Sarah Palin embraces her inner anti-vaxxer

From Business Insider via Yahoo! News -

Sarah Palin gave a speech opposing vaccination, and said she would get a shot 'over my dead body'

Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin has vowed not to get a coronavirus vaccine after claiming she had natural immunity because she contracted COVID-19 in March.

Palin, who was the 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee, said on Sunday she would get the vaccine "over my dead body."

This stuff, the proud embrace of scientific ignorance, wouldn't bother me so much if the only folks endangered by it were people like Palin and other anti-vaxxers.  Unfortunately, they're endangering the rest of us.

1. Wear a damn mask.

2. Get vaccinated.  

Has anybody noticed...

...that despite Russell Pearce's claims of massive support for him in LD18, his campaign finance reports from the 2010 election cycle show that he received a grand total of 7 contributions from LD18 residents, amounting to less than 2.5% of his total for the cycle?  He actually received more money from Fiesta Bowl-affiliated contributors.

Even more telling was the fact that, as far as I can tell, he didn't receive any contributions from his neighbors in his home precinct, Mesa 16.

Hmmm...

...that Arizona is lagging behind most other areas in the country economically, even in this rather tepid national recovery?   The folks at Brookings Mountain West, a joint effort from the DC think tank Brookings Institute and UNLV have in the most recent edition of the Mountain Monitor (Phoenix snapshot here; Tucson snapshot here; snapshots of 100 metropolitan areas available here).

Some Arizona-specific numbers, courtesy the Joint Legislative Budget Committee, dated today, here.

Simple summary of both:  Arizona's economy, while showing occasional signs of growth, is basically stagnant, and it is stagnant at the bottom of the trough.


...that former Alaska governor Sarah Palin (R-Half term) has ended/suspended (depending on who you ask) her (in)famous national bus tour...brace yourselves...about halfway through?

Insert your own punchline here.


...that (allegedly) corrupt Republican former Congressman Rick Renzi (R-Mantech) failed in his gambit to block a trial on corruption charges?  He argued that his corrupt activities were Constitutionally-protected and he can't be prosecuted for them.  A federal appeals court disagreed.

...Not really a political topic, at least not to the average Arizonan, but the holder of the number one spot on the FBI's most wanted list (ascending there upon the death of Osama bin Laden), James J. "Whitey" Bulger was finally captured in Santa Monica, California on Wednesday night.

Bulger has numerous bodies on his tally sheet, as well as being the main force behind the near-complete corrupting of the Boston office of the FBI in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Even though by all accounts he had been maintaining a low-profile in Santa Monica, society is a safer place tonight.

Later...

Well, now we know why Sarah Palin moved to AZ...

...because if she moved to MA to run for their Senate seat next year, she'd have already lost the primary.



Ummm...yeah.

Not looking too Senatorial there, much less Presidential.

In the interests of educating the newest resident of the Lower 48, here's a little primer for her, courtesy The Poetry Foundation (not perfectly accurate historically, but it's a whole lot closer than that mess spewed by the wannabe president/senator/pundit) -

The Landlord's Tale. Paul Revere's Ride

By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 

Listen, my children, and you shall hear
Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere,
On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-five;
Hardly a man is now alive
Who remembers that famous day and year.


He said to his friend, "If the British march
By land or sea from the town to-night,
Hang a lantern aloft in the belfry arch
Of the North Church tower as a signal light,—
One, if by land, and two, if by sea;
And I on the opposite shore will be,
Ready to ride and spread the alarm
Through every Middlesex village and farm,
For the country folk to be up and to arm."
Then he said, "Good night!" and with muffled oar
Silently rowed to the Charlestown shore,
Just as the moon rose over the bay,
Where swinging wide at her moorings lay
The Somerset, British man-of-war;
A phantom ship, with each mast and spar
Across the moon like a prison bar,
And a huge black hulk, that was magnified
By its own reflection in the tide.


Meanwhile, his friend, through alley and street,
Wanders and watches with eager ears,
Till in the silence around him he hears
The muster of men at the barrack door,
The sound of arms, and the tramp of feet,
And the measured tread of the grenadiers,
Marching down to their boats on the shore.


