The RNC will be holding their annual Christmas party at the Trump hotel in DC. When asked for a response Donald Trump replied "Ka-Ching!" Update!

Courtesy of HuffPo:

The Republican National Committee will host its Christmas Party this year at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., the newest property of its newfound leader. 

The event, which two GOP sources confirmed to The Huffington Post, is said to be a more exclusive and celebratory affair this year owing to the unexpected election victories enjoyed by the party this November. But in moving the proceedings to Donald Trump’s downtown D.C. hotel, which only opened this past fall, the committee risks furthering the perception that the president-elect is leveraging his newfound political power for private gains.

You know perhaps I misunderstood the definition for "crony capitalism," because if this ain't it then I don't know what is.

Remember that Trump is also making money for housing his Secret Service detail in New York, and using his new leverage to help his daughter close deals with foreign manufacturers.

Essentially Trump is using the presidency as a sort of can never be denied credit card for making purchases that benefit his businesses.

And since he apparently has no intention of putting his financial holdings in a blind trust (Though he now claims to have sold his stock portfolio. I believe that as much as I believe that he sent private investigators to Hawaii to check on President Obama's birth certificate.), he will continue to make policy decisions that fill his coffers and enrich his family, while leaving the American people to impotently protest in the streets.

Well this would seem to be the actual thing that Sarah Palin has been railing against for years, so surely she will soon come out with an epic rant on Facebook attacking Donald Trump for being a loathsome opportunist.

Yep, any day now.

Sarah?

Sarah?

Update: We are now learning that Trump has another source of income he can rely on during his part time job as president.

Courtesy of Variety: 

Donald Trump will remain an exec producer on NBC’s “Celebrity Apprentice,” which is returning Jan. 2 after a two-year hiatus with new host Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The larger issue for MGM, NBC, and the White House is the payment that Trump will receive for the series. It’s unclear what his per-episode fee is, but it is likely to be in the low five-figures, at minimum. NBC has ordered eight episodes of “The New Celebrity Apprentice.” Trump’s fees will be paid through MGM, the production entity on the show, not NBC. MGM declined to comment on the financial terms of Trump’s deal. A spokeswoman for Trump did not immediately respond to a request for comment. NBC declined to comment. 

Trump is also a profit participant on the “Apprentice” franchise, which has been sold as a format in various markets around the world since it first became a hit on NBC in 2004. 

A five figure paycheck for each episode, PLUS a piece of the action on franchises, and NONE of this has been placed in a blind trust as of yet?

Does that mean that during the SOTU speech Trump will talk about his successful TV series?

Will The Apprentice be advertised in commercial breaks during televised interviews with a president Trump?

Will he make guest appearances on the program to increase ratings?

I don't know the answer to any of those questions, but I then again, maybe I do.

Sarah Palin rails against fake news while citing an op-ed that she wrote herself. Update!

Courtesy of Simple Sarah's Facebook page: 

"If it's Monday, it's delete the press." 

As a victim of fake news for years now, I'm accustomed to waking up to headlines like these - false, fake & foolhardily written. Keep it up media! Really, please do. The more you attack, the more we win.

At this point Sarah Palin actually links to Snopes to prove that the story in the top right hand corner is fake. Snopes!

I did not even know that she knew how to find Snopes on the internet.

And Palin's point is valid. She has indeed been the focus of a number of fake news stories over the years.

Why not? After all the true stories about her are only a tiny bit more believable than the fake stories about her.

However having said that did you notice the story at the bottom left?

That story was based on the op-ed that Palin and her ghostwriter posted on a Right Wing news site, that was reported on by just about every news outlet in the country.

So color me confused. Is she complaining that SHE wrote fake news, or is she suggesting that everybody who covered it wrote fake news?

Because I read it and she most certainly DID refer to Trump's deal with Carrier as "crony capitalism."

So is she upset that the MSM reported accurately on what she wrote, or is she upset that she wrote it, or perhaps is her wig just a little too snug this morning and is cutting of the blood flow to her brain?

I'm not sure but that last one sounds like a pretty good subject for a fake news story if anybody wants to run with it.

Update: Even Glen Beck thinks that Palin is suffering some kind of brain damage.

Courtesy of Right Wing Watch:

Beck said that Palin’s fawning endorsement and sycophantic defense of Donald Trump during the campaign was “crazy,” but it is even more bizarre that once it was reported that she was possibly under consideration for the position of secretary of veterans affairs in Trump’s administration, she turned around and attacked Trump over his plan to prevent Carrier from moving a thousand jobs to Mexico. 

“Sincerely, has she had a brain aneurysm?” Beck asked his staff during his weekly “Think Tank” television program. “Because I don’t know what has happened to her.” 

Palin attacking Trump over the Carrier deal is absurd, Beck said, because “you own it, Sarah. You brought it to the table. He said he would do that!” 

Eventually, Beck and his staff concluded that perhaps Palin is lashing out at Trump because she is just “butt-hurt” over the fact that she may not get the V.A. secretary position.

