Sarah Palin

[Svenskaflicka]

Pro Life-r, creationist, NRA Life Member...

Whow.

My type of girl.




















... to beat to a pulp, that is.

 

[Liar]

Catfiiiight!

 

[Sandy_Fox]

This is just flat out ugly (excerpt...full story here):

Just Say It: The Race-Baiting Tactics Of John McCain And Sarah Palin Are Reprehensible

The new hallmark of McCain and Palin rallies is anger: anger stemming from the increasingly likelihood of an Obama win, as the more generous writers at Politico have put it; or from frustration at the media, according to Time; or at Democrats and the bailout more generally, as the New York Times sees it. Well, as I and plenty of other people, including Greg Sargent at Talking Points Memo, see it, it's time to stop pretending that this is some grassroots anger movement. This is something that the McCain campaign was counting on, planning for, deliberately fomenting and is happy to see happening.

Don't believe me? Let's go to the video. When the worst of this began at McCain and Palin rallies on Monday, the talking point from the surrogates was that there was no evidence that the candidates heard their supporters shout "Terrorist!" or "Kill him!." Watch the videos — it's not only audible from where the television cameras are, it's plain as day that both candidates heard it. The candidates have had numerous, direct opportunities to interrupt their stump speeches and call for an end to the increasingly vitriolic and hate-filled speech of their supporters and have not only declined to do so, but continued to encourage it.

This is hate speech, this is, in some cases, a series of threats against people's lives and they should be stopped, immediately and directly by the candidates ,who should say without equivocation that such speech and such threats are not welcome. But they won't, because this is the new McCain strategy: portray Obama as the outsider, the threat to America, the guy cavorting with terrorists — who, in the minds' eyes of many of these people are not white college professors, let's add —, the one who doesn't understand the "real" America. This is code for "white" America.

We don't have to condone their behavior and their beliefs with our silence.

Even Republicans recognize this for what it is. Frank Schaeffer, a former McCain staffer from his 2000 run, thinks McCain knows exactly what he's doing with all his coded talk about race and says:

Stop! Think! Your rallies are beginning to look, sound, feel and smell like lynch mobs. John McCain, you're walking a perilous line. If you do not stand up for all that is good in America and declare that Senator Obama is a patriot, fit for office, and denounce your hate-filled supporters when they scream out "Terrorist" or "Kill him," history will hold you responsible for all that follows.

It's time for McCain and Palin and Steve Schmidt and Rick Davis to pull their collective heads out of their asses, stop pretending that they don't hear what people are shouting and find a way to lose with some fucking grace.

I'm not even concerned with him losing with grace - I just want him to be an honorable man. If you are a TRUE leader and one of your people yells something like that: you stop and "adjust their attitude". Then! There! Right NOW!

If You are honorable AND a leader you do all of that and THEN apologize to you opponent for the behavior of one of your supporters.

 

[Svenskaflicka]

Dude, there are things you just should not write on a porn board... oh the images.

ROFL!

Oh, the horror of it...

 

[Boxlicker101]

Quote:

Originally Posted by New York Times
As evidence, she has contended, among other things, that Mr. Monegan arranged two unauthorized lobbying trips to Washington. But according to interviews and records obtained by The New York Times, the governor’s office authorized both trips.

That's not a questionable honesty there... that is flat out DISHONESTY.

This woman is far more like Bush/Cheney that McCain is. And his selection of her should have been the final nail in the coffin for his campaign. Let's hope that it turns out to be exactly that.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Boxlicker101
I doubt the integrity of the NY Times also. I'm not saying they are lying; I'm just saying I believe there is a good possibility of it. I would need to see the interviews and records before believing them. Even then, if the inteviews were with political enemies of Sarah Palin, I would doubt thei reliability. y.

THIS may be about the silliest thing you have ever posted. Let me paraphrase here.

