Report stings Palin over Troopergate flap
Published Saturday, October 11, 2008
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Stumble It!ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- The politically charged investigation into Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is over, and its conclusions are stinging. But the fallout, if any, might not come until Election Day.
A legislative investigator found that Palin violated state ethics laws and abused her power by trying to have her former brother-in-law fired as a state trooper.
The next move may be at the ballot box. The legislative committee that released the report Friday recommends no criminal investigation and has no authority to sanction the governor, the Republican vice presidential nominee.
"It is out of the Legislative Council's hands. It goes to anyone's hands who got a copy or clicks the link on the Web," said Democratic state Sen. Kim Elton, the chairman of the committee that released the report. "I can't tell you how the process ends."
If voters believe the report's finding and it tarnishes Palin's reputation as a reformer and a champion for good government, that could hurt Republican presidential nominee John McCain in the final weeks of the race.
The McCain campaign quickly rejected that notion.
"I think the American people can tell the difference between the results of a politically motivated investigation and a legitimate finding of fact," campaign spokesman Taylor Griffin said.
The inquiry looked into Palin's dismissal of Public Safety Commissioner Walter Monegan, who said he lost his job because he resisted pressure to fire a state trooper involved in a bitter divorce and custody battle with the governor's sister. Palin says Monegan was fired as part of a legitimate budget dispute.
Stephen Branchflower, a retired prosecutor hired to conduct the investigation, said Monegan's firing was lawful. But the pressure Palin and her husband put on him, he said, was not.
Under Alaska law, it is up to the state's Personnel Board, not the Legislature, to decide whether Palin violated the ethics laws. If so, it must refer the matter to the Senate president for disciplinary action. Violations also carry a possible fine of up to $5,000.
By the time that investigation is over, however, the election will be over. If Palin is the vice president-elect, the results will hardly matter. If she loses, she'll have to address the board's findings at home. The national media will be long gone.
Barack Obama's presidential campaign did not comment on the report amid persistent accusations by Republicans that rival operatives were manipulating the investigation to help the Democratic presidential nominee.
Democratic Sen. Hollis French, who oversaw the investigation, contributed to that perception when he said the report could provide an "October surprise" for the McCain campaign.
Elton said partisanship played no role in the report.
"When we began investigating this, we had no idea that Sarah Palin would be a part of the national ticket," said Elton, an Obama supporter.
Branchflower said Palin violated a statute of the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act. Lawmakers don't have the authority to sanction her for such a violation and they gave no indication they would take any action against her.
Palin has recently said that the Personnel Board inquiry is the only one that matters. And McCain's campaign echoed those comments Friday.
"This is the opinion of this Legislative Council investigation," Griffin said. "It's just an opinion."
The report notes a few instances in which Palin pressed the case against trooper Mike Wooten, but it was her husband, Todd, who led the charge. Todd Palin had extraordinary access to the governor's office and her closest advisers and he used that access to try to get Wooten fired.
Gov. Palin knowingly "permitted Todd to use the Governor's office and the resources of the Governor's office, including access to state employees, to continue to contact subordinate state employees in an effort to find some way to get Trooper Wooten fired," Branchflower's report reads.
Wooten had been in hot water before Palin became governor over allegations that he illegally shot a moose, drank beer in a patrol car and used a Taser on his stepson. The Palins said they feared for their family's safety after Wooten made threats against them.
Community Discussion
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Good work FDNM, get that pesky story updated so all the comments go away. First, the report does NOT STING Palin. She has done nothing illegal. Second, she will be home in a couple of weeks, then she can continue being the fantastic governor she was before that fiasco down south.
when she was elected she was given the power to govern and was approve by the voters,leave her alone,this was a waste of state dollars at its best,we knew from day 1 it belongs to the personal board and it took you 100.000 to understood this,your group is a waste of money to the state.
So, the firing was lawful, but in their opinion it was motivated by a personal vendetta, so it wasn't lawful. That's as clear as mud. As usual, it is just fodder for the continued partisan mud-slinging.
Can't we recognize that we are so caught up with all the drama and bickering that we are unable to look at the big picture of our country and what is best. The best certainly does not include Obama or McCain. What is an American to do?
I thought, from news on TV and the previous article, that Gov Palin was reprimanded for silently allowing Todd Palin to pursue the firing of Wooten.
