When grifting is all you know.

@teamiblends JUST launched their MIXit, and I'm already obsessing over it 💃🏻😍 I'm so busy that sometimes it seems easier to grab a bag of chips than make something healthy, so that's why this portable smoothie maker has been SOOO useful to my fam, and honestly what a great idea?! Plus for the moms out there - I even use it to mix baby food!! #momhack 🤗 it's so easy for cleanup too!! I charge it at night, and it's ready for me to take anywhereeee .. for 20% off yours use ✨BRIS20✨ at checkout! #thankyouteami

A post shared by Bristol Meyer (@bsmp2) on Feb 6, 2018 at 5:18pm PST

This is apparently the only job that Bristol has right now.

Selling crappy diet products to gullible morons.

To be fair, she is not alone in doing this.

There are plenty of YouTube and Instagram "celebrities" trying to separate the ignorant from their money.

Just kind of funny that without her mother making headlines anymore, I seriously doubt she is bringing home any serious money.

And it appears that Dakota is essentially prostituting himself now as well.

And there is your break from Donald Trump for the day. 

Dakota Meyer has become completely Palinized now.

So pumped to share my new brand with you guys! #ownthedash #dakotameyer

A post shared by Dakota Meyer (@dakotameyer0317) on Sep 6, 2017 at 2:36pm PDT

I THINK this is some kind of fitness lifestyle though it seems a little slapped together and poorly defined.

Ultimately of course it is just a way for Dakota to make some money off of the mouth breathers.

You know I really thought that the eventual goal for Sarah Palin was to polish this hillbilly dipshit up and get him involved with politics, but it may just be that he is too fucking stupid for even Republican voters, so now he is reduced to pimping crappy products on Instagram instead.

And yes Bristol is still hawking that stupid weight loss tea as well.

What can you say, a family of grifters have got to grift.

Just like her daddy Ivanka Trump seems to have trouble paying her taxes as well.

Courtesy of The Daily Mail:  

After a rocky few months for Ivanka Trump's clothing and jewelry lines as a number of major retail chains dropped her products from their real and virtual shelves, her brand has encountered yet another setback. 

According to legal documents obtained by DailyMail.com, Ivanka Trump Fine Jewelry was hit with a New York State lien on January 26, accusing the company of failing to pay over $5,000 in taxes. 

The Fifth Avenue jewelry store, located within Trump Tower, carries high-end pieces ranging from $1,000 to $20,000. The shop is officially listed as Madison Avenue Diamonds LLC. 

I have every confidence that if you examined the finances for every one of the Trump family members you would find problems with their taxes.

These are people who simply do not believe that the laws or the rules apply to them.

These are grifters who make the Palin family look like a rag tag group of wandering pickpockets.

Just a reminder that corruption is in the Trump family's DNA.

Here is the story in case you missed it.

Oh yeah, this is definitely the family to help "drain the swamp."

(H/T to Democratic Underground.)

For those who may be wondering, yes the Palin family grifting operation continues uninterrupted.

Courtesy of Bristol Palin's Facebook page:  

Having my Daily cup of @teamiblends It helps me feel energized so I can work and keep up with my kids! Use my code BRISTOL for 10% off your next order #thankyouteami #teamimommi #teamiblends

I know what you're thinking. "Wait, doesn't she have a husband to take care of her financial needs now?"

Well as it turns out he joined the family business as well.

Courtesy of the new baby daddy's Facebook page:

Just got the new "soft scorpions" in from G-Code Holsters. These are great universal "anything" pouches (M4 mags, AR10 mags, AK mags, iPhone's, pistol mags, knives, flashlights, etc.). Precision molded materials with metal inserts allow for a number of attachment options. I have these set up with paddles in the back so I can toss them on/off with ease. Made in the USA. Off to the range! 

And then yes there is a link to the company so that you can also buy whatever the hell these things are.

As for the Grizzled Mama herself virtually all of her Facebook posts now link to articles on this Right Wing Independent Journal website so clearly she has some financial agreement with them.

