Cat Gate and The Twitter Chronicles
You want to know the latest news about the governor, and the status of ethics complaints filed against her? Are you checking out the State of Alaska website? Silly you. For the hot cutting-edge news, you’ve got to be hooked up to the Twitter.
She even beat the Anchorage Daily News with this one.
AKGovSarahPalinWe won. Another expensive, time consuming false ethics charge thrown out. Remember the one: I wore my coat w/Arctic Cat logo & was charged?
AKGovSarahPalinWe’ll attach press release re: win against Democrat blogger’s ethics charge that I shouldn’t wear my warm snowmachine coat to cold Iron Dog
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 09-141
Ethics Complaint on Governor’s Apparel Dismissed
June 3, 2009, Anchorage , Alaska – Governor Sarah Palin today welcomed news that another ethics complaint has been dismissed. This is the 14th ethics complaint filed against the governor or her staff that has been resolved with no finding of a violation of the Executive Branch Ethics Act. Those complaints contain 22 separate allegations, all of which have been found to be without merit.
The complaint, filed by Linda Kellen Biegel, a blogger designated by the 2008 Democratic National Convention to represent Alaska bloggers, alleged that the governor violated the ethics act when she acted as the official starter of the Iron Dog snow machine race in February while wearing a jacket with the name Team Arctic, a logo of the Arctic Cat Company. The complaint accused the governor of using her position and state resources to serve her personal financial interests. The complaint also alleged that the governor used state resources to promote a personal interest.
Thomas Daniel, the independent investigator for the State Personnel Board, concluded there is no evidence establishing probable cause to believe that Governor Palin used her position for personal gain by wearing a Team Arctic jacket at the start and finish of the 2009 Iron Dog race.
“My investigation has uncovered no evidence that the governor or her husband received anything of value in exchange for the governor wearing the Team Arctic jacket when she acted as the official starter of the 2009 Iron Dog,” Daniel wrote in the report dismissing Kellen Biegel’s complaint.
Daniel went on to write, “I also note that most jackets worn by Alaskans have a company name or logo on them. It is common to see jackets with logos of North Face, Patagonia , Eddie Bauer, Marmot, Cabella’s, L.L. Bean and others. Indeed, it is more likely than not that any jacket that an Alaskan wears will have a company logo on it. So the fact that a person wears a jacket with a company logo on it is not evidence that the person is receiving a financial benefit as a result. To the contrary, it is the company that is receiving the benefit in the form of free advertising.”
“This complaint cost the governor personally, and the State of Alaska , thousands of dollars to address,” said Thomas Van Flein, the governor’s attorney. “It is regrettable that the ethics process has been diverted for partisan purposes by some, but it is also commendable that the board remains focused on the law.”
Juvenile little b^*ch.
Ethics: either you have’em or you don’t.
Looks like a broken link on the complaint. I’m getting an “Error 404″
Should be fixed now. Thanks, AKM
Take that.
She’s gotta be laughing like hell. Can’t you just see it.
Always a class act, our governor. Even more disturbing to me, though, it her rambling piece in the Juneau Empire today attempting to explain her veto of sustainable energy money from the feds. To me it is yet another good example of someone in way over their head. With the recession we have a brief breathing space on fuel prices, but it won’t last long. For her, it’s all about the things she understands best, lessons from valley politics and fear of ‘big gumment’.
http://www.juneauempire.com/stories/060309/opi_446619694.shtml
Oh, and of course she won’t wear the jacket again. That’s so last season. AC will have a brand-new one for her for next year!
petepeta–haven’t read it, but it sounds like they reprinted her ramblings from the weekend in the ADN. Couldn’t read it then; don’t think I could now either… I already have a heat induced headache; that might make it explode…
the problem child–but of course!
Isn’t there another venue–something she doesn’t control–where these charges can be brought against her? Of all the ethics complaints (except for travelgate and troopergate) this was the most substantial.
And someone needs to tell the Twittering Twit it’s “Democratic”.
I just realized that once again Sarah Palin leads the way and show the true colors of politics. Think about the recent Indy 500 race, where the winning car and driver’s suit are covered with the emblems of their sponsors. I say, “Enough with all of the secrecy!” Let’s have all of our politicians: senators, representatives, governors, any one elected to office including dog catcher be required to wear a jacket with the logo’s and emblems of their sponsors, excuse me, campaign donors. Bundlers and big corporate donors could qualify for those golden epaulettes, braid, ribbons, badge and the pocket handkerchief. Secretive donors could be stitched in the lining. I see an entire new fashion statement; sponsors please start your engines–the race for 2012 is about to begin.
I cant belive they find her wearing a coat that her family recieves money from is the same as wearing an Eddie Bauer jacket with a logo.
EDDIE BAUER DOESNT PAY TODD!!!!
the fix is in….
No surprise here., Of course it got dismissed, her personal board like there jobs pay checks to much.
AKGovSarahPalin: We’ll attach press release re: win against Democrat blogger’s ethics charge that I shouldn’t wear my warm snowmachine coat to cold Iron Dog.
1. I think this and the previous tweet is about all the “press release” needed.
2. What is she? TWELVE? Why is she mentioning DEMOCRAT BLOGGER instead of just plain old AK CITIZEN?
3. It’s a SnowMOBILE, at least here in the L48!
4. “Warm coat” to “cold Iron Dog”… PUHLEEZE! Like the ONLY warm thing she has, having lived in AK for a zillion years, is one BRIGHT NEON, HEAD TO TOE, CUSTOM MADE, SCREAMING ADVERTISING ENSEMBLE, made ESPECIALLY for her to wear on THAT particular day! Yeah… that was the ONLY “warm” thing she had to wear to the “cold” Iron Dog.
5. Why all the celebration if it was EXPECTED she’d “win” because it was “Frivolous”? Shouldn’t garner more than a shrug and “let’s move on” response, not all the tweeting and press releasing.
I can’t WAIT to see her BURIED ALIVE in the next election she enters. Can NOT WAIT. Already popping the popcorn!
Don’t forget the embroidered “Sarah” on the placket. AKM
” most jackets worn by Alaskans have a company name or logo on them. It is common to see jackets with logos of North Face, Patagonia, Eddie Bauer, Marmot, Cabella’s, L.L. Bean and others. Indeed, it is more likely than not that any jacket that an Alaskan wears will have a company logo on it. So the fact that a person wears a jacket with a company logo on it is not evidence that the person is receiving a financial benefit as a result. To the contrary, it is the company that is receiving the benefit in the form of free advertising”.
Are these PB folks for real??? MOst Alaskans do not get compensated by their clothing manufacturers!!!!!
Gov. Teflon Commercial Billboard strikes again.
How much does she rent out her body for? I’d love to pay her to wear my logo.
Wow, and I thought listening to her verbal salad audibly was bad. I think my brain shrinks a little bit each time I read one of her tweets.
Ah yes. Maturity. One of many traits that is woefully lacking in Sarah Palin aka the gal who wants to run this nation. The horror.
Anyone have any information on how to contact the Personnel Board, or better yet, how to demand to other state entities that proper investigations be carried out? It’s obvious that the Personnel Board has no interest in conducting proper, unbiased investigations. This one was a clear and obvious violation.
John Says:
June 3rd, 2009 at 2:12 PM
How much does she rent out her body for? I’d love to pay her to wear my logo.
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Just buy her or her family a real expensive gift and she will where your logo.
I just threw up a little in my mouth. You guys are stuck with her until 2010. Don’t forget to get out the vote if she runs again. Where’s that darn iceberg?
Oh, please. As if Todd being Mr. Governor Palin has nothing to do with the endorsements he receives from Artic Cat.
Wear not Where. Sorry.8)
Who is pulling her strings…She’s like sh^t in a bucket and comes out smelling like a rose…Every dang time..
aussiegal: She wouldn’t last 10 minutes in DC and Americans KNOW it.
Let’s see… she’s FOR smaller federal government, but wants to BE federal government.
First Dud was (and probably secretly still is) all about secession from the Union. Evidently, America isn’t good enough for the Palin Klan, yet she goes to an AK birthday party in freakin’ NY!
Oh, and AK is great! Why would she want to leave to go to DC? There hasn’t been a moose sighting there in like forever and there are no snowMOBILE races to wear her “whatever I find in the closet that’s warm” billboards.
She’d probably arrive in DC wearing Candie’s crap and claiming it has nothing to do with supporting Bristol’s… cough, cough… “position” with them in promoting abstinence.
One more thing… her outrageous display at Iron Dog can not even be remotely likened to being as innocent as wearing an LL Bean jacket with a simple logo in the corner of the piece!
samper–actually, they are called snowmachines up here. We realize that confuses all you Outsiders, cause that’s what you call the things that make the snow at ski areas, but hey, we’re just different up here and you can’t tell us what to call our winter toys, OK?!?!
(snark off for now)
AKM: Think if I write real nice about Bob Poe, or Ethan Berkowitz, they might start wearing “Team Mudflats” jackets on the campaign trail? Then people could come here, and boost my traffic, and I could charge a lot for advertising, and keep writing nice stuff, in a big “you can’t prove what I’m thinking” ethics celebration.
====================
what an inspired thought. I have been wearing my Mudflats button around town, but we need Team jackets for the winter…Cafe Press, anyone? How about Where’sSarah jackets?
Thanks, AKM, forgot about the CUSTOM EMBROIDERY on her BRIGHT NEON, HEAD TO TOE, CUSTOM MADE, SCREAMING ADVERTISING ENSEMBLE, made ESPECIALLY for her to wear on THAT particular day!
IIRC, her name was in more than one place on the “jacket”.
“Jacket”… that kind of gets me… It was a whole freakin’ OUTFIT that was so BLATANT, you couldn’t HELP but notice her!
Where was her SIMPLE Hunter Green LL Bean jacket, jeans, long johns and crew neck sweater with a turtleneck underneath? Probably would have been a stunning ensemble if she pair it all with her hooker boots.
My God! That woman was dressed as if she were competing herself! And the PB didn’t SEE that?
Ugh, my fellow Alaskans (present company not included) need to wake up and smell the coffee. To be fair, most of us have fishing, hiking and warm weather on our minds (that’s probably why a majority of these complaints are being dismissed now rather than earlier), but this is reaching heights of absurdity not seen in my time here.
When will people start realizing this is just a Kangaroo ethics board who have every intention of rejecting every complaint that comes their way, come hell or high water. They are simply out to make a mockery of every citizen who ‘dare’ voice their concern about elected officials. I would be surprised if this same ethics board comes down hard on a politician who is not Palin, just to show they are not biased.
In the end though, none of this surprises me coming from a board that found her innocent of wrongdoing in the Wooten matter!
InJuneau: My sincere apologies. Didn’t mean to insult anyone but Palin.
You’re exactly right, though… we make snow to get the ski season started early and it’s made by snowMACHINES.
The things we ride around on are MOBILES. Like automobiles. They mobilize us.
Again, Sorry!
I’m just so wound up about this, it’s insane. Why should I care this much?
Oh! I know! Because she aspires to RUN MY COUNTRY, that’s why!
Okay, first of all, the salutation on this letter of decision is “Dear Debra”. Not professional. Entirely too friendly.
Second of all, the “speculation” and “conjecture” part of the decision is just laughable.
Third, if GINO received the jacket from the team mate, rather than from her husband, why was the sponsorship agreement between the team mate and AC not inspected as well? That is a big, gaping hole, right there. That agreement is obviously relevant as well, as it could have been used to circumvent the Ethics Act as he is not a family member. But if he benefits, as part of the team, so does the team as a whole, so it’s pretty sketchy.
