Sarah Palin: Stimulus Bill Anniversary Proves Not-So-Stimulating

Pretty hard to add much to this one. Sarah pretty much nails it:

Stimulus Bill Anniversary Proves Not-So-Stimulating

Today at 9:04am

One year ago today, President Obama signed a nearly trillion dollar stimulus package and handed our children the bill. What did we get for that massive price tag? Many promises, but the promises have proven false. On this stimulus anniversary, Washington needs to hear our message that Americans expect, and deserve, better.

Americans were promised the stimulus would keep unemployment under 8%. It’s now well over that. We were promised it would be targeted and pork-free. It’s been loaded with pork, corporate giveaways, union bosses’ goodies, and other manners of waste. We were promised there would be no fraud, but our government now tells us it can’t even verify the eligibility of people applying for the $325 billion worth of stimulus tax provisions. We were promised there would be strict oversight, but billions of dollars apparently were allotted to congressional districts that don’t even exist. We were promised it would provide "green jobs" for Americans, but 80% of the $2 billion they spent on alternative energy went to purchase wind turbines built in China! We were promised it would help state governments weather the recession, but states receiving the stimulus bait will be in worse fiscal shape now because local governments will be on the hook for new unfunded mandates and continuation of government programs they couldn’t afford in the first place – as many of us governors warned state legislatures.

One year later, we see plainly that the stimulus was not a well-thought out plan. It hasn’t revived our economy; instead the debt-ridden package will prove to be a drag on our economy. It hasn’t put us on the path to a better future; instead it’s unfairly mortgaged our children’s future and stolen opportunities from them. It hasn’t strengthened us; instead it endangers our freedom and security by making us even more beholden to foreign lenders. The legacy of the stimulus isn’t jobs or economic growth – it’s more dangerous debt.

But there is hope! And this hope lies in draining the swamp in D.C. and sending Commonsense Conservatives to Washington who understand the need for fiscal restraint. Those who are willing to rein in spending, respect Constitutional limits, and repeal the stimulus should get our support, and those who have been part of the problem should be replaced.

In this election year, we’ll see many daring Davids take on entrenched Goliaths. Just one of these many brave souls is a northern Wisconsin patriot named Sean Duffy. He’s running in Wisconsin’s 7th congressional district against a liberal Goliath who’s been in Congress over 40 years now and has the dubious distinction of being the author of the stimulus bill. To commemorate the anniversary of the signing of the stimulus, Sean Duffy is holding a fundraising "money bomb" for his campaign so he can replace the career politician who drafted this government-bloating behemoth.

If you’re frustrated about the waste in the stimulus bill, please support a solid fiscal conservative who will work to repeal it. Please visit Sean Duffy’s website and help him help us correct the mistakes of this past year.

On this first anniversary of the stimulus, let’s send a message to the big-spenders in Washington by helping Sean Duffy unseat the author of the stimulus. Let’s put government back on our side and get to work revitalizing America!

- Sarah Palin

One thing I like about Sarah’s blogging, she provides plenty of links to back up what she says. Please make sure you take the time to visit each link and learn even more.

Make no mistake about it, Obama’s pork laden "stimulus package" is a disaster for all Americans. Good money thrown after bad in an orgy of government spending that looked to build the perfect communist utopian state. Epic Fail on every account!

Although it’s hard to add to what Sarah has written, I did want to include more on all of the money that went to foreign energy firms. West Coast editor Stacy Drake brought this one to my attention from the San Diego Union-Tribune:

Foreign energy firms getting windfall of U.S. stimulus funds

Money is used to buy turbines made abroad

Of the more than $2 billion the federal government has given out to boost the economy and create green-energy jobs, more than three-quarters has gone to foreign-owned companies that dominate the global wind-power industry. This latest finding by the Investigative Reporting Workshop, a nonprofit at American University in Washington, D.C., is illustrated clearly in San Diego County, where about a dozen commercial wind developers have offices.

La Jolla is the headquarters for Eurus Energy America, the subsidiary of a Japanese firm that received $91 million in federal stimulus money for a wind farm in western Texas. It plans to apply for more money to fund a wind project in Oregon.

