Gryphen's Sarah Palin checklist. A work in progress.

When Sarah Palin burst on the scene as John McCain's VP candidate and started fanning the flames of racism against Barack Obama, as well as making incredibly dangerous and fraudulent claims against our future President, I made a mental list of priorities that I wanted to help accomplish. (By the way this list evolved over time and now includes subjects that I was not even aware were coming down the pike in 2008.)

1) Stop John McCain and Sarah Palin from making it to the White House.

2) Reveal the truth behind the fantasy that Sarah Palin is a good and effective Governor.

3) Get her out of office!

4) Reveal the pathetic and controversial truth about Sarah Palin's personal mythology.

5) Provide a platform for those who know truthful stories about Palin, yet are afraid to report them to the press.

6) Direct focus on Palin, and her family's, attempts to grift money from her ignorant supporters, and report on how frivolously she spends that money.

7) Help journalists, authors, documentary makers, and anybody willing to tell the truth about Sarah Palin, make contact with sources willing to tell of their experiences with the Grizzled Mama.

8) Reveal to the widest segment of the American public possible, one of the BIGGEST, and most egregious, hoaxes ever perpetrated on them by a politician in our country's history. Babygate!

9) Draw back the cloak of secrecy that shields those that supported, and used Sarah Palin for their own nefarious reasons, to reveal them to the American public.

10) Help to make sure that another potentially dangerous politician, like Sarah Palin, George Bush, or John Edwards never gets close to the White House again. (I only include Edwards because his adultery could have made him a very easy person to blackmail into supporting policies that could have done our country great harm.)

So let's see how I've done.

1) After her defeat I received a lot of heartfelt thanks from many of the visitors here.

But in my opinion it was mostly undeserved.

I did only a small part in getting the truth out about Sarah Palin, John McCain, and the Republican party.

Others like Katie Couric, Keith Olbermann, Charlie Gibson, and even Tine Fey deserve FAR more credit than I do.  Of course ultimately the real thanks should go to Sarah Palin herself for being such an incredibly unqualified, and gaffe prone candidate.

(Half-check mark for me.)

2) I helped to found the Alaskans for Truth, and used my blog and networking, to get the truth out about Troopergate, the per-diems she paid herself to stay in her own house, the free travel vouchers she got on behalf of family members, the cronyism that riddled her administration, etc., etc., etc., to my fellow Alaskans.

(Check mark!)

3) I don't actually know how much I helped to accomplish this, but she's out! (Check mark!)

4) I don't believe there are too many people who are now unaware that the idyllic life that the Palins paint for themselves is pure mooseshit. Check mark!

5) I helped Mercede start her blog, wrote posts containing information from anonymous sources about the Palins that they could not get published in other places, helped Shailey get her story out in the National Enquirer, on this blog, and later on her own blog, tried to help Levi get his book written two years ago when it would have made a huge impact, and have maintained a blogroll linking to blogs ("Sarah Palin's Least Favorite Blogs") that have done some truly ground breaking work on getting the truth out about Klondike Kardashian. (Check mark!)

6) From SarahPAC, to "Sarah Palin's Alaska", to Dancing with the Stars, and even to Palin's 2012 Political Prick Tease, I have tried to rake away the Palin bullshit to lay bare what is REALLY taking place as often as possible.

(Half check mark. I could have done better.)

7) I have provided support to Geoffrey Dunn, Nick Broomfield, Joe McGinniss,  as well as others, and I have helped them as much as I could to make contact with people living in Wasilla, and around Alaska, that have stories to tell about the REAL Sarah Palin. I have certainly not provided ALL of their sources, and in fact all of them have made very impressive contacts of their own, but I did what I could. Some truths remain unrevealed.

(Half check mark.)


8) Most of this work has taken place right here on this blog, or on one of the blogs in the IM blogroll, but with Joe's book we are finally seeing the bizarre story reaching a much larger audience, and hopefully with the release of Fred's book , a much larger audience still.

(Pending check mark I hope to give myself soon.)

9) The Koch brothers, Fox News, the Dominionists, and the Republican party have all had their hands up the back of Sarah Palins blouse working her like a ventriloquist dummy voicing on their behalf crazy inflammatory things like "death panels," or "palling around with terrorists.'" Or ginning up racial hatred toward Barack Obama or the Muslim community.  This is clearly a work in progress, but I believe that we have made some significant connections between Palin and her puppeteers that have caused them some serious blowback and have forced them to abandon her in order to move on to less controversial marionettes.  However now that we know how they operate we can remain vigilant and help to identify the NEXT empty vessel that they fill up with their rhetorical poison.

Looking at you Rick Perry!

(Half check mark.)

10) This has ALWAYS been my ultimate goal, even while I am recognizing the possible futility of ever making it a reality.

Sarah Palin was chosen to be McCain's VP for the most superficial reasons imaginable.  She was attractive, she had faked having a Down Syndrome child to cement her pro-life position, she had hacked various polls to make herself seem popular in Alaska, and she was considered a Christian.

And that my friends was the whole package.

The fact that this occurred should have sent an electric shock of realization to the American population that candidates for the most important political positions in our country were being selected by shadowy figures who have determined that we are so simple minded that we could be seduced by a horribly unqualified pretty face, trained to read talking points off of cue cards.

