If Obama is elected, applicants for the position of Press Secretary must score highest in competitive testing and agree to the following:

• Which one would kowtow the lowest (while facing Obama),
• Which one could get his nose further up Obama’s fanny,
• Who was most adept at sprinkling rose petals in Obama’s path as he walked,
• Which one would contribute the largest percentage of his/her worldly belongings to Obama,
• Which one would compose the most moving “call to Obama” to be chanted from newly constructed minarets,
• Which one would personally create the most impressive ice sculpture of Obama (cannot use a professional),
• Which one would legally assign his/her internal organs to Obama (in case he needed it/one/them/etc.),
• Which one would agree to undergo root canals and colonoscopies in Obama’s place,
• Which one will agree to bleed if Obama gets cut and take an enema if Obama is constipated,
• Which one would agree to undergo any/all unpleasant activities in Obama’s place, including spousal relations with Michelle,
• Which one would agree to eat the grits and drink the coffee if Obama ever stops at Flo’s Café again
• Will agree to accept responsibility for any flatulence (gas passed) in a social setting
• Which one would agree to be Obama’s stand-in for any interviews where no teleprompter is available
• Which one would agree to bowl in Obama’s place (applicant with the highest average gets extra credit)
• Which one would agree to guard Obama (man-to-man) when playing any pickup basketball game (Obama’s high score gets extra credit)
• Which one would agree to replace Obama in any interview with Bill O’Reilly
• Must agree to hug Nancy Pelosi in Obama’s place when greeting her in any political setting
• Must agree to taka a bullet for Obama and to taste all food when Obama is invited to dinner at the Clintons
• If God calls Obama home, applicant agrees to go in his stead

Chapter 1, the dream.

Barry Obama was thinking about himself, thinking about the future. He had just graduated from Columbia a few days ago and knew he needed to finalize a decision about what to do and where to do it. He took another hit, coughed and lay back against his couch.

Thinking always tired him out; sapped his energy. It was like fueling his massive brain sucked the energy from his limbs and he just fell limp. He relaxed, and in moments, he was sound asleep.

 [Scene: Imagine blurry, misty visions of assorted stuff to indicate that this is supposed to be a dream – then dissolve to a bright, cheery Container Store]

Barry was waiting just inside the door. He was happy – almost glowing, and eager to greet the young woman entering the store. “Good morning miss, how may I help you?”

“My place is a mess and I need help. My mom is visiting tomorrow and she’s a neat-freak. I need to straighten up my apartment, especially my closet.”

“You’ve come to the right place, I, Barack Hussein Obama am the Messiah of The Container Store and I knowI have the change you are hoping for.” A quick snap of the Obama fingers and they were in the elfa® closet accessories department.

“Sit back and enjoy, Miss Schauers (somehow, he just knew her name), I know just what you need.” He motioned for her to sit. She slid into the overstuffed leather recliner and it engulfed her, welcomed her body like a lover’s embrace. She had never felt so completely content before; her legs tingled.

Barry snapped his magical fingers again and parts of a closet display began to move about, slowly shifting and rearranging themselves, until finally they stopped and a soft glow emanated from the finished elfa® Platium closet setup.

“Voila!” “The voice seemed to come from the closet itself, “I am the change, the change that you’ve been hoping for, April.”

“Oh my,” she beamed. “It’s beautiful – and the clothes … wait, are those my clothes?” “Those are my clothes!” “It’s all done and it is beautiful, but I’m sure that it is much more than I can afford.”

“Not to worry April, you don’t have to pay for it, someone else will pay for it.” It pleased Barry to help people and besides, money was plentiful in Barryland. In Barryland, he could give everyone new closet organizers and taxpayers would pay for all of it.

April didn’t even ask - there was no question that the entire setup, clothes and all, would somehow, magically, transport itself to her apartment. She just knew that it would be there when she got home.

April was in heaven, her mom would be so proud (she was really picky). She hugged Barry and kissed him on the cheek. “You are a wonderful, wonderful man – I couldn’t have organized my closet without you.”

Barry loved adoration, he wore it well. “I know,” he said wisely.

“BUT WAIT,” Barry thought. “What was that she said, “organizing” – that’s it! I was born to be an organizer.” “I can organize the world, one shoe box at a time.”

[Scene: blurry visions of stuff to indicate that Barry is waking from the dream.]

We find our hero sprawled on the floor, a little drool at the corner of his mouth. His eyes flash open – “Organizer, that’s what I’ll do – I’ll organize stuff for people, lots of people, even whole communities!”

Now invigorated and enthused, Barry began to plot his next move.

Barry found himself thinking to the tune of “Green Acres.” “Chicago is the place for me, organizing is the life for me, communities are spreading out so far and wide, keep Manhattan, just give me Chicago’s South side.” He would move to Chicago.

Chapter 2, the first day.

A month later, Barry was in Chicago. He’d found a place deep in Chicago’s south side – exactly where he felt the need to be.

It was a small apartment off of E. 130^th St., nothing fancy but clean. “It’s a start,” he thought, “today, E. 130^th St., tomorrow, a deluxe apartment in the sky – I’m movin’ on up!”

This morning, he decided to begin going door-to-door in a shabby neighborhood a couple of blocks away. There ought to be folks here that really needed change, he hoped so.

At the first house, a really large woman answered the door.

“Good morning, ma’am, my name is Barack Obama and I’m here to organize your curio cabinet, your silverware, or your lingerie, I’ll just bet you need organizing.”

