Posted by Tana Ganeva, AlterNet at 3:25 PM on July 3, 2009.

Is Sarah Palin gearing up to run for President? Or does she have a more scandalous reason to flee office?

Sarah Palin has announced that she is resigning as Governor of Alaska. At a news conference from her house this morning, the Alaska Governor said that she will give up her post in the next few weeks.

Many observers expected Palin to announce that she was not seeking re-election — a prediction fueled by recent speculation that the Governor was preparing for 2012 Presidential bid.

But Palin’s shocking announcement seems to belie plans for a Presidential run. As Josh Marshall points out at TPM, “Generally, when you run for election to a high office it’s understood that you’ll stick around to do the job.”

The New York Times seems to think that Palin’s resignation means she is gearing up to run for President. Mitchell L. Blumenthal writes:

Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska announced Thursday that she would step down by the end of the month and not seek a second term as governor, allowing her to seek the Republican nomination for president in 2012.

But many Presidential hopefuls finish up their time in office. And Palin’s statement doesn’t seem to hint at Presidential ambitions. In fact, the Alaska Governor vaguely stated that she would do more good “outside government”, and issued some Nixonian grumblings about the press, according to a reporter at the scene to whom Palin allegedly said: “You are naive if you don’t see a full-court press on the national level, picking apart a good point guard.”

(Palin did, however, offer some suspiciously campaigny-sounding rhetoric: “I’m not wired to operate under the same old politics as usual.”)

It has also been noted that Palin faces ongoing ethics inquiries. It is estimated that the state of Alaska has spent nearly $300 thousand investigating ethics complaints against the Governor.

(On a hilarious note, if it turns out Palin is fleeing office in the face of something more egregious or scandalous, we would be averaging the loss of one GOP Presidential hopeful per week)

In a press release issued by her office, Palin asserted her commitment to ” .. fight for our state and our country, and campaign for those who believe in smaller government, free enterprise, strong national security, support for our troops, and energy independence.”

Video and transcript after the jump:

Read the rest of this entry »

 Link to this page

 Link to this page

 Link to this page

 Link to this page

By Greta Christina, AlterNet. Posted June 26, 2009.

Thinking you’re right and trying to persuade other people you’re right is not intolerant or close-minded — it’s a cornerstone of democracy.

Whenever the subject of atheism comes up, anywhere that isn’t an atheist discussion group or something, one sentiment almost inevitably comes up:

“I wish atheists wouldn’t talk so much about atheism.” Read the rest of this entry »

 Link to this page

 Link to this page

By Dara Colwell, AlterNet. Posted June 18, 2009.

Every man-made fiber we wear, sit on, cook with, drive in, are by-products of the petroleum industry — all of which could be replaced by hemp.

As the recession renews interest in the growing hemp marketplace as a potential boon for the green economy — even Fox Business News has touted it — hemp is becoming impossible to ignore. Read the rest of this entry »

 Link to this page

 Link to this page

Further protests and rioting in Iran, has the Iranian Revolutionary Guard moving in to quell the unrest.

 Link to this page

 Link to this page

Liberty Abyss

Iranians want what most people want more freedoms, they did not get them in this election. Is there another Revolution in the air?

 Link to this page

 Link to this page

Liberty Abyss

America lags behind much of the western world when it comes to the state of our health care system. We are supposed to be the leaders of the free world, yet in one of the most basic arenas we are severely deficient.

If we were to have real reform, the “public option” would not be what we should be pushing for, why should we fight for this compromise? The America people have been compromised for far too long when it comes to our health care system and it is time to demand changes from our President and Congress. Read the rest of this entry »

 Link to this page

 Link to this page

Today is Memorial Day, a day to remember all the men and women who served, who fought and who died for our country. Those brave souls who defend our freedom, our rights, and our way of life. Read the rest of this entry »

 Link to this page

 Link to this page

Liberty Abyss

It is no large surprise that most hard line anti-gay GOP representatives are in fact closeted gays. It is a sad fact, that they have so much self-loathing that they have to take it out on others.

I new independent documentary “Outrage” again outs the Florida Governor who is planning to run for the Senate in 2010.

See the Raw Story post.

 Link to this page

 Link to this page