# Dear God, thank you for not electing Sarah Palin **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 6, 2008, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-god-thank-you-for-not-electing-sarah-palin/471399 "2008-11-06T03:01:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2008, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-god-thank-you-for-not-electing-sarah-palin/471399/121 "2008-11-11T04:33:32Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > They always forget [France](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Pierre_and_Miquelon) and [Denmark](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenland). > > Wait, she couldn’t name Canada? What did she think that thing along the highway between Alaska and Seattle was, anyways? Disneyland? Say, does North America include Central America? ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2008, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-god-thank-you-for-not-electing-sarah-palin/471399/122 "2008-11-11T04:46:26Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > There’s gotta be a famous valley in the Bible where Sarah can play Bible Valley girl. The Valley of the Shadow of Death from the [23rd Psalm](http://www.alwaysbesideme.com/23rd-psalm.html)? _Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil…_ ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2008, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-god-thank-you-for-not-electing-sarah-palin/471399/123 "2008-11-11T05:16:47Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > The Valley of the Shadow of Death from the [23rd Psalm](http://www.alwaysbesideme.com/23rd-psalm.html)? > > _Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil…_ No, not punchy enough. Too many syllables. Death Valley would be a better sounding choice – and Ronald Reagan hosted the TV series. But it’s not biblical. ---
**Author:** ![JKilez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e5b9ba/32.png) [@JKilez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKilez)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2008, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-god-thank-you-for-not-electing-sarah-palin/471399/124 "2008-11-11T06:09:22Z")
> [@Rick](#): > > first off, that still does not alter the fact that 56!=!57. > Secondly does the Northern Marianas send delegates to the DNC? The wiki link does not mention them. After a bit of checking I see that Northern Marianas sent delegates to the RNC but not the DNC. I do not know what the story is with that. Regardless, they are a commonwealth of the US and have representation in Congress. They certainly have a vested interest in who the candidates will be. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2008, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-god-thank-you-for-not-electing-sarah-palin/471399/125 "2008-11-11T06:17:42Z")
Could someone please translate this bit of Palinese into English for me? In [this new interview](http://www.adn.com/sarah-palin/story/584193.html) she spoke about the per diem issue: > [@](#): > > ``` > We’ve always followed the law and fully disclosed all that. The choice there in many months of the Juneau mansion being re-plumbed and all the improvements being made in the infrastructure of the Juneau house, where we weren’t going to be there anyway. Knowing that in the end it would have cost the state more money to do what other governors had done and that is either charge the state for hotel rooms. Or the state rents you an apartment like they did for Gov. Murkowski. We said no, we just won’t sell our house, knowing that we’re going to spend quite a bit of time here, especially those months where the remodels were taking place in the governor’s mansion. And we would disclose my per diem, we wouldn’t try to hide it … trying to go above and beyond, not accepting any per diem for the kids or Todd at all, they’ve lived outside of the governor’s house. Trying to follow the rules and doing what is legal and ethical and full disclosure. > > ``` I’m sorry, my brain is having trouble with that. What? About charging the state for her kids’ travel: > [@](#): > > Same with the family’s travel. That’s baffled me that all of a sudden two years later, again, never having tried to hide anything with either traveling back and forth to Juneau for first family events that were outside the capital city, in bringing Piper and, once in a while, Willow with me also, that anybody would think that I was trying to hide that they came with me … just trying to do my job and part of my job is with the first family, having them with me at some of these events. She really thinks the people of Alaska are pretty stupid, doesn’t she? > [@](#): > > Q. What misinformation are you talking about? > > A. Some of the goofy things like who was Trig’s mom. Well, I’m Trig’s mom (raises her hand) and do you want to see my medical records to prove that? Yeah, we still would. Didn’t her doctor speak on her behalf the day before the election? That’s not the same as disclosing your medical records. Not that it matters now, but it was just another infuriating thing she did (or didn’t do) that makes me glad she’s back in Alaska. > [@](#): > > And banning books. That was a ridiculous thing also that could have so easily been corrected just by a reporter taking an extra step and not basing a report on gossip or speculation. But just looking into the record. It was reported that I tried to ban Harry Potter when it hadn’t even been written when I was the mayor. Uh, yeah it was too written. Palin was mayor from 1996-2002. The first Harry Potter book was released in 1997. She also says that God will show her the way regarding a run for the presidency in 2012. God already did show you the way, bitch. He said “Go the fuck back home!” ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2008, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-god-thank-you-for-not-electing-sarah-palin/471399/126 "2008-11-11T12:24:36Z")
