Sarah Palin Facebook Notes After July 26, 2009 As A Private Citizen
Use This Link For The Original Sarah Palin Facebook Notes
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Sarah Palin's influence in perspective...
When she speaks, people listen
When she doesn't speak, people wait for her to do so
No other political leader has this power
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“Trace the universe back to God’s power, and follow His power upstream to His wisdom.” - Max Lucado
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Sunday, December 13, 2009
Elmendorf AFB
Joint Military Mall
5800 Westover Avenue
Elmendorf AFB, AK 99506
12:00 - 3:00 PM
Eielson AFB
AAFES
451 Broadway Avenue
Building 3338
Eielson AFB, AK 99702
6:30 - 9:30 PM
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Who Is This American Warrior?
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Todd and I would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas! The Palin family is blessed to all be together among family and friends this Holiday – and that is one of the greatest gifts of all.
But while this is a beautiful time of the year for families and friends around the world, we recognize that it is a difficult time of the year for so many others – especially this year.
May we remember all those who are lonely or in need on this blessed night, and please join us in saying a special prayer for those away from their loved ones in the service of a grateful nation. May God bless you all and continue to bless our great country.
- Sarah Palin
“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.” (Luke 2:14)
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Last weekend while you were preparing for the holidays with your family, Harry Reid’s Senate was making shady backroom deals to ram through the Democrat health care take-over. The Senate ended debate on this bill without even reading it. That and midnight weekend votes seem to be standard operating procedures in D.C.
No one is certain of what’s in the bill, but Senator Jim DeMint spotted one shocking revelation [... see the response to comments here... added by ajt] regarding the section in the bill describing the Independent Medicare Advisory Board (now called the Independent Payment Advisory Board), which is a panel of bureaucrats charged with cutting health care costs on the backs of patients – also known as rationing.
Apparently Reid and friends have changed the rules of the Senate so that the section of the bill dealing with this board can’t be repealed or amended without a 2/3 supermajority vote.
Senator DeMint said:
“This is a rule change. It’s a pretty big deal. We will be passing a new law and at the same time creating a senate rule that makes it out of order to amend or even repeal the law. I’m not even sure that it’s constitutional, but if it is, it most certainly is a senate rule. I don’t see why the majority party wouldn’t put this in every bill. If you like your law, you most certainly would want it to have force for future senates. I mean, we want to bind future congresses. This goes to the fundamental purpose of senate rules: to prevent a tyrannical majority from trampling the rights of the minority or of future congresses.”
In other words, Democrats are protecting this rationing “death panel” from future change with a procedural hurdle. You have to ask why they’re so concerned about protecting this particular provision. Could it be because bureaucratic rationing is one important way Democrats want to “bend the cost curve” and keep health care spending down?
The Congressional Budget Office seems to think that such rationing has something to do with cost. In a letter to Harry Reid last week, [... that is a PDF link... added by ajt] CBO Director Douglas Elmendorf noted (with a number of caveats) that the bill’s calculations call for a reduction in Medicare’s spending rate by about 2 percent in the next two decades, but then he writes the kicker:
“It is unclear whether such a reduction in the growth rate could be achieved, and if so, whether it would be accomplished through greater efficiencies in the delivery of health care or would reduce access to care or diminish the quality of care.”
Though Nancy Pelosi and friends have tried to call “death panels” the “lie of the year,” this type of rationing – what the CBO calls “reduc[ed] access to care” and “diminish[ed] quality of care” – is precisely what I meant when I used that metaphor.
This health care bill is one of the most far-reaching and expensive expansions of the role of government into our lives. We’re talking about putting one-seventh of our economy under the government’s thumb. We’re also talking about something as intimate to our personal well-being as medical care.
This bill is so unpopular that people on the right and the left hate it. So why go through with it? The Senate is planning to vote on this on Christmas Eve. Why the rush? Though we will begin paying for this bill immediately, we will see no benefits for years. (That’s the trick that allowed the CBO to state that the bill won’t grow the deficit for the next ten years.)
The administration’s promises of transparency and bipartisanship have been broken one by one. This entire process has been defined by midnight votes on weekends, closed-door meetings with industry lobbyists, and payoffs to politicians willing to sell their principles for sweetheart deals. Is it any wonder that Americans are so disillusioned with their leaders in Washington?
This is about politics, not health care. Americans don’t want this bill. Americans don’t like this bill. Washington has stopped listening to us. But we’re paying attention, and 2010 is coming.
- Sarah Palin
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Washington Post
Thursday, December 17, 2009
I’d like to thank Eugene Robinson for highlighting Alaska’s achievements on climate change [“Palin’s own ‘Climate- gate,’” op-ed, Dec. 15] and for noting that I’ve “treated the issue as serious, complex, and worthy of urgent attention,” while making “any number of pragmatic, reasonable, smart decisions as governor.” But he’s wrong to suggest that my views have somehow changed or that now I’ll have to “renounce” my past efforts.
Once again: I don’t deny that climate change is real. In creating a sub-cabinet to deal specifically with the issue, I said that “Alaska’s climate change strategy must be built on sound science and the best available facts and must recognize Alaska’s interest in economic growth and the development of its resources.”
That goal made sense to me then, and it makes sense to me now.
Mr. Robinson tries to make hay out of the fact that I asked the group to advise me regarding opportunities to participate in “carbon-trading markets.” But considering voluntary participation in carbon-trading programs is much different from endorsing the economically disastrous cap-and-tax proposals put forward by Democrats in Washington. Those proposals will burden our job creators and raise energy prices for all of us, and that’s why I oppose them.
As governor of Alaska, I sought common-sense solutions that took real-world costs and benefits into account. That’s what I’m looking for now. But that’s not what’s on the table in Washington or in Copenhagen.
Sarah Palin, Wasilla, Alaska
The writer, governor of Alaska from 2006 to 2009, was the 2008 Republican nominee for vice president.
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Todd and I would like to offer our best wishes to the Jewish community as they celebrate Hanukkah. Known as the Festival of Lights, Hanukkah commemorates the eight-day miracle that took place when the Temple in Jerusalem was rededicated. Though there was only enough consecrated oil for one day, the flame miraculously burned for eight – just long enough to prepare more.
This beautiful story is rich with life lessons for members of all faiths. With hope and dedication nothing is impossible, and the Almighty never abandons those who seek the light.
- Sarah Palin
“Trace the universe back to God’s power, and follow His power upstream to His wisdom.” - Max Lucado
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Why is Governor Schwarzenegger pushing for the same sorts of policies in Copenhagen that have helped drive his state into record deficits and unemployment?
Perhaps he will recall that I live in our nation’s only Arctic state and that I was among the first governors to create a sub-cabinet to deal specifically with climate change. While I and all Alaskans witness the impacts of changes in weather patterns firsthand, I have repeatedly said that we can’t primarily blame man’s activities for those changes.
And while I did look for practical responses to those changes, what I didn’t do was hamstring Alaska’s job creators with burdensome regulations so that I could act “greener than thou” when talking to reporters.
- Sarah Palin
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The Conan visit was fun – the best part was that we had Wounded Warriors with us in the audience. I can’t express how proud I am of their courage and patriotism.
I’m extremely happy that Laura Ingraham had the great idea to put the simple coat from the cover of my book to good use. It’s being auctioned to benefit the Wounded Warrior Project and the Fisher House. Laura pulled it all together with a live auction that continues through December 18th. Click here to see the auction and God Bless the U.S.A!
- Sarah Palin
A name plaque for Gov. Sarah Palin’s door is placed on shortly after her arrival to Stage 1 at NBC Universal Studios on Friday, December 11, 2009, in Universal City, CA, prior to Gov. Palin’s participation in a skit with William Shatner during a taping of “The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien.” Photo by Shealah Craighead. Copyright SarahPAC.
Gov. Sarah Palin, with he son, Trig Palin, by her side, shares a moment with Conan O’Brien shortly after her arrival to Stage 1 at NBC Universal Studios Friday, on December 11, 2009, in Universal City, CA, prior to Gov. Palin’s participation in a skit with William Shatner during a taping of “The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien.” Photo by Shealah Craighead. Copyright SarahPAC.
Gov. Sarah Palin studies her lines as husband, Todd Palin, feeds their 19 month old son, Trig, in the green room at NBC Universal Studios Friday, on December 11, 2009, in Universal City, CA, prior to Gov. Palin’s participation in a skit with William Shatner during a taping of “The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien.” Photo by Shealah Craighead. Copyright SarahPAC.
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Had a wonderful time in the Lower 48 this week. The weather has been just like home! Please enjoy the photos below from Texas, Virginia, Iowa, South Dakota, and Minnesota.
- Sarah Palin
Gov. Sarah Palin talks with a supporter during a “Going Rogue” book signing event at Legacy Books in Plano, TX, on Friday, December 4, 2009. Photo by Shealah Craighead. Copyright SarahPAC.
Gov. Sarah Palin participates in a “Going Rogue” book signing event at Legacy Books in Plano, TX, on Friday, December 4, 2009. Photo by Shealah Craighead. Copyright SarahPAC.
[... click HERE to see more pictures on Sarah's Facebook page]
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This book tour has been an amazing and inspirational experience for me and my family as we crisscrossed the country and met so many wonderful Americans. At nearly every stop we met someone with a connection to Alaska – usually through the military from being stationed at one of Alaska’s bases. With that in mind, we’ve decided to hold the final book signings at Alaska's Elmendorf and Eielson AFBs. Hope to see you there!
- Sarah Palin
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Elmendorf AFB
Joint Military Mall
5800 Westover Avenue
Elmendorf AFB, AK 99506
12:00 - 3:00 PM
Eielson AFB
AAFES
451 Broadway Avenue
Building 3338
Eielson AFB, AK 99702
6:30 - 9:30 PM
It’s a privilege to participate in the auction Laura Ingraham is organizing to help our men and women in uniform. Laura asked if I would donate the jacket I wore on the cover of my book, “Going Rogue.” I can’t think of a better cause, and it’s especially fitting because the book is dedicated to patriots and in particular to our women and men in uniform.
All the proceeds from the auction go to benefit the Wounded Warrior Project and The Fisher House (please click the links for more information about these wonderful organizations).
Our military and their families sacrifice so much to protect us. That sacrifice was so evident at our visit to the Walter Reed Hospital on Sunday. It was deeply moving and inspirational to hear our recovering troops’ stories and to see their patriotism reflected so vividly in their willingness to serve a cause greater than themselves.
Please join Laura in helping these brave and selfless Americans and their families. You can participate in the auction by visiting Laura’s website here.
- Sarah Palin
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Copenhagen’s political science
The Washington Post
By Sarah Palin
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
With the publication of damaging e-mails from a climate research center in Britain, the radical environmental movement appears to face a tipping point. The revelation of appalling actions by so-called climate change experts allows the American public to finally understand the concerns so many of us have articulated on this issue.
“Climate-gate,” as the e-mails and other documents from the Climate Research Unit at the University of East Anglia have become known, exposes a highly politicized scientific circle -- the same circle whose work underlies efforts at the Copenhagen climate change conference. The agenda-driven policies being pushed in Copenhagen won’t change the weather, but they would change our economy for the worse.
The e-mails reveal that leading climate “experts” deliberately destroyed records, manipulated data to “hide the decline” in global temperatures, and tried to silence their critics by preventing them from publishing in peer-reviewed journals. What’s more, the documents show that there was no real consensus even within the CRU crowd. Some scientists had strong doubts about the accuracy of estimates of temperatures from centuries ago, estimates used to back claims that more recent temperatures are rising at an alarming rate.
This scandal obviously calls into question the proposals being pushed in Copenhagen. I’ve always believed that policy should be based on sound science, not politics. As governor of Alaska, I took a stand against politicized science when I sued the federal government over its decision to list the polar bear as an endangered species despite the fact that the polar bear population had more than doubled. I got clobbered for my actions by radical environmentalists nationwide, but I stood by my view that adding a healthy species to the endangered list under the guise of “climate change impacts” was an abuse of the Endangered Species Act. This would have irreversibly hurt both Alaska’s economy and the nation’s, while also reducing opportunities for responsible development.
Our representatives in Copenhagen should remember that good environmental policymaking is about weighing real-world costs and benefits -- not pursuing a political agenda. That’s not to say I deny the reality of some changes in climate -- far from it. I saw the impact of changing weather patterns firsthand while serving as governor of our only Arctic state. I was one of the first governors to create a subcabinet to deal specifically with the issue and to recommend common-sense policies to respond to the coastal erosion, thawing permafrost and retreating sea ice that affect Alaska’s communities and infrastructure.
But while we recognize the occurrence of these natural, cyclical environmental trends, we can’t say with assurance that man’s activities cause weather changes. We can say, however, that any potential benefits of proposed emissions reduction policies are far outweighed by their economic costs. And those costs are real. Unlike the proposals China and India offered prior to Copenhagen -- which actually allow them to increase their emissions -- President Obama’s proposal calls for serious cuts in our own long-term carbon emissions. Meeting such targets would require Congress to pass its cap-and-tax plans, which will result in job losses and higher energy costs (as Obama admitted during the campaign). That’s not exactly what most Americans are hoping for these days. And as public opposition continues to stall Congress’s cap-and-tax legislation, Environmental Protection Agency bureaucrats plan to regulate carbon emissions themselves, doing an end run around the American people.
In fact, we’re not the only nation whose people are questioning climate change schemes. In the European Union, energy prices skyrocketed after it began a cap-and-tax program. Meanwhile, Australia’s Parliament recently defeated a cap-and-tax bill. Surely other nations will follow suit, particularly as the climate e-mail scandal continues to unfold.
In his inaugural address, President Obama declared his intention to “restore science to its rightful place.” But instead of staying home from Copenhagen and sending a message that the United States will not be a party to fraudulent scientific practices, the president has upped the ante. He plans to fly in at the climax of the conference in hopes of sealing a “deal.”
Whatever deal he gets, it will be no deal for the American people.
What Obama really hopes to bring home from Copenhagen is more pressure to pass the Democrats’ cap-and-tax proposal. This is a political move. The last thing America needs is misguided legislation that will raise taxes and cost jobs -- particularly when the push for such legislation rests on agenda-driven science.
Without trustworthy science and with so much at stake, Americans should be wary about what comes out of this politicized conference. The president should boycott Copenhagen.
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Steven Hayward has a great article in The Weekly Standard on the Climategate scandal. Be sure to check it out.
The response to my op-ed by global warming alarmists has been interesting. Former Vice President Al Gore has called me a “denier” and informs us that climate change is “a principle in physics. It’s like gravity. It exists.”
Perhaps he’s right. Climate change is like gravity – a naturally occurring phenomenon that existed long before, and will exist long after, any governmental attempts to affect it.
However, he’s wrong in calling me a “denier.” As I noted in my op-ed above and in my original Facebook post on Climategate, I have never denied the existence of climate change. I just don’t think we can primarily blame man’s activities for the earth’s cyclical weather changes.
Former Vice President Gore also claimed today that the scientific community has worked on this issue for 20 years, and therefore it is settled science. Well, the Climategate scandal involves the leading experts in this field, and if Climategate is proof of the larger method used over the past 20 years, then Vice President Gore seriously needs to consider that their findings are flawed, falsified, or inconclusive.
Vice President Gore, the Climategate scandal exists. You might even say that it’s sort of like gravity: you simply can’t deny it.
- Sarah Palin
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I commend Interior Secretary Salazar’s decision today to conditionally approve drilling at three exploratory wells in the Chukchi Sea off the northwest coast of Alaska; it’s a decision that’s been a long time coming. The area north of the Arctic Circle contains some of the world’s richest oil and gas reserves. U.S. Geological Survey researchers estimate that it contains 1.6 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 83 billion barrels of undiscovered oil.
The international community recognizes the potential of Arctic off-shore drilling; it’s about time our government allowed us to compete with them by developing these rich reserves in an environmentally responsible way.
As I said last April in my testimony before the Secretary during a federal hearing in Anchorage,
“Alaska’s oil and gas resources can and should be a major part of the implementation of any creditable energy plan for our nation. Alaska has proven that these resources can be developed safely, but Arctic exploration and development is a slow, demanding process. Delays or major restrictions in accessing these resources for environmentally responsible development are not in the national interest or the interests of the State of Alaska.”
As an Alaskan and an American, I am very grateful for the decision today because it is a step in the right direction toward prosperity for Alaska and energy independence and security for America.
- Sarah Palin
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On December 7, 1941, the Empire of Japan launched a surprise attack on the U. S. Naval Station at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, in which thousands of Americans lost their lives and our naval fleet was severely damaged.
The events of that day, which President Franklin Roosevelt vowed would “live in infamy,” proved for many Americans that aggressors would not simply ignore us if we ignored them.
The attack on Pearl Harbor launched America into the Second World War, and our Greatest Generation did not hesitate when asked to sacrifice for their country. American men enlisted in droves, American women went to work in the factories that became our “Arsenal of Democracy,” and many Americans gave what little money they had to buy the war bonds that funded it all.
They stormed the beaches at Normandy and fought on little known islands in the Pacific in the name of liberty.
They don’t ask for our thanks, but I hope we will continue to give it because the sacrifice that began at Pearl Harbor is one of the many events that have defined the United States of America as “the last best hope of man on earth.”
- Sarah Palin
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Ready and anxious to see America’s finest at Ft. Hood tomorrow. My heart is with every military mom, dad, spouse, child, grandparent... every supporter of our proud men and women in uniform.
My brother passed the following along to me because he thought I’d like it; he was right. Enjoy... and please honor America’s finest.
- Sarah Palin
[Original source http://oldbluejacket.com/americanwarrior.htm ]
The average age of the military man is 19 years. He is a short haired, tight-muscled kid who, under normal circumstances is considered by society as half man, half boy. Not yet dry behind the ears, not old enough to buy a beer, but old enough to die for his country. He never really cared much for work and he would rather wax his own car than wash his father’s, but he has never collected unemployment either.
He’s a recent High School graduate; he was probably an average student, pursued some form of sport activities, drives a ten year old jalopy, and has a steady girlfriend that either broke up with him when he left, or swears to be waiting when he returns from half a world away. He listens to rock and roll or hip-hop or rap or jazz or swing and a 155mm howitzer.
He is 10 or 15 pounds lighter now than when he was at home because he is working or fighting from before dawn to well after dusk. He has trouble spelling, thus letter writing is a pain for him, but he can field strip a rifle in 30 seconds and reassemble it in less time in the dark. He can recite to you the nomenclature of a machine gun or grenade launcher and use either one effectively if he must.
He digs foxholes and latrines and can apply first aid like a professional.
He can march until he is told to stop, or stop until he is told to march.
He obeys orders instantly and without hesitation, but he is not without spirit or individual dignity. He is self-sufficient.
He has two sets of fatigues: he washes one and wears the other. He keeps his canteens full and his feet dry.
He sometimes forgets to brush his teeth, but never to clean his rifle. He can cook his own meals, mend his own clothes, and fix his own hurts.
If you’re thirsty, he’ll share his water with you; if you are hungry, his food. He’ll even split his ammunition with you in the midst of battle when you run low.
He has learned to use his hands like weapons and weapons like they were his hands.
He can save your life - or take it, because that is his job. He will often do twice the work of a civilian, draw half the pay, and still find ironic humor in it all. He has seen more suffering and death than he should have in his short lifetime. He has wept in public and in private, for friends who have fallen in combat and is unashamed.
He feels every note of the National Anthem vibrate through his body while at rigid attention, while tempering the burning desire to ‘square-away’ those around him who haven’t bothered to stand, remove their hat, or even stop talking.
In an odd twist, day in and day out, far from home, he defends their right to be disrespectful.
Just as did his Father, Grandfather, and Great-grandfather, he is paying the price for our freedom. Beardless or not, he is not a boy. He is the American Fighting Man that has kept this country free for over 200 years.
He has asked nothing in return, except our friendship and understanding.
Remember him, always, for he has earned our respect and admiration with his blood.
And now we even have women over there in danger, doing their part in this tradition of going to War when our nation calls us to do so.
As you go to bed tonight, remember this. A short lull, a little shade, and a picture of loved ones in their helmets.
Voters have every right to ask candidates for information if they so choose. I’ve pointed out that it was seemingly fair game during the 2008 election for many on the left to badger my doctor and lawyer for proof that Trig is in fact my child. Conspiracy-minded reporters and voters had a right to ask... which they have repeatedly. But at no point – not during the campaign, and not during recent interviews – have I asked the president to produce his birth certificate or suggested that he was not born in the United States.
- Sarah Palin
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The president’s decision to attend the international climate conference in Copenhagen needs to be reconsidered in light of the unfolding Climategate scandal. The leaked e-mails involved in Climategate expose the unscientific behavior of leading climate scientists who deliberately destroyed records to block information requests, manipulated data to “hide the decline” in global temperatures, and conspired to silence the critics of man-made global warming.
I support Senator James Inhofe’s call for a full investigation into this scandal. Because it involves many of the same personalities and entities behind the Copenhagen conference, Climategate calls into question many of the proposals being pushed there, including anything that would lead to a cap and tax plan.
Policy should be based on sound science, not snake oil. I took a stand against such snake oil science when I sued the federal government over its decision to list the polar bear as an endangered species despite the fact that the polar bear population has increased.
I’ve never denied the reality of climate change; in fact, I was the first governor to create a subcabinet position to deal specifically with the issue. I saw the impact of changing weather patterns firsthand while serving as governor of our only Arctic state. But while we recognize the effects of changing water levels, erosion patterns, and glacial ice melt, we cannot primarily blame man’s activities for the earth’s cyclical weather changes. The drastic economic measures being pushed by dogmatic environmentalists won’t change the weather, but will dramatically change our economy for the worse.
Policy decisions require real science and real solutions, not junk science and doomsday scare tactics pushed by an environmental priesthood that capitalizes on the public’s worry and makes them feel that owning an SUV is a “sin” against the planet.
In his inaugural address, President Obama declared his intention to “restore science to its rightful place.”
Boycotting Copenhagen while this scandal is thoroughly investigated would send a strong message that the United States government will not be a party to fraudulent scientific practices.
Saying no to Copenhagen and cap and tax are first steps in “restoring science to its rightful place.”
- Sarah Palin
When the Governor announced her decision to resign on July 3, she pointed out the then 15 frivolous ethics complaints that had been filed against her and dismissed. It was intended to explain, in part, her decision to resign as well to educate the public about the abuse of the Alaska Ethics Act through a repetitive stream of baseless partisan accusations, each one seemingly more pointless and frivolous than the next. The Governor’s message was not intended as an invitation to run off half-cocked and file more baseless ethics complaints, but not everyone understood that message—or wanted to understand.
In August 2009, largely in response to the abuse of Alaska’s Ethics Act by partisan shills and low level lackeys, the Attorney General issued an opinion recommending changes to the Ethics Act ”to prevent another potential harm—abuse of the process.
Some Alaskans have argued that the Ethics Act has been used inappropriately in some circumstances to politically damage the subject of the complaint.” (August 5, 2009 Attorney General Opinion). That argument was asserted by the Anchorage Daily News. “Our View: Abuse of Ethics Complaints Turns Good Law Into Bad Politics,” Anchorage Daily News, May 3, 2009. The Attorney General further recommended “another safeguard to discourage habitual complaint filers who use the Ethics Act process to harass executive branch employees. Statutory amendments could provide authority to the personnel board to decline to process further complaints filed by a person who has abused the Act in this way.”
Though it is encouraging to see an impartial evaluation of the problem, it is ultimately up to the Legislature to implement any of these recommended changes. Governor Palin has been subjected to 24 ethics complaints, several lawsuits, and dozens and dozens of public information act requests, few of which raised even a scintilla of a good faith issue, and most of which were simply done to garner a headline or promote opposition research for political gain.
Recently we learned that two more ethics complaints against Governor Palin have been dismissed—complaints that were filed after the Governor announced her plans to step down. One complaint asserted that it was unethical for the state to follow its own per diem regulations and pay per diem to the Governor as set forth by law. Of course, the complainant conveniently overlooked that the Governor and her family received less per diem than they were entitled to under State law—why let such details stand in the way of an ethics complaint?
