Bangs Gets Clowned On The All Out Show.

Man, this is precisely why I have Sirius XM. The All Out Show is the drivetime show on Shade45, and it's also the show I stole the concept for Black, White, or Other from. Sadly, Bangs seems to have no idea that the joke is on him.



Just in case you missed the setup for the joke...

The Problem With... President Obama's Stimulus Package.

[Editor's Note: Yep, it was bound to happen.]

When President Obama announced plans for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (aka: the stimulus package), I was in agreement. By taking a huge amount of gubb'ment money and using it for the purpose of rebuilding crumbling infrastructure, making investments in the future, and extending unemployment and healthcare benefits to those less fortunate, the Act would both save and create jobs, as well as provide a Band-Aid to possibly lessen the financial devastation of those out of work.

As details of the plan rolled out, I was less enthused. The original amount for providing infrastructure upgrades (aka: creating jobs) was far less than originally intended, since the Democrats on the Hill caved in and let the GOP load it up with pointless tax breaks. Ditto for the amount allocated for pre-K programs, also sharply reduced in the name of bipartisanship.

In the end, although a whopping 2/3 of the money allocated for the act ended up being for tax breaks and entitlements which don't create jobs even in the best scenario, I was still down. The remaining $275B would be spent to keep Americans working or put them back to work. Or so I thought.

Nearly a year later, unemployment has soared to 10.2%, with no reversal in sight. Much of the money that should be creating jobs has yet to be rewarded, tied up in the bureaucratic soup of DC politricks. I guess you could see this as a good thing: nobody wants taxpayer money (or more charges on our ChinaOne MasterCard™) to be blown on stuff that doesn't save or create jobs. Going over grant and contract applications with a fine toothed comb is essential to limiting fraud.

Or so I thought.

In recent weeks, stories have trickled out about how initial stimulus money has been spent, and how it's been attributed to jobs created on the gubb'ment watchdog site Recovery.org. And my friends, the early returns are not pretty. In fact, they're pretty infuriating, as you'll find if you read a compilation of reports that the local fishwrap, the Washington Examiner just culled together. Here's merely a smattering of what the report mentioned.

More than ten percent of the jobs the Obama administration has claimed were "created or saved" by the $787 billion stimulus package are doubtful or imaginary, according to reports compiled from eleven major newspapers and the Associated Press.

Based only on our analysis of stimulus media coverage in the last two weeks, The Examiner has documented exaggerated stimulus claims. The report, which will be updated as new revelations appear, currently reflects an exaggeration by the Obama administration of about 75,000 jobs, out of the 640,000 jobs supposedly "created or saved."

This reflects reports from The Wall Street Journal, The Boston Globe, the Sacramento Bee, The New York Times, USA Today, the Las Vegas Sun, the Detroit Free Press, the New York Post, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, the Associated Press, the Chicago Tribune, and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. It remains a work in progress because relatively few newspapers have scrutinized stimulus spending so far.

The Obama administration has claimed that the $787 billion economic stimulus package "saved or created" some 650,000 jobs. But almost as soon as the White House trotted out this figure, news organizations found huge exaggerations in the reported data. Many of the jobs reportedly created do not exist or cannot be accounted for.

The Southwest Georgia Community Action Council claimed to have saved 935 jobs with the $1.3 million it received, even though only 508 people work there. In fact, the group used most of its grant to give raises and now says it created 9.35 jobs.

“The Bergen County Community Action Program in Hackensack, N.J., noted the nearly $213,000 it received went to cover raises for existing staff only, but it also reported saving 85 jobs.”

The Child Care Association of Brevard County reported creating 129 jobs with $98,669 in stimulus money. In fact, “the cash was used to give her 129 employees a 3.9 percent cost-of-living raise.”

Koring Group in Toledo, Ohio reported hiring 52 people, but it turns out that they double-counted jobs that “only lasted about two months.” The FCC estimates that “actual job count is closer to five.”

The Mid-Willamette Valley (Oregon) Community Action Agency reported 205 jobs created or saved with $397,761. The money was actually used for pay raises.

A Kentucky shoe-store owner claimed he created nine jobs on an $889.60 contract. In fact, he supplied nine pairs of shoes to the Army Corps of Engineers.

Stetson University in DeLand, Fla claimed to have created or saved 483 jobs with a grant of only $193,469.

