Magician David Blaine performed a dramatic ‘Dive of Death’ in Central Park earlier tonight, and lived. Read about it below and see photos and a video.
David Blaine is as much a showman as a magician, but I believe he bills himself as a magician. He’s kind of Harry Houdini Lite. Very lite. He’s stunts usually consist of public spectacles in public places.
In 2003, he stayed in a transparent box suspended over the Thames River in London for 44 days. In 2002, he stood on top of a 27 metre pillar behind the New York Public Library for 35 hours. In 2006, he lived in an acrylic sphere underwater for a week in front of the Lincoln Center. In 2000, he sat inside a block of ice in Times Square for 61 hours.
Every time I hear about one of his stunts, I always wonder where he goes to the bathroom. I’m sure they have something worked out for that.
His exhibitions all seem to be endurance tests as much as anything else and this latest one was no exception. Today he ended his latest stunt. He hung upside down in Central Park for 60 hours.
Yeah, it was not real interesting to watch. However, he always ends them with a grand finale and this was no different. He ended his upside down hanging with a two-hour television special. You might wonder how he could draw standing upright out for two hours. Well, the special was interspersed with pre-recorded footage of David Blaine doing other things, like talking to people.
Then, finally, right at the end was the spectacular coup de gras. He plunged 13.4 metres in what has been billed as the ‘Dive of Death’. Following the dive, dangling from the cable he was attached to, he started ascending and disappeared into the night sky above Central Park’s Wollman Rink. Ta-Da!
And he lived to tell about it …. and do another stunt on another day.
Kelly Ripa, left, and magician David Blaine separate as Ripa descends following her interview with Blaine for the "Live with Regis and Kelly" television show done while both hung upside down over Central Park's Wollman Rink during Blaine's latest endurance challenge "David Blaine: Dive of Death" Monday morning Sept. 22, 2008 in New York. David Blaine plans to hang upside without a net for 60 hours concluding his challenge with a plunge.
Who would have thought we would be seeing Kim KardashianDancing With the Stars videos in our lifetime? See what she has to offer below along with partner Mark Ballas on the Dancing With The Star show.
Kim Kardashian Dancing With The Stars
Kim Kardashian looks good. Her hair is short and elegant while her smile beamed radiantly. She is fashionably dressed in tasteful sexy clothing. She has everything going for her on the dance floor except one minor thing.
The problem is Kim Kardashian’s dancing. It was bad with a capital B in Week 1. She was stiff as a board which is normally the position of her various partners. But not on Dancing With The Stars. Sorry Kim, but you are hot in all ways but one. Even professional dancer Mark Ballas cannot help you much.
Maybe one of the problems is expectations. We expect that a famous socialite might have spent some of her partying days with Paris Hilton on a dance floor. Isn’t that what socialites do at clubs? Shows you what I know.
Kim Kardashian and Mark Ballas foxtrotted their ways into home last night on the season premiere of Dancing with the Stars. In the following clip of their performance, we're introduced to the couple with: "I'm Kim Kardashian and I'm best known for being a reality TV star." Well, we guess having sex on tape is realistic. And Kim sure did star in that video!
Kardashian also says: "When I met Mark, I was so excited. He's a champion and I knew I was in the best hands possible." Ouch. Reggie Bush just got dissed!Overall, Kardashian looked the part of someone who could compete this season. But she was as stiff on the floor as most of her partners are in bed. Girlfriend has got to loosen up!And wear a far more revealing outfit.
Search and rescue teams are standing by, and plan to move into the affected parts of southeast Texas later today to search for storm victims, 1200 WOAI news reports.
At one point, there had been fears that as many as 40,000 people may have to be rescued...but now that figures appears to be far too high, as the storm has passed metro Houston and there are no widespread reports of casualties, officials say.
"We expected a major storm, and our expectations, unfortunately, came true," said Mike Miner, a spokesman for Governor Perry.
"It is too early to send search and rescue teams into the devastated areas. They are on stand by. They’re ready to go. The weather needs to clear up a little bite before they can actually go in, take a look around, and see what the actual devastation was."
The biggest problems facing most residents of metro Houston this morning is a lack of electric power, according to Centerpoint Energy Corp, the region's electric utility. 'It has been a really bad night and early Saturday morning on our electrical system," a spokesman said.
"We've got trees knocking power lines down all across the system. At this point, nearly two million customers who receive electricity via power lines are out of service."
He says the effort to restore that electricity will be slow. "We can't wait for Ike to keep moving, we can't wait for Ike to pick up steam and move on. We need to get our assessors and our helicopters to do aerial surveys, we need to get out foot patrol people down."
"Power is almost 100 percent out," Houston Mayor Bill White said this morning. "We have gotten 4700 emergency calls into the 9-1-1 center. The good news is, as the winds are diminishing, we plan to have some of our emergency crews bacdk on the streets by 10 this mroning."
White said it is far too early to determine the extend of damage in the city.
"We're going to have to take this day by day, look at the good and not the bad, and look into teh future. There will be some tragedies that occur, there are people struggling right now. If we Houstonians keep our heads up and plow through this in a competent way, it will be a credit to the city of Houston."
White also urged peopel to stay off the street, because shattered glass is still falling out of windows of downtown high rise buildings.
"Obviously, we have some high rise buildings throughout the city. We do know there has been damage to roofs and structures throughout the city, but we don't want anybody to think downtown Houston is wiped out."
