Posted on 03/08/2010 4:06:19 PM PST by big black dog
Let’s see how well this one follows the Palin “scandal” template. Step one: Some provocative yet murky detail emerges about something she said or did. In this case, that’d be her admission that as a kid her family once crossed the border to seek medical care for her brother in Canada. Step two: The media assumes the worst and beams out the shocking allegations. Can it be true? America’s conservative champion bypassing the 45-minute trip to Anchorage so that her brother could indulge in some freebie socialized medicine 15 hours away?
Step three: The truth. First, the full quote from her speech:
“My first five years of life we spent in Skagway, Alaska, right there by Whitehorse (180km away. see map). Believe it or not – this was in the ‘60s – we used to hustle on over the border for health care that we would receive in Whitehorse. I remember my brother, he burned his ankle in some little kid accident thing and my parents had to put him on a train and rush him over to Whitehorse and I think, isn’t that kind of ironic now. Zooming over the border, getting health care from Canada.”
And then the inconvenient part:
Little did these bloggers know that the source from which they were quoting either deliberately or unintentionally left off the fact that Palin clearly said that the story emanated from when her family lived in Skagway. Skagway is pretty close to Whitehorse [Canada]…
According to the summary of Canada’s health care system by Health Canada, it was only until 1972 that Yukon “create[d] medical insurance plans with federal cost sharing.”
So the day-long Yukon trek to feed from the socialist trough turns out to be a short drive to a nearby hospital where they paid for the treatment. Given her age at the time, why this would constitute a scandal even if her parents had gone there for free care is beyond me, but per our template, “too good to check” is the guiding principle in all things Sarahcuda.
But wait. An emerging scandal from the non-scandal?
Palin has also told an alternate version of the story that had her family traveling south by ferry to Juneau from Skagway for treatment of her brother’s burned foot, rather than to Canada, according to a 2007 report posted by the Skagway News.
Palin caught lying red-handed? Or Palin maybe having had her memory refreshed about her brother’s hospitalization in the course of talking to her parents while writing her book? We’re on the cusp of step two!
http://www.conservatives4palin.com/2010/03/its-only-947-am-in-west-coast-and-weve.html
Now let's move on. I knew there was something fishy about this story from the beginning.
Yea, sorry. I realized after reading through the story that it was making the point that this is just another lame attempt and making Palin look bad.
What was fascinating about the ever-fascinating Sarah Palin's speech was another of her Canadian connections. One that didn't involve hockey.
“My first five years of life we spent in Skagway, Alaska, right there by Whitehorse (180km away. see map). Believe it or not – this was in the ‘60s – we used to hustle on over the border for health care that we would receive in Whitehorse. I remember my brother, he burned his ankle in some little kid accident thing and my parents had to put him on a train and rush him over to Whitehorse and I think, isn’t that kind of ironic now. Zooming over the border, getting health care from Canada."
Given all the politician-turned pundit's warnings about the ills of expanding government role in U.S. health care (see: panels, death), this was, yep, pretty ironic-sounding. Now in fairness, she was born in Idaho and them moved to Alaska as an infant in 1964, two years before the Medical Care Act that established national medicare came to Canada. Several years after universal coverage came to acute hospital care like burns, mind you. But then, it's not exactly anybody's political choice where they receive medical attention when they're less than five years old, to say nothing of the political ideologies one doesn't really develop around that age.
By Tommy Report
The following claims were made early this morning regarding Palin's comments in Calgary:
Palin, as a young child, lived in a remote community as near to Whitehorse as to any Alaska metropolis.
The nearest city in Canada, Whitehorse, is a 15 hour drive away. Anchorage is only 45 minutes away.
The closest Canadian city is 15 hours away from Wasilla.
"Palin, as a young child, lived closer to itthan [sic] earlier reported."
"The Calgary Herald has a fuller, slightly different version of the quote."
Ok, it appears that this was when Palin lived in "Skagway, Alaska," which is much closer to Canada.
ALSO: Socialized medicine apparently only kicked in in Yukon in 1972, post-Palin.
Skagway to Whitehorse is a "natural" and goes without saying...
Built in 1898 during the Klondike Gold Rush, this narrow gauge railroad is an International Historic Civil Engineering Landmark, a designation shared with the Panama Canal, the Eiffel Tower and the Statue of Liberty.
The WP&YR railway was considered an impossible task but it was literally blasted through coastal mountains in only 26 months.
The $10 million project was the product of British financing, American engineering and Canadian contracting. Tens of thousands of men and 450 tons of explosives overcame harsh and challenging climate and geography to create "the railway built of gold."
The WP&YR climbs almost 3000 feet in just 20 miles and features steep grades of up to 3.9%, cliff-hanging turns of 16 degrees, two tunnels and numerous bridges and trestles. The steel cantilever bridge was the tallest of its kind in the world when it was constructed in 1901.
The 110 mile WP&YR Railroad was completed with the driving of the golden spike on July 29, 1900 in Carcross Yukon connecting the deep water port of Skagway Alaska to Whitehorse Yukon and beyond to northwest Canada and interior Alaska.
White Pass & Yukon Route became a fully integrated transportation company operating docks, trains, stage coaches, sleighs, buses, paddlewheelers, trucks, ships, airplanes, hotels and pipelines. It provided the essential infrastructure servicing the freight and passenger requirements of Yukon's population and mining industry. WP&YR proved to be a successful transportation innovator and pioneered the inter-modal (ship-train-truck) movement of containers.