Would “cause” be something like a new Gov being seated, FIRING the PB and using the reasoning that they … um … we’ll call it “mishandled” all the ethics complaints?
Could THAT scenario shake out?
They don’t deserve to even HAVE jobs!
Um, didn’t she just advertise the name of her husband’s sponsor AGAIN via Twitter? And doesn’t she link her Twitter account to her state government website?
Any blogger want to file another ethics complaint?
: )
Oh, and the logos worn by Alaskans reasoning is off-the-scale idiotic. Most Alaskans are not in public office, and their husbands’ “businesses” are not sponsored by Carhartts.
*thunk* wobble wobble *thunk* wobble wobble *thunk*
Just the sound of me repeatedly banging my head against my desk.
I really, really, really detest her.
okay Scarah……..have your board pimp your way, but ya bess declare all gifts and do your taxes correctly. And IF there are any amendments made that’s a good as guilty.
this is from the orginal post from AKM last march……good points to remember folks, keep her feet to the fire.
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aha Says:
March 24th, 2009 at 8:34 PM
Arctic Cat pay’s more than $5,000. They give Team 22 DEEP Discounts. What is the value of the Discounts.
What else is FREE/Discounted? Spare parts? Transportation? Delivery? Maintenance? Shop time? Technicians? Off season services (trade show travel, lodging, entertainment, etc, etc, etc? Custom painting/logos? Custom clothing? Advertisements? I have a feeling if everything was line itemed it would be well over $30k.
Let’s see what Arctic Cat files as deductions on their tax forms as the expense of the Team 22 sponsorship. That would be the real value of the benefit Palin receives.
The SI arcticle says some people pay $30,000 but the Team 22 pays almost nothing. How much is almost nothing?
Team 22 also does vendor shows for Arctic Cat.
So we’re talking about almost $30,000 maybe even a whole lot more, not $5,000.
“This complaint cost the governor personally, and the State of Alaska , thousands of dollars to address,”
Luckily, she has that nice, big, fat advance for her work of fiction coloring book to PAY for all this. BTW: Shouldn’t she wait until she’s out of office to start signing contracts to be paid by an outside entity for her active and deliberate “service” of writing said coloring book? I’m just sayin’… sounds kind of UNETHICAL.
Her Legal Defense Fund should now be dismantled. Apparently, she has plenty of cash to now pay her attorneys. Oh, wait… it’s also supposed to fund legal issues for her family and friends, isn’t it?
Better leave it in place. Bristol might have quite a fight on her hands if she doesn’t give Levi some parental rights.
10 Candy Knight Says:
June 3rd, 2009 at 2:03 PM
Isn’t there another venue–something she doesn’t control–where these charges can be brought against her? Of all the ethics complaints (except for travelgate and troopergate) this was the most substantial.
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Does Alaska have counties ?? Our now retired D.A. did not get a conviction , but he sure raised enough questions to get DeLay crippled politcally and run out of office. Whatever the county that the capitol is in , that’s your man. Especially if it’s an elected position.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/03/04/60minutes/main678234.shtml
Sarah in SC: I thought that was the sound of all the people caught under Sarah’s bus.
AKM: Can you post a photo of that outfit? I know we’ve all seen it, but it would be nice for newcomers and/or the rest of us to look at while tearing our hair out and banging our heads against the wall.
austintx: Alaska has Boroughs instead of counties. Why, I”m not sure.
“This complaint cost the governor personally, and the State of Alaska , thousands of dollars to address,”
Why? How?
The problem here is the ethics committee is a bunch of partisan right wingers appointed by republican governors. It is not balanced. The executive branch ethics act needs to be totally rewritten. The legislature won’t do that. The only way to fix this is with an initiative.
The ethics committee is biased to the point where now they’re trying to intimidate people from filing complaints.
I will never forget, nor will I forgive, this group for their attempt to manipulate the presidential election when they came out with news on election eve that Palin had been cleared of Troopergate charges. What a deliberate manipulation– they were trying to mess up not only Alaska but the rest of the Unites States as well.
Let’s not forget that we can file ethics complaints against the ethics committee members themselves if they act unethically. The next time they try to intimidate people from filing complaints I’ll consider complaining.
if the investigator had to add to his findings something that has nothing to do with it, weakens and dilutes his finding in my opinion. Adding a personal statement (everyone wears logo attire) to his ruling statement? how unprofessional. how about just the facts and btw, exactly what are those facts sir.
And why is her personal lawyer making a statement? he had nothing to do with this did he? wasn’t this between Palin and the personnel board? do they have any more blank guns gang up, point and shoot? is everyone scared and impressed enough? She is pathetic, reminds me of Blagopuff. Both full of hot air and BS.
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Martha Says:
March 25th, 2009 at 1:57 PM
See article on Todd in Sports Illustrated:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/the_bonus/03/10/palin/1.html
Some Iron Doggers have spent upwards of $30,000 to finance a once-in-a-lifetime run into the wild heart of Alaska. Tapping their credit cards, they’ve shelled out $10,000 each for a 2009 snow machine, $10,000 more for an identical training sled, $2,500 for the race entry fee and a few thousand more for trailing airplane support. Palin and Davis, in contrast, have spent almost nothing. They are prodigiously sponsored, with their names monogrammed in script on their matching Arctic Cat jackets. (Palin even has the names of his five kids and his wife, SARAH, THE GOV, appliqu?d on his snow machine hood.) They give inspirational speeches at trade shows. They are both adored and reviled. They are the New York Yankees of snow machining
It might have meant a whole bunch of money had Todd won the race. Should it matter that he didn’t? Guess so. Arctic Act is the winner, a lot of exposure and free advertisement, compliments of the ol’ GINO of Alaska, for sure. Hope they remember her when it’s time for campaign fund raising!
Say No – in the Atty’s letter he stated that he submitted 9 questions to SP. Her atty (Von-Bullwinkle guy) responded.
O.K., why even pretend anymore that this ethics board is actually working for the people of Alaska. What a joke.
Isn’t there anything else you can do? Another way around this? An ethics complaint about the ethics board?
It’s obvious they are not willing to cross Sarah. It’s fixed.
I hate when I read my nonsense post after posting it…..I guess what I was trying to say was that’s how SP’s personal atty was involved. blah blah blah….
Like most of us in the lower48 routinely say, a snow MACHINE is the device you haul out of your garage after a snowstorm and use to blow the snow off the driveway and off the sidewalk.
A snow MOBILE is what you sit on and ride off-road when that snowstorm hits and you’ve finished all your domestic work with the snow MACHINE.
I guess it must be different in Alaska because the average homeowner has a snow PLOW for snow removal in his driveway and sidewalks.
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As far as the Arctic Cat decision is concerned, I guess that and the ones that involve Andree McLeod being dismissed pretty much confirm that the Personnel Board and its investigators — a different one this last time — are joined firmly at the hip with Palin, marching in lockstep.
Pretty strong political machine they’ve got going. No wonder they don’t want “the feds” interfering.
But, you MUST save these twitters.
She is sooooooo, like, high school in her comments. Wow….how very Presidential. What an idiot.
The fact that everyone wears parkas with logos on them is completely irrelevant to the complaint. The complaint was that Governor Palin, benefitted from the sponsorship of her husband’s Iron Dog team. No matter what the amount, it is no different from someone doing remodeling work on your home at a “discounted” rate (I’m looking at you Sen. Stevens). And for her to go nyah nyah nyah in her twitter account is so middle school it is beyond belief. She really is stupid and vile.
austintx–yup, boroughs and municipalities and unincorporated towns and such. Don’t know why, but that’s the way it is. I think boroughs and such have their own DAs.
Artic Cat’s Nasdaq info says “snowmobile” (Designs and manufactures Arctic Cat snowmobiles and ATVs, and Tigershark brand personal watercraft)
- must tick off Palin and all snowmachiner Alaskans. Good thing the logo jacket stopped at the corp. name, or Palin’s jacket might have had that funny word plastered on it.
Iron dog web page uses “snowmobile” also: http://www.irondog.org/contact.htm , the membership info says: Become a Member of the Tesoro Iron Dog™ team, support the race and racers, and help ensure the future success of the longest, toughest snowmobile race in the world!
Maybe Iron Dog isn’t really an Alaskan event, so “snowmobile” is ok?
KaJo–nope, those things we use to clear the snow away are snowblowers (or snow plows, if you have enough of a driveway/land to need one). We have a neighbor who has a snowblower he uses for the whole neighborhood. He’s awesome!
Hey! Look everyone!!
Sarah evidently has a simple blue jacket that appears to be “warm” enough for the Ididerod!
http://www.gov.state.ak.us/photos.php?&start=80&total=8
And LOOKIE HERE! The Outfit in Question!
http://www.gov.state.ak.us/photos.php?&start=88&total=8
OK, is it just me, or is the company’s “logo” supposed to be “Arctic Cat”? Her outfit CLEARLY says “TEAM ARCTIC” on it. As in TODD’s team!
Go here: http://www.arcticcat.com/atv/ and look at their logo at the top of the page.
Does that, in ANY WAY WHATSOEVER, resemble the “logo” Sarah is wearing???????? Gee… it doesn’t say “TEAM ARCTIC CAT” anywhere on it!
Kajo: Potato/Pototto
And about the ethics board, I believe the only way this will be fixed is to have a bipartisan, non-governor appointed ethics board. As long as the judger is paid/employeed by the judgee, there is no impartiality.
Thomas Daniel states she didn’t profit from it. But Sarah’s own disclosure with the State indicates that she did.
The shameful Thomas Daniels should have his license to practice law revoked.
As is sometimes the case, the “investigator” investigated the wrong clue.
The issue isn’t whether Todd or Sarah Palin got anything as a result of wearing the jacket.
The issue is whether Sarah Palin wore a jacket (not just an ordinary Arctic Cat, but one personalized with her name and her husband’s team) as part of husband’s agreement to promote the brand.
In return for cash discounts which Palin refernced on her forms but deliberately failed to list the amount.
And then there is the value of receiving a 300-500 jacket itself? Did she pay for it herself? Or was it part of the business deal the Palins made with the company?
Ok, Van Flein, prove that she incurred any costs with this complaint. I don’t believe it. I doubt any costs came her way, and besides, if there were any costs, her Alaska Fund Trust would have paid it. When my daughter was two, she said it best: Yiar, yiar, pants on fi-yer.
Precisely, My Dear Ratfish.
I’d like to know what “loophole” the investigator and palin’s attorney came up with.
The timing is sketchy too, hmmm today the court hearing is canceled, and an ethics complaint is dismissed, scarah must be singing oh happy day. her jesus delivered and it only cost a bundle of other people’s money, no worries.
Is she transparent? can we see clearly now her innocence? NO! if she want ANY credibility those findings should be made public, that is the only way anyone will know how these cases have been handled. Prove it was legit and unbiased, then no one can say otherwise. If nothing to hide, why not prove it.
This ethics process is a joke and shows how impossible it is to holds a public official accountable.
Samper, these are from Greta Van’s family album
http://s278.photobucket.com/albums/kk92/sparkleferrari/?action=view¤t=_DSC1700.jpg
http://s278.photobucket.com/albums/kk92/sparkleferrari/?action=view¤t=_DSC1718.jpg
Where do they get these lawyers? Citing that some people wear jackets with logos as part of a legal analysis is a joke. What other people wear was not the issue.
He also says that although it was not in her submission, one might assume she was supporting her husband. I don’t think you are supposed to assume things that are not presented. This was the second instance of him making excuses on her behalf.