Then he climbed the tower of the Old North Church,
By the wooden stairs, with stealthy tread,
To the belfry-chamber overhead,
And startled the pigeons from their perch
On the sombre rafters, that round him made
Masses and moving shapes of shade, —
By the trembling ladder, steep and tall,
To the highest window in the wall,
Where he paused to listen and look down
A moment on the roofs of the town,
And the moonlight flowing over all.
Beneath, in the churchyard, lay the dead,
In their night-encampment on the hill,
Wrapped in silence so deep and still
That he could hear, like a sentinel's tread,
The watchful night-wind, as it went
Creeping along from tent to tent,
And seeming to whisper, "All is well!"
A moment only he feels the spell
Of the place and the hour, and the secret dread
Of the lonely belfry and the dead;
For suddenly all his thoughts are bent
On a shadowy something far away,
Where the river widens to meet the bay, —
A line of black that bends and floats
On the rising tide, like a bridge of boats.


Meanwhile, impatient to mount and ride,
Booted and spurred, with a heavy stride
On the opposite shore walked Paul Revere.
Now he patted his horse's side,
Now gazed at the landscape far and near,
Then, impetuous, stamped the earth,
And turned and tightened his saddle girth;
But mostly he watched with eager search
The belfry-tower of the Old North Church,
As it rose above the graves on the hill,
Lonely and spectral and sombre and still.
And lo! as he looks, on the belfry's height
A glimmer, and then a gleam of light!
He springs to the saddle, the bridle he turns,
But lingers and gazes, till full on his sight
A second lamp in the belfry burns!
A hurry of hoofs in a village street,
A shape in the moonlight, a bulk in the dark,
And beneath, from the pebbles, in passing, a spark
Struck out by a steed flying fearless and fleet:
That was all! And yet, through the gloom and the light,
The fate of a nation was riding that night;
And the spark struck out by that steed, in his flight,
Kindled the land into flame with its heat.
He has left the village and mounted the steep,
And beneath him, tranquil and broad and deep,
Is the Mystic, meeting the ocean tides;
And under the alders, that skirt its edge,
Now soft on the sand, now loud on the ledge,
Is heard the tramp of his steed as he rides.


It was twelve by the village clock,
When he crossed the bridge into Medford town.
He heard the crowing of the cock,
And the barking of the farmer's dog,
And felt the damp of the river fog,
That rises after the sun goes down.


It was one by the village clock,
When he galloped into Lexington.
He saw the gilded weathercock
Swim in the moonlight as he passed,
And the meeting-house windows, blank and bare,
Gaze at him with a spectral glare,
As if they already stood aghast
At the bloody work they would look upon.


It was two by the village clock,
When he came to the bridge in Concord town.
He heard the bleating of the flock,
And the twitter of birds among the trees,
And felt the breath of the morning breeze
Blowing over the meadows brown.
And one was safe and asleep in his bed
Who at the bridge would be first to fall,
Who that day would be lying dead,
Pierced by a British musket-ball.


You know the rest. In the books you have read,
How the British Regulars fired and fled, —
How the farmers gave them ball for ball,
From behind each fence and farm-yard wall,
Chasing the red-coats down the lane,
Then crossing the fields to emerge again
Under the trees at the turn of the road,
And only pausing to fire and load.


So through the night rode Paul Revere;
And so through the night went his cry of alarm
To every Middlesex village and farm, —
A cry of defiance and not of fear,
A voice in the darkness, a knock at the door,
And a word that shall echo forevermore!
For, borne on the night-wind of the Past,
Through all our history, to the last,
In the hour of darkness and peril and need,
The people will waken and listen to hear
The hurrying hoof-beats of that steed,
And the midnight message of Paul Revere.

Did anybody notice...?

...that Rep. Paul "I'm a millionaire" Gosar (R-AZ1) pushed an anti-Davis-Bacon Act amendment to the Homeland Security funding bill passed by the House this week?  The Davis-Bacon Act requires that workers on public works projects are paid the "prevailing wage" in their area.  The amendment failed, even with the support of the other four Arizona Republicans in the House.

It's kind of curious that a wealthy Congressman who (allegedly) represents the people of Arizona's First district, which contains some of the poorest areas of the state, would be actively working to suppress wages in that area (and across the country).