EnXco, a French-owned firm with American headquarters in Escondido, has received $69.5 million in stimulus money for its wind farm in Indiana. It installed 53 German-made turbines at the site. EnXco also is operating the Texas wind farm for Eurus.

A-Power Energy Generation Systems, a Chinese-owned company that might get federal grants through a consortium building a wind farm in western Texas, lists a vacant office in downtown San Diego as its U.S. address on recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Cannon Power Group of San Diego has received $19 million to expand a wind farm east of Portland in Washington. The company spent about half of that money overseas to pay for wind turbines it said it couldn’t get stateside.

The Reporting Workshop’s initial analysis of wind-energy grants was released in October and outraged some lawmakers. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., cited the group’s report — and news that $450 million in stimulus money might go to a group installing Chinese-made wind turbines in Texas — when he asked the secretary of energy to deny federal financing to firms that use foreign-made turbines.

American wind companies are receiving stimulus grants, but some such as Cannon Power spend much of that money abroad because few U.S. companies manufacture turbines.

Mark Anderson, chief executive officer of Eurus Energy America, a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Eurus Energy Holdings Corp., said his company would not have been able to move forward with other projects without the guarantee of stimulus money.

Eurus received $91 million in grants for the Bull Creek Wind Farm in Texas. It has the capacity to power about 48,000 homes a year.

Eurus is building a wind farm in Oregon. The company plans to seek green grants for that project, Anderson said.

"We plan to put more and more money into the United States," he said.

Eurus employs 20 people in San Diego, Anderson said, and has assets worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

Its Texas project created between 300 and 400 jobs for construction, including 10 for operation, and is benefiting the local economy through property taxes and land leases, Anderson said. For the project, Eurus bought Mitsubishi turbines, which are manufactured abroad.

EnXco, the French-owned firm based in Escondido, also went abroad to buy turbines, from German manufacturer REpower. A spokesman for EnXco said the project created more than 200 construction jobs as well as a dozen permanent jobs. It has the capacity to power about 29,000 homes per year.

A-Power, based in northeast China, is part of a group building a wind farm in western Texas using turbines it is manufacturing in China. This is the project that affronted Schumer after the group announced plans to collect $450 million in stimulus grants.

In a letter, Schumer asked Energy Secretary Steven Chu to reject requests for stimulus grants from companies that buy key components abroad.

"In all due respect, I remind the secretary there is a four-letter word associated with the stimulus — J-O-B-S," Schumer told ABC News. "Very few jobs here, lots of jobs in China. That is not what I intended or any other legislator who voted for the stimulus intended."

Chu responded on Facebook: "But manufacturers will not build plants here and grow their production capacity here unless there is domestic demand; and, until recently, that was not the case."

In SEC filings this year, A-Power Energy Generation Systems lists a suite in a high-rise in downtown San Diego as its business and mailing address. However, the suite door is locked, and a building manager said A-Power is not a tenant.

When reached on his cell phone, Chief Operating Officer John Lin said he did not have time to answer questions.

Gary Hardke, president of Cannon Power Group, a renewable-energy company near Torrey Pines, said his company had no choice but to go abroad to buy parts for its wind farm in Klickitat, Wash. Two main U.S. manufacturers, GE Energy and Clipper Windpower, either did not make a turbine the size that Cannon wanted or were sold out.

Cannon bought the turbines — made up mostly of blades, towers and nacelles (the part in the middle that houses components such as the rotor and generator) — from Siemens, a German company that also was the main contractor.

In all, Hardke estimated, more than 50 percent of the stimulus grant went to Siemens.

"I appreciate that cosmetically it doesn’t look good, but the reality is … the grants (must) go into the project costs," he said.

Cannon is expecting $151 million more in stimulus grants to expand the wind farm and hopes all the parts will come from the United States.

Hardke pointed to ways the stimulus cash will do what lawmakers intended — boost the local economy. Cannon pays about $3 million a year to lease land from about 40 individual owners as well as $2 million in property taxes.

The project is in a county where nearly 20 percent of residents earn less than the poverty level, according to a 2009 U.S. Census release. It created more than 300 construction jobs, Hardke said, and 20 to 30 to operate the farm.

"There isn’t a family in Klickitat that doesn’t know someone employed by the project," he said.

"The ongoing economic development benefit in rural America is really significant."

