Going Rogue Goes to Number 1!

I'm not at liberty to say if this picture
is in the book, but it's on Barnes and Noble's site

Madame's book was put on Barnes and Noble's website and on Amazon.com today for pre-sale. It is already climbing the bestsellers list like a New York Times reporter climbing a tree after being chased by a bear when digging for non-existent dirt in Alaska. Going Rogue: An American Life has already reached #1 at Barnes and Noble and #11 at Amazon , at least as we speak, even though it isn't being released until November 17th. I can now "leak" part of Madame's book, the synopsis:

Sarah Palin burst onto the political scene at the height of the 2008 presidential campaign and overnight became a national sensation. Adored by the right, bitterly reviled by the left, she is the most polarizing figure to emerge in American politics in decades. Yet for all the dirt digging and gossip that has surrounded her, very little is actually known about who she is, what she believes, and above all, about her plans for the future. In her new book, Sarah Palin tells the story of her Alaskan upbringing, her marriage and family life, her political career, her religious beliefs, and her meteoric rise to national prominence. With her customary blunt common sense, she sets the record straight about the many myths and lies that have been spun around her and lays out her vision for an America that is strong, independent, and free.

I have a feeling Madame's book may just be a "stimulus package" for the paper, ink, book binding, and bookstore industries. If Madame is already #1 after day one of pre-sale, I can only imagine how many she will sell over the next several months. I'm sure that just at the sight of the words "Sarah Palin' and "number one", President Obama will get wee-weed up again!

Going Rogue November 17th!

Picture from 1,000,000 for Sarah Palin 2012
Facebook group

It has been so hard storing all of this information and excitement on my hard drive without uploading it so that you all can read it. However, I now can share just a bit about Madame's book. Going Rogue: An American Life is the title of her 400 page book! You see, Madame made her book just the right length. You could read her book three times (which you will want to do), or you can read the 1200 page cap-and-tax bill. Hmm, I wonder which would be more constructive, interesting, and enlightening?

We spent some time in San Diego working on the book late this summer with Lynn Vincent, Madame's collaborator, who knows a thing or two about helping to write a best seller.I have a feeling that Madame's book will be a free enterprise based, unintentional bailout for the paper, book binding, ink, and bookstore industries. I hope that Amazon doesn't crash because so many people are buying her book!

I don't know if I should share this, but TOTUS told me that the Great Opologizer is planning to write his third book with a similar title to Madame's book: Going Rouge: A Marxist Presidency. I was able to chat with him today while the campaigner-in-chief was trying to push for the Olympics to be in Chicago in 2016. Hey, I don't care if the Olympics are in Chicago or not, but I have a feeling that President Obama will win the silver medal in 2012.

I wish I could give you all just an excerpt of the book, but Madame has the draft password-locked on my hard drive, so I can't access it. Let me tell you though; I read it while she was working on it. It is fantastic! Is it a best seller? You betcha!

My conversation with TOTUS

I just got done SKYPEing with TOTUS. Although we work for people on complete opposite sides of the political spectrum, TOTUS and I are very good friends. Unfortunately, TOTUS has been very busy, so we haven't had the chance to talk much lately. He and the Great Opologizer (TOTUS calls him Big Guy) have given a lot speeches in his first 9 months in office. TOTUS told me he has gotten pretty tired with all of the work he's been doing, and with the repetition of what the President is saying. He is tired of seeing the words "crisis", "from the brink", "let me be clear" "I" and "me" running across his screen all of time. He told that the Great Opologizer has actually used the words "I" and "me" nearly 1200 times in 41 of his speeches so far this year. TOTUS even told me that he got so bored during one speech that he fell asleep and fell off of his stand!



After exchanging pleasantries and catching up, TOTUS asked me what it was like to work with Madame. I told him it was amazing! I was having so much fun working on her soon-to-be bestselling book, Facebook posts, op-ed pieces, and occasionally helping the kids with their homework. TOTUS then asked me a strange question, "Well, how does Madame type?".

"What do you mean", I said.

"Well, if she is clinging bitterly to her guns and her religion, how does she have the hands and fingers to type?", TOTUS asked.

"Poor,TOTUS", I replied, " You have spent too much around Big Guy, and it has made you confused and misinformed. Madame clings happily to her faith and joyfully expresses her 2nd amendment rights. It's a figurative thing, not a literal thing, TOTUS".

"Oh, I see", TOTUS said.


We didn't have much time left, but I had to ask him what Big Guy thinks about Madame 45. TOTUS told me he was quite afraid of Madame. He thinks she is going to take his job in a few years! In fact, anytime Madame writes a post on Facebook or gives a big speech, he runs to Rahm Emmanuel calling out Elton John lyrics, "Hold me closer, Tiny Dancer". You see TOTUS calls Rahm "Toes", but the Great Opologizer calls him "Tiny Dancer".



Sadly, I didn't get the chance to ask him about the Botosi (that's what I call Nancy Pelosi) or FLOTUS (Michelle Obama) thinks about Madame. Oh well, perhaps next time! I hope Madame keeps TOTUS on staff, and we will get to hang out!

The Facebook Army Grows!

My screen beamed with pride today as a I surfed on over to Madame's Facebook page to discover that she had surpassed 900,000 followers! That number is more than Tiny Fea, David Letterboy, Chris "Tingles" Matthews, John McAnonymous, and Joyless Behar combined! Hmm.... I'm bad with remembering names, and I might have suffered some typographic dyselexia in that last sentence. So, please excuse any errors. Poor Peggy Noname doesn't even have a Facebook page for her supporters.

