SarahPac, SarahPac... questions

We have been going through the SarahPac disbursements (as have all the other bloggers) and certain items caught our eye.

Krobar Studios is one of them. Kurt Robar received a total of $51,405 to develop a "new website". The payments were made in August and September but... no new website to be seen. SarahPac website is very simple, so it definitely needs the touch of a creative genius. For that amount of money, we should expect an incredibly sophisticated new website. Kurt would have been working on it for 5 months now, it must be a state-of-the-art new site.

SarahPac must be very generous and have a lot of faith in Kurt. It looks like they paid him upfront...

We found out something else, quite interesting: Krobar designed the Alaska Fund Trust website. Yes, the very website that asks for money from gullible people, which can be used for any purpose by Sarah Palin and her family, at the discretion of the sole trustee, Kristan Cole.



From ADN, in April, 2009:

Stapleton said that Palin had one request when she agreed to allow Cole to launch a legal-expense fund: keep it in Alaska. To that end, they chose a company named Krobar.

It would make more sense to pay Kurt after seeing some results, but is SarahPac allowed to pay for the AFT's website or anything else connected to it? We don't have the financial reports for the "legal" fund, so we don't know when or how much Krobar was paid to develop a very simple, straightforward website like the Alaska Fund Trust's.

$51,405 is a lot of dollars for designing a website. Was Krobar paid all this money to design ONE website? According to his partner, Kurt Robar is very talented and we have no doubts regarding his abilities:

Kurt Robar is a kissable geek. Born and raised in Anchorage Alaska, and spent a stint in Texas. Worked for several broadcast television stations across the TV dial, including CBS 11 KTVA, Fox 6 KIDY, ABC 3 KIII, UPN 5 KYES, and Fox 4 KTBY. He now owns and operates krobar™, a motion graphics and design company based in Anchorage Alaska that handles a variety of projects including web design (X/HTML, Flash, PHP, MySQL, Perl), 3D animation (Maya, EIAS, Lightwave), motion graphics and visual effects (After Effects, Motion, Shake), and editing for film, video, and the web (Final Cut Pro, Avid, Media 100).

We don't believe Kurt Robar is a Palin fan. He's simply a web designer from Anchorage, selected by the AFT to keep it in Alaska. The questions we're raising are not related to Robar's abilities or political preferences. Our questions relate exclusively to SarahPac and how they operate. As with all things Palin, there are always a lot of questions. Here's a summary:

1) Why did SarahPac pay Krobar over $50,000 five months ago for a new website and said site is still old and quite primitive?
2) Did SarahPac pay for the AFT website? Is that allowed?
3) Whichever way we look at it, $50,000 is a lot of money to pay for web design of ONE site. What's going on?

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Other items made us go googling. The following searches didn't produce relevant results:

NorthStar Strategies (paid $70,000+ from SarahPac) returns a firm in Illinois, quite unrelated to SarahPac. When we searched by address, the results were very peculiar. NorthStar also produces a result for a website under construction. Could this be the one?



Aries Petra Consulting LLC drew a complete blank. They received $6,000 in December, for Media Consulting.

Aries Petra Consulting LLC
12728 Directors Loop
Woodbridge, Virginia 22192

Callisto Consulting LLC was paid $4,000 on two occasions (October and November) for Internet/Website Communications and Internet Consulting. We actually found a person called Anthony Callisto, Chief and Director of Public Safety at Syracuse University, who does have a connection to a company called Callisto Consulting, but under a different address:

Callisto Consulting
33 Regatta Row
Syracuse, New York 13209-1325

SarahPac's Callisto:

Callisto Consulting LLC
904 D Street
Millville, New Jersey 08332

They're vaguely close geographically, but are they the same?

Mr Anthony Callisto from Syracuse seems to be more concerned with law enforcement than internet consulting.

This is what we found so far. Three consulting companies that don't appear to exist as far as google is concerned or don't seem to correspond to anything connected to SarahPac. Together they were paid around $85,000.

SarahPac is full of little surprises...
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Mandation: Sarah Palin’s State of…umm…

It's Sunday, so let's have a brief moment of relaxation and comic relief before getting back to more serious stuff.

This post appeared on a blog called Civilization Rant, written by theworstat. We couldn't find an e-mail address to ask for permission to repost it, but it's so funny that we had to share it with you.

(Theworstat, if you object to your post appearing here without permission, please get in touch. But if you're happy, we're happy, let's laugh together.)


Mandation: Sarah Palin’s State of…umm…

(Following is an excerpt of the State of the Union(?) speech from Teabagger shadow President Sarah Palin. *)
*I made stuff up

"Fellow real Americans in small towns, family values, the Constitution which we hold dear has family values just like you, and thanks for buying my book! This year we defeated Russia because Putin reared his head in my backyard talking to my neighbor and you know, it was like he was in my backyard and I could see him across a lake or he was in my air space or something so I told him to skedaddle home! Just like with healthcare, I would have had to abort Trig because of the death panels. Alaska did not have a death panel it was only to save taxpayer money, just like George Washington signed the Declaration of Independence or the Bill of Rights which is in the Declaration or something. It was a mandation from Washington that did it. I got real mad because Katie Couric has no self-confidence and asked me what I read to make herself feel better! So I told her I read lots of stuff, I like everything. But she’s so elitist I could just tell she has no self-confidence. So I just want her to stop makin’ stuff up or God will get her like he got New Orleans for sinnin’ and stuff.

Real pockets of real pro-Americans live on farms in little towns. That is not a mandation from Washington. You do it because you enjoy freedom and family values and our great history. I have the courage and honor of thanking our veterans who are fighting Iraq in Afghanistan.

That’s why I make all my speeches on Fox News. They hired me because I know all about this stuff. I flew over Canada a few times, you know! Obama was born there or in someplace else where they wear stuff on their heads and are anti-American (editor’s note: see what we wish had been Obama’s real SotU here). We’d be better off being nice to Afghanistan because they’re our neighbor.

