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Hobby Forum Index » Sport - Golf » [OT: Politics] Alaska Inquiry Concludes Palin Abused...
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| Carbon... |
 Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2008 12:53 am |
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Guest
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Shocker.
The New York Times
October 11, 2008
Alaska Inquiry Concludes Palin Abused Powers
By SERGE F. KOVALESKI
Gov. Sarah Palin abused the powers of her office by pressuring
subordinates to try to get her former brother-in-law, a state trooper,
fired, an investigation by the Alaska Legislature has concluded. The
inquiry found, however, that she was within her right to dismiss her
public safety commissioner, Walt Monegan, who was the trooper’s boss.
A 263-page report released Friday by lawmakers in Alaska found that Ms.
Palin, the Republican vice-presidential nominee, had herself exerted
pressure to get Trooper Michael Wooten dismissed, as well as allowed her
husband and subordinates to press for his firing, largely as a result of
his temperament and past disciplinary problems.
“Such impermissible and repeated contacts,” the report states, “create
conflicts of interests for subordinate employees who must choose to
either please a superior or run the risk of facing that superior’s
displeasure and the possible consequences of that displeasure.” The
report concludes that the action was a violation of the Alaska Executive
Branch Ethics Act.
What now lies ahead is not fully known at this point. Ms. Palin could be
censured by the Legislature, but that is unlikely.
Ms. Palin, who had been elected governor in 2006, was tapped as Senator
John McCain’s running mate in late August, about a month after an inquiry
was opened into her firing of Mr. Monegan. Her political ascendancy took
what was essentially a state personnel matter and elevated it into a
national issue, one that has been simmering in the background of an
increasingly heated presidential race.
In the report, the independent investigator, Stephen E. Branchflower, a
former prosecutor in Anchorage, said that Ms. Palin wrongfully allowed
her husband, Todd, to use state resources as part of the effort to have
Trooper Wooten dismissed.
The report says she knowingly “permitted Todd Palin to use the governor’s
office and the resources of the governor’s office, including access to
state employees, to continue to contact subordinate state employees in an
effort to find some way to get Trooper Wooten fired.”
Further, it says, she “knowingly permitted a situation to continue where
impermissible pressure was placed on several subordinates in order to
advance a personal agenda.”
Three years ago, Trooper Wooten and the governor’s sister, Molly McCann,
were locked in a harsh divorce and child-custody battle that further
turned the Palin family against him. The couple divorced in January 2006.
As a result of several complaints against Trooper Wooten, he was
suspended from the state police force for five days. However, Mr.
Branchflower’s report found numerous instances in which Ms. Palin, her
husband and her subordinates tried to press for harsher punishment, even
though Mr. Monegan and others told them they had gone as far as the law
and civil service rules would allow.
Ms. Palin has denied that anyone told Mr. Monegan to dismiss Trooper
Wooten, or that the commissioner’s ouster had anything to do with the
trooper, who remains on the force.
Mr. Monegan has said that he believes he lost his job because he would
not bend to pressure to dismiss Trooper Wooten. On July 28, the
Legislative Council, a bipartisan body of House and Senate members that
can convene to make decisions when the Legislature is not in session,
approved an independent investigation into whether the governor abused
the powers of her office to pursue a personal vendetta.
Mr. Monegan said in an interview Friday night that he felt relieved.
“I feel that my beliefs and opinions that Wooten was a significant
factor, if not the factor, in my termination have been validated,” Mr.
Monegan said, adding, “I was resisting the governor from the very
beginning on the Wooten matter to protect her from exactly what just
happened to her here, being found to have acted inappropriately.”
The report was released after Alaska lawmakers emerged from a private
session in Anchorage where they spent more than of six hours discussing
the ethics report and what portions should be made public. The
legislative council ended up voting unanimously to make part of the
overall report public.
At a news conference Friday evening, a local McCain-Palin campaign
spokeswoman, Meghan Stapleton, said that Mr. Branchflower’s abuse of
power finding was the result of an “overreach” by the investigator who
went beyond “the intent of the original” inquiry.
