Sarah, don’t go we Democrats need you!

Palin to quit as Alaska governor at end of July

Huffington Post, July 3rd, 2009

After Sarah Palin’s Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Week she has announced she will be stepping down in a few weeks. In a press conference call this morning, Alaska’s Governor Sarah Palin has announced she will not run for re-election and is stepping down as governor.

Don't go so soon Sarah!

Lt. Governor Sean Parnell will step in as governor at the end of the month. He was defeated by Congressman Don Young in the Republican primary last year.

Rumors of an “iceberg scandal” have been circulating.

Resignation is certainly out of character for Sarah Palin. Senator Mark Begich had a meeting with Sarah Palin two days ago with no mention of her leaving office. Palin’s press secretary, David Murrow had posted on his Facebook page Wednesday, “David Murrow is considering life’s ironies.” He was hired less than a month ago. Yesterday he wrote, “There’s gonna be some fireworks this weekend!”

Palin’s father, Chuck Heath, told Fox News that he thought her resignation was due to the negativity from the media. According to Heath, the governor was unable to be effective while she was constantly having to defend herself against ethics complaints and the media.

You betcha!

Sarah Palin has been a fascinating person on the political scene. She came out of nowhere, became the symbol of Republican conservatives and tried to convince everyone that she had a brain. Whether or not she tries to remain on the national scene, this week’s article in Vanity Fair told us that Sarah is a flash in the pan. Too bad, it would really be great have her as the brains of the Republican party.

Her announcement today seemed to have been written by Mark Sanford’s speechwriter.

Bill Kristol’s Weekly Standard says Palin is resigning because she’s tired of the incessant ethics investigations. Others on the net are speculating that a “Iceberg Scandal” of major proportions is about to surface. Stay tuned for more drama from our Republican friends…

The President recounts Americas great history of overcoming seemingly insurmountable challenges, and pledges to lead America in continuing that tradition. Focusing on creating a clean energy economy comprehensive health reform, and an education system in need of change, the President pledges not to leave these decades-old problems to yet another generation to solve.

You’re Invited to a Wingspan House Party on July 16th from 5:30 to 7:30pm, right here in SaddleBrooke. What’s Wingspan? Tucson’s LGBT community center and in fact, the 10th largest in the country. Did you know that 40% of our homeless youth identify as LGBT and that LBGT seniors are many times as likely to age alone as their straight peers. Wingspan provides a variety of programs to help these individuals, but also to survivors of domestic and other forms of violence. Wingspan’s Eon Youth Center also provides a safe hang-out space and primary resource for support groups, leadership development, social activities and community engagement for over 250 LGBT and straight allied youth annually.

As with all non-profits during these tough economic times, Wingspan really needs our support now. They’ve just undergone their third round of layoffs and are down to barebones staffing to conduct their critical programs. We hope you’ll help us make a difference. To RSVP (by July 11th) for this event and get the address, please email Linda at lindathomas724@aol.com or call her at 808.542.1823.

For the last few weeks, Republicans have been attacking Nancy Pelosi for criticizing the CIA’s congressional disclosure. Now comes the news that Leon Panetta, CIA director, has launched an internal probe of a “highly classified intelligence program” that was never properly disclosed to Congress.

The move by Panetta appears to be an implicit acknowledgment by the agency that it should have disclosed information about the post-9/11 secret program to Congress much earlier than it did.  When informed in the last few days, Republicans and Democrats are described as “stunned.”  This has now been followed by discussion about a potential “Murder Squad” operating internationally out of Cheney’s office in the Bush Whitehouse.

According to Huffington Post, rumors are swirling about “concerns an ‘executive assassination ring’ that was allegedly set up and answered to former Vice President Dick Cheney.  Further it is alleged that prize winning journalist Seymour Hersh is writting a book about the squad and its operations.  Earlier this year, Seymour Hersh discussed the “executive assassination ring” at a University of Minnesota seminar.

Apparently some of the operations went awry and in March, the New York Times mentioned a secret Special Operations group whose missions had killed women and children in Pakistan.

If true, this could have a lot of possible ramifications and it will be interesting to watch this story develop…

Leaders of both houses of congress pledged to have health care reform passed by the August recess.  How to pay for it is the chief concern at this point.  The reform will not likely to require single payer but will very likely have an medicare-like public option.  Democrats appear to be coalesing while Republicans are still saying “NO” to any and all aspects of health care reform.

Dems commit to meeting healthcare deadline

The Hill.com, July 10th, 2009

Democratic leaders in both chambers insist they will have healthcare legislation passed by the August recess, despite acknowledging significant obstacles ahead regarding how to pay for the plan.

“I am committed to doing this all month of July and the first of August,” before the Senate departs for the recess, Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said, even as senators struggled to agree on tax increases to finance the bill.

House Democrats plan to unveil their plans to pay for healthcare reform, including the tax increases, on Friday, said Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), which would present the lower chamber with a good chance of passing legislation by their July 31 deadline.

But Waxman and Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) both griped about the cost estimates they were receiving from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). More…

Washington Post, July 11th, 2009

Louis Gill doesn’t like to turn anyone away. The director of the Bakersfield Homeless Center in California has taken to laying out cots and mattresses between the shelter’s 174 registered beds to cope with the rush of homeless families brought to his doors by the financial crisis.

“Last year, we saw a 34 percent increase in homeless families and a 24 percent increase in homeless children,” he said. “Why do we go beyond capacity? Because in a just society, a child should not have to sleep outside or in a car.”

Gill is a frontline witness to the change in the makeup of the country’s homeless. The stereotype of a homeless person as a single man no longer applies. A resident of the Bakersfield center is far more likely to be a young mother with a “good, solid job and a mortgage that she just couldn’t pay.” More…

McCain: CIA secrecy story just beginning

CNN News, July 12th, 2009

(CNN) — Sen. John McCain thinks we haven’t heard the last about allegations that former Vice President Dick Cheney ordered secrecy for a CIA surveillance operation after the September 11, 2001, terror attacks.

“If I know Washington, this is the beginning of a pretty involved and detailed story,” McCain said Sunday on the NBC program “Meet the Press.”

According to a New York Times report, Cheney ordered the CIA to withhold information about the unspecified program from Congress. CIA Director Leon Panetta told the House Intelligence Committee last month about the program, which he said had been shut down.

McCain said he knew little about the program and offered no details. He said he expected Cheney, who has yet to comment on the story, to speak up.

We agree John, you ain’t seen nothing yet.