The other complaint that was dismissed asserted that the Governor, through me, supposedly violated the constitution because we informed a person who falsely implied that the Governor was “under investigation” by the FBI, that such statements are defamatory. It is notable to watch those who agitate on all things Palin—locally and even across the Atlantic—as they Huff and puff falsehoods about Sarah Palin under the guise of free speech, which brings us to a teachable moment.
All too often we hear about constitutional rights—as we should—but many forget about constitutional responsibilities. As citizens we have both rights and responsibilities. Though we have the right to exercise free speech, we have the responsibility to exercise that right without defaming people.
I like the way our Alaska Constitution describes it: “Every person may freely speak, write, and publish on all subjects, being responsible for the abuse of that right.” Ak. Const. Art. I, Sec. 5.
The irony of filing an ethics complaint because of a reminder about the constitutional parameters of free speech is no doubt lost on those consumed by irrationality when it comes to Sarah Palin; but one does not need an ethics law to know that positive political discourse depends on a robust debate about facts and the policy implications stemming from such facts. The nation is not helped by calumnious ad hominem attacks against Sarah Palin, matrilineal conspiracy theories, and aberrant notions of ethics.
- Thomas Van Flein, Personal Attorney for Sarah Palin
My parents and I just had a wonderful time at “Hard Work U” – the school motto of College of the Ozarks. It earned that proud nickname because students there work their way through college and graduate with little or no debt. (In other words, a place after my own heart, and the hearts of others who worked their way through college and, like me, maybe took five years to finish because of work schedules!)
At tonight’s patriotic event at the college we heard some amazing personal stories of heroism and sacrifice by our military veterans in attendance, including members of our Greatest Generation, who we honored tonight. It was such an inspiration to hear their stories and affirm the principles that make this country great – faith, hard work, perseverance, patriotism, and public service.
All Americans need to hear from these true, proud patriots. May we never forget their fight for freedom. Their battles make the petty shots and irrelevant “challenges” some of us face today pale in comparison. I thank them for allowing us a healthy perspective and a reminder of what really matters.
- Sarah Palin
PS: Please enjoy the photos below from Arizona, New Mexico, and Missouri!
Gov. Sarah Palin waves to a crowd upon arriving at Borders bookstore for a “Going Rogue” book signing event on Wednesday, December 2, 2009, in Springfield, MO. Photo by Shealah Craighead. Copyright SarahPAC.
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Three months ago, I joined a number of Americans in urging President Obama to provide the resources necessary to achieve our goals in Afghanistan. Tonight, I am glad he mostly heeded that advice.
At long last, President Obama decided to give his military commanders much of what they need to accomplish their mission in Afghanistan. In the end, he decided to endorse a “surge” for Afghanistan, applying the counterinsurgency principles of “clear, hold and build” that worked so well in Iraq. Given that he opposed the surge in Iraq, it is even more welcome that he now supports a surge in Afghanistan.
This approach means, as Senator John McCain has noted, that “We now have an opportunity to build a bipartisan consensus in support of a vital national security priority: defeating Al-Qaeda and its violent extremist allies in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and ensuring that these countries never again serve as bases for terrorist attacks against America and our allies.”
We should be clear, however, that fewer troops mean assuming more risk. Talk of an exit date also risks sending the wrong message. We should be in Afghanistan to win, not to set a timetable for withdrawal that signals a lack of resolve to our friends, and lets our enemies believe they can wait us out. As long as we’re in to win, and as long as troop level decisions are based on conditions on the ground and the advice of our military commanders, I support President Obama’s decision.
- Sarah Palin
It’s really comical at this point! Despite all of the important events happening in the world today – the president’s speech tonight on the strategy in Afghanistan, the Senate debate over health care reform, the disturbing details of the “Climategate” scandal, the continuing challenges facing the world economy – the media is concerned about my travel and lodging arrangements on my book tour?! Does this sound familiar? It should. The media showed the same out-of-proportion obsession with my personal arrangements, clothes, and hairstyles last year instead of focusing on the crucial issues involving the election.
So what is this news “story”? That I fly on an airplane to complete some of the stops on my book tour when it’s impractical or physically impossible to reach the next event on time by bus. Some news outlets are behaving as if my travel was a secret that they didn’t know about – despite the fact that I’ve tweeted about my flights and at least one local newspaper reported on the arrival of my flight into Rochester, NY. What’s even funnier is that these same media outlets think it’s shocking that we stay in hotels. I guess they expected us to pitch a tent alongside the road. We love the great outdoors, but such an arrangement is hardly practical for a book tour. Using common sense, it was determined that traveling by plane between some stops would save time and energy and allow me to go to more events. Economically speaking for HarperCollins, it’s more efficient to travel by charter, and I am very grateful to the publisher for providing my family and me with this incredible opportunity to shake hands with as many Americans as possible on this book tour.
If you’re scratching your head wondering why my flight and hotel logistics warrant news coverage, join the club. They can, of course, report on whatever they like, but in my opinion CBS loses whatever professional integrity it still has when it links in its report to a website devoted to the bizarre conspiracy theory that I’m not the real mother of my son Trig.
I’m truly humbled by the response to my book tour by everyday Americans, and if traveling by plane means that I can meet more of these wonderful people, I’ll travel by plane (or bus or train or canoe or dog sled or whatever it takes). Please enjoy the photos below!
- Sarah Palin
Gov. Sarah Palin and her daughter, Piper, holding Palin’s son, Trig, look through a coloring book brought by friends on Tuesday, November, 24, 2009, at the Villages in Florida at the beginning of a “Going Rogue” book signing event at Barnes & Noble. Photo by Shealah Craighead. Copyright SarahPAC.
Palin Piper helps younger brother, Trig, take a walk on Tuesday, November, 24, 2009, at the Villages in Florida, while their mother, Gov. Sarah Palin, participates in an interview with Gretchen Carlson, of Fox & Friends, prior to a “Going Rogue, An American Life”, book signing event at Barnes and Noble bookstore. Photo by Shealah Craighead. Copyright SarahPAC.
Gov. Sarah Palin gives two thumbs up to a crowd waiting outside of the Barnes & Noble bookstore on Tuesday, November, 24, 2009, at the Villages in Florida, as she begins an interview with Gretchen Carlson of Fox & Friends prior to a “Going Rogue” book signing event. Photo by Shealah Craighead. Copyright SarahPAC.
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As Thanksgiving festivities wind down we contemplate all we have to be thankful for as free Americans! We head into the Christmas season wishing for leadership in Washington that reflects our commitment to the values and ideals that have built the freest and most prosperous and generous nation on earth.
Heading into December and Tuesday’s announcement of our nation’s strategy in Afghanistan, I ask the President to reassure us that the administration is in this War on Terror to win.
And I’ll pass along the following from Harold B. Estes, a 95-year-old member of the Greatest Generation: “I realize you never served in the military and never had to defend your country with your life, but you’re the Commander-in-Chief now, son. Do your job. When your battle-hardened field General asks you for 40,000 more troops to complete the mission, give them to him. But if you’re not in this fight to win, then get out.”
Thank you, Mr. President. Please tell us on Tuesday that America is in it to win.
- Sarah Palin
PS: You can read Mr. Estes' complete letter here.
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Over three hundred years ago, a group of settlers fleeing religious persecution decided to set a new course for human history in a new frontier. Those early pioneers chose a rocky shoreline to establish their way of life. Centuries later, America continues to set the example of what can come from a free and hardworking people. We truly remain the shining city upon a hill that the colonial leader John Winthrop implored us to be.
What started as a small colony in the territory that would eventually become the Commonwealth of Massachusetts has progressed into the greatest and most prosperous nation in history. Americans remain the freest people on earth because of our cherished Constitution and the system of government it establishes.
We have so much to be thankful for. We should recognize especially the sacrifices made on our behalf by those in uniform. Thousands of Americans will be spending Thanksgiving overseas in combat zones in order to protect our liberty and way of life. We should give thanks to those who willingly put their lives on the line for the rest of us. Where would we be without them?
We are also thankful for what God has granted us. We are truly blessed in America with rich natural resources, plentiful energy sources, fertile land, beautiful cities, and the talented and industrious people we call “our fellow Americans.” We pray that God will continue to bless us.
In his farewell address to the nation, President Reagan reminded us that “all great change in America begins at the dinner table.” Thanksgiving is an opportunity to discuss where we are as a nation at this moment in our history and where we should be heading in order to remain prosperous and free. Take time to discuss these things with each other, and take time to teach the young people in your family about our nation’s history so that they may never forget all that we have to be proud of and thankful for.
Happy Thanksgiving!
- Sarah Palin
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Really? A tax on national defense? I hear liberal Congressional proposals and I, like most Americans, wonder if they’re serious. We’re going to put a price tag on security?
With Congress and President Obama spending money on everything at breakneck speed, it’s interesting that they are only now getting nervous about spending – but only when it comes to providing the necessary funds to complete our mission in Afghanistan. They don’t need a new “war tax” to fund a strategy for victory in the war zone. They simply need to prioritize our money appropriately.
I find it telling that the Pelosi-Reid Congress is only cost-conscious when it comes to our national defense. Scary. Nonsensical. Unacceptable.
- Sarah Palin
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Met many wonderful Americans yesterday in Alabama and North Carolina (including some of our brave men and women in uniform at Ft. Bragg) and today in Florida. I also got a chance to chat with Greta Van Susteren along the way. Please enjoy the photos below!
- Sarah Palin
Gov. Sarah Palin shakes hands with a soldier at Ft. Bragg, NC, on Monday, November 23, 2009, during a “Going Rogue” book signing event. Photo by Shealah Craighead. Copyright SarahPAC.
Gov. Sarah Palin gets help signing a copy of “Going Rogue” during a book signing event at Books-A-Million in Jacksonville, FL, on Tuesday, November 24, 2009. Photo by Shealah Craighead. Copyright SarahPAC.
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Can’t wait to meet our troops – and all those who love the U.S. Armed Forces – today at Ft. Bragg. Read my book’s dedication page. The book is for these Patriots who fight for freedom. They deserve our support and our government’s unwavering commitment to equipping them for victory.
The book tour is beyond all expectations. This feels like the time when a team comes together, gearing up before a major competition to show unity and supply strength and encouragement to each team member equally, regardless of the team member’s role or title.
On this tour I hear the grave concerns Americans have for our children’s future. I also feel the hope so many of you want to cling to – hope for those on Capitol Hill to see the light, hope for politicians to be humble enough to acknowledge that growing the federal government isn’t the answer to our economic challenges, hope that it won’t take another terrorist strike to wake us up to continued threats by those who hate America and our allies.
At every stop on this tour I see Americans coming together to say, “Enough. We love our country too much to just sit down and shut up while politicians take us for a ride. We shall be heard.”
We see a united team.
Now, I want to give you more hope: We are Americans. Anything is possible in America. Anyone can make a positive difference. You don’t need a title or a political position or a pedigree. We can take our country back from those who think growing national debt will grow prosperity for us, the little guys. We can take it back from those who think shrinking military power will make the homeland safer for us, the little guys.
We can take it back because we’re fired up, and we’re all about telling our government to listen to us, trust us, get back on our side… or politicians: you’re fired.
Plunging our country deeper and deeper in debt; borrowing billions from foreign countries; relying on foreign nations to supply us with energy; talking about sanctions against dangerous regimes but not following through; hesitating to surge aggressively to stop terrorist strongholds from growing; allowing government to take over health care, banks, the auto industry, and who knows what else they’ve got up their sleeves... it’s all too much and we’ve had enough.
Ronald Reagan knew it took a united team to right the wrongs of Washington. He told his team in essence, “Gentlemen and Ladies, I hate inflation; I hate taxes; I hate terrorists. Do something about it.”
America, you’re doing something about it! Thank you for standing up and speaking out. Thank you for holding on to hope, for loving America so passionately and supporting our troops who fight for freedom. Keep the faith!
- Sarah Palin
PS: Please continue to follow the tour’s progress by following me on Twitter at SarahPalinUSA. Enjoy the photos below!
Gov. Sarah Palin greets a crowd at Joseph-Beth Booksellers in Cincinnati, OH, on Friday, November 20, 2009, upon her arrival at a “Going Rogue” book signing event. Photo by Shealah Craighead. Copyright SarahPAC.
Gov. Sarah Palin greets two soldiers during a “Going Rogue” book signing event at the Borders bookstore in Columbus, OH, on Friday, November 20, 2009. Photo by Shealah Craighead. Copyright SarahPAC.
Gov. Sarah Palin; Chuck and Sally Heath, Palin’s parents (standing); and Rev. Billy Graham (center) pose for a photograph prior to dining at Graham’s residence in Montreat, NC, on Sunday, November 22, 2009. Photo by Shealah Craighead. Copyright SarahPAC.
Gov. Sarah Palin; Chuck and Sally Heath, Palin’s parents (standing); Katie Johnson, Palin’s Aunt (right); and Rev. Billy Graham (center) pose for a photograph prior to dining at Graham’s residence in Montreat, NC, on Sunday, November 22, 2009. Photo by Shealah Craighead. Copyright SarahPAC.
Gov. Sarah Palin talks with Rev. Billy Graham at Graham’s residence in Montreat, NC, on Sunday, November 22, 2009. Photo by Shealah Craighead. Copyright SarahPAC.
Anne Graham Lotz (left), daughter of Rev. Billy Graham, talks with (from left) Gov. Sarah Palin; Rev. Billy Graham; Chuck Heath, Palin’s father; and Franklin Graham III, during an evening at Rev. Billy Graham’s residence in Montreat, NC, on Sunday, November 22, 2009. Photo by Shealah Craighead. Copyright SarahPAC.
Gov. Sarah Palin and Rev. Billy Graham converse prior to dinner at Rev. Graham’s residence in Montreat, NC, on Sunday, November 22, 2009. Photo by Shealah Craighead. Copyright SarahPAC.
Gov. Sarah Palin and Rev. Billy Graham converse prior to dinner at Rev. Graham’s residence in Montreat, NC, on Sunday, November 22, 2009. Photo by Shealah Craighead. Copyright SarahPAC.
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Just got off flt/got word of Senate's disappointing action;
USA-do u realize what's up in D.C?
Senators-do u realize "change" coming in 2010?
The Senate is set to vote Saturday night, right before the holiday, on a motion to proceed on its latest health care government take-over bill. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is pushing for yet another weekend vote (commonplace now for the party of “transparency”) because he knows that the American people will be none too happy about the Democrats’ proposal the longer they have to look it over.
A vote against the Democrats’ motion will help stop Obamacare before it gets any closer to becoming a reality. While this Saturday night vote might seem like a procedural matter, at the end of the day a vote against Senator Reid’s motion is a vote against massive new government spending and a take-over of 1/6th of the U.S. economy; it’s a vote against billions in tax increases and penalties; it’s a vote against federal funding of abortion; and it’s a vote against ignoring responsible tort reform.
And in case you hadn’t heard – just a reminder that you’ll start paying higher taxes to fund this scheme in 2010 even though it doesn’t start up until 2014. Only in Washington does that make any sense. Among the provisions in this bill will be a $2500 cap on Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs). The IRS allows families with special needs children to use FSAs to cover educational expenses. This new $2500 cap will hit these families especially hard and cost them hundreds of dollars in new taxes every year.
Contact your senators and tell them to vote against the motion to proceed tomorrow night. The American people don’t support this – we support the commonsense solutions that have been proposed, but totally ignored by (at this point) some out-of-control Washington politicians. Let’s put a stop to Obamacare before it goes any further.
- Sarah Palin
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The response on this book tour has been overwhelming. We are truly humbled, and I thank you.
I've been told that yesterday there were supporters in Noblesville who stood in long lines for hours in the cold and rain, and the book signing event ended without a chance to say hello to everyone who showed up. I am so sorry. We are working on a solution for those who were left behind.
I apologize.
- Sarah Palin
It was a breath of fresh air to finally hear the Democrats admit to their health care bill as “a lot of show and tell and razzmatazz,” (see Democrat talking points, in reference to my book). At least now we’re all on the same page when discussing the problems with their monstrous government health care “reform” plan.
Now, tonight, more disconcerting news – the New York Times reports of new guidelines to scale back cervical cancer screenings. The recommendation from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists comes on the heels of another recommendation to limit breast cancer screenings with mammograms. There are many questions unanswered for me, but one which immediately comes to mind is whether costs have anything to do with these recommendations. The current health care debate elicits great concern because of its introduction of socialized medicine in America and the inevitable rationed care. We need to carefully watch this debate as it coincides with Capitol Hill’s debate and determine whether we are witnessing the early stages of that rationed care before the Senate bill is rushed through as well.
Another question is why these women-focused cancers are seemingly receiving substandard attention at a time when proactive health and fitness should be the message. Every woman should encourage rigorous debate to ensure that our collective voices are heard. We are paying attention to Washington’s health care proposals, and we want to hear what helps patients the most.
We need answers: Is early screening not saving lives? Why do doctors’ groups disagree? Did costs play any role in these decisions to change the recommendations on breast and cervical cancer screenings? We need assurances that everything we’ve heard this week about fewer tests for women’s cancers is a result of patient-focused research and providing the best care for the right reasons, and not because of bureaucratic pressure to control costs.
Obviously the first thought that comes to mind when hearing of these new recommendations from bureaucratic panels is “rationed care.” It’s fair – and healthy – to ask if that’s what Washington has in mind with a government-controlled takeover of a health care system.
- Sarah Palin
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The first three stops on the Going Rogue book tour have been exhilarating!
I am humbled by the outpouring of support and have so enjoyed meeting and hearing from such great Americans in Michigan and Indiana. Our next three stops will keep us in the Heartland, and we hope that you can make it to one of our events in Cincinnati or Columbus, Ohio; or Washington, Pennsylvania.
Enjoy the pictures and go rogue with us!
- Sarah Palin
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Sean Hannity:
Part One:
http://www.youtube.com/watPart Two:
http://www.youtube.com/watMark Levin:
Part One:
http://www.youtube.com/watPart Two:
http://www.youtube.com/wat- - - - - - - - - -
Details of the second half of the Going Rogue book tour!
I'm looking forward to seeing everyone in every stop on the tour, but I'm especially looking forward to meeting our brave men and women in uniform at Fort Hood. I'm joining the efforts of many others by donating my royalties from the book sales during our stop at Fort Hood to the families of the victims whose lives have been forever changed by the tragic events of November 5th. I am humbled to be able to join the larger effort called "Community Response to 11/5," which was established by the Central Texas-Fort Hood Chapter of the Association of the US Army (AUSA). You can read more about their great efforts here: http://www.forthoodausa.or
As I mentioned last week, I'm going back on Twitter, so you can follow our path on SarahPalinUSA. Below are dates, times, and locations of the venues that I'll be referencing. Some other stops are still to be determined. Please contact each venue for more information. I'll see you soon!
- Sarah Palin
PS: Included below is a new flyer with the complete list of cities for the tour. Feel free to pass this one around, too!
November 30th
RICHLAND, WA
TBD
December 1st
PHOENIX. AZ
Costco
1445 West Elliot
Tempe, AZ 85284
11:00 AM - 2:00 PM
ROSWELL, NM
Hastings Books
1705 N. Main Street
Roswell, NM 88201
5:00 PM - 8:00 PM
December 2nd
SPRINGFIELD, MO
Border's Books & Music
3300 S. Glenstone Avenue
Springfield, MO 65804
10:00 AM - 12:30 PM
December 3rd
FAYETTEVILLE, AR
Sam's Club
3081 North Highway 112
Fayetteville, AR 72704
11:00 AM - 2:00 PM
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK
Hastings Books
2300 West Main Street
Norman, OK 73069
7:00 PM - 10:00 PM
December 4th
DALLAS, TX
Legacy Books
7300 Dallas Parkway
Plano, TX 75024
11:00 AM - 2:00 PM
FORT HOOD, TX
AAFES
Main Exchange, Building 50004
Clear Creek Road
Fort Hood, TX 76544
7:00 PM - 10:00 PM
December 5th
FAIRFAX, VA
BJ's
13053 Fair Lakes Shopping Center
Fairfax, VA 22033
11:00 AM - 2:00 PM
December 6th
SIOUX CITY, IA
Barnes & Noble
4400 Sergeant Road
Sioux City, IA 51106
12:00 PM - 3:00 PM
SIOUX FALLS, SD
Barnes & Noble
3700 West 41st Street
Sioux Falls, SD 57106
6:30 PM - 9:30 PM
December 7th
MINNEAPOLIS, MN
Barnes & Noble
Mall of America
118 East Broadway
Bloomington, MN 55425
12:00 PM - 4:00 PM
December 8th
BILLINGS, MT
Borders Books & Music
2833 King Avenue West
Billings, MT 59102
12:00 PM - 3:00 PM
COLORADO SPRINGS, CO
Borders Books & Music
1710 Briargate Boulevard
Colorado Springs, CO 80920
7:00 PM - 10:00 PM
December 9th
SALT LAKE CITY, UT
Costco
1818 South 300 West
Salt Lake City, UT 84115
12:00 PM - 3:00 PM
RENO, NV
Costco
2200 Harvard Way
Reno, NV 89502
7:00 PM - 10:00 PM
December 10th
COEUR D'ALENE, ID
Fred Meyer
560 West Kathleen
Coeur d'Alene, ID 83815
12:00 PM - 3:00 PM
SANDPOINT, ID
TBD
December 11th
HOME TO ALASKA!
December 11th
HOME TO ALASKA!
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It was a privilege to sit on the Fox News set last night with Sean Hannity. He's a great American. Be sure to watch tonight at 9pm, ET.
- Sarah Palin
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I had a great conversation with Rush today. We spoke about the issues facing our nation, the future of the Republican party and touched on other great topics.
You can listen here:
Part One:
http://www.youtube.com/wat
Part Two:
http://www.youtube.com/wat
I would like to thank everybody who has signed up to follow this Facebook page. We are now over one million strong! Our voices have been heard loud and clear on issues ranging from energy to health care. Your support has made this unfiltered communication medium a success.
Thank you so much!
- Sarah Palin
Had a great conversation today with Barbara Walters regarding America’s special needs community. Her compassion for those who some in our society see as “less than perfect” comes from personal experience as she was so close to her sister. Barbara wrote lovingly about her sister in her #1 bestselling memoir titled, Audition. Barbara and I even attempted to interview Trig during this segment, but he was about as patient through the interview as any other one-and-a-half-year-old child! I appreciate Barbara highlighting America’s special needs community. The beautiful heart of our country shines when we embrace these precious ones. Knowing of their unconditional love and need for our embrace reminds me every day of what really matters in this world.
- Sarah Palin
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The choice of photo for the cover of this week's Newsweek is unfortunate. When it comes to Sarah Palin, this "news" magazine has relished focusing on the irrelevant rather than the relevant. The Runner's World magazine one-page profile for which this photo was taken was all about health and fitness - a subject to which I am devoted and which is critically important to this nation. The out-of-context Newsweek approach is sexist and oh-so-expected by now. If anyone can learn anything from it: it shows why you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, gender, or color of skin. The media will do anything to draw attention - even if out of context.
- Sarah Palin
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The book tour starts this week, and I look forward to it! I'm most looking forward to meeting many of you, shaking your hands, and telling you,"Thanks for loving America." I'll give you a scoop here and tell you what's on the book's Dedication Page – it's dedicated to you – Patriots – who love the U.S.A. as much as I do.
Amazingly, but not surprisingly, the AP somehow nabbed a copy of the book before it was released. They're now erroneously reporting on the book's contents and are repeating many of the same things they spewed during the campaign and afterwards. We've heard 11 writers are engaged in this opposition research, er, "fact checking" research! Imagine that – 11 AP reporters dedicating time and resources to tearing up the book, instead of using the time and resources to "fact check" what's going on with Sheik Mohammed's trial, Pelosi's health care takeover costs, Hasan's associations, etc. Amazing.
We'll keep setting the record straight, and we'll keep reminding some in the media that Americans are very tired of their non-objective reporting. A great, recent post that accomplishes this is a Conservatives4Palin post. It's got some nice fact checking included. As always, they did a great job holding some of the media accountable for spreading more misinformation and for making things up. You can read it here. Enjoy!
And I can't wait to see you! God bless the fight for freedom! Keep up the great work, Patriots who love this country.
