Ban Panels

By GottaLaff

The other day I posted about two of my Alaskan blogger pals who were on the Barbie McLipSchmutz Big Book Signing Tour blacklist. I thought Barbie had personally hand chosen the lucky listers.

Well now, is my face Going Rouge!

It turns out it was the First Dude, aka Todd the Banner, who compiled said list. Via TPM:

We've now gotten Zaki's later report in an email sent to TPMMuckraker: "Just spoke to James Hastings, the manager who booted me from the Wasilla Center. The 'banned list' is just four names he wrote in a notebook after getting the names from Todd Palin. Yes Todd Palin. The shadow governor...."

That wiley compiley. I bet he knew all along his wifey-poo would get all the credit.

What an open-minded, inclusive, big tent couple they are. Both of them. All two of them. Together.

Why, one might even start referring to them as a Ban Panel.

Sarah the Banner

By GottaLaff

A couple of friends and fellow bloggers, Gryphen and Shannyn Moore, have been banned by Ms. Democracy in Action! Ms. Everyone Picks On Me! Ms. Mavericky! Ms. Vogue Rogue.

Ms. Guided:

My first hint that something may be wrong down in Who-ville was when I was asked for my ID, not once, but twice. Then as Dennis and I were about to sign in, and the lady behind the desk took our picture with a little digital camera! WTF? I have never had anybody do that before at any other event that I attended as a media representative. I wondered why there was such tight security, unaware that my question was only seconds from being answered. [...]

I turned around and came face to face with a local police officer who quickly apologized and then informed me that I was on the "banned list". [...]

Outside Dennis joined me and told me that he had learned that both he and I were on the banned list, along with Shannyn Moore, and that they even had pictures of us to reference for quick identification.

Another reporter headed toward the entrance overheard us and asked us if there were REALLY a "banned list". "Yes there is, and we are on it" was our reply. "I have never heard of that!" she said. Welcome to Sarah Palin's Wasilla.

You've got to read the whole story. It verifies what we already know: Sarah Palin is not interested in anyone but herself, has no regard whatsoever for her fellow Americans, doesn't understand the meaning of the word "freedom", is threatened by anyone who might disagree with her, is an unethical joke of a.. a... whatever she is, and excels only at quitting.

I would be honored to be kicked out of any Barbie McEvent. It's one of the most legitimate ways I can think of to prove one's worth.

An unlikely lunch date--Alaskan bloggers meet Sarah Palin's lawyer

By GottaLaff

Thomas Van Flein and organizer Liz Behlke

Yesterday I posted Gryphen's version of events, and what a version it was! Today, my sweet pal Celtic Diva has her post up, and has graciously allowed me to share it with you.

Instead, I'll give you a few tease-y excerpts, and send you back to her place for the rest:

First impressions: Thomas Van Flein was charming and had a sense of humor. I was also amused by how he enjoyed the "power" of information. He seemed to get a kick out of watching people's reactions when he'd ask a question he thought would be "unexpected". [...]

After about 15 minutes, I jumped into the deep end of the pool and basically asked Mr. Van Flein why he continues to give the impression that all of the ethics complaints against the Governor have been dismissed when he knows it's not true. [...]

I already expected his reaction and justification, but it was interesting to hear it directly. It's not a surprise that no one seems to take ethics seriously anymore. [...]

Other issues we discussed:

--Trig
--The "pretty" issue
--Jealousy
--Gryphen's and my experiences with the Palinistas this year

To see the details that go with those topics, and to fill in the blanks of the other bits and pieces I gave you, go here.

And go Linda!

Alaskan bloggers' lunch with Sarah Palin's lawyer

By GottaLaff

Two of my favorite bloggers had lunch with Thomas Van Flein, Sarah Palin's attorney. So far, only one of them has posted about the experience, which was fascinating. Celtic Diva's is coming, I'm sure.

Here is a snippet or three from Gryphen's account of his Big Lunch:

Both Linda [Celtic Diva] and I offered some advice for Van Flein to take back to his client. We talked about the perception that people had of her as a mother based on the photographs of her constantly carrying little Trig off of planes and buses in her high heel shoes and with his little legs exposed. [...]