This article states, "A legislative investigater found that Palin violated state ethics laws and abused her power by trying to have her former brother-in-law fired as a state trooper."
While this article later, in the closing paragraphs, seems to try to backtrack on that statement, a little bit of honest editing would have stopped a wrong interpretation. Oh, I forgot, this is another AP article. Honesty and good editing be damned. It's all about "gotcha".
Alaskan's will pay about as much attension to this report as they did to Vic Vickers...there is not a pinch of difference between Vic and Senator French or Senator Elton...they are cut from the same cloth.
Troopr Wootin is what he is...a bad apple!! Walt Monegan has lost all respect from cler thinking Alaskan's..Steve Branchflower, was well thought of by most folks who know him, but he to has now lost much respect many Alaska's once had for him...
Sarah knew there was a bad cop, she wanted him fired, is that part of her job as governor? Monegan should be charged with filing a false report.
The title of this article should have been: "Palin Lawful in Firing Monegan"
They should have led in with this paragraph:
"Stephen Branchflower, a retired prosecutor hired to conduct the investigation, said Monegan's firing was lawful. But under Alaska law, it is up to the state's Personnel Board, not the Legislature, to decide whether Palin violated the ethics laws"
Wouldn't this have been closer to the truth than the hate-filled spin given to it by the News-Minus? CNN, HNN, Fox, CBS, ABC, NBC all are saying she didn't break the law and this is a non-issue. Why does News-Minus continue the tirade? Oh, yeah--they are still in love with Frank Murkowski. Thought we forgot, huh?
Go Sarah!
The real crime here is paying someone $100,000 for a 300 page report.
Well, well, Palin4veep is back. I have missed your B.S. now I can relax, knowing back on the job.
By the way what in gods name do you know about the law? Not much I would assume! Oh now that I think about it, you saw the law on FOX NEWSLESS.
Sen. Stevens - on trial
Gov. Murkowski - gone
Gov. Palin - investigated, and determined to have abused power
Rep. Young - has a large legal fund to remain innocent
Seriously people, is this what you want Alaskan politics to be known for? We're a laughing stock of the US, if not the World. But instead of wanting to change it, or at least accept responsibility... we say "Don't pick on them" and blame the Democrats. Truth is, EVERYONE in Alaska has benefited from this, and needs to TAKE responsibility. Wasn't that WHY we elected Palin to be Governor, and instead of following through on her promise, she became equally corrupt with power. Forked Tongue, and she proved it.
This has GOT to be Bill Clinton's fault somehow...
I'm amused in a sad way by many of the thoughts on here. Apparently facts are a troubling thing for most:
1) The investigation was authorized by a unanimous vote of 10 republicans and 5 democrats - sounds pretty bipartisan to me, at least at first. After the VP nomination, the partisan rhetoric from both sides heated up pretty quick, but from where I sit, the republican camp has done the worst of the partisan squabbling on this one, esp. the McCain "Truth Squad" (shades of Orwell there!).
2) The Governor has come up with at least 3, if not 4, serial "reasons" for the firing of Monegan. Her constantly shifting reasons, trying to find one that has traction, has not exactly given lots of credence to the statements coming from her office.
3) The Governor, after saying at first she would cooperate completely with this investigation, then told her staff NOT to cooperate.
4) The Governor tried to steer an investigation of her possibly firing someone illegally to a board that she can fire. The irony here is more than a bit overwhelming... This is exactly what independent investigators are for!
5) "Palin violated a statute of the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act" - that doesn't say she did nothing illegal, quite the opposite. Indeed, the report issues the *opinion* that she did violate the law, and puts it out there for the correct path to be taken from this point forward. An opinion is all it is - but the opinion is that she violated the law.
I've read through *all* the investigations, reports, etc. that were available publicly about the many complaints that the Palin family made against Wooten. There were some scary things in there - and I personally think he got off too lightly on some of them. However, part of it definitely read like a family pushing a vendetta. The bigger point for all Alaskans is that we have a governor who doesn't understand simple legal and constitutional principles like double-jeopardy, the difference between evidence and hearsay, and innocent until proven guilty, (not to mention ethics)- and that is a much scarier thing.
However, it certainly explains why she blew the question on the constitutional role of the vice-president during the debate....