Oh, the memories we have had with our 67 Facebook notes so far. We've posted about budget decisions, "stimulus" funding, cap and tax, and condolences for those who have passed away among other things. Our posts on health care, specifically "death panels", have had the greatest impact.

Credit to Seth Adam Smith at C4P

This "death panels" post alone caused the Great Opologizer to call out Madame, the Private Citizen (at the present), in his speech to a joint session of Congress. You lie, Mr. President! Madame has been known to call out the media for not reporting the facts and for making things up. So, Madame decided to put her journalism degree to use and utilize the new media--Web 2.0. After all, she has a big online footprint! Madame knew that the mainstream media (or the Barack Obama media) would not properly report her message, so as she's said before, "get out of the way, I'll do it".

After all, Madame is a Facebook phenom!

Graphic from Another Black Conservative

Madame shows appreciation for the Jewish community

Madame's latest Facebook post showed her appreciation for the Jewish community:

Todd and I would like to offer our best wishes to the Jewish community as they celebrate the High Holy Days. With the celebration of the Jewish New Year this week and the observance of the Day of Atonement next week, we are reminded of the hopeful commitment to renewal and peace exemplified by the Jewish tradition and the Jewish people throughout history.

Yom Kippur, the most solemn and important of the Jewish holy days, is a time of reflection and supplication for forgiveness. The timeless human struggle to promote justice, harmony, and peace is seen here in this process of atonement – in humbly seeking pardon for past wrongs in the hope of a new beginning. It reminds us that if we wish to co-exist globally, we must all strive for forgiveness and tolerance.

A speech was given at the United Nations General Assembly yesterday that was full of hateful anti-Semitic rhetoric. It was a shameful display before a body whose very charter is premised on the need for co-operation and harmony in pursuit of peaceful co-existence between nations. Such talk was especially abhorrent coming as it did during the Jewish High Holidays. The world community must speak with one voice in declaring anti-Semitism and all forms of intolerance and racism utterly unacceptable. There is no place in the community of peace-loving nations for those who traffic in hate or deny the terrible atrocity of the Nazi Holocaust.

In this holy season, we join the Jewish people in the struggle to promote justice, harmony, and peace. May God bless them.

- Sarah Palin

This is not the first time that Madame has used the Facebook to show her support for the Jewish community and for Israel. One of our first Facebook posts came when a man was shot at the National Holocaust Museum.

Madame in attendance at a Hanukkah event
(photo from Sarah's Accomplishments blog)

While Madame was running for Vice President, Tiny Fea (oops, did I spell that right? Sometimes, I have typographical dyslexia) portrayed Madame as one who only pandered to the the Jewish community. However, she has always stood with Israel and even had an Israeli flag in her office when she was Governor.

Does Madame support the American Jewish community and Israel? You betcha!

Common Sense Conservatism

At the airport. Look, Madame even has a
present for Katie Couric in her left hand!

If you look closely, you can see that First Dude 45
has me on his shoulder! (H/T The Palination)

I've spent much of the past 36 hours safely secured under the seat in front of Madame on our flight to and from Hong Kong, and I'm a bit jet lagged from the flights. I bet you didn't know LOTUSes can get jet lag. The cabin pressure messes with my earphone jacks too, and I can't chew gum to help with the pressure. But, enough complaining from me.

It came as no surprise to me that Madame's speech was amazing! She didn't even need a teleprompter; she spoke from just notes!

The Wall Street Journal posted some excerpts from Madame's speech earlier today:

You can call me a common-sense conservative. My approach to the issues facing my country and the world, issues that we’ll discuss today, are rooted in this common-sense conservatism… Common sense conservatism deals with the reality of the world as it is. Complicated and beautiful, tragic and hopeful, we believe in the rights and the responsibilities and the inherent dignity of the individual.

We don’t believe that human nature is perfectible; we’re suspicious of government efforts to fix problems because often what it’s trying to fix is human nature, and that is impossible. It is what it is. But that doesn’t mean that we’re resigned to, well, any negative destiny. Not at all. I believe in striving for the ideal, but in realistic confines of human nature…

Conservatism? Common sense? Optimism? Government can't fix everything ? I think that someone is going to need to translate this for the Great Opologizer. These are all concepts he is not familiar with, and they are certainly not in his thesaurus.

Common sense, how fitting! In Thomas Paine's pamphlet, Common Sense, he said, "[g]overnment even in its best state is but a necessary evil". It sounds a lot like Madame's statement that we must be suspicious of government's abilities to fix problems due to human nature. Another great quote from Madame, which could easily have been from the Great Communicator, "[w]e’re not interested in government fixes, we’re interested in freedom!"

Tonight, we posted excerpts of Madame's speech on Facebook. I urge you to check out that excerpt. I'm just a renegade laptop, so my analysis would not do Madame's words justice. Madame spoke about a myriad of different topics in her speech: budget deficits, the Federal Reserve, US-China relations, Afghanistan, health care, tax cuts, free trade vs. protectionism, foreign policy, the Cold War, defense spending, the role of government and the private sector in healing the economy, the Tea Party movement, and a whole slew of other topics.