Happy to translate for you! “We’ve been gouging money out of the state using every avenue we could think of. All the other Alaska politicians do it, and nobody seemed to care until that nasty national media showed up.” “I have many children, including Trig. Anyway, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it. Medical records? What medical records?” “Banning books? Nonsense, I only tried to ban ONE book. Harry Potter.” BTW, has anyone come across this title before? AFAICR, nobody remembered what specific book or books she was unhappy with. I love Sarah’s denials, she just adds enough extra information to convince you that the whole story is true. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2008, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-god-thank-you-for-not-electing-sarah-palin/471399/127 "2008-11-11T15:02:16Z")
Palin did not attempt to get any particular books banned or removed from the Wasilla library when she was mayor. What she did was to repeatedly query the librarian about how the librarian “would deal with [Palin’s] saying a book can’t be in the library”. The librarian returned a very determined negative answer, and was subsequently informed that she would be fired because Palin didn’t feel she had her “full support”. Palin later reversed that decision. Here’s [the story](http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/09/12/mccain-camp-defends-palin-book-banning-inquiry/) from Fox News, so it should be free from suspicions of mean old liberal anti-Palinism (or well, it would have been when it was published; I gather a lot of conservatives are accusing Fox of anti-Palinism nowadays). > [@](#): > > Shortly after taking office in 1996 as mayor of Wasilla, a city of about 7,000 people, Palin asked the city’s head librarian about banning books. Later, the librarian was notified by Palin that she was being fired, although Palin backed off under pressure. […] > > Taylor Griffin, a spokesman for the McCain campaign, said Thursday that Palin asked the head librarian, Mary Ellen Emmons, on three occasions how she would react to attempts at banning books. He said the questions, in the fall of 1996, were hypothetical and entirely appropriate. He said a patron had asked the library to remove a title the year before and the mayor wanted to understand how such disputes were handled. > > Records on the city’s Web site, however, do not show any books were challenged in Wasilla in the 10 years before Palin took office. > > Palin notified Emmons she would be fired in January 1997 because the mayor didn’t feel she had the librarian’s “full support.” Emmons was reinstated the next day after public outcry, according to newspaper reports at the time. […] > > According to the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman newspaper, Emmons did not mince words when Palin asked her “how I would deal with her saying a book can’t be in the library” on Oct. 28, 1996, in a week when the mayor had asked department heads for letters of resignation. > > “She asked me if I would object to censorship, and I replied ‘Yup’,” Emmons told a reporter. “And I told her it would not be just me. This was a constitutional question, and the American Civil Liberties Union would get involved, too.” > > The Rev. Howard Bess, a liberal Christian preacher in the nearby town of Palmer, said the church Palin and her family attended until 2002, the Wasilla Assembly of God, was pushing to remove his book from local bookstores. > > Emmons told him that year that several copies of “Pastor I Am Gay” had disappeared from the library shelves, Bess said. > > “Sarah brought pressure on the library about things she didn’t like,” Bess said. “To believe that my book was not targeted in this is a joke.” Note, btw, that the library flap happened in 1996, so Palin is right that it preceded the publication of the first Harry Potter book. (Of course, as usual, she expressed herself clumsily, so it was easy to misinterpret her remarks. She should have said “it hadn’t even been published when I first became mayor and discussed library policies with the Wasilla librarian”, not “it hadn’t even been written when I was the mayor”.) ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2008, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-god-thank-you-for-not-electing-sarah-palin/471399/128 "2008-11-11T15:39:32Z")
Thanks Boyo Jim, that’s much clearer! I take it that Harry Potter appeared in a viral e-mail that contained a list of books she was supposed to have been having a problem with. That’s terrible grammar but anyway, no specific list has ever been confirmed. I wasn’t saying she definitely tried to get HP off the shelf. She brought it up so I commented on it. Kimstu’s post shows that the timing is indeed off. And yeah, it’s hilarious that freepers are now mad at Fox too. It’s so funny to read their cute little fumings about boycotting Fox because it’s too liberal(!) and too mean to Palin. What’s Fox got if not for the freeper types to keep them in business? ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2008, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-god-thank-you-for-not-electing-sarah-palin/471399/129 "2008-11-11T16:02:55Z")
Now Palin says god will show her the way to the white house. God is not good. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2008, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-god-thank-you-for-not-electing-sarah-palin/471399/130 "2008-11-11T16:45:52Z")