“Don’t go talking that sexchul talk to me, ni**er, I’ll kick yo a** down the street.” She slammed the door hard, the wind blasting him backwards. “Maybe I should’ve asked about her master suite’s closet?” he thought.

The next house went better. Another large woman in a robe was more polite, she invited him in. “You look thirsty honey, I’ll fix you a nice cold drink.” Her robe accidentally slipped open a little – a little was enough, there was a lot that was trying to get out. Fighting back a flight reflex, his instinct was a little too slow and she set a glass of clear liquid in front of him. “Drink up honey,” she cooed. “You’ll like it and we can … talk.”

“What is it?”

“It’s a ‘dew me,’ she smiled, Mountain Dew and Everclear, it’ll perk you right up.”

“Uhhh, ma’am, ahhh uhhh I uhhh do you need uhhh organizing?”

“Oh Lordy, do I evah, Ah needs organizing real bad.” She moved towards him, the robe slipping a little more, a lot more coming out.

That was enough. Barry bolted for the door. His feet didn’t touch the ground until they hit the asphalt of the street. He covered the next 100 meters in record time. He’d rather be the main event at a Klan rally than organize that woman. This “organizing” thing wasn’t going to be easy.

He decided to try one more before he lost his nerve.

Another knock - another screen door squeaks open. This time it’s a large man (“aren’t there any small people here?” he thought). “Good morning, sir, my name is Barack Obama and I’m a professional organizer, is the lady of the house at home?”

The man scowled. “Aha, so you is dat uppity ni**er been doin my woman, I’m gonna cut you.” He pushed the door open and reached for Barry. But this time, Barry was ready, he jumped from the porch and went for the gold. He outran three cars and a motorcycle before stopping at the next street.

Breathless and dejected, he walked slowly, head down, until he happened upon two kids, they couldn’t have been more than eight or nine. One was sitting on a battered “Big Wheel,” the other was leaning against a rickety fence, staring at Barry.

“Hey, why you dressed like dat?”

Barry was wearing his brand new lime green Costco suit, complete with faux silk tie. “Because I’m a professional organizer, little brother.”

“I ain’t yo brother, ni**er,” and he grabbed his crotch and shot Barry the finger. At the same time, the Big Wheel kid rammed the bike into Barry’s knee from behind, knocking him to the ground. They both piled on and relieved Barry of his wallet and the six dollars it contained. They were gone by the time he regained his senses and got up.

Barry was now disappointed, disillusioned, and … mugged.

As a last resort, he stopped at a church. Not a particularly religious man, what could it hurt to sit for a spell? Inside, he sat down in the cool quiet and rested, revisiting his futile attempts to organize anything so far. His first morning was an utter failure.

“Troubled, my brother?” The voice came from behind Barry. He turned and found a smiling black man dressed in an African Dashiki. “I’m the pastor here, Reverend Jeremiah Rhong.”

Barry spilled his guts. He related his dream, his move to Chicago, and his first morning trying to help people, and being mugged by two nine-year-olds street toughs. He was distraught and close to tears.  

“It’s not your fault, my brother. “Don’t give up.” “There’s plenty of things that need organizing here.” “You could help me organize last Sunday’s take, … er … collections – you know, count the money (or should that have been Count de Monet?). “You could organize radios and rims for Jermaine – he has a “parts” business.” “Or, Little Willie could use some organizing of his “herbs and powders.” “There’s lots that needs organizing, I won’t let you give up – you gotta have hope if you want to change.”

Reverend Rhong was wright right! He had a God-given gift for organizing; he was especially talented when arranging knick-knacks, bric-a-brac, and curios – you know, really important stuff.

”You’re right, I’ve got to fight the good fight, like the ant moving the rubber-tree plant – I’ve got high hopes.” “Thanks, Reverend – I’ll be sitting in my own pew on Sunday.”

“Baadaye” “That’s see you later in Swahili.” Rev. Rhong said as Barry left.

Click the link for the next episode of our ongoing serial

I picked this item up while trying to verify whether Sarah Palin has a valid pilot’s license. It is said that she does, but so far, no definitive proof. Her husband does – he is listed in the FAA database. The family does own a float plane, I’d be amazed if she doesn’t fly, but we’ll see.

This is unverified and could be a load of crap, but pretty much all of the opinions offered do jibe with the facts as we know them. It is a compelling opinion from an Alaskan bush pilot who thinks highly of Vice President Palin (I know, I know).

-------------------------------------------------

Eddie S from San Antonio, fishes at the Wildman Lodge on the Alaskan Peninsula. The lodge is owned by Butch and Kathy King. The KING'S spend their winters in Texas and their summers in Alaska. Kathy's father and former husband served in the Alaskan legislature for around 30 years so Butch and Kathy know Alaska politics.

Eddie emailed Butch and asks Butch what the King's think of Gov. Sarah Palin. Butch's unedited email is attached below. Please read it. This is what the citizens of Alaska think of Sarah Palin!

The following is an email from Butch to Eddie

Hi Eddie:

When Sarah walked into the Governor's Mansion, she promptly dismissed the State Trooper detachment assigned to the Governor and had her and her husband's gun case brought in from Wasilla. Then, she got rid of the former Governor's STATE Jet and told legislators that there were no more free rides, they would have to fly Alaska Airlines, just like her and her family if they wanted to travel.

