Palin's Oily Lies Drip from the Pages of Going Rogue
I know facts aren't going to matter to many people buying Sarah Palin's, Going Rogue. Facts certainly didn't matter to folks who voted for her.
According to the "fact checkers":
PALIN: Welcomes last year's Supreme Court decision deciding punitive damages for victims of the nation's largest oil spill tragedy, the Exxon Valdez disaster, stating it had taken 20 years to achieve victory. As governor, she says, she'd had the state argue in favor of the victims, and she says the court's ruling went "in favor of the people." Finally, she writes, Alaskans could recover some of their losses.
THE FACTS: That response is at odds with her reaction at the time to the ruling, which resolved the long-running case by reducing punitive damages for victims to $500 million from $2.5 billion. Environmentalists and plaintiffs' lawyers decried the ruling as a slap at the victims and Palin herself said she was "extremely disappointed." She said the justices had gutted a jury decision favoring higher damage awards, the Anchorage Daily News reported. "It's tragic that so many Alaska fishermen and their families have had their lives put on hold waiting for this decision," she said, noting many had died "while waiting for justice."
When Sarah Palin was asked by Katie Couric what Supreme Court decisions other than Roe v. Wade she disagreed with, she couldn't think of one. NOT ONE! Sarah squandered an opportunity, the perfect chance to tell America our story, an Alaskan story: dozens of suicides, thousands sick from clean up, tens of thousands bankrupt from a dead fishery.
Sarah Palin is to Alaska what Velveeta is to cheese; sadly unsatisfying and empty of nutrition. She had the national stage to plead Alaska's case to citizens who had long forgotten the images of a once pristine Prince William Sound turned into a thick, black, rolling sea; the oiled sea otters and birds; unrecognizable seals and whales; an initially deformed and diseased herring run that became extinct -- costing Cordova $100 million a year. Exxon exploited Alaska and turned pain into profit.
AND NOW, Palin is claiming to be part of a victory for the people of Alaska? Reality Deficit Disorder...now in book form.
The Exxon Shipping Co. v. Baker Supreme Court decision in June 2008 all but pardoned Exxon's negligence. The highest court in the land condoned the half-assed cleanup. (My radio interview on the day of the ruling with Greg Palast). Exxon, the company that set and broke Planet Earth's quarterly profit record three quarters in a row, was let off the hook. Because of this unprecedented landmark decision, future corporate punitive damages are now forever minimally capped at literally pennies on the dollar!
The Roberts Court based its activist ruling on 19th century maritime law. Really! 21st century corporations can now view punitive damages as the small cost of doing business. Due to Exxon's negligence and the corporate sympathy of the Supreme Court, one the largest acts of environmental terrorism in history was treated like an accidental littering. The RATS -- Roberts, Alito, Thomas and Scalia, (Alito recused himself, confident that Souter and Kennedy would fill the business-friendly void) winked at their corporate masters as the Judas Court betrayed Justice.
Exxon doesn't have marked offices in Alaska. There are some pretty hard feelings even 20 years later for some pretty good reasons. When Palin was pointing fingers at Letterman in July of this year, she did it from Houston, Texas. She was there to sign a deal with Exxon on behalf of Alaska. The state's willingness to do business with Exxon was like having your parents rent the basement to the guy who date raped you on prom night. Am I clear?
So Sarah was against the decision before she couldn't remember it before she was for it. And now, courtesy of Going Rogue, Sarah Palin manages to insult and injure Alaskans who will never be made whole with yet another one of her documented lies.
The jury originally punished Exxon with $5 billion in punitive damages -- a year's profit at the time. In 2008, nearly 20 years later, Exxon reported the largest annual profit in US history at $45.22 billion. The company shattered its own record set the previous year. Would the original $5 billion in punitive damages been punishment enough? The answer is now slowly dripping onto victims at 10 cents on the dollar. Opening your mailbox to an Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Settlement check is like getting a royalty payment for the snuff film your kid brother was in. Hey, you're getting paid, but he's still dead and you got to watch.
(above) Then Governor Palin's appropriate reaction to the Exxon v. Baker decision June, 2008
Candidate Palin's stunning memory lapse of Exxon v. Baker just 3 months later...
Look for Going Rogue in the revisionist history section of your local bookstore on Tuesday...
Follow Shannyn Moore on Twitter: www.twitter.com/shannynmoore
Arianna Huffington: Sunday Roundup
Prepare for the latest Palin media onslaught. An hour with Oprah, a multi-parter with Barbara, and appearances all across the country. An initial read shows Going Rogue doesn't reveal much. No surprise there. This isn't about the book, it's about the book tour -- which includes a politically convenient stop in Iowa -- and the money. Besides, it's not like there's much we haven't already learned about Palin since she burst onto the national scene. We even know when her water broke during her last pregnancy. Talk about overexposed. In the end, I expect this will be one of the most mocked books of the year -- and one of the biggest bestsellers. Palin fans will find much to love, but I doubt a single doubter will be converted. It's a 400 page Rorschach test. With no index.
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The single greatest thing about Palin is that she couldn't shut up if she desperately 'wanted' to.
"it is better to remain silent, and be thought a fool, than to speak and remove all doubt"
--Abraham Lincoln
I am reading posts where people are angry at Oprah for doing a softball interview, and for not challenging Palin on her OBVIOUS lies and / or contradictions. Oprah did not become a billionaire because she was stupid. She knew, no matter what question she asked, Palin was going to be Palin.
And as the 2008 elections proved, that's PHENOMINAL theater, but God-awful politics.
I dunno, Shannyn. I'm waiting for you to stop pussyfooting around and tell us how you really feel.
Another great article.
You do Velveeta a disservice. It actually has legitimate uses and redeeming value.
