Donald Trump and his children have made over 7 million dollars so far from campaign contributions.

Courtesy of Vice: 

Republican Donald Trump has so far paid $7.7 million in campaign contributions to his own companies and children, according to a filing with the Federal Elections Commission, and as the campaign transitions to the general election those payments are increasing. In May, they totaled at least $1.1 million—nearly 20 percent of all campaign spending that month—and in July, another $800,000 came into the Trump brood. 

Campaign finance laws on the topic are hazy and contradictory, largely because no candidate for federal office has ever had such a sprawling business empire that could be employed for a campaign. The FEC allows candidates to rent themselves their own office space—as the Trump campaign does at Trump Tower—but bans them from collecting royalties on any memoirs purchased by the campaign. Money ultimately flows back to the candidate in both cases but the FEC has issued divergent rules.

In July alone, Trump's campaign paid $169,758.33 in rent to Trump Tower Corporation LLC, $48,239.77 for rent and catering at Trump National Golf Club in Weschester, $1,000 to Trump Restaurants LLC, and $428.53 worth of Trump's bottled water Trump Ice. In May, Trump's campaign spent $3,938.58 at the vineyard run by his son Eric. Campaign dollars are also funneled to allies of Trump's children. Each month, the campaign spends millions on apparel like the "Make America Great Again" trucker hats. The manufacturer, Ace Specialties, is owned by Christl Mahfouz, a board member on Eric Trump's charitable foundation.

I wonder if Sarah Palin lays awake at night and thinks to herself "Running for President and using campaign donations to make my family rich instead of PAC contributions, why didn't I think of that?"

Around the internet folks have started to call this the Trump "scampaign" and I think that hits the nail right on the head.

This is just like Trump airlines, Trump University, and Trump steaks. All the Donald is doing is marketing his name in order to line his pockets with every intention of getting out before anybody gets a chance to examine the product closely.

And after this he will take his new notoriety and use it to launch that cable TV news show we keep hearing about, a reality show, or a new product line. Or perhaps all three.

While we are on the topic of this "scampaign" according to this article by the former Commissioner of the IRS Trump's supposed audit is NO reason not to release his tax returns:

He can and should immediately release the first two pages of his Form 1040, along with his Schedule A, for the past 20 years. This would tell us how much he makes, how much he pays in taxes, and how much he contributes to charity. 

Releasing this information would have no impact on any pending or future IRS audit of Trump. Zero. None. It is a risk-free first step with no downside. While painting a far from complete portrait, it would answer a few of the questions that Trump himself has raised during the campaign: He claims that he makes a lot of money; he claims that he makes significant charitable contributions; and he claims that he reduces his tax liability as far as current law allows. 

The first two pages of his enormous tax returns, along with his Schedule A, will shed important light on these claims. The first two pages plus the Schedule A of the Clintons' 2015 tax return tell us they made $10.6 million; that they made charitable contributions of $1.0 million; and that they paid federal taxes of $3.6 million, for an effective tax rate of 34 percent. We have that same information about the Clintons for the past 20 years. The first two pages of Trump's tax returns, together with his Schedule A, would provide us with the same information for him. He can and should share that information with no audit risk whatsoever. 

But Trump's not going to do that.

Because if he did we would know for a fact that he is full of shit and that all of this is indeed a "scampaign." 

This is why I don't really care about how the Right Wing attacks Clinton over her e-mails, the Clinton foundation, and her supposed "health problems."

First off those are all complete bullshit, but more importantly they don't matter.

Ultimately we really only have ONE candidate who can win this election, ONE candidate who is preparing to do the job, and ONE candidate who is even really running a campaign.

Donald Trump is putting on a show, and trying to grift as much money as possible while doing it.

He is NOT an actual Republican candidate.

And the GOP does not have the time or the machinery in position to replace him.

In other words, and I have said this before, everybody needs to start practicing the phrase "Madame President."

Just when I thought Bristol Palin could not get any more pathetic.

Look what I got in the mail today!! My first @FabFitFun box! I'm already obsessed! Who else subscribes? It has the cutest necklace, earphones and amazing conditioning hair spray (all full-size products and it's valued at over $200!) Use my code "BRISTOL" to get $10 off your first box at www.fabfitfun.com. #FabFitFun

A photo posted by Bristol Palin (@bsmp2) on Feb 22, 2016 at 11:16am PST

Okay I lied.

I actually knew she could get this pathetic and then some.

I guess tricking guys into knocking you up in order to live off of the child support payments, is just not that lucrative anymore. 

In the least surprising news imaginable Sarah Palin is trying to raise money off of John Boehner's resignation.

With Boehner set to retire, who should be the next Speaker of the House? Click here and make your voice heard! >>> http://s.heyo.com/a3daad
Posted by Sarah Palin on Monday, September 28, 2015

If you click the link it takes you to the SarahPAC Facebook page where you can vote for your choice, if you are willing to leave your e-mail address and name of course.