If this had worked, and it came much closer to working than I think most of us want to admit, it would have furthered a continuing change in the political realities of our country that could have proved devastating.

This change has been orchestrated by the Republican party and started with Ronald Reagan, an actor who played the President, to George W. Bush, a simpleton who played a cowboy playing a President, to a Sarah Palin, a telegenic spokes model who played a Governor, who could have been groomed to play the President, once John McCain kicked the bucket served out his term and she ran in 2012. (Insert scream of horror here.)

Ultimately THIS is what the American voting population needs to be educated about, and Sarah Palin is the perfect example to illustrate that lesson. After reading what Frank Bailey, Geoffrey Dunn, and Joe McGinniss have written, it is clear that the information is now available for any of those who want to really understand how completely broken the political system is in this country.

Now all we have to do is help to encourage people to read the information that is now available, and the information that is still coming, about Sarah Palin, and then use that to vet the shiny new politicians that are just over the next horizon.

That sounds simple, right?  Yeah right.

Well I am not giving up.  After coming this far, there is NO WAY I am just walking away now.

Are you with me?

If you are then I perhaps someday this item will have a check mark as well. But not yet.

President Obama's American Jobs Act will help modernize schools. Because to SOME people schools still matter.

I thought this might give you a lift this Sunday morning as well.

(Image courtesy of The Obama Diary.)

Uh oh! Shelly let her batshit get out of control and now it might be about to backfire.

Courtesy of NPR:

Even as Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann backs off some from an inflammatory claim that a vaccine to prevent cervical cancer led to mental retardation in a young girl, two bioethicists are turning up the heat. 

Yes, the leading group of pediatricians in this country slammed Bachmann and said "there is absolutely no scientific validity" to statements that the vaccine against human papilloma virus is dangerous or causes retardation. 

And the Minnesota Republican has conceded she's not a medical professional, saying in a radio interview: "I am not a doctor, I'm not a scientist, I'm not a physician. All I was doing is reporting what this woman told me last night at the debate." 

But Dr. Steven Miles, a bioethicist at the University of Minnesota, has ponied up $1,000 if the mother Bachmann talked about can produce medical proof that her daughter suffered mental retardation from the HPV vaccine, the Star Tribune reports. "These types of messages in this climate have the capacity to do enormous public health harm," Miles told the paper. "It's an extremely serious claim and it deserves to be analyzed." 

And Arthur Caplan, a bioethicist at the University of Pennsylvania has placed what amounts to a $10,000 bet on the issue. 

I think that we can safely assume that there will be no VP slot open for Bachmann when Mitt Romney finally gets the nomination. I don't think the GOP is ever going to allow anybody to get that spot without much MORE stringent vetting than a certain Alaska politician was subjected to.

And for all intents and purposes we are watching that vetting play out right before our eyes.

I don't know about you, but I find it pretty entertaining!

Obamacare is working. Shh, don't tell the Republicans, it will just make their heads explode.

Courtesy of The New Republic:

Republicans made a lot of arguments against the Affordable Care Act. But perhaps none were as effective, or as seemingly plausible, as their contention that their new law would cripple Medicare Advantage. 

New evidence suggests -- surprise! -- that the argument was wrong.

Medicare Advantage is the program that gives seniors the option of enrolling in private insurance rather than the traditional, government-run program. The government pays the insurers a flat fee, per enrollee; in return, the insurers provide coverage, sometimes including benefits that traditional Medicare does not. Overall, about one in four seniors belongs to such plans. 

The policy rationale for Medicare Advantage is two-fold: To give seniors more options and to introduce some private-sector competition. The idea is that private insurers might be able to be more innovative or offer certain combinations of services that some seniors would prefer. But, for much of its history, the program (formerly known as Medicare-plus-choice) was also a form of corporate welfare.

Non-partisan studies, by the likes of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, suggested that the government was paying the insurers too much. 

The architects of the Affordable Care Act decided, quite sensibly, to reduce those extra subsidies and use the money to offset part of the law’s cost. That’s when the Republicans, and their allies, pounced. Taking money away from the insurers, they claimed, would force insurers to charge more, limit their offerings, or pull out of the market altogether. 

It was a reasonable proposition; that’s more or less what happened back in the late 1990s, the first time government reduced the overpayments. (I argued, and still believe, such a trade-off would be worthwhile.) But new information, just released from the administration, suggests those predictions haven’t come true. 

On the contrary, the Department of Health and Human Services announced on Thursday that premiums for the plans are down and enrollment is up, well above the official projections. As the Kaiser Family Foundation has reported, this is actually the second year in a row premiums have declined. (According to HHS, premiums in 2012 will be 11.5 percent below what they were in 2010.) Meanwhile, all Medicare beneficiaries can now get preventative care without co-payments. And their exposure to prescription drug bills have declined, because the new health law is closing the infamous “donut hole” in coverage. 

So, in short, Medicare Advantage plans are becoming cheaper, slightly more people are enrolling in them, and everybody on Medicare -- even seniors in the traditional government-run program -- has better coverage than they did before.

And don't forget that the many of the most important, and positive changes, have not even taken place yet.