- Sarah Palin
[ this is the Conservatives4Palin.com link mentioned in the "read it here" link ]
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Horrible decision, absolutely horrible. It is devastating for so many of us to hear that the Obama Administration decided that the 9/11 terrorist mastermind, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, will be given a criminal trial in New York. This is an atrocious decision.
Mohammed and his terrorist co-conspirators are responsible for the deaths of more than 3,000 Americans. Thousands of American families have suffered through the loss of loved ones because of the disgusting attacks launched against the United States, and now this trial venue adds insult to injury, in addition to compromising our efforts in the War on Terror. Heaven forbid our allies see this decision as a reason to become less likely to support our efforts in the future.
Criminal defense attorneys will now enter into delaying tactics and other methods in the hope of securing some kind of win for their “clients.” The trial will afford Mohammed the opportunity to grandstand and make use of his time in front of the world media to rally his disgusting terrorist cohorts. It will also be an insult to the victims of 9/11, as Mohammed will no doubt use the opportunity to spew his hateful rhetoric in the same neighborhood in which he ruthlessly cut down the lives of so many Americans.
It is crucially important that Americans be made aware that the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks may walk away from this trial without receiving just punishment because of a “hung jury” or from any variety of court room technicalities. If we are stuck with this terrible Obama Administration decision, I, like most Americans, hope that Mohammed and his co-conspirators are convicted. Hang ‘em high.
I wholeheartedly support the survivors and the families of the victims in their appeal to the president regarding this matter. You can read more about it here.
http://www.thebravest.com/neverforget - Sarah Palin
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As you probably have heard, the AP snagged a copy of my memoir, Going Rogue, before its Tuesday release. And as is expected, the AP and a number of subsequent media outlets are erroneously reporting the contents of the book. Keep your powder dry, read the book, and enjoy it! Lots of great stories about my family, Alaska, and the incredible honor it was to run alongside Senator John McCain.
We can't wait to hit the road and meet so many on the book tour! See you in Michigan first...
- Sarah Palin
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I commend the president for acknowledging today that “there are limits to what government can and should do” to ease our 10.2% unemployment rate – the highest it’s been since 1983. I also applaud his call for suggestions and expression of openness to considering “any demonstrably good idea.” Taking him at his word, I’d like to suggest this one: let’s learn from history and follow the example of the man who occupied the White House in 1983 and was able to transform an even worse recession than the one we’re currently experiencing into the largest peacetime economic expansion in American history.
When you realize the magnitude of President Reagan’s achievements, there is absolutely no reason why anyone would ignore his “demonstrably good” example. If you want real job growth, cut taxes – including capital gains taxes and small business payroll taxes – and slay the death tax once and for all. If you want to stimulate the economy and help poor and middle class families, cut payroll taxes so that more Americans can keep and invest more of what they earn.
If you want lasting economic expansion and prosperity, get the federal government’s budget under control. Instead of more pork-laden stimulus plans, let the free market correct itself. That’s what Reagan did, and history proves it worked.
In his comments today, the president honorably suggested that he welcomes our ideas on how to put America’s economy on the right track. But, there also seemed to be a suggested chastisement of the private sector’s efforts to right some economic wrongs when he said, “...small businesses and large firms...have not yet been willing to take the steps necessary to hire again.”
As business owners seek to expand, or just to keep doors open today, it’s not as if they are refusing to hire out of spite. Given a pro-private sector environment they will be only too happy to hire more people and grow their businesses. Perhaps if leadership in Washington reassured them by, for example, cutting tax burdens and making government more efficient, it would send our businesses a message that it’s safe and smart to expand today.
These are difficult times for so many Americans who are out of work. I implore our leaders to not threaten our economy’s job creators with increased taxes and job-killing schemes like cap-and-tax and the government health care takeover. Government needs to get out of their way and off their backs so that they can grow and hire again.
The lessons of history are clear. We’re blessed to have so many lessons from which to learn, and we’d be smart to emulate successes in America’s past. Our economic recovery decisions should be based on the same free market principles that Reagan employed. They work, history proves it, and I thank our president for asking for this input.
- Sarah Palin
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We need to be vigilant in investigating the ramifications of the Pelosi Health Care Bill. Some provisions sound so outrageous as to be considered impossible to fathom, but they’re right there in the bill in black and white. For instance, page 297 of the bill explains the punishment for not purchasing government mandated health insurance. If you don’t buy what the government considers “acceptable health care coverage,” you’re going to be hit with a tax of at least 2.5% of your income. And if you don’t pay that new tax, you could be fined as much as $250,000 and sentenced to up to five years in prison.
But here’s the thing: they have to make the penalty for opting out very harsh in order to force us to buy coverage. The only way to keep this government run health care plan afloat is for everyone to buy into it – especially young and healthy people. That means that they will have to penalize citizens if we choose not to buy a plan that will cost a minimum of about $15,000 per family per year.
The bill that came out of the Senate last month – the Baucus Bill – does just the opposite. It calls for a much lighter penalty ($750 maximum) for people who don’t buy government approved health coverage, making it cheaper to pay the fine than to pay for the coverage. (And with a recession on, who can blame families for not wanting to pay $15,000 for a government mandated health care plan?)
But here’s the kicker: the bill also forces insurance companies to cover everyone, regardless of pre-existing conditions. Think about what that means. A lot of people – especially young and healthy people – will just pay the penalty instead of purchasing coverage because they’ll figure that it’ll always be there if they get sick, as government has promised. That’s what will happen, and when it does it will totally undermine the very concept of “insurance” – which is basically a group of people pooling their resources over time to cover themselves for a rainy day, paying while they’re healthy so that they’re covered when they’re sick. Those who are healthy now pay for those who are sick. If your insurance pool only contains sick people, it’s a bust. And that’s what this government plan will be. Without all of those young and healthy people paying into the pool and defraying the costs, the government will have to pony up more and more money, and who knows how long the whole crazy plan will last before it goes broke – and our country with it!
That’s where we are with this bureaucratic mess: either the government penalizes people so harshly that they could be hit with huge taxes and even possible jail time, or the government makes the penalty a slap on the wrist and undermines the plan from the get-go. Forcing individuals to buy health insurance seems unconstitutional, yet Congress wants to foist it on us anyway. Proponents of government controlled health care will say, “But we’re made to buy car insurance and home insurance, what’s the difference with health insurance?” It’s apples and oranges. Auto insurance is a state law requirement, and people can always choose not to drive. Banks might require you to have home owner’s insurance, but again, you choose to own a home, just as you choose to drive. You have no choice at all when it comes to this federal government health care insurance mandate.
There are other ways to reform health care without violating our Constitution and our personal liberties. Let’s get back to discussing market-driven, patient-centered, result-driven solutions, like, for example, allowing people to purchase insurance across state lines, tackling existing government waste and fraud, and reforming medical malpractice laws (tort reform) to stop unwarranted lawsuits that force doctors to order unnecessary procedures just to cover themselves.
Please let your Senators know that the Pelosi Bill should be dead on arrival. Once we go down this big government path, it will be virtually impossible to reverse course. Let’s fight for the reform that makes sense for Americans before it’s too late.
- Sarah Palin
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Willow, Piper, and I are in Chicago and just wanted to let you know that I had a great conversation with Oprah today. We taped the show for Monday, November 16th, and enjoyed it so much that we went way over on time. The rest will air on Oprah.com. Oprah was very hospitable and gracious, and her audience was full of warm, energized and (no doubt) curious viewers.
- Sarah Palin
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It is stunning to read and hear about this “coin controversy.” At a recent speech in Milwaukee I discussed the troubling fact that we too often move God to the side in our public life, and gave as an example the shift of the words “In God We Trust” to the edge of the dollar coin. My comments were not about this President or this Congress – this change predated them. I was merely making a point about a disturbing trend in our country, after which I moved on to discuss some encouraging trends. People who try to read more into such straightforward comments are working hard to find a controversy where there is none.
- Sarah Palin
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In most of our cities and towns, you’ll see memorials to brave Americans – some in uniforms of wars from long ago – who defended freedom. If you look down at their inscriptions, you’ll see that they were dedicated by the mothers, fathers, wives and orphans of the veterans who gave all for their country. In distant lands across the globe, you’ll find silent fields of white markers with the names of Americans who never came home, but who showed their dedication to their country by where they died. Today we honor those who served and made the ultimate sacrifice, as well as those who served and came home forever changed by the battlefield.
Remember all the veterans who fought and sacrificed for our freedom today, and then please take the time to thank our brave men and women currently serving in uniform. We owe them so much.
- Sarah Palin
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Here are some details of the upcoming book tour. I’m starting in Michigan, and you’ll understand why when you read the book. Last year, I made a promise to the good people of Michigan that I would be back, and now I’m keeping that promise. (Michigan is near and dear to my family’s heart! Our eldest son, Track, lived with a great host family there during his hockey days.)
From Michigan, the “Going Rogue” tour will cover as much of the country as possible. I’ve decided to stop in cities that are not usually included in a typical book tour. For instance, I’m looking forward to meeting our honorable men and women in uniform and their families at a Fort Bragg book signing, and to reconnecting with friends my family made last year on the campaign trail in different book signing venues.
We have a tight schedule, but I’m working with the publisher to allow possibilities of stopping at a few unannounced places, too.
I’ll Twitter information when the tour starts, so I’ll post our progress from the road. You can follow on Twitter at SarahPalinUSA.
Below are dates, times, and locations for the first part of the tour – this schedule brings us up to Thanksgiving, where I’ll get to connect with family in Washington state for the holiday. Stay tuned for our post-Thanksgiving schedule coming soon.
Please contact each venue for more information. Can’t wait to see you soon!
- Sarah Palin
PS: Included below is a flyer for the tour. Feel free to pass it around!
November 18th
GRAND RAPIDS, MI
Barnes & Noble
3195 28th Street SE
Space B116
Grand Rapids, MI 49512
6:00 – 9:00 PM
November 19th
FORT WAYNE, IN
Meijer’s
10301 Maysville Road
Fort Wayne, IN 46835
12:00 – 3:00 PM
NOBLESVILLE, IN
Borders Books and Music
13145 Levinson Lane
Noblesville, IN 46060
6:00 – 9:00 PM
November 20th
CINCINNATI, OH
Joseph-Beth Booksellers
2692 Madison Road
Cincinnati OH 45208
12:00 – 3:00 PM
COLUMBUS, OH
Borders Books and Music
6670 Sawmill Road
Columbus, OH 43235
6:00 – 9:00 PM
November 21st
WASHINGTON, PA
Sam’s Club
80 Trinity Point Drive
Washington, PA 15301
11:00 AM – 2:00 PM
ROCHESTER, NY
Borders Books and Music
1000 Hylan Drive
Rochester, NY 14623
6:00 – 9:00 PM
November 22nd
ROANOKE, VA
Barnes & Noble
4802 Valley View Boulevard NW
Roanoke, VA 24012
11:00 AM – 2:00 PM
November 23rd
FORT BRAGG, NC
AAFES Bragg N Main Shop
Bldg 8-5050, 2nd & Butner Road
Ft. Bragg, NC 28307
11:00 AM – 2:00 PM
BIRMINGHAM, AL
Books-A-Million
757 Brookwood Village
Birmingham, AL 32509
4:30 – 7:30 PM
November 24th
JACKSONVILLE, FL AREA
Books-A-Million
Orange Park Mall
1910 Wells Road
Orange Park, FL 32073
9:00 – 11:00 AM
THE VILLAGES, FL
Barnes & Noble
1055 Old Camp Road
The Villages, FL 32162
2:30 – 5:00 PM
ORLANDO, FL
Barnes & Noble
Colonial Plaza Market Center
2418 East Colonial Drive
Orlando, FL 32803
7:30 – 10:00 PM
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Twenty years ago, the ultimate symbol of the division between freedom and tyranny was torn down. The Berlin Wall was constructed for one purpose: to prevent the escape of East Germans to the freedom of the West. The Wall’s cold, gray façade was a stark reminder of the economic and political way of life across the Soviet Union’s sphere of influence in Eastern Europe.
Ronald Reagan never stopped regarding the Berlin Wall as an affront to human freedom. When so many other American leaders and opinion makers had come to accept its presence as inevitable and permanent, Reagan still hammered away at the Wall’s very premise in human tyranny, until finally the Wall itself was hammered down. Its downfall wasn’t the work of Reagan alone. Our president’s actions were joined with the brave acts of many individuals who stood firm and united in facing the Soviet Union. The Berlin Wall came down because millions of people behind the Iron Curtain refused to accept the fate of enslavement and their supporters in the West refused to accept that the “captive nations” would remain captive forever.
Though that long, tragic episode in human history had come to a close finally with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, it wasn’t the “end of history” or the end of conflict as some had hoped. New conflicts confront us today throughout the world which call for courage and resolve and dedication to freedom. The new democracies and market economies that have emerged in Central and Eastern Europe still require our friendship and alliances as they continue to seek security, prosperity, and self-determination. But as we reflect on present and future challenges, let’s take time to celebrate the anniversary of this awesome victory for freedom. The downfall of that cold, gray concrete Wall should be a lesson to us in hope. Nothing is inevitable. Tyranny is no match for the hope and resolve of those who work and fight for freedom.
- Sarah Palin
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We’ve got to hold on to hope, and we’ve got to fight hard because Congressional action tonight just put America on a path toward an unrecognizable country.
The same government leaders that got us into the mortgage business and the car business are now getting us into the health care business.
Despite Americans’ decisive message last Tuesday that they reject the troubling path this country has been taking, Speaker Pelosi has broken her own promises of transparency to ram a health “care” bill through the House of Representatives just before midnight. Why did she push the 2,000 page bill this weekend? Was she perhaps afraid to give her peers and the constituents for whom she works the chance to actually read this monstrous bill carefully, if at all? Was she concerned that Americans might really digest the details of a bill that the Wall Street Journal has called “the worst piece of post-New Deal legislation ever introduced”?
This out-of-control bureaucratic mess will be disastrous for our economy, our small businesses, and our personal liberty. It will slam businesses at a time when we are at double-digit unemployment rates – the highest we’ve seen in a quarter of a century. This massive new bureaucracy will cost us and our children money we don’t have. It will rob Americans of more of our freedom and further hamper the free market.
Make no mistake: we’re on course to have government commandeer one-sixth of our economy. The people who gave us Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac now want to run our health care. Think about that.
All of us who value the sanctity of life are grateful for the success of the pro-life majority in the House this evening in its battle against federal funding of abortion in this bill, but it’s ironic because we were promised that abortion wasn’t covered in the bill to begin with. Our healthy distrust of these government leaders made us look deeper into the bill because unfortunately we knew better than to trust what they were saying. The victory tonight to amend the bill and eliminate that federal funding for abortion was great – because abortion is not health care. Now we can only hope that Rep. Stupak’s amendment will hold in the final bill, though the Democratic leadership has already refused to promise that it won’t be scrapped later.
We had been told there were no “death panels” in the bill either. But look closely at the provision mandating bureaucratic panels that will be calling the shots regarding who will receive government health care.
Look closely at provisions addressing illegal aliens’ health care coverage too.
Those of us who love freedom and believe in open and transparent government can only be dismayed by midnight action on a Saturday. Speaker Pelosi’s promise that Americans would have 72 hours to read the final bill before the vote was just another one of the D.C. establishment’s too-common political ploys. It’s broken promises like this that turn people off to politics and leave them disillusioned about the future of their country.
But despite this late-night maneuvering, many of us were paying close attention tonight. We’ll keep paying close attention. We need to let our legislators in Washington know that they still represent us, and that the majority of Americans are not in favor of the “reform” they are pushing. After all, this is still a country “of the people, by the people, and for the people.” We will make our voices heard. It’s on to the Senate now. Our legislators can listen now, or they can hear us in 2010. It’s their choice.
- Sarah Palin
- - - - - - - - - - Great event last night in Wisconsin! It was an honor to meet great Americans who are working so hard to remind us of life's sanctity and value. I commend this fine state for its efforts to make our nation a more welcoming place for all children.
Let me set the record straight on the media's follow-up reports of the great event: Despite what CNN reported, decisions about not allowing cameras at the event were the prerogative of the sponsors of the event, and I, of course, respected their decision.
I am about to set out on my book tour, where media will no doubt join us at many spots. In the meantime, I ask our friends in the media once again: please quit making things up.
- Sarah Palin
PS: Attached is a photo from the event. You can read more about the excellent work the Wisconsin Right to Life does here.
At the Wisconsin Right to Life event on November 6, 2009
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Like many Americans, I’m very concerned about the efforts underway to rush through the 2,000 page Pelosi health care bill this weekend. Why the rush? That’s a lot of pages to read. Why not give everyone the chance to read it and debate it?
How much will this bill cost us? It’s unclear because the figures coming out of Washington keep changing – and always in the direction of costing more, not less. The latest numbers show it will cost more than a trillion dollars over the decade, but when has a government program ever come in on or under budget?
How will we pay for it? Taxes, of course – and not just on the “rich” (you know, the people who spur the economy by buying goods and running companies that employ people), but also on just about everyone, especially small businesses – the job-creating engine of our economy. One of the points of health care reform was to help small businesses with the cost, but this bill hurts them – and right at a time when so many Americans are out of work and need the jobs that small businesses produce.
What’s in this bill? The “death panel” provision is in it. Medicare cuts are in it. Coverage of illegal immigrants is in it. And federal funding for abortion is in it. I commend the many Republicans and Blue Dog Democrats who are taking a principled stance to fight this.
I had a message for Speaker Pelosi in a speech I gave last night for the Wisconsin Right to Life – “please, please don’t break the ‘transparency promise’ by prohibiting at least a vote of your colleagues on funding abortion-on-demand.”
Speaker Pelosi has already broken many promises thus far in this “reform” exercise. She promised that this would be a bi-partisan effort, but the bill she’s pushing isn’t bi-partisan. She promised that the final version of the bill would be posted online 72 hours before it comes to a vote so that the American people could clearly see what’s in it and how we will pay for it. But she broke that promise too when she decided to rush the bill to a vote this weekend.
The speaker must be held accountable for her broken promises. Now is the time for Americans who believe in the free market and who believe that we need policies that promote job growth instead of job loss to say once and for all, “Enough!” Stand up and make your voices heard before it’s too late. Call and email your representatives and tell them to vote “no” on Pelosi’s train wreck of a health care bill, or else we will vote “no” to sending them back to Washington when we go to the polls in less than 12 months.
- Sarah Palin
PS: For an idea of the bureaucratic maze that the Pelosi bill would create, take a look at this new chart put out by the Joint Economic Committee.
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Todd and I would like to offer our condolences to the families of the victims of the tragic shooting today at Ft. Hood. Our thoughts and prayers will be with them.
- Sarah Palin
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Congratulations to the new Governors-Elect of Virginia and New Jersey! I’d also like to offer a special word of support to the new Lieutenant Governor-Elect of New Jersey, Kim Guadagno, the first woman to hold that office.
Of course, the real victors in this election are the ordinary men and women who voted for positive change and a return to fiscal sanity. Your voices have been heard.
The race for New York’s 23rd District is not over, just postponed until 2010. The issues of this election have always centered on the economy – on the need for fiscal restraint, smaller government, and policies that encourage jobs. In 2010, these issues will be even more crucial to the electorate. I commend Doug Hoffman and all the other under-dog candidates who have the courage to put themselves out there and run against the odds.
To the tireless grassroots patriots who worked so hard in that race and to future citizen-candidates like Doug, please remember Reagan’s words of encouragement after his defeat in 1976:
The cause goes on.“The cause goes on. Don't get cynical because look at yourselves and what you were willing to do, and recognize that there are millions and millions of Americans out there that want what you want, that want it to be that way, that want it to be a shining city on a hill.”
- Sarah Palin
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I am very, very excited about the upcoming road trip for my book. It will be an honor to meet as many of you as possible!
“Going Rogue” publisher HarperCollins is working hard to schedule book signings across the nation, and we’ll be announcing the locations in the next day or two. I’ve decided to travel to cities outside of the typical book tour venues, and I hope to cover as much of the country as I can.
We’re in the process of arranging interviews with local and national media. An interview with Oprah Winfrey is already scheduled, and I’m also hoping to have the opportunity to talk with Bill O’Reilly, Barbara Walters, Sean Hannity, Greta Van Susteren, Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Mark Levin, Laura Ingraham, Dennis Miller, Tammy Bruce, and others, including local Alaska personalities Bob & Mark and Eddie Burke. (Variety is the spice of life!)
Can’t wait to hit the road. Can’t wait to see you!
- Sarah Palin
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“...the right which woman needed above every other, the one indeed which would secure to her all the others, was the right of suffrage.”
Susan B. Anthony used those words to describe the cause she spent her life fighting for: the right of an American woman to cast a ballot for the candidate of her choice. Because of Susan B. Anthony’s tireless efforts and the courage and dedication of countless others, millions of American women will head to the polls today to exercise their right to vote.
When we consider the sacrifices made to give us this right, there is simply no excuse not to vote.
Today, the eyes of the nation are drawn in particular to the three big elections occurring on the east coast. New Jersey and Virginia will be electing new governors, and the 23rd Congressional District of New York will be sending a new representative to Washington D.C.
The choices are clear in all three races.
In New York’s 23rd Congressional District race, Doug Hoffman represents the return of the ordinary citizen-politician who is dedicated to bringing fiscal sanity back to Washington, D.C. Doug’s message of cutting spending, lowering taxes, and ending the outrageous growth in the size and scope of the federal government has resonated throughout his district and the country. Voting for Doug Hoffman will send an important message to the powers that be: no more politics as usual.
The governor’s race in New Jersey is a referendum on the failed fiscal policies of the state’s current governor. New Jersey suffers under the highest tax burden in the nation – a burden which has caused many New Jerseyans to leave their home state for better economic prospects elsewhere.
Chris Christie is dedicated to ending the reckless spending, the tax hikes, and the corruption that has plagued New Jersey for far too long. A vote for Chris Christie as the next governor of New Jersey will help to lead this great state – “The Crossroads of the Revolution” – back to prosperity.
In Virginia, Bob McDonnell’s commitment to lower taxes and fiscal responsibility make him the common sense choice in the governor’s race. If Bob’s honorable military service and track record as Virginia’s Attorney General are any indications of how he will handle the governorship, then it is safe to say that Virginians have an easy choice to make today.
Candidates like Doug Hoffman, Chris Christie, and Bob McDonnell represent common sense answers to the troubling economic questions facing our nation. They are a vote for fiscal sanity and for leaving our children an American future as bright and as promising as the one our parents left for us.
Please take time today to exercise the right that so many people fought to secure for us. In considering these east coast races, it occurred to me that Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and so many of the women who fought to give future generations the right to vote hailed from these states.
Vote today in honor of our past and with hope for our future.
- Sarah Palin
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As the vice president knows, I have always advocated an all-of-the-above approach to American energy independence. Among other things, my alternative energy goal for Alaska sits at 50 percent because Alaska reached more than 20 percent during my term in office. The Obama-Biden administration, on the other hand, recently announced a renewable goal of only 25 percent. However, domestic drilling should remain a top priority in order to meet America’s consumption and security needs.
The vice president’s extreme opposition to domestic energy development goes all the way back to 1973 when he opposed the Alaska pipeline bill. As Ann Coulter pointed out, “Biden cast one of only five votes against the pipeline that has produced more than 15 billion barrels of oil, supplied nearly 20 percent of this nation’s oil, created tens of thousands of jobs, added hundreds of billions of dollars to the U.S. economy and reduced money transfers to the nation’s enemies by about the same amount.”
This nonsensical opposition to American domestic energy development continues to this day. Apparently the Obama-Biden administration only approves of offshore drilling in Brazil, where it will provide security and jobs for Brazilians.
This election is about American security and American jobs.
There’s one way to tell Vice President Biden that we’re tired of folks in Washington distorting our message and hampering our nation’s progress: Hoffman, Baby, Hoffman!
- Sarah Palin
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Despite what candidate Chris Daggett is claiming, I have never contacted him or his campaign. I have never asked him to drop out of the NJ Governor’s race. Now, if a politician is going to play loose with facts like this, the electorate needs to know it.