Interesting that she was supposed to respond to the questions by April 27. Instead there was only a motion to dismiss. He did not receive the answers until May 13 and did not seem to care. The answers should have been submitted along with the motion by the deadline. Would they have done this if it were a judge? Obviously they don’t take the process seriously.
Since she admitted she was there as governor, she did receive a benefit, the jacket, it should at least be reported as a gift while on official duty.
What do you expect from a system that lets three hand picked people choose who gets to clear their boss, oops I mean investigate.
Samper, I posted two pics for you but the post has gone to spam because there are two links in it. I have more pics but I won’t bother posting them.
Samper, disregard the previous post – it’s out of the spam bucket already.
In Michigan:
Machine – Makes Snow for ski resorts and such
Blower/Plow – Clears snow from driveway/sidewalk/road
Mobile – Transports one from Point A to Point B
Isn’t this Celtic Diva’s complaint? I’m going over to catch her side of it now.
Dammit! Am I having an attack of stupid???? First my post disappears so I assume it’s gone to spam. Then it suddenly appears and I assume it’s posted. Then I notice it has “Your comment is awaiting moderation” written on it. Samper I hope you get to see the pics; they’re worth seeing.
Aussie Blue Sky: Where do I find the pics you posted?
samper–Celtic Diva doesn’t seem to have anything up on it yet. She’s prob. out working in her garden!
Aussie Blue Sky–I’m sure it’ll appear sooner or later.
If it was so “cold”, why is her jacket completely unzipped and she has no hat or gloves on in the photo from her own website?
samper–oh, details, details…
Oh yeah, I meant to add, …like you’re expecting logic out of her?
Aussie: Don’t sweat it. I found ONE on the Gov’s site, which serves a purpose.
But I KNOW there are MUCH better (full length) ones out there.
Only in Alaska.
It would have never been dismissed in California.
samper Says:
June 3rd, 2009 at 2:37 PM
Thanks, AKM, forgot about the CUSTOM EMBROIDERY on her BRIGHT NEON, HEAD TO TOE, CUSTOM MADE, SCREAMING ADVERTISING ENSEMBLE, made ESPECIALLY for her to wear on THAT particular day!
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So Scott Davis JUST HAPPENED TO HAVE 2 ARCTIC CAT JACKETS AND HE GAVE ONE TO GINO? Two Arctic cat jackets one with CUSTOM EMBRIDERED Sarah Palin all over it!!!!!
How come that wasn’t mentioned?
I also agree with what
TheproblemChild said:#
Third, if GINO received the jacket from the team mate, rather than from her husband, why was the sponsorship agreement between the team mate and AC not inspected as well? That is a big, gaping hole, right there. That agreement is obviously relevant as well, as it could have been used to circumvent the Ethics Act as he is not a family member. But if he benefits, as part of the team, so does the team as a whole, so it’s pretty sketchy.
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I think all the ethics complaints, all documents should be forwarded to CREW or FBI its obvious the Ethics dep in Alaska is not about Ethics! Its cronyism and corrupt, THE FEDS NEED TO COME DOWN AND CLOSE SHOP!
InJuneau Says:
June 3rd, 2009 at 3:39 PM
samper–Celtic Diva doesn’t seem to have anything up on it yet. She’s prob. out working in her garden!
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She is working on a post, as we speak….
Just a reminder for the next Governor’s election… In my opinion, what helped swing the mayoral vote heavily for Sullivan, was the 11th hour media attendtion about one of his bar employees being intoxicated and driving in the wee hours of the morning. Smearing or anything that looks like smearing will get the opposition out in full force. Some Sullivan supporters may have stayed home. All the smear campaigns against Obama, had his supporters out there in full force – GOTV. Seems we should focus on standing by the person we want to replace GINO. This administration is “ruled” by her highness. Can you imagine if she won again? Let’s not let that happen.
crystalwolf aka caligrl–well, there you go. I was giving her the benefit of the doubt that she’d be outside enjoying summer and not slogging away inside like the rest of us!
I’m amazed the judgement includes this:
“To the contrary, it is the company that is receiving the benefit in the form of free advertising.”
Which was, pretty much, the substance of the complaint. That in return for Todd’s sponsorship, Sarah provided free publicity. How could this lawyer find that that was true, and then cite that as his reason for dismissing the complaint?
My head hurts.
I’m sure she’s composing her usual stellar post on this… She’s GOT to be just fuming! I know I am, and I didn’t even file the complaint!
Watch… her email requests will be denied as well, unless she can come up with $65K to pay for electronically searching a few accounts (1/2 hour’s time) and copying the relevant ones (which shouldn’t be many, considering the topic).
InJuneau: Details about the gloves, hat and unzipped jacket or what we call our snow toys here in Michigan?
JP: The company probably didn’t make nearly as much on the “free advertising” as the Palins did in sponsorship and that fancy outfit she had on.
BTW: BULLS%$T on the notion that the other guy gave Sarah the jacket! He just “happened” to have one, with the pants, with her name on it, laying around the house and said “Here, just throw this on… it’ll keep you WARM at the COLD Iron Dog”.
I’ve heard 4 year olds come up with more believable lies!
samper–no, I meant, silly you for pointing out such trivial details about how she wasn’t wearing a hat or gloves and had her jacket unzipped when obviously it was such a cold day because she said so!
Someone is cherrypicking our comments here and posting them at adn!!!!
ItIsHotInHere wrote on 06/03/2009 01:19:38 PM:
So Scott Davis JUST HAPPENED TO HAVE 2 ARCTIC CAT JACKETS AND HE GAVE ONE TO GINO? Two Arctic cat jackets one with CUSTOM EMBRIDERED Sarah Palin all over it!!!!!
If it was so “cold”, why is her jacket completely unzipped and she has no hat or gloves on in the photo from her own website?
But, you MUST save these twitters.
She is sooooooo, like, high school in her comments. Wow….how very Presidential. What an idiot.
http://www.themudflats.net/2009/06/03/cat-gate-and-the-twitter-chronicles/?cp=1
That Scott Davis remark was mine! Hey I think I know who you are and I would appreciate you either ask my permission to post to ADN or stop and post your own views. Thanks
There are many reasons we’ve renamed her GINO. This would be one of them.
Sarah: you have said that you want government to “get out of the way.”
Please, get out of government and leave it to the grown-ups.
The “if it was so cold” comment is MINE!
Can’t they come up with their own original thoughts?
Oh well… imitation is the sincerest form of flattery!
I will take great satisfaction in the fact that when they (whomever they are) bust this whole charade open, the Personnel Board will suffer the same fate as she. They are as corrupt and purchasable as she is.
I really hope there is some law-type watching all this very closely. It screams “dirty”.
R U Kidding Me?
crystalwolf aka caligirl: Immitation is the sincerest form of flattery (re your stolen words at ADN). btw, I love your posts here on the mudflats and all the other AK blogs. I post on Immoral Minority, here, Progressive Alaska, Shannyn’s blog, and Regina’s blog. I use various names (usually tasha or penelope or writeidea) and I see you everywhere! I look for your posts because it is clear that you understand the need for the Federal Govt. (I refuse to call them “the feds,” but that’s just me) to bring justice to AK. And you DO something about it, ala CREW and FBI. Thank you from another California resident who is on the same page.
Surprisingly, most comments on ADN are PRO Palin.
They just don’t “get” it…
NO, she can’t be a frickin’ billboard for the company that puts bread on her table via Todd’s contract. NOT while also being the Gov.
NO!
In the world of Ethics Complaints, where does SP stand in relation to the other 49 Governors ?
I have the feeling she is WAY ahead with her 14 – has she clinched the pennant yet ?
InJuneau: It was SOOOOOO COOOOOOLD!!!!!! And all she had to wear was a neon green “TEAM ARCTIC” full on ensemble to wear!!!!
ROTFLMAO!
Day after day this woman produces a rabbit from her hat. How does she do it? She’s like trying to hang on to a handful of mercury.
Toads web page is the violation. It links to a commercial (Tesoro FeDawg) site with adverts for his sponsors. Its a misuse of state resources to link to a commercial site that directly benefits the grifters. Its not a handy garment to keep warm. Its promoting an endeavor that makes the grifters $$$$.
Who is Tesoro?
http://www.tsocorp.com/TSOCORP/index.htm
And Mystik:
http://www.irondog.org/sponsors/sponsors.htm
How much do they benefit, and in kind with their sponsors who also sponsor toad, ad nauseum….FILE!!!!!
Um… I’m not a big fan of Sarah… at all. But if we are to be fair, all the comments I read seem pretty middle school. So, yeah, glad you all share the same halls at junior high! I think filing claim after claim, without enough forethought to the evidentiary process just makes one side look like bullies, and in the long run may be the effect of crying wolf. If there are serious issues with the Personnel Board, which I’m sure there are, one might want to reign in the frivolous cries and make very sure there is irrefutable ground to stand on. Too many unsubstantiated cries invalidates a real threat.
NY DEM: I rarely hear a bad word about my Gov (Granholm – MI), much less about ethics complaints against her.
Don’t know about the others.
“This complaint cost the governor personally, and the State of Alaska , thousands of dollars to address,”
Why? How?
****************
It costs a lot to grease a few palms!
Thanks, Lori in Los Angeles
Funny thing; In SP’s twitter, she seemed ecstatic that “we won”, YET, didn’t her personal lawyer reveal today that this ethics complaint would cost thousands of dollars? I guess she’s not worried, because she knows her fans will pay the legal fees.
To samper re #90:
ADN has been taken over by pro-Palin fanatics. They chase away Palin critics by reporting them as abusive.
Still nothing from Celtic Diva… 9:13PM EDT
She gets some stunning photos of AK scenery, just like AKM!
Today, she has Mt. Redoubt up.
You guys have a beautiful state! Too bad it’s scarred by your Ethically Challenged Gov.
If I didn’t know better, I’d swear Palin is 15 yrs old based on her twitty tweets.
I agree that from over here on the other side of the country, nobody discusses GINO. In fact, the last thing I heard that was even remotely related to her was some women discussing Bristol in “People”. I was certain to add my 2 cents
GINO is more and more irrelevant “down here” and that’s a good thing. I feel sorry for you Alaskans. She does seem to be the Teflon Gov. But we all know what happened to Gotti.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Gotti
GINO From Hell: You know, for a few weeks, I’ve been posting, but they never appear over there. Obviously, I’m ANTI-SP, but over there, I’m more subtle than over here.
I’ll bet I got banned or something by the PRO-SP idiots.
There is really a marked change in the commentary over there over the past few weeks.
I thought the Personnel Board is employed by the State for the sole purpose of making sure everything is ETHICAL and all.
If they are making a salary and have dismissed this complaint without it going further, where is the additional “cost” coming from?
I know Tom Daniels. He’s a pretty bright guy and a good lawyer. However, I have to say that his unnecessary editorializing equating me going to the grocery store while wearing my jacket that has a 1/2″ high logo on the breast pocket with the Governor making an official appearance as the Iron Dog starter wearing a parka covered with ads for her husband’s sponsor is just plain dumb. I suspect he regrets making such a bone-headed and gratuitous statement, especially in the middle of an otherwise very narrow and technical document. What Daniels found was that Todd and Arctic Cat had a sponsorship contract under which AC provided Todd with discounts. In turn, Todd was required to wear AC gear. The written agreement didn’t REQUIRE Sarah to wear a jacket. AC paid for Todd to wear a coat. In Daniels’ mind, Sarah just kind of tossed her body in as a billboard for free. Daniels says that since Todd got the goods regardless of whether Sarah played, there was no agreement to confer benefit in exchange for her acting like a billboard – ergo, no ethics violation. He admits its reasonable to speculate that Sarah was helping AC out in the hopes of helping Todd out, which would be a violation. However, there was no proof of that. I don’t defend this very, very narrow reading of the available facts, I just summarize it.
