Source:Kansascity.com
A half sister of Cindy McCain, wife of Republican presidential candidate John McCain, has died of Alzheimer's disease, the family announced.
Dixie Lea Burd, 74, died Tuesday in Phoenix. She had been in a nursing home for the past two years, her son Bob Burd said.
Cindy McCain and Dixie Burd had the same mother. Marguerite "Dixie" Johnson married Cindy McCain's father, the late James Hensley, in 1945.
"My family is deeply saddened by the death of my half sister, Dixie Burd. She had been very ill for quite some time, and it was difficult for loved ones to see her suffer," Cindy McCain said in a statement released by the McCain campaign. "I am hopeful that my family's privacy will be respected at this time."
Burd was a homemaker who later helped her family run six Hallmark stores in metropolitan Phoenix. Her son said Cindy McCain was protective of her and that they were close.
Another half sister, Kathleen Hensley Portalski, complained earlier this year that Cindy McCain wasn't treating her like family and announced that she was supporting McCain's rival, Democratic candidate Barack Obama.
Cindy McCain and Portalski have the same father. James Hensley founded Hensley & Co., the Phoenix-area Anheuser-Busch distributor, and Cindy McCain inherited her father's stake in the company.
A memorial service for Burd is set for Saturday in Mesa.
Thousands of voter registration forms faked, officials say
CROWN POINT, Indiana (CNN) -- More than 2,000 voter registration forms filed in northern Indiana's Lake County by a liberal activist group this week have turned out to be bogus, election officials said Thursday.
The group -- the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, or ACORN -- already faces allegations of filing fraudulent voter registrations in Nevada and faces investigations in other states.
And in Lake County, home to the long-depressed steel town of Gary, the bipartisan Elections Board has stopped processing a stack of about 5,000 applications delivered just before the October 6 registration deadline after the first 2,100 turned out to be phony.
"All the signatures looked exactly the same," Ruthann Hoagland, a Republican on the board. "Everything on the card filled out looks exactly the same."
The forms included registrations submitted in the names of the dead -- and in one case, the name of a fast-food restaurant, Jimmy Johns. Sally LaSota, a Democrat on the board, called the forms fraudulent and said whoever filed them broke the law. Watch how dead people are turning up on voter registration forms »
"ACORN, with its intent, perhaps was good in the beginning, but went awry somewhere," LaSota said.
Over the past four years, a dozen states have investigated complaints of fraudulent registrations filed by ACORN. On Tuesday, Nevada authorities raided an ACORN office in Las Vegas, Nevada, where workers are accused of registering members of the Dallas Cowboys football team. And the group has become the target of Republican attacks on voter fraud, a perennial GOP issue.
A subsidiary of the group was paid $800,000 by Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's campaign to register voters for the 2008 primaries, and ACORN's political wing endorsed Obama back in February. But Obama's campaign told CNN that it "is committed to protecting the integrity of the voting process," and said it has not worked with ACORN during the general election.
Brian Mellor, an ACORN attorney in Boston, said the group has its own quality-control process and has fired workers in the past -- including workers in Gary. But he said allegations that his organization committed fraud is a government attempt to keep people disenfranchised. Watch more about this investigation »
"We believe their purpose is to attack ACORN and suppress votes," Mellor said. "We believe that by attacking ACORN, they are going to discourage people that have registered to vote with ACORN from voting."
CNN was unable to reach ACORN officials in Gary and in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where the group's Indiana operation is based. Offices in both cities were empty when reporters visited.
Lake County elections officials have set aside all 5,000 of the ACORN-submitted applications in what Hoagland called the "fake pile" for later review. But she said every one will be reviewed before the election to make sure no legitimate voters are skipped.
There has been no evidence of voter fraud yet, because voters have yet to go to the polls. But elections officials say they will be sending their information to prosecutors, who will determine whether any investigation will begin.
"We have no idea what the motive behind it is," she said. "It's just overwhelming to us."
