Lobbyist” to Help Win Oil Industry Support. “The defiantly grass-roots nature of the campaign may have distanced her from certain traditional centers of power in Alaska. The oil industry is one — but the
campaign says it is counting on her lieutenant governor candidate, Parnell, a former oil lobbyist and legislator, to help there.” [Anchorage Daily News, 10/24/06]

Palin’s Former Chief of Staff is Stevens’ Campaign Manager. “Monegan says pressure came from those around Palin, including former Palin chief-of-staff Mike Tibbles, Department of Administration Commissioner Annette Kreitzer, and director of boards and commissions Frank Bailey. Tibbles, who is now the campaign manager for Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens, said Friday he couldn’t comment on whether he spoke to Monegan about Wooten.” [Anchorage Daily, 7/19/08]

As Mayor, Palin Hired a Washington Lobbyist to Help Get Earmarks for Wasilla – Lobbyist Was Former Chief of Staff for Indicted Senator Ted Stevens. “And as mayor of the small town of Wasilla from 1996 to 2002, Palin also hired a Washington lobbying firm that helped secure $8 million in congressionally directed spending projects, known as earmarks, according to public spending records compiled by the watchdog group Citizens Against Government Waste and lobbying documents. Wasilla’s lobbying firm was headed by Steven Silver — a former chief of staff to Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens, a key proponent of the bridge project.” [USA Today, 8/31/08]

The Usual Alaska Suspects - Ted Stevens, Don Young, And Lisa Murkowski Fundraised For Palin. “Will we see Ted Stevens stumping for Sarah Palin? Palin said this morning that Stevens appeared at a fund-raiser for her in Ketchikan and gave a speech about ‘moving Alaska forward.’ But does that mean he’ll pop up in any advertisements? (Remember his arguably pivotal role at the end of the Knowles and Murkowski Senate race?) Palin said she doubts it and hasn’t asked… She said Don Young came to one of her fund-raisers two days ago, and she expects Lisa Murkowski at an upcoming event. Tonight she planned to talk with John Binkley, who she says is writing a letter to his supporters on her behalf, and she planned to meet with Frank Murkowski tomorrow morning.” [“The Trail” blog, Anchorage Daily News, 10/13/06]

In Her 2002 Campaign for Lieutenant Governor, Palin Raised ‘About 10 Percent Of Her Campaign Fund’ From Veco, An Oil Company At the Heart of Federal Investigation. “While mayor of Wasilla, Palin ran for lieutenant governor in 2002. She gathered $5,000 — or about 10
percent of her campaign fund — from Veco officials or their wives along the way.” [Anchorage Daily News, 9/6/06]

PALIN: “I came to office promising major ethics reform, to end the culture of self-dealing. And today, that ethics reform is the law.”

REALITY: PALIN SIGNED WEAK ETHICS REFORM BILL & HAS HAD NUMEROUS
ETHICAL FLAPS OF HER OWN.

Palin Signed Ethics Reform Legislation That Anchorage Republican Bob Roses Said Didn’t Go Far Enough. “An ethics reform package for state officials was signed into law Monday by Gov. Sarah Palin, just minutes after a former state representative was convicted on seven federal
extortion and bribery counts. Palin said the law will help re-establish trust between the public and elected officials by improving on existing statutes. … Ethics reform had been a recurring theme throughout Palin’s election campaign, and she pushed hard for the bill to become a bipartisan effort in the Legislature this session. She said she remains determined to clean up Alaska politics. … Rep. Bob Roses, R-Anchorage, who succeed Anderson in the Legislature when Anderson didn’t seek re-election in 2006, said the law didn’t go far enough. Campaign contributions should be available for immediate public scrutiny, he said, and all contributions should be reported, even those below the current $1,000 threshold. ‘Quite frankly, I thought some of the things should have been a little tighter than what they were, but this is a first step,’ he said.” [The Associated Press State & Local Wire, 7/10/07]

AUGUST 2008: Ethics Complaint Filed Against Gov. Palin Over Alleged Involvement in Hiring a Campaign Contributor. In August 2008, former state House member Andree McLeod filed against Gov. Sarah Palin and her staff today with the Attorney General’s Office. It accuses the
governor’s office of using its pull to get a Palin supporter hired to a [Department of Transportation] job in Fairbanks.” McLeod said “‘Executive branch employee shouldn’t be getting involved in the recruitment process unless it’s based on merit,’ said Andree McLeod,
who wrote the complaint based on a series of e-mails between members of Palin’s team…The complaint accuses Palin, her acting chief of staff and others of breaking executive ethics branch and hiring rules. It centers on the hiring of surveyor Tom Lamal, who once co-hosted a
Palin fundraiser, for a state right-of-way agent job in Fairbanks.”

The complaint is available at http://community.adn.com/sites/community.adn.com/files/McLeod
Ethics Complaint1.pdf [Anchorage Daily News, http://community.adn.com/adn/node/128527,
8/6/08; Anchorage Daily News, http://www.adn.com/front/story/486163.html, 8/7/08]

July 2008: Special Counsel Appointed Last Month to Investigate Palin Abuse of Power Claim. In July 2008, the Alaska State Legislator voted 12-0 to approve $100,000 for a special investigator to begin an investigation into claims Palin fired a former state official because
he would not fire a state trooper who was involved in a bitter custody battle with Palin’s sister. The legislator’s intent was to investigate the events surrounding the termination of former Dept. of Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan and potential abuses of power
and improper action by Palin and her administration. [KTVA 11, 07/28/08]

PALIN: “I suspended the state fuel tax, and championed reform to end the abuses of earmark spending by Congress.”

REALITY: ALASKA HAS REQUESTED $589 MILLION IN PORK SINCE PALIN TOOK
OFFICE & AS MAYOR, SHE HIRED WASILLA’S FIRST FEDERAL LOBBYIST TO
SECURE EARMARKS FOR THE TOWN.

Over $589 Million in Federal Pork Requests During Palin’s Tenure as Governor. According to Citizens Against Government Waste, www.cagw.org, under Palin’s tenure as Governor the state of Alaska has asked for $589,599,715 in pork barrel projects. [2007 and 2008 Pig Book, www.cagw.org]

Alaska Has Sought 31 Earmarks Worth $197.8 Million in Next Year’s Federal Budget. “But under her leadership, the state of Alaska has requested 31 earmarks worth $197.8 million in next year’s federal budget, according to the website of Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), the
former chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee.” [LA Times, 9/1/08]

As Mayor, Palin Hired a Washington Lobbyist to Help Get Millions in Earmarks for Wasilla – Lobbyist Was Former Chief of Staff for Indicted Senator Ted Stevens. “And as mayor of the small town of Wasilla from 1996 to 2002, Palin also hired a Washington lobbying firm that helped secure $8 million in congressionally directed spending projects, known as earmarks, according to public spending records compiled by the watchdog group Citizens Against Government Waste and lobbying documents. Wasilla’s lobbying firm was headed by Steven Silver — a former chief of staff to Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens, a key proponent of the bridge project.” [USA Today, 8/31/08]

Under Palin, Wasilla Received $26.9 Million in Earmarks. “As mayor of Wasilla, Palin made regular trips to Washington seeking federal aid. The city received $26.9 million in earmarks during her tenure from fiscal year 2000 to 2003, according to the nonpartisan
Taxpayers for Common Sense, which tracks pork barrel spending.” [LA Times, 9/2/08]

McCain Criticized Earmarks that Palin Sought as Mayor. “Three times in recent years, McCain’s catalogs of “objectionable” spending have included earmarks for this small Alaska town, requested by its mayor at the time — Sarah Palin… In 2001, McCain’s list of spending that
had been approved without the normal budget scrutiny included a $500,000 earmark for a public transportation project in Wasilla. The Arizona senator targeted $1 million in a 2002 spending bill for an emergency communications center in town — one that local law enforcement has said is redundant and creates confusion. McCain also criticized $450,000 set aside for an agricultural processing facility in Wasilla that was requested during Palin’s tenure as mayor and cleared Congress soon after she left office in 2002. The funding was
provided to help direct locally grown produce to schools, prisons and other government institutions, according to Taxpayers for Common Sense, a nonpartisan watchdog group.” [LA Times, 9/3/08]

PALIN: “But we are expected to govern with integrity, and goodwill, and clear convictions…”

REALITY: PALIN UNDER INVESTIGATION FOR ABUSE OF POWER.

