Ears burning? Have that strange feeling that something’s missing? Palms itching? That’s because it is time for another installment of PALINWATCH. Once again, over the last week Governor Sarah Palin has been doing everything in her power to ensure that she stays in the media’s eye…and in doing so she reminds us all exactly why she is not a viable candidate for the 2012 Presidential Election.
As a public service…I hereby provide the following updates regarding the activities of the Palin clan and their friends:
- Sarah’s unwed-dropout-mommy daughter, Bristol, made time for a FOX News interview recently, where she commented on abstinence-only education programs (a platform her mother strongly supports) and showed off her new baby, Tripp. What we see is a young GIRL…barely able to communicate without the frequent interjection of “like” and “y’know“…who thinks having a baby is just the coolest thing in the world…who thinks that all of her “years of babysitting” have somehow prepared her for motherhood. And yet…even this young, naive girl…is smart enough to know that there is a fundamental flaw with advocating abstinence as the ONLY form of preventing unwanted teenage pregnancies:
Bristol: “I think abstinence is, I don’t know how to put it — like, the main — everyone should be abstinent or whatever, but it’s not realistic at all.”
Here’s a clip of that interview:
Kate Clinton makes some interesting personal reflections on teenage pregnancy here.
- In true FOX News fashion…commentators decided that what Bristol is REALLY saying is that promoting abstinence in teens is TOTALLY realistic.
Barnes: “I guess so. That means she’s saying that abstinence actually is realistic. Either way, it’s certainly not fool proof. People slip, particularly teenagers, but not only teenagers.”
Here’s that clip:
Are they living in some sort of bizarro, “opposites day,” kind of reality? Apparently, a lot of conservatives are. They ignore the federal study that was done in 1997 that showed that abstinence programs do NOTHING to reduce the incidence of teen sexual activity…while at the same time they do NOTHING to promote the knowledge of safe sex and birth control methods. For those who are having trouble following along: these abstinence-only programs…result in just as many kids having sex and these kids don’t know enough about std’s, condoms, pregnancy risks, and so on. In 2007, 10 leading scientists informed the government that these programs are not reducing the number of teens having sex, are not reducing the occurrence of std’s in teens, are not reducing teen pregnancy, are not delaying the age that teens start having sex…and are depriving teens of IMPORTANT information regarding their health and safety. Last April…more experts told Congress the same thing.
Republicans’ response? Force Obama and the Democrats to cut $335 million dollars for STD prevention from the Stimulus Bill. Also, according to Mother Jones, “…stripped from the stimulus package was a section that would allow states to cover family planning services – without first obtaining a government waiver, as is the current practice – for low-income women who are ineligible for Medicaid. A Congressional Budget Office report estimates that this bill would have saved the country $200 million over five years and $700 million over the next ten.” Republicans argued, of course, that STD prevention and family planning have nothing to do with the economy…unless you count the the fact that std’s cost our health care system $15.3 billion per year…and we’ll spend $12.3 billion dollars on HIV/AIDS-expenses in 2009. Oh and then there’s all the unwed…unemployed…teen mothers who wind up on our food stamp and family assistance rolls. Other than those things…no impact on the economy whatsoever…
- In nothing short of profound irony…right wing groups are now attacking Bristol Palin (and FOX News!) for her comments. The National Abstinence Education Foundation (Jesus…there is such a thing?) released a statement titled “The Cold Hard Facts Melt Myth That Abstinence Is Unrealistic.” They state:
“During Sarah Palin’s recent vice-presidential bid, her unmarried teen daughter Bristol’s pregnancy became a hot campaign topic. As a follow-up report on this compelling human interest story, Fox News Commentator Greta van Susteren, asked Bristol Palin about abstinence. Bristol shared her view that ‘abstinence is….not realistic at all.’ It is suspect that media, seemingly devoted to science based research, is quick to claim Bristol Palin’s experience as proof positive that abstinence education for all teens should end…while Bristol’s story makes for an interesting human-interest story, her comment should not be the basis to form public policy on the complex issue of teen sex especially if we look at the facts regarding the teen sexual activity.”
