the rumour is she may be about to indicted in relation to this:
THE $12.5 MILLION sports complex and hockey rink that is the lasting monument to Palin's two terms as Wasilla mayor is also a monument to the kind of insider politics that dismays Americans of both parties. Six months before Palin stepped down as mayor in October 2002, the city awarded nearly a half-million-dollar contract to design the biggest project in Wasilla history to Kumin Associates. Blase Burkhart was the Kumin architect on the job-the son of Roy Burkhart, who is frequently described as a "mentor" of Palin and was head of the local Republican Party (his wife, June, who also advised Palin, is the national committeewoman). Asked if the contract was a favor, Roy Burkhart, who contributed to her campaign in the same time frame that his son got the contract, said: "I really don't know." Palin then named Blase Burkhart to a seven-member builder-selection committee that picked Howdie Inc., a mostly residential contractor owned at the time by Howard Nugent. Formally awarded the contract a couple of weeks after Palin left office, Nugent has donated $4,000 to Palin campaigns. Two competitors protested the process that led to Nugent's contract. ... A list of subcontractors on the job, obtained by the Voice, includes many with Palin ties. One was Spenard Builders Supply, the state's leading supplier of wood, floor, roof, and other "pre-engineered components." In addition to being a sponsor of Todd Palin's snow-machine team that has earned tens of thousands for the Palin family, Spenard hired Sarah Palin to do a statewide television commercial in 2004. When the Palins began building a new family home off Lake Lucille in 2002???at the same time that Palin was running for lieutenant governor and in her final months as mayor???Spenard supplied the materials, according to Antoine Bricks, who works in its Wasilla office. ... Todd Palin told Fox News that he built the two-story, 3,450-square-foot, four-bedroom, four-bath, wood house himself, with the help of contractors he described as "buddies." As mayor, Sarah Palin blocked an effort to require the filing of building permits in the wide-open city, and there is no public record of who the "buddies" were.
This sounds like pretty mild stuff in an age of Governors who openly express their undying love for their mistresses to CNN and stay in office. Do you guys really think she is done with national politics? I just can't see it.
the rumour is she may be about to indicted in relation to this:
THE $12.5 MILLION sports complex and hockey rink that is the lasting monument to Palin's two terms as Wasilla mayor is also a monument to the kind of insider politics that dismays Americans of both parties. Six months before Palin stepped down as mayor in October 2002, the city awarded nearly a half-million-dollar contract to design the biggest project in Wasilla history to Kumin Associates. Blase Burkhart was the Kumin architect on the job-the son of Roy Burkhart, who is frequently described as a "mentor" of Palin and was head of the local Republican Party (his wife, June, who also advised Palin, is the national committeewoman). Asked if the contract was a favor, Roy Burkhart, who contributed to her campaign in the same time frame that his son got the contract, said: "I really don't know." Palin then named Blase Burkhart to a seven-member builder-selection committee that picked Howdie Inc., a mostly residential contractor owned at the time by Howard Nugent. Formally awarded the contract a couple of weeks after Palin left office, Nugent has donated $4,000 to Palin campaigns. Two competitors protested the process that led to Nugent's contract. ... A list of subcontractors on the job, obtained by the Voice, includes many with Palin ties. One was Spenard Builders Supply, the state's leading supplier of wood, floor, roof, and other "pre-engineered components." In addition to being a sponsor of Todd Palin's snow-machine team that has earned tens of thousands for the Palin family, Spenard hired Sarah Palin to do a statewide television commercial in 2004. When the Palins began building a new family home off Lake Lucille in 2002???at the same time that Palin was running for lieutenant governor and in her final months as mayor???Spenard supplied the materials, according to Antoine Bricks, who works in its Wasilla office. ... Todd Palin told Fox News that he built the two-story, 3,450-square-foot, four-bedroom, four-bath, wood house himself, with the help of contractors he described as "buddies." As mayor, Sarah Palin blocked an effort to require the filing of building permits in the wide-open city, and there is no public record of who the "buddies" were.
This sounds like pretty mild stuff in an age of Governors who openly express their undying love for their mistresses to CNN and stay in office. Do you guys really think she is done with national politics? I just can't see it.
