“I Can See Russia..” Back in the News. Sarah Palin Speaks Out About Tina Fey.

By Isabel Matos

UPDATE 9/22 7:12 p.m.:  Here’s the shortlink to the clip above for efficient sharing: http://youtu.be/_C_65naapVk (Thank you for all the feedback!)

I’ve had enough of reporters in the Spanish-speaking community in America imitating the liberal media, the comics and the lies about Sarah Palin that distort the truth about the message she delivers and the incredibly intelligent individual that she is.  It’s back. The Russia meme and Fey impersonation hype is to call attention away from those two items mentioned: her message and intelligence.

The Daily Caller recently published an article mentioning an interview Sarah Palin with the Hollywood Reporter where she said Fey should pay her something for having capitalized on her impersonation.  The clip was done to get that message out to Spanish-English speakers, and to emphasize that Tina Fey was wrong about not only the comment about Russia, but a couple of others as well, for several reasons.  Sarah Palin never said she saw Russia from her house:

 “They’re our next-door neighbors, and you can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska, from an island in Alaska.” ~ Gov. Sarah Palin, 2008.

From the article in the Sarah Palin Information Blog which shared an editorial from the New York Sun by Benyamin Korn who wrote:

Governor Palin, of course, didn’t actually say “I can see Russia from my house.” That was Tina Fey parodying her reply to Charlie Gibson, to whom she said of Russia: “They’re our next-door neighbors, and you can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska.” But Mrs. Palin did actually comprehend the significance of Russia’s proximity to America. The secret program AP reports on was codenamed “Washtub.” The wire advises that “with the benefit of hindsight, it would be easy to dismiss ‘Washtub’ as a harebrained scheme born of paranoia.”  Don’t miss the rest of the information in the SPIB piece.

In the same article a picture of Sarah with decorated US Marine Corps war hero, Dakota Meyer, shows the area Governor Sarah Palin was talking about in 2008.  Sarah Palin Information Blog shared this image From the editors who took this photo shot, with Russia photo-bombing in the background:

Not specifically mentioned, but that is not the gravel from her house in Wasilla (just in case someone wondered…).

Gary explained it thoroughly in an article on this site (it was hysterical, too, criticizing those who still believed this..). He included clips with residents and reports about the location in Alaska, little Diomede island, where you can actually see Russia:

Little Diomede Island is a very small island on the Bering sea. An extreme place to live where temperatures reach 50 degrees below zero, with 40 mph winds for added fun. In the winter, when the sea is frozen, and the skies are clear, you can indeed see Russia, and if you want to risk it, walk there. It’s a roughly 2.5 mile hike.

Now, you would think anyone with common sense would give credence to the truth but we are dealing with a culture that has been dumbed down and taught to laugh at jokes that are really meant to spread a lie about a person who is doing everything possible to defend their rights.  Comedy is a tool to keep BelieV(ot)ers politically and pathetically misinformed.

The clip which was done in Spanish is English-friendly.  As a favor, I am asking you to please support this effort by sharing the clips or article wherever you can if you think it is important to reach smart Hispanics who happen to watch liberal Spanish-speaking news programs but who are not getting the complete story because the media is being dismissive, or because they insist on repeating the tired old mockery and joking lies. The left and the GOPe both benefit from the misinformation, needless to say.  It’s not considered pandering to inform bilingual constituents.  The whole point of doing these clips is to reach Ronald Reagan Republicans who happen to speak Spanish and English who our party abandoned. We are hungry for new leadership.

 

H/T Lynda for “Sarah Palin Was Right on the Significance of Russia’s Proximity to Alaska” article.

Advertisement

Rep. Gohmert Sets Record Straight on Palin Russia Comments

I am always amazed that some six years post our country’s 2008 presidential election there are people who still cannot differentiate between a quote from Gov. Sarah Palin and a scripted skit that was performed by Tina Fey.   I’m not exactly sure what prompted Rep. Louis Gohmert to put himself out there for Gov. Palin but God bless him for doing so.

