Day 1--$1,132.00! Day 2--$2,478.00! Day 3--$3,039.00! Day 4--$4,002.00! Day 5--$4,646.00! Day 6--$5,552.64!
THANK YOU, EVERYONE!!
REGISTERING ON THIS BLOG WILL ALWAYS BE FREE. Soapblox charges Blue Oasis a monthly fee for the blog platform as well as the yearly charge for the website domain. There are also occasional fees for records gathering activities (CDs of meeting minutes and copying fees for letters and other documents from APOC). If you can support the blog and all of our work to hold Governor Palin accountable, please visit the drop- down list above. Any contribution is much-appreciated!
Thank you!
"Blue Oasis" began in 2005 in its Blogger format (now an archive) and became possibly the first Alaska Blog on Progressive Politics. At the 2008 Democratic National Convention, Celtic Diva's Blue Oasis was honored to represent Alaska as the state blog.
Transition--Community Blog
In September 2008, Celtic Diva's Blue Oasis moved to a Soapblox Community Blog format. Readers can become full participants by registering on the blog to comment and write "diaries." Diary titles appear on the right sidebar for folks to read and provide comments. Blog editors may choose to move some of these diaries to the front page.
While this Community was formed specifically with Alaska in mind, all "friends of Alaska" are welcome as members!
**Note about registering** Scroll down the right side until you find the link to register. Then, just follow the instructions!
**Note about comments** To comment on a story, click on the heading and then look for the "comment bar" at the bottom (it's light grey, I can't seem to change it). I believe the font color NOW permits you to see the "post comment" text.
YOUR BLOGMISTRESS
My name is Linda Kellen Biegel and I am a former 15-year Federal employee. Thirteen of those years were spent working for the US Army Corps of Engineers. I am also semi-retired from the Alaska music scene (singer, sound tech, stage manager, logistics).
When the blog was chosen to represent Alaska in the DNCC State Blogger Pool at the Denver Convention, I attended with the help of Alaska Real blogmistress, Writing Raven and my daughter Morrigan. On August 29th, one day after Barack Obama's inspiring speech at Invesco Field , my life took another turn as it did for all Alaska bloggers when Gov. Sarah Palin was chosen to be John McCain's VP running mate. Since then, I've either assisted or have been interviewed by media from the UK, Italy, Australia and Germany as well as national media outlets such as Wall Street Journal, NY Times, ABC Good Morning America's Kate Snow, National Journal, Dallas Morning News, LA Times, and NPR.
Presently, I work full-time as a freelance writer, PR, event coordinator, community organizer, wife to computer programmer Josh and mother to 11-year-old Morrigan. Our family especially enjoys our summers in Alaska where we get to subsistence set-net fish Sockeye salmon as well as halibut fish/whalewatch in the family's homemade aluminum boat, "The Neverdone" (when it's working). We reside in Anchorage, Alaska.
--me to march down to the Governor's Office, check in hand
--your avatars to show up on your emails
--a post talking about all of the above.
However, here's the most pertinent information:
***THE MONEY IS IN THE BANK!!! It made it over from Paypal, WOOO HOOO!!!***
What I can tell you is that, after a three-week break, I'm now watching my friend's daughter again during the week. As I don't want the kids' brains to rot while I'm constantly on the computer, I'm actually taking them places, doing things with them and working in the yard with them.
I'm also still waiting for the rest of the information to come in so I can do a complete post on all of this, including my response to their last letter and their "answers" to the computer questions. (Still waiting for one of the "computer guys" to send me their response to ETS.)
Another thing I needed: whose name is on the check?
I called Linda Perez yesterday then sent her an email today asking who I should make the check out to. Here was her response this afternoon:
Hello Ms. Kellen,
I didn't receive a message yesterday, so my apology for not responding. The check should be made payable to the State of Alaska and mailed to my attention at Office of the Governor, Division of Administrative Services, P.O. Box 110001, Juneau, AK 99811-0001.
Please call me at 465-3876 if you need any further information.
Thank you,
Linda Perez
So, they were quite clear about wanting the check sent to Juneau instead of bringing it to the Governor's Office here in Anchorage.
I talked to several people who are quite knowledgeable of records request issues. While I was hesitant to put the check in the mail out of fear that it may be lost, they encouraged me to do that instead of taking it to the Governor's Office in Anchorage. So, I'll be getting a cashier's check and mailing it certified, receipt requested. That way, someone has to sign for it.