White promised a 'very strong emergency surge' by 9 to 10 this morning.
Harris County Judge Ed Emmett is rquesting that all residents conserve water.
"We do want to focus on the water supply, to make sure that it remains safe," Emmett said.
"On the west side of the hurricane, the surge seems to have peaked at 11 to 12 feet and is expected to recede," he said. "But that surge is moving to the east and is expected to continue."
He says the inlets, bays, and bayous east of Houston continue to be subject to flodo warnings.
"The Medical Center right now is not experiencing blackouts because their power lines are underground," Emmett said.
"The Houston Fire Department suspended response activities about 4:45 AM, and they will resume as soon as it is possible. The Red Cross and the Salvation Army reports preparations are underway for shelter operations which will be necessary after the storm."
Emmett said a ship is currently being held by tugs in the Houston Ship channel, so residents are being asked to stay off the Loop 610 bridge 'just in case.'
"Nobody really ought to be out driving right now anyway."
Some parts of the Houston area say they did not get the devastation they had feared. "It looks like we dodged a bullet," a city councilman in Baytown, at the north end of Galveston Bay said. "Of course, that could change."
There are reports of high water across the metro Houston area, as well as windows blown out of numerous buildings. There was also a devastating fire at Brennan's of Houston, a landmark restaurant.
Several people had taken shelter at the restaurant and three people, including two children, were hurt.
Gov. M. Jodi Rell today called on state residents to observe a moment of silence on Thursday to mark the seventh anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States.
In observance of the anniversary, Rell has proclaimed Sept. 11, 2008, a Day of Remembrance in Connecticut, her office announced.
The governor, who participated in a remembrance ceremony Monday at the state’s 9/11 Living Memorial at Sherwood Island State Park in Westport, asked state residents to observe a moment of silence at 8:46 a.m. on Thursday.
That was the time the first hijacked airliner crashed into the World Trade Center in New York City seven years ago. The governor also directed that U.S. and State of Connecticut flags be flown at half-staff from sunrise through sundown Thursday.
“The Day of Remembrance honors the loved ones lost on the day of the terrorist attacks by encouraging all of our citizens to keep the victims’ memories alive through these observances,” Rell said.
“The seven years that have passed since we lost those innocent lives may not have softened the pain of the victims’ families, but we hope the small acts of kindness that reflect our community of spirit will continue to convey our support and provide a measure of comfort.”
Whether you're Republican, Democrat, conservative, liberal, rich, poor, Zune user or iPod user, we are all part of one country first. This morning let us all take a moment of silence to honor the men and women who lost their lives on September 11, 2001.
From the workers in the building who were putting in another 8hour day to support themselves and their families to the brave firefighters and police officers who lost their lives fulfilling their duties to protect and rescue.
Two weeks ago, People magazine was granted an exclusive interview with Senator John McCain’s new running mate, Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska, who spoke about motherhood and career, life in Alaska and the historic nature of her candidacy.
She has not given an interview since, eschewing the traditional television news circuit traveled by a vice-presidential nominee.
Sarah Palin will break that news media blackout on Thursday, when she will begin two days of interviews by the ABC News anchor Charles Gibson.
The sessions could be the first test of SarahPalin’s ability to parry substantive questions on foreign and domestic policy, and as she flew back to Alaska on Wednesday, she brought with her a squad of johnMcCain’s top policy advisers to help her prepare. In a broader sense, the interviews will also provide fresh material for what is now an intense war between the campaigns to define Sarah Palin in the public mind, a battle that both campaigns consider potentially critical to the election outcome.
“The fight is over how she is going to be defined in the eyes of the American public,” said Terry Nelson, John McCain’s former campaign manager. “She’s been introduced, but all the information about her has not been introduced, and once that information comes to light people are going to draw conclusions about her, and the campaigns are fighting to shape the conclusions.”
With new reports coming out daily about Sarah Palin’s record in Alaska, and a more aggressive offensive from Senator Barack Obama’s campaign, John McCain’s team has issued a partywide, all-hands-on-deck.
It has hired several veterans from President Bush’s campaigns, making them part of a team dedicated to defending Sarah Palin from unsubstantiated Internet rumors, Democratic attacks and potentially damaging news reports about her record produced by the investigative journalists now in Alaska.
“She’s a dynamic agent for change, the Democrats recognize this, and there is this race now to paint a picture of her which is not true,” said Brian Jones, who resigned as John McCain’s communications director in 2007 but returned this week to help in the effort to bolster Sarah Palin.
John McCain’s campaign released an advertisement on Wednesday accusing Barack Obama of trying “to destroy” Sarah Palin, and featuring images of scavenging wolves and an assertion that Democratic operatives are researching Sarah Palin in Alaska. (The advertisement cited a report by FactCheck.org that was critical of “completely false” attacks on Sarah Palin, but failed to note that the report was referring to Internet rumors not linked to Barack Obama’s campaign.)
The McCain campaign is regularly battling reports from news organizations that have the potential to undermine the image that it has presented of Sarah Palin as a reformer.
On Wednesday, a new report on Politico.com detailed Sarah Palin’s requests for federal appropriations as governor, including money for studies on the mating habits of crabs and the DNA of harbor seals, the very sorts of pet spending projects John McCain has lampooned.