The icing on the cake, he said, is "clean energy — really significantly helping the environment."

There are an incredible amount of links to more information at the Union-Tribune’s website so please be sure to visit them here. Wind energy is a huge boondoggle. a real waste, and as we are finding out, these turbines will not opperate in the subzero weather in the areas they are being placed! (Read more here)

What a mess.

This is more failure by our president and his corrupt government. It is past time for talking and time action. We must stop this insanity, and stop it now.

You can start by helping Sean Duffy!

"Family Guy" Not Kind To One Family - The Palins

One of the nice things about blogging is being able to join together with like-minded folks with a common mission. Today the bloggers came out in force in support of Sarah Palin and her son Trig, and against the show "Family Guy" and it's intolerance. Below are links to various writer's articles on the subject:

Leave Governor Palin’s Children Alone! (UPDATED with Gov. Palin’s Facebook Note)

Family Guy mocks Palin and special needs community

Family Guy: Equal Opportunity Jerks (Update of previous “Leave Gov. Palin’s Children Alone!”)

Gov Palin & O’Reilly Discuss Tea Party & Special Needs

These posts articulate, much better than I could, many of the facts and feelings surrounding this. I can't speak for others but I can speak about my own experiences.

When my youngest son was born with special needs, it was found that he could benefit from an early intervention program. I met so many wonderful families with beautiful children, many with Down syndrome, and have kept some of those friendships nearly 20 years. These children are gifts from God, a reminder of what beauty is. They have the purest of hearts and don't get caught up in all the drama and pettiness that consumes the rest of us. My other son, who is autistic, is much like this. He is trusting, sometimes to a fault. He feels no ill will toward people and thankfully, was oblivious to much of the ridicule when he was smaller.

I remember one incident in particular when he was about 12. He was always a big kid for his age, and was once described as being "perpetual motion in the flesh." He never sat down, was always on the move, had volume control issues and a great deal of difficulty with body language and personal space. He still, at the age of 22, gravitates toward things that people much younger than 22 are interested in. One thing he loved was going to the park. So, one day when he was 12, we went to the park.

Here we were during the day (because I homeschooled) and the park was filled with young mothers with their very young children. He would get so excited and bolt for the wooden fort with ladders and tunnels he barely fit in, but I would let him play there because he loved it so much. On this particular day, he bolted toward a group of small children as they played on this fort. I saw the mother of one girl who had to be about 2. She stared at my son and as he came closer, she pulled her child from the piece of equipment she was playing on and whisked her away, sheltering her from my son. All she could see was this big kid, who appeared to be a young adult, bolting toward her child. They just didn't understand. I'm grateful my son was not aware of what had happened. I, however, was painfully aware.

I wrote a poem about another experience with my youngest son, in which an after school director forced him to sit on a mat and not interact with other children for fear he would be "hurt" (at least that's what she said). It is titled "A Friend Like Me" and has been adopted my by many Down Syndrome organizations:

Please don't be afraid of me
I want to be your friend.
And if you get to know me
Your rigid thoughts might bend.

Thoughts that I am different
From others that you know,
I really am no different
And this I'd like to show.

I live and breathe and laugh and cry
I love to play and learn,
I sometimes do things differently
Which can cause some concern.

You see, some say I'm special
I guess this much is true,
But if you were to ask me
I'd say you're special too.

We're all a little different
No two are just the same,
It's really something wonderful
that way there is no blame.

When things don't go just perfectly
And others get confused,
And say things like "poor child"
and other terms they use.

It's okay if you look at me
And might not understand,
It's okay if you touch me
And even hold my hand.

My life has many obstacles
Much more than you could know,
But that's not what I dwell on
I'm me, that's all, and so...

Please don't be afraid of me
I want you just to see,
How truly great and wonderful
A friend like me can be.

I have also faced the stares, the pointing, the whispers under the breath about how the kids looked or behaved, and of course the ever-present criticism from people who just don't understand.

I never, however, had to face the depth and breadth of ridicule that Sarah Palin has had to face. Today I told one of my friends, a mother of a child with Down syndrome and disability advocate I've known 15 years, about what happened with the "Family Guy" episode. Her response was very direct, and telling:

"You flatter me if you think I can influence anyone to stop attacking people w/disabilities in the name of 'humor.' It is disturbing to see how 'acceptable' this has become. No other group of people are told to just accept the disrespect heaped on them."

