Palin Takes the Money.
28 04 2009Well, she takes MOST of the money. Still on the reject list is $29 million for state energy programs.
From the Associated Press –
A spokeswoman for Sarah Palin says the Alaska governor is going to accept most federal stimulus funds.
Spokeswoman Sharon Leighow says Palin is only likely to reject nearly $29 million for State Energy Programs funds because she believes it to be tied to developing a statewide energy code.
(Oh, the horror!)
Palin had initially indicated she did not want to accept about a third of the $930 million available to Alaska because of strings attached that would bind the state in the future.
Legislative budget leaders couldn’t find those strings, however.
(Palin’s string theory?)
Lawmakers passed bills accepting nearly all funds available to Alaska. Once the bills reach Palin’s desk, likely by early next week, she has 20 days to accept or veto them.
The stimulus bill requires that within eight years of the act (by February 2017) the state adopt building codes for residential and commercial structures that meet or exceed international energy-efficiency standards. The standards must apply to 90 percent of new or renovated building space; not existing structures. The requirement deals with energy-efficiency standards, not a complete set of building codes. And goodness knows, we don’t want to be worried about energy efficiency…
The official word is HERE.
April 28th, 2009 at 5:49 PM
Do we believe Spokeswoman Sharon Leighow that Palin’s going to sign the bill?
There’s still time to change her mind. She’s busy reading the C4P comments trying to reconcile to her earlier “No Stimulus’ stance.
According to the map on the barackobama.com page, Alaska already has put some dollars to use. I’m confused.
And apologies to all AK mudpuppies but I hope Palin and your legislature won’t get away with using $130M to ‘protect savings’, undermining the whole purpose of the Recovery Act. Imagine if every state did the same thing. I’m hoppin’ mad but will wait ’til Palin signs before making waves.
April 28th, 2009 at 6:00 PM
Thank you again Canadian Neighbour!
OK, here’s the big Energy Expert Palin who can’t seem to understand this part of the stimulus. Well, heck – does she understand any of it? I can’t even imagine the chaos that goes on inside her head! She needs a brain stimulus so she can understand the one everyone else seems to get.
Have you noticed how she’s kind of dumped the “energy queen” thing since returning? Missing important meetings (one was international folks here in AK) except the Salazar visit, blowing the gas pipe dream by completely dropping the ball, looking like a moron about the energy portion of the stimulus? She’s going to have a hard time flyin’ with that title anymore – all she seems to care about is: 1) clothes 2) being snarky 3) lipstick 4) bashing everyone 5) pro life 6) trying to find someone to pray with 7) making really bad appointments, and
turning the Gov State of Alaska website into a personal blog w/ advertisements.
April 28th, 2009 at 6:03 PM
My recollection is that there was sufficient support in both houses to accept all stim funds so that they could override any GINO veto. Anyone else remember that?
April 28th, 2009 at 6:05 PM
I agree with MinNJ- the feds have been very clear that stimulus monies are not replacements for state spending. Palin is either playing games, or is ignorant about the federal stimulus rules. Perhaps both. too. also.
April 28th, 2009 at 6:05 PM
Martha Unalaska Yard Sign Says:
April 28th, 2009 at 6:00 PM
She needs a brain stimulus so she can understand the one everyone else seems to get.
______
Martha UYS, I just don’t know if there is enough stimulus in the WORLD to get GINO’s brain running.
Talk about an unfunded mandate!
April 28th, 2009 at 6:08 PM
Lynnrockets – THINK – Plenty more songs, how about the Beatles “Hey Jude?’
If/when you are “songed out,” PLEASE publish your songbook and become a vendor on this site. I bet you will be a mudflats best seller! I am a songwriter/lyricist too – but I do not think nearly as fast, nor as cleverly as you. I love the sing-alongs to break up all the outrageous GINO news.
April 28th, 2009 at 6:09 PM
“Wasilla Highway, I wanna ride it, all night long…”
“Spank me baby, one more time…”
“Skink, skank, skunk…”
“Pretty woman, come on walk on by…”
(hints to lynnrockets if you are running out of ideas)
April 28th, 2009 at 6:15 PM
Jon Muller, rural advisor, has a job fair video made this April on the ak web.
http://gov.state.ak.us/index.html
Job fair in Emmonak
April 28th, 2009 at 6:19 PM
She is turning down the state energy program because she doesn’t want HER HOUSE to be investigated.