Next came the nut cutting (the Barracuda part) the heads that rolled were too numerous to name, but when Sarah finished cleaning house, a number of our legislators ended up in jail for on corruption charges, or tendered their resignations along with numerous department heads and those who have been riding the gravy train for way too long, AND THEN SHE HAD LUNCH.

By the end of the day, Sarah Palin had saved the people of Alaska millions and has not yet slowed down. She has truly brought CHANGE to Juneau. I personally know several persons in the private sector in Alaska, that hold her in high esteem. She surrounds herself with smart people, many from my hometown of Anchorage, she listens to them but makes her own decisions.

Sarah Palin is a no B.S. politician. It is refreshing that there is such a thing anymore. You want to talk about CHANGE? You should see a before and after picture of the State government in Alaska. That's CHANGE! Sarah will bring a number of things to the election. I am sure she will appeal to many voters who may otherwise could have gone the other direction on election day. The conservative block will not be for Barack. We have their vote. We need what Sarah will bring, first to the election and second, what she will bring to Washington D.C.

McCain has been advised well, Let's just hope the American people can get the straight scoop on her in the weeks ahead.

This is just the opinion of one Alaska Bush Pilot and Guide, who pays attention to national politics, watches the news and is deathly afraid of the direction our nation is headed. I guarantee that if Sarah gets a chance to dig her spurs into the flanks of the liberal Washington types, they will know that she is in the saddle.

Butch King
Pilot/Guide
Butch & Kathy King
Proprietors
Wildman Lake Lodge

What does he/she do, organize communities? Is that like organizing a sock drawer? Or organizing your thoughts, or desktop contents? What exactly did Obama do during those three years in Chicago?

Community organizing is a process by which people are brought together to act in common self-interest. While organizing describes any activity involving people interacting with one another in a formal manner, much community organizing is in the pursuit of a common agenda. Many groups seek populist goals and the ideal of participatory democracy. Community organizers create social movements by building a base of concerned people, mobilizing these community members to act, and developing leadership from and relationships among the people involved.

The father of community organizing is generally considered to be Saul David Alinsky (January 30, 1909, Chicago, Illinois - June 12, 1972, Carmel, California). He was a social activist who taught and wrote about radical activities. Following are two of his books:

Reveille for Radicals (1946). 2nd edition 1969, Vintage Books paperback: ISBN 0-679-72112-6

Rules for Radicals: A Pragmatic Primer for Realistic Radicals (1971) Random House, ISBN 0-394-44341-1, Vintage books paperback: ISBN 0-679-72113-4

Some notable community organizers were:

Saul Alinsky

César Chávez

Jesse Jackson

Martin Luther King, Jr.

And, Barack Obama.

So, how’d Obama do as a community organizer?

He moved to Chicago in 1985, a little more than a year after he graduated from Columbia University in NYC. Thirteen years after Alinsky died, a former Alinsky student recruited 24-year-old Barack Obama as an organizer.

He was hired by Jerry Kellman, a Chicago organizer, to a $13,000 a year job, plus $2,000 for a car, as a community organizer in South Chicago. Obama was trained to work in the Alinsky method of community organizing.

At the heart of the Alinsky method is the concept of “agitation”–making someone angry enough about the rotten state of his life that he agrees to take action to change it; or, as Alinsky himself described the job, to “rub raw the sores of discontent.”

He was to lead the Developing Communities Project (DCP), which would target African American neighborhoods on Chicago’s South Side by working with African American churches in the area. During Obama’s time as a community organizer, Harold Washington was serving as Chicago’s first black mayor.

Obama described the work of a community organizer in a chapter he wrote for a 1990 book called After Alinsky: Community Organizing in Illinois.

He wrote, in part: “Over the past five years, I've often had a difficult time explaining my profession to folks. Typical is a remark a public school administrative aide made to me one bleak January morning, while I waited to deliver some flyers to a group of confused and angry parents who had discovered the presence of asbestos in their school.”

"Listen, Obama," she began. "You're a bright young man, Obama. You went to college, didn't you?" I nodded. "I just cannot understand why a bright young man like you would go to college, get that degree and become a community organizer." "Why's that?"

"Cause the pay is low, the hours is long, and don't nobody appreciate you." She shook her head in puzzlement as she wandered back to attend to her duties.

In terms of concrete accomplishments, Obama and “hundreds of other organizers” were not able to transform the South Side neighborhoods or bring in new industries to provide jobs. Obama’s most commonly cited achievement was in forcing the city to begin testing for asbestos in all city apartments.

As a mentor to public housing residents, Obama says he initiated and led efforts that thrust Altgeld's asbestos problem into the headlines, pushing city officials to call hearings and a reluctant housing authority to start a cleanup.

But others tell the story much differently. They say Obama did not play the singular role in the asbestos episode that he portrays in the best-selling memoir 'Dreams From My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance.' Credit for pushing officials to deal with the cancer-causing substance, according to interviews and news accounts from that period, also goes to a well-known preexisting group at Altgeld Gardens and to a local newspaper called the Chicago Reporter. Obama does not mention either one in his book." [Los Angeles Times, 2/19/07]

Dissatisfied with his lack of success and faced with frustrations, after three years in Chicago, Obama decided to apply his skills in the wider world. In 1988, at 27, he left Chicago and entered Harvard Law School.

One thing that remains from Obama’s community organizing days,

remember this paragraph?

At the heart of the Alinsky method is the concept of “agitation”–making someone angry enough about the rotten state of his life that he agrees to take action to change it; or, as Alinsky himself described the job, to “rub raw the sores of discontent.”

