Word salad, dummy, dummy

Breaking my personal embargo on 2016 speculation and any mention whatsoever of Klondike Blarbie because this is too delicious not to share.  It's clear our Griftzilla of the Frozen North is testing the waters for her next big grift. She's in Iowa. She's at the fundie confabs. She's dishing up her special brand of bizarre word salad on the Today Show. When asked to explain her alternative proposal for Obamacare, she spewed this out:

"The plan is to allow those things that had been proposed over many years to reform a health-care system in America that certainly does need more help so that there's more competition, there's less tort reform threat, there's less trajectory of the cost increases, and those plans have been proposed over and over again," Palin said.

"And what thwarts those plans? It's the far left," she said "It's President Obama and his supporters who will not allow the Republicans to usher in free market, patient-centered, doctor-patient relationship links to reform health care."

And now I have this song in my head:

On to the next big grift - Updated

Breaking my embargo one last time to mark the occasion of Sarah Palin's departure from Fox News. Been so long since I paid any attention to Griftzilla of the Frozen North at all, honestly forgot she was still on the teevee.

I see she's spinning it as having turned down the contract renewal offer. Suspect if Ailes really did offer her a re-up, it was at a vastly reduced rate. Imagine she thinks she can do better as a free agent. Certainly, having taken a quick peek at her fan club, that's their story and they're sticking to it. Why now she can go spew her word salad on all the stations as a guest commentator. Also too, 2016! Not sure whether I find that notion more horrifying or amusing.

Sadly, I doubt that she'll just quietly disappear never to be heard from again. Not as long as there's even one rube left to fleece. Thinking she has a future in late night infomercials. I mean, Roger built her that lovely studio so she's all set to go. [photo via eonline]

Update: Suspicion confirmed. Howard Kurtz has the inside dope. He tells us Fox offered her a "vastly reduced rate" to stay on. Meanwhile Ms. Sarah is reduced to giving an exclusive to the slowly failing Breitbrat empire, advising her door is wide open for new offers. Which are apparently not flooding in. (I'll probably rot in hell for taking too much pleasure in seeing her downfall.)

I'm a little tea pot, short and stout

I usually ignore Grfitzilla, but this classic Sarah Palin quote from the Koch brother's sponsored Tea Party Woodstock this weekend is just too funny not to archive for posterity.

"We're little tea pots and we're getting steamed up because Obama is tipping us over, pouring us out and draining the entrepreneurial spirit from us, that which grew America into the most exceptional nation ever known."

And I here I thought that was just smoke coming out of her ears...

Surprised Chris Savage didn't catch that one himself. Eclectablog was there undercover and has much more.

[More posts daily at the Detroit News.]

High Plains Grifter

I do try to avoid encouraging any attention to her, but this is hard to resist. The only change in Griftzilla's game is the graft just gets more blatant. Of course the rubes who donate only read her tweets and Facebook entries, so they probably don't know Sarah PAC is a fraud.

Sarah Palin’s political action committee raised $388,000 in the first three months of the year, but it spent $418,000 and didn’t give a dime to any candidates — which is the purported purpose of the PAC.

Instead, Sarah PAC spent $255,000 on fundraising and a small team of political consultants that Palin has continued to support even as she receded from the political spotlight during the heat of the GOP presidential primary. It also appears to have spent $19,000 on a video rebutting the HBO film “Game Change.”

That's just for the first three months of this year. Also, too, there's this:

The PAC also paid $4,500 to reserve space at Channelside Bay Mall in Tampa, Fla., near the site of the Republican National Convention, suggesting that Palin plans to have an independent presence at the event separate from the formal proceedings.

I'm guessing they're going to hold book signings to see if they can sell off the remainders of her books at retail. And maybe she'll take a cue from Newt and sell personal photo ops at $50 a pop.

But not to worry, they still have almost a million in the bank and they promise they'll be donating a few bucks to some candidates just as soon as they find any worthy of her priceless endorsement. They should have a few thousand extra left through November -- after expenses. And gosh darn, so maybe she won't run in 2012, but 2016 is just around the corner...

[More posts daily at the Detroit News.]