That Palin improperly mixed personal and official business makes a HUGE question mark about her qualification as a leader. That she tried to cover-up Troopergate shows poor judgment. That she too often lies (often when she doesn't need to) makes me not trust her.
These factors not only make me not want Palin as VP, they show that McCain made a huge error when he choose her as his running mate. McCain has been making too many errors recently.
One thing that can be said for liberals, they are an arrogant bunch. An unfounded arrogance, but an arrogance nonetheless.
palin4veep- Did you read the first finding on page eight of the report? It reads:
"For the reasons explained in Section IV of this report, I find that Sarah Palin abused her power by violation Alaska Statute 39.52.110(a) of the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act. Alaska Statute 39.52.110(a) provides: The legislature affirms that each public officer holds office as a public trust, and any effort to benefit a personal or financial interest through official action is a violation of that trust."
She was within her executive rights to fire the guy, but it was personally motivated, not politically motivated, which is a clear abuse of power.
Honestly though, "Troopergate" is the least of my concerns about the Sarah Palin. Her witch-hunting pastor who lays hands on her to bring her campaign money, and her belief that slaughtering over a million innocent people for oil is "God's plan" freaks me out more than anything. Now THAT is somebody I don't want anywhere near the White House! I've had enough of "God-sent" Republicans in the White House to last for the rest of my life! God is probably preparing a special place in hell for GW and his followers like Ms. Minion.
One thing that can be said for conservatives: They are an arrogant bunch. An unfounded arrogance, but an arrogant nonetheless.
One thing can be said for radical right-wingers, they are an ignorant bunch. A sad ignorance, but ignorant nonetheless.
Thanks for that substance-less post glacierles. You're hurting my head again...
And, of course, you make your comment in the face of a well-reasoned post by J_Loury.
Hey glacierles, what do you think of Sarah having a witch-hunter for a pastor who "laid hands" on her to bring campaign money her way? (That church should be reported to the IRS for engaging in political activities like the liberal church who teaches peace was.)
Will Reverend Muthee be a regular visitor at the White House to bring Palin insight from "God"? Palin hasn't been politically forced to denounce Muthee as Obama was with Reverend Wright, who's service to America and his community would be honored if not for the rabid conservative grab for anything to pin on Obama. I'll take Wright over Muthee ANY day of the week!
Palin , her husband , and others surrounding her , went far beyond the power that any political office holder should have . The thought of any politician having the power of using a personal vendetta to have one removed from their job , using the power of that office just because they don't like you is scary . In the beginning isn't That the way they done it in Nazi Germany ? No trial , no question , no hard evidence , you are guilty , that is the verdict . If Wooten was guilty of a firing offence why didn't the troopers fire him ? Most of these accusation is totally made up by Palin and her family , and other surrounding her , that wanted to butter up to her ,there is another word for this I would use to describe this if I was talking to you face to face .
Well, $100,000 dollars wasted on a report that tells us that the Governor can fire an at will employee. Isn't that special?
Now, here is what is really going on. Sarah and her administration have REALLY pissed off Big Oil. Sarah, and her honest attempts to reform our oil tax structure in Alaska, plus her refusal to give Pt. Thompson back to the crooked multinationals- Exxon, have left her in the sights of these interests.
That Sarah had such high public approval rating and is/was likely to have been our governor for another six years required these powerful interests to gin up a smear campaign against Sarah.
Anything to take down this governor. Anything. Folks, it is not over, these powerful interests will continue to use their surrogates to go after anyone who gets in their way.
So this investigation began with Andy Halcro- a guy who has dedicated every spare minute of his day attacking Sarah for his Big Oil pals.
To date, Andy Halcro has refused to disclose his business dealings and financial interests with Big Oil- and he has been asked. But as a private citizen he has no obligation to expose his dealings.
Recall that Halcro has worked tirelessly to prevent every major reform Sarah has initiated. When Sarah worked so hard to reform our oil tax structure and throw out the corruption laden PPT (this was the legislation passed where legislators were getting bribes) Andy Halcro was screaming how unfair this was to Big Oil.
Now, Alaska has taken billions mores for the sale of our oil- as our Constitution requires.
Sarah has refused to give Pt. Thomson back to Exxon, (over 100 billion dollars at stake) and Andy Halcro has kvetched how that is unfair to poor, little Exxon.
