Cut Kill Dig Drill TAB This essay presents a critical but insightful and vigorous character sketch that I think should be incorporated into the article A passage TAB TAB Having come to power saying that her agenda was to pare down Wasilla to the basic necessities the bare bones she surprised its citizens when she redecorated the mayor s office at a reported cost of 50 000 salvaged from the highways budget its new red flock wallpaper matched her bold rouge et noir taste in personal outfits Another 24 000 of city money went on a white Chevy Suburban known around Wasilla without affection as the mayormobile She hired a city administrator to deputise for her in the day to day running of Wasilla s affairs and employed a lobbyist in DC to wheedle lawmakers into meeting the town s ever expanding list of claims for congressional pork so named from the antebellum custom of rewarding slaves with barrels of salt pork That expenditure at least paid off during Palin s six year tenure as mayor the federal government doled out more than 1000 for every man woman and child in Wasilla Her pet project was a 14 7 m ice rink and sports complex which opened in 2004 It is said to be lightly used it has left the city servicing a massive debt and a Jarndyce and Jarndyce lawsuit continues over the bungled way in which Palin acquired the land on which it s built TABCut Kill Dig Drill London Review of Books Vol 30 No 19 9 October 2008 pages 7 10 Jonathan Raban 24 17 191 27 TAB This one as well Watermelon Roll More Racism from Team Sarah Preceding unsigned comment added by 24 17 191 27 I m not convinced that these commentaries would be of use to the article aren t they opinion pieces Albeit in the case of the Raban article from a respected and highly distinguished author If some of the meat was found in RSs it would be more worthy of consideration methinks Certain cuts from the joint may have already been served in one or other of the SP articles but I can t be arsed to check There s so much verbiage TAB