This blog will recount only facts, no opinions. It will provide links to Sarah Palin's activities on a daily basis, and the news reports on those activities. As the Presidential race heats up, the activies of all Presidential candidates will also be detailed here.

Saturday, April 30, 2011

TheSPOrg: Mean And Petty Sarah Palin Rips Katie Couric

This is an editorial.

The final line, about sarcasm, is interesting...as if Democrats don't indulge in sarcasm all the time!

TheSOP.org: Mean And Petty Sarah Palin Rips Katie Couric
"After five years at the helm of the ratings-challenged CBS Evening News, Couric is stepping down. Fox News Host Greta Van Susteren asked Palin about Couric`s exit on Tuesday.

"Yeah, I think I read that in a newspaper, one of the many newspapers that I read online," said Palin, apparently referencing the 2008 interview, in which she seemed unable to name a single publication she reads regularly.


She then mocked Couric, who recently told People Magazine that she`s looking to do more `multi-dimensional storytelling.`

`Yes, and I hear that she wants to now engage in more multi-dimensional storytelling, versus, I guess, just the straight-on read into that teleprompter screen storytelling,` Palin said. "So, more power to her. I wish her well with her multi-dimensional storytelling."

NYDailyNews.Com

Greta served Palin a golden opportunity to appear gracious, instead the former beauty queen waxed petty and vindictive. Palin should have replied: Greta, I wish Katie good luck in all her future endeavors.

Couric`s 2008 interview with the reality show star wasn`t an example of "gotcha journalism". Couric was deferential and polite throughout the interview, it`s not the reporter`s fault if Palin is unable to answer any questions that require a modicum of intelligence and knowledge.

Palin implied that Couric can`t think without a teleprompter -- this from a woman who writes the talking points of her speech on the palm of her hand. The former governor of Alaska is a cardboard cut-out compared to the multi-dimensional Couric.

Sarcasm is unbecoming to a presidential hopeful, but it`s what we expect from a reality star or a Fox News commentator.

Sarah Palin to speak at California college's arena opening

SunHerald.com: Sarah Palin to speak at California college's arena opening

The new Golden Eagle Arena at West Hills College in Lemoore wanted to make its first event a headline-grabbing affair. So they invited Sarah Palin to speak.

Palin, the former Alaska governor and 2008 Republican vice presidential candidate, will speak Sunday afternoon to more than 1,400 ticket holders and appear at a nearly sold-out dinner afterward at the arena.

The event is sponsored by the West Hills College Foundation, which said it is paying $115,000 to have her appear.

The $24 million arena at the 10-year-old campus has been a center of activity this week as workers finish painting walls and set up tables and chairs.

Interest in Palin's speech has been brisk -- and some students said they hope her appearance will raise the college's profile.

"It's pretty cool -- it's going to be big," said student Isavel Vega, 20. "I think it's going to attract more people to the college."

Another student, Lawrence Brieno, 20, said many on campus are excited.

"They're excited to see her from a political point of view," he said. Palin's "coming to a little small town of Lemoore. It's someone big and known."

People are coming Sunday from all over, including an avid Palin follower from Indiana, according to the college.

Palin, though, is often a lightning rod of controversy, and her appearance at West Hills is expected to draw protesters.

Student Dolores Wesson, 42, said she is organizing a peaceful protest at 4 p.m. Sunday, one hour before Palin's speech.

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Palin: Media should give Donald Trump credit

Palin: Media should give Donald Trump credit

Donald Trump is "very proud" of himself. Sarah Palin says the news media should give The Donald credit. And House Speaker John Boehner and the Republican National Committee are basically saying it's time to get back to work.

These are some of the reactions today to President Obama's extraordinary decision to release the long form of his birth certificate that shows that he was born in Hawaii. We have full coverage in The Oval.

Sarah Palin says the news media should not be distracted by President Obama's release of his birth certificate.

Palin, the 2008 GOP vice presidential nominee, took to Twitter and asked reporters to pay attention to what Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke has to say today in his unprecedented news conference. She tweeted:

Media: admit it, Trump forced the issue. Now, don't let the WH distract you w/the birth crt from what Bernanke says today. Stay focused, eh?

RNC Chairman Reince Priebus issued a statement repeating his view -- also shared by Obama -- that the subject of the president's birth certificate shouldn't be the topic of the moment.

As I've said repeatedly, this issue is a distraction. Our economy is strained from out of control deficits, debt and unsustainable entitlements. The president ought to spend his time getting serious about repairing our economy, working with Republicans and focusing on the long-term sustainability of Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. Unfortunately, campaign politics and talk about birth certificates is distracting him from our No. 1 priority – our economy.

Boehner's spokesman Michael Steel said the speaker's view is "this has long been a settled issue. The speaker's focus is on cutting spending, lowering gas prices and creating American jobs."

CNN's Political Ticker reports there has been some gallows humor out there on Twitter as well. Former George W. Bush spokesman Tony Fratto tweeted: "So the President is playing his Trump card."

Sarah Palin on Katie Couric's CBS exit: 'I read that in a newspaper'

Los Angeles Times: Show Tracker - Sarah Palin on Katie Couric's CBS exit: 'I read that in a newspaper'
Katie Couric, you can rest assured: Sarah Palin is still reading newspapers!

