On another note, Obama has spent over $470 million on his campaign to date. Having raised $603 million, that’s 78% of his raised funds spent. McCain has only spent $262 million. Having raised $358 million, that’s only 73% of his raised funds spent. McCain’s campaign can spend $21 million more to be at 78% of his, to equal Obama. Even though the McCain campaign didn’t pay for Palin’s personal items, consider the fact that if they had paid for it they would still be making better use of their money than the Obama campaign.

The reason McCain’s campaign didn’t pay for it is because the 2002 campaign finance law strictly prohibits spending donated money on personal expenses. That is why the RNC paid for it, and not the McCain campaign. If the RNC didn’t think the personal expenses would pay off in the end, they would not have paid for it.

I’ve read many articles on the topic, with a majority of the comments disapproving of her spending. However, although not stated, I am sure a majority of those comments are from democrats trying to sabotage the republican campaign, but even those that are republicans speaking out have most-likely not done their research to determine the legitimacy of such spending.

Regardless of the entire topic, the McCain campaign has already stated the clothing would go to a “charitable purpose” after the campaign. What more can you ask for? I don’t see anyone tearing apart major corporations for their large charitable contributions so they can get tax write-offs, which is a comparable offense. We put just as much faith in Microsoft or Wal-Mart as we do our own President. Maybe we should focus on real financial issues and not petty things like personal expenses on a campaign trail.

Lastly, I’d like to point out that anyone running for any government position should do everything in his or her power to make their appearance the best possible. This includes, and definitely not limited to, fashionable clothing, attractive hair-styles and makeup, and even assuring your family looks professional. That would also include clothing and fashion for your children!

Please don’t be so quick to judge a person’s ability to lead a country based on their personal spending, especially when that personal spending was well within authorized limits.

Visit me at http://www.jonathanplumb.com
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Will Palin’s move to Fox News help her win support from the political center or the Left Wing? Absolutely not.  But that is not her goal today. To succeed in the 2012 presidential race, the first step is to activate her Republican base to win the primaries. If she wins the Republican presidential nomination in 2012, then she can turn her attention to swing voters and independents for the general election. While her work as a Fox pundit could jeopardize her appeal to the center and left, it is a calculated risk to stay in he spotlight, polish her debate skills, and share her opinions with the Conservative World.

Sara Palin is perceived by her fans as an edgy and ambitious (think bulldog), emerging Republican leader with new ideas.  At her best, Palin has a progressive agenda, and the charisma, moxie and savvy to execute it. The “rogue leader” has over 1 million followers on Facebook, and her “Going Rogue” book has remained on Amazon’s top 25 list since its release — selling 469,000 copies in its first week, less than former president Bill Clinton’s 2004 memoir, My Life, reports the Edmond Journal.

However, Palin critics see an inexperienced, controversial, and polarizing diva.  Opponents are skeptical that she has the experience, and worldly knowledge to lead this country forward. During the 2008 election, her many gaffes helped the Left discredit her political savvy. With increased visibility on the news network with the largest audience, Palin risks gaffes and soundbytes that could come back to haunt her…

To read more about Palin and Fox News, go to Sparxoo, a digital marketing, branding and business development blog.

Sparxoo is a business blog that inspires breakthrough by tomorrow’s leaders. We are a strategy consulting firm with a pulse on marketing, branding, and development.
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I listened to chatter over the airwaves. Talkshow host Armstrong William led a merry discussion on South Carolina’s Governor Mark Sanford. Armstrong could not contain himself: “How does Governor Sanford get rid of his Love Jones?” It was a question that was not easily answered. Listeners from South Carolina appeared irritated with this line of questioning. Many felt the governor had abandoned his wife, children, and the people of South Carolina.

At the same time, Governor Sarah Palin was busy steering clear of another ethics charge in her own state. Some people may view these circumstances as petty politics. However, the governors’ situations have turned the spotlight on the difficulty of managing work ambition with one’s own family priorities. Therefore, a deeper inspection will reveal how work priorities can bear down on an individual’s personal and family life.