Officials at East Central Technical College in Douglas, Ga. “said they now know they shouldn't have claimed 280 stimulus jobs linked to more than $200,000 to buy trucks and trailers for commercial driving instruction...The 280 were not jobs, but the number of students who would benefit...”

In DC, $3,500 purchase of paint was credited with saving or creating a job.

The California State University system received $268.5 million in stimulus funds and claimed that the money allowed them to save over 26,000 jobs or half its workforce. But when pressed, the California State University system admitted they weren't really going to lay off half their workforce, and that in fact few or none of these jobs would have been lost without the stimulus. "This is not really a real number of people," a CSU spokesman said. "It's like a budget number."

Of the 34,500 jobs allegedly saved or created by the stimulus in Washington State, 24,000 belong to state teachers already under contract to finish out the school year, whose jobs were never in jeopardy. Rather, stimulus money was shuffled to them and their money went to offset budget cuts elsewhere.

In Arlington, VA $100,000 in stimulus money is being used to start a wine bar.

Two child care centers in central Colorado claimed to have created 292 jobs with $650,000 in grant money. In fact, the money went to pay raises.

The local Head Start program in Greenfield, Mass. claimed 90 new jobs, but actually created no new jobs, and used its $245,000 grant to give pay raises.

The company Teletech claimed to have created 4,300 jobs from a $28.4 million contract, but in fact 3,000 of the jobs lasted only a month.

Bridgewater State (CT) College claimed to have created 160 jobs with a $77,000 grant. The college acknowledged the mistake, and said no new jobs were created.

Before anyone goes off on a tangent about this being some rightwing conspiracy, a majority of these accounts were reported by The Associated Press, which is about as close to a non biased news agency as you'll find. If you think this is all BS, just go read the report and google the stories themselves. Nothing's being made up here.

As I said earlier on, anytime you send this sort of money out the door, the possibility for fraud and waste is pretty much a given. People will game the system. But it's the gubb'ment's job to make sure that those who receive the money are on the up and up, and are being truthful about the money being spent and the jobs saved and/or created. There is simply no excuse for this sort of numeric trickery by states, counties, and cities wasting money to such a degree. Some reports on Recovery.gov have stimulus money going to Congressional districts that don't even exist. I should also note that the money being burned is spread evenly across the electoral map, so this ain't a partisan issue. Everyone's gaming the system, and it's a damn shame.

There are plenty of fingers to point here. The folks in DC needed to better scrutinize the grants and contracts they awarded. The state/local authorities needed to be more truthful. Recovery.gov shouldn't have reported job claims without substantiation. A gauge of true "jobs saved" is curiously absent.

But ultimately, the real culprit here is Obama himself. Sh*t rolls upstream, and ultimately the buck stops with the guy who introduced the idea in the first place. I suspect Republicans are being eerily silent on all this waste because their hands are also in the cookie jar, but the handful of Governors who refused stimulus funds last Spring are suddenly looking like geniuses, even if in each case they were overruled by their state's legislatures.

This is a textbook example of a great concept with piss-poor execution. And let the record reflect that I still support the President overall, but given the exaggerated job claims, the lack of accountability, and the billions in blown money that could have been better allocated (or simply not allocated at all), I have no choice but to label the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 an Epic (and very Expensive) Fail.

Question: What do you think about this report? Did you originally support the stimulus package? What could have been done to ensure greater accountability and less fraud? How does the country reverse this freefall of lost jobs?

75,343 Bogus jobs 'created or saved' by the Stimulus [Washington Examiner]

Stimulus saves jobs in nonexistent districts [Washington Examiner]

Stimulus Funding For A Wine Bar? [WUSA9]

StimulusWatch.org

Recovery.Gov

The Problem With... Hollywood's White Guilt.

A few weeks back, I reviewed the Vince Vaughn movie Couples Retreat, and at the time, I decried the inclusion of two token stereotypical black characters as completely unnecessary.



Although I'm happy to see Big Worm and this young lady working, they added nothing to the movie, and it was so obvious that they were merely there to equalize the cast and expand the potential box office appeal. I don't like this sorta thing, and really, really wish this sort of diversity for the sake of diversity in Hollyweird would just die.

Looks like I got my wish. Sorta.

Universal is facing a potential PR disaster for its decision to digitally remove the names and images of the only black couple in 'Couples Retreat' on the film's UK movie poster.