When I get the rest of the information I need (hopefully sometime late tonight) I can finish the letter I'll be sending with the check, get the check ready, take pictures of it, send it to Juneau and post all about it tomorrow!!!!
And regarding your avatars...they are coming along VERY slowly...the list is HUGE! However, you should see some with more frequency very soon. (Again, if you want a different one, email me with a screen name and let me know!)
The Palin Administration CONTINUES to ride the backfire bus everytime they open their mouths these days. I guess they missed that definition of insanity, "Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."
--And the begging continues...this time, Palin wants to fill the coffers over at SarahPAC. Per Stapleton:
You have been so incredibly supportive and generous, and now we ask you again for your help - and we ask that you please also encourage your friends and family to give.
It's rumored that they edited the section of the letter out where Stapleton tells folks how to live on Top Raman noodles for a month so they can increase the money they send to Palin.
Yesterday, I took the kids to Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center where all the following pictures came from. However, the picture above I caught on the way down. A couple of Dahl Sheep were up in the rocky cliffs along Turnagain Arm. How did I know? The tipoff was the army of cars and RVs pulled over to the side and the tourists snapping pictures! That's usually the best wildlife spotting technique!
This is the wildlife observation deck at the Wildlife Center. Below, is the view from the deck!
It looked like the black bear was eating roots and insects.
I loved following these elk around! The three babies kept bleating because their moms didn't want to suckle them at the moment...they were too busy grazing.
Below, I had a "Bambi moment" with one little guy when he looked my way while he was bleating.
The musk ox were shedding their "Qiviut"...used to make some of the softest yarn in the world. Some call it "cashmere of the North."
This is a Great Horned Owl who is a permanent resident at the Park (some animals are sick or wounded and leave when they are well). The owl has a damaged wing and can't fly very well.
A caribou mama and baby (with a friend who was chased away eventually).
The Center has a "Wood Bison Reintroduction Project" where they hope to grown the herd imported from the Yukon Territory large enough to reintroduce into the Alaska wild.
After we left the park, we went to Alyeska Ski Resort to eat at "The Bake Shop." They have beautiful flower gardens outside.
And in the wildlife theme...my daughter and I went to Alaska Gubernatorial Candidate Bob Poe's volunteer party last week. We were able to observe Bob and Terzah in their natural habitat
Here we have Bob Poe showing his "Alaska wildlife" credentials. He proudly displays the "Poe-mobile," which is the camper he'll be traveling Alaska in during the campaign! I was impressed, it was very cute and had a full-sized toilet! (I just love that, for some reason!)
The flower arrangement in their lovely home was put together by Terzah.
I loved their perennial garden, especially the raven that was standing guard!
Terzah and my daughter display their kuspuks.
--Later today, I'll be able to report on the records request!
I've been meaning to mention this, Steve Aufrecht over at "What Do I Know" did a good article on the whole brouhaha. Even though our blogs have different styles, he does a beautiful job of highlighting the most important points of the issue...especially in analyzing Stapleton's response.
Back in August 2008, the evening after Sarah Palin was chosen as McCain's runningmate, I was still in Denver after the Democratic Convention. That evening, I got a call telling me something interesting...that McHugh Pierre, acting spokesperson (at that time) for the Alaska Republican Party, had inadvertantly revealed that the McCain people were coming in tomorrow to do their " investigations".
This was AFTER she was selected for McCain's runningmate, making all those stories about the "lack of vetting" accurate, right?
Well, the McCain camp came up with an obfuscation that was just the beginning of a pattern that followed through their campaign and into Sarah Palin's own Gubernatorial career. They claimed that Obama "air-dropped" an army of lawyers to Alaska to research Palin themselves.
As John McCain's top campaign officials talk more candidly than ever before about the meltdown of his vice-presidential pick, the author tracks the signs-political and personal-that Palin was big trouble, and checks the forecast for her future.
A little farther into the article, we get this:
After she was picked, the campaign belatedly sent a dozen lawyers and researchers, led by a veteran Bush aide, Taylor Griffin, to Alaska, in a desperate race against the national reporters descending on the state.
So there it is. There was no "airdrop" of lawyers from the Democratic Party, they didn't even come in with the primary goal to do a Troopergate cover-up, as a collegue and I surmised. The lawyers WERE sent by the Republicans and for exactly the reason I originally posted...to vette her after the fact.
