TPM scores it a ban; we need to review the footage with the copy desk. Here’s the play from the Times:

Witnesses and contemporary news accounts say Ms. Palin asked the librarian about removing books from the shelves. The McCain-Palin presidential campaign says Ms. Palin never advocated censorship.

But in 1995, Ms. Palin, then a city councilwoman, told colleagues that she had noticed the book “Daddy’s Roommate” on the shelves and that it did not belong there, according to Ms. Chase and Mr. Stein. Ms. Chase read the book, which helps children understand homosexuality, and said it was inoffensive; she suggested that Ms. Palin read it.

“Sarah said she didn’t need to read that stuff,” Ms. Chase said. “It was disturbing that someone would be willing to remove a book from the library and she didn’t even read it.”

“I’m still proud of Sarah,” she added, “but she scares the bejeebers out of me.”

That would be Laura Chase, Palin’s “campaign manager” during her 1996 run for Wasilla mayor, when the town had less than 5,500 residents. “Bejeepers” is Alaskan for “holy shit that bitch is running wild.”

The McCain campaign responds in a related AP story that “Governor Sarah Palin has never asked anyone to ban a book, period.” Normally we’d parse that for nuance and spin, but since Geezer now favors the efficiency of repeated outrageous lies, we won’t bother.

Instead we’ll have a look at “Pastor I Am Gay“, the other book earning Palin’s Seal of Squeal. Written by Howard Bess, a “liberal Christian preacher” — we’ll pause while you reread that — from nearby Palmer, the book was on the shitlist of Palin’s church, the Wasilla Assembly of God. Bess says the rival church tried to force his book out of stores, and that librarian Mary Ellen Emmons (now Baker) told him several copies disappeared from the now-famous town library.

Must be a sale on scandals today. Buy Censorship, and we’ll throw in Homophobia for free!

Once Elected, Palin Hired Friends and Lashed Foes [NYT]

GOP campaign downplays Palin book-banning inquiry [AP]

We’re on the verge of setting up a spreadsheet to keep track of all this, but here’s the latest in Talibunny: The Sarah Palin Chronicles…

An Anchorage judge three years ago warned Sarah Palin and members of her family to stop “disparaging” the reputation of Alaska State Trooper Michael Wooten, who at the time was undergoing a bitter separation and divorce from Palin’s sister Molly.

How bitter? Trooper Wooten — try saying that without attracting half the birds within earshot — was the subject of twelve complaints to state police by assorted Palins. Talibunny was between jobs at the time, and the judge saw no need to treat her with deference. “Disparaging will not be tolerated — it is a form of child abuse,” he said at a settlement hearing.

And he meant it. If the Palin Posse didn’t back off, he threatened to send the kid to daddy instead.

Warned by the Court [Newsweek]

Congratulations to the Washington Post for bagging the first trophy of the Presidential Hunting Season, a handsome 12-point buck of a scandal involving America’s Talibunny:

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has billed taxpayers for 312 nights spent in her own home during her first 19 months in office, charging a “per diem” allowance intended to cover meals and incidental expenses while traveling on state business.

That would be a tidy $16,951 collected for sleeping in her own bed. Go Mavericks!

Palin Billed State for Nights Spent at Home [WaPo]

McCain’s running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, speaking in Colorado Springs, Colo., said Fannie and Freddie had “gotten too big and too expensive to the taxpayers.” The companies, however, aren’t taxpayer funded but operate as private companies. The takeover may result in a taxpayer bailout during reorganization.

Granted, the only folks who will find that funny are the handful who know how Fannie and Freddie work. And granted, that handful doesn’t include their managements. But it’s a start.

Candidates briefed on seizure of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac [McClatchy via TPM]

“I feel completely fucked over.”

Nancy Wilson to Entertainment Weekly, after the McCain campaign shoplifted Heart’s “Barracuda” this week. Sarah “Pussy” Palin, understudy leader of the free world, was too chickenshit to respond.

Heart’s Nancy Wilson responds to McCain campaign’s use of ‘Barracuda’ at Republican convention [EW]