Sarah Palin Explains Why She Won’t Run For President
From my POV it’s one less potential disaster to worry about in 2012. Here’s Palin spinning her decision not to run in 2012, on Fox News Channel, natch:
Mama Grizzly Sarah Palin Mauled In New Tell-All Book
Larry McShane reports in the NY Daily News:
Sarah Palin bedding a budding NBA star, snorting coke and cheating on the First Dude? You betcha — or so claims a new deep-dish book on the former Alaska gov.
The scandalous details are revealed in the highly-anticipated tell-all The Rogue: Searching for The Real Sarah Palin,” written by best-selling author Joe McGinniss.
Palin bedded future pro hoops player Glen Rice while he was playing at the University of Michigan, the National Enquirer reports about the McGinniss book.
The sharp-shooting Rice — who spent one season with the Knicks — was playing in the annual “Great Alaska Shootout” while Palin was a sports reporter with Anchorage television station KTUU, the Enquirer said.
Their one-night stand over Thanksgiving weekend 1987 reportedly occurred in the dorm room of Palin’s kid sister at the University of Alaska Anchorage. Palin was described by a friend as the aggressor, with the pal reporting…
Sheen Trumps Palin and More Junk Food News
Illustration: ssoosay via Flickr (CC)
Abby Martin writes on Media Roots:
“We are awash in electronic hallucinations. The worse it gets, the more we retreat into those hallucinations. Dying cultures always sever themselves from reality, because reality becomes so difficult to face, and we’re no exception to that.” — Chris Hedges, interview with Media Roots
Of Tiger Blood and Birthers
During the first four days of the corporate media’s fanatical coverage of actor Charlie Sheen’s drug-addled, tiger-blooded neurosis, four more US soldiers were killed in combat in Afghanistan. Yet, CNN only took notice after a Facebook campaign initiated by a fellow soldier went viral, which pitted the coverage of fallen soldiers against the celebrity addict. The campaign galvanized tens of thousands of people to write the following on their Facebook pages:
“Charlie Sheen is all over the news because he’s a celebrity drug addict, while Andrew Wilfahrt 31, Brian Tabada 21, Rudolph Hizon 22, Chauncy Mays…
Brave New Films Invites You To Edit Sarah Palin’s Movie
The last thing anyone wants to do is give Sarah Palin more media press. More attention isn’t going to make her go away, however. Brave New Films is inviting you to help edit her new film by adding comments she forgot mention.
There’s nothing funny about Palin or her influence on our democracy, but together we can use satire to make an impact and undermine her aura of authenticity and altruism. Satire is an effective tool to take the conservative opposition’s perceived strengths and use it against them, which is what we’re doing here with Palin’s movie.
Submit what you think Palin has left out at palinundefeated.com and you could win her bobblehead.
Jon Stewart Destroys Donald Trump (Video)
Via The Daily Show:
Donald Trump disrespects New Yorkers by taking Sarah Palin to a pizza chain and eating his stacked slices with a fork.
Maddow Describes Palin’s Media Strategy As Putin-esque
Rachel Maddow compares Sarah Palin’s media portrayal to a similar strategy that Putin is known to use. From images of her running in pristine Alaska to her successful hunting kills, Palin’s media image isn’t too far off from Putin horseback riding shirtless. Maddow continues to question whether these tactics facilitate the same reactions from Americans as Putin receives from Russians. FromThe Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC:
Sarah Palin’s Feature Length Film To Premiere In June
Photo: David Shankbone
When is enough enough? Real Clear Politics reports:
Shortly after Republicans swept last November to a historic victory in which Sarah Palin was credited with playing a central role, the former Alaska governor pulled aside her close aide, Rebecca Mansour, to discuss a hush-hush assignment: Reach out to conservative filmmaker Stephen K. Bannon with a request. Ask him if he would make a series of videos extolling Palin’s governorship and laying to rest lingering questions about her controversial decision to resign from office with a year-and-a-half left in her first term. It was this abdication, Palin knew, that had made her damaged goods in the eyes of some Republicans who once were eager to get behind her potential 2012 presidential campaign.
The response was more positive than Palin could have hoped for. He’d make a feature-length movie, Bannon told Mansour, and he insisted upon taking complete control and financing it himself — to…
Sarah, Bristol Palin Seek To Trademark Names
Via Fox News:
Sarah Palin is attempting to trademark her name ahead of a possible 2012 presidential run.
