John McCain and Sarah Palin cannot stop lying. They cannot stop stretching the truth. And for some reason, they cannot seem to get to the issues in any of their speeches. They do a great job of working the smear campaigns and they do their best to discredit Barack Obama, but to no avail. They’ve gone too far and told too many lies. They’ve only discredited themselves.

Let’s take a look at some of the most recent lies of the McCain/Palin campaign with the help from information from factcheck.org…a NON-PARTISAN site that simply checks the validity of information:

LIE #10,909,098 Sarah Palin never supported the “Bridge to Nowhere”

This is flat out NOT TRUE! Sarah Palin didn’t say “no thank you” until congress had already removed the earmark for the money for it. How is that standing up to congress? Answer: It’s not….it’s a bold faced lie. Here’s what factcheck.org says:

“When she was running for governor, however, Palin expressed a different position. In 2006, the Ketchikan Daily Newsquoted her expressing optimism and support for the bridge at a Ketchikan campaign stop.

Palin, 2006:”People across the nation struggle with the idea of building a bridge because they’ve been under these misperceptions about the bridge and the purpose,” said Palin, who described the link as the Ketchikan area’s potential for expansion and growth. … Palin said Alaska’s congressional delegation worked hard to obtain funding for the bridge as part of a package deal and that she “would not stand in the way of the progress toward that bridge.”

Palin also answered “yes” to an Anchorage Daily News poll questionabout whether she would continue to support state funding for the Gravina Island bridge if elected governor. “The window is now,” she wrote, “while our congressional delegation is in a strong position to assist.” It was only after she won the governorship that Palin shifted her position. And even then, it’s inaccurate to say that she “told the Congress ‘thanks, but no thanks.’” Palin accepted non-earmarked money from Congress that could have been used for the bridge if she so desired. That she opted to use it for other state transportation purposes doesn’t qualify as standing up to Congress”.

LIE # 10,909,099 Sarah Palin didn’t didn’t get earmarks as a mayor or a governor

NOT TRUE! Sarah Palin got earmarked funds BOTH as a mayor AND as govenor of Alaska! John McCain specifically said in a speech on the campaign trail in the last week or two that Sarah Palin did not get any earmarked funds as a governor. This is a complete and total lie! Here’s what factcheck.org says:

“Watchdog group Taxpayers for Common Sense has reported that the small town of Wasilla, Alaska, which had not previously received significant federal funds, hauled in almost $27 million in earmarks while Palin was mayor. (McCain has explicitly criticized several of the Wasilla earmarks in recent years.) To help obtain these earmarks, Palin had hired Steven Silver, the former chief of staff for recently indicted Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens, as Wasilla’s lobbyist.

And Palin continued to solicit federal funds as governor. A request form on Stevens’ Web site shows that she requested $160.5 million in earmarks for the state in 2008, and almost $198 million for 2009″.

Hmmmm….looks like the earmark requests went UP not down!

LIE # 10,909,100 McCain’s insinuations about Barack Obama’s health care platform and misleads about his own health care platform

John McCain insinuated in remarks made during the RNC that Barack Obama’s health care plans will force people into government-run health care plans full of bureaucracy. FAR from the truth. factcheck.org says:

“Furthermore, Obama’s plan wouldn’t “force” families into a “government-run health care system.” His plan mandates that children have coverage; there’s no mandate for adults. People can keep the health insurance they have now or chose from private plans, or opt for a new public plan that will offer coverage similar to what members of Congress have. Obama would also expand Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program. His plan certainly expands government-offered insurance – and McCain’s doesn’t – but it’s not a solely government-run plan, as McCain implied. And if Obama’s public plan turns out to be similar to what federal employees have, as he says it would be, we’re not sure how “a bureaucrat” would stand “between you and your doctor.” The possible exception would be persons covered by Medicaid or SCHIP.

McCain also made this boast:

McCain: My health care plan will make it easier for more Americans to find and keep good health care insurance.

Fair enough. But McCain’s plan wouldn’t do nearly as well as Obama’s. One comparison, by the nonpartisan Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, finds Obama’s would reduce the uninsured by 18 million people in its first year, compared with a 1 million reduction under McCain’s plan”.

