Posts by Bob Munro
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Unlike Obama and his 130 "Present". btw does anyone want to respond to that outstanding example of decisiveness & leadership.
Not Really. But you can get an idea of the subtle political mind behind the use of the 130 'presents' in the Illinois State Legisture in this article in The New York Times
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If you want a comparison between the respective styles of the two sides, I think this is quite a good one. Mawkish symbolism versus actual policy.
Absolutely agree. I do think it's important though to not too quickly go down the road of observations that get accepted as facts when they can be rebutted easily enough by a bit of Googling. I've posted to the climate denier meme up thread and I don't think the book banning at the local library thing is quite as clear cut either.
Personally I find the fact that someone of this ilk having any traction at all in the 21st century profoundly disturbing.
Disturbing and mesmerising at the same time. -
I present you I'llbeanadvocateforspecialneedsgate. Turns out quite a few people contacted the media after that line in the speech to point out that, far from being an advocate for special needs as governor, she cut the budget in that area by 62%. But then of course she's only had a special needs child of her own since April.
This doesn't appear to be correct. All that happened was a budget line for the Alaska Challenge Youth Academy Program was taken from one accounting column and put in another.
2007 budget
Special Education Service Agency (SESA) - $2,072.3
Providence Heights School - $145.0
Alaska School for the Deaf - $319.0.
The Department of Education & Early Development - $637.4.
Alaska Challenge Youth Academy Program - $5,724.72008 Budget
Special Education Service Agency (SESA) - $2,054.6
Providence Heights School - $145.0
Alaska School for the Deaf - $319.0.
The Department of Education & Early Development - $637.4.The budget for the Alaska Challenge Youth Academy in 2007, 2008 and 2009 can be seen here: http://www.gov.state.ak.us/omb/09_omb/budget/EED/comp2837.pdf
2007 - 5.5 million
2008 - 5.7 million
2009 - 6.1 millionSo, there was not a real decrease of 62% in this budget, just a shift in a line of the budget to somewhere else.
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There's a rather lovely piece in The Anchorage Daily News
about how the officials in Wasilla are handiling the international attention.The Greater Wasilla Chamber of Commerce held its normal lunch forum Tuesday and introduced four Wasilla City Council candidates. Normal if you don't count the camera crew from The Today Show and NBC News that showed up to record the excitement.
The candidates shared their views on remedying traffic problems and dealt with a misbehaving microphone but the high spot was executive director Cheryl Metiva pulling the Chamber's weekly prize winners.
Cool under pressure, Metiva read off ticket numbers with a camera squared inches from her face.
"What do you think, folks, is this my best side?" she vamped as Emmy-award winning NBC reporter John Larson leaned against a nearby wall. In another life, Larson was news director at KTUU-Channel 2 in Anchorage, so he is used to Alaska ways.
The prizes? Newly printed "Sarah rocks the vote 2008" mugs and "Sarah's Got Game" t-shirts. At the sight of them, the crowd cheered and whistled -- all dutifully caught on tape for national viewers.
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Just a point of fact here.
It is now regularly said that Sarah Palin doesn't believe in AGW and that fits in with her support of big oil.
Thomas Friedman makes the claim in today's New York Times.
With his choice of Sarah Palin — the Alaska governor who has advocated drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and does not believe mankind is playing any role in climate change — for vice president, John McCain has completed his makeover from the greenest Republican to run for president to just another representative of big oil.
But in her op-ed piece in the Times back in January she seems not only to accept the idea but recommends people start making suggestions to their state governments to do something about it.
The state takes very seriously its job of protecting polar bears and their habitat and is well aware of the problems caused by climate change.
….And at the end of the article.
What is justified is worldwide concern over the proven effects of climate change.
The Center for Biological Diversity, which petitioned for the polar bear to be protected, wants the listing to force the government to either stop or severely limit any public or private action that produces, or even allows, the production of greenhouse gases. But the Endangered Species Act is not the correct tool to address climate change — the act itself actually prohibits any consideration of broader issues.
Such limits should be adopted through an open process in which environmental issues are weighed against economic and social needs, and where scientists debate and present information that policy makers need to make the best decisions.
Americans should become involved in the issue of climate change by offering suggestions for constructive action to their state governments. But listing the polar bear as threatened is the wrong way to get to the right answer. -
Any girl called Bristol is going to be found attractive by a certain type of guy…
I think she's named after "Bristol Bay", largest sockeye salmon run in the world. Governor Palin is not popular with these folks who claim she supports a polluting open cast gold mine in the bay.
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Re the vetting process. At the convention are all the reporters and all the key Republican staff. It's becoming relatively easy for the reporters to get people to talk.
This from The Los Angeles Times.One Republican strategist with close ties to the campaign described the candidate's closest supporters as "keeping their fingers crossed" in hopes that additional information does not force McCain to revisit the decision. According to this Republican, who would discuss internal campaign strategizing only on condition of anonymity, the McCain team used little more than a Google Internet search as part of a rushed effort to review Palin's potential pitfalls. Just over a week ago, Palin was not on McCain's short list of potential running mates, the Republican said.
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From page 1 of comments.
Well it seems obvious she hasn't even been vetted properly.
New York Times reporters at the convention are starting to piece together the hasty timeline.
Aides to Mr. McCain said they had a team on the ground in Alaska now to look more thoroughly into Ms. Palin’s background. A Republican with ties to the campaign said the team assigned to vet Ms. Palin in Alaska had not arrived there until Thursday, a day before Mr. McCain stunned the political world with his vice-presidential choice. The campaign was still calling Republican operatives as late as Sunday night asking them to go to Alaska to deal with the unexpected candidacy of Ms. Palin.
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The governor is as much in command as my cat (although he does rule).
Yay! At last Colin makes a comeback :)
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The Bag does his visual take on Sarah Palin via Meghan McCain's blog