Two stories have emerged today that shed light on how much alike Anchorage Mayor Dan Sullivan and Sarah Palin are when it comes to seeming to have different sets of rules for themselves and their families, than they hold others must adhere to.While Palin was in LA this week, she made the rounds. Here's Adam Jones' account for Huffington Post:
On top of an appearance on the Tonight Show and rumors that she's shopping around a TV show with reality producer Mark Burnett, Palin and her entourage were seen partaking in one of celebrity's lushest rituals -- the Oscar gifting suite.
While the group was loading up on freebies, the Los Angeles Times reported that, "Palin's middle child, Willow, got her hair styled, receiving a blowout from Erick Orellana of the Chris McMillan Salon (Jennifer Aniston's longtime hairstylist)."
The Times also indicated that Palin was supposed to donate $1,700 along with all of her gift items to the Red Cross, which is currently helping with relief efforts in Haiti and Chile.
But E! Online insists, "we can assure you she did not give up any of her swag." They quote an unnamed vendor who claims that upwards of 20 people from the Palin camp swarmed the event. "They were like locusts," he told the entertainment news outlet.
According to AOL's Pop Eater, publicist Ben Russo of EMC/Bowery said, "she kind of cleaned the place out." They list out a number of her swag-grabs, including United Hair Care products, jewels from Pascal Mouawad, Skagen watches and a whopping 40 pairs or AIAIAI earphones.
It didn't stop there. HollywoodLife.com reports that she also picked up a blue Kenya robe from designer Jenna Leigh, facewash and a pair of foam Bandal sandals.
Wow! How could Anchorage mayor, Dan Sullivan top Palin's episodes of being, as one Huffington Post commenter termed it, so "banally retentive"?
Simple. By drafting a resolution in his mayoral office to pay his family almost a quarter million, as part of a shady deal made on behalf of his late dad almost 30 years ago, that allowed an uninsurable person (the first mayor Sullivan had then recently had major heart surgery) to have an off-the-books life insurance policy with the Municiplity of Anchorage, at rates as low as those of a healthy teenager.
Not only did dandy Dan draft the resolution in his mayoral office, but he was then quoted in an excellent investigative article by Sean Cockerham, as saying, "[c]oincidentally the fact that I'm mayor and this was with my father the former mayor is really irrelevant to it, because certainly no actions taken by this administration either led to that contract or to the obligation to fulfill its terms and requirements."
Meanwhile, the story on Palin's sleazy acquisitiveness, in Huffington Post, goes on:
[I]n common-sense language, Palin and her handlers, "practically cleaned out the suite." Another unnamed source, from HollywoodLife.com, says that the former Vice Presidential candidate was intent on spreading all that wealth around her own circle. "She insisted every person in her huge entourage get something, and there were assistants, nannies, security - insanity!" The same source also said that security swept the venue and would not allow photos, which are often expected by companies to use as promotion in exchange for the free products.
Maybe Sean Cockerham should check and see if the Palins created some nifty life insurance trusts, during one of their few brief stays in Juneau.
Update - Saturday 10:20 p.m: Some assert the claims made by Adam Jones, and in the stories to which he links, are inaccurate. It appears that some are. For instance, pictures were taken at the Oscar suite. And, although nobody really initially believed Palin herself scooped up 40 fucking pairs of earphones, some claim the line in one of the stories related to that meant she had physically done that, rather than others in her party, like Palin, had picked up a couple of pairs, which would have amounted to about 40 pairs.
And it has been asserted Palin did give a donation to a Red Cross arm of - the claims vary - between $1,700 and $2,000. Should proof that this donation has been deposited in the account credited in the report emerge, or regarding other claims made in the Jones article, I will update this update.
image - AKM
35 comments:
Palin and Sullivan are both crooks. It's our fault, the populace elected them. What's up with that? I didn't vote for either because I knew about them. I hope that voters educate themselves before they vote again. I hope that educated people educate others. We need to stop crooks from running our state into the ground.
Hope Palin's behavior gets some media attention. People who don't understand that her policy pronouncements are nonsense, and who don't read or view the media outlets who expose her lies, can be affected by a display of blatant, rude greed.
What is this "security swept the venue" business? So she's a "celebrity" -- presumably, so was every other guest. She's no longer a state governor or a candidate for national office.