I agree she's not going anywhere. She's too much like a shark to stop moving now. Nobody believes in her greatness more than she does. However, she's piling up mistakes right and left that will not serve her well in the long run.
b/w
I had two little kids wake me up. What are you doing out of bed???
I don't see what's so difficult to understand about why she resigned.
Please do enlighten us.
Because now she can pile up the dough speaking, and concentrate on running for President in 2012. I agree with Rick, it seems pretty obvious to me, but then, I haven't watched her speech today. Probably a shrewd move in spite of herself. What does she get by staying in another 12 months? Running a state just gets in the way of campaigning. I wish I was making a clever crack, but I really think that's the way she sees it, and she's probably right.
I just hope to God she doesn't get anywhere near the race. Good Lord.
Honestly, this makes no sense whatsoever.
Any campaigning for president won't begin for a couple of years, why resign now?
If she wants to gear up, her people can begin the work for this while she is still in office. Now she is just in limbo - no job or platform from which to speak. Plus, if this was a strategic move, why the haste and the nonsensical rambling speech? If this was a first step in a presidential campaign we would have heard a carefully scripted statement.
This was a move of desperation, and I believe that we will soon see the reason.
I haven't seen the speech, and just because someone has made a decision based on strategy doesn't mean they have the stuff to carry it out. I am just stating what I figure is the most logical conclusion. The fact that she bungled her first speech may just mean that it will be a repeat of her embarrassing VP bid. Unless there is some unlikely controversey on the horizon (which I highly doubt, I wish there was), she is running for Prez.
As for her platform, it's the same as it ever was: Base conservatism, whatever they want to hear, she will be feeding them. She will be the ANTI-Obama. And running a state was just not feeding her ambition anymore, she has bigger fish to fry. Her base won't care that she resigned, because she will tell them she did it for THEM. And they will love her for it.
Ch#is. You've prolly seen it by now and you can agree that this woman is totally unhinged. There's no way she's running in 2012. She's done. Best that she can shoot for is adjunct position at Liberty University.
It was bizarre, no doubt....I just don't think she's connected enough to reality to REALIZE she is through, and she has a small army of fervent supporters who look past all this stuff. I am not in any way saying she is being handled WELL, I am just saying that I believe that SHE believes she has a shot. And there is money out there for her wether she takes the shot or not.
I agree, that as a strategy it's a big detriment to walk off one job and expect that it will not come back to bite you in the search of a BIGGER job, but she has demonstrated time and again that logic like this does not matter to her brain.
I think you are wishing and hoping she is done(oh how I pray you are right, my disdain for her is enormous), but I think she has other plans.
I had two little kids wake me up. What are you doing out of bed???
Took my Mother-in-law to work so the wife could sleep in. I am used to staying up late,she is not. Had a good friend from back home pass away on Thursday(no one you know, high school buddy), and I have been emailing and calling people non-stop to get info and figure out when I am heading back to Mankato. I am heading back to bed soon, for a little while at least.
Seriously, anyone talking about her running for president, let's take a look at that resume:
Governor - Didn't last one term Mayor of Wasilla - Sweet.
Seriously. That is her resume. Mine looks better, and I'm only half joking.
You forgot failed VP Candidate.
I don't predict she will get the nomination, but I am still convinced she will run. She generates news, in this media environment, that is huge. She knows this, and will take it as far as she can. What does she have to lose? Credibility?LOL
I had two little kids wake me up. What are you doing out of bed???
Took my Mother-in-law to work so the wife could sleep in. I am used to staying up late,she is not. Had a good friend from back home pass away on Thursday(no one you know, high school buddy), and I have been emailing and calling people non-stop to get info and figure out when I am heading back to Mankato. I am heading back to bed soon, for a little while at least.
I don't hope she's done. No sir. I love the fact that she overshadows mainstream Republicans like Pawlenty.
Pawlenty is the anti-Palin. Dude could be featured in a "To Catch a Predator" Dateline special and it wouldn't even make the lead story on CNN. Watching grass grow is a more invigorating pastime than covering Pawlenty.