So, to the good people of New Jersey, please know that Daggett’s claims are false. I’ve never even suggested he should drop out of the race. But, come to think of it…
- Sarah Palin
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I want to personally thank Republican Dede Scozzafava for acting so selflessly today in the NY District 23 race. Now it's time to cross the finish line with Doug Hoffman so that he can get to work for District 23 and the rest of America.
With Congress poised to overhaul one-sixth of our economy with so-called health care “reform” (which is really a government takeover of health care) and with plans to enact a cap-and-tax bill just as our economy struggles to recover, Doug Hoffman will be a voice for fiscal responsibility and common sense in Washington.
We need candidates like Doug now more than ever. In these final days of the campaign, it's vital that Doug continue to receive the enthusiastic support of those who want to bring common sense to Washington. Let’s help make it happen! You can help Doug by visiting his official website today and offering your support: https://www.doughoffmanfor
- Sarah Palin
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Mark my words - tomorrow is the game changer! Tune in to hear common sense solutions that bury the false accusations that conscientious members of Congress have no solutions to meet America's health care challenges.
If you're like me, shaking your head wondering why all the miscommunication between Washington and the American people who have been saying, "Please hear what we're saying about our desire for health care reform," then tomorrow will be a refreshing time of clarity for all.
All Americans, and especially colleagues of House Republican Leader John Boehner: please listen to tomorrow's weekly GOP national address. Rep. Boehner will highlight a common sense alternative to Speaker Pelosi's 1,990-page government takeover of health care. I urge you to watch for it. For a preview, go to: http://HealthCare.GOP.gov
You'll hear solutions. You'll hear of real choices based on America's proven free-market principles. You'll know once and for all what the GOP and Independents have been saying all along about alternatives to another big government take over. After tomorrow, you'll know that accusations against the GOP and Independents for not providing solutions are false. Those claims are bogus. There are alternatives. Tune in to Rep. Boehner's address tomorrow to hear them.
I look forward to the game changer!
- Sarah Palin
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As I stand here in a high school gymnasium watching freshmen girls' basketball games, I'm struck by the sight of America's future right in front of me - these tenacious young women full of energy and intensity. I want them to realize every opportunity this great, free nation can provide.
There are big political races on the East Coast that are coming down to the wire - the results of which will impact policies and political actions that touch all of us in every state. Like other independent Americans, I don’t always see eye-to-eye with Republican political committees, so when I tell you that the Republican Governors Association has my complete support and confidence in its campaign efforts back East, know that I really mean it.
The RGA is helping lead the conservative comeback beginning this year, and its involvement in the East Coast races is significant. I hope you'll support these efforts, which are vital to the cause for America's freedom and prosperity: http://www.rga.org/initiat
Let's consider the governor's race in New Jersey. The state has the highest tax burden in the country and the incumbent Democrat governor has only added to the economic burden. He eliminated property tax rebates for middle class homeowners while the sales tax increased. Altogether, taxes on the people in the region have increased by billions of dollars. It’s no surprise that New Jersey has the highest unemployment rate in the region!
Thankfully, there is an alternative. Residents there will be better off under an administration that understands the benefits that result when workers are allowed to keep more of what they earn. Watch New Jersey's economy come alive under new leadership that will put government back on the side of the people! Chris Christie promises this new leadership.
Fortunately, New Jersey's Democrat governor is being held accountable with the RGA spending $7 million in the New York and Philadelphia media markets telling the truth about a liberal administrative record while highlighting New Jersey's tax-hiking ways and reminding voters there is an alternative! The NY and Philly markets are the most expensive in the nation though, so the RGA is requesting help to stay on the air.
Then in Virginia, there is a clear difference between Republican Bob McDonnell and his liberal opponent. Republican Bob McDonnell is fighting for cheaper American energy and lower taxes, while his opponent wants to raise taxes and, amazingly, even bragged about having more earmarks than any other state legislator. Bob McDonnell promises to fight for Virginia's hard working families, and he opposes some heavy-handed union leadership efforts that could ultimately hurt employers and employees. The RGA has aired $6 million of TV ads exposing the liberal candidate’s record.
I encourage you to help fight for our neighbors in the East by visiting: http://www.rga.org/initiat
Americans who believe in smaller government and free enterprise have a chance to show Washington that people all across the U.S. don’t want an ever-increasing national debt, more dependency on foreign energy sources, and more wasteful government spending. If, like me, this is what you want to show Washington, then I hope you'll support Chris Christie and Bob McDonnell and the RGA, as great efforts are put forth in these East Coast races.
The young student athletes I'm watching right now are counting on us to do the right thing - to fight for what is right for America today and into their future. Electing candidates with common sense and respect for freedom is one way we can fight for what is right.
- Sarah Palin
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The people of the 23rd Congressional District of New York are ready to shake things up, and Doug Hoffman is coming on strong as Election Day approaches! He needs our help now.
The votes of every member of Congress affect every American, so it's important for all of us to pay attention to this important Congressional campaign in upstate New York. I am very pleased to announce my support for Doug Hoffman in his fight to be the next Representative from New York's 23rd Congressional district. It's my honor to endorse Doug and to do what I can to help him win, including having my political action committee, SarahPAC, donate to his campaign the maximum contribution allowed by law.
Our nation is at a crossroads, and this is once again a "time for choosing."
The federal government borrows, spends, and prints too much money, while our national debt hits a record high. Government is growing while the private sector is shrinking, and unemployment is on the rise. Doug Hoffman is committed to ending the reckless spending in Washington, D.C. and the massive increase in the size and scope of the federal government. He is also fully committed to supporting our men and women in uniform as they seek to honorably complete their missions overseas.
And best of all, Doug Hoffman has not been anointed by any political machine.
Doug Hoffman stands for the principles that all Republicans should share: smaller government, lower taxes, strong national defense, and a commitment to individual liberty.
Political parties must stand for something. When Republicans were in the wilderness in the late 1970s, Ronald Reagan knew that the doctrine of "blurring the lines" between parties was not an appropriate way to win elections. Unfortunately, the Republican Party today has decided to choose a candidate who more than blurs the lines, and there is no real difference between the Democrat and the Republican in this race. This is why Doug Hoffman is running on the Conservative Party's ticket.
Republicans and conservatives around the country are sending an important message to the Republican establishment in their outstanding grassroots support for Doug Hoffman: no more politics as usual.
You can help Doug by visiting his official website below and joining me in supporting his campaign:
- Sarah Palin
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October 18, 2009
In March 1867, U.S. Secretary of State William Seward negotiated the purchase of Alaska from Russia for two cents an acre. On October 18 of that year, authority over the territory of Alaska officially transferred to the United States when the American flag flew over Fort Sitka for the first time. Alaskans have celebrated “Alaska Day” on October 18 ever since.
Though the purchase was derided at the time as “Seward’s Folly,” Seward was a visionary, and history has proven that his purchase of Alaska from Russia was never folly. Alaska has contributed greatly to the United States through our export of natural resources – from wild Alaska seafood, timber, and ore to our oil pipeline and future natural gas pipeline. Today we remember the wisdom of Secretary Seward and look forward to the hopeful future of the Last Frontier.
Happy Alaska Day!
Today also marks a special occasion for my family as my eldest daughter celebrates her birthday. Happy Birthday, Bristol!
- Sarah Palin
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October 17, 2009
Now that the Senate Finance Committee has approved its health care bill, it’s a good time to step back and take a look at the long term consequences should its provisions be enacted into law.
The bill prohibits insurance companies from refusing coverage to people with pre-existing conditions and from charging sick people higher premiums. [1] It attempts to offset the costs this will impose on insurance companies by requiring everyone to purchase coverage, which in theory would expand the pool of paying policy holders.
However, the maximum fine for those who refuse to purchase health insurance is $750. [2] Even factoring in government subsidies, the cost of purchasing a plan is much more than $750. The result: many people, especially the young and healthy, will simply not buy coverage, choosing to pay the fine instead. They’ll wait until they’re sick to buy health insurance, confident in the knowledge that insurance companies can’t deny them coverage. Such a scenario is a perfect storm for increasing the cost of health care and creating an unsustainable mandate program.
Those driving this plan no doubt have good intentions, but good intentions aren’t enough. There were good intentions behind the drive to increase home ownership for lower-income Americans, but forcing financial institutions to give loans to people who couldn’t afford them had terrible unintended consequences. We all felt those consequences during the financial collapse last year. Unintended consequences always result from top-down big government plans like the current health care proposals, and we can’t afford to ignore that fact again.
Supposedly the Senate Finance bill will be paid for by cutting Medicare by nearly half a trillion dollars and by taxing the so-called “Cadillac” health care plans enjoyed by many union members. The plan will also impose heavy taxes on insurers, pharmaceutical companies, medical device companies, and clinical labs. [3] The result of all of these taxes is clear. As Douglas Holtz-Eakin noted in the Wall Street Journal, these new taxes “will be passed on to consumers by either directly raising insurance premiums, or by fueling higher health-care costs that inevitably lead to higher premiums.” [4] Unfortunately, it will lead to lower wages too, as employees will have to sacrifice a greater percentage of their paychecks to cover these higher premiums. [5] In other words, if the Democrats succeed in overhauling health care, we’ll all bear the costs. The Senate Finance bill is effectively a middle class tax increase, and as Holtz-Eakin points out, according to the Joint Committee on Taxation those making less than $200,000 will be hit hardest. [6]
With our country’s debt and deficits growing at an alarming rate, many of us can’t help but wonder how we can afford a new trillion dollar entitlement program. The president has promised that he won’t sign a health care bill if it “adds even one dime to our deficit over the next decade.” [7] But his administration also promised that his nearly trillion dollar stimulus plan would keep the unemployment rate below 8%. [8] Last month, our unemployment rate was 9.8%, the highest it’s been in 26 years. [9] At first the current administration promised that the stimulus would save or create 3 to 4 million jobs. [10] Then they declared that it created 1 million jobs, but the stimulus reports released this week showed that a mere 30,083 jobs have been created, while nearly 3.4 million jobs have been lost since the stimulus was passed. [11] Should we believe the administration’s claims about health care when their promises have proven so unreliable about the stimulus?
In January 2008, presidential candidate Obama promised not to negotiate behind closed doors with health care lobbyists. In fact, he committed to “broadcasting those negotiations on C-SPAN so that the American people can see what the choices are. Because part of what we have to do is enlist the American people in this process. And overcoming the special interests and the lobbyists...” [12] However, last February, after serving only a few weeks in office, President Obama met privately at the White House with health care industry executives and lobbyists. [13] Yesterday, POLITICO reported that aides to President Obama and Democrat Senator Max Baucus met with corporate lobbyists in April to help “set in motion a multimillion-dollar advertising campaign, primarily financed by industry groups, that has played a key role in bolstering public support for health care reform.” [14] Needless to say, their negotiations were not broadcast on C-SPAN for the American people to see.
Presidential candidate Obama also promised that he would not “sign any nonemergency bill without giving the American public an opportunity to review and comment on the White House Web site for five days.” [15] PolitiFact reports that this promise has already been broken three times by the current administration. [16] We can only hope that it won’t be broken again with health care reform.
All of this certainly gives the appearance of politics-as-usual in Washington with no change in sight.
Americans want health care reform because we want affordable health care. We don’t need subsidies or a public option. We don’t need a nationalized health care industry. We need to reduce health care costs. But the Senate Finance plan will dramatically increase those costs, all the while ignoring common sense cost-saving measures like tort reform. Though a Congressional Budget Office report confirmed that reforming medical malpractice and liability laws could save as much as $54 billion over the next ten years, tort reform is nowhere to be found in the Senate Finance bill. [17]
Here’s a novel idea. Instead of working contrary to the free market, let’s embrace the free market. Instead of going to war with certain private sector companies, let’s embrace real private-sector competition and allow consumers to purchase plans across state lines. Instead of taxing the so-called “Cadillac” plans that people get through their employers, let’s give individuals who purchase their own health care the same tax benefits we currently give employer-provided health care recipients. Instead of crippling Medicare, let’s reform it by providing recipients with vouchers so that they can purchase their own coverage.
Now is the time to make your voices heard before it’s too late. If we don’t fight for the market-oriented, patient-centered, and result-driven reform plan that we deserve, we’ll be left with the disastrous unintended consequences of the plans currently being cooked up in Washington.
- Sarah Palin
[1] See http://tinyurl.com/yjs3mgf
[2] See http://tinyurl.com/yfuw3k3
[3] See http://tinyurl.com/yfxq8ca
[4] See http://tinyurl.com/ykefsk6
[5] See http://tinyurl.com/ygf42fj
[6] See http://tinyurl.com/ykefsk6
[7] See http://tinyurl.com/lkvgsp
[8] See http://tinyurl.com/nx4nh6
[9] See ibid.
[10] See http://tinyurl.com/yhhr56v
[11] See ibid.
[12] See http://tinyurl.com/yhzhkvg and http://tinyurl.com/lhyr9o
[13] See http://tinyurl.com/yksd6h3
[14] See http://tinyurl.com/yl9gg27
[15] See http://tinyurl.com/yknpxd6
[16] See http://tinyurl.com/d2k5hb
[17] See http://tinyurl.com/yf8qmfh
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October 16, 2009
Petroleum is a major part of America’s energy picture. Shall we get it here or abroad?
By Sarah Palin
Given that we’re spending billions of stimulus dollars to rebuild our highways, it makes sense to think about what we’ll be driving on them. For years to come, most of what we drive will be powered, at least in part, by diesel fuel or gasoline. To fuel that driving, we need access to oil. The less use we make of our own reserves, the more we will have to import, which leads to a number of harmful consequences. That means we need to drill here and drill now.
We rely on petroleum for much more than just powering our vehicles: It is essential in everything from jet fuel to petrochemicals, plastics to fertilizers, pesticides to pharmaceuticals. According to the Energy Information Administration, our total domestic petroleum consumption last year was 19.5 million barrels per day (bpd). Motor gasoline and diesel fuel accounted for less than 13 million bpd of that. Meanwhile, we produced only 4.95 million bpd of domestic crude. In other words, even if we ran all our vehicles on something else (which won’t happen anytime soon), we would still have to depend on imported oil. And we’ll continue that dependence until we develop our own oil resources to their fullest extent.
Those who oppose domestic drilling are motivated primarily by environmental considerations, but many of the countries we’re forced to import from have few if any environmental-protection laws, and those that do exist often go unenforced. In effect, American environmentalists are preventing responsible development here at home while supporting irresponsible development overseas.
My home state of Alaska shows how it’s possible to be both pro-environment and pro-resource-development. Alaskans would never support anything that endangered our pristine air, clean water, and abundant wildlife (which, among other things, provides many of us with our livelihood). The state’s government has made safeguarding resources a priority; when I was governor, for instance, we created a petroleum-systems-integrit
Alaska also shows how oil drilling is thoroughly compatible with energy conservation and renewable-energy development. Over 20 percent of Alaska’s electricity currently comes from renewable sources, and as governor I put forward a long-term plan to increase that figure to 50 percent by 2025. Alaska’s comprehensive plan identifies renewable options across the state that can help rural villages transition away from expensive diesel-generated electricity — allowing each community to choose the solution that best fits its needs. That’s important in any energy plan: Tempting as they may be to central planners, top-down, one-size-fits-all solutions are recipes for failure.
Continue reading my article for National Review by clicking here:
http://article.nationalrev- - - - - - - - - -
October 13, 2009
I would like to extend warm birthday wishes to Margaret Thatcher today. Baroness Thatcher continues to remain a role model to many people, particularly women, around the world. Her career is a collection of "firsts."
She was the youngest female Conservative Party member to stand for election in history, she was the first woman to hold the title Leader of the Opposition, and she was the first woman to become Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
As Prime Minister, she took an active role in defending economic freedom and democratic ideals.
As Prime Minister, she took an active role in defending economic freedom and democratic ideals.
Her push to privatize British industry and lower tax rates led to a substantial economic expansion in the United Kingdom.
She was just as influential in foreign policy.
Along with President Ronald Reagan and Pope John Paul II, Prime Minister Thatcher recognized the evil of Communism and worked tirelessly to erode the power and influence of the Soviet Union.
Her life and career serve as a blueprint for overcoming the odds and challenging the "status quo."
Her life and career serve as a blueprint for overcoming the odds and challenging the "status quo."
She started life as a grocer's daughter from Grantham and rose to become Prime Minister - all by her own merit and hard work.
I cherish the accomplishments of Margaret Thatcher and will always count her as one of my role models.
- Sarah Palin
- Sarah Palin
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October 6, 2009
The British newspaper The Independent reported today that Gulf oil producers were negotiating with Russia, China, Japan and France to replace the dollar in pricing oil with a basket of currencies.[1] According to the Wall Street Journal, Arab oil officials have denied the story, but even the possibility of such a talk weakens the dollar and renews fears about its continued viability as an international reserve currency.[2] In fact, today a United Nations official called for a new global reserve currency to replace the dollar and end our “privilege” to run up huge deficits.[3] We can see the effect of this in the price of gold, which hit a record high today in response to fears about the weakened dollar.[4]
All of this is a result of our out-of-control debt. This is why we need to rein in spending, and this is also why we need energy independence. A weakened dollar means higher commodity prices. This will make it more difficult to pay our bills – including the bill to import oil.
In his book Architects of Ruin, Peter Schweizer points out that the Obama administration is focusing primarily on “green energy," while ignoring our need to develop our domestic conventional energy resources.[5] We’re ignoring the looming crisis caused by our dependence on foreign oil. Because we’re dependent on foreign nations for our oil, we’re also at their mercy if they decide to dump the dollar as their trade currency. We can’t allow ourselves to be so vulnerable to the whims of foreign nations. That’s why we must develop our own domestic supplies of oil and gas.
Though the chant of “Drill, baby, drill” was much derided, it expressed the need to confront this issue head-on before it reaches a crisis point.
Bottom line: let’s stop digging ourselves into debt and start drilling for energy independence.
- Sarah Palin
[3] See http://www.breitbart.com/a
[5] See http://www.peterschweizer.
*Note: Schweizer’s book is a real eye-opener. The sections on ACORN are quite informative.
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October 6, 2009
For two years as a candidate, Senator Obama called for more resources for the war in Afghanistan and warned about the consequences of failure. As President, he announced a comprehensive new counterinsurgency strategy and handpicked the right general to execute it. Now General McChrystal is asking for additional troops to implement the strategy announced by President Obama in March. Hundreds of thousands of Americans have sons, daughters, fathers, mothers, sisters and brothers in harm's way in Afghanistan right now. We owe it to all those brave Americans serving in uniform to give them the tools they need to complete their mission.
We can win in Afghanistan by helping the Afghans build a stable representative state able to defend itself. And we must do what it takes to prevail. The stakes are very high. The 9/11 attacks were planned in Afghanistan, and if we are not successful there, al Qaeda will once again find a safe haven, the Taliban will impose its cruelty on the Afghan people, and Pakistan will be less stable.
Our allies and our adversaries are watching to see if we have the staying power to protect our interests in Afghanistan. I recently joined a group of Americans in urging President Obama to devote the resources necessary in Afghanistan and pledged to support him if he made the right decision. Now is not the time for cold feet, second thoughts, or indecision -- it is the time to act as commander-in-chief and approve the troops so clearly needed in Afghanistan.
- Sarah Palin
- - - - - - - - - - September 24, 2009
Todd and I would like to offer our best wishes to the Jewish community as they celebrate the High Holy Days. With the celebration of the Jewish New Year this week and the observance of the Day of Atonement next week, we are reminded of the hopeful commitment to renewal and peace exemplified by the Jewish tradition and the Jewish people throughout history.
Yom Kippur, the most solemn and important of the Jewish holy days, is a time of reflection and supplication for forgiveness. The timeless human struggle to promote justice, harmony, and peace is seen here in this process of atonement – in humbly seeking pardon for past wrongs in the hope of a new beginning. It reminds us that if we wish to co-exist globally, we must all strive for forgiveness and tolerance.
A speech was given at the United Nations General Assembly yesterday that was full of hateful anti-Semitic rhetoric. It was a shameful display before a body whose very charter is premised on the need for co-operation and harmony in pursuit of peaceful co-existence between nations. Such talk was especially abhorrent coming as it did during the Jewish High Holidays. The world community must speak with one voice in declaring anti-Semitism and all forms of intolerance and racism utterly unacceptable. There is no place in the community of peace-loving nations for those who traffic in hate or deny the terrible atrocity of the Nazi Holocaust.
In this holy season, we join the Jewish people in the struggle to promote justice, harmony, and peace. May God bless them.
- Sarah Palin
September 23, 2009
Many have asked to see my remarks as presented in Hong Kong. Here is an excerpt:
So far, I’ve given you the view from Main Street, USA. But now I’d like to share with you how a Common Sense Conservative sees the world at large.
Later this year, we will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall – an event that changed not just Europe but the entire world. In a matter of months, millions of people in formerly captive nations were freed to pursue their individual and national ambitions.
The competition that defined the post World War II era was suddenly over. What was once called “the free world” had so much to celebrate – the peaceful end to a great power rivalry and the liberation of so many from tyranny’s grip.
Some, you could say, took the celebration too far. Many spoke of a “peace dividend,” of the need to focus on domestic issues and spend less time, attention and money on endeavors overseas. Many saw a peaceful future, where globalization would break down borders and lead to greater global prosperity. Some argued that state sovereignty would fade – like that was a good thing? – that new non-governmental actors and old international institutions would become dominant in the new world order.
As we all know, that did not happen. Unfortunately, there was no shortage of warning signs that the end of the Cold War did not mean the end of history or the end of conflict. In Europe, the breakup of Yugoslavia resulted in brutal wars in the Balkans. In the Middle East, a war was waged to reverse Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait. North Korea’s nuclear program nearly led to military conflict. In Africa, U.S. embassies were bombed by a group called al Qaeda.
Two weeks ago, America commemorated the 8th anniversary of the savagery of September 11, 2001. The vicious terrorist attacks of that day made clear that what happened in lands far distant from American shores directly affect our security. We came to learn, if we did not know before, that there were violent fanatics who sought not just to kill innocents, but to end our way of life. Their attacks have not been limited to the United States.
They attacked targets in Europe, North Africa and throughout the Middle East. Here in Asia, they killed more than 200 in a single attack in Bali. They bombed the Marriott Hotel and the Australian Embassy in Jakarta. Last year in Mumbai, more than 170 were killed in coordinated attacks in the heart of India’s financial capital. In this struggle with radical Islamic extremists, no part of the world is safe from those who bomb, maim and kill in the service of their twisted vision.
This war – and that is what it is, a war – is not, as some have said, a clash of civilizations. We are not at war with Islam. This is a war within Islam, where a small minority of violent killers seeks to impose their view on the vast majority of Muslims who want the same things all of us want: economic opportunity, education, and the chance to build a better life for themselves and their families. The reality is that al Qaeda and its affiliates have killed scores of innocent Muslim men, women and children.
The reality is that Muslims from Algeria, Indonesia, Iraq, Afghanistan and many other countries are fighting al Qaeda and their allies today. But this will be a long war, and it will require far more than just military power to prevail. Just as we did in the Cold War, we will need to use all the tools at our disposal – hard and soft power. Economic development, public diplomacy, educational exchanges, and foreign assistance will be just as important as the instruments of military power.
During the election campaign in the U.S. last year, you might have noticed we had some differences over Iraq. John McCain and I believed in the strength of the surge strategy – because of its success, Iraq is no longer the central front in the war on terrorism. Afghanistan is. Afghanistan is where the 9/11 attacks were planned and if we are not successful in Afghanistan, al Qaeda will once again find safe haven there. As a candidate and in office, President Obama called Afghanistan the “necessary war” and pledged to provide the resources needed to prevail. However, prominent voices in the Democratic Party are opposing the additional U.S. ground forces that are clearly needed.
Speaker of the House Pelosi, Defense Subcommittee Chairman Murtha, the Senate Armed Services Committee Chair, and many others, recently expressed doubts about sending additional forces! President Obama will face a decision soon when the U.S. Commander in Afghanistan requests additional forces to implement his new counterinsurgency strategy.