You know when even Glenn Beck is asking if your brain is broken,  you might want to check to see if your brain is broken.

The original Trump tramp Sarah Palin calls Carrier deal "crony capitalism." Uh oh, somebody got their fee fees hurt.

Courtesy of ABC News: 

Gov. Sarah Palin, who is being considered for a cabinet position in the Trump administration -- is raising alarm over president-elect's recently announced deal with Carrier, suggesting in an op-ed it could amount to "crony capitalism." 

"When government steps in arbitrarily with individual subsidies, favoring one business over others, it sets inconsistent, unfair, illogical precedent," Palin wrote in a 'Young Conservatives' op-ed. "Republicans oppose this, remember? Instead, we support competition on a level playing field, remember? Because we know special interest crony capitalism is one big fail."

Uh oh, she used the "C" word, and the other "C" word.

Methinks somebody is NOT getting a cabinet position.

Wait, there's more: 

"Foundational to our exceptional nation’s sacred private property rights, a business must have freedom to locate where it wishes," Palin said. "In a free market, if a business makes a mistake (including a marketing mistake that perhaps Carrier executives made), threatening to move elsewhere claiming efficiency’s sake, then the market’s invisible hand punishes." 

Palin goes so far to point out that such government intervention sets an "illogical precedent" of a corporate welfare system she labels as "a hallmark of corruption. And socialism." 

"However well meaning, burdensome federal government imposition is never the solution. Never. Not in our homes, not in our schools, not in churches, not in businesses," she added. 

"Gotta’ have faith the Trump team knows all this."

That last part is Palin speak for "Goddammit, why don't you know this?"

In her ghostwritten op-ed Palin compares this bullshit deal of Trump's with Obama's deal with Solyndra, which is a favorite conservative pinata, even though it is one failure among a number of successful renewable energy incentives.

Palin's disdain for all government incentives is summed up in this paragraph:

However well meaning, burdensome federal government imposition is never the solution. Never. Not in our homes, not in our schools, not in churches, not in businesses.

While I certainly don't agree with Palin that all attempts by the government to support or even rescue certain businesses are a bad idea, I do agree that if this Carrier deal is any indication as to how Trump will approach trying to "Make America great again," that he will in fact do quite the opposite.

The REAL question here is what suddenly caused Donald Trump's most ardent cheerleader, a woman who ignored the mocking of a disabled reporter, pretended not to notice the "grab them by the pussy" comments, and was not allowed to go on stage the night of his acceptance speech, suddenly turn on her favorite tangerine colored fuhrer?

Well if I had to venture a guess I would suggest that whatever behind the scenes deal she first made with Trump back in the day, has now been denied to her.

Let's face it Palin does NOT offer her support without a little something in it for her, and considering how aggressively she has been pimping Trump that something must have been substantial.

It was pretty clear that she really wanted this VA job, so perhaps she now knows she is no longer in the running. Or perhaps she just learned that Ivanka will be the First Lady instead of her. Or that Arnold Schwarzenegger will be the new star of "The Apprentice."

Well whatever it is, she is clearly off the reservation.

The only question to ask now is whether Trump cares enough to throw her a bone to keep her happy, or has she served her purpose is no longer of any use to him?

Wait, Sarah Palin's choice to be the next Senator from Iowa might have some ethical problems? Say it ain't so.

Courtesy of Salon:  

A construction company owned by GOP Iowa Senate candidate Joni Ernst’s father received more than $200,000 in county contracts while she served as auditor of Montgomery County, Iowa, despite a strict conflict of interest code governing the provision of contracts to family members of county officials. 

A new review of records — as well as an analysis of the Code of Iowa — by Salon reveals that the nature of the contracts and how they were promulgated, may have violated relevant county standards. 

Ernst was elected Montgomery County auditor in 2004, serving in that role until her 2011 election to the state Senate seat she currently holds. Among the duties a county auditor “may perform,” according to the Iowa State Association of County Auditors, are issuing contract bid notices and soliciting and receiving contract proposals. Minutes from an April 2007 Montgomery County Supervisors meeting – printed in the Red Oak Express – note Ernst’s involvement in county contracts, stating that Ernst would “work [the] issue” of advertising bids for a roofing project in the county. 

The Iowa Code lays out stringent conflict of interest standards for county contracts. Chapter 331 of the code stipulates that “[a]n officer or employee of a county shall not have an interest, direct, or indirect, in a contract with that county.” The provision applies if 5 percent of a company’s outstanding stock is owned by either a county employee or an immediate family member – including a parent – of an employee. 

Still, a search by Salon of Montgomery County records reveals that Culver Construction – a construction company owned by Ernst’s father, Richard Culver – received $215,665 in county contracts during Ernst’s tenure as auditor. The six contracts, all awarded between 2009 and 2010, included five totaling $204,794 from Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for such projects as road and flood damage repairs.

You know there is a term for this, gee what is it?

Oh yeah, "crony capitalism."

And you do remember whose favorite phrase that is, don't you?

Uh oh!

Awkward!