Palin's Tanning Bed: The Evolution of a Story

Happened to see the story when I checked for "recent posts" (the advantages of site membership!)

Good research, and thanks for the object lesson in what to do with a hot tip. The bit about getting off the fone asap made for a fun 'read between the lines' item.

(as an aside: Clientele is how the word should be spelled. I think you have it currently as cliental)

It adds to the NYTimes story about her governing style. There's another story about her mayor-times I haven't read. But also good in this time when ANY reporting is good b/c we all know so little.

Al a place to go with this is to a physician or tanning salon to see if they warn pregnant women from using them. I personally after reading many research books on the affects of high and low frequency electrical wave interference with brain function and cell development would be very leary of using tanning beds with a woman carryign a fetus. well, see what you can find. of course Sarah's recent baby had dvelopment problems.

I catched a glimpse of a long segment called "Sarah Palin Revealed" on CNN tonight that was negatively chronicling her time as mayor and Governor.  And some of the late night talk shows pounced on the foreign policy flubs she made during the Gibson interview.  The honeymoon with Sarah Palin is coming to an end and the post-RNC bounce has started to recede.

love it

 

keep at it.  I DUGG it, and hope everyone else does too

Why use a tanning bed for that purpose? I can definitely understand that some people might need special lights to help deal with seasonal affective disorder in Alaska. My mom worked in Anchorage for a couple of years (several decades ago) and she found it very difficult to get used to the very short winter days (sunrise at morning coffee break, sunset at afternoon coffee break!). But why use a tanning bed for this purpose? I noticed that point came up a couple of times in the story as people were trying to spin the whole thing but I thought it was pretty weak!

Who knows, maybe this will become a big story but I found it most useful as an illustration of the process of journalism.

What can I say? WOW! She really is Britney Spears.

On a side not and I'm sure you have heard, the banks are imploding and tomorrow the market will fall! September 15, 2008 is the official day that McCain and the Republicans will lose this election-and with stories such as this piling up around them, Americans will be forced to see the truth.

Digg it: 

http://digg.com/politics/Palin_s_Private_Tanning_Bed_in_the_Alaska_Gover...

And not to diminish Al and Bill's work, but I also sent a link to Wonkette because I usually appreciate their "take" on such issues.

Excellent investigative journalism, Al and Bill.

 

Please don't cross post it anywhere (I will post links to it with an excerpt in some places) this story will get around,  make 'em go to narconews to read it, they might read something else too (and learn something),  while stopping by to read the Palin piece.

Al, your final phrase reminded me about how central to this whole campaign and movement are the little things that we too often forget or discount. 

In honor of all the little things that are growing into truly marvelous "big things," I encourage everyone to check out the following videos of Paul Kelly and Vincent Lingiari's classic song about the beginnings of the Native Title movement in Australia. 

* From the 2006 Make Poverty History concerts. 

* From the 2007 Live Earth concerts. (Yes, seriousness about the environment remains the touchstone of this campaign and movement.)

* The GetUpMob's remix commemorating Australia's transformative election of Kevin Rudd, which led to the extraordinary 2008 Australian Sorry Day and Official state apology for the Stolen Generations and Australia's racist policies towards Aborigines. This video is seemingly influenced by will.i.am's great Obama video remix. 

The point is that we don't know WHAT the little thing is that will bring the Change We Need. What we do know is that in the same way that Australia was welcomed back into the communion of responsible and serious nations after the fall of the absurdist Howard regime, so to will the USA be welcomed back into this communion of nations with the election of Barack Obama. 

Palin took office on Dec. 4, 2006 (odd yes, but that's the date), not early 2007.

It's my inderstanding that tanning beds are just as bad as far as skin cancer is concerned.  BTW, help make the medical drs. video (urging McCain to release hsi medical records) go viral!  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvesa49zSIM

Also, did Gov. Palin not spend most of her time away from the mansion, for which she claimed the per diem intended for travel?! 

I wrote a diary linking to this story on DailyKos.  Mixed reaction from the crowd over there (whose political instincts seem wrong from A to Z, but I love the place still, alas).  

In anycase, this is exactly the kind of mocking, nonsense that Republicans use to take down Democrats, especially populist Democrats.  

Remember John Kerry botoxing and windsurfing?

That's just one example (and not meant to imply that Kerry was a populist), but I love the story and think it could very well tarnish her "small town" image.

Just a quick question - if this bed used taxpayer money, then it's an even bigger issue.

 

I was wondering why you hadn't posted much over the weekend; now I know why. Great work -  you must have spent literally hours on this story - you are a true journalist, and this revelation is going to last (unlike the DKos strategy of flinging random stuff at a wall and see what sticks).