She articulated the situation very well. When will this stop being acceptable for anyone with special needs? When will the attacks stop for Sarah, her kids, and her family?

My friend did rally the troops in her state to make calls to the sponsors of this show. WE ALL should be making those calls. These attacks need to stop and those who produce "Family Guy" need to understand that in no way is this acceptable.

- To see this post and others by Tracey Porreca, please check out Finding Myself In Alaska

Sarah Palin’s Friendship With Israel

I am continually amazed by two ethnic groups in America: Blacks and Jews. Both are absolutely hated by the left in this country, and yet, both groups vote almost as a block for democrats. It makes no sense at all to me.

I tell you, as much as I can’t figure out why blacks vote for the party of the KKK and Jim Crow in overwhelming numbers, the fact that Jews vote overwhelmingly democrat puzzles me to no end. I mean if you hang around the average lefty, you’d find they blame all of the world’s problems on Israel (and George Bush)

In fact, many of the far left radicals openly support terror groups like Hamas over Israel. Our president has many ties to people who openly support Hamas!

With that said, it was refreshing to read this from Caroline Glick in the Jerusalem Post:

Column One: Sarah Palin’s friendship

Hers is the strongest single American voice opposing Obama’s foreign policy, supporting Israel and denying Iran nuclear weapons.


US President Barack Obama is an inept, incompetent leader. More than his failure to pass his domestic agenda on health care and global warming despite his Democratic Party’s control over both houses of Congress, Iran’s announcement on Thursday that it is a nuclear power and has the capacity to produce weapons-grade uranium is a testament to Obama’s feckless incompetence. Even his most ardent supporters are admitting this.

Take The New York Times. In a news analysis Thursday of Obama’s failure to prevent Iran from advancing with its nuclear program, David Sanger wrote that for the US president, the last year has been "a year in which little in his dealings with Iran has gone the way that the White House expected."

Since Obama first announced his wish to sit down with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, at a Democratic presidential candidates’ debate in the spring of 2008, the 44th US president’s only strategy for dealing with Iran has been to appease its leaders. And as of Tuesday, he still believes that ingratiating himself with the regime is his best bet.

On Tuesday, Obama wouldn’t admit that appeasement has failed, even as all of Iran’s top leaders said they were expanding their illicit uranium enrichment activities. The most he would do was acknowledge that the regime’s leaders "have made their choice so far, although the door is still open."

As for sanctions, well, Obama said it will take "several weeks" to put those together at the UN.

The distressing truth is that Obama’s aim has never been to prevent Teheran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. His whole "sanctions-if-engagement-fails" strategy is just a ruse. The Obama administration has never intended to place biting sanctions on Iran. As one senior administration official told The New York Times, the purpose of the sanctions talk is to get the Iranians to agree to negotiate. As he put it, "This is about driving them back to negotiations, because the real goal here is to avoid war."

Got that? As far as Obama is concerned, Iran with nuclear weapons isn’t the main concern. Israel using force to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons is the main concern.

US PRESIDENTS have a far freer hand in foreign policy than they have in domestic affairs. A president’s ability to implement his domestic agenda is constrained by Congress. Congress has much less of a say in foreign policy. But the main constraining factor for a US president in both domestic and foreign affairs is public opinion.

Over the past year, Obama failed to pass his domestic agenda even though he enjoyed governing majorities in both houses of Congress, because the public opposed his agenda. So, too, if the public is able to express its opposition to his foreign policy, particularly as it relates to Israel and Iran, he will be unable to sustain it.

To date, in light of his sinking approval ratings, the main thing Obama has had going for him is that since the presidential election, his political opponents have lacked a leader capable of uniting his opponents around an alternative path. Over the past week, that leader may have emerged.

On Saturday, former Alaska governor and Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin gave the keynote address at the Tea Party Movement convention in Nashville, Tennessee. As she did in the presidential campaign, Palin electrified her audience in Nashville by credibly channeling the populist impulses of American voters. In her signature line she asked, "So how’s that hopey changey stuff working out for ya?"