I don’t know if anyone else has said this, but ADN is not allowing comments on most articles about Palin–the complaint dismissal is the latest. Wonder why-hmmm….
Thanks, Simple Mind- I appreciate the summary. To me, the decision is bone-headed: just tell Governor Twit she can’t wear anything that advertises a business when she is acting as Governor (acting is right
).
Yes ADN is heavy on censorship. Many of my comments that get about 20 or so recommendations, they later delete.
samper/CO almost native:
There’s definitely some sort of censorship going on over at the ADN site, which is really unfortunate. Many of us in the Lower 48 relied on that site for unbiased Palin news. My guess is that I, too, have been “banned” thanks to the Palinbots — probably an organized effort by those happy folks over at Team Sarah.
@Simple Mind Says: June 3rd, 2009 at 5:18 PM “He’s a pretty bright guy and a good lawyer.”
I agree he’s bright. And he knows how silly his logo list comment makes him look. I think he put it in at someone’s behest and is willing to take all the snark it will earn him. I think he expects something in return in the fullness of time.
When ADN goes broke and closes , they can use the press to make the high tech solar stuff I linked this morning.
Equally troubling is the fact that there is a “First Gentleman” listing on the State of Alaska website. We get to read all about the GINO’s husband in his biography, and below, he lists his many interests.
I have no quarrel with most of the links provided by his interests. They lead to state sponsored websites regarding vocational training, jobs, hunting, fishing, trapping, and so on. The link that I quarrel with (and I don’t live in Alaska) is the link to Tesoro Iron Dog. One more click, and one gets to read all of the sponsors– some governmental and more commercial interests. I do not think that free commercial advertising has any place on a state sponsored website. If nothing else, it shows favoritism, partiality to one commercial interest, who just also is sponsoring First Gentleman’s interest, the Iron Dog Race. Actually, it’s more than an interest; the Iron Dog represents of form of income for Todd. And, Tesoro, just happens to have a big oil refinery in Alaska!
I’m sure that Alaska is equally proud of other sports events, in fact, all kinds of events, that take place in the state, sponsored by commercial interests. Instead of being part of the Governor’s section, all of these events deserve listings in a Calendar of Events taking place in the state each week or month. All events, not just the GINO’s husband’s event and its commercial sponsors. (Now, if all of those sponsors are actually paying for the costs of the state website listings, then we might have a different kettle of fish. Do we really think that is the case here??)
If a corporation paid Todd hundreds of thousands of dollars, just as gifts. Sarah has to report that as gifts. Under Alaska state law, Palin generally has to disclose gifts over $150.00 that she or a family member receives.
So it seems Tom Daniel doesn’t actually understand law because he is saying gifts to Sarah’s husband don’t count.
“the independent investigator for the State Personnel Board”… aka the guy hired by the people hired by and slavishly devoted to GINO.
As long as ethics complaints have to go through Sarah’s own personal cheer squad, the process is one big joke.
I went to ADN to read the article and comments. No comments show up. I didn’t see any yesterday, either, on any of the articles. Did ADN stop comments?
The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, hoping to get different results. Bea is correct – this process is a joke. It is a complete waste of time. I do not see any point in filing ethics complaints no matter how blatant the offense. The Personnel Board is too afraid to investigate, much less find guilt. CREW, the FBI, and the IRS would be, IMO, the place for AK citizens to go – and the sooner the better. Housegate and churchgate to start. And IRS for kids travelgate and per diem gate (just because her lawyer had her pay on some of the trips and stated “case closed” does not make it so). I cannot help but think GINO must be pissing off the Federal Govt. with her constant AIP-type talk of “the Feds” meddling in AK law.
History Goddess:
ADN has been grossly inconsistent in the past few weeks, if not longer. I see a comment count of 100 and only like 10 are actually there (one per page – annoying). Or, they all go away. Or there are ONLY pro-SP ones (when I KNOW their readership is heavily ANTI-SP… or at least it was a few weeks ago).
I THINK I’ve been banned, although my comments there are pretty tame in contrast to what I might post here, in the “safety zone” (thanks, AKM, for letting us speak our minds without getting banned!). Mentioned above, it appears that Palinbots are reporting “abuse” on anything against their idol. This, in turn, gets the comment deleted and the author banned for repeated offenses (I guess).
I asked earlier, but didn’t see a response:
Can a NEW Gov fire the current PB for “cause” if they cite “mishandling” of the ethics complaints in SP’s tenure?
I’d be VERY curious to see what a new Gov might do with all this, if within his/her power to do anything at all.
I’m shaking my head in disbelief over this latest news. I once read that if you have to ask yourself if something is unethical, then it most likely is. I guess GINO never asks herself that question?
Lori in LA: I just don’t “get” why, then, she wants to BECOME a Fed!
Someone! Please explain this to me!
The AIP stuff, the “feds” comments, and then “not blinking” when asked to BECOME a “fed”.
Does she know that it’s not appropriate for a “fed” to wear hooker boots, logo wear as an advertisement, and skirts where 90% of her thighs show when she is seated on stage at a Memorial Day Ceremony?
Cuz I think that will really disturb her wardrobe decisions in DC.
I worked as an art buyer/producer for 25 years and dealt with lawyers on a daily basis regarding what is sponsorship, what is not, copyright infringement, etc. This lawyer clearly has no background in this field of expertise, demonstrated by this comment, which is exactly why the charges were filed? I just don’t get it, not at all, not for one minute. The key words are FREE ADVERTISING.
“So the fact that a person wears a jacket with a company logo on it is not evidence that the person is receiving a financial benefit as a result. To the contrary, it is the company that is receiving the benefit in the form of free advertising”
Celtic Diva just posted her CatGate post……….
Sooooo, now will the Queen start wearing her Pet Project’s (The New Matanuska Creamery) sweatshirts? Word in the Valley is they are not paying their creditors so they could use some free adversing, right???? Something like “We can bale you out!”
Just remember, many of the emails that are being withheld have “Matanuska Maid” in the subject line. Those involved know what she is trying to hide and so does the Legislative Audit Committee. Misappropriation of funds to her dairy friends? Fraud? It just simmers below the surface waiting to blow. Google “Dairygate.”
Interesting about the Sarah supporters; I haven’t a clue who they are, maybe some just genuinely like SP, but, if indeed she has lied to her public, kept secrets from her voting public, is ethically-challenged and has pulled the wool over people’s eyes, you know what? Only she and God knows. And, as a christian, she would know that the Truth will not be mocked, and that it is a very sad thing to claim to be of Christ, then lie like the dickens (if indeed she did). If Palin supporters feel the need to defend her so much, they should just relax, because if she is innocent, she will be vindicated, but if not, the truth will hit the fan. Truth sets people free. My 2 cents for the day.
Another term might be “product placement”. Her name was embroidered on the jacket. It was pre-planned that she would wear the jacket. To have us believe it was spontaneous because of the “cold weather” is utter B.S. It was monogrammed where ever with the full understanding that she was gonna wear it at the Iron Dog.
Samper- I don’t often post there since I use my real name posting on newspaper sites. I try to be very careful with my wording when I do. (Like you, I could be WAY worse.) I do try to “recommend” views I agree with, and I make sure I view the “hidden ones” since they are often critical of Palin’s actions and I may want to recommend them. I will try to contact them to see if I am banned.
And, Palin’s board is a joke. I would love a cost breakdown for these complaints. I have a ton of research projects to grade in the next few days. Perhaps I should say that the grading of those projects is costing my district hundreds of dollars? It is part of my job!
Jeeze….
I am able to type in the ADN comment box. This is what came up in a new window:
Method Not Allowed
The requested method POST is not allowed for the URL /palin/story/818069.html.
Well, I’m too steamed to have read all the other commenters…but all I have to say is that anyone who doesn’t realize the difference between AC gear and Carhartt’s stuff, when their spouse is being PAID by AC.. is one dumb F***ing idiot.
That is one odd interpretation of the law – and appears to be a squiggly way of getting out of an obvious ethics violation. Very disappointing – yuck.
PS what is worse, is that SP would continue to pretend that she just happened to be wearing that particular coat when she was dressed to match all of the Arctic Cat team members and company reps. Ridiculous.
Seriously…. Can we just call the people investigating these ethics complaints by their true name.
They are GINO’s ‘ PERSONAL ‘ Board. She asks…. and they comply.
Not to worry folks, her day will come. Levi can still write his book about babies, FBI can still dig into how her house was built, IRS can examine all her gifts, there are so many ways she can be brought to her knees. It just is taking so long because she has insulated herself with friends and high school buddies who sudden have $95-120,000/year jobs thanks to their buddy, the Queen. Do you think they would actually do what is ethically, legally and morally right and risk losing their cushy jobs? NO WAY! So many people know the truth but will not stand up and do the right thing. Pathetic Alaskan Politics. And she touts herself as a Christian?
Is anyone really surprised by this dismissal? I mean really really surprised? Considering how fast and furious these dismissals were coming down, you just know that something is going on. She will not be found to be in violation of anything at all. Heck they ALLOWED her to broker a deal on the travel repayment so she could claim that she wasn’t guilty of anything.
She isn’t “teflon”, people are just willing to look the other way and give her an “out” legally.
@ trisha: Yep, her ‘interview’ with ‘Sarkozy’ proves it! That alone should be enough to bury her alive. I still laugh my arse over that one!
129 EyeOnYou Says:
She isn’t “teflon”, people are just willing to look the other way and give her an “out” legally.
***********************************************
Right on. She is able to award jobs and favors. And if that does not do the trick , I’m sure threats of ruination and payback are passed along. Big fish in a small pond. She’ll get her ass stomped good if she wanders out on the national stage again.
simple mind……..when the investigator says he questioned Palin and she said she received the “coat” from Scott Davis, how did the monogram appear on this “given” coat, one of the two coats he was given from Arctic Cat……..
And why did her attorney if this was a frivolous complaint, ask for a motion to dismiss?
Amazing. I must not be paying close attention. Mr. Daniel’s quote “I also note that most jackets worn by Alaskans have a company name or logo on them.” surprises me. I am wondering whose “most jackets worn by Alaskans” he is referring to? Must be using the same statistical information gathering system used to keep track of the cost of ethics complaints. I just did an inventory on my jackets and find ZERO company names or logos on them. Am I missing something here. I’d hate to be the only one in Alaska with no logo on my jacket.
austintx Says:
June 3rd, 2009 at 6:55 PM
I’m sure threats of ruination and payback are passed along. Big fish in a small pond. She’ll get her ass stomped good if she wanders out on the national stage again.
___________
At this stage of the game threats need not even be mentioned. Her history is well documented, people know that as long as she holds the reins that she will willingly drop kick you to the nearest curb if she feels you are not supporting her 100%. Placement of “friends” has another appeal, it keeps your fingers in the pot so to speak.
She has been given enough cleared playing field now that she will do whatever she wants and no one can really stop her. All these dismissed ethics complaints have set precedent now that can be used in the future both by her and by anyone else who might attempt to find away around ethical violations.
As far as the national stage, yes, she will be stomped on but good, and she has herself to blame for that.