 

Oh, by the way - there's a hilarious anti-Chicken Little diary posted over there right now, and you're mentioned at the end. Field Hands in need of some humor might want to take a look (I thought it was really clever/funny):

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/9/15/02310/7200

 

 

 

...what might stick.  Thanks for doing honest work on it so we know it's true - assuming people care anymore.

 

Regarding the financial markets, this is getting to be pretty scary.  The whole thing is about ready to implode and who knows what all the fallout will be.  In relation to the election, I actually am not so sure this will steer people to the Dem candidate.  Yes, the Repubs have done a spectacular job of not regulating these markets but my gut feel is that people will turn to who they know in a time of crisis.  Could be bad all around.  We shall see.

Blue_SD: We don't know who paid for it (but there is an official on record confirming that new electrical wiring was paid for by the state).

We have to be very strict adhering to documented facts on this one. Please swat down anyone that tries to make bigger claims than those documented by the story. The story will shake the trees and more info will fall.

I was confused at the fact that the official's claim that the state paid for the wiring, but not the bed. But now that I think about it, I guess it is somewhat probable that Palin could have used her own salary to pay for the bed and the state upgraded the wiring so problems would not occur.

In any event, this story is going to be very big, very soon. I wonder if Palin's tax returns would have any insight on this tanning bed. But she hasn't released them, so it's a moot point.

Given that she billed the state of Alaska for staying at home, it wouldn't surprise me if she paid for this bed on their dime, too. But we should wait until more facts come out.

(Stevens, that is)

I'm sorry, Al, but I don't see how this story is helpful.  I thought the point was to stay away from Palin altogether and focus on McCain--how does this, looking at whether or not she bought a used tanning bed, accomplish that goal?  Why wouldn't this entirely play into a. a campaign about image, not issues, which Obama is bound to lose, and b. the ridiculous but dangerously attractive theory that the media is out to "get" Palin?  I understand the haircut analogy, but in Edwards' case he already had the "trial lawyer" anchor around his neck.  People were predisposed to dislike him, while they are (unreasonable as it may be) predisposed to like a hockey mom with five kids, one with Down Syndrome; this just feels like piling on.

In my opinion, we'd be a lot better off focusing on McCain and leaving the tanning beds and moose hunting to National Enquirer.  Let Palin fade (pardon the unfortunate reference given the article's context) into the background; save the big stories for the top of the ticket.

Just my two cents.

Greg - It's entirely possible that you're right. This story - as it says in the text and as I say here - is not the most important matter out there. "Stipulated" is the word we use in the story.

That said, I can tell you that this story is 100 percent documented, and carefully so, and therefore won't backfire.

On the other hand, it is also possible that it will spread like a media virus in interesting ways, and shake the trees on some of the other matters it touches upon. We'll see.

The story doesn't attempt to demonize its subject, or call her a bad person, or attack her character or her family: it simply brings out a new piece of factual information that helps flesh out a more informed picture of America's newest celebrity.

Fair enough, Al.  It's obviously something which reflects bad judgement by Palin on all sorts of levels, as you point out, but the media is starting to get those examples of her lies, lack of knowledge and intellectual curiosity, etc. out there anyway.  I just have this image of someone reading this story and thinking "come on, who the hell cares whether or not she bought a used tanning bed?" and tuning out future legitimate attacks on Palin's record as a result.  And I still think an election about Palin is a loser for Obama--he's running against McCain, and needs to keep the focus there.  But if you think this isn't likely to backfire, I guess it can't hurt.

Of course, from Palin's point of view, who needs to go to any other country when you've got a tanning bed?  Makes the whole need for a passport sort of moot, since we only travel for tans anyway.

/lackofintellectualinterestoff

I respect you Al.  I come here during the day at work to check for sound information about progressive issues and ways in which you view the campaign of our soon to be next President of the United States, Barack Obama.  I think this story is kind of cheezy to report and far below the pedestal that I place you on good judgement.  It would kind of be like reporting that Obama is going to remove the bowling alley in the WH and exchange it for a basketball court.  I don't think this is so news worthy.  Just my opinion.

The last two paragraphs saved the article for me.  It doesn't strike me as an analog to the $400 haircut, though.  Palin's not running as a blue-collar hero; she's a hockey mom, proud to be living the American dream.  She's certainly into her own looks, which have obviously been a big factor in her popularity, including the girl-love of regular women.  Not that I'm a bitter faded middle-aged woman or anything...

Laura, I've become very familiar with light therapy, and yes, it works fabulously for SAD.  However, tanning beds are not considered to be any substitute for bright light therapy, which uses a brighter light and doesn't emit UV rays.  Dawn simulators start at around $50, and light boxes start at $150, but that's a whole lot less than a tanning bed, no matter how well used it was.