I’m a real American and they wouldn’t let me be President so I could be the only real American in Washington and run the Senate, you betcha. I would have gotten in with all those Senators and stuff and made life better for real Americans, like healthcare which is needed for a good economy. No need to change anything! We need smaller government so we can stop interfering with corporations and our freedom which we hold dear and independently and don’t need spending and taxes. We don’t need government in our lives, we need stuff that doesn’t need intervention.

So next year I am going to pray to God that we have America and family values even after that black Muslim guy is in office and the Supreme Court. The Statue of Liberty has 25 windows and I know why cuz I Googled it you betcha. That’s how I went to college and got my journalism degree would have been Miss Alaska except for that black girl and quit my governor job because I have family values and value freedom and work hard every day. No lame ducks around my house! Have you seen my husband?
I like the idea of a Queen of England, just like Queen Ester, since England is a state in New England and everyone knows women are freer if they have less rights to abortion and contraception and stuff. But I haven’t decided yet. Everyone pray real hard and send me money for campaign funds for real Americans. See ya next year you betcha!"

Mrs. Palin is the first recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Stupid of the Day Award.

You can read more funny posts by theworstat at Civilization Rant.

Bristol Palin vs Levi Johnston - The art of producing evidence

We have found an interesting timeline of some events surrounding the custody battle between Bristol Palin and Levi Johnston. It was buried in the comments on one of Bree's posts. This post is based on that comment.

The motion for closure of the custody proceedings relating to Tripp Johnston was filed on November 4, 2009.

Bristol Palin's lawyer, Mr Thomas Van Flein, cited Levi's Johnston's Twitter account as a reason to keep the proceedings confidential.

That same night, Levi's tweets were read by William Shatner on Conan O'Brien's show, which really "proved" that Levi's fame and propensity to tweet about private matters would compromise the custody proceedings if they were made public. What a truly extraordinary coincidence...

Conan apologized after Rex Butler, Levi's attorney, pointed out that the Twitter account was a fake.



On November 6, Andrea Gusty, a reporter for KTUU, interviewed Levi and Rex Butler regarding the Twitter incident. Andrea Gusty is the same reporter who validated some photographs taken on April 13, 2008, showing a very pregnant Sarah Palin. Ms Gusty attempted to lead Levi into answering questions about the dirt he had on Sarah.



It seems to me that it's too much of a coincidence that Levi's "tweets" became a comedy item on a popular show exactly on the same day the custody motion, with all its confidentiality clauses, was filed by Bristol Palin. Two days later, a reporter sympathetic to the Palins tried to ambush Levi into talking about the dirt on Sarah Palin, which would reinforce his image as the "bad boy" who can't keep his mouth shut and capitalizes on the Palins fame in pursuit of cheap publicity for himself.

What an amazing coincidence that the "facts" about Levi's indiscretions fit the "evidence" presented in the custody motion!

When it comes to the Palins, do we believe in coincidences?

(H/T to deb in WI)
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Sarah Palin and Pam Tebow: between "choice" and a hard place

RadarOnline exclusive:

Famed womens' rights campaigner and powerhouse attorney Gloria Allred has joined the ever growing hoard of people angered at the CBS network's decision to allow an pro life ad to air during the upcoming Super Bowl on February 7th.

In the controversial ad, Pam reportedly shares the story of her difficult 1987 pregnancy which occurred when she was working as a missionary in the Philippines. In her harrowing tale she says she fell ill with amoebic dysentery while pregnant and was treated with robust antibiotics, which she says doctors told her had caused fetal damage, prompting them to urge her to terminate her pregnancy, but she refused their advice that she have an abortion for her own safety. Going on to give birth to Tebow, the now-famous quarterback who went on to become a Heisman Trophy winner, leading the Gators to two BCS wins.

Allred's objections stem from dishonest claims in Pam Tebow's story.

In her exclusive interview with RadarOnline.com Allred slams the ad and CBS's decision to air it, pointing out factual inconsistencies with Pam's story. One glaring one is the fact that the act of abortion is totally illegal in the majority Catholic country of the Philippines - under all circumstances including rape and incest, and even without a provision in the circumstance that the mother's life is in danger. The law has been in effect since 1930.

Allred says she believes it an impossible scenario to believe that Philippino doctors would have ever suggested abortion as a viable option for Tebow in the first place. And when you learn that physicians and midwives who perform abortions in the Philippines face six years in prison, and may have their licenses suspended or revoked, and that women who receive abortions - no matter the reason - may be punished with imprisonment for two to six years, it's easy to see why.

Allred warns, "If this ad airs and fails to disclose that abortions were illegal at the time Ms. Tebow made her "choice", then I intend to file a formal complaint of misleading advertising with those federal commissions."

Sarah Palin spoke about the controversial ad with Greta Van Susteren:



The fact remains, Pam Tebow did not make the choice to give birth to her son against medical advice. The only way she could have chosen not to have her baby would have been in an illegal backstreet abortion, risking a prison sentence in a foreign country. She had no legal choice at all. All she had was luck and her son was born healthy. Will the ad reflect that?

Will Sarah Palin continue to praise Ms Tebow's "choice" if the ad turns out to be dishonest?

A tale of two familes: the Johnstons and the Palins - Sentencing of Diana Palin

December 18, 2008

Sherry L. Johnston was arrested by Alaska State Troopers at her Wasilla home Thursday December 18, 2008 and charged with six felony counts of misconduct involving a controlled substance.

November 20, 2009

Sherry Johnston was sentenced Friday to three years in prison for dealing the prescription painkiller OxyContin.

Johnston received less time than the normal five to eight years for a second-degree felony drug charge because the amount she was dealing was so small.

Johnston is slated to serve her sentence at Alaska's only female prison, Hiland Mountain Correctional Center in Eagle River. She has been at Hiland since she pleaded guilty in August.