Probably the most interesting exchange came when suddenly Van Flein leaned toward me and asked point blank: " Do you sincerely, honestly believe that Trig is not her baby?"

To which I replied: "Yes, I sincerely, honestly believe that Trig is not her baby. Do you sincerely honestly believe it is her baby?"

VF: "I have no doubt."

G: "No doubt because you were there and watched it pop out?"

This is why I adore Gryphen.

Please read the rest here.

Palin Throwing Hissy In (Another) Fauxrage

"Iconic image"? Kinda like Madonna and Child, or maybe Mona Lisa? Geez o'pete this lady is delusional. Via Ben-

Sarah Palin is again responding forcefully to a perceived attack on one of her children, this time attacking an Alaska blogger who edited a picture of her and her baby son, Trig, to replace Trig's face with the image of a conservative Alaska talk show host, Eddie Burke.

Emails Palin's spokesman Meghan Stapleton:

Recently we learned of a malicious desecration** of a photo of the Governor and baby Trig that has become an iconic representation of a mother's love for a special needs child.

The mere idea of someone doctoring the photo of a special needs baby is appalling. To learn that two Alaskans did it is absolutely sickening. Linda Kellen Biegel, the official Democrat Party blogger for Alaska, should be ashamed of herself and the Democratic National Committee should be ashamed for promoting this website and encouraging this atrocious behavior.

Babies and children are off limits. It is past time to restore decency in politics and real tolerance for all Americans. The Obama Administration sets the moral compass for its party. We ask that special needs children be loved, respected and accepted and that this type of degeneracy be condemned.

** Desecration (also called desacralization or desanctification) is the act of depriving something of its sacred character -- or the disrespectful or contemptuous treatment of that which is held to be sacred by a group or individual.

Total loon.

To anyone who wrote to Alaskan Rep. Mike Doogan:

By GottaLaff

If you missed it, you should read this post I put up yesterday about Alaska's Mike Doogan v. The Mudflats, an Alaskan blog that I frequent on a regular basis. Doogan revealed the Mudflats' blogger's identity, and she wrote an excellent post on her feelings about that. It's a must-read.

Now we have a follow-up, via a comment by the inimitable Silly Git:

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT:

If anyone sent an Email to Mike Doogan protesting his outing of AK Muckraker and received a reply from Mr. Doogan AKM wants to know about it.

Please go to http://www.themudflats.net/forum/index.php/topic,6710.0.html

Thank you, Silly, and thank you Mudflatters!

Another Alaskan blogger's p.o.v.: Hate mail from Team Sarah (Palin)

By GottaLaff

Earlier I posted about The Mudflats' run-in with Alaskan Rep. Mike Doogan after he "outed" her. Now we have another Alaskan blogger to whom I often link, Celtic Diva, who did a little outing of her own.

You'll have to read this to believe it, but here's a tiny morsel:

When hate email started rolling into my inbox, I needed only look to one of the many posts on Team Sarah calling for my head to find contributors to that onslaught:

Reply by Douglas Timbie

Is there a lawyer in the group? Can the frivolous charge-filers Andree McLeod, Zane Henning, Linda Kellen Biegel etc. be given a dose of their own medicine with counter law suits seeking restitution for harrassment. Doesn't Alaska have laws to reimburse the governor when these suits are found to be without merit.

If not, can we get pictures of these locusts, email addresses, and the home addresses, place of work, with maps distributed so these people can be given the Acorn AIG treatment. We should be very pleasant and non-threatening, but flood their emails with thousands of complaints...

Here's a sampling of the hate mails I've gotten, the majority of which were anything but "pleasant":

**WARNING: THE EMAILS AFTER THE FOLD ARE NOT WORK OR CHILD SAFE**

Now by all means, go read the rest of this not-child/work-safe post. It's a doozy.

Finished? Swell. Now everyone has seen for themselves what happens if you dare exercise your first amendment rights around conservative wingnuts.

