"Some folks (Democrats and Republicans) view Sarah Palin as a dummy...lightweight...not too bright. Let's make sure I understand this: She vacated a $125,000 per year job as Alaska governor to work a $5 million book contract. Wish I could be that dumb."- JP
"Of course, Sarah’s message on energy independence isn’t just an economic one. Now it’s true, we send between $700 billion and $1 trillion dollars annually overseas. The problem is many times it’s to nations that not only hate us, but use our own dollars to fund efforts to undermine us as a nation. In other words, they use our dollars to fund terror, worldwide, against the United States, and our allies."And Jackson points out that the problem of energy security is not limited to just one geographic part of the world:
"There are other nations, such as Venezuela, who are teaming up with bad actors like Iran, and Russia, forming alliances that will further weaken the United States, and her allies. These relationships will also allow Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez to exert power over weaker South American states, thus spreading communism and further destroying what freedoms people in that region have. It will be a disaster."All of which makes Sarah Palin's advocacy for domestic oil and gas drilling more than just common sense conservatism:
"Back in August the big talk was Petrobas, and the huge deal Obama made with the Brazilian Oil Giant. Obama “loaned” Petrobas $10 billion American tax payer dollars so they could drill offshore, something Obama and his thugs fight tooth and nail against in our own country."But, as Jackson says, there’s much more, and you can read it all here.
"America is rich in oil, right off our own coast line, but we are told we will literally destroy the world, and all of mankind, plus all of the fishes in the sea, and the polar bears, of course, if we dare to drill for that oil."
"This made me wonder why, if drilling for our oil would be such a disaster, could one drill off the coast of Brazil without such harmful effects..."
"You see literally just days before our most corrupt president in the nation’s history was so generous with our money, his boss, George Soros, became the major stockholder in Petrobas! In fact, it became Soros’ largest holding. Funny how having Soros involved made all of the environmental concerns go away..."
"In a few places, I noticed sentences with 'I' instead of 'me' for the direct object — a mistake that a professional writer wouldn’t make. There is also a bit more use of 'I'... than a professional writer might use, even in an autobiography. There are also quite a few places where her tangents in telling her story mark this as a first book; they don’t show the organization that I would expect from a professional."Nevertheless, Cramer says, Gov. Palin wrote a good book her, especially for a first effort:
"Going Rogue is well written, and it reads quickly and easily. Unlike some other 'first books'" that I have read (and many books by academics), I almost never found myself going back over a sentence to figure out her meaning. Palin’s B.A. from the University of Idaho is in journalism and she worked as a journalist for a while."The reviewer also found some more surprises between the covers of Going Rogue:
"She makes a point of telling you that her administration set a goal of achieving 50% of Alaska’s energy from renewable resources by 2025. Throughout the book, she emphasizes the importance of both developing resources and protecting the environment."What was behind the McCain campaign's problems was yet another surprise for Cramer as he read the memoir. He had assumed that the issues between the vice presidential candidate and campaign operatives were rooted in ideology. Instead, he concludes that McCain's people were merely incompetent and were worried about their prospects of getting hired to work on future campaigns. There was, however, at least one circumstance where ideology was at work:
"It appears that a left-wing mole had been planted in Palin’s campaign, a friend of Couric’s, who contributed to this disaster."That would be Nicole Wallace, a friend of Couric's from Wallace's stint at CBS, although Cramer doesn't mention her name.
"... the incredibly ignorant goofs by President Obama (there is no 'Austrian' language, Emperor Hirohito did not sign the surrender with General MacArthur, the United States did not invent the automobile) show that this isn’t a job requirement."Read the complete book review at Pajamas Media.
There can be only one man of the year — Sarah Palin. In the pantheon of people who stood up this year for that which is right, no one else stood taller or looked better.Read Don Surber's "Man of the Year" post unabridged here.
She endured the most and came to symbolize the majority of American citizens who are stunned by the attempt to rapidly dismantle this great nation of ours and transform it into another Euro-weenie socialist country that apologizes for trying to save the rest of the world over the years.