...that Sen. Russell Pearce has a pattern?  He's all for the blind "rule of law" when it is applied to people with brown skin or who simply disagree with him.  But for people he likes?  Not so much.

Latest example:  His appointment to the state's Child Support Committee has a history of violence in front of children.

Pearce's response when his appointee's criminal record was brought to his attention?

From an Arizona Capitol Times story, written by Gary Grado -

Finding qualified people to sit on the multitude of committees that have many seats is a challenge, and disqualifying people on the basis of a criminal record would make it even more challenging, Pearce said.

The blasé attitude, while disappointing, is hardly surprising.  This is the same guy who pronounced that state senators are above the law barring the possession of weapons in public buildings and that his ally and fellow state senator, Scott Bundgaard, was actually the victim in a domestic violence incident that took place in February.

Despite the statement of the actual victim.

Despite the reports of the police.

Despite the statements of eye witnesses.


...that since she bought a house in north Scottsdale, Sarah Palin has been everywhere except for Arizona?  It seems like she hasn't missed a landmark, tourist trap, or truck stop in her presidential campaign bus tour through the northeastern U.S.

Well, just she doesn't slip from notice here (OK, so that's not going to happen.  It works as an excuse to write this blurb :) ), based on the address, here is a list of electeds who need to watch their backs.

President Barack Obama - it's hardly a secret that she wants his job.  OK, she probably just wants the title.  If she actually won, she'd probably quit a couple of years into her first term to find a better-paying job.

Congressman Jeff Flake - it's hardly a secret that she'd "settle" for the US Senate seat held by the soon-to-be-retired Jon Kyl, a seat that's coveted by Flake.

Secretary of State Ken Bennett and anyone else eyeing a 2014 run for governor.  Arizona is a bigger state than Alaska, and while she probably isn't interested in dealing with the AZ legislature, anything could happen.

Congressmen David Schweikert and Ben Quayle - her new home places her at the western edge of the current Fifth Congressional District.  After redistricting, she could end up in either Schweikert's or Quayle's freshly-redrawn district.  As first-termers running for reelection in somewhat unfamiliar districts, they'll be highly vulnerable to challenges.

LD7 and LD8 state legislators Heather Carter, David Burnell Smith, Michelle Ugenti are all first-termers in the lege.  While it is highly unlikely that Palin would be interested in a run at the lege, they would be vulnerable in the same way that Schweikert and Quayle are vulnerable.  Nancy Barto, Michele Reagan, John Kavanagh could be vulnerable to a primary challenge from a high-profile opponent, but they've been around long enough that they could weather such a challenge.  After redistricting, she could end up in the new version of either district.

Maricopa County Supervisor Don Stapley.  While he has survived the attacks from Joe Arpaio and Andrew Thomas, he has been scuffed up enough for a challenger to defeat him.  Not the highest profile position, but they get to deal with an annual budget of more than $2 billion, with minimal oversight.  With Palin's predilection for misusing office (Troopergate, anyone?), this one cannot be ruled out.

Desert Ridge Justice of the Peace Clancy Jayne...OK, this one is a bit of a stretch, even for a wiseass post like this one.  Maricopa County JPs are paid pretty well (~$100K) but it's a job that is actual work.  She would have to show up and do the job, not spend her time flying around the country trying to find the greatest concentration of TV cameras.

Desert Ridge Constable Cory Hazlett...lower profile and lower pay than the JP job, and the job requires working outside.  Not gonna happen either.

Cave Creek Unified School District Governing Board members David Schaefer, Mark Warren, Susan Clancy, Casey Perkins, and Stephanie Reese.  Probably too low-profile for Palin's taste, and she's not exactly a fan of public education (her oldest daughter was homeschooled, not sure about her other children), but school board members probably garner the most respect accorded any elected position in Arizona.  Quitting halfway through her term as governor of Alaska has left Palin a little light in the respect department.

Peak View precinct Republican PCs Melinda Gulick, Peter Kanton, Regina Knapp, Gary McCaleb, Gwenn McCaleb, Lawrence Wangler, and Verna Wangler.  Low-profile and unpaid, yet gaining one of these slots could bolster carpetbagger Palin's bonafides with the AZ GOP.  Could result in the first known case of a PC candidate having to file campaign finance reports.