Any cabbie in DC could do it, too, and many of them are not even Christian. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2008, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-god-thank-you-for-not-electing-sarah-palin/471399/131 "2008-11-11T17:49:33Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > Any cabbie in DC could do it, too, and many of them are not even Christian. That, Sir, is worth of being used as a sig. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2008, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-god-thank-you-for-not-electing-sarah-palin/471399/132 "2008-11-11T18:02:50Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > Palin did not attempt to get any particular books banned or removed from the Wasilla library when she was mayor. What she did was to repeatedly query the librarian about how the librarian “would deal with [Palin’s] saying a book can’t be in the library”. > > The librarian returned a very determined negative answer, and was subsequently informed that she would be fired because Palin didn’t feel she had her “full support”. Palin later reversed that decision. > > Here’s [the story](http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/09/12/mccain-camp-defends-palin-book-banning-inquiry/) from Fox News, so it should be free from suspicions of mean old liberal anti-Palinism (or well, it would have been when it was published; I gather a lot of conservatives are accusing Fox of anti-Palinism nowadays). > Note, btw, that the library flap happened in 1996, so Palin is right that it preceded the publication of the first Harry Potter book. (Of course, as usual, she expressed herself clumsily, so it was easy to misinterpret her remarks. She should have said “it hadn’t even been published when I first became mayor and discussed library policies with the Wasilla librarian”, not “it hadn’t even been written when I was the mayor”.) Several facts missing: 1. Emmons was the politically appointed Head of the Library (and Museum) Dept, not “the librarian”. She was not a Civil Service “librarian”, she was a political appointee. Not that she wasn’t qualified to be a Librarian. 2. Emmons “firing” had nothing to do with book banning. Palin asked\* all \*the old Mayors politically appointed staff to submit letters of resignation. It is true that Emmons got one of these. Note that Emmons and other had openly and loudly supported the old Mayor, Palin’s political opponent. 3. It’s hard to tell if Emmons was really “fired”- Emmons and Palin met the day after the “firing” and Emmons agreed to the merger of the two depts, whereupon Emmons was “reinstated”. Apparently there was no real gap in employment. The only one actually fired was the Police Cheif. 4. There was no public outcry as there was no time for public outcry, by the time the paper had reported this, Emmons was already back. A dude came forward and claimed to be the guy who leaked the reports about Palain’s geographical ignorance to Fox. He has been shown to be a hoax, it seems possible that Fox news was also hoaxed that he was their “secret source”. ---
**Author:** ![Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bc8723/32.png) [@Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2008, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-god-thank-you-for-not-electing-sarah-palin/471399/133 "2008-11-11T18:14:48Z")
The fact that FOX was so willing to slag Palin based on an uncorroborated hoax makes me all the more glad Palin wasn’t elected. The cracks between McCain and Palin were already developing prior to the election and even had they squeaked out a win, much damage was already done. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2008, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-god-thank-you-for-not-electing-sarah-palin/471399/134 "2008-11-11T20:15:03Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > A dude came forward and claimed to be the guy who leaked the reports about Palain’s geographical ignorance to Fox. He has been shown to be a hoax, it seems possible that Fox news was also hoaxed that he was their “secret source”. Whatever the source of the hoax in the Africa-is-a-country rumor, it is not related to the details of the book-censorship flap. All the information in that Fox News story that I cited came from a December 1996 article in the _Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman_, reprinted [here](http://www.frontiersman.com/articles/2008/09/06/breaking_news/doc48c1c8a60d6d9379155484.txt). ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2008, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-god-thank-you-for-not-electing-sarah-palin/471399/135 "2008-11-11T20:32:04Z")
If McCain won,Palin would be getting backed by Fox. They always saw what a joke she was. They loved her when they needed her. Now they do not need her so they can be finally honest. She is an incompetent,mean spirited back woods politician. She is now, and through out the campaign has been a joke. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2008, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-god-thank-you-for-not-electing-sarah-palin/471399/136 "2008-11-11T20:34:16Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > Whatever the source of the hoax in the Africa-is-a-country rumor, it is not related to the details of the book-censorship flap. All the information in that Fox News story that I cited came from a December 1996 article in the _Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman_, reprinted [here](http://www.frontiersman.com/articles/2008/09/06/breaking_news/doc48c1c8a60d6d9379155484.txt). True, my reply covered both the OP and the older rumor mention in your post. The older rumor has some small basis in truth, but many of the details are wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2008, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-god-thank-you-for-not-electing-sarah-palin/471399/137 "2008-11-11T22:26:40Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > The older rumor has some small basis in truth, but many of the details are wrong. What details? Not any of the details that you put forward in your earlier post. > [@DrDeth](#): > > Several facts missing: > > 1. Emmons was