"I doubt the integrity of a paper that was only founded in 1851 and has 98 Pulitzer Prizes because they might be biased. Because after all, the last two months is way more important that the last 160 years of being so reputable that you're considered a national newspaper of record. John McCain and Sarah Palin are so much more credible than that. I mean, it's not like the New York Times has any reason they shouldn't lie. I mean, there aren't any laws about libel or anything.

(snip)

As a matter of fact, I'm so certain they are biased that even if they show me the concrete proof I'm not going to believe it because you know they had a motive to discover that these things weren't true and their motive of selling papers and winning an election for a guy that has been a national figure for less than 1/25th of the time they existed is totally transparent and completely overrides the truth. What if the interview is with a guy who is only telling the truth because the truth fits his political agenda?"

First, the NY Times has been around about as long as the Republican Party. Do you trust the integrity of the Republican Party, just because of its longevity?

I'm aware of the long tradition of journalistic integrity of the times. I'm also aware that they follow the dictates of Management and, if Management says to do a hatchet job on somebody, that's what they do. There is certainly nobody who has been there since 1851.

Second, this was not the NY Times who said this. It was a columnist in the Times, who can say almost anything he want to, as long as it is not libelous. He can especially say anything he wants about a public figure. Not only can he say anything, he can quote out of context or omit facts and make up details and skew his story to say what he wants. As for why he would do this: To help a candidate he favors by hurting the candidate's opponent.

I hope you realize that not all news sources are as honest as they should be.

BTW, I cut out the part about The Titsnic becvause is was so irrelevant.

 

[Huckleman2000]

[...]
I hope you realize that not all news sources are as honest as they should be.

BTW, I cut out the part about The Titsnic becvause is was so irrelevant.

You know, I just realized how insidious Fox News has become. They not only spout propaganda, they reinforce the idea that all other news sources operate in exactly the same way. Thus, there is no objective truth.

It's almost Zen in its banality.

 

[Selena_Kitt]

I'm not even concerned with him losing with grace - I just want him to be an honorable man. If you are a TRUE leader and one of your people yells something like that: you stop and "adjust their attitude". Then! There! Right NOW!

If You are honorable AND a leader you do all of that and THEN apologize to you opponent for the behavior of one of your supporters.

Yep.

Here's something else I didn't consider. I overheard a conversation today where a woman said she was going to vote for Obama, but now that McCain and Palin have upped the hate-speech, she's actually afraid to vote for him. She's afraid, if he gets elected, he's going to be KILLED. She wants to NOT vote for him... to protect him!

I wonder if McCain's campaign anticipated that reaction?

 

[Belegon]

First, the NY Times has been around about as long as the Republican Party. Do you trust the integrity of the Republican Party, just because of its longevity?

I'm aware of the long tradition of journalistic integrity of the times. I'm also aware that they follow the dictates of Management and, if Management says to do a hatchet job on somebody, that's what they do. There is certainly nobody who has been there since 1851.

Second, this was not the NY Times who said this. It was a columnist in the Times, who can say almost anything he want to, as long as it is not libelous. He can especially say anything he wants about a public figure. Not only can he say anything, he can quote out of context or omit facts and make up details and skew his story to say what he wants. As for why he would do this: To help a candidate he favors by hurting the candidate's opponent.

I hope you realize that not all news sources are as honest as they should be.

NO, this is part of a news story in the news section. Here is the link.

Palin Repeatedly Pressed Case Against Trooper

It's not a column. It's under the full burden of libel.

 

[impressive]

It's almost Zen in its banality.

Zen Banality.



New religion.

 

[Boxlicker101]

NO, this is part of a news story in the news section. Here is the link.

Palin Repeatedly Pressed Case Against Trooper

It's not a column. It's under the full burden of libel.

Okay, he writes bylined news articles wherein he expresses his opinions. What's the difference between that and a colummnist?

You know as well as I do that it's almost impossible to convict newspaper employees of libel or win any kind of lawsuit when they write about a public figure.

 

[Svenskaflicka]

Yep.