From Gohmert’s Youtube page:

In light of the breaking news in Ukraine, Rep. Louie Gohmert (TX-01) took time on the House floor to set the record straight on the comments made by Sarah Palin on Russia. He read from her exact statements in 2008 and also from the exaggerated Saturday Night LIVE script.

Sarah Talks Like a President on Hannity. Makes Obama Look Puny and Putin Easy to Outsmart. Impressive!

by Isabel Matos

I posted this on Reince Priebus’s wall.  Sarah Palin makes not only the President and Putin look small, but the GOP look useless and irrelevant.  I have said before a Sarah-less GOP is a hopeless GOP.  Please feel free to share your thoughts.

UPDATE. Adding a link from this morning where Mark Levin defends Sarah Palin on Imus’s show. Imus totally dismisses Sarah’s prediction. You can tell he is uncomfortable giving her credit for it. He starts the segment by asking nosy questions about Mark’s private life. Mark handles it beautifully and gets to the point of why he is there: to defend Sarah on being 100% right about the Ukraine being invaded by Russia. I don’t know who Imus likes because I never listen to him, but after this exchange with Mark I wouldn’t want to ever again. I will give Imus this: at least he admitted he’s not a fan of hers here.

The Prescience of Palin on President Obama’s “Flexible” Leadership

by Whitney Pitcher

As Russia invaded Ukraine, Governor Palin posted the following on her Facebook page. That’s right; Prescient Palin strikes again!

Yes, I could see this one from Alaska. I’m usually not one to Told-Ya-So, but I did, despite my accurate prediction being derided as “an extremely far-fetched scenario” by the “high-brow” Foreign Policy magazine. Here’s what this “stupid” “insipid woman” predicted back in 2008: “After the Russian Army invaded the nation of Georgia, Senator Obama’s reaction was one of indecision and moral equivalence, the kind of response that would only encourage Russia’s Putin to invade Ukraine next.”

http://www.jammiewf.com/2014/flashback-stupid-woman-offers-up-strange-scenario-of-russia-invading-ukraine/

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Peace/2014/02/28/Flashback-Palin-Mocked-in-2008-for-Warning-Putin-May-Invade-Ukraine-if-Obama-Elected-President

During the 2008 election, Governor Palin was mocked for postulating that Russia may invade Ukraine if then Senator Obama was elected. As Tony Lee at Breitbart noted, during the 2008 election, some in the media called Palin’s scenario “far-fetched”. In reality, Governor Palin has proven prescient, almost clairvoyant, on many occasions from death panels to the Arab Spring to rare earth metals to quantitative easing to common core.  Just to name a few.

There’ is  a sense of vindication when a woman so mocked by the media and the establishment’s of both parties is proven right time and time again.  There is also a sense of a frustration and sadness that such a great nation lacks the leadership it needs. A Russia bold enough to invade Ukraine can only do so because of a vacuum of leadership in America. President Reagan famously won the Cold War with the USSR without firing a single shot because of his principled and strong leadership, not  “flexible” leadership that declares “happy hour” when the world is in chaos.

The Russian Air Force Can See Sarah Palin’s House from their Bear Bombers

by Whitney Pitcher

In the past month, Russian bombers have twice been involved in arctic war games near U.S. airspace around Alaska. The first time began on the same day as a meeting between President Obama and Russian Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin, on June 18th and continued until June 25^th. An article at the Free Beacon notes that two key Alaskan sites may be potential targets in exercise—the missile defense base at Ft. Greely and the Trans Alaska pipeline which is responsible for transporting about 11% of America’s oil.

The article later goes on to quote  Retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Thomas McInerney, a former Alaska North American Aerospace Defense commander:

“The Russians continue to exercise our air defense identification zone, which shows Mr. Putin loves to let President Obama know that they still have global capability,” McInerney said in an interview. “So much for reset.”