We can win in Afghanistan by helping the Afghans build a stable representative state able to defend itself. And we must do what it takes to prevail. The stakes are very high. Last year, in the midst of the U.S. debate over what do to in Iraq, an important voice was heard – from Asia’s Wise Man, former Singaporean Prime Minister, Lee Kuan Yew, who wrote in the Washington Post about the cost of retreat in Iraq. In that article, he prophetically addressed the stakes in Afghanistan.
He wrote:
He wrote:
“The Taliban is again gathering strength, and a Taliban victory in Afghanistan or Pakistan would reverberate throughout the Muslim world. It would influence the grand debate among Muslims on the future of Islam. A severely retrograde form of Islam would be seen to have defeated modernity twice: first the Soviet Union, then the United States. There would be profound consequences, especially in the campaign against terrorism.”
That statesman’s words remain every bit as true today. And Minister Lee knows, and I agree, that our success in Afghanistan will have consequences all over the world, including Asia. Our allies and our adversaries are watching to see if we have the staying power to protect our interests in Afghanistan. That is why I recently joined a group of Americans in urging President Obama to devote the resources necessary in Afghanistan and pledged to support him if he made the right decision.
That is why, even during this time of financial distress we need to maintain a strong defense. All government spending should undergo serious scrutiny. No programs or agencies should be automatically immune from cuts.
We need to go back to fiscal discipline and unfortunately that has not been the view of the current Administration. They’re spending everywhere and with disregard for deficits and debts and our future economic competitiveness. Though we are engaged in two wars and face a diverse array of threats, it is the defense budget that has seen significant program cuts and has actually been reduced from current levels!
First, the Defense Department received only ½ of 1 % of the nearly trillion dollar Stimulus Package funding – even though many military projects fit the definition of “shovel-ready.” In this Administration’s first defense budget request for 2010, important programs were reduced or cancelled. As the threat of ballistic missiles from countries like North Korea and Iran grow, missile defense was slashed.
Despite the need to move men and material by air into theaters like Afghanistan, the Obama Administration sought to end production of our C-17s, the work horse of our ability to project long range power. Despite the Air Force saying it would increase future risk, the Obama Administration successfully sought to end F-22 production – at a time when both Russia and China are acquiring large numbers of next generation fighter aircraft. It strikes me as odd that Defense Secretary Gates is the only member of the Cabinet to be tasked with tightening his belt.
Now in the region I want to emphasize today: The reason I speak about defense is because our strong defense posture in Asia has helped keep the region safe and allowed it to prosper. Our Asian allies get nervous if they think we are weakening our security commitments. I worry about defense cuts not because I expect war but because I so badly want peace. And the region has enjoyed peace for so long because of our security commitment to our longstanding allies and partners.
Asia has been one of the world’s great success stories. It is a region where America needs to assist with right mix of hard and soft power. While I have so much hope for a bright future in Asia, in a region this dynamic, we must always be prepared for other contingencies. We must work at this – work with our allies to ensure the region’s continued peace and prosperity.
I know that you all -- like all of Asia and indeed the whole world – has a keen interest in the emergence of “China as a great power.” Over the past few decades China’s economic growth has been remarkable. So has the economic growth and political liberalization of all of our key allies in Asia, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. Asia’s economic growth and political development, together with our forward military presence in the region and strong alliances, have allowed the region to prosper in peace for a long time. We hope that Asia will continue to be an engine of world economic growth, will continue to democratize and will remain at peace.
Our future is now deeply linked to Asia’s success. Our children’s future. We must continue to strengthen our key alliance with Japan, a country going through its own democratic change. Together the U.S. and Japan built the security umbrella under which so many Asians prospered. While there is so much attention to China these days, we cannot forget the importance of Japan in helping to make this the “Pacific Century.”
The recent elections in Japan demonstrated that voters wanted reform and an end to debt and stagnation. We have a substantial stake in Japan’s success -- our alliance with must continue to be the linchpin of regional security.
With its open political system and vibrant democracy, South Korea wants to play a larger role on the international stage as well. Of course it wants us to work together toward a future where the peninsula is irreversibly denuclearized, and unified. But it also wants to play a global role. We need to work together with Japan, South Korea and our steadfast ally to the south, Australia, to make sure Asia remains peaceful and prosperous.
Australia rightly reminds us to keep our eye on Southeast Asia, where Indonesia has proved that Islam and democracy can co-exist. Indonesia has fought extremism inside its own border and is consolidating a multi-ethnic democracy that is home to hundreds of millions of Muslims. Those who say Islam and democracy are incompatible insult our friends in Indonesia.
Our great democratic friend India is also “looking East”, seeking a greater role in East Asia as well. Together with our allies we must help integrate India into Asia. If we do so we will have yet another strong democracy driving Asia’s economy and working on shared problems such as proliferation and extremism. And we must continue working with the region’s most dynamic economy, China. We all hope that China’s stated policy of a “Peaceful Rise” will be its future course.
You know better than most the enormous change that has taken place in China over the last thirty years. Hundreds of millions of Chinese have been pulled out of poverty as China has undertaken economic reforms that have resulted in unprecedented growth. Even today, China’s economy is projected to grow by some 8%. It is helping to edge the world out of recession.
China has amassed huge financial reserves. Chinese diplomats are engaged on every continent and, through its vote on the United Nations Security Council, China has become critical in gaining UN support on multilateral issues from Darfur to Iran to North Korea.
Just four years ago, then-Deputy Secretary of State Bob Zoellick urged China to become a “responsible stakeholder” in the international system. He observed the many benefits to China of a “benign international environment.”
The peaceful regional environment that China has enjoyed was created through the hard work of Americans, Japanese, South Koreans and Australians. Secretary Zoellick urged China to step up and play its role too. We are working with China to de-nuclearize North Korea. But to be a responsible member of the international community China should exert greater pressure on North Korea to denuclearize and undergo the fundamental reforms it needs. Zoellick urged China to play a greater role in stabilizing the international energy market by ceasing its support of dangerous regimes.
China could play a role in stabilizing its ally Pakistan, and working for peace in Afghanistan. There are many areas where the U.S. and China can work together. And, we would welcome a China that wanted to assume a more responsible and active role in international politics.
But Secretary Zoellick also noted that many of China’s actions create risk and uncertainty. These uncertainties led nations to “hedge” their relations with China because, in Zoellick’s words: “Many countries HOPE China will pursue a ‘Peaceful Rise’ but NONE will bet their future on it.”
See: this is the heart of the issue with China: we engage with the hope Beijing becomes a responsible stakeholder, but we must takes steps in the event it does not. See? We all hope to see a China that is stable, peaceful, prosperous and free. But we must also work with our allies in the region and the world in the event China goes in a direction that causes regional instability.
Asia is at its best when it is not dominated by a single power. In seeking Asia’s continued peace and prosperity, we should seek, as we did in Europe, an Asia “whole and free” – free from domination by any one power, prospering in open and free markets, and settling political differences at ballot boxes and negotiating tables.
We can, must and should work with a “rising China” to address issues of mutual concern. But we also need to work with our allies in addressing the uncertainties created by China’s rise. We simply CANNOT turn a blind eye to Chinese policies and actions that can undermine international peace and security.
China has some 1000 missiles aimed at Taiwan and no serious observer believes Taiwan poses a military threat to Beijing. Those same Chinese forces make our friends in Japan and Australia nervous. China provides support for some of the world’s most questionable regimes from Sudan to Burma to Zimbabwe. China’s military buildup raises concerns from Delhi to Tokyo because it has taken place in the absence of any discernable external threat.
China, along with Russia, has repeatedly undermined efforts to impose tougher sanctions on Iran for its defiance of the international community in pursuing its nuclear program. The Chinese food and product safety record has raised alarms from East Asia and Europe to the United States. And, domestic incidents of unrest -- from the protests of Uighurs and Tibetans, to Chinese workers throughout the country rightfully make us nervous.
It is very much in our interest and the interest of regional stability that China work out its own contradictions – between a dynamic and entrepreneurial private sector on the one hand and a one party state unwilling or unable to adjust to its own society’s growing needs and desires and demands, including a human being’s innate desire for freedom.
I do not cite these issues out of any hostility toward China. Quite the contrary, I and all Americans of good faith hope for the Chinese people’s success. We welcome the rise that can be so good for all mankind. We simply urge China to rise responsibly. I simply believe we cannot ignore areas of disagreement as we seek to move forward on areas of agreement. Believe me, China does not hesitate to tell us when it thinks we are in the wrong.
I mentioned China’s internal contradictions. They should concern us all. We hear many Chinese voices throughout that great country calling out for more freedom, and for greater justice. Twenty years ago, many believed that as China liberalized its economy, greater political freedom would naturally follow. Unfortunately that has not come to pass.
Ummm, in fact, it seems China has taken great pains to learn what it sees as “the lesson” of the fall on the Berlin Wall and the demise of the Soviet Union: any easing of political constraints can inevitably spin out of control. But, in many ways, it is the essence of China’s political system that leads to concerns about its rise.
Think about it. How many books and articles have been written about the dangers of India’s rise? Almost as large as China – and soon to be more populous – virtually no one worries about the security implications of India becoming a great power – just as a century ago the then-preeminent power, Great Britain, worried little about the rise of America to great power status. My point is that the more politically open and just China is, the more Chinese citizens of every ethnicity will settle disputes in courts rather than on the streets. The more open it is, the less we will be concerned about its military build-up and intentions. The more transparent China is, the more likely it is they we will find a true and lasting friendship based on shared values as well as interests.
I am not talking about some U.S.-led “democracy crusade.” We cannot impose our values on other counties. Nor should we seek to. But the ideas of freedom, liberty and respect for human rights are not U.S. ideas, they are much more than that. They are enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and many other international covenants and treaties. They apply to citizens in Shanghai as much as they do to citizens in Johannesburg or Jakarta. And demands for liberty in China are Chinese, not American, demands.
Just last year, many brave Chinese signed Charter 08, a Chinese document modeled on the great Czech statesman Vlacav Havel’s Charter 77. Charter 08 would not be unfamiliar to our Founding Fathers and was endorsed by Havel himself. No, we need not convince the Chinese people that they have inalienable rights. They are calling for those rights themselves. But we do have to worry about a China where the government suppresses the liberties its people hold dear.
Just last year, many brave Chinese signed Charter 08, a Chinese document modeled on the great Czech statesman Vlacav Havel’s Charter 77. Charter 08 would not be unfamiliar to our Founding Fathers and was endorsed by Havel himself. No, we need not convince the Chinese people that they have inalienable rights. They are calling for those rights themselves. But we do have to worry about a China where the government suppresses the liberties its people hold dear.
Nothing of what I am saying should be seen as meaning conflict with China is inevitable. Quite the contrary. As I said, we welcome China’s responsible rise. America and China stood together against fascism during World War II, before ravages took over in China – we were ready to stand together with China to shape international politics after World War II. Much has been accomplished since President Nixon’s fateful visit. And again, we stand ready to work with what we hope will be a more open and responsible China on the challenges facing the 21st century.
All of you here know how deeply integrated the economies of the United States’ and China’s are. We rely on each other, sometimes unfortunately in unhealthy ways. America spends too much that we don’t have, and then we go to China as a lender of first resort. Our fiscal policy, lately, seems to be “tax, spend, borrow, tax some more, repeat” and then complain about how much debt China holds. America needs to gets its own fiscal house in order. That’s a Common Sense Conservative perspective. We can hardly complain that China holds so much of our debt when it’s over spending that created the debt.
But here’s the reality. If in fact the United States does the “right” thing – if we spend less and save more – then China will also have to rebalance its economy. We need to export more to China – and we’d like China to consume more of our goods – just as we need to save and invest more. This vital process – so crucial to both countries – is impeded by problems of market access.
We must talk about these issues with more candor. If China adopts policies that keep our highest value products out of their markets, by manipulating technical standards or licensing requirements, our economic relationship suffers.
Our economic interdependence drives our relationship with China. I see a future of more trade with China and more American high-tech goods in China. But in order for that to happen, we need China to improve its rule of law and protect our intellectual property. We need to avoid protectionism and China’s flirtation with state-assisted “national champions.” On our part, we should be more open to Chinese investment where our national security interests are not threatened. In the end, though, our economic relationship will truly thrive when Chinese citizens and foreign corporations can hold the Chinese government accountable when their actions are unjust.
I see a bright future for America in Asia. One based on the alliances that have gotten us this far, one based on free and open markets, one that integrates democratic India into East Asia’s political life and one in which China decides to be a responsible member of the international community and gives its people the liberty – the freedom – they so desperately want.
Sadly, however, our largest free trade agreement ever in Asia, with South Korea, sits frozen in the Congress. In contrast, China is behaving wisely in negotiating free trade agreements throughout Asia. We want an Asia open to our goods and services. But if we do not get our free trade act together, we will be shut out by agreements Asians our making among themselves.
All of you here follow global financial markets and economic policy closely, I know that it will come as no surprise to you that United States leadership on global trade and investment is being sorely tested at this moment.
We are struggling with a monumental debate on whether fiscal discipline, or massive government spending, will drive a sustained recovery. We are struggling to repair the excesses that grew in our own economy and served as a trigger to a catastrophic collapse in the global financial system. And we are attempting to do so under the weight of a global imbalance of debt and trade deficits that are not only unbearable for the world’s mightiest economy, but also unacceptable in that they foster tensions between global economic partners like the United States and China.
I am proud to be an American.
As someone who has had the tremendous opportunity to travel throughout the United States and listen to the concerns of Americans in towns and cities across the country, I can tell you that there is a sense of despair and even crisis afoot in America that has the potential to shape our global investment and trade policies for years, and even decades to come. Never has the leadership of our government ever been more critical to keeping my country, and the world, on a path to openness, growth and opportunity in global trade and investment.
As someone who has had the tremendous opportunity to travel throughout the United States and listen to the concerns of Americans in towns and cities across the country, I can tell you that there is a sense of despair and even crisis afoot in America that has the potential to shape our global investment and trade policies for years, and even decades to come. Never has the leadership of our government ever been more critical to keeping my country, and the world, on a path to openness, growth and opportunity in global trade and investment.
It would of course be a mistake to put the entire burden of restoring the global economy on the backs of America’s leaders. There is plenty of work for all of us to do in this matter. Governments around the world must resist the siren call of trade protection to bring short term relief during a time of crisis.
Those who use currency policy or subsidies to promote their nation’s exports should remain acutely aware that if there ever were a time in which such policies could be viewed as “tolerable,” that time has now passed. All participants who seek to find benefit in the global trading system must also take the responsibility of playing by the rules.
The private sector has responsibilities as well. For instance, it should not be the responsibility of government to dictate the salaries of bankers or the ownership of companies. And yet, due of the excesses committed by some, this is exactly where we find ourselves now because government now owns substantial portions of the private economy – even, unbelievably, in the United States.
These are challenging times for everyone, but we in the United States must humbly recognize that if we are to lead and to set the direction for the rest of the world, it must be by our example and not merely our words. And we must tread lightly when imposing new burdens on the imports of other countries.
Well, CLSA: My country is definitely at a crossroad. Polling in the U.S. shows a majority of Americans no longer believe that their children will have a better future than they have had...that is a 1st.
When members of America’s greatest generation – the World War II generation – lose their homes and their life savings because their retirement funds were wiped after the financial collapse, people feel a great anger. There is suddenly a growing sentiment to just “throw the bums out” of Washington, D.C. – and by bums they mean the Republicans and the Democrats.
Americans are suffering from pay cuts and job losses, and they want to know why their elected leaders are not tightening their belts. It’s not lost on people that Congress voted to exempt themselves from the health care plan they are thrusting on the rest of the nation. There is a growing sense of frustration on Main Street. But even in the midst of crisis and despair, we see signs of hope.
Americans are suffering from pay cuts and job losses, and they want to know why their elected leaders are not tightening their belts. It’s not lost on people that Congress voted to exempt themselves from the health care plan they are thrusting on the rest of the nation. There is a growing sense of frustration on Main Street. But even in the midst of crisis and despair, we see signs of hope.
In fact, it’s a sea change in America, I believe. Recently, there have been protests by ordinary Americans who marched on Washington to demand their government stop spending away their future. Large numbers of ordinary, middle-class Democrats, Republicans, and Independents from all over the country marching on Washington?! You know something’s up!
These are the same people who flocked to the town halls this summer to face their elected officials who were home on hiatus from that distant capital and were now confronted with the people they represent. Big town hall meetings – video clips circulating coverage – people watching, feeling not so alone anymore.
The town halls and the Tea Party movement are both part of a growing grassroots consciousness among ordinary Americans who’ve decided that if they want real change, they must take the lead and not wait to be led. Real change – and, you know, you don’t need a title to do it.
The “Tea Party Movement” is aptly named to remind people of the American Revolution – of colonial patriots who shook off the yoke of a distant government and declared their freedom from indifferent – elitist – rulers who limited their progress and showed them no respect. Today, Main Street Americans see Washington in similar terms.
When my country again achieves financial stability and economic growth – when we roar back to life as we shall do – it will be thanks in large part to the hard work and common sense of these ordinary Americans who are demanding that government spend less and tax less and allow the private sector to grow and prosper.
We’re not interested in government fixes; we’re interested in freedom! Freedom! Our vision is forward looking. People may be frustrated now, but we’re very hopeful too.
And, after all, why shouldn’t we be? We’re Americans. We’re always hopeful.
Thank you for letting me share some of that hope, and a view from Main Street with you.
God Bless You.
God Bless You.
- - - - - - - - - -
September 17, 2009
Constitution Day
“The Constitution of the United States was created by the people of the United States composing the respective states, who alone had the right.” - James Madison
Today marks the 222nd anniversary of the formation and signing of our Constitution.
Today marks the 222nd anniversary of the formation and signing of our Constitution.
The United States Constitution is one of the greatest founding documents in history because it charted a bold new path in the realm of political theory. Not only does the Constitution establish checks and balances within the federal government, it also divides power among the federal government, the states, and the people.
The Founders understood that it is the nature of government to grow at the expense of the people’s liberty; and with that in mind, they established a form of government that would be limited in scope and power in order to maximize power to the people.
Today, let’s also take the opportunity to thank our armed forces. The weight of defending our liberty rests on their shoulders, and because of their efforts and sacrifice, we can celebrate the 222nd anniversary of the formation of our Constitution.
- Sarah Palin
Today, let’s also take the opportunity to thank our armed forces. The weight of defending our liberty rests on their shoulders, and because of their efforts and sacrifice, we can celebrate the 222nd anniversary of the formation of our Constitution.
- Sarah Palin
- - - - - - - - - -
September 11, 2009
Remembering 9/11: We Are Americans
It has been eight years since the United States suffered the worst attack on our soil since Pearl Harbor. As we look back, we should take stock of what has transpired since then. We have sent our nation's soldiers into battlefields far from home to defend us. These brave men and women live in treacherous conditions, facing improvised roadside bombs, suicide bombers and other attacks. Yet they fight on in their mission to defend the United States and all of us without complaint.
Our all-volunteer service is made up of Americans of all races, creeds, and economic backgrounds. These soldiers are on the front lines of this battle, and there are others in the fight as well. We must continue to give our utmost support to the United States military and those that support their efforts. In light of this, I have added my name to a letter sent to President Obama urging him to remain committed to prosecuting the War on Terror in Afghanistan. Never have so few defended the liberty of so many. We must continue to support their mission because they will continue to fight for us.
President Reagan ended his first inaugural with this story:
Our all-volunteer service is made up of Americans of all races, creeds, and economic backgrounds. These soldiers are on the front lines of this battle, and there are others in the fight as well. We must continue to give our utmost support to the United States military and those that support their efforts. In light of this, I have added my name to a letter sent to President Obama urging him to remain committed to prosecuting the War on Terror in Afghanistan. Never have so few defended the liberty of so many. We must continue to support their mission because they will continue to fight for us.
President Reagan ended his first inaugural with this story:
Under one such marker lies a young man-Martin Treptow-who left his job in a small town barber shop in 1917 to go to France with the famed Rainbow Division. There, on the western front, he was killed trying to carry a message between battalions under heavy artillery fire.
We are told that on his body was found a diary. On the flyleaf under the heading, "My Pledge," he had written these words:
"America must win this war.
Therefore, I will work, I will save, I will sacrifice, I will endure, I will fight cheerfully and do my utmost, as if the issue of the whole struggle depended on me alone."
The crisis we are facing today does not require of us the kind of sacrifice that Martin Treptow and so many thousands of others were called upon to make.
It does require, however, our best effort, and our willingness to believe in ourselves and to believe in our capacity to perform great deeds; to believe that together, with God's help, we can and will resolve the problems which now confront us.
And, after all, why shouldn't we believe that? We are Americans.
God bless you, and thank you.As we look back to that tragic day eight years ago we take pride in the fact that we came together as a nation in the days, months and years that followed. We rose to the challenge that fateful day and we still can.
And why shouldn't we believe that? We are Americans.I thank all our servicemen and women, in and out of uniform, for keeping us safe over the last eight years in the face of enormous odds.
Please thank a veteran today. They certainly do not look for those thanks, but they have more than earned it.
- Sarah Palin
- - - - - - - - - -
September 10, 2009
Ride2Recovery Charity Auction
Ride 2 Recovery has launched an online auction to help our nation's wounded warriors. Todd and I are so happy to help such a worthy organization. Please click on this link to view the auction and begin bidding - and, as always, thanks for all your support.
-Sarah Palin
100% of proceeds from this auction will benefit the Ride 2 Recovery program whose mission is to improve the health and wellness of wounded warriors by providing a life changing experience that can impact their lives forever.
- - - - - - - - - -
September 9, 2009
Response to the President's Health Care Speech
Response to the President's Health Care Speech
After all the rhetoric is put aside, one principle ran through President Obama’s speech tonight: that increased government involvement in health care can solve its problems.
Many Americans fundamentally disagree with this idea. We know from long experience that the creation of a massive new bureaucracy will not provide us with “more stability and security,” but just the opposite. It's hard to believe the President when he says that this time he and his team of bureaucrats have finally figured out how to do things right if only we’ll take them at their word.
Our objections to the Democrats’ health care proposals are not mere “bickering” or “games.” They are not an attempt to “score short term political points.” And it’s hard to listen to the President lecture us not to use “scare tactics” when in the next breath he says that “more will die” if his proposals do not pass.
In his speech the President directly responded to concerns I’ve raised about unelected bureaucrats being given power to make decisions affecting life or death health care matters. He called these concerns “bogus,” “irresponsible,” and “a lie” -- so much for civility. After all the name-calling, though, what he did not do is respond to the arguments we’ve made, arguments even some of his own supporters have agreed have merit.
In fact, after promising to “make sure that no government bureaucrat .... gets between you and the health care you need,” the President repeated his call for an Independent Medicare Advisory Council -- an unelected, largely unaccountable group of bureaucrats charged with containing Medicare costs. He did not disavow his own statement that such a group, working outside of “normal political channels,” should guide decisions regarding that “huge driver of cost ... the chronically ill and those toward the end of their lives....” He did not disavow the statements of his health care advisor, Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, and continuing to pay his salary with taxpayer dollars proves a commitment to his beliefs. The President can keep making unsupported assertions, but until he directly responds to the arguments I’ve made, I’m going to call him out too.
It was heartening to hear the President finally recognize that tort reform is an important part of any solution. But this concession shouldn’t lead us to take our eye off the ball: the Democrats’ proposals will not reduce costs, and they will not deliver better health care. It’s this kind of “healthy skepticism of government” that truly reflects a “concern and regard for the plight of others.” We can’t wait to hear the details on that; we look forward to working with you on tort reform.
Finally, President Obama delivered an offhand applause line tonight about the cost of the War on Terror. As we approach the anniversary of the September 11th attacks and honor those who died that day and those who have died since in the War on Terror, in order to secure our freedoms, we need to remember their sacrifices and not demonize them as having had too high a price tag.
Remember, Mr. President, elected officials work for the people. Forcing a conclusion in order to claim a “victory” is not healthy for our country. We hear you say government isn’t always the answer; now hear us -- that’s what we’ve been saying all along.
- Sarah Palin
Many Americans fundamentally disagree with this idea. We know from long experience that the creation of a massive new bureaucracy will not provide us with “more stability and security,” but just the opposite. It's hard to believe the President when he says that this time he and his team of bureaucrats have finally figured out how to do things right if only we’ll take them at their word.