Because let's face it this woman does not do ANYTHING from free.

So to sum up. Bristol is now hawking weight loss products, Dakota is pushing tactical holsters, and Palin herself is using the last vestiges of her fame to promote a third rate Breitbart ripoff.

This is where we insert the maniacal laughter.

Investigation into Michigan charter schools finds much waste of taxpayer money and more than a little fraud.

Courtesy of Electablog: 

This week, the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) released a scathing report on charter schools in 12 states which have received federal funding. The report, titled Charter School Black Hole shows that Michigan charter schools received $34,997,658 between 2010-2015 under the federal Charter School Program (CSP). 139 of the 297 charters (as of 2014, the number is up to 302 now) in Michigan were subsidized in part by federal tax dollars in the past five years.

Here is just a little of what the investigation found:

Since the inception of charters in the state, more than 100 charters have closed (108). Many of them have closed due to lack of “academic viability” (poor results) while other have closed due to lack of “financial viability” (such as inadequate enrollment) and some for both or other failings. The total amount these schools have received is not known, but they certainly consumed well over $1 million in federal CSP grants before shuttering.

And it gets even worse:

Perhaps one of the most surprising takeaways from the federal information available about how taxpayer money is being spent or wasted is the existence of “ghost” schools that never opened. Out of the charters that were approved for CSP funds by the Michigan Department of Education in 2011 and 2012, twenty-five never opened. CMD learned this through its FOIA. 

The organizations behind these proposed charter schools were approved for a total of nearly $3.7 million in federal tax funds in “pre-planning” and “planning” grants, and they were received nearly $1.7 million, according to state expenditure reports CMD reviewed.

So millions of dollars of tax payer money, that COULD have gone toward improving public schools in Michigan, is wasted on funding school that either were NEVER going to open, or opened and then quickly closed.

And people wonder why our public schools are suffering.

Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar want to give you advice about sexual assault. Wait, what?

Courtesy of Star Magazine: 

Two long months after news broke that Josh Duggar molested five girls, including four of his underage sisters, TLC has finally pulled the plug on 19 Kids and Counting. 

But, along with an hour-long documentary about child abuse that includes Jill and Jessa, Jim Bob and Michelle have a plan to get their family back on TV and TLC paychecks coming in. 

“The family can’t afford to not have the show—it is their main source of income, and with a family of that size, without it they’re in enormous trouble,” says a friend, adding the Arkansas couple are willing to beg for forgiveness to get the cash flowing again. 

“They know they have to at least pretend to be sorry about what happened, and now they want a spin-off where Jim Bob and Michelle would give advice to abuse victims—even though they’re in denial about their culpability in Josh’s crimes.”

In the hierarchy of  truly terrible ideas this would have to be fairly close to the top.

These are religious zealots NOT trained counselors!

And based on how they handled the abuse that he inflicted on his sisters, I would not let them teach my dog not to pee on the carpet much less teach a child not to hump a family member.

Fortunately, according to this same article in Star, it is very likely that ole Jim Bob will have to do something else in order to feed his herd of misfits as a return to TV would "take a miracle."

Having lost their lucrative reality TV show the Duggars are now reduced to begging for donations on YouTube.

Courtesy of Radar Online: 

Thanks to their former lucrative TLC contracts, Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar are reportedly millionaires. 

However, now that the network has canceled the family’s reality show, 19 Kids And Counting, following disgraced son Josh’s sex abuse scandal, the shameless parents and their ultra-Christian brood are begging fans for financial support, RadarOnline can reveal. 

On the conservative clan’s official YouTube page, Duggar Studios, the family asks for supporters to contribute funds so the kids can create “fresh quality content” on their video site. 

“Every contribution is helpful, big or small,” they claim.

Begging for money in exchange for low quality videos?

Now where have I seen that before?

Well you know what they say, birds gotta fly, fish gotta swim, and grifters gotta grift.

Well it looks like the Palins already have Dakota Meyer grifting and engaging in political attacks right along with the rest of them.

Borrowed right from Dakota Meyer's Facebook page.

