Palin’s Trooper’Gate: Beating MSM distortions to the truth

t’s been over 12 hours now since Alaskan Governor, Sarah Palin, has been named as GOP choice of Veep. Already, a desperate Obama camp of supporters are in search of talking points… other than the obviously poor choice of “inexperience”… or a scandal to take back what they perceive as the DNC ticket superiority.

Knowing the Palin-Monegan-Wooten investigation of abuse of power was their prime target, I’ve been spending time this AM researching the chain of events in hopes of beating the media to the political and biased distortions creating a new, and false “truth. I took into consideration that journalists… and ardent supporters like Markg8 on Curt’s thread… will be quick to post what they believe is damning evidence without reading more material on the issue.

So on that note, settle back and catch up with the reality of rural country politics. I’d like to share with you what appears to be the crux of the story, using both pro and con Palin bloggers and news media.

4-11-05: Investigation of Mike Wooten by AST (Alaskan State Troopers) over two year allegation of misconduct involving family members commences.

5-1-05: Domestic complaint incident involving Mike and Molly Wooten, Sarah and Todd Palin. Transcript of Sarah Palin with troopers. Also, Trooper notes on the same interview.

SUMMARY: Molly calls Sarah (not yet Governor) in fear from husband. They leave an open phone line where both Sarah and Molly’s son hear Wooten threaten Molly and Sarah’s father (he’ll “eat an f*#king bullet). Palin doesn’t call police because she doesn’t want to hurt Wooten’s trooper career, nor make the situation worse…. Providing it didn’t get physical. Other incidents with Wooten noted.

8-18-05 Re’interview of both Sarah and Todd Palin. Trooper notes on Sarah interview. And Trooper notes on interview with Todd Palin, plus with bartender of Mug Shot Saloon.

SUMMARY: Sarah confirms an email on Aug 10th, 2005 to Col Julia Grimes, Director of AST (Alaska State Troopers) complaining of Wooten’s negative representation of the department. Wooten’s abuse of his authority and position in various instances. His racist attitudes towards native Alaskans (Todd Palin is a native Alaskan…), abuse of state resources (free gas/credit), illegal hunting activities, and Sarah’s daughter (Bristol) being a witness to Wooten’s tasering of his 11 year old stepson (verified)

SUMMARY: Todd also confirms Wooten’s disparaging remarks about Alaskan natives, his consistent abuse of authority and position, plus his hunting violations. Bartender confirms Wooten involving himself in bar fight, misusing his position as a trooper. Also bartender confirms Wooten with “girlfriend” at the bar, who was later arrested for DUI.

This is no means a complete picture of all that happened… but enough to give you a picture of an “out of control” trooper. ~~~

NOTE: Palin was not Governor of the State at this time… and this transpired BEFORE her primary campaign against GOP competitor, Andrew Halcro. Coincidently, the same man leading the pack screaming “scandal” over the “firing of Monegan”.

The investigations against Wooten started more than a year before she was elected governor, and about two months before launching her campaign”. ~~~

3-1-06: Col. Julia Grimes findings on Wooten investigation results in suspension…. for only *five* days.

What we can derive from the timeline is that the investigations and complaints against Wooten as a State Trooper (not to mention with problems exhibiting a derelict father who tasers his step son, and is a physically and verbally abusive, unfaithful husband per the transcripts and testimony) had started prior to Palin’s term as Governor.

We can also determine that this is a man who most certainly does not need to be a trooper, armed with a badge and gun. And, if not in rural Alaska, Wooten is a law official who would have been run out of most departments as a seriously troubled man with violent tendencies.

Per Col. Julia Grimes in the Fairbanks Newsminer on July 28, 2008… and showing how long this “scandal” has dragged out…

The record clearly indicates a serious and concentrated pattern of unacceptable, and at times, illegal activity occurring over a lengthy period, which establishes a course of conduct totally at odds with the ethics of our profession,” Col. Julia Grimes, then head of Alaska State Troopers, wrote in March 1, 2006, letter suspending Wooten for 10 days. After the union protested it, the suspension was reduced to five days.

This “scandal” stems from an abusive state trooper going through a divorce and threatening his now ex-wife’s family. Lots of nasty things happen in a divorce. How ironic that if it hadn’t been for nasty things in a divorce, Obama would still be a state senator in Springfield.

Sarah, her husband, and her administration are accused of putting pressure on Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan to fire Wooten, the former brother-in-law. Monegan was appointed by Sarah. When he got fired, he claimed that it was because he didn’t fire Wooten.

But unlike Monegan, who had an at will position, Wooten was protected by his union. How could Monegan fire him? The union had already protected his outrageous behavior and had reduced his suspension from 10 to 5 days.

This saga began three years ago — way before Sarah was elected governor. Wooten did pose a threat to the governor and her family, and she and her husband had every right to inform Monegan of his alarming behavior. And that was the so-called pressure.

This investigation isn’t going to amount to a hill of beans.

What you posted and other posters confirmed is pretty much what I dug up about what happened. The taser incident alone which has evidently been verified is scary enough for me.

There is something else brewing against her. Personally, and I may get beat up for this, I hope not, I think it is cool that she knows how to handle a gun. A big one. But I'm not really thrilled about killing animals for sport. I want to find out more where she stands on this issue. There have been some photos posted to try to sway voters that are open to her back into the Obama camp. But didn't Hillary claim to have been a hunter at some point (there is a difference between knowing how to handle a gun and hunting)? Pictures of aborted fetuses are much worse compared to dead wolves. I live where a lot of people love to hunt, and have slowly come to understand why some of our deer overpopulation needs to be culled out, but I wish we could find a more humane means to do it rather than allow bow and arrow hunting on a public trail as has been done here and elsewhere. Some wander quite a distance before they drop. I would rather they be killed by a good marksman with a gun where their death is usually more swift if it has to be so. I would rather not have to see it happening.