Here's something else I didn't consider. I overheard a conversation today where a woman said she was going to vote for Obama, but now that McCain and Palin have upped the hate-speech, she's actually afraid to vote for him. She's afraid, if he gets elected, he's going to be KILLED. She wants to NOT vote for him... to protect him!

I wonder if McCain's campaign anticipated that reaction?

Then again, without Obama, you'll be even more in the shit than you already are. I'd be sad to see him killed, but if he can keep alive long enough to put USA back on track, it might be worth losing a brave man for it.

 

[Belegon]

Okay, he writes bylined news articles wherein he expresses his opinions. What's the difference between that and a colummnist?

You know as well as I do that it's almost impossible to convict newspaper employees of libel or win any kind of lawsuit when they write about a public figure.

There is a huge difference in liability. If there is a finding of libel in a news article, the publisher and paper are guilty of libel directly. In a column, there are far-ranging precedents protecting the publisher and placing responsibility on the columnist.

This is not satire. This is news. It is actually very easy to win this kind of court case. All you have to do is prove the paper printed something false. A retraction is the VERY LEAST response.

This would be a VERY easy win in court. The damage to real prospects of those involved is indisputable.

Here is the article in it's entirety.

Palins Repeatedly Pressed Case Against Trooper

By SERGE F. KOVALESKI
Published: October 9, 2008

ANCHORAGE — The 2007 state fair was days away when Alaska’s public safety commissioner, Walt Monegan, took another call about one of his troopers, Michael Wooten. This time, the director of Gov. Sarah Palin’s Anchorage office was on the line.

Walt Monegan, center, the former public safety commissioner, and his special assistant, Kim Peterson, both said they received phone calls from Todd Palin, right, about Mr. Wooten’s behavior.

Michael Wooten, right, the Alaska state trooper now divorced from Gov. Sarah Palin’s sister.

As Mr. Monegan recalls it, the aide said the governor had heard that Trooper Wooten was assigned to work the kickoff to the fair in late August. If so, Mr. Monegan should do something about it, because Ms. Palin was also planning to attend and did not want him nearby.

Somewhat bewildered, Mr. Monegan soon determined that Trooper Wooten had indeed volunteered for duty at the fairgrounds — in full costume as “Safety Bear,” the troopers’ child-friendly mascot.

Two years earlier, the trooper and the governor’s sister had been embroiled in a nasty divorce and child-custody battle that had hardened the Palin family against him. To Mr. Monegan and several top aides, the state fair episode was yet another example of a fixation that the governor and her husband, Todd, had with Trooper Wooten and the most granular details of his life.

“I thought to myself, ‘Man, do they have a heavy-duty network and focus on this guy,’ ” Mr. Monegan said. “You’d call that an obsession.”

On July 11, Ms. Palin fired Mr. Monegan, setting off a politically charged scandal that has become vastly more so since Ms. Palin became the Republican vice-presidential nominee.

By now, the outlines of the matter have been widely reported. Mr. Monegan believes he was ousted because he would not bow to pressure to dismiss Trooper Wooten. The Alaska Legislature is investigating the firing and whether the governor abused the powers of her office to pursue a personal vendetta. Its report is due Friday.

Ms. Palin has denied that anyone told Mr. Monegan to dismiss Trooper Wooten, or that the commissioner’s ouster had anything to do with him. But an examination of the case, based on interviews with Mr. Monegan and several top aides, indicates that, to a far greater degree than was previously known, the governor, her husband and her administration pressed the commissioner and his staff to get Trooper Wooten off the force, though without directly ordering it.

In all, the commissioner and his aides were contacted about Trooper Wooten three dozen times over 19 months by the governor, her husband and seven administration officials, interviews and documents show.

“To all of us, it was a campaign to get rid of him as a trooper and, at the very least, to smear the guy and give him a desk job somewhere,” said Kim Peterson, Mr. Monegan’s special assistant, who like several other aides spoke publicly about the matter for the first time.