All AboutElection Fraud • Indiana
Source:kctv5.com
POSTED: 11:10 am CDT October 2, 2008
Laptop Stolen In Political Office Break-In
Source:www.kctv5.com
The son of conservative icon and National Review magazine founder William F. Buckley Jr. has endorsed Democrat Barack Obama for president. And he cites the nomination of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as Sen. John McCain's Republican running mate as a leading reason.Christopher Buckley, a best-selling novelist, made the move public at The Daily Beast, a new Web site published by Tina Brown, the former New Yorker magazine editor."Let me be the latest conservative/libertarian/whatever to leap onto the Barack Obama bandwagon," Buckley writes. "It's a good thing my dear old mum and pup are no longer alive. They'd cut off my allowance. Or would they?"Buckley, who said he has known McCain personally since 1982 and once wrote a speech for him, pens a column for his late father's conservative magazine. But he said he wasn't endorsing Obama in his National Review space after the reception received by another columnist there who publicly criticized Palin.
Distributed by Internet Broadcasting. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Watch Poppen Report Live Today From California at 4pm
On Ustream.tv
As I break down all the legal and political issues often talked about on news or not mentioned by both parties Republican and Democratic.
THe Voice The World Hears, The One That Cares-
Poppen Report
How Much Palin Really Knows About Govt? Poll
When Poppen Report Polled Alaska, California, and District of Columbia the numbers of people who responded were in the thousands which came out around 600,000 plus. So the above question brought in these results by response in the last 48 hours on my last show.
Alaska
40% Believe She Knows Government
60% Believe She Dont Govt , To Serve Any Government Position
1% Marginal Error
District of Columbia
20% Believe She Knows Government
75% Believe She Don't Govt, To Serve Any Government Position
3% Say She Needs To Learn About Government First, Then Serve Country Later
2% Marginal Error
California
10% Believe She Knows Government
85% Believe She Don't Government, To Serve Any Government Position
3% Say She Needs To Learn About Government First, Serve Country Later
VERDICT =UNFIT FOR AMERICA
Source:www.cfnews13.com
TALLAHASSEE -- A brand new Florida law says that if you are a new voter, and your registration form doesn't check out, your vote won't count.
That has some people complaining about being cheated out of the democratic process.
Florida's "No Match, No Vote" law took effect Wednesday afternoon.
Under the rules, when you register to vote, all of your personal information is entered into a state database.
But, if, for whatever reason, the numbers on your driver's license or Social Security card are entered incorrectly, a red flag goes up. Until the problem is taken care of, your ballot can't be counted, and you probably won't know that until Election Day.
Secretary of State Kurt Browning said he is not trying to disenfranchise voters, but protect them from fraud.
"Florida has had the reputation, unfairly I think, of being hostile to voter registration, and we are anything but hostile to voter registration. It's a fine balance between making sure that voter registration rolls are accurate and allowing someone the opportunity to freely complete a voter registration application and submit it to their supervisor," Browning said.
If you are told your information doesn't match up, you will be allowed to cast a provisional ballot, which won't be counted until all of your information is verified. However, you can't verify that information until after the polls close.
Filed at 2:02 p.m. ET
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) -- Former Rhode Island Republican Sen. Lincoln Chafee has called vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin a ''cocky wacko'' and said her selection as John McCain's running mate has energized supporters of Democrat Barack Obama.
Chafee left the Republican Party last year after losing his bid for re-election and now supports Obama. He told an audience Tuesday at the New America Foundation in Washington that the Alaska governor has revived a ''lackluster McCain candidacy.''
''They've just thrown this firestorm, this tornado, into the whole presidential election,'' Chafee said in response to an audience member's question about whether the Obama campaign should worry about Palin's presence in the race.
He said her speech at the Republican National Convention had the unintended effect of energizing Democrats and Obama supporters.
''People were coming into my office, phone calls were flooding in, e-mails were coming in, 'I just sent money to Obama, I couldn't sleep last night' -- from the left. To see this cocky wacko up there,'' Chafee said to laughter.
Chafee said in an interview Thursday that he found much of Palin's convention speech objectionable, particularly her ''mocking'' assertion that Obama was overly concerned with al-Qaida terrorists getting read their rights.
That comment ''got to the core of everything wrong with the last eight years,'' he said.
''I consider that wacky, and certainly her tone was very, very cocky,'' said Chafee, a visiting fellow at Brown University's Watson Institute for International Studies. ''So I thought they were appropriate words.''
Tell Your Local Office Today! If they don't have volunteers or staff in charge of voter protection at all,you will be in charge of it today.