Ms. Stapleton added that the governor “feels absolutely vindicated”
because the report concluded that Ms. Palin was acting within her legal
authority when she “reassigned” Mr. Monegan. On July 11, he was told by
the governor’s acting chief of staff that Ms. Palin wanted him to head
the state Alcoholic Beverage Control Board, and that she wanted to take
the public safety agency in a new direction.
In an e-mail statement, Ms. Stapleton said the report showed that the
investigation was a “partisan led inquiry run by Obama supporters and the
Palins were completely justified in their concern regarding Trooper
Wooten given his violent and rogue behavior.”
Minutes after the report was released, the Obama campaign sent an
Associated Press article in an e-mail message to reporters, with the
subject line, “Palin ‘unlawfully abused her authority.’ ” It contained no
other comment.
A pre-emptive report on the investigation by the McCain-Palin campaign,
released late Thursday, said that beginning in October 2007, the governor
and members of her administration repeatedly clashed with Mr. Monegan
over budgetary issues and the direction of his agency.
After months of “repeatedly ignoring the governor’s budget priorities,
making public statements that directly challenged the governor’s policy
agenda and taking numerous unilateral actions in conflict with the
governor in support of his own policy agenda, his replacement in July
2008 should have come as no surprise,” that report said.
Mr. Branchflower based his finding of abuse of power on Alaska’s
Executive Branch Ethics Act, which was established to “discourage
executive branch employees from acting upon personal interest in the
performance of their public responsibilities and to avoid conflicts of
interest in the performance of duty,” the report says.
It says, however, that “Governor Palin’s firing of Commissioner Walt
Monegan was a proper and lawful exercise of her constitutional and
statutory authority to hire and fire executive branch department heads.”
It cites the Alaska Constitution, which says “the governor may discharge
department heads without cause.”
The report continues, “In light of this constitutional and statutory
authority, it is clear that Governor Palin could fire Commissioner Walt
Monegan at will, for almost any reason, or no reason at all.”
The report states that, while there is no doubt that Mr. Monegan’s
“failure to fire Trooper Wooten was a substantial factor in his own
firing, the evidence suggest it was not the sole reason.”
The report chastised Ms. Palin for declining to be interviewed.
Legislative leaders said that in cases like this, a violation of the
ethics law would typically be resolved by the state Personnel Board.
However, that chain of events is complicated by the fact that the panel
is conducting an inquiry of its own. Ms. Palin has pledged to cooperate
with that investigation.
Even as Ms. Palin drew large crowds as she campaigned across the United
States, the issue was brewing in Alaska. But the campaign repeatedly
shrugged off the accusations, stating that they were not serious and that
she was not guilty of any wrongdoing.
Still, the accusations undermined the campaign’s portrayal of Ms. Palin
as a “maverick” and an ethics reformer who has taken on special interests
and fought for average residents.
The McCain campaign flew operatives into Alaska to wage a public
relations campaign to discredit the investigation and to help mount legal
challenges to it.
Karen Aho contributed reporting from Anchorage.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/11/us/politics/11trooper.html?
hp=&pagewanted=print |
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| Kommienezuspadt... |
| Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2008 5:16 pm |
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Guest
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"The Professor" <DBID at (no spam) att.net> wrote in message
news:48F0D6F9.349464C0 at (no spam) att.net...
Quote:
Bobby Knight wrote:
On Sat, 11 Oct 2008 10:01:19 -0400, Jack Hollis <xsleeper at (no spam) aol.com
wrote:
On Sat, 11 Oct 2008 11:46:57 GMT, Bobby Knight <bknight at (no spam) conramp.net
wrote:
I don't think its such a big deal, but how can anyone doubt that Palin
used influence in this matter?
Unfortunately, not enough influence because the scumbag trooper still
has his job.
Scumbag? Only according to Palin and her sister. This is all over a
messy divorce. Have you read the transcript of the divorce
proceedings? The judge was critical of the harassment of Wooten by
the McCanns, and family.
bk
It's a non issue. The govt. official in question was openly insubordinate
to
Palin, the Governor, and she fired him. That a bunch of Dem layers would
come up with such a report surprises no one. If dems want to rant on about
it, they are free to do so!