Palin excoriated Obama on his handling of US foreign policy. Among other things, she noted that a year into his quest to appease dictators, America’s international standing is in shambles. "Israel, a friend and a critical ally, now questions the strength of our support," she added.

Palin bellowed that on issues of foreign policy, there is no room for self-delusion. As she put it, "National security, that’s the one place where you’ve got to call it like it is." And then, "We need a foreign policy that distinguishes America’s friends from her enemies and recognizes the true nature of the threats that we face."

If her address wasn’t enough to convince Americans – and specifically American Jews – that Palin thinks supporting Israel and standing up to Iran are the keys to US national security, then there was her interview on Fox News Sunday. Asked how Obama can win reelection in 2012, Palin responded, "Say he decided to declare war on Iran or decided really to come out and do whatever he could to support Israel, which I would like him to do."

And if that still isn’t enough, there is her lapel pin. The politician who leads the populist opposition to Obama decided to make her most important speech since the 2008 election wearing a pin featuring the US flag and the Israeli flag.

Palin, who is considering a run in the 2012 Republican presidential primaries, is using her public platforms to reassemble the coalition of security hawks, social conservatives and blue collar workers that propelled Ronald Reagan to the White House in 1980. Her support for Israel serves her in building support among both security hawks and social conservatives.

Unlike Obama’s empty protestations of support for Israel, Palin’s support is obviously heartfelt and therefore will not diminish while Obama remains in office. And as Palin becomes stronger, her ability to influence the US debate in a manner that constrains Obama’s freedom to intimidate Israel into allowing Iran to become a nuclear power will rise.

In spite of Palin’s extraordinary support for Israel, the American Jewish community overwhelmingly rejects her. As Jennifer Rubin noted in her article, "Why Jews hate Palin," in Commentary magazine, Jews disapproved of Sen. John McCain’s choice of Palin as his running-mate by a 54 to 37 percent majority. The sneering broadsides published against Palin by leading American Jewish writers are legion.

In her article, Rubin gives a number of reasons for American Jews’ rejection of Palin.

On the one hand, American Jews, who overwhelmingly self-identify as Democrats and disproportionately identify as liberals, oppose Palin for the same reason they oppose all social-conservative Republicans – because she isn’t a liberal Democrat. What makes American Jews’ rejection of Palin unique is its emotional potency. Rubin argues that the visceral hatred that many American Jews express towards Palin is effectively an issue of class hatred, or snobbery. They are four generations removed from the sweatshops where their great grandparents labored on New York’s Lower East Side. And they don’t like this woman with a funny accent who went to University of Idaho, guts fish and shoots moose.

This may be true. But if it is, American Jews might want to rethink their loyalty to their social class. As the demonstrations against Ambassador Michael Oren at UC Irvine, against former prime minister Ehud Olmert at University of Chicago, against Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon at Oxford, as well as the disinvitation of Prof. Benny Morris at Cambridge and the celebrity of Harvard’s anti-Semitic Prof. Steve Walt show clearly, the bastions of intellectual elitism where American Jews feel most at home have become the repositories of the most virulent hatred of Jews in America and the West today.

Liberal standard bearers like Hollywood have had no compunction about giving prestigious awards to movies like Paradise Now, which glorified murderers of Jews in a manner unmatched since the days of Leni Riefenstahl. Elite media outlets like The Atlantic monthly are only too happy to publish the rantings of newly fashionable critics like Andrew Sullivan.

Liberal Democratic Jewish voices, like Leon Wieseltier at The New Republic, are aware that there is a problem with the rampant anti-Semitism in their camp. And they fear that as a consequence, American Jews may take a second look at Palin with her Israeli flag lapel pin. As Wieseltier wrote this week, "A day does not go by when I do not do my humble part to prevent such a transformation [of American Jewry from liberals to conservatives] from coming to pass."

THE FACT of the matter is that for Israel’s sake such a transformation can’t happen quickly enough. It isn’t that American Jews have to change their social agenda, but they must recognize that today, sadly, there is not meaningful bipartisan support for Israel in the US Congress. The 54 lawmakers who wrote Obama a letter last month asking him to force Israel to open up Gaza’s borders were all Democrats. Opposition to passing sanctions against Iran, and opposition to an Israeli strike on Iran’s nuclear installations, are only politically significant among Democrats.