When Sarah worked to advance AGIA to get a gasline, guess who Big Oil used to attack Sarah? That's right, it was Andy Halcro.
Folks. Pay attention. This is important. There is a lot of money at stake for Big Oil here. If there is an honest governor who is fighting for Alaska's interest, hell, that is the last thing Big Oil wants.
So they have worked, using surrogates like Halcro, (and others) to smear Sarah.
Part II:
Enough. The multinationals will smear, attack, bribe, any honest Alaska who gets in their way. Remember when Exxon spied on Alaskans using Wackenhut/Alyeska? Wackenhut was going through prominent Alaskans trash, wiretapping their phones... And it was Big Oil, and their surrogates, (Bill Allen, VECO) who have made Alaska's legislature the MOST corrupt in the United States. Remember how Big Oil got Gov. Tony Knowles to fire his top ADEC investigator who was insisting that Big Oil fix their corroded pipes? Remember all the leaks? Remember the $400,000 that Bill Allen gave Knowles? Remember Exxon Valdez? Remember the broken promises from Big Oil that they were going to have double hulled tankers and spill clean up equipment? All lies.
Alaskans should stand united against Exxon, ConocoPhillips, and British Petro in their efforts to discredit Alaskans who get in their way.
It's over, let it be. Focus on matters of National importance because that's where the real fight is. Sarah will not own up to her mistakes nor take responsibility for her actions so there's no point in bringing "unfacts" up all the time. What about her kids? Can you imagine what impact all this has on them. They read these comments too. We all have our own opinion and won't be swayed without personal, slap in the face facts put in our coffee. Believe what you want (or are told by YOUR party) but please keep the arguments civil.
We Alaskans have to be able to trust the governor's judgement. We voted her in after that horrible Murkowski era that left Alaska begging for positive change. Of course there are going to be areas of improvement, however, overall she has been exactly what Alaska needed.
She has a huge role to oversee departments that have no accountability for their actions. I believe what happened here is she no longer had faith in Monegan's abilities to hold troopers accountable. Which sounds right to me. Trooper Wooten is out there right now holding Alaskan's responsible for their actions, when he has committed such acts himself that would have put any other Alaskan in jail for awhile. OCS would've probably taken away his kids because of the tasering, and been involved with that family to make sure he practiced better judgement.
If this had been some random Trooper, I would hope Governor Palin would take the exact same steps to ensure Alaskan's safety. The only matter I view as odd is Todd Palin's involvement. I'm sure if Sarah Palin hired some other 'objective' former prosecutor, his $100,000 300 page report would state more favorable findings.
All in all, her intentions were honorable. I wish her and her family all the best in the upcoming election.
AKpatriot - I believe McCain's choice was for personal reasons, not political. Unlike Obama, who chose a seasoned Senator who challenges and compliments his strengths and weaknesses, McCain chose Sarah for just the opposite reason, so he wouldn't be challenged by Ms. Wet-Behind-the-Ears. (He also chose a young wife.) His temper at being challenged by anyone for anything is legendary, and I have a gut feeling he chose Sarah because she's young, naive, and ready to do anything to become VP, and he could intimidate her into doing anything he needs her to do, unlike any other VP choice he had.
I watched Cindy McCain after that last debate as she followed behind her husband with hands clasped behind her back, while Michelle Obama greeted the audience warmly, shook hands, and had her photo taken with them. Cindy's behavior looked and felt so creepy to me, I'm considering sending her domestic violence hot-line information. McCainiac is on record attacking her with words so vile I can't (and wouldn't) repeat them here. I honestly believe McSogynist picked Sarah because she would be so easily trained to his abusive ways. She also is being trained into the neocon agenda, which I could never see Romney or Huckabee falling for, as they're real Republicans, not neocons. They're men for one thing, and would probably call him on his crap, while Sarah is just so happy to be there, she'll do anything it takes to stay, including compromising her so-called values.
What do you expect from the FDNM..........
Does this mean she gets honorary membership into the elite "Corrupt Bastards Club"?
CEO- Good points!
Back to Troopergate - Aren't police forces legendary for "protecting their own"? I don't doubt that the trooper abused his power as well, but was already reprimanded for it, so couldn't be reprimanded or fired for actions he had already paid for, even if the reprimand probably should have lost him his job then. Using a taser on a ten-year-old is not an act of a rational person. The Troopers should have brought him up on charges for that one and gotten rid of him then. They're to blame for not taking care of business in the first place.