Likewise, I don't live in Alaska and know that there is another side to hunting animals there. Much of it I know is for sport and getting a trophy. The other is that the natives depend on live game for their food, unlike most of us in the lower 48. The wolves threaten their food sources. Evendently some are hunted and shot from planes. Because the vastness of the wilderness, it seems to me it might be hard to hunt wolves any other way.

Please understand that I am not against legally killing wild game for food and am not in any way an activist against other kinds of hunting, just have a personal distaste for the killing of animals for the fun or thrill of it. I have examined myself and because I am a meat eater, I just shift off my unease about some animal suffering knowing that somebody else does the dirty work in packing plants.

No way am I involved with PETA and I most definitely believe in killing anything that is threatening human life, livestock or pets.

Most things I'm reading about her I really, really like, do wish she had a better handle on foreign policy, but believe she has visited Kuwait and our troops without a lot of fanfare connected with it. Maybe we'll find out more about that.

Overall, McCain's putting her in the VP slot eases my conscience about some of the reservations I had about him to the point I now may be able to vote for him whereas before I would not have. In many, many ways, she is truly a breath of fresh air. One thing I have complained about in the past is that relatively unknown, good people without name recognition and a lot of money behind them don't stand a chance. The accomplishments she does have, she has done on her own. There is so much positive about her that appeals to me.

You just need to be aware of what is out there and what is going to be used against her.

She and her husband are hunters and from what little I know it appears to me that she hunts for the sport and eats what she kills. One of her favorite dishes is moose stew. I’ve never had moose but I do like venison, elk, quail, pheasant, buffalo, duck and goose, but I’m not a hunter. For the most part I prefer the taste of the wild game rather than farm raised geese, ducks, etc. It isn’t just the Native Americans who depend on game for food. I have lots of friends who have freezers full of fish they’ve caught or game they’ve hunted and killed. Occasionally I even get some of it.

In most cases it’s illegal to hunt from an airplane but they do allow it currently in Alaska for wolves and grizzly bears but that’s usually as an animal control effort and not sport. There isn’t much sport in hunting from an airplane IMO. It’s also very tough to recover the meat. My guess is those that aren’t involved in predator control who do it aren’t Alaskans rather they come into the state for a very short time for trophy hunts. I would doubt that Sarah Palin or her husband are that kind of hunter. Alaska Ballot Measure 2 is designed to eliminate it. See: http://www.alaskastar.com/stories/082108/new_20080821009.shtml

Her level of experience in foreign affairs is essentially equal to that of Senator Obama unless you count his living for a few years as a lad in Indonesia. He’s held no hearings in his subcommittee, attended very few if any relevant committee hearings. He’s been too busy running for President. Prior to his term in the US Senate most of which has been spent running for president he has no national security experience or training while she’s the head of the Alaska National Guard. That’s why she was in Kuwait. She as governor, was visiting the Alaska National Guard troops assigned to Kuwait and Iraq. She also made a number of low key visits to wounded troops.

Thank you for being so polite, reasonable and understanding in your reply. I sometimes wish more people would give me fish, occasionally some has come my way, I most certainly enjoy it. Wild meat used to taste gamey to me as a kid, but I had a bf once who killed a deer out of season. Of course, I didn't approve breaking the law, but did use some of the meat, and it was delicious the way I cooked it, probably fed on corn which is why it didn't have the gamey taste. He left to work (this was many years ago) on the pipeline in Alaska and ended up guiding hunting parties there, a real outdoorsman. As a tomboy, I used to beg my father to take me hunting, but over the years I got so I didn't want to do it, but if people use what they kill or give it to people who will, I understand and wouldn't make it an issue of it.

I don't see what the difference would be from culling out predators from an airplane compared to what has been done near here, hire an outfit from out east to cull out overpopulations of deer shooting from the back of pickup trucks at night to make it safer for humans who may live nearby. What is the difference? I know they can be a nuisance, but I would rather hunt them with a camera, haven't "bagged" a deer yet :-). We have a real problem with them, especially running in front of cars, some accidents involving deaths of people, and growing up here, I don't remember ever seeing any. I'm still thrilled to see them though, but if they got in my yard (a possibility) and ate some of my plants, I'd be unhappy about it like so many people who have to deal with that. They will gobble up a lot from your garden.

I think some of us animal lovers are too far removed from pioneer life to fully understand about having to kill your own wild game. I think I would if I had to. Thanks for the link. I read it, and honestly if culling out from predators from a plane is most effective, I would support it myself when presented with all sides of the issue. I did cook a beaver that was given to me once, yuck, but of the buffet you listed, I've only eaten venison, duck (watch for biting on buckshot!), and pheasant (buckshot again!), quite tasty. Probably have eaten caribou sausage or wild game jerky many times.

As to her foreign experience, I give her a pass at this point, hope she is a quick study, all the education in the world does not prepare us for some of the tough decisions that need to be made. She seems like a really smart lady. She has indeed had *some*, read after I posted that she even negotiated with Putin over fishing waters, and I found that interesting and would like to know more about it.

Have a nice weekend! My daughter who is the least one you'd think would go for a Republican emailed me to find the local Rep hqs because she wants to host an event now that Palin is on the ticket, think the choice invigorated her. Go figure. There may be others out there like her, we can hope anyway. I do feel a sense of renewed hope and enthusiasm now for sure.

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