The former vice presidential candidate, and Fox News contributor, appeared Wednesday in a segment of "On the Record With Greta Van Susteren" and mockingly sent well wishes to the retiring evening news anchor. Couric announced Tuesday she was leaving "CBS Evening News" to focus on more "multidimensional storytelling."

"I think I read that in a newspaper, one of many newspapers that I read online," Palin said. "Yes, and I hear that she wants to now engage in more multidimensional storytelling versus, I guess, just the straight-on read into that teleprompter screen storytelling. So more power to her. I wish her well with her multidimensional storytelling."

You'll recall, prior to the 2008 presidential election, Couric conducted a series of interviews with Palin, including one notorious question about which specific newspapers she read daily.

Show Trackers, what do you think of Palin's adieu to Couric?

If you want to check it out for yourself, forward to around minute 15.

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Sarah Palin tells Obama to stop gallivanting and start explaining U.S. role in Libya

Los Angeles Times: Top of the Ticket (political commentary from Andrew Malcom): Sarah Palin tells Obama to stop gallivanting and start explaining U.S. role in Libya
Sarah Palin took to Facebook on Tuesday to ask President Obama to explain his plan in Libya.

Apologizing "if I can’t keep up with the timing and rationale of your murky foreign policy positions," the former governor demanded that Obama come clean on whether the mission is to oust longtime leader Moammar Kadafi or not.

"If Kadafi's’s got to go, then tell NATO our continued participation hinges on this: We strike hard and Kadafi will be gone," the hockey mom wrote.

"If, as you and your spokesmen suggest, we’re not to tell Libya what to do when it comes to that country’s leadership, and if you can’t explain to Americans why we’re willing to protect Libyan resources and civilians but not Syria’s, Yemen’s, Bahrain’s, Egypt’s, Israel’s, etc., then there is no justification for U.S. human and fiscal resources to be spent," Palin argued.

Perhaps peeved about yesterday's news that Levi Johnston, the father of her grandson Trig, is scheduled to release a tell-all book about her family, Palin took it out on Obama and his recent fundraising around the nation.

"It’s unbelievable to me that you spent last week in campaign mode, gallivanting around the country to start raising the billion dollars for your reelection bid that is still 19 months away 'while Rome burns,'" the Fox News contributor said.

"I know, I know, granted you will be even busier very soon," Palin wrote. "After all, golf season kicks into high gear shortly. NBA and NHL brackets await."

The president recently spoke with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the pair agreed that Kadafi should leave Libya.

"The leaders agreed that attacks against civilians must stop and that Kadafi must step down and depart Libya permanently in order for there to be a lasting solution that reflects the will of the Libyan people," the White House said Monday.

Monday, April 25, 2011

Politico profiles 'Anti-Palin movement'

Alaska Dispatch: Politico profiles 'Anti-Palin movement'
Politico has posted a long profile of several main "gadflies, bloggers, and authors" who have been conducting a campaign to discredit former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as a political figure. Politico's paraphrase of their self-declared goal: "the absolute and complete exposure of Palin as a fraud unworthy of a role in American civic life." The names in the profile will be familiar to people who follow Palin news, and include Alaska bloggers Sherry Whitstine, Jeanne Devon, Shannyn Moore, and Jesse Griffin, as well as European blogger "Patrick," and authors Joe McGinniss, Geoffrey Dunn, and former Palin insider Frank Bailey.

Here's the Politico article:

She is a promiscuous, petty and unintelligent, yet deviously conniving warmonger intent on capturing the Oval Office and, from there, the world.

Those are just some of the opinions about Sarah Palin held by members of a small but extremely active network of gadflies, bloggers and authors who have devoted much of the last 2½ years to proving their case to American voters.

This self-styled anti-Palin movement — whose members span the globe and are mostly but not exclusively liberals — has been behind some embarrassing revelations about the former Alaska governor, her family and allies. But some of their leading theories have been thoroughly discredited and earned them widespread criticism. (See: 'Mama Grizzly' Sarah Palin back on the prowl)

Yet that only seems to have hardened a commitment to accomplishing what they profess to be their ultimate goal: the absolute and complete exposure of Palin as a fraud unworthy of a role in American civic life. And now, with Palin edging back into the political spotlight in the face of flagging poll numbers, they believe that they are closer than ever to achieving it. (See: Poll: The incredible shrinking Sarah Palin)

A number of forthcoming books promise to delve deeply into — and, they believe, give mainstream credibility to — some of the more salacious Palin rumors and conspiracy theories that have sprouted in the anti-Palin blogosphere and on supermarket tabloid stands but have mostly been rejected by the mainstream media.

“We’re at a tipping point, where her character and her lack of ethics will be revealed on the national stage,” asserted Sherry Whitstine, a 49-year-old grandmother who lives in Palin’s hometown of Wasilla, Alaska, and has infuriated her famous neighbors with blog posts and online comments accusing Palin of being unfaithful in her marriage and corrupt in her political career. (See: Troopergate report: Palin abused authority)

“Some things are just going to come to light that they just won’t be able to shake, and I have faith in that. It has already started, but these books will add to it,” she said.

