Not that I'm a Palin fan, but this "Troopergate" has me feeling sorry for her. What about this Mike Wooten character wouldn't have any family pulling every string available to get him fired as a representative of the law?

It should be enough that the guy made death threats against his ex-wife and ex-father-in-law. If that wasn't enough, Palin as governor reportedly didn't want him anywhere near her at public events. He's 40 miles of bad road: drunk on the job and off, and abusive of kids and wife. (What's just one tasering incident among family? we're asked. One too many, is my answer.) How much do you want this person to be responding to domestic violence calls? How trigger-happy do you want him to be when dealing with tense situations? Not only shouldn't this sociopath a-hole be employed as State Trooper; by the usual standards of civil libertarians, such a rogue cop/citizen should be in jail.

And as for the Trooper chief, I have not the slightest doubt that he was insubordinate in every way possible and that his dismissal was justified. The mere fact that he would come back to be a part of this phony campaign in defense of a wack-job trooper says a lot about his character. (Curiously, the legislative report didn't find Palin guilty of any wrongdoing in dismissing him.)

I would be very surprised if Troopergate was pushed by the Democrats. Instead, it's clear that Palin has plenty of enemies among the Republicans in her own state. Surely somebody remembers that former governor Frank Murkowski's friends are all these concerned legislators who authored the report. Why, then, is Salon pushing Troopergate as a progressive cause to rally behind? I have enough reasons not to like Palin. This one has me sympathizing with her.

I worked the polls on behalf of People for the American Way in 2004. Eight Mile and Dequindre, Detroit (Wayne County), Michigan. Right on the border with Macomb County, but not in it. It was suburban but not rich, and mostly African-American.

This work is a lot less exciting than it sounds. But early in the day I was told that the Republican Party observer, a white-haired white man with a smug expression, told somebody right off that he wanted to "disrupt the voting as much as possible." Then he got lost. That was a good move on his part, because the little old ladies with the election board weren't taking any guff.

The other thing we got was a letter from the Detroit Archdiocese, delivered personally by the nun and the priest of this church we were in, asking us to refrain from leafletting on the premises. I reported this later and was told is was a legitimate "incident," as the separation of church and state just doesn't apply when the church is taking money to rent out a polling place.

What struck me was the blatantness of these acts, hoping to "disrupt" voting or keep people from knowing their rights through informational flyers. Shame, shame.

Now, as for ACORN. I just want to say how howlingly funny it is that this neighborhoood canvassing outfit with lawyers attached is being called a "radical" organization. And how scary. If this is what conservatism is, it's just plain fascism.