According to England's The Daily Mail, a Universal spokesman said the updated ad was released "to simplify the poster to actors who are most recognizable in international markets."

But some are calling foul on the complete removal of actors Kali Hawk and Faizon Love from the film's poster. "I think this was an ill-conceived move," Mediawatch-UK director Vivienne Pattison told the Mail. "We celebrate diversity in Britain and we could have coped with seeing the same poster used in America."

In the U.S. version, all eight principal stars, including Hawk and Love, are seen standing knee-deep in water with their names displayed above. For the UK version, a different backdrop is shown with only the six (white) actors and actresses on display.

"Any discrepancy between the posters is cause for alarm because it makes racist assumptions about target markets," says Ann Simonton, founder of the non-profit organization Media Watch. "But this is a somewhat common response to how advertisers target audiences. So much of advertising depends on our ignorance and it's important for the consumer to remain ignorant. When they eliminate diversity, it maintains this false view of our world. It's sickening to think about what the industry's motives are, but it's important that they be called on it."

Daily Mail film critic Jason Solomons weighed in over the weekend, noting, "We don't cater much for the black cinema-going audience in this country, which is a great shame, so it seems strange that when there are black stars in a major feature film, this fact isn't promoted. And, in terms of business decisions, this seems a pretty counter-productive one."

For its part, Universal has acknowledged the omission, saying it regretted offending anyone and is abandoning plans to use the revised poster in other countries.

It "regretted offending anyone, huh"? How about they simply don't put the Negroes in the movie in the first place next time?

Question: Is Universal pictures racist for removing the two black actors from the movie poster, or merely givin' the people what they want?

'Couples Retreat' Poster Causes Controversy in the UK [MovieFone]

The Problem With... Black Conservatives.

[Editor's Note: Some of ya'll wrote in and told me you wanted me off that sports tip and back on my bullsh*t, so I'm back on my bullsh*t. Bear witness to the realist sh*t I ever wrote. Shots fired.]

I make no bones about my political affiliations. I'm a proud liberal who is no longer a registered member of the Democratic Party, partially because of my disdain with how the party as a whole handled the daily underhanded racial assaults on Barack Obama during last year's push for the Democratic nomination. But I'm also unaffiliated because I don't by any means vote in lockstep with Democrats. I have, and will continue to vote for Republicans on the local level.

The recent news that onetime Maryland Republican governor Bob Ehrlich is considering mounting a challenge to incumbent Democrat Martin O'Malley (the real like Tommy Carcetti from HBO's The Wire) means I'll be voting GOP come 2010. The guy is the best person for the job, and you should vote for the best person regardless of whether their name is followed by a D or an R. Living in a relatively moderate state with few of the racial shenanigas associated with the GOP nationally makes this a far more palatable thought.

That said, as disillusioned as I am with the Dems, it still puzzles, and in some ways fascinates me, to hear Black (or as they'd prefer to be called, "African-American") Conservatives explain why they ryde or die with a party that seems to insult their race at every turn. I honestly just don't get it. Sure, voting for the best guy for the job makes sense. But asserting that black folks voting for the Democrats 90% of the time is the cause of all that ails Negro communities just smacks of lazy, shortsighted plantation thinking.

Let's take a look at a recent case study of this strange phenomenon of Negro curiosity, compliments of Fox News Channel, and that noted bridger of racial divides, Mr. Glenn Beck.

Case #1 - The "I'm Conservative Because I Was Ostracized For My Beliefs As A Poor Child Growing Up In The Ghetto" Card Is Played.

Note to Charles Payne, and all Black Conservatives playing the "I was ostracized because I talked White" card: Negroes please! Your pass has been revoked.



The kids clowning you for carrying a briefcase to 3rd grade weren't "liberals", they were children. I seem to hear this whole "liberals don't value education and hard work" line of nonsense aped by Black Conservative after Black Conservative, as if to suggest that the black community's anti-intellectualism is a political thing, rather than symptomatic of an American problem, period. To me, I see this "Black folks won't accept me, so I'll become a Republican and show those broke Negroes a thing or two" rationale as being intellectually lazy and borderline elitist. It seems like a convenient way of announcing to White Conservatives "I'm not like the rest of those lazy Negroes although I grew up in the same neighborhood. I can speak good English and I'm non-threatening. Unclutch your purse, and please, pleeeasse let me date your daughter." Can we please leave childhood scars out of the equation? They are of no relevance to arguements about why the GOP is "better" for blacks, and just make you look like a sucker who's still mad cause Shaniqua passed you over for that football player when you asked her to the prom. Get over it, already.

