Want Palin to speak? She demands a private Lear 60 Jet and bendy straws

The New York Times reported the following last week:

The Caucus: Report: For Palin Speeches, Luxury Rooms and Bendable Straws
By By ANAHAD O'CONNOR
Published: April 13, 2010
A contract suggests that when Sarah Palin gives a speech, careful preparations are necessary.

Basically, a few ballsy students went dumpster-diving for pieces of the speaking agreement between Sarah Palin and California State University at Stanislaus. I commend the students dedication to the truth, and although what was discovered is not shocking in the least considering what Palin is (a media-contrived harpy with dollar signs and white houses in her one good non-winking eye) it does uncover the fact that, in the middle of an unprecedented budget crises, a state-funded California University is paying what must add up to be hundreds of thousands of dollars for an ex-governor to speak at a $500/plate fund-raising event. How much money do they expect to make from this event, exactly?

From the article:

A local state senator, Leland Yee, Democrat of San Francisco, has been trying to uncover details of the event for weeks. But the university has said that a private foundation hired Ms. Palin for the event and that her contract contains a privacy clause forbidding the release of details of her contract.
On Tuesday, Mr. Yee held a news conference in Sacramento to announce that a group of students apparently had discovered parts of the contract. He was accompanied at the news conference by the students, who said they found the documents last week in a garbage bin outside the school’s administration building after getting a tip that school officials might be shredding them.

According to The San Francisco Chronicle, the documents do not specifically identify the “speaker” as Ms. Palin, but the contract included specifics on travel arrangements from Anchorage. The documents state that the speaker must fly to California first class if she flies commercial. If not, “the private aircraft MUST BE a Lear 60 or larger,” The Associated Press reported. Other perks include a suite and two single rooms at a luxury hotel near the campus. The contract, however, does not specify how much the speaker will be paid for her services.

Both Mr. Yee and the A.P. had previously requested details of Ms. Palin’s contract from the university, citing the California Public Records Act. But the university turned them down, saying university foundations were not subject to the public records requirements. Mr. Yee is now introducing a bill that would force campus foundations to follow public records requirements.

I hope Mr. Yee gets somewhere, and if there is ever an excuse for stepping on someone's back in order to further your own career, Mr. Yee, you found it. Best of luck.

Unfortunately, no Palinites will budge because of this. They are all as learning disabled as her son, who has been thrust into the media spotlight as her only credential as "Jane six-pack." Oh yeah, she also spent her childhood getting free healthcare from Canada...