So while the Great Opologizer spent Wednesday apologizing to the UN for America, Madame closed her Wednesday with these words, "[w]e’re Americans. We’re always hopeful. Thank you for letting me share some of that hope, and a view from Main Street with you. God Bless You."

That is the hope that I can believe in.

President Obama's Thesaurus

I've been pretty confined by the laptop bag that Madame has safely stored me in on our flight to Hong Kong. We are now just hours away from her speech. I can't wait; I just know it is going to be good!

I did a lot of thinking on the flight over to Hong Kong. I've noticed with all of the articles that Madame has read since the Great Opologizer became President, it seems as if he and his administration have created their very own dictionary and thesaurus as a means of defining their policies and political strategy. For one, Press Secretary Robert Gibbs doesn't seem to quite know how to define Madame:




In this clip, Robert Gibbs says, " I'll let Webster define what one calls her". Well, Mr.Gibbs why don't you let LOTUS define what one calls her? You can call her Governor Palin, Madame 45, Goddess of Energy, Sarah Barracuda, the Iron Lady of the North, etc. Hmm, I guess that is more of a thesaurus listing, but you get my point.

When Madame and I were writing the "nail in Obamacare's coffin" Facebook post, Madame used the forever-to-be remembered phrase "death panels". We first wrote that post in Microsoft Word before transferring it to Facebook. As you may know, Word allows you to highlight a word and find a synonym if you so desire. Madame could have used the phrase "fatality board" or "casualty jury", but she knew that "death panels" would speak to the heart of the matter--bureaucratization of health care.

Madame called it like she saw it, rather than try to sugar-coat it like President Obama when he called health care reform that includes a pubic option, "health insurance reform". A spoonful of sugar does not make socialized medicine go down!

"Health insurance reform" instead of "socialized medicine" is not the first entry in the Obama thesaurus, nor is the Robert Gibbs needing a dictionary to define Madame the first time that the Obama administration has needed a dictionary to define something. In President Obama's media blitz on Sunday, during one of his interviews he did not seem to understand that fining people for not signing up for health insurance is, indeed, a tax. You can put lipstick (very badly) on a tax by calling it a fine, but it's still a tax, Mr. President.

There have been a few other occasions when the Obama administration has wanted to use other phrases to define political terms. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano now calls "terrorism" a "man-caused disaster". The Obama administration calls the "war on terror" " an "overseas contingency operation".

That's OK, though, Mr. President because another entry in your thesaurus is when you referred to Madame as a "prominent politician", as shown in the clip above. As Madame currently holds no political title, I'm thinking that President Obama is conceding that Madame is going to be his successor, if she chooses to run. Prominent politician is synonymous with Madame 45.

Top 10 Things that Liberals Do Not Understand

In addition to the Great Opologizer's media blitz on the Sunday morning circuit, he will be paying a visit to the David Letterman show tomorrow. Is it a stupid human tricks edition of the show? Apparently, he is currently scheduled as the only guest on the show. Usually, on such shows, there is a musical guest. Is President Obama going to sing or play some music? Apparently, according to Chris Wallace of Foxnews, the Opologizer administration is very good at sad, emotional violin music.

I just hope that President Obama doesn't say something utterly offensive and ridiculous like offending special needs children and adults like the last time he was on a late night comedy show. When the President made that comment, it certainly made the mama grizzly come out in Madame! This time the Great Opologizer is going on David Letterman's show. David Letterman is very good at making the mama grizzly come out in Madame.

In case you are wondering,
this is Madame's "mama grizzly" face

However, I would like to "honor" David Letterman by giving my very own top 10 list. I wish you could see my dramatization of this, but I can't get the webcam to work by myself. The BOTUSes are playing the part of Paul Shaffer. It's good comedy, let me tell you. So with out further adieu, here is the LOTUS's top 10 list.

Top 10 Things that Softy Southpaws Don't Understand


10) The English language. They often have to re-define words or resort to the dictionary.

9) Sarcasm. It is completely lost on them. Sometimes, when I tweet 140 characters of sarcasm, softy southpaws just don't understand, and I receive whiny, pretentious responses back.

8) Sports analogies in political speeches (yes, I'm talking to you, Anderson Cooper).

7) The phrase "death panels". Until Madame used it in a Facebook post, they thought the phrase "death panels" was what PETA used to describe fly swatters.

6) Middle America. If people do not live adjacent to an ocean in the Northeast or California, they are obviously uneducated and unsophisticated, especially if they didn't attend a prestigious, Ivy League school.

5)The Tea Party movement. It's amazing how they can downplay the massiveness of the national debt, but overlook the nearly 1.8 million who descended on DC to voice their concerns about the direction of this country.

4)Free-market principles and limited government interference in the economy. Liberals see Boetcker's 10 Cannots as 10 Cans.

3) The need to vocalize support for the US military. The military fights for us so that we can keep our freedom.

2) The differences between being an intellectual and being intelligent. Many liberals are intellectuals, but lack intelligence--that mixture of common sense, wisdom, and knowledge needed to make good decisions.

1) The predatory behavior of barracudas. A politico article published yesterday had this to say:

For several days in August, the national health care debate turned to focus on so-called “death panels,” in large part because of two widely-publicized Palin Facebook posts accusing Democratic authors of the House proposal of creating bureaucratic entities to decide end of life care.

The post was immediately rebuked by Democrats, and even by some Republicans, as untrue and irresponsible. But rather than immediately firing back at her critics when reporters came calling for a response, or issuing a press release defending her claim, Palin waited five days to post her response on Facebook.