There is no comparing the two plans….Obama’s is clearly superior. If you haven’t seen their plans yet, you can see Obama’s plan here: http://www.barackobama.com/issues/healthcare/ and John McCain’s plan here: http://www.johnmccain.com/Informing/Issues/19ba2f1c-c03f-4ac2-8cd5-5cf2edb527cf.htm When looking at the two plans, think about which one really benefits Americans most…..there seriously is NO question about this issue!

More McCain/Palin lies to come….

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I’m for Pro-Choice. I believe that a woman should have the right to choose what’s best for her body and her life. McCain and Palin obviously don’t agree with this…they believe that government should control a woman’s decision about what’s right for her and her body. So much for getting government out of the way huh?

But it’s bigger than this. McCain and Palin’s platform on abortion does not allow for the termination of pregnancy in the case that the woman was raped, in the case that she was impregnated by incest or in the case WHEN HER OWN LIFE IS IN DANGER! There are absolutely NO extenuating circumstances listed in their platform…NONE! That means if a 14 yr old girl gets molested by her uncle….she has to have the baby. That means that if a 40 yr old woman gets raped by a 20 yr. old pervert with no job or other means of providing support…she has to have the baby. Regardless of what that means to her or her family, she has to have the baby. That means that if something goes wrong with YOUR pregnancy and it becomes a matter of YOUR survival or the possible survival of the baby, the baby has to be born. Keep that in mind if you have other children that may need you while they’re growing up…you might not be there for them if you get pregnant and McCain and Palin have their way.

You may not agree with pro-choice views, but certainly, CERTAINLY you don’t believe that government should have control over women’s decisions as well as their bodies. McCain and Palin need to do just what they’re claiming they ARE doing…they need to put themselves AND government to the side and let individuals keep their right to make these personal and critical decisions for themselves.

Here’s the best part. Though John McCain is doing his very best to spin this comment to his favor, HE’S USED THE PHRASE HIMSELF! How in the world can he and his camp of fuddy duddies begin to claim that it means anything when he’s used the EXACT same phrase??? And, for the record John McCain has used the phrase multiple times! Don’t believe me? See the video below….

What more can John McCain and Sarah Palin do to show the American public that they are NOT the right people for the white house? Are the lies not good enough? The nasty campaigning? The ridiculous spins? The factual records of both of their pasts? What is it going to take? Wake up America!

Pssst John! What do I say next?

Why won’t John McCain let Sarah Palin loose on the campaign trail? And why is she giving the same speech over and over again ad naseaum? There’s a lot of speculation on the subject these days. One guess is that McCain is keeping her close by since she’s so much more popular (WE still don’t understand why…) than he is. The republicans don’t even want to hear McCain….they just want to hear Sarah talk about him. And she gives the same POW, this guy’s got character, we need a war hero in office speech. Oh, and I forgot, we’ve also heard redundantly that she sold the govenor’s plane on eBay (which actually turned out to be a lie…one of many).

CNN is reporting tonight that Sarah is getting an in depth course on how to deal with the press. Shouldn’t she know how to deal with the press by now? She’s been govenor of Alaska for almost two years and has had plenty of experience with the press there. What’s with the supposed “course”? Is she also going to need courses in other political matters? Is she going to need courses in how to make policies that aren’t revolving around pork belly spending? If she can’t even talk to the public and the press using her own words, is she really ready for Washington? Our opinion is a great big NO!

Here’s a better one: McCain campaign manager Rick Davis has said Palin will “agree to an interview when we think it’s time and when she feels comfortable doing it.” When she feels comfortable doing it? Are you freaking kidding me? She’s the republican vice president nominee….what do you mean she doesn’t feel comfortable giving an interview? That’s part of the J-O-B! How could anyone even CONSIDER voting for the republican ticket when one of the candidates is too scared to talk to reporters? It’s ridiculous!

Our opinion- Sarah got a McNasty spanking after her speech at the RNC where she (as well as Guiliani) demeaned Barack Obama’s experience as a community organizer. Once the religious t-shirts broke out…the ones that say “Jesus Christ was a community organizer. Pontius Pilot was a govenor”, the re-pubs realized they had an oopsie on their hands….and then Sarah was put on repeat. What’s going to happen when she makes another huge mistake like that when she’s talking to a world leader? And for that matter, why in the world would she demean community organizers to begin with? Does she not realize the extremely important work they do? For crimeny’s sake, if you really think about it, our founding fathers were community organizers. They organized their own community to revolt against England’s rule. What’s wrong with being a community organizer? Sarah better take a reality check course while she’s at it.

