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Front Page: Alaska's Ted Stevens Loses Tight Reelection Bid

LibertySugar — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 08:00:55 -0800

Alaskan Senator Ted Stevens has officially lost his reelection bid, bringing the Democrats only two seats away from a filibuster-proof 60-seat majority. Stevens was the longest serving Republican ever to serve in the Senate, and his recent federal corruption conviction led to his fall from power. — New York Times
China's president Hu Jinato visited Cuba yesterday bringing hope of Chinese aid to the island and closer trade ties. Hu also visited ailing former president Fidel Castro. — AFP

In a new audio message al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri attacks Barack Obama going as far as using a racial epithet implying that Obama does the bidding of whites. The leader wants to convince Muslims and Arabs that Obama does not represent change. — AP
Ashley Dupre, the prostitute who brought down former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer has sat down with Diane Sawyer. Her interview will air on Friday's 20/20 at 10 pm EST/PST. — ABC News

Gay Marriage Goes Down, But Not Without a Fight

LibertySugar — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 09:25:00 -0800

California county registrars may have stopped issuing licenses to same-sex couples, but not all Californians are ready to accept the newly approved marriage ban. The city of San Francisco filed lawsuits challenging Prop. 8's passage, and California Attorney General Jerry Brown says he will fight to defend the legality of the marriage licenses already issued to 18,000 same-sex couples.

Last night at a West Hollywood rally, 2,500 joined a protest of Prop. 8, which eventually clashed with the LAPD. Seven protesters were arrested. In San Francisco's Castro neighborhood the rainbow flag is flying at half-staff, and last night gay marriage supporters held a candle light vigil at San Francisco's City Hall. Rallies of support for gay marriage were held in other parts of the state, too.

Gay marriage bans also passed in Arizona and Florida on Tuesday, along with an Arkansas ban on adoption by anyone except a married man and woman. How long do you think the struggle for gay marriage will go on before it is completely successful? Will it ever be?

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Alaska Inquiry Finds that Sarah Palin Abused Powers

LibertySugar — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 21:13:12 -0700

An investigation by the Alaska Legislature, released this evening, concluded that Sarah Palin abused the powers of the office of Governor of Alaska by pressuring subordinates with the goal of getting her ex-brother-in-law State Trooper Michael Wooton fired. The 236-page report, at the center of "Troopergate," also found that she was within her powers when she dismissed the public safety commissioner, who was the boss of the ex-brother-in-law.

The report, which could now have national implications, holds that Palin violated the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act when she exerted pressure, and when she allowed her husband to do so, too. It states:

Such impermissible and repeated contacts create conflicts of interests for subordinate employees who must choose to either please a superior or run the risk of facing that superior’s displeasure and the possible consequences of that displeasure.

The legal and political implications of the report are uncertain. The Alaska legislature could censure Palin, and US voters may question the McCain campaign's characterization of Palin as a reformer.

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Palin Shows Guilt-By-Association Attacks Often Hypocritical

LibertySugar — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 00:01:00 -0700

Sarah Palin has been painting Barack Obama as unpatriotic lately, bringing up Obama's acquaintance with William Ayers, a current college professor and former member of the Weather Underground, a radical organization that wanted to end the Vietnam War through acts of domestic terrorism when Obama was eight-years-old.

But the McCain/Palin ticket has dubious associations of its own. One example: Palin's connection to the separatist Alaskan Independence Party, founded by Joe Volgar who died buying explosives and said while alive: "The fires of hell are frozen glaciers compared to my hatred for the American government." Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. wrote about the apparent hypocrisy yesterday:

If McCarthy-era guilt-by-association is once again a valid political consideration, Palin, it would seem, has more to lose than Obama. Palin, it could be argued, following her own logic, thinks so little of America's perfection that she continues to "pal around" with a man —her husband, actually — who only recently terminated his seven-year membership in the Alaskan Independence Party. Putting plunder above patriotism, the members of this treasonous cabal aim to break our country into pieces and walk away with Alaska's rich federal oil fields and one-fifth of America's land base — an area three-fourths the size of the Civil War Confederacy. AIP's charter commits the party "to the ultimate independence of Alaska," from the United States which it refers to as "the colonial bureaucracy in Washington." It proclaims Alaska's 1959 induction as a state "as illegal and in violation of the United Nations charter and international law."

To find out about Palin's ties, as recent as this year,

Tales of Terror from Sarah Palin's Alaska

CitizenSugar — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 13:25:39 -0700

Tales of Terror From Sarah Palin's Alaska At the Republican convention, Sarah Palin used the quote "We grow good people in our small towns, with honesty, sincerity, and dignity." Palin bragged that she “grew up with these people” and called it a “privilege” to be from a small town. Vanity Fair has compiled some true crime news reports from Alaskan newspapers over the past two weeks that paint a somewhat scarier picture of those small towns.

Briefing Book! Palin's Bridge to Nowhere Claim Misses Facts

LibertySugar — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 13:30:00 -0700

Sarah Palin: The campaign claim to nowhere? Palin ignores media outlets that have pointed out that her claim to have said "thanks but no thanks" to the Bridge to Nowhere is a lie. — Talking Points Memo

GOP: The real dream ticket? America respects McCain, loves Palin. — Townhall

Lieberman: Booted from the cool kids' table? Lieberman won't attend Democratic policy lunches in the Senate this month. — The Hill

Libya: How do you treat the "mad dog" turned cuddly old Labrador? After Condi's trip to visit Gadhafi, Western leaders are wondering how to react. — newsblog

Service: Fake responsibilities? Interview gets real with a current community organizer. — Pop + Politics

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin — New Mom and VP-Stakes Winner?

CitizenSugar — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 14:30:27 -0700

Alaska's Republican governor, Sarah Palin, is the hottest ticket in town. After giving birth to her fifth child this weekend (a son named Trig) a glamorous stint in Vogue earlier this year, and sky-high approval ratings, could this new mom be tapped to be the yin to McCain's yang come November?

As the first female governor of Alaska, and the second governor to become a mom in office, some are clamoring for Palin to make the ticket — even starting a website to "Draft Sarah Palin." Here's a little taste of her take on governing:

As mayor and CEO of the booming city of Wasilla, my team invited investment and encouraged business growth by eliminating small business inventory taxes, eliminated personal property taxes, reduced real property tax mill levies every year I was in office, reduced fees, and built the infrastructure our businesses needed to grow and prosper.

Older candidate McCain might just be the one smashing home the real "firsts" this fall — oldest candidate and a brand-new mom as his running mate? He's been rumored to be courting a woman, most think he needs a youthful presence, and Condoleezza has scooted out of the picture. . . . what are the odds?

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