Les, It looks like you step in some dodo, now you have oh_please and doris pecking at you.
Are you any relation to palin4veep?
Senator French replied to my email Re: palin Witch hunt
-----Original Message-----
From: Sen. Hollis French [mailto:Senator_Hollis_French@legis.state.ak.us]
Sent: Saturday, October 11, 2008 10:13 AM
To: Bill Betts
Subject: RE: The Palin Witch hunt
Thanks for writing.
I guess we just see things differently. If you read the report, I think you'll see that it's a measured, professional assessment of what happened.
Hollis French
________________________________________
From: Bill Betts [gspeye@charter.net]
Sent: Friday, October 10, 2008 9:47 PM
To: Sen. Hollis French
Subject: The Palin Witch hunt
You sir are a slime ball. You took the best thing to ever come out of your State and tried to tarnish it but to no avail. You have no honor nor do you garner any respect for what you have done. A Judas is more like it; you sold your soul for a few shekels to what Louis Farrakhan just anointed as the messiah, Barack Obama. I believe the bible says that there will be a false messiah, called the Anti-Christ. You sir have become one of his legions with all the other lemmings in ACORN and Chicago politics.
I'll bet you are so proud to be one of Obama's, (the Anti-Christ's) minions.
I think you will get your reward where the Ant-Christ spends the after life.
I think it is a warm place and that you will deserve your reward.
Very Sincerely,
Bill Betts
Bill Betts, where have you been? the election is almost upon us.
You've posted one comment since you joined Oct. 10th, did you just get off McCain's charter plane?
Op---
The Loury lecture (which you correctly guessed) that I meant to say was arrogant was basically a lecture assuming that "from where I sit" is a politics neutral position. Some of his/her assumptions are just that, i.e. the reason that the governor tried to steer the investigation to the personal dept. rather than the legislature. Maybe the governor just wanted to save us $300,000 for a political opinion, and have the correct group do the investigation. Loury is entitled to his opinions, but dont tell me that is the only viable truth.
Then he ended up with a common error made this week by Democrats. Palin was not wrong in her facts about the role of VP, however Biden was wrong about the role and where in the constitution to find it. Just as Biden was wrong about many of his, and Obama's votes and their records.
doris---
Slow down. Muthee was a guest pastor. He is not Palin's pastor, as Wright was for 20 years for Obama. Is it your liberal opinion that we Americans should, as a matter of course, insult all other cultures when they dare to share their culture?
But, I expect that you are thrilled with Louis Farrakan's recent announcement that Obama is the messiah.
IUR---
What? I cant get away with an occasional snide remark, and leave it at that.
----
Well, I have to go catch the matinee of American Carol. Well report later...
Have you self-righteous folks who are so appalled at the "corruption" of Sarah Palin ever thought of what you would have done in her position? Give me a break. No one is perfect. This investigation is a joke and so are the comments by people who act so offended and disgusted at the terrible character of our Governor. This whole thing was initiated by the jealous Andrew Halcro. Monegan even admitted in emails that he was at fault for the firing. Funny how he changed his song. No one really cares about the truth, it is about what serves them.
Can the DNM tell us the current status on Bad cop WOTTEN HAS THE MISFIT BEEN CHARGED IF NOT, THEN WHY NOT??????????????????????????
The most frightening thing is the Alaskan Governor abused her office to go after an individual who was already being disciplined by his employer.
What if it were you! And Todd says he'd do it again!
When the Palins come down to Earth in a month, Alaska will be paying for a huge lawsuit because she was working in her official capacity as Governor when this happened.
The Alaska Republican Party abuse goes on, and we though she was a breath of fresh air.
Just last August I was considering McCain. It appears he was trying to replace Cheney with an equally unqualified person to be VP. I think he knows it too! Wait for the book.
Hooray for low life dirty cops and the scum bags that supposedly slap their hands when they get out of line. We certainly need more dirty cops.
Perhaps when someone threatens your family, and tasers your child you will call for help, hopefully it's not the cops that are responsible. If this is the best that the Palin haters can come up with then it is certainly time for them to leave this state.
