Saturday, August 30, 2008

Palin's Lack Of Compassion Towards Labor`

In my early research on Governor Sarah Palin, I found a very revealing piece from the Denver Rocky Mountain News of 8/10/97:
WASILLA, Alaska -- Opal Toomey, Esther West and Ann Meyers don't seem like politically active types. There are no bumper stickers on their cars, no pins on their lapels.

But the three gray-haired matrons of Wasilla's city museum decided to take a stand. Faced with a $32,000 budget cut and the prospect of choosing who would lose her job, the three 15-year-plus employees decided instead to quit en masse at the end of July, leaving the museum without a staff.

``We hate to leave,'' said Meyers, who at 65 is the youngest of the three. ``We've been together a long time. But this is enough.''

If the city were broke, it would be different, she said. Instead, the city is flush with $4 million in reserves. There is no reason the museum's budget should be cut, Meyers said.

But the mayor and City Council members who supported the cut say the surplus is beside the point. They were elected to minimize government and concentrate on infrastructure - paving roads and extending sewer lines.

The museum, which had an annual budget of more than $200,000, was costing roughly $25 per visitor, said Mayor Sarah Palin. Museum supporters say losing the women will be a blow to this city north of Anchorage. The three have run the two-story building since the early 1980s.

18 comments:

Carl Burdette said...

So, she eliminates Medicaid first, then Medicare, and on to Social Security. Now let's see if there is anything else that can be cut. Oh, the Library of Congress, of course.

Anonymous said...

Old John sure did pick one heck of a loser to run with him. Oh wait they are both losers...

Anonymous said...

Thanks for posting this. The woman's resume is so thin, we concerned citizens have very little to go on. Therefore, every little bit helps. In that same regard, becasue we have so little to go on, every little bit demands our intense scrutiny to extract what life would be lke under this hockey-mom would-be president.

EM DC

Anonymous said...

``We hate to leave,'' said Meyers, who at 65 is the youngest of the three.

Age 65 was the youngest of three.... It was time for the three Grannies to retire. It was cheaper to hire two young people that could do the same amount of work.

Anonymous said...

Stuff to keep in mind for all seniors who will go to vote...

Anonymous said...

I hope when you turn 65 that you get replaced by a younger better person when you really need that job to pay for your overpriced bs meds.

Anonymous said...

Whoever, posted about replacing them with 2 younger people is probably a Republican. So should we have the same age bias for President? If so I bet Obama could do a whole lot more than about to die John. It is hard to say if he will even live another 2 years or till end of elections...

Anonymous said...

To the heartless person who said:

"Age 65 was the youngest of three.... It was time for the three Grannies to retire. It was cheaper to hire two young people that could do the same amount of work."

First that is ageist. Age does not predict how well a person can do a job. Second, are you a McCain supporter? By your logic we should not give him any consideration and we should just elect a 35 year-old, the youngest and "cheapest" President we can get.

Anonymous said...

Let's just call me a social conservative... not, repeat not, a republican. I don't sleep with my interns and I don't cheat on my taxes. There is value in a conservative (read: not uber-right wing) opinion and I am happy to have one. Sadly, unlike most of you, I am also right in a very big way (smile, it was funny and you know it), so pay attention...

We have a real problem on our hands kids... Bush is a douche bag and I voted for him. I'm not sorry. I think it was better than the alternative. Better by a long shot. In the end though, both options sucked and we (myself and anyone else prone to intellectual honesty) knew it. Years have passes, ten's-of-thousands of lives have been lost and, yet again, we're back in the same place. Am I going to vote for my great-grandfather or my little brother (no racism intended... it was an age anology people, get over it). Both are good men, both would do "their best" to serve this country, and both, at the end of day, are not fit to serve this country. Not here, not now.

Palin should be the least of our concerns. Her daughter should be the last. But, hey, some of you still find pleasure in celebrity relationships (the most base form of entertainment) so hell, why not pick on a 17 year old mother. Does it make you feel better? You must be perfect in order to pass judgement like that so, hey, congrats. Good for you.

One question though; who exactly is going to lead this country? Aside from the tabloid BS and the partisan lines everyone seems so concerned about we have a real problem here... and no one seems to have answers.

scootmandubious said...

Rogue...it's not that we are picking on a 17 year old mother-to-be. If you think about it, Sarah Palin knew her daughter was pregnant and had to know this would come out. Her ambition caused the embarrassment for her daughter.

There is a real chance that McCain could have serious health issues that could effect his presidency.

How on Earth can we put a soccer mom, and religious zealot (who wants creationism taught in schools) in leadership of our country, especially in these dangerous times?

The choice by McCain was beyond irresponsible.

Examining what little we know about this woman is mandatory.

Yet they would not allow her to appear on any of the weekend news programs so that we could better get to know her. Odd, wouldn't you say?

We've had 4 years to vet Obama. How many days do we have to vet Palin until this, the most vital of elections?

Anonymous said...

I'm an Obama supporter who finds this article ludicrous. Nobody is owed a counterproductive job.

scootmandubious said...

Nobody said this was earth-shattering, it opens a small windown into what her priorities were, since we no nothing about her management style.

What's ludicrous is that this would happen in a town of 6,000, with a huge surplus.

The point was three-fold:
1) it did not need to happen.
2) the surplus was evidently caused by some of the earmark money that Palin was notorious for
3) it shows prioritizing sewer lines over people. There was no reason they both couldn't have been accomodated.

There is no reason this had to happen.

This didn't just make the local paper, it made the Rocky Mountain News. in Denver.

But thanks for letting us know who you are apparently voting for.

Anonymous said...

Let me just say that I am a believer and follower of the Lord Jesus Christ who is sick and tired of these so-called Republican Christians who are only concerned about other people's sins and not their own. God didn't call us to legislate morality. What a waste of time. Seems like they have forgotten what Easter is truly about. SMH.

I don't blame any blogger or reporter for trying to find out about Sarah Palin at all, and this includes your "Lack of Compassion" blog entry.

We know virtually next to nothing about this woman. McCain's arrogance and poor judgment means that now the media and the American Public will do the vetting that he and his team did not.

McCain is 72 years old with a history of health problems. He put himself first, not the country by putting Sarah Palin's name on the ballot. We don't need impulsivity and pandering. I want to know who Sarah Palin, who would be a heart beat away from being the leader of the free world is.

With that said, I will vote for Obama/Biden this November.

Anonymous said...

hell yeah - if it's time for these ladies to retire, then it's DEFINITELY time for McCain to retire!

Anonymous said...

For those of us who know history, there was a man named Harry Truman who no one new a thing about, and was faced with the biggest military decision in our countries history, only after being elevated to the presidency through the death of FDR. He rose to the occasion. I understand there should be questions about her, but give her a chance. let her speak. Get to know her first. To intimate that there is a good chance that something will happen to John McCain is simply not true. A chance? Sure. Yet, you aren't a bit concerned about Obama, who is running for the top job right now, with very little experience, and that experience is legislative, not executive? He has a track record that is far, far left of 95% of the country, dems included, if you really looked at what he stands for and what he will do. Very scary. Yet you are concerned about the VP, which, historically, is a very uneventful position. How about some more concern about the man who will literally run this country into the ground with giving yet more responsibility to the government, like nationalized healthcare, when this government has proven time and time again that is it not efficient or productive. Talking about change is fine. It's time to stop talking and show us who you really are and what you will really do, Barack. If you were honest, I don't think most of us will like what we hear.

Anonymous said...

"The museum, which had an annual budget of more than $200,000, was costing roughly $25 per visitor, said Mayor Sarah Palin"

She sound prudent, thats a very expensive museum. She was not closing it. She was cutting costs. She even gave them the choice of who leaves. Lack of compasion would be to fire one. Wiley would be to get all three to quit so there would be no law suits and then hire just two to replace them.

scootmandubious said...

To the 'anonymous' poster who is horrified at the prospect of Obama in the White House.

I have read Obama's specific policies on all the major issues. If you go to his official site, it is all spelled out. There is no mistaking his clear positions on the issue and how it differs from McCain. I am willing to bet that you never made an attempt to read his platform on the issues.

I do not plan on voting for the man who said that we would be greeted as liberators in Iraq and that the Iraqi money would pay for it. His judgement is horrible. He even refers to a non-existent Iraqi-Pakistani border. Expert on foreign affair? I don't think so.

McCain is in favor of America's new policy condoning torture.

He also felt totally beholden to the religious right-wing of the GOP that has destroyed all moderation in that party.

He is a man who will continue the failed policies of George Bush, the man he sided with more than 90%of the time.

I have utmost comfidence in the policies and leadership of both Barack Obama and Joe Biden.

When I start prioritzing teaching creationism in the schools, banning a woman's right to choose, accepting a Clarence Thomas-cloned Supreme Court and seeing a Constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, then I would vote Republican.

However, while I am still a thinking person with real values, I will vote for Obama.

Anonymous said...

A point to remember is that the musuem had declined to incorperate some sugestions from Palin. In keeping with her esablished behavior Palin remembered the slight. At just about the same time she built a professional sized hockey rink (that ended up costing millions more then planned), but needed to cut funding to a historical museum.... um.. why? Because Sara never forgives anyone who disagree's with her. Look it up your self if you doubt me, she has fired just about everyone she could in order to hire friends and loyal followers of HER WAY. Including a librarian who said she would not ban books that palin found offensive, the librarian was later rehired due to public outcry. So is she someone we should trust in the Whitehouse? No thank you... I'm voting for Obama, who picked Biden in part because the VP running mate would disagree with him and in doing so keep Obama from becomeing too one track minded.