Wow attacking Hillary Clinton by using a graphic from SarahPAC. Yep he is going to fit in just fine.

For those who are not aware of just how much Dakota Meyer had in common with the Palins even before this, click here and here to learn that, much like Chris Kyle, lying and exaggeration are part of his stock in trade.

Source

You know it's like they belong together.

Sarah Palin uses debunked story about middle school boy being denied right to read his Bible in order to complain about Atheists, being sued, and of course to pimp her book.

Palin starts off telling the story of poor Loyal Grandstaff, a middle school student who complained that while he was quietly reading his book of fables, you know the Bible, a teacher told him he was not allowed to do that.

Well of course this caused the Right Wing to marshal their forces and start writing blog posts and sending nasty tweets and e-mails at the school.

Only thing is, that is not really what happened: 

A public school principal in Missouri pushed back against a middle school student’s claim that a teacher banned him from reading the Bible in school, claiming that the incident did not unfold as was alleged and that students are more than welcome to read their Bibles in school. 

Lance Tobin, principal of Bueker Middle School in Marshall, Missouri, told TheBlaze on Friday that claims made by Loyal Grandstaff, a 7th grader at the school, had not been substantiated when a local outlet published them and that the situation has since been resolved.

Of course Palin does not seem to care that this has been debunked, after all it's not like Brian Williams was the one caught in a lie of anything, and she continues to blow it out of proportion, before suddenly turning it around and making it all about her.

"Normal people don't want to go through the hassle of litigation. I've been through it how many times now? People suing me over stupid things? It's not fun. It's expensive. It's ah such a waste of resources. But normal people then understanding that litigation is a hassle, don't like going through it."

"So angry Atheists know that, so they use their inflamed rhetoric to coerce teachers, and principals, their forcing them, to take away the religious freedom of their students."

Yeah, didn't happen and doesn't happen.

Reading your Bible, Koran, the Vedas, at school is not a problem. And the only time it would be is if the teacher, or another authority figure were to try to teach lessons from any of those religious texts on school grounds.

And that did not happen in this case. So no, there are no "angry" Atheists "coercing" teachers and principals by threatening a lawsuit. 

Palin goes on to say that the principal stated that the "teacher acted against school policy" though if you read the link up above you will see that what the principal actually said was, “There is no teacher involved whatsoever.”

But in Palin's eyes the truth can never stand in the way of a good anecdote, and besides she has a reason for going after this like a dog with a bone.

"In my book 'Good Tidings and Great Joy' I talk about  how our religious freedom is being eroded by angry Atheists with attorneys."

So you see this was just another opportunity for Palin to once again plug a book that her ghostwriter wrote a freaking year ago. And plug it by the way to a group of subscribers that have undoubtedly already purchased at least one of the books already.

Good marketing that.

But hey I guess we cannot blame her too much because apparently it is a family trait, as her brother is now using the Brian Williams kerfuffle to pimp HIS stupid ass book: 

After these new revelations show that Williams has a history of not only embellishing stories, but flat out lying (in detail)... I understand why he didn't want our book to get any national exposure. In 2008, Williams lied about Sarah on air, accusing her of banning library books when she was mayor of Wasilla. We pointed out lies like this in our book. No wonder he didn't want to help us out.

Yeah, THAT'S why he did not want to help promote the book. I'm sure it had nothing to do with the fact that it was full of falsehoods and revisionist history designed to refute facts uncovered about the family and to make a fast buck off of a person whose fame was rapidly dwindling.

So I guess to the Palin family it is not so much about WHAT lies are being told, but more about WHO is telling them. And of course WHO can profit by telling them.

(H/T to Wonkette.)

Sarah Palin and the "Grift that stole Christmas."

Well I already shared with you Palin's attempts to trick people into buying that crappy Christmas book of hers again, but as it turns out that is only the beginning of her attempts to sell you sub-par products.

Palin is also pimping a Fox News holiday special with Todd Starnes, who is so freaked out about the imagined "War on Christmas" that he is apparently constantly stuffing his face with comfort food to calm himself down.