Her attorney, Rex Butler, has filed paperwork with the state Department of Corrections to get Johnston out of prison and on an ankle-monitoring program for her three-year sentence. If she qualifies, Johnston could serve her time at her home in Wasilla.

With a criminal history of only one misdemeanor DUI charge in 1993, Corrections officials say she is a good candidate for the program.

Butler said his client was selling some of the drugs to get money to pay for other pain medications that her insurance company was cutting her off from.

April 13, 2009

Jailed at Mat-Su Pretrial Facility since Wasilla police arrested her April 2, Diana Palin pleaded not guilty during a brief appearance in Palmer Superior Court this morning.

Police say she broke into a home on West Mill Site Circle owned by Theodore Turcott to steal cash. Turcott told investigators he'd lost nearly $2,600 in two prior burglaries, so when he saw an unfamiliar car pull into his driveway, he waited in a bathroom for Palin and confronted her after she headed straight for a cabinet where he kept his money, according to a police affidavit filed by Officer Jentry Crain. Palin's 4-year-old daughter came into the home as her mother was being detained by Turcott, who was armed, police and prosecutors say.

On April 2, police arrested Palin for that day's break-in and also for a burglary March 31 in which nearly $400 was taken from Turcott's home.

The grand jury on Friday indicted Palin for those break-ins, and also for one March 26 in which $2,200 was stolen, according to court documents.

January 29, 2010

Palin received SIS (Suspended Imposition of Sentence) and therefore will serve no more jail time.

She WILL continue her substance abuse treatment at Akeela House, where she will receive services on an outpatient basis.

These two women broke the law. Both crimes involved drugs - one crime was small time drug dealing with mitigating circumstances and the other was burglary to finance the purchase of drugs, where the woman took her 4 year old daughter with her.

Sherry Johnston belongs to a family at odds with the Palins and was sentenced to three years in jail.

The Johnstons: Levi, Sherry and Mercede

Diana Palin is... a Palin (!) and was sentenced to nothing, apart from some rehab program as an outpatient at an expensive facility.

Diana with some of the Palins

Is anybody surprised?

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Explanation of the above pictures, showing Diana Palin with other family members:

1. Screenshot of Diana Palin's myspace account before it was made private.

2. Photo of Diana Palin holding Trig at the pool of the Biltmore Hotel Resort in Phoenix, Arizona, most likely taken on November 5, 2008. In the background Sarah Palin's sister Molly with one of her sons.

Please also read our extensive report about Diana Palin with more details about the background of her case and her family HERE.

IMPORTANT NOTICE - Credit card fraud

We have received the following e-mail from Bandit Basheert:

My husband's credit card was used 3 times fraudulently yesterday (fortunately our card company smacked it closed and notified us) - anyway he just got a note from Small Dog Electronics that said they were hacked and someone obtained credit card info. They were the company that matched the Haiti Donations and that we put onto the blog.

I'll send you more info as I get it...

If you have donated to the Haiti Appeal through Small Dog Electronics please check with your credit card company and take the necessary steps to prevent fraudulent use of your card.

E-mail from Small Dog:

NOTICE OF POTENTIAL CREDIT CARD INFORMATION BREACH

Thank you for your recent order to Small Dog Electronics. We greatly appreciate your business and hope that you will come back again. Small Dog Electronics strives to protect your privacy in placing orders at our web site.

I am very sorry to report that we have had a security breach in our database during the period of time that your order was placed. As a result, it is possible that your credit card information has fallen into the hands of those making this unauthorized intrusion into our order system.

The security breach has been corrected and our database is now fully secure.

Please examine your credit card statement as soon as posible and contact your credit card's
issuing bank to dispute any unauthorized charges and have your credit card replaced.

Monitoring of your credit report can be obtained at http://www.privacyguard.com
Note, you can also check your credit report at the offical site required by The Fair Credit Reporting Act: https://www.annualcreditreport.com

Please accept our most sincere apologies. We take your privacy and your trust very seriously.
We are committed to making customers for life and while I do not like to have to inform you of
this temporary security breach, we know that it is the right thing to do.

Please let me know if you have any questions or need further information. You may also contact Cindy Fuller, assistant controller at cindy@smalldog.com or call 800-511-6227 ext 618

Sincerely,

Don Mayer
CEO
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Comic Relief: Remembrance of Sarah Palin's past - Now including bonus photos

Now that Sarah Palin wants to become the teabagger president, the question is, does she know what it is the president does all day?



Also, will she ever learn to answer a question from reporters?



Has she learned the difference between "admittance" and "admission"?



We have a mandation for the remembrance of all these "admittances" by this very capable wordsmith, the one and only Sarah Palin. (I have just realized how difficult it is to write in Palinese. Word salad is an art!)

She should consider banning YouTube.

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BONUS

I couldn't put you through a very long interview on video, but here are some screenshots of Sarah Palin "On The Record" with Greta. Sarah is a bit more animated than she was on Hannity, but her hair is still a mess. Political contributor my foot! This is the present version of Sarah. Compare to version past, seen above.

Is there a future?







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Following the discussions about Sarah palin's mouth, here are some screenshots from the Hannity show and link to a slideshow. Thank you, CityChick




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GRIFTER WATCH - 1) What happened to Sarah Palin's "legal" fund? - 2) Teabaggers latest - UPDATE

Kristan Cole is a close friend of Sarah Palin and acts as a spokesperson and fundraiser for the family. She created the Alaska Fund Trust, together with a website where things are explained to the gullible people she invites to donate money to Sarah Palin and her family.

The website uses the terms "open and transparent" frequently:

"I joined with fellow Alaskans in forming the Alaska Fund Trust to help alleviate Sarah's legal debt incurred while performing her job as well as eliminate the incentive for future attacks by her opponents. In doing so, we have created one of the most restrictive and transparent legal funds in history."

