$150,000 on clothes

Much in the news today about purchases of clothes for Sarah Palin. Regardless of whether this is a good, bad, or neutral event, the facts are that very close to $150,000 was spent on clothing, hair and makeup by the Republican National Convention in September.

Here's the Budget Breakdown from the Washington Post on clothing purchases for Sarah Palin and family:

· Bills from Saks Fifth Avenue in St. Louis and New York for a combined $49,425.74.

· Neiman Marcus in Minneapolis, including one $75,062.63 spree in early September.

· $4,716.49 on hair and makeup through September.

· September payments were also made to Barneys New York ($789.72) and Bloomingdale's New York ($5,102.71).

· Macy's in Minneapolis, another store fortunate enough to be situated in the Twin Cities that hosted last summer's Republican National Convention, received three separate payments totaling $9,447.71. The entries also show two purchases at Pacifier, a top-notch baby store, suggesting $196 was spent to accommodate the littlest Palin to join the campaign trail. An additional $4,902.45 was spent in early September at Atelier, a high-class shopping destination for men.

OK, please note that the numbers and the names of the stores are FACTS. Some of the language, however, is emotionally laden (e.g. "spree"), or suggests a value or judgment ("top-notch," "high-class").

The total, btw, if my math is correct, is $149,643.45.

Troopergate

I'm going to let Rachel Maddow do the work for me.

Rape kits in Wasilla

A friend of mine was watching last night's "Daily Show" in which Jon Stewart (blessed be he) said something about the police department of Wasilla charging women for rape kits while she was mayor. My friend wants to know if this is true.

This much at least is undisputed: during Sarah Palin's term as mayor, women in Wasilla who were sexually assaulted or claimed to be so were charged for "rape kits," used by law enforcement to collect forensic evidence in the case of sexual assault. The kits range in cost from $300 to $1200, according to this article at Salon.com.

McClatchy Washington Bureau reported the following:

Eight years ago, complaints about charging rape victims for medical exams in Wasilla prompted the Alaska Legislature to pass a bill -- signed into law by (then-Governor Tony) Knowles -- that banned the practice statewide.

"There was one town in Alaska that was charging victims for this, and that was Wasilla," Knowles said

A May 23, 2000, article in Wasilla's newspaper, The Frontiersman, noted that Alaska State Troopers and most municipal police agencies regularly pay for such exams, which cost between $300 and $1,200 apiece.

"(But) the Wasilla police department does charge the victims of sexual assault for the tests," the newspaper reported.

What is merely speculative is whether then-Mayor Palin approved or even knew of this practice.

Various Sarah Palin statements

Andrew Sullivan is on a tear about Sarah Palin and has been writing a series of entries on various statements she's made. If you're curious about any of these topics, here's Andrews take on them all:

1) Did she pressure the Public Safety Commissioner to fire her ex-brother-in-law?

2) The "Thanks, but no thanks on that Bridge to Nowhere" claim.

3) Did she fire the police chief and librarian of Wasilla for political reasons?

4) Did Alaska state wildlife officials disagree with the federal decision to put polar bears on the endangered species list?

5) What's the status on the oil pipeline through Canada that Governor Palin claims as a major achievement of her term in office?

6) What is her position on the rights and morality of homosexuality?

7) Does she think climate change is affected by human behavior?

8) What is her position on the rights of foreign detainees?

9) How much of the national energy supply does Alaska produce?

10) Did she ad lib her comments in Ohio?

It's a strange assortment of odds and ends. Andrew Sullivan's basic conceit is that Governor Palin lies reflexively and about almost anything. He also says judge for yourself.