The Palin camp has dismissed these critics as inconsequential ankle-biters but also has occasionally lashed out against the stories and rumors they have circulated. While the latter approach has engendered sympathy among her supporters, it’s also helped enable some of the rumors to break through into the “lamestream” media Palin so despises. (See: Sarah Palin trashes 'lamestream media')

Nonetheless, a source close to Palin downplayed the impact of the relentless scrutiny, telling POLITICO, “There are many things that are said on the Web about Gov. Palin that make it into the public domain. Many are so laughable, they don’t require a response.”

Their forbearance likely will be tested next month, when two major publishers will release books that have the anti-Palin movement buzzing.

St. Martin’s Press has scheduled a May 10 release of “The Lies of Sarah Palin: The Untold Story Behind Her Relentless Quest for Power,” by Santa Cruz, Calif.-based author and documentarian Geoffrey Dunn, who has joked that he might need three or four volumes to adequately cover the subject matter suggested in the title.

He told POLITICO he decided to write the book after hearing stories from Alaskans about Palin’s “childhood through her governorship that were troubling to me.” He said his goal is to frame Palin’s career in the contexts of both an Alaska political scene “plagued by a culture of corruption” and also in “the larger tradition of American political populism and demagoguery.”

A couple of weeks later, a Simon & Schuster imprint is set to offer a tell-all memoir by Frank Bailey, a disgruntled former top aide to Palin, using her personal emails to paint an ugly portrait of her as a vindictive and vain dilettante obsessed with her public image, who allegedly broke election laws and targeted a state trooper by leaking damaging information. (See: Former Sarah Palin aide's tell-all coming to bookstores near you)

Then, in September, Crown will release “The Rogue: Searching for the Real Sarah Palin,” by journalist and author Joe McGinniss, whose decision to rent the house next door in Wasilla last summer prompted Palin to warn him to “leave my kids alone.”

There's 3 more pages of this article at Mission for anti-Palin movement: Expose her

TRENDING: Palins to face Levi Johnston tell-all

CNN Politics Political Ticker: TRENDING: Palins to face Levi Johnston tell-all
Washington (CNN) – Bristol Palin's baby-daddy, Levi Johnson, wrote a book to be published this fall that will set the "record straight" about his relationship with the Palins.

"I want to tell the truth about my close relationship with the Palins, my sense of Sarah, and my perplexing fall from grace – how I feel and what I've learned," Johnston said in a statement. "I'm doing this for me, for my boy Tripp and for the country."

Johnston, the former long-time boyfriend of former Republican Alaska Governor Sarah Palin's daughter Bristol, has publically feuded with the Palins. Bristol recently moved to Arizona with their son.

Touchstone, an imprint of Simon and Schuster will publish "Deer in the Headlights: My Life in Sarah Palin's Crosshairs" in the fall, according to a press release from the publishers. They are billing it as a coming of age story.

"This is a sweet and funny book with a touch of irony; a fascinating tale of a misunderstood boy figuring out how to be a man and a father after being thrust into the spotlight and subsequent media circus at a very young and vulnerable age," Vice President and Publisher of Touchstone Stacy Creamer said in a statement. "Levi has seen the Palin family up close and personal and is ready to tell his story."

Friday, April 22, 2011

Loses Advertisers After Making Tasteless Trig Palin Joke

Business Insider: Wonkette Loses Advertisers After Making Tasteless Trig Palin Joke

“Oh little boy, what are you dreaming about? What’s he dreaming about? Nothing. He’s retarded."

Yeah, maybe not the tact you want to take when writing about Sarah Palin's son, Trig, who has Downs' Syndrome.

Except that is what Wonkette's Jack Stuef wrote in a widely lambasted post on Monday in which he pretended to celebrate Trig's birthday.

Wonkette's advertisers including Papa Johns, Huggies, Toyota and at least six others dropped their campaigns after five days of controversy.

The item has been removed, an action which came after the author added a note apologizing for the offensive language.

"A post on this page satirizing Sarah Palin using her baby as a political prop was very badly done and sounded like the author was mocking the child and not just Sarah Palin/Sarah Palin’s followers," reads an editor's note.

The writer, Jack Stuef, has apologized for it. And we have decided to remove the post as requested by some people who have nothing to do with Sarah Palin, but who do have an interest in the cause of special needs children. We apologize for the poor comedic judgment."

In the annals of "writers losing advertising for their companies," Stuef's post will not cost Wonkette as much as the $1 million Foster Kramer reportedly cost the Village Voice. It was, however, more avoidable. And the loss of venue is potentially much more dangerous for a smaller publication such as Wonkette.

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Former Sarah Palin Aide To Publish Memoir in May


GalleyCat: Former Sarah Palin Aide To Publish Memoir in May
Former Sarah Palin aide Frank Bailey has landed a deal with Simon & Schuster’s Howard Books. His memoir, Blind Allegiance to Sarah Palin, will be released on May 24th.

Bailey became close to former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin during her gubernatorial campaign; he remained in her inner circle during John McCain‘s presidential race. He co-wrote the memoir along with author Ken Morris and Mudflats blogger Jeanne Devon. On her site, Devon revealed that the three writers spent two years on this project.