[...]
She is genuine. Her beliefs in freedom, in independence and in community service reflect how she was raised. She does not hide who she is. There are no ulterior motives. There is no one underneath her bus.
"I guess the best way to describe this race is I’m more like Sarah Palin and he’s more like John McCain."- JP
A message to all members of Team SarahMore on Rush from the Associated Press at Andrew Breitbart's website, and from KITV here.
Team,
I come to you this evening with serious news about a great American who needs our prayers.
Rush Limbaugh, champion of values such as life, liberty, and the free market, was rushed to the hospital in Hawaii this evening and, according to reports, may be in "serious" condition.
Appranetly, pramedics were called when Rush complained of chest pains and he has been taken to an area hospital.
Members of Team Sarah in the Rush Limbaugh Fans for Sarah Group are following this and you can visit their group to learn more or to offer your own thoughts.
May God be with Ruish Limbaugh and his friends and family, and at this critical hour when voices such as his are refreshing and badly needed, may God be with his fans and the nation.
The URL for the group is here.
May Rush recover quickly,
Bill Collier
Team Sarah Governace
"Rush was admitted to and is resting comfortably in a Honolulu hospital today after suffering chest pains," the statement said. "Rush appreciates your prayers and well wishes and will keep you updated via rushlimbaugh.com and on his radio program."Second Update: A YouTube of Rush's Jan 1 press conference is here.
"Last year’s vice presidential nominee, Sarah Palin, has clearly become one of the winningest veep losers. At least among Republicans. Palin is the runaway winner when Republicans were asked by Gallup this month to name the living woman they most admire. Her favorable rating among Republicans is a robust 79%. In one poll in November, Palin was the leader for the 2012 race among Republicans. Her book remains the number one hardcover best seller on The New York Times best seller list."Earlier this week, MSNBC talk show host Ed Schultz pronounced Governor Palin the big Political Winner of 2009. Given the network's leftist bent, there must have been pandemonium in the halls of NBC over that one.
"...but I have tremendous respect for her. Her most important role is that of a life, a meaning, a symbol. She represents and embodies powerful ideas. She is a powerful, independent woman who rose from humble circumstances to achieve greatness. She lives her values and honors tradition. She is a warrior, she could live off of the land during the Zombie Apocalypse, and she embodies the spirit of those who went West in search of adventure."The full post is here.
Back in November, Sarah drove the appeasers up the wall in an interview conducted by Matt Continetti. Her comments came a few days after the Fort Hood terrorist attack in which the radical Muslim Major Nidal Malik Hasan killed 13 soldiers while wounding 30. These are the comments Sarah Palin made in her interview with Matt Continetti.Read Tyrone's full post here.
Sarah Palin "There were such clear, obvious, massive warning signs that were missed. This terrorist, even having business cards" that identified him as an "SoA" or soldier of Allah." Palin blamed a culture of political correctness and other decisions that "prevented -- I'm going to say it -- profiling" of someone with Hasan's extremist ideology. "I say, profile away". " Such political correctness "could be our downfall." If the upcoming investigations into the attack reveal bad decision-making on the part of senior officials, Palin continued, those officials ought to be fired".
No doubt those on the left considered Palin to be an even further right wing hate monger for her "closed minded remarks", however it appears that Sarah Palin's words have come home to bear fruit.
Are American voters dropping a hint here?First Lady Michelle Obama finished back in fourth place, just behind Oprah Winfrey. Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Queen Elizabeth II finished in a tie for fifth.
According to a new survey just released by USA Today and the Gallup Poll, the 62-year-old Clinton barely beat out the 45-year-old Palin as the most admired female -- 16% to 15% in a poll of 1,025 adult Americans.
However, since the poll has a margin of error of +/- 4 points, it's statistically a P-C draw. The survey was open-ended, meaning men and women respondents had to provide the names by themselves.
Not that public admiration necessarily translates to votes. But the results have to set off any political spectator's eager imagination about a future presidential ballot match-up between the pair, who are politically polar opposites, both outspoken, both often under-estimated and both beloved by their respective bases.
