Palin: Against Skin Cancer Before She Was For It

We were all delighted recently to read that the self-described "hockey mom," Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, had a tanning bed, reportedly bought used from a health club, installed in the governor's mansion shortly after she took office in early 2007. We learned that Governor Earmark paid for this luxury out of her own funds, though little or no mention has been made of parts, who installed the tanning bed (and on whose time), the cost of the energy used, or the expense of maintenance.

Still, the most interesting aspect might be Governor Earmark's proclamation on 5-5-07 of May, 2007 as "Skin Cancer Awareness Month." Skin cancer, she lectures, "is caused, overwhelmingly, by over-exposure to ultraviolet radiation from the sun and from tanning beds. It is largely preventable." Good news, then, with a Vice-President Palin waiting in the wings, that John McCain commonly sports sunscreen, a hat, and a long-sleeved shirt.