The former Alaska governor and 2008 Republican vice presidential candidate filed paperwork with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in November to register the trademark.
The federal office is seeking more information and examples of usage. The office is also seeking additional details for the application submitted in September by Palin’s daughter, Bristol, a contestant on ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars” last year.
Palin’s attorney, John J. Tiemessen, said Friday that he has six months to provide the information. “We are preparing to respond to all their questions for both,” he told The Associated Press by telephone from his office in Fairbanks. He said he couldn’t disclose the reasons why both applied for trademarks because of attorney-client privilege.
But Seattle lawyer Marshall J. Nelson, with the firm Davis Wright Tremaine LLP, says it’s not that unusual for…
Sarah Palin On The Road To Ruin
Ronnie Reagan wannabe Sarah Palin is shrieking for attention again. The New York Times is giving it to her … and so are we (sorry, but her repugnancy is of the highest order):
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — Sarah Palin opened a celebration of Ronald Reagan this weekend by declaring that the United States was lurching toward a “road to ruin,” saying the nation had become so weighed down by debt and excess government that a new direction was urgently needed in Washington.
She did not, however, provide any clues as to whether she would join the Republican primaries and seek to challenge President Obama or simply continue to offer commentary from the sidelines.
For Ms. Palin, a speech here Friday evening at the Reagan Ranch Center offered an opportunity to connect herself to the most iconic figure of the Republican Party. She used the appearance — one of the highest-profile Republican platforms in months —…
The Anti-Palin Posters
Why only in San Francisco? Hopefully these posters by Eddie Colla will be arriving in your city soon!
Thanks to Brock Keeling for bring the posters to our attention at SFist. He writes:
We feel for Sarah Palin. We do…
David Brock on Hardball: “Glenn Beck Himself Has Been Responsible For Three Thwarted Assassination Attempts This Year.”
In a segment on Sarah Palin’s continuing profitable martyrdom, Media Matters’ David Brock told Chris Matthews that Glenn Beck has inspired assassination attempts. Here’s the clip:
And here’s the transcript of the exchange:
MATTHEWS: I think we used to say, maybe back in the Churchillian age, your voice was your power, your ability to speak up. That’s certainly Norman Rockwell’s notion, the man, you know — the standing up at a meeting, at a public meeting and saying, “Here’s what I believe.” But, now, it’s standing up with your arms, standing up with your ammo, your gun sites, your bull’s eye…
Sarah Palin Calls Criticism “Blood Libel”
Sarah Palin has posted a video statement about the shootings in Arizona by Jared Loughner, entitled “America’s Enduring Strength,” on her new Vimeo Channel. She accuses journalists of a “Blood Libel” against her, calling it “reprehensible”:
[UPDATE from disinfo ed.: Presumably realizing how awful she sounds, Mrs. Palin has since made the Vimeo stream "private" so we have replaced it with a YouTube stream, but don't be surprised if she has it taken down.]
BU ACLU: ‘When Criticizing Rhetoric, Remember Freedom of Speech’
Today I received an interesting email from the Boston University ACLU (text below). It’s also on their Facebook Page:
Jared Lee Loughner, charged with Saturday’s shootings, has invoked his right to silence, leaving us ignorant of his motives. Sources disagree on his politics — an acquaintance calls him an “extreme” liberal; a government memo links him to a “racial-realist” journal (one that denies any ties to him). His online writings point to an unhinged mind. But though much remains unclear, people are withdrawing some of their first theories, which rashly labeled the shootings a Tea Party / Republican plot.