Former State Official Accused Palin, Palin’s Former Chief of Staff and Current Ted Stevens Campaign Manager and Palin’s Husband Of Pressuring Him to Fire Trooper. In July 2008, former state official Walt Monegan accused Palin, Palin’s former Chief of Staff and current Stevens’ campaign manager Mike Tibbles and husband Todd Palin of pressuring him
to fire Palin sister’s ex-husband Mike Wooten. [Anchorage Daily News, 07/18/08]

July 2008: Special Counsel Appointed Last Month to Investigate Palin Abuse of Power Claim. In July 2008, the Alaska State Legislator voted 12-0 to approve $100,000 for a special investigator to begin an investigation into claims Palin fired a former state official because
he would not fire a state trooper who was involved in a bitter custody battle with Palin’s sister. The legislator’s intent was to investigate the events surrounding the termination of former Dept. of Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan and potential abuses of power and improper action by Palin and her administration. [KTVA 11, 07/28/08]

PALIN: “As Governor, I have a record of being a strong fiscal conservative and have vetoed millions in special projects pushed by legislators.”

Palin Increased Taxes on Oil Companies to Pay for $1,200 Giveaway to Every Resident in the State. “One of her most significant accomplishments as governor was passing a major tax increase on state oil production, angering oil companies but raising billions of dollars
in new revenue. She said the oil companies had previously bribed legislators to keep the taxes low. She subsequently championed legislation that would give some of that money back to Alaskans: Soon, every Alaskan will receive a $1,200 check.” [New York Times, 8/30/08]

PALIN: “I understand that we must reduce our dependence on foreign energy. I’ve worked with our state’s energy producers to expand our production so that we can have a safe, reliable supply of energy produced here in the United States.”

REALITY: PALIN SUPPORTED EXPORTING NATURAL GAS WHILE ALASKA BUSINESSES
CLOSED BECAUSE OF SHORTAGES

Palin Backed A Two-Year Extension Of The Export License To Export Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) To Japan And Other Asian Countries— Criticized Because Alaska’s Gas Reserves Are Declining. “Alaska producers can continue shipping gas to Asia after DOE last week approved an extension of the export license for the Kenai liquefied natural gas plant owned by ConocoPhillips and Marathon. The companies will be allowed to export up to 98.1 Bcf to Japan and other Pacific Rim countries over a two-year period through March 31, 2011. […] The
application came under fire from local end-users, including gas distribution companies Enstar and the Chugach Electric Association, as well as fertilizer maker Agrium, all of which claimed the exports would exacerbate the problem of declining gas reserves in south-central Alaska. Agrium permanently closed its plant near Kenai due to an inability to find enough local supply for the facility that used 53 Bcf/year. In January, ConocoPhillips and Marathon reached a deal in which they agreed to step up development in the Cook Inlet region in return for the state’s support of the export license extension. The producers also agreed to divert gas from the LNG plant as needed to meet the peak winter supply needs of the local utilities. […] Alaska Governor Sarah Palin welcomed the DOE approval. “In these times of economic uncertainty, this is great news for the state and its residents. This extension will secure a future for the LNG operation and is another step toward ensuring energy supplies and energy security for Alaska,” the Republican Governor said. [Platts Inside FERC, 6/9/08]
Press Release, 6/26/06]

· Agrium Closed Manufacturing Plant Because Of Gas Shortage. “Reserves of gas in producing fields in Southcentral Alaska aredeclining, posing concerns for supply to local utilities. Amanufacturing plant on the Kenai Peninsula owned by Agrium Corp.recently announced it would close because the gas shortage.” [AlaskaJournal Of Commerce, 11/25/07]

· Gov. Palin: Agrium Closure Is Unfortunate. “Agrium announcedyesterday that the plant will close in December due to a shortage inthe supply of Cook Inlet natural gas, leaving about 100 of the 140employees without employment. ‘It’s unfortunate to see the closure ofa facility that has provided so many jobs that support families on thePeninsula,’ said Governor Palin. ‘I am heartened to hear that Agriumis willing to keep its options open if sufficient long-term suppliesof gas can be found. We know there is more gas to be found anddeveloped in Cook Inlet, so I remain hopeful that those jobs can bepreserved.’” [Palin press release, 9/26/07]

PALIN: “And despite fierce opposition from oil company lobbyists, whokind of liked things the way they were, we broke their monopoly onpower and resources.” This

REALITY: PALIN IS CLOSE TO THE OIL INDUSTRY

Sierra Club Director Carl Pope Said “No One is Closer to the OilIndustry Than Governor Palin.” “No one is closer to the oil industrythan Governor Palin,” said Carl Pope, executive director of the SierraClub in comments reflecting the views of a cross section ofenvironmental activists. They cite her eagerness to embrace expandedoffshore oil development, her lawsuit against further protection ofpolar bears so as not to hinder oil drilling in Alaska’s ice-filledwaters and her ardent support to allow oil companies into the Alaskawildlife refuge. [Associated Press, August 30, 2008]

Palin Took $13,000 from Lobbyists Representing the Oil Industry in Her2006 Campaign for Governor. The lobbyists who donated to her campaignrepresent a range of industries, including oil and gas, tobacco,education and the Native Alaskan community. “She’s fought oilcompanies and party bosses and do-nothing bureaucrats and anyone whoputs their interests before the interests of the people she swore anoath to serve,” Mr. McCain said Friday at an Ohio rally to introduceher as his running mate. But since Mrs. Palin leads a major oil-producing state, that industry is one of her top donors. Shecollected nearly $13,000 from lobbyists who represent oil and gasindustries in her primary and general campaigns, according a review ofher campaign donations and 2006 registered state lobbyists.[Washington Times, September 1, 2008]

PALIN: “Starting in January, in a McCain-Palin administration, we’regoing to lay more pipelines … build more new-clear plants … createjobs with clean coal … and move forward on solar, wind, geothermal,and other alternative sources.”

REALITY: PALIN CUT FUNDING FOR RENEWABLE ENERGY

2007: Palin Vetoed $20 Million Toward A Fire Island Wind Farm Project.“[Sen. Hollis] French and [Anchorage Mayor Mark] Begich both lamentedthe [Palin] veto of $20 million toward a Fire Island wind farm projectand connecting transmission lines. That money was part of RailbeltEnergy Fund cash that Palin said she doesn’t want to spend until astudy on energy needs is finished.” [Anchorage Daily News (Alaska),7/30/07]

2008: Palin Cut $20 Million For Chugach Electric Association WindFarm. As part of a large package of budget cuts, in June 2007, Gov.Sarah Palin, R-AK, cut $20 million in funding for a Chugach ElectricAssociation wind farm. The funding was expected to come from a fundcalled the Railbelt Energy Fund. Palin said she cut the $20 millionbecause she wanted more information before dipping into the RailbeltEnergy Fund. [Anchorage Daily News, 6/30/08]

PALIN: “Taxes are too high … he wants to raise them.”