Our objections to the Democrats’ health care proposals are not mere “bickering” or “games.” They are not an attempt to “score short term political points.” And it’s hard to listen to the President lecture us not to use “scare tactics” when in the next breath he says that “more will die” if his proposals do not pass.
In his speech the President directly responded to concerns I’ve raised about unelected bureaucrats being given power to make decisions affecting life or death health care matters. He called these concerns “bogus,” “irresponsible,” and “a lie” -- so much for civility. After all the name-calling, though, what he did not do is respond to the arguments we’ve made, arguments even some of his own supporters have agreed have merit.
In fact, after promising to “make sure that no government bureaucrat .... gets between you and the health care you need,” the President repeated his call for an Independent Medicare Advisory Council -- an unelected, largely unaccountable group of bureaucrats charged with containing Medicare costs. He did not disavow his own statement that such a group, working outside of “normal political channels,” should guide decisions regarding that “huge driver of cost ... the chronically ill and those toward the end of their lives....” He did not disavow the statements of his health care advisor, Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, and continuing to pay his salary with taxpayer dollars proves a commitment to his beliefs. The President can keep making unsupported assertions, but until he directly responds to the arguments I’ve made, I’m going to call him out too.
It was heartening to hear the President finally recognize that tort reform is an important part of any solution. But this concession shouldn’t lead us to take our eye off the ball: the Democrats’ proposals will not reduce costs, and they will not deliver better health care. It’s this kind of “healthy skepticism of government” that truly reflects a “concern and regard for the plight of others.” We can’t wait to hear the details on that; we look forward to working with you on tort reform.
Finally, President Obama delivered an offhand applause line tonight about the cost of the War on Terror. As we approach the anniversary of the September 11th attacks and honor those who died that day and those who have died since in the War on Terror, in order to secure our freedoms, we need to remember their sacrifices and not demonize them as having had too high a price tag.
Remember, Mr. President, elected officials work for the people. Forcing a conclusion in order to claim a “victory” is not healthy for our country. We hear you say government isn’t always the answer; now hear us -- that’s what we’ve been saying all along.
- Sarah Palin
- - - - - - - - - -
September 9, 2009
Response to the White House
I'm pleased that the White House is finally responding to Republican health care ideas instead of pretending they don't exist.[1] But in doing so President Obama should follow his own sound advice and avoid making "wild misrepresentations".[2] Medicare vouchers would give everyone on Medicare the chance to decide for themselves which health plan to use, rather than leave that decision to government bureaucrats. Such proposals are the kind of health care reform that Republicans stand for: market-oriented, patient-centered, and result-driven.
The White House talking points leave the rest of my arguments unanswered. They don't respond to the idea that all individuals should get the same tax benefits received by those who get coverage through their employers; that we must reform our tort laws; and that we should allow Americans to buy insurance across state lines. The White House also fails to respond to the Nyce/Schieber study indicating that wages will fall if the government expands coverage without reducing health care inflation rates.
One last thing: after President Obama's speech tonight, listen for which pundits use the words "false", "scary", and "risky" in describing the proposals I put forward. That's how you'll be able to tell who the White House counted as "allies" worthy of receiving its talking points.
-Sarah Palin
[1] See http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0909/White_House_talking_points_blast_Palin.html
[2] See http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/16/opinion/16obama.html
The White House talking points leave the rest of my arguments unanswered. They don't respond to the idea that all individuals should get the same tax benefits received by those who get coverage through their employers; that we must reform our tort laws; and that we should allow Americans to buy insurance across state lines. The White House also fails to respond to the Nyce/Schieber study indicating that wages will fall if the government expands coverage without reducing health care inflation rates.
One last thing: after President Obama's speech tonight, listen for which pundits use the words "false", "scary", and "risky" in describing the proposals I put forward. That's how you'll be able to tell who the White House counted as "allies" worthy of receiving its talking points.
-Sarah Palin
[1] See http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0909/White_House_talking_points_blast_Palin.html
[2] See http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/16/opinion/16obama.html
- - - - - - - - - -
September 8, 2009
Written Testimony Submitted to the New York State Senate Aging Committee
Senator Reverend Ruben Diaz
Chair, New York Senate Aging Committee
Legislative Office Building
Room 307
Albany, NY 12247
September 8, 2009
RE: H.R. 3200: America’s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009 and Its Impact on Senior Citizens
Dear Senator Diaz,
Thank you for asking me to participate in the New York State Senate Aging Committee’s hearing regarding H.R. 3200, “America’s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009.” You and I share a commitment to ensuring that our health care system is not “reformed” at the expense of America’s senior citizens.
I have been vocal in my opposition to Section 1233 of H.R.3200, entitled “Advance Care Planning Consultation.”[1] Proponents of the bill have described this section as an entirely voluntary provision that simply increases the information offered to Medicare recipients. That is misleading. The issue is the context in which that information is provided and the coercive effect these consultations will have in that context.
Section 1233 authorizes advanced care planning consultations for senior citizens on Medicare every five years, and more often “if there is a significant change in the health condition of the individual … or upon admission to a skilled nursing facility, a long-term care facility… or a hospice program.”[2] During those consultations, practitioners are to explain “the continuum of end-of-life services and supports available, including palliative care and hospice,” and the government benefits available to pay for such services.[3]
To understand this provision fully, it must be read in context. These consultations are authorized whenever a Medicare recipient’s health changes significantly or when they enter a nursing home, and they are part of a bill whose stated purpose is “to reduce the growth in health care spending.”[4] Is it any wonder that senior citizens might view such consultations as attempts to convince them to help reduce health care costs by accepting minimal end-of-life care? As one commentator has noted, Section 1233 “addresses compassionate goals in disconcerting proximity to fiscal ones…. If it’s all about obviating suffering, emotional or physical, what’s it doing in a measure to ‘bend the curve’ on health-care costs?”[5]
As you stated in your letter to Congressman Henry Waxman of California:
Section 1233 of House Resolution 3200 puts our senior citizens on a slippery slope and may diminish respect for the inherent dignity of each of their lives…. It is egregious to consider that any senior citizen … should be placed in a situation where he or she would feel pressured to save the government money by dying a little sooner than he or she otherwise would, be required to be counseled about the supposed benefits of killing oneself, or be encouraged to sign any end of life directives that they would not otherwise sign.[6]
It is unclear whether section 1233 or a provision like it will remain part of any final health care bill. Regardless of its fate, the larger issue of rationed health care remains.
A great deal of attention was given to my use of the phrase “death panel” in discussing such rationing.[7] Despite repeated attempts by many in the media to dismiss this phrase as a “myth”, its accuracy has been vindicated. In the face of a nationwide public outcry, the Senate Finance Committee agreed to “drop end-of-life provisions from consideration entirely because of the way they could be misinterpreted and implemented incorrectly.”[8] Jim Towey, the former head of the White House Office of Faith-Based Initiatives, then called attention to what’s already occurring at the Department of Veteran’s Affairs, where “government bureaucrats are greasing the slippery slope that can start with cost containment but quickly become a systematic denial of care.”[9] Even Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson, a strong supporter of President Obama, agreed that “if the government says it has to control health care costs and then offers to pay doctors to give advice about hospice care, citizens are not delusional to conclude that the goal is to reduce end-of-life spending.”[10] And of course President Obama has not backed away from his support for the creation of an unelected, largely unaccountable Independent Medicare Advisory Council to help control Medicare costs; he had previously suggested that such a group should guide decisions regarding “that huge driver of cost . . . the chronically ill and those toward the end of their lives….”[11]
The fact is that any group of government bureaucrats that makes decisions affecting life or death is essentially a “death panel.” The work of Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, President Obama’s health policy advisor and the brother of his chief of staff, is particularly disturbing on this score. Dr. Emanuel has written extensively on the topic of rationed health care, describing a “Complete Lives System” for allotting medical care based on “a priority curve on which individuals aged between roughly 15 and 40 years get the most chance, whereas the youngest and oldest people get chances that are attenuated.”[12]
He also has written that some medical services should not be guaranteed to those “who are irreversibly prevented from being or becoming participating citizens…. An obvious example is not guaranteeing health services to patients with dementia.”[13]
Such ideas are shocking, but they could ultimately be used by government bureacrats to help determine the treatment of our loved ones. We must ensure that human dignity remains at the center of any proposed health care reform. Real health care reform would also follow free market principles, including the encouragement of health savings accounts; would remove the barriers to purchasing health insurance across state lines; and would include tort reform so as to potentially save billions each year in wasteful spending connected to the filing of frivolous lawsuits. H.R. 3200 is not the reform we are looking for.
Thank you for calling attention to this important matter. I look forward to working with you again to ensure that we keep the dignity of our senior citizens foremost in any health care discussion.
Sincerely,
Governor Sarah Palin
1 See http://edlabor.house.gov/d
2 See HR 3200 sec. 1233 (hhh)(1); sec. 1233 (hhh)(3)(B)(1), above.
3 See HR 3200 sec. 1233 (hhh)(1)(E), above.
4 See http://edlabor.house.gov/d
5 See http://www.washingtonpost.
6 See http://www.nysenate.gov/pr
7 See http://www.facebook.com/no
8 See http://thehill.com/homenew
9 See http://online.wsj.com/arti
10 See http://www.washingtonpost.
11 See http://www.nytimes.com/200
12 See http://www.scribd.com/doc/
13 See http://www.ncpa.org/pdfs/W
Chair, New York Senate Aging Committee
Legislative Office Building
Room 307
Albany, NY 12247
September 8, 2009
RE: H.R. 3200: America’s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009 and Its Impact on Senior Citizens
Dear Senator Diaz,
Thank you for asking me to participate in the New York State Senate Aging Committee’s hearing regarding H.R. 3200, “America’s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009.” You and I share a commitment to ensuring that our health care system is not “reformed” at the expense of America’s senior citizens.
I have been vocal in my opposition to Section 1233 of H.R.3200, entitled “Advance Care Planning Consultation.”[1] Proponents of the bill have described this section as an entirely voluntary provision that simply increases the information offered to Medicare recipients. That is misleading. The issue is the context in which that information is provided and the coercive effect these consultations will have in that context.
Section 1233 authorizes advanced care planning consultations for senior citizens on Medicare every five years, and more often “if there is a significant change in the health condition of the individual … or upon admission to a skilled nursing facility, a long-term care facility… or a hospice program.”[2] During those consultations, practitioners are to explain “the continuum of end-of-life services and supports available, including palliative care and hospice,” and the government benefits available to pay for such services.[3]
To understand this provision fully, it must be read in context. These consultations are authorized whenever a Medicare recipient’s health changes significantly or when they enter a nursing home, and they are part of a bill whose stated purpose is “to reduce the growth in health care spending.”[4] Is it any wonder that senior citizens might view such consultations as attempts to convince them to help reduce health care costs by accepting minimal end-of-life care? As one commentator has noted, Section 1233 “addresses compassionate goals in disconcerting proximity to fiscal ones…. If it’s all about obviating suffering, emotional or physical, what’s it doing in a measure to ‘bend the curve’ on health-care costs?”[5]
As you stated in your letter to Congressman Henry Waxman of California:
Section 1233 of House Resolution 3200 puts our senior citizens on a slippery slope and may diminish respect for the inherent dignity of each of their lives…. It is egregious to consider that any senior citizen … should be placed in a situation where he or she would feel pressured to save the government money by dying a little sooner than he or she otherwise would, be required to be counseled about the supposed benefits of killing oneself, or be encouraged to sign any end of life directives that they would not otherwise sign.[6]
It is unclear whether section 1233 or a provision like it will remain part of any final health care bill. Regardless of its fate, the larger issue of rationed health care remains.
A great deal of attention was given to my use of the phrase “death panel” in discussing such rationing.[7] Despite repeated attempts by many in the media to dismiss this phrase as a “myth”, its accuracy has been vindicated. In the face of a nationwide public outcry, the Senate Finance Committee agreed to “drop end-of-life provisions from consideration entirely because of the way they could be misinterpreted and implemented incorrectly.”[8] Jim Towey, the former head of the White House Office of Faith-Based Initiatives, then called attention to what’s already occurring at the Department of Veteran’s Affairs, where “government bureaucrats are greasing the slippery slope that can start with cost containment but quickly become a systematic denial of care.”[9] Even Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson, a strong supporter of President Obama, agreed that “if the government says it has to control health care costs and then offers to pay doctors to give advice about hospice care, citizens are not delusional to conclude that the goal is to reduce end-of-life spending.”[10] And of course President Obama has not backed away from his support for the creation of an unelected, largely unaccountable Independent Medicare Advisory Council to help control Medicare costs; he had previously suggested that such a group should guide decisions regarding “that huge driver of cost . . . the chronically ill and those toward the end of their lives….”[11]
The fact is that any group of government bureaucrats that makes decisions affecting life or death is essentially a “death panel.” The work of Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, President Obama’s health policy advisor and the brother of his chief of staff, is particularly disturbing on this score. Dr. Emanuel has written extensively on the topic of rationed health care, describing a “Complete Lives System” for allotting medical care based on “a priority curve on which individuals aged between roughly 15 and 40 years get the most chance, whereas the youngest and oldest people get chances that are attenuated.”[12]
He also has written that some medical services should not be guaranteed to those “who are irreversibly prevented from being or becoming participating citizens…. An obvious example is not guaranteeing health services to patients with dementia.”[13]
Such ideas are shocking, but they could ultimately be used by government bureacrats to help determine the treatment of our loved ones. We must ensure that human dignity remains at the center of any proposed health care reform. Real health care reform would also follow free market principles, including the encouragement of health savings accounts; would remove the barriers to purchasing health insurance across state lines; and would include tort reform so as to potentially save billions each year in wasteful spending connected to the filing of frivolous lawsuits. H.R. 3200 is not the reform we are looking for.
Thank you for calling attention to this important matter. I look forward to working with you again to ensure that we keep the dignity of our senior citizens foremost in any health care discussion.
Sincerely,
Governor Sarah Palin
1 See http://edlabor.house.gov/d
2 See HR 3200 sec. 1233 (hhh)(1); sec. 1233 (hhh)(3)(B)(1), above.
3 See HR 3200 sec. 1233 (hhh)(1)(E), above.
4 See http://edlabor.house.gov/d
5 See http://www.washingtonpost.
6 See http://www.nysenate.gov/pr
7 See http://www.facebook.com/no
8 See http://thehill.com/homenew
9 See http://online.wsj.com/arti
10 See http://www.washingtonpost.
11 See http://www.nytimes.com/200
12 See http://www.scribd.com/doc/
13 See http://www.ncpa.org/pdfs/W
- - - - - - - - - -
September 6, 2009
Shame on the Associated Press for Ignoring the Wishes of a Grieving Family
- - - - - - - - - - Many of us join Secretary Gates in condemning the Associated Press for its heartless and selfish decision to turn its back on the wishes of a grieving family in order to exploit the tragic death of a true American hero.
Lance Corporal Joshua 'Bernie' Bernard was a selfless young American who sacrificed everything for our freedom.
Shame on the AP for purposely adding to the grieving family's pain. Ignoring the family's wishes by publishing a sacred image of their loved one proved a despicable and heartless act by the AP. The family said they didn't want the photo published. AP, you did it anyway, and you know it was an evil thing to do.
Our thoughts and prayers are with the Bernard family. Words can not adequately express our sorrow and appreciation for your sacrifice. We will never forget your Marine or his fallen comrades.
May God bless the Bernard family.
-Sarah Palin
Lance Corporal Joshua 'Bernie' Bernard was a selfless young American who sacrificed everything for our freedom.
Shame on the AP for purposely adding to the grieving family's pain. Ignoring the family's wishes by publishing a sacred image of their loved one proved a despicable and heartless act by the AP. The family said they didn't want the photo published. AP, you did it anyway, and you know it was an evil thing to do.
Our thoughts and prayers are with the Bernard family. Words can not adequately express our sorrow and appreciation for your sacrifice. We will never forget your Marine or his fallen comrades.
May God bless the Bernard family.
-Sarah Palin
August 25, 2009
FOX News' Glenn Beck is doing an extraordinary job this week walking America behind the scenes of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and outlining who is actually running the White House.
Monday night he asked us to invite one friend to watch; tonight I invite all my friends to watch.
-Sarah Palin
FOX News' Glenn Beck is doing an extraordinary job this week walking America behind the scenes of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and outlining who is actually running the White House.
Monday night he asked us to invite one friend to watch; tonight I invite all my friends to watch.
-Sarah Palin
[my comment on Conservatives4Palin.com]
Art Telles said...
Sarah Says YES! To Glenn Beck...
Sarah probably saw this too...
The Cloward and Piven 'Strategy In A Nutshell' segment from the Monday show -
It is an excellent intro to the theme for this week... Obama KNOWS the result of a 'crisis' can be useful... and it probably includes multi-trillion dollar deficits and debt...
The Cloward and Piven strategy in a nutshell...
- take advantage of a 'crisis'...
- overwhelm the system [including enormous debt that mortgages future children]...
- bring the system down...
- build it back up again with a new system...
The BIG question... Is Obama deliberately implementing the strategy?
See... Sarah KNOWS... something's UP!!!
- - - - - - - - - -Sarah Says YES! To Glenn Beck...
Sarah probably saw this too...
The Cloward and Piven 'Strategy In A Nutshell' segment from the Monday show -
It is an excellent intro to the theme for this week... Obama KNOWS the result of a 'crisis' can be useful... and it probably includes multi-trillion dollar deficits and debt...
The Cloward and Piven strategy in a nutshell...
- take advantage of a 'crisis'...
- overwhelm the system [including enormous debt that mortgages future children]...
- bring the system down...
- build it back up again with a new system...
The BIG question... Is Obama deliberately implementing the strategy?
See... Sarah KNOWS... something's UP!!!
August 25, 2009
On the Passing of Senator Ted Kennedy:
I would like to extend our sympathies to the Kennedy family as we hear word about the passing of Senator Ted Kennedy. He believed in our country and fought passionately for his convictions.
-Sarah Palin and family
-Sarah Palin and family
- - - - - - - - - -
August 21, 2009
President Obama's health care "reform" plan has met with significant criticism across the country. Many Americans want change and reform in our current health care system. We recognize that while we have the greatest medical care in the world, there are major problems that we must face, especially in terms of reining in costs and allowing care to be affordable for all.
However, as we have seen, current plans being pushed by the Democratic leadership represent change that may not be what we had in mind -- change which poses serious ethical concerns over the government having control over our families’ health care decisions.
In addition, the current plans greatly increase costs of health care, while doing lip service toward controlling costs.
As Governor of Alaska, I learned a little bit about being a target for frivolous suits and complaints (Please, do I really need to footnote that?). I went my whole life without needing a lawyer on speed-dial, but all that changes when you become a target for opportunists and people with no scruples.
Our nation’s health care providers have been the targets of similar opportunists for years, and they too have found themselves subjected to false, frivolous, and baseless claims. To quote a former president, “I feel your pain.”
So what can we do?
First, we cannot have health care reform without tort reform. The two are intertwined.
For example, one supposed justification for socialized medicine is the high cost of health care. As Dr. Scott Gottlieb recently noted,
Two examples of these “economic structures” are high malpractice insurance premiums foisted on physicians (and ultimately passed on to consumers as “high health care costs”) and the billions wasted on defensive medicine.
Dr. Stuart Weinstein, with the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, recently explained the problem:
Dr. Weinstein makes good points, points completely ignored by President Obama.
Dr. Weinstein details the costs that our out-of-control tort system are causing the health care industry and notes research that
So I have new questions for the president:
Texas enacted caps and found that one county’s medical malpractice claims dropped 41 percent, and another study found a “55 percent decline” after reform measures were passed. [4]
That’s one step in health care reform.
Limiting lawyer contingency fees, as is done under the Federal Tort Claims Act, is another step.
The State of Alaska pioneered the “loser pays” rule in the United States, which deters frivolous civil law suits by making the loser partially pay the winner’s legal bills.
Preventing quack doctors from giving “expert” testimony in court against real doctors is another reform.
Texas Gov. Rick Perry noted that, after his state enacted tort reform measures, the number of doctors applying to practice medicine in Texas “skyrocketed by 57 percent” and that the tort reforms “brought critical specialties to underserved areas.”
These are real reforms that actually improve access to health care. [5]
Dr. Weinstein’s research shows that around $200 billion per year could be saved with legal reform. That’s real savings. That’s money that could be used to build roads, schools, or hospitals.
If you want to save health care, let’s listen to our doctors.
- Sarah Palin
[1] See http://online.wsj.com/arti
[2] See http://www.aaos.org/news/a
[3] Id.
[4] See http://www.abajournal.com/
[5] See http://www.washingtonexami
No Health Care Reform Without Legal Reform
President Obama's health care "reform" plan has met with significant criticism across the country. Many Americans want change and reform in our current health care system. We recognize that while we have the greatest medical care in the world, there are major problems that we must face, especially in terms of reining in costs and allowing care to be affordable for all.
However, as we have seen, current plans being pushed by the Democratic leadership represent change that may not be what we had in mind -- change which poses serious ethical concerns over the government having control over our families’ health care decisions.
In addition, the current plans greatly increase costs of health care, while doing lip service toward controlling costs.
We need to address a REAL bipartisan reform proposition
that will have REAL impacts on costs and quality of patient care.
that will have REAL impacts on costs and quality of patient care.
As Governor of Alaska, I learned a little bit about being a target for frivolous suits and complaints (Please, do I really need to footnote that?). I went my whole life without needing a lawyer on speed-dial, but all that changes when you become a target for opportunists and people with no scruples.
Our nation’s health care providers have been the targets of similar opportunists for years, and they too have found themselves subjected to false, frivolous, and baseless claims. To quote a former president, “I feel your pain.”
So what can we do?
First, we cannot have health care reform without tort reform. The two are intertwined.
For example, one supposed justification for socialized medicine is the high cost of health care. As Dr. Scott Gottlieb recently noted,
“If Mr. Obama is serious about lowering costs,
he'll need to reform the economic structures in medicine—especially programs like Medicare.” [1]
he'll need to reform the economic structures in medicine—especially programs like Medicare.” [1]
Two examples of these “economic structures” are high malpractice insurance premiums foisted on physicians (and ultimately passed on to consumers as “high health care costs”) and the billions wasted on defensive medicine.
Dr. Stuart Weinstein, with the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, recently explained the problem:
”The medical liability crisis has had many unintended consequences, most notably a decrease in access to care in a growing number of states and an increase in healthcare costs.
Access is affected as physicians move their practices to states with lower liability rates and change their practice patterns to reduce or eliminate high-risk services.
When one considers that
half of all neurosurgeons—
as well asone third of all orthopedic surgeons,
one third of all emergency physicians, and
one third of all trauma surgeons—
are sued each year, is it any wonder that
70 percent of emergency departments are at risk
because they lack available on-call specialist coverage?” [2]
Dr. Weinstein details the costs that our out-of-control tort system are causing the health care industry and notes research that
“found that liability reforms could reduce defensive medicine practices, leading to a 5 percent to 9 percent reduction in medical expenditures without any effect on mortality or medical complications.”Dr. Weinstein writes:
“If the Kessler and McClellan estimates were applied to total U.S. healthcare spending in 2005, the defensive medicine costs would total between $100 billion and $178 billion per year.You would think that any effort to reform our health care system would include tort reform, especially if the stated purpose for Obama’s plan to nationalize our health care industry is the current high costs.
Add to this the cost of defending malpractice cases, paying compensation, and covering additional administrative costs (a total of $29.4 billion).
Thus, the average American family pays an additional $1,700 to $2,000 per year in healthcare costs simply to cover the costs of defensive medicine.
Excessive litigation and waste in the nation’s current tort system imposes an estimated yearly tort tax of $9,827 for a family of four and increases healthcare spending in the United States by $124 billion.
How does this translate to individuals?
The average obstetrician-gynecologist (OB-GYN) delivers 100 babies per year. If that OB-GYN must pay a medical liability premium of $200,000 each year (which is the rate in Florida), $2,000 of the delivery cost for each baby goes to pay the cost of the medical liability premium.” [3]
So I have new questions for the president:
Why no legal reform?Many states, including my own state of Alaska, have enacted caps on lawsuit awards against health care providers.