You nearly extinct Repubs *always* miss the point. It was the many
documented attempts to get someone else to pressure for the firing of the
trooper that got her in trouble -- she could fire Monagen -- I don't think
there is much dispute of that --- so why are you trying to say that is the
issue?
No wonder no one with a brain trusts you guys anymore. |
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| Bobby Knight... |
| Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2008 8:56 pm |
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Guest
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On Sat, 11 Oct 2008 16:39:30 GMT, The Professor <DBID at (no spam) att.net> wrote:
Quote:
Bobby Knight wrote:
On Sat, 11 Oct 2008 10:01:19 -0400, Jack Hollis <xsleeper at (no spam) aol.com
wrote:
On Sat, 11 Oct 2008 11:46:57 GMT, Bobby Knight <bknight at (no spam) conramp.net
wrote:
I don't think its such a big deal, but how can anyone doubt that Palin
used influence in this matter?
Unfortunately, not enough influence because the scumbag trooper still
has his job.
Scumbag? Only according to Palin and her sister. This is all over a
messy divorce. Have you read the transcript of the divorce
proceedings? The judge was critical of the harassment of Wooten by
the McCanns, and family.
bk
It's a non issue. The govt. official in question was openly insubordinate to
Palin, the Governor, and she fired him. That a bunch of Dem layers would
come up with such a report surprises no one. If dems want to rant on about
it, they are free to do so!
There's the issue of truth Rob. The report went to the 14-member,
Republican-dominated Legislative Council ,
who came to the conclusion that she did abuse her authority and
power. The state legislation then voted to release the report to the
public.
bk |
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| BAR... |
| Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2008 10:08 pm |
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Guest
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Bobby Knight wrote:
Quote: On Sat, 11 Oct 2008 10:01:19 -0400, Jack Hollis <xsleeper at (no spam) aol.com
wrote:
On Sat, 11 Oct 2008 11:46:57 GMT, Bobby Knight <bknight at (no spam) conramp.net
wrote:
I don't think its such a big deal, but how can anyone doubt that Palin
used influence in this matter?
Unfortunately, not enough influence because the scumbag trooper still
has his job.
Scumbag? Only according to Palin and her sister. This is all over a
messy divorce. Have you read the transcript of the divorce
proceedings? The judge was critical of the harassment of Wooten by
the McCanns, and family.
What would you do with a cop who tasered his step-son. |
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| Bobby Knight... |
| Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2008 10:40 pm |
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Guest
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On Sat, 11 Oct 2008 23:08:59 -0400, BAR <BAR at (no spam) ScrewYou.com> wrote:
Quote: Bobby Knight wrote:
On Sat, 11 Oct 2008 10:01:19 -0400, Jack Hollis <xsleeper at (no spam) aol.com
wrote:
On Sat, 11 Oct 2008 11:46:57 GMT, Bobby Knight <bknight at (no spam) conramp.net
wrote:
I don't think its such a big deal, but how can anyone doubt that Palin
used influence in this matter?
Unfortunately, not enough influence because the scumbag trooper still
has his job.
Scumbag? Only according to Palin and her sister. This is all over a
messy divorce. Have you read the transcript of the divorce
proceedings? The judge was critical of the harassment of Wooten by
the McCanns, and family.
What would you do with a cop who tasered his step-son.
File a police report and let the justice system work.
bk |
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| Carbon... |
| Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2008 10:49 pm |
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Guest
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On Sat, 11 Oct 2008 23:08:59 -0400, BAR wrote:
Quote: Bobby Knight wrote:
On Sat, 11 Oct 2008 10:01:19 -0400, Jack Hollis <xsleeper at (no spam) aol.com
wrote:
On Sat, 11 Oct 2008 11:46:57 GMT, Bobby Knight <bknight at (no spam) conramp.net
wrote:
I don't think its such a big deal, but how can anyone doubt that
Palin used influence in this matter?
Unfortunately, not enough influence because the scumbag trooper
still has his job.
