More tomfoolery from the New York Times on Palin

A liberal friend directed me to a critique if Sarah Palin from the NYT, which I read and enjoyed thoroughly, because this one article completely illustrates why the Times has lost so much respect and readership through their slanted reporting, whereby news features are essentially one sided editorials, verging on propaganda. Fortunately, this has caused a severe decline in their business. Off we go, from the second paragraph...

So when there was a vacancy at the top of the State Division of Agriculture, she appointed a high school classmate, Franci Havemeister, to the $95,000-a-year directorship. A former real estate agent, Ms. Havemeister cited her childhood love of cows as a qualification for running the roughly $2 million agency.

The story starts right off with a bang, accusing Sarah of hiring someone obviously unqualified for the job. But a simple google search turns up an AP article from the previous year with this:

Department of Natural Resources Commissioner Tom Irwin picked Franci Havemeister for the job [of Director of State Agriculture] yesterday (Thursday).

Havemeister is a native of the Matanuska-Susitna Borough and the daughter-in-law of Palmer-area dairy farmers Bob and Jean Havemeister.

Kinda contradicts the Times version, doesn't it? I mean, she sure sounds more qualified when you hear there is a dairy farm in the family. And while Palin may have suggested to Tom Irwin that he make the pick, it doesn't say that in either article. Kinda sounds like a lie to me. And they basically character assasinate some poor person without telling you a thing about them other than that they like cows and real estate. Next...

And four months ago, a Wasilla blogger, Sherry Whitstine, who chronicles the governor’s career with an astringent eye, answered her phone to hear an assistant to the governor on the line, she said.

“You should be ashamed!” Ivy Frye, the assistant, told her. “Stop blogging. Stop blogging right now!”

Oh, the horror! This one has been repeated everywhere, but it doesn't hold water with me. First off, it doesn't say Palin called the blogger, or that she was actually stopped from writing, but instead that some secretary somewhere in the governor's office called her and told her she should stop writing things. Big whoop. Especially for someone that was being very harsh and personal in her critiques of the governor. Obama's campaign just character assassinated a National Review columnist that was appearing on WGN radio in Chicago, calling him every name in the book (libeling him, actually), all because he wanted to talk about how Obama won't release any of his state government records, or his records from the education board on which he served with unrepentant terrorist Bill Ayers. The campaign directed supporters via email to inundate the station demanding they cancel the interview. Details can be found here. But somehow this is so bad. Right. Next bit...

Throughout her political career, she has pursued vendettas, fired officials who crossed her and sometimes blurred the line between government and personal grievance, according to a review of public records and interviews with 60 Republican and Democratic legislators and local officials.

This statement is simply opinion. No evidence is ever really given to support any of it. At least not in their article. But we should just take their word for it.

Rick Steiner, a University of Alaska professor, sought the e-mail messages of state scientists who had examined the effect of global warming on polar bears. (Ms. Palin said the scientists had found no ill effects, and she has sued the federal government to block the listing of the bears as endangered.) An administration official told Mr. Steiner that his request would cost $468,784 to process.

This one is fun. Environmentalists have managed to get the polar bear on the threatened species list, despite the fact that there are thousands all over the Arctic region, and there population is already protected in the US. There has been a ton of debate on this, because that listing immediately puts restrictions on any business that might harm that population at all, which, coincidentally, is the entire North Shore of Alaska, where oil and gas are found. Any project must suddenly go through another level of process to prove that they have no impact on the polar bear population. Of course melting sea ice is a concern, but there is no certain corresponding link to pollution as the cause of this warming. The real danger these businesses have is with an oil spill, but they have a good record outside of Exxon Valdez, which was technically at sea, not a major concern now that we have pipelines which have auto shut-off valves.
And of course we need another level of regulation, along with all the local, state, and federal reviews, as well as EPA reviews and environmental groups' legal challenges, for any new drilling in Alaska. Never mind the fact that Canada allows most killing of polar bears in North America, while it is illegal in the US. Palin is dead on as governor to oppose the polar bear listing, because it seriously hampers the oil and gas businesses in practically half the state, and they oppose it. This is why Alaska taxes these companies and gives checks to every resident of the state. But somehow the state is supposed to just spend weeks printing out every email mentioning it because some professor requests it? Talk about government waste! She should be applauded for resisting this foolishness, but the Times has been grinding their polar bear axe for a while, and don't care about reason with this issue, as they are so committed to the man-made global warming theory. Back to the article, sorry for the long digression...

State legislators are investigating accusations that Ms. Palin and her husband pressured officials to fire a state trooper who had gone through a messy divorce with her sister, charges that she denies. But interviews make clear that the Palins draw few distinctions between the personal and the political.