"I don't know about you, but I would feel much more at ease if Sarah Palin and that old guy... were running the country."- JP
"With the McCain-Palin campaign trailing to start with and making little headway as it heated up, it is difficult to imagine how turning a maverick loose could have caused further harm.Bailey ends with this good piece of advice.
"And with the media complying with Barack Obama’s request to leave his family alone, Palin was understandably chagrined at probes and swipes at her own family."
"Don’t count her out just yet. As her father, Chuck Heath Sr., said, 'Sarah’s not retreating; she’s reloading.'"- Lisa
*"Lie after lie after lie after lie. Don't take my word for it. That's the analysis of Richard Fineberg, whose credentials are as follows..."Oops! Don't take Sully's supposed expert guy's word for it, either. As Dan Riehl points out:
"Fineberg's credentials include being an anti-oil advocate, posting at the utterly ridiculous Mudflats blog, giving $450 to Obama and here he is discussing energy policy with George Soros."Where did Sully ever find this Fineberg guy anyway -- in the Acme catalog? Sheepdog Riehl wins. Coyote Sullivan gets nuttin'.
King said Tuesday he initially thought Palin ended her political career when she resigned as governor last summer. But he said during a taping of an Iowa Public Television show that she's now in a far stronger position to succeed.The Iowa congressman also said that Gov. Palin's Going Rogue book tour has brought her widespread attention, and he praised her political instincts.
In stark contrast to Sarah Palin, whose Hawaii vacation was photographed and touted in the press, Speaker Nancy Pelosi is enjoying a very private luxurious time at the Four Seasons Hualalai resort on the Big Island.One thing the Speaker can't be criticized for is her generosity with the taxpayers' dollars to the Capitiol Hill police, some members of which she took along with her to the American Playground of the Pacific to keep the riffraff (a.k.a. taxpayers) away. Nice work if you can get it...
"Her book tour was a tremendous success, not only in the book-selling department, but in repairing her image. Moreover, she was one of the most effective Republican voices in the health care debate and in an innovative move, she did it from her Facebook page. If Sarah Palin can be as successful in 2010 and 2011 as she was in 2009, we may be calling her President Palin in 2012."The former governor was #4 on Hawkins' list, after talker Glenn Beck (#3), AcornBusters James O'Keefe & Hannah Giles (#2) and The Tea Party Movement (#1).
"Although some criticized her for it, Palin’s resignation was in fact a brilliant move. Any attacks on her now will be instantly identifiable as what they are—personal attacks. If the liberals spend the next three years attacking her personally, Palin will come out the winner. She will receive support for being attacked relentlessly for no apparent reason. But Palin is certainly not defenseless. Those circling around her should know that when you continually jab and pester a barracuda, at some point… without warning… it will spin around and tear your face off."- JP
She was seen from the very beginning as a rising star — a cultural awakener similar to Andrew Jackson — bringing a whole new cultural paradigm to the political process; a new heartland spirit of individualism and self reliance as per Emerson and Barry Goldwater. The widespread, deep and immediate hysteria in the MSM was a sure indication that she was a threat to the old temple and would be a vital new force in the rising century. This week the non-partisan Research 2000, which conducts research and focus groups, states simply, “Palin will be the 2012 GOP Nominee.”Quigley's complete op-ed is here.
"The book itself is actually well-written and reads like a mystery with a plot that the reader already knows the ending to, but is propelled to keep reading. What’s been missing all this time from the Palin story is the beginning and the middle, the book provides both."And at Basil and Spice:
"Regardless of one’s political leanings, I whole-heartedly believe every woman (and man) in America should read her book. Simply, she is a leading example of the founding principles of our country and all that we are capable of accomplishing. She demonstrates that faith in God, hard work, strong family values and perseverance are the core ingredients to becoming whatever, and whoever, one believes one can be. Sarah Palin is unabashedly American."Just follow the links to the full reviews.
