Say you held a meeting and nobody showed up.....

I recently watched the video of Palin turning over the cd tape of phone calls to monegan at a conference in Alaska. First to myself it was obvious she had things to hide. My conclusion came from several facts from her comments. Palin stated she had no knowledge of the calls or who made them, then minutes later after one of her croonies brings up Todd Palins involvement, she suddenly remembers and admits o yea there was one my husband made to monegan. Then goes on to try to explain it as thou they all only wanted to know the process of possible disciplanary action against said trooper. Like a governer and staff shouldnt already know or have that information? Plus the fact that Palin distances heself from the "trooper" repeatedly calling him just that or "the guy". Never once does she mention the fact that the "trooper" is her x-brother inlaw. Hmmm...

Now that the Palin's have left Alaska and kicked dirt in our face on their way to line their pockets in Washington - has anyone looked into this familys mysterious finances ? I think their horrible behaviour by lieing ignoring subpoeanas and encouraging others to lie while smearing many good Alaskans should motivate many to expose these people for the Phonies this are. Can anyone explain how a couple with 4 kids was able to build a new lakehouse and own Floatpanes, New Vehicles, Cabins and Snowmachines all on a single income. Granted that Todd must make a decent living working for an evil oil company so hated by Sara but it just doesn't seem to add up. Hockey costs many thousands of dollars a year for kids to play and Sara is the self proclaimed worlds greatest Hockey Mom. Do Sara and Todd's parents have tons of money - I thought Sara was from a poor family of underpaid teachers - Have Todd's parents been funding this life style or are they in debt up to their snooty butts ? Wasn't there same nonsense involved with the Sewer Lines and Gas Service being run into the Palin's new house ? Didn't Sara do a TV add for Spenard Builders when they were building the house - did they declare the compensation and/or product discounts on their taxes ? These are the type of things a vetting process would have addressed but oh yea McCain skipped that step. Maybe Meg Stapleton can squint her eyes, glare into the camera, crank up her smarmiest tone and explain all this. No one would believe a word she says but it would be entertaining.

For those that ignored the subpoenas, French said the legislature would consider taking action against them.

I sure hope so. If I were to ignore a subpoena from a court or the legislature, my (or anyone else's) next stop would be jail. It is just that simple.

It is wrong that these people can flaunt the law in such a blatant way. It isn't fair to Alaskans that these elitists can ignore a legal requirement to testify under oath. These people need to be fined and go to jail because that is the law. Just for this action alone, the Governor needs to go as soon as possible.

Dear Mr. Halcro, Thank you for keeping us informed. I live in Sacramento, California and love to visit your state. Your Attorney General has me so disgusted that I have filed an "Attorney Grievance Form" with the Alaska Bar Association. I found the form on their website, filled it out, and mailed it today. I may be "you know what" into the wind but I just had to do something. Californians impeached Gov. Davis for lesser infractions. Perhaps Alaskans will consider the same road. Monegan seems like a stand up guy and Branchflower shouldn't be slammed by the McCain wonks.

Thank You Andrew. All The Best, Kim

ABC news is reporting now that the 'insubordinate' trip that Monegan made to Washington, was actually authorized by Palin's office. ABC News has the actual document from a records request: http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=5844710&page=1 Check it out. This is good.

Speaking to Sean Hannity on FOX news on September 18, Sarah Palin tried to dismiss claims that she supported teaching creationism in public schools. Palin responded to Hannity: “No. In fact, growing up in a school teacher's house with a science teacher as a dad, you know, I have great respect for science being taught in our science classes and evolution to be taught in our science classes.” Yet on a debate broadcast on Alaska public radio and television on October 25, 2006, moderator Michael Carey asked about teaching alternatives to evolution - such as creationism and intelligent design - in public schools. Palin responded: “Teach both. You know, don’t be afraid of information. Healthy debate is so important and it’s so valuable in our schools. I am a proponent of teaching both. And, you know, I say this, too, as the daughter of a science teacher. Growing up with being so privileged and blessed to be given a lot of information on, on both sides of the subject -- creationism and evolution. It’s been a healthy foundation for me. But don’t be afraid of information and let kids debate both sides.” Sarah Palin supports teaching creationism in public schools.

Come on, who didn't see this coming. The best we can hope for is that she and Mc Cain aren't elected, she'll have to come home and face the music on her own without the protection of her new "friends". (Who will drop her like a bad habit the second they no longer need her)I'm sure this is common practice in DC, so it's a little fascinating seeing this kind of political maneuvering so close to home...granted, it's disappointing and nauseating, but fascinating none the less.

I live in the lower 48, and I do not understand how individuals can ignore a subpoena because of their 'loyalty' to a person involved in an investigation. I've worked in the judicial system and here, that excuse would be laughed right out of the courtroom. Also... By what authority can the McCain campaign interfere in and tamper with your state government's internal investigation?