John McCain’s campaign has dispatched another team to Alaska to respond more rapidly to such reports. It is headed by Taylor Griffin, who had worked for President Bush’s 2004 campaign. Another former Bush campaign aide, Tracey Schmitt, is now Sarah Palin’s traveling press secretary.
Tucker Eskew, a veteran of Mr. Bush’s primary season campaign against John McCain, has been advising Sarah Palin this week, as she has hopped between S.U.V.s and planes, all the while reading briefing materials or receiving tutorials from policy advisers who have dipped on and off the campaign trail to visit with her.
On Wednesday night, three of them were on the plane to Alaska with Sarah Palin: Douglas Holtz-Eakin, John McCain’s economic adviser; Steve Biegun, a former staff member of Mr. Bush’s National Security Council who has taken leave from his Ford Motors job to advise Sarah Palin; and Randy Scheunemann, John McCain’s senior foreign policy adviser.
Also accompanying Sarah Palin to Alaska as she prepared for her interview was Nicolle Wallace, a communications director for Mr. Bush’s 2004 campaign and, later, his White House. Ms. Wallace’s husband, Mark Wallace, Mr. Bush’s deputy campaign manager in 2004, is helping prepare Sarah Palin for the debates.
For now, the preparation for the debate and the sessions with Mr. Gibson are one and the same. Aides have developed a set of presumed questions and answers that they are walking Ms. Palin through.
Aides traveling with Sarah Palin have reported back to associates that she is a fast study — asking few questions of her policy briefers but quickly repeating back their main points — who already has considerable ease and experience before cameras.
A former aide in Alaska who had helped prepare Ms. Palin for her campaign debates there said she had a talent for distilling information into digestible sound bites. The aide said she generally prefers light preparatory materials to heavy briefing books, and prefers walking through potential questions and answers with aides to holding mock sessions.
BARACK Obama has dismissed the US presidential campaign of rivals John McCain and Sarah Palin as putting "lipstick on a pig" in his most direct attack on the Republican odd couple aiming to keep him out of the White House.
However the line is being interpreted by some - especially those in the McCain camp - as a personal sledge against Mrs Palin, Senator McCain's surprise running mate who described herself as a "pit bull with lipstick" when she accepted the Republican vice-presidential nomination at the party's national convention last week.
"We've been talking about change when we were up in the polls and when we were down in the polls," Senator Obama told a rally in Virginia as surveys suggested Senator McCain and Mrs Palin have overhauled his lead for the election to be held on November 5 (Australian time).
"The other side, suddenly, they're saying 'we're for change too'. Now think about it, these are the same folks that have been in charge for the last eight years.
"You can putlipstick on a pig. It's still a pig. You can wrap up an old fish in a piece of paper and call it change. It's still going to stink after eight years. We've had enough," he said to instant applause.
Last Thursday, Alaska Governor Mrs Palin joked that the only difference between a hockey mum like herself and a pit bull was "lipstick".
The McCain-Palin campaign called the comments "offensive and disgraceful" and demanded an apology. The Obama camp said the remark was not a dig at Mrs Palin and accused the Republicans of a "pathetic attempt to play the gender card".
Asked how anyone could be sure the comment was directed personally at Mrs Palin, a McCain campaign spokeswoman said: "She's the only one of the four - the presidential and vice presidential candidates - who wears lipstick".
Other reports quote Senator McCain as using the same phrase about Hillary Clinton's health plan last year.
Embracing the running mate's tradition attack dog role, Mrs Palin has been savaging Senator Obama daily on the campaign trail as Senator McCain talks up his maverick, reformer credentials.
He told a rally in Ohio that he had shown himself to be able to work with his opponents, something he said Senator Obama often claimed but could not prove. In her speech, Mrs Palin repeated her widely queried claim that she had said "thanks, but no thanks" to a notorious "bridge to nowhere" project in Alaska.
The Obama campaign immediately sent out an email to supporters highlighting the bridge "whopper". It also unveiled a new anti-Palin website called The Next Cheney.
The campaign took another nasty turn in a row sparked by education policy, after Senator Obama had accused Senator McCain of doing nothing in 26 years in Congress to rescue failing schools.
That prompted a television ad from the Republicans that said Senator Obama supported "legislation to teach 'comprehensive sex education' to kindergartners".
An Obama spokesman said the candidate had supported a Bill that provided for sex education which encompassed teaching younger children how to avoid falling prey to pedophiles.
"Last week, John McCain ... couldn't define what honour was. Now we know why," the spokesman said.
Since his shock decision to select the little-known Mrs Palin as his vice-presidential running mate, Senator McCain has come from behind to tie with Senator Obama or pull ahead in some polls. Mrs Palin herself polled well ahead of Senator Obama's running mate Joe Biden in a hypothetical match-up between the vice-presidential nominees - 53 per cent to 44.
A survey of news media showed the McCain-Palin pairing had generated more coverage than the Obama-Joe Biden campaign for the first time in three months.
Victoria Beckham stole the show at New York Fashion Week by unveiling her latest haircut.
The former Spice Girl appears to be channelling Liza Minnelli with her new look.
The gamine crop also nods to Bond-era Halle Berry, with a dash of Audrey Hepburn thrown in.
Explaining the radical new look, Beckham told The Daily Telegraph: "You know, I just like to change things up. I get bored very, very quickly and I just fancied a change."
