“Call me, STAT!  This is Dennis”

Well, that’s one way to find out you are on Sarah Palin’s enemies list.  Yesterday morning, while working on my Shanta Claus projects and prepping for my television show, Dennis Zaki called.  He and Jesse Gryphen of the Immoral Minority, had driven to Sarah Palin’s Wasilla book signing.  Why? Well, it’s like storm chasers in Nebraska…only they’re train-wreck chasers.  Me?  Well, I’m busy these days and have had Palin fatigue since before most people have even heard of her.

Don’t get me wrong…Thanks Sarah!  It’s just that I really wasn’t interested. Two weeks ago, I had press privileges at her book signing at Elmendorf AFB that was closed to the public.  On that day, I was busy figuring out if my hair was oily, normal or dry.  Truth be told, I’m just not that into her.

Dennis and I have been friends since the Corrupt Bastards Club Trials.  He’s one of my favorite Hardy Boys. I met Gryph last year; we fight about half the time…the rest we spend laughing.  I’ll ask Sarah Palin to sign my copy of Going Rogue after it wins the National Book Award for best fiction…it’s richly deserving.  Besides, I’m having the “Under the Bus” folks sign it instead; John Bitney, Anne Kilkenny, Andrew Halcro, Lyda Green, Walt Monegan, Trooper Wooten, etc.  It’s just more honest.

Gryphen and Zaki were booted from the event.  My name was on the list to boot if I showed. There’s a fourth unknown and unwelcomed guest..who could it be?  Oh, yeah, fellas…the troops are fighting for Palin’s right to ban us from a public event!

When the Anchorage Daily News reported on the “Homecoming” event for Palin with the “flocking” of 750 people to the “public” event at the publicly funded Curtis D. Menard Memorial Sports Center with the publicly funded Wasilla Police Officers working security, they made a tiny mention of the bumped bloggers.  Nearly 2,000 people showed up for an indoor football game earlier this year at the same complex. Twice as many citizens of Wasilla have become members of the Mat Su Valley Sportsman’s Association as showed up for Sarah Palin’s glorious homecoming.  In “Real America” Palin attracted thousands of teabaggers.  In “Real Alaska,” the tea bagger capitol and Palin’s hometown, there were more people shopping at Wal*Mart.

The ADN also failed to mention that H1N1 virus vaccines were also being administered at the same time as the book signing. Good Lord, if only there were a vaccine for Palin’s word salad.

Whoopie Flippin’ Doooo!  Hell of a homecoming, did she get another crown?

You could find out what Alaskans really think of Sarah coming home judging by the comments on the Anchorage Daily News website…Oh wait…the ADN decided to ban public comments on the article.

Dennis Zaki, Linda Kellen-Biegel, Jeanne Devon and myself all passed the White House Security checks to attend the “closed to the public”troops only speech by President Obama a few weeks ago.  The only threat to Sarah Palin by the Alaska Bloggers is the truth. Yes, it’s scary.

I guess “Real Alaskans” aren’t allowed near an “author” who once asked a librarian if she’d ban books. Oh, the irony…or is it ion-ry…either way, I’ve been Palibanned!

While taking a “break” from right-wing radio world today, I relaxed in the arms of NPR. Ah, some real news relief…WHAT?
PolitiFacts announced Sarah Palin’s big win: BIGGEST LIE OF THE YEAR! My heartfelt congratulations to the FORMER governor, I know she worked very, very hard to win.  I’m just waiting for the “best work of fiction” nomination for Going Rogue.

Of all the falsehoods and distortions in the political discourse this year, one stood out from the rest.

“Death panels.”

The claim set political debate afire when it was made in August, raising issues from the role of government in health care to the bounds of acceptable political discussion. In a nod to the way technology has transformed politics, the statement wasn’t made in an interview or a television ad. Sarah Palin posted it on her Facebook page.

Her assertion — that the government would set up boards to determine whether seniors and the disabled were worthy of care — spread through newscasts, talk shows, blogs and town hall meetings. Opponents of health care legislation said it revealed the real goals of the Democratic proposals. Advocates for health reform said it showed the depths to which their opponents would sink. Still others scratched their heads and said, “Death panels? Really?”

The editors of PolitiFact.com, the fact-checking Web site of the St. Petersburg Times, have chosen it as our inaugural “Lie of the Year.”

Please read the reasons and runners up HERE.  Again, congratulations!

What is it about “not liking drama” and being the biggest drama magnet on the planet? Good Lord, one more week on the “Bigger The Hair The Closer To Gawd” tour…how much more fresh hell will we endure?

The Mall of America’s public relations director apologized Wednesday to former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin after internal notes and comments were released to the Associated Press as the mall’s guidelines for covering her book tour stop next week.

Among the supposed guidelines: Reporters would need to address Palin, the 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee, as governor, and foreign reporters would be banned.

Note to the Mall of America and Sarah Palin: YOU AREN’T THE GOVERNOR.  YOU QUIT.  STOP USING A POST YOU WALKED OUT ON TO MAKE YOUR SELF FEEL SHINY.  Oh, did you know foreigners read books? Yes, they do! Maybe even yours…mmm, money!

To make myself feel better about the toe stepping Mall of America, I watched this bit of fun. 

Thanks, Lizz!

I spent a lot of time in a small Alaskan church.  I’m glad I did.  It helps me interpret Palin’s evangelical dog whistles.

The title: “The Pelosi Bill Was Rammed Through on Saturday, But Sunday’s Coming.”

Seems harmless to a casual reader, but to the evangelicals? Instant salivation.  During sermons about the crucifixion, a typical preacher line goes, “Friday was a dark, dark day, but Sunday’s coming.”  Answered with many “Amens.” So, Nancy Pelosi just killed Jesus, and Sarah is going to resurrect him?

Is she equating the health care bill to the crucifixion, and the conservative comeback as the resurrection? Really? Go on, Sister Sarah, tell us how how the GOP is going to forgive us for all our sins and give us eternal life.  The same GOP whose logo has inverted satanic stars.  Anyone with half a wit of faith would call you on your blasphemy.

“We’ve got to hold on to hope, and we’ve got to fight hard because Congressional action tonight just put America on a path toward an unrecognizable country. “

UNRECOGNIZABLE?   From what? A country that lies its way into wars? A country that tortures? A country that transports prisoners to other countries for torture? A country that wiretaps its own citizens? A country that neglects its veterans; poor and sick? A country that sides with corporations over its people? A country that looks away from evidence of environmental decay?

Well, I’m fine with becoming something other than the country you recognize.

”The same government leaders that got us into the mortgage business and the car business are now getting us into the health care business.”