McInerney also said the Obama administration kept the encounter between the bombers and U.S. fighters secret because “they obviously don’t want the world to know that the exercise was done deliberately to coincide with the Obama-Putin summit.”

The Free Beacon article also notes that similar exercises were performed by the Russian Air Force in 2007. An article at the American Enterprise Institute notes the same as well (emphasis mine):

Just as concerning as Russia’s building of a new bomber is its eagerness to flaunt its old ones. Since 2007, Russia’s Air Force has increased the number of exercises it conducts near U.S. air space around Alaska, and according to Bill Gertz, American and Canadian Air Force fighters intercepted two Russian bombers that crossed into the U.S.’s 200-mile air defense identification zone around Alaska on July 4. Prior to this, Russian war games held in the same area in mid-June included 30 bombers, and may have been designed to test cruise missile attacks on U.S. missile defense facilities.

The AEI article notes that a new Russian bomber will be ready 5 years earlier than anticipated and references the second time that the Russian Air Force came near Alaskan air space on July 4^th in what a U.S. Defense official called “Putin’s Fourth of July Bear greeting to Obama”.

Governor Palin shared the Free Beacon article on her Facebook page a couple weeks ago, noting:

On the campaign trail four years ago I talked about Alaska’s strategic location on the globe, the potential for future conflicts over arctic transportation lanes and resources, and the crucial need to keep our eye on Putin’s activities. Later I spoke out against Obama’s egregious decision to cut back Alaska’s missile defense systems. Please take a look at this article about Russia’s arctic war game exercises earlier this month. This shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone who was paying attention four years ago. Maybe now we should ask the President if this is what “more flexibility” means.

Indeed. Governor Palin took office in December of 2006. When Russia began to increase their exercises in 2007, she was in office.  So while she was mocked for saying that Putin “rears his head” in Alaska air space during her interview with the Perky One during the 2008 campaign, she was privy to that defense information regarding Russia’s arctic war exercise starting in 2007. In fact, the Alaska Air National Guard was recognized as an Air Force Outstanding Unit in March of 2008 in part because they “maintained North American air sovereignty by detecting, monitoring and escorting 22 Russian bombers from within its area of operations”. Who was the commander-in-chief of the Alaska Air National Guard at that time? Governor Palin.

Why does this matter now? For two reasons. One, the agenda driven media mocked a Vice Presidential candidate for telling the truth about her foreign policy credentials and the importance of Alaska’s position on the globe.  This should serve as a teachable moment for the willfully naïve Establishment Republicans who still wish to play nice with the media. Two, it is important to take Russia seriously today. It’s not neo-McCarthyism, nor the international overinvolvement of neoconservatism; it’s peace through strength. In her foreign policy speech in the Spring of 2011, Governor Palin outlined limited, but clearly defined for American international involvement, but she also noted that America must never retreat into isolation, and we have a responsibility to lead, as “the stronger we are, the stronger and more peaceful the world will be under our example”.

While Governor of Alaska, Palin criticized the Obama administration for cutting funding for missile defense for the very air base, Ft. Greely, that Russian war games likely target this past month. In December of 2010, she also urged the Senate to not ratify the START treaty which called for America to reduce our nuclear weapons while allowing Russia to increase their weaponry. Today, despite Secretary Clinton extending a “reset button” to Russia early in Obama’s presidency and despite Obama ‘s willingness to “be more flexible” following the election, Russia must be taken seriously in part because of the naivety or complicity of the Obama administration. Russia not only continued to ally with Syria  the midst of UN sanctions , they have aimed to protect  Iran’s nuclear program and provided arms to Venezuela as well (not that President Obama sees Hugo Chavez as a threat either).

This isn’t about warmongering , being the world’s policeman, or being on the offensive as a foreign policy strategy. It is about an honest recognition of threats and ensuring that your defense is a strategic deterrent. This can’t be done when the media mocks a candidate’s credentials, nor when a president is flippant towards national defense.  With Russian Bear bombers creeping close to American air space, as the powerful Reagan ad noted, isn’t it important to as strong as the bear?