Obama needs all our help, so no person can afford to turn away any help at all in this country when we need as many people as possible to take care of this country.
Sending home the Jews 4 Republicans Defeated! And those who are Republicans today and this coming November any of John McCain's Supporters.
So stand together in the offices around this nation for Obama and say, I want my votes protected today.
NO Voter Fraud!!!!!
Take charge of this position , in charge of Voter Protection its in all the states no one is in charge.
PUT YOURSELF IN CHARGE OF IT TODAY.
Source:www.action3news.com
Wife of Democratic VP nominee to visit
Associated Press - September 10, 2008 7:44 PM ET
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - Jill Biden, the wife of Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden, will tour a handful of cities in northeastern Iowa this week.
Biden is scheduled to visit six cities on Friday and Saturday. She will be in Mason City, Iowa Falls, Marshalltown and Waterloo on Friday and is scheduled to stop in Independence and Dubuque on Saturday.
Her sister-in-law, Valerie Biden Owens, will also travel with her.
The trip will be Jill Biden's first visit to Iowa since the Iowa caucuses.
Source:BBC News
BBC Poll: Most Countries Want Obama Elected
Source:Townhall.com
Paul says he turned down appeal to endorse McCainAP NewsWednesday, September 10, 2008
Republican Rep. Ron Paul, the libertarian-leaning Texas lawmaker who attracted a devoted following in the GOP primaries, said Wednesday he rejected an appeal to endorse John McCain's presidential bid.
Paul said the request came from Phil Gramm, the former McCain adviser and ex-senator whom the campaign jettisoned after he said the country was a "nation of whiners" about the economy. Gramm defeated Paul in the Republican primary for the Senate in 1984.
Speaking to reporters at a news conference, Paul said Gramm called him this week and told him, "You need to endorse McCain." The Texas congressman said he refused.
"The idea was that he would do less harm than the other candidate," Paul said.
Paul won no primaries in the Republican nomination contest but developed a strong following on the Internet.
He appeared at a news conference with three third-party candidates: independent Ralph Nader; former Georgia Democratic Rep. Cynthia McKinney, the Green Party candidate; and Chuck Baldwin, the Constitution Party candidate. Bob Barr, the Libertarian candidate, was invited but said at his own news conference later that he declined because Paul didn't endorse one candidate.
"We need today, now, 55 days before this election, bold, focused, specific leadership and that is not the amorphous kind that says any of the above or none of the above," Barr said.
Barr said he had asked Paul to join him as his running mate on the Libertarian Party ticket while his current running mate, Wayne Root would step aside. "We don't anticipate that he will," Barr said.
Earlier, Paul called the presidential elections a charade and said voters are faced with the "lesser of two evils."
The majority of Americans, about 60 percent, are unhappy with their choices in the race, Paul said. He urged the three third-party candidates to bring all their supporters together to vote against the "establishment candidates."
Paul, 73, a former doctor, ran for president as the Libertarian candidate in 1988. He is unopposed in the November race for his congressional seat.
Nader derided media focus on what he called "lipstickgate," referring to the bickering between the McCain and Barack Obama campaigns over whether a phrase Obama used was a sexist comment against Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin.
Nader, a consumer protection advocate, acknowledged differences among the third-party candidates such as government regulation of health and safety standards. But he added that he shares Paul's support for more opportunity in the political process for third-party candidates.
McCain’s comments on raising taxes draw disapproval from left and right
By Bill Sammon Senior White House Correspondent 7/31/08
“If Mr. McCain can’t convince voters that he’s better on taxes than is a Democrat who says matter-of-factly that he wants to raise taxes, the Republican is going to lose in a rout,” fumed the conservative Wall Street Journal editorial page Wednesday in a piece headlined “McCain’s Tax Blunder.”
The flap began Sunday, when ABC’s George Stephanopoulos asked McCain whether “payroll tax increases are on the table” in the effort to make Social Security solvent.
“There is nothing that’s off the table,” McCain replied. “I have my positions and I’ll articulate them. But nothing’s off the table.”
It was not exactly a vow to raise taxes, but it was enough to set off alarm bells at the conservative Club for Growth.
“This statement was particularly shocking because you have been adamant in your opposition to raising taxes under any circumstances,” admonished club President Pat Toomey in a letter to McCain. “Raising the payroll tax or the wage cap on Social Security taxes will increase the tax burden on many Americans.”