The reason for the bailouts in the first place, Sarah, is because decades of Republican deregulation left no one minding the store.  Former President Bush, by the way, pushed through the first bailout, and it was Bush whose 2004 campaign sought to lower barriers for home ownership!  What about the same government that employs Blackwater XE over our military? What about our justice system being for sale to the highest bidding private prisons?  All your honking about privatizing goods and services is a little late.

”Despite Americans’ decisive message last Tuesday that they reject the troubling path this country has been taking, Speaker Pelosi has broken her own promises of transparency to ram a health “care” bill through the House of Representatives just before midnight. Why did she push the 2,000 page bill this weekend? Was she perhaps afraid to give her peers and the constituents for whom she works the chance to actually read this monstrous bill carefully, if at all? Was she concerned that Americans might really digest the details of a bill that the Wall Street Journal has called “the worst piece of post-New Deal legislation ever introduced”? “

Oh, yes, last Tuesday’s decisive message that said, “Hey, Bill Owens, you’re in!  First Democrat elected to NY House District#23 since the Civil War!  Now go vote an “Aye” on the health care bill?”  Right, that one.  Betcha wish you had that $25,000 back about now.  And the WSJ? Wow, you mean Rupert Murdoch’s paper? Oh…it’s…getting…clearer.  On another note, the WSJ, last year, said you were a terrible candidate in a piece called, “Palin Failin’”…so I guess they are right some of the time.

”This out-of-control bureaucratic mess will be disastrous for our economy, our small businesses, and our personal liberty. It will slam businesses at a time when we are at double-digit unemployment rates – the highest we’ve seen in a quarter of a century. This massive new bureaucracy will cost us and our children money we don’t have. It will rob Americans of more of our freedom and further hamper the free market.”

Lady, you think the free market is eBay.  Your party deregulated that free market into such a predicament there isn’t a coupon to save it.  Check out the Gramm Leach Bliley Act, also known as the repeal of the Glass Steagall Act.  Gramm, Leach and Bliley were the trio of Republicans back in 1999 that were just swamped with constituent phone calls demanding they do something about those pesky bank regulations that prohibited the merger of investment banks with commercial banks and insurance companies.  You can use the “googles”.  Thank your lucky stars Charlie Gibson didn’t ask you about that!

”Make no mistake: we’re on course to have government commandeer one-sixth of our economy. The people who gave us Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac now want to run our health care. Think about that.”

Yes indeed.  The people that gave us Fannie and Freddie; hmmm…that would be your former running mate, John McCain’s campaign manager, Rick Davis.  Davis headed the Homeownership Alliance, a mortgage industry lobbying group formed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Under Davis, the Alliance’s primary goal was to step-up the number of mortgages granted-setting the table for the the mortgage crisis.  And yes, health care is kind of a big deal.  We get that.

”All of us who value the sanctity of life are grateful for the success of the pro-life majority in the House this evening in its battle against federal funding of abortion in this bill, but it’s ironic because we were promised that abortion wasn’t covered in the bill to begin with. Our healthy distrust of these government leaders made us look deeper into the bill because unfortunately we knew better than to trust what they were saying. The victory tonight to amend the bill and eliminate that federal funding for abortion was great – because abortion is not health care. Now we can only hope that Rep. Stupak’s amendment will hold in the final bill, though the Democratic leadership has already refused to promise that it won’t be scrapped later.”

“…us who value the sanctity of life…” Are you out of your mind?  You don’t even value a wolf running from a plane.  You don’t value a young girl who has been raped.  You want the death penalty and cry for more war.  You wouldn’t know the sanctity of life if it dropped dead in your lap.

”We had been told there were no “death panels” in the bill either. But look closely at the provision mandating bureaucratic panels that will be calling the shots regarding who will receive government health care.”

Alaskans are still waiting for your explanation of the death panels under your aborted watch as governor.  There are still over two-hundred dead who weren’t granted health care they were qualified for because of your negligence.  Your legacy is “death panels” to some Alaskan families, and not because you spouted the phrase a few minutes before Charles Grassley.

”Look closely at provisions addressing illegal aliens’ health care coverage too.”

I wonder where Lazarus lived…

”Those of us who love freedom and believe in open and transparent government can only be dismayed by midnight action on a Saturday. Speaker Pelosi’s promise that Americans would have 72 hours to read the final bill before the vote was just another one of the D.C. establishment’s too-common political ploys. It’s broken promises like this that turn people off to politics and leave them disillusioned about the future of their country.”

Hey, WE ALL LOVE FREEDOM.  Freedom from crazy is what I’d like right now.  Transparent? You couldn’t be transparent in a Saran Wrap bikini. Open? Well, you’re open for business and that’s about it. You are rich to call Pelosi on a broken promise…you said you’d be governor and you quit.  Again, I thank you for breaking a promise.

”But despite this late-night maneuvering, many of us were paying close attention tonight. We’ll keep paying close attention. We need to let our legislators in Washington know that they still represent us, and that the majority of Americans are not in favor of the “reform” they are pushing. After all, this is still a country “of the people, by the people, and for the people.” We will make our voices heard. It’s on to the Senate now. Our legislators can listen now, or they can hear us in 2010. It’s their choice.”

The majority of Americans did not vote for you.  The majority of Americans want reform.  Our voices are being heard.  In 2010, 2012, or any other 20…you will not be our choice.

I tried to resist. Glenn Beck and the Teabaggers (sounds like a bad lounge act) will be making the governors’ losses in New Jersey and Virginia a “referendum” on Obama’s “socialist policies.”

Fine. Let’s just go there. Bend over, I’m driving.

When a quitter and a spitter show up to help out your campaign…don’t take the money and don’t sign a loyalty pledge to a crazy man WHO CAN’T VOTE FOR YOU!

Mr. Hoffman was a fake…a true voice for the tea baggin’, rapture watchin’, gay hatin’, health fightin’, ladies bakin’, race baitin’, forced breedin’, birth denyin’, war lovin’ party of Glenn Beck-a-Palin-istas.

Here’s your referendum, and it’s solid. The GOP is sick of your rightwingery. Facebook and FoxNews are the podiums you raise your fists from; fists that reach from anemic bodies, grasping for an America people have fought hard to overcome. Sarah Palin is the political fluffer to lubricate the scene. All this glam and luster got diminished with traditional Republican Flacks making the scene, like the old priest wandering inside a new megachurch. Old Fred Thompson showed up to put a big arm around Champion of the Tea Baggalicious Best Campaign Ever! Wow…Fred Thompson…Wow, I just say his name and I forget what I was saying…Fred Thompson….Wow, I just say his name and I forget what I was saying…Fred…forget about it.