That pretty much describes Obama’s presidential political campaign. Looks like he is attempting to use the Alinsky method on us right now, doesn’t it?

For those who don’t have the time or inclination to poke around the Internet looking for a candidate’s position on an issue, this site has impressed me with the extent of its coverage. It does cover all of the candidates (even third-party candidates) and offers quotes and background on the following 24 categories:

Not all candidates have responses in every category, but for the major candidates, there is some pretty robust information. And, while there are a lot of late (2008) data, I did note that the Supreme Court’s recent decision on D.C.’s gun law and how the court interpreted the 2^nd Amendment was not included.

The name of the site is OnTheIssues.org and the link is here:

http://www.ontheissues.org/Sarah_Palin.htm

I’ve chosen to link to Sarah Palin’s page simply because the home page is not as easy to navigate. You can go to any other candidate directly from this page with no trouble.

Hope this helps!

I just heard Rush quote Sarah Palin’s response when she was asked how she would handle the intense scrutiny by the MSM. She said, “do you know the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull?”

The reporter said “no.” Her response was: “lipstick.” Gotta love it!

------------------------------

Now, back to work; following are more allegations made against Sarah Palin and what I’ve found to support or refute them.

3. She taxed the "evil" oil companies for their "windfall profits"

Did Sarah impose a tax increase on oil companies? Yes, she did. The law passed in November, 2007, and increased the basic tax rate from 22.5% to 25%, and she also instituted a “progressive” windfall profits provision. When oil prices went over $50/barrel, the tax rate would rise 0.2% for each dollar. There was also a “floor” aspect to cover the state when oil prices were low.

So, Sarah did something that I (along with other conservatives) don’t like – she increased taxes. Her reason for enacting the increase was that the previous tax rate didn’t provide enough funds to support government requirements. Her tax program increased tax revenue by almost $2 billion.

4. She’s not really pro-life

I’m going to need some help with this one. Someone who maintains that position is going to have to provide references to support that statement. Otherwise, there are two pieces of real, hard evidence that refute that statement:

• She gave birth to a Downs Syndrome child even though she and her husband were aware of the child’s condition beforehand. Abortion would have been the answer for many women who found themselves in this situation.

• Her daughter, now seventeen, has become pregnant by a man not her husband. She intends to marry the man and to have the baby. Once again, an abortion would have been considered “justifiable” by many a pregnant girl and her parents.

In other words, an abortion would likely have been the solution to either or both of these real world situations - especially by the “pro-choice” faction. Yet, Sarah, and her family have opted for “life.”

And her statements echo her real-life decisions. In 2002, while running for lieutenant governor, Palin called herself as "pro-life as any candidate can be." In 2006, while running for governor, Palin was asked what she would do if her own daughter were raped and became pregnant; she responded that she would "choose life". She and her husband stated that they had "faith that every baby is created for a good purpose." In July 2006 she wrote, "I am pro-life. With the exception of a doctor’s determination that the mother’s life would end if the pregnancy continued.”

5. She’s a Socialist

Again, having been exposed to many, many newspaper articles, quotes, Wikipedia articles, blog entries, and governmental websites, I have yet to see anything that would lead an objective reader to call her a “socialist.” If anyone has some specific quotes or statements by her that can be construed as socialistic, please make those available.

Otherwise, that allegation is a crock.

6. If you think Nancy Pelosi is wrong on drilling, Palin is worse!

As Governor, Palin has strongly promoted oil and natural gas resource development in Alaska, including opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) to drilling.

Speaker Pelosi has consistently been against any new drilling and has prevented any House vote on the subject.

I like the term “pesky,” especially as it applies to the truth. The dictionary definition of pesky is: causing irritation or annoyance.

My blog is called Pesky Truth because I fully intend to be truthful as best I am able to determine it – and I fully expect that the truth will irritate and annoy some who don’t want to hear the truth. So be it.

That brings me to the subject of this piece: Dave from the Townhall blog, “A Conservative in Cincinnati” brought to my attention some smears that have been aimed at Sarah Palin. They deserve investigation to either disprove them or learn of some negative that was previously unknown to us (at least to Dave or I).

Unlike the left, we conservatives generally do admit the failings of our candidates or office holders; a cursory read of several blogs on Townhall will confirm that many conservatives dislike a number of John McCain’s positions and are not shy about identifying them. In general, we conservatives don’t believe McCain to be a perfect candidate.

The left would rather commit hari kari with a rusty linoleum knife before admitting to ANY untoward activity on the part of their candidates or office holders – remember Bill Clinton? What do you hear about Obama’s qualifications from the left?

So, I’ll address two of the allegations now, with more to come later.

1. “She is the governor of a sanctuary state that is building a Mexican embassy”

If left unchallenged, that statement implies that Sarah Palin (as Governor) was somehow responsible for the “sanctuary” policy, and the sanctuary policy is akin to San Francisco’s demented policy.

Most folks immediately think of San Francisco and their pro-illegal policies when they hear the term “sanctuary city”. And, the statement above conjures up images of an entire state mandating similar policies. This simply isn’t true. San Francisco has had a “city of refuge” ordinance since 1989. Gavin Newsom, the mayor of San Francisco, California, is even publicizing the fact that San Francisco is a sanctuary for illegal aliens.  In 2007, Mayor Newsom reaffirmed San Francisco’s commitment to immigrant communities by issuing an Executive Order that called on City departments to develop protocol and training on the Sanctuary Ordinance. In practice, San Francisco has recently come under scrutiny for not reporting criminals to INS – even after multiple offenses.

