We Know Who The Leaker Is

I don't feel sorry for Sarah Palin in the least. I feel sorry for the women in Wasilla who she made pay for their own rape kits.

Ashley:
Ditto from me. I don't think much of her speaking style nor her lack of knowledge that would be pertaining to the job of VP--thankfully that's not a problem anymore. Overall, I was more disgusted with her arrogance than anything else. But again, we don't have to worry about her for at least four more years--hopefully, we will never have to worry about her again.

Ashley -- nobody in Wasilla had to pay for their own rape kit. And, for those who hope they never see her again -- she'll be a Senator from Alaska within 6 years -- and actively participating in the Senate. At least she can't claim to have been a "community organizer," whatever in the hell that is.

No attention is bad attention for Sarah Palin. She loves it all.

Roy10:24PMNov 10th 2008
Ashley -- nobody in Wasilla had to pay for their own rape kit. And, for those who hope they never see her again -- she'll be a Senator from Alaska within 6 years -- and actively participating in the Senate. At least she can't claim to have been a "community organizer," whatever in the hell that is.
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Ask Jesus--I hear he was one too.

Really, Roy?

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (CNN) -- Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's hometown required women to pay for their own rape examinations while she was mayor, a practice her police chief fought to keep as late as 2000.

A former Alaskan lawmaker says it seems unlikely that Gov. Sarah Palin was unaware of Wasilla's policy.

Former state Rep. Eric Croft, a Democrat, sponsored a state law requiring cities to provide the examinations free of charge to victims. He said the only ongoing resistance he met was from Wasilla, where Palin was mayor from 1996 to 2002.

"It was one of those things everyone could agree on except Wasilla," Croft told CNN. "We couldn't convince the chief of police to stop charging them."

Alaska's Legislature in 2000 banned the practice of charging women for rape exam kits -- which experts said could cost up to $1,000.

Palin, the Republican nominee for vice president, often talks about her experience running Wasilla, population approximately 7,000, and that has prompted close scrutiny of her record there. Wasilla's practice of charging victims for their rape exams while she was mayor has gotten wide circulation on the Internet and in the mainstream media. Watch CNN's Jessica Yellin check the facts in Wasilla »

Some supporters of Palin say they believe she had no knowledge of the practice. But critics call it "outrageous" and question Palin's commitment to helping women who are the victims of violence.

For years, Alaska has had the worst record of any state in rape and in murder of women by men. The rape rate in Alaska is 2.5 times the national average.

Interviews and a review of records turned up no evidence that Palin knew that rape victims were being charged in her town. But Croft, the former state representative who sponsored the law changing the practice, says it seems unlikely Palin was not aware of the issue.

But Wasilla stood out. Tara Henry, a forensic nurse who has been treating rape victims across Alaska for the last 12 years, told CNN that opposition to Croft's bill from Wasilla Police Chief Charlie Fannon was memorable.

From NY Times:

Even in tough budget times, there are lines that cannot be crossed. So I was startled by this tidbit reported recently by The Associated Press: When Sarah Palin was mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, the small town began billing sexual-assault victims for the cost of rape kits and forensic exams.

Ms. Palin owes voters an explanation. What was the thinking behind cutting the measly few thousand dollars needed to cover the yearly cost of swabs, specimen containers and medical tests? Whose dumb idea was it to make assault victims and their insurance companies pay instead? Unfortunately, her campaign is shielding the candidate from the press, so Americans may still be waiting for answers on Election Day.

The rape-kit controversy is a troubling matter. The insult to rape victims is obvious. So is the sexism inherent in singling them out to foot the bill for investigating their own case. And the main result of billing rape victims is to protect their attackers by discouraging women from reporting sexual assaults.

That’s why when Senator Joseph Biden, the Democratic vice-presidential nominee, drafted the 1994 Violence Against Women Act, he included provisions to make states ineligible for federal grant money if they charged rape victims for exams and the kits containing the medical supplies needed to conduct them. (Senator John McCain, Ms. Palin’s running mate, voted against Mr. Biden’s initiative, and his name has not been among the long list of co-sponsors each time the act has been renewed.)

That’s also why, when news of Wasilla’s practice of billing rape victims got around, Alaska’s State Legislature approved a bill in 2000 to stop it.

“We would never bill the victim of a burglary for fingerprinting and photographing the crime scene, or for the cost of gathering other evidence,” said Alaska’s then-governor, Tony Knowles. “Nor should we bill rape victims just because the crime scene happens to be their bodies.”

If Ms. Palin ever spoke out about the issue, one way or another, no record has surfaced. Her campaign would not answer questions about when she learned of the policy, strongly supported by the police chief: whether she saw it in the budget and if not, whether she learned of it before or after the State Legislature outlawed the practice.

All the campaign would do was provide a press release pronouncing: “Prevention of domestic violence and sexual assault is a priority for Gov. Palin.”

Eric Croft, a former Democratic state lawmaker who sponsored the corrective legislation, believes that Wasilla’s mayor knew what was going on. (She does seem to have paid heed to every other detail of town life, including what books were on the library’s shelves.)

The local hospital did the billing, but it was the town that set the policy, Mr. Croft noted. That policy was reflected in budget documents that Ms. Palin signed.

Mr. Croft further noted that right after his measure became law, Wasilla’s local paper reported that Ms. Palin’s handpicked police chief, Charlie Fannon, acknowledged the practice of billing to collect evidence for sexual-assault cases. He complained that the state was requiring the town to spend $5,000 to $14,000 a year to cover the costs. “I just don’t want to see any more burden put on the taxpayer,” the chief explained.

“I can’t imagine any police chief, big city or small, who would take on the entire State Legislature on a bill that passed unanimously and not mention to their mayor that they’re doing this,” Mr. Croft said. Even if he didn’t inform her, the newspaper article would have been hard for her to miss.