Background

On June 24th, Governor Sanford arranged a press conference where he confessed a year-long affair with an Argentine woman. He was missing for more than six days from his office. At his press conference, political pundits argued Governor Sanford was attempting to save his job, not his family life. He is married and has four sons. Instead of a low-profile strategy, Governor Sanford actively engaged the media, describing his mistress as his “soul mate.” Clearly, he had lost his mind. His wife Jenny stated, “I believe enduring love is primarily a commitment and an act of will, and for a marriage to be successful, that commitment must be reciprocal.”

On July 3, 2009, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin surprised America as she announced her resignation as governor in July. This news created a shockwave in political circles. Was Palin run off or plotting a crafty strategy for the White House in 2012? Regardless of her specific motivation, a reasonable person could understand the priorities issues that Governor Palin faced as a wife, mother, and political figure. Many political analysts view her as a politically ambitious person.

Alaska columnist Michael Carey noted the popularity of Governor Palin as a media juggernaut: “She’s gone from being our governor or a public figure in Alaska to being a national celebrity.” However, her political savvy has left her family exposed to public ridicule. Her family has endured through vicious rumors and negative press. When the stakes gets higher for these public figures in their professional life, it challenges the rest of their life.

The Major Issue

Many individuals in their careers fail to recognize the impacts of their work obligations on the priorities of their overall life. Making these priority decisions is difficult for most working adults. Yes, some people appear to handle this reality better than others. Many people believe that they can have it both ways – get what they want without giving up anything that matters to them. Bill Kemp, author of Peter’s Boat, notes, “Driven by the satisfaction of doing ‘the right thing,’ we enter these mazes that do not offer us a places to consider our personal needs or reflect on what appropriate limits we should place o our behavior.” Therefore, there needs to be a tradeoff between “living for today” and “living for tomorrow” if individuals are to achieve family balance. In fact, we cannot be truly satisfied as long as we have our souls torn in different places. Biblically speaking, this reality is summed up by the verse, “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other . . .” Some folks appear to be happy on the outside yet torn to pieces on the inside by the demons of competing priorities. Consequently, the long-term effects of some tradeoffs can impact your health, marriage, and other relationships.

Conclusion

Living a life in the spotlight is difficult, and America has witnessed this fact play out in the lives of many famous people such as Governors Sanford and Palin. This article demonstrates how individuals need to consider the consequences of their work life on their personal and family life. As in the case of these public figures, the pressures of life can offer many distractions. Consequently, it is important during the rat race to keep priorities in order lest one finds himself spinning in circles. Working adults should not cave in to the external pressures of others and squander precious time and opportunity. The concept of priorities involves making the appropriate choices on how the family spends its resources (especially time). Failing to accomplish this task will continue to produce confusion, misunderstanding, and lack of communication in your families. You don’t have to settle for anything less than the best. Let’s hope that it is not too late.

Dr. Daryl D. Green writes on contemporary issues impacting individuals, businesses, and society across the globe. Dr. Green’s expertise has been noted and quoted by USA Today, Ebony Magazine, and Associated Press. For more information, you can go to http://stores.lulu.com/darygre or http://www.darylgreen.org
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The most famous people (based on online chatter) with the first name Sara or Sarah are:

10. Sarah Paulson – Actress (Nip/Tuck, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, The Spirit)

9. Sarah Bernhardt – French Stage Actress in the late 1800s to the early 1900s

8. Sara Evans – Musician (Born To Fly, Perfect, You’ll Always Be My Baby)

7. Sarah Geronimo – Musician (Sweet Sixteen, Taking Flight, Just Me)

6. Sara Bareilles – Musician (Love Song, Bottle It Up, Come Home)

5. Sarah Brightman – Soprano Singer (Time to Say Goodbye, La Luna, Harem)

4. Sarah Silverman – Actress / Comedian (The Sarah Silverman Program, Sarah Silverman: Jesus Is Magic)

3. Sarah McLachlan – Musician (Surfacing, Afterglow, Wintersong)

2. Sarah Connor – Fictional Character from the Terminator series of movies

…and the most famous woman named Sarah or Sara is by a huge margin…

1. Sarah Palin – Former Governor of Alaska, US Vice Presidential Candidate, and Author (Going Rogue)

Not making the top 10 list were Sara Groves – Musician (All Right Here, Add to the Beauty), Sara Hickman – Musician (Toddler, Big Kid, Motherlode), Sara Paretsky – Author (The  V.I. Warshawski Detective Series), Sara Paxton – Actress and Musician (Summerland, The Last House on the Left, The Beautiful Life), Sara Ryan – Author (Empress of the World, The Rules for Hearts), Sara Underwood – Model and Actress (Epic Movie, The House Bunny), Sara Watkins – Musician (Why Should the Fire Die?, This Side, Nickel Creek), Sara Zarr – Author (Story of a Girl, Sweethearts, Once Was Lost), Sarah Chalke – Actress (Scrubs, Roseanne, How I Met Your Mother), Sarah Charlesworth – Artist and Photographer, Sarah Ferguson – The Duchess of York, Sarah Grimke – American Abolitionist, Sarah Harding – Singer, Model and Actress (Girls Aloud), Sarah Hughes – Olympic Gold Medalist Figure Skater, Sarah Lacy – Blogger, and Sarah Vowell – Author and Journalist (The Wordy Shipmates, Assassination Vacation, The Partly Cloudy Patriot).

An excellent mix of Saras and Sarahs with one politician (Palin), one fictional character (Connor), three actresses (Silverman, Bernhardt, and Paulson), and five musicians (McLachlan, Brightman, Bareilles, Geronimo, and Evans).  Amazing to see that Sarah Bernhardt, who was a French stage actress from a century ago, is still so famous.

I compiled this list by searching for each of the Sara and Sarahs on a number of search engines and ranking them by the number of web pages, discussion forums, photos, videos, etc that are available online.

Get complete Numerology for the name Sara and Numerology for the name Sarah at www.NameNum.com.

I’m a freelance PHP and MySQL programmer living in the San Carlos neighborhood of San Diego with my wife and our 3 cats. I enjoy hiking, reading, gardening, watching too much television, and other nerdy activites.
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1. There is no doubt that President Obama has a better voice. It is smooth, warm and inviting; whereas, Sarah Palin’s voice can be irritating, especially when she increases her volume.

2. Both political figures have charisma. No matter which person you admire, they both possess a magnetism that draws you to them. This is one of the reasons for their popularity (again, whether you agree or disagree with their words or policies is not the issue).

3. President Obama has a gift when it comes to reading a television monitor. This is not easy to do. TV broadcasters also possess this talent. When they are delivering the news, they are actually reading from a screen; but, they don’t sound like they are reading. They sound like they are talking to you and Obama does it extremely well. When he stands at the lectern with his scripted delivery, he renders a thoughtful, prepared and well-rehearsed script.

4. Sarah Palin, on the other hand, is better at speaking from her notes when she gives a speech. She acknowledges her audience throughout her delivery by making eye contact with her audience. This isn’t happening when Obama speaks because he is more focused on his script than on his listeners.

5. When it comes to questions, Obama has difficulty because his answers are not prepared in advance and he has a tendency to stammer, which means that his manner of speaking is quite choppy. I find it hard to listen to him when he is in the process of answering questions although I think he is improving in that respect. Palin is much quicker with her responses because she is just plain better at talking.

6. When it comes to speaking with emotion, the former Governor of Alaska is full of passion. She speaks from her heart and in doing so, uses her voice, her facial expression and her body language to aid in her delivery. While our President is more reserved in that respect, I find he tends to speak from his head, although he does display good tonal and facial expressions in his delivery, albeit he is a bit tame.

The real difference between the styles of these two people is that our President is much more mentally-centered; Palin more emotionally-centered. And, public speaking is much more difficult for the mentally-centered individual. This is why he relies on a monitor and also why he holds few press conferences. While the President is very good in his delivery of scripted material, when it comes to dynamic public speaking skills, Sarah Palin is the winner — politics aside.