Now let’s compare Alaska. In May of 2003, (before Sarah Palin was elected) the state legislature passed a joint resolution (No. 22) that “establishes that state agencies and instrumentalities may not use state resources or institutions for the enforcement of federal immigration laws, which are the responsibility of the federal government.” Shortly thereafter, the cities of Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Sitka adopted similar versions of the state resolution.

Since then, in September 2007, Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich said he's concerned about the sanctuary label. "The fact is, we are not a sanctuary city. Our police department works very closely with the Immigration and Naturalization Service and all of the folks within the federal government and I don't know where this rating came from, or this labeling, but it is really, in my view, a bogus labeling for our city," Begich said. The Mayor said the city is already doing all of the cooperative type of work with federal agencies that is necessary.

Even so, the resolutions already contained wording that allowed an override of the notification ban under Section 4: “(1) Unless necessary to protect the safety of people” which means that when an illegal is caught committing a crime, he/she may be turned over to ICE without violating the resolution.

The points are: First, all of the sanctuary resolutions were passed before Palin even took office; she had no responsibility for them. Second, they were never as absolute as San Francisco’s and the resolutions contained an exception covering the case of a law-breaking illegal. And third, two major cities that originally signed on to the sanctuary concept are now rescinding that decision and no longer want to be considered a “sanctuary cities.”

It should also be noted that in the September 1, 2008 issue of the San Francisco Chronicle, an article about The Republican Platform and sanctuary cities (and states), does not include Alaska among a list of sanctuary states.

And regarding the “building of a Mexican embassy,” there are already fifty (50) Mexican consulates in the U.S. California alone has 9 and Texas has 11. What is the stigma of one in Alaska? Fourteen other states have a single consulate. Is that a bad thing? What is the nefarious implication?

2. “She gave a Canadian company a $500 million subsidy to build a gas pipeline”

 The new Alaska Gasline Inducement Act (AGIA) is Alaska’s law designed to advance construction of a natural gas pipeline from the North Slope to a market where the gas will be sold.

The AGIA replaced the failed Stranded Gas Development Act (SGDA) effort, which resulted in a privately negotiated agreement with three North Slope producers that was rejected by the legislature and the Alaska public.

The privately negotiated SGDA agreement, which required Alaska to give up its ability to regulate taxes on the companies for 30 to 40 years, would have cost Alaskans at least $10 billion in revenues over its term in exchange for no commitment to actually build the pipeline.

Enacted last year, AGIA requires a pipeline project builder to meet certain requirements that will advance the project, in exchange for a license that provides up to $500 million in matching funds, which will help reduce the financial risks that such a huge project faces in its early stages.

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin reported that five companies submitted applications by the Nov. 30 deadline for the exclusive right to build a natural gas pipeline to transport North Slope gas to market.

The applicants are Alaska Gasline Port Authority, AEnergia LLC, TransCanada, Sinopec ZPEB and Alaska Natural Gas Development Authority. Applications were submitted under the Alaska Gasline Inducement Act, or AGIA, passed by the Alaska Legislature in May 2007.

"Today marks yet another milestone in our quest to commercialize our vast reserves of North Slope gas," Palin said. "With five good companies investing a lot of money just for the opportunity to compete for the exclusive $500 million AGIA license, they have shown how profitable a project like this can be for them, and how Alaska has created a positive environment in which to do business." What? Five companies competing for the $500 million? Competition? Why didn’t someone in a previous administration think of that?

Each application will be reviewed to determine whether it complies with AGIA's mandatory terms. Palin and her team insist that applications must meet each of AGIA's 20 requirements to be considered for the award of the AGIA license. Following the review, all applications will be made public.

On August 27, 2008, Gov. Sarah Palin signed House Bill 3001, authorizing the state to award an AGIA license allowing TransCanada Alaska to start developing a 1,715-mile natural gas pipeline from a treatment plant at Prudhoe Bay to the Alberta Hub in Canada.

In summary, Palin rescinded a previously negotiated agreement that would have cost the state $10 billion in revenues and had been rejected by the legislature and the Alaska public. She replaced it with competitive bidding for the rights to build the pipeline. As part of the inducement to meet specific timeframes, etc., the five companies were also competing for $500 million in matching funds that would be available to the company winning the bid. In the end, TransCanada won the competition. The AGIA license will be issued in 90 days.

TransCanada’s application states that it anticipates completion of the pipeline by November 2017. The project has an estimated cost of $25 billion.

This is my third posting on Sarah Palin; you could say that she’s the gift that just keeps on giving. She came out of nowhere and now we’re scrambling to flesh out the Republican candidate for the second most important job in the country.

My earlier posts have concentrated mostly on her political attributes. This piece contains more personal information about Sarah and her family – a traditional family.

What? She comes from a “traditional” family? That’s not normal. Dysfunctional families are now the norm, aren’t they? At least that’s what the left would like us to believe.

No brother living on $1/month? No attorney son working as a Washington lobbyist? No ties to admitted domestic terrorists? What’s wrong with that family? Didn’t they get the memo?

She was raised by a loving mother and father. Now that is just soooo wrong – don’t they know that a “traditional” family is passé today? Apparently no one is in any kind of “counseling”? There aren’t any custody issues or wayward children?

Their oldest son voluntarily joined the Army and is scheduled to be shipping out to Iraq, and they’re proud of that?

