Annals of McCain - Palin, IX: Governor Palin, ready or not

By now we all know that Governor Palin, possibly a future President if things work out badly, as recently as this year didn't know what the Vice President did, probably because constitutionally Vice Presidents don't do that much. It's also been widely reported that she charged the citizens of Alaska travel per diems while she was at home in Wasilla, since Wasilla wasn't her official duty station (which was at the capitol in Juneau). But it took Scott Lilly, writing at Politico.com, to do the math:

The Washington Post recently reported that, in her first 19 months as governor, Palin billed the state of Alaska per diem charges for 312 days she spent at her home in Wasilla. Palin's staff has explained that it was appropriate to bill the state for expenses related to Palin staying in her own house because her "official duty station" was at the state capital of Juneau, where the governor's official office and mansion are located. But that argument raises a different question: How much time did that leave for her to spend at her "official duty station"?

Nineteen months totals 578 days, but after subtracting weekends and holidays, it is only about 397 workdays. Assuming Palin did not routinely bill the state for staying in her own home on weekends and holidays, she would have spent no more than 85 workdays in the state capital over the course of her 19 months in office, even if she traveled nowhere else in Alaska or outside of the state. That compares with 168 days that the Alaska Legislature was in session during the same period. (Politico.com)

This means that most members of the state's legislature were at their official duty stations far more than the Governor:

One member told the Juneau Empire, "At a time when [Palin's] leadership was truly needed, we didn't know where she was."

Clearly she was at an undisclosed location. Sarah Palin. Ready to be Vice President on Day One.

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And Obama has a nice little rack up for per diem too Revere... and how about all that postage used mailing things out?

Obama, not ready on a good day to be president.

Besides, you know as well as I do that the more time a politician is away from their station at the state or US capitol, the less damage they can do to us all.

By M. Randolph Kruger (not verified) on 24 Sep 2008 #permalink

Besides, you know as well as I do that the more time a politician is away from their station at the state or US capitol, the less damage they can do to us all.

I know nothing of the kind. GWB took more vacations than any President in modern history and he also did more damage than any president in modern history. QED.

And Obama has a nice little rack up for per diem too Revere... and how about all that postage used mailing things out?

Obama, not ready on a good day to be president.

Besides, you know as well as I do that the more time a politician is away from their station at the state or US capitol, the less damage they can do to us all. I wouldnt mind it if Obama stayed in Illinois or McCain in Arizona during 95% of their Presidencies.

By M. Randolph Kruger (not verified) on 24 Sep 2008 #permalink

Thats an opinion Revere... .not a fact in many peoples minds. I for one dont like a lot of what has happened.... But I also dont like my fellow Americans being bombed here or abroad...

But that would just be me.

By M. Randolph Kruger (not verified) on 24 Sep 2008 #permalink

All this cutthroat politics is ridiculous. As an American I'm utterly ashamed at the way the Presidential race is being run now and how it has been run in the past.
There are ghosts in everyone's closet and when you send people out to find them they will.

This is small potatoes and it would be great to hear both sides of the story, not just one.

@Lea: Some abuses don't have a "both sides" to hear.

For some reason, your concern troll reminds me of that old-boys' greeting, "Hi there, Joe, have you stopped beating your wife yet?"

By Matt Hussein Platte (not verified) on 24 Sep 2008 #permalink

But I also dont like my fellow Americans being bombed here or abroad...

This just in: Neither does any other American who posts or comments here.

The primary difference between us on this score is that I don't pretend that the real and serious threat of terrorism can automatically justify virtually everything the GOP has done, is doing, or will do.

it would be great to hear both sides of the story, not just one.
Posted by: Lea | September 24, 2008 5:46 PM [kill][hide comment]

No kidding. If only there were some way of exposing oneself to other opinions than the ones expressed by the authors of this blog....

Neither does any other American who posts or comments here.

You know, this reminds me of when the present President has come on the t.v. and said, "all Americans are praying for ..."
Don't pretend to speak for me Phila.

