“I believe their frustration was real as was their skepticism..”
Far be it for me to disagree with Will Crawley’s assessment that the “money quote” in Volume 1 of retired Alaskan state prosecutor Stephen Branchflower’s report to the Alaska Legislative Council, is
“Governor Sarah Palin abused her power by violating Alaska Statute 39.52.110 (a) of the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act.”
The BBC report has more, and the Belfast Telegraph report seems somewhat premature.. Given that the full report has yet to be voted on, never mind endorsed, by the Legislative Council.. But I’d suggest the real ‘money quote’ is, as noted elsewhere
“I find that, although Walt Monegan’s refusal to fire Trooper Michael Wooten was not the sole reason he was fired by Governor Sarah Palin, it was likely a contributing factor to his termination as Commissioner of Public Safety. In spite of that, Governor Palin’s firing of Commissioner Monegan was a proper and lawful exercise of her constitutional and statutory authority to hire and fire executive branch department heads.”
The first quote refers to Alaska Statute 39.52.110(a) which provides
“The legislature reaffirms that each public officer holds office as a public trust, and any effort to benefit a personal or financial interest through official action is a violation of that trust.”
Interestingly, leaving aside that it was, at most, a constructive dismissal of Moneghan, the first finding relates to an alleged breach of public trust in attempting to pressurise Moneghan to fire Trooper Michael Wooten, although Wooten was not fired, and corresponds with the ethics disclosure [pdf file] by Sarah Palin herself on 1 September this year. The detailed Wiki page on Troopergate provides the background, from Sarah Palin’s character reference for Wooten in 2000 to her overhearing a death threat against her father, Chuck Heath, in 2005 – a year before she became State Governor. In the aftermath of his divorce from Palin’s sister, Wooten was subsequently suspended for 10 days [pdf file], reduced to 5 days after a union appeal, and transferred to a different department. But the suspension letter made no reference to the death threat, despite an internal investigation concluding that – “Wooten violated internal policy, but not the law, in making a death threat against Heath. Wooten denied having made the threat, but the investigation decided that he had in fact done so. The investigation concluded that the death threat was not a crime because Wooten did not threaten the father directly; therefore, the investigator deemed the threat to be a violation of trooper policy rather than a violation of criminal law.”
The Conclusion of the explanation of the First Finding is also worth looking at from Volume 1 [pages 65-68]
As is the subsequent discussion to the Recommendation to the Legislature. [pages 79-81]
In this case, there has been much said about the level of frustration that existed on the part of Sarah Palin’s father Chuck Heath who filed the original complaint against Trooper Michael Wooten, and on the part of Sarah and Todd Palin, who attempted to learn the status of the investigation only to be told be Colonel Grimes that the matter was confidential by reason of AS 39.25.080. I believe their frustration was real as was their skepticism about whether their complaints were being zealously investigated. The irony is that the complaints were taken very seriously, and a thorough investigation was underway. However, the law prevented the Troopers from giving them any feedback whatsoever.
latchee
Don’t let the facts get in the way of your socialist asshole, anti-USA rants there shit-for-brains..
‘IRS data shows that in 2004, the richest 50% of the taxpayers paid 96.7% of all income taxes. From 1986 to 2004, the share paid by the richest half increased from 93.5% to 96.7%, and the share paid by the richest 1% increased from 25.75% to 36.89%. At the same time, the amount paid by the poorer half decreased from 6.5% in 1986 to 3.3% in 2004. While the poor’s contribution was cut in half, the richest Americans saw their contribution increase by nearly 50%. When you get past the propaganda, for the last two decades the rich have been paying more and more while the poor have been paying less and less.
To put it simply, of the $832 billion in personal income taxes collected in 2004, the richest half of the country paid $804 billion while the poorest half only paid $27.4 billion.’
‘’Mr.Nobel’s economics prize just went to another Bush hating msnbc liberal’
A Bush/USA hating socialist asshole awarded the prize by a bunch of eeeeyouuuuuuuu Bush/USA hating socialist assholes….I’m stunned.
Robert,
Are yu having a bad morning? You sound angry.
It sounds like you think the poor should be forced to pay more, the bastards. Of that vaunted richest 50%, how much are the middle class paying compared to the super rich as a percentage of what they can afford.
Greenflag,
Again, I don’t think it’s quite over yet, and feckin’ leave hicks in ‘Bama alone btw, I warned you before
latcheeco,
“Jackson probably isn’t the best man to bring up when arguing for presidential rectitude; ask the Creek Indians or look at the spoils system.”
A fair point. However, he may have been a bollix but I think it’s fair to say no one was pulling his strings.
Wilde Rover,
Fair enough an independent bollix so.
I’m always in a good mood…
Life here in the USA is quite nice…
Socialist assholes need to be reminded of their reality suspending folly. Facts are facts.
