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Though many of us suffer from Palin Factor Fatigue, it is irrefutable that there is a nagging curiosity to have the question answered, ?How in the world did Sarah Palin become so popular and why do we still need to hear about her?? My book answers these questions in detail and urges us all to be vigilant. She is one of a small pool of ?rising stars in the republican party? as John McCain stated as recently as January 25, 2009 on Fox News Sunday.
As unbelievable as her meteoric rise was we cannot delude ourselves, turning our backs once again, into thinking that she and those like her are going away. This woman is joined by millions of loyalists whose perception is that she was persecuted in the media, stifled by McCain, and mocked by liberals - and now the theocratic conservatives are regrouping with a vengeance!
"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 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.
Origin of "Celtic Diva"
I've used "Celtic Diva" as a screen name since the early 1990's on Web TV.
"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."
"Linda is well-known in Alaska & beyond as the prominent progressive political blogger Celtic Diva of Celtic Diva?s Blue Oasis. But back in the day, the early 1990s, I knew her as Linda Kellen, a member of the local folk/rock band Sky is Blu, which amongst other things performed in at least a couple or so of the annual women?s show Celebration of Change, in which I also performed. And if you don?t already know, let me tell you: Linda is one fine damn singer."
I went on after the break-up of "Sky is Blu" to perform with various Alaska musicians and work with national folks like Bo Diddly, Coco Montoya, Debbie Davies, Taj Mahal, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Bad Company, Creedence Clearwater, Carny Wilson, etc...
USA Women's Olympic Hockey Team Star Kerry Weiland with our friend Isabella and my daughter Morrigan at St. Baldrick's Day
(Scroll down to find posts.)
(Please register to participate in diaries and comments! We'd love for you to join our Community!)
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I was exploring the clever snarkfest which is Wonkette and the plethora of Palin posts. The "post swarm" started when I "consorted" with Dr. Chill to "desecrate" her icon through the evils of photoshop. It has continued through the insanity that has been her resignation and up to the wacked-out strategy of threatening another Alaskan media figure (Shannyn Moore) with legal action.
Among those Wonkette posts was a little gem under the title "win of the afternoon"...they highlighted a comment from Alaska Girl:
She didn't finish her term as mayor, stepping down to run for Lt. Governor. She didn't finish her term on the petroleum board ethics panel, she resigned in protest and then ran for Governor. She doesn't want the office, she just likes running for office. She doesn't want (can't actually) accomplish anything, she just wants to talk about it.
Quitting before the job is done is her modus operendi.
Of course, this last year has also highlighted other patterns that Sarah Palin can't seem to break. Her biggest, most glaring pattern is hypocrisy mixed with secrecy.
In the middle of the primary, a conservative columnist in the state, Paul Jenkins, unearthed e-mail messages showing that Ms. Palin had conducted campaign business from the mayor's office. Ms. Palin handled the crisis with a street fighter's guile.
"I told her it looks like she did the same thing that Randy Ruedrich did," Mr. Jenkins recalled. "And she said, 'Yeah, what I did was wrong.' "
--In Palin's resignation speech, she continued her steady drumbeat of whining about the media, bloggers, the internet...everyone who has criticized her or made her life difficult. Yet, during the campaign, she reamed Hillary Clinton for her "whining" about the press:
--During her resignation speech, Palin also blamed those who "cost the State money" by filing "all those complaints."
During Palin's inauguration speech, she told us to "hold her accountable":
Palin steadfastly denies the allegations, and with her signature resolve, said she welcomes the investigation. "Hold me accountable," she challenge her critics.
Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission Chairwoman Sarah Palin said Friday she is resigning amid frustration that she is being forced to keep silent about ethics allegations against Republican Party of Alaska chairman Randy Ruedrich.
"I'm forced to withhold information from Alaskans, and that goes against what I believe in as a public servant," Palin said in a Friday interview.
Today, Sarah Palin doesn't seem to have any problem at all witholding information from Alaskans. It obviously suits her long-term purpose to leave us in the dark. I have my own theory as to what's going on. However, no matter what the actual details of "why" she resigned, it's pretty clear that they involve personal or financial gain...much like the basis for every single ethics complaint filed against her.
If we were paying attention, we should have seen this coming.
NEW YORK (AP) -- Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin, in a rare exchange with reporters, declined Thursday to endorse the candidacy of indicted Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens.
Opening arguments began Thursday in Stevens' corruption trial. The longest-serving Republican in the Senate faces seven counts of making false statements stemming from allegations that he concealed gifts on Senate financial documents. In spite of the charges, he is running for re-election to retain the seat he has held since 1968.
When a reporter asked Palin, Alaska 's governor, if she supports the re-election of Stevens, she replied: "Ted Stevens' trial started a couple of days ago. We'll see where that goes."
I was talking to a Republican politician when I heard about this. Their response: "It's awfully crowded under that bus."
(I respected him way before that for the support he gave in 1993 to those of us fighting for the Ordinance in Anchorage to add "sexual orientation" to the protected classes in Municipal employment. It's what made him and his book a target in the first place.)
I happened to meet the U.K. film crew at the women's rally and they took an interest in me as a blogger I got invited to this dinner and decided to ask our host if they could come as well. He said yes.
I watched and participated tonight while this U.K. film crew got Howard's story on video. Since the journalist from Salon.com couldn't come and the reporter from "The Nation" had to leave (the folks who were the reason for the gathering) it would have been a missed opportunity to really get this story out had it not been my "chance" encounter with this quirky film crew.
There are no coincidences.
There was something really powerful about watching Howard speak in simple terms about the threats, intimidation and his eventual forced retirement and his church's excommunication from the American Baptists over his stances on LGBT issues and that book.
It's easy to forget how frightening truth in the form of the written word can be to the enemies of truth. It's also easy to forget that while our countrymen and women fought and died for over 200 years to protect our access to that truth, our friends in the U.K. did the same centuries before us.
Listening to the film crew, they are quite literally terrified by the thought of someone like Sarah Palin being in the White House only a heartbeat away from being the "Leader of the Free World." Sadly, the U.K. seems more terrified than most in the U.S.
I was glad that David Talbot of Salon.com (the other reporter who was supposed to come to the dinner) got his interview with Howard Bess and he did a great job. However, I think that the story will be much more powerful on film. This ordinary-looking plain-speaking man and his wonderful wife are heroes because they believe that God loves everyone equally and worshipping Him in ANY church is a right as children of God.
They show every Christian and any other religious person the true meaning of the words "Love Won Out."
...lending giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac had "gotten too big and too expensive to the taxpayers." The companies, as McClatchy reported, "aren't taxpayer funded but operate as private companies...
...Economists and analysts pounced on the misstatement, which came before the government had spent funds baling the two entities out, saying it demonstrated a lack of understanding about one of the key economic issues likely to face the next administration.
"You would like to think that someone who is going to be vice president and conceivable president would know what Fannie and Freddie do," said Dean Baker, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research. "These are huge institutions and they are absolutely central to our country's mortgage debt. To not have a clue what they do doesn't speak well for her, I'd say."