Posh Spice's last hairdo was a bob - christened 'the Pob' - and became one of the most requested looks in hair salons up and down the country.
She has also tried out hair extensions and a bleached blonde look.
Victoria Beckham unveiled the short cut at the Marc Jacobs show, where she shared the front row with Jennifer Lopez.
The strapless black dress she was wearing was one of her own designs. The ex-Spice has launched her first fashion collection in New York with a range of dresses. The price tag starts at £600 and goes up to £1,900, from a tiny size six to a more regular 14.
The collection hits the shops in February and has a "1940s/1950s underwear feel, very simple but fabulous", according to the woman herself.
Other celebrities spotted at New York Fashion Week include actresses Winona Ryder and Christina Ricci, supermodel Helena Christensen and Kelly Osbourne.
Here is Ann Kilkenny’s open emailabout Sarah Palin. Keep in mind she is some housewife from Wasilla, Alaska that may just be jealous of Sarah Palin. Who knows?
CNN has reported that most people sing Palin’s praises and Kilkenny is one of her few critics. Wasilla substitute teacherAnne Kilkenny compared the atmosphere surrounding Palin to a popularity contest.
“I found the informal manner in which she ran City Council meetings had the flavor of turning city business into a fan club,” saidKilkenny, a registered Democrat who moved to Wasilla from Seattle, Washington, in 1981.
This weekend, Kilkenny, one of the few identifiable Palin critics in Wasilla, wrote an e-mail to friends criticizing Palin’s track record that rapidly spread to blogs and Web sites.
“Everybody likes her because she’s a real nice person. She’s always been nice to me and everyone in town,”Kilkenny told CNN.com. “I wrote my message in the spirit of providing complete and accurate information. I’m not angry or jealous.”
But here is the emailKilkenny wrote about Palin:
ABOUT SARAH PALIN I am a resident of Wasilla, Alaska. I have known Sarah since 1992. Everyone here knows Sarah, so it is nothing special to say we are on a first-name basis. Our children have attended the same schools. Her father was my child’s favorite substitute teacher. I also am on a first name basis with her parents and mother-in-law. I attended more City Council meetings during her administration than about 99% of the residents of the city.
She is enormously popular; in every way she’s like the most popular girl in middle school. Even men who think she is a poor choice and won’t vote for her can’t quit smiling when talking about her because she is a “babe”.
It is astonishing and almost scary how well she can keep a secret. She kept her most recent pregnancy a secret from her children and parents for seven months.
She is “pro-life”. She recently gave birth to a Down’s syndrome baby. There is no cover-up involved, here; Trig is her baby.
She is energetic and hardworking. She regularly worked out at the gym.
She is savvy. She doesn’t take positions; she just “puts things out there” and if they prove to be popular, then she takes credit.
Her husband works a union job on the North Slope for BP and is a champion snowmobile racer. Todd Palin’s kind of job is highly sought-after because of the schedule and high pay. He arranges his work schedule so he can fish for salmon in Bristol Bay for a month or so in summer, but by no stretch of the imagination is fishing their major source of income. Nor has her life-style ever been anything like that of native Alaskans.
Sarah and her whole family are avid hunters.
She’s smart.
Her experience is as mayor of a city with a population of about 5,000 (at the time), and less than 2 years as governor of a state with about 670,000 residents.
During her mayoral administration most of the actual work of running this small city was turned over to an administrator. She had been pushed to hire this administrator by party power-brokers after she had gotten herself into some trouble over precipitous firings which had given rise to a recall campaign.
Sarah campaigned in Wasilla as a “fiscal conservative”. During her 6 years as Mayor, she increased general government expenditures by over 33%. During those same 6 years the amount of taxes collected by the City increased by 38%. This was during a period of low inflation (1996-2002). She reduced progressive property taxes and increased a regressive sales tax which taxed even food. The tax cuts that she promoted benefited large corporate property owners way more than they benefited residents.
The huge increases in tax revenues during her mayoral administration weren’t enough to fund everything on her wish list though, borrowed money was needed, too. She inherited a city with zero debt, but left it with indebtedness of over $22 million. What did Mayor Palin encourage the voters to borrow money for? Was it the infrastructure that she said she supported? The sewage treatment plant that the city lacked? or a new library? No. $1m for a park. $15m-plus for construction of a multi-use sports complex which she rushed through to build on a piece of property that the City didn’t even have clear title to, that was still in litigation 7 yrs later–to the delight of the lawyers involved! The sports complex itself is a nice addition to the community but a huge money pit, not the profit-generator she claimed it would be. She also supported bonds for $5.5m for road projects that could have been done in 5-7 yrs without any borrowing.
While Mayor, City Hall was extensively remodeled and her office redecorated more than once.
These are small numbers, but Wasilla is a very small city.
As an oil producer, the high price of oil has created a budget surplus in Alaska. Rather than invest this surplus in technology that will make us energy independent and increase efficiency, as Governor she proposed distribution of this surplus to every individual in the state.
In this time of record state revenues and budget surpluses, she recommended that the state borrow/bond for road projects, even while she proposed distribution of surplus state revenues: spend today’s surplus, borrow for needs.
She’s not very tolerant of divergent opinions or open to outside ideas or compromise. As Mayor, she fought ideas that weren’t generated by her or her staff. Ideas weren’t evaluated on their merits, but on the basis of who proposed them.