"Like any good progressive, I've gone from admiration to hope to disappointment to anger when it comes to this president. Now I'm fast getting to rage."Great job, Barry. Keep up the good work.
"How much rage? I find myself thinking that the thing I want most from the 2010 elections is for his party to get absolutely clobbered, even if that means a repeat of 1994. And that what I most want from 2012 is for him to be utterly humiliated, even if that means President Palin at the helm. That much rage."
"To Sarah Palin: Keep up the good work. Anyone who annoys Keith Olbermann that much is a friend to all of us."- JP
Although we should never expect a politician to solve our problems, or save us from life's challenges, it can't hurt to respect a politician whose values are quite similar to the Founders' principles.You can read Christian Milord's complete Red County article here.
From what we know about Sarah Palin, it looks like her values resonate with conservatives and independents, which make up about 70% to 80% of Americans. She has a faith in God which sustains her in her personal and professional life.
She also possesses an energy and optimism about America, which Ronald Reagan shared...
This morning, Mitchell was asked about Sarah Palin and the conservative movement. Her Response?Mitchell overlooks one small fact: Wallace was a Democrat; Sarah Palin is a Republican, and the lady from Alaska doesn't have a racist bone in her body.“I have not seen this type of anger since my first campaign . . . 1968. . . with George Wallace. . . This anger that is not fact-based – just angry.”
But then a funny thing happened: In November, Mrs. Palin debuted her memoir “Going Rogue” with great sales, which was not a surprise, but also with a luminous and successful press tour, which was. The interviews she gave in promotion for her book (at least the ones that I saw) were much improved from those given during the 2008 presidential campaign. Palin seemed to speak about both herself and national issues with greater verve and confidence.Now Patterson has an entirely different opinion of Sarah Palin than the one he harbored just a couple of months ago. He believes that she is preparing to make a serious run for the White House. And though the former governor still has work to do, Patterson says, the prospect of Sarah Palin becoming the first woman to be addressed as "Madam President" no longer seems impossible to him.
Other stars are aligning for Palin:
Several of her potential rivals for the 2012 Republican nomination find themselves suddenly, perhaps fatally, compromised by recent events.
"If Sarah Palin is so amazingly dumb, how come she gets everything right on a complex issue, and explains it in language that the average voter can understand? Sarah Palin explains climate change, covering every issue, except for the documents directory of the climategate files, in clear, easy to understand language... The ability to make a complex and difficult topic as simple as it can be is the mark of a truly brilliant scientist. The ability to make a complex and difficult topic a little bit simpler than it can be is the mark of a truly brilliant politician."- JP
"I like the way she dresses. The straight skirt and white blouse, the trim jacket with an open neck and three-quarter sleeves — the look is clean, tailored and energetic. It’s businesslike without being boring, smart without being insider. You don’t need to read a fashion magazine to understand it. That was how Ms. Palin dressed on her book tour."Update: Ms. Horyn, it seems, has stirred up a hornet's nest. How dare she!
"Merry Christmas morning from the Palins! Joy,peace,rest&increased faith for you&your family this season. Jesus is the Reason for the Season!"- JP
Merry Christmas!And, from the governor's Twitter page:
Todd and I would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas! The Palin family is blessed to all be together among family and friends this Holiday – and that is one of the greatest gifts of all. But while this is a beautiful time of the year for families and friends around the world, we recognize that it is a difficult time of the year for so many others – especially this year. May we remember all those who are lonely or in need on this blessed night, and please join us in saying a special prayer for those away from their loved ones in the service of a grateful nation. May God bless you all and continue to bless our great country.