I would love to be a Wood Bark Beetle on the credenza in Roger Ailes’ office when he is discussing the results of the beta test of the Palin-Beck 2012 launch. That group that voted for Scozzafava represented the margin of victory for the Republicans. They would not vote for a Democrat and they sure as hell weren’t going to vote for Hoffman. Ailes suddenly realizes something significant. If the Republican Party were run by moderates, the crazies would still be with the Party. But if the Party is run by the crazies, the moderates will never be there.

The best part of our country is our willingness to CHANGE. That doesn’t mean Democrat or Republican…it means we take care of each other.

In her latest Facebook, Palin boasts of New Jersey’s defeat of Jon Corzine, the Goldman Sachs candidate-as if she had anything to do with it! Apparently, and not surprisingly, Palin thinks her last minute Robocall to Virginians was the difference in a race that was over before the first ballot was cast. Bob McDonnell was leading by double digits last week and never looked back. He also never requested Sarah Palin’s “help”. Can they super-size Governor-elect McDonnell? Maybe he comes with a side of fries.

The only thing Sarah Palin can really take credit for is New York’s House District 23 electing a Democrat for the first time since before The Civil War. Late election night from Facebook, Palin invoked Ronald Reagan with “the cause goes on.” What is that cause? Making government so big you call in the uterine police and tell people who they can marry? Palin goes on, “The race for New York’s 23rd District is not over, just postponed until 2010.” Ahem, Sarah, the 23rd district will be dissolved in redistricting in 2010 which is why it was so hard to find a Dem to run…just sayin’.

So while Limbaugh will call the GOP victories in the Governorship races a referendum of the Obama presidency, which they aren’t, they will deny that NY-23 was a clear victory for president Obama, which it is. “Owens, Baby, Owens!”

Your soggy teabags are showing.

Suck it up, Buttercup!

With anticipation of Sarah Palin’s memoirs coming to book shelves near you on the 17th of November, a response was created.  Going Rouge, a trade paperback published by O/R Books will be released the same day.

The collection of essays on Palin were written by a collection of contributors including Eve Ensler, Christopher Hayes, Jim Hightower, Naomi Klein, Shannyn Moore, John Nichols, Jeanne Devon, Max Blumenthal, Joe, Conason, Katha Pollitt, Hanna Rosin, Matt Taibbi, Patricia Williams and more.

We’re waiting for the Oprah call…

Publication: November 17th, 2009
Price: $16 paperback; $10 e-book
240 pages with 20 b/w illustrations

Order your copy here:
http://orbooks.com/

Announced today:

CHICAGO — In a world exclusive, Oprah Winfrey will interview former Alaska governor Sarah Palin for an episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show to air Monday, November 16, 2009. Winfrey and Palin will meet for the very first time on the episode, which will mark Palin’s first interview to discuss her upcoming book, Going Rogue: An American Life and her first-ever appearance on the Oprah show.

Soooo, what would you like to hear Oprah ask Palin?

Will Oprah go all Gotcha with questions like, “What do you read?”  Can you already imagine the SNL skit in the making?

Sarah Palin, half term governor of Alaska, has herself a pair of fancy flip flops when it comes to America’s wars.

In an interview with Alaska Business Monthly, in March 2007, an exit strategy seemed to have utmost importance:

“I’ve been so focused on state government, I haven’t really focused much on the war in Iraq. I heard on the news about the new deployments, and while I support our president, Condoleezza Rice and the administration, I want to know that we have an exit plan in place; I want assurances that we are doing all we can to keep our troops safe. Every life lost is such a tragedy. I am very, very proud of the troops we have in Alaska, those fighting overseas for our freedoms, and the families here who are making so many sacrifices.”

While speaking at a fundraiser in San Francisco, on October 5, 2008, we got the sense Palin had spent time watching “Charlie Wilson’s War”.

“They are also building schools for the Afghan children so that there is hope and opportunity in our neighboring country of Afghanistan.”

This week on her facebook page, the exit strategy seems less important…more war…more war…

“For two years as a candidate, Senator Obama called for more resources for the war in Afghanistan and warned about the consequences of failure. As President, he announced a comprehensive new counterinsurgency strategy and handpicked the right general to execute it. Now General McChrystal is asking for additional troops to implement the strategy announced by President Obama in March. Hundreds of thousands of Americans have sons, daughters, fathers, mothers, sisters and brothers in harm’s way in Afghanistan right now. We owe it to all those brave Americans serving in uniform to give them the tools they need to complete their mission.

Our allies and our adversaries are watching to see if we have the staying power to protect our interests in Afghanistan. I recently joined a group of Americans in urging President Obama to devote the resources necessary in Afghanistan and pledged to support him if he made the right decision. Now is not the time for cold feet, second thoughts, or indecision — it is the time to act as commander-in-chief and approve the troops so clearly needed in Afghanistan.”

- Sarah Palin

Palin’s advice to President Obama?  No cold feet?  Is that like “don’t blink”?  She was against the war before she was for the war.  Before she became host to the NeoCon body snatchers.

Here’s the cover…up.

A double header on MSNBC tonight.  I appeared on Countdown and Jeanne Devon from The Mudflats made a splash on Rachel Maddow. It was her first time on national television and she knocked it out of the park!

After I read Sarah Palin’s Facebook page response to the President’s speech on health care reform, I had to walk away and count to ten-in Russian.  You may say, why bother?  She’s not relevant.  She’s the pin-up girl for crazies.

Last night, a man with a gun attempted entry into the Capital.  Rep. Joe Wilson yells, “You Lie”, and teabaggers think it’s porn.  The radical right, who celebrate the assassination of Dr. Tiller and protest their children hearing the encouraging words of a black president, LOVE Palin.  She does nothing to denounce their idiocy, she revels in it.  I write about her now because of who she represents — very dangerous people.

Here is her statement with my response.

SP–After all the rhetoric is put aside, one principle ran through President Obama’s speech tonight: that increased government involvement in health care can solve its problems.

SM–Nope, not what he said…so, to borrow a line from one of your fans, “You Lie!” Many suspect you did not write your Facebook response, but for argument’s sake, I will assume you did.

SP–Many Americans fundamentally disagree with this idea. We know from long experience that the creation of a massive new bureaucracy will not provide us with “more stability and security,” but just the opposite. It’s hard to believe the President when he says that this time he and his team of bureaucrats have finally figured out how to do things right if only we’ll take them at their word.

SM–Hmmm, reminds me of Homeland Security and cavity searches to get on a plane. Or illegally wiretapping Americans…or, yellow cake uranium and WMD, or…maybe you’re just projecting.

