Palin slime chain mail posted in hundreds of forums

The lovely Candy forwarded me the following chain letter, purported to have been written by a "Jackie S." regarding the qualifications of Palin.

Interestingly, it was also posted in hundreds of forums in a matter of a few hours:

• 09/02/2008 Prout Assembly

• 09/01/2008 Topix Politics

• 09/01/2008 World of Warcraft

• 09/01/2008 Politico Forums

• and many...

• ...many more.

Let's fisk, shall we?

As an Alaskan, I am writing to give all of you some information on Sarah Palin, Senator McCain's choice for VP. As an Alaska voter, I know more than most of you about her and, frankly, I am horrified that he picked her.

The most accurate description of her is red neck.

A "red neck"? Case closed. Disqualified.

Her husband works in the oil fields of Prudhoe Bay and races snow mobiles.

Double secret disqualified!

She is a life time member of the NRA and has worked tirelessly to allow indiscriminate hunting of wildlife in Alaska, particularly wolves and bears. She has spent millions of Alaska state dollars on aerial hunting of these predators from helicopters and airplanes, dollars that should have been spent, for example, on Alaska's failing school system.

Truth: The Alaskan Wolf Control Project is not a "hunt": "Wolves and bears are very effective and efficient predators on caribou, moose, deer and other wildlife. In most of Alaska, humans also rely on the same species for food. In Alaska's Interior, predators kill more than 80 percent of the moose and caribou that die during an average year... Predation is an important part of the ecosystem, and all ADF&G wolf management programs, including control programs, are designed to sustain wolf populations in the future." In other words, the program part of the Wildlife Conservation Program intended to balance the caribou population with wolves, for example.

We have the lowest rate of high school graduation in the country.

Truth: According to the Manhattan Institute's most recent study, Alaska's High School graduation rate of 67% is approximately that of the nation's average and surpasses that of Alabama, Arizona, DC, Florida, Georgia, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, South Carolina and Texas.

Not all of you may think aerial predator hunting is so bad, but how anyone (other than Alaska wolf-haters, of which there are many, most without teeth), could think this use of funds is appropriate is beyond me. If you want to know more about the aerial hunting travesty, let me know and I will send some links to informative web sites.

Truth: Actually including the "links to informative web sites"? Too technically daunting, I suppose. In reality, aerial predator control in Alaska preserves other species and has existed for decades (see: Current: Aerial Predator Control and Predator control, politics, and wildlife conservation in Alaska).

She has been a strong supporter of increased use of fossil fuels, yet the McCain campaign has the nerve to say she has 'green' policies.

Truth: Zogby reports that 74% of Americans favor offshore oil drilling and 59% support drilling in ANWR. While the pursuit of green technologies is admirable, until wind- and solar-powered cars, trains and trucks are commonplace, our economy hinges on fossil fuels.

The only thing green about Sarah Palin is her lack of experience.

Truth: Palin has significantly more executive experience than Barack Obama. She managed an immense energy commission, stopped "The Bridge to Nowhere", and went after corruption in both parties. Obama, on the other hand, omitted his only management experience from his official biography.

...Prior to her one year as governor of Alaska, she was mayor of Wasilla, a small red neck town outside Anchorage.

"Red neck"! "Red neck"! "Red neck"!

The average maximum education level of parents of junior high school kids in Wasilla is 10th grade.

Truth: It took about 30 seconds to debunk this assertion. The 2008 Wasilla education survey has the percentage of high school graduates surpassing both Alaskan and U.S. averages. As do those possessing Collegiate Associate Degrees.

Unfortunately, I have to go to Wasilla every week to get groceries and other supplies, so I have continual contact with the people who put Palin in office in the first place.

Here's an astute reporter that has to trek into Wasilla for "supplies" and thinks they are out of touch!

I know what I'm talking about.

Heh!

These people don't have a concept of the world around them or of the serious issues facing the US...

Plus, they're "red necks"!

If you supported Hillary, regardless of what you think the media and the democratic party may have done to undermine her campaign, the person to support now is Obama, not Sarah Palin.

Gee, I wonder who could have originated this chain mail and posted it in hundreds of forums across the Internet in a matter of hours?

I know this is a lengthy and emotional email, but the stakes are high. I thought it might help for all of you, regardless of political affiliation, to know something about Palin from someone who has to live with her administration in Alaska on a daily basis.

Well, we know something about those who oppose Palin. They're elitists and male chauvinists who can't give a lick of credit to a Governor with an 80% approval rating, an excellent record of pursuing corruption, and who visited Iraq as many times as Barack Obama... while raising five kids!

Maybe the same guys who orchestrated this email also ran Hillary out of the Democratic race?