Rick Perry Looks To Further Complicate Tax Code For Some Reason

By Gary P Jackson

In an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal Rick Perry talks about his new tax plan. Like Herman Cain, Perry doesn’t propose a constitutional amendment to change or eliminate the current tax system. Perry’s is simply an add on device. A gimmick.

Before we go any further, readers should know Russia, the former “evil empire,” eliminated it’s progressive tax rate for individuals in 2001 and changed to a 13% flat tax. In 2002 the government saw an increase in revenue of 39.7% over 2001. After adjusting for inflation of 15.1%, real revenue rose 24.6%, supplying 15.3% of the consolidated budget. GDP growth in 2002 was 4.7%, a small decline.

2003 saw a gain of only 27.2% over 2002. After adjusting for inflation of 12.0%, real revenue increased 15.2%, supplying 17% of consolidated budget revenue. On the other hand, GDP growth in 2003 was a more robust 7.3%.

Russia’s tax system has been a great success, though it isn’t perfect, and I want to discuss it further in another article, it is better than this:

By Rick Perry

The folks in Washington might not like to hear it, but the plain truth is the U.S. government spends too much. Taxes are too high, too complex, and too riddled with special interest loopholes. And our expensive entitlement system is unsustainable in the long run.

Without significant change quickly, our nation will go the way of some in Europe: mired in debt and unable to pay our bills. President Obama and many in Washington seem unable or unwilling to tackle these issues, either out of fear of alienating the left or because they want Americans to be dependent on big government.

On Tuesday I will announce my “Cut, Balance and Grow” plan to scrap the current tax code, lower and simplify tax rates, cut spending and balance the federal budget, reform entitlements, and grow jobs and economic opportunity.

The plan starts with giving Americans a choice between a new, flat tax rate of 20% or their current income tax rate. The new flat tax preserves mortgage interest, charitable and state and local tax exemptions for families earning less than $500,000 annually, and it increases the standard deduction to $12,500 for individuals and dependents.

OK, let’s stop right here. How, exactly does Perry’s plan “simplify” the process? You’re giving tax payers a choice, for sure, but in most cases you’ll have tax payers figuring their tax burdens using both formulas, to make sure which works out better for them. Twice the work, not less. More complicated, not less.

This simple 20% flat tax will allow Americans to file their taxes on a postcard, saving up to $483 billion in compliance costs. By eliminating the dozens of carve-outs that make the current code so incomprehensible, we will renew incentives for entrepreneurial risk-taking and investment that creates jobs, inspires Americans to work hard and forms the foundation of a strong economy. My plan also abolishes the death tax once and for all, providing needed certainty to American family farms and small businesses.

Exactly how is a taxpayer, using the new plan, going to “file their taxes on a postcard” if there are still all sorts of deductions? A flat tax should be lower than this, and take into consideration that nothing would be deductible. The only exemptions would be people earning below a set level of income, adjusted for inflation, of course. That would be simple, easy, and uncomplicated.

Perry’s plan doesn’t simplify anything, but it sure sounds good …. on a post card.

My plan restores American competitiveness in the global marketplace and provides strong incentives for U.S.-based employers to build new factories and create thousands of jobs here at home.

First, we will lower the corporate tax rate to 20%—dropping it from the second highest in the developed world to a rate on par with our global competitors. Second, we will encourage the swift repatriation of some of the $1.4 trillion estimated to be parked overseas by temporarily lowering the rate to 5.25%. And third, we will transition to a “territorial tax system”—as seen in Hong Kong and France, for example—that only taxes in-country income.

Bad and actually pretty good in this deal. The good first: Allowing the repatriation of dollars is a good thing. It would be better if there was a small window of time it could be done tax free. We’d likely get ALL of the estimated $1.4 trillion to come back home that way. Better to see it circulating in the economy, because you aren’t gonna tax it if it never comes home anyway. I would drop the idea of taxing this money.

