Hi Barbara,
Thanks for posting a link to my petition. I really appreciate the help. I did want to clear up one thing about your story as posted. I created the petition before I saw Professor Miller's lecture on You Tube. I came to realize many of the claims he makes through my own experiences. I was a graduate student in philosophy at Florida State University during the 2000 election and I paid close attention to what was going on just half a mile up the street. I showed up at the end of each day to hear what the Florida Supreme Court was up to. I know exactly what Katherine Harris did. I was there, I saw it. I saw the votes roll down Apalachee Parkway with my own two eyes.
I am very moderate and I am registered as an independent voter. My bachelor's degree is from the University of Mississippi and most of my family lives in the Memphis area. I never considered myself radical or much of an activist. I supported Hillary in the primaries.
When Governor Palin was nominated as the Republican Vice-Presidential candidate, I was curious about her. I watched the Couric interviews and was stunned. Then I heard that she was being 'held back' and we would see how qualified she really is during the debate. I watched the debate and saw her fail miserably. She refused to answer questions or engage in dialogue with Senator Biden.
I saw on MSNBC and CNN that the American public overwhelmingly thought Biden won. Then I flipped over to FOX and saw that they were telling their viewers a completely different story.
This is when I realized what I would later see Professor Miller talk about when he said that the nomination of Palin was not about 'winning' votes, it was about 'creating a narrative' that would allow the American public to believe that somehow McCain pulled off a victory even though he is so far behind in the polls. I still see FOX consistently reporting that the election is closer than the polls really indicate.
After the debate, I was still wondering what Governor Palin's qualifications were. I thought about how I was interviewed as a job candidate. The emphasis was on experience and education. As an educator, I thought, ok, let's see her GPA. By law, this is something that she would have to release and she hasn't. That's why I created the petition. I wanted to draw people's attention to the fact that we know nothing about this woman and she refuses to answer questions about her qualifications. I realized, though, that it wouldn't make much of a difference.
So I typed into Google, "What if the 2008 election is stolen?" That's when I found Professor Miller's lecture. As I watched it, I saw him making arguments for claims I had come to realize and providing evidence for them. It sent chills up my spine. I know he is right, and when I say 'know', I mean from experience.
Professor Miller's commentary on the media and our freedom of speech has inspired me to go a little further than the petition. That is why I am announcing the following:
WIN A FREE WEEKEND IN MIAMI BEACH
The first US citizen, age 18 or older, who can legally obtain the answers (‘no comment’ doesn’t count) to my questions from Alaska Governor Sarah Palin on camera before November 1, 2008, will win a Weekend in Miami Beach.
I will pay $300 towards your transportation to Miami, provide you with oceanside accommodations, and my friends and I will take you out for a night of fun at the famous clubs on South Beach.
Here are my questions:
1. Governor Palin, how has your bachelor’s degree in journalism and communications prepared you for the Vice-Presidency and possibly the Presidency?
2. Governor Palin, define the term ‘maverick’ and explain how it operates as a governing ideology.
3. Governor Palin, what justification can you provide for your claim that Article 1 of the United States Constitution is flexible enough to allow the Vice-President to preside over the Senate in such a way that would allow the legislative branch to be more cooperative with the executive branch?
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