Case #2 - The Democrats Haven't Done Anything To Help Black People? Well What's The GOP Done?

I also disagree with this assertion. The same party that says time and time again that the gubb'ment should be less involved in peoples lives says that Black folks would be better off if only they'd vote for Republicans? Really?



I hate the "Liberal policies make Negroes eternal victims who suck off Uncle Sam's teet" narrative more than any other Conservative talking point.[1] It seems to suggest that Black people can't do for self, think for self, or rationalize for self, but that the Grand Ole' Party can do all these things and magically rescue Black folks from themselves if only we'd quit voting for the Democrats year in and year out. But what does the GOP present as proof that they'd somehow do better, other than vague arguements for "free market capitalism". "Free market capitalism" isn't keeping Se'Quan off the corner. "Free market capitalism" isn't stopping Jamaal from shooting Ray Ray. "Free market capitalism" isn't stopping Keyshia from opening her legs. And neither is any other "policy" like ending abortions or pushing for marriage preservation that the GOP advocates. Black folks will be saved when Black folks decide we want to save ourselves. Neither political party has the power to do that, but at least the Dems aren't pretending to be paternalistic. And BTW, is it merely a coincidence that black poverty is still largely concentrated in the very Southeastern states where the GOP's base resides, and where Republicans also have a lock on elected positions? Just food for thought.

Case #3 - Black Republicans Just Aren't Generally Very Cool People.

With all due respect to my main main Adinasi (who is a fellow Nupe, and thus the coolest brother on the planet), Black Conservatives have a hard time attracting other Black folks to the party because they just aren't all that likable. The folks on this Glenn Beck special seem to be a room full of dicks who probably don't get much love in the cluuuubbb, or in the barbershop (notice all those weak tapers and shape-ups, these guys definitely go to SuperCuts, not AfrosCut), and cornball chicks whom most brothers wouldn't be bothered with.





If you think I'm kidding, how come 99% of the "Black Female Conservatives" you see on TV have traditionally white surnames? I'm not saying there's a connection here, but I'm not saying there isn't one either. Generally speaking, these folks still seem to be a wee bit ostracized socially as adults, which I wouldn't doubt has some bearing in their political affiliation. Even if Shaniqua don't love you, Michelle still thinks "you be Da' Man!"



That's gotta count for something. I guess.

Case #4 - All Blacks Are Socially Conservative. Not!

And for the 9912th time, could we please, please, please dead this nonsense that "The Black Community" is naturally more socially "Conservative", and thus more in lockstep with the GOP's policies? Alveda King, I'm not telling you to Go. Sit. Down. out of respect for the family name. But you are pushin' it, homegirl. You really are.



Really? If this were true, why do black folks have so many babies out of wedlock, so many abortions, and so many failed marriages? To be more factually correct, the paternalistic institution known as "The Black Church" is socially "Conservative", but you'd be hard pressed to find many ways in which this bleeds over into man-on-the-street black thought. I'd challenge any talking head that continues to spit this fallacy to put down the Bible and take an honest look around. Theory and reality are not the same.

Case #5 - Black Conservatives Seldom Take The Party To Task For It's Racist Nonsense.

Curiously absent from this entire one hour clusterf*ck is the fact that the GOP does a great job of continually offending potential Black voters. Not a week goes by without some GOP operative calling Michelle a monkey, suggesting that crime would go down if we'd just abort black babies, or referring to the President as a "boy". While the Democrats have their fair share of similar nonsense (reread the first paragraph of this post), at least there are some folks within the party (ie: James Clyburn) who know when to step in and say enough is enough. When the same happens on the GOP side, Negroes practically knock themselves over in a Rush to get on TV and apologize for the offender.



Strangely, this entire hour goes by and not a single one of these grinning, "I's just so happy to be on da' TeeVee" Negroes even bothers to take Beck to task for his "Obama is racist" comment. What sort of Ghetto Jedi Mind Trick this is, I have no idea. I do, however, know that until the GOP starts checkin' itself, it is not going to make any significant inroads with Black voters. Is it no surprise that when Conservative candidates (ie: Mike Huckabee in Arkansas) do get large numbers of black votes, they're usually guys who eschew theis sort of "Us vs Them" racial politricks? I'm just sayin', you can't both offend me and expect me to put you in power. That dog don't hunt.

