Republican Vice Presidential candidate and governor of Alaska Sarah Palin used at least two different Yahoo! account for both personal and official Alaska state business, gov.palin@yahoo.com and gov.sarah@yahoo.com. This may be in violation of Alaskan law, which dictates that state business be conducted transparently under their freedom of information laws. Sarah Palin is under official investigation for firing the Alaska Public Safety Commissioner in a scandal known as “troopergate.” It is hypothesized that she may have had a personal vendetta against the Safety Commissioner for refusing to fire her former brother in law, a state trooper.
Someone claiming to be from the group Anonymous, a loose organization of anti-Scientology protesters based online, hacked into one of Palin’s Yahoo! accounts on Tuesday night, gov.palin@yahoo.com and posted screenshots of Palin’s entire contact list and several e-mails to state officials on wikileaks.org. The account was easily hacked using the “reset password” function in Yahoo!, which only requires some background knowledge on the account owner. After the news broke someone tried to reset the password for Palin and warn her through one of her contacts that the account was hacked, but that message with the new password was easily found by someone else and posted online.
Palin’s other e-mail account, gov.sarah@yahoo.com, was being combed over by federal investigators for the troopergate scandal. After the news broke that one of the accounts was breached, both Yahoo! accounts and all associated e-mails were deleted, which may constitute destruction of evidence.
The cryptic Internet posse known for its attacks on Scientology may have found a new target in Republican vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin. Several self-proclaimed members of Anonymous, a loosely organized group associated with the message board 4Chan, apparently breached the Alaska governor’s personal Yahoo! account (gov.palin@yahoo.com) late Tuesday night.
The hacker posted screen shots of two e-mails, a Yahoo! inbox, a contact list and several family photos to Wikileaks.org, a site that anonymously hosts leaked government and corporate documents. Another screen shot purportedly shows a draft e-mail from Palin’s account to campaign aide Ivy Frye alerting her of the breach:
This email was hacked by anonymous, but I took no part in that. I simply got the password back, and changed it so no further damage could be done. Please get in contact with Sarah Palin and inform her the new password on this account is samsonite1.
Thank you and best wishes,
the good anonymousThe screen shots quickly spread across the Web to blogs like Gawker.
The two e-mail exchanges appear to involve state politicians — Alaskan Lieut. Governor Sean Parnell and Amy McCorkell, whom Palin appointed to the Governor’s Advisory Board on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse last year. Wired magazine reported that McCorkell confirmed the e-mail’s authenticity, though she later refused to comment to the Associated Press.
Palin’s other Yahoo! account (gov.sarah@yahoo.com) had already been hacked, so to speak, by federal authorities who are investigating her role in the firing of Walt Monegan, Alaska’s public safety commissioner. Critics charge that Palin fired Monegan for refusing to dismiss her former brother-in-law from his job as a state trooper. (The scandal has already earned a -gate suffix.) After Tuesday’s hacks were made public, both private accounts were deleted — an act that could technically constitute destruction of evidence.
The Alaska governor could also face charges for conducting official state business using her personal, unarchived e-mail account (a crime); some critics accuse her of skirting freedom-of-information laws in doing so. An Alaska Republican activist is trying to force Palin to release more than 1,100 e-mails she withheld from a public-records request, the Washington Post reported last week.
Rick Davis, campaign manager for the McCain-Palin campaign, issued a statement hours after the e-mail screen shots were posted: “This is a shocking invasion of the governor’s privacy and a violation of law. The matter has been turned over to the appropriate authorities, and we hope that anyone in possession of these e-mails will destroy them. We will have no further comment.” The Secret Service requested copies of the leaked e-mails from the Associated Press, but the news service did not comply. CNN reported that the FBI has also launched an investigation.
