A true fan of former Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin is paying $63,500 to have dinner with her.
Cathy Maples of Huntsville won the dinner today in an Internet auction, which was a benefit for a charity that aids wounded veterans. Maples says she fully supports the military and the men and women fighting for this nation. Maples, who owns a defense contracting company, also says she's a "big advocate" for Palin, and would love to see her as president.
Well this is disappointing. And the worst part? It was fixed!
Apparently writer Joe McGinniss was "un-approved" at the last minute and no longer allowed to participate after it was revealed that he was Palin critic. (AKMuckraker has more of the story over at Huffington Post.)
Poor Sarah could not take the chance that her charity dinner might have turned out to be an uncomfortable meal. (Yeah like she is not used to having THOSE with her very own family!)
I'm shocked. SHOCKED I tell ya! Fixed?? Nahhh. Not Sarah!! :rolls eyes:
ReplyDeleteAs soon as they announced that the dinner would take place in Alabama, I knew that the winner had been chosen, and it was someone who lived in that state. This crazy woman has been in the limelight way too long! Her shenanigans are as subtle as a freight train: third grade stuff. grammy
ReplyDeleteSomeone needs to check into Ms. Maples business.
ReplyDeleteA defense contractor, huh? What does she sell and are the prices overly inflated? Something stinks about this whole situation.
Kallie in Texas
They should have never leaked that they wanted it to take place in Alabama... proving the rigging of the thing.
ReplyDeletePerhaps she won't show up again and will ostracize yet another one of her fanatics.
Ah, nothing says "pitbull with lipstick" better than being unable to deal with someone at a DINNER and unapproving them as a bidder. Pathetic.
ReplyDeleteI know I am shocked that something to do with Sarah Palin involves inauthenticity and a lack of transparency . . .
ReplyDeleteI'm confused--the article said the change of location to Alabama was posted after the auction ended, didn't it? I think the auction didn't need to be "fixed" as long as the bidders could be vetted and even re-vetted. No pun intended!
ReplyDeleteThe alabama location was announced last week otherwise, how would I know this?? I posted about how odd it was, no one thinks Alabama! when thinking about where in the whole country to have dinner!
ReplyDeleteWill the media notice this?
No.
The vetting of the winning bidder was going to be conducted better and take longer than McCain's vetting of Sarah.
ReplyDeleteThe Alabama dinner location was noted prior to end of auction. Winner being in Alabama... and a contractor.. oh good news...maybe Sarah can get a new house built in Alabama
Hi Gryphen and all. My usual way to get to this bog is to google "Gryphen". I did so today and cast my eyes down a third of the way down the page and found The Kiva Gryphen account I created a couple of months ago. I would paste the Url here, but cannot. Anyhow, just a reminder that if you want to honor his work make a small contribution to KIVA in his name. If you don't know about KIVA I think you might want to investigate. It's a way that ordinary people can make an extraordinary difference in the world.
ReplyDeleteIf you haven't done so get your hands on a copy of Republican Gomorrah. Last chapter is on Palin. Nothing about Baby gate, but she's called out rather hard. YIPEEEE
ReplyDeleteI recall reading that the change was to Alabama as early as Thursday, so it wasn't after the auction had ended.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.kiva.org/team/gryphen_the_immoral_minority
ReplyDeleteThere! I did it. This is a great enterprise.
Folks, don't fret over another act of grandstanding by Palin. Once again she chooses to steer to calm friendly waters and took the easy way out. Her pattern will never change. A good charity now has $63,500 that can't be used for dis-information in the future.
ReplyDeleteSARAH:
ReplyDeleteBLECHHH!!! Lose a couple of pounds instantly:
Read this post!
"GRYPH: Sarah says "Could someone please submit a recipe for cockroaches..."
[...]
http://theimmoralminority.blogspot.com/2009/09/i-doubt-this-will-come-as-surprise-to.html?showComment=1253370933359#c7723633379997199671
I'm gonna go worship the Porcelain God, now.
Please don't invite me over for dinner anytime soon, OK?
~Thinner But Wiser Sarah~
Cathy Maples of Huntsville AL is the owner of R&D Electronics Inc.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.rdelect.com/
About R&D Electronics:
R&D Electronics began in 1968 supplying electronic assemblies to the United States
government and their prime contractors for military applications. Our product reliability and
survivability are the benchmark of our success. We strive to develop long lasting
relationships with our customers as evident in the many awards and recognition we have
received such as the recently awarded ESBA Star Supplier Award from Lockheed Martin.