What concerns me most about this lack of speech on McCain’s part is that he voted with President Bush 90% of the time while Bush has been in office. Why not own up to your votes John? You thought he was doing the right thing all these years, yet today, you pretend you don’t know him. President Bush barely got an honorable mention during the RNC. Is this McCain’s way of denying the democrats’ claims that his term as president would be like a 4 year extension of Bush’s? How could it not be when McCain voted with President Bush 90% of the time? Did his views all of a sudden change overnight? If so, is this the man we want running the country? What will he flip-flop on next? Let’s just pretend it didn’t really happen and maybe the silly voters won’t notice….

Hear what Randi Rhodes has to say about McCain and women:

As, we’ve said before, Ms. Palin is not all the re-pubs are cracking her up to be!

So many people have asked me about what I know about Sarah Palin in the
last 2 days that I decided to write something up . . .

Basically, Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton have only 2 things in
common: their gender and their good looks.

You have my permission to forward this to your friends/email contacts
with my name and email address attached, but please do not post it on
any websites, as there are too many kooks out there . . .

Thanks,
Anne

ABOUT SARAH PALIN

I am a resident of Wasilla, Alaska. I have known Sarah since 1992.
Everyone here knows Sarah, so it is nothing special to say we are on a
first-name basis. Our children have attended the same schools. Her
father was my child’s favorite substitute teacher. I also am on a
first name basis with her parents and mother-in-law. I attended more
City Council meetings during her administration than about 99% of the
residents of the city.

She is enormously popular; in every way she’s like the most popular
girl in middle school. Even men who think she is a poor choice and
won’t vote for her can’t quit smiling when talking about her because
she is a “babe”.

It is astonishing and almost scary how well she can keep a secret. She
kept her most recent pregnancy a secret from her children and parents
for seven months.

She is “pro-life”. She recently gave birth to a Down’s syndrome baby.
There is no cover-up involved, here; Trig is her baby.

She is energetic and hardworking. She regularly worked out at the gym.

She is savvy. She doesn’t take positions; she just “puts things out
there” and if they prove to be popular, then she takes credit.

Her husband works a union job on the North Slope for BP and is a
champion snowmobile racer. Todd Palin’s kind of job is highly
sought-after because of the schedule and high pay. He arranges his
work schedule so he can fish for salmon in Bristol Bay for a month or
so in summer, but by no stretch of the imagination is fishing their
major source of income. Nor has her life-style ever been anything
like that of native Alaskans.

Sarah and her whole family are avid hunters.

She’s smart.

Her experience is as mayor of a city with a population of about 5,000
(at the time), and less than 2 years as governor of a state with about
670,000 residents.

During her mayoral administration most of the actual work of running
this small city was turned over to an administrator. She had been
pushed to hire this administrator by party power-brokers after she had
gotten herself into some trouble over precipitous firings which had
given rise to a recall campaign.

Sarah campaigned in Wasilla as a “fiscal conservative”. During her 6
years as Mayor, she increased general government expenditures by over
33%. During those same 6 years the amount of taxes collected by the
City increased by 38%. This was during a period of low inflation
(1996-2002). She reduced progressive property taxes and increased a
regressive sales tax which taxed even food. The tax cuts that she
promoted benefited large corporate property owners way more than they
benefited residents.

The huge increases in tax revenues during her mayoral administration
weren’t enough to fund everything on her wish list though, borrowed
money was needed, too. She inherited a city with zero debt, but left it
with indebtedness of over $22 million. What did Mayor Palin encourage
the voters to borrow money for? Was it the infrastructure that she said
she supported? The sewage treatment plant that the city lacked? or a
new library? No. $1m for a park. $15m-plus for construction of a
multi-use sports complex which she rushed through to build on a piece
of property that the City didn’t even have clear title to, that was
still in litigation 7 yrs later–to the delight of the lawyers
involved! The sports complex itself is a nice addition to the
community but a huge money pit, not the profit-generator she claimed it
would be. She also supported bonds for $5.5m for road projects that
could have been done in 5-7 yrs without any borrowing.