Seriously! Your writing is so good, I had to read this again! Excellent!
“Oh what a tangled web we weave, When first we practice to deceive”. Sir Walter Scott
Shannyn, I've seen many of your appearances on MSNBC and have read a number of your columns. I very much appreciate the thorough and candid reporting you have done on Alaska and Sarah Palin. I also admire the fact that you have been able to maintain a genuine sense of humor. Keep up the great work.
Thank you Shannyn Moore. I hope that your postings about Sarah Palin become more mainstream.
Shannyn, this has to do with palin's lie, but it has more to do with McCain, but I could not find a spot to put it and I needed to voice my opinion. First, notice how I spell palin with "p"? That's my silent protest saying she is not important to capitalze the "p".
Something is going on with McCain to let palin continue her lies and to publicly knock McCain's staffers. McCain contacted his staffers and told them not to respond to palin's book. Why would he do this? Why not defend his people who he knew longer in the campaign than he did palin? To me it is a slap in the staffers face when McCain could just easily come out and say that his staffers are telling the truth and palin was a mistake or is not telling the truth. He is doing the opposite and still praises palin. There is this obvious silence from his Daily beast editor daughter who refuses to comment good or bad about palin. Why is she staying silent and not coming to her father and staffers defense? McCain does not want to say anything against palin, but he should defend his people! Does palin have something on McCain which is why the McCain family is keeping quiet. It is a funny campaign, Palin is now staying quiet against Levi since he warned palin he could hurt her with what he knows and the McCain family is staying quiet against palin.
Why indeed? This is a very interesting post and brings up some quite interesting thoughts that not to many including myself have not really paid attention to.
The best thing to come out of the Palin nomination debacle for the nation is Shannyn Moore.
second that.
Here Here!!
Ditto, maybe Shannon can have Lou Dobbs old time slot?
LOL... good idea.
tonight a clip was shown on olbermann that she didnt answer courics question about what she read
because she was mad that it was such a stupid question.
Well, she had the perfect opportunity to say that on tape.
She should have stated this when it first happened..
Shame it took so long to come up with such a lame excuse.
As the saying goes...
There are no stupid questions - only stupid people who don't know the answers.
Shannyn...
Keep it up Shannyn; More people than you know appreciate your honesty.
I refuse to watch Oprah...I would rather read than watch Palin. No one has to read her "Book of Lies" to know that MOST is not the truth. However her followers.
Oprah Winrey has built up a lot of capital with her audience over the years. Whether through her considerable film catalogue, or her television show, or her humanitarian work, Oprah has always been outspoken and done the right thing.
Her softball interview of Sarah Palin was disgusting. When James Frey was revealed to have written fiction and shopped it as non-fiction, Oprah shredded him. Oprah had an opportunity to blow Sarah Palin into a million little pieces and blew it...Sarah
There's been talk of this season being Oprah's last. Why would Oprah, a billionaire, toss softballs to Sarah Palin? I think this will irreputably damage Oprah's reputation. True to form...Sar
It was especially disgusting that Palin accused our president of sending people to Alaska to smear her and Oprah let that go unchallenged.
Yes, naturally, she blamed Obama's "smear campaign" against her for forcing her to resign. What isn't Obama's fault? Is anything Palin's fault, including her own decision to quit her job?
My fellow poster, Oprah is no fool. I do not think that she is finished with this. So many of us have been caught up in to the sensationalism presented to us by the MSM and others about SP that we tend to forget to look at the obvious. What's obvious here is that SP is simply on a money making venture, not a run for president. She has been presented the opportunity of a life time and so as any other opportunist would do she and her hubby are pouncing on it. She is not the first to do it nor will she be the last.
While the world is being indoctrinated, either being pro or con towards the era of SP the party at the center of all the interest simply rolls up their sleeves and plays the game not giving a thought as to what we all believe or not believe. This gravy train like all others has a limited life span (about 3 more years 2012) before the truth comes to light and a new plan goes into effect.
Had Sarah Palin become the VP, that of itself wouldn't have meant much. The part I was concerned most about, was McCain's obsession with Iran and taking out the perceived 'enemy' or WMD there. -When he was supposedly being comical with his rendition of the Beachboys song and Bombing Iran, I took him seriously.
I also believed him when he said he would seriously consider former Sen. Phil Gramm, the EnRon hero, to be his secretary of treasury. As if the economy could be turned around with this type of incompetency at treasury.
Palin, as VP, would have been relegated to obscure figurehead duties and we would all have lived in fear that something would prevent McCain from continuing as President, putting her in the White House.
she NEVER would have a been regulated to a obsure figurehead. She would have made the news by insisting that Todd be in on all her meetings like she did in AK. She would have had those children in the news for one thing or another. She needs the attention.
She couldn't even be mature during the debates "Can I call you Joe.- wink? "
She can't help herself and why should she? It works and made her a millionaire.
I'm watching her on Oprah right now. It appears that Sarah rehearsed. I'm wondering what your opinion is, Shannyn.
BTW, Oprah asked some of the right questions but didn't call Palin on all her lies.
Calling her out is not Oprah's job.
Curiosity has me watching Oprah right now. Palin is smug, insincere and about as convincing as a teenage girl caught lying about where she was after curfew. Calling Couric, "the perky one" and then contradicting herself about how the Couric interview came to be. Palin is a very ugly person.
Just plain vengeful.
She quit being Governor to write her book getting back at everyone and laying blame on everyone else. She is disturbing on so many levels.
Ethics charges such as troopergate may have contributed to her decision also.
If these charges were found true, the effect would have been devasrtating to her plans.
Following are some links to troopergate:
Alaska Daily News http://www
http://www
Guardian News http://gua
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