Value and customer satisfaction is the emphasis of our efforts at R&D Electronics. We listen to the voice of the customer and make every effort to maintain the highest levels of customer satisfaction. Lean Six Sigma is evident in everything we do and we know that consistent processes produce consistent results. Our track record of quality and dependability is verification of our success. Delivering quality products on time every time is what we strive to achieve.
R&D Electronics has supported our customers for over thirty years and supplied major weapons systems such as the Army’s Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS). When you need quality built, reliable products delivered on demand, select R&D Electronics as your supplier. No matter how aggressive your delivery schedule is, give us a chance to show you what we can do and begin a long lasting relationship for years to come.
http://www.rdelect.com/about_us.html
EOY
Well we all knew the dinner had been switched to Alabama - don't remember when it was done - day 2 of the auction?
ReplyDeleteWe knew she would weasel out of anything that might turn out to be with some critics, since they said she would take the right to cancel the winning bid even at the very last minute, if she did not like the bidder. $arah Publicity-Whore will NEVER submit to criticism, public or semi-private.
Besides, this is a defense contractor who won it... Tax deduction, anyone?
At least the money goes for a good cause - even though it is tainted...
O/T: Gryphen, where is the link to Shannyn's blog? I don't see it anymore at the left hand side...
ReplyDeleteHahahaa, she owns a defense contracting company, what a surprise!
ReplyDeletelet me guess - she was thrilled when bush was spending all this money on war but now she's angry because obama wants to spend money on healthcare.
can you just imagine that dinner conversation? blech. a table full of war lovers. blech.
It's fraud though. I don't think eBay would like it if you look at their rules. The others were all bidding in good faith. The Alabama thing was added last week. I am happy for the charity but the whole thing is gross. I an going to go read ebays terms when you sign up. Maybe others will help me see if this is against their rules and if it is report them.
ReplyDeleteSarah is such a coward. She'll only talk to people who adore her.
Typical NPD. Oh yeah she'd make a great president-interviews and meetings only with fans! Just imagine that for a few moments.
After reading the story about McGuinness, I knew that he would never be allowed to win the bid. IMHO, he was too open in his endeavor. Besides, he had blown her farce off as early as last fall (or even earlier?)
ReplyDeleteFedup, Shannyn's blog is still there.
ReplyDeleteYou just have to click the "show all" link to see it if she has not updated for awhile.
Thanks for the link to the electronics site, EOY.
ReplyDeleteMaybe Ms Maples is hoping to get hair styling and makeup tips from her Goddess.
How typical for WhinyPants to pick someone who will adore her instead of someone she might have to actually engage in conversation for an hour.
And it is SO not an auction if you get to pick the "winner" ahead of time.
What a superior b*tch that woman is.
The ebay auction shenigans are not unusual. The public is just not interested.
ReplyDeleteVeterns Today @ www.veteranstoday.com did a series of articles about how wounded Vet's are exploited. Read them all.
AmericaSupportsYou.mil Survives Investigation by the Pentagon
http://www.veteranstoday.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=4177
Charities' costs sap aid for vets
http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm/bay/content.view/catid/64/cpid/351.htm
For tips on how to navigate through or check out a veterans/troops fund raising effort or charity, my next post will be tips from Charity Navigator. I recommend cross checking both Charity Navigator and some other watch dog organization like the American Institute of Philanthropy.
Sarah depends on people to keep talking about her to make her feel relevant. If you stop talking about her she can then go away.Why is anyone surprised when something shady happens? Let's stop talking about her and talk about something else.
ReplyDeleteSince I don't anything at all about Huntsville, AL I looked up tourist information. Two top attractions are US Space & Rocket Center and Marshall Space Flight Center. Ooooh, a nearby defense plant, what a coincidence.
ReplyDeleteWith so many restaurants to choose from, I really had a hard time deciding. The top favorite on one website is Rosie's Mexican Cantina. But, if Sarah doesn't like spicy food, several other places caught my eye:
Bean Crock anc Cracker's Rolled Sandwiches. (I just like the names). Our Daily Bread does sound a little religious; that might be a good choice. And for Seinfield fans, Kenny Roger's Roasters.
