links for 2009-07-06

Fox News Seattle-based correspondent Dan Springer got an interview with Gov. Sarah Palin today in Alaska. The interview will air first tomorrow morning on America's Newsroom at 9amET. This is Palin's first TV interview since her announcement Friday that she'd be stepping down from office on July 25.

Despite the results of the 2008 presidential election, Americans, by a 2-to-1 margin, say their political views in recent years have become more conservative rather than more liberal, 39% to 18%, with 42% saying they have not changed. While independents and Democrats most often say their views haven't changed, more members of all three major partisan groups indicate that their views have shifted to the right rather than to the left.

Since Palin's stunning announcement that she is resigning her Alaskan governorship, Benway has been glued to her computer, reading everything she can about the former Republican vice presidential candidate. Yesterday afternoon, the 63-year-old retired court reporter was among the throng of online-enabled, Facebook-connected supporters who posted a comment on Palin's official fan page.

"Congratulations, Sarah, for a courageous move! You accomplished a great deal for your State in 2 1/2 years. I commend your courage in making a difficult decision. You know the East and West Coast elites will criticize, but they will no matter what. God is bigger than the MSM," Benway, of Whispering Pines, N.C., wrote on Palin's page. "There are many of us out here in Real America who see what's going on and are grateful you are speaking out. Now that you're not the Governor, the ethics b.s. can stop. I am praying for you, dear Sarah, and totally support you in whatever the future holds!""

The Obama administration poured cold water Monday on any notion it is giving Israel the green light to attack Iran or that it is reconsidering plans to engage diplomatically with the Islamic republic.

Vice President Joe Biden said in an interview broadcast Sunday that the United States would not stand in the way of Israel in its dealings with Iran's nuclear ambitions.

But State Department spokesman Ian Kelly rebuffed suggestions from reporters that Biden could be seen as giving the Jewish state a green light to attack Iran, which it views as an existential threat.
"I certainly would not want to give a green light to any kind of military action," Kelly said, repeating Biden's point that Washington considered Israel a "sovereign country" with a right to make its own military decisions.

"We're not going to dictate its actions," Kelly added.

"We're also committed to Israel's security. And we share Israel's deep concerns about Iran's nuclear program," the spokesman said.

The state's budget travails, and those of local governments, have inevitably given rise to demands that Proposition 13, the landmark property tax limit measure enacted by voters 31 years ago, be altered.

Proposition 13, those on the political left contend, is the root of all fiscal evil, leaving California's governments unable to meet the state's legitimate needs.

Recognizing that Proposition 13 remains politically popular, its critics don't demand its repeal. Rather they seek changes, such as a "split roll" that would allow taxes on commercial property to rise while leaving limits in place for residences.

If Sarah Palin’s political career ended last Friday, 10 tumultuous months after she was introduced as the Republican Party’s vice-presidential nominee, those five words will be its epitaph.

Should we really have been so surprised? Quitting things seems to be a defining trait of Sarah Palin. This, after all, is a woman who attended five colleges in as many years:…

And then there was Palin's explanation for why she abruptly ended her tenure as head of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission:…..

Reuters has run photo of a bloodied Honduran protester (below) dramatizing the bloodshed at protests for Manuel Zelaya. (h/t) Problem is, this photo appears to be staged.

Blogger Hunter Smith, who recently finished his Marine service including two tours in Iraq, flew to Honduras to cover the turmoil. Earlier today, Hunter phoned in this post:

He did see an older man in a white shirt reach down into the blood pool and cover his hands. He then wiped them on his shirt to make it look like his blood or that he had been involved. Hunter saw what he thought was an AP photographer take the man's picture. Hunter said if you see it on the web, don't believe it. It was faked.

If you look at the man in the photo, it is clear that the blood was not the result of a wound, but was wiped on his shirt, just like Hunter said. This photo was staged, although the Reuters photographer did not necessarily know it.

The healthcare reform bill that emerges from Congress this year will include a government-run public health insurance option, regardless of the bipartisan negotiations seeking a compromise in the Senate, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Sunday.

"Make no mistake about it, the president is for this strongly. There will be a public option in the final bill," Schumer said on CBS News's "Face the Nation."

The California morass has Democrats in Washington trembling. The reason is simple. If Obama’s health-care plan passes, then we may well end up paying for it with federal slips of paper worth less than California’s. Obama has bet everything on passing health care this year. The publicity surrounding the California debt fiasco almost assures his resounding defeat.

It takes years and years to make a mess as terrible as the California debacle, but the recipe is simple. All that you need is two political parties that are always willing to offer easy government solutions for every need of the voters, but never willing to make the tough decisions necessary to finance the government largess that results. Voters will occasionally change their allegiance from one party to the other, but the bacchanal will continue regardless of the names on the office doors.