Finally, Scottsdale Mayor Jim Lane.  Not being snarky here.  It's high-profile enough to give her Arizona visibility for any 2014 or 2016 runs in AZ, yet part-time enough for her to keep her financially lucrative reality TV/faux news career going.  Plus Scottsdale has a recent history of elected women as its mayor (Mary Manross, Sam Campana).

Hmmm....

Later...

Short Attention Span Musing

...Late this week, the state elections director announced that she made a "mistake" in the timetable for forcing a recall election of Russell Pearce in November, meaning that any such election is now delayed until March of next year.

Has anyone else noticed that Amy Bjelland, the state elections director made the "mistake" benefitting Senator Russell Pearce, the current president of the state senate, was formerly the legal counsel for the Republicans in the state senate? 

Before she went to work for her current boss, Ken Bennett, who used to be a former Senate president himself? 

That many coincidences strains credibility.

I know a lot of good people (in other words, not people who support Pearce) who truly believe Bjelland made an honest mistake.  However, and maybe this just means that I'm not a good person, or perhaps just simply too cynical, but I don't believe that.

...Now that the latest "rapture" is over, it's time to take stock.  Of the 61 legislative Republicans, most of whom trip over themselves proving their devoutness whenever the opportunity presents itself...in front of TV cameras, anyway...how many are missing?  Surely at least a dozen or so must have been scooped up, right?

...Rumor has it that Sarah Palin is moving to north Scottsdale.  I don't know if it is true, but if it is, David Schweikert, Jeff Flake, and Jan Brewer better watch their backs.  One of them will have a target on it.

...Too funny for any words that I can add to it:  Newt Gingrich, Dancing Queen.


Later...

Brewer "vacations" in Alaska, now Palin might be moving to Scottsdale?

From Politico's Ben Smith -

Palin would base campaign in Scottsdale


The prospect of Sarah Palin running for president is, increasingly, dismissed by a political class that sees her facing weak poll numbers -- especially in key early states -- and doing nothing to correct them or to buil the infrastructure for a run.

But I'm told Palin's camp is, at least, holding preliminary talks about how a campaign would look if she decides to run. One early decision, a source says: It would be based in Scottsdale, Arizona, very near where Bristol Palin recently bought a house in Maricopa.

Hey, I suppose we should be grateful - Jan Brewer "vacationed" in Alaska, and now unemployed Republican operatives here are cackling in gleeful anticipation of getting a piece of the big money of a presidential campaign.

Now, if only Brewer would "vacation" with someone who will bring good jobs for average Arizonans...

Quick hit...

Or more precisely, "Quick Hits..."


Last night, after  the State of the Union speech, I posted the text of the speech here. 

Perhaps illustrating this president's broad appeal, not only did the post get hits from readers all over the country - Maine, Texas, Oregon, D.C. (of course!), California, Florida, and pretty much every state in between - it received hits from *all* over the world.

Some of the countries of origin for the ISPs of world readers -

Pakistan


Ghana

Indonesia

Saudi Arabia

Nigeria

Thailand

Cambodia

Canada

Kenya

Belgium

Korea

Slovenia
Germany

Austria

U.S. State Department (not a non-US reader per se, but still an interesting hit )

Hong Kong

Commission Europeenne (not a country, but still interesting)

Italy

Singapore

India

United Arab Emirates

Israel

Australia

Philippines

France

Monaco

Zambia

Palestinian Territory


Still, while it was gratifying to see the world's interest in what our President had to say, one of the U.S.-based hits was the most intriguing. 

At 12:45 a.m. (Arizona time), a reader, using the internet service provider Matanuska Telephone Association, found this blog.

That reader's location?


Wasilla, Alaska. 


I don't know that Wasilla's most famous resident was the reader, but since her "reality" TV show was recently cancelled and she doesn't have a day job since she quit on Alaskans almost a year-and-a-half ago, she now has the time for a little late night 'net surfing.

Just sayin'...  :)

The tone-deafness of the Schweikert campaign continues: Palin supports Schweikert

And while some may take the following post as an argument that Schweikert shouldn't accept Palin's support, let me be clear - I think that they're a matched set.

Just not in a good way.  :)

From the Phoenix Business Journal -

Palin steps up campaign against Giffords, Kirkpatrick, Mitchell

Sarah Palin is picking up her online and fundraising efforts on behalf of three Republicans looking to unseat incumbent Arizona Democrats in November.

