Retail Sector Soars on News that Palin Seeks New Outfit

Guv's Shopping Gives Economy Much-needed Jolt

Offering a sharp contrast to the general gloom on Wall Street today,
retail stocks soared on the news that Gov. Sarah Palin (R-Alaska) plans
to buy a new outfit for Election Night.

Major retailers had been plummeting all day but staged a stunning
comeback when Gov. Palin told a reporter in Ohio, "Election Night is
just eleven days away and I have nothing to wear."

Gov. Palin said that a new dress for Election Night could cost as much
as $20,000, "and that's before you accessorize."

Major department stores such as Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue
rebounded dramatically on the news of Gov. Palin's plans, with some
industry analysts predicting that Gov. Palin's shopping could bail out
the entire retail sector in the fourth quarter.

"Right now, the only part of the economy that's strong is Sarah Palin's
shopping," said Tracy Klugian of Morgan Stanley. "She is a one-woman
stimulus package."


From Andy Borowitz

wrote:
On Fri, 24 Oct 2008 11:01:52 -0400, Boater
wrote:

Retail Sector Soars on News that Palin Seeks New Outfit

I wonder if she bought American made clothes?
We know Michelle Obama's stuff comes from Asia (Gap
K Mart). For $150k she could afford to buy American or at least appear
to..
That may be what is going on if those people have let their head peek
a tiny bit out of their ass. Unfortunately I doubt that happens very
much in either party.


I doubt if Palin looked at any of the labels. She's pretty loose with OPM:


Spending rose in Palin's Alaska administrations
By Ken Dilanian, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON — Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin calls herself a fiscal conservative
who wants to "rein in government spending." She says she "reformed the
abuses of earmarks in our state." Republican John McCain said during the
last debate that his running mate has "cut the size of government."

But Palin didn't cut the size of government as mayor of Wasilla, and she
hasn't done so as Alaska's governor, city and state budget records show.
Spending in fast-growing Wasilla increased by 55% during her tenure from
1996-2002, records show. In nearly two years as governor, she has
presided over a 31% spending hike by a state government that sought
earmarks from Washington even as it reaped billions from higher oil
prices and Palin-backed tax increases on oil companies.

Bill McAllister, a governor's office spokesman in Alaska, said the state
lived through painful budget cuts in the 1990s when low oil prices
restricted revenue. "There's an element of catch-up here," he said.

Palin tried to restrain legislative spending, pare back earmark requests
and steer money into reserve funds, he said. He acknowledged, however,
that Palin had to sign off on numerous pet projects in legislative
districts.

"Sure, there are some political realities," McAllister said.

Palin used her line-item veto power to strike nearly half a billion
dollars in spending items in 2007 and 2008. Yet she signed bills that
included hundreds of millions for local projects inserted by state
lawmakers, similar to those McCain has regularly ridiculed as pork in
the U.S. Senate, spending records show.

As governor, Palin has signed off on $402,000 to study the arctic fox;
$154,000 for renovations to three gun clubs and $125,000 for the Alaska
Aviation Heritage Museum, state records show. Her budgets have funded
$44,500 to spruce up a ski resort, $75,000 for the Arctic Thunder Air
Show and $50,000 to improve a Little League field in the Mat-Su Valley
near her hometown of Wasilla.

The Palin administration asked Washington for $197 million in earmarks
this year, down from $254 million the year before, according to the
state budget office. Appearing last month on ABC's The View, McCain
incorrectly said Palin had not sought any earmarks as governor. Earmarks
are spending items inserted into bills by legislators.

As mayor she hired a federal lobbyist, made trips to Washington and
helped Wasilla win nearly $27 million in earmarked federal funding,
according to Taxpayers for Common Sense, a non-partisan watchdog group.

Maria Comella, a spokeswoman for the McCain-Palin campaign, declined to
address McCain's misstatements about Palin's record but said in an
e-mail that the governor reformed government by "putting every dollar to
work in order to strengthen Alaska's rapidly expanding economy and
ensure long-term development."

McAllister said Palin reduced her requests for federal earmarks but
never promised to stop asking for them.

"I think what she's saying is, the process has been overused,"
McAllister said.

McCain, by contrast, calls for an end to earmarks.

Alaska's spending bills are split into a capital budget for
infrastructure projects and an operating budget that funds salaries and
other general government expenses. In Palin's first two years, the state
operating budget has increased 31%, and capital spending remained
roughly at the same level as the last two years under her predecessor,
Republican Frank Murkowski, state records show.

Alaska's capital budget is full of local projects because many local
governments rely on state funding to meet basic needs. Most of Alaska is
owned by the federal government, and only 25 municipalities levy a
property tax, according to the state tax assessor's office. The capital
budget, therefore, is a grab bag of projects requested by communities
through their state lawmakers.

Because 90% of the state's revenue comes from the oil and gas industry,
Alaska has been flush with cash in recent years. State coffers grew
fatter still when Palin, with help from Democrats in the Legislature,
increased taxes this year by billions on the energy industry.

The Alaska government tends to spend more in good times, said Greg
Erickson, an economic consultant in the state capital.

In a newsletter, Democratic Rep, Mike Duggan compared the 2008 budget
process to a feeding frenzy by piranhas.

"The legislature is chewing through the financial bonanza brought by
higher oil taxes and higher oil prices at a prodigious rate," he said.

Like the Washington earmark process McCain and Palin decry, the Alaska
budgeting process is rife with politics and lobbying.

"Local folks generally get their projects by gaining influence with
their representatives and their governor and getting it included in the
capital budget," Erickson said. "The bigger communities hire well-paid
lobbyists."

- - -

Just about everything the McCain campaign has claimed to promote Palin
has turned out to be bullschitt.

Boater wrote:
wrote:
On Fri, 24 Oct 2008 11:01:52 -0400, Boater
wrote:

Retail Sector Soars on News that Palin Seeks New Outfit

I wonder if she bought American made clothes? We know Michelle Obama's
stuff comes from Asia (Gap K Mart). For $150k she could afford to buy
American or at least appear
to..
That may be what is going on if those people have let their head peek
a tiny bit out of their ass. Unfortunately I doubt that happens very
much in either party.


I doubt if Palin looked at any of the labels. She's pretty loose with OPM:

Snipped- A lot of material that Harry stole without proper attribution.

Just about everything the McCain campaign has claimed to promote Palin
has turned out to be bullschitt.

What's left is Harry's own bullschitt