So the company who supplies materials for a war, is now giving money to veteran charities they earn from war. This is so twisted I can barely wrap my head around it. i am trying to think of an analogy: a person who helps people rob houses, then gives the victims money, feeling sorry for them, yet makes sure that robberies still occur. something like that???
ReplyDeletejessica
Hi Gryphen, I appreciate all you and the other Alaska bloggers do. I posted this over at AKMuckraker but it is meant for you as well:
ReplyDeleteI realize your focus is on Sarah Palin, and Alaska, but I wish I saw more often in your blog the primary issue facing your home state, and indeed ultimately all inhabitants of planet earth, which is our changing climate. The extreme north of the globe is seeing the most intense warming and the devastating effects presage the dangers ahead for every species. For instance, this story might interest your readers: http://desdemonadespair.blogspot.com/2009/09/scores-of-walrus-carcasses-found-on.html
Melting tundra, glaciers and methane release are all impacting Alaska faster than predicted, and are accelerating rapidly.
Sarah Palin and her drill baby drill philosophy threaten efforts to curb carbon emissions and save species from extinction. Exposing the connection between SP’s advocacy for burning fossil fuels and the resulting loss of biodiversity and sea level rise, among many deleterious consequences, would enlighten your readers to a very good reason for opposing her candidacy for any public office.
I reported it to Ebay, for what good? I don't know, they have it so hard to report anything and wouldn't let me write up my report.
ReplyDeleteEye..I knew you would come through with the info on Maples...Now I wonder if that requirements for dinner included a big fat donation to SARHPAC too?
Yes it was fixed. As soon as it was changed to Alabama we should of smelled FRAUD! Of course "FRAUD" is the Quitters middle name....!
After watching the auction I kind of had the feeling the one known as f***l would win because every time someone would bid above her, she would swoop in to make sure she was ahead of the other person, then always put in a second bid above her highest bid so she wouldn't have to bid again for a while.
ReplyDeleteI do think this thing was fixed once the place of the dinner was changed. I think the winner and whomever called her to vet her originally must have had some words indicating that she would win no matter what.
No way to prove it, but it's all too shady...and in involves Sarah, and well, we know how shady she is...
I guess these bidders never heard of 'sniping...' I'm not sure how it works to be pre approved, but on a regular auction, one just watches it for the last few seconds then swoops in and puts in a high bid. One usually wins this way
There are certain legalities attached to the running of an auction and the rules not only apply to the buyer but also the auctioneer and the seller. While it may be difficult to establish, it nevertheless should be determined if the auction was fixed to ensure that a Palin supporter was the highest bidder. A record of the bidding process should be available and most likely can be produced on demand by a person who suspects that his bid was the successful bid at the close of the auction.
ReplyDeleteSarah Q.
This is terrible of me to even think this, but I wonder how much of this money will go to Ride2Recovery and how much will go in Sarah's pocket...
ReplyDeleteMaples has met Palin twice before, once at a fundraiser in North Carolina during last year's presidential campaign. The other meeting was in Alaska last summer, shortly before Palin left office.
ReplyDelete"I've been to Alaska about three times, and the last time I came I brought my grandchildren up, and I tried to make sure my they got to meet her, and they did," she said of the brief meeting at an airport.
"She was a very gracious person, and we enjoyed it," Maples said.
Seven people placed 61 bids over the 10-day run of the auction, which had a minimum bid of $25,000. Maples will have to foot the bill to meet up with Palin for dinner, likely in Alaska. She wouldn't have any problems making another trip north. "I love Alaska," she said.
I was at Huntsville for a sports competition and it sure isn't any garden spot. I imagine there are nice areas and nice people - I sure didn't find them. It was strip mall heaven (so I guess a Wasillabillie would feel at home). Don't know where the heck they are gonna eat...I saw nothing but dive restaurants and a whole lot of ethnic places. Te food was ....edible but certainly I did not find any fine dining. The sporting event was a skating competition, and usually the attendees and particpants have a fair amount of disposable cash for the week - we did not find any decent place to spend said disposable income.