"Thank you for your interest in the Alaska Fund Trust. In the spirit of complete openness and transparency, the signed Alaska Fund Trust Agreement can be downloaded here."

"Halfway through her first term as Alaska's Governor, Sarah Palin has done so much for her state and her nation. She has been a champion for much needed transparency and accountability in government."

In the FAQs section of the website, we can see this question:

Q. Will there be any disclosure of contributions and expenses?

A. Yes. The Trustee will disclose on a quarterly basis the contributions as well as categories of expenses with amounts.

The fund was started on April 22, 2009 and nobody has seen any of the promised quarterly reports.

OK, Kristan, for the sake of so much openness, accountability and transparency, please show us the money!

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Here's Kristan acting as spokesperson, although she doesn't mention the fund. This video has some footage of Sarah Palin carrying Trig in her inimitable style.



One of the many accomplishments of Sarah Palin during her short stint in office was to appoint Kristan Cole and other grifters to positions where they could supervise the money grabbing operations of the revamped Mat-Su Creamery. Many good people endured heavy financial losses and had their reputations dragged through the mud while the grifters lined their pockets with federal and state money. Kristan Cole features heavily in the Dairygate fiasco.

EXCLUSIVE: Sarah Palin's "Gone With The Wind" hairstyle was...PAID BY OPRAH!

PALINGATES EXCLUSIVE:

Our resourceful contacts, who keep a close eye on Sarah Palin and her dealings, have made a fascinating discovery. Remember Sarah's "Gone With The Wind" hairstyle a few days ago on Oprah?

Sarah's surprising new hairstyle made headlines because of Oprah's "shocked" reaction at the beginning of the interview:

Now we have received a piece of information which makes Oprah's reaction appear in an entirely new light:

Oprah's company Harpo paid for the hairstyle! It was part of Sarah's expenses for the show! The invoice of the hairdresser went directly to Harpo!

No wonder Oprah was so shocked! She realized in a fraction of a second that her money had been wasted! ;-)

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Message to Sarah Palin: "We don’t quit. I don’t quit."

Apparently Sarah Palin and Hannity watched a different State Of the Union speech. What's more likely, though, is that they were either too keen to distort President Obama's words or too stupid to understand what he said.

Here are some highlights from President Obama's speech:

Now, the true engine of job creation in this country will always be America’s businesses. But government can create the conditions necessary for businesses to expand and hire more workers.


We should start where most new jobs do – in small businesses, companies that begin when an entrepreneur takes a chance on a dream, or a worker decides its time she became her own boss.

Through sheer grit and determination, these companies have weathered the recession and are ready to grow. But when you talk to small business owners in places like Allentown, Pennsylvania or Elyria, Ohio, you find out that even though banks on Wall Street are lending again, they are mostly lending to bigger companies. But financing remains difficult for small business owners across the country.

So tonight, I’m proposing that we take $30 billion of the money Wall Street banks have repaid and use it to help community banks give small businesses the credit they need to stay afloat. I am also proposing a new small business tax credit – one that will go to over one million small businesses who hire new workers or raise wages. While we’re at it, let’s also eliminate all capital gains taxes on small business investment; and provide a tax incentive for all businesses, large and small, to invest in new plants and equipment.

You see, Washington has been telling us to wait for decades, even as the problems have grown worse. Meanwhile, China’s not waiting to revamp its economy. Germany’s not waiting. India’s not waiting. These nations aren’t standing still. These nations aren’t playing for second place. They’re putting more emphasis on math and science. They’re rebuilding their infrastructure. They are making serious investments in clean energy because they want those jobs.

Well I do not accept second-place for the United States of America. As hard as it may be, as uncomfortable and contentious as the debates may be, it’s time to get serious about fixing the problems that are hampering our growth.

This year, we have broken through the stalemate between left and right by launching a national competition to improve our schools. The idea here is simple: instead of rewarding failure, we only reward success. Instead of funding the status quo, we only invest in reform – reform that raises student achievement, inspires students to excel in math and science, and turns around failing schools that steal the future of too many young Americans, from rural communities to inner-cities. In the 21st century, one of the best anti-poverty programs is a world-class education. In this country, the success of our children cannot depend more on where they live than their potential.

Now, the price of college tuition is just one of the burdens facing the middle-class. That’s why last year I asked Vice President Biden to chair a task force on Middle-Class Families. That’s why we’re nearly doubling the child care tax credit, and making it easier to save for retirement by giving every worker access to a retirement account and expanding the tax credit for those who start a nest egg. That’s why we’re working to lift the value of a family’s single largest investment – their home. The steps we took last year to shore up the housing market have allowed millions of Americans to take out new loans and save an average of $1,500 on mortgage payments. This year, we will step up re-financing so that homeowners can move into more affordable mortgages. And it is precisely to relieve the burden on middle-class families that we still need health insurance reform.

Now let’s be clear – I did not choose to tackle this issue to get some legislative victory under my belt. And by now it should be fairly obvious that I didn’t take on health care because it was good politics.

I took on health care because of the stories I’ve heard from Americans with pre-existing conditions whose lives depend on getting coverage; patients who’ve been denied coverage; and families – even those with insurance – who are just one illness away from financial ruin.

Starting in 2011, we are prepared to freeze government spending for three years. Spending related to our national security, Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security will not be affected. But all other discretionary government programs will. Like any cash-strapped family, we will work within a budget to invest in what we need and sacrifice what we don’t. And if I have to enforce this discipline by veto, I will.

We will continue to go through the budget line by line to eliminate programs that we can’t afford and don’t work. We’ve already identified $20 billion in savings for next year. To help working families, we will extend our middle-class tax cuts. But at a time of record deficits, we will not continue tax cuts for oil companies, investment fund managers, and those making over $250,000 a year. We just can’t afford it.

Rather than fight the same tired battles that have dominated Washington for decades, it’s time to try something new. Let’s invest in our people without leaving them a mountain of debt. Let’s meet our responsibility to the citizens who sent us here. Let’s try common sense.