Assign motives, read my mind, add a label or two.
But ‘it sounds as if’ you can’t handle the TRUTH.
Standard socialist asshole behaviour.
The assertion that the rich have gotten richer while the poor have gotten poorer is patently false and is simply not supported by the evidence.
Coincidently Wilde,
I’m actually typing this morning from a street called Three Notch Street. Named after the notches Andrew Jackson’s army made on the pine trees here as they passed through, marking the route as they made their way to tear Packenham a new one at Norlans.
Willis, humble apologies.
It’s interesting where this race thing is going. Whites who do not support Obama are racists, and Blacks who do not support Obama are traitors.
Strange times, indeed.
Wilde rover,
The Cherokees in OK that I lived with for a while hated Jackson too. He was responsible for the Trail of Tears on which around 4,000 Cherokee died.
Ah, yes…Andy Jackson. The son of displaced ulster planters, those ulster scots were indian killers to the nth power. Rumour has it that they started the whole indian scalp for cash thing. He turned into a planter himself..
The Cherokees in OK probably felt much like the Catholics in Ulster
6county,
I thought you lived among f****n comanches
Anyway, there’s no getting around the fact that this race would have been long over if democrats were running a generic white male.Why is that? There’s no other logical reason other than skin color.
Hark! Oracle Bob speaketh his wisdom on the protestant provenance of scalping.
Couldn’t be his financial fiasco plans…..
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO>>
RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACISTS!!!!!
‘ And, as it looks increasingly likely that Obama will be that man, the markets are casting a vote of “no confidence.”
To be fair, McCain hardly instills confidence among the Wall Streeters I speak to. Why has his campaign spent the last week focusing on Obama’s friendship with former terrorist William Ayers – when it should be hitting Obama’s blind loyalty to policies that bring together the worst elements of Herbert Hoover and Jimmy Carter?
Recently, Obama said he wants to expedite loans to small businesses, so he seems to have a clue that they produce much of the country’s job growth. Yet his income-tax hike on upper brackets will hit vast numbers of small businesses – they’d face the highest rates they’ve seen in decades.
Overall, his plan includes some of the most lethal tax increases imaginable, including a jump in the capital-gains rate. He’d expand government spending massively, with everything from new public-works projects to increases in foreign aid to a surge in Afghanistan – plus hand out a token $500 welfare check that he calls a tax cut to everyone else.’
Ya latchee
The civil war isn’t over, it’s only halftime right?
‘protestant provenance of scalping.’
Ths is why I giggle when you knuckleheads bring up the whole indian massacre thing…
It was the Ulster Scots what done it…
Read some non-fiction, will ya!
‘By 1630, the English and Scots population settled in Ulster was larger than British settlement in all North America–21,000 English and 150,000 Lowland Scots. In 1641, the indigenous Irish rebelled and killed ten thousand settlers. The response of the Puritan English revolutionary government of Cromwell was fierce. The Puritan policy of exterminating Indians in North America was similar, Richard Slotkin argues, to Puritan policy in Ireland; “where systematic assaults were made on Celtic tribalism, native bardic myth-historians were forbidden to sing, isolated clans were exterminated, and the rest of the population was ravaged. Cromwell even attempted to establish a wild Irish reservation in western Ireland.”
So the Ulster-Scots were already seasoned colonialists before they filled the ranks of the British settlers to North America. Before ever meeting American Indians, these Ulster-Scots had perfected scalping for bounty on the Irish. Later, during the early nineteenth century, after the United States was independent of Britain, Irish Catholics would immigrate in the millions, but the Ulster-Scots were another breed–they were the foot soldiers of empire; the Ulster-Scots and their progeny formed the shock troops of the “westward movement,” that is, empire.
During the last two decades of the eighteenth century, first and second generation Ulster-Scots continued to move westward into the Ohio Valley, West Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee. Ulster-Scots were overwhelmingly frontier settlers rather than scouts, explorers, or fur traders. They cleared forests, built log cabins, killed Indians, formed a wall of protection for the new United States, and during times of war, they employed their fighting skills effectively.’
A friend of mine in the States seemed to be suffering from indigestion but now it appears that she might be pregnant. She has decided that if she has a girl she will be named Grace (after Grace O’Malley) and if a boy, Martin (after Dr King).
However if after all it does turn out to be just a bag of wind she will call it John McCain.
Hmmm a socialist asshole giving birth…
don’t tell obiewan..
Robert,
You’re ranting incoherently now. Just because McCain does it doesn’t mean you have to.