And if I could understand what the hell you meant Matt Hussein Platte I might be able to comment. Or not.

Well Phil then you must really love the Gitmo mess.. 14 have returned to combat and four got US kills before we got them. Hey, how bout them Yemenites.... I say again, who do I see about the rights of the dead.

If Iraq wasnt involved then they were up to their necks in the money transfers...

But you just keep worrying about the rights of the poor terrorists locked up. We will be in a real live shooting war soon enough and then the people without uniforms will be interrogated, then summarily shot.

But until that time if Obama is elected, he will be negotiating with them.

Thanks

By M. Randolph Kruger (not verified) on 24 Sep 2008 #permalink

Lea, when you say Phila doesn't speak for you, are you saying that you are one of those Americans who post on this board who does want to see Americans bombed?

I don't want to see any Americans bombed. I don't want to see any non-Americans bombed either. There is no law of "conservation of bombing", that requires that someone be bombed and the only choice is us or them. That people like you and MRK confuse "not bombing anyone" with "bombing Americans" is a defect in your thinking.

That defect comes from having a "zero-sum" mentality, that the way to have good things happen to you is to not have good things happening to other people, and the way to have bad things not happen to you is to have bad things happen to other people. That is the mentality of paranoia, of extreme duress, of the cycle of violence, of insatiable greed. People, politicians, societies and nations can wallow in the cycle of violence forever, or until those at the top add the straw that breaks the camel's back. People with a zero-sum mentality can never see that coming.

Randy, those folks who were let loose from Gitmo are only doing exactly what you have said that you would do if you were in their situation. You have said that if you were kidnapped, held under duress and tortured that your captors should kill you because if they let you out alive you will come back and kill them. From my perspective they are acting exactly as how you have said you would act.

Randy: While agreeing with daedalus's response, perhaps you could give us a citation for the "facts" you quoted on the 14 returned to combat? I haven't seen this before and am curious as to what the support for it is.

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/05/01/africa/ME-GEN-Iraq-Guantanamo…

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/05/07/gitmo.bomber/index.html

The light reading section for this week.....

http://www.ctc.usma.edu/harmony/pdf/Sinjar_2_July_23.pdf

Here is a zero sum mentality for you Deadie and it comes from the first tenets of war.... Kill all of your enemies and you wont have to deal with them later. I wouldn't give anyone outside of a uniform the time of day except to let them know what time the execution is. Anyone out of uniform under Geneva is a spy or terrorist and can by definition be shot summarily. But there are soooo many people who think that this is a law enforcement issue.

I would say that anyone who is packing over 50,000 members and growing each day is the leader of an army....But that would just be me. If they all had one bullet and one gun to place it in, then with an accurate shot they would take out 50,000. Simple math.

Here is the defect in your thinking Revere and Deadie..... While in a normal society you would be right, the fact that we are not makes you wrong. Its also the mentality that will get you killed or someone you know. It is application of the thought that these people are only a few in number, and only a couple of people that are trained. In fact they are Al Qaeda, trained by Iranians, Syrians and the PLO makes them brothers in arms. I really dont know how many there are past the 50,000 that is suspected, but even if its only 100,000 that makes them a huge army by todays standards.

Revere IN PARTICULAR is only vaguely aware of whats happening in his town but I can tell you the threat is real...Especially there and it is one of the reasons for the targeting of Americans of middle eastern descent by law enforcement in the area. The net is much tighter but the fish are still slipping through.

It is also known that Dallas in particular as well is being used as an entry point.

So you keep harping the zero sum and thats fine. Its an academics response to the annexation of the Sudetenland mentality. Maybe they wont come for me? Lets just negotiate with them as Neville Chamberlain did. But those were armies in uniform too so its the first war being fought by terror entirely. Rules have had to change. They will change again.

The bottom line is that there is always a bottom line and that is they are still actively pursuing the deaths of any and all Americans, Brits etc. and anyone who is covered under the fatwa. Yemen last week....They are hitting us where they can.