The Voice Lady Nancy Daniels offers private, corporate and group workshops in voice and presentation skills as well as Voicing It!, the only video training program on voice improvement. To see how voice training can improve your life, both professionally and personally, visit Voice Dynamic or watch a brief video as The Voice Lady describes Dynamic Public Speaking.
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Gov. Palin parachuted headfirst into very rocky terrain when endorsing President Bush’s proposal that would see a new Arab state created between Israel and Jordan – declaring unequivocally:

“A two-state solution is the solution.”

 Further endorsing President Bush’s stance of actively engaging with the disputants Gov. Palin asserted:

“And Secretary Rice, having recently met with leaders on one side or the other there also, still in these waning days of the Bush administration, trying to forge that peace. And that needs to be done, and that will be top-of-an-agenda item also under a McCain-Palin administration.”

What Gov. Palin seems to have ignored is the fact that Secretary Rice has been trying to forge that peace for the last six years – yet has not even managed to see it get to first base. American power and influence has once again been exposed as a toothless tiger when it comes to resolving the issue of Palestine.

The timetables meticulously laid out in President Bush’s original 2003 proposal have not been met. Frantic efforts by Secretary Rice to advance the negotiations since the conference held in Annapolis almost a year ago – supposedly aimed at reaching an agreement before President Bush vacates the Presidency next January – have gone nowhere.

The negotiations have stalled on the two following fundamental demands made by the Palestinian Authority that Israel cannot possibly accept and on which the Palestinian Authority refuses to budge:

That Israel cede 100% of the West Bank – which would involve 500000 Jews being removed from their current homes and places of business. The Palestinian Authority has reportedly rejected an Israeli offer of a land swap that would allow about 430000 of them to stay. That Israel accept the return of millions of Arab refugees – which would signal the end of Israel as the national homeland of the Jewish people. 

Gov. Palin – no doubt – was anxious to avoid acknowledging what has been one of President Bush‘s worst policy failures – pursuing his personal vision to establish a second Arab State in Palestine in addition to Jordan which occupies 77% of the territory comprised in the League of Nations Mandate for Palestine.

However Gov. Palin’s claim that it would be a “top-of-an-agenda-item under a McCain- Palin administration” indicates that they will continue to actively pursue this failed policy when it has no chance at all of ever being implemented unless the Palestinian Authority relents on the above demands. Since both these demands have been consistently pressed for the last 40 years by the Arab world without change or modification it is difficult to see how President Bush’s two-state solution can ever be achieved.

15 years spent by Israel in unsuccessfully trying to achieve just this very objective with the Palestinian Authority since 1993 only reinforces this conclusion.

How much longer then will John McCain invest his – and America’s – time, prestige and effort in pursuing President Bush’s failed policy? Hopefully he will let the voters know in the next scheduled Presidential debate. The question needs to be asked and answered.

The argument that he must keep on trying is pointless. This only perpetuates the killing and traumatisation of both Arabs and Jews without any prospect of ever ending or even defusing the conflict.

Senator Biden was far more circumspect in refusing to endorse the Roadmap in the strident terms adopted by Gov. Palin – stating that an Obama administration would employ:

 “thoughtful, real, live diplomacy that understand that you must back Israel in letting them negotiate, support their negotiation and stand with them, not insist on policies like this administration has.”

 Significantly these comments indicate that :

Israel would be left alone to continue negotiating on the Roadmap within a time frame of its choosing and not one imposed on it by anyone else Israel’s stand would be supported in any decisions it made in the course of those negotiations – thereby effectively endorsing President Bush’s rejection of the above two demands by the Palestinian Authority in a letter to Israel’s then Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on 14 April 2004. Obama would stand with Israel on any other decisions made by it with regard to those negotiations – including their termination due to intractable differences incapable of resolution. 

There is no doubt these negotiations will inevitably end in impasse. The sooner they are terminated and a new direction adopted, the sooner some real and tangible progress will be possible.

It certainly would be embarrassing for both John McCain and Barack Obama if either Israel or the Palestinian Authority was to announce the termination of the current negotiations during the last stages of this Presidential contest. Both contestants would then have to state their positions on the future direction of relations between Israel, the Palestinian Authority and their Arab neighbours – Jordan and Egypt.

At the moment Messrs. Mc Cain and Obama can both plead that this is a purely hypothetical question that is both irrelevant and unnecessary for them to answer. Their Vice Presidential running mates have served them well in the statements each made during their debate.