Bob – even you can’t handle Palin a heartbest away surely?
dewi
obama and his minions are horrible, anti USA, socialist, communist, bent on destroying the USA as it stands today. The evidence is overwhelming. If that’s ok with you, then believe what you want. It is not ok with me. SP is by far a better person, let alone, politician, human being etc..than obama will ever be. I do not like McCain and I will hold my nose and vote for him. Palin speaks for the silent majority… the obama fools are despicable, across the full spectrum of Americana. obama stands against everything generations of good Americans, of all colors, have worked for, to bring us to the wonderful country that the USA is. He and his miniions are vile, communist, religious, storm troopers. If he wins the shit will hit the fan and the USA will fall hard. I’m ready for any outcome.
latchee is a perfect example of the vapid, shallow fools that lap at obamas feet. They call verifiable facts and truth raaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaacism and ranting incoherently…….they are doomed to the Kinkos copy center for life and don’t like it. It hurts their self esteem, and attacking downs babies seems the next logical step to them. Ya, that’ll win you an election.
Plumber to Obama: “Your new tax plan is going to tax me more. Isn’t it?”
Obama: “It’s not that I want to punish your success, I just want to make sure that everybody that is behind you, that they have a chance for success too. I think that when you spread the wealth around, it’s good for everybody.”
Socialist prick.
Robert,
Stop shouting at the computer. It can’t hear you, and you’ll wake the other patients. I promise it’s all going to be ok. We survived through curious Goerge we will live through Obama. Now take your tranquilizers and go to sleep.
BTW. What happened to you at kinkos? Was somebody mean?
6countyprod,
“The Cherokees in OK that I lived with for a while hated Jackson too. He was responsible for the Trail of Tears on which around 4,000 Cherokee died.”
That figure almost seems quaint now.
The current president is responsible for the current phase of the war on Iraq where over 1,000,000 have died.
Bill Clinton was responsible for the silent war phase of the war on Iraq where 500,000 children alone died.
Whoever takes this election will have to follow in some particularly bloody footsteps.
Wilde Rover,
Yea, the Iraqi utopia under Saddam was destroyed by those interferring westerners. Shame on them!
Twenty reasons why Bush-haters should not vote for Obama.
How long will it take for the shine to wear off?
About as long is it will take Bob to return to sanity I imagine.
You see 6CP i think you’ve missed the point.
There are 2 candidates right?
One is an aging cancer survivor with a self-confessed lack of understanding of the economy, a member of the party that has screwed said economy over 8 years, running a dreadful campaign, who has embarassed himself completely with a poorly chosen corrupt local politician as a running mate, who blew the last of his credibility with a theatrical suspension of his campaign, and has continued to talk shite ever since.
On the other hand there is a younger poltician from the party that had left a healthy economy, who stays on message focussing on the economy, who picked a running mate who made up for suspected experience deficits, who has run a coherent campaign and energised his voting base.
You see as much as people like Bob and perhaps yourself are content enough just to be against Obama on a point of principal, I think there are plenty of people who would at the moment rather be for something. And that for is simply a change of government, which McCain will most certainly not be able to offer, especially with the Palin’s in tow. Even Hitchens has abandoned ship.
Oops, got it wrong earlier.
This is Obama’s economic plan: Robbing hardworking (Peter) Plumber to pay lazy Paul.
Hitch is merely returning to his first love, democratic socialism. Also, as an anti-theist, he has no problem with people like Obama, McCain and Biden who adhere to a very superficial religiosity, but serious observers of religious creeds, i.e. those who practice what they preach, like Palin, scare the dickens out of him.
Willis,
“Brilliant quote from Old Hickory.”
I missed your comment earlier. A flawed character, certainly, but this really stands out. It’s hard to imagine any western leader coming out with something like this today.
6countyprod,
“Yea, the Iraqi utopia under Saddam was destroyed by those interferring westerners. Shame on them!”
Saddam was a tool when he was needed and his brutality was tolerated at the time. The new puppet regime operates in much the same way as its predecessor did.
I can’t fathom how you can show such concern for native Americans and such little concern for native Iraqis.
Or perhaps Joe Stalin was right. Perhaps a million dead is just a statistic after all.
Actually one of the great things going for Hitchens is that he does not like religious extremists.
Practicing what you each is by no means a virtue 6CP – especially when most of what you preach come out yer arse.
And Palin actually isn’t exactly Miss Practice what you preach either. Indeed she has steadfastly refused to be pinned down on exactly what it is she believes – although we do all know now about her preacher. Where does God stand on the issue of the Iraq war Miss Palin ? Just how strong is your protection from witchcraft?
This kind of “belief” should scare the Dickens out of everybody 6CP. It is pure, unreflected, unthinking, ignorant fundamentalism, pitched at the lowet common denominator and openly flirting with xenophobia and racism. Maybe she isn’t really that far from her husbands old party views – the Alaskan Independence Party. Maybe the question she should be answering is how does SHE see america.