I like Sara Palin! She has spoken well in all the campaigning, KNEW the part a VP has in office and seems to be the FIRST genuine person on the whole ticket! She has my vote, and I would like to see her in office for the country!
Oh, it's nice to tune in here for some entertainment.
Cloyie said: "OCS would've probably taken away his kids because of the tasering, and been involved with that family to make sure he practiced better judgement." Seriously, what kind of statement is that? If it was such a serious incident, then OCS WOULD HAVE been involved, not PROBABLY. Guess what? They weren't involved. Hmmm. Perhaps there is more to the story and just perhaps--it's not the point!
Bill Betts: that was certainly a respectful email back from French. Not sure I could have given you the same consideration after such an opening from you.
Question for all of you: How many state employees should it take to convince a governor that she was entering into territory she wasn't legally allowed to enter? As far as I've seen so far (haven't read the whole report yet), plenty of people were telling her and Todd along that were trying to step into a big steaming pile of it, but they merrily went along their way anyway. I suppose for most of you the ends justify the means...I'll remember that when President Obama does something you don't like.
tok242: He already has, and it's only going to get worse.
In 2008 the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
(AFSCME) gave $1,798,294 to the Democrats.
ref:
http://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/summary....
This is the same union that the Alaska State Troopers belong to.
The troopergate investigation is a political smear. Most reports leave out
the fact that the Alaska State Troopers belong to an affiliate of the
AFL-CIO and that this union, the AFSCME, is one of the most active
supporters of Obama and have a front page story in their website that says
they sent the largest AFL-CIO delegation to the Democratic National
Convention in Denver.
from their web site:
Washington, DC - The American Federation of State, County and Municipal
Employees (AFSCME) is taking the largest delegation in the AFL-CIO to the
Democratic National Convention in Denver next week. More than 150 AFSCME
members from across the country will serve as delegates, alternates and
committee members.
Ref:
Alaska State Trooper's union:
ASEA/AFSCME Local 52 Local Juneau Field Office
400 Willoughby
Suite 201
Juneau, AK
Phone: 907-463-4949 Toll free: 800-478-0049
Fax - 907-463-4950
from:
http://www.psea.net/about_staff.shtml
http://www.afscme.org/press/20144.cfm
Alaska Police Union Files Complaint Against Palin after Palin is selected as
VP candidate
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/04......
I know, GDogg, I feel so bad for you living in this socialist country and all. It must be hard.
There is a difference between legality and ethics. It is unethical to lie about supporting or not supporting the Gravina Island bridge, but it is not illegal.
Scene: the Gov's office. Characters: Sarah and Walt (NO ONE else). Dialog: "Walt, I'm not pleased with the direction you've taken with your department; therefore, I am releasing you from your position. Thanks for your past service and I wish you well." THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN THE END OF IT. Why did it go further?
If palin gets elected she will have a "enemies" list just like Tricky Dick Nixon
Palen is beginning to show the public a disturbing tendency to stretch the truth, and be less than forth coming.
Yea for Palin....respect my authoriti(cartman).
How many of you have actually read all the documents available? I will admit that I have not, although I'm working on it. However, I "get" the conclusion of the investigation, and don't understand how anyone can call it merely an opinion.
What part of the ethics statute do you not understand? I don't see how you can consider this a partisan witch hunt, when the final report appears to reflect exactly what is in the law: Palin both abused her power and allowed others to use her office to further the same ends. In her executive capacity, she had a right to fire her commissioner for any reason or no reason at all. The two conclusions are not mutually exclusive.
Why do none of you seem to care that Palin allowed her husband to use her office, her staff, state records, etc. -- for whatever reason?
Why do you not care that a woman who bases her public persona on ethics, reform, transparency, has behaved in the exact opposite manner?
Is Alaska so small and backwards that we are happy to allow the state government to be run in such an amateur fashion? Do you *really* believe the ends justify the means and hold the law in such utter contempt that you will excuse anything done by a popular politician?
And Mr. Betts, you should be ashamed of yourself. You certainly have a right to voice your discontent. But could you not do so without calling anyone a slimeball or the AntiChrist? Are you completely unhinged? Senator French answered you in a way that shows he's a far better person than you are. And you're proud of yourself?
Sarah Palin needs to come forward and be more forthright with the truth on this matter. She was elected as our governor and I expect her to speak to us, the citizens of Alaska as to why all of the sudden that she doesn't want any of this information out in the eye of the public. We deserve better and she promised us better two years ago!