While Sarah was Mayor of Wasilla she tried to fire our highly respected City Librarian because the Librarian refused to consider removing from the library some books that Sarah wanted removed. City residents rallied to the defense of the City Librarian and against Palin’s attempt at out-and-out censorship, so Palin backed down and withdrew her termination letter. People who fought her attempt to oust the Librarian are on her enemies list to this day.
Sarah complained about the “old boy’s club” when she first ran for Mayor, so what did she bring Wasilla? A new set of “old boys”. Palin fired most of the experienced staff she inherited. At the City and as Governor she hired or elevated new, inexperienced, obscure people, creating a staff totally dependent on her for their jobs and eternally grateful and fiercely loyal–loyal to the point of abusing their power to further her personal agenda, as she has acknowledged happened in the case of pressuring the State’s top cop (see below).
As Mayor, Sarah fired Wasilla’s Police Chief because he “intimidated” her, she told the press. As Governor, her recent firing of Alaska’s top cop has the ring of familiarity about it. He served ather pleasure and she had every legal right to fire him, but it’s pretty clear that an important factor in her decision to fire him was because he wouldn’t fire her sister’s ex-husband, a State Trooper. Under investigation for abuse of power, she has had to admit that more than 2 dozen contacts were made between her staff and family to the person that she later fired, pressuring him to fire her ex-brother-in-law. She tried to replace the man she fired with a man who she knew had been reprimanded for sexual harassment; when this caused a public furor, she withdrew her support.
She has bitten the hand of every person who extended theirs to her in help. The City Council person who personally escorted her around town introducing her to voters when she first ran for Wasilla City Council became one of her first targets when she was later elected Mayor. She abruptly fired her loyal City Administrator; even people who didn’t like the guy were stunned by this ruthlessness.
Fear of retribution has kept all of these people from saying anything publicly about her.
When then-Governor Murkowski was handing out political plums, Sarah got the best, Chair of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission: one of the few jobs not in Juneau and one of the best paid. She had no background in oil & gas issues. Within months of scoring this great job which paid $122,400/yr, she was complaining in the press about the high salary. I was told that she hated that job: the commute, the structured hours, the work. Sarah became aware that a member of this Commission (who was also the State Chair of the Republican Party) engaged in unethical behavior on the job. In a gutsy move which some undoubtedly cautioned her could be political suicide, Sarah solved all her problems in one fell swoop: got out of the job she hated and garnered gobs of media attention as the patron saint of ethics and as a gutsy fighter against the “old boys’ club” when she dramatically quit, exposing this man’s ethics violations (for which he was fined).
As Mayor, she had her hand stuck out as far as anyone for pork from Senator Ted Stevens. Lately, she has castigated his pork-barrel politics and publicly humiliated him. She only opposed the “bridge to nowhere” after it became clear that it would be unwise not to.
As Governor, she gave the Legislature no direction and budget guidelines, then made a big grandstand display of line-item vetoing projects, calling them pork. Public outcry and further legislative action restored most of these projects–which had been vetoed simply because she was not aware of their importance–but with the unobservant she had gained a reputation as “anti-pork”.
She is solidly Republican: no political maverick. The State party leaders hate her because she has bit them in the back and humiliated them. Other members of the party object to her self-description as a fiscal conservative.
Around Wasilla there are people who went to high school with Sarah. They call her “Sarah Barracuda” because of her unbridled ambition and predatory ruthlessness. Before she became so powerful, very ugly stories circulated around town about shenanigans she pulled to be made point guard on the high school basketball team. When Sarah’s mother-in-law, a highly respected member of the community and experienced manager, ran for Mayor, Sarah refused to endorse her.
As Governor, she stepped outside of the box and put together of package of legislation known as “AGIA” that forced the oil companies to march to the beat of her drum.
Like most Alaskans, she favors drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. She has questioned if the loss of sea ice is linked to global warming. She campaigned “as a private citizen” against a state initiaitive that would have either a) protected salmon streams from pollution from mines, or b) tied up in the courts all mining in the state (depending on who you listen to). She has pushed the State’s lawsuit against the Dept. of the Interior’s decision to list polar bears as threatened species.
McCain is the oldest person to ever run for President; Sarah will be a heartbeat away from being President.
There has to be literally millions of Americans who are more knowledgeable and experienced than she.
However, there’s a lot of people who have underestimated her and are regretting it.
CLAIM VS FACT •“Hockey mom”: true for a few years •“PTA mom”: true years ago when her first-born was in elementary school, not since •“NRA supporter”: absolutely true •social conservative: mixed. Opposes gay marriage, BUT vetoed a bill that would have denied benefits to employees in same-sex relationships (said she did this because it was unconsitutional). •pro-creationism: mixed. Supports it, BUT did nothing as Governor to promote it. •“Pro-life”: mixed. Knowingly gave birth to a Down’s syndrome baby BUT declined to call a special legislative session on some pro-life legislation •“Experienced”: Some high schools have more students than Wasilla has residents. Many cities have more residents than the state of Alaska. No legislative experience other than City Council. Little hands-on supervisory or managerial experience; needed help of a city administrator to run town of about 5,000. •political maverick: not at all •gutsy: absolutely! •open & transparent: ??? Good at keeping secrets. Not good at explaining actions. •has a developed philosophy of public policy: no •”a Greenie”: no. Turned Wasilla into a wasteland of big box stores and disconnected parking lots. Is pro-drilling off-shore and in ANWR. •fiscal conservative: not by my definition! •pro-infrastructure: No. Promoted a sports complex and park in a city without a sewage treatment plant or storm drainage system. Built streets to early 20th century standards. •pro-tax relief: Lowered taxes for businesses, increased tax burden on residents •pro-small government: No. Oversaw greatest expansion of city government in Wasilla’s history. •pro-labor/pro-union. No. Just because her husband works union doesn’t make her pro-labor. I have seen nothing to support any claim that she is pro-labor/pro-union.