Why do people with no obligation or duty to her bow down to this woman? That's a rhetorical question, but her spell will be broken when enough people ask, "who or what does she think she is, that the rules that apply to everyone else don't apply to her?"
Great post Phillip.
I have the same questions as Kevin. The woman is treated like a gd queen everywhere she goes. I just dont get it.
Being retired, I guess that's why I do everything possible to bring her down. The sooner she's exposed, the more I'll ENJOY MY RETIREMENT.
Note that Palin and crew *required access to the suite 2 hours before anyone else, so they could be sure that all the goodies would be available to them and them only.
Ah...$P continues on her quest to achieve and repeat "The Seven Deadly Sins".
Also known as the Capital Vices or Cardinal (Moral) Sins, this is a classification of the most objectionable vices that have been used since early Christian times to educate and instruct followers concerning (immoral) fallen humanity's tendency to sin. The final version of the list consists of Wrath, Avarice, Sloth, Pride, Lust, Envy, and Gluttony.
Yep, I think we've about covered it.
Is there now any doubt that she raided the designer racks during the VP run...and never gave the clothes and other goods back?
http://www.hollywoodlife.com/2010/03/03/sarah-palin-sexy-lingerie-oscar-gifiting-suite/
"But before you go thinking Sarah’s a swag hag, please don’t. On her way out of the suite, she dropped a cool $2000 into the American Red Cross’ donation bucket, shocking the volunteers as she said with a smile, “Whatever I can do.” "
On the OTHER hand, THIS hasn't gotten much attention:
http://www.mystiklubes.com/index.jsp
Thanks, Hugo!
de Mark in Bethel
Wow. Incredible. The comments on the Sullivan insurance story at Anchorage Daily News have been cooking like crazy all morning -- most comments highly critical of Dan Sullivan... & now all of a sudden they've completely disappeared.
Maybe just a glitch, & then they'll come back?... will see.
I wonder if ADN got a call from the Mayor's office, eh?
Okay comments at ADN just reappeared. Better take screenshots fast before they disappear again.
http://conservatives4palin.googlegroups.com/web/RETRACTION.pdf?gda=YRI3yEAAAABMe1KGa0bvBv1S_lv-sZtp6j8ybCCPS0kJvRLVl3tiZuncjJY-lgHyUNUWHHdYfCRtxVPdW1gYotyj7-X7wDON
The Silver Spoon, a company owned and operated by women and established with a firm belief in supporting women in business and leadership, invited Governor Sarah Palin and her family to participate in a charitable function sponsored by The Silver Spoon and the Red Cross to support the Red Cross’ disaster relief efforts in Haiti. Governor Palin graciously accepted since it was in support of such a worthy and timely cause. The governor arrived with a small group about 15 minutes prior to our store’s official opening; and upon arrival, she and her entire group gave generous donations to the cause. We offered to open early to accommodate her schedule; she did not ask us to open early. The other vendors routinely set up an hour before the event opens, so they were already there when the governor arrived. No one was asked to come in early. When Governor Palin arrived, she and her guests made generous donations. I escorted her around and introduced her to every vendor, and they talked to her about their products and gifted her with samples. She never asked for anything but politely accepted the products. The governor and her family and guests were very gracious and respectful to everyone. We asked and the governor happily agreed to take a photo with the American Red Cross staff and the staff of The Silver Spoon. The governor stayed for a total of about 35 minutes, thanked everyone, made an additional generous personal donation pledge to the Red Cross, and then departed.
The stories currently circulating about Governor Palin’s attendance at our event are total fabrications. Just one example of the many falsehoods is the ridiculous idea that Governor Palin walked away with 40 AIAIAI headphones. In reality, she was given two pairs of AIAIAI headphones – one for herself and one for her daughter Bristol who could not attend the event. The idea that she took 40 pairs is an outrageous falsehood. It would have been impossible because the vendors only bring around 100 items for the entire two day event. They would have run out of product after an hour of opening yesterday.
Just to clarify things, the entire point of giving someone a swag bag is to have them take your product and hopefully purchase more. The whole point of giving away products is to “give them away.” That’s why we call this type of event style a “gifting suite.”
We would like an immediate retraction and an apology to The Silver Spoon, its vendors, and especially to Governor Sarah Palin.
In response to Jesse Cornish:
My very mature response is hahahahahahahahahahahahhahahhhahhahhhahahhahahahahahahhhahahahahahahahhahahhahahahhahahahahahahahahahhaahhaahhah...