SP–Our objections to the Democrats’ health care proposals are not mere “bickering” or “games.” They are not an attempt to “score short term political points.” And it’s hard to listen to the President lecture us not to use “scare tactics” when in the next breath he says that “more will die” if his proposals do not pass.

SM–It is a sad fact that 14,000 people lose their health insurance every day in this country.  Less coverage means less treatment means more people die…it’s simple math. In fact, an estimated 18,000 Americans die every year because they are uninsured.  Scare tactics? That’s rich…I am a survivor of the Alaska Pageant circuit and if “scaring the be-Jesus out of old people” were a talent, you would’ve worn the crown.  The President (remember, he won the election) basically called YOU a liar last night.

SP–In his speech the President directly responded to concerns I’ve raised about unelected bureaucrats being given power to make decisions affecting life or death health care matters. He called these concerns “bogus,” “irresponsible,” and “a lie” — so much for civility. After all the name-calling, though, what he did not do is respond to the arguments we’ve made, arguments even some of his own supporters have agreed have merit.

SM–First off, who’s “we”?  Do you have a monkey in your pocket or are you referring to your ghostwriter?  I’m quite sure President Obama didn’t respond simply because of you.  Name calling? Like when you said, Obama was “Pallin’ around with terrorists”?  Or, “he’s not like us”?  You are an irresponsible liar and fear monger-President Obama was right.  If you’re going to take credit for changing the conversation, then own the labels that you so richly deserve.

SP–In fact, after promising to “make sure that no government bureaucrat ….gets between you and the health care you need,” the President repeated his call for an Independent Medicare Advisory Council — an unelected, largely unaccountable group of bureaucrats charged with containing Medicare costs. He did not disavow his own statement that such a group, working outside of “normal political channels,” should guide decisions regarding that “huge driver of cost … the chronically ill and those toward the end of their lives….” He did not disavow the statements of his health care advisor, Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, and continuing to pay his salary with taxpayer dollars proves a commitment to his beliefs. The President can keep making unsupported assertions, but until he directly responds to the arguments I’ve made, I’m going to call him out too.

SM–“Unelected, largely unaccountable group of bureaucrats” – like your ethics board? You, Madam, came between adequate care to Alaskans and their doctors with your negligence to those citizens who needed medical care.  On your watch, ALASKANS DIED.  If you want to call the President out on his policies, expect you will be called out as well.  Why the hell should he “respond to the arguments” you’ve made? You’ve become a simple shill for the wealth-care industry.

SP–It was heartening to hear the President finally recognize that tort reform is an important part of any solution. But this concession shouldn’t lead us to take our eye off the ball: the Democrats’ proposals will not reduce costs, and they will not deliver better health care. It’s this kind of “healthy skepticism of government” that truly reflects a “concern and regard for the plight of others.” We can’t wait to hear the details on that; we look forward to working with you on tort reform.

SM–You haven’t come up with one idea on how to help people.  As governor, you signed a bill that allowed the state to monitor and record every pharmaceutical taken by Alaskans.   You, Madam, grew BIG GOVERNMENT and invaded the public’s privacy.   On my radio show, I begged you to veto that bill.  Your party is paid well to grease the wheels for industry…there’s a word for that-the merging of government and corporate interests…it’s called fascism.  I know your supporters won’t understand the word, hell, at least one of them misspelled it on a t-shirt.  Google it.

SP–Finally, President Obama delivered an offhand applause line tonight about the cost of the War on Terror. As we approach the anniversary of the September 11th attacks and honor those who died that day and those who have died since in the War on Terror, in order to secure our freedoms, we need to remember their sacrifices and not demonize them as having had too high a price tag.

SM–You have embarrassed Alaskans long enough.  Stop it.  My pop was moose hunting on 9/11.  He didn’t even know it had happened for several weeks – but he knows Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11. Even G.W. Bush admitted as much.  Where were all the teabaggers on the Iraq War? Shame on you.  How dare you.  I don’t know what the daily worry of another terrorist attack is for Americans, but there is another terror that keeps at least 40 million minds busy.  The terror that they, or one of their loved ones will become sick and they won’t have the money or insurance to have adequate treatment.  You, Madam, don’t live in this state of fear, but it is real.  Healthcare Reform is another war; a war against the corporations who make a profit from denying services.

SP–Remember, Mr. President, elected officials work for the people. Forcing a conclusion in order to claim a “victory” is not healthy for our country. We hear you say government isn’t always the answer; now hear us — that’s what we’ve been saying all along.

SM–Remember, MRS. Palin, you WERE an elected official.  YOU QUIT!  You’ve been saying the government isn’t always the answer…well, you certainly weren’t the answer.  You proved that the wrong person at the helm is dangerous for the American people as well as the planet.  “Forcing a conclusion in order to claim a “victory” is not healthy for our country.”  NO KIDDING – does the banner “mission accomplished” ring any bells?

SP– Sarah Palin

SM–Thank you for not signing Governor…really, I mean it, thanks.

This just in from Palin’s facebook as part of her educating the public on “Death Panels.” Why she keeps signing “governor” is beyond me. She quit…or she could just write “gover” since that is equivalent to the amount of time she served the state of Alaska.

Get your waders on.

Senator Reverend Ruben Diaz
Chair, New York Senate Aging Committee
Legislative Office Building
Room 307
Albany, NY 12247

September 8, 2009

RE: H.R. 3200: America’s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009 and Its Impact on Senior Citizens

Dear Senator Diaz,

Thank you for asking me to participate in the New York State Senate Aging Committee’s hearing regarding H.R. 3200, “America’s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009.” You and I share a commitment to ensuring that our health care system is not “reformed” at the expense of America’s senior citizens.

I have been vocal in my opposition to Section 1233 of H.R.3200, entitled “Advance Care Planning Consultation.”[1] Proponents of the bill have described this section as an entirely voluntary provision that simply increases the information offered to Medicare recipients. That is misleading. The issue is the context in which that information is provided and the coercive effect these consultations will have in that context.