Forcing the issue now would certainly set the remaining Presidential debates – and the elections – well and truly alight. However given the nuances of the Middle East and the apparent agreement to negotiate at least until President Bush leaves office – any such precipitate action by either side is unlikely to occur.

Inevitably therefore the current game will continue to be played out until President Bush is replaced – when his vision can then be finally abandoned by either side walking off the field because of the atrocious conditions. America by then will have voted in a new President with no idea of what he would then do.

The operation of America’s democratic process is indeed a wondrous sight to behold.

David Singer is an Australian Lawyer, a Foundation Member of the International Analyst Network and Convenor of Jordan is Palestine International — an organization calling for sovereignty of the West Bank and Gaza to be allocated between Israel and Jordan as the two successor States to the Mandate for Palestine.

Previous articles written by him can be found at http://www.jordanispalestine.blogspot.com

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Congressman Lindsay Graham (R-SC) made a staunch declaration that America was winning the war on Iraq. Taken by itself, Graham’s assertion is not surprising given the GOP’s history of weaving dung into Egyptian cotton – then selling it as silk. While Graham was declaring mission accomplished, a photograph showed headstones at Arlington National Cemetery – a truly tragic juxtaposition.

Other images from the GOP Convention are less tragic, but no less disturbing.

The most disturbing image of all was that of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin claiming her Party’s nomination as vice president. In a speech devoid of substance and long on folksy and dubious claims of her reform expertise, Gov. Palin did prove she could read from a teleprompter. This is no small feat given how she was thrust upon the national stage as a last minute replacement. Reports have surfaced that John McCain had his heart set on Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) but chose Palin after a single meeting.

Will Palin’s speech, riddled as it was with half truths and some outright lies, be the basis of honest media scrutiny and assessment? Or will legitimate questions be lost in the haze of cotton candy fluff spun by the GOP? Beyond Gov. Palin’s camera presence and GOP stagecraft lays the minefield of questions about her ideology and her knowledge of the world.

For the foreseeable future, Gov. Palin is safe in the cocoon that is Camp McCain, safely sequestered in a cone of indoctrination. Gov. Palin will hear a constant drone of policy facts and figures, accompanied by a heaping helping of quaint phrasing and plenty of the same revisionist history that punctuated the convention. Not until her handlers have deemed her ready, will Gov. Palin be allowed to face the news media – alone.

In the aftermath of all the bellicose rhetoric and national chauvinism, the corporate news media has been left in state of disorder and confusion. Torn between their responsibilities as journalists and fawning over the newest Republican shooting star, few substantive questions are being asked – or answered.

Ironically, the same McCain-friendly media on which the Maverick Mythology was built has now been declared the enemy by Camp McCain. Uber lobbyist and Camp McCain commandant Rick Davis has declared that the campaign will tightly control media access to Palin.

So just what does Gov. Palin know – and not know – about history and the current state of world affairs? There is no end to the list of issues, claims and inconsistencies to cover when it comes to vetting this vice presidential nominee. Will the titans of American journalism have the chance – or the guts – to ask the right questions and insist on getting the answers?

By her own admission, Gov. Palin knows little about Iraq. During an interview in March 2007, Gov. Palin was asked about the troop surge in Iraq. Her answer was stunning given that the war on Iraq has been dragging on for almost 6 years. Treating this tragic chapter in U.S. history like the World Series, Palin admitted that she had “been focused on state government” and “haven’t focused on the war in Iraq”.

Suddenly, in St. Paul, she knows about Iraq. With all of the “me first, country second fervor they could muster, Palin and the GOP have shamelessly exploited her son’s upcoming deployment to Iraq. While I respect her son’s decision to serve, I find it abhorrent that Gov. Palin chose to use the occasion as a political stage prop. Worse yet, having a son in the Iraq Theater of operations does not demonstrate a knowledge of the lies that were told in order to wage the war.

Nor does that fact alone prove that she understands the tragic consequences the war has wrought on the brave Americans who lay dead and wounded. Surely Gov. Palin has an opinion on the millions of Iraqis who been displaced or left homeless, not to mention the many thousands killed, injured and maimed.

