Politics

It is time for Some Campaigning.

I really had intended not to mention Sarah Palin again. I really didn’t plan on it, but after a recent discussion I feel compelled to comment again about her use of the per diem. The background for this is covered below:

This comes from the Washington Post:

ANCHORAGE, Sept. 8 — Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has billed taxpayers for 312 nights spent in her own home during her first 19 months in office, charging a “per diem” allowance intended to cover meals and incidental expenses while traveling on state business.

…She wrote some form of “Lodging — own residence” or “Lodging — Wasilla residence” more than 30 times at the same time she took a per diem, according to the reports. In two dozen undated amendments to the reports, the governor deleted the reference to staying in her home but still charged the per diem. “

Many people have said that this is a non-issue because she is legally entitled to take the per diem allowance. And then they have followed up by saying that she is better than her predecessor.

This line of thought just makes me shake my head. It is flawed logic. Two quick comments.

There are things in life that are legal, but not considered to be particularly moral or ethical. She has been positioned as a reformer and a crusader against pork barrel politics. If that is who she is supposed to be, I would expect that she wouldn’t claim the per diem allowance for those nights in which she stayed at home.

And I can’t help but wonder if she didn’t think about that too. The WaPo article makes it clear that she had reports amended so that it didn’t reflect her staying at home. Why would she do this.

In regard to her being better than her predecessor, well that doesn’t impress me. Compare two murderers, one is responsible for five deaths and the other for ten. Would you turn around and say that the person who murdered five is better than the other.

It just doesn’t make sense.

Updated: The great reformer, hah!

This comes from the Washington Post:

ANCHORAGE, Sept. 8 — Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has billed taxpayers for 312 nights spent in her own home during her first 19 months in office, charging a “per diem” allowance intended to cover meals and incidental expenses while traveling on state
business.

…She wrote some form of “Lodging — own residence” or “Lodging — Wasilla residence” more than 30 times at the same time she took a per diem, according to the reports. In two dozen undated amendments to the reports, the governor deleted the reference to staying in her home but still charged the per diem. “

I hadn’t intended to write another word about Sarah Palin. I really had said about as much as I wanted to, but circumstances sometimes dictate that we change our paths.

The impetus for this post really comes from the reception I have received from other bloggers and other assorted people who have rolled their eyes or been dismissive about my concerns about Palin. I think that many of you have intentionally blinded yourself or are walking in double standard land.

Ultimately I don’t care if you agree with me. I know what I see and it is ugly. I see a candidate for V.P. who is inexperienced in key areas and has demonstrated values that I find to be highly questionable.

CNN has an article about Palin’s church that continues to feed my negative opinion of her. I criticized Obama for his relationship with Reverend Wright. It would be wrong and inconsistent not to call Palin onto the carpet as well.

Palin now attends the Wasilla Bible Church. She was there on August 17, just days before entering the national spotlight. David Brickner, the founder of Jews for Jesus, was a speaker. He told congregants that terrorist attacks on Israel were God’s “judgment” of Jews who haven’t embraced Christianity. Brickner said, “Judgment is very real and we see it played out on the pages of the newspapers and on the television. When a Palestinian from East Jerusalem took a bulldozer and went plowing through a score of cars, killing numbers of people. Judgment — you can’t miss it.”

The McCain campaign says his comments do not reflect her religious views. Palin’s spokeswoman says she is pro-Israel.

Pastor Ed Kalnin, the senior pastor of Palin’s former Pentecostal church, has also come under fire for his comments. In 2004, he told church members if they voted for John Kerry for president, they wouldn’t get into heaven. He told them, “I question your salvation.”

Assembly of God issued a statement online in response which said Kalnin was “joking” when he suggested “Kerry supporters would go to hell,” and statement went on to say, “We do acknowledge in hindsight that it was careless, and we do apologize for that. This statement is not written as a defense, but as a clarification.”

Where are the cries of outrage about this. Where is the call for condemnation. If you thought that Wright’s statements are outrageous you should be irritated, upset and angry. And what have we heard from Palin about this? Not a whole lot, mostly just the chirping of the crickets.

Let’s circle back for a moment and recap a few things. She hasn’t any experience with foreign policy nor economic. She has limited experience as governor running a state whose total population is smaller than many cities in the U.S.

It is acknowledged by her team that she explored the possibility of banning books. It doesn’t matter if it was one or 1000. This is America. Book banning is something that fascists do.

There is a history of her purging those who oppose her politically from their positions. Some of you may try to claim that this is just sour grapes or something that happens all the time. I don’t believe it to be sour grapes and I am not someone who supports cleaning house just because someone holds a different opinion.

Something stinks here and I think that it is her values. There is something lacking. And if you forgive me for projecting, there is something about her that smacks of the mean girl. I suppose that if I couldn’t criticize her bonafides, if I couldn’t drive a bus through the hole in her experience I might feel differently.