You can start hearing "Do you have tanning bed in your house".

This story can enforce the "Out of touch" story line.  

I am of those who believe Presidents and Veeps have to be held to a higher standard.  None will achieve being beyond reproach, but they have to at least look like they're trying to lead by example.  I mean, my goodness, the likes of Brit-Brit and Paris switched to safe, healthy spray tans long ago.

I agree with Al that there is bound to be more where this came from (proverbial tip of the Alaskan iceberg).

Saw "Baked Alaskan" in a comment on DKos, I think. Could make great late-night comedy fodder (imagine a pitbull on a tanning bed).

By the way, that pic of McCain on the cover of Newsweek was just hilarious--What is with that "Ain't I Precious" pose? LOL

A lot of ink has been spilled on Obama's former tobacco habit; turnabout is fair play.  Having an occasional smoke is normal; Installing a private tanning bed in your mansion--not so much. 

I'll be checking for updates.

 

 

 

Si somos americanos, seremos buenos vecinos;
compartiremos el trigo,seremos buenos hermanos -- canción de Rolando Alarcón

Todos somos americanos.-- Barack Obama

Good work.  And it reassures me a tad from concerns I've had about your total emphasis here on voter registration, foot work, etc.  While you've educated me a good deal on that subject (after 40 years of political activism), my gut has been telling me that ignoring/greatly minimizing the media impact may not be such a safe/certain strategy to winning -- especially when the stakes are this high.

I see in your tanning bed story what you do and I hope it spreads far and wide.  She's quite the quintessential Republican and it is showing in dozens of ways.  Maybe this will be a way that connects with people.  As you point out, Edwards' hair cuts certainly did (actually for me it was the giant house with the built in school-yard size gym, or something like that, and Elizabeth's response of "Oh well, people know we've done well/made money". Phony shows.  Often in odd ways, but it shows. 

Henry,

the baby has Downs syndrome. This is a wrong set of chromosomes (an additional Nr. 21), which happens during production of the germ cells - deep inside the body and well out of reach of the UV rays (it could even be the fathers sperm cell that carried the additional chromosome). So these tanning speculations are baseless.

If you want to speculate, you can point out that UV increases skin cancer incidence considerably.

It is so completely not on the issues, but obviously we need to craft images. If Palin has a compelling public persona, not many people listen to the issues. So it is imperative that the outdoorsy, fight agains Washington corruption, hockey mom image gets corrections. The difference to the Republicans is that we stick to the truth - that is a large enough difference. So I think it is a good idea to send such stories out in the world to fend for themselves. Also, as Al says, maybe other fish can be caught this way.

Very interesting article. Thanks for providing more insight into just who the Palins are.

Just a couple spelling corrections:

"Who would of thought that for all the hype about hunting and fishing and outdoorsy-ness..."

"of" should be "have."

" by pulling at that thread it lead to others about..."

"lead" should be "led."

I think Sarah Palin's sister in law owns a beauty parlour, although I read this on wonkette so take this with a grain of salt.

http://wonkette.com/402676/sarah-palin-even-lies-about-lipstick-maybe

 

It works well with the Gibson interview.

 

It can stick because now the meme about her is that she lacks substance and people don't associate tanning booths inside the home with substance.

 

McCain is reckless and out of touch and Palin is without any sort of substance.  Reinforcing how reckless and out of touch McCain is for choosing her.

I found this over at DKos today --

Short version:  People are scared about the economy.  They want solutions.

Attacking Palin won't get votes, but talking about Obama's plans will:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/9/14/142735/867/447/598584

 

My first reaction to things tells me a lot about my unexamined prejudices and biases. Edwards' $400 haircut and Kerry's botox strike me as expressions of vanity and excess only because they are male. Palin's tanning bed doesn't seem like a big deal b/c women are expected to put money into their appearance.

Good catch, but what I think would be more persuasive is telling me people about her involvement in anti-choice protests - and telling them that she opposes abortion in cases of rape and incest.

On the protests, see:

In 1996, evangelical churches mounted a vigorous campaign to take over the local hospital's community board and ban abortion from the valley. When they succeeded, Bess and Dr. Susan Lemagie, a Palmer OB-GYN, fought back, filing suit on behalf of a local woman who had been forced to travel to Seattle for an abortion. The case was finally decided by the Alaska Supreme Court, which ruled that the hospital must provide valley women with the abortion option.

At one point during the hospital battle, passions ran so hot that local antiabortion activists organized a boisterous picket line outside Dr. Lemagie's office, in an unassuming professional building across from Palmer's Little League field. According to Bess and another community activist, among the protesters trying to disrupt the physician's practice that day was Sarah Palin.