True Grift

I hate to post about Griftzilla again, but I was amused by the reports that Palin's docudrama was a smash hit:

The film's distributor, ARC Entertainment, said the film averaged $5,000 per screen Friday and Saturday night, with sold-out screenings at several locations. ARC Entertainment said in a statement "... with the strong initial showing, the film is going to a wider release footprint later this month."

Somehow 5K per screen didn't sound like that impressive a take to me. It appears I'm not the only one who was amused. TBogg crunched the numbers and figures it works out to an average of 60 people per showing. Looks to me like the promoters don't want to admit it's a dog and, as the saying goes, are going to lose their shirts.

Palin Documentary a box office bomb

You know I try to avoid talking about Griftzilla, but this is too funny, in a sad way. Palin's documentary debuted in California to an empty house. No really. Not a single person showed up to watch it except a reporter who wanted to interview the, as it turned out non-existent, audience.

Now to be fair, the Harry Potter movie opened that night as well, so maybe all the Palin fans went to that. Though I'm not aware that her "real Murkin base" are Potter fans, witchcraft and all that, maybe their kids begged to go. Or maybe they didn't want to battle the hordes of Potter fans. Still, rather an embarrassing opening night. Makes me wonder what happened in the other cities that were granted the privilege to screen it.

[More posts daily at the Detroit News.]

The Horror

By Capt. Fogg

Listen my children and you shall hear
Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere,

-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow-

________________

I had pretty much made up my mind that I wasn't going to grant Sarah Palin any more free publicity or waste any more stress-filled time reacting to the Idiot's Princess, but like the safety valve on a boiler, I have my set limit. Pop goes the weasel, or at least the blogger.

I read her garbled soliloquy yesterday, about how the immigrants who built this country up from an agrarian economy to an economic giant had a terribly hard time gaining entrance and getting citizenship and could not favorably be compared to those today who were raised in the USA from infancy, got an education and became part of our society only to be expelled on some error in their parent's papers. She's right, you can't. It took a matter of hours to go through Immigration in the Ellis Island days and if you weren't Chinese, you were all right. No English required, no guaranteed job, no nothin' -- and they came by the millions. Today it takes years, of course, but we're dealing with Sarah Palin, congenitally stupid product of a fourth tier higher educational system and a lifetime of reading nothing. She's dumber than a pre-schooler and she's a Republican front-runner.

My mother read me that Longfellow poem when I was little more than an infant and I don't think any of my contemporaries did not know by early grade school of that somewhat mythological event, but no, not Sarah Palin who seems to think that the famed Boston silversmith was a spokesman for the NRA and a right wing, saber rattling blowhard whose main concern was promoting gun rights in the American wilderness.

“…he who warned the British that they weren’t gonna be takin’ away our arms, uh, by ringin’ those bells and, um, makin’ sure as he’s ridin’ his horse through town to send those warning shots and bells that were gonna be secure and we were gonna be free. And we were gonna be armed.” You betcha, gol durn it!

The fact that this perky little peanut brain couldn't graduate 5th grade much less pass a citizenship test -- or even apparently, read a newspaper, isn't just obvious, it's horrifying and what these daily enormities we're subjected to say about her is still less horrifying than what this says about America.

Has anybody tried throwing a bucket of water on her?

I'm already very tired of hearing about Sarah Palin. It was blessed few weeks when she disappeared from the narrative. Somebody. Please. Make her go away again.

Press plays paparazzi for Palin

Forget lamestream media. This is lamebrain media:

Sarah Palin and her advisers are refusing to tell members of the media where she is going on her current bus tour - and the former Alaska governor seems to be enjoying the cat and mouse game that's resulted.

"I don't think I owe anything to the mainstream media ... I want them to have to do a little bit of work on a tour like this, and that would include not necessarily telling them beforehand where every stop's going to be," she told fellow Fox News employee Greta Van Susteren in an interview from the bus. [...]

"It feels like she's baiting us and treating us like paparazzi and make the 'lamestream media' appear that way," said [CBS News Producer] Ryan Corsaro.

No Ryan, Palin fancies herself the Paris Hilton of politics. She is treating you like paparazzi and you're falling for it. Actually that's an insult to paparazzi. They're professionals. Palin is making the MSM look like idiot fanboys.

