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As much of a relief as it was that the House voted to increase the debt ceiling, the day was still filled with politicians positioning themselves in an obvious attempt to position themselves as they thought best to help them in the 2012 election. Thus it was a victorious day for the US economy, but a total defeat within Congress to bring the focus onto what is best for the country, instead of what is best for each politicians’ campaign. For me the best part of the day was the presence of Gabby Giffords to cast her vote, which was the first time she has been able to return to the House since she was brutally shot. We must admire her for her courage, and recognize that she represents the very best in American politics.
She is still under a nurse’s care, and has gone to her husband’s home in Houston, so she’s not back in Arizona. However, the great news is that she is well enough to leave the hospital, five months after the shootings.
Remembering Gabby Giffords and the horrible trauma she suffered, its great to see these photos with her looking this good, and smiling.
In her book, Going Rogue, Sarah Palin says she doesn’t believe in coincidences. If the Empress is right, there must be a connection between these events.
1. THE DEATH OF CURTIS MENARD JR.
I know Curtis Menard Jr. was a long-time friend of Sarah’s, that she had a crush on him in high school, that he was the godfather for Track, and that he lived, for a time, in the apartment next to Sarah Palin . Sarah’s relationship with Curtis was described in Going Rogue in a rather peculiar way:
(at the beginning of the description of her first miscarriage):
“Just before Track was born, Todd and I moved to a small apartment in Wasilla, next door to our good friend Curtis Menard, Jr., who by now was a dentist like his dad. Curtis was like a brother to me. We asked him to be Track’s godfather. Todd and I shared one car, and we loved our little life together, though with the Slope and fishing schedule we still didn’t see each other very much. I wanted another baby right away, so I was excited when I learned I was pregnant again.” (page 55)
In addition, Sarah describes the relationship between the Heath and the Menard families in Going Rogue on page 24:
“For nearly four decades our two families’ lives intertwined like flourishing vines, so much that Curtis Jr. even grew up to be my firstborn’s godfather.”
In the book Trailblazer, author Lorenzo Benet describes a criticism by Menard of Palin’s parenting, suggesting that she has neglected her children. In the next page he describes the plane crash and death of Menard. It is curious that the author put these two events so close together in his book.
Curtis died in a plane crash at the age of 38.
The hockey center Sarah built as mayor was named in honor of Menard. The cause of the crash has been determined to be water and contamination of the fuel in the airplane. Of particular interest is that the gas that was contaminated appears to have come from two five gallon fuel tanks found at the home of Curtis Menard. It is a mystery how the gas became contaminated.
3. DEATH OF DARLENE MILLER NURSE
In January of 2009, immediately after the 2008 election, Darlene Miller, of Wasilla died in a mysterious house fire.
Her death was described as a “shock”, “sudden” and “traumatic.”
“Firefighters found the 54-year-old Miller unconscious and badly burned, but still alive in her Wasilla home Jan. 5. Though a cause has yet to be established, the long-smoldering fire apparently started near a bed on the first floor, burning so hot it charred beams and melted pictures on the wall. Miller’s two dogs died next to her.” Just reading the description of the fire, it is interesting to me that the dogs were found next to her. Even if Darlene was asleep and was overcome by fumes, the dogs would typically smell the fumes before they became deadly. We would expect the dogs to bark and awaken Ms. Miller, but at a minimum you would expect the dogs to have been by the door tying to escape. It is also worthy of not that the extremity of the heat generated by the fire would suggest that some type of accelerant was used.
Miller started out as a neo-natal nurse practitioner. If she knew something about the birth of Trig Palin at the Mat Su Regional Hospital, we will never know.
4. Death and Shooting of People in Tuscon Arizona.
Six people were killed and Gabby Giffords was seriously injured in the shooting spree of Jarred Loughner in Tuscon Arizona. Of particular note was the news report in which Giffords directly criticized Sarah Palin, suggesting that there are consequences to inspiring violence. The shootings in Arizona occurred on or about the same day that Bristol moved into her home in Arizona.
5. DEATH OF JOSE GUERENA IN ARIZONA
Jose Guerrena was killed by police in his home in Pima County, Arizona on May 25th, 2011. Police broke into his house in a “botched pot raid,” and apparently there was a use of unreasonable force. It also appears that there was not illegal substances found at the residence and Jose Guerena was a distinguished member of the military.
At this point I am unaware of any connection between Guerena and Palin. However the event may ultimately be blamed on the Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik, who has served his county since 1980. Sheriff Dupnik has been reported to be “one of the nation’s finest” and is nationally known for his implementation of innovative and effective law enforcement programs throughout his career.
Officer Dupnik has also received national attention following the shooting spree in Tuscon where Gabby Giffords was seriously injured along with 11 others, and six others died. It was Sheriff Dupnik who directly criticized Sarah Palin for the violent rhetoric, including the phrase “don’t retreat, reload.” Specific quotes included a comment that Arizona has become a “Mecca for prejudice and bigotry”, and that political “vitirol” may have pushed the Safeway shooter over the edge, has sparked a national debate.
It is not yet clear why a gunman, believed to be 22-year-old Jared Loughner, went on a terrifying rampage in Arizona yesterday, killing six people and wounding a further 12.
But whatever his reason, the local sheriff – who is coordinating the investigation with the FBI – believes it is time for America to do some soul-searching.
On or about the same day that Jose Guerena was killed Palin was moving into her Arizona home.
