NORAD: Sarah Palin Has No Role In Guarding U.S. Airspace

By- Suzie-Q @ 9:00 PM MST

NORAD: Sarah Palin has no role in guarding U.S. airspace despite claims in Katie Couric interview

BY JAMES GORDON MEEK
DAILY NEWS WASHINGTON BUREAU

Tuesday, September 30th 2008, 5:21 PM

WASHINGTON – When Russian bombers approach American airspace  and U.S. Air Force fighters are scrambled, Sarah Palin‘s phone doesn’t ring.

The Alaska governor has no command authority over the guardians of U.S. airspace despite her recent suggestion otherwise.

“She doesn’t have any role in that process,” Air Force Maj. Allen Herritage, spokesman for the Alaska North American Aerospace Defense Command, told the Daily News.

“The authority to launch and respond to a Russian incursion lies with the Alaska NORAD Region commander” – Air Force Lt. Gen. Dana Atkins,  he said.

Palin said last week that her foreign policy experience includes facing the Russians.

“It’s very important when you consider even national security issues with Russia, as Putin rears his head and comes into the airspace of the United States of America – where do they go? It’s Alaska,” Palin told CBS‘ Katie Couric.

“It is from Alaska that we send those out to make sure that an eye is being kept on this very powerful nation,” she said.

Moscow‘s  bombers have skirted Alaskan airspace 20 times, thugh they have not violated it, during Palin’s governorship,  officials said.

When  F-15 and F-22 interceptors scrambled from Elmendorf Air Force Base in Anchorage in response, John McCain‘s running mate was not speed-dialed with the news.

“The commander does not call the governor,” Herritage said.

Steven Biegun, a McCain foreign policy adviser, said Palin is informed of the fly-bys by her National Guard commander.

The Alaska Air Guard, which Palin oversees, performs airspace-watching missions only under NORAD command, and does not fly interception sorties.

Palin did get an annual Air Force briefing  in February.

“She asked a lot of questions and seemed generally curious,” recalled Herritage, who was there. “She was very interested in Russian long-range aviation.”

RELATED SARAH PALIN TURNS UP THE ANGER

RELATED NUDE PAINTING OF SARAH PALIN IN CHICAGO TAVERN

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George Will: Sarah Palin Is “Obviously” Not Prepared To Assume Presidency If Necessary

By- Suzie-Q @ 5:50 PM MST

George Will: Palin Is Not Qualified

Huffington Post- Sam Stein

September 30, 2008 06:18 PM

Famed conservative columnist George Will told a gathering of Senate aides on Monday that Gov. Sarah Palin is “obviously” not prepared to assume the presidency if necessary, two event attendees told the Huffington Post.

Appearing at a Senate Press Secretaries Association reception at the Cornerstone Government Affairs office, Will offered a harsh assessment of John McCain’s running mate.

Palin is “obviously not qualified to be President,” he remarked, describing her interview on CBS Evening News with Katie Couric as a “disaster.”

Will did state, according to a second source, that Palin has received rough treatment from the media; arguing that the Alaska Governor would have been “skewered” by the press if she had made some of the same gaffes as Sen. Joe Biden has in recent weeks. But his sympathies only extended so far.

Will has already been critical of the other half of the Republican ticket, calling McCain’s handling of the financial crisis “un-presidential” just one week ago. And in offering his take on Palin, the longtime Washington scribe becomes the latest in a list of respected Republican officials who have now soured on the Palin pick.

Last week, Kathleen Parker of the National Review penned a column calling on the Alaska Governor to be dropped from the ticket. New York Time’s columnist David Brooks and former Bush speechwriter David Frum have also expressed their doubts about Palin’s capacity for the vice presidential post.

Will, who did not return requests for comment., had also been previously critical of McCain’s choice of Palin, writing a week after it was announced: “The man who would be the oldest to embark on a first presidential term has chosen as his possible successor a person of negligible experience.” One week ago, meanwhile, Will penned a blistering op-ed about McCain, accusing him of practicing “fact-free slander,” holding a “Manichaean worldview,” and “characteristically substituting vehemence for coherence.”

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Evening Jukebox… Gimme Shelter

By- Suzie-Q @ 5:45 PM MST

The Rolling Stones- Gimme Shelter (Live)

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Katie Couric Asks Palin, Which Newspapers Do you Read? ‘Um, All Of Them’

By- Suzie-Q @ 5:00 PM MST

Palin on which newspapers she reads: ‘Um, all of them.’

Think Progress- By Faiz Shakir at 7:14 pm

Tonight on the CBS Evening News, host Katie Couric asked Sarah Palin which sources she relies on for her news consumption. Three separate times, Couric tried to elicit a response from Palin about which specific newspapers she reads. Seemingly caught off guard, Palin could not name a single news source:

COURIC: And when it comes to establishing your world view, I was curious, what newspapers and magazines did you regularly read before you were tapped for this — to stay informed and to understand the world?

PALIN: I’ve read most of them again with a great appreciation for the press, for the media —

COURIC: But what ones specifically? I’m curious.

PALIN: Um, all of them, any of them that have been in front of me over all these years.

COURIC: Can you name any of them?

PALIN: I have a vast variety of sources where we get our news.

Watch it:

Vodpod videos no longer available.

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Alaskan Troopergate Witness Flips Under Oath

By- Suzie-Q @ 4:00 PM MST

BREAKING: Alaskan Troopergate Witness Flips Under Oath, Updated 2x

Daily Kos- by Eman

Tue Sep 30, 2008 at 09:31:48 AM PDT

It seems that at least one independent witness in the Troopergate investigation has changed her tune once she was sworn under oath.