REALITY: PALIN HAS REPEATEDLY SUPPORTED TAX INCREASES

Palin Supported Increasing Wasilla Sales Tax From 2 to 2.5 Percent toBuild $14.7 Million Sports Center. “Wasilla residents have given thego ahead to building a new multiuse sports center in town and toraising the city sales tax to pay for it. With the final votes countedFriday, residents voted 306 to 286 in favor of a measure to raise thecity sales tax from 2 percent to 2.5 percent to pay the estimated$14.7 million cost of building the center…Mayor Sarah Palin, whosupported the measure, said the tight vote will motivate cityofficials to keep a close eye on the budget for thecenter.” [Anchorage Daily News, 3/9/02]

Palin Increased Taxes on Oil Companies to Pay for $1,200 Giveaway toEvery Resident in the State. “One of her most significantaccomplishments as governor was passing a major tax increase on stateoil production, angering oil companies but raising billions of dollarsin new revenue. She said the oil companies had previously bribedlegislators to keep the taxes low. She subsequently championedlegislation that would give some of that money back to Alaskans: Soon,every Alaskan will receive a $1,200 check.” [New York Times, 8/30/08]

PALIN: “It was just a year ago when all the experts in Washingtoncounted out our nominee because he refused to hedge his commitment tothe security of the country he loves.

With their usual certitude, they told us that all was lost - there wasno hope for this candidate who said that he would rather lose anelection than see his country lose a war.

But the pollsters and pundits overlooked just one thing when theywrote him off.

They overlooked the caliber of the man himself - the determination,resolve, and sheer guts of Senator John McCain. The voters knewbetter.”

REALITY: PALIN COUNTED MCCAIN OUT TWICE

February 2008: Palin Wouldn’t Endorse McCain. “Top Alaska Republicanswere downcast Thursday as Mitt Romney suspended his presidentialcampaign just two days after overwhelmingly winning the state partycaucus. Romney’s decision makes it nearly certain Arizona Sen. JohnMcCain will be the party’s nominee for president. McCain finished deadlast in the Alaska Republican preference poll, behind Romney, MikeHuckabee and Ron Paul. McCain opposes drilling in the Arctic NationalWildlife Refuge and has repeatedly battled with Sen. Ted Stevens overfederal spending on Alaska projects… Republican Gov. Sarah Palin saidshe won’t make an endorsement until she can speak to McCain.[Anchorage Daily News (Alaska), 2/3/08]

July 2007: Palin Was Waiting For A New Player In GOP Primary. ‘A lotof us are sitting back and waiting to see if there will be new playersin there,’ Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin said. ‘That’s probably why that boxthat says ‘none of the above’ is so popular right now.’ [TheAssociated Press State & Local Wire, 7/23/07]

Palin Couldn’t Support McCain Because Of His Opposition To ANWR. “SomeAlaska Republicans are conflicted over McCain, including Gov. SarahPalin. They like his maverick reputation and military background butnot his opposition to drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.‘She said she’d like to support McCain but felt she couldn’t at thisparticular time because of his stand on ANWR,’ said the governor’sspokeswoman, Sharon Leighow.” [Anchorage Daily News (Alaska), 2/3/08]

PALIN: “They are the ones who do some of the hardest work in America …who grow our food, run our factories, and fight our wars.”

Palin Backed A Two-Year Extension Of The Export License To ExportLiquefied Natural Gas (LNG) To Japan And Other Asian Countries—Criticized Because Alaska’s Gas Reserves Are Declining. “Alaskaproducers can continue shipping gas to Asia after DOE last weekapproved an extension of the export license for the Kenai liquefiednatural gas plant owned by ConocoPhillips and Marathon. The companieswill be allowed to export up to 98.1 Bcf to Japan and other PacificRim countries over a two-year period through March 31, 2011. […] Theapplication came under fire from local end-users, including gasdistribution companies Enstar and the Chugach Electric Association, aswell as fertilizer maker Agrium, all of which claimed the exportswould exacerbate the problem of declining gas reserves in south-central Alaska. Agrium permanently closed its plant near Kenai due toan inability to find enough local supply for the facility that used 53Bcf/year. In January, ConocoPhillips and Marathon reached a deal inwhich they agreed to step up development in the Cook Inlet region inreturn for the state’s support of the export license extension. Theproducers also agreed to divert gas from the LNG plant as needed tomeet the peak winter supply needs of the local utilities. […] AlaskaGovernor Sarah Palin welcomed the DOE approval. “In these times ofeconomic uncertainty, this is great news for the state and itsresidents. This extension will secure a future for the LNG operationand is another step toward ensuring energy supplies and energysecurity for Alaska,” the Republican governor said. [Platts InsideFERC, 6/9/08]

· Agrium Closed Manufacturing Plant Because Of Gas Shortage.“Reserves of gas in producing fields in Southcentral Alaska aredeclining, posing concerns for supply to local utilities. Amanufacturing plant on the Kenai Peninsula owned by Agrium Corp.recently announced it would close because the gas shortage.” [AlaskaJournal Of Commerce, 11/25/07]

· Gov. Palin: Agrium Closure Is Unfortunate. “Agrium announcedyesterday that the plant will close in December due to a shortage inthe supply of Cook Inlet natural gas, leaving about 100 of the 140employees without employment. ‘It’s unfortunate to see the closure ofa facility that has provided so many jobs that support families on thePeninsula,’ said Governor Palin. ‘I am heartened to hear that Agriumis willing to keep its options open if sufficient long-term suppliesof gas can be found. We know there is more gas to be found anddeveloped in Cook Inlet, so I remain hopeful that those jobs can bepreserved.’” [Palin press release, 9/26/07]

PALIN: “As for my running mate, you can be certain that wherever hegoes, and whoever is listening, John McCain is the same man. I’m not amember of the permanent political establishment.”

1999: Campaigning In San Francisco, CA, McCain Said “I Would NotSupport Repeal Of Roe v. Wade.” In August 1999, the San FranciscoChronicle reported that McCain said he “would not support repeal ofRoe vs. Wade”: “I’d love to see a point where (Roe vs. Wade) isirrelevant, and could be repealed because abortion is no longernecessary. But certainly in the short term, or even the long term, Iwould not support repeal of Roe vs. Wade, which would then force Xnumber of women in America to (undergo) illegal and dangerousoperations.” [The San Francisco Chronicle, 8/20/99]

· McCain Said Roe v. Wade Should Be Overturned. McCain said,“I do not support Roe v. Wade. I think it should be overturned.” [NewYork Times, 2/24/07]

At A Private Meeting With Hispanic Community Leaders, McCain “AssuredLeaders He Would Push Through Congress Legislation To Overhaul FederalImmigration Laws If Elected.” “Republican presidential John McCainassured Hispanic leaders he would push through Congress legislation tooverhaul federal immigration laws if elected, several people whoattended a private meeting with the candidate said Thursday.Democrats questioned why the Arizona senator held the meeting lateWednesday night in Chicago. But supporters who were in the room deniedthat McCain held the closed-door session out of fear of offendingconservatives, many of whom want him to take a harder line onimmigration. … ‘He’s one John McCain in front of white Republicans.And he’s a different John McCain in front of Hispanics,’ complainedRosanna Pulido, a Hispanic and conservative Republican who attendedthe meeting. Pulido, who heads the Illinois Minuteman Project, whichadvocates for restrictive immigration laws, said she thought McCainwas ‘pandering to the crowd’ by emphasizing immigration reform in his15-minute speech. ‘He’s having his private meetings to rally Hispanicsand to tell them what they want to hear,’ she said. ‘I’m outraged thathe would reach out to me as a Hispanic but not as aconservative.’” [AP, 6/20/08]

· During GOP Primary Debate At Reagan Library, McCain Said HeWould Oppose the Legislation He Authored With Kennedy. McCain co-authored the McCain-Kennedy comprehensive immigration bill which wasdescribed in 2006 by the Miami Herald as “the most generous of thebills now before Congress.” The legislation “would legalize as many as11 million undocumented immigrants” and “grant temporary work permitsto illegal immigrants and then after waiting six years and paying a$2,000 fine, it would enable them to apply for green cards.” During aRepublican presidential primary debate held at the Regan Library,McCain was asked whether he would vote for the this immigrationlegislation that he previously sponsored. When pressed, he eventuallyreplied, “No, I would not.” [Miami Herald, 2/24/06; CNN GOPPresidential Debate, 1/30/08]

PALIN: “But we are expected to govern with integrity, and goodwill,and clear convictions…”

REALITY: PALIN UNDER INVESTIGATION FOR ABUSE OF POWER.

