# Palin says she has "Fire In the Belly." Is it just gas? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [May 20, 2011, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-says-she-has-fire-in-the-belly-is-it-just-gas/582614 "2011-05-20T20:07:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2011, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-says-she-has-fire-in-the-belly-is-it-just-gas/582614/181 "2011-06-23T07:11:04Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > Of course, if she tried to get out of the jury duty, you guys would be whining that she thinks she’s better than everyone else, or that she wants everyone else to be patriotic but she puts her own desires ahead of her own civic duty. I don’t care if she gets out of jury duty. I don’t want her on a jury. She didn’t go back for jury duty, though. That is a lie on her part. When you get called for jury duty in the US, you don’t have to immediately drop everything and go, and it’s not for two weeks. You’re making up a phony, imaginary attack on poor Sarah just like she does. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2011, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-says-she-has-fire-in-the-belly-is-it-just-gas/582614/182 "2011-06-23T10:33:43Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > When you get called for jury duty in the US, you don’t have to immediately drop everything and go, and it’s not for two weeks. Alaska appears to have a slightly different [system](http://www.courts.alaska.gov/jury-trial.htm): > [@](#): > > In Anchorage, where the population is large and many trials are held each day, the term of service is either 5 consecutive days or, if you are selected to serve on a jury, the length of the trial. > > In other courts, your term of service is either 30 days, 90 days or 1 year depending on the population of the area. In these courts, you may have to call in several days each month, and you may be selected to serve on more than one trial. The most days you might actually have to be present in court is 30 per year. On the other hand, a juror must be: > [@](#): > > 1. in possession of the person’s natural faculties (normal abilities to reason); ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2011, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-says-she-has-fire-in-the-belly-is-it-just-gas/582614/183 "2011-06-23T12:54:03Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > I don’t actually see a denial in there. Is she back in Alaska or isn’t she? Is the bus still going or isn’t it? > > This reflexive attacking of the media for simply accurately reporting what she says and does becomes more tiresome every day. But it’s really her only trick. What else is she going to use. Besides, she only said that the bus was going to tour America! It’s not like the bus flew home is it, you LSM commie? -Joe ---
**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:** [June 23, 2011, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-says-she-has-fire-in-the-belly-is-it-just-gas/582614/184 "2011-06-23T12:57:31Z")
If she gets on a jury she will quit half way through the trial. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2011, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-says-she-has-fire-in-the-belly-is-it-just-gas/582614/185 "2011-06-23T13:00:59Z")
I’m willing to believe her that she has jury duty. That is an easily verifiable excuse. I’m sure as soon as the judge excuses her[sup]1[/sup], I’m sure she’ll restart that bus tour. 1 - This is not an attack. I don’t think there a judge in the world who would want a former governor/media magnet sitting in a jury box disrupting the courtroom with her very presence. ---
**Author:** ![Algorithm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/algorithm/32/12204_2.png) [@Algorithm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algorithm)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2011, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-says-she-has-fire-in-the-belly-is-it-just-gas/582614/186 "2011-06-23T13:24:57Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > Of course, if she tried to get out of the jury duty, you guys would be whining that she thinks she’s better than everyone else, or that she wants everyone else to be patriotic but she puts her own desires ahead of her own civic duty. Well, I guess Palin can’t nail her own hands to the cross, so I’m sure she’s glad for your help here. ---
**Author:** ![Onomatopoeia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onomatopoeia/32/4145_2.png) [@Onomatopoeia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onomatopoeia)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2011, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-says-she-has-fire-in-the-belly-is-it-just-gas/582614/187 "2011-06-23T14:24:14Z")
> [@Mollie\_Magill](#): > > I don’t think there a judge in the world who would want a former governor/media magnet sitting in a jury box disrupting the courtroom with her very presence. Yep. That’s my thinking as well. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2011, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-says-she-has-fire-in-the-belly-is-it-just-gas/582614/188 "2011-06-23T14:29:46Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > Alaska appears to have a slightly different [system](http://www.courts.alaska.gov/jury-trial.htm): > On the other hand, a juror must be: You still wouldn’t have to show up immediately, though. You get a few weeks advance warning. You don’t have to show up the day after you get the summons. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2011, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-says-she-has-fire-in-the-belly-is-it-just-gas/582614/189 "2011-06-23T14:37:23Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > You still wouldn’t have to show up immediately, though. You get a few weeks advance warning. You don’t have to show up the day after you get the summons. You’re assuming she has the ability to plan ahead. I’ll give her credit for wanting to appear for a jury duty summons, but not for that. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2011, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-says-she-has-fire-in-the-belly-is-it-just-gas/582614/190 "2011-06-23T15:28:02Z")
Must be a long Jury Duty: > **[Palin cancels trip to Sudan](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/palin-cancels-planned-trip-to-sudan/2011/06/20/AGhV3CgH_story.html)** > > Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin has canceled a planned trip to war-ravaged Sudan, the focus of passionate advocacy within the U.S. evangelical community. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2011, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-says-she-has-fire-in-the-belly-is-it-just-gas/582614/191 "2011-06-23T15:58:42Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > If she’s back in Alaska, then the story is accurate. She quit. > > I never said there would be any dirt in her emails. People seem willing to conveniently “forget” that there were 8,000 emails that were redacted by her former staffers. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2011, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-says-she-has-fire-in-the-belly-is-it-just-gas/582614/192 "2011-06-23T16:03:15Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > People seem willing to conveniently “forget” that there were 8,000 emails that were redacted by her former staffers. As I recall, that was exactly the point I made about the released emails. I didn’t expect to see “dirt.” I knew it had been redacted. I said I had no doubt they’d find “stupid,” but that’s not the same as “dirt.” ---