While Mayor, City Hall was extensively remodeled and her office
redecorated more than once.

These are small numbers, but Wasilla is a very small city.

As an oil producer, the high price of oil has created a budget surplus
in Alaska. Rather than invest this surplus in technology that will
make us energy independent and increase efficiency, as Governor she
proposed distribution of this surplus to every individual in the state.

In this time of record state revenues and budget surpluses, she
recommended that the state borrow/bond for road projects, even while
she proposed distribution of surplus state revenues: spend today’s
surplus, borrow for needs.

She’s not very tolerant of divergent opinions or open to outside ideas
or compromise. As Mayor, she fought ideas that weren’t generated by
her or her staff. Ideas weren’t evaluated on their merits, but on the
basis of who proposed them.

While Sarah was Mayor of Wasilla she tried to fire our highly respected
City Librarian because the Librarian refused to consider removing from
the library some books that Sarah wanted removed. City residents
rallied to the defense of the City Librarian and against Palin’s
attempt at out-and-out censorship, so Palin backed down and withdrew
her termination letter. People who fought her attempt to oust the
Librarian are on her enemies list to this day.

Sarah complained about the “old boy’s club” when she first ran for
Mayor, so what did she bring Wasilla? A new set of “old boys”. Palin
fired most of the experienced staff she inherited. At the City and as
Governor she hired or elevated new, inexperienced, obscure people,
creating a staff totally dependent on her for their jobs and eternally
grateful and fiercely loyal–loyal to the point of abusing their power
to further her personal agenda, as she has acknowledged happened in the
case of pressuring the State’s top cop (see below).

As Mayor, Sarah fired Wasilla’s Police Chief because he “intimidated”
her, she told the press. As Governor, her recent firing of Alaska’s top
cop has the ring of familiarity about it. He served at her pleasure
and she had every legal right to fire him, but it’s pretty clear that
an important factor in her decision to fire him was because he wouldn’t
fire her sister’s ex-husband, a State Trooper. Under investigation
for abuse of power, she has had to admit that more than 2 dozen
contacts were made between her staff and family to the person that she
later fired, pressuring him to fire her ex-brother-in-law. She tried to
replace the man she fired with a man who she knew had been reprimanded
for sexual harassment; when this caused a public furor, she withdrew
her support.

She has bitten the hand of every person who extended theirs to her in
help. The City Council person who personally escorted her around town
introducing her to voters when she first ran for Wasilla City Council
became one of her first targets when she was later elected Mayor. She
abruptly fired her loyal City Administrator; even people who didn’t
like the guy were stunned by this ruthlessness.

Fear of retribution has kept all of these people from saying anything
publicly about her.

When then-Governor Murkowski was handing out political plums, Sarah got
the best, Chair of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission: one
of the few jobs not in Juneau and one of the best paid. She had no
background in oil & gas issues. Within months of scoring this great
job which paid $122,400/yr, she was complaining in the press about the
high salary. I was told that she hated that job: the commute, the
structured hours, the work. Sarah became aware that a member of this
Commission (who was also the State Chair of the Republican Party)
engaged in unethical behavior on the job. In a gutsy move which some
undoubtedly cautioned her could be political suicide, Sarah solved all
her problems in one fell swoop: got out of the job she hated and
garnered gobs of media attention as the patron saint of ethics and as a
gutsy fighter against the “old boys’ club” when she dramatically quit,
exposing this man’s ethics violations (for which he was fined).

As Mayor, she had her hand stuck out as far as anyone for pork from
Senator Ted Stevens. Lately, she has castigated his pork-barrel
politics and publicly humiliated him. She only opposed the “bridge to
nowhere” after it became clear that it would be unwise not to.

As Governor, she gave the Legislature no direction and budget
guidelines, then made a big grandstand display of line-item vetoing
projects, calling them pork. Public outcry and further legislative
action restored most of these projects–which had been vetoed simply
because she was not aware of their importance–but with the unobservant
she had gained a reputation as “anti-pork”.