Former State Official Accused Palin, Palin’s Former Chief of Staff andCurrent Ted Stevens Campaign Manager and Palin’s Husband Of PressuringHim to Fire Trooper. In July 2008, former state official Walt Moneganaccused Palin, Palin’s former Chief of Staff and current Stevens’campaign manager Mike Tibbles and husband Todd Palin of pressuring himto fire Palin sister’s ex-husband Mike Wooten. [Anchorage DailyNews, 07/18/08]

July 2008: Special Counsel Appointed Last Month to Investigate PalinAbuse of Power Claim. In July 2008, the Alaska State Legislator voted12-0 to approve $100,000 for a special investigator to begin aninvestigation into claims Palin fired a former state official becausehe would not fire a state trooper who was involved in a bitter custodybattle with Palin’s sister. The legislator’s intent was toinvestigate the events surrounding the termination of former Dept. ofPublic Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan and potential abuses of powerand improper action by Palin and her administration. [KTVA 11,07/28/08]

PALIN: “We need American energy resources, brought to you by Americaningenuity, and produced by American workers.”

Palin Responded Favorably to Obama’s Energy Plan. According to a newsrelease from her office, Gov. Sarah Palin, R-AK, said she was“pleased” by Obama’s energy plan. “I am pleased to see Senator Obamaacknowledge the huge potential Alaska’s natural gas reserves representin terms of clean energy and sound jobs,” she said. “The steps takenby the Alaska State Legislature this past week demonstrate that we areready, willing and able to supply the energy our nation needs.” Thepress release said that “in a speech given in Lansing, Michigan,Senator Obama called for the completion of the Alaska natural gaspipeline, stating, ‘Over the next five years, we should also leasemore of the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska for oil and gasproduction. And we should also tap more of our substantial naturalgas reserves and work with the Canadian government to finally buildthe Alaska natural gas pipeline, delivering clean natural gas andcreating good jobs in the process.’” [Palin press release, 8/4/08]

PALIN: “ But listening to him speak, it’s easy to forget that this isa man who has authored two memoirs but not a single major law orreform - not even in the state senate.”

REALITY: OBAMA PASSED THE MOST SWEEPING REFORMS SINCE WATERGATEIN BOTH THE ILLINOIS AND US SENATES, AMONG OTHER ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Obama Helped Pass The 2007 Ethics Reform Law, Which Curbed TheInfluence Of Lobbyists And Was Described As The “Most Sweeping SinceWatergate.” In the first week of the 110th Congress, Obama joined withSenator Feingold to introduce a “Gold Standard” ethics package. Manyof the Obama/Feingold bill’s most important provisions were includedin the final ethics reform package passed by the Senate in lateJanuary: a full ban on gifts and meals from lobbyists including thosepaid by the firms that employ lobbyists; an end to subsidized travelon corporate jets; full disclosure of who’s sponsoring earmarks andfor what purpose; additional restrictions to close the revolving doorbetween public service and lobbying to ensure that public serviceisn’t all about lining up a high-paying lobbying job; and requiringlobbyists to disclose the contributions that they “bundle” - that is,collect or arrange - for members of Congress, candidates, and partycommittees. In January 2007, the Washington Post wrote in aneditorial that “…Mr. Reid, along with Sens. Russell Feingold (D-Wis.)and Barack Obama (D-Ill.), deserves credit for assembling and passingthis package.” In September 2007, the AP reported, “President Bushsigned a bill Friday that will require lawmakers to disclose moreabout their efforts to fund pet projects and raise money fromlobbyists, a measure that backers call the biggest ethics reform indecades…Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill. who had pushed for the bundlingprovisions and was one of four lawmakers who participated in aDemocratic conference call to reporters said the measure marks “themost sweeping ethics reform since Watergate.” [S. 230, 110thCongress; S.1, Became Public Law 109-110-81, 9/14/07; AP, 9/15/07;TheWashington Post, Editorial, 1/21/07]

Obama Passed Illinois State Gift Ban Act “Heralded As the MostSweeping Good-Government Legislation in Decades.” In 1998, Obamapassed the Illinois Gift Ban that prohibited legislators, stateofficers and employees, and judges from soliciting or receiving giftsfrom a person or entity with interests affected by government. TheChicago Tribune wrote, “Gov. Jim Edgar signed into law Wednesday anethics and campaign finance package heralded as the most sweeping good-government legislation in decades.” The law also required greatercampaign finance disclosure and limited the uses for which raisedmoney could be spent. Obama said, “I have seen a general cynicismfrom taxpayers about government. They believe they have no influenceon the process since they don’t have the money of special interestgroups. With the gift ban and the ban on Springfield fund-raisersthat are contained in this legislation, I think at least some of thisconfidence will be restored.” [HB672, 3R P 52-4-1, 5/22/98; PA90-0737, 8/12/98; Chicago Tribune, 8/13/98; Chicago IndependentBulletin, 6/4/98]

Ø Illinois Ethics Bill Most Far Reaching Since Watergate,Product Of Bipartisan Work. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch wrote ofObama’s bill, “The ethics restrictions would be the most far-reachingsince the Watergate-era campaign financial disclosure law. They arethe product of months of negotiations among two lawmakers of eachparty, other state officials and Mike Lawrence. He is an aide toformer Sen. Paul Simon, a Democrat, and used to be an aide to Edgar, aRepublican.” [St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 5/24/98]

Obama And Lugar Passed Law Boosting U.S. Efforts To Keep WMDs AndOther Dangerous Weapons Out Of The Hands Of Terrorists. In 2006,Obama and Lugar introduced The Cooperative Proliferation DetectionAct, which was passed by the Senate Foreign Relations Committeeunanimously on May 26, 2006 and was eventually incorporated into theDepartment of State Authorities Act of 2006 and signed into law onJanuary 11, 2007. According to a Senate Foreign Relations Committeereport on its legislative activity in the 109th Congress, “Thecommittee passed S. 2566, The Cooperative Proliferation Detection,Interdiction Assistance, and Conventional Threat Reduction Act of 2006by unanimous consent on May 26, 2006. The legislation authored byChairman Lugar and Senator Obama enhances: (1) U.S. cooperation withforeign governments to destroy conventional weapons stockpiles aroundthe world; and (2) the United States’ ability to provide assistance toforeign governments aimed at helping them detect and interdict weaponsand materials of mass destruction. The legislation, which garnered 26co-sponsors (including 8 committee members), sought to energize U.S.programs to secure lightweight anti-aircraft missiles…The initiativewas modeled after the Nunn-Lugar program that focuses on weapons ofmass destruction in the former Soviet Union. The legislation wassigned into law on January 11, 2007, as a part of H.R. 6060, theDepartment of State Authorities Act of 2006.” [P.L. 109-472, 1/11/07;House Report 109-706, 9/3/06; S. 2566, 109th Congress; S.1949, 109thCongress; Senate Report 110-40, 3/29/07]

Ø Lugar Said It Was Accurate That Said Obama Reached Out To HimAnd They Passed Legislation To Lock Down Loose Nuclear Weapons.“Republican Sen. Dick Lugar (IN) today said an Obama campaign ad whichfeatures him is ‘accurate.’ The ad makes the point the Obamapreviously ‘reached out’ to Lugar to ‘help lock down loose nuclearweapons.’ Lugar is widely considered one of the most knowledgeable inthe area of nuclear weapons proliferation and the coauthored of the1991 Nunn-Lugar Act on cooperative threat reduction. ‘He did’ reachout, Lugar said. He explained that in 2005, Obama asked if he couldjoin Lugar on a trip to Russia and other countries to visit sitesunder the Nunn-Lugar program. ‘After that, we had legislation that wecosponsored together which passed’ dealing with dangerous missiles.‘So I am pleased we had that opportunity to work together,’ Lugarsaid. ‘I’m pleased we had the association Sen. Obama describes.’ ButLugar made clear up front that while the ad was accurate, and he’scomfortable with the association, ‘There is no chance I will considerrunning with Barack Obama.’” [MSNBC, 7/15/08]