From what I've gathered she resigned so that she could cash in on her celebrity before it runs out. She can't get paid for doing public appearances or whatever when shes in office so by resigning she can go straight into TV/Radio or start doing lectures... it makes perfect sense to me. Gotta cash in while the getting is good.
the rumour is she may be about to indicted in relation to this:
THE $12.5 MILLION sports complex and hockey rink that is the lasting monument to Palin's two terms as Wasilla mayor is also a monument to the kind of insider politics that dismays Americans of both parties. Six months before Palin stepped down as mayor in October 2002, the city awarded nearly a half-million-dollar contract to design the biggest project in Wasilla history to Kumin Associates. Blase Burkhart was the Kumin architect on the job-the son of Roy Burkhart, who is frequently described as a "mentor" of Palin and was head of the local Republican Party (his wife, June, who also advised Palin, is the national committeewoman). Asked if the contract was a favor, Roy Burkhart, who contributed to her campaign in the same time frame that his son got the contract, said: "I really don't know." Palin then named Blase Burkhart to a seven-member builder-selection committee that picked Howdie Inc., a mostly residential contractor owned at the time by Howard Nugent. Formally awarded the contract a couple of weeks after Palin left office, Nugent has donated $4,000 to Palin campaigns. Two competitors protested the process that led to Nugent's contract. ...
Dude... She was the mayor of a town with about 6,000 people in a state with the same total population as Boston. There are gonna be "ties".
the rumour is she may be about to indicted in relation to this:
THE $12.5 MILLION sports complex and hockey rink that is the lasting monument to Palin's two terms as Wasilla mayor is also a monument to the kind of insider politics that dismays Americans of both parties. Six months before Palin stepped down as mayor in October 2002, the city awarded nearly a half-million-dollar contract to design the biggest project in Wasilla history to Kumin Associates. Blase Burkhart was the Kumin architect on the job-the son of Roy Burkhart, who is frequently described as a "mentor" of Palin and was head of the local Republican Party (his wife, June, who also advised Palin, is the national committeewoman). Asked if the contract was a favor, Roy Burkhart, who contributed to her campaign in the same time frame that his son got the contract, said: "I really don't know." Palin then named Blase Burkhart to a seven-member builder-selection committee that picked Howdie Inc., a mostly residential contractor owned at the time by Howard Nugent. Formally awarded the contract a couple of weeks after Palin left office, Nugent has donated $4,000 to Palin campaigns. Two competitors protested the process that led to Nugent's contract. ...
Dude... She was the mayor of a town with about 6,000 people in a state with the same total population as Boston. There are gonna be "ties".
For real. This is why I hate the 'journalism' in the Village Voice.
About as credible as Fox News, just with the opposite slant.
Major lulz at the Washington Times asshat on the BBC right now, saying she was being treated unfairly, and that she hated being the target of so much 'animosity from people who had never even met her!'
I'm sure Mr. Washington Times and its readers are very fair to the the President, who most probably haven't met.
Ratcheting up her offensive against the news media, Gov. Sarah Palin???s attorney threatened on Saturday to sue mainstream news organizations if they publish ???defamatory??? stories relating to whether Palin is under federal investigation.
In an extraordinary four-page letter, Alaska-based attorney Thomas Van Flein warns of severe consequences should speculation that until now has largely been confined to blogs ??? about whether Palin embezzled funds in the construction of a Wasilla, Alaska, sports arena ??? find its way into print.
???This is to provide notice to Ms. Moore, and those who republish the defamation, such as Huffington Post, MSNBC, The New York Times and The Washington Post, that the Palins will not allow them to propagate defamatory material without answering to this in a court of law,??? Van Flein warned, citing Alaska liberal blogger Shannyn Moore.
Much like Palin did in her Facebook statement Saturday, Van Flein savages the news media in his letter.
???Just as power abhors a vacuum, modern journalism apparently abhors any type of due diligence and fact checking before scurrilous allegations are repeated as fact,??? the Anchorage attorney wrote.
Neither the Times or the Post made any mention of the embezzlement rumors in their Saturday editions, but sources close to Palin consider the letter a warning shot to stay away from the topic.
In the letter, Van Flein writes: "'The Alaska Constitution protects the right of free speech, while simultaneously holding those "responsible for the abuse of that right.'??? These falsehoods abuse the right to free speech; continuing to publish these falsehoods of criminal activity is reckless, done without any regard for the truth, and is actionable."
Still, the decision to issue a public statement reciting all the facts in the case now all but ensures that there will be mainstream media accounts of the situation.
