"Palin was governor for 966 days, before ending her term abruptly. As of Friday, [the various media outlets'] request for public records was pending for 997 days.
At $725.97 for the latest set of documents, that price is a bargain, only 3 cents a page for the photocopying, compared with the state's first cost estimate of $15 million for search and copying costs during the 2008 campaign, when officials were flustered by the burst of attention focused on their governor. At that point Crivella West offered to do the work for the state for free. The state didn't respond to the offer, but msnbc.com teamed up with the company to plan an online archive.
Executives in the office of the current governor, Sean Parnell, Palin's former lieutenant governor, said they could not figure out how to release the electronic records in an electronic form, not after certain records had to be printed so portions could be blacked out or withheld entirely."*
Executives in the office of the current governor, Sean Parnell, Palin's former lieutenant governor, said they could not figure out how to release the electronic records in an electronic form, not after certain records had to be printed so portions could be blacked out or withheld entirely.Which sounds like bull or extreme incompetence. Either or both is possible.
"Another 2,275 pages are being withheld by the state, under exemptions in the state law regarding privacy, attorney-client privilege, executive privilege, and a deliberative privilege exempting 'work-product' discussions of public policies. These exemptions are not mandatory — the governor's office could release all of the records, but it has chosen to withhold the 2,275 pages. Many of the state employees making these decisions had worked in the Palin administration.posted by ericb at 10:24 AM on June 10, 2011 [6 favorites]
Depending on how liberally the state applies these exemptions, the documents may reveal more about the tone and character of the Palin administration than they tell about her policies. A common theme among journalists gathered in Juneau was that they expected no blockbuster news, but that it's important for the journalists to follow through on requests for public records, no matter how long it takes.
The state has taken the legal position that these executive exemptions apply even though many emails on official state business were also copied to Todd Palin, who held no state office, other than husband of the governor.
The state also is withholding '140 pages of emails that were determined to be non-records,' according to Linda Perez, administrative director in the office of Gov. Parnell, a former oil-and-gas lobbyist who has won his own term of office since completing Palin's term.
And some of the pages that will be released will have information blacked out, or redacted."*
Day 115: Restate my assumptions: One, Mathematics is the language of nature. Two, Everything around us can be represented and understood through numbers. Three: If you graph the numbers of any system, patterns emerge. Therefore, there are patterns everywhere in nature. Evidence: The cycling of disease epidemics;the wax and wane of caribou populations; sun spot cycles; the rise and fall of the Nile. So, what about the stock market? The universe of numbers that represents the global economy. Millions of hands at work, billions of minds. A vast network, screaming with life. An organism. A natural organism. My hypothesis: Within the stock market, there is a pattern as well... Right in front of me... hiding behind the numbers. Always has been. You betcha.posted by drezdn at 10:30 AM on June 10, 2011 [37 favorites]
"The Palin administration won't release hundreds of emails from her office, claiming they cover confidential policy matters. Then why do the subject lines refer to a political foe, a journalist, and non-policy topics? ... more] ..."posted by ericb at 10:34 AM on June 10, 2011 [3 favorites]
1:30 p.m. EST (David Corn): It's been known that Sarah Palin, when she was governor of Alaska, used personal accounts for state business--and that made it difficult for the state to collect her emails in response to the open records request Mother Jones submitted for her emails.posted by ericb at 10:50 AM on June 10, 2011
But as this December 2008 email showed, state officials knew that if they wanted to reach her, they had to use her personal email: [image of e-mail].
Palin resigned partway through her first term, in July 2009. Requests also have been made for Palin's final 10 months in office. State officials haven't begun reviewing those records. Sharon Leighow, the spokeswoman for Gov. Sean Parnell, said she doubted the release of those emails would come soon.
The emails released Friday were first requested during the 2008 White House race by citizens and news organizations, including The Associated Press, as they vetted a nominee whose political experience included less than one term as governor and a term as mayor of the small town of Wasilla.
"The log of documents withheld by the governor's office is online now at msnbc.com. Here's the PDF file (it's a large file with the list running to 189 pages. The number of pages of e-mails withheld is 2,275.)."*posted by ericb at 10:55 AM on June 10, 2011 [1 favorite]
"Although Palin ran for governor on a platform of openness and transparency in government, it became clear when she was running for vice president that she and her aides had moved much of their email traffic on public matters to private Yahoo accounts, presumably out of reach of the state's public records law.posted by ericb at 10:59 AM on June 10, 2011
But one half of these conversations did become public records: Journalists and citizens requested under state law any emails sent between those private Yahoo accounts and government accounts. Specifically, the records to be released include emails that went between the Yahoo accounts of Palin or her husband, Todd, and about 50 top state officials: the governor, her senior staff, her Cabinet, department heads, and some other state agencies."*
"Requests also have been made for Palin's final 10 months in office. State officials haven't begun reviewing those records. Sharon Leighow, the spokeswoman for Gov. Sean Parnell, said she doubted the release of those emails would come soon."Knowing how ignorant she is, I doubt she even had any idea of who Obama was at that time.
11:25 AT (3:25 PM): "An email from February 19, 2007, shows a meeting planned between Palin and Pete Rouse, described as 'chief of staff for a guy named Barack Obama.' At that point Obama may not have heard of Palin either."posted by ericb at 12:31 PM on June 10, 2011
What do you think the Devil is going to look like if he's around? Nobody is going to be taken in if he has a long, red, pointy tail. No. I'm semi-serious here. He will look attractive and he will be nice and helpful and he will get a job where he influences a great God-fearing nation and he will never do an evil thing... he will just bit by little bit lower standards where they are important.posted by giraffe at 12:48 PM on June 10, 2011 [3 favorites]
12:19 AT (4:19 ET): Just a note for those who enjoy tweaking President Barack Obama for using a teleprompter. (Doesn't every president or governor use a teleprompter for speeches?) On March 20, 2007, Gov. Palin's staff was setting up an interview on natural gas issues with Energy TV from Canada. Here's how the interview was set up: Her aide, Sharon Leighow, asked the questions, and the answers were posted on a teleprompter for Palin to read. Then the fake interview was uploaded by satellite to Energy TV. "You're awesome," the governor told her staff. "You're all awesome. What a day..." Here's a copy of that email. (PDF)posted by ericb at 2:34 PM on June 10, 2011 [2 favorites]
for email in * ; do a2ps $email | lpr -Pbig_printer done
10:38 p.m. EST (Tim Murphy): With rumors circulating that the governor's 18-year-old daughter, Bristol, is pregnant in early April of 2008, Governor Palin goes into full-scale Mama Grizzly mode. The rumors, she says, are "pretty pathetic"—and she knows who started them: state senate president Lyda Green and her staff: "Flippin unbelievable. Wouldn't you think they'd be afraid of being proved wrong when they rumor around the building like that?…hopefully it'll be another reason why reporters and the public can't trust that odd group of strange people." Staffer Ivy Frye shared that sentiment: "I'm callin them on the flipping carpet!"posted by drezdn at 9:11 PM on June 10, 2011 [2 favorites]
Bristol gave birth to son Tripp on December 29, 2008.
for email in * ; do a2ps $email | lpr -Pbig_printer done"
The Twitter feed of the company that put online 24,000 pages of Sarah Palin's emails for msnbc.com was hacked over the weekend, with vandals posting a series of pro-Palin and anti-Obama messages.posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 5:07 AM on June 13, 2011
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