WHY AM I WRITING THIS?
First, I have long believed in the importance of being an informed voter. I am a voter registrar. For 10 years I put on student voting programs in the schools. If you google my name (Anne Kilkenny + Alaska), you will find references to my participation in local government, education, and PTA/parent organizations.
Secondly, I’ve always operated in the belief that “Bad things happen when good people stay silent”. Few people know as much as I do because few have gone to as many City Council meetings.
Third, I am just a housewife. I don’t have a job she can bump me out of. I don’t belong to any organization that she can hurt. But, I am no fool; she is immensely popular here, and it is likely that this will cost me somehow in the future: that’s life.
Fourth, she has hated me since back in 1996, when I was one of the 100 or so people who rallied to support the City Librarian against Sarah’s attempt at censorship.
Fifth, I looked around and realized that everybody else was afraid to say anything because they were somehow vulnerable.
CAVEATS I am not a statistician. I developed the numbers for the increase in spending & taxation 2 years ago (when Palin was running for Governor) from information supplied to me by the Finance Director of the City of Wasilla, and I can’t recall exactly what I adjusted for: did I adjust for inflation? for population increases? Right now, it is impossible for a private person to get any info out of City Hall–they are swamped. So I can’t verify my numbers.
You may have noticed that there are various numbers circulating for the population of Wasilla, ranging from my “about 5,000″, up to 9,000. The day Palin’s selection was announced a city official told me that the current population is about 7,000. The official 2000 census count was 5,460. I have used about 5,000 because Palin was Mayor from 1996 to 2002, and the city was growing rapidly in the mid-90’s.
John McCain embarks on his final drive for the White House Thursday night, accepting the Republican presidential nomination and addressing the party's national convention from a stage that workers hastily rebuilt to fit his "town hall" approach.
McCain checked out the setup in midafternoon, chatting on stage with his wife, Cindy, and Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Joe Lieberman of Connecticut. Graham speaks Thursday night; Lieberman spoke on Tuesday.
Elsewhere, on the final day of the convention, a lot of the talk was still about Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the vice presidential nominee who gave her big introductory speech Wednesday night, less than a week after being chosen for the ticket.
Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama shrugged off the speech as a rehashing of McCain's policies and suggested Democrats would not slacken their criticism.
"I think she's got a compelling story, but I assume she wants to be treated the same way that guys want to be treated," he told reporters during a campaign stop in York, Pa. "I've been through this 19 months, she's been through it — what — four days so far?"
He said he would focus his attention on John McCain and "who's got a better agenda to move this country forward."
Cindy McCain suggested in one interview that she doesn't agree with Palin's support for a nearly total ban on abortions.
And Democratic vice presidential nominee Joe Biden declared that some news coverage of his Republican counterpart had been sexist.
Parts of the platform at the Xcel Energy Center were removed by construction workers on Thursday to bring delegates closer to where McCain will give his acceptance speech, giving the stage a T-shape. Organizers said the change reflected the town hall-type forums in which McCain has campaigned.
"The extended podium will serve as a fitting complement to John McCain's preference for direct interaction with his fellow citizens," said Maria Cino, a convention official.
Meanwhile, party leaders added two speakers to the night's lineup. Former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., will speak prior to Cindy McCain. Both are close to McCain. Ridge was considered a finalist for the No. 2 spot before McCain picked the Alaska governor. And Graham has appeared frequently with McCain on the campaign trail.
Delegates will also vote Thursday night to make the convention's nomination of Palin official. And McCain himself will close out the activities with his prime-time acceptance speech.
Democrats struck back on Thursday, dismissing rave GOP reviews of Palin's speech and asserting that the Alaska governor had misrepresented Obama's record. "There wasn't one thing that she said about Obama or what he's proposing that is true," top Obama strategist David Axelrod told reporters in Pennsylvania.
Axelrod also questioned her claim to be an outsider, given her sharp attacks on the Democratic nominee. "For someone who makes that point that she's not from Washington, she looked very much like she would fit in very well there."
Biden, campaigning in Virginia, said he would challenge Palin on issues "as strongly as I can" — but would refrain from personal attacks.
"I'm not good at one-line zingers. That's not my deal," he said at a forum in Virginia Beach. He said he believed Palin was "going to be an incredibly competent debater." The two face off on Oct. 2 in St. Louis.
Obama's lead over McCain was virtually unchanged since the GOP convention began, according to a Gallup Poll. The Democrat led 49 percent to 42 percent, based on interviews conducted Monday through Wednesday. All but a few of the interviews were conducted before Palin gave her Wednesday night speech.
In a Gallup survey covering last Friday through Sunday — before the Republican gathering began — Obama led by a similar 6 percentage points.
McCain's speech was expected to provide the climax to the four-day convention. His wife, Cindy, admitted that she was nervous about addressing delegates herself.