Ms. Peterson, a 31-year veteran of state government who retired 10 days before Mr. Monegan’s firing, said she received about a dozen calls herself. “It was very clear that someone from the governor’s office wanted him watched,” she said.

Nor did that interest end with Mr. Monegan, the examination shows. His successor, Chuck Kopp, recalled that in an exploratory phone call and then a job interview, Ms. Palin’s aides mentioned the governor’s concerns about Trooper Wooten. None of the 280 other troopers were discussed, Mr. Kopp said.

Personnel Politics

Immediately after Mr. Monegan’s firing, Ms. Palin said her intent was to change the department’s direction. (She declined to be interviewed for this article.) She has since offered a variety of explanations for his ouster, most recently accusing him of insubordination and opposing her fiscal reforms.

As evidence, she has contended, among other things, that Mr. Monegan arranged two unauthorized lobbying trips to Washington. But according to interviews and records obtained by The New York Times, the governor’s office authorized both trips.

As for Trooper Wooten, Ms. Palin has said she and others were simply lodging legitimate complaints to the appropriate authorities about a trooper with a disciplinary record who was a danger to her family and to the public. In one instance, she said he made a death threat against her father in 2005, an accusation that the trooper has denied.

Ms. Palin initially said she welcomed an investigation into Mr. Monegan’s ouster. But she has since declined to cooperate with the bipartisan inquiry, which Senator John McCain’s presidential campaign says has been “hijacked” by Democratic lawmakers. Ms. Palin has pledged to cooperate with a separate inquiry, by the state’s Personnel Board.

Beyond the potential political consequences, the Legislature’s inquiry, depending on its outcome, could lead lawmakers to censure Ms. Palin or pass legislation making it more difficult for a governor to remove a commissioner, legislative leaders said.

Watching the Trooper

The Palin family’s dispute with Trooper Wooten surfaced long before Ms. Palin became governor.

On April 11, 2005, the day Ms. Palin’s sister, Molly McCann, filed for divorce, her father, Chuck Heath, informed the state police that a domestic-violence restraining order had been served on his son-in-law. Mr. Heath later told the state police that, although Trooper Wooten had not physically harmed Ms. McCann, he had intimidated her. Ms. McCann told the authorities that Trooper Wooten said to her that he would shoot Mr. Heath if he hired her a divorce lawyer and would “take down” Ms. Palin if she got involved.

The family also reported that Trooper Wooten, who was assigned to the wildlife investigations unit, shot a cow, or female, moose without a permit, used a Taser on his 10-year-old stepson and drank a beer at a friend’s barbecue before taking a second one for the drive home in his patrol car.

In March 2006, after an internal inquiry, Trooper Wooten received a 10-day suspension, which was eventually halved. The suspension letter mentions nothing about threats. At the time, Trooper Wooten and Ms. McCann had been divorced for about two months. But their relationship remained tumultuous, primarily over child custody disputes, said Ms. McCann’s divorce lawyer, Roberta Erwin.

Ms. McCann “wanted to know what relief was available to her” without spending the money to return to court, the lawyer said, adding, “As a close family, the Palins did their best to help her by reaching out further to the trooper hierarchy, with Todd taking the lead.”

On Jan. 4, 2007, a month into the Palin administration and his tenure as public safety commissioner, Mr. Monegan went to the governor’s Anchorage office to talk with Todd Palin, who had requested the meeting. Mr. Palin was seated at a conference table with three stacks of personnel files. That, Mr. Monegan recalled, was the first time he heard the name Mike Wooten.

“He conveyed to me,” Mr. Monegan said, “that he and Sarah did not think the investigation into Wooten had been done well enough and that they were not happy with the punishment. Todd was clearly frustrated.”

Mr. Palin noted Trooper Wooten’s divorce case but dwelt on the moose kill, even showing photographs of the dead animal, Mr. Monegan recalled. The commissioner said he would have his staff evaluate the evidence.

A few days later, Mr. Monegan informed Mr. Palin that the issues raised at the meeting had been addressed in the suspension. The case was closed.

