Sarah Palin Condemns the Associated Press

Sarah Palin posted the following note on her Facebook page (1) on Sunday, 9/6/2009 at 11:25 PM

Shame on the Associated Press for Ignoring the Wishes of a Grieving Family

Many of us join Secretary Gates in condemning the Associated Press for its heartless and selfish decision to turn its back on the wishes of a grieving family in order to exploit the tragic death of a true American hero.

Lance Corporal Joshua 'Bernie' Bernard was a selfless young American who sacrificed everything for our freedom.

Shame on the AP for purposely adding to the grieving family's pain. Ignoring the family's wishes by publishing a sacred image of their loved one proved a despicable and heartless act by the AP. The family said they didn't want the photo published. AP, you did it anyway, and you know it was an evil thing to do.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the Bernard family. Words can not adequately express our sorrow and appreciation for your sacrifice. We will never forget your Marine or his fallen comrades.

May God bless the Bernard family.

-Sarah Palin

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Less than 24 hours after posting this Sarah had received nearly 2,800 comments and had also received over 13,000 Facebook members who indicated they agreed with her.

The photo in question is part of a photo gallery on the AP site about the fire fight that resulted in Corporal Bernard's death and can be found here (2). The AP also released an article (3) explaining why they distributed the photo and how anguished they were in deciding whether to use it.

There has been considerable discussion, both pro and con,(4) of AP's decision to use the photo. In all fairness to the AP, in most other wars such photos were commonly used by the media.

In fairness to Sarah Palin and her viewpoint, both Defense Secretary Robert Gates and the parents of the Marine requested that the AP not use the photo.

Palin calls the AP's action "despicable and heartless" and "evil." If one reads the AP's explanation of why they distributed the photo, it is difficult to reach Sarah's conclusion, especially since use of such photos is common throughout much of the world.

But it is also quite likely that Palin is trying to make political hay from her condemnation of the Associated Press. Sounds like she is running for something.

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Citations:

(1) Shame on the Associated Press for Ignoring the Wishes of a Grieving Family, http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=129417598434#/note.php?note_id=129417598434&id=24718773587&ref=mf, Facebook - Sarah Palin, Retrieved 9/7/2009

(2) Death of a Marine: A Photographer's Journal, http://hosted.ap.org/specials/interactives/_international/afghan_marine/, Associated Press, Retrieved 9/7/2009

(3) AP and the Death of a Marine, http://www.ap.org/fallen_marine/, Associated Press, Retrieved 9/7/2009

(4) AP picture of wounded Marine sparks debate, http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AFGHAN_DEATH_AP_PHOTO?SITE=TNMEM&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT, Associated Press, Retrieved 9/7/2009

Sarah Palin Announces New Twitter Site, Less PC Tweets

Sarah Palin announced on her State of Alaska Twitter site on late Thursday that she intends to continue to update her fans on a new personal Twitter site that will be launched on July 26th. Plus she promises that her tweets (comments) will be less politically correct.

The natural question one wants to ask is why would she continue to update her fans if she is through with public life? Someone who intends to run for President in 2012, on the other hand, would certainly want to keep her fans informed by continuing to tweet them updates of her activities.

The exact message the governor tweeted was, "I'll stay in touch w/whomever wants via personal twtr site;launch July 26;in meantime it's pleasure to update interested folks on State biz!"

Governor Palin sent her tweet to her fans about 10:30 PM PDT Thursday night.

Palin also said in another tweet at around the same time, "elected is replaceable;Ak WILL progress! + side benefit=10 dys til less politically correct twitters fly frm my fingertps outside State site."

That tweet indicates that she may be more frank when leveling her opinions and comments in the future.

Stay tuned to see what Sarah does next.

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Sarah Palin on Larry King - Video

Sarah Palin was interviewed on the Larry King Show on Wednesday, 11/12/2008. Larry asked some pointed questions, such as: "Should you have not done the Katie Couric Interview?"

Sarah said she felt that the Couric interview did not hurt the Republican campaign.

King asked her if those knocking her from inside the McCain camp hurt her. She responded no, she does not know any individuals from the McCain camp who were knocking her. She said unknown individuals could be just about anyone, so there is no sense in even responding to those criticisms.

King asked did you want to make a concession speech? Sarah responded that she would have loved to do so and that her speech would have been to praise John McCain, American hero.

Sarah said the $150,000 worth of clothes ruckus was ridiculous. She said she did not keep the clothes, and they were returned to the Republican campaign.

Do you pledge to the people that you will serve out your term? asked Larry. She responded that she will do whatever the people of Alaska want her to do. If they want her to call an audible to serve in another capacity, then so be it.

Here are the highlights of the Sarah Palin-Larry King interview (Video may not play correctly in some versions of Firefox--CNN's fault):



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Sarah Palin Talks Failed Election, Media and John McCain - Video

Sarah Palin talks to NBC's Matt Lauer in a frank interview about the failed election campaign, the media and John McCain.

Palin discusses the leaks from the McCain staff to the media describing her as a rogue and how difficult she was to work with.

She claims that any such leaks are totally inaccurate and completely fabricated.

She also claims that her Katie Couric interview did not destroy her confidence.

She was annoyed about the question Couric asked about what newspaper she read in Alaska. Palin said she reads the same papers that everyone else in the Lower 48 read.

She skirted around a question asking if she is comfortable with Barack Obama as her commander in chief.

She also skirted around a question asking if she would run for senator from Alaska. Her answer was that she feels that she would best serve the people of Alaska as governor.

When pressed about the senator question, she answered that life is unpredictable, which leaves the door open to run for senator.

Here is video one, in which Sarah Palin discusses the media:

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The second video discusses the failed election and John McCain:



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