Cindy McCain told ABC's "Good Morning America" she doesn't agree with Palin's opposition to abortion in cases of rape and incest. And they also part ways on sex education. "I don't agree with that aspect, but I do respect her for her views," she said.
Palin opposes abortion and rejects the view that pregnancies caused by rape and incest should be exceptions. The Alaska governor's only exception would be when a doctor determines that continuing a pregnancy would lead to the death of the mother. Palin has also opposed government financing of sex-education programs in Alaska. Cindy McCain told ABC that she advocated abstinence as a part of sex education at her children's school, but "I believe that it's twofold and I think all of it should be taught."
Palin and her husband, Todd, announced this week that their 17-year-old unmarried daughter was pregnant and would be marrying her boyfriend, saying they were making a private matter public because of Internet rumors.
Biden said the Democratic campaign was not criticizing Palin over her family.
"It is off limits to talk about her family," the Delaware senator said in an interview with "Fox and Friends" on Fox News Channel. "Every family has difficulty as they're raising their children. I think the way she's handled it has been absolutely exemplary."
Asked if some of the criticism aimed at Palin has been sexist, Biden said: "Yes, by you guys in the media."
The McCain camp expressed satisfaction with the generally positive reception that Palin's speech had received from the public.
"I have no doubt that Gov. Sarah Palin today is a household name," McCain campaign manager Rick Davis told reporters in a conference call.
In his acceptance speech, McCain is expected to review his career in public service — first as a Naval Academy midshipman and wartime pilot and then as a 26-year veteran of Congress — while drawing stark policy differences with Democratic candidate Barack Obama.
Democratic critics have questioned Palin's political experience as a small-town mayor and her brief tenure as Alaska's governor. Wednesday night she offered a searing, sometimes sarcastic attack on the opposing ticket.
Palin joined other Republican speakers Wednesday night in praising McCain as a man of character, a former Vietnam prisoner of war who had spent his early career in the military and had sought to change the ways of politics in Washington.
In downtown Minneapolis, police arrested 102 protesters early Thursday after a rock concert. Since Saturday, more than 400 people have been arrested for convention-related protests in both St. Paul and neighboring Minneapolis.
In a speech weaving together humour, toughness and a folksy touch, Sarah Palin, the Republican Governor of the US state of Alaska, has accepted her party's nomination as vice-presidential running mate to John McCain.
She introduced her family, stressed her small town credentials and joked about her self-professed "hockey mum" reputation, but held out a promise of toughness on key issues from America's dependence on foreign oil to the pursuit of terrorists.
"I will be honoured to accepted your nomination for vice-president of the United States," she told the exuberant crowd, after extended applause welcomed her to the stage.
Her appearance softer than in recent days, with her hair no longer bundled up, Ms Palin praised Senator McCain as honest and courageous.
She said she accepted "the privilege of serving" with him "against confident opponents at a crucial hour" for the US.
Senator McCain "knows how tough fights are won" she said, noting that just a year ago, experts had written him off as the Republicans' nominee for the presidency.
"With their usual certitude they told us that all was lost, that there was no hope for this candidate who said he would rather lose an election than see his country lose a war," Ms Palin said.
Family support
Displaying her credentials in understanding America's international challenges, Ms Palin introduced her son, Track, who stood in the crowd as his mother told delegates that he was due on September 11 to deploy to Iraq.
She went on to introduce her sons and daughters, all of whom were in the audience, and to indirectly answer the critics who have targeted the conservative, pro-life governor over the pregnancy of her unmarried teenage daughter.
"Our family has the same ups and downs as any other, the same challenges and the same joys," she said.
She also introduced her "perfectly beautiful baby boy", Trig, who has Down's syndrome, pledging to be an advocate for families of special needs children in the White House.
"For years you've sought to make America a more welcoming place for your sons and daughters," she said.
Seeking to further seal her family credentials, she introduced her husband Todd, saying she met him in high school. She won yet more applause by saying "he's still my guy".
She stressed her small town credentials, her own example for women striving for advancement and her record in cutting and vetoing what she said was wasteful spending during her tenures as both a mayor and a governor.
Delegates warmed enthusiastically to Ms Palin's messages, showing genuine appreciation for a speech with some arguably unorthodox content, and dissolving into laughter when she joked that the difference between hockey mums and a pit bull was lipstick.
GOP holds breath awaiting Palin speech
It’s a rare convention moment, a night when all eyes will be focused on the running mate to the exclusion of everything else. In a speech that may eclipse nominee John McCain’s one night later, his surprise vice presidential pick, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, takes the stage Wednesday evening with the eyes — and hopes — of her party upon her.
Call it the Republican answer to Barack Obama’s Invesco Field speech.
“I’ve watched this thing echo and build,” said Iowa Rep. Steve King. “Now it’s the buildup to the anticipation of the speech.”
For Palin, this event, more than any other, will determine whether she will succeed or fail as a running mate. It’s undoubtedly the most important speech of her career.
“I think we had a very good night last night for Sen. McCain. Having said that, there’s no question that Palin, because she was such a surprise pick, is getting a lot of attention,” said Oklahoma Rep. Tom Cole. “It’s a very big night tonight."
“Every person I talk to, the first thing they say is they can’t wait to hear Sarah Palin speak on Wednesday night,” said Erik Iverson, chairman of the Montana Republican Party.