Of course Palin tried to raise money off of the Pope's recent visit so yeah you could have seen this coming from outer space.

Once again I cannot imagine how many people are still ignorant enough to give SarahPAC their e-mail address, unless of course it is a made up Yahoo or GMail account that contains words like "grifter," "fame whore," or "Bitch on ice" in it.

Especially since Palin has made similar attempts to gather e-mail addresses using the recent GOP debate,  an attack on Hillary Clinton, and of course those doctored Planned Parenthood videos.

At this point it seems that Palin has been reduced to the equivalent of a mongrel dog, desperately trying to gain sustenance from the left over scraps of news coverage given to others now that the warm glow of the limelight is no longer feeding her ego.

Sarah Palin uses a quote from Mother Theresa to attack Planned Parenthood. Well somebody should have done a little more research.

Courtesy of Palin's very last social media outlet.

Now on the face of it this might seem like a direct hit on Palin's part. Here she is quoting a once beloved Catholic icon to attack an organization that it is all the rage among conservatives to attack.

The problem lies in the "once beloved" part.

You see the great Christopher Hitchens wrote a carefully researched, and scathing book about Mother Theresa's supposed charitable nature and what he found seriously damaged her reputation around the world.

Here is just a little of what he found:  

MT was not a friend of the poor. She was a friend of poverty. She said that suffering was a gift from God. She spent her life opposing the only known cure for poverty, which is the empowerment of women and the emancipation of them from a livestock version of compulsory reproduction. And she was a friend to the worst of the rich, taking misappropriated money from the atrocious Duvalier family in Haiti (whose rule she praised in return) and from Charles Keating of the Lincoln Savings and Loan. Where did that money, and all the other donations, go? The primitive hospice in Calcutta was as run down when she died as it always had been—she preferred California clinics when she got sick herself—and her order always refused to publish any audit. But we have her own claim that she opened 500 convents in more than a hundred countries, all bearing the name of her own order. Excuse me, but this is modesty and humility?

Others who researched the claims made by Hitchens found them factual and right on target:  

Canadian academics trawled through 96 per cent of all originally researched literature on the Catholic icon and concluded that her reputation as one of the holiest women of the twentieth century was the product of hype. 

Researchers allege missing funds for humanitarian work and homes for the poor that did not offer the medical care they required, leaving many to die. 

Serge Larivée, a researcher from the University of Montreal, said: "Given the parsimonious management of Mother Theresa's works, one may ask where the millions of dollars for the poorest of the poor have gone?”

If you think about it the choosing of Mother Theresa's quote is a no-brainer for Palin as they are essentially cut from the same cloth.

Both are grifters who accept donations that they ultimately spend mostly on themselves.

Both claim to be working for the greater good, while seeking out and basking in whatever limelight will shine their way.

And both hide behind religion to keep their critics at bay.

Interestingly enough, by way of comparison, Planned Parenthood attained the highest score possible for accountability and transparency.  (And if you don't believe that charity rating service, here is another.)

Sarah Palin is getting a head start on celebrating Flag Day by asking people to send pictures of flags. Totally coincidental that you will be giving SarahPAC your email address by doing so.

Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue Manipulator's Facebook page:

On June 14th, America celebrates Flag Day. We’re celebrating more than just a bolt of cloth with stripes and stars. Our flag was adopted by the Second Continental Congress in the middle of the American Revolution, and it symbolizes the hope of our nation! 

At a time when some are purposefully pushing so many things to divide our country, we can gather around our shared symbols and stand strong through unity – especially embracing that which represents our American soul. (Wait a minute, is there ANYBODY trying to divide this country as aggressively as Sarah Palin? I think not.) Every day should be Flag Day! On June 14th, let’s display the red, white, and blue with honor and pride; and together, we can marvel at this “emblem of the land we love, the home of the free and the brave.” 

Please share photos of the celebration that is Flag Day – whether it’s respectfully draping the flag over your front porch, wearing flag t-shirts or pins, waving it from your car, truck, boat or bike, displaying it in the garden or office cubicle, maybe decorating a cake in our colors... however you want to show your pride in ol' Glory! It will do our country's soul well to celebrate together! 

- Sarah Palin

Perhaps you could wear the flag as a shirt.

 Or on your feet.

Or use it as a decorative throw pillow.

 Or simply use it as a backdrop while you are attacking our President. 

Can't you just feel the honor?

 At the end of Palin's post she then links to SarahPAC's Facebook page where you can send your flag pictures IF you are willing to leave your first and last name and your e-mail address that is.

Just makes it easier for SarahPAC to send you never ending requests for donations that way. Don'tcha know.

I bet when Betsy Ross was sewing the first flag that she thought "Boy someday this will really come in handy for some manipulative bitch to use to convince her ignorant followers to send her their hard earned money."