- Sarah Palin
“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.” (Luke 2:14)
Christmas Eve greetings!God bless the holy season;pls pray for troops away from home."Glory to God in the highest...peace on earth"Luke 2:14- JP
"It is perfectly clear that Palin is talking about rationing in general. She specifically made the argument that the government's refusing to pay the cost of health care will lead to rationing care, and she also wrote that her 'baby with Down Syndrome' could be affected by such rationing. How would 'end-of-life counseling' for the elderly cause the death of a disabled baby?"- JP
The problem is that Palin has put the political press in a submissive position, one in which the only information it prints about her comes from prepared statements or from Q&As with friendly interviewers. This isn’t something most politicians get away with, or would be allowed to get away with. But Palin has leveraged her celebrity — her ability to get ratings, the ardor of her fans and the bitterness of her critics — to win a truly unique relationship with the press. She is allowed to shape the public debate without actually engaging in it.Oh, boo hoo. Now we have to feel sorry for the press over the feeling that mean 'ol Sarah Palin has been successful in leading them by the nose?
For one thing, newspapers work very hard to report things that are true, but they are less concerned with whether the overall impression from their reporting is a true impression. Shark attacks, for instance, happen very rarely. But if you report excitedly on every shark attack that happens, people will think they happen quite a bit.Klein is wrong that the newspapers "work very hard to report things that are true." The fact is most newspapers work very hard to spin the truth to a left-wing perspective in order to further extremist, left-wing ideas. However, Klein is right that newspapers fail to report the greater context of the facts. They do it on purpose, though, in order for the spin to work better.
It’s no cause for celebration, and Sarah Palin’s not the type for schadenfreude, but she was right about the death panels. So right, in fact, that the death panels are receiving some very special and probably unconstitutional protection in the Senate health care bill.The radical liberals in control of the federal government are doing all they can to make this a very scary Christmas and a bankrupt new year. Read the unabridged original Dan Calabrese post here.
The creation of the so-called Independent Payment Advisory Board – the panel that decides who goes without coverage so costs can be cut – cannot be repealed, according to language Harry Reid has inserted into the bill, without a supermajority vote of two-thirds.
[...]
What Palin said all along was that government-run health care, especially established on the notion that it could somehow cut costs, would inevitably lead to rationing. And she was confident an administration in love with the idea of “experts” designing “systems” would put together some sort of panel to decide how to ration the coverage.
Enter the Independent Payment Advisory Board, so important that Harry Reid seeks to protect its existence forever by requiring a two-thirds supermajority to ever kill it.
Sarah Palin shared some of her favorite Christmas traditions with Gretchen Carlson of Fox & Friends during a book signing at The Villages in Florida. Fox & Friends recently aired the short segment titled "Christmas with the Palins" for their Christmas Special.AdoringPalin captured the answer on a YouTube video:
So how do the Palins spend their Christmas?
Since you ran for Vice President last year, a really funny thing has happened here in Mineral City. The Ladies Guild, which is Republican women, who previously never got along with us (mainly because they hated Hillary Clinton and I was convinced many of them were vampires), started doing different activities with us as we helped try to get you elected. We’ve all found that the lot of us have more in common with each other than the crazy people who are now currently running the government from the far left.Read the entire letter at Hillbuzz.
[...]
So, these appear to be very strange times indeed. People who never agreed on anything are agreeing with one another, because we’re looking passed our differences and accusations of vampirism to the fact that we all love this country and don’t want to see it go backwards or descend into socialism. We do not believe the current occupants of the White House are good people and we do not feel they love this country. The current president had a very clear agenda upon coming to Washington, and it was not the “Hope”, “Change”, and unicorns he promised the gullible in his campaign. We believe, and everyone in Mineral City agrees with us, that the Democrats in power now want to tank our economy, take over whatever remains at the end of the day, and deprive all of us of our freedoms.
[...]
If you run for President in 2012, you can count on The Mineral City Coffee Club and the Ladies Guild joining forces to campaign for you. I’ll turn my kitchen into a little campaign office, humming with activity. My son Robby loves you, and all his friends up in Chicago will work hard for you too up there. We’ll all head into Iowa on the ground for you, and will go to as many states as we can in person to canvass. We’ll phone bank like crazy for you, too, you betcha!