???While the Federal Government has a process to follow, and that process sometimes takes time, we can categorically state that we are not aware of any ???federal investigation??? that has been ???pending??? for the last seven years,??? Van Flein wrote. ???We are aware of no subpoenas on [the Wasilla supply company that supplied equipment for the construction of the sports arena and Palin home] regarding the Palins??? .To be blunt ??? this ???story??? was alleged during the campaign, evaluated then by national media and deemed meritless. Nothing has changed.???
Scores of left-leaning blogs posted speculation in the wake of Palin???s surprise announcement Friday and among the most common theories was that she was on the verge of federal indictment over the 2002 construction of the sports arena.
Making the case for his client, Van Flein writes that Palin, then the mayor of Wasilla, did not oversee the Steering Committee tasked with running the project.
???While her public support of this project was deemed pivotal by many, the actual construction, bidding, financing and other day-to-day management of the project was not in her scope of authority as Mayor,??? Van Flein writes.
Van Flein also notes that the project was publicly bid and therefore Palin had little control over construction.
The attorney also addressed another of the bloggers??? claims: that Palin purchased building materials to build her own home from the same supply store as was used by those who built the arena.
???Prior to the construction of Lowe???s and Home Depot within the last few years in Wasilla, Spenard Builders Supply was the primary building supply company in Wasilla,??? Van Flein writes. ???It can hardly come as a surprise that it would sell materials to small homeowners or that it would also bid to supply commercial contracts.???
As for how the Palins financed their home on Wasilla???s Lake Lucille, Van Flein says they ???used a combination of personal savings, equity from the sale of their prior home and conventional bank financing to build the house ??? like millions of American families. The deeds of trust are recordable public records. Basic journalism and fact checking would confirm this.???
Major lulz at the Washington Times asshat on the BBC right now, saying she was being treated unfairly, and that she hated being the target of so much 'animosity from people who had never even met her!'
I'm sure Mr. Washington Times and its readers are very fair to the the President, who most probably haven't met.
What did she think it was going to be like in the office of Vice President then? Oh no, no scrutiny there, not at all. Thank God these hicks never made it that far.
Ratcheting up her offensive against the news media, Gov. Sarah Palin???s attorney threatened on Saturday to sue mainstream news organizations if they publish ???defamatory??? stories relating to whether Palin is under federal investigation.
I don't see what's so difficult to understand about why she resigned.
Please do enlighten us.
Because now she can pile up the dough speaking, and concentrate on running for President in 2012. I agree with Rick, it seems pretty obvious to me, but then, I haven't watched her speech today.
It looks obvious to you because you didn't make the mistake we did. Watching the speech.
Where is smallaxerick with the big reveal on how it was easy to undersatand why she left?
i've been waiting all weekend; I almost didn't go to work.
I watched the speech, and you guys were right, she is nuts.
But nuts don't listen to anybody, and I bet she started that press conference with every intention of running for Prez in 2012. Too bad for her that it made even her supporters wince. Plus now she has a new title that will dog her around, QUITTER.
Many Republicans, old line Regan and Goldwater Rs, and the social liberal/fiscal conservative and the social liberal/foreign policy conservative, don't care for Palin.
My buddies mom, in her 80s is a long time southern Indiana Catholic Republican. Her, and her beauty parlor friends, hated the pick of Palin for vp. She has now voted for 2 democrats in her life, Kennedy and Obama.
My Maryland relatives, in their 80s, didn't like the pick of Palin either. For them the inappropriateness of a woman, with children (including a special needs baby) "abandoning" her family was as unsettling as a Black man named Hussein running for president. They called it a wash and voted for McCain. They explained the math like this Palin=Obama, McCain=Biden.
Palin's base are people who worship at the feet of talk radio hosts. As long as Limbaugh, Savage and Beck support Palin she will have her base. If they find someone they like better, she will lose them.
Fortunately, most Rs are more sophisticated than the talk radio crowd.
I think the blue blood moneyed repulicans are gonna step in next time around and say enough is enough the rednecks had their fun but we need a real live GOP candidate who can actually get elected this time around to cut our taxes. they wont let a Palin nomination happen.