There is, of course, added irony in the fact that just recently Sarah Palin told the media that here children and family should be “off-limits.” Maybe she should have informed Bristol of the “new family media policy.”
- Montana Democratic Gov. Brian Schweitzer made some half-joking criticisms of Alaska’s Governor recently…when Sarah cancelled at the last minute for their scheduled presentation about ENERGY policy at the National Governors Association (NGA) in Washington. Despite the fact that Palin is the chairwoman of the NGA’s Natural Resources Committee…and that she consistently markets herself as having a “strong focus on energy“…she apparently felt neither the need to show up for the discussion the two governors were to lead at the convention, nor to provide a good reason WHY she isn’t going to appear (her office has since said she is tied down with “economic stimulus certification requirements”). Governor Schweitzer (a former rancher-turned-politician) quipped:
“I don’t know where she’s going to be. You’ll be stuck with me. There will be no glamour, certainly no snappy dressing. I brought my best two pairs of jeans. There’s a little bit of a horse s**t stain by the knee. But I’ve been washing that stuff out…I don’t have any party buying me clothes. My wife buys my clothes at Costco.”
Nice…the presentation is titled “Energy Infrastructure: Vital for a 21st Century Economy.” Maybe she just had nothing to contribute…
- I’ve mentioned this item in part…but it bears a further posting. You know all those questionable items which Sarah Palin used as an excuse to charge Alska taxpayers per diems for meals and expenses? Well…she didn’t pay taxes on them, but her office indicates that she will. Now it is all well and good that Palin is going to catch up on her back taxes…but there is another name for this behavior: “tax evasion.” I mention this because the conservative blogosphere has been in a TOTAL UPROAR about the recent cabinet nominees who had issues with unpaid taxes. They have even been referred to as “Obama’s ARMY of tax evaders.” Well…guys…turns out your “media-darling-2012-potential-presidential-nominee“…she just ENLISTED in that very same army.
- All initial indications are that Lorenzo Benet’s Trailblazer: An Intimate Biography of Sarah Palin, paints a picture of odd parental behavior and strange family dysfunction. It doesn’t sound like that was the author’s intention…but when we’re told the details about how Sarah hid her pregnancy from her children…the chaotic atmosphere in the household…and how Bristol moved out to live with her Aunt and Uncle in Anchorage once the pregnancy was uncovered…I think the conclusions people draw might not be favorable. At a minimum…they sure don’t seem like the “quaint family next door.”
- Sarah, in an interview with Esquire, made the following comments regarding the true nature of marriage:
“[T]here are definitely gonna be tough parts in marriage. You have to look at those tough times and remember that you have essentially a business contract with this person. You’ve signed an agreement: You’re going to be together. And you look at it that way as you work through the tough times, because I guarantee the better time is there on the other side. That’s how we’ve looked at it.“
This is causing some to ask…if marriage is really a “business contract“…then why again can’t gays get married? Good question...
- And lastly…John Ziegler, the man behind the forthcoming Palin documentary “Media Malpractice,” recently made an appearance on the Today Show to speak with Matt Lauer about how terribly unfair the media was to Sarah and her family.
Ziegler at one point, rather unprofessionally suggested that because Lauer had been to the Palin home, he should know that Sarah is not a “moron” and that Lauer helps to perpetuate this “myth” because he is part of the media conspiracy against Sarah. Lauer’s response: “You making it personal with me is not going to work in this particular situation.”
Here’s the clip:
So apparently, both Palin and Zielger propose that if a person is interviewed…and she is unprepared for those interviews…and she provides foolish-sounding answers to questions…and the audience decides she is, in fact, foolish…then it’s quite obviously the media’s fault. Oh…and it’s also totally unfair for them to publicize all of the various accusations of ethics violations, abuse of power, abuse of public funds, abuse of public time and resources for campaigning…right?
That’s all for now…certainly, there’ll be more in the near future…