It’s time to require lobbyists to disclose each contact they make on behalf of a client with my Administration or Congress. And it’s time to put strict limits on the contributions that lobbyists give to candidates for federal office. Last week, the Supreme Court reversed a century of law to open the floodgates for special interests – including foreign corporations – to spend without limit in our elections. Well I don’t think American elections should be bankrolled by America’s most powerful interests, or worse, by foreign entities. They should be decided by the American people, and that’s why I’m urging Democrats and Republicans to pass a bill that helps to right this wrong.

But what frustrates the American people is a Washington where every day is Election Day. We cannot wage a perpetual campaign where the only goal is to see who can get the most embarrassing headlines about their opponent – a belief that if you lose, I win. Neither party should delay or obstruct every single bill just because they can. The confirmation of well-qualified public servants should not be held hostage to the pet projects or grudges of a few individual Senators. Washington may think that saying anything about the other side, no matter how false, is just part of the game. But it is precisely such politics that has stopped either party from helping the American people. Worse yet, it is sowing further division among our citizens and further distrust in our government.

So no, I will not give up on changing the tone of our politics. I know it’s an election year. And after last week, it is clear that campaign fever has come even earlier than usual. But we still need to govern. To Democrats, I would remind you that we still have the largest majority in decades, and the people expect us to solve some problems, not run for the hills. And if the Republican leadership is going to insist that sixty votes in the Senate are required to do any business at all in this town, then the responsibility to govern is now yours as well. Just saying no to everything may be good short-term politics, but it’s not leadership. We were sent here to serve our citizens, not our ambitions.

Throughout our history, no issue has united this country more than our security. Sadly, some of the unity we felt after 9/11 has dissipated. We can argue all we want about who’s to blame for this, but I am not interested in re-litigating the past. I know that all of us love this country. All of us are committed to its defense. So let’s put aside the schoolyard taunts about who is tough. Let’s reject the false choice between protecting our people and upholding our values. Let’s leave behind the fear and division, and do what it takes to defend our nation and forge a more hopeful future – for America and the world.

We have finished a difficult year. We have come through a difficult decade. But a new year has come. A new decade stretches before us. We don’t quit. I don’t quit. Let’s seize this moment – to start anew, to carry the dream forward, and to strengthen our union once more.

President Obama sent a few messages that apply to Sarah Palin:

"Let’s try common sense."

"We cannot wage a perpetual campaign where the only goal is to see who can get the most embarrassing headlines about their opponent – a belief that if you lose, I win."

"So let’s put aside the schoolyard taunts about who is tough."

"We don’t quit. I don’t quit."

Ouch!

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

BONUS

You can read the funny bits and be spared the torture of listening to Sarah Palin.

VAN SUSTEREN: Speaking of cold, we're going up to Alaska. Governor Palin is up there. Governor Palin, if there is one single word that describes your view of the state of the union speech, what is it. and why?

SARAH PALIN, FORMER ALASKA GOVERNOR/FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: In a word, "lecture." I think there was quite a bit of lecturing, not leading in that, as opposed to Governor McDonnell's follow-up comments, quite inspiring his connection with the people. He absolutely gets it, he understands government's appropriate role.

It seemed like our president has that fundamental disconnect between what people are expecting with their government and what he wants to deliver.

VAN SUSTEREN: And Governor Palin, in terms of the speech, do you think he managed to reach across the aisle, even though you used the word "lecture," are any Republicans persuaded, let's try to work together?

PALIN: Not necessarily Greta, because the remembrance here has got to be that he and the Democrats, they've been in charge of Washington this last year. So the common sense reforms that he is looking to Republicans to join him on, he could have implemented many of those "common sense," as he calls them, reforms all along. Nothing has stopped him from doing that.

His mention of offshore drilling, considering that, and new energy plants, and other things that do make a lot of sense, and I appreciate he mentioning those in the speech tonight. Those things that again are common sense he could have implemented. And I think that was a bit condescending as he spoke that received by Republicans, who are saying, wait, we wanted to do that all along. Where you been?

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Spot the "mandation"

"I tell ya, this is why people are disenchanted and becoming more and more disengaged really from what their government is doing because when we see an issue like this, words spoken that may not be true, coming from our president, and embarrassing our Supreme Court and not respecting the separation of powers... Since August more Americans have paid more attention to the (health care) bill and more Americans are becoming more concerned. It hadn’t been a matter of he not being able to explain his policy with government take over and mandation of health care, but Americans understanding what is in there not liking it."

Sarah Palin at the Tea Party - a storm in a half-empty teacup - UPDATE

The Teabaggers are not a very happy bunch.

Mother Jones reports:

Tea Party Nation founder Judson Phillips likely assumed that scoring a dinner speech by the former Alaska governor and GOP vice presidential candidate would guarantee a huge turnout for his National Tea Party Convention, scheduled to start Feb. 4 at Nashville's Gaylord Opryland Hotel. But according to Tea Party insiders, the tickets for the Palin banquet aren't selling—and some conservative activists who have already paid to attend are now demanding refunds. With the controversial event shaping up to be a potential flop, some Tea Partiers are urging Palin to cancel her speech to avoid a humiliating public relations disaster.

According to internal convention planning documents obtained by Mother Jones, Palin will be paid $115,000 to address the attendees—as they dine on steak or lobster. To some Tea Partiers, this lavish affair sounds suspiciously like an exclusive GOP fundraiser and a betrayal of their grassroots movement. (In mid-January, Palin told Fox News' Bill O'Reilly that she will not profit from her appearance at the convention, suggesting she would donate her speaking fee to Republican candidates. But she has not provided any details on that, and a Palin spokesperson did not respond to requests for clarification.)