Meanwhile, McCain was attacked by the Democratic National Committee, which used the episode to question the Republican’s veracity.
“McCain tax pledge? Not so much,” blared a DNC news release, which mocked McCain’s previous declaration that “Senator Obama will raise your taxes. I won’t.”
In an effort at damage control, McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds tried to walk back his boss’ statement during an interview with Megyn Kelly of Fox News, who reiterated the question of whether a payroll tax increase is “on the table.”
“No, Megyn. There is no imaginable circumstance where John McCain would raise payroll taxes,” Bounds replied. “It’s absolutely out of the question.”
Liberal commentator Keith Olbermann of MSNBC marveled: “That’s the damnedest thing I’ve heard yet. How is that possible that the candidate is not speaking for his own campaign?”
Source:USMagazine
Cindy McCain's Half Sister: "I'm Voting for Barack Obama" Thursday August 28, 2008
Cindy McCain's half sister is planning on voting for Barack Obama, she tells Usmagazine.com.
"I'm not voting for McCain," Kathleen Hensley Portalski tells Us. "I have a different political standpoint.
"I'm voting for Obama," the Phoenix resident says. "I think his proposals to improve the country are more positive and I'm not a big war believer."
Portalski, 65, and the potential first lady, 54, have the same father: Jim Hensley, the founder of the beer distributor Hensley and Co. that Cindy McCain now chairs.
In an interview with NPR News' All Things Considered last week, Portalski said she felt "like a non-person" after Cindy McCain described herself as an "only child."
Portalski's mother is Hensley's first wife; Cindy McCain's mother, Marguerite Hensley, also had another daughter from her first marriage.
"She's kinda cool, standoffish," Portalski tells Us of her half sister.
Portalski also doesn't expect Cindy McCain to make an effort to reconcile their relationship.
"She never has, and I doubt that she ever will," she tells Us.
Portalski's son Nathan, a 45-year-old aerospace machinist, is also backing Obama.
"I wouldn't vote for John McCain if he was a Democrat," he tells Us. "I would not vote at all before I'd vote for him.
"I question whether Cindy is someone I'd want to see in the White House as first lady," he adds.
McCain VP Pick No Friend to Polar Bears
Alaska Governor Sarah Palin has ignored research showing that polar bear populations are declining in the quest to plumb new sources of energy, according to scientists, and environmental groups who fought to put the bears on the endangered species list.
Sen. John McCain tapped Alaska Governor Sarah Palin to be his vice presidential candidate Friday. Palin is only the second woman to be on a major party's ticket as VP -- the first was Geraldine Ferraro, who ran with Democrati Walter Mondale in 1984.
The 44-year-old Palin, a beauty pageant winner and former mayor of a small town in Alaska, is an advocate of drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. She has infuriated environmentalists for her support of the aerial shooting of wolves as a way to build up herds of moose and caribou. She's also sued the Interior Department for putting polar bears on the endangered species list.
In the lawsuit, filed this month in federal district court in the District of Columbia, Palin argues that the government's move to list polar bears as endangered is not based on sound science, and restricts oil and natural gas development. The Interior Department had put the bears on the list in response to a lawsuit filed by environmental groups, who argued that the bears are being threatened by global warming.
In an interview on the conservative CNN talk show hosted by Glenn Beck earlier this year, Palin said that she was worried that environmentalists are using the Endangered Species Act to block the extraction of oil and gas.
"In fact, the number of polar bears has risen dramatically over the past 30 years," she said. "Our fear (is) that extreme environmentalists will use this tool, the ESA, to eventually curtail or halt the North Slope production of very rich resources that America needs."
But biologists who have studied polar bear populations counter that the facts simply do not support Palin's assertion that polar bear populations are on the rise.
"Polar bear populations have not been increasing for the past 30 years, and that's a well-known fact," said Ian Stirling, an emeritus scientist with Canada's Department of the Environment and an adjunct professor at the University of Alberta in an interview. Stirling has studied polar bears for 37 years -- the longest of anyone.
In fact, the polar bear population has actually declined by 20 percent in Alaska's Southern Beaufort Sea since the mid-1980s, he says, referring to peer-reviewed research that he's conducted with other scientists for the US Geological Survey. The reason: Loss of their habitat in the form of melting ice.
