A Problem With her Ethics

Those of you who read my blog with any frequency know that I don’t normally write about political issues.  That’s not to say I don’t care about them, I just believe strongly that everyone is entitled to their opinion and no one’s opinion is more “right” or “wrong” than another’s.  But this is an issue I feel strongly about.  Our presidential election coming up in just a few weeks now is going to be a historic one no matter which ticket wins.  If McCain and Palin win we will have the first ever female vice president in the office.  If Obama and Biden win we will have the first ever black president in office.  Either way, it’s going to be a history making election.  And there is one person up for election who’s ethics I have some issues with.  That would be Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.

Fist a legislative panel of investigators deemed her behavior in firing the Public Safety Commissioner to be an “abuse of her power.”  He allegedly was told to fire a state Trooper who had recently gone through a nasty divorce from Governor Palin’s sister and didn’t do it.  That’s the issue in a simplistic nutshell.  While the investigators stopped short of calling her behavior unethical or unlawful, they did agree it was an abuse of her power.  And agreed that her husband, Todd, was involved a bit more than he should have been in the issue.  My thought is that if she is going to abuse her power at this level, do we really want to give her even more power to abuse as the Vice President of the United States, and possible President?  I, for one, do not. 

Then there’s the issue of her spending tens of thousands of dollars on travel expenses for her daughters to accompany her on trips.  In several cases, planners of the events Governor Palin attended with her daughters have stated the daughters were not invited.  And in at least on case, it was stated that Governor Palin asked to bring her oldest daughter with her, and was told yes, but arrived at the event with all three daughters.  In one case expense reports show that her and her oldest daughter stayed in a hotel room in New York City that cost more per night than I pay for rent for a month.  Was that expensive hotel room really necessary?  Was it even necessary for her daughter to be with her and had her plane tickets paid for by the tax payers of Alaska?  I think not.  If Sarah Palin wants to take her daughters on trips with her when she must go out of town or out of the state to stay close to them as a working mother, that’s entirely her decision and I don’t disagree with that decision.  What I disagree with is her asking and expecting the tax payers to pay for her daughters plane tickets and hotel rooms on these trips.  It would be more reasonable and ethical for Governor Palin to pay for her daughters travel herself.  In one instance, Governor Palin took along all three daughters on a trip at the expense of Alaska tax payers and guess what?  That trip just happened to bring the family to the same town where her husband, Todd, was participating in a snow mobile race.  Isn’t that a nice little coincidence?  The Governor and her daughters got to watch Todd participate in this race and have their travel paid for by the tax payers.  That is unethical and unfair to the tax payers who paid for that trip.  I can only imagine what kinds of things she’ll find for the tax payers of the entire country to pay for if she becomes the next Vice President of the United States.  I sincerely hope that does not happen.  And don’t even get me started on the $150,000 that the Republican National Convention has paid out for clothing for her!

My house is clean

I’m sure some of you are thinking “Ok, so her house is clean.  So what?”  The so what it is that this is a clue that I really am feeling good.  The state of my house’s cleanliness is directly tied to my emotional health.  When I’m feeling depressed my house tends to get, how do I put this?  Well, messy.  Not disgustingly filthy, since my mother raised me better than that.  But definitely messy.  But when I’m feeling good and happy and content, my house is clean.  It’s a direct relationship I first noticed about 20 years ago.  I’m happy being near my family, very excited about spending my first holiday season with my family in three years soon, and enjoying my new job.  It’s challenging enough to keep me on my toes but enough of the same type of work I’m comfortable with that I’m settling in quickly.  I have great friends who care about me and support me.  I have a great family who also care about me and support me.  I have a career I find very fulfilling and rewarding.  I have a career that is fairly safe in these economically unstable times.  I have a place to live that I can afford and that I really enjoy and am settling into.  I’m almost done nesting and really like the results of the work my sister has done to decorate for me.  I’m just feeling like I have a great deal to be thankful for right now.  And that is making me happy and content.  This move back “home” was indeed a good move for me.