Netroots Nation auction: Pick a tie for Markos Moulitsas

By GottaLaff

Netroots Nation is coming up. From July 22-25, there's a big meet up, and this year it's in Las Vegas and Al Franken is the keynote speaker.

Netroots Nation amplifies progressive voices by providing an online and in-person campus for exchanging ideas and learning how to be more effective in using technology to influence the public debate. Through our annual convention and a series of regional salons held throughout the year, we strengthen our community, inspire action and serve as an incubator for ideas that challenge the status quo and ultimately affect change in the public sphere.

They're having an auction, and one of the items is this:


Wait, what? Why pick a tie for Markos? Because when he pops up on Countdown, as he is wont to do, Twitter goes all a-Twitter over his choice of ties, so Netroots Nation decided to have some fun with that.

And you thought March Madness was a basketball tournament. Not for Netroots Nation.

The tradition continues with our Spring On-line Auction, the proceeds of which support the important work we do, including our annual Convention and our regional Salon Series.

So let the bidding madness begin! [...]

Through donating items and generously bidding, you help us offset the cost of the Convention and our regional salon series. And for this we thank you.

CSPAN covers this event, and it has become a pretty darn big deal.

$emiautomatic rifle from Obama rally auctioned off at Tea Party

By GottaLaff

When I think of fundraising, my mind inevitably goes right to lethal weapons that could be used against our president, doesn't yours?

An AR-15 semiautomatic rifle, the same rifle that a man carried to an Obama rally in Minnesota last month, was auctioned off and scores of tickets were sold, raising about $2,300, with another approximately $500 donated to the group.

Yes, this is how they raked in the big bucks at the WyoBraska Tea Party. Had it been me, I'd have gone for a makeshift bomb. More bang for your buck.

Had it been the Democratic party, it would have been a candle.

There is nothing coincidental in cries of "We need to stop him" while a semiautomatic rifle is being raffled as a fundraiser - especially when that rifle's notorious appearance at an Obama rally is being celebrated by the crowd. There is something very ugly at work here - which Adrian Smith and the Republican Party have been only too happy to feed at every opportunity.

Do they fail to grasp the consequences of what it is they're encouraging? Or, do they simply fail to care? What sort of tragedy must we suffer as a nation before they'll break from this dangerous and destructive course and plead with other to do the same?

Hey, what's the big deal? They're just exercising their Second Amendment rights. Pfft.

Peace out.

H/t: agoraphobeblog

Lunch with Sarah Palin, Karl Rove... for a price

By GottaLaff

Check out who's prostituting themselves again offering themselves up for auction!

So what are the chances Palin would show up?

With bids starting at $25,000, eBay is auctioning off a dinner for five with the former Alaska governor...

Quick! Where's my rich uncle? I need some cash, STAT!

Oh wait. I don't have a rich uncle.

...and her husband, Todd.

Allll right. Stop right there. I was all set to raid what's left of my bank account, take out a loan, and hold a garage sale to make a few quick bucks, but Todd's tagging along was a deal breaker. Uh-uh. No way. It's one-on-one face time with Death Panel Barbie or nothing.

Also up for grabs: Lunch with Karl Rove. Bidding on a meal with the former Bush presidential adviser starts at $7,500.

Isn't that presh how he's going for less than a third of what Sarah the Quitter's asking price? What a cheap date. I guess some of that "genius" luster has worn off, huh KKKarl?

Whoever ends up stuck with him is in for a real dilemma: How do you justify spending thousands of dollars for a meal that you'll never eat? Extreme nausea can be a real deterrent.

Going once... going twice! Rachel Maddow sold, for $800!

By GottaLaff

Anderson beat out our Rachel? Really?

Last night in Times Square, Bailey House had its annual auction which featured several tvnewsers as items up for bid, including Meet & Greets and studio tours with Katie Couric, Charlie Gibson, Brian Williams, and Rachel Maddow as well as VIP tickets for the Today show and GMA Summer concert series. The last we looked they were each in the $700-$800 range. In the not-so-silent Auction portion, a dinner with CNN's Anderson Cooper went for $7,500 up from $4,500 last year.

What, no Keith?