For instance check out what is in store in 2014:

NEW CONSUMER PROTECTIONS 

Prohibiting Discrimination Due to Pre-Existing Conditions or Gender. The law implements strong reforms that prohibit insurance companies from refusing to sell coverage or renew policies because of an individual’s pre-existing conditions. Also, in the individual and small group market, the law eliminates the ability of insurance companies to charge higher rates due to gender or health status. Effective January 1, 2014. Learn more about protecting Americans with pre-existing conditions. 

Eliminating Annual Limits on Insurance Coverage. The law prohibits new plans and existing group plans from imposing annual dollar limits on the amount of coverage an individual may receive. Effective January 1, 2014. Learn how the law will phase out annual limits by 2014. 

Ensuring Coverage for Individuals Participating in Clinical Trials. Insurers will be prohibited from dropping or limiting coverage because an individual chooses to participate in a clinical trial. Applies to all clinical trials that treat cancer or other life-threatening diseases. Effective January 1, 2014. 

You keep this in mind at all times. The Republicans do not attack "Obamacare" because it will NOT work.  They attack it because they are terrified that it WILL work.

If you always remember that it will give you the tools you will need to out argue any neo-con piece of garbage that tries to convince you that your President is not working to BETTER the lives of Americans.

And if you are unconvinced of that yourself then perhaps you need to read about this Des Moines couple's experience.

Before I close this post let me leave with a portion lifted from the last eye opening paragraph from the article cited above:

But by the time the next president is sworn in, enough people will have experienced the protections and benefits it offers that no elected official would risk his or her standing by rescinding it.

Michele Bachmann wrote a book. Yeah I know, surprised me too!

Well there is really no big story.  After all EVERYBODY who wants to be President seems to write book these days.

However I think the title needs some work.

How about, "Bored of Superstition?"

Or, "Whore of Perdition?"

Or, "Eyesore of Ambition?'

Or, "Boudoir of the Mortician?"

Just trying to help.

Nice try Marcus, but we STILL don't buy it.

What is wrong with this woman? This is the corndog incident all over again.

Doesn't she know that people are taking pictures of her?

Image courtesy of dlisted.

It looks like Rick Perry has decided to change his image and taken a page right out of the Sarah Palin playbook.

Image courtesy of DC Decoder.

Well I guess he knows he has the batshit necessary to attract the Teabaggers down pat, so all he felt he needed was a little of that Michele Bachmann good hair mojo.

He is not the first to realize that ole crazy eyes might possibly have Bagger attracting follicles.

You can almost smell the desperation in this plea from SarahPAC.

"Pony up bitchez! Mama needs some new shoes!

Courtesy of the US4Palin:

Dear SarahPAC Supporter, 

During these tough economic times, struggling families and individuals across America need leadership and solutions. In his address to Congress last week, our President offered only recycled proposals that have been proven to fail. 

Increasing spending and expanding government control over the lives of hardworking Americans is not the solution to our broken economy. Mortgaging the future of our children and grandchildren will not ensure a better situation today, but it will ensure greater burdens in the future. 

With the Presidential election right around the corner, Governor Palin has to make the important decision of whether or not to run for office. You’ve supported SarahPAC’s past efforts to defeat Obama liberals across the country, and I’m asking for your help again. 

Let’s show Governor Palin that she has our support as she faces this crucial decision! 

America is facing a tough road back to prosperity, but we can get there with commonsense conservative leadership from Governor Palin and the support of the Tea Party Revolution she led during the 2010 mid-term elections. 

Our President has failed to take the initiative required to ease the economic difficulties facing our nation, and we need real change. 

Will you support Governor Palin with a generous donation to SarahPAC today? 

Thank you for your continuing support of Governor Palin and SarahPAC. You can also help her by sharing our message with your friends and family on Facebook and Twitter! 

Sincerely, 

Tim CrawfordTreasurer, SarahPAC 

This is beginning to feel like an abusive marriage.

 "Honey I promise to NEVER hit you (up for money) again! I love and need you(r financial support) and this relationship is too important for me (to help pay my bills and make me feel relevant) to give up on it. Won't you please give me just one more chance (to get all of your money before I run out of time and everybody KNOWS I am not running)?"

I have a number of theories as to WHY we are seeing yet another plea for money from the Palin panty sniffers at this time. Here let me list them for you:

• Palin KNOWS she has only limited time before Joe's book comes out and wants to scoop up as much cash as possible before she has to go into hiding.
• Family needs new influx of cash because Levi's book is destroying the chances of Sarah's back up grifter Bristol, to continue making money by marketing herself as an innocent teen mom turned abstinence preacher. And she can't turn around and market herself as what she is, an emasculating harpy bitch who manipulates everybody around her, because her mother already has that role locked up.
• Sister Sarah's last wig bit right through her botoxed forehead, and now she requires a serious of very expensive rabies and distemper shots.
• Todd has seen the writing on the walls and is renegotiating his contract before agreeing to continue to pose as her happily married sexually ambivalent husband and hand bag carrier.
• In anticipation of the media onslaught to come after Levi, Joe, and Fred's books hits the stands, family has decided to equip the Palin fortress with a moat and some machine gun turrets.
• Five words, "Shailey got her cellphone back!"
• In light of recent revelations Palin needs to hire a personal trainer and some look-a-likes to help her prepare for a marathon, find somebody to ghostwrite a book that she can put her hoofprint on that will actually sell, and pay some of those darkies to pose as friends of the family to address the charges of racism.
• Need to hire better comment writers to monitor The Immoral Minority and convince visitors that, (1) Sarah doesn't pay attention to blogs, (2) Gryphen is just making stuff up, (3) the Palin family is a close loving family as proven by pictures that nobody ever sees, and (4) Bristol has only been pregnant three one time, and that was only because she was date raped by Levi Johnston.