“This is my third convention and I can’t remember a vice presidential candidate, or any of the other speakers, generating as much excitement and enthusiasm.”
Palin, who has never addressed a national audience, will have to clear an extraordinarily high bar with her performance this evening. The Obama campaign sought to raise expectations even further for the 44-year-old Alaska governor Wednesday morning, when communications director Robert Gibbs predicted Palin’s speech would “bring the convention floor out of its chairs.”
Saul Anuzis, chairman of the Michigan Republican Party, said delegates were so eager to hear from Palin because they currently know so little about her.
“I think people are very excited about finding out who she is and meeting her for the first time. In reality, most Republicans have not seen her or heard her or met her,” Anuzis said.
New Hampshire Republican Party Chairman Fergus Cullen agreed.
“She is a fresh face on the national scene, so there’s a huge level of interest in it,” said Cullen, who recalled watching televised Palin’s speech from Dayton, Ohio, on Friday with Republican officials who teared up in response to the Alaska governor’s performance.
“I used to mock Democrats when I saw them weeping about either Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama,” Cullen said, “and here I saw a room of Republicans doing the same.”
Tuesday’s speeches by Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.) and former Sen. Fred Thompson (R-Tenn.) went off well enough, said several party chairmen. But even at this morning’s delegate events, people were more focused on Palin’s speech tonight.
As the remnants of Hurricane Gustav remain on everyone's minds, Hurricane Hannah has been busy trailing her way towards the US East Coast.
Hurricane Hannah, which has become the fourth hurricane-strength storm of the Atlantic Hurricane Season, will likely make her way towards the Carolinas.
It is predicted that Hurricane Hannah's projected path will encounter the Carolinas, South Florida, or possibly the Georgia coast.
Hannah is currently making her way across the Bahamas. Stay tuned to tPC for updates over the next few days.
Hanna "could be a major hurricane"
Hurricane Hanna, which is still dawdling south of the Bahamas and just north of Haiti, is expected to strengthen this week, turn and head up the East Coast. It could be a "major" hurricane at landfall, according to this morning's discussion at the National Hurricane Center.
"Major" is NHC shorthand for a Cat. 3 storm or stronger - with top sustained winds of 111 mph or more.
The 5-day forecast track for Hanna (above) now sends it ashore in South Carolina, with its remnants passing just west of the Chesapeake Bay by late Saturday. If that forecast holds - a big IF - it would be the recipe for some serious rainfall this weekend. And if Hanna retains its counterclockwise rotation, it could also mean some significant storm surge up the bay. Probably not on the scale of Isabel's remnants in 2003, but most definitely something to watch.
And that other tropical wave that was coming off the African coast yesterday is now a tropical depression - No. 10 for the season. It is expected to become a hurricaneby this weekend - Josephine if nothing else pops up in the meantime. That will be on next week's agenda.
Hurricane Hannah Threat The Bahamas And U.S. East Coast
While Hurricane Gustav makes landfall in the U.S Gulf Coast states, Hurricane Hannah now heads toward the U.S. East Coast.
According to the latest advisory from the National Weather Center, which is listed here as advisory number 19, but is constantly changing as the advisories are updated, Hannah has become the fourth storm of the season, at 75 mile an hour winds it makes Hannah a Category 1 as of this time and is has caused the Government of the Bahamas to issue a Hurricane warning for Central and Southeastern Bahamas.
Projections show that Hannah could continue along it's current path and make landfall potentially affecting Florida, Georgia and possibly North Carolina if it follows the projected path, which has the North Carolina Red Cross keeping some of their supplies close to home in case they are needed to combat the potential hit from Hannah.
The U.S. Coast Guard units are prepared to send more ships, aircrafts, medical teams, disaster assistance teams to areas affected and some have already been sent to the Gulf Coast to help with the damage seen from Gustav which is a Category 2 as reported at Bradenton News.
The projected path of what is now a Hurricane Hannah is expected to hit the East Coast of Florida within 3 days unless the storm slows or loses strength after hitting land in the Bahamas, but even then it is expected to gain strength again once it goes over the warm waters again.
Hurricane Hannah was not projected to become a Hurricane until Tuesday or Wednesday initially.
Hurricane Hannah Projected Path
The Hurricane Hannah projected path is a cause for concern today as people, weary from a very tough hurricane season, prepare for yet another onslaught.
Fortunate for folks in the Gulf Coast, Hurricane Hannah should not be making a stop in their neck of the woods. Instead, the projected path of Hurricane Hannah shows it hitting the East Coast.
Hurricane Hannah is currently a Category 1 hurricane, with winds of 75mph. The Bahamian government has already issued a hurricane warning for Central and Southeastern Bahamas.
If Hurricane Hannah hits in the Bahamas and stays on its' current projected course, it would end up affecting Florida, Georgia and possibly North Carolina. This news has officials in those states concerned.
Relief agencies are now unsure of how to allocate resources in several southern states. Hurricane Gustav is still active and now Hurricane Hannah is threatening further damage.
Kelly Ripa, left, and magician David Blaine separate as Ripa descends following her interview with Blaine for the "Live with Regis and Kelly" television show done while both hung upside down over Central Park's Wollman Rink during Blaine's latest endurance challenge "David Blaine: Dive of Death" Monday morning Sept. 22, 2008 in New York. David Blaine plans to hang upside without a net for 60 hours concluding his challenge with a plunge.