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2008/09/15/bess/print.html

The problem with the $400 haircut wasn't that the MSM reported it, the problem was that it was true. It was true and hurt our guy. Now, was it enough to disqualify him (then)? No. Was it a big misstep that allowed his opponents to open the crack in his facade a bit wider? Yes. 

The real question is, will the gutless MSM report this?

It's an excellent example of her bad judgment to have a tanning bed in a home with teen girls. Teen girls are especially vulnerable to the temptation to use tanning beds, and tanning bed usage before the age of 35 increases the risk of melanoma by 75%. Yikes. Makes me wonder if Willow and Bristol are allowed to use it. If not, how does anyone know if they sneak some radiation? It just seems insensitive to be a mom tanning in the bed while telling the girls they can't. Why get one if it's not good for the girls? All this stuff is relavent to the supermom question. Like, what kind of mom puts one of these in the house with 2 teen girls? Anyone who argues it's not fair to judge her parenting style is wrong. She's running on her mom status, and she's running for VP. This makes lots of stuff relevant.

Here's a great pitch to the undecided moderate/conservative: pregnant teens, special needs babies, and tanning beds in the home all require a highly available and engaged mom. Does Palin really have time to run the country when/if  McCain dies?

Will you cover the rape kit story?  I am amazed its not covered more.  Joe Biden lead the way to make sure no woman anywhere in the US would have to pay for their own rape kit.  Palin, apparently, is for women having to pay their own rape kits and saved the tax payers of Wasilla thousands of dollars.  She is definitely NOT for women!

 

Joe Biden worked to take federal funding away from states who made women pay for their own rape kits.  This woman only shares an "X" chromosome with Hilary Clinton and nothing more!

Al, Just mentioned to my wife that Palin had a tanning bed installed in governors mansion.Her immediate reaction "sounds like Edwards 400 dollar haircut" I think a story like this says alot ,especially to women .It certainly will tarnish her "image"

My first thought was, "Big deal, so what?"  The same as several other posters above.

 

Then I realized something very important.  Most of us are really into p[olitics, particularly issues and how the candidates approach them.  Things like Edwards" haircut or a tanning bed or arugula or even, to some degree seven houses, aren't really relevant to us.

 

But we are not the people who will ultimately decide the election.  It is the people who aren't into politics and issues, who make their decisions on more visceral things, that will decide.  And this can, to many of those, effect their image of Palin.  And the more Palin loses support, the more the light is cast back onto McCain.

 

McCain is where he is for only one reason, Palin.  So yes, although hardly a big thing, as far as the real world is concerned, this tannign bed story can have an impact.

I would never think this would amount to anything in the MSM, but then again, I wouldn't have blinked at a $400 haircut by a top politician. It seems... normal?

However, the way the working class becomes so disgusted by eliteism, who knows how this will play out - if at all.

Then again, with the high school and college kids "tanorexia" epidemic, perhaps this is just the kind of story she needs to pull away Obama votes into her corner. "Ugh I'm like totally super jealous! I wish I had one! Sarah Palin is like SO cool!"

The fickle minds...

 

 

 

this is going to be a very important issue.  Our entire financial system is flailing and failing this morning.  I really think we need to focus on the economy.  I can see the tanning bed thing being used as a distraction just like the lipstick.  I want to talk about the economy not distractions.  Didn't one of McCain's advisors say the "crisis was over" just two days ago?  Didn't they say we are a nation of "exaggerators"?  It appears it was not an exaggeration, Lehman and Merrill Lynch don't freakin' exist anymore and AIG is begging for help.  WAMU is also in imminent danger...This is what we need to hit them on, not tanning beds...Just my opinion and I rarely disagree with Al BTW.

A $10,000 tanning bed? I can hear the pro-Palin females, young and old: "You go girl." Not, however, those brilliant, beautiful, articulate Alaskan women who rallied this weekend to say Palin doesn't speak for them. They planned so well and had ground rules everyone on this blog ought to read.

I don't give a rat's ass if someone wants to burn themselves up in a tanning bed; stupid is as stupid does.

But I do care that Palin spent $400,000 just to fund a propaganda campaign in support of aerial hunting of wolves, not to mention the costs of the hunts or the bounty for wolf legs. I'm still reeling from the tone and, quite frankly, lack of information (not to even go into lack of insight) from the last post. And I'm supposed to care she has a tanning bed?

Enough!

 

 

but does pertain to energy issue [what doesn't, these days?]  I was shocked to hear Venezuela and Bolivia both just expelled our ambassadors & are recalling theirs!

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/9/14/231249/344

As someone admittedly ignorant re: South America [except what I've learned here], I'd like to know your thoughts on this, Al.