Or, maybe not.

As expected the Mama Grizzly could not be happier at her cub Bristol's newest engagement.

Courtesy of Granny Grifter's Facebook page: 

Our families couldn’t be happier for Bristol and Dakota! We’re honored to welcome Dakota into our family. He’s an American hero and patriot whose service to our country – like all his fellow Medal of Honor recipients – has been above and beyond the call of duty; but even more important is he’s a good and kind man who loves Bristol and Tripp, and is loved by them. They met last year when he was in Alaska to film an episode of “Amazing America,” and even then it was noticed that just as we like to describe Bristol as “an old soul” wise beyond her years, the same also applies to Dakota. (A clear demonstration is the fact that he flew up North last week to ask both Todd and Bristol’s grandfather, Chuck, Sr., for her hand in marriage!) 

Rascal Flatts dedicated a perfect song to them last night during their concert as Dakota proposed; it sums it up best: “Every long lost dream led me to where you are... they were like Northern stars pointing me on my way into your loving arms. This much I know is true – that God blessed the broken road that led me straight to you.” 

Yes, God working behind the scenes to turn beauty from ashes. Had tough circumstances in their lives not occurred, and had they reacted differently to those circumstances, they’d have never met. Dakota’s story is told in the book “Into the Fire.” 

Thank you for letting us share good news today! 

- Sarah Palin

Yeah clearly Palin recognizes all of the new opportunities to get in good with military families, and to get a little of that sweet, sweet SarahPAC money, that this engagement offers.

You know if Track won't show up when asked and join the Palin dog and pony show, well by gum Bristol will lure a military guy that will. Hey, and this one is even an actual medal winning, genuine hero.

According to Bristol the two of them have been kinda sorta dating since Meyer came up last year to film an episode of "Amazing America." But some of my sources are not exactly convinced that what happened back then can really be considered "dating."

And besides she was seen with Joey Junker a number of times since then.

A Palin two timing? Say it ain't so. 

What is clear is that Palin herself has been admiring the goods since at least January of this year.

Some of you have been wondering how this might effect Levi's custody case, and unfortunately I don't know for sure.

However the custody situation is still not completely settled from what I hear so one has to wonder what Levi will do if Bristol now decides that she wants to live in Kentucky with Dakota, and take Tripp with her?

As somebody who had their child moved out of state by an ex I can tell you first hand that it is literally one of the worst things that can possibly go through as a parent, and if I had it to do over I would NEVER have allowed that to happen.

Of course all of this might be rendered moot, as Bristol's history with men is somewhat spotty.

And she DOES come from a family of famous quitters.

So we really have no idea if this will stick.

After all we do remember this, right?

  And not that I'm at all superstitious, but who in the hell gets engaged on Friday the 13th?

After suffering one of the worst fundraising periods ever, Sarah Palin decides to start kissing up to her few remaining supporters.

"Hey y'all, still love me? Then prove it by sending a check."

This was posted over at the Sea O'Pea this morning: 

I want to thank all of you who have donated your time, hard-earned money, and efforts to support SarahPAC. We have accomplished an incredible amount together over the last two election cycles, and we somehow did it without the help of the "wise" sages from Washington’s permanent political class. In fact, we bucked them every step of the way and achieved incredible tangible results. (Yep with your help the Teabaggers have all but broken the Republican party. Way to go!)


Your support has given us a platform to articulate a commonsense conservative message to counter those who only go along to get along with an invasive and corrupt big government. (In other words "Those who want to actually do the job that their constituents sent them to Washington to do.") And most important, your donations have allowed us to highlight, support, and elect great conservatives (By "elect great conservatives" does she mean Jason Smith of Missouri, who was the ONLY candidate to receive financial support from SarahPAC this time around?) who are leading the charge daily to save our country. (And by "save" she means "flush it down the toilet.")


Together, we’ve achieved many victories, and I look forward to even more in next year’s elections, as we will continue to hold both parties accountable. 

Thank you again for your continued support, (Please don't stop sending me money!) and don’t let the critics or the media get you down when they try to intimidate (inform) you. They wouldn’t be making such a fuss about SarahPAC supporters if they weren’t aware of how much you have accomplished and how important your support is to changing D.C. (Oh yeah, without that $5000 to Jason Smith, Washington would be a MUCH different place.)


Just remember – if we weren’t making great strides in breaking up their mighty establishment, they wouldn’t waste time attacking us. (Well I had a few minutes, so I thought why not?)


With an Alaskan heart,

 That was followed by her signature via autopen.

A couple of things.

First I think this is one of the VERY rare times that Palin personally had a message ghostwritten for her to encourage the paint chip eaters to keep sending her money. You can essentially smell the desperation emanating from this missive, which makes sense now that Palin is wasting more money than SarahPAC is bringing in.)