Not to be cynical (Which as we all know I NEVER am!) but somehow I don't believe that Palin is going to be able to shake much pocket change loose from these people this time.  I mean, yes they are extraordinarily slow to recognize the obvious, but even the blind man will eventually realize that the elevator which seems to be taking forever to reach his floor is in reality just a coat closet.

Sarah Palin trots out new serious political pundit image, as illustated by her new serious political pundit wig.

To watch the video just click the picture. Warning, it does take you to a Fox News site so take your Maalox first.

According to Klondike Kardashian now that CNN has hosted this "Tea Party" debate they have moved from "Lamestream" media to the Teabagger ass kissing media, which greatly pleases this insignificant political prick teaser. Good job CNN!

Palin has a favorite new term that she just learned, "Crony Capatalism," which she uses repeatedly during this interview to essentially smear the whole group of GOP candidates at one time or another.

However she really brings out the long knives when Greta mentions Rick Perry, the HPV vaccine, and the suggestion that the reason he went with the program was due to possible payoff from the manufacturer of the drug. Here Palin goes for the jugular and starts throwing charges of, her new favorite term that she just learned about, "Crony Capitalism" all over the place like a Ninja star.

She even compares Perry's decision to make the vaccination semi-mandatory to HER decision, around the same time, to NOT go with the program.  Essentially creating as much space between Rick Perry's policies and hers as possible, which is a complete turnaround to how she described "Governor Good Hair" only  few short months ago. You know BEFORE he threw his Texas sized hat into the ring and rustled all of her Teabagger support away from her.

At the end of this interview Greta asks the question that she is apparently contractually obligated to ask concerning whether or not Palin is still considering throwing her wig hat into the ring to run for President? I almost feel sorry for Greta who appears to be very tired of this dog and pony show, but Palin leaps on the question like a feral Wasillian and implies that she LOVES the fact that by staying out she can still influence the subjects that the OTHER candidates take on, including her favorite new term she just learned about, "Crony Capitalism."

This interview was just as bizarre and full of misinformation, attacks on our President, and barbs thrown at her own party as usual, the only REAL news seems to be that she is now blatantly, and aggressively, attacking Rick Perry, which seems to suggest that the sources who have said she is angry with him for very personal reasons are probably dead on.

Oh and of course the OTHER news from this interview is that whatever was on Palin's head from her LAST interview has clearly escaped and is undoubtedly still at large in the greater Wasilla area.

Residents should remain vigilant!

Beige meets Off White as Tim Pawlenty injects a little...a little...well whatever is the opposite of "excitement" into the Mitt Romney campaign.

"You're just kidding that I have to wear the magic underwear right Mitt?"

Courtesy of The New York Times:

Mr. Pawlenty, the former governor of Minnesota who ended his quest for the Republican nomination last month, chose Mr. Romney over Gov. Rick Perry of Texas, whom he was close to from their years serving on the Republican Governors Association. 

Many of Mr. Pawlenty’s contributors and supporters had been waiting for a signal from him in the escalating contest between Mr. Romney and Mr. Perry. And Mr. Pawlenty had been looking for help in retiring a campaign debt of at least $500,000. 

In a statement announcing Mr. Pawlenty as a national co-chairman of his campaign, Mr. Romney said: “Tim will be a trusted adviser as I move forward with my campaign. Tim has always been an advocate for lower taxes, reduced spending and an environment where jobs can be created. It is an honor to have him serve as co-chair to my campaign for the presidency.” 

Mr. Pawlenty, in an interview Monday morning on “Fox and Friends,” said of Mr. Romney, “I believe he’s going to be our party’s nominee.”

Oh yeah, THIS is what a campaign that has a mild mannered sofa cushion for a candidate does to reinvigorate their message.  Add the guy that restless sheep count jumping into a campaign at night to help them fall asleep.

The only way that Pawlenty could possibly make the Romney campaign more interesting is if Mitt lit him on fire and pushed him into a crowd of kerosene soaked Teabaggers. (I have to admit I would probably tune in for that.)

Of course now that Tim "Micheal Bay" Pawlenty is on board, he MIGHT be able to jazz up Romney's campaign commercials, and take them from this:

To this:

After all we know how much these advertisements helped Tim Pawlenty.

Wait that didn't come out right.

Now we're talking! First review from a "boots on the ground" Immoral Minority reader directly from TIFF.

Here is the full review from long time IM reader Stepahnie:

Hey! 

I just got home from the movie and wrote this up for you. 

The movie was really well put together with some people I haven't seen interviewed before.The best part was the question and answer. It's amazing to see people in Toronto know how dangerous Sarah would be in the White House. 

Nick was very fair and at the end he said he was glad to be done with Sarah Palin. He said it was tiring! 

I hope you enjoy my thoughts! 