ReplyDeleteSo, all in all a suitable place for Sarah. She's the hottest thing (in her own mind anyway,) that's probably visited Huntsville in a long time. My apologizes to any Huntsvillians here - I just didn't see the best you had to offer when I visited. I looked, too.
You can't snipe an auction if you have to be pre-approved.
ReplyDeleteAnd once they approve the bidders, they can pretty much choose who will win.
SP and AIPhusband couldn't sit down FOUR hours to eat dinner with a military weapons supplier without folks wondering. Is she ordering weapons for her religious takeover? Or, maybe learning about military weapons so she would be more "presidential." DCheney comes to mind.
ReplyDeleteSomeone came up with the ebay bid for dinner as a cover. Since the place of the dinner was announced before bidding closed, it should be obvious it was fixed. That explains the rules. Just in case one or two bids beat the military weapons supplier's bid at the last minute, they would have been bumped anyway. Wow.
Thanks everybody for setting me straight about when the location was changed. I looked again and it looks like the the change was made the first day of the auction and the winning bidder began bidding the next day. So I guess it could be that she applied to be accepted as a bidder and when she was vetted she began bidding. Changing the location like that makes it so obvious what the plan was all along! I loved your analogy, Jessica!!
ReplyDeleteWell, well, well. We all knew that if you don't just adore wittle Sarah, you'd never get to buy her dinner!
ReplyDelete"Maples says she fully supports the military and the men and women fighting for this nation. Maples, who owns a defense contracting company, also says she's a "big advocate" for Palin, and would love to see her as president."
She's a big advocate for Sarah because she owns a defense contracting company. If Palin/McCain were in office now, if they had actually managed to steal the election, (because they certainly siphoned off some votes), we'd be at war with Russia, Iran, possibly Syria and only God knows who else. Yes, it would be WWIII and Sarah and her little group of evangelists would be bringing on their version of Armageddon.
I wonder if they'll go to Taco Bell? Ooops, that's only if Sarah has to buy dinner.
It costs $63,000 to dine with Sarah and $100,000+ for Sarah to speak. It is no wonder that Todd is sleeping on the sofa, he doesn't have the price for a ride.
ReplyDeleteSunshine, I've bid on ebay many times. What happens is you can sign up for automatic bidding and list your maximum bid. Let's say a bidder put their maximum bid in at $70,000. Then anytime someone bid higher than the bidder but less than $70,000, the bidder's bid would automatically and nearly simultaneously with the new bid be raised to just above the new bid but less than $70,000. That's what Maples did; it'd be interesting to know what her max bid would have been.
ReplyDeleteI'm a tad late on all this, my question is, does someone have a link to the news that it was switched to Alabama? When/how was that announced. Mostly I'm just interested in seeing the shenanigans in operation.
ReplyDeleteWe all know that Serror can't do even one small thing on the up and up. This is just another instance of lying, propaganda and "fixing". Ha EVEN if The New York Times decided to write up an article or op-ed shaming her for fixing a charity event and using it as propaganda to keep her name in the news, her followers would simply say, "Poor Sarah, she can't even choose who she wants to go to dinner with without the media attacking her!" We all know the score.
I went over to Cathy Maples site and up at the top it claims the business is a "Native American Woman Owned 8a Company". What does that mean?
ReplyDeleteI saw a picture of Maples being presented with some type of trophy by two darki - oops - African American women - and no way does Maples look "Native American". She's really blonde and cheesy looking. Maybe "native Alambaman..."
I'm curious what that means.
@Anon 12:23 PM
ReplyDeleteYes, but that wasn't the case with every bidder. I watched and there were cases where there was a new high bidder for a few hours or days before f***l was back on top meaning she'd have to go back to ebay and put in another bid to put herself on top.
(I'm an ebay hound, selling and buying all the time...)
Helen ___ You've seen the AKM piece on HuffPost by now?
ReplyDeleteEbay is par for the course. This is not the first. Yes, these are rigged so that it is legal, just a set up. Everyone is cool bc they say it helps the soldiers. No one says how much it helps them. No one says how much it helps the celebrities. If you have the money you can quietly write a check. Why the hoopla? It sells war and patriotism more than it helps.
What gets me is the charities that use the soldiers and their families. You are so good with deciphering these scandals. I hope you look into the write ups by Ret. Major Robert L. Hanafin in Veterans Today.