Now the bad. Lowering the tax rate on corporations alone isn’t going to do much as long as business has to deal with draconian regulations and labor unions. A good time back Sarah Palin introduced the idea of eliminating corporate taxes all together. That would entice businesses to come to America while other reforms are being made, and would remove the potential for corruption and cronyism. [probably why Perry doesn’t like it] You wouldn’t have lobbyists working to game the tax code or create exemptions for their businesses.

Besides, as we all know, corporations don’t really pay taxes anyway. They simply pass that cost along to the customer. It’s built into the retail price you pay for every item.

The mind-boggling complexity of the current tax code helps large corporations with lawyers and accountants devise the best tax-avoidance strategies money can buy. That is why Cut, Balance and Grow also phases out corporate loopholes and special-interest tax breaks to provide a level playing field for employers of all sizes.

I hear ya talking, but ain’t nothing being said. Tell us Governor Perry, how exactly does you plan address the special interests?

To help older Americans, we will eliminate the tax on Social Security benefits, boosting the incomes of 17 million current beneficiaries who see their benefits taxed if they continue to work and earn income in addition to Social Security earnings.

We will eliminate the tax on qualified dividends and long-term capital gains to free up the billions of dollars Americans are sitting on to avoid taxes on the gain.

Finally, something that makes some sense. Social Security and disability payments should never be taxed.

All of these tax cuts will be meaningless if we do not control federal spending. Last year the government spent $1.3 trillion more than it collected, and total federal debt now approaches $15 trillion. By the end of 2011, the Office of Management and Budget expects the gross amount of federal debt to exceed the size of America’s entire economy for the first time in over 65 years.

Under my plan, we will establish a clear goal of balancing the budget by 2020. It will be an extremely difficult task exacerbated by the current economic crisis and our need for significant tax cuts to spur growth. But that growth is what will get us to balance, if we are willing to make the hard decisions of cutting.

We should start moving toward fiscal responsibility by capping federal spending at 18% of our gross domestic product, banning earmarks and future bailouts, and passing a Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution. My plan freezes federal civilian hiring and salaries until the budget is balanced. And to fix the regulatory excess of the Obama administration and its predecessors, my plan puts an immediate moratorium on pending federal regulations and provides a full audit of all regulations passed since 2008 to determine their need, impact and effect on job creation.

ObamaCare, Dodd-Frank and Section 404 of Sarbanes-Oxley must be quickly repealed and, if necessary, replaced by market-oriented, common-sense measures.

OK, something we can finally agree on. Regulations cost American jobs producers a little over $1 trillion dollars a year in compliance efforts. Can you imagine the economic impact of eliminating all but those that really are necessary?

For the first time we hear about a constitutional amendment. Sadly, it’s a balanced budget amendment, not one that sets the tax code in stone so future presidents and congresses will find it very difficult to fool around with.

I have issues with a balanced budget amendment. It’s a good idea, in theory, and most states already have one. The problem is, many states, including Rick Perry’s Texas, have gotten really good at gaming the system, and use accounting tricks to “balance” the budget on paper, but not in reality. Texas has big problems looming because of this. Another discussion for later.

Perry makes some good points here, but any tax plan that doesn’t come in the form of a constitutional amendment is nothing to get really excited over. Nor is any plan that doesn’t scrap the current system completely.

Also, no talk about other needed reforms, like a “right to work amendment, that would end government sanctioned extortion from workers, in exchange for work, and cause the economy to explode with jobs.

America must also once and for all face up to entitlement reform. To preserve benefits for current and near-term Social Security beneficiaries, my plan permanently stops politicians from raiding the program’s trust fund. Congressional IOUs are no substitute for workers’ Social Security payments. We should use the federal Highway Trust Fund as a model for protecting the integrity of a pay-as-you-go system.

