Pales In Comparison

Fact Checking: Did Sarah Palin Charge for Rape Kits? YES

Today's Anchorage Daily News contains an article that details further information on Wasilla charging for rape kits and also that famous Bridge To Nowhere.  Former Governor Knowles and the Mayor Ketchikan (aka, Nowhere) were on a conference call with national reporters. Both are Democrats. 

The Alaska State Law that was passed was because of Wasilla:

Eight years ago, complaints about charging rape victims for medical exams in Wasilla prompted the Alaska Legislature to pass a bill -- signed into law by Knowles -- that banned the practice statewide.

"There was one town in Alaska that was charging victims for this, and that was Wasilla," Knowles said

A May 23, 2000, article in Wasilla's newspaper, The Frontiersman, noted that Alaska State Troopers and most municipal police agencies regularly pay for such exams, which cost between $300 and $1,200 apiece.

"(But) the Wasilla police department does charge the victims of sexual assault for the tests," the newspaper  reported.

It also quoted Wasilla Police Chief Charlie Fannon objecting to the law. Fannon was appointed to his position by Palin after her dismissal of the previous police chief. He said it would cost Wasilla $5,000 to $14,000 a year if the city had to foot the bill for rape exams.

The Bridge to Nowhere? There are two of them and one's still moving along:

And she still supports spending $400 million to $600 million on "the other Bridge to Nowhere," the Knik Arm Crossing, which would provide residents in Palin's hometown of Wasilla faster access to Anchorage, Knowles added.

"That project is moving right ahead," said Knowles, who served as governor of Alaska from 1994 to 2002. "The money for that project was not diverted anywhere else. ... So (for her) to say she said, 'Thanks, but no thanks....' I would say she said, 'Thanks!'"

Knowles and Mayor Bob Weinstein are Democrats and the call was arranged by Obama's campaign:

As a former governor, Knowles said, he's reluctant to criticize an active governor. But he decided to make an exception with Palin.

"In this situation it's not just a sitting governor," he said. "Our current governor is a candidate for the vice presidency and a heartbeat away from the presidency."

Update: USA Today covers the rape kit story.

                       

Ut Oh.

This is not going to help Obama in any way. The blow back from the National Enquirer's story is somehow going to hit him squarely in the mid-section.

He's asked that kids be off limits, there's absolutely no reason to think that he or his campaign had anything to do with the NE asking questions (because the MSM has been so cowed by the Right that they don't even attempt due diligence in their reporting anymore), but the sycophants flocking to the McCain rallies will blame his campaign. 

But anyway, in addition to the NE story, we have this little tidbit from a campaign stop in Michigan:

Noting that her eldest son, Track, spent much of his senior year attending a high school in Portage, outside Kalamazoo, Palin told the crowd that she owes many thanks to the state -- and earned a cheer when she mentioned Track's love of hockey.

"Michigan, you took care of my boy," she said. Now, Palin added, he will help take care of them -- he will soon be deployed to Iraq with his Army unit.

What the heck? Doesn't that make you want to ask Governor Palin why her kid spent his senior year in Michigan?  Was he on some Jr. USA hockey team?  Did he get shipped away from home because he was mixed up in some bad stuff?

So you want to ask these questions? Tough hockey pucks, my friend. The Governor is still not taking questions from the press.  But it sure does make me wonder why in the world she'd drop that little nugget into the public record, because it makes some inquiring minds speculate that Track might have been up to no good.