The left is already asking “what’s wrong with this picture?” It’s a rhetorical question since they already know their answer – everything is wrong.

There is no place in their world for a traditional family - one that honors our traditional values of honesty, hard work, and responsibility. The left has been slowly but consistently training us to believe that all families are dysfunctional to some degree – and it’s ok, it’s “normal” to be dysfunctional – but isn’t that an oxymoron?

It is time for conservatives to stand up and call BULLSHI* on that.

Following are some excerpts from an article in the Daily Mail (UK) 8/31/2008, when Caroline Graham interviewed Sarah’s mother, Sally Heath. Her mom describes the woman who could become President and I, for one, couldn’t be more pleased.

Her 68-year-old mother last night told how Sarah had always been “a girl powered by a driving force.” “She has never been a typical girly girl. We moved to Alaska when she was a baby and she was raised to hunt, shoot, fish and play sports. She is a frontierswoman.” “She was a sporty girl and played basketball and ran track and field. She loved it so much she called her first son Track.”

“Sarah grew up hunting. She can use a gun. She and her daddy would wake up at 3am on schooldays to hunt moose.  She loves caribou [wild reindeer] burgers and is most at home with a cold beer at a barbecue.”

She said Sarah entered beauty contests, not for vanity, but to earn prize money to pursue her dreams. “She was always good-looking but never vain. We raised her to believe she could be anything she wanted to be.”

Sarah wanted to be a journalist. She wanted to go to university but knew the family budget was slim. So she went in for a beauty contest because it offered money. Sarah entered the Miss Wasilla pageant in 1984, which she won wearing a red Crimplene dress she made herself.

The following spring she came second in Miss Alaska, winning a £5,000 scholarship to Idaho University, where she studied journalism.

Sarah eloped with Todd, her childhood sweetheart, in 1988. Her mother said: “It was a shock but she did it because she knew we couldn’t afford a big white wedding. They have been together ever since. He is her rock.”

Todd is as colorful as his wife. He works on the Alaskan oil fields and has won a 2,000-mile snowmobile race called the ‘Iron Dog Race’ four times. He is one-eighth Yup’ik Eskimo. Todd is also a member of the steelworkers’ union and a seasonal oil production operator for BP, from which he earned $93,000 last year. He also helps to run the family’s commercial fishing business.

Sarah, a staunch anti-abortionist, gave birth to her youngest son, Trig Paxson Van Palin, four months ago, despite knowing he would have Down’s syndrome. Sally said: “Sarah loves that boy more than anything. When she learned he had a problem, it didn’t affect her love for him at all. In fact, I think she feels closer to him.”

Last December, Sarah posed for Vogue magazine but Sally said: “I didn’t really like the pictures. They had her in fur. She looked too glamorous. The Sarah I know is the girl in sweatpants, her baby in her arms.” “Sarah doesn’t really wear make-up. She’s much more at home with a gun than a mascara wand.”

“I would never have put Sarah down as a future vice-president, but I always knew she was destined for big things. She knows what she wants and goes after it full throttle.”

What’s not to like?

And here’s a comment from a noted democrat, Camille Paglia: “We may be seeing the first woman president. As a Democrat, I am reeling,” said Paglia, the cultural critic. “That was the best political speech I have ever seen delivered by an American woman politician. Palin is as tough as nails.”

Pollster John Zoby says: "Palin is not to be underestimated. Her real strength is that she is authentic, a real mom, an outdoors person, a small town mayor (hey, she has dealt with a small town city council - that alone could be preparation for staring down Vladimir Putin, right?). She is also a reformer."

"A very important demographic in this election is going to be the politically independent woman, 15% of whom in our latest survey are undecided."

"In the final analysis, this election will be about Obama vs. McCain. Obama has staked out ground as the new JFK - a new generation, literally and figuratively, a new face of America to the world, a man who can cross lines and work with both sides. But McCain is the modern day Harry Truman - with lots of DC experience, he knows what is wrong and dysfunctional with Washington and how to fix it, and he has chosen a running mate who is about as far away from Washington as he could find.

"This contest is likely to be very close until the weekend before the election - then the dam may break and support may flood one way or the other."

This is my second post on the subject of Sarah Palin today and covers some information that wasn’t covered in the earlier one.

I was driving back to Dallas on Friday and had Rush tuned in when the formal announcement came, followed by Palin’s acceptance speech. I’d heard of her before and knew that she was Governor of Alaska and was for drilling in ANWR, but little more than that. I’d heard that she was one of many under consideration, but like most others, had no reason to believe that she’d be the chosen one. Up until now, she would’ve been listed as a really dark horse, a really long shot.

I’d been hearing all morning that she was the pick and was intrigued by the possibilities, but not necessarily enthusiastic – I figured, let’s wait and see.

Her speech blew me away. She came across as an accomplished public speaker, confident and forceful. Her story is a real American dream, as it would’ve been defined 30 or 40 years ago (when men were still men and women were still women) before everything had to be “green,” before men had to get in touch with their inner female, before political correctness went amok, and before metrosexuals agonized over the price of arugula.

She and her husband hunt game, fish commercially, and raise their five children together. She knows how to take care of herself, and by extension, her kids.

You want a role model for your daughter, there she is.

