His Story
Smoke and Mirrors
by Isaac Johnson, Staff Writer
Isaac M. Johnson is a manager of IT operations for a firm in Chicago. The father of two has diverse interests including writing, astronomy, history and social sciences. He is a popular Blogger; his work appears regularly on Black in America
Anybody that knows me personally knows that I try to remain fair in my assessments of people or my arguments for or against a cause. My own philosophy is that if you are too easily given to sentiment or subscribe to rigid schools of thought, then you’ll often remain ignorant in some respect and I can honestly say that my philosophy hasn’t been debunked yet. We live in an age where sensational, sentimental and irresponsible “journalism” rules the roost. The Internet has spawned a movement of people who, while they might mean well (…or not), could move others to follow a flawed ideology or fall into the darkness. Many people have lost their objectivity or willingly cast it aside in favor of subjectivity because, well, we can. As such, if we allow ourselves to be swayed by the first blog or column or pod cast that comes along, then we really deserve the ensuing torment of ignorance. Still, there are times when even the most objective of minds would like to remain steadfastly unbiased yet the subject is unwilling to submit to an unbiased viewpoint. In those cases, even I’m at a loss for words of fairness.
Allow me to present Exhibit A: Governor Sarah Palin. By now, she is a household name. Thirty-eight days ago, she was a virtual unknown. But thanks to the Internet, the “pit bull” speech, Katie Couric, the vice-presidential
debate and various hard copies, we can say that we have a semi-intimate awareness of her world position. Given these various media, we have before us a system of “checks and balances” as well as our own judgment to weigh information for legitimacy. Overall, Sarah Palin’s political history could not be more of a disadvantage for John McCain! I’m not going to comment on Senator McCain’s hasty decision making process, though I really would like to know what was thinking about when he selected Governor Palin as his running mate, but I digress.
Her claim that Barack Obama keeps the company of
terrorists… seems to have become everyone’s favorite topic these days, whether it is true or not. Let us dissect Palin’s history. She is on record saying that she'd support an anti-choice agenda even if her own daughter was impregnated as a result of rape. story
Now, I don’t know about you, but if I were a woman, the trauma of a pregnancy under NORMAL circumstances would be enough of an emotional rollercoaster…let alone having the gravity of a rape induced pregnancy weighing constantly on my mind. Is that not a form of terrorism? In addition, Palin even allowed rape victims to be charged for medical exams. But getting back to the abortion issue, my personal stance is that of pro-life, with the exception of cases of rape and incest. Being anti-choice considering such a scenario is beyond me.
Sarah Palin also claims that Barack Obama has accomplished nothing as a politician. Well, here is a list of Obama’s accomplishments as an Illinois state Senator. But this race isn’t about pitting a vice-presidential candidate against the opposing party’s presidential candidate, so I’ll sidestep. However, to quote Christian Science Monitor Editor Josh Burek “In 2000, Palin was the mayor of an Alaskan town of 5,500 people, while Biden was serving his 28th year as a United States senator.” Her major public policy concern was building a local ice rink and sports center. His major public policy concern was the State Department's decision to grant an export license allowing sales of heavy-lift helicopters to Turkey, during the tense United Nations sponsored Cyprus peace talks.
An ice rink? It’s ironic that the Christian Science Monitor would be the publication to run a column criticizing Palin’s (a right-wing Christian after all) judgment and capabilities. Moreover, Sarah Palin used $400,000 of state money to fund a propaganda campaign supporting aerial wolf hunting in Alaska. Wouldn’t that money have been better used addressing Alaska’s prominent domestic abuse and alcoholism problems? Perhaps, Sarah Palin would rather antagonize rape victims.
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Sarah Palin also abused her powers as Governor of Alaska. A bi-partisan legislative investigation determined that Palin violated Alaska's executive branch ethics act, which states in part, "each public officer holds office as a public trust, and any effort to benefit a personal or financial interest through official action is a violation of that trust."
In case you haven’t heard, Mike Wooten, an Alaska state trooper, was involved in a bitter divorce from the Governor’s sister. The investigation determined Palin further abused her office in the strong-arming dismissal of Warren Monegan apparently for his refusal to fire Wooten even under constant pressure from Todd and Sarah Palin. Todd Palin, who once belonged to the Alaskan Independence Party – an organization supporting Alaska’s cessation from the United States, is also accused of using his status as Alaska’s First Man to influence others to do his bidding. Sarah made no known attempt to control her unpatriotic spouse and is complicit by inaction and
inability reign in Todd. Bitter divorce aside, the Governor, any Governor, has neither rights nor power to force the removal of a state employee to satisfy a personal vendetta. The McCain campaign made every effort to squash the investigation; the finding leave Palin open to a myriad of criminal and civil charges.
Mike Wooten began dating Palin’s sister in 1999 and became a trooper in 2001. Smells of nepotism, in fact, Palin wrote character reference on Wooten’s behalf in 2000. Allegedly, Wooten displayed a pattern of behavior and poor decisions often at odds with the Trooper’s Code of Ethics. He is further alleged to have tasered his then 11-year old step-son, Sarah Palin’s nephew, in 2003. Note this incident went unreported until April 11, 2005, the day Molly McCann, Sarah’s sister, filed for divorce. This looks like a twist on I brought you in and I can take you out and calls for serious scrutiny of Sarah Palin’s integrity and judgment. Are her attacks on Obama simply a thinly veiled attempt to keep her own soiled laundry buried deep in a backwoods Alaskan hamper?
There is so much take issue with that I don’t even know how to proceed. She rails that Obama is unpatriotic and says nothing of her own address to the Alaskan Independence Party convention. This pretend paragon of patriotism asked the librarian in Wasilla if she would be comfortable destroying controversial books should it be deemed necessary. The librarian said no and was subsequently fired, for being unsupportive of the then Mayor. It sparked a conflagration of public outcry and Palin withdrew her dismissal attempt. This incident occurred 12 years ago and shows Sarah Palin habitually abuses her authority in favor of her personal agenda. The Governor, who constantly bemoans Barack Obama’s supposed un-Americanism, has consistently failed to live up to her own standards. The Governor’s lack of definitive foreign policy experience, and her folksy elitism should be enough to dissuade every American ,the objective and the staunchest Republican. Are you ready; is our country ready, to be a heartbeat away from a Palin presidency?
Let’s give Senator John McCain a hand, ladies and gentlemen, for his exceptional judgment and leadership skills. Hey John, what’s a Shiite again…? There is no more credible a witness than ones own words: Palin’s legacy may well be her undoing on the national stage. This week, Palin and McCain turned a deaf ear as their supporters called for Obama’s head during a campaign rally. One woman even referred to Obama as an Arab. The more this campaign drags on, the more the GOP nominees rely on ignorance and incendiary innuendo to keep their fast sinking yacht afloat. So, what is one to make of all this? In the words of Barack Obama “they must think you’re stupid.”