Everything revolves around Sarah. That is how her mind works.
April 28th, 2009 at 6:31 PM
lynnrockets Says:
April 28th, 2009 at 4:24 PM
TAKE THE MONEY AND RUN
Heh!
(sung to the Steve Miller song “Take The Money And Run”)
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Lynnrockets: CUJO!
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BigSlick-every night I visualize her in matching “bracelets” err “handcuffs”
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Rob in Ca—-Hey since we are soooo tight with Axelrod and Co. it should be no problem for one of us “Paid” blogger/commenter s to drop a line, or maybe tweet him? Just a thought! (this is according to current thinking @ ceeforpee)
April 28th, 2009 at 6:31 PM
Karin in CT, Not that the energy program would result in a house inspection, unless she wanted to take advantage of it. WHAT? Todd didn’t use the most energy-efficient materials? Was relying on the Alaska PDFs to see them through any energy crisis?
April 28th, 2009 at 6:36 PM
With all the pressure put on her thru well-aimed ridicule, this outcome is not surprising.
Keep up the good work. A little more heat to her tootsies might wake her up.
Then again, maybe not.
April 28th, 2009 at 6:39 PM
Palin is NOT going to be there in the future, so why the sudden concern and turning down nearly $29 million for State Energy Programs funds? because she believes it to be tied to developing a statewide energy code. Yet, Legislative budget leaders couldn’t find those strings.
She’s hallucinating and seeing strings, people! All Aboard The Crazy Train! lol.
I’m with #58 Karin in CT, her house isn’t up to code. Did Levi learn his electricians chops as jr. apprentice there? Hmmmm? lol.
It’s all too much, eh?
April 28th, 2009 at 6:44 PM
My husband who is a civil engineer licensed in Alaska explained to me that there is plenty of Uniform Building Code that already exists for efficiency and that it would be a simple matter of tweaking it some for the state.There are just some things that would be difficult to work with but could be modified to work for most Alaska and easier for Urban Alaska. But the real deal would be creating the regulatory overseers. Developing a permitting process and staff to regulate and inspect would be the challenge Coordination state, borough, and city code alignment and the difficulty and expenses of rural travel. Would make it a somewhat difficult program to implement. Not that it could not be done he explaned but that one of the biggest difficulties would be to control graft.
He feels that if certain standards were in place now there would be a lot less houses that burn down in Alaska.
He feels that it could be done but in no way shape or form could this administration pull it off.
April 28th, 2009 at 6:52 PM
about #63 Really bad editing (sorry)
I am still ticked off (12 years later) about where the windows are in the house we (ok he did the hard stuff) built in rural Alaska, but what I wanted wasn’t code.
I am out here in the middle of nowhere there is no inspector for 180 miles. No permits but by golly my house is code…….. : )
April 28th, 2009 at 7:02 PM
36 Lisabeth Says
46 curiouser Says
Rereading the press release, Lisabeth may have a point on the stimulus funds replacing state funds. It is confusing. I believe that the press release is saying that stimulus funds DO replace state funds for $130 million of Medicaid replacement and child support enforcement.
It is possible that the press release is poorly worded, and that the legislature refused to do that. I don’t think the press release is entirely clear on this. Does anyone know how to see what the legislature actually proposed on this point?
April 28th, 2009 at 7:32 PM
HELLO GINO!!
It is known that in 3 (THREE) years there will be a CRITICAL natural gas shortage on the Kenai Peninsula.
You know, Sarah, where your friend Bob Penney has his other home on the Kenai River, also, too.
Now is the time to get our homes, offices and businesses energy efficient.
Flailin’ Palin, you betcha.
This is my first comment, although I am a long-time reader.
AKM, you make me proud to be an Alaskan.
Love love love the comments too, and Lynnerocket’s songs.
Did you ever write for a great satirical magazine with a nifty back-page fold?
April 28th, 2009 at 7:40 PM
@ Rob in Ca
“It is possible that the press release is poorly worded…”
Hahahahahahahaha!!!!!! What else is new?!