"c tomrrw's Healthcare Takeover vote=the sleeping giant will awaken&action will b takn by"average"Americans as lite shines on big govt growth"And lifting high the torch which shines that light will be Sarah Palin. She has two major grassroots activist events scheduled for early 2010 -- the National Conservative Symposium in San Antonio, TX January 24, and the National Tea Party Convention in Nashville, TN February 6.
"She took on a corrupt mayor of Wasilla. And won. She took on a corrupt governor of Alaska. And won. Now she takes on a corrupt Speaker of the House, a corrupt Senate Majority Leader and as corrupt president. My money is on Sarah Palin... Give ‘em hell, Sarah. Give ‘em rotten, stinking, bloody hell."- JP
"Maybe there were going to be children present?"Were it left to us, we would not ban them. A big group code red seems more in order. Talk about pigs in a blanket! But Track Palin is serving his country honorably, and we see no need for the young man to have a blemish on his record over the likes of such scum.
The Left, since the release of Sarah Palin’s book, Going Rogue, and its million plus sales in a matter of weeks, have been wandering the streets in a benighted stupor, tugging at their unkempt hair, and shrieking at whomever will listen with their question of “why”? “Why is she popular, why is she on television, why is she on magazine covers, why, why, why?” “This is Sarah Palin, not Barack Obama, why?”Read the unabridged version and enjoy, at A Skewed View.
Despite the equitably challenged mainstream media’s shilling Barack Obama like snake-oil out the back of a mountebank’s wagon, and the very same media’s non-stop offensive on Sarah Palin, the latest Rasmussen poll finds that 51% have a favorable view of Sarah Palin while 43% have an unfavorable view, vis a vis Obama’s 49% favorable and 51% unfavorable. How accurate are these numbers in actuality, when almost the entirety of the media– print and television– dominate their coverage with fawning accolades about Obama, and when Sarah Palin is mentioned, she is an uneducated and unsavory hick? Why are Obama’s numbers dropping like the blood pressure of a Buddhist Monk in meditation, and Palin’s numbers rising faster than Nancy Pelosi’s botoxed eyebrows?
"Sarah Palin is a potential contender for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination. That fact should not be turning conservative friends into bitter enemies more than two years ahead of the 2012 Iowa caucus."- JP
Midnight Votes, Backroom Deals, and a Death Panel- JP
Last weekend while you were preparing for the holidays with your family, Harry Reid’s Senate was making shady backroom deals to ram through the Democrat health care take-over. The Senate ended debate on this bill without even reading it. That and midnight weekend votes seem to be standard operating procedures in D.C. No one is certain of what’s in the bill, but Senator Jim DeMint spotted one shocking revelation regarding the section in the bill describing the Independent Medicare Advisory Board (now called the Independent Payment Advisory Board), which is a panel of bureaucrats charged with cutting health care costs on the backs of patients – also known as rationing. Apparently Reid and friends have changed the rules of the Senate so that the section of the bill dealing with this board can’t be repealed or amended without a 2/3 supermajority vote. Senator DeMint said:“This is a rule change. It’s a pretty big deal. We will be passing a new law and at the same time creating a senate rule that makes it out of order to amend or even repeal the law. I’m not even sure that it’s constitutional, but if it is, it most certainly is a senate rule. I don’t see why the majority party wouldn’t put this in every bill. If you like your law, you most certainly would want it to have force for future senates. I mean, we want to bind future congresses. This goes to the fundamental purpose of senate rules: to prevent a tyrannical majority from trampling the rights of the minority or of future congresses.”In other words, Democrats are protecting this rationing “death panel” from future change with a procedural hurdle. You have to ask why they’re so concerned about protecting this particular provision. Could it be because bureaucratic rationing is one important way Democrats want to “bend the cost curve” and keep health care spending down?
The Congressional Budget Office seems to think that such rationing has something to do with cost. In a letter to Harry Reid last week, CBO Director Douglas Elmendorf noted (with a number of caveats) that the bill’s calculations call for a reduction in Medicare’s spending rate by about 2 percent in the next two decades, but then he writes the kicker:“It is unclear whether such a reduction in the growth rate could be achieved, and if so, whether it would be accomplished through greater efficiencies in the delivery of health care or would reduce access to care or diminish the quality of care.”Though Nancy Pelosi and friends have tried to call “death panels” the “lie of the year,” this type of rationing – what the CBO calls “reduc[ed] access to care” and “diminish[ed] quality of care” – is precisely what I meant when I used that metaphor.