Why continue to encourage defensive medicine that wastes billions of dollars and does nothing for the patients?
Do you want health care reform to benefit trial attorneys or patients?
Texas enacted caps and found that one county’s medical malpractice claims dropped 41 percent, and another study found a “55 percent decline” after reform measures were passed. [4]
That’s one step in health care reform.
Limiting lawyer contingency fees, as is done under the Federal Tort Claims Act, is another step.
The State of Alaska pioneered the “loser pays” rule in the United States, which deters frivolous civil law suits by making the loser partially pay the winner’s legal bills.
Preventing quack doctors from giving “expert” testimony in court against real doctors is another reform.
Texas Gov. Rick Perry noted that, after his state enacted tort reform measures, the number of doctors applying to practice medicine in Texas “skyrocketed by 57 percent” and that the tort reforms “brought critical specialties to underserved areas.”
These are real reforms that actually improve access to health care. [5]
Dr. Weinstein’s research shows that around $200 billion per year could be saved with legal reform. That’s real savings. That’s money that could be used to build roads, schools, or hospitals.
If you want to save health care, let’s listen to our doctors.
There should be no health care reform without legal reform.
There can be no true health care reform without legal reform.
There can be no true health care reform without legal reform.
- Sarah Palin
[1] See http://online.wsj.com/arti
[2] See http://www.aaos.org/news/a
[3] Id.
[4] See http://www.abajournal.com/
[5] See http://www.washingtonexami
------------------------
August 19, 2009
YOUR TAX DOLLARS HARD AT WORK: FIRST CARS, NOW FOREIGN OIL
Today's Wall Street Journal contains some puzzling news for all Americans who are impacted by high energy prices and who share the goal of moving us toward energy independence.
For years, states rich with an abundance of oil and natural gas have been begging Washington, DC politicians for the right to develop their own natural resources on federal lands and off shore. Such development would mean good paying jobs here in the United States (with health benefits) and the resulting royalties and taxes would provide money for federal coffers that would potentially off-set the need for higher income taxes, reduce the federal debt and deficits, or even help fund a trillion dollar health care plan if one were so inclined to support such a plan.
So why is it that during these tough times, when we have great needs at home, the Obama White House is prepared to send more than two billion of your hard-earned tax dollars to Brazil so that the nation's state-owned oil company, Petrobras, can drill off shore and create jobs developing its own resources?
That's all Americans want; but such rational energy development has been continually thwarted by rabid environmentalists, faceless bureaucrats and a seemingly endless parade of lawsuits aimed at shutting down new energy projects.
I'll speak for the talent I have personally witnessed on the oil fields in Alaska when I say
no other country in the world has a stronger workforce than America,
no other country in the world has better safety standards than America,
and no other country in the world has stricter environmental standards than America.
no other country in the world has better safety standards than America,
and no other country in the world has stricter environmental standards than America.
Come to Alaska to witness how oil and gas can be developed simultaneously with the preservation of our eco-system.
America has the resources.
We deserve the opportunity to develop our resources no less than the Brazilians.
Millions of Americans know it is true:
"Drill, baby, drill."
Alaska is proof you can drill and develop, and preserve nature, with its magnificent caribou herds passing by the Trans Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS), completely unaffected.
One has to wonder if Obama is playing politics and perhaps refusing a "win" for some states just to play to the left with our money.
The new Gulf of Mexico lease sales tomorrow sound promising and perhaps will move some states in the right direction, but we all know that the extreme environmentalists who serve to block progress elsewhere, including in Alaska, continue to block opportunities.
These environmentalists are putting our nation in peril and forcing us to rely on unstable and hostile foreign countries.
Mr. Obama can stop the extreme tactics and exert proper government authority to encourage resource development and create jobs and health benefits in the U.S.; instead, he chooses to use American dollars in Brazil that will help to pay the salaries and benefits for Brazilians to drill for resources when the need and desire is great in America.
Buy American is a wonderful slogan, but you can't say in one breath that you want to strengthen our economy and stimulate it, and then in another ship our much-needed dollars to a nation desperate to drill while depriving us of the same opportunity.
- Sarah Palin
-----------------------
August 13, 2009
I join millions of Americans in expressing appreciation for the Senate Finance Committee’s decision to remove the provision in the pending health care bill that authorizes end-of-life consultations (Section 1233 of HR 3200).
It’s gratifying that the voice of the people is getting through to Congress; however, that provision was not the only disturbing detail in this legislation; it was just one of the more obvious ones.
As I noted in my statement last week, nationalized health care inevitably leads to rationing. There is simply no way to cover everyone and hold down the costs at the same time. The rationing system proposed by one of President Obama’s key health care advisors is particularly disturbing.
I’m speaking of the “Complete Lives System” advocated by Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, the brother of the president’s chief of staff. President Obama has not yet stated any opposition to the “Complete Lives System,” a system which, if enacted, would refuse to allocate medical resources to the elderly, the infirm, and the disabled who have less economic potential. [1]
Why the silence from the president on this aspect of his nationalization of health care?I just learned that Dr. Emanuel is now distancing himself from his own work and claiming that his “thinking has evolved” on the question of rationing care to benefit the strong and deny the weak. [2] How convenient that he disavowed his own work only after the nature of his scholarship was revealed to the public at large.
Does he agree with the “Complete Lives System”?
If not, then why is Dr. Emanuel his policy advisor? What is he advising the president on?
The president is busy assuring us that we can keep our private insurance plans, but common sense (and basic economics) tells us otherwise. The public option in the Democratic health care plan will crowd out private insurers, and that’s what it’s intended to do. A single payer health care plan has been President Obama’s agenda all along, though he is now claiming otherwise.
Don’t take my word for it. Here’s what he said back in 2003:
“I happen to be a proponent of a single payer universal health care plan....
A single payer health care plan – universal health care plan – that’s what I would like to see.” [3]
A single payer health care plan – universal health care plan – that’s what I would like to see.” [3]
A single-payer health care plan might be what Obama would like to see, but is it what the rest of us would like to see? What does a single payer health care plan look like? We need look no further than other countries who have adopted such a plan. The picture isn’t pretty. [4] The only way they can control costs is to ration care.
As I noted in my earlier statement quoting Thomas Sowell, government run health care won’t reduce the price of medical care; it will simply refuse to pay the price. The expensive innovative procedures that people from all over the world come to the United States for will not be available under a government plan that seeks to cover everyone by capping costs.
Our senior citizens are right to be wary of this health care bill. Medical care at the end of life accounts for 80 percent of all health care. When care is rationed, that is naturally where the cuts will be felt first.
The “end-of-life” consultations authorized in Section 1233 of HR 3200 were an obvious and heavy handed attempt at pressuring people to reduce the financial burden on the system by minimizing their own care. Worst still, it actually provided a financial incentive to doctors to initiate these consultations. People are right to point out that such a provision doesn’t sound “purely voluntary.”
In an article I noted yesterday, Charles Lane wrote:
“Ideally, the delicate decisions about how to manage life’s end would be made in a setting that is neutral in both appearance and fact.I agree.
Yes, it’s good to have a doctor’s perspective. But Section 1233 goes beyond facilitating doctor input to preferring it.
Indeed, the measure would have an interested party -- the government -- recruit doctors to sell the elderly on living wills, hospice care and their associated providers, professions and organizations.
You don’t have to be a right-wing wacko to question that approach.” [5]
Last year, I issued a proclamation for “Healthcare Decisions Day.” [6]
The proclamation sought to increase the public’s knowledge about creating living wills and establishing powers of attorney. There was no incentive to choose one option over another. There was certainly no financial incentive for physicians to push anything. In fact, the proclamation explicitly called on medical professionals and lawyers “to volunteer their time and efforts” to provide information to the public.
Comparing the “Healthcare Decisions Day” proclamation to Section 1233 of HR 3200 is ridiculous. The two are like apples and oranges. The attempt to link the two shows how desperate the proponents of nationalized health care are to shift the debate away from the disturbing details of their bill.
There is one aspect of this bill which I have not addressed yet, but it’s a very obvious one. It’s the simple fact that we can’t afford it. But don’t take my word for it. Take the word of Doug Elmendorf, the director of the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. He told the Senate Budget Committee last month:
“In the legislation that has been reported we do not see the sort of fundamental changes that would be necessary to reduce the trajectory of federal health spending by a significant amount.
And on the contrary, the legislation significantly expands the federal responsibility for health care costs.” [7]
Our nation is already $11.5 trillion in debt.
Where will the money come from? Taxes, of course. And will a burdensome new tax help our economy recover? Of course not. The best way to encourage more health care coverage is to foster a strong economy where people can afford to purchase their own coverage if they choose to do so. The current administration’s economic policies have done nothing to help in this regard.
Health care is without a doubt a complex and contentious issue, but health care reform should be a market oriented solution. There are many ways we can reform the system and lower costs without nationalizing it.
The economist Arthur Laffer has taken the lead in pushing for a patient-center health care reform policy. He noted in a Wall Street Journal article earlier this month:
“A patient-centered health-care reform begins with individual ownership of insurance policies and leverages Health Savings Accounts, a low-premium, high-deductible alternative to traditional insurance that includes a tax-advantaged savings account.Those are real reforms that we can live with and afford.
It allows people to purchase insurance policies across state lines and reduces the number of mandated benefits insurers are required to cover.
It reallocates the majority of Medicaid spending into a simple voucher for low-income individuals to purchase their own insurance.
And it reduces the cost of medical procedures by reforming tort liability laws.” [8]
Once again, I warn my fellow Americans that if we go down the path of nationalized health care, there will be no turning back. We must stop and think or we may find ourselves losing even more of our freedoms.
- Sarah Palin
[1] See http://www.scribd.com/doc/
[2] See http://washingtontimes.com
[3]See http://www.youtube.com/wat
[4] See http://article.nationalrev
[5] See http://www.washingtonpost.
[6] See http://www.gov.state.ak.us
[7] See http://blogs.abcnews.com/t
[8] See http://online.wsj.com/arti
-----------------------
August 11, 2009
Concerning the "Death Panels"
Yesterday President Obama responded to my statement that Democratic health care proposals would lead to rationed care; that the sick, the elderly, and the disabled would suffer the most under such rationing; and that under such a system these “unproductive” members of society could face the prospect of government bureaucrats determining whether they deserve health care.
The President made light of these concerns. He said:
“Let me just be specific about some things that I’ve been hearing lately that we just need to dispose of here.The provision that President Obama refers to is Section 1233 of HR 3200, entitled “Advance Care Planning Consultation.” [2]
The rumor that’s been circulating a lot lately is this idea that somehow the House of Representatives voted for death panels that will basically pull the plug on grandma because we’ve decided that we don’t, it’s too expensive to let her live anymore....
It turns out that I guess this arose out of a provision in one of the House bills that allowed Medicare to reimburse people for consultations about end-of-life care, setting up living wills, the availability of hospice, etc.
So the intention of the members of Congress was to give people more information so that they could handle issues of end-of-life care when they’re ready on their own terms.
It wasn’t forcing anybody to do anything.” [1]
With all due respect, it’s misleading for the President to describe this section as an entirely voluntary provision that simply increases the information offered to Medicare recipients. The issue is the context in which that information is provided and the coercive effect these consultations will have in that context.
Section 1233 authorizes advanced care planning consultations for senior citizens on Medicare every five years, and more often “if there is a significant change in the health condition of the individual ... or upon admission to a skilled nursing facility, a long-term care facility... or a hospice program." [3]
During those consultations, practitioners must explain “the continuum of end-of-life services and supports available, including palliative care and hospice,” and the government benefits available to pay for such services. [4]
Now put this in context.
These consultations are authorized whenever a Medicare recipient’s health changes significantly or when they enter a nursing home, and they are part of a bill whose stated purpose is “to reduce the growth in health care spending.” [5]
Is it any wonder that senior citizens might view such consultations as attempts to convince them to help reduce health care costs by accepting minimal end-of-life care?
As Charles Lane notes in the Washington Post, Section 1233
“addresses compassionate goals in disconcerting proximity to fiscal ones....
If it’s all about alleviating suffering, emotional or physical,
what’s it doing in a measure to “bend the curve” on health-care costs?” [6]
If it’s all about alleviating suffering, emotional or physical,
what’s it doing in a measure to “bend the curve” on health-care costs?” [6]
As Lane also points out:
Though not mandatory, as some on the right have claimed, the consultations envisioned in Section 1233 aren’t quite “purely voluntary,” as Rep. Sander M. Levin (D-Mich.) asserts.Even columnist Eugene Robinson, a self-described “true believer” who “will almost certainly support” “whatever reform package finally emerges”, agrees that
To me, “purely voluntary” means “not unless the patient requests one.”
Section 1233, however, lets doctors initiate the chat and gives them an incentive -- money -- to do so.
Indeed, that’s an incentive to insist.
Patients may refuse without penalty, but many will bow to white-coated authority.
Once they’re in the meeting, the bill does permit “formulation” of a plug-pulling order right then and there.
So when Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) denies that Section 1233 would
“place senior citizens in situations where they feel pressured
to sign end-of-life directives that they would not otherwise sign,”
I don’t think he’s being realistic. [7]
“If the government says it has to control health-care costs and then offers to pay doctors to give advice about hospice care, citizens are not delusional to conclude that the goal is to reduce end-of-life spending.” [8]So are these usually friendly pundits wrong?
Is this all just a “rumor” to be “disposed of”, as President Obama says?
Not according to Democratic New York State Senator Ruben Diaz, Chairman of the New York State Senate Aging Committee, who writes:
Section 1233 of House Resolution 3200 puts our senior citizens on a slippery slope and may diminish respect for the inherent dignity of each of their lives....Of course, it’s not just this one provision that presents a problem.
It is egregious to consider that any senior citizen ... should
be placed in a situation where he or she would feel pressured
to save the government money
by dying a little sooner than he or she otherwise would,
be required to be counseled
about the supposed benefits of killing oneself, or
be encouraged to sign any end of life directives
that they would not otherwise sign. [9]
My original comments concerned statements made by Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, a health policy advisor to President Obama and the brother of the President’s chief of staff.
Dr. Emanuel has written that some medical services should not be guaranteed to those
“who are irreversibly prevented from being or becoming participating citizens....
An obvious example is not guaranteeing health services to patients with dementia.” [10]
An obvious example is not guaranteeing health services to patients with dementia.” [10]
Dr. Emanuel has also advocated basing medical decisions on a system which
“produces a priority curve on which individuals
aged between roughly 15 and 40 years get the most chance,
whereas the youngest and oldest people get chances that are attenuated.” [11]
aged between roughly 15 and 40 years get the most chance,
whereas the youngest and oldest people get chances that are attenuated.” [11]
President Obama can try to gloss over the effects of government authorized end-of-life consultations, but the views of one of his top health care advisors are clear enough.
It’s all just more evidence that the Democratic legislative proposals will lead to health care rationing, and more evidence that the top-down plans of government bureaucrats will never result in real health care reform.
[1] See http://blogs.abcnews.com/p
[2] See http://edlabor.house.gov/d
[3] See HR 3200 sec. 1233 (hhh)(1); Sec. 1233 (hhh)(3)(B)(1), above.
[4] See HR 3200 sec. 1233 (hhh)(1)(E), above.
[5] See http://edlabor.house.gov/d
[6] See http://www.washingtonpost.
[7] Id.
[8] See http://www.washingtonpost.
[9] See http://www.nysenate.gov/pr
[10] See http://www.ncpa.org/pdfs/W
[11] See http://www.scribd.com/doc/
-----------------------
August 11, 2009
Palin Reduced Medicaid Backlog 83% In Two Years
On May 23, 2007, using a rarely invoked emergency regulation, Governor Palin ordered assistance benefits to continue for Alaska’s neediest seniors after the Alaska legislature failed to fund the SeniorCare Program. After her action, the legislature responded, and on July 28, 2007, Governor Palin signed Senate Bill 4 to continue support for low-income Alaskan seniors by adopting the Senior Benefits Program. “This program continues important assistance to Alaska seniors,” Governor Palin said. “I promised that seniors would not go hungry, and we worked with the Alaska Legislature to address this critical need.” It was estimated that 10,700 Alaskan seniors would be able to benefit under the program.
Also under Governor Palin’s tenure, on December 19, 2008, the state stepped in and took over the Mary Conrad Center, an Anchorage nursing home, when the state determined that there was “'immediate danger to the health, safety or welfare' of its residents.”
So, with this clear record of support and care for Alaska’s seniors by Governor Palin, what is the current criticism about? According to the United States Department of Health and Human Services, prior to Governor Palin’s election in November 2006, in April of 2006, in an effort to control rapidly increasing costs for home health care providers, known as the PCA program, Governor Frank Murkowski’s administration implemented a screening process for Alaska Medicaid eligible persons by using a Level of Care assessment (LOC). The LOC assessment was designed for persons who would otherwise require hospitalization or nursing home care and was intended to help weed out fraud and abuse.
By definition, many of these people were ill, elderly or disabled and thus in need of personal care attendants to assist them. Only registered nurse assessors were allowed to evaluate consumers to determine if they qualified for PCA care. The job of assessing consumers was contracted out, but the State of Alaska DHHS determined that the hired contractor had too much backlog. Notably, under federal Medicaid strictures, the State could not get another private business to bid on the contract. So the State was forced to take over the job in November 2007. However, the State DHHS was unable to eliminate the backlog using its own staff, and the backlog then grew. The Federal DHHS temporarily suspended new admissions to the PCA program pending audit compliance to handle the backlog of existing cases and come up with a plan to speed the assessment process. The suspension has been lifted as of August 12.
Further, Gov. Palin’s FY 2009 budget clearly showed her analysis of the issue as of December 2007, and described both the problem and the solution long before the federal government got involved. The backlog issue was discussed and a plan proposed for improvement.
The graph below shows that under Gov. Palin (2007 and 2008) the backlog problem was dramatically reduced, from 30.9% in 2005 to 4.5% in 2008. Looking at these data, one can conclude that Gov. Palin substantially reduced the outstanding percentage of Medicaid assessments by 83%.
% Not Reviewed
FY 2008 4.5%
FY 2007 4.5%
FY 2006 23.18%
FY 2005 30.9%
What is the lesson in all of this? Even with good intentions, the government generally cannot provide better health care services than the private sector. Beware of complex federal laws purporting to offer government health care. For those who want nationalized medicine, take heed of this lesson.
More information can be found here:
http://www.facebook.com/no
-----------------------
August 11, 2009
On behalf of the Palin family, we are saddened by the passing of Eunice Kennedy Shriver. Her passionate dedication to improving the lives of so many people created new opportunities and hope around the world, including for our precious miracle, Trig.
With sympathy to the Kennedy and Shriver families,
Sarah Palin
-----------------------
August 10, 2009
Conclusion
The Waxman-Markey bill proposes a new national tax of historic proportions. Though levied directly on carbon-based energy, the tax's impact spreads through the economy, increasin
g prices, reducing income, destroying jobs, and significantly expanding the national debt.
As with many policies coming from Washington these days, the Waxman-Markey bill seeks to "level the playing field" by making a more competitive player weaker, in this case hamstringing carbon-based energy sources, rather than ensuring an environment where less competitive players can become stronger. This policy hurts everyone, including alternative-energy investors, because it uses resources less efficiently, which creates deadweight losses. This means there will be underused resources leading to fewer opportunities in the future as slower growth reduces the resources available to help power the research and development investments that will create the technologies of the future.
As President Obama said about his cap-and-trade program during the presidential election campaign, "electricity prices would necessarily skyrocket."[12] The same applies to many other prices as the Waxman-Markey energy tax spreads through the economy. Businesses and consumers will adapt as well as possible to these higher prices. They will spend more for less energy. They will build smaller houses and buildings. They will drive smaller, less safe vehicles. They will turn thermostats up in the summer and down in the winter. They will divert income to more expensive energy-saving appliances. But these activities and more will not be enough to offset the higher energy costs. The net effect is lower income, higher prices, and fewer jobs.
In particular, the Heritage analysis projects that by 2035:
* Gasoline prices will rise 58 percent (or $1.38) above the baseline forecast, which already contains price increases;
* Natural gas prices will rise 55 percent;
* Heating oil prices will rise 56 percent;
* Electricity prices will rise 90 percent;
* A family of four can expect to pay $1,241 more for energy costs per year;
* Including taxes, a family of four will pay $4,609 more per year;
* A family of four will reduce its consumption of goods and services by up to $3,000 per year, as its income and savings fall;
* Aggregate GDP losses will be $9.4 trillion;
* Job losses will be nearly 2.5 million; and
* The national debt will rise an additional $12,803 per person.
(All figures are in constant 2009 dollars.)
All of these costs will be paid for no more than a 0.2 degree (Celsius) moderation in world temperature increases by 2100, and no more than a 0.05 degree reduction by 2050. Saddling the next generation with higher prices, higher debt, less income, fewer jobs, and more taxes does not seem like a worthy legacy--especially when the purported environmental benefits are so small they can barely be measured.
Full Report:
My op-ed on "cap and trade":
The Waxman-Markey bill proposes a new national tax of historic proportions. Though levied directly on carbon-based energy, the tax's impact spreads through the economy, increasin
g prices, reducing income, destroying jobs, and significantly expanding the national debt.
As with many policies coming from Washington these days, the Waxman-Markey bill seeks to "level the playing field" by making a more competitive player weaker, in this case hamstringing carbon-based energy sources, rather than ensuring an environment where less competitive players can become stronger. This policy hurts everyone, including alternative-energy investors, because it uses resources less efficiently, which creates deadweight losses. This means there will be underused resources leading to fewer opportunities in the future as slower growth reduces the resources available to help power the research and development investments that will create the technologies of the future.
As President Obama said about his cap-and-trade program during the presidential election campaign, "electricity prices would necessarily skyrocket."[12] The same applies to many other prices as the Waxman-Markey energy tax spreads through the economy. Businesses and consumers will adapt as well as possible to these higher prices. They will spend more for less energy. They will build smaller houses and buildings. They will drive smaller, less safe vehicles. They will turn thermostats up in the summer and down in the winter. They will divert income to more expensive energy-saving appliances. But these activities and more will not be enough to offset the higher energy costs. The net effect is lower income, higher prices, and fewer jobs.
In particular, the Heritage analysis projects that by 2035:
* Gasoline prices will rise 58 percent (or $1.38) above the baseline forecast, which already contains price increases;
* Natural gas prices will rise 55 percent;
* Heating oil prices will rise 56 percent;
* Electricity prices will rise 90 percent;
* A family of four can expect to pay $1,241 more for energy costs per year;
* Including taxes, a family of four will pay $4,609 more per year;
* A family of four will reduce its consumption of goods and services by up to $3,000 per year, as its income and savings fall;
* Aggregate GDP losses will be $9.4 trillion;
* Job losses will be nearly 2.5 million; and
* The national debt will rise an additional $12,803 per person.
(All figures are in constant 2009 dollars.)
All of these costs will be paid for no more than a 0.2 degree (Celsius) moderation in world temperature increases by 2100, and no more than a 0.05 degree reduction by 2050. Saddling the next generation with higher prices, higher debt, less income, fewer jobs, and more taxes does not seem like a worthy legacy--especially when the purported environmental benefits are so small they can barely be measured.
Full Report:
My op-ed on "cap and trade":
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August 9, 2009
A Message to Alaskans about the Stimulus Veto and the Health Care Town Halls
Tomorrow begins an important week for Alaskans.
On Monday, state lawmakers will meet to override my veto of stimulus funds.
As Governor, I did my utmost to warn our legislators that accepting stimulus funds will further tie Alaska to the federal government and chip away at Alaska’s right to chart its own course. Enforcing the federal building code requirements, which Governor Parnell and future governors will be forced to adopt in order to accept these energy funds, will eventually cost the state more than it receives.
There are clear ropes attached, and Alaskans will soon find themselves tied down by codes which will dictate how we build and renovate homes and businesses. The state has hundreds of millions of dollars already budgeted for conservation, weatherization and renewable energy development. Legislators don’t need to play politics as usual and accept these funds and the ropes that come with them.
Also this week, Alaskans will join Senators Murkowski and Begich in town hall meetings to discuss the current health care legislation.
There are many disturbing details in the current bill that Washington is trying to rush through Congress, but we must stick to a discussion of the issues and not get sidetracked by tactics that can be accused of leading to intimidation or harassment.