In her speech at the Tea Party Conference, Palin said, "We need a commander-in-chief, not a professor of law standing at the lectern."

The fact of the matter is that Obama came to many of his anti-Israel sensibilities through his professor friends – Rashid Khalidi, John Mearshimer, Samantha Power, William Ayres, Bernadine Dohrn and, of course, the late Edward Said. Americans interested in national security – and particularly American Jews who support Israel – should be the first ones to second Palin’s statement.

Sarah Palin’s emergence as the mouthpiece of populist opposition to Obama presents Israel’s supporters – and particularly Israel’s Jewish supporters – with an extraordinary opportunity and an extraordinary challenge. Palin’s coupling of support for Israel with her populist domestic agenda marks the first time that support for Israel has been treated as a core, populist issue. The opportunity this presents for American Jews who care about Israel is without precedent.



But of course, to make the best use of this opportunity, American Jews who support Israel have to disappoint Wieseltier. They have to acknowledge that the Left has rejected their cause and increasingly, rejects them.

Obama’s failure to prevent Iran from moving forward with its nuclear program, and his stubborn refusal to support an Israeli move to deny Iran the ability to threaten Israel and global security as a whole, place Israel and core US national security interests in unprecedented jeopardy. His fellow Democrats’ willingness to support him as he maintains this perilous course means that the Democratic ship has abandoned Israel, and strategic sanity.

Palin’s future in politics is unknowable. But what is clear enough is that today hers is the strongest single American voice opposing Obama’s foreign policy and the loudest advocate for supporting Israel and denying Iran nuclear weapons. For this she deserves the thanks and support of American Jewry.

As Americans, we must support Israel to the fullest. They are our strongest ally in that part of the world. Sarah Palin is unabashed in her support for Israel and the Jewish people. This is a good thing. Hopefully the Jewish people in America will wake up and realize who their friends are and who their enemies are.

Gov Palin & O'Reilly Discuss Tea Party & Special Needs

Governor Palin discussed the Tea Party Movement with Bill O'Reilly, today December 16, 2010. At the heart of the discussion, were radical elements within the Tea Party and how they could effect the movement's effectiveness. Regarding the concern that the Republican Party could co-opt the movement, Governor Palin said that most Tea Partiers are independent and not registered to either party and are expressing frustration with Washington insiders not listening to them. The GOP would be wise she said to listen to Tea Partier's calls for smaller, smarter government.



In this segment, Governor Palin discussed the Family Guy episode in which "Emily," who has Down Syndrome states that her mother is the "former governor of Alaska," an obvious reference to Governor Palin and her son Trig. Governor Palin delineated the Obama administration's track record on special needs from poking fun at Special Olympians, to to the Rahm Emanuel use of the term "retard," among others. She described how she asked her daughter Bristol her thoughts on the episode and chose to Facebook Bristol's comments, rather than her own. Bristol, was "far more gracious than I could have been," Governor Palin said. She indicated how Bristol said that "those in the special needs community are among the most loving people. Why pile it on them and and make their lives more challenging?"

Governor Palin reiterated that when she spoke at the Republican Convention on September 3, 2008, those with special needs would have a friend and advocate in the White House. Though her ticket did not win, Governor Palin said, she still has the same passion to making this world a more "welcoming place for all innocent people."

"I'm going to keep pursuing that in our country until we are a more tolerant, compassionate, welcoming place for the innocents."

-- Sarah Louise Heath Palin

Both videos retrieved from PalinTV.

Family Guy: Equal Opportunity Jerks (UPDATED W/ Fox CEO Contact Info)

By Adrienne Ross - www.motivationtruth.com

I do not watch "Family Guy" for one simple reason: I'm not a fan of puking my guts out and, no doubt, the show would create that kind of reaction from me. I've seen enough previews to know that it is the kind of thing I simply would not find humorous. I've seen their mocking of Jesus, for example, and frankly, I don't give place to that in my home.

Therefore, had it not been the subject of many a blog and email yesterday, I would not have known about Sunday's episode that alludes to Governor Palin and her son, Trig.

