Joe McGinniss defends use on anonymous sources in Palin profile

Writer Joe McGinniss, who rented a house next door to former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin for a year, said he had to use unnamed sources to complete his book on Palin since Palin and her husband have a history of intimidating critics. McGinniss also said the use of anonymous sources is firmly entrenched in [...]

Palin faces steep climb in proving ‘The Rogue’ defamation

Former Alaskan Governor and GOP vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin has threatened to sue Random House and author Joe McGinniss for false statements in an unauthorized biography, “The Rogue.” But lawyers specializing in libel say that as a public figure, Palin will have to meet the actual malice standard, showing  that McGinniss had malicious intent in [...]

Chicago Tribune censors ‘Doonesbury’

The Chicago Tribune has admitted that they are removing the comic strip “Doonesbury” over its depiction of maybe-presidential candidate Sarah Palin. The Tribune claims they are doing it out of “fairness” since the strip contains excerpts from a book not yet on the market and unavailable to the Tribune for verification. Sounds suspect. Is verification [...]

California governor signs bill making state university foundation records public

California Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill requiring  state university foundations, auxiliaries and bookstores to grant public access to their records. Jon Keigwin, chief of staff for Senator Leland Yee who authored the bill, said it would open a new era in accountability and transparency,  “I’ve talked to several reporters who have been waiting for [...]

Senator Kerry says idiots do not merit ‘fair and balanced’ coverage

Former presidential candidate and Senator John Kerry says the media does have to provide equal coverage to those in the public arena who expouse ‘absurd’ ideas. He is presumably referring to the Tea Party and/or Sarah Palin, says Glynnis MacNicol in the Business Insider. MacNicol says she doesn’t ordinarily agree with ‘blame the media’ statements, [...]

You’ve Got Sarah’s Mail! And other cool tools from Sunlight Foundation

Following the hit they had with Elana’s Inbox, which made Supreme Court justice Elana Kagan’s email searchable online, the Sunlight Foundation this week introduced Sarah’s Inbox: “Sarah’s Inbox allows users to view the more than 14,000 emails from Sarah Palin’s tenure as Governor of Alaska with familiar sorting functions. You can go page by page [...]

Sarah Palin sued in federal court by man claiming she tried to silence his criticism

Theodore Thoma sued former Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin on the grounds that when she was governor she used state resources to silence him for complaining about excessive traffic near the Governor’s Mansion. The man said he also offered suggestions about how to improve the traffic situation. The complaint states that Palin, “in conspiracy with others, [...]

Palin’s official Alaskan e-mails set for public airing

MSNBC, Mother Jones and ProPublica are preparing to publish 0ver 24,000 pages of former vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s e-mails from her time as Alaska governor. The e-mails will be in a searchable archive. Alaskan officials are withholding 2353 pages and redacted some records. In violation of the state’s open records laws, Palin also used a [...]

California public universities agree to transparency for foundations

California state universities have opened the door to transparency for campus foundations with a compromise with state Senator Leland Yee of San Francisco. The agreement will protect the privacy of most donors but allow disclosure of other financial details. The foundations and operations such as campus bookstores would operate under the California Public Records Act. The agreement [...]

Palin biographer under investigation for ethics violations

Frank Bailey, a former aide to Sarah Palin, is under investigation in Alaska for writing a book critical of Palin using thousands of e-mails from her 2006 gubernatorial campaign, her run for vice president in 2008 and her brief tenure as governor. The Alaska attorney general  is investigating Bailey’s use of the emails under laws [...]

House representative wants ban on bullseyes for politicians

Talking Points Media January 10, 2011 By Brian Beutler Rep. Bob Brady, Democrat from Pennsylvania wants to make it illegal to put bullseyes on political opponents, protecting legislators in the same way the President if protected. -db

First Amendment commentator urges restraint in blaming free speech for Arizona shootings

First Amendment Center editor Brian Buchanan argues that assassins have acted without the influence of hate talk and doubts that “inflamed rhetoric” is to blame for the latest horrific shooting. -db First Amendment Center Opinion January 10, 2011 By Brian J. Buchanan Hold on, there, sheriff. Before the crime scene had even been fully analyzed, [...]