Cut, Balance and Grow also gives younger workers the option to own their Social Security contributions through personal retirement accounts that Washington politicians can never raid. Because young workers will own their contributions, they will be free to seek a market rate of return if they choose, and to leave their retirement savings to their dependents when they die.

Ronald Reagan was talking about this in 1964. [almost to the day in fact] Pretty much word for word. Reagan’s idea was to take care of those already promised, but work toward personal responsibility for the rest. If Congress was a private business, what they have done with Social Security would land each and every member in prison.

Read more here.

This is sort of a Hail Mary plan for Perry. His campaign has ground to a halt as Americans have learned more about his actual record, and his troubling predilection for cronyism and corruption. It’s very much a miss.

It’s like Perry is trying to be all things to all people, rather than a leader or a problem solver. Having two separate, and different, ways of paying taxes will only complicate an already complicated situation.

A simple flat tax, or even, under the right circumstances, a national sales tax instead of an income tax, could work.

What Perry has is yet another hot mess that only a life-long member of the permanent political class could come up with and then actually present to normal folks, smiling and thinking they got something.

Perry really doesn’t get it.

I haven’t taken time to run the numbers on this deal, no need though, because like Perry’s quixotic campaign, it’s pretty much DOA. It doesn’t seem to accomplish much. It’s not bold enough. It doesn’t really get to the core problems.

Good effort, as at least we are talking about taxes, but not good enough to make Perry any more appealing.

A true leader would come up with a bold and decisive plan that would simplify the tax code, not just add another component.

Sarah Palin: Another “WTF” Obama Foreign Policy Moment

As many readers have pointed out “WTF” is for “Winning The Future,” President Obama’s re-election campaign slogan. ~ SP

As you may or may not know, the lunatic in the White House wants to give Russia military secrets. This is insane.

From Sarah Palin:

As Governor I fought the Obama Administration’s plans to cut funds for missile defense in Alaska. So imagine how appalled and surprised I was to read this article by former Clinton CIA Director James Woolsey, appropriately titled “Giving Away the Farm,” concerning President Obama’s latest bizarre actions relating to missile defense.

President Obama wants to give Russia our missile defense secrets because he believes that we can buy their friendship and cooperation with this taxpayer-funded gift. But giving military secrets and technologies to a rival or competitor like Russia is just plain dumb. You can’t buy off Russia. And giving them advanced military technology will not create stability. What happens if Russia gives this technology (or sells it!) to other countries like Iran or China? After all, as Woolsey points out, Russia helped Iran with its missile and nuclear programs. Or what happens if an even more hardline leader comes to power in the Kremlin?

We tried buying off the Kremlin with technologies in the 1970s. That policy was a component of “detente,” and the hope was that if we would share our technologies with them, they would become more peaceful. Things, of course, didn’t work out that way. The Kremlin took western technologies and embarked on a massive military building program. History teaches that peace comes from American military strength. And a central component of that has always been technological superiority. Why would President Obama even dream of giving this away?

Members of Congress saw how foolish President Obama’s gambit was, so they put a section in the defense appropriation bill that specifically forbids the federal government from spending money to share these technologies with the Kremlin. President Obama actually threatened to veto the defense appropriation bill over this section of the law! Fortunately, the House passed the bill with a veto-proof majority, a whopping 322 to 96. Attention now turns to the Senate.

Why is it that President Obama seems to work so hard to give things to our enemies, while at the same time asking friends and allies like Israel to make sacrifices?

During these tough economic times when we are facing massive deficits and a competitive global economy, does President Obama really want to give away technologies that the American taxpayer paid lots of money to develop? Giving away our missile defense secrets won’t make us safer. What it will do is create a situation where we are facing an arms race with ourselves. Russia gets access to our technologies, and we are forced to spend even more money because of the need to stay ahead. Does this make sense to you? Me neither. File this under “WTF.”

~ Sarah Palin