Have You Read the Anne Kilkenny "Sarah Palin" Letter?
As a registered Democrat, I would be too, but in the process of immersing myself in everything Palin so I could write knowledgeably about her this past week, I've become somewhat inured to the Palin stories circulating.
Then my friend Diane forwarded me the Anne Kilkenny letter, and that gave me pause. It was only a third-generation copy, but Diane said she researched it and it was real. There was even an email address for Anne Kilkenny attached to it, so I wrote her to ask if I could use excerpts of her letter here.
I needn't have bothered because the letter's already on the internet. And it must be legitimate because the respected political magazine The Nation reprinted it online just a little over 24 hours ago.
My colleague, David Emery at Urban Legends, also has published the letter in its entirety yesterday. He says it's real, and I trust him.
Whether you're a Palin supporter or detractor, read the Anne Kilkenny letter, written by a resident of Wasilla, Alaska who has known Mrs. Palin for over 15 years on a first-name basis.
It makes me wonder - how well did McCain have Palin vetted, and how much more has to come out before Team McCain begins to reconsider the choice? Because this, combined with the story that Palin called Obama "Sambo" after hearing that he'd won the nomination over Hillary Clinton, and her questionable college career, is very unsettling.
Update: NPR's All Things Considered has an interview with Anne Kilkenny about how her letter came to be written...and forwarded across the internet. The veracity of the statements she's made can be examined in a Newsweek article drawing on details provided by factcheck.org, a non-partisan group.
Related articles:
Comments
It is absolute ludicrous that anyone would believe that Mrs. Kilkenny had anything but revenge and jealousy on Her mind when writing that vindictive letter. She played right into the media, they soak up crap like a sponge. Her motive wasn’t to let everyone know who Sarah Palin is, she wanted revenge for her librarian friend. Her “Friend” was told to do something, she refused or disagreed and was aked for her resignation. I would have just fired her. That’s how Business works. You don’t agree with the boss, you don’t want to do as you’re told, find a new job. Mrs. Palin at least gave the book lady a chance to leave her position with dignity. Mrs. Kilkenny isn’t giving Mrs. Palin the same courtesy.
You deny you had no idea that your letter would be published on the internet! But you took the time to ask people not to post it to a web page!!! Mrs. Kilkenny, are you trying to make the rest of us look as stupid as you do? A frumpy, older, bitter housewife with a bad hairstyle and nothing to look forward to in her future attacks one of her fellow townsmen. How nice! Found a way to make a quick buck Mrs. Kilkenny, didn’t you. Proud of yourself? Go home…Give your computer to charity…and for heavens sake get a haircut!!
I have been a Democrat all my life but will be voting Republican this November. I do not believe Obama has any reason or business in Washington…I was skeptical of McCain but now I’m sure! McCain/Palin 2009!!!!
>> “I have been a Democrat all my life but will be voting Republican this November”
Ah, the new drumbeat phrase du jour to convince ‘us’ democrats to vote McPain. I’m not buying it. Someone considering another term of this ‘no policy no clue no direction no integrity’ club of detached good old boys club is not a democrat. At best a populist following the narrative as set vy the GOP.
And finally, that above IS my real name, it always strikes me how the most outspoken blog critics are reluctant to connect their opinion to their identity….
I listened to the NPR interview, researched what I could and am getting a really bad feeling about Palin. I also listened to her at the Convention and she looked straight into the camera and, in plain talk, lied about several things and did it with great moral authority and conviction. You can check out where she quote streched the truth on any independant news site.
Phil Gramm, in my opinion, is one of the worst sneaky self-serving polititions and was behind the current Banking and Mortgage crises. He called Middle Class folks a bunch of winers and said any recession was all in their heads before being fired from the mccain Campaign.
Carly Fiorina, former head of Hewit Packard before the board ousted her for allot of bad decisions and causing detremental infighting, has supported not taxing funds transferred to foreign countries by American Companies and been very vocal on the benefits of outsourcing implying the American Worker is just a bunch of winers herself.
Now the truth is coming out about Palin and she sounds like a vindictive, back stabbing, lying face with no relevant education and no experience. I would not hire her to run General Motors, IBM or even manage a department in any company, let alone run the most complex and powerful country in the world.
Both Gramm and Fiorina were very, very bad managers of their constituant responsibilities and you can check it out by Googling if you do not already know this. Now, as more information comes out about Palin, I have to question John mccain’s judgment if he really picked these folks. Knowing his history, I don’t think he would have anything to do with these people before this election run. He was a good man and stood for America First but these folks he has put in place could care less about America in my opinion. Palin seems to be in the same mold asGramm and Fiorina.