The population decline in the area is one of six documented declining populations. In all, there are 19 distinct populations of polar bears, but not all of those populations have been surveyed.
The research reports with this information have been available to Palin for more than a year, Stirling says.
"There is currently no way to drill for oil in polar bear seas without imperiling the polar bears," said Kassie Siegel, climate program director for the Center for Biological Diversity. "Polar bears that come into contact with spilled oil will become coated with oil, will attempt to groom themselves to remove it... and will almost certainly die."
Palin has stated that her opposition to the polar bear listing is based on a scientific review from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Yet documents released by a FOIA request show that the state's biologists agreed with the Interior Department about the polar bear's habitat.
Senator McCain believes that protecting polar bears is important, but that using the endangered species act may not be the best approach to solving the problem -- rather enacting climate change legislation is, says Douglas Holtz-Eakin, a senior advisor to McCain.
He added that Palin will support McCain's policies.
"McCain has said many times that policy must be based on sound science," he said. "We will see a difference from the past eight years."
"The governor is going to support senator McCain's policies," Holtz-Eakin said in an interview.
In a statement on the Palin pick, the McCain campaign called her a "tough executive who has demonstrated during her time in office that she is ready to be president, and that "she has brought Republicans and Democrats together within her administration and has a record of delivering on the change and reform that we need in Washington."
The McCain campaign also praised Palin for being independent-minded and standing up to oil companies, yet at the same time "fighting for the development of new energy resources."
Conservative blogs hailed the choice Friday, gleeful at the outrage Palin's election sparked among liberals.
"The mood around the offices of Townhall.com is sort of like that of Christmastime," wrote blogger Matt Lewis. "Everyone is ecstatic. The pick was perfect, and the execution flawless ... You can tell this is a good pick by the way conservatives love it -- and by the way liberal blogs hate it!"
As the governor of a state that's renowned for valuing civil liberties, Palin received praise from the American Civil Liberties Union this May for letting a bill pass that prohibits the funding of the implementation of REAL-ID, a federal law that requires states to comply with certain technical standards when issuing drivers' licenses.
Source:californianews.com
United States leads world in imprisoning its people
More than one in 100 adults behind bars
March 03, 2008 By Kate Randall (View author info)
In both raw figures and as a percentage of the population, the US is the world leader in the rate at which it puts its people behind bars. A new report using state-by-state data says a record 2,319,258 Americans were in jail or prison at the start of 2008--one out of every 99.1 adults. The report by the Pew Center on the States also documents record increases in financial outlays for incarceration, with the 50 US states spending more than $49 billion on prisons last year, almost five times more than the $11 billion spent 20 years ago. The statistics in the report reflect a society that, while exporting violence in aggressive wars abroad, metes out parallel punishment on its population at home. The rate of increase for prison costs last year was six times higher than the rate of increase for higher education spending. With many US states strapped for cash and facing budget shortfalls, the spending for prisons and jails has resulted in a proportionate decrease in spending on education and other social needs. The study notes that mandatory sentencing laws and "get tough on crime" measures pushed by state legislatures have contributed to the burgeoning prison population. Even in states where crime rates have decreased, the numbers of imprisoned continue to grow. A 1986 federal law mandated prison terms for crack cocaine offenses that are up to eight times longer than those involving powdered cocaine. Minorities, workers and the poor are far more likely to be sentenced for crack cocaine offenses. The rate of incarceration for African Americans is significantly higher than for the overall population. An astonishing one of every nine black men between the ages of 20 and 34 is behind bars. For black women ages 35 to 39, one in 100 is imprisoned, compared with one in 355 white women of the same age. Between 1990 and 2000, the prison population increased by about 80 percent. One of the biggest contributing factors was the adoption by states of "three-strikes-and-you're-out" laws mandating draconian sentences, no matter the nature of the third offense. Legislation was also passed curtailing the discretion of state parole boards in deciding when an inmate can be released. Notably, these increased incarceration figures have had little or negative impact on the rate of repeat offenders. The incarcerated population increased last year in 36 states as well in as the federal prison system. The largest percentage increase was in Kentucky, which had 12 percent more inmates in state prisons and jails at the beginning of this year than at the beginning of 2007. While the state's crime rate has increased by