In a complete refutation of the GOP’s platform plank on climate change, Palin has played fast and lose with the facts. Like the Prince of the Dark Ages, Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK), Palin is oblivious to the crushing weight of scientific evidence and consensus. Like Inhofe, Palin denies human activity as a cause of global warming saying “a changing environment will affect Alaska more than any other state, because of our location. I’m not one though who would attribute it to being man-made.”

Religious extremists have welcomed Palin into the fold for her position on creationism. Again denying science, Gov. Palin advocates the teaching of creationism as an alternative to evolution, couching her position in the fog of educational balance. On reproductive rights, Palin again panders to the Religious Right by asserting that women have the right to give birth, even if the father is the rapist who got them pregnant.

While Palin and the GOP have touted reform and fiscal responsibility as a central theme, her record as a self-described reformer and conservative is murky.

As a gubernatorial candidate, Palin actively supported the now-infamous Ketchikan “Bridge to Nowhere”. As governor, Palin took credit for killing the project. In fact, the project died for lack of funding since Palin had redirected 80% of the allotted $398 million to other projects. Will the news media ask her why she opposed the bridge but kept the money anyway?

I hope that Gov. Palin will have to answer for why she reportedly left her hometown of Wasilla, Alaska nearly $20 million in debt. Surely the question of how she left 7,000 people with a per capita debt of $2,600 is relevant to her qualifications as a self-described fiscal conservative. Why did she feel it necessary to hire a lobbying firm in order to squeeze more earmarks out of Washington?

The list of questions is long and time is short. The future of legitimate journalism – and the country – hangs on the answers.

Copyright Michael O’Brien All Rights Reserved

Michael OBrien is a writer for many popular websites. He ghost writes under Mitch Endick and Otaffy. Michael also writes opinion and commentary for the InterActivist magazine and several weblogs. He resides in Southeastern Ohio. Mikes blog at Progess Ohio.
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Take note. It as a 12-0 bipartisan vote!

Would you be surprised if she denied the report? In fact the McCain team put out their own report ahead of this report to hopefully tamp down the damage. Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin denied Saturday that she had abused her power as Alaska’s governor, a conclusion reached by a state investigator in a report released the day before.

Palin violated state ethics law by trying to get her former brother-in-law fired from the state police, a state investigator’s report for the bipartisan Legislative Council concluded Friday. “Gov. Palin knowingly permitted a situation to continue where impermissible pressure was placed on several subordinates in order to advance a personal agenda,” the report states.

Ah but that’s just politics- as usual.

Ahead of Friday’s hearing, Palin supporters wearing clown costumes and carrying balloons denounced the probe as a “kangaroo court” and a “three-ring circus” led by supporters of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama. Sure, blame Obama! The state senator managing the probe, Sen. Hollis French, fueled those complaints with a September 2 interview in which he warned the inquiry could yield an “October surprise” for the GOP.

Surpirse? Ethics violations by an elected offical a surpirse? Not even with Sara Barracuda is this a surprise, unfortunately. It’s just politics!

As a spiritual-futurist, I interpret current events in light of possible macro-universal forces at play leading up to 2012, but not limited to it.
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Her son, Levi Johnston, 18, is having a child with 18-year-old Bristol Palin – the daughter of former GOP veep pick and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. Sherry Johnston was released from jail on $5,000 bail. Cops refused to detail the type of drugs involved, or the amount.

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The Anchorage Daily News carried a statement from Palin spokesman Bill McAllister, who tersely emailed: “This is not a state government matter. Therefore the governor’s communications staff will not be providing comment or scheduling interview opportunities.” Johnston’s arrest could give a whole new meaning to the term “pardon me” when she and the Alaska governor huddle around the crib of their grandson who is due on Saturday. Levi Johnston burst into the spotlight late last summer when John McCain teamed up with Sarah Palin — who caused a national stir by revealing Levi and Bristol were expecting. McCain welcomed Johnston to the “family” after word got out, and the Palins announced the young couple planned to marry in the summer of 2009.