April 28th, 2009 at 7:40 PM
OT: On Diva’s site:
Tati Broadcasting change direction for KUDO 1080 — Cary and CC cut from lineup
http://divasblueoasis.com/diary/570/#1763
I wonder if this could be politically motivated? As in censorship????
April 28th, 2009 at 7:41 PM
Let’s keep the record straight. Palin said she was accepting only 55% of stimulus money on March 19th.
http://community.adn.com/adn/node/139409
April 28th, 2009 at 7:42 PM
Well, she had to find the opportunity for some cheap political point-scoring, didn’t she?
I don’t believe the tyranny of distance is any excuse for not having a sensible environmental building code in Alaska. Every environmentally-aware country in the world has isolated places with rundown shacks. I live in the most sparsely populated continent in the world – and environmental standards are enforced where they can *reasonably* be applied.
April 28th, 2009 at 7:46 PM
TO: Wildlife Avenger: Hug
http://co2hog.com/hug.bmp
April 28th, 2009 at 8:57 PM
I won’t be able to afford to heat my house next winter if I can’t find a job. Energy efficiency money? Nah. Bah humbug. Who needs energy efficiency when it only costs $5000 a year to heat an Interior Alaska 1400 SF home?
April 28th, 2009 at 9:29 PM
@ Here in PA – thanks mucho for the Job Fair in Emmonak link. Have I been on another planet? Has Ann Strongheart mentioned this? My husband was FAA Air Traffic chief in Bethel, and it was great seeing the scenery and faces again.
April 28th, 2009 at 9:31 PM
My daughter was just down in New Orleans and bough back a voodoo doll.Top bad I don’t have a piece of hair and a look alike so pins could be stuck in LOL. I was hoping for gris gris but they did not get any
April 28th, 2009 at 9:36 PM
Geez huh? she isnt very bright. IF anything, we need those funds to improve on it. WOW.
April 28th, 2009 at 9:46 PM
lynnrockets
Do you know “50 ways to leave your lover”? You could do “50 ethics violations!”
April 28th, 2009 at 10:34 PM
ADN has an opinion piece titled, “Comment was Fair”. This was in regard to Measure 4 and they stuck-up for her saying she had a right to her opinion. Following is what I posted….
“Someone asked Palin during a press conference for her opinion on Measure 4.”
Who asked her this question? Was it a set-up to get her answer out and to use it against the measure?
That’s where the mystery lies…who asked the question and did that person have any connection to the opponents of Measure 4?
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I’ll bet the farm someone purposely asked this question and she was all ready with the “let me take my Governor’s hat off” B.S.
I’m not buying it.
April 28th, 2009 at 11:49 PM
atha Says:
sharon in canada Says:
Does it ever stop???Every day, every day, every day!!!! I can’t take any more!
I ask…why hasn’t she been recalled by now?
I’m going to lay down now and hope tomorrow is a better day.
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I understand your frustration. I ask the same question. When will the majority of Alaskans be fed up enough with Palins BS, that they will ask for a recall?
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I ‘ll say it again as I posted the other night:
It’s not as easy as you think in that you have to submit it but have the support of those in office. Knowing full well how hard it has been to get support for some other things that have appeared so simple, you know it’s not a reality to gain support for a recall. It’s Alaska and the deck has been stacked. Recall is not a reality. It’s not an up and down like Blago. For another example what appeared as simple — look at Senator Burris — he’s still there and that was thought a walk in the park to get it done. It’s not. So before driving our Alaskan friends on here over the edge — give up the recall. Not gonna happen. If it coulda — it already woulda!!!
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Like I said, “majority of Alaskans”. I’ve said before that, obviously, I make no reference to this blog or the good folks that post on it. The thinking folks that come here must be just as frustrated. Since Alaska has only voted for the Democrats once since 1959, it is considered a solid republican state. The defection today of Arlan Spector and the very good possibility of Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe following his lead, may change the minds of moderate republicans in Alaska. Snowe said today “Specter’s switch to the Democratic Party “underscores the blunt reality” that the GOP is not a welcome place for moderates, she said.” I’ve always thought of Alaskans (generally speaking) as a “no nonsense” people. I can understand that no nonsense folks might turn a blind eye to Ted Stevens, but I can’t understand how they can tolerate the embarrassment that Sarah Palin has become. I can’t understand their patience for her constant dog and pony show, pandering to the national spotlight.