Gov. Sarah Palin???s attorney threatened on Saturday to sue mainstream news organizations if they publish ???defamatory??? stories relating to whether Palin is under federal investigation.
Still, the decision to issue a public statement reciting all the facts in the case now all but ensures that there will be mainstream media accounts of the situation.[/b]
This is incredible. Journalism Ethics 101: You can't write a hard news story based on speculation. But you can write one about an attorney issuing a warning that they would sue if you wrote a story based on speculation, which then allows you to write about what they were warning folks not to write about, or they would sue.
But it's so simple! All I have to do is divine from what I know of you: are you the sort of man who would put the poison into his own goblet or his enemy's? Now, a clever man would put the poison into his own goblet, because he would know that only a great fool would reach for what he was given. I am not a great fool, so I can clearly not choose the wine in front of you. But you must have known I was not a great fool, you would have counted on it, so I can clearly not choose the wine in front of me.
Comments
This sounds like pretty mild stuff in an age of Governors who openly express their undying love for their mistresses to CNN and stay in office. Do you guys really think she is done with national politics? I just can't see it.
Whatever it is. There's no reason on God's Green Earth that she can turn around and use to her advantage running for POTUS.
I agree she's not going anywhere. She's too much like a shark to stop moving now. Nobody believes in her greatness more than she does. However, she's piling up mistakes right and left that will not serve her well in the long run.
b/w
I had two little kids wake me up. What are you doing out of bed???
It was bizarre, no doubt....I just don't think she's connected enough to reality to REALIZE she is through, and she has a small army of fervent supporters who look past all this stuff. I am not in any way saying she is being handled WELL, I am just saying that I believe that SHE believes she has a shot. And there is money out there for her wether she takes the shot or not.
I agree, that as a strategy it's a big detriment to walk off one job and expect that it will not come back to bite you in the search of a BIGGER job, but she has demonstrated time and again that logic like this does not matter to her brain.
I think you are wishing and hoping she is done(oh how I pray you are right, my disdain for her is enormous), but I think she has other plans.
Governor - Didn't last one term
Mayor of Wasilla - Sweet.
Seriously. That is her resume. Mine looks better, and I'm only half joking.
Took my Mother-in-law to work so the wife could sleep in. I am used to staying up late,she is not. Had a good friend from back home pass away on Thursday(no one you know, high school buddy), and I have been emailing and calling people non-stop to get info and figure out when I am heading back to Mankato. I am heading back to bed soon, for a little while at least.
You forgot failed VP Candidate.
I don't predict she will get the nomination, but I am still convinced she will run. She generates news, in this media environment, that is huge. She knows this, and will take it as far as she can. What does she have to lose? Credibility?LOL
Sorry to hear that man. Get some rest.
Seriously. She sucks out the truly stupid vote in a big way.
Pawlenty is the anti-Palin. Dude could be featured in a "To Catch a Predator" Dateline special and it wouldn't even make the lead story on CNN. Watching grass grow is a more invigorating pastime than covering Pawlenty.
http://www.slate.com/id/2222230/
Best line:
"Last month, Nevada Sen. John Ensign had to resign his Republican leadership post to spend more time with his sex scandal."
Dude...
She was the mayor of a town with about 6,000 people in a state with the same total population as Boston. There are gonna be "ties".
For real. This is why I hate the 'journalism' in the Village Voice.
About as credible as Fox News, just with the opposite slant.
Not as bad as the music articles, though.
I'm sure Mr. Washington Times and its readers are very fair to the the President, who most probably haven't met.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0709/24521.html#ixzz0KQd4oncg&D
Ratcheting up her offensive against the news media, Gov. Sarah Palin???s attorney threatened on Saturday to sue mainstream news organizations if they publish ???defamatory??? stories relating to whether Palin is under federal investigation.
In an extraordinary four-page letter, Alaska-based attorney Thomas Van Flein warns of severe consequences should speculation that until now has largely been confined to blogs ??? about whether Palin embezzled funds in the construction of a Wasilla, Alaska, sports arena ??? find its way into print.
???This is to provide notice to Ms. Moore, and those who republish the defamation, such as Huffington Post, MSNBC, The New York Times and The Washington Post, that the Palins will not allow them to propagate defamatory material without answering to this in a court of law,??? Van Flein warned, citing Alaska liberal blogger Shannyn Moore.
