Facts

Why 5 colleges? What’s Troopergate? Get a fact, leave a fact.

* Palin was sworn in as Alaska’s youngest and first woman governor in December 2006. Born in Sandpoint, Idaho, February 11, 1964, she moved to Alaska with her parents as an infant.

* Palin is a darling of U.S. conservatives because of her record on tax cuts, opposition to abortion and other issues. A devout Christian, her place on the ticket may help shore up McCain with the Republican Party’s Christian base.

* Palin, 44, announced that her 17-year-old unmarried daughter, Bristol, is pregnant and will keep the baby and marry the father. The disclosure was made as a way to rebut rumors circulating on liberal blog sites that Gov. Palin herself had faked a pregnancy in order to cover up Bristol’s pregnancy.

* Gov. Palin, who is staunchly anti-abortion, gave birth in April to Trig Palin, her fifth child, a son born with Down syndrome.

* Palin was found to have abused her power in pushing for the firing of an Alaska state trooper who was once married to her sister, or by failing to prevent her husband Todd from doing so. (Troopergate)

* The Republican National Committee spent about $150,000 on Sarah Palin’s clothing, hair styling, makeup and other “campaign accessories” in September but those things were never meant to be Sarah’s property and will be donated to charity when the campaign is over. Most of the expenses were initially incurred by Jeff Larson, a Republican consultant who was the CEO of the host committee for the Republican National Convention in early September. Federal Election Commission records show that the RNC reimbursed Larson for the expenses — a total of $132,457.

Recently added Facts on Sarah:

* Sarah’s college years: Sarah spent her Freshman year at Hawaii Pacific University at Honolulu enrolled in business administration studies. Sarah then moved to Idaho to be close to family and enrolled as a Sophomore at North Idaho University at Coeur d’Alene (enrolled in General Studies). Her Junior year was at University of Idaho at Moscow where Sarah is said to have transferred to concentrate her studies in journalism and political science. Sarah then took some time off and went home to Wasilla for a semester. She then returned to the University of Idaho for 3 semesters to graduate in 1987 with a degree in Journalism.

* The small Israeli flag visible in Gov. Palin’s office window was not photoshopped into a video to appease pro-Israel voters who never heard of Palin. An Israeli-American documentary filmmaker who filmed Palin for several days a few months ago reports: “I was very surprised to see that and when I asked her about it, she said that she loves Israel and the she had friends who visited the country and brought her the flag.”

* Sarah Palin was one of only three governors to sign Jury Rights Day into law.

WHEREAS, September 5, 2007, will mark the 337th anniversary of the day when the jury, in the trial of William Penn, refused to convict him of violating England’s Conventicle Acts, despite clear evidence that he acted illegally by preaching a Quaker sermon to his congregation.

WHEREAS, by refusing to apply what they determined was an unjust law, the Penn jury not only served justice, but provided a basis for the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment rights of freedom of speech, religion, and peaceable assembly.

WHEREAS, September 5th, 2007, also commemorates the day when four of Penn’s jurors began nine weeks of incarceration for finding him not guilty. Their later release and exoneration established forever the English and American legal doctrine that it is the right and responsibility of the trial jury to decide on matters of law and fact.

WHEREAS, the Sixth and Seventh Amendments are included in the Bill of Rights to preserve the right to trial by jury, which in turn conveys upon the jury the responsibility to defend, with its verdict, all other individual rights enumerated or implied by the U.S. Constitution, including its Amendments.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Sarah Palin, Governor of the State of Alaska, do hereby proclaim September 5, 2007, as:

Jury Rights Day

in Alaska, in recognition of the integral role the jury, as an institution, plays in our legal system.

Dated: August 31, 2007

* Sarah on benefits for homosexual couples: Palin said she’s not out to judge anyone and has good friends who are gay, but that she supported the 1998 constitutional amendment.

Elected officials can’t defy the court when it comes to how rights are applied, she said, but she would support a ballot question that would deny benefits to homosexual couples. “I believe that honoring the family structure is that important,” Palin said. She said she doesn’t know if people choose to be gay.

Source: Anchorage Daily News, “Little play,” by K. Hopkins Aug 6, 2006Q: Do you support the Alaska Supreme Court’s ruling that spousal benefits for state employees should be given to same-sex couples?

A: No, I believe spousal benefits are reserved for married citizens as defined in our constitution.

Source: Eagle Forum 2006 Gubernatorial Candidate Questionnaire Jul 31, 2006

* Sarah on Drugs: Opposes legalizing marijuana, but meth is greater threat. Sarah has said she has smoked marijuana but remember, it was legal under Alaska state law, she said, even if illegal under U.S. law, but says she didn’t like it and doesn’t smoke it now. Palin adds, “I can’t claim a Bill Clinton and say that I never inhaled.”