Second it should be noted that this plea for money comes on the heels of a money bomb set up by the P-tards just a few days ago, which only serves to underline just how desperate Snowdrift Snooki is to keep the morons stuffing cash into her virtual g-string.

And finally I think she needs to do away with that "Alaskan heart" bullshit.

We now know for a fact that if this idiot has a heart, and the jury is still out on that, it is an Arizonian heart, NOT an Alaskan heart.

Try signing off with THAT next time Cactus Annie.  See how much spare change you attract then.

Media finds that SarahPAC's newest web-ad is filled with hypocrisy and lies. Well duh, it IS an ad for Sarah Palin!

Courtesy of the Daily Beast:

Sarah Palin attempted to relaunch her political career and her political action committee, SarahPAC, on Thursday with a Web video called “Loaded for Bear,” which presented the former Alaska governor as the new kingmaker for conservative populists in the GOP. 

The video riffed off her speech at CPAC, in which Palin railed against “the big consultants, the big money men, and the big bad media.” But there’s an irony alert ahead: the current stated purpose of SarahPAC is to raise money ahead of the 2014 election—most of which will be spent on conservative consultants. 

Don't believe me? Well, this is a perfect time to page through SarahPAC’s Federal Election Commission filings, which—helpfully enough—were just released yesterday. 

Seen through the lens of the invaluable Center for Responsive Politics, Palin’s PAC spent $5.1 million in the last election cycle (more than it raised in that time period, raising some questions about Palin’s claims of fiscal responsibility). 

But the real news comes when you look at how donors’ money was actually doled out: just $298,500 to candidates. The bulk of the rest of it, more than $4.8 million, went to—you guessed it—consultants. 

That’s some seriously hypocritical overhead. 

These are the top-line costs of life in PAC era. But the devilish details in expense reports are what makes it really come alive. Palin’s chief PAC consultant, Tim Crawford, pocketed more than $321,000 this election cycle in direct payments alone, according to the documents. Aries Petra Consulting was taking in between $6,000 and $8,000 a month for speechwriting and “grassroots consulting”—something that sounds like an oxymoron, but ended up costing north of $160,000. C&M Transcontinental racked up $10,000 a month in management consulting, which is hard to imagine for a PAC whose job is simply to raise money and spend it on candidates. Inside SarahPAC, there were consultants for research and consultants for logistics and consultants for issues and on and on and on. It's hard to find any area where consultants weren’t employed. So when Palin thundered at CPAC that “Now is the time to furlough the consultants, and tune out the pollsters, send the focus groups home and throw out the political scripts, because if we truly know what we believe, we don’t need professionals to tell us”—it was a riff written by speechwriters and informed by all tools she tried to diss.

Just like Sarah Palin to attack the very people that she uses herself, to help her attack them. Kind of like reading  a quip about the President relying on a teleprompter off of a teleprompter.

The woman has no self awareness whatsoever.

As I am sure most of you surmised the majority of the money spent by Palin's personal piggybank was for the ever hard to define "postage," which this time came to an incredible $957,385. (That is a lot of forever stamps my friends!) I don't think anything helps to illustrate that this is a tool for money laundering quite like the amount spent on this so-called "postage."

Personally I am thrilled that SarahPAC came out with this ad because it has invited the kind of media scrutiny that we all know Palin cannot withstand.

The hypocrisy of the attack on consultants was not the ONLY red flag identified by the media, there was also the contention that her endorsements were crucial to the election of some of the current conservative headliners.

This from the Tampa Bay Times:
 
Sarah Palin, enjoying a mini resurgence after her CPAC speech, is trying to feed her PAC and promoting herself as a kingmaker. In a new video, her PAC takes credit for picking winners from Ted Cruz to Marco Rubio. 

But anyone who follows Florida politics knows Rubio kept a distance from Palin and she only showed interest after he was surging. 

From a Nov. 8, 2010, Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald story: Rubio had an opportunity to cozy up to tea party darling and former vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin, but his campaign never emphasized her support. "Marco, keep up the good work. Call me. Can I help ya?" Palin told a conservative blogger who asked about Rubio at a conservative gathering in New Orleans in April. He never did. In the final stretch of the campaign, when it was clear he would win, Rubio showed up to a big rally in Orlando featuring Palin. But he left before she came on stage, denying opponents a photograph that could be used against him in the future.

Yeah Rubio may be young but even he recognized the smell of a rotted political corpse when he got a whiff of one.

Well clearly Sarah Palin was desperate for attention, and hoped this new ad would attract it. I wonder if she is happy with the result?

And does ANYBODY really think this web- ad will bring any significant money into the SarahPAC coffers?

Cause I don't. So I guess Palin will have to find some other way to keep paying off that hush money postage.

Sarah Palin: "Activism truly Is for the children."

The headline is taken from Palin's Facebook page, on which was posted with the above picture of a much younger Trig uncharacteristically wearing his glasses. (Which Trig is this one again?)