Thanks, Al.  Expect the MSM will pick up this 'hook' and add to it.  Great angle for a story on how superficial this person is.  Also all the conflicts: bad role model for teenagers, skin cancer, frivolous.

Thanks too for doing it on Narco instead of The Field.  More attention to the REAL news we want people to be reading.

All around great teaching tool for all of us too.

election

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/uk_news/magazine/7616333.stm

amk

The tanning bed does fit in with Small, Vain Sarah rather than Small Town Sarah and is a good character tidbit. She seems to approach public office through the small lens of her family. The issues she pursues with the most energy benefit her family, such as the sports complex in Wasilla for her sporty family, the extra petro income for every child in her large family, trying to fire her sister's ex, including her husband in official emails, and multiplied funding for special needs children after her Down's syndrome child was born. We need a leader who operates at least part of the time from the moon, that is from a vision of the whole world, and of the movement of history, rather than from a secret tanning bed in Juneau, Alaska.

Elizabeth, I share some incredulity at the tone of discussion around the wolf-slaughter thread. When we were talking about the politics of the ad's placement, things stayed cool. But, the issue is intense and pressed a lot of buttons I suspect a lot of folks didn't think could be pressed so easily--especially here. (I include myself in this, of course.) But now, the wolf slaughter actually serves as an interesting image to juxtapose with the tanning addiction--if that is what the AK Governor suffers from. Both are incredibly energy-wasting activities; that's a great part of Al's article, I think. Both are about a rather desperate effort to not only create but to maintain some image of hyper-masculinity or hyper-femininity that speaks to a subtle awareness of hollow vapidness. But, now, imagine the cognitive dissonance! Sarah Palin. By day, wolf torturer and moose skinner/eater! By night, tanning bed maven. Yes, some people will surely be titillated by either or both of these utterly absurd (for a VP candidate) images. But the juxtaposition will also cause some heads to explode by sheer dint of the cognitive dissonance these bookending images inspire.  It all fits too well into the sad and sick joke that is the McCain campaign. 

All that said, the Governor's instincts to abuse power, appoint cronies, squander tax dollars, govern theologically, and deceive the public remain the real concerns where she is concerned... but once a fabric of deceit starts coming undone, there are just so many threads to pull! More blood in the water.

 

everyone for their Palin obsession as hurting Obama, then the next day you release this?  You tell us how our frivolous attacks are creating sympathy for Palin, and then you attack her for having a tanning bed?

I thought Palin rarely goes to Juneau, prefering to do business from an office in Anchorage that she  commutes to from Wasilla-remember the per diem for 315 nights in Wasilla? That would make the diehard right not believe this story. How about a story investigating how just 4 years ago her aspiration was to be a newscaster? For that job she would be good, as she loves the media. She needs to be cast in that light-as a lightweight.

http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2008/09/dems-must-give-voters-explicit.ht... This link to 538 gives the most strategically savvy advice about Palin I have yet seen. As a therapist, I often work with people in abusive relationships. It sounds counterintuitive, but my first order of business is not to tell them to dump the person (although that's what I want to do), but to help them to connect to why they love them. They have to acknowledge the draw, the longing and only then does the negative dawn on them WITHOUT my prompting. This is very, very subtle jiujitsu that I'm afraid is not familiar to many people organizing or chicken littling.

Ben C - I've lambasted two kinds of behavior by some (but certainly not all) bloggers and commenters in the Netroots milieu:

1. Attacks that overshot because they were based on invented claims without basis in documented fact: the claim about carrying her child's child, and the claim that she was a "member" of the Alaskan Independence Party when she was not, are two examples.

2. Attacks that were overly personalized against her or her family members, that revealed the gross misogyny of the "liberal" attackers, the attacks that clearly sought to tear her down personally, and thus won her only sympathy from regular folks out there.

What you didn't "get" is that it is so much a matter of tone and nuance. Does our reported story obsess on or personally attack the governor or her family? Is it based on unconfirmed speculation? Does the story over-state the case or claim that "this is the story to bring her down!" No, it does none of those things.

It is in fact one of only three blog posts here since August 29 that mention Palin in the title, so you can't say I've been obsessive or personal on her, even at the time when it seemed that everybody else was.

If you can't understand the difference between "don't obsess on this person, don't attack her personally and watch your own sexism" with "don't ever speak her name, don't raise legitimate factual questions," then you weren't reading carefully.

It's a matter of "nuance." Look the word up if you don't know what it means. In politics, it makes all the difference in the world.

look where it got Kerry.

you are simply attacking her for a lifestyle choice.  This could very easily be filed under category 2 - overly personalized attacks.