I apologize in advance to any Black Conservative whom I might have offended with this screed. Well, okay, actually I don't apologize. I'd really, really, really be interested in knowing how you can stand idly by and watch (and in some ways pile on) when a party more or less disparages your community for political gain (ie: Tea Party protestors, The Reagan Era "Welfare Queen" stereotype, anything uttered by Rush Limbaugh), yet still defend this party as somehow being honest and genuine in its' pursuit of black votes. What exactly has the GOP done that's so greatly benefitted black voters? Where are the success stories? Kill all the rhetoric and Us vs Them hyperbole and give me concrete examples, not talking points.

Question: If you are a Black Conservative, or even know someone who plays one on TV, please explain to me how you can hold your nose and continually support a party that is so clearly disrespectful of the community from which you come? Please show me and point me to real life examples of where the GOP's policies have affected the black community for the better. Please steer clear of talking points like "school choice", "free market capitolism", "William Jefferson", and talking about what the Democrats aren't doing. Defend your party and it's platform without the hyperbole and senseless emotionalism.

[1] How then, do you explain away the plight of the millions of poor Southern Conservative whites also on welfare and other forms of public assistance? What's the GOP done to reward them for decades of guaranteed votes?

3 Play Thursday - HoodRat Anthems.

3 Play Thursday again. Today: Random cRap Music salutes to Black Women.

cRap music isn't all about misogyny and putting black women down. Nope, sometimes cRappers Channel Their Inner Feminine Side and salute the fine character of those women they douse with Alize in VIP rooms nationwide. Here's just a few examples of what I like to refer to as HoodRat Anthems.

LL Cool J - "Around The Way Girl"



Cyber CapriSuns™ to the first person to name the head "Around The Way Girl", who happened to have her own TV show in the 90's. Speaking of cameos, I still have no idea why Bart Simpson makes a cameo in this video. This is the original HoodRat Anthem from LL's career climax, the classic album Mama Said Knock You Out. Man, it's sad that Marley Marl got hooked on drugs, and LL went Hollywood shortly thereafter. The music these guys could have made...

Ca$h Money Millionaires - "Project Chick"



I don't what's more hilarious: Lil' Wayne's pre-ghostwriters & syrup Fisher Price My First Flow, or the fact that this song has since become a staple of every HBCU Marching Band?

The LOX ft. Eve - "Ryde Or Die Chick"



Let's face it, there's nothing wrong about being a Ryde Or Die Chick. Every man wants a lady who's down for him, no matter what pops off. I thought long and hard about having this part of our wedding soundtrack, but my wife squashed that one quickly.

Apache - "Gangsta B*tch"



In the pre-censorship days of Negro Radio, this song played unedited, which still amazes me to this day. Seriously, I don't even think there was a radio edit for this one. They ain't even try and play with the words to make it "itch-bay", or none of that. Man, the early 90's, those were the days. Cyber CapriSuns™ to the first person to tell me who produced the beat for this classic mixshow staple. Double Cyber CapriSuns™ to the first person to tell me which Tri-State area Sizzler Apache (this was his only hit) is currently bussin' tables at.

Question: Got any other Hoodrat Anthems that I missed?

The Problem With... Sarah Heath Palin.

Never let it be said that I'm not a man of my word. Back in July, I wrote what I titled "The Last Sarah Palin Post You'll Ever Read On AB.com", citing my exhaustion with the media's pointless love affair with the former Alaska Governor. Why keep talking about someone who isn't even relevant, much less newsworthy? I promised then that I wouldn't utter that woman's name a single time here until she did something of significance. Needless to say, I nearly made it 6 months without a mention.

Today, the ban ends, not so much because Palin has done anything of value, but simply because I can't take it no more. So, here's my 2 cents on the last 1/2 year of Palinism.



This Woman Is Smarter Than The Average Polar Bear. - For all the proclamations that Palin is an airhead who couldn't chew gum and walk simultaneously, she sure has proven to be far wiser than most of us initially tabbed her to be. Think about this, she quits a job halfway in, and some folks think she's a hero. She endorses a losing Conservative candidate, virtually ensuring passage of Obamacare, and some folks think she has political heft. She repeats an internet urban legend about "death panels", and some folks think she has the power to influence legislation. She gets caked up writing a book and making speeches, and some folks still think she's "just like them". Amazing.