Section 1233 authorizes advanced care planning consultations for senior citizens on Medicare every five years, and more often “if there is a significant change in the health condition of the individual … or upon admission to a skilled nursing facility, a long-term care facility… or a hospice program.”[2] During those consultations, practitioners are to explain “the continuum of end-of-life services and supports available, including palliative care and hospice,” and the government benefits available to pay for such services.[3]

To understand this provision fully, it must be read in context. These consultations are authorized whenever a Medicare recipient’s health changes significantly or when they enter a nursing home, and they are part of a bill whose stated purpose is “to reduce the growth in health care spending.”[4] Is it any wonder that senior citizens might view such consultations as attempts to convince them to help reduce health care costs by accepting minimal end-of-life care? As one commentator has noted, Section 1233 “addresses compassionate goals in disconcerting proximity to fiscal ones…. If it’s all about obviating suffering, emotional or physical, what’s it doing in a measure to ‘bend the curve’ on health-care costs?”[5]

As you stated in your letter to Congressman Henry Waxman of California:

Section 1233 of House Resolution 3200 puts our senior citizens on a slippery slope and may diminish respect for the inherent dignity of each of their lives…. It is egregious to consider that any senior citizen … should be placed in a situation where he or she would feel pressured to save the government money by dying a little sooner than he or she otherwise would, be required to be counseled about the supposed benefits of killing oneself, or be encouraged to sign any end of life directives that they would not otherwise sign.[6]

It is unclear whether section 1233 or a provision like it will remain part of any final health care bill. Regardless of its fate, the larger issue of rationed health care remains.

A great deal of attention was given to my use of the phrase “death panel” in discussing such rationing.[7] Despite repeated attempts by many in the media to dismiss this phrase as a “myth”, its accuracy has been vindicated. In the face of a nationwide public outcry, the Senate Finance Committee agreed to “drop end-of-life provisions from consideration entirely because of the way they could be misinterpreted and implemented incorrectly.”[8] Jim Towey, the former head of the White House Office of Faith-Based Initiatives, then called attention to what’s already occurring at the Department of Veteran’s Affairs, where “government bureaucrats are greasing the slippery slope that can start with cost containment but quickly become a systematic denial of care.”[9] Even Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson, a strong supporter of President Obama, agreed that “if the government says it has to control health care costs and then offers to pay doctors to give advice about hospice care, citizens are not delusional to conclude that the goal is to reduce end-of-life spending.”[10] And of course President Obama has not backed away from his support for the creation of an unelected, largely unaccountable Independent Medicare Advisory Council to help control Medicare costs; he had previously suggested that such a group should guide decisions regarding “that huge driver of cost . . . the chronically ill and those toward the end of their lives….”[11]

The fact is that any group of government bureaucrats that makes decisions affecting life or death is essentially a “death panel.” The work of Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, President Obama’s health policy advisor and the brother of his chief of staff, is particularly disturbing on this score. Dr. Emanuel has written extensively on the topic of rationed health care, describing a “Complete Lives System” for allotting medical care based on “a priority curve on which individuals aged between roughly 15 and 40 years get the most chance, whereas the youngest and oldest people get chances that are attenuated.”[12]

He also has written that some medical services should not be guaranteed to those “who are irreversibly prevented from being or becoming participating citizens…. An obvious example is not guaranteeing health services to patients with dementia.”[13]

Such ideas are shocking, but they could ultimately be used by government bureacrats to help determine the treatment of our loved ones. We must ensure that human dignity remains at the center of any proposed health care reform. Real health care reform would also follow free market principles, including the encouragement of health savings accounts; would remove the barriers to purchasing health insurance across state lines; and would include tort reform so as to potentially save billions each year in wasteful spending connected to the filing of frivolous lawsuits. H.R. 3200 is not the reform we are looking for.

Thank you for calling attention to this important matter. I look forward to working with you again to ensure that we keep the dignity of our senior citizens foremost in any health care discussion.

Sincerely,

Governor Sarah Palin

This just in from the AP and Channel 2 news:

Early estimates put the cost of Sarah Palin’s midterm resignation as Alaska governor at a minimum of $40,000 — and that’s not counting a special legislative session partly linked to her departure.

The preliminary figures obtained by The Associated Press through a public records request show it cost the state almost $14,100 for the swearing-in ceremony of new Gov. Sean Parnell in Fairbanks July 26 after Palin formally stepped down the same day.

The price tag for moving the former GOP vice presidential candidate and her family from the governor’s mansion in Juneau amounted to more than $3,328.

Not included in the tally is the estimated cost of more than $100,000 for a one-day special session held last month in which state lawmakers approved Palin’s surprise pick to replace Parnell as lieutenant governor.

Palin said she was resigning as governor for the good of Alaska, but the father of her first grandchild, Levi Johnston, said in a Vanity Fair magazine interview this week that Palin likely quit because she wanted an easier, higher-paying job.

This doesn’t mention the state paying for Palin to sleep in her own bed at night, the ethics complaint she filed on herself or the Troopergate investigation.  It doesn’t include the $10,000 paid to Chuck Kopp when his past came back to boot him from Walt Monegan’s old job.

There is absolutely no accounting to what she cost Alaska in the way of reputation…

If only we could send her a bill.

Many scratched their heads when it was announced Sarah Palin had been invited to speak in Honk Kong at an investment broker’s conference. Huh? As mayor, Palin left her hometown of Wasilla $20 million dollars in debt. Her mastery of finance wasn’t tested as governor; during her aborted term, the state was flush with cash.

Finally, the Business Insider explained it: “Hong Kong Broker Pulling a “Borat” on Sarah Palin”

Her invitation as keynote speaker in Hong Kong is so ridiculous that its absurdity can’t be accidental.

CLSA, the Asia-focused broker who invited Mrs. Palin as keynote speaker for an Asian investment conference, is well known for their cheeky takes on investment research.

In the past, they’ve polled Asian fortune tellers for index targets, hired anime cartoonists to draw Japanese research, and generally love to push the boundaries between entertainment and analysis. They are a real research firm, it’s just that they love to sprinkle in some hilarity every now and then as a smart marketing gimmick.

Palin probably doesn’t know what she’s in for. If you will, she’s being “Borat’ed” and doesn’t have the Asia knowledge to realize it.

Sarah Palin has a history of pulling a series of “Lucy with the football” for different organizers who have scheduled her to speak.  If CLSA’s purpose in hiring her is comic relief, they may get their moneys worth…that’s if she shows up. The CLSA may want to hire William Shatner as a translator. Asian word salad, anyone?

I’m spending an amazing week at Netroots Nation.  I was front and center for President Bill Clinton’s speech and it occurred to me; I like smart talk.

There was a time when I loved to watch figure skating.  I’d watch for hours, back in the days of Scott Hamilton and Dorothy Hamill.  I would relax, confident in their mastery, grace and skill, knowing they wouldn’t fall.  Then came the days of Tonya Harding.  I stopped watching.  Too much off-ice snarky drama, missed steps, hard falls, and trampy wardrobes made it impossible to enjoy.

Sarah Palin has been to politics what Tonya Harding was to the sport of figure skating.