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BY MICHAEL WEBSTER: INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER Sept. 13, 2008 at 12:01 AM PDT

Republican presidential candidate John McCain with his vice presidential running mate, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.

Steve Branchflower, a retired state prosecutor who legislators hired to probe Palin’s firing of former Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan, said someone in the governor’s office might have also pushed one of the 13 people on the subpoena list to deny workers’ compensation benefits to state trooper Mike Wooten.

The trooper was involved in a divorce from Sarah Palin’s sister, and Monegan has said in media interviews he believes he lost his job because he wouldn’t bend to pressure from the Palin family and at least one of the governor’s aides to fire the trooper.

In 2005, before Palin ran for office, the Palin family accused trooper Mike Wooten of drinking beer in his patrol car, illegally shooting a moose and firing a Taser at his 11-year-old stepson. Palin and her husband, Todd, also claimed Wooten threatened to kill Sarah Palin’s father. Wooten as a result was suspended over the allegations for five days in 2006 but still has his job. Among the complaints the Palins have lodged against Wooten is that he filed a workers’ comp claim even though he wasn’t really injured.

Branchflower testified Friday at a joint hearing of the Alaska House and Senate judiciary committees in Anchorage.

Committee members vigorously debated whether to take the rare step of issuing subpoenas, with one lawmaker, North Pole Republican Sen. Gene Therriault, predicting that doing so might lead to a “smackdown” court battle between the executive and legislative branches of the state government.

Therriault and Sen. Lesil McGuire, R-Anchorage, argued for delaying the issuance of subpoenas, if not the investigation itself, until after the Nov. 4 election.

Others, wanted to get on with Branchflower’s investigation.

“I say let’s just get the facts on the table, the sooner the better,” said Sen. Charlie Huggins, a Wasilla Republican who came to the hearing dressed in camouflage, saying he took time out from a moose hunt to attend.

Huggins joined Senate Finance Committee Chairman Hollis French and Sen. Bill Wielechowski, both Anchorage Democrats, in supporting Branchflower’s request for subpoenas. Therriault and McGuire voted against.

The lawmakers than voted to subpoena witnesses including Gov. Sarah Palin’s husband, Todd, and the unnamed employee at Harbor Adjustment Service as part of the Troopergate inquiry.

Legislators first began the probe in late July of 08 well before Palin was announced as a vice presidential candidate. The lawmakers voted to spend up to $100,000 on Branchflower’s investigation.

In open testimony Friday, Branchflower explained that he needed to subpoena witnesses, most of whom are state employees who have declined to submit to his questioning or who initially agreed to but were no shows for later appointments.

One “especially important” witness on the subpoena list, Branchflower said, is Murlene Wilkes, owner of an Anchorage company called Harbor Adjustment Service. The company holds a state contract to process and pay workers’ comp claims.

Branchflower said in August he heard that “someone from the governor’s office or someone from the state” advised Wilkes to deny Wooten’s claim. So Branchflower said he called Wilkes to check it out.

Branchflower said Wilkes told him she had never talked to anyone in the governor’s office about the Wooten file, nor had she seen photos of Wooten riding a snowmachine while on workers’ comp.

But later, he said, an employee for the company who worked under Wilkes and who actully handled Wooten’s claim said she was pressured — Branchflower refused to disclose her name. All he would say was that she called his investigative tip line to say Wilkes told her “something to the effect that either the governor or the governor’s office wanted this claim denied.”

Branchflower said the employee’s statements were recorded during the interview. Branchflower said she told him she felt pressured.

“I don’t, you know, care if it’s the president who wants the claim denied. I’m not going to deny it unless I have the medical evidence to do that,” Branchflower said, quoting from the employee’s statement.

Now, Branchflower said he wants to take a sworn statement from Wilkes, who he said was possibly “not truthful” in her initial talk with him. Wilkes, he said, canceled a Thursday appointment for an interview on the advice of an attorney.

“She obviously is a key player because she handles all of the workmen’s compensation claims for the state of Alaska,” Branchflower said. “She may have a financial motive,” he added, due to her contract with the state.

Wilkes, since that testimony has be unavailable and apparently ducking the press.

