@scootermom: Except for that one piece of toilet paper stuck to her shoe which causes her to yell about the media attacking her children every now and then.
They are taking a long time probably because these folks are cataloguing all of it carefully to get the tax breaks. So any tax folks know?- do these write-offs count as business expenses, or charitable donations? or both?
@AnnieKObama: It's not a tax thing, it's a campaign finance thing. As I understand it, they are under no obligation to recoup the expense. What they need to show is that the clothing was a disposable campaign expense. (There are very, very strict rules about campaigns buying clothing. Rules that were strongly advocated by some senator named John McCain, who made it part of the campaign finance law that bears his name.) So the critical thing is that they get rid of them, either by returning them, donating them, or having someone buy them outright. Their obligation to donate the clothes mostly comes from the RNC having publicly stated that they would, in fact, donate them.
This is one area where I get a bit annoyed. Does it bother anyone that in a country where we claim that anyone can be President, that it's really that anyone can be President as long as they can hook up the connections to get loads and loads of money? Money that is most likely so tainted by influence that no candidate cannot be said to be bought in one way or another? Money that is so tainted that "we" keep making rules about how tainted it can be and still be legit?
What's more pathetic than a major party picking a VP candidate and then having to buy her the clothes to go on TV? And then when every Tom, Dick or Harriet (haha) seems to be able to skim cash out of somewhere that she can't even keep the damn clothes they bought for her when they'll be out of style in ten minutes anyway?
I loathe Sarah Palin and everything she stands for as much as the next Jezzie, but consider that HRC was able to loan her own campaign $13 million dollars and then write it off and we're worried about Palin's high heeled boots being a criminal violation of the campaign donations act. Who absorbs HRC's write off? Huh?
I don't like the idea that you have to be filthy stinking rich to run for office or be connected to the same old filthy stinking rich campaign contributors to run for office and have a chance of being elected. How can anything change when the sponsorship is always the same?
@Tart of Darkness: We live in a culture that values money above all else. It is not something to be proud of, and quite frankly, I don't believe our country would be in the financial mess we are in if it weren't for pure and simple greed.
We also live in a culture of mythology. Not everyone can be President. Not everyone can be rich or famous or a "star." But to face that kind of reality would crush our little "special snowflake" mentality, wouldn't it?
@Tart of Darkness: That's why one of the things I like best about Obama the president and Obama the campaign is that they weren't born with money; they earned it (lawyering and writing are reasonably accessible things to do) and a fuckton of the campaign donations were small donations from individual donors.
This is not to say that the entire system isn't corrupt and disgusting because, well, it is. But that at least not all things are exactly the same...
@Etoiles: Well I find myself wondering if going from a two attorney income home to a one President income home is going to cramp their style. Unless they have plenty of savings.
Otherwise they're gonna have to buy those crappy Old Navy jeans that stretch as you wear them so the crotch is down around your knees by the end of the day. Just like the rest of us.
I've said all along if they wanted to give BIG money to charity they would make up a webpage called "www.buypalinshiz.com" and auction those badboys off.
If there are other people who are anything like many of the ones I went to highschool with (who all STILL seem to have "Palin" pieces of "Flair" and continue put things on their wall about how "great" Palin is "'cause she's a MOM" etc) they'd make a mint and do far more good then just throwing them into some Salvation Army store in a bag.
But they would then have to list it all etc. Probably don't want to go there and show how expensive it all was again...
@BabyJane: Can I just say that I'm pretty sure at this point Sarah Palin has nothing to do with the clothes...she prolly has no idea where they are or what has become of them. I don't think that the fact that they're still sitting around or not donated has nothing to do with a failing on her part...
And I know there's like a million reasons you could hate Sarah Palin for but I feel like this is just stupid. Hilary Clinton prolly has the same thing (piles of expensive shit that was bought for her that will never be touched) and you know Michelle Obama will never wear the same outfit twice...I think it's just the nature of being in the public eye.
@wankster: Haha...I guess I don't see enough pictures. Personally I would be an awful first lady...I'll find a sweater or a shirt I love and wear it every other day for like a month straight. I would prolly get made fun of a lot.
Um, well in their defense, when my family makes our donations to Vietnam Vets or shelters, we put the clothes in trash bags. Neatly folded, but in trash bags. However, they sit in our house for a day or two maximum and then they are retrieved. The election has been over for more than two months. They really need to get on it if they truly are donating them. And by donating them, I mean to charity, not entry-level RNC employees with small bank accounts.
