that I’ve actually been very restrained in my comments regarding former Governor Palin out of deference to the site and to avoid the inevitable flame wars anytime she is mentioned. Unlike EVERYBODY else here, I know her and I know her associates both from her time as Wasilla mayor and with the State as an AOGCC Commissioner and as Governor. The Sarah Palin you all know is a creature of a national campaign’s spinmeisters and speechwriters.

Because I know her, I didn’t vote for her as Lt. Gov. when she ran and lost in ’02. I didn’t shed any tears when she quit the Murkowski Administration. I didn’t vote for her in the ’06 Republican Primary. Frankly, I can’t imagine the circumstance under which I’d vote for her if there was another Republican to vote for. I’m a loyal Republican, so I did vote for her in the ’06 General and for the McCain Palin ticket in the ’08 General, but frankly, it was a vote against Tony Knowles in the first instance and against BHO in the second.

Frankly, I can’t wait until July 26th when hopefully she’ll start making herself rich with her book deal and otherwise drop out of sight in Alaska. Unfortunately, I don’t think it will be that way because she got herself a taste of the big stage and she wants the best lights so we’ll get to see “It’s All About Sarah” played out on the National stage.

Now, I’ll just sit back and wait for the sycophants to descend and tell me once more that I’m afraid of strong women or that I’m just angry over losing some gravy train, neither of which is true but since the bots don’t do that fact stuff, it makes them feel good to say it.

and welfare, UI, etc. At some point you run up against the protections of the US Constitution on right to travel, but it would be worth it to find out just where those limits are. Finding ways to refuse to accept either the federal money or the conditions placed on that money is also a good strategy. Most of the restrictions on our liberty are in the form of regulations and guidelines that our own states accept as the condition of getting federal funds. Most of this stuff has never been enacted by a Congress or decided by a court; unelected bureaucrats just write up their wet dream, publish it in the Federal Register and the next thing you know, it has the force of law in your once sovereign state.

on politicians. It’s not despise, detest, or even contemptuousness either, because I do have a certain admiration for her ability to manipulate people, especially weak-minded people.

Sarah Palin is the pretty, popular girl who always got what she wanted. It is inconceivable to her that she would not get what she wants. It is inconceivable to her that anyone would question her. Todd shares a lot of the same character; visualize the Alaska version of the quarterback of a high school football team that won state in Texas – and he’s married to the home-coming queen. If you explore some of the dumb-a** things she’s done as Governor, you’ll find Todd’s fine hand.

It is a good thing for me that les majeste is not a crime these days. I’m just not as impressed with Sarah Palin as she and her admirers are. From the moment I met her, I considered her to be a fake and a lightweight. She’s pretty, and that meant she didn’t have to read those old heavy books. Sorry, folks, but the Sarah Palin that Kouric interviewed is pretty much the real Sarah Palin. Now that she’s caught a little Hell over it, she’s discovered books and newspapers; when you want to be President, pretty isn’t enough.

I like her a lot, though I think she’s risking her future by being the spear point. She has a bunch of spineless men who are more than happy to have her say and do things they don’t have the courage for and they’ll drop her like a hot rock.

I think if we “shorten our lines,” firmly hold our current states and narrowly target some likely swings, we can start working on 50% + 1 victories and in the short run at least protect ourselves while we figure out how to mount the counter-revolution – and I chose that term deliberately.