I headed down to the AMC theatre where Sarah Palin You Betcha! was premiering. About a hour before it was about to start I lined up and there were already people waiting. There were two different movies lining up but the majority of the people were there for the Sarah Palin movie. They started letting us in and the theatre was full. A staff member from the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) always introduces the movie. He introduced Nick, Joan and the rest of the film crew, and stated there would be a question and answer after the film. The TIFF staffer then said, I’m the token American on staff and my personal opinion is Sarah Palin’s a crackpot, enjoy the film. 

As someone who reads the blogs, and for a Canadian probably knows way too much about Sarah Palin, I wasn’t sure if there was going to be any new information in the film, but Nick Broomfield’s approach to the film was very refreshing. Mixed in between the interviews would be commercials such as the bumpit, and evangelical Jesus will return to the earth clips. The humour kept the movie light. 

The movie followed Sarah’s political career from mayor, to governor to vice president candidate. Mixed in between were interviews from those that know her best. 

Nick had interviewed Chuck and Sally, the best part, in my opinion from that interview was that Chuck trained his dog to fetch antlers. There was also a clip of Nick talking to Chuck on the phone where he had decided this was a “hit piece” and that they scan and review opportunities for Sarah and if it’s a hit piece they don’t run these opportunities by her. 

Nick hit on some of the big scandals, her need for an enemy, her religion, affairs, love children, and of course troopergate. A big theme of the movie was her evangelical religion and the impact of that. Nick wasn’t able to interview any of Sarah’s classmates, so they went to Egypt to interview the only one willing to speak. I forget the lady’s name but she said regardless of your view of Sarah, the fact that most of her classmates were members of the Assembly of God, speaking out against Sarah is like speaking out against their religion and that’s just not done. 

She spoke of how she had never heard about hell until Sarah and her classmates told her she was going to hell, and how if you weren’t part of the Assembly of God you weren’t included in events, or “in the loop.” 

Another telling interview was with the former head of police John Ward, who said “your boss shouldn’t lie to you or the people she represents that’s what disappoints me the most.” 

The crowd was shocked with Lyda Green’s interview where she was disgusted with the interview Sarah did on the Bob and Mark show. Lyda said, “Sarah knew I had cancer, she sent me flowers, Bob and Mark may not of known, but Sarah did.” This actually made the audience gasp. 

Mercede Johnston talked about how when there was no need for her family anymore the pain that Sarah and Bristol caused. She said Levi’s comment about going on the national stage with the Palin’s was that he had to shave, and was told to smile, wave and say nothing. 

Mike Wooten talked about how when Todd was on the slope the children were farmed out to other people’s houses. He also said the Chuck didn’t like being around little kids, and would yell at them and tell them to play outside, then he used the same words to describe Sarah being home alone with the children. He said Chuck called all their mutual friends and threatened them to stay friends with the Heaths/Palins and not with him. He spoke very passionately and it was great to hear him speak so openly. 

Of course Gryphen was interviewed, I quite liked when he went through his Sarah Palin pictures showing how he picks what picture to use with a blog post. Nick asked his opinion on “the flying monkies” aka the palin-bots, and used Jesse’s story of what happens when you “cross” Sarah Palin. 

I saw the movie with my sister who doesn’t know anything about Sarah Palin and was most shocked at her need for an enemy, her lack of knowledge and how her religion drives her. 

The best part about seeing the movie at TIFF was question and answer afterwards. Nick and Joan were about to answer questions for about fifteen minutes. 

Someone asked how he was able to get people in Wasilla to speak to him. Nick stated that the people of Wasilla were extremely friendly, and invited them over to dinner before even interviewing them and that he got to know them. 

Another person asked what is the difference between Sarah and other politicians? Nick said that Sarah represents a change in American politics and how a majority of her base is poor and uneducated, and how that lack of understanding is how they can vote against their interests. 

He said Sarah uses an emotional message, which is not rational. 

Joan piped in that we need to remember almost fifty percent of Americans are irrational. 

Nick said Sarah uses the message of the “American Dream” and how you don’t need to rely on government. 

Nick was asked about Sarah and what he learned. He said Sarah’s religion and upbringing in Wasilla has shaped who she has become. He talked about how the first seven years shape who a person becomes and Sarah has this very strong good vs evil viewpoint. He spoke about how Sarah couldn’t just fire someone; she would make sure they would never work again. 

Someone asked if Nick or Joan had seen the Undefeated. They both shook their heads and asked if anyone in the audience had, no one raised their hand. 

Nick ended the question and answer with the fact Sarah was the biggest spending mayor in Wasilla’s history. How she raised oil taxes which many Republicans had opposed and she used democrats to pass the legalisation. 

He talked about how she didn’t really have a clear side on issues and jumped around the map, and how scary that would be for someone in the White House. 

The TIFF staffer ended the question and answer with a reminder that this movie would be coming out and to tweet, blog, and tell your friends because this message needs to get out. 

The movie is a great way to get a lot of the issues we talk about out to the general public. Nick uses humour, interviews and clips to bring a well balanced and fair look at Sarah Palin. 

I’d say it’s a must see, and hope it will get the message out to the “lame stream media.” 

