Palin Rumors: Part 2

Charlie Martin has moved his Palin Rumors debunking to a new home and begun updating and adding to the list. I'll continue my practice of fisking his debunking as long as he keeps adding to the collection. Here are the next few on the list:

72. No, she didn’t try to charge rape victimsd personally for rape kits. This is one of those complicated ones with a tiny hint of truth behind it. First, the Cheif of Police in Wasilla did apparently have a policy of asking a victim’s health insurnace to pay for the rape kit as part of the ER visit. This, it turns out, is policy in a number of states, including Missouri and North Carolina. Second, the way this became an issue was after the then-governor of Alaska signed a bill forbidding it; this law was signed before Palin was Governor and no one tried to reverse it while she was Governor. Third, what the CoP in Wasilla wanted to do was charge the perpetrator as part of restitution.

I wrote extensively on this one already, here. Again Charlie hamstrings my attempt to do a thorough follow up by not citing his sources. Did someone really say she tried to reverse the Croft bill outlawing the practice or is he just being sarcastic? I'll probably never know. In any case, his attempt to justify her practice is bogus. First, who care if other states bill the victims? If they jumped off a cliff.... It's still wrong. Second, Chief Fannon's claim about wanting to bill the criminals is a weak effort at damage control at best. The rape kit is an investigative tool. Does Fannon bill the victims of shootings for ballistic work? Does he bill the victims of burglary for fingerprint work (if any is done)? In no other crime is the victim charged for the investigation. If the courts want to charge the criminal restitution for the costs to the police, nothing is stopping them. Fallon's action singles out the victims of this one crime for special--and cruel--treatment.

Two things about the crime of rape make the victims stand apart from the victims of other crimes. They are almost entirely women and they can become pregnant as a result of the crime. The rape examination can, but doesn't necessarily, include a morning after pill to stop a potential pregnancy. And, like any medical procedure during pregnancy, the exam has a slight risk of causing a miscarriage. Palin is an anti-abortion extremist; she opposes abortion even for rape and/or incest. Early in her political career she was active in picketing and driving away the only abortion provider in the Susitna valley. Many anti-abortion zealots oppose morning after contraception and encourage pharmacists not to carry it. Finally, the practice of billing the victims was introduced into Wasilla by Palin's hand chosen police chief and was not practiced by the chief she fired.

73. Yes, she did say that she figured if "under God" was good enough for the Founding Fathers, it was good enough for her. No, in context I don’t think that means she thinks the Founding Fathers wrote the Pledge of Allegiance.

In context, I don't see how it can mean anything else. Since Charlie doesn't actually link to the context, I will. You can make up your own mind whether Charlie or I are correct. Note: Eagle Forum, the Phylis Schafly group that originally polled her on this has taken the poll results offline. This copy is from the Anchorage Daily News. There are dozens of other copies of the poll out there. Eagle Forum isn't very internet savvy.

Part 1 of my fisking is here.