And these types of lifestyle attacks never work against Republicans.  They work for Republicans, because Republicans are the ones engaged in the culture war.  But Republicans don't particularly care if their own candidates follow them.  IOKIYAR.  Republicans are allowed to have private jets, marry rich heiresses, drink mocha lattes, cheat on their spouses and dodge wars.

I agree with your previous claims that alot of the Palin stuff was counterproductive.  I just don't think this is productive either.

Kit - What kind of meaningless comment is that? I only let it through to use it as an example of a certain faction of folks that project what they think candidates ought to do on the candidate's supporters and even on themselves.

You - as a supporter of any cause or effort - have to be able to understand nuance and to have it yourself, or you're useless. I really mean that. I don't want people with no capacity to understand and utilize nuance in my foxhole. At best, they're shrieking distractions from getting anything done, and at worst they jeopardize the safety of others.

So if you want to be a willfully ignorant asshat, find another blog to read. It's a big blogosphere out there. What the hell are you doing here?

I would really like to hear your take on the consequences of the banking industry collapse on the campaign?  I know it's OT on this thread but maybe you could write an analysis?  Thanks

Ben C - Where in the text of our story do we "attack" the Alaska governor? Do you not know the difference between a criticism and a personal attack?

We don't even lay down a value judgment on what you call a "lifestyle choice." (I don't call expensive things "lifestyle choices." I see them as consequences of privilege and power. Drinking, or smoking pot, or abstaining from drugs and alcohol, or whether to be single or not, or have kids or not - those are lifestyle choices. Installing an expensive elitist apparatus in a public building is not a lifestyle choice. It is the action of a public official on public property.

I'm convinced that you either didn't read the story or didn't read it carefully, and you must be projecting pre-existing views upon it. But, whatever, at least you argue your point coherently.

While I agree that it's impossible to know exactly how this story will play out, this is exactly the kind of story that should be reported.  It's factual, thoroughly researched, and allows the reader to draw their own conclusions regarding Palin's judgment and character (or lack thereof).

My first reaction to the tanning bed was not, "Oh she's so vain," or "She's a bad role model for doing something unhealthy."  Rather, my first thought was "Did she use public funds to purchase this personal, and extravagant, item?"  My second thought was "Did she use public funds to improve the wiring in the mansion specifically to install this personal, extravagant item?"  A story like this runs counter to her image as a reformer taking on corruption in government.  Remember the big deal she made about selling off the jet when she became governor?  A story like this directly contradicts her biggest asset: her image as a maverick reformer taking on waste.  She comes across as just a typical politician.

And a lesson for the hyped and the crazed in the empowered netroots whatever on how this ought to be done. There's something very tongue-in-cheeck about this piece which I'm not sure everybody gets or if it was even meant that way.

YouTube - Whitehouse Criticizes Drilling Advocates

I agree with Kristina.  I'm curious how the banking industry woes affect the landscape.  Isn't Joe Biden on the Banking Committee?  Will he take a hit for this?

I also wondered how this affects the policy of wanting to privatize Social Security.  If GWB had succeeded in privatizing SS, wouldn't it be in HUGE trouble right now?  I should think this would help us make the argument to senior citizens about how McCain also wants to privatize SS. 

I have maintained a Palin page from day one and I think it's clear a Palin recession is in progress. Compounded of Black Monday and its use to the Obama campaign, continuing journo-vetting and her evident embrace of the Crystal City lie protocol. The MSM has been called to heel (witness Obama's latest ad "Honor" on my home page). Even FOX is hounding Tucker Bounds.

I disagree with those who say concentrate only on McCain. I even disagree with those who say concentrate on the economy period.

This is an historic election in which EVERYTHING is on the table. Either we move or we languish in the same cesspool of gridlock, hypocrisy and decline.

Palin reflects on McCain's judgment and that is how the issue should be framed.

I am glad the emphasis on "on the ground" is buttressed by some acknowledgement other factors in this race could be as important. :)

There are even intimations that the $400 haircut reference might become more pertinent.

 

 

 

 

Obama 50 McCain 46

 

http://www.surveyusa.com/client/PollReport.aspx?g=c3b77d5f-0d1a-4f6e-b195-ae05355e8eb8

While I think it's very possible that the wiring need was precipitated by this item, I think if the mansion was old, it probably already needed a wiring upgrade.  I know my own house does, and it's only something like 40-50 years old.  Laser printers are a killer.  Even microwave ovens are pretty new.  So many new electronics are added each decade, and they add up.

This story is critical IF we were living in a rational universe of public discourse where if Edwards can be criticized for this, then Palin should be criticized for that. Wouldn't that also apply to the mythologizing of McCain's actual record in the military and Bush and Cheney's lack of record vs. the shameful swiftboating of Kerry?