As you can see the program features a who's who from the "I have never heard of these people" list. And of course Sarah Palin, who is only a handful of years away from being added to that list.

But Palin is not finished yet.

Her Facebook page also features a promo for a Christmas song by the world's worst band Madison Rising, that is SO bad you will probably want to ask Santa for a new set of eardrums.

Madison Rising. This band never ceases to amaze. Heartstrings pull and gratefulness soars while listening to this vocal Christmas card they send to our United States Military. These are special musicians blessing us with the American spirit boldly coursing through their music. Thank you, Madison Rising, for using your talent to inspire and empower. Thank you, troops, for everything. 

- Sarah Palin

Yeah apparently the "American spirit boldly coursing through their music" takes the place of any talent.

Wait, you don't believe it could be that bad?

Okay you asked for it.

Sorry you doubted me now?

And the grifting has now spread to other family members as well.

Such as older brother Chuck, who is now just outright begging for money, so that he can take pretty pictures and put together some kind of book that will never sell.

Here is Wonkette's take: 

We’ve had a lot of fun over the years laughing until we puked about how former half-term governor Sarah Palin loves to fleece rubes. (You and your family should probably check Grandma’s bank statements before you send her to the home.) But did you know grifting is an art you can learn? It’s true! Just ask Palin’s brother, Chuck Heath Jr., who has a kickstarter up for the fine and noble purpose of buying Chuck Heath Jr. some new camera equipment! 

Yeah that about sums it up. 

Hey isn't Chuck's sister like rich or something? Why the fuck doesn't he just ask her to give him money to help him get started?

Never mind I already know the answer to that one. As Todd Palin's likes to say, "What's in it for us?"

I really have only one request for Santa this year, and it is not so much a gift I would like as merely a promise to guide his sleigh right over a certain house in Wasilla when his reindeer feel the need to relieve themselves.

Disgraced televangelist Jim Bakker is back. This time selling, I kid you not, "End of the World Biscuits" in preparation for Armageddon.

Courtesy of the New York Daily News:  

Twenty years after his release from prison following rape and fraud allegations, the disgraced pastor is busy selling unique survival kits apparently for the Apocalypse. On his website for his latest TV program, "The Jim Bakker Show," the 74-year-old sells everything from bulk "End of the World Biscuits," "Extreme Survival Bottles" — two for $57 — and extreme cold-weather apparel. The evangelist, who considers himself one of today's experts on the Book of Revelation, appears motivated by the prophetic scriptures in the Bible, which warn of the Rapture — where Christians will be taken by God into heaven — and the second-coming of Christ.

I have to admit that I thought this was a joke, but nope, they are serious.

The majority of the food sources appear in the form of beans, such as the $3,000 "Time of Trouble" tub, which contains 7,728 servings of black bean burger pouches. 

Others include a mixed array of "End of the World Gravy" and "Kevin's Krazy Lasagna" in large, tightly-packed containers.

"End of the World Gravy?"

Okay look this is America, and people can make a living any way they see fit. But is it really ethical to scare these poor simpletons into believing that some catastrophe is about to occur so that you can profit off their ignorance?

Besides who is going to be here to eat all of these beans?

I thought that during the End Times that all of the "good" Christians were going to be sucked up into Heaven to party with JC while the rest of us fought amongst ourselves for the belongings they left behind?

Boy this takes me back to the televangelist scandals of the 1980's.

Such good times.

Arizona lawmaker helps pass laws that benefit private schools, and benefit him personally with hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars.

Courtesy of CBS 5:  

Arizona state Sen. Steven Yarbrough is widely popular among advocates of school choice for his support for and sponsorship of laws that benefit the state's tuition tax credit program. 

But a CBS 5 investigation found Yarbrough's own finances are tied to the program and have benefited from the laws he has helped to pass. 

"It seems like a conflict of interest to me," said Jenifer Darland, a mother of school-aged children and an advocate for public education. 