This health care bill is one of the most far-reaching and expensive expansions of the role of government into our lives. We’re talking about putting one-seventh of our economy under the government’s thumb. We’re also talking about something as intimate to our personal well-being as medical care.
This bill is so unpopular that people on the right and the left hate it. So why go through with it? The Senate is planning to vote on this on Christmas Eve. Why the rush? Though we will begin paying for this bill immediately, we will see no benefits for years. (That’s the trick that allowed the CBO to state that the bill won’t grow the deficit for the next ten years.)
The administration’s promises of transparency and bipartisanship have been broken one by one. This entire process has been defined by midnight votes on weekends, closed-door meetings with industry lobbyists, and payoffs to politicians willing to sell their principles for sweetheart deals. Is it any wonder that Americans are so disillusioned with their leaders in Washington?
This is about politics, not health care. Americans don’t want this bill. Americans don’t like this bill. Washington has stopped listening to us. But we’re paying attention, and 2010 is coming.
- Sarah Palin
Sarah Palin got treated like a homecoming queen when she brought her national book tour to Wasilla today.- JP
[...]
Palin got a rousing welcome from about 750 people waiting below when she strode up the ramp to the second floor of the sports center at 11 a.m., wearing black boots with 4-inch heels and a red jacket covered in raised cloth roses.
The event Tuesday marked the first chance for the general public to attend a Palin book-signing in Alaska. Earlier this month, Palin signed copies at Elmendorf Air Force Base in Anchorage and Eielson Air Force Base near Fairbanks, but neither of those events were open to the general public.
Palin signed books on the upper floor of the sports center with her husband, Todd. Fans waited in lines downstairs, and then were ushered upstairs in small groups during the three-hour event.
How could anyone believe Palin’s sensible comment about rationing was, in reality, a senseless fear of counseling? To say so was no mistake; it was an oft-repeated big lie.Reynolds explains how they lied and to what extent they lied. He also describes the very real dangers of the Democrats' healthcare agenda succinctly:
Pending health care bills would make......government-mandated scarcity of health care much worse. There would be massive shifting of money away from Medicare toward Medicaid. But the extra Medicaid money would be spread around more thinly. States would cut benefits to the poor in order to accommodate millions of new, less-poor people lured into Medicaid, at least half of whom (7 or 8 million by my estimate) currently have employer-provided health insurance.For the record, I'm in that group Palin calls "the sick" because I am uninsured and have chronic Lyme Disease. My elderly mother is on Medicare and I have two disabled brothers on Medicaid. I've researched this at length as it affects my family in astronomical proportions and I have found that Sarah Palin has this right. Not only are 'death panels' in this legislation, the Democrats want to make them permanent. Yes, 'death panels' can be a scary term, but Palin used hyperbole to call attention to these 'panels' that will decide who lives and who dies. I, for one, appreciate straight talk, particularly on such an incredibly serious issue.
The Senate health bill supposedly intends to slash Medicare payment rates for physicians by 21% next year and more in future years, with permanent reductions in payments to other medical services too. It would also establish an Independent Payment Advisory Board which would be empowered to make deeper cuts which Congress could reject only with considerable difficulty. If that’s not quite a “death panel” it would surely not be pro-life in its impact.
The Congressional Budget Office says, “It is unclear whether such a reduction in the growth rate could be achieved, and if so, whether it would . . . reduce access to care or diminish the quality of care.”
Actually, it’s clear enough that the proposed Medicare cuts won’t be achieved, but that efforts in that direction will nonetheless reduce access to care and diminish its quality. The government can’t boost demand and cut prices without creating excess demand. And that, in turn, means rationing by longer waiting lines and by panels (rationing boards) making life-or death decisions for other people.