The photoshop goon squad is still at it at SomethingAwful.com. While some of them are way over the line for this blog, a number of them are positively hilarious!
I believe that image threatens to become iconic!
A couple of things:
--It's a good bet that, since the transfer from Paypal can take up to 4 business days, the money for the emails won't be there until Wednesday. That's become the target day for marching down to the state office.
--We worked really hard on Sunday on the house inside and out. I also have the child I watch for the summer back today so I'm taking the kids out and about...if it's not pouring rain. Should have pictures later.
--Will be working on a writing project the next couple of days as well that will have future significance.
Folks have asked about my Celtic heritage, especially in light of my name. What they don't realize is that I'm adopted. I was born Valerie Morehead of the Clan Muirhead. I was adopted at three-months-old by the Kellens. I always "knew" I was Celt even before really knew. I was drawn to all things Scottish, especially music. That's why my parents eventually told me at age 16.
For that reason, going to the Scottish Highland Games every year is a necessity...it's truly a family affair for us!
--Josh enjoys the strength games (I do to, but seeing guys throw a rock over and over again gets wearing.) There's also the famous "caber toss"...a "caber" is basically a telephone pole of different sizes.
--There's the Tea Tent, where they serve different varieties of British Isle teas on china cups and saucers along with normal tea fare--scones, biscuits, shortbread, etc...I always end up running into people I haven't seen in years there.
--There's the Highland Dancing (which we missed this year).
--I also love the booths, which are frequently a good way to catch some of the vendors you may have missed at the Three Baron's Renaissance Faire.
Of course, the best part of all is the music!
Now THAT'S a drumline...I love girl drummers!
The Gathering of the Clans
The piper in the center with the beautiful head of white hair piped at my wedding!
Besides the pipers, they brought over a wonderful Scottish folk band called the "Old Blind Dogs." Listening to them fed my soul.
Competitor tossing the 115 lb "challenge stone." The earlier competition involved tossing increasingly larger stones with one hand for distance. At the end of the competition, those who were not faint-of-heart tried this hard-core variety.
The only purchase I made...I had a hard time trying to decide which witch hat to pick! I finally chose one with green leaves all over it. I have plans for Halloween!
This place also made corsets...for god's sake why?
We had rain we could live with...it would spit rain for a short time then stop. This kept up the whole time I was there.
A gentleman stands watch while one of my best friends ever, Paula (the straw hat inside the stocks), shows my daughter what would happen to her if she didn't behave herself!
Paula in her new gardening hat, who has been my friend for fifteen years. She's my daughter's Godmother, which she earned by sitting there sewing through most of my three-day labor. Yesterday, she also acted as "sentry" towards the screaming kids who kept running by at one point while I was on the phone with the Mike Method radio show. I was on for 1/2 hour talking about the week's events and it was the most serene I've ever felt on the radio with the band playing traditional Celtic tunes in the background.
I guess you can call this an "open thread" but I got a GREAT song in my email from a reader...please enjoy it!
Dear Celtic Diva,
You've got to admit, the gov is inspirational. The whole iconic image and desecration claims were just too much to let pass! Look here what she made me do. Blasphemy.
Sung to the tune of: What Child Is This?
Note: Since "What Child is This?" was originally "Greensleeves" I doubt it's "blasphemy." No need to beat yourself up for this one! **grin**
What child is this, who plays the pest
In Sarah's arms is screeching?
Whom rednecks greet with burps and bleats
While liberals watch unbelieving.
This, this is baby Burke
Who spews forth bile and acts quite vile.
Cut, paste, outrage the base,
When will they stop their shrieking?
Its baby Burke, he dons a smirk,
By his ignorance you will know him.
This jerk of jerks, a piece of work,
Let gentle folks disown him.
This, this is baby Burke
Who spews forth bile and acts quite vile.
Cut, paste, outrage the base,
When will they stop their shrieking?
This, this is baby Burke
Who spews forth bile and acts quite vile.
Cut, paste, outrage the base,
When will they stop their shrieking?
When will they stop their shrieking?
(Lazarhat does a nice "troll extermination" post that I thought you all should see.
