Housegate Summary

From The Daily News

The prosecution just rested in the Ted Stevens trial, in which he is accused of accepting $250,000 worth of free renovations to his house from VECO, an oil pipeline company. VECO workers labored for months remodeling Stevens' home at the company's expense.

The Palin's two-story, four bedroom, four bath home on Lake Lucille is worth $552,000. "Todd Palin built the house with friends who were contractors, he said in a recent television interview."

At the same time the mighty Todd was building the house, the Wasilla Sports Complex was under construction right down the road. Just who were these "friends who were contractors" who did such a huge favor for the Palins by building their house for them? Was it payback for the sports complex contracts? Wayne Barrett of the Village Voice asks the question, below the fold.

I posted this question last week but I believe it deserves a second look in light of the corruption uncovered in Troopergate and the Stevens trial. Todd's explanation, I built the house with the help of a few buddies, defies belief. Todd! You're a fisherman, a snomobile champion, an oil worker, a caribou hunter, a government operative, AND a plumber, electrician, mason, carpenter? Wow! You are one Super Dude.

Wayne Barrett reports that after the $12.5 million Wasilla Sports Complex was approved, the design contract went to architect Blase Burkhart, "son of Roy Burkhart, who is frequently described as a "mentor" of Palin and was head of the local Republican Party." Roy Burkhart was also a Palin campaign contributor. Palin then appointed Blase Burkhart to the builder-selection committee, which awarded the construction contract to "Howdie Inc., a mostly residential contractor owned at the time by Howard Nugent." Nugent was a Palin campaign contributor, also.

What happened next is rather curious. Here's Barrett:

A list of subcontractors on the [sports complex] job, obtained by the Voice, includes many with Palin ties. One was Spenard Builders Supply, the state's leading supplier of wood, floor, roof, and other "pre-engineered components." In addition to being a sponsor of Todd Palin's snow-machine team that has earned tens of thousands for the Palin family, Spenard hired Sarah Palin to do a statewide television commercial in 2004. When the Palins began building a new family home off Lake Lucille in 2002—at the same time that Palin was running for lieutenant governor and in her final months as mayor—Spenard supplied the materials, according to Antoine Bricks, who works in its Wasilla office. Spenard actually filed a notice "of its right to assert a lien" on the deed for the Palin property after contracting for labor and materials for the site. Spenard's name has popped up in the trial of Senator Stevens—it worked on the house that is at the center of the VECO scandal as well.
Todd Palin told Fox News that he built the two-story, 3,450-square-foot, four-bedroom, four-bath, wood house himself, with the help of contractors he described as "buddies." As mayor, Sarah Palin blocked an effort to require the filing of building permits in the wide-open city, and there is no public record of who the "buddies" were. The house was built very near the complex, on a site whose city purchase led to years of unsuccessful litigation and, now, $1.3 million in additional costs, with a law firm that's also donated to Palin collecting costly fees from the city.
Dorwin and Joanne Smith, the principals of complex subcontractor DJ Excavation & Development, have donated $7,100 to Palin and her allied candidate Charlie Fannon (Joanne is a Palin appointee on the state Board of Nursing). Sheldon Ewing, who owns another complex subcontractor, Weld Air, has donated $1,300, and PN&D, an engineering firm on the complex, has contributed $699.
Ewing was one of the few sports-complex contractors, aside from Spenard, willing to address the question of whether he worked on the house as well, but he had little to say: "I doubt that it occurred, but if it did indirectly, how would I know anyhow?" The odd timing of Palin's house construction—it was completed two months before she left City Hall and while she and Todd Palin were campaigning statewide for the first time—raises questions, especially considering its synergy with the complex.

What an unusual situation. Giant construction contracts are being awarded to campaign contributors at the same time that "buddies" who just happen to be contractors are "helping" Todd build their two-story house.

At the same time Sarah ensures there will be no public record of building permits. WTF? How is this different from the Stevens situation?

We need to know:

Who Built Sarah Palin's House?

