Banned in Wasilla!? Palin Hides from Bloggers.
23 12 2009
Wow. Take a few days off from politics and what happens? You miss all the fun.
A couple fellow new media types, Gryphen from the Immoral Minority and videographer Dennis Zaki headed north to get some video of Sarah Palin’s “public” book signing at the Curtis Menard Memorial Sports Complex in Wasilla. You will recall that her only scheduled book signings in Alaska were on military bases, and unlikely to tolerate any displays of dissent.
But, when she got all kinds of flack for not having an event open to the public, she decided to prove us all wrong and show how open, welcoming and eager she was to meet her fellow Alaskans in an open forum. She had nothing to fear, after all. And boy were we going to look like numbskulls for saying she was too chicken to have an open event in Alaska.
It was announced that there would be two events… one in Anchorage and one elsewhere. Wasilla presumably. And so, we awaited the news of which Anchorage bookstore she was likely to visit. Barnes & Noble perhaps? Borders? Or maybe as had been done in the Lower 48, a Sam’s Club or a Costco would be converted into a hallowed space for the faithful to line up to meet the woman behind the black curtain? Whatever it was, I was planning to be there. I was certainly not going to by another copy of Going Rouge, but if the line was short, I might give it a shot. Would she sign the same book I already had signed by Andrew Halcro, Ann Kilkenny and John Bitney? Hmm…
Then, the big announcement came. The big open, accessible, welcoming, come-and-shake-my-hand event would be…. on Tuesday December 22nd in the middle of the day at the Sports Complex in Wasilla, guarded by police who would refer to it as a “private” event, paid for by Harper-Collins. Why was this “public” event actually private? Why was it held in Wasilla and no Anchorage event scheduled as promised? Why was it held 3 days before Christmas in the middle of a work day? (Jeopardy music)
So she could ban bloggers! Yes, it’s true.
When our two friends showed up at the event, they were photographed, told that they were on the “banned” list, and escorted off the premises by uniformed Wasilla police officers! The police were sure it was them because they had not only names, but photographs of the banned for easy identification. Wow. The “banned list” contained four names: Dennis Zaki, Gryphen, Shannyn Moore and an unidentified blogger. The fourth person has so far remained nameless.
Once again, Palin has failed to realize that her efforts to ban access, her paranoia, and her use of uniformed police to act as her defacto security force is in itself a much bigger story than anything that Zaki could have filmed, or Gryphen could have written. Never let it be said that Sarah Palin couldn’t make a bad situation worse.
Oh, if only they had worn visors with the names of their respective media outlets blacked out with a Sharpie marker, they might have managed to remain “incognito.”
Well, the day Sarah Palin comes to somewhere in Anchorage for an actual public book signing where anyone can go, it’ll be a cold day somwhere with double hockey sticks….and I don’t mean Ben Boeke Ice Arena.
December 23rd, 2009 at 7:11 PM
C Rock, that is, asked an entirely appropriate question.
December 23rd, 2009 at 7:20 PM
Reports keep stating about 1000 people attended. However, none of the articles point out that there was a swine flu shots clinic being held there also. That info has only been pointed out by various bloggers and commenters.
So how many really and truly went through her line?
Did everyone see that Palin made the cover of Star magazine? Gryphen has posted it on IM, and it is NOT a flattering photo of her.
December 23rd, 2009 at 7:20 PM
trisha and justafarmer -
I agree. No harm , no foul.
December 23rd, 2009 at 7:27 PM
GreatGranny2C Says:
Did everyone see that Palin made the cover of Star magazine? Gryphen has posted it on IM, and it is NOT a flattering photo of her.
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Saw it in the ckout lane at the grocery store today. Yup , not a pretty site. And , I was buying cottage cheese.
December 23rd, 2009 at 7:44 PM
Sarah will deny everything. Just like that speech where the foreign press were supposedly not invited.
The publisher will deny everything.
No one will be able to track down this “Mr. Hastings”.
No one will be held accountable.
And to them it won’t matter. Because they think short term and in the short term, they barred Dennis and Gryphen from the event. And that’s all they wanted.
December 23rd, 2009 at 10:22 PM
Sarah bans journalists/bloggers from her Wasilla signing.. what is she afraid of?
Maybe this: ??
According to a friend of Celtic Diva’s friend (Kim) who was there….. there was someone there handing out magazines with a picture of Obama as Hitler…
According to: “I was there” 2:19 ( on the Frontiersman comments section ) QUOTE: “Sarah’s mother went around to be sure that all of the petitions that were there were things Sarah agrees with” ENDQUOTE
So. Sarah decided what was ‘acceptable’ and her Mother ‘enforced it’ ….. now we know why Sarah banned some journalist/bloggers……
Maybe she didn’t want it known that her book signings are a hotbed of Obama haters… while Sarah’s mom patrols for ‘protesters with signs against Sarah’ she misses people handing out pictures of President Obama as hitler…
More here: http://www.archivist1000.blogspot.com
December 24th, 2009 at 4:32 AM
I guess the bloggers were carrying dangerous weapons–pen and mouth, plus a thinking, observant brain.
December 24th, 2009 at 7:51 AM
@ mlaiuppa 155, Mr. Hastings is a real person employed by the city and is the department head responsible for, among other things, the operations of the sports complex. He is a good guy that works hard over there and does a good job. It is my understanding that he was given a list, not that he created one. Department heads work at the pleasure of the mayor. I do not know whether the decision to escort the banned out of the building was ultimately his and he decided to do so to avoid what he thought might turn into an ugly scene on his watch, or if he was directed to make sure that happened. Either way, the real issue is that a list was created, which means Sarah and her entourage were making sure there were no opportunities for embarrassing questions in front of the adoring fans.
I ran into a couple of those fans yesterday. They waited in line two hours and swore it was worth it because she was “so pretty” and “so nice.” They are pretty much the stereotypical fans – 50 to 60 years old, white, bigoted, southern-style Baptists, intellectually incurious, and not the least bit familiar with, or interested in, the facts about Sarah. As long as she’s pretty, and nice on the surface, who cares if she’s truth-challenged and bilking grandma out of her lunch money with the AFT for unsubstantiated legal fees associated with her unethical behavior, all the while she has more money than grandma ever dreamed of from the book deal and was able to build the big addition to the big house on the lake? Who cares that she’s nothing she claims to be and that her record of service to the people of Alaska is poor? She pretty, dag nab it, and that’s all that matters. ARRRRGH!
December 24th, 2009 at 10:20 AM
“It is my understanding that he was given a list, not that he created one. ”
I’ll take your word for it that he’s a nice guy, but he’s the one who made the comment about how he could google for three minutes and find enemies for the people he was ejecting from a public arena. He obviously believed in what he was doing. He’s just as culpable as Mrs. Palin is in acting to suppress people’s rights.
December 24th, 2009 at 3:51 PM
Hi, My name is ____ and I was banned and escorted from the Wasilla Sports Shrine, even though I was there for a flu shot….Why am I being subjected to $’arah paylins death panels?
December 24th, 2009 at 3:55 PM
Megamouth isnt on top of this? Remember, if Meg doesn’t confirm, it isn’t happening! Meg? Meg? Bueller? Anyone, is Meg stuck under the bus, or just going with the dead fish flow?
Do we need to send out a “salmon alert” for a ‘dead fish’?
No actual salmon or persons were harmed in the creation of this post.