Maybe these are just coincidences, but Sarah Palin would tell us “no,” there are no coincidences!
It’s good to hear that Gabby Giffords is well enough to not only attend the launch, but that she also understands what is happening.
Sarah Palin will be remembered in history books for her suggestion that she was a victim in the Arizona shootings, and her comment regarding “Blood Libel.” . In spite of the warning of the victim herself, Palin didn’t “retreat.” Palin fans asserted that the radical liberals who opposed Palin were totally out of line to suggest that there might be any connection to Palin’s crosshairs map and the fact that a gunman shot one of the Representatives depicted on the map who was a target.
As demonstrated by the press release issued by the APD to the National Enquirer in the Shailey Tripp matter, it is clear that somebody in a position of power and/or authority is helpful and supportive of Sarah Palin. As further proof of the Anchorage Police Department’s bias, a patrolman took a statement on Jan. 1 from a reporter who received an e-mail that threatened the life of Andree McLeod. A woman had sent an e-mail indicating that she had “the cross hairs of her gun scope on McLeod’s head and that McLeod had “used up too much oxygen.” The threats on McLeod’s life arose in response to McLeod’s attempts to obtain e-mails generated by Sarah Palin during her limited time as Governor. The Anchorage Police Department did nothing as a result of the threats until AFTER the Arizona shootings.
Eight days after the threats were made on McLeod’s life, and AFTER Jarred Loughner killed six people, and was successful in shooting his target, Gabrielle Giffords, the ‘APD decided that perhaps it was time to address the threats on McLeod. Monday AFTER the shootings, more than a week after being advised of the threat on McLeod’s life, the APD got a cyber crimes detective involved. At that point they thought it might be a good idea to identify the person who had made the threats on McLeod’s life. As a result of his efforts, Craig’s List removed the threatening post, and the identification of the sender was given to the APD.
Two things are obvious. First that the Anchorage Police Department failed to act in a timely manner to provide protection for a citizen whose life was threatened as a result of legal action she was taking to reveal the truth about Sarah Palin. The Second observation is the confirmation that even the police who obviously have a bias in favor of the Palins, recognized the risk associated with using the crosshairs image. On January 10th when the APD were inspired by the Arizona shootings to begin an investigation of a person who used the crosshair image, Sarah Palin continued to feature the map with the crosshairs on her Facebook post.
After the tragedy in Arizona, Sarah Palin’s inappropriate use of violent-inspiring “reload” message and her “cross-hair” map were the subject of great media attention.
Now as Gabby Giffords struggles to re-learn to speak, and as parents of a nine-year old girl struggle to carry on with their lives without a nine-year old daughter, Sarah Palin focuses her efforts on the Presidential race of 2012. In case there is any doubt about what Sarah Palin knew or thought about anything she did that might inspire violence, consider excerpts from an Alaska Dispatch article from March 24, 2010. This article appeared under the section entitled “Palin Watch”, and came out the day before the interview of Ms. Giffords that predicted the importance of civility in our political rhetoric.
“Less than a week after ex-Gov. Sarah Palin and her Fox News Channel colleague Glenn Beck publicly called for right-wing “fringe elements” to tone down violent rhetoric in their opposition of the federal government, Sarah Palin tweeted: “Commonsense Conservatives & lovers of America: ‘Don’t Retreat, Instead — RELOAD!’ Pls see my Facebook page.” People who traveled to Palin’s Facebook page then found a call to action from her political action committee about races to “aim at” in upcoming House elections. This news is all over the web now, but the note features a map studded with miniature crosshairs set up by a weaponized linguistic trope. Read the note on the ex-governor’s Facebook page:
Whatever SarahPAC’s motivation for taking aim at conservative Democrats actually is, targeting them seems in sync with the former governor’s apparent preference for a polarized theater of operations. After all, ya can’t start an apocalyptic war in the electorate or Congress without having two totally pure opposing sides, now, can ya?”
Whether or not the conduct and words of Sarah Palin actually caused Jared Loughner to commit the acts of violence that day may never be known. We do know that people in Alaska spoke out to object to Palin’s conduct. We do know that Palin’s intent then and now is to polarize the country, instead of inspiring cooperation and resolution to the many challenges facing this country. We do know that the Palin’s focus is November of 2012 when Palin would like to take office. The country has 20 months between now and then when our focus should be on solving our problems. If Sarah Palin were a patriot she would work to encourage unity and become part of the solution, not the primary cause of the problem.
As Rep. Giffords meets the challenges of rehabilitation, I am sure she would appreciate a card or flowers from anyone who respects the challenges facing her. If you would like to let her know you are thinking of her, she is at:
Memorial Hermann TIRR
The Institute for Rehabilitation and Research
1333 Moursund St.
Houston Tx. 77030
Not only may Congresswoman Griffords go home but she is reportedly reading Get Well Cards and looking at pictures on an I-phone. If you believe in God, say a prayer. If you don’t send her a card. Hurray!
Listen to the interview of Mark Kelly, the husband of Gabrielle Giffords, and learn about the person who was the victim of this vicious attack, and her amazing relationship with husband.
http://www.aolnews.com/2011/01/19/gabrielle-giffords-husband-mark-kelly-i-thought-she-was-dead/.
As you learn more about Gabrielle Giffords, its even harder to understand how anyone could have “targeted” her.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7046bo92a4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7046bo92a4
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