Bailey had this statement in the press release: “I write because I am convinced that Sarah’s priorities and personality are not only ill-suited to head a political party or occupy national office, but would lead to a disaster of, well, biblical proportions.”

Publisher Jonathan Merkh and senior editor Philis Boultinghouse negotiated the deal with Carol Mann Agency CEO Carol Mann. Boultinghouse will edit the manuscript. The contract includes world English rights.

The The New York Times speculated that the publication date was chosen to avoid directly competing with journalist Joe McGinniss‘s book about Palin. Random House’s Crown Publishing Group plans to release that title in the fall.

Back in February, Bailey’s manuscript was leaked on the Internet. The Anchorage Daily News pointed out that McGinniss helped to circulate and encourage internet users’ access to the leaked content.

Monday, April 18, 2011

Did Sarah Palin deliver her presidential stump speech in Madison?

Alaska Dispatch: Palin Watch: Did Sarah Palin deliver her presidential stump speech in Madison?
Sarah Palin gave her most robust and perhaps telling speech yet on a snowy Saturday in Madison, Wis. Speaking to a tea party gathering of anywhere between 6,000 and 9,000 -- not all of whom were supporters -- Palin spoke in support of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s recent battle with unions in the state. She spoke glowingly of Rep. Paul Ryan’s budget plan, a plan that would basically abolish government-run Medicare and Medicaid.

Palin derided the GOP "establishment" and accused them of simply rearranging "the deck chairs on a sinking Titanic." And in a line that will surely be repeated, she used the Wisconsin women's hockey team as an example of the way the GOP needs to learn to fight: "Like a girl."

But the real fire in the speech was saved for attacking President Obama. And attack she did. Palin is never one to shy from a good tongue lashing, but she was in rare form on Saturday. She accused Obama of "class warfare," "fear mongering," and "cowardice," not to mention throwing "hatred and violence at the good folks in Madison, Wisconsin."

And that was just for starters.


It all sounded a lot like a campaign stump speech, and an awfully effective one, if you've got a taste for red meat. Many of her supporters heard it that way, anyway, and as red-meat lovers, they rejoiced. It has been a while since Palin has given any signs she may run for president. She, unlike many other candidates, hasn't been visiting Iowa in preparation for the first-in-the-nation caucus and straw-poll, a traditional must for presidential aspirants. Spokespeople for both the Democratic and Republican parties in Iowa haven't seen her or her people there recently. Indeed, aside from giving a few speeches, she's done little to set herself up as a candidate anywhere in the country.

All of this seemed to hearten the very GOP establishment she so vehemently attacked on Saturday. But lately those in Palinland seemed to be feeling a bit dejected. Conservatives4Palin.com posted a few pieces in recent weeks intended to bolster supporters. In one piece a writer tries to get in the mind of Palin. Attempting to channel her, the writer said, "If I thought it was doubtful that I would run, there are some actions I would not have taken in the last few months." And, "I have children in school until June. I expect to travel abroad for a week or more. I will not make any announcement until after these events. Campaign Finance laws also dictate the announcement timing."

Comments generally expressed relief. Another piece made a case that a run by Rep. Michelle Bachman, another tea party favorite, is good for Palin.

Soon after Palin's speech on Saturday, her online supporters went wild. Supporters on Twitter were particularly elated. California radio talk show Tammy Bruce wrote, "You don't need a time machine to know what the 45th president looks like." Others said much the same. Thousands of others simply echoed Palin's closing line. At the end of her speech, Palin said, "It starts here! It starts now! What better place than the state that hosts the Super Bowl champs to call out the liberal left and let them know: Mr. President, game on!"

Game on, in full attack mode. You haven’t heard the last of that one. On a cold Wisconsin day, she was just warming up. And if she wasn’t, she’s going to have some very, very unhappy supporters, ones who will see her as losing that game, perhaps forever.

New Palin Web Site Has Pundits Buzzing

THe New York Times: Politics: The Caucus: New Palin Web Site Has Pundits Buzzing

Just when political conventional wisdom was starting to turn against the likelihood of a Sarah Palin presidential run, the former governor of Alaska has left new clues on the Internet that she is still very much playing with the idea.

Yesterday Ms. Palin used Facebook to post a transcript of the speech she gave in Madison, Wis., over the weekend, and provided a link to a video of her stem-winder.

Today her political action committee, SarahPAC, unveiled a new-look Web site that has far more bells and whistles than the previous version. There’s a new “Setting the Record Straight” section, a list of favored political allies — under the heading “Palin’s Picks’’ — ample video clips, and, of course, an easy way to donate.

It was only about two weeks ago when deteriorating favorability ratings captured in an NBC News/Wall Street Journal Poll, among other things, had dampened expectations that Ms. Palin would run. As the NBC morning column “First Read” asked rhetorically then, “Time to write Palin’s 2012 political obituary?”

But her speech in Madison and this latest Web activity seem to have reversed pundits’ suspicions that she was dropping her presidential ambitions, evidenced by the Politico column Playbook declaring Monday “SARAH PALIN RAMPS UP.”

Of course for now, Ms. Palin is not saying what her plans are.

And even her likely primary season opponents have said they believe she has some time yet to decide given how fast they presume she can build an organization and rally her many faithful.