Anthony Shreeve is an activist in Dandridge, Tenn. who quit the convention organizing committee over the expensive ticket prices. He says he has it on good authority that most of the approximately 500 speech-only tickets have not been sold. Shreeve adds that Phillips "isn't going to sell any more," and says other would-be attendees have been demanding—and receiving—refunds. Late on Tuesday afternoon, I tested his claim by attempting to buy 10 tickets to the dinner. If I’d been prepared to shell out $3,587.10, that would apparently have been no problem. "I really hope that Sarah Palin doesn’t come to this event because it's going to be really embarrassing for her to walk into a half-empty room," says Shreeve.

According to the internal Tea Party Nation documents, organizers were depending on Palin’s speech to lure a much larger crowd to the banquet in order to turn a profit. Based on cost estimates used by the organizers in the planning documents, if 1,100 people attend the banquet (600 of whom would also attend the convention), the event would cost the organizers about $401,200, including Palin's $115,000 speaking fee. If all the tickets are sold—both the $549 all-access tickets and the $349 dinner-only tickets—Phillips' group would net about $102,700. But if few of the banquet-only tickets are sold, the organizers are likely to end up seriously in the hole, depending on how much the group had to pay in advance to the hotel, which is charging $120 per person for the dinner. Shreeve observes, "It wouldn't surprise me if [Phillips] ends up filing for bankruptcy the day after."

Will she or won't she? Sarah Palin has pulled out of other events at the last minute, so it wouldn't be out-of-character if she pulled out of this crazy tea party. With only one week left until the event, we won't have too long a wait to find out. Of course, the organizers could give away the unsold tickets:

Tami Kilmarx, a nurse in Nashville who also resigned from the Tea Party Nation convention planning committee after falling out with Phillips, believes the convention may ultimately "completely disintegrate." She says that Phillips has been urged to give away remaining tickets to Palin’s speech to head off the embarrassment of having the former vice presidential candidate speaking to a half-empty room.

Or Sarah could ask her friend Dr Cathy Baldwin-Johnson to provide her with a sicknote:

Given all the negative publicity, Shreeve is surprised Palin hasn’t pulled out already. "In her contract she is allowed to send a representative if she can't make it if she's sick or something. Maybe she’ll come down with the flu," he says with a laugh.


Let's wait and see...

Open Thread - Clever Sarah Palin

We have some visiting trolls, so I thought it would be a good idea to remind them how well Sarah Palin knows her Canadian neighbours. After all, one of her claims to foreign policy experience is the fact that Alaska and Canada share a vast land border and have trade missions back and forth all the time.

Poor Sarah, her vanity and her delusional sense of self-importance made her the only politician who didn't realize she was being pranked. The only other celebrity who had to be told by the Masked Avengers that the phone call she received was a joke was... Britney Spears.

Would anybody like to see Britney Spears in the White House?

No, I didn't think so. But some people seem to believe that a person as clever as Ms Spears should be the president of the United States...

Enjoy.




Sarah Palin: This is Sarah.

Masked Avengers: Ah, yeah, Gov. Palin.

Palin: Hello.

Masked Avengers: Just hold on for President Sarkozy, one moment.

SP: Oh, it's not him yet, they're saying. I always do that.

MA: Yes, hello, Gov. Palin.

SP: Hello, this is Sarah, how are you?

MA: Fine, and you? This is Nicolas Sarkozy speaking, how are you?

SP: Oh, it's so good to hear you. Thank you for calling us.

MA: Oh, it's a pleasure.

SP: Thank you sir, we have such great respect for you, John McCain and I. We love you and thank you for taking a few minutes to talk to me.

MA: I follow your campaigns closely with my special American adviser Johnny Hallyday (French rock star), you know?

SP: Yes, good.

MA: Excellent. Are you confident?

SP: Very confident and we're thankful that polls are showing that the race is tightening and...

MA: Well I know very well that the campaign can be exhausting. How do you feel right now, my dear?

SP: I feel so good. I feel like we're in a marathon and at the very end of the marathon you get your second wind and you plow to the finish.

MA: You see, I got elected in France because I'm real and you seem to be someone who's real, as well.

SP: Yes, yeah. Nico, we so appreciate this opportunity.

MA: You know I see you as a president one day, too.

SP: Maybe in eight years.

MA: Well, I hope for you. You know, we have a lot in common because personally one of my favourite activities is to hunt, too.

SP: Oh, very good. We should go hunting together.

MA: Exactly, we could try go hunting by helicopter like you did. I never did that. Like we say in French, on pourrait tuer des bebe phoques, aussi (we could kill baby seals, too).

SP: Well, I think we could have a lot of fun together while we're getting work done. We can kill two birds with one stone that way.

MA: I just love killing those animals. Mmm, mmm, take away life, that is so fun. I'd really love to go, so long as we don't bring along Vice-President Cheney.

SP: No, I'll be a careful shot, yes.

MA: Yes, you know we have a lot in common also, because except from my house I can see Belgium. That's kind of less interesting than you.

SP: Well, see, we're right next door to different countries that we all need to be working with, yes.

MA: Some people said in the last days and I thought that was mean that you weren't experienced enough in foreign relations and you know that's completely false. That's the thing that I said to my great friend, the prime minister of Canada Stef Carse (Canadian country singer).

SP: Well, he's doing fine, too, and yeah, when you come into a position underestimated it gives you an opportunity to prove the pundits and the critics wrong. You work that much harder.

MA: I was wondering because you are so next to him, one of my good friends, the prime minister of Quebec, Mr. Richard Z. Sirois (Canadian comedian), have you met him recently? Did he come to one of your rallies?

SP: I haven't seen him at one of the rallies but it's been great working with the Canadian officials. I know as governor we have a great co-operative effort there as we work on all of our resource-development projects. You know, I look forward to working with you and getting to meet you personally and your beautiful wife. Oh my goodness, you've added a lot of energy to your country with that beautiful family of yours.

MA: Thank you very much. You know my wife Carla would love to meet you, even though you know she was a bit jealous that I was supposed to speak to you today.