Here is the full quote:

As cliche and annoying as it may sound, activism truly IS for the children.

 I have no idea what the point of it is except perhaps she has noticed that almost all of her support has dried up and she is hoping that trotting out her most successful prop will loosen some purse strings.

I guess the current version of Trig is just not deemed cute enough to accomplish that anymore.

Of course as we have seen Palin's activism has been exclusively focused on furthering HER agenda and bringing in as much cash as possible.  And the evidence is pretty clear that when she HAS given speeches for charity she makes damn sure that she gets free airfare and hotel commendations, and most often also charges a fee for speaking.

So if I may take the liberty of correcting her title, it undoubtedly should read, "Screw the children, activism is for making the big bucks baby!"

Goldline, the precious metal seller endorsed by Glenn Beck, guilty of fraud. Shocked, that's what I am. Shocked!

Courtesy of Salon:

If you’ve ever listened to conservative talk radio, you’ve probably heard of Goldline, the precious metal seller endorsed by Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity and others. But,critics allege that Goldline is misleading its consumers, much like the talkers they sponsor. 

The company’s business model was built on systemically swindling and scaring its mostly elderly clientele into purchasing overpriced gold coins, prosecutors in California alleged, leading the company to settle for $4.5 million in refunds to its customer. The City Attorney in Santa Monica, where the company is based, brought 19 criminal fraud charges against the company that were later dropped, but a Los Angeles judge last year instructed the company to foot the bill for a court-appointed monitor, who was tasked with ensuring the company revealed its price markups and stopped misleading consumers. 

But now, the company’s former compliance officer is saying she was fired for complaining to her bosses that she was being prevented from speaking with the monitor, Courthouse News Service reported yesterday. Carol Taylor Gabrelow, who is suing Goldline in LA for wrongful termination, says her bosses were afraid she would spill the beans to the monitor about her company’s shady tactics. Her complaint alleges: 

“Goldline specifically targets vulnerable consumers with sales tactics designed to pressure those consumers into buying products that would often result in the consumer losing over one-third of his or her investment the instant the purchase is made meaning that, even when the price of the precious metals increases, because these consumers were deceived into purchasing coins with mark-ups exceeding 50 percent, it could be years, if ever, before the consumer recoups, much less makes any profit on, the investment.”

I have actually almost completely lost touch with Beck after he was summarily dismissed from Fox News for being even too wingnutty for them.

But once in a while DO catch a portion of his radio broadcast, usually on Mediaite or some other internet site calling him out for being ridiculous, and I have noticed that his schtick seems to be focused almost exclusively on frightening people into not trusting the internet, banks, or the government, and then selling them some product to protect their identity, money, or help them get a boner.

Like many of his fellow Right Wing radio shock jocks, Beck's audience is made up of mostly elderly people who cannot yet figure out how to turn on their computers and poor white trailer trash survivalists who seem to think that Beck is broadcasting out of a bunker somewhere, while hiding behind a pile of sandbags.

And while I feel badly that these poor wretched mouth breathers are getting ripped off by this fly by night gold exchange company, part of me thinks "That's what you get for listening to fucking Glenn Beck!"

I mean come on! Beck has NEVER met a conspiracy he did not believe in wholeheartedly, and is so incredible arrogant that he even started his own online school so he could personally help dumb down the American people.

As if his stupid radio show wasn't doing that already.

Sarah Palin rattles her tin cup asking for more spare change from a room now virtually empty of supporters. Update!

Why isn't anybody giving me any money? I am still VERY important! Aren't I?

Even though she is now a laughingstock whose catastrophic addition to the McCain tickets is being used by EVERYBODY as a cautionary tale to warn Mitt Romney from making a similarly disastrous choice, Palin seems to be actively fighting the realization that she is finished as a political player in this upcoming election.

As you can see for yourself in this rather sad plea for money that arrived in the e-mail accounts of her few surviving supporters.

The media elites are predicting that the Tea Party isn’t going to be a difference maker in this Election. 

Many of them are also saying that I’m not going to have much of an impact. 

As usual, they don’t know what they are talking about.

Yes of course, THEY are the delusional ones!

Palin goes on to predict that Obama will be defeated, even though she has STILL adamantly refuses to acknowledges that Mitt Romney is his opponent. She essentially seems to be saying that the President will be defeated by HER efforts, and those of the Teabaggers, and acts as if Romney does not even exist. (As evidenced by the fact that his name does not appear ANYWHERE in the e-mail.)

Here is perhaps my favorite line from the ghostwritten plea for recognition.

 I don’t want my children and grandchildren working the rest of their lives just to pay off Obama’s debts. And, I’m willing to bet you don’t either.

So she doesn't want the money her children (and grandchildren) earn by pimping themselves out to reality shows and grifting from her supporters to go to pay off OBAMA'S debts?  Oh, that's rich!

