They abbreviate themselves JASP, which is probably why they didn’t go with Jewish Americans for Palin. But we’ll let that pass, because we’re fascinated by their mission statement:

Though not at present a candidate for any political office, Gov. Palin’s track record in public office has been exemplary…

That would include:

• Wasilla City Council, 1992-1996
• Wasilla Mayor, 1996-2002
• Alaska Governor, December 2006-July 2009

Wasilla’s population in 2000 was 5,570. Alaska’s population in 2008 was 686,293. Eighteen U.S. cities hold more souls than the largest government Palin briefly ran — including San Francisco (808,976). Nancy Pelosi has more claim to represent real Americans than Sarah Palin.

But we digress. Because really, with a mission statement like that, we need only ask: Is that the best you can do?

Jewish Americans for Sarah Palin

As always, it burns:

The truth:

“[W]hile the U.S. government’s influence on American financial institutions has certainly increased since TARP — its ownership in any of the nation’s banks is paltry (6 percent of Bank of America and 7.8 percent of Citigroup as of early 2009, for example). And, it is helping the banks to get back on their feet while earning a profit for taxpayers.”

Bachmann’s Latest Whopper: ‘The Federal Government Literally Owns Banks’ [ThinkProgress]

It was a lovely day yesterday in Baghdad by the Bay.  What better thing to do than to put on your best American flag outfit and drive in to The City from the suburbs and entertain the shopping tourists from Japan at Union Square.

To whet your appetite, but there’s so much more after the jump:

Read more »

“Obama, addressing a Democratic National Committee (DNC) fundraiser in Miami, did little to endear himself to the Tea Party groups protesting around the country, saying ‘they should be saying thank you’ because of the tax cuts he has signed into law.” [The Hill]

A used car salesman can’t get away with selling you a car that he secretly knows will fail just a few miles down the road, so why should your investment adviser be able to peddle stocks that he’s secretly betting will fail?

And yet this, according the New York Times is exactly what investment firm Goldman Sachs was doing to its clients at the height of the mortgage bubble. And it wasn’t just a case of an investment firm selling different types of securities that might, in some cases, have been at cross purposes. According to Federal investigators, Goldman set up many of its investors to fail precisely so the firm could profit: Read more »

Ted Cox is a Sacramento writer who follows the gay “conversion” movement: Organizations that claim to “cure” gays of their homosexuality. This concludes our week of excerpts from his report of an undercover visit to a weekend retreat held near Phoenix last year. The entire article is available online.

Some details have been altered to protect the identities of participants.

My carpool piles into our vehicle and we cruise away down the road that, thanks to the rain, is slowly turning into slop. I turn on my cellphone, and as soon as I can get a signal, text friends and family that I am alive, safe, and headed for the airport.

“How was it?” they ask. The medium limits me to 140-character messages. I really don’t know how to respond.

Read more »

[X17online]