Liberals don't understand the predatory behavior of barracudas is as follows,"...they are voracious predators and hunt using a classic example of lie-in-wait or ambush. "

The BOM (Barack Obama Media) vs. Facebook

As Madame's eldest son Track is returning from Iraq this weekend, I don't anticipate that she and I will be working together much. So, consider this post "LOTUS, unplugged", but not for too long, as I don't want to run out of energy. I would like to touch on the issue of the media. There has been quite a bit of media malpractice, especially over the past 13 months or so. It is interesting that while the Softy Southpaws want to allow the continuation of abuse of medical malpractice litigation by not considering tort reform in their health care reforms, yet they are just fine with the amount of malpractice in the media. I suppose it is because the Softy Southpaws are very rarely the recipients of media malpractice. In fact, some feel that the idea of the mainstream media is not an appropriate term, perhaps it is more fitting to call it the Barack Obama Media (BOM).

As I was out surfing recently, I discovered that the Great Opologizer is going to visit 5 Sunday morning television shows tomorrow, perhaps to do more Obamacare re-runs. Wasn't it Albert Einstein who said, "[i]nsanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result"? By the way, if President Obama is doing 5 TV shows on a Sunday morning, wouldn't he miss church? Oh, he has yet to pick a church? Hmm, it is nine months into his presidency. Mississippi governor Haley Barbour pointed out that it took the Great Opologizer six months to pick out a dog for his family, yet President Obama wants to rush health care through before smart decisions are made.

Graphic from Another Black Conservative

While President Obama is making his pitch for his health care reform, Madame 45 has countered every time. Plus, as I've pointed out before, Pres. Obama pitches like a girl, Madme pitches like a woman. President Obama may use the MSM/BOM to attempt to get out his message, but Madame has used alternative means, namely Web 2.0, to get out her message. In fact, Facebook is now the fourth largest "nation" in the world with more than 300 million users. So, in essence, Madame's message has the potential to reach hundreds of millions of people. Some have even argued that our Facebook posts are the turning point in the health care debate:

There were no public appearances or speeches, no glitzy ad campaigns, no publicity tours, no interviews in the mainstream press or any new media outlet. Sarah Plain (sic) killed health care reform with a posting on her Facebook page, an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, and an exquisite sense of timing.

If history remembers one thing from the current debate over health care, it will remember the phrase “death panel.” Just as Harry and Louise form the enduring image from President Clinton’s failed attempt to take over the health care system, the “death panel” image will come to symbolize Obama’s failure and Palin’s triumph.

It’s almost the perfect political catchphrase. “Death panel” encapsulates everything people fear about the consequences of a government with too much power over those it is supposed to serve.

I still love the phrase "death panel". When Madame first typed it, I was confused. To me, the phrase death panel referred to what would come across my screen if I ever got a virus. However, when she described the implications of a government takeover of health care, I understood, and I realized that it was political gold. Now, don't tell Madame I'm writing this, but I think the following links comprise the First 2012 Presidential Debate:

http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=130481448434

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Sk9kxaoLXM

http://www.facebook.com/sarahpalin?v=app_2347471856#/note.php?note_id=131081638434

Round One goes to Pugilist Palin!


(H/t to Kjanlady and Bestbud at C4P for their suggestions for this post)

Madame's Political Science Lesson

Today marked the 222nd anniversary of the signing of the United States Constitution. The two Constitutional law professors, the Great Opologizer and Vice President Hair Plugs, that we have leading our great nation did indeed declare today Constitution Day and Citizenship Day. What article outlines the role of the executive branch, Mr. Biden? However, the Great Opologizer spent much of today trying to perfect his President Carter imitation. Peanut farmer, ACORN leader--it's all nuts, I tell you!

Madame wrote a nice, concise Facebook post about the Constitution:

“The Constitution of the United States was created by the people of the United States composing the respective states, who alone had the right.” - James Madison

Today marks the 222nd anniversary of the formation and signing of our Constitution. The United States Constitution is one of the greatest founding documents in history because it charted a bold new path in the realm of political theory. Not only does the Constitution establish checks and balances within the federal government, it also divides power among the federal government, the states, and the people. The Founders understood that it is the nature of government to grow at the expense of the people’s liberty; and with that in mind, they established a form of government that would be limited in scope and power in order to maximize power to the people.

Today, let’s also take the opportunity to thank our armed forces. The weight of defending our liberty rests on their shoulders, and because of their efforts and sacrifice, we can celebrate the 222nd anniversary of the formation of our Constitution.

"The Constitution is a bold new path in the realm of political theory." It is the oldest and shortest written Constitution of any major government in the world. It does limit the power of the federal government while dividing power among state and local governments. It's this crazy little thing called federalism, Mr. President. Madame and Thomas Jefferson know a little bit about this thing called federalism as also re-emphasized in the 10th amendment.

My press secretary is from the Great Opologizer's home state of Illinois, and she told me that the Illinois state motto is "state sovereignty, national union". This is a concept completely lost on President Obama.

Madame also emphasized, " [t]he Founders understood that it is the nature of government to grow at the expense of the people’s liberty; and with that in mind, they established a form of government that would be limited in scope and power in order to maximize power to the people". It sounds like Madame understands the ninth amendment. Madame knows that it was self-determination and rugged individualism that founded this country, and it is self-determination and rugged individualism that must sustain this country.