Obama and Coburn Passed A Bill Creating A “Google-like” Database ForThe Public To Search Details About Federal Funding Awards. In 2006,Obama and Coburn co-authored a bill to create a “Google-like” databaseof information on federal spending. The bill requires the OMB byJanuary 1, 2008, to make available to the public a searchable, freewebsite that includes the (1) amount; (2) transaction type; (3)funding agency; (4) North American Industry Classification Systemcode or Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance number; (5) programsource; (6) an award title descriptive of the purpose of each fundingaction; (7) the name and location of the recipient and the primarylocation of performance; and (8) a unique identifier of the recipientand any parent entity. The site must allow users to conduct separatesearches that distinguish between awards that are grants, sub-grants,loans, cooperative agreements, and other forms of financial assistanceand awards that are contracts, subcontracts, purchase orders, taskorders, and delivery orders. [S. 2590, Passed by Unanimous Consent,9/7/06; Became PL 109-282, 9/26/06]

Obama Passed Law Ensuring That Wounded Veterans Recovering In MilitaryHospitals Do Not Have To Pay For Their Meals Or Phone Calls To FamilyMembers. In 2005, Obama sponsored and passed an amendment that to the2005 emergency supplemental appropriations act ensuring that woundedveterans recovering in military hospitals do not have to pay for theirown meals or phone calls to family members. The amendment was thenpassed in each of the following Congresses. Prior to passage of theamendment, service members receiving physical therapy orrehabilitation services in a medical hospital for more than 90 dayswere required to pay for their meals. Obama’s amendment required themilitary to provide free meals for service members in militaryhospitals undergoing recuperation or therapy as a result of woundssustained in Iraq or Afghanistan. The amendment was retroactive toJanuary 1, 2005 in an effort to provide those injured service memberswho received bills for their meals with some relief from those costs.The amendment became law. [S. Amdt. 390, Passed by unanimous consent,4/14/05 to H.R.1268, Signed by the President, 5/11/05, Became PublicLaw No: 109-013; Obama Press Release, 5/11/05]

Obama Proposals Providing Improvements In Health Care For RecoveringSoldiers Were Passed Into Law, Including Requirements For Post-Deployment Mental Health Screenings And National Study On The Needs OfIraq War Veterans. H.R. 976, passed by the Senate on August 2, 2007,includes several provisions from bills originally sponsored bySenators Obama and McCaskill. The provisions would improve healthcare services and health care tracking for service members, and wouldrequire post-deployment, face to face mental health screenings forreturning service members within 30 days. The bill also adopts otherObama-McCaskill legislation, the HERO Act, which would launch a majornational research endeavor into the readjustment needs of returningservice members, veterans and their families. The bill also includedmeasures to improve and reform the disability rating process. [Vote307, H.R. 976, Passed, 68-31, 8/2/07; S. 713, 110th Congress; S. 1271,110th Congress; Obama Press Release, 7/25/07; H.R. 4986, Became PublicLaw No: 110-181, 1/28/08]

Obama Worked With Republicans To Pass Legislation, Which Became Law,Improving And Increasing Services For Homeless Veterans. In 2006,Congress passed a Veterans Affairs Committee bill which includedseveral provisions originating in Obama’s SAVE Act (S. 1180) and Homesfor Heroes Act (S. 3475). “The legislation…includes a number ofproposals from legislation Senator Obama had previously introduced (S.1180, the SAVE Act and S.3475 the Homes for Heroes Act) to expand andimprove services for homeless veterans. The bill permanentlyauthorizes and increases funding to $130 million per year for acompetitive grant program to provide homeless services to veterans. Itgreatly increases a successful program to provide rental vouchers tohomeless veterans. The legislation extends programs to providingtreatment for veterans with mental illnesses and other special needs.And it permanently extends VA’s ability to transfer property it ownsto homeless shelters.” Obama worked with VA Committee RepublicansCraig and Burr on the committee legislation that eventually becamelaw. [S. 3421/P.L. 109-461; S. 1180, 109th Congress; S. 3475, 109thCongress; Obama Press Release, 6/26/06]

Obama Passed Bipartisan Legislation That Expanded Health Care CoverageTo 154,000 Residents, Including 70,000 Children. As a state senator,Barack Obama sponsored and helped pass legislation that expanded andmade permanent Illinois’ KidCare program by raising eligibility from185% to 200% of the federal poverty level. The legislation providedcoverage for an additional 20,000 children and 65,000 more Illinoisadults in the first year, and by 2007 had expanded health care to70,000 kids and 84,000 adults. In its endorsement for his Senate race,the State Journal-Register wrote, “Obama brings similar common-senseviews to improving health care in America - for example, as a statesenator he championed the successful KidCare program that assiststhousands of children of the working poor.” The bill was sponsored inthe state House by Sandra Pihos, a Republican and passed 42-13. [93rdGA, SB 130, 3R P 42-13-2; Signed into law 6/30/03, PA 93-0063; ChicagoDaily Herald, 7/2/03; Blagojevich release, 1/9/07; Blagojevichrelease, 4/13/07; Kaiser family report, 5/07; State Journal-Register,10/29/04]

Obama Passed A Bill Creating $100 Million Earned Income Tax Credit AsA Member Of The Minority Party In The Illinois Senate. In 1999, Obamawas the lead sponsor of a bill making Illinois the 11th state to adoptan earned income-tax credit. The bill provided that each individualtaxpayer is entitled to a credit against the tax imposed by the Act inan amount equal to 5% of the federal earned income tax credit allowed.Then-Gov. George Ryan opposed the move, but an unlikely politicalalliance – including Republicans and Democrats – formed to reduce thetax burden on working poor families. The AP wrote, “The new law, whichoffers about $105 million in tax breaks over the next three years,gives a state income tax credit equal to 5 percent of a similarfederal tax credit. For the average working family making less than$30,580, that amounts to about $55 a year, or 15 cents a day. Themaximum credit for families with two or more children is $191 ayear.” [91st GA, HB 3939; 4/14/00, 3R P; 59-0-0; P.A. 91-0700,5/11/00; Chicago Tribune, 4/10/99]

Obama Passed Near-Unanimous Death Penalty Overhaul Package. Obama wasthe chief co-sponsor and voted for bill creating the CapitalPunishment Reform Study Committee Act. The proposal, which wasapproved on a 57-1 vote, was virtually identical to reforms pushed in2002 by then-Gov. George Ryan. If passed by the House and signed intolaw by the governor, the bill would let judges rule out a deathsentence for someone convicted solely on the testimony of a jailhouseinformant, accomplice or single witness; let the state Supreme Courtoverturn a death sentence that was “fundamentally unjust.; Reduce thecrimes eligible for the death penalty by focusing on “inherentlyviolent” offenses; Expand defendants’ access to genetic evidence usedagainst them; Ban police officers from the police force if theycommitted perjury in a murder case; and Require juries to consider adefendant’s history of abuse or mental illness when deciding whetherto impose the death sentence. Obama said, “As far as the Bill goes,it doesn’t address whether the death penalty is applied fairly to allraces and in all regions of the state. And it doesn’t appease thosewho want capital punishment eliminated.” [93rd GA, SB 0472; 4/3/03,3R P; 57-1-0; 5/29/03, HA1 SC; 56-3-0; 11/5/03, OAV P; 58-0-0; P.A.93-0605, 11/25/03; Pantagraph, 4/4/03; Associated Press, 4/24/03]

PALIN: “America needs more energy … our opponent is against producingit.”