**Author:** ![tnetennba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tnetennba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tnetennba)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2011, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-says-she-has-fire-in-the-belly-is-it-just-gas/582614/193 "2011-06-23T16:31:25Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > Of course, if she tried to get out of the jury duty, you guys would be whining that she thinks she’s better than everyone else, or that she wants everyone else to be patriotic but she puts her own desires ahead of her own civic duty. LOL ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2011, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-says-she-has-fire-in-the-belly-is-it-just-gas/582614/194 "2011-06-23T16:40:43Z")
Yeah, but that’s only a third of them! If she were really as bad as those evil libruls say, wouldn’t you think that her evil would show up in at least half of the e-mails? She’s clearly exceeding expectations! ---
**Author:** ![Profound\_Gibberish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/65b543/32.png) [@Profound\_Gibberish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Profound_Gibberish)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2011, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-says-she-has-fire-in-the-belly-is-it-just-gas/582614/195 "2011-06-23T17:59:58Z")
So apparently this bus tour had a beginning, but no real defined stops, goals or ending. And the tour will continue. . .sometime in the future. Maybe. But don’t question if it is still a going concern because that’s just the kind of tricks the lamestream media pulls–by asking questions. I think this One-Nation-Wandering-Somewhere-On-The-East-Coast is going to put the nail in her coffin. ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2011, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-says-she-has-fire-in-the-belly-is-it-just-gas/582614/196 "2011-06-23T18:10:13Z")
> [@dbx820](#): > > So apparently this bus tour had a beginning, but no real defined stops, goals or ending. And the tour will continue. . .sometime in the future. Maybe. But don’t question if it is still a going concern because that’s just the kind of tricks the lamestream media pulls–by asking questions. I think this One-Nation-Wandering-Somewhere-On-The-East-Coast is going to put the nail in her coffin. Nah, it’ll change nothing. You only need to look at this thread’s resident factophobes (hi sam!) to see that. -Joe ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2011, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-says-she-has-fire-in-the-belly-is-it-just-gas/582614/197 "2011-06-23T18:29:24Z")
That’s hilarious. I’m the ‘factophobe’ in a discussion where people are declaring that Palin ‘quit’ despite not having any evidence that that’s the case, and people claiming that she’s lying about jury duty without having any evidence for that either. I simply pointed out that the mere fact that she’s currently in Alaska is not evidence that her bus tour has ended, and that in fact the source news article says nothing about the bus tour ending. And for that, I’m the ‘factophobe’, and the rest of you are all beacons of rational, evidence- based thinking. Uh huh. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2011, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-says-she-has-fire-in-the-belly-is-it-just-gas/582614/198 "2011-06-23T18:33:59Z")
> [@dbx820](#): > > So apparently this bus tour had a beginning, but no real defined stops, goals or ending. And the tour will continue. . .sometime in the future. Maybe. But don’t question if it is still a going concern because that’s just the kind of tricks the lamestream media pulls–by asking questions. I think this One-Nation-Wandering-Somewhere-On-The-East-Coast is going to put the nail in her coffin. She achieved her goal- she rained on Romney’s announcement parade. Next chance she gets to crap in his face, she’ll take to the road again. Not that I mind or anything. ---
**Author:** ![tnetennba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tnetennba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tnetennba)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2011, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-says-she-has-fire-in-the-belly-is-it-just-gas/582614/199 "2011-06-23T18:52:56Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > I simply pointed out that the mere fact that she’s currently in Alaska is not evidence that her bus tour has ended, and that in fact the source news article says nothing about the bus tour ending. She stopped doing something for what sounds like hastily constructed, made-up reasons and has not resumed doing it. To call that something other than quitting is flat-out _Clintonian_. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2011, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-says-she-has-fire-in-the-belly-is-it-just-gas/582614/200 "2011-06-23T18:53:55Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > That’s hilarious. I’m the ‘factophobe’ in a discussion where people are declaring that Palin ‘quit’ despite not having any evidence that that’s the case, and people claiming that she’s lying about jury duty without having any evidence for that either. People started talking about her quitting because there were news stories that reported it as such, for example on Fox “News”\* before the story was changed to “jury duty.” But how else can you best interpret her having bailed suddenly on her tour, with a _very_ flimsy explanation, and with no clearly stated itinerary for continuing the tour? On “indefinite hiatus” is tantamount to quitting in any real world sense. \*The original Fox “News” story said, “Palin Ends Bus Tour.” In any case, Dio is correct that there was no need for her to immediately return home for being called to jury duty, since that’s not how it works. Also jury duty is usually excused if a person is indisposed by being, for example, on tour out of the state. The “jury duty” excuse rings false. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-says-she-has-fire-in-the-belly-is-it-just-gas/582614.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/palin-says-she-has-fire-in-the-belly-is-it-just-gas/582614.md?page=11)