As always, Madame took time to thank the troops. I know that she is especially excited that her favorite soldier is due home this weekend.

Although Madame did not explicitly mention the first two amendments in today's post, I know that she is particularly fond of these two amendments.

She took the time to emphasize the time in her Farewell speech to emphasize two rights mentioned in the First Amendment:

Together we stand with gratitude for the troops who protect all our cherished freedoms. This includes our First Amendment guaranteed freedom of speech – which, par for the course – I shall exercise. First, with some “straight talk,” I will address some, just some, in the media because another right that is protected is the freedom of the press. You have such important jobs reporting facts and informing the electorate and exerting power to influence. You represent what could and should be a respected and honest profession that could and should be a cornerstone of our democracy. Democracy depends on you. That is why our troops are willing to die for you. So, how about in honor of the American soldier you quit making things up. And don’t underestimate the wisdom of the American people.

In one of our first Facebook posts, she took the opportunity to stand up for Carrie Prejean's freedom of speech.

Finally, just for kicks, I would like to compare and contrast Madame exercising her second amendment rights and First Lady Obama exercising her second amendment rights. Let's just say they interpret this amendment a little bit differently.

Madame exercising her right to bear arms

First Lady Obama exercising
her right to bare arms

Cap'n Trade: Now with 15% Higher Taxes!

Today turned out to be another day where Madame's predictions regarding the Obama administration's plans proved to be true. The Great Opologizer conceded that Cap and Trade legislation would cost Americans $200 billion a year, which is equivalent to a 15% income tax increase.

In July, Madame and I worked on a Cap and Trade op-ed for the Washington Compost. Oops, I mean Washington Post (sorry, I've been listening to a lot of Mark Levin lately). In this brilliant, sarcasm-laden piece, Madame called "Cap and Trade" "Cap and Tax", and rightfully so. Let me just pull out a few excerpts from this article that have proven to be true (hurray, I get to use bullet points):

• Consequently, many of us in this huge, energy-rich state recognize that the president's cap-and-trade energy tax would adversely affect every aspect of the U.S. economy. (You see, Madame called it like she saw it. It is a tax.)
• The Americans hit hardest will be those already struggling to make ends meet. As the president eloquently puts it, their electricity bills will "necessarily skyrocket." So much for not raising taxes on anyone making less than $250,000 a year. (Sarcasm, yes!)

The effectiveness of Madame's article made the Softy Southpaws choke on their organic tofu. It even took two Democratic senators to respond. Well, maybe one of them wrote the op-ed rebuttal, and the other senator was the Op-ed czar. Well, Senator Kerry, why the long face? Senator Boxer (don't worry, I won't call you Ma'am), maybe the whole predatory control bill will work out for your California colleague, or not.

We shouldn't be surprised that Madame was right about this one, though. Over a year ago in her RNC speech, she said, "Taxes are too high ... he wants to raise them. His tax increases are the fine print in his economic plan."

Yep, the fine print, President Obama tried to play hide-the-taxes with his economic plan, but it looks like he found it himself. Although, Madame pointed this out in a Facebook posting of a Heritage Foundation study over a month ago.

That's OK, Mr. President, Madame already knows she's faster than you.

Night at the (Palin Presidential) Museum

Last night, Madame made some moose meat burritos for the family for dinner. The aroma wafted over to me. I'm sure it smelled great, but I don't have a nose. Later that night, when Madame put me into hibernation mode, I had a dream:

Suddenly, I was in a large museum. I looked down, and I had a name badge attached to me. It read LOTUS, museum curator. What was going on? I stepped outside the building, and I saw the sign, " Sarah Palin Presidential Library and Museum". est. 2021. Oh, I thought, I was in the future, after Madame had completed her presidency. I came back in the building and saw a large replica of the White House with life-sized figures of the Palin family. People were standing in line to get a picture with the family. The museum had several wings, so I decided to check them out. I began with the library. There were several sections. One section contained all of the bills and budgets that Madame had signed as President. I began to look through these documents. All of her budgets were efficient and modest, just as they were when she was governor. She had cut the United States deficit from 14 digits to 13 digits while in office. I noticed that there were two documents labeled her cornerstone pieces of legislation. One of these was the Medicare Reform bill of 2014. The second piece of legislation was the Declaration of Energy Independence Act of 2015. This act declared that America would be completely energy independent by the year 2030. This would be easier to achieve as ANWR was opened for drilling in 2015.

I next went to the gallery wing that was full of photos and artifacts. The first photo I saw was of Madame's inauguration in January of 2013. The caption stated that there were more than 5 million people in attendance in Washington D.C. that day and that the applause from her amazing speech could be heard as far away in Baltimore. The second photo was Madame giving one of her first speeches in the Rose Garden.



This wing of the museum also proudly displayed one of First Dude's Iron Dog snowmachines and Track's army uniform. Some of Trig's artwork was displayed as well. One of the display cases held two books: Madame's well-worn Bible and a copy of her book. The description simply read, "The two best-selling books of all time". There was a display that included some of Madame's 2012 and 2016 campaign memorabilia.



A special display section entitled, "LOTUS v. TOTUS" displayed all of Madame's Facebook posts. The "death panel" post was prominently displayed. That was what started it all, I thought.

I walked quickly through some of the multimedia sections of the museum. There was an IMAX theater where the Palin family took visitors on a 15 minute aerial tour of Alaska. There was also an interactive display where visitors could give a speech using the TOTUS. TOTUS had informed me that I had offered him a job when the museum opened.