This has been the most oft repeated charge against her, but seems completely baseless when you know the facts. That trooper tasered his 10 yr old step-son as a punishment and made violent threats against the Palin family. They notified the state police commissioner of his conduct, but as of now he still has his job. If anything, there should be an investigation as to why this schlub is still an officer.
They keep repeating on the news channels that Todd Palin is being subpoenaed, but anyone could be. I could hire a lawyer and subpoena you tomorrow. Doesn't mean it would get me anywhere. But you think Bill Clinton got many tough questions about his history of sexual misconduct while Governor of Arkansas when he was running? Heck, Obama doesn't even have to answer any direct questions about his involvement with the Daley political machine (David Axelrod, his campaign manager, is a major strategist for the Daley administration) or Bill Ayers or even his pastor of twenty years, where he sat through many hate-filled sermons bashing America and Israel while lamenting all the victims of evil American wars. This is really the best they can do on Sarah Palin. More...

Last summer State Representative John Harris, the Republican speaker of the House, picked up his phone and heard Mr. Palin’s voice. The governor’s husband sounded edgy. He said he was unhappy that Mr. Harris had hired John Bitney as his chief of staff, the speaker recalled. Mr. Bitney was a high school classmate of the Palins and had worked for Ms. Palin. But she fired Mr. Bitney after learning that he had fallen in love with another longtime friend.

I understood from the call that Todd wasn’t happy with me hiring John and he’d like to see him not there,” Mr. Harris said.

“The Palin family gets upset at personal issues,” he added. “And at our level, they want to strike back.”

Looking at this, it justs sounds like you aren't getting the whole picture. I googled it, and found I was right. Turns out Mr. Bitney was "dating" a woman who happened to be married to a close friend of Todd Palin's. Setting aside the fact that we will never know the full details of that affair, it sounds to me like Mr. Bitney's personal life compromised his ability to do his job, because the governor no longer had faith in his honesty or ethics, especially after he assisted her on her big statewide ethics bill. Not a terrible reason to notify a future employer either. Honesty matters. At least, that used to be the case until Bill Clinton came along, and then infidelity was completely acceptable and considered a "private matter". Democrats have defended marital infidelity for some time now, so their shock at someone having a problem with it is understandable.

She passed road and sewer bonds, cut property taxes but raised the sales tax.

Another talking point for the left is that she raised taxes, as above, but actually, the citizens desired a hockey arena, and they had a bond issue that paid for it with a sales tax increase, and the people there voted in favor of it. The tax wasn't just imposed from on high. Isn't that how government is supposed to work? Not according to the New York Times.

Yet recent controversy has marred Ms. Palin’s reform credentials. In addition to the trooper investigation, lawmakers in April accused her of improperly culling thousands of e-mail addresses from a state database for a mass mailing to rally support for a policy initiative.

Oh my God! She sent some emails to supporters! Call the FBI! Seriously, who has not gotten email from political parties before, from both sides? What an inane charge. Most of their complaints are about the email policies of the governor's administration. You might think this a scandal, but in actuality this battle is ongoing in practically every state, as well-meaning sunshine laws have meant that any written communication in government is "public knowledge". This new development has meant that requests for information under these laws can literally paralyze state governments, due to the sheer volume generated conducting daily business. Yet we are supposed to be shocked when they remind advisers to use a private instead of public address when discussing sensitive issues. But somehow we still aren't allowed to see any of Obama's paperwork or emails from his Illinois state government days, or even from his community organizer days. Even requests from liberal organizations, like the New Republic, are met with hostility, as happened when they inquired about legal briefs written by Obama while at Harvard. It is typical do as I say not as I do, as they have made no such demands from the Obama campaign, as fair standards of journalism might suggest that they do.
What really galls the Times people, and Democrats in general, is that she has become an accomplished governor while not necessarily employing Ivy League trained officials, which is anathema in liberal doctrine, as these institutions are the source for all "true" knowledge, especially as regards running government. About the only good thing the Times gives her some credit for is challenging incumbent Republicans, but that is John McCain's record too, and while that used to count with them when they praised him in some twenty editorials, it doesn't anymore. I just wish more people could see the bias being portrayed as mainstream opinion. You know you are a liberal paper when David Brooks is your token conservative. And don't even get me started on Tom Friedman, who is convinced he knows more than everyone else about every issue out there, because he has done a little research. The Wall Street Journal may have conservative opinions, but they are found on the opinion page, not the front page. When the Times remembers this concept, they will gain relevance again, but I don't see it happening anytime soon.