Palin is not going to run for President. All she wants is the attention. And as is being widely noted everywhere, except apparently in the newsrooms, if they stop chasing her for a week, she'll be very careful to tell them where she's going. Right now, all they're doing is playing court jester to her Imperial Narcissus. And losing any remaining shred of credibility they once had as journalists. Just pathetic.

Palin's Murky Murika Tour - Updated 2X

Thousands of aging bikers, tenaciously clinging to their wild youth, are assembling in DC today for the Rolling Thunder rally and most are eagerly awaiting the arrival of "real" Murika's most accomplished grifter, Sarah Palin, who invited herself via a press release. And ever the master of media manipulation, the Mistress of Mystique will arrive late and inform the minions of her plans whenever she damn well feels like it.

Ms. Palin, the former governor of Alaska, had yet to arrive by 9 a.m., and her aides did not offer any details about her participation in the event.

Maybe she and the Toddster will jump on a hog and ride with the boys. Maybe she'll deign to speak to the masses. Or maybe not. Me, I'm wondering if she'll arrive in full leathers and motorcycle boots or just stick to a vest, assless chaps and high heels.

Murika's most famous "true Patriot" invited herself to the rally under the pretense of launching an East Coast tourist trip clearly designed to generate photo ops and speculation about her presidential intentions. But in keeping with her prima donna persona:

The nature of Ms. Palin’s bus tour also remained murky even as it prepared to begin on Sunday. Aides would not say where, exactly, she would go during the next several days, saying only that reporters should keep an eye on her Web site. As of Sunday morning, a schedule of events could not be found on the Web site.

Nor will there ever likely be any. Our Narcissus of the North wants to maximize the media attention by forcing them to chase her, which conveniently also creates the illusion that the big bad liberal press is hounding her. As I've said before, you do have to give her credit for self-promotion. Every move she makes is calculated to maintain her fan base and build her brand.

Update: Well her Highness made a grand entrance visibly enjoying herself as a crush of reporters and bikers swarmed her motorcycle. Well it wasn't exactly her motorcycle but she did go for a ride of sorts:

Ms. Palin climbed aboard a chopper, assisted by a member of the Rolling Thunder staff, but was unable to move because there were so many members of the press snapping photos. Organizers eventually brought in police, also on motorcycles, to clear a path.

After moving just a few feet, Ms. Palin got off the bike to sign autographs and talk with the crowd.

As I've long said, Mooselini is incurious and uninformed but she's not stupid. What a perfectly executed photo op. As for her outfit, she wore a black Harley-Davidson helmet and a black leather jacket. Couldn't see her shoes in the photo. Assuming she wore boots with those black jeans.

Update Two: Not sure why I'm so obsessed with her wardrobe today but AP updates Palin's Rolling Thunder outfit. Apparently, the leather jacket was just a quick prop for the opening photo op. She spent most of her time in heels, black flair slacks and a short-sleeved black T-shirt. Also, too, Rolling Thunder organizers were unhappy about her grandstanding entrance and even some of her fans were somewhat disgruntled about her shamelessly using an event that is meant to focus on veterans as a vehicle for personal opportunism.

Finally - No Palin February - Updated

I don't know what they did with the real Dana "dickwhisperer" Milbank but this is the third column in a month that didn't make me retch. In fact, I'm totally with Milbank on this:

But today is the first day of the rest of my life. And so, I hereby pledge that, beginning on Feb 1, 2011, I will not mention Sarah Palin - in print, online or on television - for one month. Furthermore, I call on others in the news media to join me in this pledge of a Palin-free February. With enough support, I believe we may even be able to extend the moratorium beyond one month, but we are up against a powerful compulsion, and we must take this struggle day by day. [...]

It's impossible, I figured, because Palin is a huge source of cheap Web clicks, television ratings and media buzz. If any of us refused to partake of her Facebook candy or declined to use her as blog bait, we would be sending millions of Web surfers, readers, viewers and listeners to our less scrupulous competitors. [...]

And so I pledge to you: Sarah Palin's name will not cross my lips - or my keyboard - for the entire month of February. Who's with me?

Of course, up until this week, I've been on board with this pledge for months now. But considering Josh Marshall's recent excuses for covering Palin, I don't have much hope it's going to work, or even that Milbank will stick to the pledge. It's all about the click$$$.