I'll be out for the rest of the day. Sadly, with the worsening climate (and I'm not talking about weather) I don't feel comfortable publicly stating where I'm going ahead of time anymore. I'll be back with a post this evening. - promoted by Celtic Diva)
Oil Well Willie writes:
"well, you know what they say... (0.00 / 1)
in politics, if you have to keep explaining your
stupidity you are losing losing.
speaking of losing, you and your tribe are 0-15
on the ethics complaint boondoggle.
tut tut"
Well see Willie it's like this:
By whose scorecard? Yours and my friend Navylcc19's? Oh that's right -- it's that chatty little blog Sarah runs (or designates someone to run FOR her at her behest):
The game is fixed and run by employees of the executive branch if you're talking about the personnel board! With lawyers bought and paid for by either Sarah (defending her) or the state -- which, oh wait! -- is ALSO Sarah since the executive branch has hired several local lawyers to act as 'investigators' on behalf of the board... and Sarah IS the 'CEO' of this entire circus. Who is wasting money on lawyers? For most of these cases 'investigators' have been retained by the board. This is open and transparent? A process in a representative democracy where the people have no say, no oversight? These are NOT independent counsels under ANY traditional meaning of the term.
I am not impugning any of these people or the jobs they have done, I'm asking for a little checks and balances here, is all. The personnel board is absolutely, positively, 100% the WRONG venue for investigations into executive branch ethics complaints. Time to hit the reset button for Alaska and go back to the rational, open, honest and BI-PARTISAN days of the ORIGINAL 'Troopergate' investigation by our state legislature. The one that had started BEFORE the McCain campaign! The one that Sarah, Meg and the rest of the bunch (allegedly paid for by the McCain campaign) would later work so hard to discredit and derail as being "partisan" and "politically motivated".
Again, the people of Alaska didn't start this fight, Sarah did when she went on television, while on the campaign trail with McCain and 'Troopergate' was just starting to be investigated in Alaska by the legislature's independent counsel as agreed upon by a bi-partisan vote. She uttered the words "hold me accountable". (We're trying dear, but you must stop squirming. Admit your sins, fess up, move along. You did with the travel expense problems, so keep up the good work! Go Sarah! Go you!)
So we didn't start it but we will damn sure finish it AND in the appropriate LEGAL venue instead the big red "NO" stamp from what appear to be her rubber-stamping cronies on the personnel board. And while we do it, peacefully, with humor and grace, we will NOT make personal threats against the opposition. Nor shall we publish personal information including phone numbers for them on the internet. Nor will we use our radio programs as bully pulpit to suggest that listeners harass the opposition or do crazy stuff like threaten them with violence. Lastly we promise that we will NOT unleash our Chief of Staff to suggest that, and I quote from the ADN article (from a press release put up on the state of Alaska website), "I hope that the publicity-seekers will face a backlash from Alaskans who have a sense of fair play and proportion...". What does that mean, Mr. Nizch? Wasilla justice? Should I be worried about getting kneecapped by Tonya Harding's thugs, sir?
So in summation Mr. Oil Well Willie, when Governor Palin is driving this bus of state we Alaskans like to call "Alaska" we just want to make sure she's keeping her eyes on the road, doing her job and NOT issuing chatty TWEETS to the rest of the cheerleader squad.
No, I am not. The Democratic National Convention Committee selected 56 blogs as "State Blogs" to represent their states (and territories, and ex-patriots) at the Democratic National Convention in August 2008. That was it!
Other info: I'm a wife, mother of a beautiful daughter and a disabled person myself. Any other biographical information can be found on the left-hand column of the blog.
What exactly is the story behind how the "photoshopped" picture came to be?
I was doing a fundraiser to gather the exhorbitant monies needed for the release of public records from the Governor's Office ($5,552.64) -- a State of Alaska Record's Request. Some of these emails involve Palin-worshipping talk-show-host Eddie Burke and Anchorage Daily News Gossip Columnist and Editor Sheila Toomey.
I had already started so I really couldn't use any of the "thermometer" programs out there (tracks donations and creates a graph) because I had no idea how to make it count the money already in the Paypal account. So, one of my readers offered to photoshop "thermometers" each day for me so the donors could have a visual of how we were doing. He came up with a nice version of the State of Alaska for the second day (we skipped the first...I just put the total up without a thermometer). I wanted to "take that image back" because Conservatives4Palin, a completely non-Alaskan blog, used it for their web-a-thon. On the third day, he sent me the same graphic with the updated percentage, which I put on the blog. Later, he sent the one in question which showed in a humorous way (we thought) the relationship between Palin and Burke. He thought I should have a different one for every day. I didn't have a chance to use it then (I already had the other one up and was away from home) but I told him to do it again for the new percentage tomorrow. He did and, well, you know the rest.
