Can you provide a link please? One that doesn't have Palin herself doing the math?

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27228287/

As if the other 49 states, District of Columbia and Territories are paragons of virtue.

How about Obama and his gang of ROBBER BARONS fresh from WALL STREET?

Nothing evil about that, torture, war, unlimited prejudicial detention or selling us all out, is there?

OH LOOK! THERE'S SARAH!!!

Maybe some ECT can get you off your obsession.

I agree with the other posters calling on Fladad to back up his assertions with a link to this "spreadsheet." Even then I would have to question the numbers. After all, they come from the governor's office. Palin's previous lies, distortions, and obfuscations do not buy her any good will now. If she can show that her numbers are put together by, oh I don't know, a team of impartial auditors let's say, and she can show back-up documents supporting her numbers, I think then she might deserve a fair hearing on her "reasons" for resigning. Until then, she does not deserve the benefit of the doubt.

I also wonder about the charges to citizens who have filed FOIA inquires and are being charged thousands of dollars for the retrieval of documents simply because Palin decided not to use state email accounts. I think this proves that Palin's own actions have caused some of these costs she is whining about. Which goes back to someone else's comments that the way to avoid most ethics charges is to, wait for it, . . . act ethically. Something Palin seems unable to bring herself to do.

i'm so happy to finally see someone pick up this story, as an Alaskan resident i'm privy to this non stop cring worthy senseless daily. there is so much more and i can't for the life of me figure out why the national media hasn't done any homework! there a big story out there all you have to do is read up.

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU

Wow, Juliebird, I actually hadn't seen that Bill Dedman story (he's a good reporter). But Fladad, I will continue to look for sourcing on the AP story. I think it's going to be hard to tease out which costs are being incurred because she's fighting the release of public records so hard, but I promise to keep on this and do the math.

How can she quit as Alaska Governor when she was so innovative about ways to bring revenue to her struggling state, charging $15M for her email and another $15M for Todd's? Clearly, Alaska will miss her.

And the larger point is: She's lying about who brought the ethics complaints, and about their frivolity. The State Legislature's Ethics Commission of course found that she did violate ethics laws with her crusade to get her brother-in-law hired; her hand-picked commission, not surprisingly, ruled the other way.

The celebrity Palin went to see at the book-signing was Ivana Trump.

I'm not trying to defend Palin, or her claimed numbers. But I am pointing out that Joan's article was based on a false premise, and the linked article doesn't at all support Joan's claims that Palin was "lying" about the "millions" spent. I don't know what the real situation is, and don't have the resources to find out. I'm hoping someone in the media will bother to do some real investigative reporting (instead of just a "hit piece" like this one) so we can all make some fair judgement.

But the idea that they are frivolous is something else.

I'm waiting for Fladad or ReaderReader (Kate, you can jump in if you want -haven't seen you in a bit!) to tell us what they think of Palin using government money for travel for her kids. It's not stealing because she gave it back? (Will that work for Sanford as well?). The IRS disallowed some of her expenses as well. I'd call them excessively creative if I was generous.

Now some Alaska residents have to gall to complain that Palin is claiming a per diem expense while living in her own house?

That doesn't really all add up for somebody trying to market themselves as a mavericky reformer, cleaning out the corruption and restoring fiscal integrity.

...there's also the issue of FOIA requests, as described in this WSJ column.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124700261179807839.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

When you add this to the information that Fladad provided re. the cost of the ethics investigations, it becomes clear that joan needs to keep on drilling before she can see the complete picture.

150 FOIA requests, made by people with nothing better to do than bitch.

How is this a "hit piece?" Joan references the ADN article which gives different numbers than Palin referenced in her resignation "speech." How is that a "hit piece" or a "false premise?" Given Palin's past lies, I don't think it is a stretch to be of the OPINION that she is lying now.

Joan,

I will answer your last question as to why the MSM has passed on Palin and that is because she is "yesterday's news". After the last election, nobody with a brain takes her seriously in 2012. If the GOP is foolish enough to nominate her in '12, presumably Obama will "run the table" and sweep all of the electoral votes and the GOP will cease to exist. Palin has the potential to put the GOP out of existence permanently. She has already alienated moderates and intelligent-minded conservatives who are conservative for reasons other than "god, guns and gays". She has no working knowledge of foreign affairs, the economy, zero political standing in the world, etc. I have no understanding why the GOP would seriously consider this person in 2012 and MSM doesn't want to invest scarce resources in a dead-end story.

link at sig

You know these people personally, do you? You know that each and every FOIA request is frivolous and worthless? You know that some of the requests have to do with Palin's use of non-state emails for government business? Perhaps if she had acted ethically and used the correct email accounts the state would not now have to waste so many resources having to comb through multiple email accounts. Perhaps if Palin did not fight the public's access to public records, costs could be reduced. Is she not the one who said she wanted to be held accountable? Did she not say that her administration would be open and transparent? Why is the state charging citizens asking for records thousands upon thousands of dollars to produce those records? If Palin's own staff publicly encourages a "backlash" against those filing ethics complaints and the cry is taken up by a journalist and a radio "personality," wouldn't you want to see emails between the governor's office and that journalist and radio jock? And why should it cost tens of thousands of dollars to see those records?