Update: Dana's pledge got more attention than I expected. In comments, Southern Beale says she'll join the embargo. Democratic Daily and Outside the Beltway are in. The Nation is out. They want the clicks. Andrew Sullivan is unsurprisingly out. I didn't think he can kick his Palin addiction and neither does he. Meanwhile, our favorite marsupial, skippy, is in and created a great logo.

Obama rekindles hope in Tuscon

If you missed President Obama's memorial tribute in Tuscon last night, it's worth reading in full. Or better yet, watch the video even though it runs a bit long because of the applause.

While most focused on his words, his most bitter critics have been pointing to the applause as somehow disrespectful, likening it to a pep rally. I admit I found it a bit jarring myself, but not because it was misplaced, simply because it was so enthusiatic and so prolonged that it interupted the flow of his speech. No matter, he adjusted his cadence perfectly and maintained the dignity of the moment. In any event, the applause was clearly a release for collective grief and in celebration of the departed they were there to honor.

From beginning to end, Obama's words both comforted and inspired us to put aside our anger and frustrations and hark to our best and kindest impulses. A couple of passages that struck me most deeply:

We recognize our own mortality, and we are reminded that in the fleeting time we have on this Earth, what matters is not wealth, or status, or power, or fame -– but rather, how well we have loved -- (applause)-- and what small part we have played in making the lives of other people better. (Applause.)

For me that encapsulates what being a liberal is really about. It's a call for compassion, to seek outcomes for the common good rather than conquests for personal benefit or political power. And his words for the fallen 9 year old didn't leave a dry eye in the house.

Imagine -- imagine for a moment, here was a young girl who was just becoming aware of our democracy; just beginning to understand the obligations of citizenship; just starting to glimpse the fact that some day she, too, might play a part in shaping her nation’s future. She had been elected to her student council. She saw public service as something exciting and hopeful. She was off to meet her congresswoman, someone she was sure was good and important and might be a role model. She saw all this through the eyes of a child, undimmed by the cynicism or vitriol that we adults all too often just take for granted.

I want to live up to her expectations. (Applause.) I want our democracy to be as good as Christina imagined it. I want America to be as good as she imagined it. (Applause.) All of us -– we should do everything we can to make sure this country lives up to our children’s expectations. (Applause.)

Our President gently challenged us last night to employ our words and acts as tools to heal our common bonds as fellow Americans, rather than weapons to widen the partisan rifts between us. I hope that at least some will listen.

Of course, it's impossible not to see the contrast between our President's stirring of our hearts and Palin's pre-emptive strike earlier in the day with the release of her video statement. Where Obama rekindled the light of hope, Palin lobbed another of her IEDs into the discourse. As Michael Shear so succinctly put it, "[Palin's] video statement captured with precision the bubbling anger and resentment that is an undercurrent of the national conversation about our public discourse."

In short, Obama asked us to honor the victims by restoring civility in our discourse, while predictably, Palin used this tragedy to cast herself as the victim and called on her loyalists to keep the cauldron of caustic commentary boiling. As many have said in the last few hours, it left her looking very small and mean in comparison.

Palin's Pogrom

Breaking my Palin embargo, but not to pile on about her tasteless use of "blood libel" to criticize the media for criticizing her. I'm pretty sure she's so uninformed she had no idea about the genesis of the phrase and simply used it because others already did and she liked the sound of it. But since I forced myself to read about Palin's latest gibberish, I'll address a couple of other points.

Ms. Palin quoted former President Ronald Reagan as saying that society should not be blamed for the acts of an individual. She said, “It is time to restore the American precept that each individual is accountable for his actions.”

That is unless the individual in question repeatedly engages in hate speech and violent gun related imagery. Can't be held accountable for that. She has the right to take wild potshots from behind an impenetrable screen. But if anyone points out she's missed her mark, why that's persecution of her free speech. First Amendment baby. No dirty libruls or lamestream media may apply.

No reason to temper the vitrolic rhetoric either.

“We will not be stopped from celebrating the greatness of our country and our foundational freedoms by those who mock its greatness by being intolerant of differing opinion and seeking to muzzle dissent with shrill cries of imagined insults,” she said.