I honestly believe John mccain would have nothing to do with people like this. Either the Party is pulling his strings or he is slowing down as he gets older and not aware of what is going on around him. I’d like to think the latter rather than think he has sold out after a lifetime of standing for what he believed in. In either case I am just writing this to say thank you to Ann. If the Republican slam machine can intimidate enough individuals, and it has managed to do it with many individuals and news reporters, this country is in real trouble. So, thanks Ann for standing up and being a good American Citizan when we really need as many of them as we can muster these days.
I have a daughter and am writing this in hopes the truth will help pick the best person to run our country during this time of quantum change and I’m afraid I can no longer support John for office.
Rick from Michigan
To the Editor of St Pete Newspaper:
First, this is not a letter to the editors. I would like this to go directly to the Editor of the Newspaper.
We have been a subscription member of ST Times for quite some time, but this campaign coverage has really got us rethinking renewal of our membership.
If I wanted news coverage like this – we will just buy the Enquirer. Which, of course, we would never do.
OMG –
Since when have we become a nation of “gossiper, hen cluckers, jealousy spouting, heresay rants”…
And a news hungry world that took the ranting of a woman, without the opposition side.
One person, and one person alone, does not have the right in America (as far as I knew)
to attack another person’s life, without input from other individuals.
What has become of us!!! What has this campaign turned us into?? Even to have ANY discussion of a young girl having a baby, how dare our society even comment on her. This is a family matter.
This is like Mary Magdalene – - are we all that pure to throw the first rock. And if we were that pure -
if would not enter our minds to throw that rock.
Since when does an email become the Ultimate Statement of Authority.
Since when does “Kilkenny” become the absolute authority on every move Palin has made – was she there every step of the way?
Why has our media produced this and given any credence to it?
Have we turned into the ENQUIRER….
Shame Shame Shame
Where have our journalists gone??? I think they have gone into the gutters….
All I can say – Good Luck Palin – you have brought Alaska to the forefront, and 80% of Alaskans back you
As far as Kilkenny – I hope we are still a nation that puts integrity ahead of gossip, jealousy, and whatever else from just one person’s email. This is dangerous, dangerous, dangerous!
Not everyone is perfect – and that includes ALL of us – including Alaskians.
Shame on Kilkenny for calling herself an Alaskian – with an 80% approval rating for Palin – why weren’t they interviewed ???
And most of all, since when it is so “UNVOGUE” to stand behind an American Hero and experienced Senator , a senator’s wife whose family rose from nothing to a wealthy family, who did good by its workers; and created a daughter that could empathize and do what she felt best for those underprivileged souls.
All they can speak out is the cost of her dress??? I thought she looked terrific, and she didn’t use any tax payers money to buy the dress – so it is none of our business. Bravo for her and John.
They both are the ideal of what our country is. They really did put Country and oppressed First!!
John and Cindy McCain
I don’t believe either one of them ever doubted or was disappointed in the USA for a second.
McCain, proved his love and honor of the USA – after 5 years or so as a POW.
He proved it coming back and still wanting to serve our great nation.
Again, why is this unvogue???
Obama, although appears to be a good man, is no John McCain. Why does our country’s news media give such little credit to McCain, but enormous amounts of coverage to Obama???
What is wrong with the newspapers today and media?
Since when does the newspaper media sway the campaign coverage……
I was always taught the newspapers were above bias – I guess not any more.
We are Proud Americans – and I think we are very proud of our military and veterans – and no one should ever be allowed to speak out against our Proud Heroes. McCains record is clear – it is clear what he will fight for.
Obama, I still do not know what he stands for.
So for the sack of our country – stop this bickering….. Let’s just be Americans…..
Yuck….I’ve known vindictive women like this before and I feel sorry for them.
The left is going to put out all kinds of lies to win this. There was no ’sambo’ remark and no list of banned books. Pants on Fire!
Let me straighten this out for the men who are reading, when a woman is jealous or has sour-grape-syndrome she calls the object of her hatred a bitch, and demeans her character. It is what the female of the species does, and this letter is no different. As a female, reading between the lines, she is furious about Palins “b abe” status, success, large family, cute hubby, position of power, and commendable actions in the face of having a special needs child. In other words, if she was a man she would be Keith Olberman.
Oh no. . .Let me straighten this out for individuals like “MelissaTX” and “Enraged in Florida” who may be reacting with anger to Anne Kilkenny’s letter. Anne is simply sharing her Opinion that’s all. Your choice – simply leave it or take it. But don’t waste your precious energy getting publicly angry about it and bad-mouthing Anne on internet blogs for simply expressing her Opinion. It is interesting that both “MelissaTX” and “Enraged” resorted to name-calling. It seems that such respondents are simply looking for an outlet for their pent-up anger. What such readers are really getting angry at are their own Perceptions of Opinions. I’m tired of sifting through such trashy comments on issue blog forums. MelissaTX and Mz. Enraged I suggest you classes in your local area for dealing with your Anger Problem. It undoubtedly affects many facets of your life.
Sounds like normal green-eyed jealousy to me. Women like Ann, not pretty, cannot stand it when a pretty, popular girl makes a success of her life. This is a Democratic activist, probably former hippie by the looks of her, who probably got some nice favors from the Obama camp for this supposed e-mail to her mother in California. This is her 15 minutes of fame and she is loving it. Let her have it, because women like me are smart enough to know a catty woman when we hear one. I am still voting for McCain/Palin. I would cut off my hand before I would vote for a Marxist like Obama.
Thank you Anne Kilkenny for being brave and writing that letter! I agree, bad things happen when good people keep silent. I totally believe you.I admire you so much for telling it like you see it.
I couldn’t put my finger on it but was uneasy about Sarah after I heard her speech. One thing stood out: she took credit for getting rid of the bridge to nowhere when it was already rescinded but kept the money and she lied about how many people lived in her town when she was mayor. How many other things does she lie about?
I also suspect she has conceived children every time she was running for office or trying to keep from getting thrown out of an office. She already had 4 good children yet deliberately had a 5th after age 44. Stastistics prove that risk of downs syndrome goes up to around 90% from nothing after age 40. This is wrong. It grates on my nerves to use kids for some political agenda.
This is aggressive in your face anti-prochoice. I didn’t know there was such a thing until now. Also kids will be kids but it is irresponsible as a parent not to help your kid have a good life. That includes sex education and making good choices and also birth control. I don’t think having a baby at age 17 & being forced to get married is it, be you Sarah Palin or Lynn Spears.
I hate to say this but I believe that John McCain has named a vice presidential running mate who is the most likely person he could have named most likely to knock him off so she can be president.Poor John McCain. I thought he deserved to be president.
Why does everybody love Sarah so much when they hated other females aspiring to higher office such as Hillary and Geraldine Ferraro (remember her?).
Check this: Sarah is Hillary Junior Plus.
I say hooray to you, Anne. For having the courage to speak out and give some of us that are “openminded” another point of view. I find it refreshing. Its so much better then reading that canned drivel that is put out by the McCain Campaign and their many sad supporters.
Try checking some facts people. It might be best if you remember to think (or check) before you speak (or comment). Saves all of us the trouble of you looking like a dunce.
Obama ‘08
I heard Anne Kilkenny on NPR; she sounds credible and dispassionate. I myself regularly attend Council meetings in my small Town, and serve on Committees. People in small towns often have differing points of view on many matters; that does not reflect on credibility. We traveled as tourists in AK for 2 weeks in 2nd half of Aug 08. The only print news source in state, the Anchorage paper, had daily headlines and major stories about “troopergate.” I figured paper was a “house organ” of State Repub party, therefore the facts being unearthed and their first page prominence bode ill for Pallin. It was usually impossible to find a balanced news outlet (ie NPR) on the few airwaves. Print was out but for the state paper: NY Times would found only at Borders in Anchorage; I never saw USA Today. News mags with liberal views (ie, New Yorker) were nonexistent. The wonderful Homer bookstore didn’t carry much print news; nothing in Seward. A person growing up in this state will not have the news by radio or print with attendant political conversation that Americans in the lower 48 find routine and available in many places. I felt news-wise that I was travelling in a very rural third world country, but for the internet. Since Sarah was not schooled out of state, and didn’t have parents who routinely took her traveling in other parts of America, I find her too socially isolated to be a heartbeat away from the Presidency. Therefore, while I planned to vote McCain due to Obama’s paucity of legislative leadership and experience as well as his platform of rhetoric, despite the Supreme Court thing, I can no longer do that after this weak choice. The vetters should have spent the 2 weeks in AK that I did and read the Anchorage paper (all that they would have to read in this state) daily.
In true DEM fashion, Anne Kilkenny slings the mud. Anne is a registered DEM.
Poor Anne, like she said, “I’m just a housewife.” And, a hateful, jealous one at that.
To prove my point… and like they say, a picture tells a thousand words… here is a link to Anne’s photo. LMAO
http://www.mypokertube.com/viewphoto/3625/
GO PALIN!!!
Well I didn’t read every single post on here, so forgive me if this is at all repetitive. So much has been said about this “letter”, but I want to attempt to bring up a fresh point rather than echo what has already been said.
My insight is based on reading this letter, as well as a majority of the comments, and listening to a short interview starring Kilkenny herself. (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=94332543) In that NPR sound-byte, Kilkenny states that she only sent this “letter” out as an email to her friends, and had asked them to make sure it did not leak out onto the web. So there’s some heads up for those of you applauding Kilkenny for stepping up to the plate and getting the “truth” out there to the public though it was unpopular. In her own words, she had no intention of doing any such thing, or playing the hero and inspiration she’s become to some of you silly ones.
The thing is, if you listen to the clip, at first Kilkenny sounds relatively believable, like some semi-clueless older lady who claims to have just written an email to friends about what she thinks of Palin, given her close association. But read the “letter” — she is promoting her own opinions and attempting to prove a case, all the while making a point to sound respectably balanced and say good things about Palin? What kind of person writes the way this letter was written in emails to, in Kilkenny’s own words, “some friends, to just address the whole thing, send one letter and let it lie.” Nobody writes that way about politics to friends!
Take a second look, after hearing the NPR “interview”, and it all seems so carefully crafted: from her nervous laughter about not even knowing what a blog is, to the phone ringing in the middle of the “interview.”
Take the very first line of the “letter”- “I am a resident of Wasilla, Alaska…” yet she claims to have just been writing an email to “some friends”? I’d think friends of Kilkenny would know where she lives, for crying out loud.
And what the heck, in her reasons for writing the letter: “Fifth, I looked around and realized that everybody else was afraid to say anything because they were somehow vulnerable.” That does not at all add up to her statement in the interview about not even wanting her email to some friends to leak out onto the web.
I’m pretty sure Anne Kilkenny had a lot of help writing this “letter”, and it was written for a far different purpose than to get her view out to some of her friends. It’s hard not to think of Kilkenny as just another Dem pawn meant to convince at least a few more voters that Obama is the way to go.
Hey, I can’t blame ‘em though; pretty good way of handling the low-blow Mccain threw ‘em when choosing a woman vp and reeling in those Hillary supports based on sex alone. I mean come on, who wouldn’t take this courageous, brave, intelligent, same-hometown-as-sarah palin Anne Kilkennys opinion to heart? She MUST know what she’s talking about and just want to inform us non-Alaskans of the truth, out of the goodness of her heart. OH WAIT, you were just sending this email to some friends, right Anne? Thanks for nothing!
From a disinterested male POV… if all the comments attributed to women under this thread are indeed women… whoa! Look in the mirror and you will see where true sexism lies. Mean girls, nice girls, pretty girls, popular girls, jealous girls… this isn’t high school.
Honestley, it just sounds like you don’t like her. Look at all the crap Obama and the Clintons pulled off. You look for a reason not to like her and you’ll find one. That’s with anybody, though. This lady who wrote the letter, just sounds like small town politics to me. I’m from Arkansas and anyone who paid attention in the Clinton era should remember the crap the Clintons did. Hey, there was a trooper gate in their administration, too. Again, I just think you are looking for a reason to dislike her. She’s got dirt just like everybody else.
Any interested party can look at the Palin Wikipedia article and review Palin’s first two speeches and easily spot her lies.
The trouble with Creationism and the Republican campaign is that they both ask the audience to believe without any evidence.
Kilkenny is a Democrat operative, originally from Berkeley, California, and this letter came directly from Obama’s “Dirty Tricks” squad.
This letter and other letters can be found at Snopes. Note that the other letters take a different point of view and praise Palin.
Anne Kilkenny managed to get a mention in the NY Times where spoke about the library incident. The article says she is a Democrat who made a point of attending every one of the council meetings. Is Anne a concerned citizen or an obsessed opponent?
Postcards From Palin’s Hometown
See for yourself :: Here’s a video:
Sarah Palin, touts her service as mayor of Wasilla, Alaska. This slide show takes you to the remote town where Palin’s political career began.
http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid988092926/bctid1772099431
and you are a professional journalist….?
what an absolute sham you are! Hack…I am neither rep or democrat ….
all we need is to add to the ignorance out here …and then you and your liberal half truth idiot opinion based on “0″ INFORMATION shows why you are so comfortable with “0″ experience with Obama at the top of the democrats ticket. you are an absolute hack and should write for the Enquirer! although after what you just posted Linda… they may not want you…..
I am usually not mean but this is silly and a childish article…
There’s never any need for name-calling, and once that starts, the conversation goes nowhere – minds close down, and people get angry.
Two points need to be made. When national media outlets such as NPR and The Nation look into the Anne Kilkenny letter and situation, it’s indicative that the story is viable news and worth examining. My linking to The Nation or writing about Palin’s past (according to one disgruntled resident of her town) doesn’t make me a hack. Is everyone who inquires about Palin’s record as a member of the executive branch of goverment incompetent, stupid, a tool of the Democrats, a hack (if they’re a writer like me), hoodwinked, or just plain evil? This is not what civil discourse is about.
Second point: Read previous Palin articles and posts I’ve written to see that I have previously approached Palin with a positive attitude and open mind: Sarah Palin – VP Candidate
Let’s discuss Palin’s candidacy with a little more courtesy toward each other and respect for our opinions. We can differ without being rude and condescending, or resorting to name-calling or other similar needless behavior.
Is KilKenny’s article simply revenge? I’m sure there is some animosity there from the sound of it. It is her opinion that Palin is ruthless. Frankly if that is true, I don’t go for ruthless either.
But understand this, there is great liability in printling falsehoods about other people – espcially prominent ones. Sane “educated” people don’t put this sort of stuff out there without the ability to substantiate their claims and/or have an army of attorneys.
NPR and The Nation and Winkipedia, yeah those are great sources.
It is interesting that ther are a number of other Wasilla residents who also know and experienced governance under Sarah Palin but by contrast have a very positive take on her time in office. Of course the writer of this article chose to only use the letter that supports her agenda. Snopes.com has the letter from Kelkenny as well as those who saw things quite differently. Remember folks, there is always another side. Don’t just happily find agreement with those that support your particular views.
Please visit factcheck.org. This is a NON-PARTISAN organization that researches political policies, speeches, etc. to show whether the information being offered up is true or false. You will see that several of the claims made by Ms. Kilkenny are FALSE.
How magazines and newspapers could be reprinting this letter as though the woman who wrote it was a reputable authority is beyond me. And how people could automatically believe that this is the absolute truth is also beyond me.
Most everything in the letter can be easily verified by checking the public record.
I have read all the above comments, I know some women are “in awe” of Sarah Palin, I am not one of them. She has done and will continue to do a dis-service to women. This woman is against sex education in schools and teenage pregnancy is up 15%..she would like to reverse Roe V Wade, doesn’t matter if you are Pro choice or Pro life, she wants to take away any right that you have over YOUR OWN BODY…83% think America is headed in the wrong direction unde the Bush regime, and McCain is not any different, his lies and decent will continue to break this nation down. So if you vote for the McCain/Palin ticket, it’s on your head.
Oh for the love of pete, people, the real issue here is not that this woman’s life is being dissected, it’s that she’s running for VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. Man or woman, this sort of inspection would happen. I wish people would just take off their rosy colored glasses when it comes to the attractive Palin and understand that she is NOT qualified to possibly run the country should McCain meet an early demise! If he had chosen women like Olympia Snow, Jody Rell, or even Elizabeth Dole, there wouldn’t be so much furor and fever, but we’d have women with more experience running for this high office. THAT’s the bottom line!
Recently it has been disclosed that the Bridge to Nowwhere was opposed by Sarah Palin, but in fact she approved it before she rejected it, and when she refused to build the bridge, she kept the money. She is now stumping all over the Country how she is against pork, which is a lie. If she will go on National Tv and lie, she will lie about her education.
I’m astonished that there are not more women who feel outraged that women are being manipulated by McCain and his party. It’s outrageous!
Personally, I can see through the muck and I have no respect for McCain or Palin for duping everyone and hiding behind a very self-righteous facade.
Palin is a phony! She preaches teen abstinence and look at her pregnant daughter!
She is against abortion and is playing that card to the hilt with her Down’s son…but a “SPECIAL NEEDS” child has special needs and she is handing him off to caretakers instead of raising him herself. The poor child won’t even know who she is!
I think we’ll ALL be very sorry if they end up winning the election.
I’m a woman and I trust my intuition and it is screaming at me to avoid McCain.
For Blissful, you are dead wrong about Sen McCain. My father was in prison with him for 32 months and credits his survival to the heroism of John McCain and Adm James Stockdale. Though brutally beaten day after day, John McCain returned to his cell only to rally his men. Respectfully, Sen Obama is a good man, but he does not have what it takes to keep America safe and the steel to deal with terrorist nations. Russia, N. Korea and Iran are not talkers, they do what they plot to do. With due respect, Palin and Biden are wheels on the cart, but are not running for President of the free world. Economics cycle every 10 or so years despite who is President. Even Jimmy Carter couldn’t kill the industriousness and competitiveness of American industry and it’s workers.
For Carlos
I’m sure McCain was much more sincere and compassionate toward his fellow man, and much less jaded and corrupt in the days when he was a POW. He has had decades to learn how to be a two-faced, dishonest, untrustworthy politician.
How he behaved in captivity quite honestly has very little to do with how he would run a country at the age of 72 with his medical history. People are different in dire situations like captivity where cooperation is the key to survival.
With all due respect, he should be retiring, and not taking on the toughest job in the nation. He deserves a nice retirement and we deserve a president who will look out for those of us who are not in McCain’s tax bracket and do not own so many homes we can’t keep track.
We have one home in the state where he is a senator, and he has done nothing worthwhile! During the Bush years, the quality of education has plummeted to an all time low and friends of my elderly mother in law have to choose between their prescription drugs or food….because they can’t afford both.
He won’t fix the economic situation in this country…(can’t even fix his state)… any more than Bush did. The rich will get richer, and the baby boomers will end up losing Medicare and be unable to retire before our squeaky joints give out and we just have to die miserably hungry and in pain… in poverty.
He won’t change things in a positive way.
Palin’s questionable ethics and her political past record is coming out now, and having her a heartbeat away from the presidency is something that should make us all stop and think this over.
It scares me…and I’m now an older woman who worked powerful jobs mostly held by men, and I raised a child alone without child support. I know that a mother CAN spread herself too thin no matter how well intentioned she is or how much help she can hire….and the children suffer in the end.
She has a special needs son who needs his mother, but she’s handing him off to a caretaker. It isn’t right on a moral level.
Her history of aerial hunting says a lot more about her lack of respect for LIFE than her pro-life stance. Her useless belief in teen abstinence as the best birth control obviously didn’t work at home.
I want to see REAL change and not just hear the lip service now and find out he can’t deliver later….just like his predessesor…who has driven this country into the ground and created bad relations with the rest of the world…to say nothing of the blood on his hands….the blood of our young men who died looking for non-existent WMDs…but not Osama Bin Laden’s blood….and after all, isn’t he what Bush used to justify going after the WMDs before Al Queda could create more terror after 9-11?
I don’t believe a word that comes out of McCain’s mouth. He didn’t write the words anyway. He’s just the current puppet and it’s a puppet show I don’t want to see….it won’t end well for the little people…us!
I find it so amazing that “enraged in Florida” goes on and on about Anne’s hairstyle. It really just shows how shallow the thinking is in our society. That is exactly how women are judged. I felt the letter was well written…and what courage it took for the librarian to stand up to the mayor for what she believed. The idea that she was trying to ban books that were approved by the National Library Society sends shivers down my spine. She will take us back to the dark ages. My vote was for Hillary, but I certainly can’t say I will now take the risk of having Ms. Palin as my president because she has nice hair.
I agree with you Holly.
I was very disappointed in my species when I saw that another person of my gender posted a link to the photo of Anne and wrote LMAO about the way Anne looked. How a person looks has nothing to do with her credibility, intellect, or her opinion about Palin …least of all her value as a human being.
No one deserves to be laughed at for their looks and if they’re being judged by their hairstyle, well…it doesn’t say much about the one doing the judging.
Shallow is a very kind word for that kind of attitude.
It’s shameful.
Linda, I have a slightly different perspective on this. I picked up Kilkenny’s note, which was obviously not just to friends, for the reasons already stated, but I felt what she was saying was important to explore. So I started a page for it. Wall St. Journal footnoted their Sept. 9 report on the letter as originating probably from my page.
http://www.andrys.com/palin-kilkenny.html
And while doing so, I read up as much as I could on the Net, to find information from the more balanced sources, pro and con, to try to find out what is true and what isn’t, where that can be determined.
I’ve added daily Updates re what I find about the various actions mentioned by Anne Kilkenny. Some of it is refuted and some of it is confirmed. What I’ve found is a world of grey. It’s fascinating.
There are some incorrect charges on most pages, including that Palin is anti-contraception, she’s not, though she has supported abstinence as safest method to prevent pregnancy. But I have updates sorted by date and also a reference section. I find it all fascinating and not at all black & white as seen too often.
I’ve been struck by how inaccurate are the stories being written even by journalists and a lot of it is the result of wishful thinking, from either side. Was glad to find this page.
Please visit my updates section if you’re interested in more information, all cited.
http://www.andrys.com/palin-kilkenny.html#updates
“Enraged in Florida” is an idiot and the reason this country is on a downward spiral. Go back to your shuffle board game and leave the business of running this country to those that actually have the capacity for creative thought.
Way to go Anne!!!!
Obama/Biden ‘09!!!!!!
One thing I could never understand is why the conservatives, right-wingers and Republicans resort to name-calling and bullying, defamation of character and insults whenever they disagree? Heck, disagree on content and substance — fine — everyone can have an opinion. But why do they always go down the road of “frumpy”, “idiot”, “bad hair-style”? What has that got to do with anything? It’s the same on blogs everywhere, on CNN and MSNBC. If they can’t defend a position with substance — they attack and become mean. I just don’t get it.
It may interest some but it’s simply boring to me. Wow, some disgruntled citizens mixes what could possibly be a few facts with a whole lot of one sided viewpoints. If that’s news, I’ve got a few national “Bestseller”’s myself. Considering there are so many public records to scour for potential “dirt”, it’s a little embarrassing to see journalists covering the stories of the bored citizenry of Alaska.
CNN has stated that the Library censorship story is FALSE.
The death of factual, unbiased news reporting has occurred. Credible news reporting is dead.
The viciousness of this election has been both shocking and sad.
I cannot stand with the Democratic Party… I will vote for McCain/Palin. As Ronald Reagan said… “I didn’t leave the Democratic Party, The party left me.”
To Liberal Lady
CNN has stated that the library story is false, but I have not yet seen if the NYTimes (who reported it) has retracted it. They may have a different source and it may in part be factual.
There are so many more valid reasons to keep McCain and Palin OUT of office! Either way…that’s just one small story no more or less significant than McCain calling Obama a ‘celebrity’ just because he was welcomed so warmly in Germany.
Oh and by the way….if you look back on ALL of the ads on tv for the campaigns…you will notice that it was MCCAIN who started the mudslinging attacks on Obama and turned this into a contentious competition of personalities and diverted the attention of the majority of shallow and under-informed Americans away from the issues that he has no desire or ability to change!He has been an ineffective senator of my state for about 3 decades and we have a low grade in education and high unemployment and the state is a mess.
If you’re deciding who you vote for depending on the news and the nastiness of the ad agencies the candidates hire…then you may as well never vote again.
Just don’t arbitrarily vote for the one that will cause the useless war in the middle east to become never-ending and don’t vote for the one that will expend all their energies on cutting taxes for the rich, cutting medical care for the middle class, allowing aerial hunting of wolves and polar bears and unleashed gun laws so we can have higher murder-by-gun rates…and environmental depletion… and who don’t even believe that global warming was caused by humans… and putting laws on what women can do with their own bodies….etc
Common sense just screams that McCain is exploiting Palin and every woman in this country who votes for him. She was the ‘celebrity’ he needed to bring attention back to himself. He is just not presidential material.
What makes me so sad is that it worked.
Hopefully the voters will come to their senses before the election.
He should be retiring and not taking on the busiest, toughest job in the country….one that he is not equipped to handle for the term.
Just think, he’d be 76 years old in 4 years …before the next election.
I’ve worked with a lot of seniors in my lifetime and I’m almost one myself.
How many 76 year olds do you know who could still run a nation effectively?
this is a hoax, no one can serve two masters and there is only one God and His name is Jesus Christ and all terrorists choose satan
I think it’s funny that everybody is so quick to jump at the mention of this woman, Anne Kilkenny. She’s obviously out to get her 15 minutes of fame and it worked! She is a democrat. She does have a long standing beef with the Palin’s (out of pure jealousy – imagine that…a woman jealous of another woman – OH MY, let’s print that letter). The book list contains names of books that were NOT EVEN PUBLISHED YET. If I were a newly elected official, I would also call my heads of department in for interviews on their policy/positions to see if we would all make a good fit. That’s all the librarian thing was about. (She was a STAUNCH supporter – as Anne Kilkenny was – of the ousted governor). I thought it was nice of Palin to give the job back to her. She didn’t have to. Let this go and let Anne Kilkenny take her 15 minutes and go back to oblivion again. We’ll all forget her name in less than a month.
Trish
I don’t see why being a democrat makes Kilkenney any less of a credible, intuitive person with an opinion… who is entitled to share her opinion just as we do here at this blog.
I don’t even KNOW Palin, but my intuition tells me she is all wrong for such a high post in government and all my internal alarms are going off.
I had the same feeling about Bush before he was elected.
By the way, I’m not a republican or a democrat….just an intuitive person who studies the candidates and issues and makes informed decisions based on facts BUT who trusts her intuition and votes for whomever will do the best job regardless of their party affiliations.
That’s what we should all be doing and not just voting for Palin because of her gender or hairstyle. Look at the whole package! There’s a bomb wrapped in that lipsticked package and she could unleash a lot of negative fury at the White House if given half a chance.
We shouldn’t give her the chance.
Some voters are beginning to have second thoughts about naming Sarah Palin to a powerful position in Washington. A lot of things don’t add up, and she seems to be in favor of changing “too many things”. Changing Roe vs Wade to force “Pro Life” on everybody, regardless of existing situation doesn’t set well with many folks. Me thinks her “moral teachings” are a joke. Maybe the reason she is standing behind her single, pregnant daughter is because it’s reported that Sarah herself had her first child only seven (7) months after marriage. Having a woman with such a history in the VP seat surely is not the kind of example we want to set before our teen-age girls !!!!
Maybe Anne K would have had some credibility if her entire “letter” wasn’t so obviously dripping with the rantings of a bitter jealous “just a housewife”. Who makes reference’s to the men in the town thinking what a babe Palin is, but wouldn’t vote for her and implying Todd’s job is cushy and how he take summers off to go fishing. It goes on and on. Who cares what Sarahs hubby does on his summers off and who cares about your personal vendetta against Sarah Palin because your husband thinks she a babe! Get a life. If this really was about informing the public about Sarsh Palin she would have left out all the “personal” issues she had and just stuck to the “facts” (ahem) as she saw them.
Wow, I’m really amazed at how people blast this woman for saying what she has to say. She’s allowed. You can take or leave it.
Unlike some of the people who have posted here, I actually believe she was writing to friends and not out for her 15 minutes. (But so what if she was?) Either way, I thank her for the information. It’s not like Palin or the Republicans were volunteering.
Even if every word Kilkenny says is true, so what? Palin sounds like she has the same views and acts in the exact same manner as millions, and millions of us here in the United States of America. People are going to vote on what is best for them personally, and most of my family and friends here in New York are voting the McCain/Palin ticket, even the ones that have the Obama signs out on their front lawns! It’s laughable.
Jodi…I called no name except to say that if Anne were a man she would be Keith Olbermann…I guess facts can’t get in the way of a good rant, eh? It sounds like you are the angry one…you may need therapy. You sound a little unhinged. Thanks for proving my point.
What? Media is biased?? No way!!! I never knew that before…
I go through many many routes to decide who I should vote for. Anne Kilkenny’s email just makes me research more.
What have I found out? I like John McCain. I’ve liked him since the first time he ran for president. I think he’s qualified- probably more so than Barack Obama. I do not always like his views, but it’s okay- agreeing to disagree is a healthy part of being human… AND American. In research, however, I have found that I do NOT like Sarah Palin. She is no “maverick” and she is extremely manipulative: on her own… without the effing lobbyists and insiders helping her. She is not ready to run the country, now or later. And if the McCain campaign wins? Well, she likely would be our president. Think about it: What if John Mccain had a heart attack? A stroke? Cancer (again)? He would be in the hospital and Sarah Palin and the McCain admin would be running the country.
SCARY!
Sarah Palin sounds like.. a politician!! She puts things out there, and takes credit for them if they fly? What politician DOESN’T do that? I am amazed at all the vitriol that flies about female politicians of any party. And, I can think of plenty of men with whom I disagree, but for some reason find very charming. Some people just have it. Bill Clinton comes to mind.
As to the lying, well, that’s another well known attribute of politicians. None of these people are clean, folks, so let’s stop fighting over this little stuff.
Let’s talk about Barney Frank…
There is a lengthy commentary from a Anne Kilkenny available on the web.Mrs. Kilkenny knows Palin from observing the former mayor’s actions in Wassilla.All of Kilkenny’s assertions are subject to scepticism.Given the news recently that insiders within the GOP campaign have referred to Palin as a “diva” who has “gone rogue” and is a “whack job”,one must then-presumably- give at least some credence to some or all of what Kilkenny alleges.It has been of some concern to me that a finding of guilt re: the Troopergate fiasco was cast aside by Palin with a non-sensical response/denial of that guilt.A law now exists in AK forbidding authorities to charge rape victims $1200 for a forensics kit.It is a matter of record that Palin laughed her way through a talk radio show in which the two hosts trashed a Palin AK political foe named Lyda,calling her a cancer and fat-Lyda being overweight and a cancer survivor.There are a litany of highly public incidents that call into question Palin’s common sense,sense of common decency,intellect, and, most importantly, her qualifications for the job she aspires to.Kilkenny’s e-mail may be the rantings of a jealous Democratic housewife/voter registrar but I challenge people with a pulse to deny all else that we as a nation have witnessed.The pundits say this is an election where we will vote our wallets.I would interject that national security and being thought of as a laughingstock among nations should we elect Palin is in play,also.I believe Jefferson might have stated “I cannot fathom her immorality nor can I countenance her ascendancy”.For the secretary raped on her way home from work,the girl accosted on the stairwell of a tenement,the mentally retarded woman taken advantage of by a monster-Nov 4 2008 will be a repudiation-hopefully for the final time- of a immoral minority who would have this nation regress to a time of coat hangers and suicides.Judges who would aspire to aide Palin’s desire to return to the dark ages will not have a place at the table.The message delivered to “real America” designed to drive a wedge between what our minds say to our hearts cannot prevail.Children of all creeds and colors will be bound together with the knowledge that this nation and it’s new leader can truly say that all men are created equal.Parents will be able to say that this precious gift was delivered with love and clarity after discussion and the exchange of ideas among a free nation.Would that it always be so that we can see the light in a sometimes dark and foggy world.Cruelty,ambition, and a calculated cold-bloodedness whilst portraying oneself as a paragon of religious piety and of the people?Please.God help this nation if this election isn’t won in a landslide.God help the GOP if anyone in that party really and truly believes that Palin is representative of the “base”-is this what the Republican Party has become- a party of deceit,cluelessness,and the soul of a win-at-all-cost gangster?A worthy foe vs. the opposition right about now would probably be better found out by searching the nearest gutter.Is guns,God and a little T and A the only required criterion to be employable by the GOP going forward if you are female?Shame