Is the board saying all state employees can promote family businesses while on state time? Or is the gov. “special”?
antiAnti Says:
June 3rd, 2009 at 7:15 PM
Is the board saying all state employees can promote family businesses while on state time? Or is the gov. “special”?
___________
Based on this ruling anyone within the executive branch may now do exactly the same as she did.
Precedent has been set with these dismissals.
Let’s remember what happened when the Legislature hired a neutral attorney to investigate Palin: He found that she had violated the Executive Branch Ethics Act.
You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to understand the difference between bias and neutrality, and the opposite results these two types of attorneys will come to. Biased attorneys hired by the personnel board have let Palin off the hook (gee what a surprise) while the neutral guy hired by a bipartisan legislative investigation got to the truth (that Palin complies with EBEA as well as Rush Limbaugh complies with vegetarianism).
EBEA is one screwed up law– it just gives the executive branch the tools to stifle complaints. The executive branch investigates itself and then tells us how innocent they are and how victimized they feel with all these complaints.
No EyeOnYou – history would tell us that we should not be shocked that this complaint was dismissed. But what it does tell everyone loud and clear is that the level of corruption is very real and deep-seated. Is it any wonder that we, as law-abiding citizens, are cynical, suspicious and distrustful of people like SP? How many times in your life have you seen thieving unscrupulous corrupt individuals succeed and get away with it? I have, way way too many times – just as she is right now.
And this is the very reason that I feel the need to keep watching what she is up to. My reasons for doing so are that this piece of $%%^^t came so close to being the leader of the free world – and that impacts on my country, me and the lives of my children.
I, for one will not rest easy until I know that she can NEVER EVER AGAIN rear her ugly brainless moronic head. I am sorry people of Alaska, but she is not only your problem, but she is potentially the world’s problem as well.
This is so obviously a matter of corruption that it is laughable. One has to wonder, however, about the condition of Alaska as a consequence. Admitting that I have not read any of the comments on this thread, to me the obvious thing is to have responsible citizens file ethics complaints against the GINO whole sale and push her to the wall. In addition though, I think it is important to apply serious pressure regarding the “big deals” that the GINO has made. The pipline issue is a good starting point. There are involvements with the Pebble mine if my memory is correct. There is an issue with a moth-balled power station, and a dairy in Wasilla that got special treatment. There are issues surrounding the construction of her house in Wasilla.
The only way these matters are going to be treated justly is to bring in the dreaded Feds. So citizens of Alaska should write to, call, fax and email the DOJ in Washington and the AG for Alaska relentlessly. She can’t fix them the way she can the personnel board. If you are serious, then go after her, she is obviously self-serving and corrupt. Nail her to the wall.
Just my thoughts on the matter….
In this part of Alaska it is Sno-Go, or Sled or Snow Machine, you don’t much hear snow mobile.
And we all don’t wear clothes with logo’s all over them but you do see them.
I have seen GINO wear a brown coat with a big fur ruff, Actually I have seen her wear several different coats.
Ak government is really a joke anymore.
It’s obvious no one ‘inside AK’ will do anything to stop GINO. It’s up to the FBI and or CREW.
I still think there is damning evidence inside those emails… IF… anybody gets to see them. GINO has stonewalled Andree (and Celtic Diva)and put up all kinds of obstacles in the way (redacting )… or ignored them. If there was nothing damning in these emails about the FOIA requests… GINO would have produced them.
I emailed Heather Burke (who broke the Parliament scandal) with her FOIA requests and asked her if she was aware of what was happening in AK and whether she could give some advice or opinions since she has been down this path before and finally got the story out.
Maybe she needs to hear from a LOT of us. I posted this suggestion at Immoral Minority as well as Palingates. It wouldn’t hurt if a LOT of us emailed her. Link at the bottom of story.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/may/15/mps-expenses-heather-brooke-foi
If I as an employee offered or did something for another party as a result of them paying me, my family, or another party at my say so, or offering to from that beneift in the future, it is a kickback. It is unethical, fraud, illegal, and would lead to my employment termination and likely imprisonment. If I did this on a Depart of Defense contract, I would be fined, possibly imprisoned and blacklisted for a 5 yr period.
Thank you honestyinGov – loved the article. I will happily send an email and if I receive a reply I will post it here. She has that “fox terrier” or “British Bulldog” about her that says ‘never give up’ and ‘don’t let go’ which are admirable qualities, particularly when searching for the truth. I must say that today’s announcement left me feeling incredibly sad. I am beginning to think that that iceberg will hit everything else in its wake – except of course for SP.
How true Doggonit! But how? why? not SP?
Hmm. So wearing an embroidered jacket from your husbands sponsor while you officially start the Iron Dog and get your picture in SI and Fox and other media outlets is the same as me wearing a L. L. Bean jacket to the store. Only I get bupkis from L. L. Bean and have to pay them not just for the jacket but shipping as well. The fact that it had her name on it, makes it a gift for her, not free swag for him, since it was personalized. And I wonder how much it would cost to get that ensamble and have it personalized for me? Probably don’t want to know.
The ‘Lacoste Crocodile Defence’ is as weak as Petumenos’ claim that Mrs Palin wasn’t obligated to tell her husband to quit harassing Walt Monegan – and so her lying about it under oath didn’t matter.
What is with Alaska? The Department of Law says it desperately needs a full-time spokesmodel at 90 grand a year, a judge says he can’t do his job and judge the governor because he’s afraid of offending someone ….. and it might interfere with his ambition for a spot in the big league at the odds of 24 to 1 …..
And even when she’s caught fraudulently claiming tens of thousands of dollars – of other parent’s money – to take her kids on joyrides, the crooked governor gets away with “no violation”.
Is there anyone willing to uphold the law in Alaska?
I know that on some articles I can post and it goes thru and on others I can’t post at all don’t quite know what that is all about. I thought they were charging if the abuse was not really abuse by just that the post was not liked!!! The Sara people over on ADN keep saying ADN is against Sara but every time someone post a negative post it does not go thru to me that means they are pro Palin Can’t anyone start a recall petition and get it sent all arounf the state. That would really do the trick wouldn’t it.It might not get her out but sure would give her thought about how the Alaskan people do not like her for the most part. IMO the pro Palin people are except for a few from where she lives and her family ect ,are from maybe Indiana and Kentucky but even Kentucky is suspect because I think they caught on to her
She is “Yertle the Turtle” but one day a little “Mac” will topple her as well.
I think maybe those if you in Alaska have to come up with some other avenues to dealing with her. Clearly dealing with this board is a waste of time. Lawsuits would be the next step and you might find a willing lawyer to help. Seriously!! I still don’t understand why someone hasn’t done anything with religiongat unless she is allowed to give that much state mine to one favored Christian group after another.
Another thought is to have an attorney write the specific complaint in legal language with court cases backing it up.
I mean what have other states done when they have has a problem gov? I would say write your legislators but they aren’t going to anything. They are very weak!
Also can these decisions be appealed or is that the end of it??
I just had a weird thought …. wait, let me go put on the tin foil hat Mr. Terps fashioned for me last night (if I can get a photo of it and post/link it somewhere I will. It’s an Anglo-Saxon “Sutton Hoo” kinda Reynolds Wrap Helmet).
Could Scott Davis be next under the bus?
tin foil helmet off/
Read story and comments – I am well and truly Gobsmacked. I cannot imagine one other state governor, past or present, showing up in ANY kind of loudly logoed company gear and having it be seen as “perfectly OK and within ethics laws”.
Barring getting selection of Personnel Board legally changed (in legislature, I presume) and clarifying all ethics statutes, I can only suggest something similar to what AKM did: take advantage of the precedent that the PB just set. If it was OK for Gov. Palin to do it, it’s OK for ANY elected public official to do it.
The tricky thing is recreating the same or similar enough circumstances to keep those you would protest via this method safe.
So salient facts here are: logoed clothing worn by spouse with no evidence that company benefitting from the free advertising would, in the future, be supplying said spouse with a monetary or any other benefit.
i.e., if she can be a “walking billboard”, then by definition, so can anyone esle, as long as they stay within the same parameters. I can’t believe I just used the word ‘parameters’.
So … next time I see Les Gara interviewed on TV, he’ll have that ballcap on with the name and logo of the company his wife works for. Hey, there’s no proof they’ll give her a raise or promotion, or perks for him doing it.
Now, if his wife was owner or co-owner of the business, that would be an ethics violation. But just a paid employee? Apparently not, according to the PB.
I urge all AK legislators to start sporting named and logoed gear of the companies your spouses work for (the more prominent the better) – and wait to see how long it is before the OTHER businesses of the same type complain because they cannot have that same advantage.
I mean, why not? You don’t have an agreement with them to do it (i.e., no proof that you or a family member will benefit from it), it’s your own idea to wear it, and after all, you should be able to wear what you want. With this ruling as precedent, I really don’t see how anyone could successfully push an ethics violation charge on you.
I just had a weird thought …. wait, let me go put on the tin foil hat Mr. Terps fashioned for me last night (if I can get a photo of it and post/link it somewhere I will. It’s an Anglo-Saxon “Sutton Hoo” kinda Reynolds Wrap Helmet).
Could Scott Davis be next under the bus?
tin foil helmet off/
Read story and comments – I am well and truly Gobsmacked. I cannot imagine one other state governor, past or present, showing up in ANY kind of loudly logoed company gear and having it be seen as “perfectly OK and within ethics laws”.
Barring getting selection of Personnel Board legally changed (in legislature, I presume) and clarifying all ethics statutes, I can only suggest something similar to what AKM did: take advantage of the precedent that the PB just set. If it was OK for Gov. Palin to do it, it’s OK for ANY elected public official to do it.
The tricky thing is recreating the same or similar enough circumstances to keep those you would protest via this method safe.
So salient facts here are: logoed clothing worn by spouse with no evidence that company benefitting from the free advertising would, in the future, be supplying said spouse with a monetary or any other benefit.
i.e., if she can be a “walking billboard”, then by definition, so can anyone esle, as long as they stay within the same parameters. I can’t believe I just used the word ‘parameters’.
So … next time I see Les Gara interviewed on TV, he’ll have that ballcap on with the name and logo of the company his wife works for. Hey, there’s no proof they’ll give her a raise or promotion, or perks for him doing it.
Now, if his wife was owner or co-owner of the business, that would be an ethics violation. But just a paid employee? Apparently not, according to the PB.
I urge all AK legislators to start sporting named and logoed gear of the companies your spouses work for (the more prominent the better) – and wait to see how long it is before the OTHER businesses of the same type complain because they cannot have that same advantage.
I mean, why not? You don’t have an agreement with them to do it (i.e., no proof that you or a family member will benefit from it), it’s your own idea to wear it, and after all, you should be able to wear what you want. With this ruling as precedent, I really don’t see how anyone could successfully push an ethics violation charge on you.
Really don’t know what button I pushed to have the double post happen. Apologies. I was actually still editing, had more to say …. but I guess that was enough for now.
I don’t know that any governor will get rid of the board especially after they see how it helped Palin,just like the patriot act will not change because the FBI and CIA won’t give up their power.It will take the good people of Alaskia to get that changed with the help of your state senators and congressmen or women
My condolences to all Alaskans who have a brain (and to those who just don’t know better). I can’t believe this!
And her twitters! Good lord….I still maintain her mentality is trapped in Jr. High (or Middle School for you younger guys and gals). First she twittered about a hockey game and then the “We won…” twitter. My eyes are rolling and my brain is bewildered.
I hope there is a way to explore this ethic violations outside this so called “ethics committee”. Seems to me there would be a way to call the “committee” on their ethics and take it to a real court of law. I would love to know what the legislature up there thinks of all of this.