In the episode, a feisty girl with Down Syndrome has a date with a teenage boy. Forgive me for not knowing the names of any of the show's characters. Like I said, I have an aversion to puking; thus, my ignorance of the culture of "Family Guy."

As I began watching the video clip yesterday, I was scratching my head, for if there is any appeal at all to the show, I am completely oblivious to it. No, let me be honest: there isn't any. What I found was something that both angered and saddened me.

Upon demanding that she be asked about her family, the special needs character identifies her mother as "the former governor of Alaska." Without the use of names, it is an obvious reference to the Palins, as Trig has Down Syndrome and Palin is the former Alaska governor.

Much has been discussed, and even more written, about this episode. Even leftists acknowledge that this is below the belt. You can see the clip for yourself by clicking here. Personally, I cannot figure out why the Palin reference is necessary. I cannot figure out how it adds to the storyline. It certainly doesn't contribute to any humor that a good archaeologist might manage to dig up somewhere in this show.

"Family Guy" has taken a shot at Palin before. During the 2008 campaign, Palin and McCain were portrayed as Nazis. As insulting as that was, there is a major difference between that piece of trash and this one. That one went after adults. Sunday's attack? That attack involved a child. That attack revealed, as Bristol Palin so wisely stated, "that they're heartless jerks."

As far as I'm concerned, personal attacks are just asinine. Nonetheless, we adults have learned to just plow through them. However, when people's children are placed on the chopping block, a line is crossed that simply cannot be tolerated.

Let me remind you: Barack Obama told the media early in his candidacy to leave his children alone. He was right to make such a request/demand--and everyone obeyed. Children of public figures should be off-limits. Governor Palin's children deserve the same respect President Obama's children have been given, which is the same respect every child deserves.

So in the name of decency, "Family Guy"--and everyone else who has declared a never-ending hunting season on her children: "Leave Governor Palin's children alone!"

But what does the show's creator have to say?

The Times asked "Family Guy" creator Seth MacFarlane for an interview regarding the matter. But he opted to send a statement via his publicist: "From its inception, 'Family Guy' has used biting satire as the foundation of its humor. The show is an "equal-opportunity offender."

Really? Well, if he wants to be "an equal opportunity offender," then he deserves "an equal opportunity" response from the people. If this is his only means of getting laughs, perhaps the show needs to find some new people who understand that there's no comedy in demeaning a special needs boy and his mother.

I am calling on all of us to contact the sponsors of Sunday's show to tell them exactly how we feel about the disgusting, heartless sense of humor displayed on "Family Guy" Sunday night.

Governor Palin wrote in her Facebook note that this "felt like another kick in the gut." It's time we kick back. You are consumers; therefore, you are powerful. Use that power.

There will be those who will say contacting sponsors, boycotting companies, and making our voices heard are over the top. To those people I say look at the clip of "Family Guy" mocking Trig--an innocent, precious gift from God who means as much to his family as your children and loved ones mean to you. Now tell me it's over the top!

Here's the contact information (Be sure to contact Fox):

Fox News: Rupert Murdoch, Chairman and CEO, News Corporation - 212-852-7000

Fox Broadcasting Company - 310-369-1000

YUM! Brands (Pizza Hut) - 502-874-8300
Red Bull North America Inc. - 310-393-4647
Mars, Inc. - 703-821-4900
Toyota Motor Sales, Inc. - 800-331-4331
Bally Total Fitness Holdings Corp. - 773-399-1300
Pfizer, Inc. - 212-573-2323
Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company - 312-644-2121
Universal Pictures - 818-777-1000

(H/T thedesignconservative)

Family Guy mocks Palin and the special needs community

It's not new news. Ever since Sarah Palin was named the vice presidential candidate in 2008, she's consistently been the target of sketch comedy shows,  but, unfortunately, so have her children. So when is enough, enough?

Just days after Palin lambasted both White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and radio talkmeister Rush Limbaugh for using the word "retard," why did the show, Family Guy, decide to air an episode which clearly takes a shot at Palin and her son with Down syndrome?

In the episode, a main character, Chris, dates a mentally disabled girl. While never mentioning Palin by name, the girl draws a clear comparison to Palin's son, Trig, when she tells Chris, "My dad's an accountant, and my mom's the former governor of Alaska."