REALITY: Obama has expressed support for a bipartisan compromisethat would cut tax breaks for oil companies, invest in alternativeenergies, and allow for limited new offshore drilling

Obama Said He Would Be Open To Offshore Drilling If We Come Up With “AGenuine Bipartisan Compromise” To Get To Energy Independence.“Senator Barack Obama said Saturday that he would reluctantly consideraccepting some new offshore oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico inexchange for stripping oil companies of tax breaks and extendingseveral tax credits to spur the search for alternative fuels. At thesame time, Senate Republicans appear to have dropped their insistenceon opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling. Mr. Obamahas until now opposed any offshore drilling. But in a news conferencehere, he noted that there had been ‘very constructive’ talks betweenSenate Republicans and Democrats on this issue in recent days,applauding a plan unveiled by a group of Republican and Democraticsenators to permit drilling while supporting an effort to convert mostvehicles to using alternative fuels in 20 years. ‘If we come up with agenuine bipartisan compromise, where I have to accept some things thatI don’t like in order to get energy independence,’ Mr. Obama said,‘that’s something I will have to consider.’ Still, he cautioned thathe was not yet ‘ready to sign off on any approach.’” [New York Times,8/3/08]

Ø Tapper: “This Strikes Me As Not A Complete And Utter Reversal“But Rather “A Recognition That Energy Legislation RequiresCompromise.” “Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, now says he’d be willingto consider legislation including expanded off-shore drilling if partof a larger package, despite his long-time opposition to the idea. I’mwith my friend Marc Ambinder — this strikes me as not quite acomplete and utter reversal, but certainly a shift in tone andlanguage, indicating a softening of his opposition and a recognitionthat energy legislation requires compromise. Not unlike Sen. JohnMcCain’s statement that when it comes to Social Security reform,everything must be on the table, even though he personally opposes taxincreases. (Though the back-peddling on that was confounding.).” [ABCNews, 8/2/08]

Ø Ambinder: “This Strikes Me As Less Of A Shift And More As AGesture Of Sorts To The Reality That The Major Cap And TradeLegislation Next Year…Requires The Participation Of And CompromiseFrom The Industry.” Marc Ambinder wrote, “In an interview yesterday,Obama said that he’d be willing to accept additional domestic oilexploration as part of a bipartisan compromise on energy reform. Thisstrikes me as less of a shift and more as a gesture of sorts to thereality that the major cap and trade legislation next year thatCongress will mark up — legislation that will be introducedregardless of who’s president — requires the participation of andcompromise from the industry. The oil industry has two cards,basically, in the negotiations. One: that windfall profits taxes woulddisincentivize further exploration somehow… two: that, as thestaple source of energy, oil companies ought to have more land/waterto figure out where oil is and then tap those pools. Democrats aremore likely to compromise on the second, rather than the first. Notethat Obama is still opposed to expanded drilling off the coasts ofFlorida.” [The Atlantic, 8/2/08]

Ø Stoller: Obama Supported A “Real Compromise” On Energy.Obama’s position on drilling is “actually a real compromise…thecompromise put forward by Obama would in fact move us forward onsustainable energy while raising taxes on the oil companies. Sinceopening up new areas to oil companies is more about financialmanipulation of oil leases than actually drilling, this is calling theoil company’s bluff.” [Open Left, 8/5/08]

Ø Pelosi: Obama Position On Gang Of Ten Compromise WasPresidential. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said, “What SenatorObama said is what we want a president to say…Let’s look at all of theoptions. Let’s compare them. And let’s see what really does increaseour supply, protect our environment, save our economy, protect theconsumer, instead of a single-shot thing that does none of theabove.” [Washington Times, 8/4/08]

PALIN: “Victory in Iraq is finally in sight … he wants to forfeit.”

REALITY: BUSH ADMINISTRATION AND INDEPENDENT MILITARY EXPERTSAGREE THAT DRAWING DOWN ONE TO TWO BRIGADES A MONTH IS NOT ONLYPOSSIBLE BUT SAFE

McCain Said He Thought 16 Months Is A Pretty Good Timetable ForWithdrawal >From Iraq. McCain was asked, “So why do you think he saidthat 16 months is basically a pretty good timetable?” McCainresponded, “He said it’s a pretty good timetable based on conditionson the ground. I think it’s a pretty good timetable, as we should –or horizons for withdrawal. But they have to be based on conditions onthe ground.” [CNN, 7/25/08]

Iraqi Prime Minister Maliki: “Obama Is Right When He Talks About 16Months.” “Asked in an interview with German news magazine Der Spiegelof when he would like to see American forces leave Iraq, Maliki said:‘As soon as possible, as far as we’re concerned.’ He then added that‘Obama is right when he talks about 16 months. Assuming that positivedevelopments continue, this is about the same time period thatcorresponds to our wishes.’” [The Hill, 7/19/08]

Maj. Gen. Anderson Said Current Capacity to Remove 2 ½ Brigade CombatTeams a Month. “The military has been redeploying troops for years,and Maj. Gen. Charles Anderson, who would help with the withdrawal,told us as we toured Camp Arifjan in Kuwait, ‘We have the capacity todo a minimum of two-and-a-half brigade combat teams a month — can weexpand that capacity? Sure. Can we accelerate? It depends. It dependson the amount of equipment that we bring back. And it’s going todepend on how fast we bring them out.’” [ABC News, 7/11/08]

4/8/08: Petraeus, Asked By a McCain Ally Whether A Brigade a MonthCould Be With Drawn From Iraq, Said It Could Be “Doable.” In a SenateHearing before the Committee on Armed Services, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), asked General Petraeus what would happen if one brigade permonth was withdrawn beginning in January 2009. Petraeus responded, “Itclearly would depend on the conditions of that time. If conditionswere good, quite good, that might be doable.” [Senate Hearing beforeSenate Committee on Armed Services, 4/8/08]

9/07: Larry Korb Wrote “A Phased Military Redeployment From Iraq OverThe Next 10 To 12 Months Would Begin Extracting U.S. Troops FromIraq’s Internal Conflicts Immediately And Would Be Completed By TheEnd Of 2008.” Lawrence J. Korb, former Assistant Secretary of Defensein the Reagan Administration, along with Max A. Bergmann, Sean E.Duggen, Peter M. Juul, wrote for a Center for American ProgressReport, “A phased military redeployment from Iraq over the next 10 to12 months would begin extracting U.S. troops from Iraq’s internalconflicts immediately and would be completed by the end of 2008.During this timeframe, the military will not replace outgoing troopsas they rotate home at the end of their tours and will draw down forceand equipment levels gradually, at a pace similar to previousrotations conducted by our military over the past four years.According to a U.S. military official in Baghdad involved in planning,a withdrawal could take place safely in this time period.” [“How toRedeploy: Implementing a Responsible Drawdown of U.S. Forces fromIraq” September 2007, Center for American Progress]

7/13/07: Pace Said US Forces Were “Designed Right Now To Be Able ToIncrease Or Decrease About One Brigade Per Month.” General Peter Pace,former Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff said, “On the logistics side,the system itself is designed right now to be able to increase ordecrease about one brigade per month. Can you surge U.S. military andcommercial capacity beyond those numbers? Sure. But for a normalplanning factor, we’re looking at either adding or subtracting aboutone brigade a month.” [DoD Media Roundtable with Secretary Gates andGen. Pace, 7/13/07]

12/6/06: Iraq Study Group Report Said “All Combat Brigades NotNecessary For Force Protection Could Be Out Of Iraq” By the FirstQuarter of 2008—15 Months. The Iraq Study Group’s independentassessment, released Dec. 6, 2006, found that, “By the first quarterof 2008, subject to unexpected developments in the security situationon the ground, all combat brigades not necessary for force protectioncould be out of Iraq.” [Iraq Study Group Report]

PALIN: “Terrorist states are seeking new-clear weapons without delay… he wants to meet them without preconditions.”