President Clinton’s address reminded me what a political triple Salchow could look like as observed from the edge of the ice.  His message, summed up by “…gone are the days of win-lose, we need a win-win…”  was conciliatory.  Just a few months ago, I attended then Governor Palin’s speech which she polarizingly chanted, ”We win, they lose!”  I have whiplash from the comparison.  Don’t get me wrong, I thought NAFTA, GATT, and the sovereignty undermining WTO were belly flops on ice; the 1996 Telecommunication Act took the boards out, birthed right wing radio dominance, and undemocratically concentrated media into fewer, more powerful hands.

The AP story on Palin quotes her facebook page release.  The language of the health care bill is being changed to “clarify” end of life consultations.  Why? Because a quitter governor has an opinion that sticks as fact with the least educated among us?

I wonder if, in the aftermath Obama’s November victory, the balls of the Democrats didn’t high five their own spines and head off to Disneyland.  The Democrats and the Blue Dogs should be in a full court press for healthcare.  If for no other reason than spine regeneration and testicular prosthesis implantation.

I’m not sure who decided footnotes were in order for a facebook press release, but I doubt it was Palin.  Seriously, who wrote this crap? It has punctuation-a sure sign of an imposter and not one “and-also”.

SP Facebook:  Thursday at 9:11pm
I join millions of Americans in expressing appreciation for the Senate Finance Committee’s decision to remove the provision in the pending health care bill that authorizes end-of-life consultations (Section 1233 of HR 3200). It’s gratifying that the voice of the people is getting through to Congress; however, that provision was not the only disturbing detail in this legislation; it was just one of the more obvious ones.

AGAIN, Sarah Palin is no longer a governor. She lost her bid for vice president.  Why does she have a platform or response? I’m writing about her because I’m sick to death of “crazy” being the loudest voice in the room!  She incites fear and celebrates ignorance. It will never be enough to just change one of her complaints.  Her crowd would only be happy if Obama resigned and handed the reigns over to her.

As I noted in my statement last week, nationalized health care inevitably leads to rationing. There is simply no way to cover everyone and hold down the costs at the same time. The rationing system proposed by one of President Obama’s key health care advisors is particularly disturbing. I’m speaking of the “Complete Lives System” advocated by Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, the brother of the president’s chief of staff. President Obama has not yet stated any opposition to the “Complete Lives System,” a system which, if enacted, would refuse to allocate medical resources to the elderly, the infirm, and the disabled who have less economic potential. [1] Why the silence from the president on this aspect of his nationalization of health care? Does he agree with the “Complete Lives System”? If not, then why is Dr. Emanuel his policy advisor? What is he advising the president on? I just learned that Dr. Emanuel is now distancing himself from his own work and claiming that his “thinking has evolved” on the question of rationing care to benefit the strong and deny the weak. [2] How convenient that he disavowed his own work only after the nature of his scholarship was revealed to the public at large.

INSURANCE COMPANIES RATION HEALTH CARE.

The president is busy assuring us that we can keep our private insurance plans, but common sense (and basic economics) tells us otherwise. The public option in the Democratic health care plan will crowd out private insurers, and that’s what it’s intended to do. A single payer health care plan has been President Obama’s agenda all along, though he is now claiming otherwise. Don’t take my word for it. Here’s what he said back in 2003:

“I happen to be a proponent of a single payer universal health care plan…. A single payer health care plan – universal health care plan – that’s what I would like to see.” [3]

Yes, a public option would “crowd out private insurers”…but hey, that’s free market, right?  It’s a little competition, can’t they hold up to it?  Keep working it, Sarah, you may need money from the “Sick-For-Profit” industry some day.

A single-payer health care plan might be what Obama would like to see, but is it what the rest of us would like to see? What does a single payer health care plan look like? We need look no further than other countries who have adopted such a plan. The picture isn’t pretty. [4] The only way they can control costs is to ration care. As I noted in my earlier statement quoting Thomas Sowell, government run health care won’t reduce the price of medical care; it will simply refuse to pay the price. The expensive innovative procedures that people from all over the world come to the United States for will not be available under a government plan that seeks to cover everyone by capping costs.

Our senior citizens are right to be wary of this health care bill. Medical care at the end of life accounts for 80 percent of all health care. When care is rationed, that is naturally where the cuts will be felt first. The “end-of-life” consultations authorized in Section 1233 of HR 3200 were an obvious and heavy handed attempt at pressuring people to reduce the financial burden on the system by minimizing their own care. Worst still, it actually provided a financial incentive to doctors to initiate these consultations. People are right to point out that such a provision doesn’t sound “purely voluntary.”

Back to killing old people.  Aack.

In an article I noted yesterday, Charles Lane wrote:

“Ideally, the delicate decisions about how to manage life’s end would be made in a setting that is neutral in both appearance and fact. Yes, it’s good to have a doctor’s perspective. But Section 1233 goes beyond facilitating doctor input to preferring it. Indeed, the measure would have an interested party — the government — recruit doctors to sell the elderly on living wills, hospice care and their associated providers, professions and organizations. You don’t have to be a right-wing wacko to question that approach.” [5]

I agree. Last year, I issued a proclamation for “Healthcare Decisions Day.” [6] The proclamation sought to increase the public’s knowledge about creating living wills and establishing powers of attorney. There was no incentive to choose one option over another. There was certainly no financial incentive for physicians to push anything. In fact, the proclamation explicitly called on medical professionals and lawyers “to volunteer their time and efforts” to provide information to the public.

Comparing the “Healthcare Decisions Day” proclamation to Section 1233 of HR 3200 is ridiculous. The two are like apples and oranges. The attempt to link the two shows how desperate the proponents of nationalized health care are to shift the debate away from the disturbing details of their bill.

There is one aspect of this bill which I have not addressed yet, but it’s a very obvious one. It’s the simple fact that we can’t afford it. But don’t take my word for it. Take the word of Doug Elmendorf, the director of the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. He told the Senate Budget Committee last month:

“In the legislation that has been reported we do not see the sort of fundamental changes that would be necessary to reduce the trajectory of federal health spending by a significant amount. And on the contrary, the legislation significantly expands the federal responsibility for health care costs.” [7]

Dr. Elmendorf went on to note that this health care legislation would increase spending at an unsustainable rate.

Our nation is already $11.5 trillion in debt. Where will the money come from? Taxes, of course. And will a burdensome new tax help our economy recover? Of course not. The best way to encourage more health care coverage is to foster a strong economy where people can afford to purchase their own coverage if they choose to do so. The current administration’s economic policies have done nothing to help in this regard.

I just threw up.  I guess by Palin’s blame of Governor Murkowski for the Medicaid moratorium, we can probably lay some of that ol’ debt at the feet of GWB.

Health care is without a doubt a complex and contentious issue, but health care reform should be a market oriented solution. There are many ways we can reform the system and lower costs without nationalizing it.