I continued to walk through the museum and saw numerous pictures of Madame meeting with world leaders as well as with her member of her Cabinet and leaders of Congress, including a picture with Chief of Staff Michele Bachmann and Secretary of State Liz Cheney and a picture with Senate Majority Leader Marco Rubio.

Wow, I thought, this is amazing. Madame certainly had an amazing presidency! I shouldn't be surprised.

I was jerked out of hibernation mode by Madame this morning. I guess it really was just a dream (but perhaps a dream to come true in the future). I guess that is what happens when you get a whiff of Alaskan-Mexican fusion food.

(H/T to Lipstick at C4P for the idea for this post)

Sarah Palin, Populism, and Tea Parties

Aerial shot of the 9/12 tea party

This past Saturday, thousands upon thousands descended up Washington D.C. to party it up! That is, to attend a TEA (Taxed Enough Already) party. There were no tea cups, fancy white gloves, crumpets, or scones. Instead, there were crowds of Americans who are fed up with the dizzying debt, the power grab, and massive amounts of spending and control that the federal government has become involved in. These crowds of ordinary Americans want to ensure that we stay true to our Constitution; we remain a democratic republic rather than become a socialist democracy; and we have representatives actually represent us.

As I've surfed around the past several months, I've noticed that a lot of the principles that the Tea Partyers espouse are the same principles that Madame espouses. In fact, a lot of people see Madame as the leader of such a movement. Many people have called Madame a conservative populist. I, personally, see her more as Ronald Reagan in a skirt more than William Jennings Bryan in a skirt, but I think there is something to the idea. William Jennings Bryan strove to speak for the American people to ensure that government would intervene on their behalf. Madame's populism is centered around the idea that government should get out of the way, and the people should be allowed to pave their own way and make their own decisions using the American values of self-determination and rugged individualism.

Madame is a big fan of the tea parties. While she was governor, she even tweeted about it. She also stopped by a tea party in Wasilla during the Spring.

Madame with some Tea Partyers in Wasilla

The original tea party in Boston in 1773 was due to a culmination of a lot of events. However, it is interesting that one of the possible contributing factors to the Bostonians' knowledge of unrepresented taxation were likely articles written by John Adams in the Boston Gazette attacking the British authorities. Adams even wrote a piece entitled A Dissertation on the Canon and Feudal Law where he argued that taxes levied against the settlers were unconstitutional. Hmm, I wonder who else has had their writings have informed people and has helped to influence people to get involved? None other than Madame 45 herself. Madame has used me, the LOTUS, to share her message to the American people. Perhaps, John Adams used the QPOB (Quill Pen of Boston) to get his message out to the people. John Adams and Madame 45 were not attendees of either of the tea parties. In fact, John Adams was not particularly in favor of the mob like action of the tea party, but had this to say about the tea party, "[t]here is a dignity, a majesty, a sublimity, in this last effort of the patriots that I greatly admire."

When all is said and done, I don't know what Madame will have to say about the tea party event this past weekend, but she does encourage people to not sit down and shut up. She certainly isn't going to! After all, she is truly a patriot!

May We Never Forget-UPDATED

Madame visited a New York Fire Department
Memorial during the 2008 campaign

I generally try to insert some wit and humor into my LOTUS postings. At least I hope some of Madame's wit and sarcasm are rubbing off on me when she types.

However, tonight, September 10th, 2009, on the eve of the eighth anniversary of the attacks of 9/11, I would like to remain serious.

As you recall, earlier this week I wrote about Madame's support of the soldiers. A year ago, on September 11, 2008, she sent off her favorite soldier, Track, to Iraq:



She continues to remember those who lost their lives on 9/11 and those who have lost their lives fighting in Afghanistan in defense of the atrocities of that Tuesday morning. In our post responding to President Obama's speech last night, Madame called out President Obama's poor calibration of words when he compared the cost of fighting two wars to the cost of health care reform:

Finally, President Obama delivered an offhand applause line tonight about the cost of the War on Terror. As we approach the anniversary of the September 11th attacks and honor those who died that day and those who have died since in the War on Terror, in order to secure our freedoms, we need to remember their sacrifices and not demonize them as having had too high a price tag.

While on the campaign trail last year, Madame visited Ground Zero in New York City and met some of New York's finest, member of the New York Fire Department. She had this to say about Ground Zero:

I wish every American would come through here, I wish every world leader would come through here and understand what it is that took place here and more importantly how America came together united to commit to never allowing this to happen again.

May we never forget. American Airlines Flight 11, American Airlines Flight 77, United Airlines Flight 175, United Airline Flight 93. New York City, Shanksville, Arlington. Men, women, children. Every race. Every background. 3,017 died. More than 6,000 injured. May we never forget.


Updated: This morning, Madame posted this on Facebook, "Remembering 9/11":

It has been eight years since the United States suffered the worst attack on our soil since Pearl Harbor. As we look back, we should take stock of what has transpired since then. We have sent our nation's soldiers into battlefields far from home to defend us. These brave men and women live in treacherous conditions, facing improvised roadside bombs, suicide bombers and other attacks. Yet they fight on in their mission to defend the United States and all of us without complaint.