Murlene Wilkens, the private contractor hired to manage Workmens’ Compensation claims for the State of Alaska at first released statements that no pressure was put on her in the case of Trooper Wooten, Sarah Palin’s ex-brother-in-law.

From this story posted yesterday:
Palin Implicated By Witness in ‘Troopergate’ Probe
it appears that Wilkens’ story under oath suddenly changed, and after seeing hard evidence, including sworn testimony of one of her own employees, she admits to denying Trooper Wooten’s previously approved claim at the direct request of Sarah and Todd Palin.

Much more to Sarah Palin’s abuse of power and her vendetta against the ex-brother-in-law is beginning to surface.  And of course, goon-husband Todd is right in the middle of it.

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McCain’s Middle East Mix-up

Posted by Basheert /from AmericaBlog

McCain just said that Venezuela was in the Middle East
John Aravosis (DC) ·

This, two weeks after he said that Spain was in Latin America. This from McCain’s economic forum that just took place today – Ben Smith has the transcript:

McCain, talking about energy policy, stresses the importance of “ensuring that America is secure, and not dependent on oil from people like Hugo Chavez or other parts of the Middle East which is, we know, could be destabilized under certain sets of circumstances.”

Hugo Chavez is the leader of Venezuela, a country located in South America. Read more about McCain thinking Spain was in Latin America here and here.

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Bush, Bernanke and Paulson Are Hyping the Crisis ?

GEF @ 5:08 PM ET

Rep. Marcy Kaptur on Wall Street Bailout

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Is the United States Under Martial Law ?

GEF @ 3:58 PM ET

Martial Law Declared in the United States?

It is official. The Constitution has been suspended.

Martial Law has been declared by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (before the market fell 800 points). This declaration of martial law is presumably in response to the [manufactured] financial crisis at hand.

This may still be a “secret,” but if Representative Michael Burgess is telling the truth, there are no longer three equal branches of government. The United States is now under dictatorship. The ‘Decider’ is now the Dictator.

I didn’t foresee martial law beginning until after October 1, when this Brigade goes live here in the HOMELAND.

Will there be elections? Only our American Furor has the power to decide now.

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Latest Palin And Couric Interview Clip; McCain Brought In To Babysit (VIDEO)

By- Suzie-Q @ 9:00 AM MST

Oh Dear God: Latest Palin/Couric interview clip; Grampa brought in to chaperone!

Daily Kos- by Brainwrap

Mon Sep 29, 2008 at 09:58:47 PM PDT

Yes, the clip has already popped up in at least one diary, but this one is so pathetic that I can’t help but try to bring as much attention to it as possible.

Today, in a desperate attempt to prevent Sarah Palin from continuing to destroy any remaining chance of coming off as anything other than a complete twit, John McCain actually CHAPERONED BABYSAT his young ward in a follow-up interview with Katie Couric.

Below the fold, the YouTube clip which has to be seen to be believed:

OH. MY. GOD.

That’s right–he was right there beside her, and she STILL made herself sound like a jackass.

In attempting to “clear up” her Pakistan response, both of them actually tried to blame the VOTER WHO ASKED THE QUESTION for “asking ‘gotcha’ questions or some such nonsense:

McCain: “Look, I understand this day and age gotcha-journalism. Is that a pizza place? In a conversation with someone who you didn’t hear…the question very well, you don’t know the context of the conversation. Grab a phrase.”

What the hell is THAT supposed to mean?? A voter asking a legitimate question about a vital issue of national importance is “gotcha journalism” because the response was (gasp) actually recorded? The question was very clear, the response left no room for doubt, and the location of the exchange is utterly irrelevant. Who gives a shit if it was in a pizza place, a bus station or the Taj Mahal???

McCain continuously fidgets with his fingers again (ring finger again, anyone?) and answers for Palin like a parent accompanying his daughter to a college acceptance interview like it’s a f*cking parent-teacher conference (h/t to CoolOnion for the far better metaphor).

As someone over on DIGG put it:

“These two appear far from presidential. They look like a nervous couple trying to get approved for a loan.”

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Media: ‘Bush Is The Picture Of A Beaten Dog’ & ‘The Picture Of Presidential Impotence’

By- Suzie-Q @ 8:00 AM MST

Media: Bush Is The ‘Picture Of A Beaten Dog’

Think Progress- By Amanda Terkel at 9:31 am

In the wake of yesterday’s congressional meltdown over the bailout bill, President Bush gave a speech this morning, meant to reassure the public and the volatile financial markets. Just four minutes long, the address expressed disappointment in Congress and warned that “the consequences will grow worse each day if we do not act.”

Bush’s speech is unlikely to have much of an effect. Immediately following the address, MSNBC turned to New York Magazine’s John Heilemann, who commented:

I don’t think that comforts anybody. I don’t think that moves a single vote. With due respect and sympathy for the man, that was the picture of a beaten dog. That was the picture of presidential impotence right there. He looked terrible like his bell had been rung. He looked drawn to me.

The Wall Street Journal’s Peggy Noonan added, “It strikes me lately, when the President talks about the economic crisis, that he seems like a commentator upon the crisis as opposed to the leader in the crisis. There is the sense that he is watching it saying we need to do something, as opposed to we will do something.” Watch Bush’s speech, followed by MSNBC’s commentary:

WATCH VIDEO HERE

As the Washington Post writes today, yesterday’s failed bailout vote “marked the biggest legislative defeat of Bush’s tenure and underscored the vanishing influence of a president who could once bend a pliant Congress to his will on wars, taxes, surveillance and a host of other high-profile initiatives.”

Coinciding with these developments, Gallup has released a new poll today showing that Bush’s approval rating has dropped to the lowest point in his tenure:

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