My zero sum mentality is as stated. Kill your enemies and they wont be back to bother you. Never, ever let them get strong enough to attack. If that means that they hide behind the law and scream rape when they are questioned or detained then thats just too bad as far as I am concerned. If there is credible evidence of wrong doing and they are naturalized, then after a trial you hang them.

Deadie for you its different and you likely have never been at the receiving end of a rifle. Its the difference between trying to apply the law to people who will obey it, and those who could care less about what it says.

Its not a defective argument because we have casualties Deadie. Our response in my opinion was not strong enough and we should have been dropping 1000 pounders into Teheran AND Baghdad, with a side trip to Syria and we should have done so with impunity and total disregard for civilian casualties. Why? Because their government supported the same such actions in the US, London, Madrid.....

If we did that the civilians sooner or later would either remove their leadership, or they would all be dead. It would be up to them. But thats the difference between a war and a ping pong match... You walk away from one, or you actively engage in the other. But you have to decide which one you want to be in.

Pay attention to the charts in the CTC file......

By M. Randolph Kruger (not verified) on 25 Sep 2008 #permalink

Randy: As I read it, the evidence is that the names matched. And you believe the Pentagon, who has an absolute reason to lie about this? My offer of a 1995 Volvo still stands. It isn't as bad as it looks. Trust me.

Randy just because the names match is no reason to think they are the same people. My nephew, who has never been outside of the state of Illinois, is on the no fly list because his name and birthday are the same as some one else who the TSA thinks should be.
And that is just one small example.

"Its the difference between trying to apply the law to people who will obey it, and those who could care less about what it says."

So Randy, which category are you in?

How is dropping 1000 pounders on civilians because their government supported terrorists different than crashing planes into buildings because the US government supported terrorists?

Randy...get real...the question is whether Palin is ready to lead. If she is a good girl and does what the BIG BOYS tell her then "you" can say she is ready. I myself would prefer someone with integrity and not someone looking out for their own personal gain, someone with knowledge, someone who is up to speed and doesn't need coaching.

Your assumptions don't warrant a response daedalus2u but I'll humor you, the answer is NO.
Utopia it will never be, get real. It's a warring universe.

Don't respond, I'm going to Albuquerque for four days. Bye.

Well Ann, Revere has one held up but I'll be brief. Obama has never done anything that I can see. He doesnt salute the flag, he doesnt respect the military and he is very much a Clintonite in that respect. He proposes BILLIONS of new spending McCain doesnt. He will basically cut the guts out of the military to create a socialist state and one of handouts that one day the bag will be empty on and with no one to tax more to get it. Somewhere along the way the Russians will get hungry and grab another country and then dare us to do something about it. Along about the time they make a run for Iraq via Iran the stage will be set. In fact its already set. We very likely will hit the Iraq facilities between now and election time. Political in part and less so in the military thinking frame of mind.

Palin right or wrong has led a state, city and a school board and that is by acclamation of the people of the State of Alaska. But you are fooled. This election isnt about Palin. Its about the policies of John McCain and Barack Obama and who is better to lead. Biden and Obama are already rubbing each other the wrong way and if he puts Clinton in there as a back stop to a polling fall then he might be martyred for his thoughts.

I have a LOT of rub with McCain and a lot less with Palin but I am a bit more left of her and a good deal more right than McCain but if its a choice now between Obama and Biden, I would take good ole Joe. He is a leftist but he gets up when the flag is raised, he salutes it and he wears his flag pin. It starts with respect for the country and the people in it. 3 of these mentioned understand that, one doesnt.

Figure it out which one. Palin could lead the nation IMO better than Obama as long as she doesnt let her religion get in front of the need of a president to be the biggest son of a bitch or the biggest bitch on this planet. I would say that she can be the pit bull if necessary w/wo lipstick. I doubt she will be cooking for 300 either.

By M. Randolph Kruger (not verified) on 25 Sep 2008 #permalink

Deadie, You cant be asking me to do an analogue to that or to provide some sort of justification between the two. You would have to go back years in piss poor policy just to start.