Such tactics diminish our nation’s civil discourse which we need now more than ever because the fine print in this outrageous health care proposal must be understood clearly and not get lost in conscientious voters’ passion to want to make elected officials hear what we are saying.
Let’s not give the proponents of nationalized health care any reason to criticize us.
- Sarah Palin
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August 9, 2009
Rep. Don Young, Washington Times, August 9, 2009
On July 24, Democratic Sens. Barbara Boxer of California and John Kerry of Massachusetts took to The Washington Post to attack former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's opposition to the Waxman-Markey cap-and-tax legislation and her overall energy philosophy.
Mrs. Palin correctly criticized the scheme presented in the legislation sponsored by Democratic Reps. Henry A. Waxman of California and Edward J. Markey of Massachusetts. By only citing a report from the left-of-liberal Center for American Progress, Mr. Kerry and Mrs. Boxer naively underestimate the effects the legislation will have on the American economy. Other, more mainstream organizations, such as the Brookings Institution and the Black Chamber of Commerce, disagree.
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Professor William A. Jacobson, Le•gal In•sur•rec•tion, August 8, 2009
“An Inconvenient Truth About The ‘Death Panel’”
Sarah Palin has kicked off (another) firestorm of criticism because of the statement she released on her Facebook page....
These critics, however, didn’t take the time to find out to what Palin was referring when she used the term “level of productivity in society” as being the basis for determining access to medical care.
If the critics, who hold themselves in the highest of intellectual esteem, had bothered to do something other than react, they would have realized that the approach to health care to which Palin was referring was none other than that espoused by key Obama health care adviser Dr. Ezekial Emanuel (brother of Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel).
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August 8, 2009Some Useful Commentary on the Health Care Debate
As Americans spend the next few weeks discussing health care reform, I thought it might be helpful to share some articles (and one panel discussion video) that I’ve found especially insightful.
Washington Post editorial, July 26, 2009
“The Health-Care Sacrifice: What President Obama needs to tell the public about the cost of reform”
But Mr. Obama's soothing bedside manner masks the reality that getting health costs under control will require making difficult choices about what procedures and medications to cover. It will require saying no, or having the patient pay more, at times when the extra expense is not justified by the marginal improvement in care.
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Betsey McCaughey, Wall Street Journal, July 30, 2009
“GovernmentCare’s Assault on Seniors”
But legislation now being rushed through Congress—H.R. 3200 and the Senate Health Committee Bill—will reduce access to care, pressure the elderly to end their lives prematurely, and doom baby boomers to painful later years.
The Congressional majority wants to pay for its $1 trillion to $1.6 trillion health bills with new taxes and a $500 billion cut to Medicare. This cut will come just as baby boomers turn 65 and increase Medicare enrollment by 30%. Less money and more patients will necessitate rationing. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that only 1% of Medicare cuts will come from eliminating fraud, waste and abuse.
[See also Dr. McCaughey’s rebuttal of PolitiFact’s Truth-O-Meter re: “End of Life Counseling” here.]
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Senator Sam Brownback, National Review, August 3, 2009
“Don’t Punish Seniors for Health-Care Reform: Denying care options to retirees is necessarily a part of the Democrats plan”
One particular provision in the Democratic bill has seniors worried, and rightly so. A new “Center for Health Outcomes Research and Evaluation” could ration access to medicines and treatments based on the government’s assessment of the value of a human life and the “cost-effectiveness” of treatment.
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Raymond Arroyo, EWTN, July 25, 2009
“What You Need To Know About the Health Care Reform Bills”
Here’s to your health, unless you are too old, too young, too disabled or any combination of the above. The health care reform bills wending their way through Congress should be focused on the well being of each citizen. Instead, it seems the bills, designed to contain costs while simultaneously extending health coverage to everyone, target certain vulnerable groups including the elderly, the pre-born, and the disabled. It all comes down to cost. How to pay for this colossus remains a question on the Hill. But the consensus seems to be: raise taxes and ration care. Both ideas have been woven into the current health care bills.
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Betsey McCaughey, New York Post, July 24, 2009
“Deadly Doctors”
[Obama health policy advisor Dr. Ezekiel] Emanuel, however, believes that "communitarianism" should guide decisions on who gets care. He says medical care should be reserved for the non-disabled, not given to those "who are irreversibly prevented from being or becoming participating citizens... An obvious example is not guaranteeing health services to patients with dementia" (Hastings Center Report, Nov.-Dec. '96).
Translation: Don't give much care to a grandmother with Parkinson's or a child with cerebral palsy.
He explicitly defends discrimination against older patients: "Unlike allocation by sex or race, allocation by age is not invidious discrimination; every person lives through different life stages rather than being a single age. Even if 25-year-olds receive priority over 65-year-olds, everyone who is 65 years now was previously 25 years" (Lancet, Jan. 31).
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Thomas Sowell, Real Clear Politics, August 4, 2009
“Utopia Versus Freedom”
If we can be so easily stampeded by rhetoric that neither the public nor the Congress can be bothered to read, much less analyze, bills making massive changes in medical care, then do not be surprised when life and death decisions about you or your family are taken out of your hands-- and out of the hands of your doctor-- and transferred to bureaucrats in Washington.
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David S. Broder, Washington Post, July 26, 2009
“Our New Medical Judges?”
If President Obama has his way, another such unelected authority will be created -- a manager and monitor for the vast and expensive American health-care system. As part of his health-reform effort, he is seeking to launch the Independent Medicare Advisory Council, or IMAC, a bland title for a body that could become as much an arbiter of medicine as the Fed is of the economy or the Supreme Court of the law.
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The Heritage Foundation, July 30, 2009
“Obamacare: One Pill, Two Pill, Red Pill, Blue Pill; Top 10 Reasons Obamacare Is Wrong for America”
7. Who Makes Medical Decisions? What is the right medical treatment and should bureaucrats determine what Americans can or cannot have? While the House and Senate language is vague, amendments offered in House and Senate committees to block government rationing of care were routinely defeated. Cost or a federal health board could be the deciding factors. President Obama himself admitted this when he said, "Maybe you're better off not having the surgery, but taking the painkiller," when asked about an elderly woman who needed a pacemaker.
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National Review editorial, July 30, 2009
“Incurable”
The public option is certainly a weakness of the current House Democrats’ bill, one that could destroy the private-insurance market over time. But the rest of the bill takes the same federal-government-knows-best approach. It uses mandates on employers and individuals to force tens of millions of Americans to buy the level of insurance coverage the federal government demands. For those who cannot afford this level, it offers subsidies in the form of a new entitlement. And it increases the federal role in telling doctors and hospitals what constitutes appropriate medical practice.
The mandates -- effectively, they are taxes -- will reduce wages, limit new hires, and increase prices. The subsidies, enormously expensive from the outset, can be expected to grow with time to cover a larger and larger share of the population, just as Medicaid has done, and for the same political reasons. And having the government dictate medical practice worsens care and will inevitably lead to rationing.
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Thomas L. DiLorenzo, Mises Daily, July 28, 2009
“Socialized Healthcare vs. The Laws of Economics”
Price controls, or laws that force prices down below market-clearing levels (where supply and demand are coordinated), artificially stimulate the amount demanded by consumers while reducing supply by making it unprofitable to supply as much as previously. The result of increased demand and reduced supply is shortages. Non-price rationing becomes necessary. This means that government bureaucrats, not individuals and their doctors, inevitably determine who will get medical treatment and who will not, what kind of medical technology will be available, how many doctors there will be, and so forth.
All countries that have adopted socialized healthcare have suffered from the disease of price-control-induced shortages. If a Canadian, for instance, suffers third-degree burns in an automobile crash and is in need of reconstructive plastic surgery, the average waiting time for treatment is more than 19 weeks, or nearly five months. The waiting time for orthopaedic surgery is also almost five months; for neurosurgery it's three full months; and it is even more than a month for heart surgery (see The Fraser Institute publication, Waiting Your Turn: Hospital Waiting Lists in Canada). Think about that one: if your doctor discovers that your arteries are clogged, you must wait in line for more than a month, with death by heart attack an imminent possibility. That's why so many Canadians travel to the United States for healthcare.
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Thomas Sowell, Real Clear Politics, August 5, 2009
“Care Versus Control”
If this new medical scheme is so wonderful, why can’t it stand the light of day or a little time to think about it?
The obvious answer is that the administration doesn’t want us to know what it is all about or else we would not go along with it. Far better to say that we can’t wait, that things are just too urgent. This tactic worked with whizzing the “stimulus” package through Congress, even though the stimulus package itself has not worked.
Any serious discussion of government-run medical care would have to look at other countries where there is government-run medical care. As someone who has done some research on this for my book, “Applied Economics,” I can tell you that the actual consequences of government-controlled medical care are not a pretty picture, however inspiring the rhetoric that accompanies it.
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The Cato Institute Policy Forum
“What Government-Run Health Care Really Means”
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Michael D. Tanner, Cato Institute, August 2009
“Not Enough Health Care to Go Around”
The reality, however, is that every government-run healthcare system around the world rations care.
In Great Britain, the National Institute on Clinical Effectiveness makes such decisions, including a controversial determination that certain cancer drugs are "too expensive." The government effectively puts a price tag on each citizen's life...
Free-market healthcare reformers, on the other hand, want to shift more of the decisions (and therefore the financial responsibility) back to the individual.
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Arthur B. Laffer, Wall Street Journal, August 5, 2009
“How to Fix the Health-Care ‘Wedge’: There is an alternative to ObamaCare”
Rather than expanding the role of government in the health-care market, Congress should implement a patient-centered approach to health-care reform. A patient-centered approach focuses on the patient-doctor relationship and empowers the patient and the doctor to make effective and economical choices.
A patient-centered health-care reform begins with individual ownership of insurance policies and leverages Health Savings Accounts, a low-premium, high-deductible alternative to traditional insurance that includes a tax-advantaged savings account. It allows people to purchase insurance policies across state lines and reduces the number of mandated benefits insurers are required to cover. It reallocates the majority of Medicaid spending into a simple voucher for low-income individuals to purchase their own insurance. And it reduces the cost of medical procedures by reforming tort liability laws.
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Deroy Murdock, National Review, July 20, 2009
“Health-Care Reform: Why Not Try Ownership?”
Health-care reform should give Americans the option of using money tax-free to purchase whatever kinds of health insurance make them happy. If employers offer such plans, lovely. If not, individuals should be encouraged, through tax-free Health Savings Accounts, to buy their own policies and maintain them throughout their careers. This dramatically would reduce the tragedy of “job lock,” whereby employees put up with bosses and duties they cannot stand, merely to keep employer-furnished health coverage.
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Mark Steyn, Orange County Register, July 31, 2009
“No turning back from Obamacare”
How did the health-care debate decay to the point where we think it entirely natural for the central government to fix a collective figure for what 300 million freeborn citizens ought to be spending on something as basic to individual liberty as their own bodies?
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There is a lot of wisdom in the above articles, but I’m most impressed by the common sense of ordinary Americans, like the citizen from Pennsylvania who told Senator Spector:
“What I see is a bureaucratic nightmare, Senator.
* Medicaid is broke.
* Medicare is broke.
* Social Security is broke.
* Medicare is broke.
* Social Security is broke.
And you want us to believe that
a government that can’t even run a Cash for Clunkers program
is going to run 1/7th of our U.S. economy?”
a government that can’t even run a Cash for Clunkers program
is going to run 1/7th of our U.S. economy?”
["No sir, NO"]
I couldn’t have said it better myself.
- Sarah Palin
As more Americans delve into the disturbing details of the nationalized health care plan that the current administration is rushing through Congress, our collective jaw is dropping, and we’re saying not just no, but hell no!
The Democrats promise that a government health care system will reduce the cost of health care, but as the economist Thomas Sowell has pointed out, government health care will not reduce the cost; it will simply refuse to pay the cost. And who will suffer the most when they ration care? The sick, the elderly, and the disabled, of course. The America I know and love is not one in which my parents or my baby with Down Syndrome will have to stand in front of Obama’s “death panel” so his bureaucrats can decide, based on a subjective judgment of their “level of productivity in society,” whether they are worthy of health care. Such a system is downright evil.
Health care by definition involves life and death decisions. Human rights and human dignity must be at the center of any health care discussion.
Rep. Michele Bachmann highlighted the Orwellian thinking of the president’s health care advisor, Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, the brother of the White House chief of staff, in a floor speech to the House of Representatives. I commend her for being a voice for the most precious members of our society, our children and our seniors.
We must step up and engage in this most crucial debate. Nationalizing our health care system is a point of no return for government interference in the lives of its citizens. If we go down this path, there will be no turning back. Ronald Reagan once wrote, “Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we’ll ever see on this earth.” Let’s stop and think and make our voices heard before it’s too late.
- Sarah Palin
Rep. Bachmann's speech can be viewed here:
http://www.youtube.com/wat
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Yet again, some so-called journalists have decided to make up a story. There is no truth to the recent “story” (and story is the correct term for this type of fiction) that the Palins are divorcing. The Palins remain married, committed to each other and their family, and have not purchased land in Montana (last week it was reported to be Long Island).
Less than one week ago, Governor Palin asked the media to “quit making things up.” We appreciate that the more professional journalists decided to question this story before repeating it.
Meg Stapleton
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Barnett Disputes Radio Rumors
Radio might be in former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin’s plans, but her attorney says a decision hasn’t been made. Robert Barnett disputes reports members of Palin's team have been testing the waters to gauge syndicators’ interest.
Barnett says, “Many individuals and entities have expressed strong interest in Governor Palin. To date, she has not spoken with any of them, negotiated with any of them or made deals with any of them.”
Industry sources told Inside Radio this week people representing the 2008 Republican Vice Presidential candidate were making informal, preliminary overtures to radio networks. But Barnett insists no such talks have begun. "All of that is in the future," he says.
Since resigning from office last Sunday in Fairbanks, Palin has said little about what her next step will be. A book deal has been announced, and that’s helped fuel speculation a media career could be in her future.
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Release Concerning Simi Valley Republican Women’s Event
As repeatedly stated to several in the media over the last week, former Governor Sarah Palin is not committed to attend the Simi Valley Republican Women’s event at the Reagan Library and in fact is not attending the event. Neither the Governor’s state staff nor SarahPAC has ever committed to attending this event or speaking at this event, and even requested that the Governor's name be removed from the invitation several weeks ago. The Governor has other work and commitments to take care of at that time. She looks forward to visiting her friends in California soon.
All event requests must be confirmed with Meghan Stapleton of SarahPAC. Additionally, all invitations bearing the Governor’s name must be approved by her attorney before proceeding.
Thank you.
Meghan Stapleton
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Text of Governor Palin's Farewell Address Sunday, July 26, 2009
Posted on Facebook Monday, July 27, 2009 at 4:16am
It is my honor to speak to all Alaskans – our Alaskan family – this final time as your governor, and it is always great to be in Fairbanks!
These rugged and hearty folk – some of the most patriotic people you’ll ever meet – live here. If there is one thing you are known for it your steadfast support for our military community up here. Thank you for that and a thank you to the U.S. military for protecting the greatest nation on earth. Together we stand!
Getting here can be described as the best road trip in America! Soaring through nature’s finest show you will see Denali – the Great One – soaring under the midnight sun. Alaska has so many extremes. In the wintertime the frozen road competes with the view of the ice-fogged frigid beauty. The cold, though, doesn’t it split the Cheechakos from the Sourdoughs? And in the summertime – when temperatures are 150 degrees hotter than they were just a few months ago and than they will be just a few months from now – you will see the fireweed along the frost heaves. Merciless rivers rush and carve and remind us that Mother Nature wins. The big, wild and good life teeming along that road leads north to the future. That is what we see here. What we, and the rest of America, see in the Last Frontier is hope, opportunity and country pride, and it is our men and women in uniform that secure it.
We face challenging times with some hell-bent on tearing down our nation by perpetuating pessimism and apologizing for America. They suggest that our best days were yesterdays. But how can this pessimism exist?
Proof of our greatness and pride is all around us today. We produce proud and great volunteers who sacrifice everything for their country. This week alone, at the chapel at Fort Rich, I heard the last roll call and the sounding of Taps for three very brave, very young Alaskan soldiers who gave their all for all of us.
Together we stand with gratitude for the troops who protect all our cherished freedoms. This includes our First Amendment guaranteed freedom of speech – which, par for the course – I shall exercise. First, with some “straight talk,” I will address some, just some, in the media because another right that is protected is the freedom of the press. You have such important jobs reporting facts and informing the electorate and exerting power to influence.
You represent what could and should be a respected and honest profession that could and should be a cornerstone of our democracy. Democracy depends on you. That is why our troops are willing to die for you. So, how about in honor of the American soldier you quit making things up. And don’t underestimate the wisdom of the American people.
And, another thing, media: Our new governor has a very nice family, so leave his kids alone!
As we swear in Sean Parnell, no one will be happier than I to witness, by God’s grace Alaskans with strength of character advancing our beloved state. Sean is that. Craig Campbell has that.
I remember that December day when we took the oath to uphold our state constitution. And it was written right here in Fairbanks by very wise pioneers. We shared the same vision for government that they ground into that document.
At the time, the founders wrote:
“All political power is inherent in the people. All government originates with the people.
It is founded upon their will only, and it is instituted for the good of the people as a whole.”
Their remarkably succinct words guided us in all of our efforts in serving you and putting you first. We have done our best to fulfill promises that I made on Alaska Day 2005 when I first asked for the honor of serving you.
Remember then, our state so desired and so deserved ethics reform. We promised it, and now it is the law. Ironically, it needs additional reform to stop blatant abuse from partisan operatives. And I hope lawmakers will continue that reform.
We promised you that you would finally see a fair return on your Alaskan-owned natural resources. So, we built a new oil and gas appraisal system – an equitable formula to usher in a new era of competition, transparency, and protection for Alaskans and the producers.
ACES incentivizes new exploration, and it is the exploration that is our future. It opens up oil basins and ensures that the people will never be taken advantage of again.
Do not forget, Alaskans, that you are the resource owners, per our constitution. And that’s why, for instance, last year when the price of oil soared, our state coffers swelled, but you were smacked with high energy prices, so we sent you an energy rebate because it is your money, and I have always believed that you know how to spend it better than government can spend it for you.
I promised that we would protect the environment while safely and ethically developing resources. And we did. We created the petroleum oversight office and a sub-cabinet to study climate conditions.
I promised that we would govern with fiscal restraint so as not to immorally burden future generations. And we did. We slowed the rate of government growth. I vetoed hundreds of millions of dollars of excess, and with lawmakers we saved billions for the future.
I promised that we would lead a charge to forward fund education and hold schools accountable, while improving opportunities for special needs students and elevating vo-tech training. And we did. We also paid down pension related debt.
I promised that we would manage our fish and wildlife for abundance and defend the constitution in doing so. And we have. However, outside political interests just don’t seem to get it. Alaskans need to stick together on this with new leadership. Encourage the new leadership. Stiffen your spine to do what is right for Alaska when the pressure mounts because you will see anti-hunting, anti-Second Amendment “circuses” from Hollywood. And here is how they will do it: tiny, delicate and talented celebrity starlets will use Alaska as a fund raising tool for their anti-Second Amendment causes. Stand strong and remind them that patriots will protect our individual guaranteed right to bear arms. And by the way, in Alaska, we eat, therefore, we hunt.
I promised that we would seek energy solutions. And we have – with an energy plan calling for 50% of our electricity generated by renewable resources and by insisting that those who hold the leases to develop our conventional resources do so on Alaska’s terms. And now, finally, after decades of inaction and just talk, we are drilling for oil and gas at Pt. Thomson.
I also promised that we would get a natural gas pipeline underway. And we did. Since I was a little kid growing up here, we would talk about, hope for, and dream of commercializing our clean, abundant, and much needed natural gas. Our Gasline Inducement Act (AGIA) was the game changer. This is, of course, thanks to our outstanding gasline team and the state legislature, who adopted this law by a 58-1 margin. They knew – they know – that AGIA is the vehicle to drive this monumental energy project and to bring everyone to the table. This bipartisan victory came from Alaskans working together with free market, private sector principles. And now we are on the road to the largest private energy infrastructure project in history. It is for Alaska’s future. It is for America’s energy independence. And it will make us a more peaceful, prosperous and secure nation.
What I promised, we accomplished. “We” meaning state staff and conscientious Alaskans outside of the bureaucracy, such as: Tom Van Flein, Meg Stapleton, Kristan Cole, and many volunteers who stepped up to the challenge as good Alaskans. Nothing could have succeeded without my “right hand man” Kris Perry. She is the sharpest, boldest and hardest-working partner, and much success is due to Kris.
To Alaska, there is much good in store further down the road, but to reach it we must value and live the optimistic and pioneering spirit that made this state proud and free!
We can resist enslavement to big central government that crushes hope and opportunity. We must be wary of government largesse. It doesn’t come free and often accepting it takes away everything that is free. Melting into Washington’s powerful and caretaking arms will only lead to suck away the incentive to work hard and chart our own course. This will only contribute to an unstable economy and dizzying national debt, and it will make us less free.
I resisted the stimulus package, and we championed earmark reform, by slashing earmark requests by 85%, in order to break the cycle of dependency on a stifling and unsustainable federal agenda. Other states should follow this example for their, and America's, stability.
We don’t have to feel that we must beg an allowance from Washington – except to beg the allowance to be self-determined.
See, in order to be self-sufficient Alaska must be allowed to develop, to drill and build and climb to fulfill our statehood’s promise! At statehood we knew that we were responsible for ourselves, our families and our future, and 50 years later we can not start believing that government is the answer. It can’t make you happy or healthy or wealthy or wise. What can? It is the wisdom of the people and our families and our small businesses and industrious individuals. And it is God’s grace helping those who help themselves. And then this allows that very generous voluntary hand up that we are known to enthusiastically provide those who need it.
Do you remember that years ago we sported the old bumper sticker that read, “Alaska: We Don’t Give a Darn How They Do It Outside.” I remember that. It was because we would be different, and we would roll up our sleeves and diligently sow and reap. We can still do this. We can carve wealth out of the wilderness and make our living on the water – with strong hands and innovative minds, now with smarter technology. It is what our First People and our parents did, and it worked because they worked!
We must be prudent and persistent and press for the people’s right to responsibly develop God-given resources for the maximum benefit of the people.
We have come so far in just 50 years. We are no longer a frontier outpost on the periphery of the world’s greatest nation. Now, as a contributor and a securer of America, we can attain our destiny in the promise of our motto: North to the Future!
The pressing issue of our time is energy independence, because there is an inherent link between energy and security, and energy and prosperity. Alaska will lead with energy. We will prove that you can be both pro-development and pro-environment. After all, no one loves their land, clean air, water and wildlife more than an Alaskan! We will protect it!
Americans must look north to the future. For security, for energy independence, for our strategic position on the globe – Alaska is the gatekeeper of the continent.
We are here today at a “changing of the guard.” Now, knowing how much I love this state – some still choose not to hear why I made the decision to chart a new course to advance the state. It should be obvious. It is because I love Alaska this much that I feel it is my duty to avoid the unproductive, typical “politics-as-usual” lame duck session in one’s last year in office. How does that benefit you? With this decision I will be able to fight even harder for you – for what is right and for the truth. And I have never felt that you need a title to do that. So, as we all move forward together, let us vow to keep championing Alaska and to advocate for responsible development and smaller government and freedom.
When I took the oath to serve you, I promised to steadfastly and doggedly guard the interests of this great state – like that grizzly guards her cubs, as a mother naturally guards her own. I will keep that vow wherever the road may lead.
Todd and I, Track, Bristol, Tripp, Willow, Piper and Trig – we will forever be grateful for the honor of a lifetime to have served you. Our whole big, diverse, full and fun family thanks you!
I am very blessed to have had their support all along, and for Todd’s support.
I am thankful too that I have been blessed to have been raised in this Last Frontier. Thank you for our home, Mom and Dad.
In Alaska it is not an easy living, but it is a good living. It is impossible to lose your way here because wherever the road may lead us, we have that steadying Great North Star to guide us home. So let us all enjoy the ride!
God bless you and God bless Alaska!
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