Scumbag? Only according to Palin and her sister. This is all over a
messy divorce. Have you read the transcript of the divorce
proceedings? The judge was critical of the harassment of Wooten by
the McCanns, and family.
What would you do with a cop who tasered his step-son.
I would not use the authority entrusted to an elected official as a means
to indulge in some ridiculous Hatfield and McCoy style fued. The brother-
in-law's alleged behavior is immaterial at this point. What Palin did was
just plain stupid. Very poor judgment for someone who aspires to the
second highest office in the land. |
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| BAR... |
| Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2008 10:51 pm |
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Guest
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Carbon wrote:
Quote: On Sat, 11 Oct 2008 23:08:59 -0400, BAR wrote:
Bobby Knight wrote:
On Sat, 11 Oct 2008 10:01:19 -0400, Jack Hollis <xsleeper at (no spam) aol.com
wrote:
On Sat, 11 Oct 2008 11:46:57 GMT, Bobby Knight <bknight at (no spam) conramp.net
wrote:
I don't think its such a big deal, but how can anyone doubt that
Palin used influence in this matter?
Unfortunately, not enough influence because the scumbag trooper
still has his job.
Scumbag? Only according to Palin and her sister. This is all over a
messy divorce. Have you read the transcript of the divorce
proceedings? The judge was critical of the harassment of Wooten by
the McCanns, and family.
What would you do with a cop who tasered his step-son.
I would not use the authority entrusted to an elected official as a means
to indulge in some ridiculous Hatfield and McCoy style fued. The brother-
in-law's alleged behavior is immaterial at this point. What Palin did was
just plain stupid. Very poor judgment for someone who aspires to the
second highest office in the land.
The Governor of a state is the chief law enforcement officer of the state. |
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| Carbon... |
| Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2008 11:00 pm |
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Guest
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On Sat, 11 Oct 2008 23:51:04 -0400, BAR wrote:
Quote: Carbon wrote:
On Sat, 11 Oct 2008 23:08:59 -0400, BAR wrote:
Bobby Knight wrote:
Scumbag? Only according to Palin and her sister. This is all over
a messy divorce. Have you read the transcript of the divorce
proceedings? The judge was critical of the harassment of Wooten by
the McCanns, and family.
What would you do with a cop who tasered his step-son.
I would not use the authority entrusted to an elected official as a
means to indulge in some ridiculous Hatfield and McCoy style fued.
The brother- in-law's alleged behavior is immaterial at this point.
What Palin did was just plain stupid. Very poor judgment for someone
who aspires to the second highest office in the land.
The Governor of a state is the chief law enforcement officer of the
state.
....which in no way entitles her to break the law. You know that, right? |
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| BAR... |
| Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2008 11:01 pm |
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Guest
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Carbon wrote:
Quote: On Sat, 11 Oct 2008 23:51:04 -0400, BAR wrote:
Carbon wrote:
On Sat, 11 Oct 2008 23:08:59 -0400, BAR wrote:
Bobby Knight wrote:
Scumbag? Only according to Palin and her sister. This is all over
a messy divorce. Have you read the transcript of the divorce
proceedings? The judge was critical of the harassment of Wooten by
the McCanns, and family.
What would you do with a cop who tasered his step-son.
I would not use the authority entrusted to an elected official as a
means to indulge in some ridiculous Hatfield and McCoy style fued.
The brother- in-law's alleged behavior is immaterial at this point.
What Palin did was just plain stupid. Very poor judgment for someone
who aspires to the second highest office in the land.
The Governor of a state is the chief law enforcement officer of the
state.
...which in no way entitles her to break the law. You know that, right?
What law did she break? She fired someone who served at her pleasure. |
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| Bobby Knight... |
| Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2008 11:02 pm |
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Guest
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On Sat, 11 Oct 2008 23:51:04 -0400, BAR <BAR at (no spam) ScrewYou.com> wrote:
Quote: Carbon wrote:
On Sat, 11 Oct 2008 23:08:59 -0400, BAR wrote:
Bobby Knight wrote:
On Sat, 11 Oct 2008 10:01:19 -0400, Jack Hollis <xsleeper at (no spam) aol.com
wrote:
On Sat, 11 Oct 2008 11:46:57 GMT, Bobby Knight <bknight at (no spam) conramp.net
wrote:
I don't think its such a big deal, but how can anyone doubt that
Palin used influence in this matter?