She said she was shocked when she learned Yarbrough, a Chandler Republican, is the executive director of the state's second-largest tuition tax-credit organization, Arizona Christian School Tuition Organization, or ACSTO. 

STOs, as they are known, receive donations from Arizona taxpayers and turn those funds into scholarships for students to attend private school. The donors are reimbursed dollar-for-dollar by the state, up to $1,000 for a married couple. 

The STOs are allowed to spend up to 10 percent of the donations they receive on administrative expenses, thanks to laws Yarbrough and others have sponsored. In Yarbrough's case, that has added up to hundreds of thousands of dollars over the years. 

"We are paying his mortgage. We are paying his rent," Darland said. 

An examination of the most recent tax return for ACSTO shows Yarbrough receives a salary of $96,000 per year. ACSTO also paid for his car. It paid $426,000 to a company called HY processing, which Yarbrough serves as part owner. 

The organization also paid $127,000 in leasehold improvements and $50,000 rent to the landlord. Yarbrough owns the building. "I don't think it looks good on Steve and I don't think it looks good on the Legislature," said former Senate Minority Leader David Schapira.

Damn! No wonder Sarah Palin is drawn to Arizona.

It is like a grifter's paradise.

Steven Yarbough, Steven Yarbough, where have I heard that name before?

Oh yeah, that's right.

SarahPAC receives notification from FEC about missing money from the NRA. Uh oh!

"What? We got a letter?"

Courtesy of the FEC:

Dear Treasurer: 

Response Due Date 12/12/2013 This letter is prompted by the Commission's preliminary review of the report referenced above. This notice requests information essential to full public disclosure of your federal election campaign finances. Failure to adequately respond by the response date noted above could result in an audit or enforcement action. Additional information is needed for the following 1 item(s):

 - Schedule A supporting Line 15 of your report discloses an offset to an operating expenditure(s) totaling $11,169.86 from "National Rifle Association"; however, your report(s) does not appear to disclose a disbursement to this entity. Please provide clarifying information regarding this activity and amend your report(s) if necessary. (11 CFR § 104.3(a) & (b)) 

Please note, you will not receive an additional notice from the Commission on this matter. Adequate responses must be received by the Commission on or before the due date noted above to be taken into consideration in determining whether audit action will be initiated. Failure to comply with the provisions of the Act may also result in an enforcement action against the committee. Any response submitted by your committee will be placed on the public record and will be considered by the Commission prior to taking enforcement action. Requests for extensions of time in which to respond will not be considered.

What the FEC is referring to appears to be a refund for travel expenses claimed by SarahPAC from the NRA, which can be found here.  I have to imagine that this is connected to Palin's speech at the NRA convention on May 3rd, which would indicate that at least some of her travel expenses were paid for by the NRA.

Now I am not an expert on PAC's but is that legal? It must not be since the FEC is asking for information as to when SarahPAC directly sent $11,169.86 to the NRA itself.

The FEC must know about the speech, and be able to put two and two together, so it is highly doubtful they have not figured out the connection.

Things that make you go "Hmmm."

This could a very big deal and if the treasurer Timothy Crawford cannot come up with a reasonable explanation this may be the end of Sarah Palin's free ride on the backs of the dumbest people on the planet.

Sarah Palin writing book about the commercialization of Christmas and marketing it around Christmas time. You can't make this stuff up folks.

Palin Christmas card from 2009. You know back before Trig got fed up.

Courtesy of the Washington Post: 

Sarah Palin has a new book coming, this time about Christmas. The former Republican vice presidential candidate and Alaska governor has a deal with HarperCollins for “A Happy Holiday IS a Merry Christmas,” scheduled for November. HarperCollins announced Monday that the book will criticize the “over-commercialism” and “homogenization” of Christmas and call for a renewed emphasis on the religious importance. 

“Amidst the fragility of this politically correct era, it is imperative that we stand up for our beliefs before the element of faith in a glorious and traditional holiday like Christmas is marginalized and ignored,” Palin said in a statement released through her publisher. “This will be a fun, festive, thought provoking book, which will encourage all to see what is possible when we unite in defense of our faith and ignore the politically correct Scrooges who would rather take Christ out of Christmas.” 