Don't you people know all the paperwork you have to fill out before you can donate clothes to Good Will? First you have to catalogue each garment, and write a statement for each garment specifying why you are donating this garment, and each statement MUST contain the following: the barcode number, the name on the label, the point of purchase and approximate number of times the garment has been worn. Then, each statement has to be notarized and filed in triplicate before the Good Will staff can sort through the garments and approve the paperwork. Only after a panel review of each garment and respective documents can the Good Will staff accept a garment for resale at their facilities. So give Sarah a break, it will probably be another fourteen months before that clothing makes it to the end of the donation process!
@Samanthrax: Ditto - I can't tell if this comment was so full of win or so full of fail, but I'm leaning towards the former, mostly because I can't quit giggling.
@stealthird: I've donated clothes to charity before and it's not that complicated. You bring in the bags of clothes, tell them what you ahve, and they give you a form verifying that you donated. Sometimes they let you write down the clothes yourself and sometimes they write it down for you.
When it's a large amount of clothing, then yes, you should keep a log of each item (and maybe some photos), but BARCODES? WTF? I have never heard of that before in my life.
@tinycowboyhats (hellodarling!): In my experiences with Goodwill, I would say full of win because they are unbelievably snooty about when, where and how they will pick up stuff and can be pretty obnoxious about the stuff you donate, too.
I got in a HUGE fight with my grandmother and stepdad over this. They were so adamant the clothes were already being donated (this was even before the election when the scandal came out) and I knew there was just no way in hell. ONCE AGAIN THE LIBERAL BITCH IS RIGHT!
@stacyinbean: Yeah, but you can't go telling them that, because as my grandparents used to state: If you're not a democrat when you're young, you have no heart. If you're not a Republican when you're older, you have no brains.
@Khrushchev: Yeah, I've heard that at least 10 times as well. I've also replied that I've always had a brain and won't ever lose my heart, so I guess I'll just stick with my (D).
@Samanthrax: I've heard that a million times too. And I've watched friends turn into Republicans right before my very eyes. I don't understand why it has never happened to me. Huh. Could be a no brainer?
In all fairness, since the clothes are worth so much, if they want to maximize charitable benefit, they should be auctioned off and the money donated to a worthy cause. Like rehab for Alaskan oxycontin addicts who are just trying to be good moms.
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Seriously, someone should tell her.
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So any tax folks know?- do these write-offs count as business expenses, or charitable donations? or both?
01/23/09
01/23/09
What's more pathetic than a major party picking a VP candidate and then having to buy her the clothes to go on TV? And then when every Tom, Dick or Harriet (haha) seems to be able to skim cash out of somewhere that she can't even keep the damn clothes they bought for her when they'll be out of style in ten minutes anyway?
I loathe Sarah Palin and everything she stands for as much as the next Jezzie, but consider that HRC was able to loan her own campaign $13 million dollars and then write it off and we're worried about Palin's high heeled boots being a criminal violation of the campaign donations act. Who absorbs HRC's write off? Huh?
I don't like the idea that you have to be filthy stinking rich to run for office or be connected to the same old filthy stinking rich campaign contributors to run for office and have a chance of being elected. How can anything change when the sponsorship is always the same?
01/23/09
We also live in a culture of mythology. Not everyone can be President. Not everyone can be rich or famous or a "star." But to face that kind of reality would crush our little "special snowflake" mentality, wouldn't it?
Argh.
01/23/09
This is not to say that the entire system isn't corrupt and disgusting because, well, it is. But that at least not all things are exactly the same...
01/23/09
Otherwise they're gonna have to buy those crappy Old Navy jeans that stretch as you wear them so the crotch is down around your knees by the end of the day. Just like the rest of us.
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01/23/09
If there are other people who are anything like many of the ones I went to highschool with (who all STILL seem to have "Palin" pieces of "Flair" and continue put things on their wall about how "great" Palin is "'cause she's a MOM" etc) they'd make a mint and do far more good then just throwing them into some Salvation Army store in a bag.
But they would then have to list it all etc. Probably don't want to go there and show how expensive it all was again...
01/23/09
And I know there's like a million reasons you could hate Sarah Palin for but I feel like this is just stupid. Hilary Clinton prolly has the same thing (piles of expensive shit that was bought for her that will never be touched) and you know Michelle Obama will never wear the same outfit twice...I think it's just the nature of being in the public eye.
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When it's a large amount of clothing, then yes, you should keep a log of each item (and maybe some photos), but BARCODES? WTF? I have never heard of that before in my life.
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not kidding.
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