Some of her accomplishments include:

• As Mayor, she cut her own salary and reduced property taxes by 40%.
• As Governor, during her first legislative session, her administration passed two major pieces of legislation – an overhaul of the state’s ethics laws and a competitive process to construct a gas pipeline.
• She objected to the decision of the U. S. Secretary of the Interior to list polar bears as an endangered species and threatened to file a lawsuit to stop the designation. The listing would dramatically affect oil and gas development in the state’s northern and northwestern coasts.
• When Governor Palin signed the state’s operating budget, she also used her veto power to make the second-largest cuts of the construction budget in state history. The $237 million in cuts represented over 300 local projects and reduced the construction budget to nearly $1.6 billion.
• When legislative attempts to prevent the state from having to fund part of the “bridge to nowhere” failed, Palin cancelled the bridge altogether.
• Under her leadership, the state invested $5 billion in state savings, overhauled education funding, and implemented the Senior Benefits Program to provide support for low-income older Alaskans.
• As Governor, she rescinded 35 appointments made by the outgoing Governor in the last hours of his administration. One of those was his former chief of staff, who later pleaded guilty to conspiracy to feed money into the former Governor’s re-election campaign.
• Palin replaced a deal negotiated by the former Governor to build a natural gas pipeline with a new one awarded to a different vendor. Only one legislator (the Senate has 20 members, and the House has 40) voted against the bill. The pipeline will carry gas from the North Slope to the lower 48 states through Canada.

Sarah Palin has done more than talk, she has actually accomplished things. And, can you believe it, there have been no reports of her failing to participate in any discussions, meetings, or negotiations with her legislative peers by hiding behind a “present” vote.

True, her longevity in public office yields a slim resume, but her achievements outweigh what Obama or Biden have ever done as a leader. Both of them (and admittedly McCain, too) have shared their responsibility with many other Senators – none were ever the only one whose butt was on the line (and a lovely butt it is).

And somehow, through it all, she managed to maintain a voter approval rating ranging from 76 to 90 % - unbelievable.

I’m looking forward to hearing the democrats call Sarah Palin “a strong woman” - in any context – even a negative one.

Bet they don’t.

Hillary was identified as a strong woman and we were told that any man who didn’t buy into her leftist agenda was afraid of a strong woman. This “strong woman” rhetoric has been used as a weapon by feminist for years, much as the charge of “racist” is used to label any white person who doesn’t intend to vote for Barack Obama.

Just what defines a “strong woman”?

Following are some attributes summarized from several sources to describe what I believe approximates a “strong person.” I am specifically leaving out references to physical power since those attributes have no bearing on this context. Here are some definitions of “strong” that are appropriate when assessing a person’s character.

• Having a force of character and will
• Intense in degree or quality, forceful or vigorous
• Not easily upset, resistant to harmful or unpleasant influences
• Morally or intellectually powerful, having a powerful effect

While I can’t speak for everyone, I believe that most people will agree that anyone, man or woman, who can be described as having those attributes, is a strong person. And therefore, a woman possessing those attributes is, by definition, a “strong woman.”

Enter Sarah Palin.

Sarah is a MOM, in the truest, most admirable sense of the word. Her children weren’t raised by nannies and sent to boarding schools. She and her husband have five children, four still at home. The oldest son joined the Army on September 11^th of 2007 and will ship out to the Middle East this year. She’s been a “hockey mom,” and assisted in coaching youth basketball. A wife and mother of five should be enough to classify someone as a strong woman, but of course not to the militant feminists.

She began her political career in 1992 when she ran for a seat on the City Council of Wasilla, Ak. She won and served two terms until 1996. Serving on a city council of even a small town (under 10,000) takes a certain amount of assertiveness and practical judgment.

In 1996, she was elected Mayor of Wasilla, beating out the incumbent. She reduced her own salary and reduced property taxes by 40 %, as promised during her campaign. She ran for reelection in 1999 against the same previous mayor and won by an even greater margin. Once again, Sarah showed spunk and determination in firing the police chief and the library director for misdeeds. She was also elected president of the Alaska Conference of Mayors.

The Governor appointed Palin Ethics Commissioner of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, where she served from 2003 to 2004. In 2004, she resigned in protest over what she called the “lack of ethics” of Republican leaders (her own party). After resigning, she exposed the state party’s chairman and a former Alaska Attorney General for wrongdoings and both men subsequently resigned, one paying a record fine. She bucked her own party’s leaders and won.

In 2006, she upset then-Governor Murkowski in the primary, and then won the gubernatorial election in November by over 8%, despite being outspent by her opponent, former Governor Tony Knowles. She became Alaska’s first woman Governor, and the youngest in the state’s history. She challenged the party politics and the “good old boy” network and won.

Palin’s approval rating as Governor have frequently risen above 90% but reached a low of 76% after she fired Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan. Note that her LOW approval rating is approximately seven times that of our current U.S. Congress.

Her list of substantive achievements in two years as Governor exceed the “major” accomplishments of Barack Obama during his six years as Illinois State Senator combined with his time as a United States Senator.

Three shiny, new black SUVs pulled up in front of Flo’s Café and parked. Two “suits” got out, one from the first car and one from the third, and stood silently while looking through their dark sunglasses at the quiet street with the single traffic light. After a scan of the area found no items of concern, the first “suit” said something to his shoulder and doors opened.

Five men in black got out and gathered around an open door of the middle SUV as Barack Hussein Obama stepped out into the sunlight. He looked like the all-American politician, open necked pale blue shirt with sleeves rolled up, and khaki chinos. And smiling – boy, was he smiling, and what a set of gleaming teeth. A little sparkle flashed as the sunlight reflected off those pearly-whites.