REALITY: REPUBLICANS AGREE WITH DIRECT TALKS WITH IRAN

Defense Secretary Gates: We Need To “Sit Down And Talk” With Iran.“The United States should construct a combination of incentives andpressure to engage Iran, and may have missed earlier opportunities tobegin a useful dialogue with Tehran, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gatessaid yesterday. ‘We need to figure out a way to develop someleverage . . . and then sit down and talk with them,” Gates said. “Ifthere is going to be a discussion, then they need something, too. Wecan’t go to a discussion and be completely the demander, with them notfeeling that they need anything from us.’” [Washington Post, 5/15/08]

Henry Kissinger Said That The U.S. Should Negotiate Directly WithIran. “Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger said the U.S. shouldnegotiate directly with Iran over its nuclear program and otherbilateral issues. ‘One should be prepared to negotiate, and I think weshould be prepared to negotiate about Iran,’ Kissinger, who brokeredthe end of the 1973 Yom Kippur war and peace talks with the NorthVietnamese, said yesterday in an interview with Bloomberg Television.Asked whether he meant the U.S. should hold direct talks, Kissinger,84, responded: ‘Yes, I think we should.’” [Bloomberg, 3/14/08]

Hagel: The United States Should Actively Pursue Direct, Unconditional,And Comprehensive Talks With Iran. Hagel said, “Now is the time forthe United States to actively pursue an offer of direct,unconditional, and comprehensive talks with Iran. We cannot afford torefuse to consider this strategic choice any longer. We should makeclear that everything is on the table, our issues and Iran’sissues.” [CNN, 11/8/07]

Lugar: Direct Talks With Iran “Would Be Useful.” “The United Statesneeds to pursue direct talks and other diplomatic avenues with Iranabout its disputed nuclear program before considering a militaryoption, lawmakers from both parties said yesterday. ‘I think thatwould be useful,’ said Richard Lugar, chairman of the Senate ForeignRelations Committee, when asked on ABC’s ‘This Week’ about havingdirect talks. ‘The Iranians are a part of the energy picture,’ saidLugar, a Republican from Indiana. ‘We need to talk about that.’” [AP,4/17/06]

Former H.W. Bush Secretary of State James Baker: “It’s Not Appeasementto Talk to Your Enemies.” James Baker said, “I can’t make thatjudgment here this morning because I don’t know what other elementsare involved in it. I will say just generally as I’ve been sayingsince I’ve been on this book tour that I believe in talking to yourenemies. I don’t think you restrict your conversations to yourfriends. At the same time, it’s got to be hard-nosed. It’s got to bedetermined. You don’t give away anything, but in my view, it’s notappeasement to talk to your enemies. There ought to be some way. Imean, I point out the fact that I made 15 trips to Damascus back in1991 when they were on our list of countries of state-sponsoredterrorism and they changed 25 years…”[“This Week,” ABC NewsTranscripts, 10/8/06]

Arlen Specter: It Seems Unrealistic That We Say To The Opposite PartyThat As A Precondition To Discussions We Want The Principle ConcessionWe’re After. Republican Senator Arlen Specter said in a hearing ofthe Defense Subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee, “Now,the position taken by the secretary of State has been we won’t talk toIran unless, as a precondition, they stop enriching uranium. It seemsto me that it is unrealistic to try to have discussions but to say tothe opposite party, as a precondition to discussions, we want theprinciple concession that we’re after. Do you think it makes sense toinsist on a concession like stopping enriching uranium, which is whatour ultimate objective is, before we even sit down and talk to them ona broader range of issues?” [Hearing of the Defense Subcommittee ofthe Senate Appropriations Committee, 5/20/08]

Rice: I Am Prepared To Meet M

written by \\ tags: gulf islands

I have had this feeling for the last week+ that Condi Rice was ecstatic about the conflict in Georgia.

Finally, she must have thought, something I know something about!

Of course, the Kings of Opportunism have used this conflict to promote their missile defense system. No different than three weeks ago when the price of oil was sky high, and Bush promoted off-shore drilling.

I know, I know, the price has fallen!!! It must have been the speech!

The thing that really confuses me is the whole SDS (missile defense) thing. I remember vaguely in the mid-80s we were so concerned with the Russians attacking us, and that we needed missile defense to prevent that. I know mutual assured destruction was part of the equation to, which made missile defense seem even more retarded, but they pushed in. Had to have it. Russians could kill us!

Well, here we are, years later, and the world still exists. Somehow we have made it 20+ years without missile defense.

Time to move the goalposts!

Now it’s Iran, or some “rogue state” that can attack us, “the way they did on 9/11…”

One would think if a nation knew we had missile defense they’d think of another way to attack us, no?

Also, the Patriot Missile defense, which was essentially a limited missile defense system, used in the Gulf War, had a 0% hit rate. That’s right. Not even an accident connected. That didn’t stop Bush Sr. from going to the factory that made those missiles to congratulate them on helping us win that war. Curious as to how many of those silos landed on people or homes?

ANYWAY.

For a group of people who never believed in nation-building, and was seemingly always more concerned with the borders, etc. etc. They sure do want to build that missile defense system in a different part of the world to assure everyone that someone like Iran cannot attack say Israel…or, realistically, their favorite ally, Saudi Arabia. Yes, building a defense system that does not help America withstand an attack is the plan now that the whole Soviet threat has passed by.

But fear not, if the Russian threat grows we can use that original excuse to build some useless defense system that will cost taxpayers billions upon billions so they can send cash to the military industrial complex.

written by \\ tags: gulf islands

MacYapper - John McIntire

FREE CYRIL!

www.izzazu.com

Yo, yo, yo, MacYippers! What up?

This coming Saturday, August 23rd, an outstanding comedy show will occur at Slapsticks Comedy Loft. I will be there. As will hysterical comic John Pridmore, a gay man who will tell you why gay people annoy him. As will Susie Meister, from MTV Road Rules. 8pm. It’s on Library Road in the South Hills.

You want tickets you say? You want to purchase them in advance for a reduced price you say?

Email me and I’ll make it happen. johnmcintire@comcast.net

JOHNNY MAC IS A BIG FAT PHONY

Good stuff in the Sunday NYT about that big fat phony The Old Guy.

He may not have been a full fledged Neo-Con, but as the story reminds us, he was as idiotic, early and often, about attacking those who didn’t attack us, as any of the idiots who pulled the trigger on this stupid war.

The Old Guy warmonger drumbeat started hours after the 9/11 attacks.

NYTIMES.COM:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/17/us/politics/17mccain.html?_r=1&hp=&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&adxnnlx=1218990059-Dz/qsSZNSIWlj3Y1pthUng
Within hours, Mr. McCain, the Vietnam War hero and famed straight talker of the 2000 Republican primary, had taken on a new role: the leading advocate of taking the American retaliation against Al Qaeda far beyond Afghanistan. In a marathon of television and radio appearances, Mr. McCain recited a short list of other countries said to support terrorism, invariably including Iraq, Iran and Syria.

Whether through ideology or instinct, though, Mr. McCain began making his case for invading Iraq to the public more than six months before the White House began to do the same.

MacYapper - Yup, he’s a warmongering nutty nutster. Who also happens to be quite temperamental. Not to mention batshit crazy.

But few seem to be aware of this. Which is why Frank Rich’s column is so good, pointing out the absurdity of the “nobody knows The Black Dude” argument, when really, nobody knows The Old Guy.

FRANK RICH - NYTIMES.COM:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/17/opinion/17rich.html?ref=opinion
McCain never called for Donald Rumsfeld to be fired and didn’t start criticizing the war plan until late August 2003, nearly four months after “Mission Accomplished.” By then the growing insurgency was undeniable. On the day Hurricane Katrina hit, McCain laughed it up with the oblivious president at a birthday photo-op in Arizona. McCain didn’t get to New Orleans for another six months and didn’t sharply express public criticism of the Bush response to the calamity until this April, when he traveled to the Gulf Coast in desperate search of election-year pageantry surrounding him with black extras.

McCain long ago embraced the right’s agents of intolerance, even spending months courting the Rev. John Hagee, whose fringe views about Roman Catholics and the Holocaust were known to anyone who can use the Internet. (Once the McCain campaign discovered YouTube, it ditched Hagee.) On Monday McCain is scheduled to appear at an Atlanta fund-raiser being promoted by Ralph Reed, who is not only the former aide de camp to one of the agents of intolerance McCain once vilified (Pat Robertson) but is also the former Abramoff acolyte showcased in McCain’s own Senate investigation of Indian casino lobbying.