If she would lie about this she would lie about even bigger things, we don't need another liar as vice president!
I'm really wondering how in the world Palin ever got to be governor of Alaska!!
Sad thing here is the report tells us Palin's not the different type of politician she claimed to be when we elected her. Her explanations in this whole mess evolved from "neither I nor anybody else in my administration pressured Commissioner Monegan..." to "there were up to two dozen contacts but I didn't know about any of them..." to a report detailing how her husband and her discussed pressuring the AST to fire Wooten on numerous occasions.
Again, it's sad and will make it harder to believe anything she says in the future.
Skinfish
I couldn't agree with you more! When Palin first came on the scene with McCain everyone was impressed, but then she opened her mouth.
Here is a scenario, Wooten was behind this mess, (look at his character) because he knew that the Palins were mad at him, and he was mad at them. Wooten talked to Monegan, he brought it up to the governor, she told him to fire Wooten, if he thought it in the best interest of the state, Monegan tells Wooten, he tells Monegan, they already punished me for that, lets get her out of office. so there you have it, what do you think?
If we admit that our Governor is unethical and not fit to govern what does that say about us that elected her? For easier to take the 1200 bribe than to deal with the truth of the situation. Lying by all accounts is not acceptable.
I'm enjoying the conspiracy theories from the Palin apologists but could someone work the death of Vince Foster in somewhere?
It would make for a more interesting read...
She has a long trek to get even close to
Gov. BILL EGAN.
i'LL NEVER FORGET THIS GREAT MAN.
I'm not sure what is more disturbing, Palin's unethical behavior, or the goose-stepping wingnuts that defend it.
Spin Palinbots Spin........lol....you notice they make all kinds of excuses for Palins' behavior, lack of moral character, honor, integrity much like McCain and her mouthpieces in her administration. All you have to do is read the documents, watch all video of Palins' own words to know Truth and Transparency means nothing to her and doesn't know what goes on in her own administration. And how dumb does Todd have to be? Wanting only the trooper to be charged in the illegal moose kill even though Palins sister, and dad were accessories.......lol. Palin could say the sky was orange with purple stripes and yellow polka dots and Palin supporters would believe her and defend her. They don't care how much she has lied, or about her involvement of the Mat Maid scandal, her poor performance speaking publicly, her trying to taint peoples' good names. Not only is Palin an embarrassment so are her supporters. No wonder the world thinks we are a bunch of dumb hickabillies. Palin supporters have no conscience or they are just that dumb. Only read into any reports what they want to hear.
Notice the Palinbots do not speak to the facts nor do they dispute the ones we bring up.
Sorry glacierles, I missed your question. Actually, I put Muthee and Farrakan in the same camp. Using fear and and promoting hatred of any group is wrong no matter who does it. Like Palin trying to pull the terrorist card about Ayres and Obama. That's wrong too. And like the flippo who calls Obama the Antichrist. That's wrong too. I do have to admit, however, that the thought of Palin and McCain being anywhere near the button, REALLY scares me. I don't think they're the Antichrists, or terrorists, or any kind of devil incarnate, but I do believe they're really dysfunctional people whom I don't want to see as P and VP of a nation that has seen enough dysfunction in the White House in the last 40 years to last at least another thousand.
Palin's other pastor, who is of that church, abused his power by telling his congregation that if they voted for Kerry, their salvation would be in question. Now THAT'S using the ultimate fear card! Vote for Bush, go to heaven. Vote for Kerry, go to hell. I put that guy in the same category as Muthee and Farrakan.
http://www.alaskansongs.com/
Ron Paul looks pretty damn good right now doesnt he??
The dumbing down of America. It does not have to happen this way. I can pull up exciting knowledge all day long on my computer. Read Scientific American. Read the great historians. How I miss Carl Sagan and his enthusiasm for science and his reaching out with it to all of us. Then I turn to the American political scene as it is now. None of them even have the guts to say they value science. It might offend the the Bible Beaters out there. I looked forward to the 21st century thinking what great strides humanity could make with our technological achievements only to end up watching a bizarre theater of the absurd. Far worse than ignorance is willful ignorance. I refuse with every cell in my being to embrace it in the form of Sarah
Palin. Goodnight folks.