The WP&YR suspended operations in 1982 when Yukon's mining industry collapsed due to low mineral prices. The railway was reopened in 1988 as a seasonal tourism operation and served 37,000 passengers. Today, the WP&YR is Alaska's most popular shore excursion carrying over 450,000 passengers during the May to September tourism season operating on the first 67.5 miles (Skagway, Alaska to Carcross, Yukon) of the original 110 mile line.
SUN, 07/03/2010 - 3:18AM
CALGARY - Sarah Palin drew a straight line from Alaska to Alberta as she told a sold-out, largely adoring crowd in Calgary that the province gets her message of less government, lower taxes and development of natural resources.
In what was billed as her first Canadian appearance since stepping down as governor of Alaska last summer, Palin's trademark folksy charm was on full display Saturday night.
She joked that her distinctive accent means she's often mistaken for Canadian and that she has two great-grandfathers from Canada, including one from Moose Jaw, Sask.
"That must be where my love of moose came from," she said to laughter and applause.
Palin, who shot to national prominence after being chosen as running mate for U.S. Republican Senator John McCain in the 2008 presidential campaign, also mentioned the Olympics, suggesting that the bobsled is all in a day's commute in Alaska.
She paid tribute to Canada's men's hockey win, noting that the U.S. men's silver is nothing to sneeze at.
"Second place isn't that bad. I've been there."
Palin grew serious when the talk turned to politics, thanking Calgary-based company TransCanada Corp. for its bid to build a pipeline to connect Alaska to Alberta.
She noted the areas have several things in common: good hunting, good fishing and a commitment to developing energy resources.
"We understand how important it is to do responsibly."
She touched on climate change, saying that her skepticism has been proven by several recent controversies and that money shouldn't be spent on "pie-in-the-sky, snake-oil ideas."
The vocal opponent of health care reform in the U.S. steered largely clear of the topic except to reveal a tidbit about her life growing up not far from Whitehorse.
"We used to hustle over the border for health care we received in Canada," she said. "And I think now, isn't that ironic."
Many in attendance said seeing Palin was like catching a glimpse of a celebrity.
Stephanie Hansen, 18, who wore a pin with Palin's face, could barely contain her excitement. She gushed that she felt out of place among the much older audience.
"I love it, I'm really glad that I came. It was really enlightening."
She admitted she didn't know a lot about Palin's politics, but said she loves her nonetheless.
"I admire how she can have a family and still be able to work as much as she does and everything she does."
A number of Alberta politicians were also in attendance.
Danielle Smith, leader of the right-of-centre Wildrose Alliance Party, faced comparisons with Palin as she ran for the party's leadership last year. Smith said she was greeted by a steady stream of supporters after Palin's speech.
"It was great. I think the themes she was talking about resonate just as much with Albertans as they are with average Americans," she said.
"Free enterprise, the respect for individuals, the fact that we need limited government, these are all the things people are asking for."
Since leaving politics, Palin has spent her time rebuilding her brand in the United States with increasing visibility on the national stage.
She has become a regular paid commentator for Fox News and gave a high-profile address at the first national convention of the "tea party" coalition last month. The anti-establishment, grass-roots network is formed on a premise of anger over the growth of government and President Barack Obama's policies.
She denied any kind of leadership ambitions for the movement, saying that she's told organizers that politicians will always let them down while ideals remain true.
"It's a beautiful movement, it's a conservative movement that's sweeping our nation," she said.
Palin gained a fair amount of notoriety for that speech, being widely mocked for writing crib notes such as "Energy. Tax. Lifting American spirits" on her hand and consulting them during one question and answer session.
She was asked by Senator Pamela Wallin to show her palms after the speech and referenced a passage in the bible that says people's names are engraved on God's hands, saying "if it was good enough for God, it's good enough for me."
In addition to her political speeches, Palin is a paid commentator for Fox News, appeared on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno last week and is apparently shopping around a reality show that would showcase her home state of Alaska.
She's repeatedly refused to confirm whether she would consider a run for the presidency in 2012 and remained coy when asked the question Saturday.
"Don't know what I'm going to do in 2012," she said, adding no matter what happens she'll be supporting candidates who embrace her message of a common-sense approach to government.
Polls seem to suggest Palin doesn't pose much of a threat as a potential presidential candidate.
A recent Washington Post-ABC News poll suggested only 37 per cent of Americans had a favourable impression of Palin, and of those who identified themselves as conservatives, fewer than half said she was qualified to serve as president.
Tickets for the Calgary event ranged from about $150 to $200. About half of the 1,200 people in attendance gave Palin a standing ovation.
We can't have that. Next thing you know the posts here might come to be more rational.
without wasting my time searching, can you tell me if ben smith or jonathan martin of politico wrote any of the false stories before correcting? thank you.
without wasting my time searching, can you tell me if ben smith or jonathan martin of politico wrote any of the false stories before correcting? thank you.
I think the story originally came from a Medicine Hat paper (Post #27), and then went on from there, but I'm not absolutely sure about that.
This tells one that when you are in a remote area and need medical treatment, you go where it is available. Thanks for the infomation.
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