Much like Palin did in her Facebook statement Saturday, Van Flein savages the news media in his letter.
???Just as power abhors a vacuum, modern journalism apparently abhors any type of due diligence and fact checking before scurrilous allegations are repeated as fact,??? the Anchorage attorney wrote.
Neither the Times or the Post made any mention of the embezzlement rumors in their Saturday editions, but sources close to Palin consider the letter a warning shot to stay away from the topic.
In the letter, Van Flein writes: "'The Alaska Constitution protects the right of free speech, while simultaneously holding those "responsible for the abuse of that right.'??? These falsehoods abuse the right to free speech; continuing to publish these falsehoods of criminal activity is reckless, done without any regard for the truth, and is actionable."
Still, the decision to issue a public statement reciting all the facts in the case now all but ensures that there will be mainstream media accounts of the situation.
???While the Federal Government has a process to follow, and that process sometimes takes time, we can categorically state that we are not aware of any ???federal investigation??? that has been ???pending??? for the last seven years,??? Van Flein wrote. ???We are aware of no subpoenas on [the Wasilla supply company that supplied equipment for the construction of the sports arena and Palin home] regarding the Palins??? .To be blunt ??? this ???story??? was alleged during the campaign, evaluated then by national media and deemed meritless. Nothing has changed.???
Scores of left-leaning blogs posted speculation in the wake of Palin???s surprise announcement Friday and among the most common theories was that she was on the verge of federal indictment over the 2002 construction of the sports arena.
Making the case for his client, Van Flein writes that Palin, then the mayor of Wasilla, did not oversee the Steering Committee tasked with running the project.
???While her public support of this project was deemed pivotal by many, the actual construction, bidding, financing and other day-to-day management of the project was not in her scope of authority as Mayor,??? Van Flein writes.
Van Flein also notes that the project was publicly bid and therefore Palin had little control over construction.
The attorney also addressed another of the bloggers??? claims: that Palin purchased building materials to build her own home from the same supply store as was used by those who built the arena.
???Prior to the construction of Lowe???s and Home Depot within the last few years in Wasilla, Spenard Builders Supply was the primary building supply company in Wasilla,??? Van Flein writes. ???It can hardly come as a surprise that it would sell materials to small homeowners or that it would also bid to supply commercial contracts.???
As for how the Palins financed their home on Wasilla???s Lake Lucille, Van Flein says they ???used a combination of personal savings, equity from the sale of their prior home and conventional bank financing to build the house ??? like millions of American families. The deeds of trust are recordable public records. Basic journalism and fact checking would confirm this.???
What did she think it was going to be like in the office of Vice President then? Oh no, no scrutiny there, not at all. Thank God these hicks never made it that far.
Good luck with that...
It looks obvious to you because you didn't make the mistake we did.
Watching the speech.
i've been waiting all weekend; I almost didn't go to work.
I watched the speech, and you guys were right, she is nuts.
But nuts don't listen to anybody, and I bet she started that press conference with every intention of running for Prez in 2012. Too bad for her that it made even her supporters wince. Plus now she has a new title that will dog her around, QUITTER.
My buddies mom, in her 80s is a long time southern Indiana Catholic Republican. Her, and her beauty parlor friends, hated the pick of Palin for vp. She has now voted for 2 democrats in her life, Kennedy and Obama.
My Maryland relatives, in their 80s, didn't like the pick of Palin either. For them the inappropriateness of a woman, with children (including a special needs baby) "abandoning" her family was as unsettling as a Black man named Hussein running for president. They called it a wash and voted for McCain. They explained the math like this Palin=Obama, McCain=Biden.
Palin's base are people who worship at the feet of talk radio hosts. As long as Limbaugh, Savage and Beck support Palin she will have her base. If they find someone they like better, she will lose them.
Fortunately, most Rs are more sophisticated than the talk radio crowd.
getting ready to run the biggest smear campaign ever
wait for it
wait for it
This is incredible. Journalism Ethics 101: You can't write a hard news story based on speculation. But you can write one about an attorney issuing a warning that they would sue if you wrote a story based on speculation, which then allows you to write about what they were warning folks not to write about, or they would sue.
You've made your decision then?
Not remotely!