Replies

The punditocracy and lefty blogs are abuzz with accusations that Sarah Palin, who once briefly touched on the topic of book removal from the local library in a city council meeting, is some sort of book-burning extremist (even though precisely zero books were actually removed, banned or blacklisted during her tenure as mayor or Governor).

Seems to me that the Democrats might want to re-think this topic.

See, Banning stuff is a big part of the Party's agenda. Moreover, it's a big part of its record, and its legacy.

Cases in point:

o The ban on "assault weapons", meaning scary-looking guns. A prime mover: Joe Biden.

o The ban on "drug paraphernalia", which criminalized things like bongs, even if no actual drugs were present. This is what sent comic actor Tommy Chong to prison. "Earlier this week, in an interview with the Washington Post, Tommy Chong was asked what the average citizen can do to further the cause of decriminalization. 'Check out the people you’re voting for,' Chong replied. 'For instance, Joseph Biden comes off as a liberal Democrat, but he’s the one who authored the bill that put me in jail. He wrote the law against shipping drug paraphernalia through the mail - which could be anything from a pipe to a clip or cigarette papers.'” http://www.kxmb.com/getArticle.asp?ArticleId=267949

o How about the Democrat politicians banning incandescent light bulbs? Now there's a winner: the alternative, compact fluorescent bulbs, are a source of deadly mercury pollution. Break one, and you have a hazmat situation that will cost you thousands of dollars for an official clean up.

o Enjoy your low-flow toilet that clogs and backs up all the time? Thank the Democrat ban on full-flow toilets.

...And so on. There's even a ban against carrying more than $5,000 in cash. "A person carrying $6,000 in cash to a vehicle auction where the auctioneer will only take cash may be stopped and his cash seized because it is presumed only a drug dealer would have or carry that much cash." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asset_forfeiture

So Sarah Palin once glanced against the topic of book removal in the local public library by daring to ask a question? The Democrats, including their VP nominee, are way ahead of her.

My recollection is that the sales tax was increased by 1/2 of a percent for the sports arena at Wasilla BUT only after a vote by the folks in Wasilla and that it passed overwhelmingly. Incidentally, at one time there were 5 Olympic sized ice sheets in America, and 3 of them were in Alaska — Anchorage, Eagle River (betwen Anchorage and Wasilla), and Soldotna (probably smaller than Wasilla). There are several now. FYI, all the elementary schools in Anchorage (and I’d guess the Valley, also) have a maintained outdoor skating rink.

And yes, to someone else, there’s lots of use for swimsuits in Alaska. Go through Wasilla on the Parks Highway in the summer whenever it’s above 65 degrees in the summer and there will be folks right at Wasilla Lake enjoying the sun & the summer & the water. The first time my mom came up to visit in the summer and we were driving through Wasilla and she saw all those kids out in the water, an involuntary explanation came out of her mouth: “Those people are crazy!”