Financial terms were not disclosed. Palin was again represented by Washington attorney Robert Barnett, who negotiated deals for Palin’s “Going Rogue” and “America by Heart.” Both books were released by HarperCollins. 

According to the publisher, the book will advocate “reserving Jesus Christ in Christmas — whether in public displays, school concerts (or) pageants. Palin also “will share personal memories and traditions from her own Christmases and illustrate the reasons why the celebration of Jesus Christ’s nativity is the centerpiece of her faith.”

I have NO idea who would believe that Sarah Palin had anything of interest to add about the commercialization of Christmas, beyond the fact that she understands the importance of branding, and of connecting your product to a popular holiday season in order to increase sales of that item.

You know, like she is doing here.

I think that it is pretty obvious that she is clearly still working that Fundamentalist/Evangelical/Cult religion angle and apparently hoping to position herself to start working the Christian revival circuit. Possibly planning to set up some tents for the laying on of claw-like hands, a seminar on birthing a live baby from a square pillow...

Sarah Palin's stomach March 26, 2008. Do you see the baby kicking?

 ....and of course Bristol's "revirginification" course.

By the way is it tacky to point out that Palin is jumping on a bandwagon that her fellow conservative Christmas defenders have already damned near ridden into the ground?

I guess no tackier than actually having written them don'tcha know?

Of course I would be remiss not to point out that originally Saturnalia was a pagan holiday, that the Christians stole and then made their own. So if ANYBODY should be defending the TRUE meaning of Christmas it would be the ancient Romans.

I look forward to their book on the topic. Gotta be better than the ones pictured above.

The two Chucks are pissy that the local stores keep hiding their book from the customers. I call THAT a public service!

The Palin fairy tale troll let this slip, and I thought it was worth sharing (Warning link goes to Chuck Jr's blog.):  

Speaking of finding the book, Dad is on another mission to get it front and center after finding out that it has been deliberately buried in the local Costco and other stores. I said something about it to Sarah this morning and she told me she went through exactly the same thing with Going Rogue, and America by Heart. She said that we shouldn’t drive ourselves crazy trying to make these stores do the right thing… the word will get out. We’re obviously not Sarah, but she always seems to give us great advice… so we’ll try to relax.

You know what the Palin/Heaths fail to recognize is that they are quite literally despised by many of the people in Alaska, and yes even in Wasilla. So the idea that their book is being "buried" should come as no surprise.

A couple of years ago Dennis and I interviewed people in and around Wasilla for one of the national gossip sites (I can't remember which one right now. Possibly TMZ.) and we were sort of shocked at the number of people who simply despised Sarah. Though literally NONE were willing to say so on camera.

Never forget that during the 2008 election we Alaskans were the ones shouting out to anybody who would listen that the woman was a nut-job and that they needed to keep her as far from the White House as humanly possible.

Fortunately for all of us our voices were heard and, perhaps even more importantly, people also paid attention to the crap falling out of the Tundra Turd's mouth as well.

Perhaps it is JUST NOW dawning on these grifters that the jig is up, and that nobody wants to read their family mythological mooseshit anymore. Of course that probably won't stop them, after all what else can they do these days to make money?

Apparently GOP cowards are making a habit of pretending that they want to take a swing at someone. First Tagg Romney and now Sarah Palin's pop, Chuck Heath.

Click a Chuck and watch them suck.

Courtesy of Newshounds:

In case you missed it, Sarah Palin’s father and brother, Chuck Heath, Sr. and Chuck Heath, Jr., have a new book out about her and they’ve been making regular appearances on Fox News to promote it. Last night was the Hannity show’s turn. 

First off, her father pegged her as a liar for saying in her book that she didn’t take the eyeballs of the moose (I kid you not) her Dad handed her when they went hunting together before school. “I handed them to her and in her book she said that she didn’t take ‘em. But I saw her take ‘em,” Daddy Chuck said. 