Listen lady, can  I tell you something?

You are done, over, kaput. Nobody cares who or what you want anymore.

Look the only reason that I even continue to write about you is because you are the most famous symptom of a cancer within the Republican party which remains a very real and viable threat to our American political future. However you are a tiny tumor that has now been excised and no longer presents any threat of metastasizing into a larger, more dangerous problem for our country.

So I guess if you can still squeeze some pocket change from the few paint chip eaters who are still so simple minded that they cannot tell they are being used by you, then who am I to suggest that you suddenly develop the moral fiber not to do so?

However for your sake, and the sake of those youngsters who you claim to want to protect from the "Barackness Monster," perhaps you ought to stop pretending to be a politician, with campaigns yet to come, and simply spend some of your millions getting the therapy that you so obviously need and the multiple plastic surgeries that your ego will demand, and then settle down to raise your family.

Just a suggestion.

Update: Well thanks to an Anonymous commenter we finally have a visual representation of what Snowdrift Snooki has been selling all of these years.

Well you have to admit it IS an industrial size Crock of Shit.

In Europe Sarah Palin poops on Christmas just like she poops on her felow Americans here in this country.

Courtesy of Wonkette:

In parts of Spain there is an ancient tradition of placing a whimsical figurine called a caganer within the region’s elaborate nativity displays. Caganer means “little pooper” — because that’s what it is, and that’s what it does. The caganer is a mischievous figure always found within the Christmas displays of Catalonia and Valencia, as well as in parts of Italy, France and Portugal. It is always seen crouched with its pants around its ankles, with a pile of poop behind it. And finally, in the charming Catholic-Catalan culture, a purpose has been found for the figure of Sarah Palin. 

See, this is why Spain does not need “GOP debates” at Christmastime. Anyway, in our dumb modern era even the Catalonians are not satisfied with their delightful pagan traditions, so they now purchase novelty caganer figures based on notorious people such as Earth’s least-loved grifter, Sarah Palin.

Now I have no idea what kind of bizarre scatological traditions they celebrate in other countries, but I just have to say that they captured, not only Sarah Palin's likeness perfectly, but also the essence of her character perfectly.

Palin has been shitting all over the rights of her fellow Americans, her paint chip eating supporters, and her own brain cell deficient family for far too long. It is just gratifying to see that crappy attitude captured in a little statuette for all the world to see.

Well done you Spanish porcelain poop producers you.  Well done.

Rachel Maddow points out how Newt Gingrich, is essentially just Sarah Palin to the tenth power.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Oh this one has it all, Teabaggers, Sarah Palin, grifters of all stripes, and the great grandaddy of them all, Newt Gingrich.

Is Herman "Herb" Cain the NEW Sarah Palin?

Courtesy of Esquire:  

She (Sarah Palin) invented an entire genus of modern celebrity politician. She became a famous politician despite being thoroughly mediocre at either being elected to public office, or at performing the duties of the offices to which she was actually elected. She has spent a year being a celebrity politician, coyly flirting with running for president in a country where her approval ratings are somewhere north of that enjoyed by cholera and the mange. She was a famous celebrity politician because she was a famous celebrity. Her political talents — indeed, her entire intellect — remain quite limited relative to her fame. Talent doesn't matter. The buzz around her has remained loud. She has created and maintained her celebrity with a single-minded focus that she never brought to the job of being governor of Alaska. 

And Herman Cain is the first successful post-Palin politician. 

He is manifestly smarter than she is, and he is infinitely more disciplined as a candidate. Say what you will about the merits of his 9-9-9 Plan, and all there is to say about it is that it is suicidally harebrained, Cain stuck to it like a bulldog on Tuesday night. (If Rick Perry had that kind of stubborn streak, he'd be up by 20 points by now.) Except in her ungainly diving at every nickel that rolls across her path, Sarah Palin never has demonstrated that kind of monomaniacal tenacity that Cain manages without breaking a sweat. At the same time, he is running a "campaign" not entirely dissimilar to the various grifting scams that Palin has visited upon the nation. Except, of course, that Cain actually has declared a candidacy and is out there actually appearing to run for president. He is out there selling himself as a political celebrity no less than Palin does. She created the mold. Herman Cain is what it produced. 

I LOVED this article! Especially the way that Mr. Pierce exhibits absolutely NO hesitation in describing Sarah Palin as a celebrity playing at politics, rather than a serious person interested in public service.

That is the perfect way to describe this walking embarrassment to Alaska, to women, and to the American political system.

The fact that Herman Cain can be compared so effectively to Snowdrift Snooki should have any Republican thinking of supporting him running away as quickly as humanly possible. I also believe that, unlike Mitt Romney and even Rick Perry, Cain is in this race merely for the opportunity to gain recognition and make money, with no real intention of seeking election to the White House. Not that he has a chance anyhow.