Unfortunately, not enough influence because the scumbag trooper
still has his job.
Scumbag? Only according to Palin and her sister. This is all over a
messy divorce. Have you read the transcript of the divorce
proceedings? The judge was critical of the harassment of Wooten by
the McCanns, and family.
What would you do with a cop who tasered his step-son.
I would not use the authority entrusted to an elected official as a means
to indulge in some ridiculous Hatfield and McCoy style fued. The brother-
in-law's alleged behavior is immaterial at this point. What Palin did was
just plain stupid. Very poor judgment for someone who aspires to the
second highest office in the land.
The Governor of a state is the chief law enforcement officer of the state.
Here's what happened. Notice that two years passed before it was
even mentioned. The mother of the boy should have reported it at the
time if she thought it was criminal.
-Wooten was also found to have violated department policy in using a
-Taser on his then 11-year old stepson in 2003. He told investigators
-that he did so "in a training capacity" after the child had asked to
-be tased. In a September 2008 newspaper interview, Wooten said that
-he set the Taser to "test" mode, meaning that it was on low power.
-In a statement to police, the boy said "he wanted to be tased to show
-that he's not a mommy's boy in front of Bristol [his cousin, Palin's
-daughter]. Following being tased he went upstairs to tell his mother
-that he was fine."
-Although the Taser incident happened in 2003, it was not reported to
-police until on or after April 11, 2005, the day McCann filed for
-divorce. On June 6, 2005, a police investigator asked Bristol why
-they "waited so long and brought the incident up after two years."
-Bristol said "because of the divorce."
bk |
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| BAR... |
| Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2008 11:04 pm |
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Guest
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Bobby Knight wrote:
Quote: On Sat, 11 Oct 2008 23:51:04 -0400, BAR <BAR at (no spam) ScrewYou.com> wrote:
Carbon wrote:
On Sat, 11 Oct 2008 23:08:59 -0400, BAR wrote:
Bobby Knight wrote:
On Sat, 11 Oct 2008 10:01:19 -0400, Jack Hollis <xsleeper at (no spam) aol.com
wrote:
On Sat, 11 Oct 2008 11:46:57 GMT, Bobby Knight <bknight at (no spam) conramp.net
wrote:
I don't think its such a big deal, but how can anyone doubt that
Palin used influence in this matter?
Unfortunately, not enough influence because the scumbag trooper
still has his job.
Scumbag? Only according to Palin and her sister. This is all over a
messy divorce. Have you read the transcript of the divorce
proceedings? The judge was critical of the harassment of Wooten by
the McCanns, and family.
What would you do with a cop who tasered his step-son.
I would not use the authority entrusted to an elected official as a means
to indulge in some ridiculous Hatfield and McCoy style fued. The brother-
in-law's alleged behavior is immaterial at this point. What Palin did was
just plain stupid. Very poor judgment for someone who aspires to the
second highest office in the land.
The Governor of a state is the chief law enforcement officer of the state.
Here's what happened. Notice that two years passed before it was
even mentioned. The mother of the boy should have reported it at the
time if she thought it was criminal.
-Wooten was also found to have violated department policy in using a
-Taser on his then 11-year old stepson in 2003. He told investigators
-that he did so "in a training capacity" after the child had asked to
-be tased. In a September 2008 newspaper interview, Wooten said that
-he set the Taser to "test" mode, meaning that it was on low power.
-In a statement to police, the boy said "he wanted to be tased to show
-that he's not a mommy's boy in front of Bristol [his cousin, Palin's
-daughter]. Following being tased he went upstairs to tell his mother
-that he was fine."
Shows a severe lack of judgment on Wooten's part to taser an 11 year old
stepson. Doesn't matter if the device was set on test mode or not.