Speaking of Governor Crassy McClassless, here's another assignment, if you're so inclined: Go read this and this. They are two very revelatory pieces over at HuffPo about our bestest friend and date from hell, the one, the only Palin (wannabe) filmmaker John Ziegler, brought to us via an e-mail from my pal Mark Karlin over at BuzzFlash.

Blogger identity exposed by Alaskan Rep. Mike Doogan

By GottaLaff

As you know if you read TPC regularly, I link to the Alaskan blog "The Mudflats" a lot. In fact, I rely on them for much of what I post about Sarah Palin.

Mudflats is a friendly, reliable, well-written blog that provides accurate and steady information and insight that is hard to find elsewhere.

Now, for whatever reason, Democratic Alaskan Rep. Mike Doogan has chosen to reveal the identity of this blogger. Everything I am feeling and thinking is expressed by her in this post.

Please go read it. I'd love to hear your comments. I value my anonymity for many of the same reasons that she writes about. And I share her outrage and shock.

What was this guy thinking?

Sarah Palin still thinks she has the power to appoint

By GottaLaff

To anyone out there who still believes Grandma Also (did Bristol ever give birth?) has any clue whatsoever about anything whatsoever also too, including how her very own Alaskan very own government works, this should finally give you pause:

GIZZI: You made it clear in our interviews earlier this year that you were not close to fellow Republicans Sen. Ted Stevens and Rep. Don Young from your state, both of whom you said had a different vision of Alaska’s dealings with the federal government than you did. Were you pleased with the election of Democrat Mark Begich who defeated Stevens and with the re-election of Rep. Young?

PALIN: I met yesterday with Sen.-elect Begich to see that we are on the same page as we move forward as he starts his new job representing Alaska.

I thought that Sen. Stevens was going to be re-elected, and it was so close, and that if he were to step aside because he was convicted [on corruption charges], then I would get to appoint a Republican. So I was kind of surprised at the outcome there.

Did you get it? It’s in the second paragraph of her answer; “then I would get to appoint a Republican.” Wha…? Wh-wha…? [...]

If you didn’t get it, I’ll remind you of the background. And keep in mind while I recount, that Sarah Palin was Frank Murkowski’s immediate successor. She ran for Lt. Governor in 2002 when all this started. She was not living in the woods, subsistence hunting, and cut off from civilization. [...]

[Frank] Murkowski decided that he was going to run for governor. So he ran, and he won. Now came the question of who would succeed Frank in his Senate seat. [...] Frank chose his daughter, Lisa Murkowski to fill his seat. [...] Republicans and Democrats alike across the state were seeing red. It was a huge, big, fat, major deal. [...]

And to make a very long story short, the issue made it to the ballot. Should Alaskans continue to allow Senators to appoint their replacements, thereby assuring the continuity of representation in the Senate? Or should voters hold a special election, foregoing the continuity, in favor of keeping control over who actually gets the seat.

The special election won hands down. The governor was stripped of the power of appointment. [...] [A]nd everybody who wasn’t living in a cave knew it.

Apparently Sarah Palin was living in a cave, because she just told the planet how bummed she was that Ted Stevens didn’t win, and then get convicted, so she could appoint a Republican to his seat.

Shortly after Palin’s Human Events interview was released, Shannyn Moore talked to Senator Elect Mark Begich on Air America. She asked him what he thought of her misperception, and complete lack of understanding about what she does and does not have the power to do.

King of the diplomatic understatement, Begich said he was “a little surprised” when he read it. He went on to say, “You and I both know, as do thousands of people who voted. I don’t know what that all meant. It was a little odd.”

I’ll tell you what it all meant. It meant that Sarah Palin has not been paying attention to some incredibly basic aspects of Alaska government, and hasn’t been since at least 2002 when Murkowski the Younger was appointed to the Senate. She also wasn’t paying attention in 2004, when the law was changed. She also wasn’t paying attention in 2008 when every national news media was asking whether she had the power to appoint, and the answer was no.