I realize that a recall effort is not “simple”. My elderly optometrist (brave, but diminutive and unassuming in appearance) initiated, organized and ran a recall campaign against the MLA in my riding. I know just how much work there is, what risk you take as a business person in your community, (I am one too) what ridicule you face and even danger to yourself, your family property. I have been there.
It reminds me of the folks in Alaska that have filed ethics complaints, they go through the same thing. The folks in Alaska that speak out in public against Palin take their chances every time they do. AKM risked herself and her family, I’m sure, taking the chance of being “outed”. It happened, but it did not stop her.
I wish that the Democratic opposition were stronger in Alaska.
Billboards that say “impeach Palin” are the start of a promise in the direction of recall or maybe impeachment. I believe in the old saying ” if you don’t stand for SOMETHING, you’ll fall for ANYTHING”
It just might be that prevailing minds will not be able to tolerate 20 some more months of Palin atrocities.
April 29th, 2009 at 12:03 AM
For all those who are saying that the Palin house isn’t up to code, that is why she is refusing to do this, think again. Even if she accepted the money and new stricter codes were implemented, I believe it was confirmed previously that they would not be retroactive, so it would not affect her house at all.
As for the Press Conference she was at when she was asked about Measure/Prop 4, if I recall correctly it was a last minute press conference that she herself called for one reason or another and it was a reporter who asked what her opinion was on it. I will look and see if I can’t find the information.
April 29th, 2009 at 1:18 AM
71 crystalwolf aka caligrl Says:
April 28th, 2009 at 7:46 PM
TO: Wildlife Avenger: Hug
_______________________________________
Thank you for the picture and thought. It brings to mind this song. Please read the third paragraph as you listen to the song. Truer words have never been spoken.
http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=7610
April 29th, 2009 at 3:40 AM
EyeOnYou Says:
April 29th, 2009 at 12:03 AM
For all those who are saying that the Palin house isn’t up to code, that is why she is refusing to do this, think again. Even if she accepted the money and new stricter codes were implemented, I believe it was confirmed previously that they would not be retroactive, so it would not affect her house at all.
As for the Press Conference she was at when she was asked about Measure/Prop 4, if I recall correctly it was a last minute press conference that she herself called for one reason or another and it was a reporter who asked what her opinion was on it. I will look and see if I can’t find the information.
================================================
I’ll save you the “trouble”. She asked her the question as Gov, then responded as private citizen. As usual Palin loves to have it both ways. There continued to be a $7,000,000 ad campaign against prop 4, using Palins picture AND quoting her “statement! Palins remarks were indeed worth much to the mining companies that used her in their advertising. Did Palin complain? Nope! Just happy to help out!
From the ADN;
http://www.adn.com/money/industries/mining/story/772198.html
Ballot Measure 4, the “Clean Water” initiative, failed at the polls in August after one of the most expensive campaign advertising battles in Alaska history, costing more than $7 million total. The measure was sponsored by Alaskans who oppose developing the massive copper and gold Pebble prospect in Southwest Alaska. Its biggest opponent was the state’s mining companies, which collectively spent more $6 million fighting it.
Six days before the election last August, someone asked Palin during a press conference for her opinion on Measure 4. She responded: “Let me take my governor’s hat off just for a minute here and tell you, personally Prop 4, I vote no on that.”
Palin went on to say that she trusts state regulators to make sure that Alaska mines operate safely.
The supporters of Measure 4 said they were outraged. A governor can’t just take her hat off during an official state event and take a private position on a ballot measure, they said. Her comments violated state law and may have been a decisive blow that killed the initiative’s chances, according to Brian Kraft, a sport lodge owner and Pebble opponent. He raised the issue against Palin in a more wide-ranging complaint about the state’s taking sides on Measure 4.
On Friday, the Alaska Public Offices Commission held a hearing on the Palin issue. The five-member commission has 11 days to issue a decision in writing.