This is not the first time computer habits have become an issue for the McCain-Palin team. In January, John McCain told reporters that he didn’t know how to check e-mail. When asked whether he prefers a Mac or a PC, McCain replied, “Neither. I am an illiterate that has to rely on my wife for all of the assistance that I can get.” He later added, “I am learning to get online myself.” He might want to stay offline for the time being.
[From Time.com]
We support Anonymous’ efforts to expose Scientology, and whoever took credit for this under their name is only muddying the water by hacking governor Palin’s Yahoo! account. They may possibly have a vendetta against the group and did this in an attempt to discredit them. The hacker made it more difficult for federal authorities to do their job and may have committed a federal crime considering that evidence was deleted, even if that wasn’t technically their fault. This is the problem with an organization based online, anyone can claim to be a member and make the group look bad. It may not have been legal for Palin to do state business through a private e-mail account, but the feds were looking into it. Now there’s not much left to see except some screenshots online.
Sarah Palin is shown at a press conference on 2/26/08. Credit: Carrie Devorah / WENN
Aw, man. I thought this site was going to slow down on the election stories. 🙁
This is such a great story! Anything to keep McCain/Palin from being elected is awesome in my book. Is she actually even allowed to run for an office (especially that of VP) while under official investigation?
Gosh, I pray the American people do see all this and decide against such a President and Vice President!!
This only makes the left look bad. I’m sure if Biden’s email were hacked the left would be insane with rage, but since it’s “the enemy” it’s perfectly fine.
I am SOOOO glad this happened! It will only serve to help the McCain/Palin ticket win! Yay!
It helps to understand that Anonymous is not an organisation but a large group of people operating under the same name. Anonymous is much older and wider than the recent Anonymous-vs-Scientology efforts (also known as ‘chanology’)
There are Anons who are not at all involved in Chanology, and some of them have actively tried to sabotage the efforts. Not because they like scientology, but because it amused them. They have done various other ‘raids’ that are sometimes morally OK, and sometimes not. It’s probably someone from the wider Anonymous movement that got stuck into this Palin-email thing; someone currently involved with chanology would most likely have wanted to avoid the uproar.
From a communally prepared statement by chanology-Anons:
“One of the main tenets of the anonymous movement against the Church of Scientology is to stay legal. Anonymous is no fixed group, just a term for anyone who acts without giving their name. We don’t know who is responsible for the hack on Sarah Palin’s mail account or what their attitudes to Scientology or anything else are. For us, they are anonymous, because we don’t know who they are and they are not us.”
Hope this explains it a bit. I personally don’t really have a stance on the situation, I just wish that anti-scientology protesters weren’t considered responsible for what was most likely one person’s act. Personal responsibility is a big thing; if this dude gets partyvanned then he doesn’t get to cry ‘Anonymous made me do it’. You play, you pay.
Could you have found a worse picture?
Who cares? All her mis-doings are all over the Internet anyway. If people still want to vote for this clown, then exposing a few lame e-mails isn’t going to matter.
Hmmm, someone trying to discredit anonymous and who regularaly monitors the internet and would probably see that the discrediting of opponents and possibly invading the privacy of private/political individuals as being “Fair Game”…
Now I wonder who would fit that description? 👿
EDIT: Having said that, you have and interesting and plausible alternative view Anon.
“Now I wonder who would fit that description?”
Hmm, I dunno. The first thing that popped into my head was the Clintons, to be honest. That is exactly the sort of thing they would do.
These people are disgusting. Repsect privacy. We have that right. I dont care if it’s Sarah Palin, Paris Hilton, or God Himself. Have a little respect, people!
Maybe someone can see why she is still wearing that 1980’s hairstyle.. WTF IS UP WITH THAT??????????????? I also agree with Anna, how can you be running for something while being under investigation. People are catching on.. Obama is now back up in the polls by 4 points..
Um, “respect privacy”?
The whole point of it being illegal to conduct government business through personal email accounts, rather than the accounts provided (@whitehouse.gov, etc), is that official government business is NOT PRIVATE. If politicians are accused of illegal doings (as Palin is), then investigators need to be able to access their communications.