Mr. Palin sounded vexed and said repeatedly Trooper Wooten was getting away with a crime, Mr. Monegan said. “I hung up wondering how long I could keep my job if I tick off my boss’s husband.”

Several evenings later, Mr. Monegan’s cellphone rang. “Walt, it’s Sarah,” the governor said before echoing much of what her husband had said. Trooper Wooten, he recalls being told, was “not the kind of person we should want as a trooper.” He told the governor, too, that there was no new evidence to pursue.

Soon after that, Mr. Palin and several aides began pressing the public safety agency to investigate another matter: whether Trooper Wooten was fraudulently collecting workers’ compensation for a back injury he said he had suffered while helping carry a body bag.

Mr. Palin’s evidence: He told Ms. Peterson, the commissioner’s assistant, that he had seen the trooper riding a snowmobile while on medical leave and that he had photographs to prove it.

When Mr. Palin called back two weeks later, Ms. Peterson said she had met with the trooper but was not authorized to discuss the conversation because it was an official state personnel matter. The issue was eventually resolved in Trooper Wooten’s favor, after his chiropractor sent a letter saying he had approved of the trooper’s riding a snowmobile, as long as he was careful.

Mr. Palin declined to be interviewed. But in a sworn affidavit this week for the legislative investigation, he wrote that he had hundreds of communications about the trooper “with my family, with friends, with colleagues and with just about everyone I could, including government officials.” He added, “In fact, I talked about Wooten so much over the years that my wife told me to stop talking about it with her.”

As for what he had told his wife, Mr. Palin said he often raised his concerns about “the unfairness of his remaining on the state troopers when he was obviously so unfit for the job.”

Of the dozen calls Ms. Peterson received about Trooper Wooten, she said, at least half were from Dianne Kiesel, a deputy director at the Department of Administration. The last discussion with Ms. Kiesel came after Ms. Peterson informed her that the trooper had been cleared to work full time.

“Since there was now no business reason to separate Wooten, she wanted to know what else we could do with him,” Ms. Peterson said, adding, “I could tell she was under pressure to come up with something.”

Ms. Kiesel enumerated various possibilities, like moving him to the cold-case unit or a desk job doing background checks.

Ms. Peterson, who had worked in human resources management for most of her government career, said she pointed out that those options would violate the public safety union’s contract.

At one meeting, Ms. Peterson recalled, the commissioner of administration, Annette Kreitzer, said “to keep an eye on him and that he gets no special privileges.”

In an interview, Ms. Kreitzer said she was simply calling for routine monitoring of an employee who had a disciplinary history or had not been evaluated in a while. Six other administration aides who initiated contacts with public safety officials about Trooper Wooten did not return calls or declined to comment.

As for Trooper Wooten’s planned appearance as Safety Bear, Mr. Monegan said he decided to pull him back.

Unexpected Firing

In July, Ms. Palin’s acting chief of staff called Mr. Monegan to another meeting in that same room in the governor’s Anchorage office. The aide, Michael A. Nizich, said the governor wanted him to head the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board, part of the public safety department. Put another way, he was no longer commissioner.

Saying the firing had come “out of the blue,” Mr. Monegan asked how he had upset the governor. Ms. Palin, the aide said, wanted to take the agency in a new direction.

“Was it Wooten?” Mr. Monegan recalled asking.

“A new direction,” was the reply.

The Legislature’s investigation began after a local blogger, who had been a political rival of Ms. Palin, linked Mr. Monegan’s firing to, among other reasons, his refusal to dismiss Trooper Wooten. Initially the governor said through a spokeswoman that the dismissal had nothing to do with a “personality conflict.” Since then, her explanations have evolved, from saying that he was lagging on filling trooper vacancies and tackling alcohol-abuse problems in rural Alaska to showing an “intolerable pattern of insubordination” and a “rogue mentality” by resisting her authority and spending reforms, sometimes publicly.