Tim Crawford, treasurer for SarahPAC, said Ms. Palin’s old Web site was basically a place holder and the time had come to offer a more sophisticated site given the huge number of devotees who visit it.

“It gives us a way for people to stay in contact with us,’’ he said. “It has all sorts of things that allow us to interact with Sarah’s supporters.”

Asked about speculation that the new site was an indication of her thinking on the 2012 race Mr. Crawford said, “I think it’s fair to say that the governor is keeping her options open.’’

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Haseltine was a World War II-era secret agent who fought Japanese and German spies.

ABC News: George's Bottom Line (George Stephanopolous): Haseltine was a World War II-era secret agent who fought Japanese and German spies.
ABC News' Ryan Creed reports:

Despite an overcast and snowy day, former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin spoke outside the Wisconsin Capitol in Madison today to rally Tea Party members.

“I feel like I’m at home,” she said to cheers from the crowd.

Palin praised Wisconsin’s governor and legislature for overcoming "death threats and thug tactics," to pass a controversial bill that virtually eliminates public employees’ collective bargaining rights.

"You held your ground, your governor did the right thing, and you won," she said. "He's not trying to hurt union members. Hey, folks, he's trying to save your jobs and your pensions!"

Palin, who frequently cites her familial connections to unions as well as her own union membership, supports Walker’s plan, and in the past has called on union members to "sacrifice and carry our share of the burden. It does no one any favors to dismiss the sacrifices others have already had to make -- in wage cuts, unpaid vacations, and even job losses -- to weather our economic storm. ... You don't have to kowtow to the union bosses who are not looking out for you, but instead are using you."

“A pension is a promise that must be kept. Your governor Scott Walker understands this,” Palin said today. “He understands that states must be solvent in order to keep their promises.”

During her speech, Palin called out to the beltway GOP, telling them that she and the rest of the Tea Party will fight with them if they stand by their pledges, and then took swings at President Obama, saying he has increased American debt and mismanaged the recession.

“Hey media, it’s not inciting violence and it’s not hateful rhetoric to call someone out on their record,” she said.

“We’re flat broke and he thinks these solar shingles and really fast trains will magically save us,” she said. “So now he’s yelling ‘all aboard’ his bullet train to bankruptcy."

In regard to Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan’s budget plan, Palin said Obama “demonized the voices of responsibility with class warfare and with fear mongering.”

The Madison rally was sponsored by the Americans for Prosperity, a conservative group. Pro-labor protesters could be heard around the rally, shouting "Hey, hey, ho, ho, Scott Walker's got to go," according to The Associated Press.

Walker defended himself this week in Washington, D.C., before a House committee, saying that his bill will save Wisconsin local governments more than $700 million a year. The bill is currently being challenged in the Wisconsin courts, and may end up before the state’s Supreme Court

Friday, April 15, 2011

COUNTER PROTESTS PLANNED in Madison (against Governor Sarah Palin ...calling her a puppet of big corporations)

Foxnews: Gretawire: COUNTER PROTESTS PLANNED in Madison (against Governor Sarah Palin ...calling her a puppet of big corporations)
Subject: RELEASE: Large protests against Palin expected in Madison tomorrow

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: ******

LARGE COUNTERPROTESTS TOMORROW

Noon, Wisconsin State Capitol, State Street Side

PALIN TO FIND THAT WISCONSIN NOT BUYING IT

(Madison) -- The Wisconsin Wave has announced the details for a mass counterprotest against Sarah Palin tomorrow at the Wisconsin's State Capitol. Calling Palin an "expensive puppet" of big corporations, the Wave plans a permitted rally at noon, Saturday, on the State Street side of the Capitol Square, complete with speeches from Madison mayor-elect Paul Soglin, State Senator Jon Erpenbach, labor and student leaders, and others, as well as music, spoken word, and comedy.

"Wisconsinites didn't create this economic crisis, Wall Street did, and now Wall Street is sending their spokesperson to Madison to muddy the waters; we're smarter than that, we're not buying it." said Ben Manski, Executive Director of the Liberty Tree Foundation and coordinator of the Wisconsin Wave.

In an attempt to defuse a potentially tense situation, the Wave is urging Wisconsinites to bring bells and puppets to its rally; the bells, whether cowbells, jinglebells, or otherwise, are to symbolize Wisconsin's desire for genuine liberty and democracy; the puppets as a show of our recognition of who Palin is and why she has been paid to come here.

Details about the rally are to be found here:

http://wisconsinwave.org/events/counterprotest-corporate-puppets-dump-tea-dump-palin

For more information about the Wisconsin Wave, see:

http://www.WisconsinWave.org

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

State Column: Sarah Palin loses Glenn Beck’s support

The State Column: Sarah Palin loses Glenn Beck’s support
Instead, Mr. Beck pointed for Florida U.S. Rep. Allen West and Minnesota congresswoman Michele Bachmann. The Fox News host praised the Republican duo, saying they should combine efforts for the 2012 Republican presidential campaign.

Mr. Beck, who is scheduled to leave Fox News in the coming months, said he remains friends with the former Republican governor. “I’d love to be a neighbor with Sarah Palin, she’d make a great neighbor,” but he thinks Palin missed a huge opportunity,” Mr. Beck said.