Wait, is she talking about us here, or about her own substantial contribution to creating this climate of hate in which violent ideation thrives? Of course, she doesn't worry about the violence because she's taking her shots from the safety of an undisclosed video studio, in front of a camera, not a live audience.

In fact, does anyone remember the last time she appeared at an unscripted event where she might have to answer questions that weren't pre-screened? I honestly can't. I mean, if she thinks it's so safe out here with the "real 'Murkans" that she enjoys inciting to anger with her garbled "dissents," why does she never exercise her precious free speech rights in open public forums?

And one last thing. After her numerous "jokes" about Obama, one has to wonder if she used a teleprompter for her latest offal offering? Seems likely since I didn't hear she was reading her little diatribe off her hand.

Obama: Sarah Who? - Updated

President Obama tells Barbara Walters he doesn't think about Sarah Palin. He acknowldeges that she's built a base of support among the Tea Party Republicans, but his focus is on governing.

Neither do I waste time thinking about her; hard as it is to avoid the continous media/internet fascination with the surreality star and half-term governor. I don't care at all what her latest mindless spewing on Facebook says. I don't care about her book, or her teevee tirades and neither should any thinking person.

That especially goes for "the left" who builds her up even as they think they're tearing her down. The attention, even negative attention, simply cements her place as the main ring attraction in the media circus. And no it's not necessary to marginalize her. There's not a person with two or more firing synapses who doesn't realize by now she's a cleverly manipulative, yet intellectually void, incompetent boob.

But with every clever snark, Palin wins. With every sneering derision, Palin wins. Because it makes it all about her. And it doesn't marginalize her with her supporters. They believe every garbled word she tosses out. So when you call their Sarah stupid, you're calling them stupid. It cements their loyalty and raises their resentment. It makes them all the more determined to show us dirty elite liberals up. I mean we're talking about people who are willing to spend hours a day gaming a voting system so her daughter can do well in a stupid dance contest.

If the left wants to marginalize Palin, then stop talking about her. Stop reading and linking to every breathless media report on her latest unintelligible utterance. If the media stops getting traffic from it, they'll stop reporting on her. And losing the limelight is the greatest punishment of all for an attention whore.

Update: I rest my case. Sarah says something stupid and everyone on the internets instantly has to say something about it. She wins the news cycle. You think she really doesn't know that North Korea is not our ally? Nobody making millions on their fame is that stupid. This vapid poseur is playing everyone on both sides to keep her name recognition high. This is how "refudiate" became word of the year.

As further evidence, I saw today the second episode of her new reality show lost 40% of the audience. I'm pretty sure those were the lefties that got bored after the first episode.

Left raises Palin's profile - Updated

You know I try to avoid her but it's been a really good week for Sarah Palin. "Her" invention, refudiate was named word of the year.

"From a strictly lexical interpretation of the different contexts in which Palin has used 'refudiate,' we have concluded that neither 'refute' nor 'repudiate' seems consistently precise, and that 'refudiate' more or less stands on its own, suggesting a general sense of 'reject.' "the New Oxford American Dictionary said in a press release.

Palin’s use of “refudiate,” launched critics into a frenzy when she first posted the made up verb on her Twitter page over the summer.

It's become a staple of snark on the left. Can't really recall the right adopting it. And then there's this:

The debut of her new reality show Sunday night was the number one program launch in TLC’s history...

Willing to bet fully half of that audience were lefties watching so they could point and laugh at her. I'm sure she's crushed by all the negative attention. You know how she hates being in the spotlight.

Update: I rest my case. Palin's "popularity" is largely based on the train wreck phenomenon. And to put the show ratings in perspective, I'm told on twitter that 750 million watched Charles and Diana's wedding. But as the old saying goes, "There's no such thing as bad publicity, as long as they spell your name right."

Modern day koan

If Sarah Palin said something stupid on Twitter and no one talked about refudiated it, would it still make a sound?

Adding, I can't help thinking that the rush to snark every time the woman posts is what is keeping her in the spotlight. Seems like a lot of people who bitch about how the media makes her every tweet and facebook update a major story are the first to rush to post the most clever putdowns every time she surfaces. If I was a big blogger I would organize an ignore and unfollow Palin week. Just as an experiment. I'm willing to bet that if every person who only follows her to mock her did that, her numbers would drop astronomically.