Mr. Monegan’s successor, Mr. Kopp, said that when the trooper came up in his pre-employment conversations with Palin aides, “it was raised within the context of one of the things that I needed to be aware of, but there was no direction to take any job action.”

During his first week on the job, Mr. Kopp received a call from Mr. Nizich. Trooper Wooten, in uniform, had shown up at the governor’s picnic, which is open to the public. “Is there anything you can do?” Mr. Nizich asked, explaining that the Palins were concerned about his presence.

The trooper was told to leave the area.

About a week later, Mr. Kopp resigned amid scrutiny of a 2005 sexual harassment complaint.

Mr. Wooten, who declined to be interviewed for this article, remains on the force as a patrol trooper.

 

[epiphany65]

Yep.

Here's something else I didn't consider. I overheard a conversation today where a woman said she was going to vote for Obama, but now that McCain and Palin have upped the hate-speech, she's actually afraid to vote for him. She's afraid, if he gets elected, he's going to be KILLED. She wants to NOT vote for him... to protect him!

I wonder if McCain's campaign anticipated that reaction?

Well, she seems more concerned about his safety than the Secret Service:

Feb 25, 2008, 00:55

According to the Dallas Star-Telegram, the Secret Service gave an order to stop screening for weapons for a full hour before the February 20 Barack Obama rally in Dallas. Metal detectors were turned off, and bags were not checked, as hundreds were allowed to file into Reunion Arena. This bizarre activity “ordered by federal officials,” was immediately reported by an alarmed Dallas Police Department, which knew that it was a “lapse in security."

The Secret Service (which has been assigned to Obama since August 2007) has denied the allegations, declaring post-facto that the event was secure. However, the Secret Service has provided no detailed explanation about this blatant security stand-down. It is not known who gave the orders. The Obama camp itself has issued no statement.

More here:

http://onlinejournal.com/artman/publish/printer_2990.shtml

 

[Selena_Kitt]

I'm not even concerned with him losing with grace - I just want him to be an honorable man. If you are a TRUE leader and one of your people yells something like that: you stop and "adjust their attitude". Then! There! Right NOW!

If You are honorable AND a leader you do all of that and THEN apologize to you opponent for the behavior of one of your supporters.

He finally did, today. McCain corrected a woman who called Obama an Arab and he later tried to convince the crowd they shouldn't be "afraid" of Obama if he became president. The crowd was NOT happy.

It was hard for him to talk them down...

 

[rgraham666]

Oklahoma City was just the start.

 

[Belegon]

I want to point out that when I read this part to Imp...

Initially the governor said through a spokeswoman that the dismissal had nothing to do with a “personality conflict.” Since then, her explanations have evolved, from saying that he was lagging on filling trooper vacancies and tackling alcohol-abuse problems in rural Alaska to showing an “intolerable pattern of insubordination” and a “rogue mentality” by resisting her authority and spending reforms, sometimes publicly.

Her classic response was...

Oh mi God, You mean he was fired for being a Maverick?

 

[Sandy_Fox]

He finally did, today. McCain corrected a woman who called Obama an Arab and he later tried to convince the crowd they shouldn't be "afraid" of Obama if he became president. The crowd was NOT happy.

It was hard for him to talk them down...

Damn big of him. Specially when his running mate is out there implying Obama is a terrorist.

 

[Sandy_Fox]

I want to point out that when I read this part to Imp...

Her classic response was...

Hit the nail on the head Imp.

 

[impressive]

Hit the nail on the head Imp.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/10/palin.investigation/index.html

 

[epiphany65]

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/10/palin.investigation/index.html

That black shirt really suits her...

 

[impressive]

That black shirt really suits her...

Those gawd-awful earrings would look good on that sofa in the other thread.

 

[dr_mabeuse]

Report is out.

Alaska panel finds Palin abused power in firing

By MATT APUZZO, Associated Press Writer 33 minutes ago

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Sarah Palin unlawfully abused her power as governor by trying to have her former brother-in-law fired as a state trooper, the chief investigator of an Alaska legislative panel concluded Friday. The politically charged inquiry imperiled her reputation as a reformer on John McCain's Republican ticket.


