GovCentral

This is what actually should be read!

Although our mandate to elect Barack Obama was clear before, it is now
vital!
Thanks, Irene

This is from a Bryn Mawr college grad to her fellow alums

Dear classmates -

As an Alaskan, I am writing to give all of you some information on
Sarah Palin, Senator McCain's choice for VP. As an Alaska voter, I
know more than most of you about her and, frankly, I am horrified
that he picked her.

The most accurate description of her is red neck. Her husband works
in the oil fields of Prudhoe Bay and races snow mobiles. She is a
life time member of the NRA and has worked tirelessly to allow
indiscriminate hunting of wildlife in Alaska , particularly wolves
and bears. She has spent millions of Alaska state dollars on aerial
hunting of these predators from helicopters and airplanes, dollars
that should have been spent, for example, on Alaska 's failing
school system; we have the lowest rate of high school graduation in
the country. Not all of you may think aerial predator hunting is so
bad, but how anyone (other than Alaska wolf-haters, of which there
are many, most without teeth), could think this use of funds is
appropriate is beyond me. If you want to know more about the aerial
hunting travesty, let me know and I will send some links to
informative web sites.

She has been a strong supporter of increased use of fossil fuels,
yet the McCain campaign has the nerve to say she has "green"
policies. The only thing green about Sarah Palin is her lack of
experience. She has consistently supported drilling in ANWR, use of
coal-burning power plants (as I write this, a new coal plant is
being built in her home town of Wasilla ), strip mining, and almost
anything else that will unnecessarily exploit the diminishing
resources of Alaska and destroy its environment

Prior to her one year as governor of Alaska , she was mayor of Wasilla, a
small red neck town outside Anchorage . The average maximum education
level of parents of junior high school kids in Wasilla is 10th grade.
Unfortunately, I have to go to Wasilla every week to get groceries and
other supplies, so I have continual contact with the people who put Palin
in office in the first place. I know what I'm talking about. These people
don't have a concept of the world around them or of the serious issues
facing the US . Furthermore, they don't care. So long as they can go out
and hunt their moose every fall, kill wolves and bears and drive their
snow mobiles and ATVs through every corner of the wilderness, they're
happy. I wish I were exaggerating.
Sarah Palin is currently involved in a political corruption scandal. She
fired an individual in law enforcement here because she didn't like how he
treated one of her relatives during a divorce. The man's performance and
ability weren't considered; it was a totally personal firing and is
currently under investigation. While the issue isn't close to the scandal
of Ted Steven's corruption, it shows that Palin isn't "squeaky clean" and
causes me to think there may be more issues that could come to light.
Clearly McCain doesn't care.
When you line Palin up with Biden, the comparison would be laughable if it
weren't so serious. Sarah Palin knows nothing of economics (admittedly a
weak area for McCain), or of international affairs, knows nothing of
national government, Social Security, unemployment, health care systems -
you name it. The idea of her meeting with heads of foreign governments
around the world truly frightens me.
In an increasingly dangerous world, with the economy in shambles in the
US , Sarah Palin is uniquely Unqualified to be vice president. John McCain
is not a young man. Should something happen to him such that the vice
president had to step in, it would destroy our country and possibly the
world to have someone as inexperienced and inappropriate as Sarah Palin.
The choice of Palin is a cheap shot by McCain to try to get Hillary
supporters to vote for him. When McCain introduced her today, Palin had
the nerve to compare herself with Hillary and Geraldine Ferraro. Sarah
Palin, you are no Hillary Clinton.
To those of you who, like me, supported Hillary and were upset that she
did not get the nomination, please don't think that Sarah Palin is a
worthy substitute. If you supported Hillary, regardless of what you think
the media and the Democratic Party may have done to undermine her
campaign, the person to support now is Obama, not Sarah Palin. To those of
you who are independent or undecided, don't let the choice of Palin sway
you in favor of McCain. Choosing her shows how unqualified McCain is to be
president. To those of you who are conservative, I guess you have no
choice for president. But please try to see how the poor choice of Palin
tells us a great deal about McCain's judgment. While the political
posturing inherent in the choice of Palin is obvious, the more serious
issue is the fact that the VP is, literally, a heartbeat away from the
presidency. Sarah Palin is totally and unequivocally unqualified to be
vice president, let alone president.
I know this is a lengthy and emotional email, but the stakes are high. I
thought it might help for all of you, regardless of political affiliation,
to know something about Palin from someone who has to live with her
administration in Alaska on a daily basis.

Here's some basic background from MoveOn.org:
She was elected Alaska 's governor a little over a year and a half
ago. Her previous office was mayor of Wasilla, a small town outside
Anchorage.1
Palin is strongly anti-choice, opposing abortion even in the case of
rape or incest.2
She supported right-wing extremist Pat Buchanan for president in
2000. 3
Palin thinks creationism should be taught in public schools.4
She's doesn't think humans are the cause of climate change.5
She's solidly in line with John McCain's "Big Oil first" energy
policy. She's pushed hard for more oil drilling and says renewables
won't be ready for years. She also sued the Bush administration for
listing polar bears as an endangered species" she was worried it
would interfere with more oil drilling in Alaska.6
Here's a sample of Alaskan's responses:

She is really just a mayor from a small town outside Anchorage who has
been a governor for only 1.5 years, and has ZERO national and
international experience. I shudder to think that she could be the person
taking that 3AM call on the White House hotline, and the one who could
potentially be charged with leading the US in the volatile international
scene that exists today." Rose M., Fairbanks , AK

She is VERY, VERY conservative, and far from perfect. She's a hunter and
fisherwoman, but votes against the environment again and again. She ran on
ethics reform, but is currently under investigation for several charges
involving hiring and firing of state officials. She has NO experience
beyond Alaska . "Christine B., Denali Park , AK

As an Alaskan and a feminist, I am beyond words at this announcement.
Palin is not a feminist, and she is not the reformer she claims to be.
"Karen L., Anchorage , AK

Alaskans, collectively, are just as stunned as the rest of the nation. She
is doing well running our State, but is totally inexperienced on the
national level, and very much unequipped to run the nation, if it came to
that. She is as far right as one can get, which has already been
communicated on the news. In our office of thirty employees (dems,
republicans, and nonpartisans), not one person feels she is ready for the
V.P. position." Sherry C., Anchorage , AK

She's vehemently anti-choice and doesn't care about protecting our natural
resources, even though she has worked as a fisherman. McCain chose her to
pick up the Hillary voters, but Palin is no Hillary. "Marina L., Juneau ,
AK
I think she's far too inexperienced to be in this position. I'm all for a
woman in the White House, but not one who hasn't done anything to deserve
it. There are far many other women who have worked their way up and have
much more experience that would have been better choices. This is a
patronizing decision on John McCain's part- and insulting to females
everywhere that he would assume he'll get our vote by putting "A Woman" in
that position." Jennifer M., Anchorage , AK

Please forward this to everyone you know!