Buying and Selling Patriotism - Part 2: The Company WE keep
Selling Patriotism at Tax Payer expense to buy Patriotic Promotional Trinkets
http://www.veteranstoday.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=4297
http://www.veteranstoday.com/modules.php?name=VT_Authors&author=indythinker
America Supports You
* AmericaSupportsYou.mil Survives Investigation by the Pentagon
* Link to Actual DOD/IG Report on America Supports You Irregularities
* Specific Findings of the America Supports You IG Report
* DOD Inspector General Finds that America Supports You Solicited Support from Corporations in Violation of Pentagon Conduct and Ethics Rules
* DOD Inspector General finds that America Supports You.mil paid celebrites for their support
* America Supports You.mil Bought Mainstream Media Support in violation of DOD ethics rules.
There are good charities helping military families. There are too many that need more vetting.
Celebrity scam artists are hurting more than helping.
If you earn money from war, you need wars.
Celebrities live by good press.
Remember when Bill O'Reilly put down the USO? He later was proved a fool and changed. They wanted to redirect the charity monies away from the USO to their Pentagon propaganda set ups.
Cathy Maples may have "native" blood. Indian or Alabaman? I bet she has received major gov welfare for her cause. Is the charity donation tax deductible? Expenses? Will SarahPac pay for the family to travel and stay in Alabama?
Of course SarahPac will pay for the trip. She will tour the defense factories and then she will be a defense expert...
ReplyDeletegolly miss molly.
ReplyDeleteIf yall really wanna barf up a lung, just read this little gem. Yuk! Link goes to PalinbotSheeple.
http://www.conservatives4palin.com/2009/09/congratulations-to-cathy-maples.html
or http://tinyurl.com/mmr7yg
if that is broken.
-ske in atx
It is interesting that we hear how Cathy Maples has met Sarah twice before (at least) she states she is a Sarah supporter and voted for her in the last election, not to mention she claims to want to see Sarah as president some day. Now this woman who is such an ardent Sarah supporter, who voted for her and was willing to dole out over $60,000.00 plus expenses just to have dinner with Sarah is also someone who never donated to SarahPAC. Not based on what the last FEC filing showed.
ReplyDeleteI'd call that pretty curious. If this woman has that kind of money to throw around, and is so gung ho to see Palin in the White House you'd think she would have donated to her PAC.
Helloooo....Alabamans! Can we interest a few of you to join us in finding out a little more about Miss Maples. She's the President, but is she the OWNER of R & D?
ReplyDeleteIf she is, I guess I'm just wondering what her heritage is. After all, R & D Proudly touts its Native American Woman Owned 8 a Status right there on the banner on the company web site.
Of course, I'm not sayin that just cause she doesn't LOOK Native that she is NOT Native. WTH, I'm a pretty darn good example of a blue-eyed Indian myself.
Then again, it sure as heck wouldn't be the FIRST time that the Small Business Administration got gamed by companies that made a woman - or a minority woman- their "owner" in name only to get a leg up on those lucrative defense contracts.
Then again, the SBA doesn't spend a whole lot of time trying to 'investigate' the legitimacy of an 8 (a) claim. That is....until someone asks.
Hmmmmmmmmmmm.
Could it be that Miss Maples is the WINO of R & D just as Sarah was GINO of AK?
Sounds like it could be a great little sidebar for Joel McG's book.
Here's a bit of interesting reading about 8 (a) scams:
http://www.kroll.com/about/library/fraud/mar2009/fraud_stimulus.aspx
a war profiteer won the auction, is there anyone left who supports the Republicans who isn't a war profiteer of some sort
ReplyDeletephoebes-in-santa fe
ReplyDelete8a contractors are minority businesses approved by the US Small Business Administration. This means the Native American (or minority) person must own 51% of the company's stock. 8a businesses have bidding advantages on govn't contracts and can be 10% higher on their bid than the low bidder and still win the contract. Some contracts are set-aside for minority businesses and other businesses are prohibited from bidding on these contracts. Some contracts are granted to majority firms with the understanding that a certain portion of the work maybe 10-20% will be subcontracted to a minority business. An 8a business is usually allowed to remain in the program for about ten years then they graduate from 8a status and must compete competitively with other business. In most cases, the businesses fold after ten years because they have made a large amount of money and aren't able to compete in the marketplace.