SP: Well, give her a big hug for me.

MA: You know my wife is a popular singer and a former top model and she's so hot in bed. She even wrote a song for you.

SP: Oh my goodness, I didn't know that.

MA: Yes, in French it's called de rouge a levre sur un cochon (lipstick on a pig), or if you prefer in English, Joe the Plumber...it's his life, Joe the Plumber.

SP: Maybe she understands some of the unfair criticism but I bet you she is such a hard worker, too, and she realizes you just plow through that criticism.

MA: I just want to be sure. That phenomenon Joe the Plumber. That's not your husband, right?

SP: That's not my husband but he's a normal American who just works hard and doesn't want government to take his money.

MA: Yes, yes, I understand we have the equivalent of Joe the Plumber in France. It's called Marcel, the guy with bread under his armpit.

SP: Right, that's what it's all about, the middle class and government needing to work for them. You're a very good example for us here.

MA: I see a bit about NBC, even Fox News wasn't an ally as much as usual.

SP: Yeah, that's what we're up against.

MA: Gov. Palin, I love the documentary they made on your life. You know Hustler's Nailin' Paylin? (porn movie)

SP: Ohh, good, thank you, yes.

MA: That was really edgy.

SP: Well, good.

MA: I really loved you and I must say something also, governor, you've been pranked by the Masked Avengers. We are two comedians from Montreal.

SP: Ohhh, have we been pranked? And what radio station is this?

MA: CKOI in Montreal.

SP: In Montreal? Tell me the radio station call letters.

MA: CK...hello?


BONUS:


Watch CBS News Videos Online
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GRIFTER WATCH: Pay $ 1,000 to be received in private by Sarah Palin - PALINGATES EXCLUSIVE!

Sarah, this is the closest...

...you will ever get to the White House!

+++

PALINGATES GRIFTER WATCH - EXCLUSIVE:

On March 5, 2010, the people of Columbus, Ohio, will have a special visitor: Sarah Palin, Queen of the grifters, will be in town!

The woman who charges $ 100,000 per speech, which was apparently an inspiration for her daughter Bristol to charge an equally outrageous $ 100,000 for her appearance in the gossip magazine "In Touch Weekly", wants to "rally Ohio" and "fight for life".

Good for her! Surely the people of Columbus will be thrilled. What about the money, though?

Well...

Sarah Palin seems to have realized that it was rather disappointing for the "grassroots" teabaggers to witness that she will receive $ 100,000 for her appearance at the "Tea Party Convention" in Nashville in February 2010.

Sarah apparently has a hunch that her demands aren't going down too well with the rabid teabaggers who despise the "elite" in Washington DC. Aren't very, very rich people also part of the elite?

Therefore, somebody apparently used his/her braincells and thought about a solution.

On March 5 in Columbus Ohio, Sarah will "rally the troops" for the amazingly cheap admission fee of a mere $ 40! Hurray! All hail Sarah! Back to the grassroots!

But wait a moment!

Where will the $ 100,000 for the Queen of the grifters come from? Because for less she probably ain't going to get out of bed.

You would need 2,500 people just to cover the costs for Sarah's speech alone! Isn't that a bit risky? After all, there will be additional costs - rent of the venue etc.

Therefore, it seems that someone came up with a genius plan! There won't just be a speech - there will also be a private reception.

How much will that be then?

Well, one of our readers found out - many, many thanks! Of course, you cannot just call this number and they will tell you. You have to leave your number and THEY will call YOU. Is this called vetting?

Thanks to our reader, we now know what the fee for the "private reception" will be.

$ 1,000 ! (one thousand dollars - a whopping grand!)

Do you think Sarah Palin is stupid?

It seems that Sarah is a natural talent when it comes to growing the monies on her account. That is clearly a great skill!

I see a new book coming up: OUT OF POLITICS - INTO THE MONEY - Sarah Palin reveals her secrets for success. It would surely be another bestseller. Too tempting to resist, Sarah, isn't it?

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Levi Johnston on The Insider (video) - "I am in the process of writing a tell-all book and will tell everything"

It looks like Levi will not be put down or curl up and go to sleep.

Levi has the right to see his son, but the Palins make it very, very difficult, then accuse him of not being involved in Tripp's life. It's a real shame that Bristol Palin is sacrificing her son's emotional health by not allowing Tripp to have a loving relationship with his father.

Bristol has embarked on a PR campaign with her mother. They have appeared as "mother and daughter bringing up their babies together" in a gossip magazine, gave an interview to Oprah, where Bristol emerged as a born again virgin, talking about how she feels so lonely.

Bristol, you don't have to do it alone, Levi is more than willing to participate in all the chores involved in bringing up the baby you share. The baby your mother will not allow you to share.

Shame on you, Bristol Palin. Shame, shame on you, Sarah Palin.
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Adrienne Ross: "Rabid Dogs" in God's Country

C4P-contributor and leading Palinbot Adrienne Ross knows that God is good:

"God is good, has been good, will continue to be good. I marvel sometimes at His incredible faithfulness. Even when I'm not faithful, He remains faithful. His ability to keep me in His care is something that I cherish and hold so dear to my heart. Today I celebrate God, the baptism of His Spirit, and how He rocked my world so many years ago--and continues to rock my world today."

She also knows that Sarah Palin is doing God's work:

"The highlight for me was being given the opportunity to serve at the book signing. I use the word "serve" on purpose because that is exactly the way I saw it. I was glad that I would be able to do whatever needed to be done for Governor Palin. It didn't matter what it was. I wanted to get to spend time with her, but I also knew that if helping out meant otherwise, then so be it. I was just glad to serve someone who has served God, her family, and the American people so faithfully. That was my number one desire--and the Lord opened that door for me. It amazes me how good God is."