It is just insane.
Are the taxpayers paying for her twitter account – cause you sure are paying for the time she takes from her busy scheduel to twitter it, also, to, and because
GiNO says she ‘wins’
I ask “What about Alaska?”
will this woman EVER grow-up?
Another expensive, time consuming false ethics charge THROWN OUT?
Couldn’t the writer say ‘Another ethics complaint dismissed’ to make the same point? the wording
another goffy press release…
Alasks…press to release her [from her current job]
I notice that in reading the dismissal that it states that Governor Palin and Scott Davis both claim that he (Davis) was given two womens coats and he gave one to Palin. So who put her name on it? Did she do it herself? Did Davis have it done? Did Arctic Cat send it that way? I also notice that no mention is made of the fact that Piper Palin wore her own “Team Arctic” outfit that was a match to Gov. Palin (which would also go a long way in disproving her claim of just picking something out of the closet and throwing it on because it was cold). Did Arctic Cat provide that as well?
http://www.icelandalaska.com/PHOTOGALLERY/tabid/1075/AlbumID/3196-102/Page/0/language/en-US/Default.aspx
To illustrate my last erroneusly doubleposted comment, I offer, in the spokesperson for the Personnel Board’s own words with obvious substitutions, the following decision:
“It is conceivable that the Senator wore the Worldwide Widgets ballcap because he believed doing so might result in financial gain in the future. It is possible that the Senator wore the ballcap to engender goodwill with Worldwide Widgets and thereby enhance the possibility that Worldwide Widgets will continue to offer financial discounts to his wife in future years. But that is only speculation and therefore cannot support an Ethics Act violation.”
EyeOnYou Says:
June 3rd, 2009 at 8:50 PM
I notice that in reading the dismissal that it states that Governor Palin and Scott Davis both claim that he (Davis) was given two womens coats and he gave one to Palin. So who put her name on it? Did she do it herself? Did Davis have it done? Did Arctic Cat send it that way? I also notice that no mention is made of the fact that Piper Palin wore her own “Team Arctic” outfit that was a match to Gov. Palin (which would also go a long way in disproving her claim of just picking something out of the closet and throwing it on because it was cold). Did Arctic Cat provide that as well?
http://www.icelandalaska.com/PHOTOGALLERY/tabid/1075/AlbumID/3196-102/Page/0/language/en-US/Default.aspx
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I think she/they are funneling $ through scott! Dud said in SI his jacket had all the “5″ kids on it and Gov. Gino on it, so they were personally monogrammed and scott saying he just got 2 random jackets and gave one to gino is a lie! So I think Problem child said, his taxes and stuff should be looked at too. If Diva got a lawyer and brought this back, I think something could come of it.
If anything send the info to IRS!!! On Scott Davis.
It should also be noted that at the finish of the Iron Dog, Gov Palin was only wearing the Arctic Cat Jacket, but at the start of the race (photo in huffpo link below) she is decked out in full gear..jacket, pants & gloves.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/02/11/sarah-palin-kicks-off-iro_n_166088.html
EyeOnYou Says:
June 3rd, 2009 at 8:50 PM
I also notice that no mention is made of the fact that Piper Palin wore her own “Team Arctic” outfit that was a match to Gov. Palin (which would also go a long way in disproving her claim of just picking something out of the closet and throwing it on because it was cold). Did Arctic Cat provide that as well?
———————————————————–
You betcha!
http://s278.photobucket.com/albums/kk92/sparkleferrari/?action=view¤t=pip.jpg
Marketing strategy consultation, Nothingfunnygoingonhere Inc.
http://s278.photobucket.com/albums/kk92/sparkleferrari/?action=view¤t=truck.jpg
Also based on the dismissal complaint, you can purchase the articles of clothing that Palin was wearing. Quite true. I looke it up (linked to their pdf USA Catalog below)
For the Gov. :
Jacket..$319.95
Pants…$169.95 (can’t find the lime green like the Gov was wearing only Blk)
Gloves..$ 21.95
So that is just over $500.00 for the Gov’s outfit
Pipers Outfit
jacket..$109.95
pants..$109.95
gloves..$21.95
Just under $250.00 for Piper’s outfit.
http://assets.arcticcat.com/snow/pdf/SNO2010_US_Arcticwear.pdf
Aussie Blue Sky where are you getting those pictures?
EyeOnYou……
And how much for the monogramming?
The Rubber Room Hotel Says:
June 3rd, 2009 at 9:51 PM
EyeOnYou……
And how much for the monogramming?
____________
You know, oddly enough it doesn’t give any options for that!
Curious isn’t it?
How sad. Ethical standards are not a part of this woman’s moral code.
Please do what ever it takes to keep her out of national politics.
EyeOnYou Says:
June 3rd, 2009 at 9:51 PM
Aussie Blue Sky where are you getting those pictures?
———————————————–
They’re from Greta’s photo album but I don’t have any more.
Just banging my head on the desk, while the dog whines…I’m sure in a few minutes both of us will be howling.
This is simply outrageous.
How much was Todd Palin paid, in support, equipment, and clothing, to race under the Arctic Cat name? Why are we not given the amount? Because that is the amount that Sarah benefited by advertising for Arctic Cat.
Time for a lawsuit. This has now progressed into the territory of misconduct and malfeasance. The ‘independent investigator’ is not being impartial at all. Palin was paid, and paid many many thousands of dollars, to wear that jacket. If Alaskans care, there will be an upswell of outrage tomorrow.
Alaskans, I ask you. Do you care? Are you going to continue to tolerate this?
The whole report is kind of bizarre:
Van Flea – waiting until the last minute to comply and then demanding the matter be dismissed – must have been a bit perturbed.
Lawyer Daniel being so anal about the illicit gear passing through Scott Davis’s hands to Mrs Palin (which is completely irrelevant, because it was clearly intended for someone named Sarah before Davis “gave” it to her).
Lawyer Daniel saying in the last line that the decision is confidential unless the perp waives confidentiality. This means technically that nobody would ever know if a complaint was upheld – but clearly a complaint is never going to be upheld, because no lawyer wants to be the next Mike Wooten.
Aussie Blue Sky Says:
June 3rd, 2009 at 10:21 PM
They’re from Greta’s photo album but I don’t have any more.
_________
Do you have a link to the photo album? It is also the first time I have seen the atv that is in the same “arctic cat” design/coloring as the team outfits this year (2009).
Well, it appears an earlier attempt to comment on this article did not pass muster. I am disappointed. I consider myself a very progressive Alaskan, see my numerous comments on ADN under natalie99515… None of which have been censored. Strangely it seems mudflats censors are stricter! How very upset it makes me that such a oft read blog cannot look at ‘them’selves objectively or handle a very subtle and slight criticism. My bad. I should like to add – when I make a comment on that blowhard fagans site – it posts.. This was my first visit to this site… And I am unimpressed. Vitriol, denial and censorship unnattractive in red or blue.
Somewhat related (a bit of blogging & twittering by the Gov.)
Huff Post has a nice little write up about GINO’s lies
…”through it all she continues to delve in a disturbing duplicity, spewing lies and half-truths as she takes potshots at President Barack Obama, the man she accused of “palling around with terrorists” on the campaign trail last year. As the great Italian-American philosopher Yogi Berra once remarked, “It’s deja vu all over again.”
read more @
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/geoffrey-dunn/pinocchio-in-drag-sarah-p_b_211192.html
I love you Mudflatters!
By the way, everyone forgets about the pants. She wore matching pants at the start in Big Lake. What about those?
So, wait a minute: I have only read the post above and the quoted statement makes the case for the plaintiff, doesn’t it?
“My investigation has uncovered no evidence that the governor or her husband received anything of value in exchange for the governor wearing the Team Arctic jacket when she acted as the official starter of the 2009 Iron Dog,” Daniel wrote in the report dismissing Kellen Biegel’s complaint.
Daniel went on to write, “I also note that most jackets worn by Alaskans have a company name or logo on them. It is common to see jackets with logos of North Face, Patagonia , Eddie Bauer, Marmot, Cabella’s, L.L. Bean and others. Indeed, it is more likely than not that any jacket that an Alaskan wears will have a company logo on it.”
Sure, but MOST people do not get paid to wear these items but it is a part of Palin’s contract to promote/advertise the company and so this statement UNDERLINES the complaint. I’ll bet the ”investigator” didn’t even look at the contract between Palin/Davis and Arctic Cat.
” So the fact that a person wears a jacket with a company logo on it is not evidence that the person is receiving a financial benefit as a result. To the contrary, it is the company that is receiving the benefit in the form of free advertising.”
This is exactly why the complaint was filed and he just upheld it.
This ”finding” should be appealed.
EyeOnYou Says:
June 3rd, 2009 at 10:49 PM
Aussie Blue Sky Says:
June 3rd, 2009 at 10:21 PM
Do you have a link to the photo album? It is also the first time I have seen the atv that is in the same “arctic cat” design/coloring as the team outfits this year (2009).
—————————————————–
I didn’t have a link but I managed to find the site again (but can’t post the link because it has that filthy word ‘google’ in it apparently, so it’s split). You can only get there through google – if you try to go through wordpress it defaults to faux news.
http://images.google
.com.au/images?hl=en&um=1&q=site:gretawire.files.wordpress.com+greta+van+susteren+piper+palin&sa=N&start=20&ndsp=20
Linda: I think it’s safe to say you have our unfailing support and we, like you must be, are outraged. I haven’t gotten to your site since going to bed earlier, but when I’m done here, will do so.
Thanks, Eye On You, for posting the photo with her in the PANTS and GLOVES as well as the jacket. There are photos without the pants/gloves, but I KNEW I wasn’t crazy. She was HEAD TO TOE in that stuff.
Who is the blonde woman in the same jacket? Did Todd’s buddy give her the OTHER woman’s jacket (since 2 were supposedly given to him). And, did HER name suddenly appear on the jacket as well?
And little Piper… all decked out with the helmet, goggles, AND kid sized ATV as well. I’m sure that stuff all dropped out of the sky from God, though, so it doesn’t really count. Funny how it matches SP’s garb EXACTLY.
Why is Todd’s jacket so toned down in black w/red? Why isn’t HE flashing like a Vegas Marquis, like his wife? She looks like she is COMPETING, not that she is a Gov doing starting ceremonies.
If AC sponsors Todd next year, I wonder if the complaint from this year can be re-submitted to PROVE that SP’s wearing of the garb was of a DIRECT BENEFIT to her husband’s entry in the race. IOW: She was such a great little billboard (she AND Piper, I should say), how could they NOT sponsor him next year?
This is sickening. She didn’t get the jacket from the other guy (OH! They just happened to send him a woman’s jacket in her PETITE size, even though most women are of an AVERAGE size?).
This gawdy display was INTENDED to be worn on THAT day by THAT woman for a SPECIFIC purpose. “Gentleman’s Agreements” are made all the time. Not entered into the actual contract, but understood and adhered to nonetheless. Todd said “Sure! Give us a free whatever and SP will be happy to be your billboard!”
BIG QUESTION: Was the SAME outfit available to the general public BEFORE or AFTER the race???? If before, there is a TEEENSY TINY bit less of a problem. If AFTER, then her wearing it was an OBVIOUS advertising campaign… just like J.Crew sold out of sweaters and outfits that Michelle Obama wore so fast that their website was crashing.
Sarah was seen in something and suddenly it “had” to be made publicly available so AC could cash in! Like with those stupid Chunky Monkey (UGLY) shoes! Folks at See4Pee seem to think they are “valuable” because they “go for thousands” on Ebay because SP wears them! Wow. Only a Palinbot would spend “thousands” on a pair of shoes that are not only ugly, but evidently mass produced!