Here are all of the "thermometers" (click each one to enlarge):
We were both absolutely floored that anyone would take it for anything than what it was...poking fun at the Governor and Eddie Burke. We also realized that because of my "digging" and writing about the questionable activities of Governor Palin, they were just looking for anything they could twist to try and discredit me.
Why did you take the image down Wednesday night? Was it because of pressure?
Absolutely not! Dr. Chill (the reader in question) was sending me a new "thermometer image" each night after I sent him the total for the day. So, there was no way that image was going to be up beyond Wednesday night anyway because it had the wrong percentage on it. We weren't going to use that same image again, especially when Dr. Chill got the idea to use Burke in his controversial red t-shirt. Besides, there really wasn't any pressure on Wednesday...it was just faux-outrage whining from a bunch of Palin-worshipping bloggers. It didn't really get interesting until Meg Stapleton put her foot in it on Thursday.
Have you apologized to anyone? Do you intend to apologize?
We have nothing to apologize for...it's Conservatives4Palin, Meg Stapleton and the Governor who should be apologizing. Blue Oasis is an Alaska blog with a mostly Alaska audience. (It fluctuates but it's usually about 65% as I've periodically tracked it. That may have changed after this week.) Alaskans "got it" completely because that's who we were targeting. It was the faux outrage and the lies about the posting generated by Conservatives4Palin (run and read by mostly outsiders) and then kicked into the national media by Meg "the mouth" Stapleton at the behest of the Governor. Any misunderstandings were the result of their collective thirst for tabloid fame and desire to twist any truth to discredit a critic. Those who may have been offended were people who NEVER would have seen the picture otherwise and who were not the intended audience.
Was part of your response to Meg Stapleton really "You fail at life?"
NO...ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!! I was NEVER asked for a response to Stapleton's diatribe nor did I post one on the blog. The national media took a quote from an angry article posted 24 HOURS BEFORE STAPLETON'S STATEMENT WAS EVEN RELEASED that was completely directed at Conservatives4Palin and their frenzied smear campaign!!! (The proof...look at the post date.) It was blogger-to-blogger! No matter how much I may disagree with Governor Palin or Stapleton, that would never be part of any response to them.
Will your blog continue to feature satire and satirical images?
I'm adding my hands-down choice for best photoshop EVER!
This was from our friend Lazarhat over at OMFGAlaska (and who is also a diarist at Blue Oasis). The disclaimer/caption is the best part:
(this image is intended as PARODY and as such is covered under US copyright fair use laws -- since it is PARODY, nothing PERSONAL is intended or implied. The opinion above is socio-political commentary and as such is covered by the US First Amendment right to free speech. And besides, I just think it's a cute image. Meg wooks sweepy)
(OK, so it took a friend to tell me the "baby" was a really awful picture of George Soros. Hey George, where's that check everyone says you are paying me?)
--I only received one donation over $150.00--it was for $250.00.
--My rough (very rough) estimates are that 98% of all donations were $100.00 or under. About 85% of all donations were under $100.00. (Like I said, these are very rough right now)
--The largest number of donations by far were $25.00 and under.
--There were many people who gave more than once. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!
--The single biggest fundraising day...the first one, believe it or not!!!! With the over 10,000 hit traffic I had yesterday, the first day still beat it...barely! You guys TOTALLY ROCK!!!!!
Keep watch on the blog starting Monday. As soon as the money transfers to my account, I'll be marching down to the State of Alaska offices!
(Here's another great diary from Lazarhat! - promoted by Celtic Diva)
navylcc19 wrote:
"Who cares?
Lets raise more money to donate to hungry lawyers, 1 billion people in this world are hungry and you waste your time on a politician, any politician, You propogate the cycle of liberals and conservatives, they all suck. You are 0 for 16 on wasteing money on Palin, Why bother ? Every politician is crooked, life is short, do something honorable with your time. A health bill that wont be used for politicians or federal employees, kinda strange. Instead of us being food in Soylent Green we are just money to the political world. WAKE UP"
To a diary that was posted half in jest... I had already posted the (what I thought to be) scathing "BULLSHIT!" diary and posted the other as a non-related joke. Here is my (as usual) verbose response:
Palin set up the game with the layers of lawyers, not us, sir. We are asking her to be held accountable for her actions as a paid public servant of the state. There are certain conditions all citizens must meet when serving their constituency as Governor, some even governed by actual laws and statutes, but in my mind the penultimate one is that of being honest.