In the absence of answers, speculation is bubbling in the blogosphere that Wasilla’s policy of billing rape victims may have something to do with Ms. Palin’s extreme opposition to abortion, even in cases of rape. Sexual-assault victims are typically offered an emergency contraception pill, which some people in the anti-choice camp wrongly equate with abortion.

My hunch is that it was the result of outmoded attitudes and boneheaded budget cutting. Still, Ms. Palin has been governor for under two years, and she’s running for vice president largely on her experience as mayor of tiny Wasilla — a far superior credential, she’s told us, to being a community organizer. On the rape kits, as on other issues, she owes voters a direct answer.

I think one of the truest things said during this whole campaign came from Lincoln Chaffey:

(regarding Sarah Palin) "she's a cocky whacko."

If Sarah Palin was a man of any color, running for office, with the lack of knowledge that she has, we would all look at him as a joke and think twice about him. there is no way under the sun, that he could be taken serious at a shot at any public office not to mention Vice President. You guys need to stop letting a simple wink turn you into mice.

Exodus - Chapter 2, The Preparation

On the first day of Preparation, the Beloved One brought His Counselors back together. He had previously asked them to examine the ten most pressing issues He must address, when authority formally transferred to Him. Each issue was placed in its own, sealed envelope, lettered A thru J. After meeting with George XLIII, the Beloved One began to understand the difficulties facing Him. He decided to solve the eighth problem first, with Preparation “H.” He now understood, many more Scholars would be required to govern. He instructed His Counselors to find other loyal subjects, each with a specific field of knowledge. The Beloved One began to assemble His inner-circle.

Exodus Chapter 2, Verse 1, Lines 1 - 8

To Roy:

Did Palin give birth to you too?

Sarah Palin has been highly criticized and at times unfairly; however, we watched her campaign and she didn't know her job description. Her communication skills often seemed teenage and it was apparent she was not ready to be a heartbeat from the Presidency. Senator from Alaska, wouldn't surprise me. Alaskans may have just re-elected a convicted felon so, I would not expect them to hesitate to elect Palin.

She can be personalbe and she does have courage. Perhaps, if she stopped doing interviews, concentrated on her current job, brushed up on geography, civics and national politics, she may find a place in the political scene. Until then, I think she has already reached her level of incompetence.

IT IS DISCONCERTING HOW READILY PEOPLE OF LITTLE KNOWLEDGE ABOUT GOV. PALIN ARE SOOO READY TO PASS JUDGEMENT ON SOMEONE THEY DO NOT KNOW. THE MEDIA AND MANY MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC ARE GUILTY OF ABHORRENT BEHAVIOR.

Didn't you people listen to the video? The man said everything he told them was twisted to suit their needs.

Roy10:24PMNov 10th 2008

Ashley -- nobody in Wasilla had to pay for their own rape kit. And, for those who hope they never see her again -- she'll be a Senator from Alaska within 6 years -- and actively participating in the Senate. At least she can't claim to have been a "community organizer," whatever in the hell that is.



LOL!!>>>Community Organizer=President-Elect BARACK OBAMA!!
McCain once said if he were to take advice it wouldn't be from a community organizer from Chicago. ..and then proceeded from that moment forward to organize himself right out of the eliteness of his own mental making. LOL!!!

Liza thanks for the interesting spin on this. And you might be correct. I can believe that Fox News (as an example) would be very easy to fool; they don't seem to ever check their sources.

But at this point, I'm not buying it.

After such a hard stressful campaign, and working with a person who seems to be very self absorbed and hard to work with --- I would be surprised if campaign staff wasn't dieing to talk to someone and leak some dirt (either real or an exaggeration).

And the dirt they leaked just confirms what we already know. In Alaska she seems to deal with people she doesn't like by firing them (just her style, but it is very unlikely she is the type person who "plays well with others"). Buying all that expensive clothing was very stupid on someone's part, and since she was doing the shopping she has to take some blame. And all America saw her interviews and her debate, she clearly knows nothing about national politics.

So while the idea of a loan trickster or angry employee, putting out false stories has a nice clean ring to it -- it seems very unlikely. What seems much more likely is in frustration a lot of people started saying more then they should. Once they calmed down those people would realize being a leaker gains them nothing (and might hurt their future) and they rush to do whatever they can to pretend it never happened. They probably would even work to blame the leak on someone else.

But there is no way to know for sure. Time will solve this, however. Eventually, someone will come out on record, or will write a tell-all book (maybe even Gov Palin or one of her kids), and the mystery will be solved.

Till then, I'll take all these stories (anti-Palin and anti-leakers) as gossip. Fun to read but not something you actually believe.

Linda 1:42 AM Nov 11th 2008

Until then, I think she has already reached
her level of incompetence.


She is still the governor of Alaska.

So what do you do for a living ?
Probably not much, if you're awake and posting at almost 2 AM

Liza, Does reading these posts creep you out, too? I'm hoping that, over time, some of these fanatical Obama people will start to think clearly and independently.

RIChris8:02AMNov 11th 2008

If you happened to see any photos from their rallies and took a closer glance at the "look" on some of their faces you would realize that it will be quite some time. Possibly well after they reach their mid-thirties.

I was in Grant Park, and I'm well over 35, M2D5. There were people of all ages, not quite so many old, decrepit people as post on the AOL political blogs, but a nice mixture. There were many, many young people, which means that there is a new, huge wave of Democrats who are tough and not buying the neocon crap that lead to this economic crisis, enormous national debt, rampant corruption, and hostility to basic concepts of science and learning. I was proud to be there, and I was proud to have voted for Barack Obama.