Looking closely at Sarah Palin, "the Governor" even has some "Godlike" features, as Adrienne Ross doesn't hesitate to tell her readers:

"People were approaching her (Sarah Palin) in line, and as they came near, I could see some suppressing tears. Others just let them flow. One woman said she had told herself she would not cry. Others were shaking. Of course, over and over, people were staring and saying, "She's so beautiful!" I remember hearing that in both Auburn and Alaska. I will repeat what I said when I first met her: television and pictures do not do justice to how beautiful she is, and you could see that on the faces and hear it on the lips of those gathered. They were in awe. She possesses both an inward and outward radiance."







When God sends preachers who proclaim that Sarah Palin is divine...




...then Adrienne Ross is happy:

"Thank you for this link. I watched the video. It is a confirmation! After watching, there is such a burning in the pit of my stomach. Very interesting. I never knew about the word "Palin," but I certainly concur that the Lord has called her for this hour. What He is going to do will shake the nation--especially the naysayers.

God bless you."

Screenshot:



For more information about the above video clip, please visit Leah Burton's blog.

+++

But there seems to be trouble in Paradise.

Some people apparently don't like Sarah Palin very much.

How can that be? Isn't Sarah Palin the most wonderful woman on earth?

There are rumors that for example Levi Johnston doesn't like Sarah Palin too much.

Clearly a case for Adrienne Ross:

"Levi: When Lying Dogs Won't Sleep

Everyone has heard the expression "let sleeping dogs lie." Sounds good and is arguably good advice. But what does one do when a lying dog won't sleep, won't shut up, that is?

Normally I avoid all things Levi. He's not worth it right now. Writing about him is a waste of space. He wants the publicity, so don't give it to him. I totally understand, and usually I'm in agreement. But I also understand a basic principle, and that is this: there's a time to fight back. There's a time when you just have to deal with the barking, biting dog that's been dropping you know what all over the place everywhere he goes. And sometimes you just have to put him out--not just to deal with him--but for the benefit of those he's sniping at. This particular mutt, who's been wagging his tail all over Playgirl, refuses to sit down, shut up, or play dead--and this dog is lying every time he opens his mouth.

(...)

The last thing I want to do is spend a Sunday on Levi Johnston. However, I'll spend a hundred Sundays on the opportunity to applaud Bristol Palin for doing the mature, responsible thing--the hard work. She's a good mom, who has another good mom as an example.

I believe there's hope for Levi; I really do. And I hope he grabs ahold of it soon because he's treading on very thin Alaska ice.

Like I said at the start, there's something to be said for letting sleeping dogs lie. But when a lying dog refuses to put his rabid mouth to sleep, sometimes you just have to put that dog down."

You have "to put that dog down"?

Wow - pretty strong stuff, even for Palinbots, is it not?

Adrienne Ross doesn't think so:







There was no threat! Keep going, nothing to see here!

So - "put that dog down" means "put him in his place, call him out, fight back instead of letting sleeping dogs lie"?

Well - not according to the urban dictionary, for example - the explanation is actually rather fascinating:

put down

7 up, 1 down

To kill an animal 'humanly' because they are too old or too ill. We are also totally bullshitting ourselves when we say "There's nothing we can do", "It's in too much pain", or "It'll be better off this way", especially since humans in the same conditions go to nursing homes, hostpitals, get a private nurse, wheel chairs, a ton of meds, and no one ever says "There's nothing we can do, we have to put down Grandma." Grandpa: The dog's fourteen, and he can't move around anymore, we gotta get him put down. Grandchild: But why, Grandpa? Grandpa: Blame the society, not the executioner, sweetie. kill murder dog animal humane by melloshark Oct 4, 2009 share this

What is even more fascinating is the fact that the choice of words by Adrienne Ross was even too strong for C4P themselves - they dutifully published Adrienne's article, but C4P later edited the post and deleted the words "you just have to put that dog down". However Adrienne Ross was not impressed and left the article on her own blog "Motivation Truth" unchanged.

Does Adrienne Ross know what she is doing?

Answer: YES! After all, she is an English teacher in New York and she must be aware of the subtle distinctions, the variations and the nuances of the English language, and how to use them to your advantage!



In addition, Adrienne Ross proudly states on her website herself that she writes poems and is not shy to present an example to her readers and demonstrates her ability of play with language:




Therefore, she can hardly claim innocence or ignorance.

But why does all this matter? Is it really relevant whether there is one "crazy4palin" more or less?

Well, yes, it DOES MATTER, because Adrienne Ross should also be very well aware of the fact that there are enough people amongst the Palinbots who are just as fanatic as Adrienne Ross and who are in addition freaking gun-crazy!

One example is C4P-reader William Henley who lives uncomfortably close to Levi Johnston - right there in Alaska, the holy land. William Henley commented on C4P about Sarah Palin's book signing back in December 2009, when Gryphen and Dennis Zaki were denied access and were escorted off the premises:

"Sandra, you are lying out your a**. I was at the Wasilla book-signing. As a matter of fact I was there at 10 p.m. the night before and was in line at 05:30. I was one of two people who sat out there all night. The second person (Amy) got there at midnight. I was there through-out and not a single protester with signs showed up at anytime. No single person was there handing out oblabla/hitler pictures. You are nothing more than a lying bi**h and need to go to one of the sights that care for what you are lying about. Just as one of the security heads told me, if anyone started trouble they probably would not have survived. I and many others at the signing were carrying our sidearms. Mine happens to be a police special 357 mag. and I know how to use it and rather enjoy using it for the right reasons, i.e. protecting Sarah Palin and family."

Screenshot:



As it is apparent from the screenshot, many readers on C4P were very fond of this comment. I wonder why...?

Therefore, dear Adrienne, please remember:

"MATTHEW 12:36-37
36 But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. 37 For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned."

You might want to worship Sarah Palin, if you wish, that's up to you, Adrienne.

Using inflammatory language, however, goes too far.

Especially if you are a member of a bunch that includes trigger-happy lunatics, that is.
.