Palin is urging her supporters to get behind David Schweikert, Paul Gosar and Jesse Kelly in their bids against U.S. Reps. Harry Mitchell of Tempe, Ann Kirkpatrick of Flagstaff and Gabrielle Giffords of Tucson.

Palin has targeted 20 races nationwide where she wants to help Republican challengers.

Sarah Palin may actually be one of the national Republican/tea party figures best-suited to help Schweikert's campaign -

- She quit partway through her only term as governor of Alaska in order to pursue a more lucrative career as a public speaker and would-be Republican king- (or queen-)maker; Schweikert quit partway through his only term as Maricopa County Treasurer in order to pursue a more lucrative career as a Club for Growth-financed candidate for Congress.

- Her partial term as governor was one beset by scandals and ethics complaints; Schweikert's partial term as treasurer was characterized by professionalism and ethics issues, too.

- Her investments include (or perhaps "included", some sources indicate that she divested from them - after people noticed and started asking her about them) making money off of the misery in the Sudan; Schweikert makes money off of the misery of Valley homeowners who are underwater with their mortgages.


To sum up: 

Palin and Schweikert are more focused on their personal careers and enrichment than on public service.

Palin and Schweikert go through life relatively free of the burdens of professionalism and integrity.

And Palin and Schweikert are ruthless in their acquisition of personal wealth.


Yup.  They're perfect for each other.

Vote for Harry Mitchell for Congress.

Later...

If Palin wants to follow a "higher calling", she won't have to go far

...especially since Wasilla turned into the meth capital of Alaska during her tenure as mayor there...

From AP via Yahoo! News -

Outgoing Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin on Saturday laid the groundwork to take on a larger, national role after leaving state government, citing a "higher calling" with the aim of uniting the country along conservative lines.

When I first saw the headline to this article, "Palin links resignation to 'higher calling' ", I thought that she was talking about entering a convent.

I see I was wrong.

While there is no such thing as a "liberal" nun - they aren't conservative enough for the likes of the GOP, what with their devotion to helping the poor, living a modest life, and so on.

Their vows include poverty (which no Republican can tolerate...for him or herself. For others, it's OK, though), obedience (well, I'm sure her husband Todd would just love that one), and chastity (OK, *that* one he'll have a serious problem with. She probably would, too.)

That last is also a problem in the 21st Century GOP of Ensign, Vitter, Sanford, Gingrich, and Foley.

Chastity is for others, not for them.

So, that seems to rule out entering a convent.

What else is left?

Oh yeah - challenging one of the Republican incumbent U.S. Senators from AK, running for President, or perhaps working as a paid speaker on the conservative rubber chicken/Kool Aid drinking circuit.

You know, maybe a trip to the convent would be best, both for her, and for America.

Palin Quits

Wonder if her passport will show trips to Argentina?

From AP -

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin abruptly announced Friday she is resigning from office at the end of the month, a shocking move that rattled the Republican party but left open the possibility she would seek a run for the White House in 2012.

Palin, 45, and her staff kept her future plans shrouded in mystery, and it was unclear if the controversial hockey mom would quietly return to private life or begin laying the foundation for a presidential bid.

{snip}

"Many just accept that lame duck status, and they hit that road. They draw a paycheck. They kind of milk it. And I'm not going to put Alaskans through that," she said.

Ummm...yeah. Whatever you say, Governor.

Hey, at least the cover story isn't "hiking the Appalachian Trail" or somesuch BS.

Still, it will be fun waiting for the other shoe to drop. And yes, that is my way of saying that I fully expect that there is some sort of Palin scandal or crisis that is going to break, and break soon (meaning this summer).

BTW - Here's to hoping that she doesn't follow Ted Stevens' lead and move to AZ after she is out of office. We have more than our share of GOP whack-jobs of the homegrown variety; we don't need to import any more.

Edit on 7/4 to add:

BTW2 - Here's to hoping that she doesn't follow former Sen. Larry Craig's (R-Airport Restroom) lead and promise to resign and then renege on that promise.

She's raised the hopes of Americans in Alaska and across the country; we should all be wary of a move to dash those hopes.