Replacing those accusations is a broader look at how the shooter may have responded to intense political rhetoric. Critics again blame the right-wing, mainly Sarah Palin, whose PAC last year produced an image with crosshairs on congressional seats such as Giffords’. It was only a slight escalation from the usual manner of treating politics…
You Are What You Read: Sarah Palin
The Wall Street Journal curiously allows Christian film company Walden Media’s president and co-founder Micheal Flaherty to write an article in defense of Sarah Palin’s newfound love of the novels of C.S. Lewis, some of which Walden has adapted into the Chronicles of Narnia series of movies. Well actually it’s not curious at all because the Journal is a division of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp, which not so coincidentally owns 20th Century Fox Films, distributor of the latest Narnia movie, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Not that you’d know that unless you did the research for yourself, because there is no such disclosure at the head or tail of the article, sampled below:
Since Katie Couric first asked the question a couple of years back, journalists continue to pepper Sarah Palin with that classic ice-breaker: “So, what are you reading?” The subject came up again in a recent profile in the New York…
Sarah Palin Under Cyber-Attack from WikiLeaks Supporters in ‘Operation Payback’
I wonder if this is even true or it’s just more media attention-seeking from former Half-Governor Palin. Jake Tapper writes on ABC News (Thanks to Dawn Reshen-Doty to for tipping Disinfo off to the story):
The website and personal credit card information of former Gov. Sarah Palin were cyber-attacked by Wikileaks supporters, the 2008 GOP vice presidential candidate tells ABC News in an email.
Hackers in London that the Palin team believe to be affiliated with “Operation Payback” — a group of supporters of Julian Assange and Wikileaks – have tried to shut down SarahPac and have disrupted Sarah and Todd Palin’s personal credit card accounts, SarahPAC aide Rebecca Mansour said.
“No wonder others are keeping silent about Assange’s antics,” Palin emailed ABC News. “This is what happens when you exercise the First Amendment and speak against his sick, un-American espionage efforts.”
Palin has criticized Wikileaks founder Assange, writing on Facebook that his “past posting…
Top New Words For 2011: Palinism, Obama-mess
‘Palinism and ‘Obama-mess’ are funny, but what has me worried is the prediction that we’ll all be talking about the Great Recession in 2011. The Global Language Monitor has released their top 10 words to be in vogue in 2011:
- Twenty-Eleven – The English-speaking world has finally agreed on a common designation for the year: Twenty-eleven far outstrips ‘two thousand eleven’ in the spoken language. This is welcome relief from the decade-long confusion over how to pronounce 2001, 2001, 2003, etc.
- Obama-mess – David Letterman’s neologism for 2010 also works for 2011. This word is neutral. If Obama regain his magic, he escaped his Obama-mess; if his rating sinks further he continues to be engulfed by it.
- Great Recession – Even the best case scenario has the economy digging out of this hole for the foreseeable future.
- Palinism – Because the media needs an heir to Bushisms and Sarah Palin is the candidate of choice here.
- TwitFlocker – Can’t say what…
Obama Claims ‘I Don’t Think About Sarah Palin’
Come on Barack, ‘fess up, none of us want to think about Sarah Palin, but she’s become infuriatingly unavoidable. Oxford University Press even awarded her “Word of the Year” for her dumbass “refudiate” tweet, fer chrissakes. From BBC News:
President Barack Obama has said he does not think about Republican former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, a possible contender for his job in 2012.
In an interview, Mr Obama acknowledged her popularity among Republicans and said he “respected those skills”.
But he told ABC television: “I spend most of my time right now on how I can be the best possible president.”
Mrs Palin, in the midst of a national book tour, said recently she could beat Mr Obama in the 2012 election.
But a recent poll showed Mr Obama comfortably leading Mrs Palin in a hypothetical 2012 match-up.
“My attitude has always been, from the day I started this job, that if I do a good job and…
Sarah Palin Weighs In On Fair Use
Andrew Sullivan makes note of a tweet which hints that a hypothetical Sarah Palin presidency would be a grim era for freedom of speech:
Ignorant Sarah Palin Stumbles Into Creating ‘Word Of The Year’
Whatever your feelings about Sarah Palin, you have to admit that she certainly seems to know how to fail upwards. Mock her all you like for using the non-word “refudiate,” but she’s having the last laugh as it now becomes the New Oxford American Dictionary’s ‘Word of the Year.” Nick Bilton reports in his Bits blog for the New York Times:
At the start of the year the word “refudiate” didn’t exist. In mid-July Sarah Palin, Alaska’s former governor, changed that when she used the word in a Twitter message, somehow mashing up “refute” and “repudiate,” while trying to say something like “reject.”
Now refudiate has been named the word of the year by the New Oxford American Dictionary, published by the Oxford University Press, beating out a number of other locutions — many technology-related — that have spread through the language and the Web over the past year.
In 2009, the award went…