the politically appointed Head of the Library (and Museum) Dept, not “the librarian”. She was not a Civil Service “librarian”, she was a political appointee. Not that she wasn’t qualified to be a Librarian. The 1996 article that I linked to above makes Emmons’ official position pefectly clear: > [@](#): > > In the wake of strong reactions from the city’s library director to inquiries about censorship, Wasilla Mayor Sarah Palin on Monday was taking pains to explain her questions about censoring library material were “rhetorical.” > > Library Director Mary Ellen Emmons last week said Palin broached the subject with her on two occasions in October - once Palin was elected mayor Oct. 1 but before she took office on Oct. 14, and again in more detail on Monday, Oct. 28. Besides heading the Wasilla City Library, Emmons is also president of the Alaska Library Association. > [@DrDeth](#): > > 1. Emmons “firing” had nothing to do with book banning. Palin asked all the old Mayors politically appointed staff to submit letters of resignation. It is true that Emmons got one of these. Note that Emmons and other had openly and loudly supported the old Mayor, Palin’s political opponent. The formality of requesting a letter of resignation and the actual firing of Emmons were two different events and happened at different times. From the above-cited December 1996 article: > [@](#): > > But on Monday, Oct. 28, Emmons said Palin asked her outright if she could live with censorship of library books. This was during a weak when Palin was requesting resignations from all the city’s department heads as a way of expressing loyalty. From [this Feb. 1997 article in the Anchorage Daily News](http://www.adn.com/sarah-palin/story/510219.html): > [@](#): > > City librarian Mary Ellen Emmons will stay, but Police Chief Irl Stambaugh is on his own, Wasilla Mayor Sarah Palin announced Friday. The decision came one day after letters signed by Palin were dropped on Stambaugh’s and Emmon’s desks, telling them their jobs were over as of Feb. 13. > > The mayor told them she appreciated their service but felt it was time for a change. ‘‘I do not feel I have your full support in my efforts to govern the city of Wasilla. Therefore I intend to terminate your employment …’’ the letter said. > [@DrDeth](#): > > 1. It’s hard to tell if Emmons was really “fired”- Emmons and Palin met the day after the “firing” and Emmons agreed to the merger of the two depts, whereupon Emmons was “reinstated”. Apparently there was no real gap in employment. The only one actually fired was the Police Cheif. It is not hard at all to tell, based on the very clear language of the termination letter quoted above, that Emmons was really fired. Just because Palin changed her mind afterward doesn’t mean that she didn’t actually make the decision to fire Emmons. > [@DrDeth](#): > > 1. There was no public outcry as there was no time for public outcry, by the time the paper had reported this, Emmons was already back. You are wrong that there was no public outcry. As the above-linked Feb. 1997 article reported, in the day between Palin’s official announcement of Emmons’ termination and her revoking that decision, > [@](#): > > The actions have caused a stir in Wasilla, a town of about 4,600. City Councilman Nick Carney, who has been an outspoken critic of Palin, said he received several calls at his home Thursday night and Friday from outraged citizens. Looks like you’re the one who missed the facts here. ---
**Author:** ![DudleyGarrett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d9b06d/32.png) [@DudleyGarrett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DudleyGarrett)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2008, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-god-thank-you-for-not-electing-sarah-palin/471399/138 "2008-11-11T22:46:07Z")
A co-worker told me there’s a new porn flick out: \*\* Nailin’ Palin \*\* I laughed out loud. ---
**Author:** ![Punoqllads](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/d2c977/32.png) [@Punoqllads](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Punoqllads)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2008, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-god-thank-you-for-not-electing-sarah-palin/471399/139 "2008-11-12T00:08:47Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > A dude came forward and claimed to be the guy who leaked the reports about Palain’s geographical ignorance to Fox. He has been shown to be a hoax, it seems possible that Fox news was also hoaxed that he was their “secret source”. You mean [Martin Eisenstadt](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/11/10/martin-eisenstadt-non-exi_n_142785.html)? If he’s a hoaxer, why do you believe him when he says he was the source? > [@Huffington Post](#): > > To be clear, none of this means the Africa story is false – just that it didn’t come from this source. Huffington Post has been told on background that Martin Eisenstadt was not one of Fox News correspondent Carl Cameron’s sources. For what it’s worth, I have no idea whether the Palin-on-Africa story is true or not. What’s interesting to me is that Faux News is spreading the allegation. ---
**Author:** ![Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bc8723/32.png) [@Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2008, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-god-thank-you-for-not-electing-sarah-palin/471399/140 "2008-11-12T00:24:04Z")
> [@DudleyGarrett](#): > > A co-worker told me there’s a new porn flick out: \*\* Nailin’ Palin > \*\* So what’s the [del]over-under[/del] odds on “Palin” gasping out “oh you betcha!” during the film? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-god-thank-you-for-not-electing-sarah-palin/471399.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dear-god-thank-you-for-not-electing-sarah-palin/471399.md?page=8)