I get a call from somebody who has been inside Palin's Safari Lake properties. Update!

(Photo courtesy of Mudflats)

So I get this phone call last night from a source close to the Palin's who tells me they have been INSIDE the famously untaxed Palin Lake Shangri La on Safari Lake.

"Do tell" I say.

Well for one thing those are NOT cabins! They are very nice homes, much nicer than many of the other homes in that area.

The main house (which my source estimated cost between $50 to $60,000 to build) has a kitchen and living room on the bottom floor and two upstairs bedrooms.

There is a guest house (which they estimated to cost about $40,000 to construct), and what was described as a "snowmachine warehouse" (also costing about $40,000).

Property co-owner Scott Richter (Who got the property in a divorce settlement) also has a three-bedroom A-frame up there as well.

Now I did not get an exact date for when all of this was constructed but my understanding is that it was done before Palin was elected governor. So essentially the money for this would have been coming from Todd's oilfield job. On the Palin's 2007 tax returns it shows that Todd made about $102,716. I am guessing he made somewhat less in the years before, so where did they get the $130-$140,000 to build this little "home away from home"? And yeah I know they commerical fish, but that still would not cover such an expenditure.

And while we are on the subject of questionable Palin goings on, here is a little write up from Palin legal mouthpiece, Thomas Van Flein, attempting to tell the public that "there is nothing to see here just move along" concerning the recent Todd Palin e-mails.

A recent article discusses what purports to be a new "revelation" that Todd Palin was a "powerful first dude." To most Alaskans, and to the millions of people who read "Going Rogue" this is neither new nor a revelation. Like many married couples, including political 'power couples,' it is common for a spouse to play the role of key advisor to the other spouse. The Palins were no different. Todd Palin had official and unofficial duties, but one thing was clear: he was a key advisor to Governor Palin and involved in her efforts to improve the State of Alaska. Officially, in addition to the duties traditionally expected of the spouse of the Governor, Todd Palin was put in charge of a Workforce Development commission with the goal of increasing vocational education opportunities and awareness. But unlike some spouses of elected officials, Todd Palin did not travel with an entourage, had no designated office, had no title other than "First Dude", received no pay, and had no staff. He donated his time to the people of Alaska by assisting the Governor. Each spouse of the chief executive is free to define his or her own role. From the policy oriented Hillary Clinton, to the more traditional and charitable work of Laura Bush, to the combined policy/traditionalist role of Michelle Obama, the first spouse takes on the duties within their interests and within the context of their marriage to the chief executive. Todd was no different.

What Van Flea (sorry couldn't resists) fails to divulge here is that, though historically first spouses played some role in their partner's administration, the first spouse role was usually relegated to photo ops, and having tea with visiting dignitaries. It was NOT being CC'd on sate business, vetting CEO's, and choosing judges!

Van Flein uses the example of Hillary Clinton to make the case that some spouses have been known to get involved in policy making. However I must point out that Hillary was a graduate of Yale and taught law at the University of Arkansas, she was NOT a Wasilla high school graduate whose claim to fame was riding a snowmachine really fast.

Todd had absolutely NO business being involved in state business, and neither did daddy Chuck for that matter, but Sarah was so overwhelmed by her responsibilities that she desperately needed her family to help her do her job. THAT is what the e-mails help to illustrate, and that is why they are a big deal.

Before I close this post I cannot resist addressing another part of Van Flea's (Oops did it twice!) post.

What is interesting is that the same media outlet that today breathlessly reports how close the Palins were while Sarah Palin was Governor--too close for at least one reporter--earlier reported that the Palins were not close enough and headed for divorce. Consistency is not necessarily a hallmark for investigative journalists, but certainly truth should be.

Now I have no idea if this is directed at me, or perhaps some other media outlet, but since I broke the story perhaps I should address it.

When I reported my information, the Palin's were definitely having severe marital difficulties. (That has now been reported by a variety of sources.) And they were indeed throwing the word "divorce" around quite often. In my estimation they were probably headed for a separation or an actual divorce. Now that is just my estimation, there is no way to conclusively predict the future of their marriage.

However when I decided to report the Splitsville story I knew full well that they would almost certainly NOT get divorced once I reported it. By this time I had a kind of understanding of Sarah Palin and how her petulant mind worked. She would NEVER allow an Alaskan blogger, especially me, to get this scoop. NEVER!

Which is exactly the way I want it. Now Sarah and Todd are bound together in defiance, and possibly a lucrative monetary agreement, as the scandals just keep right on coming. Perfect.

Occasionally somebody will come over and try to poop on my parade by pointing out that I was wrong about their marriage and...and... "nanny nanny boo boo"! But those people must not play chess.

By the way if you want to read the rest of Van Flea's post I am afraid I have to direct you to the sea of urine. As much as I hate to send anybody into the darkness, it IS their post and those are the rules of blogging. Just remember not to touch anything over there, and to scrub up with disinfecting soap after you are finished.

Namaste

Update: I just got of the phone with my source and, since so many of you wanted to know, I asked about the plumbing situation at the "cabins". I was told that at the time my source visited, and this was a few years ago, there was NO indoor plumbing but that there was a generator. So for those of you who were curious about that, now you know.