Let me prefaces this, with I would never vote for McBush, or turn me on Sara. So trash them all you want. But to defend mr. Monegann ( who was appointed the top administrator of law enforcement in the state).Doesn't even realize, that """IF""" he was illegally fired, he has one of the most profitable lawsuits in the world. What with his ""SELF--AGRANDISING OPINION OF HIMSELVE WOULD BE WORTH MILLIONS". Also to defend trooper Wooten, who ta-sered his stepson, is ridiculous. I realize you republicans have enough hatred to distribute to the rest of us. Especially, the ones of us that disagree with( LORD) ( ie. Shean Hannity Rush'Limba I might have spelled the names wrong but I don't care. Goodnight from a liberal God hating, terrorist supporting, hate our troops, oooh I forgot devil worshiper. One more time goodnight to all you holy people, Gods chosen!!! The republicans, or your new name the conservatives What a joke!!!
Well there you have it...
It is one thing to fall on your face... we all do... some more than others... it's another thing all together to be pushed... again and again.
Think clearly. Independent of party gang warfare.
Lots of sheep on both sides. Analyze or criticize... hmmm? Careful what you wish for others... karma-wise.
Drank beer in patrol car? Tasered his step son? Married/divorced 3 times? Illegally shot a moose?
What a great guy to have on the police force!
One piece of the puzzle that hasn't been discussed much here:
Trooper Wooten looks like a duck, walks like a duck, he's probably a duck. In this case, we know his situation was looked into by his superiors, and he was punished for all indescretions that were found to be provable and factual. I would also bet that if he is as rough around the edges as it sounds, he was probably not "protected" by his fellow officers or superiors, as has often been suggested. IF there is blame to be placed, it lies with the process that takes place between labor unions and employers. It is not perfect, but it also serves an important role. In cases like this, unions usually play the role of watchdog, watching for abuses of power, rushes to judgement, due process, etc. When a supervisor or supervisors deal with bad employees, even they can make mistakes that in the end might taint the ability to hand down a punishment they feel is fair. Once this "negotiation" between the two entities is complete, no one, including the Governor or her lackies, have a right to try and change the results. If he is as bad as it looks like he is, give him some time and enough rope, and he will hang himself, as the saying goes.
This is like the President firing a private in the Army ~ It's called putting your nose in business you are not supposed to be in. Governors govern states, not settle family vendettas. The state is not paying you all this money so you can fix lower managament issues Sarah.
Sarah is an amateur who cannot separate personal and professional issues. She does not possess a basic understanding of civics, has no historical perspective, is devoid of analytical thinking, and seems to lack common sense. My, how I miss Jay Hammond!!
The Anchorage reporter who originally had the contract for the Sarah book (now #3 on N.Y. Times best seller list) was asked why she decided not to do the book: "She hadn't traveled. She couldn't name her favorite book. She doesn't struggle with any kind of the big issues of the day. She has not experienced anything like adversity. It took her five colleges to get a journalism degree. Her mother didn't know who Sarah's idols were. She also didn't know how she became the kind of born-again Christian she says she is. She couldn't remember Sarah having interest in public policy, or in reformist movements, or in anything, much, except for sports. Both Sarah and her family are obsessed with Trooper Wooten."
Kid asked to be tasered at the lowest setting. The complaint did not come from him. He got bumped - found out what it was like. Probably take a bigger bump hitting the boards in a hockey game.
Trooper Wooten sounds more like "Joe Sixpack" to me than anyone I know.
I doubt that Wooten and the Palin's will ever be friends.
I consider myself to be "Joe sixpack". But that is only because I have been retired for 10 years. When I worked for a living, I would have called myself "a Joe 12 pack". But be that as it may, I have never tasered one of my children, or for that matter hit them in the face with a hockey stick,ect.-ect.- to teach them about life.
Draconianslacker? Corupt with power. Last time I checked Alaska was an at will employment state, you can be fired for no reason. I think she had plenty of reasons to Monegan to take a job at the ABC board. He serves at the pleasure of the Governor. As for trooper wooten, after all of the wrongdoing published about him, why was he not fired years earlier? If the man told my father-in-law to stay out of the way or he'd kill em the man would of been getting his walking papers from his hospital bed.
Great post by CEO.
In a nutshell, he said it all.
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