"Why bother, they're all corrupt", you say? Exactly. Because apparently people like you feel it's a waste of time (not to mention money) to hold them accountable and to insist that they conduct governmental business in an open and transparent manner. As Governor Palin, who RAN as an ETHICS candidate, has promised her citizens on not one but several occasions publicly in press conferences.
Speaking ONLY for myself sir -- openness and transparency SHOULD be the standard to which ALL public servants be held, regardless of party affiliation. Besides, in MY opinion, all and I do mean ALL political parties should be abolished as the tools of serfdom they have become... you have money you get access to power, you don't have the money, tough luck. That is the system we have now. Are you satisfied with the way it presently functions? I certainly am NOT.
It is the system we are saddled with by our recent corporate overlords and war profiteers. But these circumstances are changing through HONORABLE actions like Linda's! It is a hard struggle. One for which I have an idea that all humans are equipped to tackle. It's not only a right, it is an absolute necessity and a responsibility that citizens take an active role in government. After all, it is allegedly "Of, by and FOR the people...", is it not? You don't get to representative democracy by hitting the "feed sim" button on your Nintendo Wii repeatedly. It's hard work. Hard work that we should be embarrassed about if we ARE NOT ACTIVELY PARTICIPATING IN OUR OWN REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY.
Corporations have the money so they get the access. In a sense, perhaps by "bringing some of them low" or reintroducing them (and the politicians those corporations "own" through their multimillion dollar "campaign contributions") to accountability, personal ethics and personal responsibility during this time of economic meltdown perhaps they are all receiving a re-education at the hands of the real masters of the purse strings: the American Taxpayer.
Both politicians and corporate leaders need a wake up and "come to Jeebus" moment to remind them that ultimately we are ALL humans here and we ALL need to chill the fuck out and stop screwing over each other for political, personal monetary or power gains. Since the taxpayer holds the purse strings, we should have all the power, right? Can corporate America finance it's own $700 BILLION bailout? What do you think? It's time for the taxpayer to grow a pair and remind all these idiots for whom it is that they work.
Without our cooperation and consensus they might as well be selling BIC lighters in Hell or filibustering their own (mostly) dumbass legislation that does nothing other than to declare the ptarmigan as the state bird or the marmot as the state rodent.
On a more serious note, pushing ideologies for the sake of merely pushing an agenda and ignoring any consequences to your fellow humans is not only criminal, it's a surefire prescription for the extinction of ALL humans. Seriously. The sooner we all learn to get along and stop arguing over the petty bullshit, the better.
But I'll remind you sir that we didn't start this "fight" with our governor, she did when she said the words "hold me accountable" and that is a direct quote. We may not have started it but I can damn sure assure you we're going to finish it.
...took me to one of those nasty sites I haven't been to in awhile. If you're a gamer, you know the sites...not for the faint of heart or thin skinned and mostly populated by teenage boys.
And yes, it was about the "photoshop incident" so my picture was there and they weren't very nice about it.
However, they were mostly pissed about Palin's idiocy and complete lack of internet savvy.
(So you see, they will defend you AND insult you at the same time. I'll take it.)
They decided to have a "photoshop-off" using the "iconic" picture of Palin-and-son.
YES!!!!! You have read correctly...we have reached our goal!!!!!
Thank you SO much guys!!!!
I'll change the banner when I get the new file from Dr. Chill. We were going to change it but we've had a number of requests to keep the same "thermometer" that we have now, so we aim to please!
And now, we will celebrate by reading three stories from my wonderful fellow bloggers.
The first is from Phil over at Progressive Alaska which reprints a Blue Oasis post from January by BSN Lee Tompkins, who talks about the medical implications of Sarah Palin's "wild ride" from Texas leading up to Trig's birth. Were those the actions of a loving mother?
The second is a Huffington Post article done by Mudflats which is probably the best summary of this whole situation out there.
The third is from Wonkette because I love it when the national politicos "get it!" So far CNN and MSNBC have completely missed the mark.