The MSM Is Evil. Unless You Need Them To Help Sell Your Books. - In an even more amazing sleight of hand, Palin is using and manipulating the very same mainstream media that she so angrily accused of bias to help peddle her books and ensure that several generations of future Palins will never have to put in an honest day's work. As much as these "elitists" might hate her very essence, reality is, she's such a trainwreck waiting to happen that you can't ignore her. When she ended up on Oprah, I knew that cows had truly jumped the moon.



How then, can she still continue to repeat this "The MSM is against me" nonsense with a straight face? If the MSM was truly against her, they would have simply ignored this book, much like they ignored Joe The Plumber's ghostwritten book of populist nonsense. So enough of the victim narrative, please.

She Has No Chance At Becoming President. - C'mon, as much as folks salivate over the prospect of her facing Obama in 2012, you and I know this will never happen. And the Dems won't have anything to do with it, the bloodbath she'll experience at the hands of fellow GOP'ers will be nauseating (but of course I'll watch every debate). Do you really think folks like Newt Gingrich, Dick Chaney (yeah, he's running, you heard it first), Mitt Romney, and Mike Huckabee will just allow her to prance in off the street and accept the GOP nomination without a fight? Of course not. In their own ways, these guys have paid their dues, and a person who couldn't make it 2 years as Governor of Alaaaaskaaaa will get no pity from them. They are playing nice now, not wanting to alienate the "base" by attacking her, but once she throws her hat in, all that nice crap is out the window.

She Will Never Run For President. - Palin is smart enough to know she'd take a beating 20 levels more brutal than anything she accuses the MSM and the McCain campaign of hitting her with last Fall. Lets not forget, Obama/Biden barely broke a sweat. The GOP, and Palin-herself inflicted all the damage.

She Is Lying Her A$$ Off. Because She Can. - Seriously, how come everytime Sarah Palin goes to explain why something went wrong, she's pointing the finger at others? McCain. Schmidt. Wallace. Couric. The MSM. Her handlers. The Atlantic. Phony "ethics investigators". Jim Zorn. Reality is, a good percentage of the stuff she alleges has been rebutted repeatedly by multiple sources, which means she probably isn't on the up and up. Of course, she doesn't care about fact checkers, because she isn't running for President. Get Money!

I Will Be Reading Her Book. - I no longer have the AB Goes To The Library tag, simply because most of the stuff I read isn't very timely and wouldn't likely be of interest to ya'll. But I will be obtaining a copy of "Going Rogue", because I too enjoy ghostwritten trainwrecks, and also because I've already pre-purchased several hundred copies (think about it) so I almost feel obligated. I don't promise a review, however. I read "Goodnight Moon" to my kids each night, but you don't see a review of that here, do you?

Levi Is An A-Hole. Period. - Guys like Levi Johnston make me glad that I only have sons. As much as folks want to blame Palin for stiff arming this moron, put yourself in her shoes. Sure, your daughter prolly should have kept it in her pants, but young girls make mistakes. Watching this d-bag carry on publicly and look for any way (including posing for something called "PlayGirl") to keep his name in the news just shows you what sorta character you're dealing with. I wouldn't want him around my grandchild either. At least Sarah and I can agree on that much.

Her Next Move?!? The Bank, Of Course. - In a display of just how media savvy and unintentionally brilliant this woman is, she surely won't announce any future plans other than "helping advance Conservative viewpoints" anytime soon. The more some morons think she will actually run (and could actually win) in 2012, the more she can command on the speaker's circuit, again making future generations of Palins richer and richer. I suspect that after the book tour winds down, she'll end up with a weekly infomercial show on Fox News that will be incredibly lousy (think "Huckabee"), but do amazing numbers just by virtue of the trainwreck potential alone. When the economy improves (and trust me, it will), she can pledge to sit out 2012 with a "focus on helping advance Conservative viewpoints", endorse an ultra-Conservative (and losing) candidate of her choice without any negative repercussions, and still whet the appetite of the many who think she'll run in 2016. Or 2020. Or 3023. Because some folks will never admit that she's got no shot, and never had one. And she'll just keep on cashing checks.

Get Money.

Question: Is Sarah Palin an undercover Rhodes scholar who is playing us all and laughing all the way to the bank, or is she as clueless as she seems, and only enabled by people even more cluelesser?!?