He was in the heartland, and since an accident on the Interstate forced a detour, he decided to sample some real Midwest cuisine. So, a couple of miles of back-road driving brought the caravan to Flo’s.

Hankpanky was real small-town Ohio, only 320 residents, one traffic light, two barbers, four bars, two gas stations, two (real) restaurants, and Flo’s. The town’s only claim to fame was when Caroline Kennedy (accidentally) drove her Oldsmobile off the road and into Eurine Creek and damn near “drownded” Eric Holder. They were the vetting team checking out Obama’s candidates for Vice President. They had eaten at Flo's and liked it.

Flo’s was owned and operated by Florence I’Tally, a tall, slim, middle-aged blonde (helped along by Revlon) who was constantly chewing bubble gum. Looking like an icon from the 50’s in her blue and white waitress outfit. She looked the part.

“Suit one” opened the squeaky front door and held it as the others filed in. “Boy howdy, this looks like a mortician’s convention comin’ in.” Al, the cook, looked up to see what Flo was talking about. “Jezzus Flo, that’s that guy – that’s that Obomber guy.” “What Obomber guy?” Flo was not what you’d call “informed,” uni-formed was as close as she’d get to “informed.” If it wasn’t on American Idol, it didn’t exist – besides, she spent her off hours entertaining her men-friends.

Suits two and three slid into a booth facing the door and across from Obama. The other two took the booth closest to the door.

“Morning Miss, I hear you have good food here.” The black guy was making small talk. Flo quipped back with her stock reply, “Honey, we've got the third best food in town!”

“Where you fellas from?” Obama was a little surprised that she didn’t seem to recognize him. “We’re from Washington, D.C.” “Ooohwee, you’re a long way from home, ain’t cha?” she smacked her gum a few times.

“You mean you don’t know who I am?”

Flo didn’t like that response “who’s he think he is” she thought. “No, sir, I ain’t got a clue – who are you?” She blew a small bubble.

“I’m going to be your next President.”

Flo laughted, "No way, honey, you’re black, and I know for a fact that John McCain is white, so you can't be no John McCain.”

Suits two and three stifled back laughter, suit four did giggle aloud – which really ticked off Obama – he turned and glared at suit four for a moment.” “I am Barack Obama,” he said with some haughtiness in his voice.

“Bareact O’who?”

“Obama, Obama.”

“Well honey, don’t go getting all huffy. How’m I supposed to know who you are – ain’t got no name tag or nothing?” She blew a big bubble this time. Pop.

Obama regained his composure – “can’t let this moronic twit get me upset,” he thought. “I’m sorry, miss, I’m a candidate for President and my name is Barack Obama. I thought you might have seen me on TV.”

“Don’t watch much TV, Mister Olabama.” Suit three turned away and you could see his body shaking, doing his best to fight back the laughter. Chew, chew, smack, pop.

Obama regained control, “that’s fine, maybe we can get menus then.”

“Shore honey, Al, gimme two more menus.” Al was smiling too now. Ellis was due to take the late morning shift soon, but Al thought he might want to hang around and watch this guy duel with Flo. He’d lose of course, Flo was the queen of the acid comebacks.

“Can you make an egg-white omlet with arugula?”

“Honey," she paused, "I got egg-whites, I got Jimmy Dean sausage, I got bacon, I got hotcakes, but I ain’t got none of that argoola stuff. I got grits, you want grits?”

Obama took a deep breath, “just bring me orange juice, decaf coffee, bacon, and two or three of those grits, I’ll try them.”

“Two or three grits?” Flo was perplexed, ain’t nobody ever asked her for “two or three grits” before. Was he making fun of her? “I’ll slap that skinny big-eared weasel silly,” she thought. No, wait, maybe he was just one of those "slow" people.

The suits, all four of them, were doing their best to look serious yet still laughing inside. This was too much.

“I’m sorry, I stand corrected, I’ll have a bowl of those grit things.”

She picked up a coffee pot (a nice, fresh pot for the suits) and proceeded to fill the suit's cups. Chew, pop, chew, pop.

“Is that decaf?” Big ears asked. “No, this is ‘caf,’ sir, I’ll be back with yours in just a minute.” Flo picked up the oldest, stalest pot still on the warmer (it had been "coagulating" for days) and filled Omama’s cup. “Here’s your decaf, sir.” “Right," she thought, she’d seen roofing tar thinner than that swill, "hope he likes it.” Pouring it was like pouring thick paint, Flo half expected it to make a glop, glop, glop sound as she poured.

“We’ve got to get going, can you bag our food to go?” asked suit one. “Sure, only take a minute.” Flo was happy to see them go, that one Omumba guy that looked like a brown Herman Munster was a real pain in the butt.

Al quickly packaged everything into Styrofoam containers, everything except the grits – Flo took care of the grits. Suit two handed Flo a credit card and signed it when she returned. They hurriedly left and got into the SUVs.

That’s when she noticed that they had stiffed her, no tip, no tip at all. “What buttholes.”

The three SUVs pulled out and sped away.

“Oh well, I guess that makes us even. If they’d left a decent tip I’d feel bad about filling that paper bag full of runny grits, now not so much.” She blew a small bubble and popped it.

Al busted out laughing, “you poured runny grits into a paper bag?”

“Yep, there’s a whole lotta little gritses in that bag and they’re just itchin' to get out.” "Be free, little gritses!"