Sarah Palin is trying yet another nasty tactic as an unabashed political animal. She's fallen back into the culture wars on abortion and tried to walk the tight rope of not seeming mean while distorting Obama's record. Most insidious is her lack of concern for the unborn in Alaska where the hightest rates of children born with disabilities exist in the country.
On a day when an important civil rights figure condemned the tone of the McCain campaign, Palin seemed to acknowledge the nastiness. After chastising Obama for "unconditional support for unlimited abortions," she said at a rally in this heavily Catholic, socially conservative Democratic stronghold that "Americans need to see his record for what it is. And please: It is not negative, it is not mean-spirited, to talk to about his record."
This may seem like a winning tactic to play to her base. However, the article, Northern Exposure , in the New Atlantic exposes the fact that her concern is limited to abortion or she would not have been counterproductive in every effort to clean up the toxic stews in Alaska.
See below the fold. It is shocking!
http://www.tnr.com/...
First of all, Alaska has very real public health problems as a result of pollution and that disproportionately affects the Innuit people.
And Alaska is vulnerable to some of the worst environmental pollutants out there. In a state whose wealth depends on the exploitation of its natural resources, the toxic byproducts of mining and energy development, such as arsenic, mercury, and lead, are particular problems. Alaska Natives, such as the Inuit people, eat a diet that is heavy in fish, seals, and whales--animals that are high on the food chain and therefore more likely to be contaminated with high doses of PCBs and mercury. And the state is vulnerable not only to homegrown pollution, but also to industrial pollution: Trace gases and tiny airborne particles are contaminating the polar regions, carried there on atmospheric and oceanic currents, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Alaska has the highest number of birth defects rate in the country! If you were the governor wouldn't you be all over this? Rather she concentrates on anti-abortion rhetoric and personal responsibility!
Unfortunately, as governor of a state with a birth-defect rate that's twice the national average, and which has the gloomy status as repository of toxic chemicals from around the world, Palin has pursued environmental policies that seem perfectly crafted to swell the ranks of special-needs kids. It's true that Alaska's top leaders have placed industry wishes over environmental protection for years. But, instead of correcting this problem, she's compounded it. Peer into her environmental record, and Palin ends up looking a lot like George W. Bush.
The environmental affects on that north slope, up there, where the First Dude works should have everybody's attention in the whole country!
The mess of pollutants in Alaska has clearly taken its toll. In general, the state has double the national average of birth defects. While the causes are unknown, environmentalists point to the region that includes the North Slope, an area slightly larger than Minnesota, where most of Alaska's oil is produced. The byproducts of oil production can cause serious nervous system disorders, and the North Slope and its environs, home to Alaska Natives and itinerant oil workers, has the highest prevalence of birth defects in the state--11 percent--compared with 6 percent statewide and 3 percent nationwide.
Sarah has failed to protect the the "good people" of Alaska in cleaning up military sites and water; while certainly not protecting children(before or after birth).
According to Pamela Miller, ACAT's executive director, Palin should have used her powers as governor to forge a better cleanup plan. "Certainly this was also a pattern in the Murkowski administration, but, under Palin, it's gotten worse," she said. "Her administration has done nothing to work with the military to avoid possible contamination." Scientists have also opposed the Army's plan, saying it will leave the area dangerous.
"Palin's Department of Environmental Conservation issued that certification [based on] the long-discounted notion that 'dilution is the solution to pollution'--turning the federal Clean Water Act on its head and actually increasing toxic pollution," Shavelson says.
Palin, however, has not addressed these concerns. Her administration irked environmentalists in February 2008, when it opposed legislation that would have given parents at least 48 hours' notice before schools were to be sprayed with pesticides and other toxic chemicals.
Palin chooses prayer and personal responsiblity and demonization of science to deal with the serious issue of having a state with the highest rate of birth defects in the county. I pray that we are spared any more such horrific leaders! She should be challenged about her disasterous policies every time she claims she is the stronger candidate in protecting the unborn. What are her views on assuring healthcare is provided to people who have serious issues due to no fault of their own? She isn't protecting anything but her political career.
Supporters note that Palin did boost school spending for children with the most severe disabilities, but, in general, the Alaskan government under Palin has done nothing to protect those children and future generations from the toxic stew that the state has become. "She doesn't have a good understanding of the science," says Ruth Etzel, who until recently was research director at the Alaska Native Medical Program in Anchorage. "What she tends to do is talk about personal responsibility as the key to good health."