You can trust progressives...to always tell the truth.
hahahahahahahaha
Great post, Phil! Banally retentive! Haha.
So curious that "security swept the venue" prior to the grifter's swag grab but in 2008, when she was an actual governor, she quietly dismissed all of her security during her "wild ride" to and from Texas when she was supposedly in the advanced stages of pregnancy. She was either confidently "womb retentive" or she was hiding something from her security detail.
I didn't come up with the term "banally retentive." It was a commenter at an article, as I noted above.
Great term, though.
Thanks, Phil.
Looks like the laughter at the Leno show was a sham...also
~ Karen in LA
Ministry of Gossip
The gospel on celebrity and pop culture
(LA Times)
Sarah Palin at that gifting suite: Grabby? Not so much
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/gossip/2010/03/sarah-palin-gift-suite-retraction-request.html
So it wasn't a smash and grab? So says Melissa (http://www.thesilverspoon.com/about.html) and she told the LA Tines it wasn't so, too.
Its nice to get all hopped up on the gossip but lets stick to the main points. Is she a populist? Of course not.
Doess he want her kids on TV on her "reality show" (just what "reality" is she gonna be showing)? Yes.
The only Governor to have a TV show was Jay Hammond (Jay Hammond's Alaska) and I just don't see shots of her swilling down latte's in her Big Lake living room deciding what to do next as attractive reality TV.
And doggone it, when is she gonna condemn the Iron Dog - and Todd - for accepting sponsorship from Venezuelan Communist Dictator Hugo Chavez?
But on behalf of everyone out here who got stove oil, Thanks, Hugo!
(due to the relative sensitivity of some matters discused herein your correspondent reluctantly chooses anonymity)
http://palingates.blogspot.com/2010/03/sarah-palins-newest-gig-making-mystik.html
One wonders why, given the bevy of cosmetic procedures Wasyphilis has indulged in as of late, she chose to augment her painfully awkward stand-up bit with a rather ill-conceived quip about Botox. Surely she didn't intend to draw attention to the aesthetic havoc she's inflicted upon her face...?
well Phil, Mudflat's to the contrary, you can say you were the first Alasakn blog to have the Mystik link published.
Keep up the heat on Gamble. He is a micromanager to the n'th degree (per his lackluster and military fitness report cliche ridden "resume'".
All I can say is I hope that he and Pugh are ringers for the lady from Georgia.
MS
Wrong again ! Palin donated all her gifts to charity and gave a check for $1,700. If you had any integrity you'd make a correction to this post but as you're a "progressive" you probably won't.
Anonymous at 9:05-- but those gifts were not for Palin to give away. She could have made an even better impact in simply donating some money and not taking anything out of there, and letting the cameras snap as is what is done at these events for publicity purposes.
Did she even have to go to this event?
So what if she did go ? She's a private citizen, she can do what she wants without checking in with you or whoever.
The point is that PA put a lie on it's blog and they haven't got the decency to withdraw it when the truth comes out. Even rightwing blogs post corrections when they get stuff wrong but the liberal Left apparently have no such standards. Shame.
I'll post a "correction" when I see a copy of the check Palin allegedly wrote.
Very classy of you, Mr. Munger. You don't have to post a complete retraction; a partial one would do just fine.
The events outline by E! Online are false. All you have to do is post the statement from Melissa Lemer that clarifies the matter. That's not too difficult.
Jesse,
I don't regard the claims that contradict the original assertions regarding the Palin camp descending upon the Oscar gifting suite "like a swarm of locusts" to have been authoritatively debunked. If that somehow becomes the case, I will update my post.
Thanks for your continuing concern, young man.
Philip Munger said...
Jesse,
I don't regard the claims that contradict the original assertions regarding the Palin camp descending upon the Oscar gifting suite "like a swarm of locusts" to have been authoritatively debunked. If that somehow becomes the case, I will update my post.
Thanks for your continuing concern, young man.
What level of evidence would become necessary in order for the story to become "debunked" in your eyes? Melissa Lemer's response doesn't count? Why not?
"Melissa Lemer's response doesn't count? Why not?"
Hey, come on Jesse, this is PA after all. This is the site that threatens to ban people if they can't provide evidence to back up their statements but doesn't feel the need to follow it's own advice.