After a round of laughter, Hannity asked how they deal with “the smears, the attacks, the names.” He meant the ones toward poor widdle Sarah, not the ones that are her stock in trade. 

Brother Chuck said: 

"We’ve been listening to this for the last four years… It never stops and there’s been times when literally, I’m not kidding, I’ve had to hold him back from going after some of these people that, with the profanity and, you know, they’re hanging on these lies and doing their best to destroy her. It’s been real tough."

WTF? Look I interviewed Chuck Sr. back in 2009 at one of Palin's book signings on the local military base up here (This was BEFORE they had me kicked out at the next one), and he is a very diminutive man, who was so senile he barely even knew where he was. 

I doubt very seriously he EVER wanted to "go after" anybody. In fact he probably would not even know they had insulted his daughter until somebody explained it to him afterward.

This is just another case of this ridiculous desire to make this family appear bad ass, when in fact just the opposite is true. Sure they can bully people while hiding behind the protective skirts of the Grizzled Mama, but on their own, much like Todd, they are really nothing to worry about.

You can click the image to watch the entire interview if you so desire.  If you can stand to hear these two pathetic grifting dipshits talk to the perhaps the biggest asshole at Fox News that is.

Never ones to pass up a free hand out, Todd and Sarah Palin on list of claimants to Exxon Valdex spill fund.

"Look purse carrier, you better come up with some new ways we can get some cash, and I mean right now!"

Courtesy of Alaska Dispatch:  

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and her husband, Todd, are among 947 claimants qualified for a piece of about $1 million in remaining settlement funds from the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in the waters of Prince William Sound. 

The Palins are claimants No. 655 and 656. How much of a claim they may be due is unknown. 

Their place on that list is colored by the former governor's assertions in the 2009 book "Going Rogue: An American Life" that her administration helped those impacted by one of the country's worst environmental disasters. 

In 2009, a lawyer for the Exxon Valdez plaintiffs told Reuters that the former governor's claims of aid were mostly "cockamamie bullshit." 

That lawyer, Dave Oesting, remains lead attorney for Exxon Valdez plaintiffs, and may soon find Palin among those claimants who come calling to collect.

You know there are people who really suffered, or lost their livelihoods completely, due to that spill. The Palins are not among those people.

The fact that this millionaire couple's name is on this list is indefensible.

It will ultimately not really be that muhc money, and it just reinforces what Alaskans have known about the mall along. They are NOTHING but lowlife grifters.

Bristol Palin on her new reality show. "I wanted to show how down-to-earth my family and I are." So this is on the Sci-Fi channel?

"Let me get this straight. I'M the star of the show and I STILL have to push my own stroller?"

Courtesy of TV Guide:

When a planned reality show about Bristol Palin and her Dancing With the Stars friend Kyle Massey and his actor brother, Chris, fell apart, Lifetime offered the daughter of former GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin her own series instead. "I was game for it," says the 21-year-old single mom. "I wanted to show how down-to-earth my family and I are." (Translation: "I was desperate top get ANYTHING on the air after so many failures. If it takes riding my son's coattails to be on TV then so be it!")


The result: Bristol Palin: Life's a Tripp, a 14-episode show premiering June 19 that follows Bristol and her 3½-year-old son, Tripp, from their hometown in Wasilla, Alaska, to Los Angeles, where Palin takes a job with a nonprofit. (Is it ACTUALLY considered working at a non-profit if you are paid to be filmed "working " there?)


"My parents were skeptical at first," she admits. "But they know I'm responsible. I won't be getting drunk on TV. This isn't Jersey Shore. It's a family show." The most fun for her? "Watching my son grow up over the series — some of the stuff he says is hilarious!"

Pimping out your child to make money, now WHERE did Bristol ever learn that?

Does ANYBODY actually believe that this all happened without Sarah's "claw of manipulation" guiding the process? Yeah, not me either.

One has to wonder just what kind of "family show" this will be? (I assume something like the Addams Family only far creepier.)

Perhaps she will spend time teaching Tripp the importance of having a strong father figure in his life?