Ms. Palin, meanwhile, continues to garner national attention. The former Alaska governor offered support for Donald Trump’s investigation of President Obama’s birth certificate Sunday, saying Mr. Trump has the resources to discover if there are any inconsistencies.

Salon: Trig Palin Birtherism just won't die

Salon War Room: Trig Palin Birtherism just won't die
A journalism professor at Northern Kentucky University is trying to revive the conspiracy theory that Sarah Palin is not the biological mother of Trig Palin.

Brad Scharlott of NKU has written a 29-page academic-style paper titled "Palin, the Press, and the Fake Pregnancy Rumor: Did a Spiral of Silence Shut Down the Story?" It begins like this:

"This article looks at what American journalists knew, and when they knew it, concerning the fake birth rumor – and it finds there was insufficient evidence for the press to conclude that Palin was telling the truth about Trig."

This is the idea, known as Trig Trutherism or Trig Birtherism and long pursued by such proponents as Andrew Sullivan, that Sarah Palin faked her 2008 pregnancy because Trig is actually the son of Bristol Palin.

Scharlott's article strongly suggests that Palin's pregnancy was a hoax and even includes analysis of photos purporting to show Palin's "extremely flat stomach" when she was pregnant. The fact that a journalism professor produced this article is frankly embarrassing for Northern Kentucky University.

It is now being shopped around by Scharlott's PR representative, Jennifer Campana, who pitched it to me after reading a piece I wrote yesterday debunking one of the Birther claims made by Donald Trump. Campana's pitch argues for a kind of Birther fairness doctrine:


In the research paper, Scharlott examines Palin’s pregnancy in great detail, laying out more than 20 pages of photos and other evidence – largely compiled from quotes by Palin herself. He concludes that Palin did indeed fake her pregnancy with Trig, not only to cover for her daughter Bristol, but also to gain pro-life street cred with the far right. He then goes on to examine the role that the press played in helping to cover up the hoax, intentionally or not, by never investigating it thoroughly enough. Had journalists dug deeper, the answers were easy enough to find.

...

After all, with all the press Donald Trump has received recently for the birther issue, it is time the OTHER birther issue was given equal space.


In any case, Scharlott has now gotten into a public spat with Palin's former spokesman, and, in response, author Joe McGinniss is promising that his forthcoming book on Palin will deal with the Trig issue. So don't expect this to go away anytime soon.

Monday, April 11, 2011

Sarah Palin loses big in latest poll [taken of 800 whole people!]

TheStateColumn: Sarah Palin loses big in latest poll
The poll finds President Obama trailing Mr. Romney in the state by a 6 percent margin, 49 percent to 43 percent. Mr. Obama leads Ms. Palin by 12 percent, 51 percent to 39 percent. The president’s approval rating in Florida is 43 percent, while 56 percent say they disapprove of Mr. Obama’s performance.

The poll comes as Ms. Palin continues to consider entering the 2012 Republican presidential campaign. The former Alaska governor continues to remain vocal in her criticism of the Obama administration. Ms. Palin slammed the president Friday as congressional leaders continued to discuss a possible compromise on the federal budget.

The poll surveyed 800 registered Florida voters from April 4-7 and carries a sampling error of 3.5 percentage points.

Slate: Palin's Decline

Slate: Palin's Decline
Steve Kornacki, one of the few political writers who bothers to point out that Incredible Republican Celebrity/Icon/Martyer Sarah Palin is tumbling in 2012 trial heats, tries to explain it.

[E]ven opinion-shaping conservatives -- the folks who had been making excuses for Palin -- woke up, probably because they grasped for the first time how serious her '12 prospects had become...

Conservative voters, it seems, began to get the message: It was OK to like Palin and to believe she was a victim of the left and its allies and to still conclude that she wasn't presidential material. By the end of December, polls began registering a marked uptick in Palin's unfavorable scores, even among Republicans.

Well, here's a chart of all polling on Palin from February 2010 -- when she returned to politics as the keynoter at the National Tea Party Convention -- to today.

[Chart not reproduced here. Check it out at original site.]

Palin's favorable number, always low, starts to get truly subterranean in late 2010, which matches the Kornacki timeline -- this was when a popular narrative (one that even made it on Fox News) was that bad choices cost Republicans some seats. The vote count in Alaska's U.S. Senate race dragged on through December, so there were frequent stories about how Palin's candidate, Joe Miller, had been beaten by a write-in candidate.

When does the unfavorable number spike? Right after January 8, 2011 -- the day Jared Loughner went on his shooting spree. Palin was unfairly dragged into that story because Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, shot by Loughner, was on Palin's "target map." (There's no evidence that Loughner cared about this.) But she made the story worse for her by recording a video, right when interest in the Palin/political rhetoric was starting to wane, attacking the media for the "blood libel" it had engaged in. That may have been it for Palin.

One factor Kornacki doesn't quite get into -- the rest of the media. Quite frankly there's only so much time for politics coverage, and so much time for the "freak show" coverage that Palin used to dominate. That time is now being occupied by Donald Trump's journey of birtheristic self-discovery and the not-a-joke Bachmann campaign.