MacYapper - And then the lovely and talented Mo-Dowd reminds us of what a chimp the chimp is. Pooty-poot isn’t such a swell guy after all. Shocker.

MODOWD NYTIMES.COM:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/17/opinion/17dowd.html?em
He has spent 469 days of his presidency kicking back at his ranch, and 450 days cavorting at Camp David. And there’s still time to mountain-bike through another historic disaster.

As Russian troops continued to manhandle parts of Georgia on Friday, President Bush chastised Russian leaders that “bullying and intimidation are not acceptable ways to conduct foreign policy in the 21st century” — and then flew off to Crawford.

MacYapper - It’s beyond sad. It’s beyond pathetic. Lazy, incurious, and reckless. The guy who goes with his gut whose gut is anything but golden.

But thank God he can go mountain biking in rural Texas. God bless Amurica.

OK, I’m done venting.

UPCOMING COMEDY GIGS AND COMEDY AUDIO AVAILABLE AT:
www.myspace.com/MacYapper

ROCK ON MAC-YIPPERS!
email me at johnmcintire@comcast.net

written by \\ tags: gulf islands

Natural gas futures set for October delivery fell by more than half a dollar on Thursday’s trading. Even as Gulf of Mexico evacuations commenced ahead of Hurricane Gustav, and concerns related to Tropical Storm Hanna grew, the prompt-month contract dropped 10.7 cents to close at $7.943.

All energies were lower on Friday, with October crude shaving 13 cents to close at $115.46/bbl and October heating oil dropping 1.02 cents to finish at $3.1919/gal.

So why are traders ignoring the very real possibility of having two hurricanes enter the Gulf to wreak havoc on the natural gas supply? It’s possible they were dismissing the storms in favor of larger economic worries. Another theory is the rigs that were left in Gulf following the devastating 2005 hurricane season are much more survivable now.

The most cynical theory to explain the oddity of the low prices is that we’re entrenched in a slumping economy, consuming a lot less energy right now than we were during the corresponding time in 2005 by some 1.6 b/d of oil. Whatever outages we could expect from Gustav would have less of an impact on the market due to general softness.

Interruptions or not, Gustav is projected for Louisiana landfall today if National Hurricane Center projections are correct. There is also a small chance Tropical Storm Hanna may affect the Gulf. If Hanna were to continue on course, it would hit the Georgia-South Carolina coast, but NHC projections show it arcing to the west and then the southwest by Tuesday on a path to the Bahamas. This course could imperil Florida and possibly the Gulf.

written by \\ tags: gulf islands

George W has a horrible environmental record as president, but his Texas ranch is off-grid with a variety of renewable energy systems. Although he’s done little to prepare the country for the effects of declining fossil fuel, he hasn’t neglected his own needs. Does he know something about the future that the rest of us don’t? We see skyrocketing gasoline and food prices, but we tend to plan for the future as if we expect things to be pretty much the same as they are today. Are we in a state of denial about our future?

Perhaps we’re all in a state of denial, even large corporations. GM spends an enormous amount of money promoting big cars and trucks, while closing several of its assembly plants due to lack of sales. Shouldn’t they have seen this coming? Why did they let Toyota and Honda take the lead with their fuel-efficient vehicles? GM continues to push it’s gas-guzzlers by offering discounts and rebates, even offering to pay a portion of your gas bill. They use slogans like “Let’s Refuel America”. It seems that they’re determined to use up all of the remaining fossil fuel as quickly as possible!

Banks are in trouble, and I wonder why so many of them have been willing to make loans to people who probably won’t be able to keep up with the payments. Again, shouldn’t they have seen this coming? We shouldn’t be shocked when we find ourselves in a society that is much different than the one we live in today. Unlike some car manufacturers and banks, we should see this coming and prepare for it. We already drive less today because of the high cost of gasoline, but we still drive. We’re learning to economize as food prices go up, but we still buy food of course. Today most of us can compensate for rising food and gasoline prices by cutting back here and there, but what will we do if things get worse?

While another terrorist attack could trigger a sudden collapse of our economy, we might suffer more from a gradual decline. If your cost of living outpaces your income long enough, you’re in trouble. You may think that these gloom-and-doom scenarios are unrealistic and choose to do nothing, but if you believe that the worst is yet to come you should prepare as soon as you can. If you wait until things get worse, it will be too late. You’ll be forced to use the renewable energy systems you have in place, not the systems you planned to install someday.

Once you’ve decided to prepare, the next question is “How do I prepare?” How you prepare depends on how you want to live, and on your budget. You might choose to prepare for a total melt-down of society by considering your basic needs, or you might opt for a strategy that attempts to maintain your lifestyle as it was before the melt-down. A reasonable approach would be somewhere in between. Since everyone’s goals and budgets are different, this article is not a one-size-fits-all design guide. Instead, these are some ideas to help you formulate your own plan.

You can probably live as comfortably as you do now, and use half of the resources that you’re currently using, if you’ll simply cut waste. Start by eliminating phantom loads. Put your TV’s, and other items that continue to use power when turned off, on power strips. Get used to powering these items on and off with the power strips on/off switch. Get rid of unnecessary items like hand-lotion warmers. When possible, replace electrical items with mechanical items that serve the same purpose. Alarm clocks, can openers, and doorbells are a few examples. If you haven’t done so already, replace your incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescents (CFL’s). Replace old and inefficient appliances, especially your refrigerator. Consider energy-saving home improvements, such as adding insulation and replacing inefficient windows and doors. These things not only help to cut your energy costs, they are a logical prerequisite to implementing alternative energy systems in your home. Having done those things you can get by with a smaller photovoltaic (PV) system, but you’re still not fully prepared to deal with a serious energy crisis. Let’s go beyond the basics.

Do you heat and cool your entire house 24/7? You could cut your heating and cooling costs dramatically if you were to heat and cool only the area’s that you’re using. Is a 14’ by 14’ bedroom really necessary? Couldn’t you sleep just as well in a climate-controlled 6’ by 9’ space? Providing climate control to a much smaller space requires less energy, making it possible to get by with a smaller photovoltaic (PV) system. If you have an unused room in your home, perhaps an unfinished basement with a window, you can easily create a living environment that requires little energy. You can be just as comfortable in a small well insulated space, perhaps with the aid of a window air conditioner or an electric blanket, as you are now in your big bedroom. If you’ll make the necessary adjustments you’ll be able to meet your energy needs with a small PV array, instead of covering your entire south-facing roof and spending $25,000.00. I’ve determined that I can meet my own basic needs with as little as 800 watts of PV panels, and a total investment of less than $6000.00. With 4 hours of sunshine, a system that size can generate 3200 watt/hours each day (not taking into account system losses and inefficiencies). A big portion of the energy I produce will be used to keep a small chest freezer running. I’ll also use cfl’s, radio and tv, cell phone charger, microwave oven, and fans. I’ll have limited use of my corn-burning stove or a window air conditioner. I can summarize my minimum needs as shown below:

Mild Weather Energy Requirements: 1220 watt/hours per day

Hot Weather Energy Requirements: 2530 watt/hours per day

Cold Weather Energy Requirements: 2990 watt/hours per day

If I build a system that barely meets my cold weather requirements, I’ll have shortages on cloudy days. I’ll need to cut back at times. But a system designed to meet my cold weather requirements will give me a surplus of electricity during mild and warm weather, allowing me to use other appliances to a greater extent. I’ve learned techniques that help me get the most from a small system. For example; if I place my chest freezer in the coolest portion of the house, it uses less energy for its operation while providing some heat to that area. I don’t run my refrigerator when the power fails; I use an ice-chest instead. My freezer, which is powered by my PV system, provides the ice.

As you make your plans, don’t neglect your basic needs. You’ll need fresh water on an ongoing basis of course. You might want to visit one of the many survivalist websites for information and ideas along those lines.

Since your need for food is an ongoing one, knowing how to grow and preserve vegetables and