Here's just a tantalizing nibblet from Wonkette:
Famous bad mother Sarah Palin, hot off her successful campaign to fire David Letterman, from television, is now yelling about how some other random person hates or rapes her children. See that photoshop up there of Governor Palin with Bristol Palin's child, Trig? We thought "Verne Troyer" too, but no, it is the head of conservative Alaskan radio host Eddie Burke, who is in love with Sarah Palin. The terrifying graphic is the work of "the liberal Alaskan blogger, Celtic Diva," who earlier this month pushed some other story about Todd's snowmobiling clothes. Now Palin has denounced the blogger through her evil spokesperson Meg Stapleton, who released a statement saying, "The mere idea of someone doctoring the photo of a special needs baby is appalling." Oh.. oh MEG.
I especially love some of the quotes:
"Dueling emo govs?"
"What's next, btw, "Palin Takes On Rude Construction Workers?"
"I have unending sympathy for any child born with the horrible affliction of having Sarah Palin as a mother."
"That's Megan Stapleton! Don't call her Meg! Who told you could call her Meg? Don't ever call her Meg! Whoever told you it was "OK" to call her Meg set you up."
"Okay, sure, whatever, I'm on board with restoring decency and "real" tolerance. So as soon as Sarah Palin gets down on her knees and licks Obama's new French shoes - literally, and repeatedly - to apologize for encouraging those violence-bent cracker mobs that came out to see her in the fall, then we can start negotiations on the moral compass thing."
Anyway, go read up on these stories and I hope to have some new, exciting information for you tomorrow!
(I decided to bump this to the top today so that folks can see what is REALLY behind all of this! The Palin Administration has made it all but impossible for private citizens to get public records without forcing them to raise the money, as I am. This isn't about a Downs Syndrome Child, this is about trying to shut down a critic. - promoted by Celtic Diva)
What is this fund for?
The primary focus of this fundraising drive is to collect the $5,552.64 fee needed for the Palin Administration to release records of potentially questionable conversations between with "preferred" members of the media. The posts on this can be found **HERE** and HERE**. While this is my regular PayPal account that I use for blog expenses, they money I'm raising now is to go for the release of the emails involved in the records request.
I don't have a PayPal account nor do I want one. Can I donate another way?
-- You don't need a PayPal account to give through PayPal.
-- I know there are those who do not wish to do financial transactions on line. I will have a P.O. Box posted by this evening (June 22nd).
Is this tax deductable?
At this time, no. I will end up reporting this as income on my taxes just like I did with the blog and other donations (to go to the Convention) I received last year.
What are your plans for fund accountability?
I will pay the State in person and get a receipt, which I'll scan-in and post on the blog in a place of honor to show you all what you've accomplished!
The beauty of PayPal is they have all the account activity records online for as long as the account has existed. So, in case there is a need to provide a list of transactions and dates, I can do that anytime.
**NOTE** I will NOT release the names or other information about ANYONE who gives to this fund drive. These are NOT political contributions. This is money raised to pay for the unreasonable fees charged by the Palin Administration in a records request per Alaska Statute 40.25.110 Public Records Open to Inspection and Copying; Fees. This is (supposed to be) a non-partisan process that provides public information for minimal cost in a reasonable amount of time. However, the Palin Administration has made obfuscation their mantra.
What if all the emails are redacted? What if they continue to delay like they have done with the Democratic Party? Will this be in vain?
It is definitely NOT in the long-term best interest of the Palin Administration to try and claim "Executive Privilege" on emails between or about a radio personality and a newspaper gossip columnist. It's also not in the best interest to show a pattern of delay when they are supposed to be meeting their statutory responsibilities. I will be writing and providing information about EVERY STEP of this process FOR THE RECORD, which is something I don't think anyone has done before. The only way I can do that is to keep following through with the next step.
As we in Alaska learned up-close-and-personally with Sarah Palin's VP candidacy, the national media researches EVERY INCH of that record when someone attempts to run for national office.
No, this MOST DEFINITELY will not be in vain, no matter what the outcome.
AVATARS AVAILABLE FOR SELECTION AFTER A DONATION IS MADE:
Dolphin -- Friendship, intelligence and good luck
Wolf -- a cunning, intelligent creature, capable of out-thinking hunters. It teaches us how to read the signs of Nature in everything, how to pass by danger invisibly, how to outwit those who wish harm, and how to fight when needed.
Owl -- a creature of keen sight in darkness, and a silent and swift hunter. It can unmask those who would deceive or take advantage
Dragon -- The dragon symbolized the power of the Elements, especially Earth and Fire, as well as treasure and prosperity
Unicorn -- the symbol of supreme magical power.
So please help us make Palin accountable by helping us get those emails!