She is solidly Republican: no political maverick. The State party
leaders hate her because she has bit them in the back and humiliated
them. Other members of the party object to her self-description as a
fiscal conservative.

Around Wasilla there are people who went to high school with Sarah.
They call her “Sarah Barracuda” because of her unbridled ambition and
predatory ruthlessness. Before she became so powerful, very ugly
stories circulated around town about shenanigans she pulled to be made
point guard on the high school basketball team. When Sarah’s
mother-in-law, a highly respected member of the community and
experienced manager, ran for Mayor, Sarah refused to endorse her.

As Governor, she stepped outside of the box and put together of package
of legislation known as “AGIA” that forced the oil companies to march
to the beat of her drum.

Like most Alaskans, she favors drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife
Refuge. She has questioned if the loss of sea ice is linked to
global warming. She campaigned “as a private citizen” against a state
initiaitive that would have either a) protected salmon streams from
pollution from mines, or b) tied up in the courts all mining in the
state (depending on who you listen to). She has pushed the State’s
lawsuit against the Dept. of the Interior’s decision to list polar
bears as threatened species.

McCain is the oldest person to ever run for President; Sarah will be a
heartbeat away from being President.

There has to be literally millions of Americans who are more
knowledgeable and experienced than she.

However, there’s a lot of people who have underestimated her and are
regretting it.

CLAIM VS FACT
•“Hockey mom”: true for a few years
•“PTA mom”: true years ago when her first-born was in elementary
school, not since
•“NRA supporter”: absolutely true
•social conservative: mixed. Opposes gay marriage, BUT vetoed a bill
that would have denied benefits to employees in same-sex relationships
(said she did this because it was unconsitutional).
•pro-creationism: mixed. Supports it, BUT did nothing as Governor to
promote it.
•“Pro-life”: mixed. Knowingly gave birth to a Down’s syndrome baby
BUT declined to call a special legislative session on some pro-life
legislation
•“Experienced”: Some high schools have more students than Wasilla has
residents. Many cities have more residents than the state of Alaska.
No legislative experience other than City Council. Little hands-on
supervisory or managerial experience; needed help of a city
administrator to run town of about 5,000.
•political maverick: not at all
•gutsy: absolutely!
•open & transparent: ??? Good at keeping secrets. Not good at
explaining actions.
•has a developed philosophy of public policy: no
•”a Greenie”: no. Turned Wasilla into a wasteland of big box stores
and disconnected parking lots. Is pro-drilling off-shore and in ANWR.
•fiscal conservative: not by my definition!
•pro-infrastructure: No. Promoted a sports complex and park in a city
without a sewage treatment plant or storm drainage system. Built
streets to early 20th century standards.
•pro-tax relief: Lowered taxes for businesses, increased tax burden on
residents
•pro-small government: No. Oversaw greatest expansion of city
government in Wasilla’s history.
•pro-labor/pro-union. No. Just because her husband works union
doesn’t make her pro-labor. I have seen nothing to support any claim
that she is pro-labor/pro-union.

WHY AM I WRITING THIS?

First, I have long believed in the importance of being an informed
voter. I am a voter registrar. For 10 years I put on student voting
programs in the schools. If you google my name (Anne Kilkenny +
Alaska), you will find references to my participation in local
government, education, and PTA/parent organizations.

Secondly, I’ve always operated in the belief that “Bad things happen
when good people stay silent”. Few people know as much as I do because
few have gone to as many City Council meetings.

Third, I am just a housewife. I don’t have a job she can bump me out
of. I don’t belong to any organization that she can hurt. But, I am no
fool; she is immensely popular here, and it is likely that this will
cost me somehow in the future: that’s life.

Fourth, she has hated me since back in 1996, when I was one of the 100
or so people who rallied to support the City Librarian against Sarah’s
attempt at censorship.

Fifth, I looked around and realized that everybody else was afraid to
say anything because they were somehow vulnerable.

CAVEATS
I am not a statistician. I developed the numbers for the increase in
spending & taxation 2 years ago (when Palin was running for Governor)
from information supplied to me by the Finance Director of the City of
Wasilla, and I can’t recall exactly what I adjusted for: did I adjust
for inflation? for population increases? Right now, it is impossible
for a private person to get any info out of City Hall–they are
swamped. So I can’t verify my numbers.