* Creationism, Evolution & Schools: Earlier this year, she told the Anchorage Daily News that schools should not fear teaching creationism alongside evolution. “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 a daughter of a science teacher.”

Source: Boston Globe, “A valentine to evangelical base”, p. A12 Aug 30, 2008
* Energy:

• Produce more of our own oil & gas, for national security. (Sep 2008)
• Gas pipeline:history’s largest private-sector infrastructure. (Sep 2008)
• More pipelines; more nukes; more coal; more alternatives. (Sep 2008)
• Claimed major triumph: $500 million subsidy for gas pipeline. (Aug 2008)
• Global warming affects Alaska, but is not man-made. (Aug 2008)
• Resource rebate: suspend AK 8-cent fuel tax for one year. (Aug 2008)
• Gasline Inducement Act: 1,715-mile natural gas pipeline. (Aug 2008)
• Unlock ANWR: Alaska is ready, willing and able to contribute
• $250 Million for proven alternative energy, including wind & hydro

* Free Trade:

• Trade important to Alaska, but keep Alaska residents first. (Sep 2008)
• Allow wineries to ship by mail within state. (Jun 2008)
• Exempt Alaskan cruise ships from customs rule changes. (Dec 2007)
• Record-high exports; growth of 12.6% since last year. (Feb 2007)

* Gun Control: “I am proud to join the State of Texas in support of the Second Amendment,” Governor Palin said. “We need to send a strong message that law-abiding citizens have a right to own firearms, for personal protection, for hunting and for any other lawful purpose.” (Press Release 02/08/08)

• Hunts and fishes, as did her father. (Aug 2008)
• Hunts as much as she can; freezer-full of wild game. (Aug 2008)
• Supports ending D.C.’s 32-year-old ban on handguns. (Jun 2008)
• Lifelong NRA member & champion of right to bear arms. (Feb 2008)
• Supports Constitutional right to bear arms. (Nov 2006)

Quotes from Sarah on the issues:

Palin as a Feminist

I’m a feminist who believes in equal rights and I believe that women certainly today have every opportunity that a man has to succeed and to try to do it all anyways.

Palin on Fair Pay

I’m absolutely for equal pay for equal work. The Ledbetter pay act - it was gonna turn into a boon for trial lawyers who, I believe, could have taken advantage of women who were many, many years ago who would allege some kind of discrimination. Thankfully, there are laws on the books, there have been since 1963, that no woman could be discriminated against in the workplace in terms of anything, but especially in terms of pay. So, thankfully we have the laws on the books and they better be enforced.

There should be no fear of a lawsuit prohibiting a woman from making sure that the laws that are on the books today are enforced. I know in a McCain-Palin administration we will not stand for any measure that would result in a woman being paid less than a man for equal work.

Palin Global Warming

Well, we’re the only Arctic state, of course, Alaska. So we feel the impacts more than any other state, up there with the changes in climates. And certainly, it is apparent. We have erosion issues. And we have melting sea ice, of course. So, what I’ve done up there is form a sub-cabinet to focus solely on climate change. Understanding that it is real. [...]

You know there are - there are man’s activities that can be contributed to the issues that we’re dealing with now, these impacts. I’m not going to solely blame all of man’s activities on changes in climate. Because the world’s weather patterns are cyclical. And over history we have seen change there. But kind of doesn’t matter at this point, as we debate what caused it. The point is: it’s real; we need to do something about it.

Palin on Contraception

Well, I am all for contraception.

Palin on Abortion in Cases of Rape

I’m saying that, personally, I would counsel the person to choose life, despite horrific, horrific circumstances that this person would find themselves in. And, um, if you’re asking, though, kind of foundationally here, should anyone end up in jail for having an … abortion, absolutely not. That’s nothing I would ever support.

Palin on Evolution

Oh, I think it should be taught as an accepted principle. And, as you know, I say that also as the daughter of a school teacher, a science teacher, who has really instilled in me a respect for science. It should be taught in our schools. And I won’t deny that I see the hand of God in this beautiful creation that is Earth. But that is not part of the state policy or a local curriculum in a school district. Science should be taught it science class.

Palin on Homosexuality

But as for homosexuality, I am not going to judge Americans and the decisions that they make in their adult personal relationships. I have one of my absolute best friends for the last 30 years happens to be gay, and I love her dearly. And she is not my “gay friend,” she is one of my best friends, who happens to have made a choice that isn’t a choice that I have made. But I am not going to judge people.

More to come as I find them and have time to post them. Feel free to send me your own Sarah Facts, but please inclue links for citations and verification. Thanks!