REALLY?  HOW?  Negotiating with pharmaceuticals?  Nope, can’t do that.  What are the “many ways”?  We could really use a few.

The economist Arthur Laffer has taken the lead in pushing for a patient-center health care reform policy. He noted in a Wall Street Journal article earlier this month:

“A patient-centered health-care reform begins with individual ownership of insurance policies and leverages Health Savings Accounts, a low-premium, high-deductible alternative to traditional insurance that includes a tax-advantaged savings account. It allows people to purchase insurance policies across state lines and reduces the number of mandated benefits insurers are required to cover. It reallocates the majority of Medicaid spending into a simple voucher for low-income individuals to purchase their own insurance. And it reduces the cost of medical procedures by reforming tort liability laws.” [8]

Those are real reforms that we can live with and afford. Once again, I warn my fellow Americans that if we go down the path of nationalized health care, there will be no turning back. We must stop and think or we may find ourselves losing even more of our freedoms.

When ANY politician talks about protecting freedom and then annoints themselves to be the Vagina Police and the Sanctity of Marriage Border Patrol, they are LYING about your freedom!

- Sarah Palin

The problem isn’t that Palin based her post on faith based facts.  She, a private citizen, has every right to have an opinion about her country.  The Democratic leadership, who hold health care a breath away from us, are changing policy to appease her misinformation.  Grow a pair, we need a public option NOW.

PS. Katie Couric, this is what Sarah read today…you betcha!

[1] See http://www.scribd.com/doc/18280675/Principles-for-Allocation-of-Scarce-Medical-Interventions
[2] See http://washingtontimes.com/news/2009/aug/14/white-house-adviser-backs-off-rationing/
[3]See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hsqzSKuC44
[4] See http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=N2M0ODk0OTNkZjkwNGM4OGMyYTEwYWY3ODUzMzFiOTc=
[5] See http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/07/AR2009080703043.html
[6] See http://www.gov.state.ak.us/archive.php?id=1094&type=6
[7] See http://blogs.abcnews.com/thenote/2009/07/cbo-sees-no-federal-cost-savings-in-dem-health-plans.html
[8] See http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204619004574324361508092006.html

On a not so good, very bad day for Palin, Keith Olbermann calls her out…

The Alaska legislature, in a joint session has voted to over-ride former Governor Sarah Palin’s veto of $28.6 million dollars of federal energy and weatherization funds…with not one vote to spare. I FEEL SO STIMULATED! Weatherization and energy needs for Alaskans! Wahoooo!

Palin’s brother was in the audience. Standing room only.

After some debate, the legislators voted to over-ride Sarah Palin’s veto 45 yeas to 14 nays. $28.6 million dollars in federal energy and weatherization stimulus funds will now not be going to another state. Contrary to the Street Tea Baggers…the funds WOULD NOT have gone back to the US Treasury. Alaska federal tax payers would have still been on the hook, however. At least now, with the veto over-ride, the State of Alaska derives the benefit of the federal stimulus funds.

No votes cast in the House:Austerman, Kelly, Stoltze, Neuman, Keller, Fairclough, Lynn, Johnson, Coghill
No votes cast in the Senate: Therriault, Wagoner, Bunde, Dyson, Huggins

The Alaska Legislature, meeting in an oh-so-special session in downtown Anchorage at the Egan Center, also confirmed Craig Campbell as Lt. Governor. This special session, triggered by Sarah Palin’s unexpected and abrupt departure, was estimated to cost somewhere north of $100,000.

Senator Burt Stedman is reviewing other vetoes of former Governor Palin for a possible joint session debate and over-ride. The vetoed projects in question include $4.9 Million for Alaska Court System’s Anchorage Campus, $394,000 Alaska Court upgrades, $2.3 Million for Ketchikan Cruise Ship berth replacement and signal, over $2.6 Million for Sitka projects, $1Million for Informations Services. For a total of over $11Million dollars.

I’ll update soon, but let me say, the Senate Minority should STAY THE MINORITY. They are complete obstructionist…ideologically stunted.

Sarah Palin’s other vetos were not over ridden.

Here’s the newest facebook installment…posted Sunday evening. Keep in mind, as governor, Palin accepted 96% of the stimulus money.

Tomorrow begins an important week for Alaskans.

On Monday, state lawmakers will meet to override my veto of stimulus funds. As Governor, I did my utmost to warn our legislators that accepting stimulus funds will further tie Alaska to the federal government and chip away at Alaska’s right to chart its own course. Enforcing the federal building code requirements, which Governor Parnell and future governors will be forced to adopt in order to accept these energy funds, will eventually cost the state more than it receives. There are clear ropes attached, and Alaskans will soon find themselves tied down by codes which will dictate how we build and renovate homes and businesses. The state has hundreds of millions of dollars already budgeted for conservation, weatherization and renewable energy development. Legislators don’t need to play politics as usual and accept these funds and the ropes that come with them.

Also this week, Alaskans will join Senators Murkowski and Begich in town hall meetings to discuss the current health care legislation. There are many disturbing details in the current bill that Washington is trying to rush through Congress, but we must stick to a discussion of the issues and not get sidetracked by tactics that can be accused of leading to intimidation or harassment. Such tactics diminish our nation’s civil discourse which we need now more than ever because the fine print in this outrageous health care proposal must be understood clearly and not get lost in conscientious voters’ passion to want to make elected officials hear what we are saying. Let’s not give the proponents of nationalized health care any reason to criticize us.

- Sarah Palin

It must be weird to go from press conferences to facebook.

This following post was published May 21, 2009 after Palin’s veto. “Dude, Where’s My Governor’s Head”

Gov. Sarah Palin dropped the hammer today on $80 million from the state budget. Her cuts include the $28.6 million in federal stimulus money designated for energy relief. Even though Juneau, Fairbanks and Anchorage municipalities are already complying with the federal building codes, Palin turned money down for weatherization and energy assistance to avoid the building requirements statewide. The governor of Missouri, Jay Nixon, negotiated taking the money without a statewide code.

Alaska has the highest energy costs in the nation. Alaska has two seasons; winter and construction. Now would be the best time for window replacement, weatherization, etc.

In a “bring it on” move, Palin dared the legislature to over-ride her veto. I just spoke to a state legislature about the chances of a special session being called. It is possible, if not, the next session is January 2010.

Last fall, Governor Palin allocated $740 million in one time “energy bail-out” checks to every citizen in Alaska.

This year, $28.6 million is turned down.

Alaska loses.

Democratic Alaska Senator Mark Begich responded quickly, pointing out the hypocrisy of the Governor’s position, asking for earmarks and rejecting the stimulus.