only about 3 percent over the last three decades, the state's prison population has increased by 600 percent. As in the US South as a whole, the prison population in Florida has surged, close to doubling over the last 15 years. The state's inmate population increased from 53,000 to more than 97,000 between 1993 and 1997. The Pew study notes that analysts attribute this growth mainly to a host of correctional policies and practices adopted by the state. In 1995, the Florida legislature abolished "good time" credits and discretionary release by the state's parole boards. The study notes that now "all prisoners--regardless of their crime, prior record, or risk to recidivate--serve 85 percent of their sentence." A new "zero tolerance" policy adopted by Florida also mandated that probation officers report all technical violations by paroled prisoners. This measure alone has resulted in a 12,000 jump in the prison population while the actual crime rate has declined. Without a change in these policies, the prison population in Florida is expected to reach nearly 125,000 inmates by 2013. The report notes that based on this projection, "the state will run out of prison capacity by early 2009 and will need to add another 16,500 beds to keep pace." The amount spent to keep Americans behind bars is as staggering as the numbers incarcerated. Thirteen states now spend more than $1 billion a year out of their general funds on their corrections systems. California is the leader, spending $8.8 billion last year on the more than 171,000 prisoners in the state, a 216 percent increase over 20 years earlier. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger last year signed a bill authorizing $7.9 billion in additional spending on corrections, to pay for 53,000 more prison and jail beds. The Pew study shows that state corrections budgets now consume 6.8 percent of state general funds. This means that one in every 15 dollars from states' discretionary funds goes towards prison costs. As a percentage, in fiscal year 2006 transportation was the only category of spending by states to increase more than costs for prisons and jails, which increased by 9.2 percent during this period. This increase outpaced spending on education and Medicaid. A comparison of the funds spent by states on higher education with spending on incarceration provides a revealing glimpse into priorities. In 2007, states collectively spent $72.88 billion on higher education, an increase of 121 percent over the $33 billion spent in 1987. During this same period, prison-related spending rose 315 percent, with states spending a combined $44 billion in 2007, up from $10.6 billion two decades earlier. As both a percentage of its population and in real numbers, the US prison population outranks the inmate populations of the 26 European countries with the largest numbers of prisoners. The Russian Federation, with a reported prison population of 889,598, is second. Denmark, with 3,626 prisoners, has the lowest rate of these countries. These 26 countries, with a combined population of 802.4 million, imprison 1.8 million; the US, with a population of about 300 million, imprisons close to 2.3 million. According to the study, China, with an estimated population of 1.3 billion, has the second highest number of prisoners behind bars, 1.5 million. These extraordinary figures are one reflection of the enormous social contradictions of American society. The United States is the most unequal of any industrialized country and ranks high on every measure of stress, depression, alienation and other social ills. Despite the US's self-declared status as a beacon of democracy and freedom, American capitalism has no humane, rational or progressive response to social problems. Instead, social problems are treated as police matters.
From Source:ADN.com
Bill Clinton named chairman of Constitution Center (09/09/08 08:35:16)
Former President Bill Clinton has been named the next chairman of the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, succeeding former President George H.W. Bush, the center announced Tuesday.
Bush has been chairman of the museum and nonprofit group, dedicated to educating the public about the U.S. Constitution, since January 2007. Clinton will begin his term on Jan. 1.
Both men have long ties to the museum, which sits in Philadelphia's historic section near the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall.
As president, Clinton backed its establishment and spoke at its groundbreaking. Bush last year gave the museum his World War II service revolver.
Obama campaign to open Sitka and Homer offices Anchorage Daily News (08/31/08 00:35:49)
Barack Obama's presidential campaign will open its sixth and seventh offices in Alaska on Monday -- in Sitka and Homer. The campaign has two offices in Anchorage, and offices in Palmer, Fairbanks and Juneau.
In response to Gov. Sarah Palin's surprise pick as a Republican vice president nominee, the strategy in Alaska remains "full speed ahead," said Jeff Giertz, Alaska communications director for the Obama campaign. "We're going forward with our program here and our message to reach out to Alaskans on a one-to-one basis."
From Source: ADN.com
State paid for trip when Palin told students to pray for pipeline By RICHARD MAUERrmauer@adn.com (09/07/08 01:57:18)
Gov. Sarah Palin used state funds in June when she traveled from Juneau to Wasilla to speak to graduating evangelical students and urge them to fan out through Alaska "to make sure God's will be done here."
