Sarah Palin has been relatively quiet and not seen very much seen since the very hectic weekend when she attended media parties, chose life and extracted money from a fledgling special needs organization. She attended all those weekend's events with Todd Todd Todd, her new handy prop.
Meanwhile, a book looking into her lies was published, an article by Joshua Green made some impact, Trump and Huckabee dropped out of the 2012 presidential race and Sarah Palin is making renewed efforts to fleece her followers.
Sarah PAC sending direct mail on 2012
Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin is sending direct mail solicitations nationwide to raise money for her political action committee titled “2012 Can’t Come Fast Enough,” a move that is certain to re-stoke talk of whether she will run for the presidential nomination.
“Taking back control of the House last year was only the first step,” Palin writes in the mailer. “Now you and I must fix our eyes on 2012. Our goal is to take back the White House and the Senate.”
The bloggers have continued to focus on her less than savoury past and tall stories.
The article by Joshua Green, "The Tragedy of Sarah Palin," was brilliantly debunked by Jeanne Devon and highlighted by Andrew Sullivan.
The Real Tragedy of Sarah Palin
The real question he’s asking is – What could Palin have achieved if she had a different personality, if she were not a political opportunist and had actual integrity, if she were qualified, if she knew her stuff, if she were an effective leader, if she knew how to manage people, if she were intellectually curious, if she didn’t quit? The question Green asks is really what Sarah Palin might have achieved if she hadn’t been Sarah Palin. And it’s why “What went wrong?” is a false question. “What went wrong” was Palin being who she is – consistently and predictably opportunistic. There are times when opportunity comes from doing the right thing, but there are times when opportunity comes from doing the wrong thing. It doesn’t mean that Palin changed, it just means she was true to what drives her always – her own self-interest.
Laura Novak had another conversation with Brad Scharlott, this time taking a closer look at the Sponge Bob Square Pants baby bump Sarah Palin sported in a documentary filmed by Elan Frank.
Sponge Sarah Square Pillow
Brad: I uniformly lightened the picture – I did not move any pixels nor did I give isolated areas special treatment. So the relative flatness you perceive in the stomach area is an accurate depiction of reality – her belly really does look more like a first-base bag than a basketball.
[Laura is working on another good post, where a doctor is going to give an opinion about certain photos...]
Andrew Halcro returned to one of my favourite themes: Dairygate. He discusses the problems faced by the city of Palmer if Matanuska Creamery moves to their city centre, but recaps some of the financial details of this sorry saga and we can clearly see that something is amiss...
Palmer's Problem: Same spill, closer to home
Almost three years ago the Matanuska Creamery opened its doors on the strength of federal government handouts and loans from the state's agriculture loan fund. Over the the same amount of time, the Creamery has repeatedly returned to the Board of Agriculture and Conservation (BAC) for loan restructuring and payment deferrals on almost $650,000 because they have failed to turn a profit.
Today, with the Creamery citing high operating costs and the need to move from its existing facility in Wasilla, the BAC is on the verge of leasing a valuable piece of property in the heart of Palmer to the Matanuska Creamery for $1 per year.
In addition to the low cost lease, the BAC is also considering loaning these folks even more money to facilitate the transition. According to news reports, the Creamery is asking for an additional $300,000 from the state for moving expenses and needed upgrades to the property.
These additional funds would drive the current outstanding loan balance owed by the Creamery to almost one million dollars. All of this to a private enterprise who as recently as February was six months behind on their current loan payments.
According to a recent article in the Mat Su-Valley Frontiersman, Matanuska Creamery CEO Karen Olson said the business needs to leave its current location because high rent, lack of public water and sewer and other issues are hurting the business.
[Question: Didn't a certain mayor improve the sewer system of Wasilla?]
The bail-out initiated by fiscal conservative Sarah Palin is set to continue. She destroyed the former CEO Joe Van Treeck, who ran the state owned dairy for 23 years faultlessly, to put it in the private, greedy hands of the utterly incompetent Karen Olson. Sarah also fired the entire agriculture board and appointed a bunch of her cronies from the Valley, who, coincidentally, oversee all these endless, no collateral loans that are never paid back.
Halcro asks:
Does Olson honestly believe we forgot about Kristen Cole, Ralph Carney and the cast of characters who after taking charge of Mat Maid lost more money in one month than in the dairy's previous 23 year history?
And remember, in the 23 year history of Matanuska Maid, never once did it receive a state handout. Contrast that to the Matanuska Creamery which can't keep it's doors open without continued state assistance.
In addition, the Creamery benefited from the closing of Mat Maid because it was the beneficiary of the closed dairy's milk producing equipment for almost nothing. Questions still remain today about the status of the lease agreement and the subsequent payments due to the state.
Dairygate stinks more than the tainted cheese this hopeless creamery produced a while ago...
*****
The governor's shoes were too big for Sarah Palin and now she's considering filling the even bigger, presidential shoes. It's a recipe for disaster.
(Please click on imageto see it in full glory)