P.S. When you click the link to read the article at Esquire you might notice that the picture of Herman Cain that is featured is actually of him with a Sarah Palin impersonator and not the real Sarah Palin. Which to me sort of demonstrates that she has now become such a parody of herself that nobody can tell where the reality ends, and the fantasy begins.

Has Palin's political prick tease finally run out of pricks to tease?

'Padded, pancaked, and Prozac'd!"

"Wow, there are so few of you here I can block out half of of the audience by just holding up my thumb. I'm still getting paid for this right?"

"Well how much money IS in your trust fund? You never know,  if you donated a chunk of it to SarahPAC I might run."

"Your sign's not misspelled and you have all your teeth. Are you sure you're a member of the Tea Party?"

"Drenched all the way down to my size 47 BVDs after standing in the rain for five hours, and she still refuses to announce whether she's running or not! If she does this two or three more times I am out of here!"

According to several news outlets there were about two thousand people at this rally.

Now admittedly I am not a math whiz, but does THIS look like two thousand people to you?

But you know things like math, or speeches that make sense, or even ever actually launching a campaign, don't make any real difference.  All that matters is whether or not Snowdrift Snooki provided JUST enough hope for her crazed fans to still convince themselves that she is really and for true going to launch a Presidential campaign. Which will then convince them to keep sending her that wonderful money.

And it looks like she managed to hold off her inevitable nervous breakdown long enough to achieve that very goal. 

From the Sea O'Pee:

Of all days to worry about whether or not Governor Palin is running for President, as far as I can tell, today would not be that day. I can’t say for sure, as I certainly have no inside information, but I do have common sense. Common sense tells me that unless one has an incredible amount of free time on her hands, she doesn’t devise a specific, detail-laden plan for America like the one Governor Palin delivered to the country today, if she weren’t planning to implement that plan. Perhaps there are some out there who have that kind of free time, with nothing better to do, but we have all seen what kind of schedule the Governor keeps; she’s not one of those people sitting around looking for something to do. Common sense also tells me that she doesn’t have to do things our way. In fact, she won’t do it anyone’s way but her own. Common sense says that if Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton could make their presidential intentions known in November and October, respectively, September is not too late. 

So here’s my question: Should not common sense tell the worry warts the same thing? 

It is like shooting crippled fish, in a really tiny barrel.

Karl Rove double dog dares Sarah Palin to get into the Presidential race.

Courtesy of Mediaite:

“I’m mystified,” he admitted, “that she’s all upset about this, that I’m somehow trying to sabotage her campaign, sabotage her in some way, and how dare I speculate on her future.” Rove also responded angrily that “if she doesn’t want to be speculated about as a potential presidential candidate, there’s an easy way to end the speculation,” yet whenever the issue comes up, “she says ‘I haven’t made a decision.” Rove concluded adding a jab at Palin’s lust for attention, calling it a “sign of enormous thin skin that if we speculate about her, she gets upset, and I suspect that if we didn’t speculate about her, she’d be upset about it and trying to find a way to get us to speculate about her.” 

Van Susteren tried to bring Rove back from that precipice, asking him to instead “reflect on the media” and the fact that they continue covering her. Rove admitted that she was “a potentially big factor in the presidential election,” and that “if she were to get in, she’d be a contender.” That said, Rove concluded by calling Palin thin-skinned another two times before the segment ended– abruptly, without a goodbye, cut into by a “news break” that likely could’ve waited the extra three seconds. 

I cannot believe I am digging on Rove for ANYTHING, but I love watching him call Palin's bluff!

I also love watching Greta scrambling like crazy to make sure that nobody thinks she actually believes that Snowdrift Snooki is behind the response to Rove, even though, as Rove himself points out, it is obvious that she was.

One has to wonder how Palin will respond to this constant poking from Rove?

She can't really just ignore Rove, as it appears that he is just getting started.  But the only way she can REALLY respond is to jump in or completely bow out, neither of which I think she is willing to do yet.

However according to this article Palin's support for even a fake run at the nomination may have already dried up.

(H/T to Sarah Jones at Politicususa.)

What is the definition of insanity again?

I believe it was Albert Einstein who said "Insanity: Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."

With that definition in mind, check out the frenzy of activity over at this Palin-bot site:

Texas Organize4Palin volunteers have arranged a charter bus trip to attend Tea Party of America’s “Restoring America” rally in Indianola, Iowa, on Saturday September 3rd. 

Governor Sarah Palin will be the keynote speaker at this event and many Palin supporters believe this will be the very day she will declare her candidacy for the 2012 election to defeat President Barack Obama.

Keep in mind that these same people were also CONVINCED Palin would throw her hat into the ring during her last book tour, and again when Glenn Beck came to Anchorage, and yet again during the premiere of "The Undefeated," and at various other times too numerous to mention.