ALTHOUGH, Michelle was TRULY just pulling something out of HER closet to throw on… she wouldn’t have said a word about J.Crew unless everyone ASKED who made her clothes. It’s such a big deal to the media… “Who are you wearing?”
No need to ask with SP.
4AM and I’m STILL all wound up about this.
Shocking. I wear logo stuff sometimes, but neither my husband nor I am being sponsored.
I can see the freebies arriving in truck loads, now that is “allowed”.
Aussie Blue Sky THANK YOU!!!
Why is my comment “awaiting moderation”? Did I do something bad? I hope not… really love it here!
Samper did you put more than one link in the comment? That will do it every time.
I’m sorry but that jacket has skank written all over it! I think it’s embarassing to see her with her big diva designer sunglasses, 90′s updo and that gawd awful jacket. Sheesh, who lets her out of the house like that?! I know it sounds harsh but I live in the Valley and feel the only thing she’s missing is the meth mouth.
Eye on You: Nope. No links at all in the comment STILL awaiting moderation. What? AKM SLEEPS, too????
Didn’t use foul language, either. It’s a bit long, but I am wound up like a top.
On Linda’s site, there is a comment from someone who has been to See4Pee. (I can’t get it to load, but would love to go over there. I think they blocked my ISP and therefore, my whole computer freezes up when I go there). I guess they’re saying over there that TODD had “NO CONTRACT” with AC. He was just “getting gear, equipment and a 1099″ and “that’s it”.
First, how do THEY know what contracts were signed? Was the so called 1099 included in their taxes?
Second, doesn’t this directly conflict with the SI article?
Third, I have SERIOUS DOUBTS as to whether Arctic Cat would contract with ONE member of a team and not the other. It seems to not be in their best interest… If Dud wanted to, he could sabotage his teammate’s success in the race because he’d have nothing to lose himself. Don’t put it past him, either… he’s a PALIN.
Fourth, doesn’t Dud do promotional stints for them? If so, it must have been … IN HIS CONTRACT as a trade for sponsorship.
Fifth, Linda’s site says that all they listed on their paperwork was “Discount on Snowmachine” without an amount, inferring it was less than $1000. The SI article completely contradicts the actual cash value of sponsorship.
I’ve got to hand it to Linda… She’s watching TV with her family instead of stewing about this like I am.
My last post doesn’t even appear as “waiting moderation” now.
I must have broken a rule!
Can you guys see my comment, #180, at 11:45PM?
186 was the one I thought was missing. It, too, is awaiting moderation, but my short comments aren’t.
Maybe I’m just too long winded?
samper Says:
June 4th, 2009 at 1:00 AM
My last post doesn’t even appear as “waiting moderation” now.
I must have broken a rule!
Can you guys see my comment, #180, at 11:45PM?
_____________
Nope can’t see it. Just so you know what is showing for others this is what I can see on this page:
#182 samper Says:
June 3rd, 2009 at 11:52 PM
“why am I awaiting moderation”
#185 samper Says:
June 4th, 2009 at 1:00 AM
“My last post doesn’t even appear as “waiting moderation” now.”
#186samper Says:
June 4th, 2009 at 1:01 AM
Maybe I’m just too long winded?
I would not worry about it. Just don’t repost it. For some reason it could have been dumped into the “spam” filter and AKM will find it and put it up or email/pm you and let you know why it isn’t up. I learned the hard way!
All of the posters stating the fact that the Ethics Board is in Sarah’s back pocket are absolutely correct. Nothing will ever come of any complaint filed with them. You must go outside as several have suggested (FBI, IRS, CREW).
Brings to mind the story of Al Capone – he got away with murder (literally) and nothing ever happened to him, until……………….
THE FEDS GOT INVOLVED !
If they could nail Al for income tax evasion, it sure seems (from all that I have read) that SP has plenty of skeletons in her closet to do the same.
Just a matter of time, I hope.
wonder what the investigator thinks about this……..no conflict of interest, no appearance of inappropriate behavior?
#
385
NYHawk Says:
March 26th, 2009 at 5:16 PM
Coincidence???
When Palin appeared on Saturday Night Live last year, she appeared in a segment of its Weekend Update. During that segment a cast member pretended to be Palin’s husband. He was wearing a complete “Team Artic” outfit!
I wonder of the Palins also got paid for arranging that product placement?????
Here is the link to that Saturday Night Live segment:
http://www.nbc.com/Saturday_Night_Live/video/clips/update-palin-rap/773781/
According to Arctic Cat’s web page:
During its highest rated episode in 14 years, Saturday Night Live featured Team Arctic Racewear on a widely praised “Weekend Update” segment. If you didn’t get a chance to see SNL, be sure to check out the great National coverage we received [at the above link]. You’ll find this clip alone has been seen by more than 2.3 million people! We hope that you share in our excitement over the publicity we’ve received in the last week.
Here is that web page:
http://www.atvscene.com/fyi08/arcticcat_1029.html
Ok – this was funny –
I was wondering what other governors might be twittering about so i wandered over to do a Twitter search to see what I could find. The first search term I used was “Governor Palin”. Four tries in a row I got the following error msg : ” SOMETHING IS TECHNICALLY WRONG. THANKS FOR NOTICING. WE”LL HAVE IT FIXED AND PUT THINGS BACK TO NORMAL SOON! ”
Ha! IF ONLY !!!
It also occurred to me that we should be keeping screen shots of her twits because it won’t be long before she makes a really big posting blunder and the whole thing’s going to disappear.
(Is it possible that when Muthee was casting the witches out and scattering the demons away from Sarah that he used an eye of newt when he was supposed to use a scorpions tail? Maybe he screwed up and reversed the spell . That’d explain a whole lot . Those demon spells can be pretty darn tricky. )
Unbelievable. I’m so sorry for Alaska that “your” Personnel Board seems to be in her pocket.
When someone writes a truthful book about the reign of Scarah the Terrible and Ignorant “Arctic Cat” will deserve a chapter of it’s own.
188 samper Says: June 4th, 2009 at 1:01 AM
186 was the one I thought was missing. It, too, is awaiting moderation, but my short comments aren’t.
Maybe I’m just too long winded?
___________
Or too blessed impatient.
Try following the rules. If at first it don’t appear, wait until AKM digs it out of the pile.
113 Doggonit Says: June 3rd, 2009 at 5:34 PM
If a corporation paid Todd hundreds of thousands of dollars, just as gifts. Sarah has to report that as gifts. Under Alaska state law, Palin generally has to disclose gifts over $150.00 that she or a family member receives.
__________
Does that mean she’ll report any Arctic Cat jackets she receives? Don’t believe her if she says the value is less than $150.
The cost of the Gov. (and child) being dressed in logo’d gear to advertise her husbands team:
For the Gov.: approx. $500.00
Pipers Outfit: approx. $250.00
Total: about $750
The cost of having the “ethics” board in your pocket………PRICELESS.
She is again offpoint! Master of the non answer/don’t address the issue. In the Biden debate she said she may not answer some of the questions–translates to “I am not very smart and have a low intellect.”
“No findings for me wearing a warm coat on a cold day”. That is just ludicrous. Please ak boot her out so she is done in politics forever.
WOW! Did they even bother to ask Arctic Cat? Did they even bother to ask to see the contract Arctic Cat has with Palins?
What a farce!
You don’t think J. Crew makes money every time Michelle Obama wears a cardigan set? And Michelle buys them.
Artic Cat is making money just for having Palin wear their outfit and then selling (at a nice profit I’m sure) the same clothes. “You too can look like Sarah Palin.” That’s advertising. Sarah is “working” for them on government time. And what does she get? Well, Todd gets plenty of stuff. The discounts are monetary gifts. There’s merchandise too. Now I don’t know about Alaska but California is a community property state so what is given to the spouse is given to both and what benefits the spouse benefits both.
This would *never* fly in California. Arnie is too smart to do anything that stupid. But if he did, he would get slapped upside the head also, too, you betcha.
Im all for a “fund” to help pay an attorney to file suit. I get the idea that the ethics complaints route is a way for a citizen to be able to file a complaint without having to have deep pockets to pay for litigation.In an ethical state setting,that would be great.But since she has the backing of her own board,it seems that someone will have to dig deep and hire an attorney to file suit.I would contribute to a fund to just that over this matter.
144 honestyinGov Says:
June 3rd, 2009 at 7:36 PM
I emailed Heather Burke (who broke the Parliament scandal) with her FOIA requests and asked her if she was aware of what was happening in AK and whether she could give some advice or opinions since she has been down this path before and finally got the story out.
Maybe she needs to hear from a LOT of us. I posted this suggestion at Immoral Minority as well as Palingates. It wouldn’t hurt if a LOT of us emailed her. Link at the bottom of story.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/may/15/mps-expenses-heather-brooke-foi
________________________________________________________________
Maybe someone can offer Heather a place to stay in Alaska if she’ll come to Alaska to help dig up all the dirt on the GINO grifter and her crew. What a story that would make.
I’m still shaking my head over the wording of this latest ruling that lets Palin off the hook. Most people wear things with logos? Well, yes, so do I. But the point is that I nor anyone in my family is not receiving any money or any benefit from the company whose logo is on my clothing. That’s the point, and the personnel board either missed it or has chosen to ignore it.
So, then, my next thought is that they are either idiots with no common sense, or that SP has some sort of control over them that makes them afraid to act independently of her. I’d rather it be the first, but from the way she has controlled others in the past, I think it’s more likely that they are afraid to cross her. And THAT is just downright scary.
While I agree that she is almost alsways best served by keeping HER mouth shut; as to the ethics complaint dismissals, I can’t blame her for announcing that they were dismissed. Much was made of the number of them and the contents so I see nothing wrong with her announcing that the outcome of them as being dismissed. But that is all it takes . A one sentence announcement.
But she does so unprofessionally whcih I attribute to a lack of her staff’s ability to control her and/or their own ineptitude. Obviously both going on here.
I saw the Artic Cat complaint going down the tubes a long time ago. She clearly had no agreement with AC to wear it and wore it because her husband’s sponsor gave it to her. Hypothetically speaking, would you be writing her up if she wore a Polaris or Ski Doo while Todd raced in AC gear?
Attention all corporations! The State of Alaska proudly announces that all of our
politicians are officially up for sale. Get them now at bargain prices! Don’t be the
last one to own one.
Un-freakin-believable!
DD
Ans. to #202: That depends on whether she had a direct link to Polaris’ or SkiDoo’s web sites on the state of Alaska web site, be it from her own “page” or from that of Todd Palin — where there actually WAS a link to Arctic Cat’s web site until just a few days after Linda/Celtic Diva filed her ethics complaint.
Then, that link mysteriously disappeared.
And then, there’s this: http://keating5.net/2008/08/31/sarah-palins-wikipedia-entry-gets-overhaulwe-have-the-original/
The Republican mafia has been hard at work on behalf of the Guv these past 9 months.
Natalie (at 10:55 pm)–some times comments get stuck in the spam filter and have to wait to be released. I’m pretty sure I saw a comment from you earlier in this thread, so maybe you should go back and see if your original one did appear. It’s rare that comments don’t make it out of the filter if they’re following the rules found up there (^) in the Comments Guidelines section. Really, there’s no big conspiracy here. (oh, I went back and checked, and your comment at 4:54 pm does show up now, it’s on Page 2 of the comments.)
