Re: Pledge to Special Needs Families by VP Nominee Sara Palin

[Guest guest]

And your point is what!!! until she had a baby with downs she voted against almost everything that benefited the disabled, advocate for me I do not think so.

"" Children with special needs inspire a very, very special love! To the families of special needs children all across this country, I have a message for you:

For years you’ve sought to make America a more welcoming place for your sons and daughters, and I pledge to you, that if we’re elected, you will have a friend, an advocate in the White House!"

VP Nominee, Governor Sara Palin To view all articles go to www.ffddnews.com Goldstein It's only a deal if it's where you want to go. Find your travel deal here.

[Guest guest]

Dear ;

They got my vote!!!! longtime ago and so do you!!

--

-------------- Original message --------------

"" Children with special needs inspire a very, very special love! To the families of special needs children all across this country, I have a message for you:

For years you’ve sought to make America a more welcoming place for your sons and daughters, and I pledge to you, that if we’re elected, you will have a friend, an advocate in the White House!"

VP Nominee, Governor Sara Palin To view all articles go to www.ffddnews.com Goldstein

[Guest guest]

And your point is what!!! until she had a baby with downs she voted against almost everything that benefited the disabled, advocate for me I do not think so.

As well, her 4 month old baby is far off from even entering pre-school- what does she know as far as advocacy?In a message dated 9/4/2008 12:57:33 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, skgolsteinhotmail writes:

"" Children with special needs inspire a very, very special love! To the families of special needs children all across this country, I have a message for you:

For years you’ve sought to make America a more welcoming place for your sons and daughters, and I pledge to you, that if we’re elected, you will have a friend, an advocate in the White House!"

VP Nominee, Governor Sara Palin To view all articles go to www.ffddnews.com Goldstein

It's only a deal if it's where you want to go. Find your travel deal here.

It's only a deal if it's where you want to go. Find your travel deal here.

[Guest guest]

Re: Palin

I always thought the Republicans do not want big Government. They want the States to handle the services for the developmentally disabled and schools. She will not be doing anything for us. Look at the situation we are in with the Republican Governor of our State. We are 50 out of 50 States. Look what the Legislature did with the Tier System.

I do not know if my 37 year old adult son will have a place to live, or a day program, or transportation. Forget about his therapies.

As we all know, that a few years of services does not cure individuals that are moderately to severely autistic.

We need to work with our State. Palin will be doing nothing for us. Our Governor and the Legislature have to find the money to help our kids, big or small

The over 18 adults do not go away. They are here and need services.

Good luck to all of you.

Eileen RothIt's only a deal if it's where you want to go. Find your travel deal here.

[Guest guest]

Thank you for pointing that out. I know a lot of parents who are

jumping on her bandwagon. It's easy to get emotionally caught up in

what she says. Please look at all the issues and then decide.

Candidates on both sides try to say all the right things for voter

appeal.

>

> And your point is what!!! until she had a baby with downs she

voted against

> almost everything that benefited the disabled, advocate for me I

do not think

> so.

>

>

> In a message dated 9/4/2008 12:57:33 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,

> skgoldstein@... writes:

>

>

>

>

>

> " " Children with special needs inspire a very, very special

love! To the

> families of special needs children all across this country, I

have a message

> for you:

> For years you’ve sought to make America a more welcoming place

for your sons

> and daughters, and I pledge to you, that if we’re elected, you

will have a

> friend, an advocate in the White House! "

> VP Nominee, Governor Sara Palin

>

>

> To view all articles go to www.ffddnews.To

> Goldstein

>

>

>

>

>

>

> **************It's only a deal if it's where you want to go. Find

your travel

> deal here.

> (http://information.travel.aol.com/deals?ncid=aoltrv00050000000047)

>

[Guest guest]

And for what it is worth, she didn’t write her speech.

From:

sList [mailto:sList ] On Behalf

Of oudies@...

Sent: Thursday, September 04, 2008 3:39 PM

To: sList

Subject: Re: Pledge to Special Needs Families by VP

Nominee Sara Palin

And your point is what!!! until she had a baby with downs she

voted against almost everything that benefited the disabled, advocate for me I

do not think so.

In a message dated 9/4/2008 12:57:33 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,

skgoldstein@... writes:

" " Children with special

needs inspire a very, very special love! To the families of special needs

children all across this country, I have a message for you:

For years you’ve sought to make America a

more welcoming place for your sons and daughters, and I pledge to you, that if

we’re elected, you will have a friend, an advocate in the White House! "

VP Nominee, Governor Sara Palin

To view all articles go to www.ffddnews.com

Goldstein

It's only a deal if it's where you want to go. Find your

travel deal here.

[Guest guest]

SHE cut the special needs budget in Alaska as soon as she took office by 65%!!!! for both 2007 and 2008,

HOW is that to advocate for children with special needs?????

To me she is a hypocrate.

Subject: Re: Pledge to Special Needs Families by VP Nominee Sara PalinTo: sList Date: Thursday, September 4, 2008, 4:39 PM

Dear ;

They got my vote!!!! longtime ago and so do you!!

--

------------ -- Original message ------------ -- From: " K. Goldstein" <skgoldstein@ hotmail.com>

"" Children with special needs inspire a very, very special love! To the families of special needs children all across this country, I have a message for you:

For years you¢ve sought to make America a more welcoming place for your sons and daughters, and I pledge to you, that if we¢re elected, you will have a friend, an advocate in the White House!"

VP Nominee, Governor Sara Palin To view all articles go to www.ffddnews. com Goldstein

[Guest guest]

You know whats funny or sad depending on how you look at it , If she would have said nothing People would have made comments about that to!

Robyn

-------------- Original message from "Keli Celot" : --------------

Thank you for pointing that out. I know a lot of parents who are jumping on her bandwagon. It's easy to get emotionally caught up in what she says. Please look at all the issues and then decide. Candidates on both sides try to say all the right things for voter appeal.>> And your point is what!!! until she had a baby with downs she voted against > almost everything that benefited the disabled, advocate for me I do not think > so.> > > > > > > > > "" Children with special needs inspire a very, very special love! To the > families of special needs children all across this country, I have a message > for you: > For years you’ve sought to make America a more welcoming place for your sons > and daughters, and I pledge to you, that if we’re elected, you will have a > friend, an advocate in the White House!" > VP Nominee, Governor Sara Palin> > > To view all articles go to www.ffddnews.To > Goldstein > > > > > > > **************It's only a deal if it's where you want to go. Find your travel > deal here. > (http://information.travel.aol.com/deals?ncid=aoltrv00050000000047)>

[Guest guest]

I sent this in another list serve I am a part of but thought I

would share my thoughts here too.

Sorry to rain on this parade but a closer look needs to be

taken. I was intrigued by her when I heard her speak and got really

excited about the opportunities that might come from her (particularly because

she was a woman and had a special needs child) until I researched a little

more. For me, she had a beautiful cover but a lot of her other

philosophies don’t line up with mine – she is against pro choice and for guns –

2 core issues that I strongly stand by. Having a special needs

child alone does not necessarily make her the right choice. Please

research a little bit more about her and see if the other issues she represents

are in line with your requirements for a political representative.

Republican or Democrat, just know before you vote. She may be a

perfect choice for you but I just found myself caught up in what might be

before I knew more.

From: sList

[mailto:sList ] On Behalf Of AnggarciaA@...

Sent: Thursday, September 04, 2008 4:39 PM

To: sList

Subject: Re: Pledge to Special Needs Families by VP

Nominee Sara Palin

Dear ;

They got my vote!!!! longtime ago and so do you!!

--

-------------- Original message --------------

" " Children with special needs inspire

a very, very special love! To the families of special needs children all across

this country, I have a message for you:

For years you’ve sought to make America a more

welcoming place for your sons and daughters, and I pledge to you, that if we’re

elected, you will have a friend, an advocate in the White House! "

VP Nominee, Governor Sara Palin

To view all articles go to www.ffddnews.com

Goldstein

[Guest guest]

Advocacy for the disabled doesn't start at pre-school. Advocacy starts from the day of diagnosis.Subject: Re: Pledge to Special Needs Families by VP Nominee Sara PalinTo: sList Date: Thursday, September 4, 2008, 11:08 PM

And your point is what!!! until she had a baby with downs she voted against almost everything that benefited the disabled, advocate for me I do not think so.

As well, her 4 month old baby is far off from even entering pre-school- what does she know as far as advocacy?In a message dated 9/4/2008 12:57:33 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, skgolstein@ hotmail.com writes:

"" Children with special needs inspire a very, very special love! To the families of special needs children all across this country, I have a message for you:

For years you¢ve sought to make America a more welcoming place for your sons and daughters, and I pledge to you, that if we¢re elected, you will have a friend, an advocate in the White House!"

VP Nominee, Governor Sara Palin To view all articles go to www.ffddnews. com Goldstein

It's only a deal if it's where you want to go. Find your travel deal here.

It's only a deal if it's where you want to go. Find your travel deal here.

[Guest guest]

Ultimately it is the Congress and Senate who make the laws. One can advocate as V.P. and encourage bills to be introduced, but they really have no power to make the laws anyway. I myself will have to take a hard look at all candidates before voting. It may come down to who will do less damage to the country and who is less socialist in nature.G.Subject: Re: Pledge to Special Needs Families by VP Nominee Sara PalinTo: sList Date: Friday, September 5, 2008, 11:01 AM

Re: Palin

I always thought the Republicans do not want big Government. They want the States to handle the services for the developmentally disabled and schools. She will not be doing anything for us. Look at the situation we are in with the Republican Governor of our State. We are 50 out of 50 States. Look what the Legislature did with the Tier System.

I do not know if my 37 year old adult son will have a place to live, or a day program, or transportation. Forget about his therapies.

As we all know, that a few years of services does not cure individuals that are moderately to severely autistic.

We need to work with our State. Palin will be doing nothing for us. Our Governor and the Legislature have to find the money to help our kids, big or small

The over 18 adults do not go away. They are here and need services.

Good luck to all of you.

Eileen RothIt's only a deal if it's where you want to go. Find your travel deal here.

[Guest guest]

First let me say to all of you that I did not intend to create a political argument, (Kim!! don't kill the messenger).

I think that you all should vote for whomever you think will be the best president or advocate for your child or whatever your priorities may be. Also, I will tell you that whatever you hear on CNN you should take with a grain of salt, as it is very biased toward democrats, just as Fox News is 'fair and balanced' towards republicans. Whatever your affiliation, please know that most all of the news and posts that you see from me, here or on the www.FFDDNews.com website are driven by a powerful search engine, with many trigger words. They are generated from publications by newspapers, radio and television reports across the world.

I personally received many calls and emails asking if I had seen the speech, and presumed many of you did also. Sara Palin's international speech contained an acknowledgement of our special needs population that I felt was worth posting and newsworthy, as it generated many, many articles. This is why I brought it to your attention. I was pretty excited about all the discussion it generated. If Obama had said anything significant that resulted in an article, with respect to special needs children, I would publish and forward that also.

As for me, many of you know that I am a republican, I am also pro choice and believe that gay couples should be able to adopt, but I am also a fiscal conservative, I feel that taxes are too high, and there are too many useless government agencies and organizations. I wholeheartedly believe that government was created to take care of our fellow citizens who cannot care for themselves, however, I do draw a very distinct line between human services and social services. I don't think that anyone agrees with a candidate on every issue. Fortunately, or maybe unfortunately, because of our increasing population, I think that many more politicians are aware of the issues our families face.

I can remember asking the governors office about earmarking the gambling money as a dedicated source of funding for the developmentally disabled population and the answer I got was that it did not poll high enough. I was shocked, because I really worked hard to get Governor Crist elected. I was disappointed in many of the decisions he made, and I am not sure I want to go down that road again. Will I vote for Palin and McCain? Yes. Would it be great to get more Federal dollars for services? Absolutely, but I won't hold my breath. Bottom line is if we want anything done to help our children, we must get involved, make sure they hear our voices, and never go away or give up.

All my best,

Goldstein

FFDD News

To: sList From: hidden_garnet@...Date: Fri, 5 Sep 2008 10:43:16 -0700Subject: Re: Pledge to Special Needs Families by VP Nominee Sara Palin

Advocacy for the disabled doesn't start at pre-school. Advocacy starts from the day of diagnosis.

Subject: Re: Pledge to Special Needs Families by VP Nominee Sara PalinTo: sList Date: Thursday, September 4, 2008, 11:08 PM

And your point is what!!! until she had a baby with downs she voted against almost everything that benefited the disabled, advocate for me I do not think so.

As well, her 4 month old baby is far off from even entering pre-school- what does she know as far as advocacy?In a message dated 9/4/2008 12:57:33 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, skgolstein@ hotmail.com writes:

"" Children with special needs inspire a very, very special love! To the families of special needs children all across this country, I have a message for you:

For years you¢ve sought to make America a more welcoming place for your sons and daughters, and I pledge to you, that if we¢re elected, you will have a friend, an advocate in the White House!"

VP Nominee, Governor Sara Palin To view all articles go to www.ffddnews. com Goldstein

It's only a deal if it's where you want to go. Find your travel deal here.

It's only a deal if it's where you want to go. Find your travel deal here.

[Guest guest]

I agree that just because she's a mother of a special needs child

doesn't make her an instant advocate for people with disabilities.

Only time will tell.

But for what I have read, it doesn't sound like she's ignoring the

needs of children with disabilities in her state. I found this on

Education Week, dated April 30, 2008:

Alaska Legislators Overhaul Funding

Alaska

Gov. Palin and state lawmakers have gone ahead with an overhaul

of Alaska's school funding system that supporters predict will

provide much-needed financial help to rural schools and those serving

students with disabilities.

The plan, enacted in the recently concluded session of the

legislature, is based on recommendations issued by a legislative task

force last year. It will phase in a greater flow of money to

districts outside of Anchorage, Alaska's largest city, over the next

five years.

Advocates for rural and remote schools have lobbied for years for

more funding, in particular noting the higher fuel, transportation,

and other costs associated with providing education in communities

scattered across the vast state.

A second part of the measure raises spending for students with

special needs to $73,840 in fiscal 2011, from the current $26,900 per

student in fiscal 2008, according to the Alaska Department of

Education and Early Development.

Unlike many other states, Alaska has relatively flush budget coffers,

thanks to a rise in oil and gas revenues. Funding for schools will

remain fairly level next year, however. Overall per-pupil funding

across the state will rise by $100, to $5,480, in fiscal 2009. Total

K-12 funding will rise to $1.2 billion from $1.1 billion, when

transportation, energy, and other state funds are included, according

to estimates from the governor's Office of Management and Budget.

The state also agreed to add another $216 million to fill in

shortfalls in its teacher-retirement system, the budget office said.

Carl Rose, the executive director of the Association of Alaska School

Boards, praised the changes in funding for rural schools and students

with special needs as a " historic event, " and said the finance

overhaul would bring more stability to district budgets.

Bill Bjork, the president of the Alaska state affiliate of the

National Education Association, said that he was pleased with those

changes, but that the plan, and the increase in per-pupil

spending, " doesn't do enough, soon enough, " particularly given the

state's strong oil revenues.

By Cavanagh

Vol. 27, Issue 35, Page 17

>

>

> And your point is what!!! until she had a baby with downs she

voted against

> almost everything that benefited the disabled, advocate for me I

do not think

> so.

> As well, her 4 month old baby is far off from even entering pre-

school-

> what does she know as far as advocacy?In a message dated 9/4/2008

12:57:33 P.M.

> Eastern Daylight Time, _skgolstein@skgolstein@_

> (mailto:skgolstein@...) writes:

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

I agree that 's List is not the forum for a political debate.

I receive the emails posted on 's List to gain information

about new studies, therapies, doctors, issues, etc. I have found

many wonderful therapists, supplements and even extra curricular

activities such as local sports with buddy programs.

I believe we all have the same goal to know what is happening in the

country with regards to children with disabilities and especially

autism. The fact that Palin mentioned that she will be an advocate,

and McCain actually included autism in his speech…how can that be bad

for our children. Don't we want autism kept in the spotlight? Does

it matter who wrote the speech? No, all that matters is that it was

said. If Obama had mentioned autism in his speech, I am sure someone

would have posted it as it pertains to our children, and I would not

have been offended by that post.

I am a wife and mother who devotes 95% of the day to my children. I

have one child with autism, a typical child, and we lost a baby to a

rare capillary malformation in his lungs. I spend my days driving

from one therapy to the next, doctor appointments and specialists…we

all spend our days this way. My priority is my children, having

lost a child, I want the person who will keep my children safe, and

for me, given the choice the answer is McCain.

> Subject: Re: Pledge to

Special Needs Families by VP Nominee Sara PalinTo: sList@...:

Thursday, September 4, 2008, 11:08 PM

>

>

>

>

>

>

> In a message dated 9/4/2008 10:56:44 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,

oudies@... writes:

>

>

>

>

>

> And your point is what!!! until she had a baby with downs she voted

against almost everything that benefited the disabled, advocate for

me I do not think so.

> As well, her 4 month old baby is far off from even entering pre-

school- what does she know as far as advocacy?In a message dated

9/4/2008 12:57:33 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, skgolstein@ hotmail.com

writes:

>

>

>

>

>

>

> " " Children with special needs inspire a very, very special love!

To the families of special needs children all across this country, I

have a message for you:

> For years you¢ve sought to make America a more welcoming place for

your sons and daughters, and I pledge to you, that if we¢re elected,

you will have a friend, an advocate in the White House! "

> VP Nominee, Governor Sara Palin To view all articles go to

www.ffddnews. com Goldstein

>

>

>

> It's only a deal if it's where you want to go. Find your travel

deal here.

>

>

>

> It's only a deal if it's where you want to go. Find your travel

deal here.

>

[Guest guest]

> Subject: Re: Pledge to

Special Needs Families by VP Nominee Sara PalinTo: sList@...:

Thursday, September 4, 2008, 11:08 PM

>

>

>

>

>

>

> In a message dated 9/4/2008 10:56:44 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,

oudies@... writes:

>

>

>

>

>

> And your point is what!!! until she had a baby with downs she voted

against almost everything that benefited the disabled, advocate for me

I do not think so.

> As well, her 4 month old baby is far off from even entering

pre-school- what does she know as far as advocacy?In a message dated

9/4/2008 12:57:33 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, skgolstein@ hotmail.com

writes:

>

>

>

>

>

>

> " " Children with special needs inspire a very, very special love!

To the families of special needs children all across this country, I

have a message for you:

> For years you�ve sought to make America a more welcoming place for

your sons and daughters, and I pledge to you, that if we�re elected,

you will have a friend, an advocate in the White House! "

> VP Nominee, Governor Sara Palin To view all articles go to

www.ffddnews. com Goldstein

>

>

>

> It's only a deal if it's where you want to go. Find your travel deal

here.

>

>

>

> It's only a deal if it's where you want to go. Find your travel deal

here.

>

[Guest guest]

I came across this post on another message board and I wanted to share the information with you all.

From reader Kim:

There’s more to the story than an honest mistake by CBS. In FY 07, before Palin worked on the budget, the state of Alaska had four distinct programs funded under it’s special education management budget: something called SESA, a psychiatric program, a school for the deaf, and the Alaska Challenge Youth Academy. In FY 08, the first Palin year, the first three programs - SESA, the psychiatric program, and the school for the deaf - were still in the special education management budget and their funding was approximately the same as it was in FY 07. But the Alaska Challenge Youth Program isn’t listed and it’s omission accounts for what appears to be a huge drop in funding for special education services.I wondered why the program was dropped and googled the Alaska Challenge Youth Academy. Guess what? In FY 08 the academy was moved out of special education management and became it’s own program. And it’s funding was increased by about $2.8 million (to $8,234,000 in FY 08from $5,449,300 in FY07). Here’s a link to the program’s FY 08 budget http://gov.state.ak.us/omb/08_OMB/bu…D/comp2837.pdfCBS, CNN and the other reporters could have discovered this had they simply read the 5, yes 5, page reports. It took me all of 30 second to discover this, and I’m as at home Mom with nothing but google to help me.

And from blogger Parentalcation, who Googled for 45 seconds before discovering this from a Washington Monthly writer who spread the meme: A commenter (Jim Syar) accused Palin of reducing the special education budget by 62%. That is false. The special education budget actually increased by nearly 12%, as explained below.As Syar correctly notes, the Alaska 2007 budget for special education was $8,265,300. But that included $5,352,000 for the Alaska Challenge Youth Academy.In the 2009 budgetary document to which Syar links, astute observers will note that there is no mention of the Alaska Challenge Youth Academy. Instead, you have to look elsewhere. And guess what: There is now a specific document providing $6,082,100 for the Alaska Challenge Youth Academy. ( Link) So combined with the $3,156,000 that Syar notes, the total is $9,238,100. A nearly 12% INCREASE, not a 62% decrease.Posted by: SB September 3, 2008 3:38 PMThe Washington Monthly has retracted the accusation and regrets the error.

[Guest guest]

Here is the whole article - the last paragraph is important!

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2008_09/014545.php

September 4, 2008

By: Hilzoy

Factchecking Palin

I thought Palin's speech was quite good: well-written, well delivered. And, as I said earlier, I think she's a genuinely engaging person, and comes across very well. There were just a couple of problems. One, which I have seen people notice, but which I suspect won't be a big deal for a lot of voters, is that it had very little substance. The other, which the commenters I saw on TV for some reason neglected to mention, was that she told a lot of lies. A few that stood out for me, or that I spotted in my quick run-through of some blogs:

Palin: "To the families of special-needs children all across this country, I have a message: For years, you sought to make America a more welcoming place for your sons and daughters. I pledge to you that if we are elected, you will have a friend and advocate in the White House."

Palin might have changed her mind on this one recently. However, a comment here notes that Palin actually slashed funding for schools for special needs kids by 62%. Budgets: FY 2007 (pre-Palin), 2008, 2009 (all pdfs).UPDATE: This is wrong. As you can see if you look at the list of component budgets here (2007) and here (2009), funding for the Alaska Challenge Youth Academy was broken out into its own budget category, which accounts for the drop in funding for the original item. I regret the error. Thanks to rory in comments.END UPDATE.

Palin: "As for my running mate, you can be certain that wherever he goes, and whoever is listening, McCain is the same man."

Steve's list of McCain flip-flops is here. See for yourself whether constancy is, in fact, McCain's middle name.

Palin: "I told the Congress "thanks, but no thanks," for that Bridge to Nowhere. If our state wanted a bridge, we'd build it ourselves."

Just to reiterate what others have said: Congress' requirement that funds be spent on that bridge (aka the 'earmark') were removed before Palin became governor. She was therefore in no position to tell Congress anything about the bridge, one way or the other. During her campaign, she said she supported funding for the bridge. Brad Plumer, citing the Anchorage Dialy News via Nexis:

"5. Would you continue state funding for the proposed Knik Arm and Gravina Island bridges?

Yes. I would like to see Alaska's infrastructure projects built sooner rather than later. The window is now--while our congressional delegation is in a strong position to assist."

Later, she accepted the money -- now not restricted by an earmark -- and used it for other infrastructure projects. Here's her statement about why she wasn't building the bridge (also via Plumer.) Decide for yourselves what role a principled opposition to earmark funding plays in it. Hint: here's what residents of Ketchikan AK said when they heard her recent remarks:

"In the city Ketchikan, the planned site of the so-called "Bridge to Nowhere," political leaders of both parties said the claim was false and a betrayal of their community, because she had supported the bridge and the earmark for it secured by Alaska's Congressional delegation during her run for governor. (...)

"People are learning that she pandered to us by saying, I'm for this' ... and then when she found it was politically advantageous for her nationally, abruptly she starts using the very term that she said was insulting," Weinstein said."

Palin: "But listening to him speak, it's easy to forget that this is a man who has authored two memoirs but not a single major law or reform - not even in the state senate."

Ha, ha, ha. I gave a rundown of Obama's accomplishments in the Senate here. They include the Lugar-Obama bill on nonproliferation, and an ethics reform package that the Washington Post called "the strongest ethics legislation to emerge from Congress yet." Ruth Marcus summarizes his record on reform:

"He helped pass a far-reaching ethics and campaign finance bill in the Illinois state Senate and made the issue a priority on arriving in Washington. Much to the displeasure of his colleagues, Obama promoted an outside commission to handle Senate ethics complaints. He co-authored the lobbying reform bill awaiting President Bush's signature and pushed -- again to the dismay of some colleagues -- to include a provision requiring lawmakers to report the names of their lobbyist-bundlers. He has co-sponsored bills to overhaul the presidential public financing system and public financing of Senate campaigns."

Not a single major law or reform, indeed.

And I wasn't aware that writing memoirs was something to be ashamed of. Obama has, in fact, written only one. McCain (with Mark Salter) has written at least two.

Palin: "America needs more energy ... our opponent is against producing it."

No -- he plans to develop a lot more energy than McCain does. It's just that a lot of it is renewable, not carbon-based. Moreover, Obama hasn't skipped the last eight votes on renewable energy.

Palin: "The Democratic nominee for president supports plans to raise income taxes ... raise payroll taxes ... raise investment income taxes ... raise the death tax ... raise business taxes ... and increase the tax burden on the American people by hundreds of billions of dollars. My sister and her husband have just built a service station that's now opened for business - like millions of others who run small businesses. How are they going to be any better off if taxes go up?"

Well, it all depends whose taxes go up, doesn't it? If and her husband make less than $250,000, their taxes will not go up. Most Americans will pay less in taxes under Obama's plan than under McCain's. So they might well be better off.

Those are just the falsehoods that leapt to mind. I'm sure there are others.

Whether or not Palin's engaging personality matters more than the fact that she tells lies depends a lot on the media, and whether they allow her to say that she opposed the Bridge to Nowhere, or that Obama has never authored a major law or reform, without calling her on it. I hope they do. But I'm not holding my breath.

***

To: sList From: sydney71@...Date: Sun, 7 Sep 2008 21:13:28 -0600Subject: Re: Pledge to Special Needs Families by VP Nominee Sara Palin

I came across this post on another message board and I wanted to share the information with you all.

From reader Kim:

There’s more to the story than an honest mistake by CBS. In FY 07, before Palin worked on the budget, the state of Alaska had four distinct programs funded under it’s special education management budget: something called SESA, a psychiatric program, a school for the deaf, and the Alaska Challenge Youth Academy. In FY 08, the first Palin year, the first three programs - SESA, the psychiatric program, and the school for the deaf - were still in the special education management budget and their funding was approximately the same as it was in FY 07. But the Alaska Challenge Youth Program isn’t listed and it’s omission accounts for what appears to be a huge drop in funding for special education services.I wondered why the program was dropped and googled the Alaska Challenge Youth Academy. Guess what? In FY 08 the academy was moved out of special education management and became it’s own program. And it’s funding was increased by about $2.8 million (to $8,234,000 in FY 08from $5,449,300 in FY07). Here’s a link to the program’s FY 08 budget http://gov.state.ak.us/omb/08_OMB/bu…D/comp2837.pdfCBS, CNN and the other reporters could have discovered this had they simply read the 5, yes 5, page reports. It took me all of 30 second to discover this, and I’m as at home Mom with nothing but google to help me.

And from blogger Parentalcation, who Googled for 45 seconds before discovering this from a Washington Monthly writer who spread the meme: A commenter (Jim Syar) accused Palin of reducing the special education budget by 62%. That is false. The special education budget actually increased by nearly 12%, as explained below.As Syar correctly notes, the Alaska 2007 budget for special education was $8,265,300. But that included $5,352,000 for the Alaska Challenge Youth Academy.In the 2009 budgetary document to which Syar links, astute observers will note that there is no mention of the Alaska Challenge Youth Academy. Instead, you have to look elsewhere. And guess what: There is now a specific document providing $6,082,100 for the Alaska Challenge Youth Academy. ( Link) So combined with the $3,156,000 that Syar notes, the total is $9,238,100. A nearly 12% INCREASE, not a 62% decrease.Posted by: SB September 3, 2008 3:38 PMThe Washington Monthly has retracted the accusation and regrets the error.

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