In addition, to anyone out there who still insists on equating Grandma Also's "experience" with Obama's, this should prove once and for all that it's not merely one's experience, but how one applies it, that matters. That and a minimum of judgment. And logic. And awareness. And intelligence. And intellectual honesty. And ability. And not being an utter ditz with the attention span of a gnat.

Sarah Palin: See, Peter Principle.

Main Entry:

Peter Principle

Function:

noun

Etymology:

Laurence J. Peter †1990 American (Canad.-born) educator

Date:

1968

: an observation: in a hierarchy employees tend to rise to the level of their incompetence

12 Days of Christmas: Sarah Palin version

By GottaLaff

I've been following a series of posts by The Mudflats, a super duper Alaskan blog. Here is their version of the Twelve (well, 11 so far) Days of Christmas. Grandma Also gets the full treatment, and really, who deserves it more than one of Keith Olbermann's Favorite People of 2008? Tomorrow the final installment will be posted:

On the eleventh day of Christmas,

My new Gov gave to me:

Eleven moose a-stewing,

Ten witness tamp’rings,

Nine alsos, also.

Eight Russians creeping,

Seven bears a-swimming,

Six turkeys draining,

Five different colleges!

Four banned books

Three french pranks

Two shopping sprees,

And a pit bull for V.P.

Sure to be a new classic.

Alaskan bloggers aren't happy with Governor Diva

By GottaLaff

There are some very angry bloggers in Alaska right now. Once again, as is her habit and practice, Sarah Palin has done everything she can to show what an inept, simpleminded, self-serving little fool she is.

Let's start with a post by one of my favorite bloggers, Celtic Diva. She's written many a time about Palin's stumping in Georgia for Saxby Chambliss, so please follow her links to catch up on background and earlier posts. Meantime, here's her latest:

In a previous post, we've questioned the discrepancies between the reported-news timeline and Palin Communications Director Bill McAllister's many versions of the Governor's schedule for today's trip. This latest "outside" venture sees her campaigning for the disgusting hero-slimer and racist pig Saxby Chambliss in Georgia. She'll start at a mysterious fundraiser on Sunday (that they haven't acknowledged, but it was reported by AP and the info from CNN is on Saxby Chambliss's site). Monday, she'll be campaigning with him at four stops in Georgia from dawn to dusk. Then, she'll be meeting with the National Governor's Association and President-elect Obama on Tuesday.

The questions arise as a result of the yet-to-be-updated claim from Bill McAllister that Sen. Chambliss will pay for the "side trip to Georgia."

Next, we have Shannyn Moore's take on Gov. Diva's ignoring the needs of her state while she indulges in her little photo-oppy Georgia romp:

Palin will stump for Chambliss, the draft-evading incumbent Republican who waged a notoriously misleading campaign against a decorated war hero, at rallies Monday in Atlanta, Augusta, Savannah and Perry, Georgia. Palin has been back in Alaska at work for only a few days since running for vice president.

“Alaskans need our Governor here earning her salary and working on key problems facing Alaska families,” said Alaska Democratic Party Chair Patti Higgins.

Alaska is facing significant challenges, Higgins said, including:

• Oil prices have dropped dramatically to about $45/bbl from the peak of $144/bbl in July, which threatens the state budget.
• Alaskans are paying some of the highest prices for gas in the nation, averaging $2.87 per gallon, while the national average is $1.91.
• The state’s oil production continues to decline, due to falling prices and mature fields.
• The global credit crunch and falling natural gas prices threaten the Alaska gas line.
• The State is failing to meet its constitutional obligation to take care of public education as shown by the high drop out rates and the low graduation rates.
• Many Medicare patients cannot find doctors.
• There is continued flight from rural villages.
• Alaska faces the prospect of reduced federal dollars from Washington, D.C.

Enough is enough. Palin is derelict in her duties as governor. Time to get out the buttons that say “Where’s Sarah?”

Hmm. If Palin can't fulfill her duties as governor, how could she ever hope to come close to achieving even a semblance of competence in a higher office?

We haven't heard a peep out of Joe the Plumber, though. Except for that whole book thing.

Except for that whole pitch man thing.