What's on the desk

In a picture supplied by Sarah Palin's family to the Associated Press, Palin appears with some rather odd reading matter: The magazine of the ultraconservative John Birch Society.

The picture, dating to 1995, when Palin was a member of the Wasilla City Council, ran beside a profile of Palin in Saturday's New York Times. The magazine, The New American, is sitting on top of her calendar on her desk, unopened.

The current, and then-, president of the group, John McManus, confirmed that the cover fit the description of a 1995 issue of the magazine. The headline, "Con-Con Call," refers to discussion at the time of a constitutional convention. The headline appears above a picture of then-Utah Governor Mike Leavitt, who had floated the notion as a way of returning the balance of power back toward the states. But the author warned that the convention could actually be a devious ploy aimed at increasing government power.

McManus said Palin wouldn't have had to have any connection to the society, or the journal, to have wound up with that issue on her desk.

"Any attempt to link her to the John Birch Society would be ridiculous," he said of speculation on the liberal blogs that first noticed the magazine, first noted by the photo site BAGNews.

"This photo from the early to mid 90s shows the Governor having her photo taken in front of a three ring binder of information from local citizens presented regularly to Wasilla council members by the town clerk," said Palin spokesman Michael Goldfarb. "These binders featured material given by members of the public to all council members."

"We sent thousands of copies of that newsletter out to all kinds of people trying to forestall the constitutional convention," McManus recalled. "The plan at that time was for us to send copies of that newsletter to county commissioners, mayors, state legislators, local officials."

"Our nation's best informed citizens need to voice their opposition loudly and clearly. Governors and legislators who understand the Constitution and know it is not flawed must be willing to speak out in opposition to this elaborate plan to alter it.. We must not permit the calling of a state-authorized Conference imbued with federal convention powers at this point in our history.," said the piece.

McManus said the Birch Society should get credit for stopping the convention, and said they have a similar effort underway to halt a supposed North American Union plan.