“With Alaskans facing the highest energy prices in the nation, it’s disappointing that our governor is turning thumbs down on federal funding that could help our families and communities reduce their energy bills.

“The Republican-led Alaska Legislature determined that our state already meets the standards necessary to accept this funding. This notion about some onerous federal mandate seems to be little more than a political red herring targeted at an agenda other than Alaska’s.

“Of the more than nearly $5 billion in requests from Alaska communities and non-profits for federal funding my office has received so far this year, I’d estimate a third of them relate to reducing energy costs. My agenda will continue to be securing federal assistance to help Alaska families reduce their high cost of living.”

UPDATE FROM LES GARA:

“A few folks have been asking about whether the Governor’s Energy Fund Veto can be overridden. Here’s a quick tentative answer – I think it’s correct. It requires more research – but for folks who disagree with the Governor’s decision, calling for a veto override doesn’t, at this point, seem like an effective tool.

1. The Appropriations bill appropriated funds subject, I believe, to receipt from the Federal Government. We haven’t received those funds because the Governor hasn’t applied for them. So, she’s vetoed funds we don’t have. Overriding the veto won’t bring those funds to the state. The operative action needed from the Governor would be an application for the funds, which she has refused to submit. I think she is the only Governor in the nation to refuse to request these funds to date. Anyway, the Legislature can’t force her to do that, unless Congress amends the rules.

2. Bill Wielechowski’s Office did the most interesting research so far – last week. It seems that until the Governor formally notifies the President she will reject the federal funds, they can be applied for at a future point. The door’s not necessarily closed at this point. So, assuming this is correct, those who believe we should accept these funds should work to either keep the Governor from the fatal decision – an outright rejection letter to the President – or encourage her to be thoughtful in reconsidering her decision so she’ll make the application.

I personally think the following makes sense – and should have been done in the first place. The Governor’s agencies – presumably with her input since she’s head of the state’ agencies (AHFC and AEA) – proposed to spend the funds on a number of efforts. All $29 million could have instead been spent on building renewable energy projects around the state, to achieve this state’s renewable and diversified energy goals. It’s odd to have renewable energy goals, like the Governor announced in her Winter press conference, and to reject funds needed to build those projects. I would encourage folks to run this proposal by the Governor – one she of course could have proposed in the first place – and see if we can encourage her to accept the funds for these purposes, if she didn’t like the purposes her agencies proposed in the operating budget.”

In the world of Palin Wack-a-Mole, you need steroids to win. Facebook press releases seem to come on Fridays. Yesterday was no different. This week’s word salad had the crazy dressing on the side; a link to Michele Bachmann’s health care rant.  The crap croutons had quote marks around them; “death panel”, and “level of productivity in society.”

If you ever needed proof our current health care is deficient, or for that matter, our education system, try to make sense out of either woman’s position.  For all the fear mongering and “bearing false witness” as this is:

“The America I know and love is not one in which my parents or my baby with Down Syndrome will 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,” whether they are worthy of health care. Such a system is downright evil.”

As weirdly elitist as this:

“I commend her for being a voice for the most precious members of our society, our children and our seniors.”

And as “grab your torches and pitch forks” this is:

“Let’s stop and think and make our voices heard before it’s too late.”

there is a much bigger problem.  Sarah Palin has a history of fudging about health care.

While being vetted by the McCain camp:

At one point, trying out a debating point that she believed showed she could empathize with uninsured Americans, Palin told McCain aides that she and Todd in the early years of their marriage had been unable to afford health insurance of any kind, and had gone without it until he got his union card and went to work for British Petroleum on the North Slope of Alaska. Checking with Todd Palin himself revealed that, no, they had had catastrophic coverage all along. She insisted that catastrophic insurance didn’t really count and need not be revealed. This sort of slipperiness—about both what the truth was and whether the truth even mattered—persisted on questions great and small.

During the vice-presidential debate, Palin stated:

About times and Todd and our marriage in our past where we didn’t have health insurance and we know what other Americans are going through as they sit around the kitchen table and try to figure out how are they going to pay out-of-pocket for health care? We’ve been there also so that connection was important.

WHAT? There are 228 federally recognized tribes in Alaska.  According to the Indian Health Services website:

IHS-funded, tribally-managed hospitals are located in Anchorage, Barrow, Bethel, Dillingham, Kotzebue, Nome and Sitka. There are 37 tribal health centers, 166 tribal community health aide clinics and five residential substance abuse treatment centers. The Alaska Native Medical Center in Anchorage is the state-wide referral center and gatekeeper for specialty care. Other health promotion/disease prevention programs that are state-wide in scope are operated by the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC), which is managed by representatives of all Alaska tribes.

Todd Palin’s heritage as an Alaskan Native was a curiosity to many during the 2008 campaign.

According to public disclosure forms that Sarah Palin filed with the state of Alaska, her husband and their children are BBNC (Bristol Bay Native Corporation) shareholders, meaning they would likely qualify for the health service program.

So between Todd’s union job insurance, the governor’s state coverage and the FEDERALLY FUNDED health care through Native blood, when did the Palins ever sit around the kitchen table and discuss their “out-of-pocket” health care costs?   There are millions of people who don’t have ANY options to provide for the health care needs of themselves or their children, let alone THREE!

And that’s just the personal hypocrisy.

While under contract to govern the state of Alaska, Palin’s administration failed to keep up on the state’s Medicaid obligations and were ordered to cease signing up new patients. No other state in the country had been put under such a moratorium, according to the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

July 14, 2009 ADN:

A particularly alarming finding concerns deaths of adults in the programs. In one 2 1/2 year stretch, 227 adults already getting services died while waiting for a nurse to reassess their needs. Another 27 died waiting for their initial assessment, to see if they qualified for help.

Doctors and other health care providers wrote to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid with concerns that the state wasn’t responsive. Some alleged that the lack of state controls “has resulted in the death(s) of the active clients,” the federal review said.

While the people served are frail and suffer from chronic health issues, the state never investigated to determine if any failure in service contributed to the deaths, the federal review found.

Seriously, when are we going to stop electing people who say “the government is bad”? Once elected, they do everything they can to prove it.  It can only be one of two things; incompetency or sabotage.  Either way, Alaskans have died due to a lack of health care.

The point of this post is not to point out the never ending hypocrisy of Sarah Palin.  Nor is it to point out the blatant lies of one person — but how the intention, manipulation and lies of one person can affect the lives ordinary people.

Perhaps Citizen Palin should take her own advice, “honor the American soldier”, “quit makin’ things up” and “leave the kids alone.”

Alaskan cartoonist Peter Dunlap Shohl.