Our all-volunteer service is made up of Americans of all races, creeds, and economic backgrounds. These soldiers are on the front lines of this battle, and there are others in the fight as well. We must continue to give our utmost support to the United States military and those that support their efforts. In light of this, I have added my name to a letter sent to President Obama urging him to remain committed to prosecuting the War on Terror in Afghanistan. Never have so few defended the liberty of so many. We must continue to support their mission because they will continue to fight for us.

President Reagan ended his first inaugural with this story:

Under one such marker lies a young man-Martin Treptow-who left his job in a small town barber shop in 1917 to go to France with the famed Rainbow Division. There, on the western front, he was killed trying to carry a message between battalions under heavy artillery fire. We are told that on his body was found a diary. On the flyleaf under the heading, "My Pledge," he had written these words: "America must win this war. Therefore, I will work, I will save, I will sacrifice, I will endure, I will fight cheerfully and do my utmost, as if the issue of the whole struggle depended on me alone." The crisis we are facing today does not require of us the kind of sacrifice that Martin Treptow and so many thousands of others were called upon to make. It does require, however, our best effort, and our willingness to believe in ourselves and to believe in our capacity to perform great deeds; to believe that together, with God's help, we can and will resolve the problems which now confront us. And, after all, why shouldn't we believe that? We are Americans. God bless you, and thank you.

As we look back to that tragic day eight years ago we take pride in the fact that we came together as a nation in the days, months and years that followed. We rose to the challenge that fateful day and we still can. And why shouldn't we believe that? We are Americans.

I thank all our servicemen and women, in and out of uniform, for keeping us safe over the last eight years in the face of enormous odds.

Please thank a veteran today. They certainly do not look for those thanks, but they have more than earned it.

May we never forget.

Pugilist Palin- Updated

Credit to Karen Allen

During the 2008 presidential campaign, at a rally in Carson, CA, Madame 45 declared, "the heels are on, the gloves are off". Today, things aren't too much different; she is still a fighter. Well, sometimes, when we are about to get to work on a Facebook post or an op-ed, Madame has on slippers, running shoes, or clogs, but I think you get the point. Madame is a fighter. Yesterday, Madame wrote an absolutely amazing op-ed in the Wall-Street Journal, throwing a right hook and a left jab there at Obamacare.

President Obama attempted to fight back but his punch didn't land:

Every non-partisan organization that has looked at her claims say they are false. And the ideas in her op-ed are both scary and risky. Eliminating Medicare and giving our seniors vouchers instead is a bad idea that we shouldn't adopt.

"Scary" and "risky", Mr. President? Surely you are referring to your own plan. Madame responded with a killer punch in our latest Facebook posting:

I'm pleased that the White House is finally responding to Republican health care ideas instead of pretending they don't exist.[1] But in doing so President Obama should follow his own sound advice and avoid making "wild misrepresentations".[2] Medicare vouchers would give everyone on Medicare the chance to decide for themselves which health plan to use, rather than leave that decision to government bureaucrats. Such proposals are the kind of health care reform that Republicans stand for: market-oriented, patient-centered, and result-driven.

The White House talking points leave the rest of my arguments unanswered. They don't respond to the idea that all individuals should get the same tax benefits received by those who get coverage through their employers; that we must reform our tort laws; and that we should allow Americans to buy insurance across state lines. The White House also fails to respond to the Nyce/Schieber study indicating that wages will fall if the government expands coverage without reducing health care inflation rates.

One last thing: after President Obama's speech tonight, listen for which pundits use the words "false", "scary", and "risky" in describing the proposals I put forward. That's how you'll be able to tell who the White House counted as "allies" worthy of receiving its talking points.

-Sarah Palin

[1] See http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0909/White_House_talking_points_blast_Palin.html.
[2] See http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/16/opinion/16obama.html.

You go, girl! If I had any hands, I would give you a high five and two thumbs up!

Then, tonight, the Great Opologizer presented his Obamacare re-run to a joint session of Congress. By the way, since we are on the subject of health care, is anyone else up for a "joint replacement", if you catch my drift? Anyway, here is a clip from when the President addressed Madame's statements:




I have to also say kudos to South Carolina Congressman Joe Wilson for calling out President Obama on the issue of health care coverage for illegal immigrants. Way to go, Joe! You were successful at making Nancy Pelosi make a legitimate facial expression (check out the video). Of course, she may have made this face because she realized that she and Hillary Clinton were wearing the same red pant suit.

Update, Congressman Wilson has now, as I'm posting this, apologized. Make up your mind, Joe!

Oh well, Congressman Wilson may not be the quite the fighter that Madame is. However, let me say this now, I have an inkling that 2012 will be the "Rumble on the Tundra". It won't be pretty for President Obama. You see, Madame 45 fights like a girl!



Updated: Here is Madame's response to the Great Opologizer's health care speech. Whew, we've been so busy lately. The Tech industry needs to invent a LOTUS-friendly white skinny mocha so that I can remain energized for this health care reform battle.

Kudos to the Obamacare Fighting, Blue Star Hockey Mom

We have had quite the busy day today working on health care reform. We e-mailed a senator in the NY state senate, re-posted the e-mail to Facebook, and wrote an editorial for the Wall Street Journal. Hmm, I wonder what Peggy Noonan thinks about that. Let's just say Madame took the gloves off and put the heels on again to do some serious "type, type, type, send".

Unfortunately, I don't have the same health care reform stamina that Madame does, so I'll let her words speak for themselves. After all, they do speak volumes; it's the Palin Precept.