This isn't the first time Family Guy has targeted Palin. In a previous episode, show producer Seth McFarlane (who spoke at a rally supporting Sen. Barack Obama during the campaign) loosely compared Republican candidates Sen. John McCain and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin to Nazis. In one scene, characters Brian, Stewie, and neighbor Mort Goldman are transported back to Nazi Germany where they try to blend in by wearing uniforms of the Third Reich, one of which had a McCain/Palin button pinned to the lapel.

Being well known in the media can often times bring about unwanted exposure and ridicule. “When you’re the son or daughter of a public figure, you have to develop thick skin. My siblings and I all have that, but insults directed at our youngest brother hurt too much for us to remain silent," said Bristol Palin in reaction to the episode.  "People with special needs face challenges that many of us will never confront, and yet they are some of the kindest and most loving people you’ll ever meet. Their lives are difficult enough as it is, so why would anyone want to make their lives more difficult by mocking them?," Bristol added.

Remember way back, during the campaign, when both Obama and McCain declared that the candidate's families would be off limits? "Let me be as clear as possible," Obama said. "I think people's families are off-limits, and people's children are especially off-limits. This shouldn't be part of our politics." Unfortunately, that hasn't been the case.

"If the writers of a particularly pathetic cartoon show thought they were being clever in mocking my brother and my family yesterday, they failed," Bristol said. "All they proved is that they’re heartless jerks."





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Leave Governor Palin's Children Alone! (UPDATED with Gov. Palin's Facebook Note)

By Adrienne Ross - www.motivationtruth.com

I do not watch "Family Guy" for one simple reason: I'm not a fan of puking my guts out, and no doubt the show would create that kind of reaction from me. I've seen enough previews to know that it is the kind of thing I simply would not find humorous. I've seen their mocking of Jesus, for example, and frankly, I don't give place to that in my home.

Therefore, had it not been the talk of the day, I would not have known about last night's episode that alludes to Governor Palin and her son, Trig.

In the episode, a feisty girl with Down Syndrome has a date with a teenage boy. Forgive me for not knowing these characters' names. Like I said, I prefer not puking.

The special needs character identifies her mother as "the former governor of Alaska." Without the use of names, it is an obvious reference to the Palins, as Trig has Down Syndrome and Palin is the former Alaska governor.

There has been a lot written and much discussed today about this episode. Even leftists see this as below the belt. You can see the clip and decide for yourself by clicking here. Personally, I cannot figure out why the Palin reference was necessary. I cannot figure out how it adds to the storyline. It certainly doesn't contribute to any humor that might be found somewhere in this show. All I have to say is this: Barack Obama told the media early in his candidacy to leave his children alone. He was right to make such a request/demand--and everyone obliged. Children of public figures should be off limits. Governor Palin's children deserve the same respect President Obama's children have been given, which is the same respect every child deserves.

So in the name of decency, "Family Guy" (and everyone else who has declared a never-ending hunting season on her children): "Leave Governor Palin's children alone!"

UPDATED with Governor Palin's Facebook note:

Fox Hollywood – What a Disappointment

People are asking me to comment on yesterday’s Fox show that felt like another kick in the gut. Bristol was one who asked what I thought of the show that mocked her baby brother, Trig (and/or others with special needs), in an episode yesterday. Instead of answering, I asked her what she thought. Here is her conscientious reply, which is a much more restrained and gracious statement than I want to make about an issue that begs the question, “when is enough, enough?”:

“When you’re the son or daughter of a public figure, you have to develop thick skin. My siblings and I all have that, but insults directed at our youngest brother hurt too much for us to remain silent. People with special needs face challenges that many of us will never confront, and yet they are some of the kindest and most loving people you’ll ever meet. Their lives are difficult enough as it is, so why would anyone want to make their lives more difficult by mocking them? As a culture, shouldn’t we be more compassionate to innocent people – especially those who are less fortunate? Shouldn’t we be willing to say that some things just are not funny? Are there any limits to what some people will do or say in regards to my little brother or others in the special needs community? If the writers of a particularly pathetic cartoon show thought they were being clever in mocking my brother and my family yesterday, they failed. All they proved is that they’re heartless jerks. - Bristol Palin”

- Sarah Palin

* bumped