Friday, September 12, 2008

From Warm to Icy: Alaska Women's Views on Palin

NPR features an interview with a consultant who used to support Gov. Palin, before she took the national stage and started misrepresenting her record. An excerpt:

"Palin told Americans she will be an advocate for children with special needs. 'In fact,' Libenson says, 'just this summer she cut funding for Alaska's Special Olympics.' Libenson cites the governor's line-item veto trimming the Special Olympics budget by $275,000. Palin also slashed funding for statewide independent living centers and transition housing for homeless young adults, Libenson says."

Libenson also points out that in a state with one of the nation's highest substance abuse rates, the governor denied funding -- about $325,000 -- for a substance abuse education and prevention program aimed at young people. And she reduced the state's support for a Fairbanks community food bank, a dropout-prevention program, and an rehabilitation facility.

The article concludes with this:
"There is a tradition in Alaska, Libenson says, that when people see something wrong, they come right out and say it. 'When something happens, you step forward and do something,' she says, 'especially when someone is going around saying things that aren't true.' "

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