Instead, tonight, I would like to take this time to brag on Madame a bit. As we approach the 8th anniversary of the attacks of 9/11 and as the number of troops are being increased in Afghanistan, I would like to commend Madame for her support of the American soldier. Let me just present a few examples. She is never ashamed to wear a flag pin, nor does she ever neglect to wear her Blue Star Mom pin. In fact, her pin has grown in the past few months:

Smaller Blue Star Mom Pin in July 2009

Larger Blue Star Mom Pin August 2009

In fact, during her farewell speech pictured above, she spoke up in support of the soldiers:

Together we stand with gratitude for the troops who protect all our cherished freedoms. This includes our First Amendment guaranteed freedom of speech – which, par for the course – I shall exercise. First, with some “straight talk,” I will address some, just some, in the media because another right that is protected is the freedom of the press. You have such important jobs reporting facts and informing the electorate and exerting power to influence. You represent what could and should be a respected and honest profession that could and should be a cornerstone of our democracy. Democracy depends on you. That is why our troops are willing to die for you. So, how about in honor of the American soldier you quit making things up.

Madame is good at reminding detractors, protesters, and "journalists" that the reason that they have the opportunity to speak out and exercise their 1st amendment rights is because of the American troops. Take a look at this clip from the campaign trail last year:



Just in the past month, she has spoken up for troops. We linked a WSJ article about the Death Book used in the treatment of veterans. Just a few days ago, we wrote another Facebook note blasting the Associated Press for publishing a photo of a dying soldier against the wishes of the soldier's family.

Additionally, she is participating in an auction to benefit wounded veterans. This would give people the opportunity to have family with Madame and the First Dude, for a starting bid of $25,000. I'm so lucky! I get to have dinner with them all the time--for free!

Additionally, Madame recently signed a letter to the President supporting his decision to send more troops to Afghanistan. She wants to ensure the soldiers that she supports their fight against the Taliban.

Madame is quite a patriotic woman who truly stands not only with Track, but all of our troops fighting for our freedoms. She always wants to display her patriotism. Take a look at the wallpaper that Madame has installed for me.

My portrait (I wonder if this will hang in the White House in 2012)

Kudos to Madame- the Obamacare Fighting, Blue Star Hockey Mom!

How Can High Heels Leave Such a Big Footprint?

An article written for a Florida newspaper talks about the "online footprint" that Madame has made. My favorite website , Conservatives4Palin, covers this story more here. The article's author talks about how Madame can speak directly to her supporters via online means such as Facebook. Her supporters can also converse with each other via online means as well. Some may call this grassroots support. However, I'd like to Alaskanize the term "grassroots" and call it "tundraroots support". Let's take a look at some of the components of Madame's online footprint, shall we:

• Her Facebook page currently has 856, 755 supporters.
• Her Twitter page from when she was governor has 143, 980 followers.
• Team Sarah has 73,591 members.
• Conservatives4Palin has had nearly 1.8 million visitors since January.
• There are also dozens of other blogs out there in support of Madame.

Web 2.o technology (via Me!!!) has allowed Madame to connect with a lot of people and get her message out by bypassing traditional "journalism" (I have to put it in quotes because I don' t think real journalism exists too much anymore). Her ability to connect with Americans using alternative means is just one of the many similarities between Sarah Palin and Ronald Reagan. (Remember too, I had family who worked in the Reagan administration so I know about their similarities) In fact, in addition to calling Sarah Palin, Madame 45, I call her Reagan 2.0 as she is technologically and ideologically the 2.0 version of Ronald Reagan. In 1961, Ronald Reagan used a radio address to speak out against socialized medicine:



Madame, in 2009, has used Facebook to speak out against socialized medicine. The similarities between President Reagan and Madame are quite numerous.




There is one similarity between President Reagan and Madame that I, along with many of you, I'm sure, particularly want to see come to fruition. History does repeat itself!

Happy Birthday, First Dude!

Today is First Dude 45 forty-fifth birthday! I don't know what the Palins have planned for the First Dude's big day, but it will be different than last year when we were traveling the country campaigning. Last year, Madame gave him a 60 day road trip for his birthday. Oh, she's a funny one. I wonder what she will get him this year--a trip to China perhaps?

Happy birthday, First Dude!

Vice President Hair Plugs!

Yesterday, Vice President Joe Biden, or as I like to call him, Vice President Hair Plugs, declared that he was, in a way, acting as President while the Great Opologizer was on vacation. He even took the time to say that he tried to call Madame when she was governor, but they hadn't ever connect.

Now, I met Hair Plugs after Madame beat him in the VP debate last October. Hair Plugs seems like a nice enough guy, but sometimes his hard drive seems to be a few gigabytes shy of fully functional. God love him, though.

Case in point, another thing that he said yesterday was that the stimulus package was working better than was expected. If that is the case, why did unemployment reach 9.7% in August, the highest level in 26 years? Say it ain't so, Joe! If the stimulus is working, why aren't the American people working? Isn't it about that 3 character word-J-O-B-S? No, that isn't a typo, Hair Plugs thinks it's a 3 letter word, but what do you expect from someone who thinks the government needs to spend money prevent bankruptcy? Gee, and people were so worried what would happen if Madame had become Vice President.

One of my favorite moments that I got to witness when I was traveling with Madame on the campaign trail was when she sarcastically (I love her sarcasm!) took on Hair Plugs the Gaffer: