Follow-Up: Sarah Palin

At the request of Lula, and in all attempts at being the real "fair and balanced" news source (he, he, he) I am following up on a few issues she raised about Sarah Palin. This was an interesting search, because it depended on the date it was published. Articles published at the beginning of September, even from large news sources (Times, New York Times, Washington Post, etc), would list different issues or isntances against Sarah Palin. But after a few weeks, some corrections or changes would be made to original stories (never retractions though!) She is a difficult one to research because so much of it is 'he said, she said'. So here we go:

You're fired!: When she was first elected as Mayor of Wasilla in 1996, she asked for updated resumes and letters of resignation from Chief of Police, public works director, finance director, and librarian. Majority of these department heads openly supported the long-time sitting mayor in Wasilla, John Stein, during the election. She stated in a local newspaper during this time, "Wasilla is moving forward in a positive direction, this is time for the department heads to let me know if they plan to move forward or if it's time for a change". From those, the librarian stayed in her position. She had also asked her department heads to temporarily consult her before reporters (some labeled a gag-order) while they are becoming familiar with her policies.

I Kan't Raed Boox: Around the same time, there are two accounts of Mayor Palin asking the library director her position on censoring books. According to the records, it was never more discussed than this, and no books were removed from the library. Gov. Palin said, "it was more rhetorical and included in policy discussions".

Click, Click, Bang, Bang: In regards to the firing of the Chief of Police, he said one possible reason was "he had opposed a bill in the state legislature, supported by Palin, that would "permit concealed weapons in schools and bars." The actual bill prohibits carrying a concealed weapon to or near the following places: law enforcement or correctional facility, school grounds or bus, a courthouse, a residence other than the permittee's unless obtaining permission, state or federal office, a financial institution, university campus, or any other facility or business that has a notice posted that a concealed handgun is not allowed. (There were many others, but it was getting too long!)

Extreme Abortion View: Gov. Palin has not denied that even in cases of rape or abuse, she personally is against abortion. She has said in many interviews she would not make it illegal in those cases, but feels we should be more of a 'culture or life' and giving those victims an 'opportunity to consider turning a horrible sitution into a blessing for others'.

Creationism: It was hard finding anything credible in regards to this claim. My searching brought up many blogs and youtube videos, but no actual accounts where she pushed for that in Alaska.

My Take: Do you really care what I think? If you don't, skip this! When reading about her first term as Mayor, I was somewhat concerned. I am a little sensitive to 'lay-offs', even though the courts supported her decision in a law suit. Although she may have been justified and within her powers, it is one red flag in my book. Speaking of books, I don't see any reason to believe she actually pushed or desired to ban books. I believe "Actions speak louder than words", and she didn't act in that direction, so maybe it was just a rhetorical question. As far as the concealed weapons legislation, the Police Chief admitted he was against the bill which did ban what he said it didn't, but was obviously unaware of what the bill contained. Abortion, I've said it before, if the woman didn't choose to have sex, I would not make it illegal to have an abortion. Creationism, my kids will be taught that in the home and at Church, and they are not in school yet, so I don't have experience with it.