But that is not the universe of public discourse in which we are operating. At the end of the last thread I posted a link to Tim Wise's essay on the double-standards in the media re: Palin and MCain as demonstrations of white privilege. He has a succinct, very specific, and hard-hitting list of examples. Now superimpose the white-black double standard onto the Republican-Democratic one (and as the truly diverse party Dems are racialized/feminized while the white, male Republican never has to PROVE his patriotism/American-ness; HRC, of course, adopted this strategy: fighting, gun-toting genuinely American i.e. white female; sound familiar?). (Again, no statement is being made on the obvious difference in caliber, experience, and policies between HRC and Palin.)

I'm not sure if I'm being clear because I'm still thinking it through. I like the ending of the report and the calling of the celebrity bluff, i.e.,who is REALLY the celebrity but given that white privilege allows white people to project what they are onto minorities as can Republicans on to Democrats, I don't know what to think about how this will play out. 

 

Elizabeth @ 10:07am--agreed.

Just today one of is surrogates was babbling on about how much he cares about the people and how he will help privatize SS to help the people.  Can you imagine bringing that up on today of all days?  The market is in complete turmoil with more to come (AIG is just about toast right now) A huge batch of ARMS will be resetting in the next six months which will cause even more turmoil and they think SS needs to be privatized so even more people can lose their retirement on the stock market...

Even though it's true and documented, I think it will come across as the MSM piling on and being petty. And I don't think there's any chance it will hurt her the way the $400 haircut dented Edwards. Frankly women are cut more slack on how much they spend on their looks. Though I'll agree $10,000 is super excessive, this won't stick, because Palin is winning over women who will not be impressed with the MSM criticizing her for a tanning bed. Especially if some of them use tanning beds. (I grant you the issue here is that she has one in the gov.'s mansion - but not all people will hear it that way once the press starts talking about skin cancer). And I can almost hear the way the Republicans will twist this in their response so that it sounds like do-gooder Dems don't want women to be allowed to use tanning beds because they think they know what's best for everyone.

The Alaska Daily News has a link to your story.

Scroll to the bottom. It appears this is news to the locals as well.

 

http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/newsreader/story/526632.html

Is it possible to find out the time line of the rewiring in the Mansion and the billing of using her home in Wasila as her residence?

If it was the same, that could explain why she felt justified in doing it. Just a thought.

CNN: Folic acid may help prevent Down Syndrome

The government study, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, found mothers who had trouble metabolizing folic acid were 2.6 times more likely to have a child with Down syndrome.

BBC: Folic acid 'cuts Down's risk'

Taking folic acid before pregnancy could reduce the risk of the baby having Down's syndrome, researchers have suggested.

WikiParenting:

The other risk that tanning in a tanning bed while pregnant poses to your baby is the risk of developing a folic acid deficiency. Some studies suggest that ultraviolet light can deplete your stores of folic acid, and increase the chance of your child having a neural tube defect like spina bifida. 

 

Since tanning beds can emit a dose of ultraviolet light two to three times higher than natural light, tanning beds are probably not safe for pregnant women.

Tanning Advisor: 

[...] Still, it comes to pregnancy and tanning beds, there has been a suggested link between ultraviolet rays and folic acid deficiency. Folic acid is responsible for preventing neural tube defects such as spina bifida. [...] Most salon owners are aware that tanning bed technology is a relatively new and that very few studies have been done on the effects of tanning beds and pregnancy. This is also why most reputable salons require a note from a doctor before offering a tanning session to pregnant individuals.

We don't allow pregnant women to tan unless we get written approval from their doctor.

Just noticed that Ezra Klein picked it up which in turn was picked up by Wonkette.

I heard a very sensible comment the other night from a progressive democratic candidate for California State Assembly. The more we talk about Sarah Palin, the less we focus on the real candidate. She's a distraction and the media feeding frenzy will be without end unless we stop paying attention to her.

The more we demonize her, the more emboldened her base comes in behind her. We need to make her a non-issue, or rather, allow the issues (looking forward to Biden v. Palin) to make a non-candidate out of her.

Tanning beds, while hypocritical and ridiculous for Palin to get caught using are so far a feild from what we need to be talking about. I know this kind of goes against Sol's guidance, but there's something to choosing our battles.

Article was linked by Ben Smith, NPR's Planet Money, Wonkette, Ezra Klein and Momlogic:

http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0908/A_tanning_bed_in_the_govenor...

http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2008/09/lunch_break_sarah_palins_tanni.ht...

http://www.prospect.org/csnc/blogs/ezraklein_archive?month=09&year=2008&...

http://wonkette.com/402780/get-that-sunny-alaskan-tan-all-year-round

http://www.momlogic.com/2008/09/sarah_palin_tanerexic.php

 

 

yes, this story is disturbing.  That she would let her teen daughters use it is abhorant.