Reason #75 not to vote for Sarah Palin for anything

She committed perjury in the e-mail hacking trial

She denied using the account to conduct gubernatorial business.
"We know there was an Attorney General's opinion one week prior and a lot of other opinions in the state that, of course, it was proper for me to have a private account," she said.

But the e-mails proved otherwise, watch video:









From KNOXNews.com

This is official proof that she is a liar

Keith Olbermann reveals the tactics that Rupert Murdoch uses to keep his employees in line.

 My favorite part comes toward the end.

 "And when the tide recedes there will be nothing left. Not of News Corp, not of Fox News, not of Rupert Murdoch."

See? Even Keith Olbermann believes that it is possible THIS will be the end of Murdoch.

Maybe this is like in a "Peter Pan" play.

If all of us believe and clap hard enough, instead of bringing Tinkerbell back to life, we can wish for the demise of Fox News. And it will happen.

Worth a shot.

(H/T to Politicususa.)

The News Corp scandal might just turn out to be Keith Olbermann's all time favorite story.

Here is a partial transcript by Raw Story:

Current TV’s Keith Olbermann summarized the latest developments in the scandal before turning to Murdoch biographer Michael Wolff for commentary. Wolff began by saying that the elder Murdoch should really be out apologizing to everyone who has been harmed by his company’s actions, but “that’s not Rupert Murdoch.”

“This is a company that’s all about — it’s about power,” Wolff explained. “You hurt me, you diss me, we smack you down.” He added, “These people will do anything.”

“Is James Murdoch really at legal risk?” Olbermann asked.

“I think it’s an exaggeration, somewhat,” Wolff replied, but he quickly noted, “Anything could happen now. … The unimaginable is now occurring.”

“This is the snowball effect,” Wolff said, explaining that when it comes to Rupert Murdoch, “these politicians … in the UK have had to put up with this guy for a long time. He’s never been pleasant about it. He’s always extracted blood. So finally there’s an opportunity. ‘We can get rid of this guy.’”
Wolff concluded by saying that we can expect “new revelations every day” as “more shoes drop.”

You can almost see Olbermann salivating over the potential demise of Rupert Murdoch's empire.  I find it very hard to blame him.

(H/T to Politicususa.)

Keith Olbermann delivers more bad news to Bristol Palin.

(I removed the embed because it was stuck on auto play.  To watch the video Olbermann's "Worst Persons in the World" featuring Bristol Palin just click here.)

Gee now Bristol has something ELSE in common with her mother besides a vindictive personality, being famous for no good reason, and emasculating the men in her life.

Keith Olbermann's "Worst Persons in the World" and Sarah palin, go together like peanut butter and bananas. What? I LIKE peanut butter and bananas!

Even though this subject was already covered by others, myself included, it just does not feel complete until Olbermann weighs in.

Don't you agree?

Keith Olbermann delivered Letterman's Top Ten List last night.

Before I turn in for the night let me leave you with a little gift. Keith Olbermann's first Special Comment from his new home on Current TV.

Ahh, now I shall sleep like a baby, knowing all is right with the world again.

Keith Olbermann predicts John Boehner might be at the center of the NEXT political sex scandal.

(Video courtesy of Mediaite)

Just in case you are not aware of the scandal that Olbermann is eluding to, you can simply visit the National Enquirer to learn more.

Oh and this one involves ACTUAL sex.

Gee I wonder how quickly the GOP will call for Boehner's resignation when THIS starts receiving national attention..

Yeah, don't hold your breath.

Stephen Colbert interviews Keith Olbermann. How could that not be fun?

The Colbert Report
Tags: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,Video Archive

For those who have been missing their Keith Olbermann fix, here is a rather lengthy interview from The Hollywood Reporter.

From the Hollywood Reporter:

Olbermann has signed a stable of contributors including Rolling Stone's Matt Taibbi, Daily Kos founder Markos Moulitsas, comedian Richard Lewis and filmmakers Michael Moore and Ken Burns. Current is not paying many of them -- at least not in the traditional sense. Moore will be compensated via a donation to charity. Burns declined compensation. Moulitsas, who will appear regularly on Countdown, is receiving what he characterized as a "token amount." "I'm not a big fan of being on television," says Moulitsas. "But there are people I appreciate and so I like to do their shows, and Keith is one of those people."

