Anne K-
> xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> August 31, 2008
>
> Dear friends,
>
> So many people have asked me about what I know about Sarah Palin in the
> last 2 days that I decided to write something up . . .
>
> Basically, Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton have only 2 things in common:
> their gender and their good looks.
>
> You have my permission to forward this to your friends/email contacts with
> my name and email address attached, but please do not post it on any
> websites, as there are too many kooks out there . . .
>
> Thanks,
> Anne
>
> I am a resident of Wasilla, Alaska. I have known Sarah since 1992.
> Everyone here knows Sarah, so it is nothing special to say we a re on a
> first-name basis. Our children have attended the same schools. Her father
> was my child's favorite substitute teacher. I also am on a first name
> basis with her parents and mother-in-law. I attended more City Council
> meetings during her
> administration than about 99% of the residents of the city.
>
> She is enormously popular; in every way she's like the most popular girl
> in middle school. Even men who think she is a poor choice and won't vote
> for her can't quit smiling when talking about her because she is a "babe".
>
> It is astonishing and almost scary how well she can keep a secret. She
> kept her most recent pregnancy a secret from her children and parents for
> seven months.
>
> She is "pro-life". She recently gave birth to a Down's syndrome baby.
> There is no cover-up involved, here; Trig is her baby.
>
> She is energetic and hardworking. She regularly worked out at the gym.
>
> She is savvy. She doesn't take positions; she just "puts things out there"
> and if they prove to be popular, then she takes credit.
>
> Her husband works a union job on the North Slope for BP and is a champion
> snowmobile racer. Todd Palin's kind of job is highly sought-after because
> of the schedule and high pay. He arranges his work schedule so he can fish
> for salmon in Bristol Bay for a month or so in summer, but by no stretch
> of the imagination is fishing their major source of income. Nor has her
> life-style ever been anything like that of native Alaskans.
>
> Sarah and her whole family are avid hunters.
>
> She's smart.
>
> Her experience is as mayor of a city with a population of about 5,000 (at
> the time), and less than 2 years as governor of a state with about 670,000
> residents.
>
> During her mayoral administration most of the actual work of running this
> small city was turned over to an administrator. She had been pushed to
> hire this administrator by party power-brokers after she had gotten
> herself into some trouble over precipitous firings which had given rise to
> a recall campaign.
>
> Sarah campaigned in Wasilla as a "fiscal conservative". During her 6 years
> as Mayor, she increased general government expenditures by over 33%.
> During those same 6 years the amount of taxes collected by the City
> increased by 38%. This was during a period of low inflation (1996-2002).
> She reduced progressive property taxes and increased a regressive sales
> tax which taxed even food. The tax cuts that she promoted benefited large
> corporate property owners way
> more than they benefited residents.
>
> The huge increases in tax revenues during her mayoral administration
> weren't enough to fund everything on her wish list though, borrowed money
> was needed, too. She inherited a city with zero debt, but left it with
> indebtedness of over $22 million. What did Mayor Palin encourage the
> voters to borrow money for? Was it the infrastructure that she said she
> supported? The sewage treatment plant that the city lacked? or a new
> library? No. $1m for a park. $15m-plus for construction of a multi-use
> sports complex which she rushed through to build on a piece of property
> that the City didn't even have clear title to, that was still in
> litigation 7 yrs later--to the delight of the lawyers involved! The sports
> complex itself is a nice addition to the community but a huge money pit,
> not the profit-generator she claimed it would be. She also
> supported bonds for $5.5m for road projects that could have been done in
> 5-7 yrs without any borrowing.
>
> While Mayor, City Hall was extensively remodeled and her office
> redecorated more than once.
>
> These are small numbers, but Wasilla is a very small city.
>
> As an oil producer, the high price of oil has created a budget surplus in
> Alaska. Rather than invest this surplus in technology that will make us
> energy independent and increase efficiency, as Governor she proposed
> distribution of this surplus to every individual in the state.
>
> In this time of record s tate revenues and budget surpluses, she
> recommended that the state borrow/bond for road projects, even while she
> proposed distribution of surplus state revenues: spend today's surplus,
> borrow for needs.
>