APOC needs to consider whether it even has the authority to regulate statements made by public officials regarding ballot measures in their personal time or while doing state work, said Mary Ann Lundquist, the state’s senior assistant attorney general, in her brief defending the governor.
State law says that a governor cannot spend money or “provide anything of value” to influence the outcome of a ballot measure unless the Legislature has appropriated money for that purpose.
Palin’s one minute of sharing her opinion on Measure 4 after someone asked her what she thought about it does not meet that criteria; also, Palin’s right to express her own opinion is enshrined in the state’s Constitution, Lundquist said.
Kraft’s attorney, Scott Kendall, disagreed, saying that Palin’s statements provided Measure 4 opponents with “valuable aid” — free publicity — just before the vote, prompting a flurry of ads featuring her picture and saying “Gov. Sarah Palin Personally Opposes Measure 4.”
There wouldn’t have been anything wrong with Palin expressing her views on Measure 4 if she had done it on her own time, Kraft said Friday.
If Palin had come out in favor of Measure 4, the mining industry would have cried foul just like its supporters have, he said.
To this day, local pollsters and groups who lobbied for and against Measure 4 disagree about whether Palin’s comments had a significant impact on the election’s outcome.
David Dittman, an Anchorage pollster, said Friday that he ran a poll about 10 days before the election — before Palin made her comments — that showed the initiative would fail by a margin of 8 to 13 percentage points.
But one of the initiative’s sponsors, Art Hackney, an Anchorage political consultant, said the sponsors’ Cromer Group poll that ended six days before the election showed that the ballot measure would pass by 20 percentage points.
He said he believes Palin’s comments swung the election. The proposed law lost by 13 percentage points.
April 29th, 2009 at 4:18 AM
Thanks Martha, but what I am looking for is the original article that talked about this, or should I say one that showed up prior to the election. I remember having a discussion with someone at the time and I was quite perturbed to think that the Governor called a press conference very suddenly and then was asked this question (at the time I was certain that the press conference was staged) and I was and still am bothered by the fact that a Governor can “take of their hat’ in the middle of a press conference they called to offer an opinion as to the yes or no on a ballot measure. It seemed to me that it was just plain wrong.
I am going through the forum that I was on at the time and looking through the old posts/topics to see if I can find it because I know that I had a link to the article there that explained what I was talking about. The problem is that I am going back through 800 pages of topics.
April 29th, 2009 at 4:26 AM
CO Almost Native, I’ll bet on ignorant.
April 29th, 2009 at 5:28 AM
taupe in Fargo-don’t forget that “old guy” in AZ.
April 29th, 2009 at 6:00 AM
HA! FOUND IT! (went through 628 pages of topics, looking at everything regarding Palin I had posted in to find this sucker)
Palin’s Stand on Mining Initiative Leaves Many Feeling Burned
**Then, six days before the Aug. 26 vote, with the race looking close, Palin broke her silence. Asked about the initiative at a news conference, she invoked “personal privilege” to give an opinion. “Let me take my governor’s hat off for just a minute here and tell you, personally, Prop. 4 — I vote no on that,” she said. “I have all the confidence in the world that [the Department of Environmental Conservation] and our [Department of Natural Resources] have great, very stringent regulations and policies already in place. We’re going to make sure that mines operate only safely, soundly.”
Palin’s comments rocked the contest. Within a day, the pro-mining coalition fighting the referendum had placed full-page ads with a picture of the governor and the word “NO.” The initiative went down to defeat, with 57 percent of voters rejecting it. **
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/27/AR2008092702834.html?hpid=topnews&sid=ST2008092702850
Some of the key things for me on this were:
**The state ethics panel is examining whether her comments violated the law against state advocacy on ballot measures; it had already ruled that a state Web site was improperly slanted toward mining interests. **
**Most irksome to initiative proponents was Palin’s effort to cast her intervention as “personal.” “We were just like, ‘When does she have her hat on and when does she have it off?’ ” Bristol said. Former governor Tony Knowles, a Democrat who lost to Palin in 2006, went further and said she may have violated the law against using state resources to advocate on initiatives.**
**”She says, ‘I’m going to take off my governor’s hat,’ but the only reason the press was there was that they were called to a press conference by the governor,” he said. “Being governor is not a costume — you either are the governor or not.” **
**A week before the vote, Palin spoke with initiative opponent Mead Treadwell, the chairman of the U.S. Arctic Research Commission. He sensed that the governor was seeing things his way. “Palin said, ‘I can’t take a position, but if anyone asks me what I think, I’d say that I don’t like it,’ ” Treadwell recalled. “And about an hour later, someone asked her.”