Thanks,Stephanie

Now THAT is a review! Thank you very much Stephanie, I and the many readers of The Immoral Minority are very grateful that you were able to watch this premiere on our behalf and for the VERY impressive review that you have provided for our enjoyment.

Rick Perry meets his biggest fan and living embodiment of the Tea Party movement, Orly Taitz. Oh THIS ought to be good!

Courtesy of Think Progress:

Taitz also told ThinkProgress that she’s “pretty sure [the Perry campaign] will” bring up the birth certificate issue, but she said their strategy “will be to wait and use it at the last possible moment to make sure that there is no primary challenger in the Democrat Party.” 

KEYES: I saw you were able to get a bit of face time with Governor Perry on the line. What did you talk with him about? 

TAITZ: [...] From what I understood, he knew who I was and what I was talking about. [...] I told him that you will get Obama, you will have him in prison for Social Security fraud. [...] 

KEYES: Did Governor Perry seem very receptive to your messages? 

TAITZ: Yes. 

KEYES: Do you think he’ll be taking that message forward, particularly with the birth certificate issue? Are you hopeful that he will? 

TAITZ: I’m pretty sure they will, but I’m also sure that their strategy will be to wait and use it at the last possible moment to make sure that there is no primary challenger in the Democrat Party.

So is Rick Perry just schmoozing Taitz, or does he really intend to pursue the birth certificate matter if he is chosen as the GOP candidate?  Well from what I know of Perry, I tend to lean toward the latter.

Yes he is that much of an idiot.

By the way there are mumblings from various sources that Sarah Palin, might be VERY unhappy with a certain Governor of Texas.

She fertilized the crazy ass ground where Perry has now planted the seeds of his candidacy with her truckloads of mooseshit, and it looks more and more like he will be the one to reap the benefits of all of her hard work. After all she brought the paint chip eaters out of the darkness with her screechy siren song of anti-government rhetoric and "adjustable for the venue" boobies, and now here they are smearing their batshit of acceptance all over Rick "Sarah Palin with a tinier penis" Perry.

And HOW is she supposed to launch a third party candidacy if everybody ignorant enough to go for such a foolhardy idea is already stealing their children's lunch money to send it to Perry?

yeah I would bet big money that Sarah Palin absolutely HATES Rick Perry right about now.

But that is okay because Orly Taitz just loves his bony Texas ass!

New hope for Sarah Palin.

Andrew Sullivan had a rather interesting epiphany about Palin based on her speech September 3rd:

She's positioning herself against the corruption of both parties, just as she positioned herself in Alaska as the hockey mom prepared to take on her own party elites' collusion with Big Oil. Alas, her efforts in Alaska soon unraveled, even after she was able to tax the oil companies and deliver the goodies directly to Alaska voters. Her gas pipeline is as distant a prospect as ever. And when one reviews her career, it's hard to resist noting that her populism (combined with extreme Christianism) was the only way she could see making it to the top - especially after the Murkowskis dissed her. Opportunism or principle? It could be both, but with Palin, one should never under-estimate the former. She's shrewder as a politician than some understand. 

I wonder if she's contemplating a populist third party campaign.

Now the idea of Palin running on a third party ticket is not something that I have seriously considered in quite some time, due to the waning influence of the Teabaggers and her erratic self destructive behaviors.  But I have to say that the idea DOES have merit.

As much as I personally dislike Palin, one does have to admit that she has a HUGE presence in this country.  And clearly that presence, simply cannot be contained by the Republican party.

The GOP might flirt with the Tea Party, and ply them with drinks until their slutty side comes out, but lets face it after the Republicans have had their way with the Constitutionally illiterate cuckoo-birds they will slip out under the cover of darkness, MAYBE leave a couple of bucks on the dresser for cab fare, and NEVER call them again.

Sarah knows what this behavior is like, she lives with Todd, so undoubtedly she does not expect much from the Republicans in the long run. So why not strike while the Grand Old Party is at its weakest, strip away their most ardent new freshmen Congress members (Who are all Constitution masturbating flag pin wearing Tea Party members anyhow), and start her own third party?

She could EASILY seduce inspire the tri-corner hat wearing fringe into supporting her.

Oh yeah! That's the stuff!

 And right now wherever they go a number of disillusioned Republicans are sure to follow.

Soon she could have a poorly organized bunch of horny, undereducated, politically inept, individuals ready and willing to start knocking on doors and putting up signs for this vibrant new party that could turn the world of American politics right on its....well...on its side anyhow. (Okay well maybe not ALL of the way on its side, but it certainly could tip it a bit.)

And how easy would it be to find just the right people to recruit for this new party? All Palin would have to do is kick out anybody who dared to use their Yale/Harvard/Driving School educated logic to solve problems or come up with policy decisions, and only keep those willing to rely solely on common sense and the fire in their bellies to clumsily attack the complex problems facing our country.

Palin could finally be Palin, with no more "advisers" telling her what to say or wear on her head, and she could even go back to writing her own Facebook posts and Tweets to get her message out to the people.

Remember what an effective communicator she was BEFORE they tried to changer her?

Wrapped up Anch Gov's Picnic, awesome. Now road trip to Fairbanks for farewell speech/changing of the guard. Camper full of kids & coffee... 