But that is not the case. I don’t sense principles that I support. And I don’t like the willful ignorance and shunting of reality that many of her supporters are engaging in.

All told I it is a question of values and I don’t think that she and I share them.

When I think of this blog I invariably get an image of a trip that has taken me around the world and back again. We have trudged through snow, sailed over the oceans and hiked through mountain and desert terrain. The Dead were right, “What a Long Strange Trip It Has Been.”

Through the course of the journey I have shared my thoughts on many topics and have done so without regard for whether it was the popular view. Sometimes I have opened my mouth and confirmed for someone my ignorance/brilliance, but that has never been a factor in determining what to write about.

I have a Palin in my ass. I know that is a bit disrespectful, but I like the way it sounds and as I am feeling grumpy, I don’t care. The woman and her Kool-Aid drinkers are wearing on me the same way that the Obama crowd has. I am not going to rehash everything from the first post, if you want to know more read here. But I’ll share a few more thoughts about what I find distasteful.

There is a list of books that supposedly Palin tried to ban. I haven’t found proof that she went after the long list, but I have found a few places that suggest that she did try to ban some. To me that is a shameful thing, evidence of a very small mind. I have a huge issue with that.

She has a pregnant teenage daughter and a baby with special needs. Now is not the time to leave them. It is not a matter of financial need. In this situation I have no problem saying she should put her family first. Call me sexist, I don’t care. Go get me a beer, iron my shirt and make my dinner.

The woman has no substantive economic or foreign policy experience. That is an issue. We are at war in two different countries and have major economic issues. My retirement dollars are getting their butts kicked. I am going to be 40. I don’t have 40 years to wait for them to recover. Sorry, selfish me wants to retire before I become an invalid.

And listening to the crowing of her supporters is just irritating. She is not the first or second coming. I am not lighting a cigarette. I didn’t accept it with Obama and I don’t here.

It is bad enough to have had to listen to the shrieks and finger pointing of both sides the last eight years, but this is too much. I have had enough!

All I want is to feel good about a candidate and their running mate. I know the feeling because I have had it in the past, but not this time and not the last time around. Excuse me, I think that my skull just exploded, I need some ice.

Updated: The following are excerpts from Time:

Palin has no national experience and less than two years experience as governor, but she is unabashed about that. “That’s a healthy thing,” she told TIME. “That means my perspective is fresher.”

She supports the teaching of creationism in public schools, alongside evolution.

Earlier this month, a legislative panel launched a $100,000 investigation to determine whether Palin abused her influence by attempting to get her former
brother-in-law fired as a state trooper. The panel is currently questioning whether Palin dismissed the state’s safety commissioner, Walt Monegan, because he refused to fire her ex-brother-in-law, Mike Wooten, whose marriage to Palin’s sister ended in a bitter divorce — and custody battle — in 2005. Palin has denied the charges, and says she did not coordinate the reported dozens of telephone calls placed by her husband and administration to Wooten’s bosses.

I am not going to spend a lot of time writing about politics, at least not today. I am just not in the mood for it. Besides if I sail down that particular waterway I’d like to really get into it and I am not up for it. So now that I have prefaced this post with that I’d like to throw out a few things.

This is the second presidential election in which I am disappointed. I don’t find any of the candidates to be inspiring. There are things that I like about them and there are things that I do not. I am not usually a middle of the road kind of guy. Most of the time I can tell you where I stand, but this one is more challenging for me.

Obama- Don’t feel comfortable with him. There is not enough substance for me to feel good about. Fine speaker, but what are his plans and how does he intend to execute them. I really am concerned about him and Foreign Policy.

Biden helps, but not enough for me to ignore the other issues.

McCain- I like old Johnny Mac. There are a lot of things about him that I appreciate, but the fact is that he is 72. His age and his health are of concern to me. He is pandering to the far right more than I like. I suspect that he is doing it out of necessity and that it will not last, but I don’t know.

I am not enamored with Palin. Her experience is not as vast as some suggest. She was mayor of a town of 7,000 and governor of a state with a tiny population. She has some accomplishments, probably more than Obama. But it is not enough for me to jump up and down about.

It may not be fair, but I wonder about a mother who is willing to sacrifice her family in this manner. It is one thing when finances dictate parents working long hours, but this is not the case. She has a number of young children and a teenage daughter who need her help. I am not judging her daughter, but the girl is pregnant and 17. If ever a girl needed her mother now is the time.

How is she going to have time for her and the baby. I don’t like it.

I don’t see Palin as being an expert on foreign policy. What does she know. What has she done. And I don’t like religion being injected so deep into the election and I see that happening. I can’t criticize Obama’s relationship with the wacky pastor and not question Palin’s.

All told, I am underwhelmed here.

Two links about Sarah Palin.

Ben Stein
Anne Kilkenny

The nastier side of politics has been around a long time.