Typical leftist...."do as I say, not as I do".
E! Online:
"We’re told Palin was quite the prima donna and that she insisted the suite be opened two hours early so she could come when no looky-loos would be around."
Silver Spoon:
" The governor arrived with a small group about 15 minutes prior to our store’s official opening; and upon arrival, she and her entire group gave generous donations to the cause. We offered to open early to accommodate her schedule; she did not ask us to open early."
E! Online:
“They told us last minute to get here superearly [sic] for [Palin],” says our rightfully annoyed source. “Then, she wouldn’t let anyone take her picture or do any interviews.”
“Rightfully annoyed”? Maybe not. Silver Spoon:
" We asked and the governor happily agreed to take a photo with the American Red Cross staff and the staff of The Silver Spoon."
E! Online:
" Palin grabbed some oversize sweatshirts and tie-dyed “jeggings” for Bristol, got a blowout by colorist Erick Orellana from the Chris McMillan Salon, along with snatching up jewelry from Pascal Mouawad, Skagen Watches, Lash Food and 40 pairs of Aiaiai headphones."
Silver Spoon:
"Just one example of the many falsehoods is the ridiculous idea that Governor Palin walked away with 40 AIAIAI headphones. In reality, she was given two pairs of AIAIAI headphones – one for herself and one for her daughter Bristol who could not attend the event. The idea that she took 40 pairs is an outrageous falsehood."
Maybe PA should check it's sources now and again, that way they might save a shred of credibility.
It could be that the 40 pairs of headphones refers to the total taken by her entourage. Often such entourages are distilled down to the name of the person who brought them there.
And why the hell was she there, anyway...?
She needs to do something honorable for a change, my friends. More than anything else, she reminds me sometimes of the reformulated George Wallace, c. 1972. As a friend observed today, quoting from Hunter Thompson's great 1972 campaign book:
The root of the Wallace magic was a cynical, showbiz instinct for knowing exactly which issues would whip a hall full of beer-drinking factory workers into a frenzy—and then doing exactly that, by howling down from the podium that he had an instant, overnight cure for all their worst afflictions: Taxes? Nigras? Army worms killing the turnip crop? Whatever it was, Wallace assured his supporters that the solution was actually real simple, and that the only reason they had any hassle with the government at all was because those greedy bloodsuckers in Washington didn’t want the problems solved, so they wouldn’t be put out of work.
The ugly truth is that Wallace had never even bothered to understand the problems—much less come up with any honest solutions—but “the Fighting Little Judge” has never lost much sleep from guilt feelings about his personal credibility gap.
My friend went on to observe that this is important similarity between Wallace and Palin. The biggest difference, though, appears to him to be that Wallace was never a quitter:
What is different, though, is what made George Wallace such a potent force. Unlike Sarah Palin, George Wallace was not afraid to work hard. Even if you’ve never even heard the name George Wallace before reading it here, trust me when I say that this Alabaman would have gnawed off both his legs above the knee, before he’d resign the governor’s chair. And then to claim you HAD to resign because a few (and damn few) supposed dingbats had filed too many ethical complaints and freedom of information requests? Fuck that (to coin a phrase). Say what you want about the wild and colorful career of Governor Wallace, he never aspired to lie back on the couch, sipping a diet Dr. Pepper while admiring his Republican National Committee purchased Manolo Blahniks, under the shade of a rolling rack filled with Neiman Marcus garments, all the while soaking up royalties from a ghost written “memoirs”—like someone else I could name.
So, while Sarah Palin is many things—not the least of which is wildly amusing—she has achieved her Peter’s Principle level of incompetence as a low hanging piece of fruit, nothing more. And that won’t change, unless and until she’s ready to get (and keep) a real job. NOTE: Appearing opposite Bill O’Reilly on occasion to bob your head up and down does not count.
Why should I even bother to reply to you useful idiots who continue to imagine Palin's daily life as something more exalted or real than a cross between pulp fiction, tabloid junk, junk science and demagoguery?
It could be that the 40 pairs of headphones refers to the total taken by her entourage. Often such entourages are distilled down to the name of the person who brought them there.
And why the hell was she there, anyway...?
