VIDEO: Palin defends group that wants to "convert gays into heterosexuals"

By GottaLaff


I wonder at what age Grandma Also chose to become hetero:

In September, an insert in the bulletin of the Wasilla Bible Church — where Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has worshipped for about six years — promoted an upcoming Love Won Out conference that sought to “convert gays into heterosexuals through the power of prayer.” In an interview with Fox News’ Greta Van Susteren last night about suspected arson at the church, Palin defended the promotion of the event, claiming that “people looked at that and wanted to spin that into something that it was not". [...]

Asked if gay men and women were “welcome” at her church, Palin responded by using nearly the same language she used to describe Love Won Out’s efforts to “help” gay people. The church is “quite open in terms of welcoming people into the church and assisting anyone who desires assistance or counseling or help,” said Palin.

Love Won Out denies that it aims to “cure” homosexuality, despite the fact that it claims “same-sex attractions can be overcome.”

Wrong.

But in reality, all major mainstream medical and mental health professional organizations have concluded otherwise.

Grandma Palin, go away. You are becoming an anachronism.

Sarah Palin apologizes for church fire, but ignores Palin-induced death threats to Obama

By GottaLaff

Previously, I posted an Alaskan blogger's suggestion that Also Palin used the Wasilla Bible Church fire to her advantage by gratuitously grabbing the spotlight. Now we have another Alaskan blogger who takes it a step further.

Via Mudflats:

Never one to pass up the opportunity for national media attention, Sarah Palin called in to smitten Greta Van Susteren of Fox News, to talk about the arson committed at the Wasilla church she attends.

“I’ll leave it to the pastor to speak to,” Palin says in the FOX interview. “I apologized to the assistant pastor letting him know that if there’s anything that I’ve done to draw negative attention to the church.”

This was a dangerous fire, she notes.

She apologized to the pastor just in case anything that she said during her campaign had brought negative attention to the church. Just in case something she might have said, had stirred up some crazy person with that much hatred. Just on the off chance that some whacko got all riled up and did something violent. Her apology was also noted in the Anchorage Daily News. [...]

Now, mind you, she doesn’t know for sure that it was anything she said. But, she decided to apologize in CASE she had anything to do with it. [...]

The date is November 10, 2008, one long month ago.

Sarah Palin’s attacks on Barack Obama’s patriotism provoked a spike in death threats against the future president, Secret Service agents revealed during the final weeks of the campaign. The attacks provoked a near lynch mob atmosphere at her rallies, with supporters yelling “terrorist” and “kill him” until the McCain campaign ordered her to tone down the rhetoric.

But it has now emerged that her demagogic tone may have unintentionally encouraged white supremacists to go even further.

The Secret Service warned the Obama family in mid October that they had seen a dramatic increase in the number of threats against the Democratic candidate, coinciding with Mrs Palin’s attacks. [...]

So, here’s a situation where she KNOWS her behavior had a direct, causal relationship with death threats to the now future president. People threatened to assassinate Barack Obama because of Sarah Palin, and this information comes directly from the Secret Service. It’s not a question of IF she said something. She did. It’s not a question of “gee, just on the off chance I said anything I shouldn’t have”. She DID say something, and it DID cause bad things to happen.

And here for your reading enjoyment is Sarah Palin’s heartfelt apology to the Obama family:

::crickets::

Priorities.

Hm. Where's all that "genuine folksy" compassion now?

Accelerant poured around Palin's church

By GottaLaff

Photo by STEPHEN NOWERS / Anchorage Daily News

This wasn't about faulty wiring. Somebody wanted that place burned to the ground, per the Feds:

Whoever torched Gov. Sarah Palin's home church tried to start fires in several places around the building, the federal agency assisting in the investigation said today.

Accelerants were found in multiple locations on the outside of Wasilla Bible Church, including around entrances and exits, according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

So far, nobody's speculating on motive. But it was awfully selfless of Also Palin to pre-emptively apologize for the cameras, wasn't it? What a gal.

Take 2: Arson at Wasilla Bible Church means more media for the Governor?

By GottaLaff

Celtic Diva, an Alaskan blogger, has an interesting analysis of the media coverage, including Also (formerly IWRC*) Palin's statement, of that church fire in Wasilla:

It was a terrible crime and I'm grateful that no one was hurt. However, I have to question not only some of the reporting, but the Governor's leading statement on the sad event.

In both yesterday's version of the story and today's, Wesley Loy (the reporter) identifies Wasilla Bible Church as "Gov. Palin's home church" in the first line of the first paragraph--the headline even states it as such.

In Journalism 101, I learned that in any newspaper story, the most important facts should be in the beginning, with the less important information following after. Yet, the fact that there were people in the church when the fire was set only made it to paragraph three.

[...] Does he know something the authorities don't know--that the Governor is definitely linked to this? Or is he just contributing to her media hype?

Despite that there is absolutely no evidence yet that there was any connection, the Governor seemed to jump on the opportunity to link herself to this tragedy:

Gov. Palin stopped by the church this morning, and she told an assistant pastor that she apologizes if the incident is in any way connected to the undeserved negative attention the church has received since she became a vice-presidential candidate on Aug. 29. Whatever the motives of the arsonist, the governor has faith in the scriptural passage that what was intended for evil will in some way be used for good.

The "facts" here are that they have no idea who did this or why. There are hundreds of people besides Palin who go to that church, thus hundreds of other potential possibilities for this arson...not to mention the possibilities that may have nothing to do with the congregation. Also, as Phil mentioned on Progressive Alaska, there are a number of motives for arson. In the article I referenced, it breaks them down into 10 categories...listing "Vandalism" first.

This brings me to a rather important "fact"; according to national FBI statistics on arson from 2007, the vast majority of arsons of community/public buildings (the categories where churches fit) are committed by suspects under 18 [...]

Percent of cases solved where perpetrators are under 18: 70.4

That's 70.4% of all solved arsons on community/public buildings in the country. Alaska, especially Anchorage and Mat Su, is well known for vandalism, especially when the vandals are underage.

I can also imagine vastly different motives for an arson than some kind of statement against Sarah Palin if the arsonist is under 18. [...]

[T]he truly negative attention went to her previous church...the one that she still occasionally attended despite her claim that she had switched churches...the Wasilla Assembly of God. [...]

Supposedly, she was no longer a member of this church and had switched to Wasilla Bible Church in 2002.

The other negative story on her that she discussed in the second video was regarding her "blessing" by the "witch hunter."

So the "negative attention" on Wasilla Bible Church was slim, while the "negative attention" on Wasilla Assembly of God was extensive. [...]

The point: no one knows anything yet about this crime, accept that the perpetrator(s) must be brought to justice. Assumptions can only make that job harder.

*In What Respect, Charlie?

Arson suspected in fire at Palin's church

Bad juju. Even worse that there were people inside at the time.

(CNN) — A "suspicious" fire devastated the church attended by Alaska Gov. and former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin on Friday night in her hometown of Wasilla, the church's minister said.

"We have no idea what caused it," the Rev. Larry Kroon of the Wasilla Bible Church said Saturday, adding that investigators were considering arson and other possible causes.

A ladies' craft group was in the building when the fire broke out, but they got out safely, Kroon said.