Or perhaps not.


What’s more, she has made sure that their son, Tripp, will at some point be treated to a worldview-shaping image of Dad as something akin to a date rapist. That’s the description of him immortalized in her memoir, one of her many efforts to monetize her surname. It recounts the loss of her virginity as a result of getting drunk and blacking out in the company of Levi, who pounced. What a gift that narrative is to Tripp, now being hauled into a TV reality show, “Bristol Palin: Life’s a Tripp,” already in production. Little children are known to thrive in such environments.

Or perhaps she will teach him how to dress in an appropriate manner before posting your picture on Facebook?

 Or not.

Well it is good to know she at least won't be getting drunk on the show. (You know like those Jersey Shore Twitter bitches!)

Been there, done that.

Yeah, you know I don't see ANYTHING positive coming out of this show for Tripp. Unless of course this finally wakes Levi the hell up and motivates him to start working to protect his son from this type of exploitation.

Or at the very least helps him get a lawyer to protect his slice of that reality show pie.

Hell his name is in the title! That should earn him at least SOME share of the profit.

Then, when he makes enough money, perhaps he can afford to buy a family that actually cares about HIM, and does not view him as a commodity to be monetized for the largest possible profit.

After all, a boy can dream can't he?

Nancy French uses Bristol Palin's blog to congratulate herself for raising a black child. Update!

I have sort of decided to avoid Bristol's ghostwritten blog because, well because it is usually a complete waste of time.  However I happened to receive an e-mail alerting me to the fact that there was this rather bizarre post on there yesterday. So I held my nose and went over to take a look, and found THIS.

The above picture is of Bristol standing next to Nancy French with Nancy's children gathered round.

Here is what was written on the blog:

My mom delivered an amazing speech, Occupy Wall Street tried to interrupt her talk, and reporters were everywhere. (In other words, it was a lot of fun!) However, the Huffington Post posted video of Nancy and her family between the speeches. Immediately, there were over a thousand very hateful comments. 

Why? Nancy and her husband David have three kids – two who are her biological kids and one she adopted from Ethiopia. Believe it or not, the liberal HuffPo readers were angry that Nancy – a Republican – would raise a black child.

Now I did not see the post on the Huffington Post (If anybody finds it let me know), but I am a little confused as to WHY "liberals" would have a problem with a person adopting a child, regardless of their ethnicity or skin color.  That does not sound like us.

However what REALLY caught my attention was that, as we know, this post was written by Nancy French, who is essentially defending Nancy French against those damn "liberals" for criticizing her for daring to adopt an African American child.

I don't know, but writing under somebody else's name, while pimping how non-racist and open minded you are for adopting a black child, just feels all kinds of wrong to me.

And if that were not bad enough, then Nancy posted a link to the blog she writes under her REAL name and continued patting her non-racist self on the back:

Are my husband and I Republicans? Yes. And we also love our little black child. I’m learning, for example, how to braid hair with colorful beads, I’m learning which colors look good against her chocolate colored skin tone, and I’ll teach her about her country of origin right after she learns her ABCs. 

("I'm learning which colors look good against her chocolate colored skin." Really?)

Is it just me, or is there something very defensive and sort of creepy about how she speaks about caring for this, I am sure wonderful, addition to her family?  It almost sounds to me like she is speaking about a project, or an experiment she is attempting, rather than a human being.

But perhaps I am reading too much into this.

What I am not imagining however is that Nancy is clearly using Bristol's name, and reflected fame, to drive visits to her blog and attract a bigger audience for HER personal issues.

In other words the family of users and grifters, is also being used. for grifting. Not sure that is a bad thing actually.

Update: Okay here is the post that was on Huffpo back in February that French is bitching about. (H/T to Kajo for the find.)

The little girl, Naomi is her name, is wearing a shirt that says "I Only Cry When Democrats Hold Me." So essentially Nancy was using her as bait to attract negative comments, and then turned around and played the victim while hiding behind her adopted child.

Gee, NO WONDER she was attracted to the idea of working for the Palins!