Hackers and Spending Sprees: Secrets of the 2008 Campaign

Full Newsweek Article Here

NEWSWEEK has also learned that Palin's shopping spree at high-end department stores was more extensive than previously reported. While publicly supporting Palin, McCain's top advisers privately fumed at what they regarded as her outrageous profligacy. One senior aide said that Nicolle Wallace had told Palin to buy three suits for the convention and hire a stylist. But instead, the vice presidential nominee began buying for herself and her family—clothes and accessories from top stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus. According to two knowledgeable sources, a vast majority of the clothes were bought by a wealthy donor, who was shocked when he got the bill. Palin also used low-level staffers to buy some of the clothes on their credit cards. The McCain campaign found out last week when the aides sought reimbursement. One aide estimated that she spent "tens of thousands" more than the reported $150,000, and that $20,000 to $40,000 went to buy clothes for her husband. Some articles of clothing have apparently been lost. An angry aide characterized the shopping spree as "Wasilla hillbillies looting Neiman Marcus from coast to coast," and said the truth will eventually come out when the Republican Party audits its books.

... McCain himself rarely spoke to Palin during the campaign, and aides kept him in the dark about the details of her spending on clothes because they were sure he would be offended. Palin asked to speak along with McCain at his Arizona concession speech Tuesday night, but campaign strategist Steve Schmidt vetoed the request.

My Thoughts Exactly

THE FINAL DEBATE

"Joe the Plumber"

-My name is not Joe, I am not a plumber, and thanks to Republicans, I cannot afford a six pack.



"Well, Americans have gotten to know Sarah Palin. They know that she's a role model to women..."

head...swelling...face...burning...might...explode!!!
If Sarah Palin is a strong role model for women, then this must be 1890. Sarah Palin does not represent me or any of my friends.

-I do not believe that dinosaurs roamed the earth 5,000 years ago.

-I do not believe that religions other than Christianity are witchcraft and sorcery.

-I do not believe that a 12-year-old girl who is raped by her father should be forced to have his child, a baby that would be both her son and her brother.

-I do not believe that polar bears (or beluga whales) should be removed from the endangered species list just so that drilling for oil will be easier in Alaska.

-I do not believe that people should use their power in an elected office to seek revenge on others because of personal vendettas.

-I do not believe in banning books, or even inquiring about it.

-I do not believe that folksy anecdotes or winking belong in a political race; they only reinforce her lack of experience and knowledge, and prove that she has to lower herself to flirting to get the job, something that is the most anti-feminist thing she could do. Feminism is about equality, not using your sex appeal to seem more "relatable." Would you wink in a job interview? How about a job interview with an entire country?

Some of Those Who Burn Crosses are the Same Who Hold Office

So, some interesting footage from the Wasilla Assembly of God has emerged. It shows Pastor Muthee of the Wasilla Assembly of God praying over Sarah Palin. He says, and I quote:

"If we have God in our schools we will not have kids being taught, you know, how to worship Buddha, how to worship Mohammad; we will not have in the curriculum witchcraft and sorcery."

This is a man who conducted an actual witch hunt in Kenya. He accused a Kenyan woman of causing car accidents and of witchcraft, and after he spoke out against this woman, many villagers demanded that she be stoned. What does Palin say about Muthee? She calls him "awesome." Seriously. You can see her speak about him (just 3 months ago) in the below footage.

Of course, it's not getting much press, because Governor Palin is a white conservative Republican (can you even imagine how the Republicans would rake Obama over the coals if this was footage of him, his pastor, and his church? Or for that matter, if he had a pregnant teenage daughter?) Put an African American in the race and Republicans accuse him of being Muslim (which he's not). But they don't seem to mind that Palin's pastor is an actual witch hunter, and still boasts about it to this day.

THE FULL PRAYER:


KEITH OLBERMANN INTERVIEWS SHANNYN MOORE REGARDING THE "PASTOR DISASTER":

This Devil's Workday

She's pro-life, except when it comes to decorating her Alaskan office.

So how come a human life is more important than an animal's life? Are we not ALL God's creatures?

Answer me that.

Just Palin Wrong

If you haven't read this article yet, you should. Some highlights:

1)At some point in those fractious first days, Palin told the department heads they needed her permission to talk to reporters. "She put a gag order on those people, something that you'd expect to find in the big city, not here," says Naegele. "She flew in there like a big-city gal, which she's not. It was a strange time, and [the Frontiersman] came out very harshly against her."

2) "Stein says that as mayor, Palin continued to inject religious beliefs into her policy at times. "She asked the library how she could go about banning books," he says, because some voters thought they had inappropriate language in them. "The librarian was aghast." That woman, Mary Ellen Baker, couldn't be reached for comment, but news reports from the time show that Palin had threatened to fire Baker for not giving "full support" to the mayor."

3) "We like to call this the Bible Belt of Alaska," says Cheryl Metiva, head of the local chamber of commerce. Churches proliferate in Wasilla today, and among the largest and most influential is the Wasilla Bible Church, where the Palins worship.

At the 11:15 a.m. Sunday service, hundreds sit in folding chairs, listening to a 20-minute sermon about the Book of Malachi and singing along to alt-rock praise songs. The only sign of culture warring in the whole production is an insert in the day's program advertising an upcoming Focus on the Family conference on homosexuality in Anchorage called Love Won Out. The group promises to teach attendees how to "respond to misinformation in our culture" and help them "overcome" homosexuality.

Let's get Political, Political...

First I find out that there have been massive preemptive police raids on suspected RNC protesters in Minneapolis. Really...as the Republicans moan about their right to own machine guns and rant about their conservative views on banning abortion even in cases of rape and incest (*ahem* Sarah Palin), young, peaceful activists are fighting for the basic right of free speech, and being violently arrested and raided with SWAT teams and semi-automatic rifles for only PLANNING protests.

Then I hear on NPR that Magomed Yevloyev, the owner of an internet site critical of the Russian authorities in the volatile region of Ingushetia has been shot dead in police custody.

I'm sorry, do I live in the United States of America, or do I live in Russia? It's starting to seem a bit blurry.

On a side note, here is an example of some not-so-classy behavior of Sarah Palin on a radio talk show, in which she laughs along as a political opponent is called a "cancer," a "bitch," and is mocked for her weight. *oh. so. classy.* Listen to it if you don't believe me (below). Her own hometown newspaper even unleashed an article about it, calling it (among other things), "unbecoming," "unprofessional, childish, and inexcusable."