Sarah Palin Cites Ludicrious Claim That Obama Spent $2 Million In Birth Certificate Fight

TPM Muckraker: Sarah Palin Cites Ludicrious Claim That Obama Spent $2 Million In Birth Certificate Fight
Sarah Palin says she isn't a birther. But she swallows hook, line and sinker the ludicrous claims birthers have made about how much money President Barack Obama spent "hiding" his birth certificate.

In an interview on Fox News, Palin backed Donald Trump's purported investigation into Obama's birth certificate, but claimed she wasn't herself a birther. Nonetheless, she cited the discredited claim that Obama spent $2 million to keep his birth certificate from the public.

"I think that he was born in Hawaii because there was the birth announcement put in the newspaper," Palin said. "But obviously there is something there that the President doesn't want people to see on that birth certificate, that he sees going to great lengths to make sure it isn't shown. And that's perplexing for a lot of people."

Palin said that Trump was digging into "why President Obama would have spent $2 million not to show his birth certificate." The Fox News host interviewing Palin said she'd "heard that number before."

That $2 million figure is essentially an uninformed guess by those in the online birther community which seems to have been based on the whole of the legal fees of the 2008 Obama presidential campaign. As of this year, the Obama campaign has spent at least $2.8 million on legal fees -- for the entire campaign post election.

This theme emerged after Obama's election on conspiracy websites like WND, which even couched their speculation in April 2009 by writing that Obama "may be using campaign funds to stomp out eligibility lawsuits brought by Americans, as his campaign has paid more than $1 million to his top lawyer since the election."

But even some birthers haven't claimed the number is as high as Palin claimed it was.

"[Obama] is spending hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars to keep this information from getting out," said Gary Kreep, a lawyer representing Alan Keyes.

I've emailed SarahPAC to ask where Palin got the $2 million figure and will update if we hear back.

Late, late update: Here is the email I got back from SarahPAC:
Dear Ryan, Thank you very much for your interest. At the current time your request is under consideration. Should the appropriate person be available for an interview, someone from the Office of Sarah Palin or SarahPAC will contact you directly. Meanwhile, we kindly direct you to Governor Palin's Facebook page where she most frequently comments. Thank you for your inquiry.

Sunday, April 10, 2011

ABC News: Sarah Palin Supports Trump's Birther Efforts

ABC News: George's Bottom Line: Sarah Palin Supports Trump's Birther Efforts
John Berman Reports:

Donald Trump has at least one high profile supporter when it comes to his loud and frequent questioning of the circumstances of President Obama’s birth: Sarah Palin.

On the “Judge Jeanine” show on Fox News, the former Alaska governor said, "I appreciate that the Donald wants to spend his resources on something that so interests him and so many Americans, you know more power to him.”

For Palin, who is a paid contributor to Fox News, this seems to be a shift in her opinions on the so-called “birther” issue, and its relevance.

In a February appearance before the Long Island Association in New York, Palin was asked if she questions either the president's religious faith or the location of his birth.

"I don't and those are distractions," she responded in February. "It's distracting. It gets annoying. Let's stick with what really matters."

But now, after Trump has been able to gain some media focus with his birther ideology, she seems willing to "stick" with something else, even if she still concedes that she believes the president was born in Hawaii.

"I think that he was born in Hawaii,” Palin told Judge Jeanine, “because there was the birth announcement put in the newspaper. But obviously there is something there that the president doesn't want people to see on that birth certificate, that he sees going to great lengths to make sure it isn't shown. And that's perplexing for a lot of people."

The president has released a "certificate of live birth," a shorter document that carries the same legal weight as a birth certificate in Hawaii. Non-Partisan watch dog groups who have seen this document say they believe it definitively proves the president was born in Hawaii. However, the president has not released his so-called “longform” birth certificate, and this has been the source of many conspiracy theories. Though an official in Hawaii has stated she has seen the full birth certificate and says it does verify the president was born there.

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Sarah Palin's Alabama-bound

Politico: Sarah Palin's Alabama-bound
Sarah Palin is heading to Alabama early next month to raise money for a group dedicated to helping those with physical or mental challenges.

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The Exceptional Foundation of Baldwin County is hosting Palin for a May 3 fundraiser, the group announced Wednesday. A Palin aide did not immediately respond to confirm the details of the event. In advertising the event, the group highlighted Palin’s personal attachment to the issue — pointing to her son Trig, who suffers from Down syndrome.

“Governor Palin’s youngest son Trig was born with Down syndrome and she has kindly agreed to help us launch fundraising for our organization,” the group said on its website. “The event also will help focus attention on special needs people in this part of Alabama.”

Palin rarely express interest in leaving Alaska for political events but has frequently made long trips from her Wasilla home to help groups for special needs children.

The former Alaska governor has little else on her calendar in the coming months, with the exception of a scheduled trip to the D.C. suburbs on April 30 for a speech to a faith-based group.

Teen Sex Charity Pays Bristol Palin $300k

Sky News HD: Teen Sex Charity Pays Bristol Palin $300k
Sarah Palin's daughter, who is a former teenage mother, earned thousands of dollars by promoting an anti-teen pregnancy charity, it has emerged.

Bristol Palin, now an emerging celebrity on the American television circuit, was paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for less than a month's work.