However, that she puts her down's syndrome baby in the tanning bed, and then speaks in tounges with the feverant hope that Jesus will dispell the demons in Trig's body--well, that is simply over the top.  It's sick.

On its own, this story seems trivial, but it immediately brought to mind an anecdote quoted on Andrew Sullivan's website a few weeks back. Considered in toto, her behavior smacks of a self-indulgence that belies her well-cultivated image of authenticity.

... that day in 1996, she told her husband she was going to Anchorage to shop at Costco-- and instead ended up at J.C. Penney's to meet Ivana Trump, who was doing a perfume appearance there.  I went to the Anchorage Daily News archives for the full article.  Here is how the story, by Tom Bell,  opened:  "Sarah Palin, a commercial fisherman from Wasilla, told her husband on Tuesday she was driving to Anchorage to shop at Costco. Instead, she headed straight for Ivana. And there, at J.C. Penney's cosmetic department, was Ivana, the former Mrs. Donald Trump, sitting at a table next to a photograph of herself. She wore a light-colored pantsuit and pink fingernail polish. Her blonde hair was coiffed in a bouffant French twist.  'We want to see Ivana,'' said Palin, who admittedly smells like salmon for a large part of the summer, ''because we are so desperate in Alaska for any semblance of glamour and culture.''

 

Proud small-town hockey mom, my arse. Truth is, she's a wannabe cosmopolitan.

Not to overshoot, but it's worth asking the question, esp. noting the Stevens connection... perhaps the people of Alaska did not pay for the bed; perhaps neither did she.  If you have the receipt for the work, can you find the receipt for the bed somewhere?  Remember what Ted Stevens (her 527 buddy) got at his house during the same timeframe? Noting the "I got it used for my daughters" excuse, she doesn't really seem the "used" type, however a "freebie" may explain both the contradictory statements about skin cancer and the sudden power upgrade in the mansion, if she didn't choose where it went?  Seems strange to install a major appliance at the mansion if you simply aren't spending much time there--is there one already at the residence?

Seems a natural action that someone will have to pay for the power upgrade after getting a gift (unplanned), but would either upgrade power or delay delivery until power is sufficient to ensure it works if you are buying it.

Remember the thing that trips up most gov't folks is the purchasing (and gifting) between $5-8,000, which doesn't get tracked by IRS. That's the Stevens Gotcha.  Public officials ALWAYS keep the receipts to prove they spent their own money on it.

 

A simple question to pull a string, that's all.

Keith Olberman is on the job, he just mentioned it on his show....same day!

#1 Story on Olberman. Good digging, Al.

The tanning bed thing seems to be scaring a lot of people who are terrified of the Republicans. Doesn't bother me one bit. I think it has already opened the door to important questions like "why would a woman who claims to be in favor of preventing skin cancer in children buy a tanning bed and claims it was for her teenage daughters?"

You know, one of those questions the level headed people tendto ask.

Speaking of which, Keith Olbermann is mentioning it on Countdown at this very moment.

Winn and Tonic

 

This one might be tough to shake. Could stick around for good. Like Herpes.

Affairs, power-tripping, censorship of children’s books, helicopter hunting, eating too many pork ribs, slicking lip stick on tax hikes, and getting a little too liberal with the company (enter State of Alaska) gas card, all could prove trivial in the grand scheme of this election.

Why? All women do these things. Perhaps not every woman is guilty of every one of these offenses, but all women - and most men - have faltered in some idiotic combination of these misdeeds.

But a freaking tanning bed?

No, no, no. That’s Willy Wonka shit we’re talking about now.

 

Wow...now that is what sets apart the adults from the kids. Way to show em how it's done, AG.

 Bill Conroy & Al Giordano are the best! You two absolutely rock!

And to think we read it here first...

Now if the corporate media would just pick up the other stories at NarcoNews, we would really be getting somewhere!

Last paragraph of article reads

On the bright side, the long overlooked “tanorexic lobby” – the industries that make the machines, their representatives and lobbyists in Washington – may finally be able to step outdoors and into the non-artificial sunlight, having one of their own through which to promote their product to a new generation of youth, a celebrity endorsement that could end up a heartbeat away from the presidency of the United States of America.

Well...here they come!

From Maureen Dowd on Wednesday 9/17

"The latest news from Alaska is that the governor keeps a tanning bed in the Juneau mansion. As The Los Angeles Times pointed out, when Palin declared May 2007 Skin Cancer Awareness Month in Alaska, the press release explained that skin cancer was caused by “the sun and from tanning beds".”