Like miniature poodles running for the door every time they think they hear approaching footsteps, these idiots become excited every time Palin clears her throat, convinced that THIS time she will really do what they are breathlessly waiting on pins and needles for her to do.

What they still fail to realize, even though I have been selflessly attempting to educate them for almost three years now, is that Palin IS doing what MOST of us expect her to do.  Which is to continue faking a run for the office of President of the United States, while teasing these idiots into ponying up even more money for the opportunity to once again be disappointed that she did not declare.

Right now this whole thing seems like a crazy experiment in stubborn endurance, the goal of which is to see how long these people will dangle on the line with only a brief appearance here, or a pseudo political advertisement there to give them hope.

As much as I personally dislike what Palin is doing to these people, I have to admit that I find myself almost impressed that she has managed to successfully string along a portion of her once much larger group of supporters for all of this time. I don't know exactly what it says about her, or them, or celebrity-politics in general, but it has lasted far longer than I would have thought possible even a year ago.

And I once again have to say that I worry about the fragile emotional condition that will surely be the result once she finally cuts these people loose.

Rachel Maddow discusses how Republicans use a Presidential campaign, not to win the White House, but as a stepping stone to fame and fortune. Sound familiar?

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

(By the way in the lead up to this segment Rachel played the confrontation between Todd Palin and the Alaskan women in Iowa that we discussed here several days ago.  You can see that here.)

Eau De Grifter

 My understanding is that it is made from the broken dreams of teabaggers, the pitiful tears of her children, and the last of Todd's rapidly diminishing testosterone.

(H/T to my friend OTOOLEFAN.)

If you are going to get your Bristol/Sarah Palin autograph tomorrow, you need to follow these rules. After all this is the Mall of America NOT a three ring circus. Oh wait...

Here are the official event guidelines issued by the Mall of America:

Bristol Palin Book Signing

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

5 p.m. ● Rotunda

1. “Camping out” is not allowed on Mall of America property. Beginning at 5 a.m., guests will be allowed to line up outside the East Entrance to Mall of America on level one, between Sears an Bloomingdales. Guests should remain in a single file line until escorted into the building to receive a wristband.

2. You must have a Mall of America issued wristband in order to enter the autograph line. A limited number of wristbands will be given away in the Rotunda starting at 6 a.m. on Wednesday, June 29.

3. You must purchase a copy of “Not Afraid of Life: My Journey So Far” to receive a Mall of America wristband.  (No bookie, no bandie!)

4. You must have a copy of “Not Afraid of Life: My Journey So Far” in order to purchase a copy of “America by Heart” and/or “Going Rogue” signed by Sarah Palin. Limit 4 books per guest.

5. Each person in your party must be present to receive a wristband. Wristbands are non-transferable. People  wearing wristbands that have been tampered or altered will not be allowed through the autograph line. No exceptions.

6. Memorabilia will not be signed. (No Sarah Palin bobble head dolls or copies of The Lies of Sarah Palin, or Blind Allegiance.)

7. Personalization is not allowed. (You can't write "I the undersigned am a complete ignoramus, who is misrepresenting my intention of running for President in order to get attention and make tons of money. Oh and I lied about giving birth to Trig.)

8. No chairs allowed in the line area. (Sarah Palin supporters must have steel spines just like Sister Sarah and Bristol the Pistol. No sitting!)

9. No photos will be taken on stage. All cameras and cell phones are to be put away once you reach the stage stairs.

10. When you enter the autograph line, please remain single file. You must stay in line to keep your place. You may leave the line to use the restroom or get food for a short period of time. One person in your party must stay in line at all times.

11. If you choose to leave for an extended period of time, you must go to the end of the line when you return.

12. A special needs signing area will be available for guests. If needed, each special needs guest can bring one additional person to this area. Please visit the Mall of America wristband table located in the Rotunda upon your arrival, and you will escorted into this area. Space will be limited and will be filled on a first come, first served basis.

Guidelines are subject to change at any given time at the discretion of Mall of America Management for the safety and well being of our guests and tenants. Those who do not comply with event signing guidelines may not be able to receive a signature. ("No signature for you!")

There a few other guidelines that are NOT included on this list, but which participants should be aware.

Do not ask any "ear" questions! For some reason that REALLY pisses the Palins off!

Do not stare at the chin! (But OMGD! Look at that thing!)

Don't ask about Todd, unless you would like to join him in his fate. (However if you ask to see his balls Sarah might be able to oblige your request.)

Don't ask Bristol why she insinuated that the father of her child had date raped her. ("Psst! That was Mom's idea.")

Don't ask Sarah which part of her book "America by Heart" is her favorite. (She hasn't actually read it.)

And don't suddenly start questioning WHY you are standing in a line for hours to get a poorly written book filled with lies signed by two untalented losers who are making millions of dollars off of their fellow Americans so that they do not have to actually work for a living.