She needs to do something honorable for a change, my friends. More than anything else, she reminds me sometimes of the reformulated George Wallace, c. 1972. As a friend observed today, quoting from Hunter Thompson's great 1972 campaign book:
The root of the Wallace magic was a cynical, showbiz instinct for knowing exactly which issues would whip a hall full of beer-drinking factory workers into a frenzy—and then doing exactly that, by howling down from the podium that he had an instant, overnight cure for all their worst afflictions: Taxes? Nigras? Army worms killing the turnip crop? Whatever it was, Wallace assured his supporters that the solution was actually real simple, and that the only reason they had any hassle with the government at all was because those greedy bloodsuckers in Washington didn’t want the problems solved, so they wouldn’t be put out of work.
The ugly truth is that Wallace had never even bothered to understand the problems—much less come up with any honest solutions—but “the Fighting Little Judge” has never lost much sleep from guilt feelings about his personal credibility gap.
My friend went on to observe that this is important similarity between Wallace and Palin. The biggest difference, though, appears to him to be that Wallace was never a quitter:
What is different, though, is what made George Wallace such a potent force. Unlike Sarah Palin, George Wallace was not afraid to work hard. Even if you’ve never even heard the name George Wallace before reading it here, trust me when I say that this Alabaman would have gnawed off both his legs above the knee, before he’d resign the governor’s chair. And then to claim you HAD to resign because a few (and damn few) supposed dingbats had filed too many ethical complaints and freedom of information requests? Fuck that (to coin a phrase). Say what you want about the wild and colorful career of Governor Wallace, he never aspired to lie back on the couch, sipping a diet Dr. Pepper while admiring his Republican National Committee purchased Manolo Blahniks, under the shade of a rolling rack filled with Neiman Marcus garments, all the while soaking up royalties from a ghost written “memoirs”—like someone else I could name.
So, while Sarah Palin is many things—not the least of which is wildly amusing—she has achieved her Peter’s Principle level of incompetence as a low hanging piece of fruit, nothing more. And that won’t change, unless and until she’s ready to get (and keep) a real job. NOTE: Appearing opposite Bill O’Reilly on occasion to bob your head up and down does not count.
Why should I even bother to reply to you useful idiots who continue to imagine Palin's daily life as something more exalted or real than a cross between pulp fiction, tabloid junk, junk science and demagoguery?
I have several observations to make.
First, the 40 headphones were allegedly taken by Palin. E! Online says it was Palin, not her entourage.
Second, Governor Sarah Palin was invited. That answers one of your questions.
Third, what does your entire quote from your friend have to do with what we are discussing? Nothing. We are talking about whether or not you should post a retraction on a blogpost of yours that contained false information,
Mr. Munger. For the sake of clarity you should include the rebuttal by Melissa Lemer. You have decided not to, and offer paltry excuses in turn. Your best response seem to be call us "useful idiots" and reply with a red herring.
Can you answer this question:
What level of evidence would become necessary in order for the story to become "debunked" in your eyes?
Jesse,
Palin is the biggest bright shiny object to ever hit the American scene. She's being pumped up precisely so that a bright young guy like you and a well-traveled old fogey like me who might agree on enough to actually solve a problem waste our time arguing whether one gossip columnist or cwhoreporate publicist has more credibility than another.
Maybe we would agree on certain things; it would depend on what those issues were.
However, my question still stands unanswered.
And this is so classy: "cwhoreporate publicist"? Melissa Lemer was there, Mr. Munger, and knows what went on. She represents an eyewitness account. What more do you need in way of proof?
"Palin is the biggest bright shiny object to ever hit the American scene."
No, the Golden Boy Empty Suit from Hawaii claims that title. But it doesn't matter what you think Palin is. The point of Jesse's comments is that your post contained blatant falsehoods that you haven't yet corrected. One of the things that sets blogs apart from the MSM is the ability to quickly correct mistakes...your unwillingness to correct a lie and to bring up George Wallace instead devalues this blog.
No, the Golden Boy Empty Suit from Hawaii claims that title.
If you agree with me that they're both being pushed by the same cwhoreporatist interests, we might be getting somewhere.
If nothing else, Phil, you and Mr. Cornish are of shared generational cohort. Beyond startling and profound immaturity, augmented by psychosocial retardation, what gave you the impression he was significantly younger than you?
"Beyond startling and profound immaturity, augmented by psychosocial retardation,"
At least Mr. Cornish doesn't resort to infantile name-calling and dehumanizing insults....something which has seemingly become the default position
of the Alaskan progressive community.
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