Sarah, Todd, their administration and their lawyers don't know what their lies are supposed to be yet. They have to wait for Branchflowers report so they know what he has on them, and then they can fabricate their stories from whatever damaging evidence he has collected. If they testify before they know what he has, then they could be caught in lies made under oath instead of lies just made to the common Alaskan folk. For example, when Sarah suddenly discovered there was a years old phone recording of her aide Frank Bailey calling a trooper official trying to get Wooten fired, she had to fabricate a lie that she was unaware of what Bailey was doing on her behalf.

Conspiracy: 1.) An agreement to perform together an illegal, wrongful, or subversive act. 2.) Law. An agreement between two or more persons to commit a crime or accomplish a legal purpose through illegal action. Send them to jail. That's where most Alaskan politicians are ending up these days anyway.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26794836/ Good for French! However, terrible for Alaska that Todd Palin can go on the McCain Road Show and thumb his nose at a subpoena.

Is the McCain campaign now running the state of Alaska? I am not a resident, but I would challenge you all to stand up and take back your state. You just need to pick up the phone and call your legislators and tell them you will not tolerate this. Call your friends and ask them to do the same. You have some brave legislators - Lyda Green and Hollis French come to mind - and they need more support. Step up and show the country what Alaskans are made of! Let me add - I think the Monegan firing is not that big a deal itself, possibly deserving of a simple apology and an offer to rehire. It is the coverup, and the 'shadow governor', and the possible violations of confidentiality that are the big deal. These questions deserve not just an answer, but a timely answer. No political campaign, of either party, has the right to deny the citizens these answers.

Got to think that 1) branchflower already has plenty from the released documents and testimony, and 2) branchflower, french, and others, including some repubs, are now pissed off royally by the McPalin's thumbing their noses at the investigation.

I am so disgusted. I know I'm not alone, but good Lord...what an embarrassment this little twit has turned out to be. And the people surrounding her? Even worse, because they don't have the spine to walk away and distance themselves from a very bad situation. Meg Stapleton, Sharon Leighow, our illustious "republican fab five", etc...you all are quite the pieces of work. So I would imagine we'll be told something like this: “Well, the Gov and her “guy” are both above the law and are liars. The gov’s staff are above the law, and oh hey….the Attorney General who advised the staff not to honor the subpoenas should be disbarred. But since no one testified, I guess the gov and everyone else get off scott free. But please folks, don’t try this at home. You WILL go to jail because you’re just mere mortals.” How pathetic. Too bad we can't give the gov, her "guy" and all THEIR staff and the McCain folks the big heave ho and a good old Alaskan one way ticket OUT of OUR state. Maybe Greta VanSustern has a few empty rooms - that chick has Palin fever to the nth degree.

Kudos to our legislature for having backbone, for not allowing this to be swept under the rug, and for continuing with the 10/10/08 timeline. A HUGE thank you. IMO, action should definitely be taken against all who ignored the subpoenas. They should all be disciplined, fined, whatever, the same as any other citizen. In addition, the State employees who ignored subpoenas should be removed from our State payroll as of today. Also, if Ms Wilkes does not appear (too many broken promises along the way to believe this until we see it), the workers comp contract should be immediately awarded to a different firm. No more monkey business. I don't give a hoot what any of their atty's advised them - they're ultimately responsible for their actions, for knowing the difference between right and wrong. IMO, as of now, the only way to redeem themselves is to appear as required. IMO, their actions are inexcusable.

Branchflower is a competent attorney. He will issue a report based on the information that he was presented and obtained through his investigation. Here are some observations and likely findings. 1) Walt M. says he was pressured by Palin and contacted by various individuals. His sworn statement will be unrefuted by the witnesses that did not show up. 2) Bailey's tape will stand on its own. The investigation will show that Bailey, in his job capacity, did not have access to the w/comp file. Thus, the inference is that he had improper access to the file and was acting improperly as to Wooten. Colberg already has admitted to contacting Wooten. Thus Walt's story has further verification. 3) Palin's assertions that she did not do anything improper was not sworn to. She stated none of her staff pressured Walt. Her credibility is destroyed or at least suspect due to the Bailey tape. 4) Palin's statements were also undercut by the McCain actions. She was inconsistent with her own statements from previous interviews. The "rogue" Walt scenario is crap and is seen as such. 5) Gleaning inferences, regarding emails, it appears there are emails supporting Walt's story. The relevation of Palin's Yahoo accounts will be a bit of intrigue. 6) There will be a number of pages devoted on how the investigation was hampered by outside influences and unforeseen scenario that McCain would pick Palin as his VP candidate. How lawful requests were ignored with possible adverse consquences in the future. May be a comment or three on the unfortunate comment of Hollis French. Based on the foregoing, it is likely that Branchflower will find Walt's story credible and supported by the facts. That the Palin administration has not refuted the allegations. That the Palin administration lied as to the pressures (at worse) or was staffed by personnel who were grubbing or trying to curry favor with Palin that they went out of the their scope of their state duties to be involved, on state time and dime, to delve into the personal affairs of the govenor. What will be Branchflower's recommendation? I am not sure. I do look forward to reading the report when it is released.

I believe that Branchflower has quite a bit of information already...enough to make them nervous enough to try and stop him from releasing it. I've never thought this was about what they were trying to keep from him. I've always believed this was about putting a lid on what he's already discovered.