From tax returns it appears Palin, an unmarried former teen mother, was paid $332,500 (£203,550) to be an ambassador for the anti-teen pregnancy Candie's Foundation charity.

She was paid $262,500 (£160,726) for 15 to 20 days media campaign work in 2009 and a further $70,000 (£42,860) for a few more days in 2010.


She has been a courageous and powerful partner to the foundation as we attempt to discourage teen pregnancy.

Candie's Foundation

The 20-year-old no longer works for the charity but in a statement they said: "Bristol Palin is one of dozens of celebrities who has worked with the foundation.

"She has been a courageous and powerful partner to the foundation as we attempt to discourage teen pregnancy."

Founder Neil Cole said the fact that Sarah Palin's daughter was a teen mother showed the problem is a national one, not one limited to inner cities or minorities.

Sarah Palin used her daughter and baby during her campaigning in 2008

Bristol Palin's unmarried pregnancy was announced days after Senator John McCain picked her mother Sarah Palin to be his Republican vice-presidential running mate in 2008.

Bristol and her child then became a high-profile part of her mother's campaigning.

Monday, April 4, 2011

Palin supports Planned Parenthood funding cut

Examiner.com (National) Palin supports Planned Parenthood funding cut
The government shutdown deadline looms and lawmakers continue to disagree over a final budget deal. With a Friday deadline to either come up with a plan or face a partial government shutdown, there are many details that still need to be worked out. One of those details in the proposed plan is to cut all federal funding for Planned Parenthood, which provides contraception, medical services and abortions at 800 clinics around the country. The measure would eliminate about $330 million through the end of September, but many Dems refuse to budge.

Sarah Palin recently released a statement in favor of cutting the federal spending.

"I join Rep. Mike Pence and others of conscience and common sense who are leading the charge to end the taxpayer funding of the nation's largest abortion provider," Palin said. "We recognize that not only is our country buried under Mt. McKinley-sized debt, but that the truest measure of any society is how it treats those who are least able to defend and speak for themselves."

Although Planned Parenthood is already prevented by federal law from using federal dollars for abortion services, the nonprofit organization has been under intense scrutiny regarding its practices.

“They receive an average of $1 million taxpayer dollars per day; and regardless of what they had promised the public in their campaign ads, new investigative reporting shows that they are not really using our tax dollars to provide women with mammograms and other real health care services. It’s simply freeing up funds that they can then invest in their primary money-making endeavor: abortion,” Palin added.

The Hill reports that another four potential Republican hopefuls are on the record supporting the funding cuts: former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (Ga.), former Sen. Rick Santorum (Pa.), Rep. Michele Bachmann (Minn.) and talk radio host Herman Cain.

Iowa Gov. Branstad says Bachmann could match Palin's star power

The Hill: Iowa Gov. Branstad says Bachmann could match Palin's star power
Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad (R) compared Rep. Michele Bachmann to Sarah Palin over the weekend in analyzing the Minnesota Republican's potential impact on the presidential race.

“If Congresswoman Bachmann gets in, she has the potential to appeal to a lot of people who might have gone for Governor Palin," Branstad toldThe New York Times. "Imagine if they both got in. That could make it really interesting."

Both women running in 2012 seems unlikely. Palin has yet to begin building a campaign infrastructure — and the clock is ticking on that — while the other candidates have been diligently preparing for their runs. If Bachmann takes over Palin's slice of supporters, it could be bad news for former Sen. Rick Santorum.

The Pennsylvania Republican has made a career out of appealing to social conservatives. And during the testing-the-waters phase of his 2012 bid, he's indicated that will continue.


Back in December, Santorum admitted he saw Palin as one of his main competitors. "If she decides to get into the race, she will take a lot of air out of the room, that's for sure," Santorum said at the time. He also said that her media stardom could make it hard for her to have "normal interactions" with voters.

Bachmann may pose more of a threat. While she has the notoriety to raise large amounts of money on a national level, she isn't yet as well known as Palin. She may still be able to campaign on a retail level in early primary states, something the former Alaska governor would have trouble doing.

Palin to be topic of E! 'True Hollywood Story', says activist

Alaska Dispatch: Palin Watch: Palin to be topic of E! 'True Hollywood Story', says activist
According to a conversation between the conservative blog Hot Air and John Zeigler, a political activist and filmmaker and steadfast fan of Sarah Palin, says that the former Alaska governor will be the subject of an episode of "True Hollywood Story," the long-running franchise of the the E! Entertainment Channel.

Zeigler says he knows this because the producer of the show contacted him for an interview and to secure permission to use parts of Zeigler's documentary, "Media Malpractice: How Obama got Elected and Sarah Palin Was Targeted."

Zeigler told Hot Air that based on his experience with the production crew, he expects the episode to be more flattering to Palin than her admirers might expect:

I don't know what they will actually use, but they asked me about nearly every key piece of "Media Malpractice" that occurred against (Palin). They had clearly watched my film and I think I changed the minds of at least two of the crew members. Let's hope that comes across in the actual show.

The filmmaker and activist says he's under the impression the Palin episode will air on April 20, 2011, but is confused that the network hasn't started promoting it yet. Unfortunately, the True Hollywood Story schedule of upcoming episodes doesn't acknowledge a future more than four days beyond the present.