Tom Van Flein, an Anchorage attorney retained for the governor by the Department of Law (AG’s Office) that authorized up to $95,000 to pay for her representation as governor. But he is also representing the Gov. and her husband Todd privately. When Van Flein was asked by reporters “did he think there is any conflict of interest or violation of any ethic’s” He indicated there was not, and that he has in the past represented the Palins in other matters, and refused to say what those matters were. Normally the State Attorney General would have represented Palin, however Alaska State AG Talis Colberg himself is deeply embroiled in the whole matter and because of that he has recused himself according to his office.

Van Flein said that he couldn’t say whether someone with the governor’s office contacted Harbor Adjustment on the Wooten claim. But Van Flein said state officials did investigate “potential workers’ comp fraud,” based on information from Todd Palin. Palin’s version of the events deny any abuse of power and Palin’s attorney Van Flein has long contended that the investigation belonged in the personnel system and not the legislature.

State officials on Friday when queried about the worker’ comp case they were unable to shed any more light or other details which included what the state’s current contract is with Harbor.

News reports Brad Thompson, the state’s risk management director and one of the people who will receive a subpoena, furnished a copy of a one-year contract, signed in 2003, paying Harbor $1.2 million to handle workers’ comp claims.

Thompson, in an e-mail, said the state has signed “several extensions” since that initial contract, but he didn’t respond to questions as to the current contract term or dollar amount.

Branchflower said he wants to subpoena Todd Palin as the “principal critic” of Wooten’s continued employment as a trooper. He told legislators Todd Palin had a meeting with Monegan in the governor’s office in January 2007, not long after his wife was sworn in, to show him the results of a private investigation into the trooper’s alleged misconduct, including photos of Wooten riding a snowmachine.

Two important witness who Branchflower wanted to interview, but who legislators decided not to subpoena, are the governor herself and her former chief of staff, Mike Tibbles, now working as campaign manager for U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska who is indicted by the feds and is preparing for his up-coming trail.

Branchflower has claimed that he is aiming to finish his investigation and findings by Oct. 10.

In a second new and interesting development the Laguna Journal has learned that Alaska attorney and former US Attorney Wevsley Shea actually wrote to Palin advising her against her current course of action in this matter and warned of “grave” circumstances if she continued.

The Gov. before she retained an attorney revealed an audio recording that shows an aide pressuring the Public Safety Department to fire a state trooper fighting in a custody battle with her sister.

Palin, who has previously said her administration didn’t exert pressure to get rid of trooper Mike Wooten, also disclosed that members of her staff had made about two dozen contacts with public safety officials about the trooper.

Shea in his letter to Palin dated July 24, 2008 said, “I have great respect for you, Todd and your family. You are wonderful Alaskans. Unfortunately, in my opinion, you have had very naïve unprofessional counsel on the Department of Public Safety and the Department of Law. Your “political advisors” have given you poor counsel; The situation is now grave.”

His letter goes on to say that he recommends action “now” to restore your credibility and Alaska’s bright future with you.

He than encouraged the Governor to immediately “Apologize for not personally terminating Commissioner of Public Safety Walt Monegan, And for her to “Apologize for your statements regarding Commissioner Monegan in the Press Release no. 08-125. And “Apologize, with Todd, for overreaching or perceived overreaching on Trooper Mike Wooten. And “Terminate any “state advisor” who addressed Trooper Wooten with Commissioner Monegan. And “Withdraw former Kenai Police Chief Chuck Kopp’s name as Commissioner of Public Safety. And “ Do not, in writing (as in Press Release no. 08-125). “ define” the credibility of state employees.

Shea closed his letter by saying that “ Trooper Wooten was/is a grave public safety threat to your family. It was/is a very personal, emotional matter which was either mishandled or covered up by certain individuals. Todd was/is very concerned. You are a wonderful lady with a fine husband. Certain key advisors were/are weak and self absorbed. I am extremely concerned about “wolves” if my recommended action is not taken immediately.”

Sources:

For related articles go to: www.lagunajournal.com

WSHEA_LTRS_TO_RE_PALIN_TROOPERGATE.pdf   

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