How about showing up in Afghanistan 30 years ago with US troops instead of funding Osama? But, that would be Carter and the Russians knew an ally when they saw one. WE didnt have the capabilities to stop them and the Russians knew it.

Why didnt we? Because Carter as Obama says he is going to, gutted the military. Didnt need Osama to fight a holy war for us if we have our own little pile of shit together. Its all interlinked and dysfunctional, and functional all in the same breath.

Its like I said, you have to take the big picture in and not ignore the details of course. Osama started trying to take over Afghanistan is when things went south. We created a monster.....Better to hit them with our own military I always say but the PTB simply would have nothing to do with it... Too busy with the socialist state.

But that would be a personal experience as I was in there at that time.

By M. Randolph Kruger (not verified) on 25 Sep 2008 #permalink

I dont know your sons name Goindy... Is it Ali or Abdullah? I dont hide behind a moniker here. But, there are processes for removing your son from it. The system is NOT perfect but the fact is that your sons name coincides with someone who is on the list. If you want the process to get it off then get my email from Revere. Point is that the person with that name WILL NOT be boarding any planes. Sorry for the inconvenience.

BTW Revere there arent any dental records for these guys and its either because of the body bombs or the fact that we smoked them. If you think they are lying in todays environment and the possibility of an Obama win then I would go the other direction really fast.

Lots of intel in that PDF... It says Syria is the funnel point into Iraq. It had to be because that is the only way to come in because of water. Even the Iranians came in that way. So lets forget the Israelis and just tell them to stop...or else.

Consequences for actions in all quadrants folks. Damned if you do, damned if you dont, so you might as well anyway. If nothing else it knocks the numbers down by attrition.

The other is the PDF..... Its long but the recidivism is there IMO. You read intel reports for what they are worth. Anyone can produce a paper but there are some serious names on there as authors. Draw what you want as a conclusion but it does go back to the basic tenet of war.....Dead people dont attack you.

By M. Randolph Kruger (not verified) on 25 Sep 2008 #permalink

Randy: Presumably the same "intel" you have been telling us for two plus years was telling you that the balloon was about to go up. Any day now. No, I'm sure the Pentagon has stopped lying to us. And we're the Andrew Sisters.

Let me ask you a different question then Randy. Your idea is that if the US drops enough 1000 pounders on civilians in Syria, Iran, and so on, that the civilians will put so much pressure on their government that their government will cave and do what ever the US wants.

If the situation was reversed, and someone was dropping 1000 pounders on your neighborhood, how many would it take for you to cave?

What basis do you have for thinking that the civilians in Syria, Iran, etc. are different than the civilians in your neighborhood? Have you ever met any of those folks? Are their "leaders" so concerned about the welfare of their civilian population that they would cave into US demands to stop the slaughter of civilians?

When they don't cave, what is your option, admit defeat or escalate. Once you escalate to nuclear weapons, how long before Russia says to stop?

http://english.pravda.ru/world/ussr/25-09-2008/106458-russia_ukraine-0

No, Deadie.... It is as I said many times before. If they wont take their government or really their autocracy then we will have to act. You can post up scenario after scenario and posture this and that but the bottom line is that if they are dead, gone and finished they will not be doing anything else to anyone.

They are not just attacking us now Deadie. Its everyone who is remotely supportive of the US or its allies. Be sure to read the above... There are 15,000 troops massing on the border near Ukraine. Its okay, they are there for "military exercises." But perhaps you have already forgotten that the Rus are already in Georgia. You might remember a country called Afghanistan too. Or Hungary, or Poland or Czechoslovakia when those nice, pliant Russians were there for the winter sports. Revere doesnt think the balloon is going up. I think you are going to see it in a fast and furious fashion if it looks like McCain is going to be elected. Else they will will wait for the community organizer to gut the military and then pull us out of Iraq when he is president and then they'll strike. Just like they did in the 70's with Afghanistan.

Lets just call it a balance of terror Deadie. Academics rarely understand things until the tanks start rolling or the airplanes start flying.

By M. Randolph Kruger (not verified) on 26 Sep 2008 #permalink