Quote: -Although the Taser incident happened in 2003, it was not reported to
-police until on or after April 11, 2005, the day McCann filed for
-divorce. On June 6, 2005, a police investigator asked Bristol why
-they "waited so long and brought the incident up after two years."
-Bristol said "because of the divorce."
And? |
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| Bobby Knight... |
| Posted: Sat Oct 11, 2008 11:16 pm |
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Guest
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On Sun, 12 Oct 2008 00:04:18 -0400, BAR <BAR at (no spam) ScrewYou.com> wrote:
Quote: Bobby Knight wrote:
=
-Wooten was also found to have violated department policy in using a
-Taser on his then 11-year old stepson in 2003. He told investigators
-that he did so "in a training capacity" after the child had asked to
-be tased. In a September 2008 newspaper interview, Wooten said that
-he set the Taser to "test" mode, meaning that it was on low power.
-In a statement to police, the boy said "he wanted to be tased to show
-that he's not a mommy's boy in front of Bristol [his cousin, Palin's
-daughter]. Following being tased he went upstairs to tell his mother
-that he was fine."
Shows a severe lack of judgment on Wooten's part to taser an 11 year old
stepson. Doesn't matter if the device was set on test mode or not.
-Although the Taser incident happened in 2003, it was not reported to
-police until on or after April 11, 2005, the day McCann filed for
-divorce. On June 6, 2005, a police investigator asked Bristol why
-they "waited so long and brought the incident up after two years."
-Bristol said "because of the divorce."
And?
And? Fuck Bert, you're the one who brought it up. It was a stupid
thing to do, but has no bearing on the fact that the only reason it
was ever brought up was because of the divorce. Would you have waited
two years if it offended you? I think not.
You keep moving the goal posts. This has nothing to do with the fact
that Palin has been found to abuse the power of her office...by a
panel that had more REPUBLICANS on it than democrats.
Now THAT'S a severe lack of judgment on her part...and all over her
sister's divorce.
bk |
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| Jack Hollis... |
| Posted: Mon Oct 13, 2008 7:12 pm |
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Guest
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On 13 Oct 2008 14:12:46 GMT, Carbon <nobrac at (no spam) nospam.tampabay.rr.com>
wrote:
Quote: No. The investigation has completed the findings of fact stage and has
found that Palin abused her power as Governor in the firing of Monegan.
Try to keep up.
So she hasn't committed any crime. |
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| ... |
| Posted: Mon Oct 13, 2008 8:03 pm |
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Guest
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On 13-Oct-2008, William Clark <wclark2 at (no spam) colnospamumbus.rr.com> wrote:
Quote: You can say this with a straight face? Hell this troupergate wouldn't
even
rise to the level of backround noise in Chicago, land of Rezko, Ayers,
Wright, Fleager and the outfit. Please, you progressives are followers
of
the ends justifies the means. So who's being hypocritical?
Those who run around proclaiming themselves to be the champions of
ethical behavior, that's who.
How typical, since the progressive has no standards he shouldn't be held to
any.
--
bill-o
Play the ball as it lies.
Play the course as you find it.
And if you cant do either, do what is fair. |
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| Carbon... |
| Posted: Mon Oct 13, 2008 8:20 pm |
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Guest
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On Sun, 12 Oct 2008 20:16:16 -0400, William Clark wrote:
Quote: In article <FbadnVKPpo4D7W_VnZ2dnUVZ_gWdnZ2d at (no spam) giganews.com>, BAR
BAR at (no spam) ScrewYou.com> wrote:
Oops what? Let he who is without sin cast the first stone. Was that a
rock I heard falling out of your hand and hitting the ground Billy?
She did cast the first stone. She was the one bleating about how she
cleaned up Alaska, and how she would do the same in Washington. Now it
turns out that not only are her ethics less than spotless, but the way
she and her staff went about trying to get Monegan fired was so dumb
and amateurish as to be almost laughable. She is barely fit to run
Wasilla, never mind the US.
Pretty much. A deeply cynical choice on the part of the GOP. McCain was
going to lose anyway but Palin is making it worse. |
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