W/kids in camper;on World's Best Rd Trip!To soar by Mt.McKinley&rushing rivers,we remember all of AK is BIG/WILD/GOOD LIFE;feel freedom here

Pure magic!

I know I have not always been one to support Palin in her political aspirations, but I think that THIS idea of branching out on her own, and taking as many of the disgruntled Republicans with her as possible, is the right thing to do for this country. I mean it just feels right, don't you think?

And I have so much confidence in this idea of starting a third political party that I am willing to do MY part as well.  I pledge to attack and ridicule the idea as aggressively as possible, insuring that the Right Wing will take it seriously and flock over to help defend it against unscrupulous attacks from the Left Wing (that would be me), and aggressive questioning from the "Lamestream" media (That might be me sometimes as well).

Soon the money will start flowing in from Koch brothers grasroots fundraising and the "Mama Grizzly's Tea Party of Constitutional Freedom Loving Americans" will be ready to begin to let its high pitched voice be heard.

As much as I am positive that this will have a disastrous effect on the reelection of Barack Obama (Oh God! What am I doing?), I feel as a patriotic, though unfortunately liberal leaning, American that I MUST support the common sense idea of splitting an existing party in two in order to better defeat their common foe. After all when has that approach NOT worked?

So Ms. Palin as much as it hurts me to support such a danger to our Socialist agenda, I urge you for the sake of this great country to take on BOTH political parties and get this country back to the "time honored truths" that continue to elude you, and start that third political party.

God's speed Sarah Louise Heath Palin, and may you continue to have the same level of success with THIS project as you have enjoyed with every other project branded with the name Sarah Palin.

Game on!

Bill Maher on Sarah Palin, Michele Bachmann, and the President's speech.

(Don't worry this is the Tonight Show so Bill kept it clean.)(H/T to Politicususa.)

Fear mongering Sarah Palin style.

Courtesy of the Alaska Dispatch:

Political bogeymen are Palin's touchstones. She's tried her hand with a variety of these to varying success. Not that long ago, Palin said it was the federal deficit that was ruining the economy. But having now lost the budget ceiling fight, she appears to have abandoned the deficit. It appears she believes the answer is to warn of capitalism as the root cause of America's downward spiral. 

This message has the dirty word "socialism" written all over it. It sounds in fact a lot like what presidential candidate Eugene V. Debs was saying in 1912. Could Sarah Palin run for president based on the platform of the Social Democratic Party of the United States? Or is it that attacking "crony capitalism" is just another easy for Palin to appeal to the masses? 

Quick: what do "pallin' around with terrorists," "death panels," "lamestream media," and "crony capitalism" all have in common? Fear mongering. 

Palin might not know much about what she reads, as she made evident in the infamous Katie Couric interview of long ago. But she clearly understands how to capitalize on the fears of Americans. When she was running for governor of Alaska, Palin instinctively perceived Alaskans were fed up with what they took to be a rotten establishment controlled by the "Corrupt Bastards Club," filthy-rich Big Oil and an arrogant governor who thought he deserved a private jet. 

And when she quit as governor, there were new fears toward which to turn the people's attention. It was in her resignation that she warned of the "political operatives (who) descended on Alaska." 

Nonresidents of Alaska might not fully understand the appeal to provincial fears inherent in the latter statement, but Alaskans live in a land where it is normal to despise and fear Outside interests. Palin's husband, Todd, is a former member and current supporter of the Alaska Independence Party, an organization that began by advocating secession from the United States. It has since tempered that view somewhat, but still wants to keep the federal government at arm's length. Alaskans really would like to be a foreign country north of Canada receiving a ton of U.S. foreign aid and advice, but not having to take any of the latter. Think of the place as sort of the Pakistan of the Arctic and you'll get the idea. 

And that is the environment that forged Palin. She knows all about playing people's fears. She first ran for mayor of Wasilla on the issues of gun control and abortion. The city of Wasilla was not involved in either issue. The city had no gun control. The city wasn't financing any abortion. But Palin understood she could whip up the fears among the electorate by suggesting her opponents might be for the former and against the latter. 

Bogeymen helped Sarah get elected mayor and then governor. This she obviously understands. Since she quit office, she's been trying to play the Alaska game on a bigger stage by whipping up national fears.

Craig Medred is dead on with this description of Palin's fear based approach to politics and that she learned it in one of the most distrustful places on the planet.

I live in Anchorage, which rural Alaskans disdainfully refer to to as "Los Anchorage" while claiming it is not the REAL Alaska. And they are not exactly incorrect about that.

In my part of Alaska we are only about five years behind the times compared to the rest of America, but many other places they are still dreaming of the day that they will have indoor plumbing and talk to their friends everyday via short wave radio.

Palin took full advantage of the fact that she was surrounded by undereducated God fearing people in Wasilla, who placed faith and church attendance well over the importance of a college education, and played on their emotions until they were afraid NOT to vote for her.

And sadly Palin has learned that there are Wasillians ALL over the country, in small towns and poor communities, who are every bit as responsive to her brand of hateful rhetoric, and scare tactics, as their Alaskan counterparts.

That is the secret of her success, and that has also been the key to her defeat.  Educate the masses and you take away her influence.  Revealing the truth about her, and shining a light on her numerous gaffes and public relations disasters, has slowly chipped away at her support, until today we see her as a mere shadow of her former frightening self.