As Sarah Palin predicted, “Government health care will not reduce the cost; it will simply refuse to pay the cost. And who will suffer the most when they ration care? The sick, the elderly, and the disabled, of course.”
The entertainment media’s treatment of Sarah Palin and her family has been abhorrent. Like their biased and unjust hard news media brethren, entertainment outlets have gone out of their way to tarnish Palin’s image. While tabloids, semi-legitimate entertainment programs and celebrities issue incessant praise for President Obama and his leftist policies, Palin is showered with insults and inappropriate slurs. And let’s not forget the ongoing insensitive questioning about the birth of her special needs son, Trig.Sadly, the author is asking too much of the corrupt entertainment media. They hate everything about Sarah Palin, especially her Christian faith. They have made her destruction their mission in life.
[...]
Get over it, Hollywood. Sarah Palin doesn’t share your values. She’s pro-life, pro-capitalism and pro-rationality. Rather than wasting all of your time lambasting her, promoting Levi and attempting to debunk her very existence, why not divert even a portion of your energy towards examining the man you’ve placed America’s very existence in the hands of. We’ve all got personal dirt. Since you’ll never let up, why not shovel a little less of Palin’s and a little more of Obama’s?
A little fair-mindedness is all we’re asking for. Can you deliver?
...merged bill may b unrecognizable from what assumed was a done deal:R death panels back in?what's punishment 4not purchasing mandated HC?Via The Hill:
NOW w/the Prez "threatening" &Congress "rushing" is when we MUST pay more attention than ever 2what this HealthCare Takeover is all about...
Palin first made her death panel charge about the House bill, writing in a Facebook note that seniors "have to stand in front of Obama's 'death panel' so his bureaucrats can decide, based on a subjective judgment of their 'level of productivity in society,'" under the healthcare legislation favored by President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats.But shortly after the former governor's charge, the Senate Finance Committee removed the death panel provisions from its version of the bill. Yet Democrats and their media sycophants continue to claim that such panels were never a part of any proposed legislation and that Gov. Palin's charge was a "lie." They still haven't explained how the Committe removed something froma bill that was never in it. Talk about denial...
Congratulations Alabama!And all Americans concerned about Capitol Hill's current agenda;Rep Parker Griffith just did the right thing.Welcome- JP
"The April 15 gala is going ahead and Sarah Palin is still set to speak. But instead of the two Hamilton area hospitals being the beneficiaries of the funds raised, the money will go to The Charity of Hope, a children’s charity. So far none of the children who will benefit from the funds raised by The Charity of Hope have complained about Sarah Palin."- JP
Sitting behind a square table was an animated and delightful Sarah Palin. She shook hands with everyone, looked each person in the eye and spoke to them in her now recognizable brogue, signing her signature without watching what she was doing. Sitting beside her, husband Todd shook everyone’s hand also and talked to every kid — as did she.Read the full story here.
Todd Palin later milled through the receptive crowd, talking with them and with his father-in-law and mother-in-law.
[...]
Patient but chilled, this crowd wound their way through book shelves and politely waited their turn to shake hands with the former Alaska governor, who took on Big Oil and her own Republican party to correct the wrongs of the fat cats who take advantage of their positions.
Many in the crowd believe this woman can do the same with this nation.
"She is easily as qualified as Barack Obama. I would argue she's more qualified in terms of leadership, experience, management, and supervision--actually running something. She was a mayor, head of an energy commission, and governor," Pawlenty said.According to the National Journal's Hotline On Call blog, the Minnesota governor also described the GOP's 2008 vice presidential candidate as a "political rock star" with a platform from which she could run for president:
"We live in a society in which being familiar, being well known, gives you a platform. She certainly has that. The Democrats have all kinds of characters who are interesting, bold, and dramatic. On our side, you guys are obsessed with Palin," Pawlenty said.Pawlenty said that he considers Sarah Palin and Mitt Romney to be the Republican Party's frontrunners for his party's 2012 nomination for president.