Investigator Stephen Branchflower, in a report by a bipartisan panel that investigated the matter, found Palin in violation of a state ethics law that prohibits public officials from using their office for personal gain.

The inquiry looked into her 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 with the governor's sister. Palin says Monegan was fired as part of a legitimate budget dispute.

The report found that Palin let the family grudge influence her decision-making even if it was not the sole reason Monegan was dismissed. "I feel vindicated," Monegan said. "It sounds like they've validated my belief and opinions. And that tells me I'm not totally out in left field."

Branchflower said Palin violated a statute of the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act.

"I disagree," said Palin attorney Thomas Van Flein. "In order to violate the ethics law, there has to be some personal gain, usually financial. Mr. Branchflower has failed to identify any financial gain."

The statute says "any effort to benefit a personal or financial interest through official action is a violation of that (public) trust."

Palin and McCain's supporters had hoped the inquiry's finding would be delayed until after the presidential election to spare her any embarrassment and to put aside an enduring distraction as she campaigns as McCain's running mate in an uphill contest against Democrat Barack Obama.

But the panel of lawmakers voted to release the report, although not without dissension. There was no immediate vote on whether to endorse its findings.

"I think there are some problems in this report," said Republican state Sen. Gary Stevens, a member of the panel. "I would encourage people to be very cautious, to look at this with a jaundiced eye."

The nearly 300-page report does not recommend sanctions or a criminal investigation.

The investigation revealed that Palin's husband, Todd, has extraordinary access to the governor's office and her closest advisers. He used that access to try to get trooper Mike Wooten fired, the report found.

Branchflower faulted Sarah Palin for taking no action to stop that. He also noted there is evidence the governor herself participated in the effort.

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.

In proceedings revealed by the report, former Alaska State Trooper Col. Julia Grimes told investigators that Sarah Palin called her in late 2005 to discuss why Wooten hadn't been fired, and Grimes told her the inquiry was confidential by law.

"Her questions were how can a trooper who behaves this way still be working," Grimes said. "I asked her to please trust me, that because I can't tell her details I would ask her to please trust me that I would take the appropriate action if and when I knew what the findings were. ... I couldn't have another conversation with her about it because, again, it's protected by law."

Grimes said Todd Palin also contacted her by telephone in late 2005 to discuss the confidential investigation of Wooten.

Wooten's disciplinary case was settled in September 2006 — months before Palin was elected governor — and he was allowed to continue working as a trooper.

After Palin's election, her new public safety commissioner, Monegan, said he was summoned to the governor's office to meet Todd Palin, who said Wooten's punishment had been merely a "slap on the wrist." Monegan said he understood the Palins wanted Wooten fired. "I had this kind of ominous feeling that I may not be long for this job if I didn't somehow respond accordingly," Monegan told the investigator.

For months afterward, Todd Palin filed complaints about Wooten, saying he was seen riding a snowmobile after he had filed a worker's compensation claim and was seen dropping off his children at school in his patrol car. Monegan said Wooten's doctor had authorized the snowmobile trip and his supervisor had approved his use of the patrol car. Monegan said Alaska's attorney general later called him to inquire about Wooten, and Monegan told him they shouldn't be discussing the subject.

"This was an issue that apparently wasn't going to go away, that there were certainly frustrations," Monegan said. "To say that (Sarah Palin) was focused on this I think would be accurate."

 

[ishtat]

Zen Banality.



New religion.

With a birthday soon I'm more an advocate of Ban Zenility.

 

[ishtat]

Wooten had been in hot water before Palin became governor over allegations that he illegally shot a moose.

"

"Hangin' offence in these parts"

 

[Pure]

i love this thread

tonight on CNN the lead story was the report on 'troopergate' and its finding of a breach of ethics, though not criminal law;

then they said--i kid you not--

the other top story is the meltdown of the world economy!