But I am not convinced that we are completely finished yet which is why I still want people to read the books coming out about Palin this month and take the time to watch Nick Broomfield's very humorous documentary.

Information is like Kryptonite to Sarah Palin, so the more we learn, the less she, and those like her, can affect us in the future.

President Obama's speech in Richmond, Virginia yesterday: "I'm an eternal optimist."

 (Here is the transcript.)

According The Atlantic this Jobs Bill might be the best possible legislation that the President can get passed right now.

President Obama's $450 billion stimulus revolves around a plan to extend and expand the payroll tax cut. It also includes incentives for businesses to hire workers -- with a separate tax credit for hiring long-term unemployed workers -- and it extends unemployment benefits for another year. And it's all offset with a plan to reduce our long-term deficit. 

This is a tax-side stimulus to encourage business to hire and put more money in the pockets of both the employed and the unemployed. 

Expanding immediate tax stimulus for an economy with struggling demand is smart. And $450 billion is a big number. And the ideas in the speech are boldly, even pugnaciously, presented. But the heart of this plan is an extension of current policies plus a moderate expansion of certain policies. For example, we already have a payroll tax stimulus. We already have unemployment benefits. Companies already have incentives to hire. Still, the economy is growing at less than one percent and job creation is, literally, zero. 

Extending and expanding current policies is a necessary thing with economic and labor growth falling to lows since the recession. In the current political climate, this is probably as bold as the president can go. But to borrow a metaphor from football (which followed minutes the president stopped talking), this is neither a 40-yard bomb nor a straight draw for the running back. It's a checkdown pass. Carefully diagrammed, measured to bypass the defense, and just enough to move the ball downfield. 

There is much more to this article, including the details that a certain Grizzled Mama claimed were not present in the plan, so go ahead and click the link to learn more.

However even during this time of strife, and as the President prepares to wade into the Republican lion's den again to push through this legislation, he still took time to demonstrate his humanity while visiting the Arlington Cemetery. (Photos courtesy of The Obama Diary.)

Map of Voter Suppression Legislation state by state.

Courtesy of Mother Jones:

What the map doesn't show is that five states, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Ohio, and West Virginia, have actually curtailed early voting as well. As Ari Berman reported, some of these ban voting on "the Sunday before the election—a day when black churches historically mobilize their constituents." 

"Americans are killed by lightning more often than they are victimized by fraud that voter ID would do something to stop," said Justin Levitt, a professor of law at Loyola Law School. "We've amputated a foot to stop a potential hangnail." The Brennan Center for Justice estimates that nearly ten percent of eligible voters lack the kind of photo ID required by these voter ID laws. 

Republican defenders of voter ID laws claim that higher black turnout in Georgia during the 2006 and 2010 elections proves that voter ID laws don't suppress the minority vote—an argument repeated by minority witness Hans von Spakovsky in his Senate testimony Thursday. But in states without such restrictions, the increase in black turnout was actually much larger. Von Spakovsky's analyses would "fail statistics 101 at just about any college in the country," Levitt said.

Before we all get too cocky about the embarrassingly inept pack of Republican candidates fighting over who will suffer a crushing defeat at the hands of our President, don't forget that the Republicans are essentially cowards who are terrified of a fair fight.

They will pull every trick in the book to level the playing field, and WE have to remain vigilant to call them out on these tactics and hopefully find ways to render them ineffective.

And if any of you have doubts that the GOP can steal a national election, than either you must be new to this country, or you were born AFTER the election of 2000.

What the hell is all of that screeching? Oh, I should have known!

Click picture to view interview.

Okay first off, and not to appear too shallow, but somebody needs to tell Snowdrift Snooki that whatever is on her head is raping the shit out of whatever else is on top of her head. I know it is getting a little cooler with winter coming, but we layer our CLOTHING in Alaska, we don't layer our wigs!

This "rebuttal" to the President's speech the other day is sooo ignorant that I think it would save Palin a lot of time if she just started wearing a shirt that says "I just got lobotomized" and then she would not have to spend so many minutes demonstrating how completely brain damaged she is.

At one point Palin claims that the President is playing us all for fools, and I swear she said it with a straight face, which indicates to me that she is either completely lacking in self awareness or that she is the world's best poker player.

And by the way when Palin claims that Obama is arrogant, and feels he does NOT have to explain what he is planning, that is complete bullshit. The President DID explain what he is planning, she was just TOO stupid to understand him because he was using clear and concise ENGLISH. (Oh and by the way don't think for one minute we don't realize that"arrogant" is just racist code for "uppity.")

You know I cannot speak for everybody else, but I can quite literally go the rest of my life without hearing Sarah Palin say the words "shoving down our throats."

It always makes me gag a little when she uses that phrase.

Just for laughs. The Republican candidate flow chart.

Sometimes you have to just laugh at the GOP circus as it rolls into town.

Of course later there will be those huge piles of elephant shit that somebody needs to shovel off of the streets, but for right now we can just enjoy the show.

Did you see Michele Bachmann's rebuttal of President Obama's speech? Well you are not alone.

I don't know why everyone keeps saying that she is finished as a candidate.

I mean she can still draw a crowd.

A dozen people IS considered a crowd, right?