You may have noticed that there are various numbers circulating for the
population of Wasilla, ranging from my “about 5,000″, up to 9,000. The
day Palin’s selection was announced a city official told me that the
current population is about 7,000. The official 2000 census count was
5,460. I have used about 5,000 because Palin was Mayor from 1996 to
2002, and the city was growing rapidly in the mid-90’s.

Anne Kilkenny
August 31, 2008

The Republican rhetoric has provided SOOOO much to write about, we cannot keep up! But before I write a post about the absolute fiasco of the RNC, I’m going to keep talking about the fiasco of Sarah Palin.

It’s no secret now that Sarah Palin’s 17 year old daughter is preggers…despite the attempt to hide it with the tent of a dress Bristol wore and her holding baby Trig with an extra long blanket at Sarah’s acceptance speech. Barack Obama graciously stated that the children of the candidates should be off limits in the campaign and it was kind and truly humanistic for him to do so. He was concerned about Sarah and Bristol and his compassion was clear. He didn’t have to do it and he certainly doesn’t have similar skeletons to hide.

However, Sarah Palin’s politics and beliefs around her daughter’s situation should DEFINITELY be called to attention! I’m sure Bristol’s pregnancy was not intended and there are many young women (unfortunately) in this country that find themselves in the exact same position. This isn’t so much about Bristol and what happened to her…it’s understandable from her mother’s right wing, conservative beliefs WHY this happened to her.

Sarah Palin believes that sex education and human biology should not be taught in schools. She doesn’t believe that our kids need to know how to protect themselves from each other, from disease and from getting pregnant way before they’re ready to be parents. She doesn’t believe that they need to know about or have access to birth control. And what happened? The universe in its all-knowing way, put the ultimate smack-down on Sarah Palin and showed her what happens when we don’t educate our children. She’s now the proud momma to a baby having a baby. There is not a 17 year old in this country that is ready and mature enough to raise a child.

Now Bristol has it good. Her parents have money and can afford to take care of her and her new baby since her 18 year old boyfriend clearly can’t. But what about the regular everyday girls in this country whose parents are living paycheck to paycheck thanks to the republican’s winning economic plan of the past 8 years? What about THOSE girls who don’t have parents that can pay for everything? What about THOSE girls whose families can’t afford health insurance and are now faced with a pregnant child who WILL require medical care and expensive medical care at that? What about THOSE girls?

Well, little Ms. Sarah Palin gets a bit stuck in a Catch-22 here. Her normal right wing conservative focus on the family ridiculous response would be that all of THOSE girls should be practicing abstinence. THOSE girls shouldn’t be having sex until they’re married. If THOSE girls don’t learn about sex in the classroom, THOSE girls wouldn’t be having sex.

Hmmmm….then what happened to Bristol? How’d Bristol become pregnant? How did Sarah become the mother of a 17 year old, unwed, pregnant daughter that has clearly been having the taboo unprotected sex? Because I would imagine with such strong views on abstinence, I’m nearly positive (though I have no proof and will be the first to admit it) that Bristol didn’t get sex ed in school. She was excused on the basis that it didn’t agree with her beliefs. Oh, but they’re getting married “someday”….so that makes it okay!

Sounds like things went a little awry in the Palin family to me. It sounds like, to me, that Sarah Palin is having a difficult time managing her own family…if she’s having a hard time managing her own family, how can she manage a country?  It sounds like to me that Sarah Palin isn’t in touch with the “real world”. The bottom line is that our children ARE having sex at younger and younger ages whether we want them to or not. We cannot wish them not to do it. We can’t squeeze our eyes tight and pretend it’s not happening, because it is. Bristol is proof of that.

So what do we do? We can leave our kids to learn about and experiment unprotected with sex on their own accord or we can give them all the tools and knowledge available to protect them the best we can. We can leave them with a wish and a prayer in the backseat of the current love of their short life or we can proactively teach them about human sexuality and what happens when people have sex. We can turn a blind eye and pretend it’s not happening or we can provide them access to “straight talk” and protection so they don’t lose their lives from having unprotected sex. The bottom line is that teens ARE having sex….I wonder how Bristol Palin learned about it.

Billie