She stated her opposition without warning Rick Halford, a conservative Republican and former state senator. A main initiative supporter, he had worked hard for Palin’s election. The two had talked during the summer about Pebble, and “she was cautious and trying to figure it out at that point,” he said.
Art Hackney, a political consultant and director of Alaskans for Clean Water, speculated that Palin may have been irked by complaints about the biased language on the state Web site. “It was her way of waving her wand, as she is wont to do,” he said, “. . . and poof, undercut this effort with one fell swoop.” **
It is a good article if anyone feels like reading it.
April 29th, 2009 at 8:07 AM
I’m quite sure the other side won’t be thrilled with this news. They are most likely butting head right now, trying to figure out a good enough excuse for yet another chapter in the sadsarahsaga.
April 29th, 2009 at 9:35 AM
GINO as quoted by Dermot Cole in todays Fairbanks Daily News-Miner :
“Essentially to me it’s (the $29 million) a bribe. It’s here, ‘Take these dollars, but you gotta grow your government. You’re going to have to police this new program, even enforcement of building codes if you take these dollars.’ ”
Dermot points out that the “Alaska Housing Finance Corporation already requires that buildings be built to energy standards before it loans money on a project.”
If the codes are not appropriate for rural alaska, which they may not be, then the thing to do is come up with some appropriate codes. Gee, that might even create a few jobs ! We have a solar lean-to type greenhouse on our home in Fairbanks and it is the BEST. We LOVE IT and it heats the house from early spring to fall. It cost about $2,000 dollars. Wow. Think of all the solar heat collectors you could buy for $29 million ! And they would be such a blessing in rural areas.
April 29th, 2009 at 9:41 AM
If ever there were a state that needed energy efficiency in their new construction, it would be…. oh, never mind.
April 29th, 2009 at 9:52 AM
On one hand, the legislators go begging to the feds for federal money for renewable energy for hydro-projects “without restriction”. On the other hand, the guv says “No, we aren’t going to have energy-efficient construction in this state.”
I’d be guessing that if the feds have half-a-brain (We know Obama has a brain-and-a- half himself at the very least), they’ll send their energy money elsewhere. So this is going to cost Alaska a lot more than $29 million.
It’s going to cost Alaska funding for other energy projects and its going to cost Alaskans in energy costs (taxes for heating energy unefficient public buildings) for lack of a plan or code. It’s going to put Alaska in real sinkhole.
“Drill, baby, drill,” just ain’t gonna fly when the state can’t even consider an energy code for new construction. (Maybe we should be grateful???)
Legislators, can you say “special session”?!
April 29th, 2009 at 9:52 AM
Look out Sarah Palin…you are going to be replaced by a younger model and with bigger boobs and longer legs. Miss California-Carrie Prejeans is waiting in the wings.
Check out…http://babyboomeradvisorclub.com/san-diegos-carrie-prejean-miss-californiais-she-the-next-sarah-palin/ ifyou don’t believe me…
I can’t see Sarah Palin resisting any moneys. She sure didn’t pass up any republican funds.
What is she going to do when the world goes green?
Talk is cheap Sarah Palin and you have proved that more than once.
Thanks for the air time MudFlats…love the blog!
~The Baby Boomer Queen~
April 29th, 2009 at 10:12 AM
I sit here, not in a basement nor in pajama’s, and quietly wait the storm that’s blowing in. I wait for it every day, hoping someone from DC takes Palin to task for her plans on using the Stimulus money.
I wait for yet another ethics violation to be filed (safe bet… It’s like shooting fish in a barrel. Big enough gun an the concussion takes em all out), and more media spotlight on the Wailin failin palin… The poor world is out to get her, or at least those darn bloggers in PJ’s.
So let the underground network of basement dwelling, pajama clad bloggers keep track of this. I need my daily laugh at Palin’s expense.