News rater, anti-Palin group win government contracts

The federal government hired a New Orleans man for $18,000 to appraise whether news stories about its actions during the Gulf oil spill were positive or negative for the Obama administration. September 15, 2010 By The Associated Press WASHINGTON — The administration was keenly sensitive to comparisons between its response and former President George W. [...]

Open records dispute: Judge orders university to release contract with Palin

A Superior Court judge has ordered California State University of Stanislaus to comply with public records laws and release a speakers contract with Sarah Palin. -db San Francisco Chronicle August 26, 2010 By Nanette Asimov California State University at Stanislaus violated public records laws and will have to release the speakers contract with Sarah Palin [...]

Dr. Laura, Sarah Palin, and the fight over free speech

Commentary on the controversy of Dr. Laura Schlessinger and her decision to end her radio show after using a racial epithet. -SM Yahoo! News August 20, 2010 By Ken Paulson In the wake of Dr. Laura Schlessinger’s decision to end her radio show after repeatedly using a racial epithet, she’s spent quite a bit of [...]

Obama and Palin Condoms Not Protected Under First Amendment, Judge Rules

Selling politically-themed condoms is not protected under the First Amendment’s guarantee of free speech, a Manhattan Criminal Court judge ruled last week. CBS News August 4, 2010 By Stephanie Condon After two unlicensed street vendors hawking condoms for the company Practice Safe Policy were ticketed on the streets of New York, the company took the [...]

California university opens Palin event to media

California State University, Sanislaus finally agreed to open its June 25 fundraiser featuring Sarah Palin to the media. Officials have refused to release documents concerning the fee Palin will receive for appearing. -db Washington Post June 19 2010 By Robin Hindery SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — After months of requests from reporters, a California university has [...]

Cal State Stanislaus admits to possessing Palin speech documents

After saying they had no records pertaining to Sarah Palin’s contract for a speech at a fundraising event, officials at California State University Stanislaus copped to possessing “800 to 900″ documents. -db California Watch May 5, 2010 By Lance Williams Is the open government ruckus over Sarah Palin’s speaking fee in Turlock sputtering toward a [...]

Public record quest: California attorney general to probe shredding of documents relating to Palin speaker’s fee

Students from California State University Stanislaus have discovered shredded documents in the garbage concerning an upcoming speaking engagement by Sarah Palin. The university had denied that any documents existed on the Palin visit. -db San Francisco Chronicle April 14, 2010 By Wyatt Buchanan SACRAMENTO – Students at Cal State Stanislaus discovered evidence that documents related [...]

California state senator says e-mail about Palin speaking fee illegally withheld

A California state senator trying to get the California State University Stanislaus to disclose the fee it will pay Sarah Palin for speaking at a campus event in June claims that he can prove the school withheld information about the event that should be public. -db San Francisco Chronicle April 8, 2010 By Bob Egelko [...]

California: Transparency issue surfaces over Palin’s speaking fee at state university

A California state senator is protesting the lack of disclosure over former vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s speaking fee at California State University Stanislaus in June. Her fee will be paid by a public university foundation that raises money to support education at the campus. -db San Francisco Chronicle March 30, 2010 By Nanette Asimov Sarah [...]

Alaska still freezing former Governor Sarah Palin’s e-mails

Anchorage Daily News editor Paul Jenkins says that the refusal to release the Palin’s administration’s e-mails in a timely fashion is only the most recent attempt by the Alaska state government to withhold records from the public in defiance of the state’s public records law. -DB Anchorage Daily News Opinion November 14, 2009 By Paul [...]

No Palin e-mails one year after request

After more than a year, the State of Alaska has still not provided former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin’s e-mails claiming it was not a coverup but simply that massive number of requests had overwhelmed their capacity to comply. Public records in Alaska are supposed to be provided in 10 days. -DB The Anchorage Daily News October 8 [...]