Using the bully pulpit to expose Palin

Palin's rural adviser quits

Oct 13 22:01
By ANNE SUTTON
Associated Press Writer

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) - Gov. Sarah Palin's rural adviser resigned Monday amid criticism of the governor's record on hiring Alaska Natives.

Rhonda McBride, who is not an Alaska Native, made the announcement in an e-mail to several Native leaders, saying there needs to be more Native voices in Palin's administration.

``I definitely think it would help to have an Alaska Native in this position,'' McBride told The Associated Press.

Many Alaska Natives have said they felt neglected when Palin, now the Republican vice presidential nominee, made appointments to her administration, including the rural adviser post.

State Sen. Al Kookesh, a Democrat, said Palin left the position unfilled her first year in office and ignored Native leaders' suggestions on the selection process.

``We were really disappointed when an Alaska Native wasn't appointed,'' said Kookesh, a Tlingit Indian who held the job in a previous administration.

Natives bristled early in Palin's administration when she named a white woman to a game board seat held by a Native for more than 25 years. An Athabascan Indian eventually was named to the post after protests.

Relations worsened after Palin didn't remove a game board chairman who once suggested that Alaska Natives missed a meeting because they were drinking beer, seen as insensitive since the Alaska Native community has high rates of alcohol abuse.

Alaska Natives make up about 20 percent of the population.

Palin's husband, Todd, is part Yup'ik Eskimo, and her 13-member cabinet includes two Alaska Natives.

``In all honesty, I have never felt authentic in my role,'' McBride wrote in her e-mail, a copy of which was obtained by the AP.

McBride, who covered rural issues as a reporter before becoming rural adviser last year, said she would return to journalism to help bring attention to Native issues.

She said her last day would be Oct. 23.

The F-card won't wash

Jessica Valenti, founder of the popular blog, Feministing, has a provocative column in the Guardian.
Your not-so-most-humble Professional Women's Village blogger is behind Valenti all the way: Palin would throw women's rights, and self-image, back before the days even of Fred and Wilma (Flintstone, that is).
The F-card won't wash

MORE GRANT FUNDING FOR WOMEN IN 2009

Thanks to BlackPR.com for this heads up:

Columbus, OH - Grant-making organizations are gearing up to allocate more funding to women in the year 2009. Grants are often used by women to start or expand a business, attend college, pay off loans, and/or launch a non-profit organization to help other women.

Big organizations, such as the American Association of University Women (www.aauw.org), are already making their 2009 applications available for interested ones to apply for fellowships, career development grants, and community action grants.

Others include the Association For Women In Mathematics (www.awm-math.org) - who are giving away thousands in travel grants for women to do research; the Moms In Business Network (www.mibn.org) - who are giving away grants for women to start businesses; and WebMomz (www.webmomz.com), who also are giving away business grants.

Even the Verizon Foundation (foundation.verizon.com) is looking to donate more grant money to women who are victims of domestic violence.

However it's allocated, the millions of dollars in grant money available each year for women are investments in the talent, creativity, intellect and determination shown by them in various industries and fields of study. Women are huge contributors to the economy, the workforce, entrepreneurship, and to the development and management of non-profit organizations.

Such grants empower women in many different ways, and have proven to be extremely successful. As a result, every year, more and more opportunities appear for women from new organizations, government agencies, and corporations wanting to get involved.

For more information about grant opportunities available to women, visit:
www.GrantsForWomen.org

Palin turns the Mommy Wars inside out

The imbroglio over John McCain's choice of a running mate became even more tangled this morning when the Times elaborated on reservations many women have expressed over Sarah Palin's candidacy: can a mother with a Down syndrome infant and 17 year-old pregnant daughter do justice to her role by running?
A New Twist in the Debate on Mothers is provocative.

Read here:
And, let's have your comments. And your vote.

Sarah Palin and Feminists for Life

As if her stands on the environment were not enough, Sarah Palin damages her credentials to be vice president with her membership in the anti-choice pressure group, Feminists for Life.
Here:

Re Sarah Palin: For those concerned about the environment

There will be more about what I feel is John McCain's dismal choice for a running mate. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 29, 2008 Shocking Choice by John McCain WASHINGTON-- Senator John McCain just announced his choice for running mate: Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska. To follow is a statement by Rodger Schlickeisen, president of Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund. “Senator McCain’s choice for a running mate is beyond belief. By choosing Sarah Palin, McCain has clearly made a decision to continue the Bush legacy of destructive environmental policies. “Sarah Palin, whose husband works for BP (formerly British Petroleum), has repeatedly put special interests first when it comes to the environment. In her scant two years as governor, she has lobbied aggressively to open up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling, pushed for more drilling off of Alaska’s coasts, and put special interests above science. Ms. Palin has made it clear through her actions that she is unwilling to do even as much as the Bush administration to address the impacts of global warming. Her most recent effort has been to sue the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to remove the polar bear from the endangered species list, putting Big Oil before sound science. As unbelievable as this may sound, this actually puts her to the right of the Bush administration. “This is Senator McCain’s first significant choice in building his executive team and it’s a bad one. It has to raise serious doubts in the minds of voters about John McCain’s commitment to conservation, to addressing the impacts of global warming and to ensuring our country ends its dependency on oil.” ### The Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund (www.defendersactionfund.org) provides a powerful voice in Washington to Americans who value our conservation heritage. Through grassroots lobbying, issue advocacy and political campaigns, the Action Fund champions those laws and lawmakers that protect wildlife and wild places while working against those that do them harm.

© Copyright 2008, Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund

McCain Picks Alaska Gov. Palin As Running Mate

NPR Report: By Scott Horsley
Listen Now [3 min 6 sec]

All Things Considered, August 29, 2008 · Republican presidential candidate John McCain has named Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate. Palin, 44, is the first woman named to a spot on the GOP ticket. She has been Alaska's governor since 2006.