Hypocrisy, thy name is Malkin

I mostly ignore both Malkin and Sarah Palin but the opening graf on this post is remarkable in its breathtaking hypocrisy. Without a trace of irony, Malkin, the prime purveyor of ginned up outrage, who really did stalk a 12 year old boy and his family, going so far as to peer in their windows to ascertain the composition of their kitchen counters, says:

You've no doubt read about the Palin family's snoopy new neighbor, author Joe McGinniss, who has rented a house 15 feet from the Palins' backyard to conduct binocular-aided research for his Random House book.

Of course, the only one who has posted any pictures so far is Palin herself, who raced to show the world a shot of McGinniss, with his back turned to her, minding his own business. There's no evidence he's done anything untoward. His only "crime" was to rent the house next door. You might think if the Palins were so worried about their privacy, they could have rented it themselves to keep it empty. Instead they immediately put up an ugly fence. And of course the usual suspects have taken up the cause with Greta and Beck at Fox leading the charge from the right flank to attack McGinniss for doing his job. Crooks and Liars has the backstory and much more.

Meanwhile, Todd immediately slapped up an ugly fence, as you can see from the photo above posted by Greta. Nothing else at the post, so you don't have to give her any hits. And is it me, or is there a weird angle at the bottom of it on the left. It almost looks like they left a low opening at the bottom. Maybe they're hoping to get a shot of McGinniss on his belly peering through? Just crazy.

[More posts daily at The Detroit News]

Grayson lays it out in black and white

Whatever you think about his politics, no one could disagree that Alan Grayson has balls of steel. Quote of the day from that long harangue.

“I look forward to an honest debate with Governor Palin on the issues, in the unlikely event that she ever learns anything about them.” ~ Alan Grayson

Via Rumproast. Seriously. Read the whole thing.

[More posts daily at The Detroit News]

Palin and her "telepalmer" launch 2012 bid at Tea Party Convention

Make no mistake, though she couched it in her usual weasel worded evasiveness, for all effective purposes, Sarah Palin announced her candidacy for 2012 in this Fox interview. And she used her speech at the Tea Party convention last night to stealth-launch her campaign. Didn't watch it myself, but judging from the reviews, it was chock full of the same anti-Obama smears and vapid slogans from the failed 08 run.

None of that is particularly interesting. The only notable aspect of the speech happened during the brief, and most probably pre-screened, three question Q&A afterwards. It seems the Yukon Grifter had to write crib notes on her hand to answer the simple question about what three major policies would a conservative administration address in office. Yep, just like most of us did at least once in grammar school to cheat on a test. Oliver Willis has addtional videos and of course, Memorandum has dozens of reactions.

What I found the most disturbing about this freak show is that somewhere between 100-200 media people covered this event, that drew an estimated 600-1000 people, as if it were major news instead of a gathering of fringe kooks and GOP operatives. And not a soul but me seems to be concerned about the ethical implications of her using her new Fox gig as a platform to promote herself, bringing a whole new meaning to the term, "bully pulpit."

I seem to recall a great deal of concern trolling when Chris "Tweety" Matthews floated the idea of running for Congress. Everyone agreed he would have to quit his teevee gig. But then again he was going to run as a Democrat. I suppose the IOKIYAR rule is in effect for Wasilla's former mayor.

Adding: I think Sully is right. There's a tendency on the left to treat her as a joke, as too dumb to be elected, but she's not stupid. She's uninformed, uninterested in detail and thoroughly self-involved. But never underestimate the ability of a clever and manipulative woman to fool otherwise intelligent people to get what she wants. The more I think about it, the more I think this telepalmter trick was a deliberate ploy to draw mockery from the liberals. It will only endear her to the tea party crowd all the more.

[More posts daily at The Detroit News]

The media is the money

So let me get this straight. Sarah Palin signs with Fox to be an on air personality and when she gives her $100,000 speech next month to the Tea Party convention, only Fox and their sister news org WSJ get media access? How rogue.

She's not running for president anymore. Everybody who predicted she quit progressing Alaska to get a juicy Fox contract -- wins.

[More posts daily at The Detroit News]