In recent weeks, Olbermann hired David Sarosi -- who produced the "worst persons" segments on MSNBC -- as executive producer. Senior producers include Leslie Bella-Henry, who produced for Lou Dobbs at CNN; Bob Lilly, who worked with Olbermann at MSNBC; and Aaron Volkman, whom Olbermann poached from MLB Network. "I'm a natural management guy," Olbermann says. "I had forgotten that. And I forgot how much I hate it."

But if some of his contributors are doing this on a shoestring, Olbermann is not. He is drawing a salary of $10 million a year, says a source. (Current TV disputes the figure but adds it does not "disclose confidential, contractual details.") Meanwhile, Olbermann will continue to collect his MSNBC wage for another year and a half. At Current, where he is also chief news officer with an equity stake in the company, he is No. 4 on the corporate ladder behind Gore, Hyatt and CEO Mark Rosenthal, an MTV veteran who was on Current's board before being tapped in 2009 to re-invent the network's programming. Olbermann's equity has the potential to inflate his payday exponentially over the life of his five-year deal. Sources say that Countdown will cost about $15 million a year to produce, and the network is spending another $5 million upfront on marketing. All this for a cable channel that is only in 60 million homes in channel Siberia (versus MSNBC's 95 million with prime positioning). Says Rosenthal, "We will spend the money we need to spend to make Keith into even more of a household name than he already is."

Well I for one am awaiting the debut of this show with bated breath. ESPECIALLY after learning that one of my friends is slated to be a guest on the show during its first couple of episodes.

P.S. Here is an additional Q and A that you all may find very interesting as well.

Bristol whines about Keith Olbermann's tongue in cheek comment about her being WPIW

http://www.facebook.com/notes/bristol-palin/mr-olbermann-sorry-we-cant-all-be-as-perfect-as-you/174283895932837
Recently, a left wing commentator named Keith Olbermann attacked me for being a spokesperson for abstinence education and for being an Ambassador for the Candies Foundation, which promotes teen pregnancy awareness and prevention education. He went so far as to call me "the worst person" he knows, apparently, for my efforts to educate teenagers about the real world risks of premarital sex.

Accusing me of hypocrisy is by now, an old canard. What Mr. Olbermann lacks in originality he makes up for with insincere incredulity. Mr. Olbermann fails to understand that in order to have credibility as a spokesperson, it sometimes takes a person who has made mistakes. Parents warn their children about the mistakes they made so they are not repeated. Former gang members travel to schools to educate teenagers about the risks of gang life. Recovered addicts lecture to others about the risks of alcohol and drug abuse. And yes, a teen mother talks about the benefits of preventing teen pregnancy.

I have never claimed to be perfect. If that makes me the "worst person in the world" to Mr. Olbermann, then I must apologize for not being absolutely faultless like he undoubtedly must be.

To Mr. Olbermann let me say this: you can attack me all you want. But you will not stop me from getting my message out about teen pregnancy prevention. And one day, if you ever have a daughter, you may change your mind about me.

Bristol Palin

Bristol quit your fucking whining.  You are the Worst Person in the World.  You are knocked up again, spreading a bullshit message about abstinence.  You will not let Levi see your son, you disparage Levi in public, you allow Ivy Frye to raise Tripp when Levi is perfectly willing to help out.  And on top of that you act like a spoiled brat on DWTS, talk about giving the middle finger to everyone who hates you and your bitch mother, BTW you would be holding that finger up in the air a long time, whine that Maks did not like you, claim that you are REAL and Hollywood is FAKE, and comment that it sucks you got low scores on DWTS.   You are a bitch, a grifter, and a whiner.  Now get the hell out from underneath your mothers thumb (or some drunk sailor) and start acting like an adult.