> She's not very tolerant of divergent opinions or open to outside ideas or
> compromise. As Mayor, she fought ideas that weren't generated by her or
> her staff. Ideas weren't evaluated on their merits, but on the basis of
> who proposed them.
>
> While Sarah was Mayor of Wasilla she tried to fire our highly respected
> City Librarian because the Librarian refused to consider removing from the
> library some books that Sarah wanted removed. City residents rallied to
> the defense of the City Librarian and against Palin's attempt at
> out-and-out censorship, so Palin backed down and withdrew her termination
> letter. People who fought her attempt to oust the Librarian are on her
> enemies list to this day.
>
> Sarah complained about the "old boy's club" when she first ran for Mayor,
> so what did she bring Wasilla? A new set of "old boys". Palin fired most
> of the experienced staff she inherited. At the City and as Governor she
> hired or elevated new, inexperienced, obscure people, creating a staff
> totally dependent on her for their jobs and eternally grateful and
> fiercely loyal--loyal to the point of abusing their power to further her
> personal agenda, as she has acknowledged happened in the case of
> pressuring the State's top cop (see below).
>
> As Mayor, Sarah fired Wasilla's Police Chief because he "intimidated" her,
> she told the press. As Governor, her recent firing of Alaska's top cop has
> the ring of familiarity about it. He served at her pleasure and she had
> every legal right to fire him, but it's pretty clear that an important
> factor in her decision to fire him was because he wouldn't fire her
> sister's ex-husband, a State Trooper. Under investigation for abuse of
> power, she has had to admit that more than 2 dozen contacts were made
> between her staff and fa mily to the person that she later fired,
> pressuring him to fire her ex-brother-in- law. She tried to replace the
> man she fired with a man who she knew had been reprimanded for sexual
> harassment; when this caused a public furor, she withdrew her support.
>
> She has bitten the hand of every person who extended theirs to her in
> help. The City Council person who personally escorted her around town
> introducing her to voters when she first ran for Wasilla City Council
> became one of her first targets when she was later elected Mayor. She
> abruptly fired her loyal City Administrator; even people who didn't like
> the guy were stunned by this ruthlessness.
>
> Fear of retribution has kept all of these people from saying anything
> publicly about her.
>
> When then-Governor Murkowski was handing out political plums, Sarah got
> the best, Chair of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission: one of
> the few jobs not in Juneau and one of the best paid. She had no background
> in oil & gas issues. Within months of scoring this great job which paid
> $122,400/yr, she was complaining in the press about the high salary. I was
> told that she hated that job: the commute, the structured hours, the work.
> Sarah became aware that a member of this Commission (who was also the
> State Chair of the Republican Party) engaged in unethical behavior on the
> job. In a gutsy move which some undoubtedly cautioned her could be
> political suicide, Sarah solved all her problems in one fell swoop: got
> out of the job she hated and garnered gobs of media attention as the
> patron saint of ethics and as a gutsy fighter
> against the "old boys' club" when she dramatically quit, exposing this
> man's ethics violations (for which he was fined).
>
> As Mayor, she had her hand stuck out as far as anyone for pork from
> Senator Ted Stevens. Lately, she has castigated his pork-barrel politics
> and publicly humiliated him. She only opposed the "bridge to nowhere"
> after it became clear that it would be unwise not to.
>
> As Governor, she gave the Legislature no direction and budget guidelines,
> then made a big grandstand display of line-item vetoing projects, calling
> them pork. Public outcry and further legislative action restored most of
> these projects--which had been vetoed simply because she was not aware of
> their importance-- but with the unobservant she had gained a reputation as
> "anti-pork".
>
> She is solidly Republican: no political maverick. The State party leaders
> hate her because she has bit them in the back and humiliated them. Other
> members of the party object to her self-description as a fiscal
> conservative.
>
> Around Wasilla there are people who went to high school with Sarah. They
> call her "Sarah Barracuda" because of her unbridled ambition and predatory
> ruthlessness. Before she became so powerful, very ugly stories circulated
> around town about shenanigans she pulled to be made point guard on the
> high school basketball team. When Sarah's mother-in-law, a high ly
> respected member of the community and experienced manager, ran for Mayor,
> Sarah refused to endorse her.
>
> As Governor, she stepped outside of the box and put together of package of
> legislation known as "AGIA" that forced the oil companies to march to the
> beat of her drum.
>
> Like most Alaskans, she favors drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife
> Refuge. She has questioned if the loss of sea ice is linked to global
> warming. She campaigned "as a private citizen" against a state initiaitive
> that would have either a) protected salmon streams from pollution from
> mines, or tied up in the courts all mining in the state (depending on
> who you listen to). She has pushed the State's lawsuit against the Dept.
> of the Interior's decision to list polar bears as threatened species.
>
> McCain is the oldest person to ever run for President; Sarah will be a
> heartbeat away from being President.
>
> There has to be literally millions of Americans who are more knowledgeable
> and experienced than she.
>
> However, there's a lot of people who have underestimated her and are
> regretting it.
>
> CLAIM VS FACT
>
> * "Hockey mom": true for a few years
>
> * "PTA mom": true years ago when her first-born was in elementary school,
> not since
>
> * "NRA supporter": absolutely true
>
> * social conservative: mixed. Opposes gay marriage, BUT vetoed a bill that
> would have denied benefits to employees in same-sex relationships (said
> she did this because it was unconsitutional).
>
> * pro-creationism: mixed. Supports it, BUT did nothing as Governor to
> promote it.
>
> * "Pro-life": mixed. Knowingly gave birth to a Down's syndrome baby BUT
> declined to call a special legislative session on some pro-life
> legislation
>
> * "Experienced" : Some high schools have more students than Wasilla has
> residents. Many cities have more residents than the state of Alaska. No
> legislative experience other than City Council. Little hands-on
> supervisory or manage rial experience; needed help of a city administrator
> to run town of about 5,000.
>
> * political maverick: not at all
>
> * gutsy: absolutely!
>
> * open & transparent: ??? Good at keeping secrets. Not good at explaining
> actions.
>
> * has a developed philosophy of public policy: no
>
> * "a Greenie": no. Turned Wasilla into a wasteland of big box stores and
> disconnected parking lots. Is pro-drilling off-shore and in ANWR.
>
> * fiscal conservative: not by my definition!
>
> * pro-infrastructure: No. Promoted a sports complex and park in a city
> without a sewage treatment plant or storm drainage system. Built streets
> to early 20th century standards.
>
> * pro-tax relief: Lowered taxes for businesses, increased tax burden on
> residents
>
> * pro-small government: No. Oversaw greatest expansion of city government
> in Wasilla's history.
>
> * pro-labor/pro- union. No. Just because her husband works union doesn't
> make her pro-labor. I have seen no thing to support any claim that she is
> pro-labor/pro- union.
>
> WHY AM I WRITING THIS?
>
> First, I have long believed in the importance of being an informed voter.
> I am a voter registrar. For 10 years I put on student voting programs in
> the schools. If you google my name (Anne Kilkenny + Alaska), you will find
> references to my participation in local government, education, and
> PTA/parent organizations.
>
> Secondly, I've always operated in the belief that "Bad things happen when
> good people stay silent". Few people know as much as I do because few have
> gone to as many City Council meetings.
>
> Third, I am just a housewife. I don't have a job she can bump me out of. I
> don't belong to any organization that she can hurt. But, I am no fool; she
> is immensely popular here, and it is likely that this will cost me somehow
> in the future: that's life.
>
> Fourth, she has hated me since back in 1996, when I was one of the 100 or
> so people who rallied to support the City Librarian against Sarah's
> attempt at censorship.
>
> Fifth, I looked around and realized that everybody else was afraid to say
> anything because they were somehow vulnerable.
>
> CAVEATS
>
> I am not a statistician. I developed the numbers for the increase in
> spending & taxation 2 years ago (when Palin was running for Governor) from
> information supplied to me by the Finance Director of the City of Wasilla,
> and I can't recall exactly what I adjusted for: did I adjust for
> inflation? for population increases? Right now, it is impossible for a
> private person to get any info out of City Hall -- they are swamped. So I
> can't verify my numbers.
>
> You may have noticed that there are various numbers circulating for the
> population of Wasilla, ranging from my "about 5,000", up to 9,000. The day
> Palin's selection was announced a city official told me that the current
> population is about 7,000. The official 2000 census count was 5,460. I
> have used about 5,000 because Palin was May or from 1996 to 2002, and the
> city was growing rapidly in the mid-90's.
>
> Anne K-
> xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> August 31, 2008

I read somewhere today, can't remember where, but there is a strong possibility that this e-mail is a fraud.

Last I heard this email was confirmed ... supposedly there was the same email sent around with a list of books Palin banned, that list was a fake, but the actual KilKenny portion of the email was real.

R U listening to the show? Palin was threatened with a RECALL vote because she fired the Librarian and subsequently hired her back when her job as mayor was threatened.

I'd sure like a source on that, because it's my understanding the author has been interviewed several times over by a variety of outlets.

That's not to say her perceptions and opinions are the definitive Word.

Snopes HAS discredited the "banned books" list, and a couple of other Palin-related tales.

It's not the story about asking about how to ban books that was discredited, just the list of books being circulated as THE list of what she wanted banned. It includes books not released until after she'd left office in Walissa.

LINK FOR MORE INFO

NPR reorted on this email Monday. I would think it would have to be real if they were talking about it. But what do I know.



Here is a link http://www.thepresidentialcandidates.us/ab...e-kilkenny/741/

Here's the email i received...
I told the sender to my in-box-- my GodMother,
to take me off her email list, that they, Palin/Cmcain make me ill.
And i wished them luck as they vote against their own best interest

________________________________________________________________

What One Alaskan Thinks About VP Candidate Palin

Note: As you will read, the author of this has given permission for it to
be passed on so I am posting it in its entirety. The person who sent it to me
in an e-mail knows Deb from Alaska.

For anyone who wants my opinion on our new Vice President ....

Feel free to agree or disagree, but here is an Alaskan's viewpoint on our
new VP candidate (and I believe it is an opinion shared by the vast
majority of Alaskan residents).

Sarah Palin is the USA's answer to Margaret Thatcher!

Anyone who thinks she cannot handle the job or deal briskly and
efficiently with ANY issue, including foreign governments; well,
they haven't met our Sarah, grin. She is not "just a woman", she
is not "just a way to get votes" and if anyone expects her to
smile, simper and be quietly sweet - they don't know Sarah. She
is *more than* qualified for the job and the best possible choice
McCain could have made.

As an Alaskan resident as well as a resident of Wasilla, (AK), where Sarah
Palin was at one time Mayor, I feel I can speak with confidence. Governor
Sarah Palin of Alaska is exactly what she portrayed during her introduction
this morning and exactly what our US Government needs. She is ethical to a
fault (if there is such a thing), a refreshing change to the status-quo
and as smart and determined a PERSON (gender really isn't an issue here as far
as I'm concerned) as anyone could ask for at the head of government.

Sarah is no nave "small town mayor" - she just *started out* there. Btw,
as Mayor of Wasilla, she brought this "small town" through a lot of GOOD
changes and left it at the end of her term having grown to the 4th largest
CITY in Alaska - a lot of growth and a stronger economic base than ever
before.

She has EXECTUTIVE experience *running a government* something NONE of the
other candidates can actually boast, even John McCain) as Governor of
Alaska and got there by defeating the *incumbent* Republican Governor, who was
definitely part of the "old school" and who WAS very much in the pocket of
the big oil companies. We in Alaska wanted change - and we got it in the
person of Sarah Palin!

Sarah Palin is everything she looks to be and more. Her approval rating as
Governor of Alaska has been as high as 95% and is currently leveled out
consistently in the upper 80 percentile throughout the state (and in both
parties) - the HIGHEST approval rating of ANY sitting Governor.

Sarah has been turning around corruption in the Legislature of Alaska -
turning things on their ear for that matter; cutting spending in spite of
the increased income the state is currently receiving due to the high oil
prices - she has insisted on putting a huge amount of the "windfall" into
savings for the future rather than spending, spending, spending - and has
insisted from the get-go on what she refers to as "honest, ethical and
transparent governing" - no more closed door meetings and dealings - the
big oil companies thought she would be a pushover and have learned better
to their chagrin.

She understands the "real people" and the economic issues we all face
(Alaskans along with the rest of the country) - she was one of "us" not
long ago. Rather than passing useless "laws" or throwing money at pet
projects, she (most recently) temporarily suspended the state gas tax
(on gasoline at the pumps, fuel oil and natural gas for homes, etc.)
and has ordered checks issued to ALL residents of Alaska this fall in
an attempt to assist with the burden of high fuel costs for the upcoming
winter. I could go on and on, but that's enough for now. She isn't doing
these things to be popular - she is doing it because her constituents
are HURTING financially and she is in a position to help.

She became Governor of Alaska by defeating the Incumbent Republican
Governor and doing it *without* the money or the support of the
Republican Party, which was amazing in itself - and she won by a
landslide. The "powers that be" at that time totally underestimated
Sarah and learned better the hard way. Let's hope Obama does the
same. Sarah has done exactly what she claimed she was going to do
when elected and is just as popular today as the day she was
elected - perhaps more so since even the Democrats up here seem to
like her - she works well with both sides in the Legislature here.

Sarah "belongs" to us (Alaskans) ... and although we are going to be
terribly sorry to see her leave before she finishes the job she started
here (two years ago) straightening out OUR State ... we understand she is
needed for a bigger purpose and hopefully her Lt. Governor will be able
to fill her shoes here and continue the job.

As for worrying about what would happen if McCain were to die or step down
or whatever ... here in AK we've only been wondering how long we would be
able to KEEP Sarah in Alaska and have seen her as our first woman President
of the USA from the start. It's always been a matter of whether she would
wait until the end of her TWO terms as Governor (no doubt at ALL that she
would be re-elected if she ran for a second term at the end of her current
term) ... or end up in Washington sooner. She could do the job TODAY.

Personally, I feel a lot better about McCain now that I know he has
someone as savvy, as strong, as ethical and as steady as Sarah at his
back. She will be an excellent Vice President ... and my guess is will
be our US Republican Presidential candidate in four years - AND by then
the country will KNOW her - will love and respect her as we do here - and
she'll win by as much of a landslide as she did here in Alaska. I only
wonder if McCain has a clue what he is unleashing on the US of A grin.
She is going to be a fresh wind, but also a strong wind.

Is that enough of an endorsement? If not, I'll add this .... Jerry and I
have for many years felt the best "vote" was to vote for the lesser of two
evils" and hope they didn't do too much damage. Two years ago during our
State Governor's race was the first time EVER that we actually asked for
not just a little sign to put in our yard showing our support of our candidate
(something we've never felt the desire to do at all before) - we asked for
a full 4' x 8' "SARAH PALIN FOR GOVERNOR!" sign and were proud to display
it. She hasn't let us or Alaska down. She will do the same for the USA if
given the opportunity.

Feel free to pass this on to anyone who may be interested (and spam those
who aren't!).



-Deb in Alaska

Sarah Palin asked the Librarian to ban books, the Librarian said "NO", so SP tried to punish her for not kowtowing. End of story...Cheney in a skirt

Letter About Palin Goes Viral
by Martin Kaste



All Things Considered, September 5, 2008 · This week in Wasilla, Alaska, a woman named Anne Kilkenny sent a letter to some college friends about her former mayor, Sarah Palin. By week's end, the letter was pinging around the country and Kilkenny's phone was ringing off the hook.


Listen http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.p...toryId=94332543

Maybe that was what I read. It was at 5:15 this morning while coffee was brewing. The article also stated that Snopes was swamped with trying to verify all the stuff that has come out in the last week.

I'll give you that Cheney and Palin come from the same evil place. But on paper, taking ideology and and past performance completely out of the equation, there is AT LEAST an argument that, before taking office, Cheney actually had some credentials qualifying him for the office of VP.

Palin does not.

My POV: She is ADD/ADHD.

THat's why the media is being kept from her...she hasn't been "indoctrinated" yet and live from KKKarl Rove won't work 'cuz she'll keep turning her head toward the voice in her head..."hu...watt.." coming out of her clap trap.

Once she gets used to the chip in her head, she'll be on all the talk shows, IMHO