That’s wonderful about emailing Heather Burke. All you guys need is one….just one brave and respected investigative journalist to take a look at what’s been going on—for a long time–with the Palin’s.
Obviously, those who vetted her for the VP role where so snowed by Palin that they overlooked a lot. Do you think that Palin met her vetters with only a towel on, so they forgot that they were supposed to be investigating her past?
DuckDriver–well you know, based on the 11 successful corruption convictions we’ve already seen, they are, rather, available at bargain basement prices already…at least some of them. Some of them couldn’t be bought for anything!
I see someone asking for pictures–If you want to see the full outfits, I have pictures on Blue Oasis.
…including the pants…
I also got a response from the investigator…supposedly Scott Davis’s wife embroidered her name and Sarah’s name on their jackets.
It’s fortunate that she has a machine that can do that kind of embroidery on material as thick as a winter coat. Generally the only folks that have those are seamstresses who work with those fabrics regularly.
Unless, of course, she did them by hand.
If Palin were just sailing along on her pre-VP ego trip, and approval ratings,and were not being besieged by some many road blocks of late, does any body want to bet against the probability that she would have gotten away with refusing the entire stimulus package, and a variety of other noxious acts?
I don’t see any of this as wasted effort. She accepted a position that should demand the highest levels of leadership, intellect, honesty and humam caring (Sarah, in care ye’r listin’. That means EMPATHY.)
She has repeatedly shown none of these qualities. So now Alaskans know,and the rest of the US knows. It has been a worthy effort on the part of Alaskans seeking the truth about Queen Sarah.
204-
Do you have a copy of the AK web page that had the AC link?
I really don’t have a quarrel with Piper having an outfit “like Daddy’s, for Daddy’s team.” She is a cute kid (yes, and we do know it – it’s not her fault her mom used her as a stage prop). Besides, who could blame the kid for wanting to show she’s “on Daddy’s team.” Really.
Yes, “everybody” wears clothes with logos on them. Most of them are paid for by the wearer. And most of them are all over the place, not a PERSONALIZED, sized to fit a single, (ONE) specific person!
When *everyone* at the Iron Dog is wearing *that* coat/outfit is when I’ll believe that it was not made as a one-of-a-kind advertising shtick.
Could it be (I don’t remember the exact wording) that the wording of the complaint was about HER benefit, as opposed to the “appearance of favoritism” shown to AC? In other words, if another “snowmachine” company wants to give SP a coat/jacket outfit, will she wear it as well? Or is it limited to AC?
Just askin’
Nan
208 Linda (Celtic Diva)
Sorry hon, I have a machine that could do it. It’s a babylock brand, Esante ‘model.’ It does quilting *and* embroidery (and it scares me silly – have only had it for a few months and I already know it’s much smarter than I am).
Nan
Since she made such a fuss, I read Natalie’s comments yesterday at 4:54p and at 10:55p.
If Natalie indeed read the 94 comments preceding her initial comment… to have her say they were “all” “middle school,” well, that’s just an unfair troll-type comment. There are some posts here that are more thoughtful than others, I think we can agree. However, for her to make such a drive-by insult like that renders her post irrelevant. Ironically, she pretty much demonstrates the point she was trying to make.
To address one point she did make: considering the illogical way the “evidentiary process” has been applied, how can anyone really have prepared for it? Any objective individual can see how Palin has pushed the envelope of what is considered ethical behavior. What are CONSTITUENTS supposed to do? Accept it, or act on it? Is it the people’s fault the Personnel Board is tainted? Is it the people’s fault the “independent” counselors check their own self-respect at the door when they take on a Palin-related “investigation?” No. The fact the 100% of the CONSTITUENTS’ claims have been sneered at by this group says more about the Palin Personnel Board than it does about the filers.
Linda: Thanks for the pics! It was me who was looking for them.
That said, is the blond woman with an … I’m gonna say … Netherlands-type name Dud’s partner’s wife?
If so, SHE didn’t have her name on HER jacket!!! At least not in the same place as SP did, per photos posted earlier.
I think that blonde may have been one of the Icelander who were running the FeHound too, also sponsored by or at least riding Arctic Cats. I remember seeing a webpage of theirs where they were going on and on about how fun it was to meet the Team Arctic team and ride with them. I suspect if you Google Iceland and FeHound you’d find them.
oops, “Icelanders”
Samper~ That blonde woman with Palin and her father is Thóra Hrönn.
Here is some info on her and her husband who also raced the Iron Dog.
http://www.icelandalaska.com/NEWSARCHIVE/tabid/1098/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/815/A-Long-and-Cold-Journey-Morgunblai-30122008.aspx
Well, there you go, samper, EyeOnYou is all over the linky info!
LINDA: LOOK AT THE PHOTOS POSTED HERE!
http://www.icelandalaska.com/PHOTOGALLERY/tabid/1075/AlbumID/3196-102/Page/0/language/en-US/Default.aspx
The blond woman (assuming to be Dud’s Partner’s wife) does NOT have embroidery in the same place as SP!
HER jacket appears to NOT be altered, as you think from less “close up” photos.
Regarding Wikipedia Changes:
In September 06 it reads (under ‘experience’):
Currently, she is serving an elected term on the Valley Hospital board.
In June 07 it reads (under ‘experience’):
She served an elected term on the Valley Hospital board.
In September to December 07 it reads (under ‘Political Experience’):
She also served an elected term on the Valley Hospital board.
In the update of August 28, 2008 the reference to her serving on the Valley Hospital Board has been removed entirely. Now why would someone want that taken off their resume?
Here is the link:
(http://keating5.net/2008/08/31/sarah-palins-wikipedia-entry-gets-overhaulwe-have-the-original/)
Thing that make you go HMMMMMM…
OK! OK!
MY bad!
I thought the blonde was Dud’s Partner’s wife…
She is the ONLY one in photos with the same gear.
That said… Linda has her listed on her website as having the same embroidery…. I think.
Great! I’ve had a couple of drinks and now all ya’all are makin’ me THINK and FIND stuff.
Thanks alot!
Regina Davis (Scott’s wife/Scott Davis=Todd’s Racing partner) also had a coat with her name monogrammed on it. They were the only two who did have their names on their coats. It should be pointed out again that Scott Davis & Sarah Palin also claim (in the ethics investigation) that Scott got two women’s coats so he gave one to Palin. Perhaps his wife did monogram her coat and Sarah’s coats, but no mention is made of the pants or gloves that were worn by Palin at the start of the race. Did those just happen to show up at Scott Davis’ home as well? Were these “gifts” reported?
Nan~ While I agree that Piper should not be questioned for her wanting to dress to support her dad, and should not be taken to task for wanting to look like a member of “dad’s team”, one has to question how the outfit was acquired. Did the Palin’s, who can’t afford to pay their own legal bills really shell out close to $250.00 for an outfit that Piper will wear for 1 year at best (growing children usually need new clothing pretty regularly as they outgrow them) or was this another “gift” from Arctic Cat?
Eye on You;
Understood, and actually, I do agree.
However. The minute SP gets wind of someone’s saying “what about Piper’s get-up,” it will hit the fan. Sure as anything, it’ll be shouted all over the Internet that “those lazy pj-clad, good for nothings, bloggin in their parents’ basements want to take the clothes off my child’s back! Have they no shame?” And probably taken even further to “them dang libruls wanting to end family values and destroy the bonds between parent and child.”
Etc., ad nauseum.
And if not Palin or Meg, it would be the meat haras bunch. (Have they been quieter than usual lately? I never manage to check on them for some reason. ha)
Nan
samper Says:
June 4th, 2009 at 11:51 AM
She is the ONLY one in photos with the same gear.
_______
No, actually all those who were sponsored by Arctic Cat were wearing those outfits. In those photos from icelandalaska.com you will be able to see both Thóra Hrönn & Regina Davis are wearing the Lime Green/Black/White outfits, (Look at Page 2 of the photos, bottom of the page last picture it shows Scott & Regina Davis with Thóra Hrönn).
There is also a photo labeled “Team 25 – Bradley Helwig” (#45 of the 65 total) that shows another example of a “Team Arctic” gear but is does not look anything like the gear that Palin/Davis/Hrönn are wearing.
Also, photo #51 labeled “Team 31 and Thóra Hrönn” shows that team wearing Arctic Cat gear but of a different color.
Nan, They have been saying stuff like that since Palin got into the election race, so I really don’t worry too much about what her fans say. They will find a way to twist the reality of a situation to suit them and Sarah, regardless of the truth, just like they have been doing all along. Should they say anything, the appropriate response is, “well no one is suggesting that Piper should not be dressed to support her father, but one does have to wonder if Arctic Cat paid for the outfit as part of a deal with the family, or if the Palin family who clearly cry victim status at every turn and attempt to suggest that they aren’t ones to purchase expensive clothing are really shelling out nearly $250.00 for an outfit that one of their children will only wear for one season.”
My bad…
In MY neck of the woods, a sponsor sponsors only ONE team… the team they think will win.
Who would’ve thunk AC would sponsor multiple teams when they already had the coup of the palins?
NO! Piper should not be held to account for wanting to “look like and support Daddy”! She is only… what… SEVEN? She is NOT responsible in any way, shape or form. She’s cute as a button supporting Daddy, but MOMMY should have bought the outfit HERSELF! SHOW ME A RECEIPT! Oh, wait… Piper’s outfit came down from heaven from God!
Sooo…. with only ONE wife, Davis got TWO adult female jackets, one CONVENIENTLY in SP’s PETITE size? One CONVENIENTLY embroidered with SP’s name?
Frickin’ Vegas Marquis!
Cursed spam filters – sorry to assume the worst. That first comment however did not make its way into the public view until sometime after midnight (after my second posting). I guess it boils down to, for me, no one wins when both sides play a crooked game. I think everone should take a step back and focus on some important things… maybe get someone to research and tailor a complaint that gets to the heart of our governors neglect of her position, state and constituents. Ethic violations abound with any politician, lets find some real grist and impeach or move on and focus on getting a viable moderate replacement for 2010. (yes I said moderate… (oooh
I’m so naughty!) because I worry someone too far left will fail like Tony did (which surprised the heck out of me!) best to all
Natalie–good to have you back and willing to forgive AKM’s spam filters!
Natalie, sooner or later, those dang filters get each one of us. Welcome back lol
Samper, I had thought the Danes (or Swedes or whatever) were winners from a previous year… I didn’t realize there were others *this year!* with the same sponsor! Go figure.
Eye on you – All good points, and you’re right. I just have a (personal) dislike of giving those “intellectual giants” anything to use towards diverting attention from the real topic.
With our real estate complaint a few years back, the broker insisted that “that highway” was COUNTY, not State – with the report from the STATE highway dept in his hands!
You’re right. It doesn’t matter how accurate, how true, how much research… they’ll say whatever they want.
sigh.
Nan Says:
June 4th, 2009 at 10:41 AM
208 Linda (Celtic Diva)
Sorry hon, I have a machine that could do it. It’s a babylock brand, Esante ‘model.’ It does quilting *and* embroidery (and it scares me silly – have only had it for a few months and I already know it’s much smarter than I am).
Nan
__________
How easy would it be to match the thread to the exact same color as used on the jackets etc…??
June 4th, 2009 at 9:38 AM DuckDriver @204 Says:
“Attention all corporations! The State of Alaska proudly announces that all of our
politicians are officially up for sale. Get them now at bargain prices! Don’t be the
last one to own one.”
**************************
…and the Federal Department of Justice has Get Out of Jail Free cards just in case it becomes more than the “appearance of impropriety.”