State records show that Palin submitted a travel authorization for a quick round-trip visit to attend the June 8 graduation of the Master's Commission program at the Wasilla Assembly of God, the church where she was baptized at age 12. The only other item on the agenda for that trip was a "One Lord Sunday" service involving a network of Mat-Su Christian churches earlier that morning at the Wasilla sports complex.
The records show Palin flew from Juneau on Saturday, June 7. She returned to Juneau that Monday afternoon. The plane tickets cost the state $519.50, and she claimed an additional $120 for meals and other expenses.
Palin couldn't be reached for comment Friday as she campaigned for vice president. Her spokeswoman at the McCain campaign said she wouldn't grant an interview.
But Palin's spokeswoman in the governor's office, Sharon Leighow, said the state paid for the trip because Palin was invited to the events as the governor, not as a private citizen.
"I know for a fact she gave remarks at the Wasilla Assembly of God as governor of Alaska to the graduates of this particular program," Leighow said.
OFF THE CUFF
In her eight-minute remarks, delivered without notes except when she read a brief passage from the New Testament Book of Ephesians, she melded the issues of governance with a call to bringing Alaskans to God.
"What I need to do is strike a deal with you guys as you go out throughout Alaska -- I can do my part in doing things like working really, really hard to get a natural gas pipeline." Palin said. "Pray about that also. I think God's will has to be done, in unifying people and companies to get that gas line built, so pray for that. But I can do my job there, in developing our natural resources, and doing things like getting the roads paved, making sure our troopers have their cop cars and their uniforms and their guns, and making sure our public schools are funded.
"But really, all of that stuff doesn't do any good if the people of Alaska's hearts isn't right with God. And that's going to be your job," she said. "As I'm doing my job, let's strike this deal. Your job is going to be: to be out there, reaching the people, (the) hurting people throughout Alaska, and we can work together to make sure God's will be done here."
The Wasilla Assembly of God said Palin and her family stopped attending regularly in 2002, the year of her unsuccessful run for lieutenant governor. She now attends other nondenominational, evangelical churches in Wasilla and Juneau.
Palin's talk was recorded by the church and posted on its Web site. It has since been removed, but the video has been copied to multiple sites on the Internet as Americans attempt to learn more about her since her surprise pick by John McCain as his running mate Aug. 29.
Palin told the graduates her remarks were off the cuff because she wasn't sure she could attend.
"I flew in from Juneau last night, fly to Juneau again tomorrow, so I didn't prepare anything, thinking that, no, our schedule wouldn't allow me to be here," Palin said.
But Leighow said the graduation was one of two purposes for the trip.
According to a six-minute promotional video by the Wasilla Assembly of God, the master's commission program is a live-in, year-long educational program for young adults. The church's description shows there's nothing secular about it.
"The Master's Commission program is something that's going to take a young person and lead them for the rest of their lives in passionate journey for Jesus," the video says. The instruction is "designed to take students in from around the nation, and through that we're able to shape and mold disciples of the lord Jesus Christ."
The program isn't just inward looking -- the graduates are expected take the message to people around the state.
"We seek him in the morning with worship, with live worship, with intimate worship, to know him face to face," the video says. "The first part in the morning is to know God, and then from that afternoon you go out and make him known."
A FAITH-BASED AUDIENCE
"God has a destiny for the state of Alaska, and we know that master's commission is one of the keys that God is going to use to unlock his glory for that state," a speaker says.
In an e-mail exchange on Friday, Palin's spokeswoman Leighow defended the use of state money by Palin to travel to Wasilla and participate in the event. Attending religious events is common for elected officials, she said. There was no violation of the constitutional separation of church and state in Palin's official appearance and remarks, she said.
"Public officials travel and speak to a religious group as part of their official duties," Leighow said. "Virtually every day there is a state or federal public official who speaks to members of the faith community. The governor can speak to secular audiences as well as faith-based audiences, and Republicans and Democrats routinely do this."
Leighow compared Palin's prodding of the young evangelical students to her attending the 2007 installation of Rabbi Michael Oblath at Congregation Beth Sholom in Anchorage.
"What's the difference?" Leighow said.