These were not Palin’s personal emails to her sister or kids. She was conducting state business while trying to keep it out of the spotlight.
(The same issue came up a couple of years ago when it came out that Dick Cheney’s staff was regularly using non-government email addresses to talk about stuff that could be potentially damaging to the Administration.)
I agree with Lizzie, this is not a matter of privacy, nor should it be made one.
And if Bill Clinton getting a bj from some intern wasn’t private and almost led to an impeachment, then Sarah Palin’s antics and emails containing government business sure as hell shouldn’t be private. And Lord, I hope she gets charged of destroying evidence.
People’s e-mails get hacked every day. Why should this vintage female be immune? And yes, if she’s conducting government business under a private address, she needs to be charged with that. Using Yahoo, too…sheesh! Couldn’t they have used a pay service and leave Yahoo to the po’ folks? Haven’t we had enough secretiveness? This woman is trouble and she’s not even elected.
Sorry, but anything that continues to expose her unsuitability for office can only be a good thing. Considering the short time this woman has been in the public eye, how rapidly is she going through her nine lives?
Hacking into anyone’s personal email is illegal period, posting the emails on the internet is deplorable.
Law enforcement is investigating claims that the private e-mail accounts of the Rep. vice presidential candidate’s family and staff were also compromised.
Would people feel differently if Biden’s personal email was hacked and posted?
Anna, Bill Clinton’s BJ’s in the oval office shouldn’t be private, he was the President, the most powerful position in the US. He lied under oath which is a crime, and to the American people who trusted him. How can you possibly compare the two.
“Sorry, but anything that continues to expose her unsuitability for office can only be a good thing.”
This is the turn of the century version of ‘by any means necessary’, and it should scare everyone just as much as that did. Apparently, the law only applies unless you have a REALLY good reason.
Even if she was breaking the law, that’s for law enforcement to deal with. When normal people get involved, they’re called vigilantes, and that’s against the law too.
Scott – not condoning the hacking, merely saying now that it’s out there, it’s more grist to the mill on the integrity and ability front. See the difference? Stop putting words in my mouth.
Should the same thing happen to Biden or Obama or McCain or anyone else in an elected position of power that implied questionable practices, I would be saying exactly the same thing.
daisy: I know full-well that lying under oath is a crime and that lying to the public was not very smart. HOWEVER: I was comparing the two things because him getting a bj from an intern was a private matter in the first place. He made a mistake as a human, a husband and a very private one. It was ridiculous for that to be the cause of investigations that later led to him having to make declarations under oath. I consider it a breach of his privacy to have had that all turned into a state affair when in actuality, it was just a husband cheating on his wife, not a President selling state secrets or committing crimes. As far as I know, cheating on a spouse may be grounds for divorce, but it’s not a crime in the first place. Unlike Sarah Palin’s current antics that really seem criminal. In dubio pro reo, but wait and see…
Hey, if you don’t want me putting words in your mouth, choose better ones.
You said ‘ANYTHING that continues to expose her unsuitability for office can only be a good thing.’
That’s a very blanket statement. Anything? Would that include dropping ninjas into her office to dig up dirt too? Because raiding her office would be the closest equivalent to this I could come up with, and that’s taken pretty seriously in politics. It was serious enough to take Nixon down.
But as someone else already pointed out – it’s only criminal if it’s against your side.
Oh – and Anna, PLEASE tell me you’re joking about this ‘not a President selling state secrets or committing crimes.’
Ask the Chinese how innocent Billy Boy and Al Gore are of selling state secrets. I suppose the fact they managed to jump 50 years forward in the space race in a decade had NOTHING to do with that missile technology they handed over.
I am beginning to feel sorry for this woman, and her family and friends. When I first heard about her being nominated I was completely disgusted, and still think it would be a giant step in the wrong direction if McCain won and she became VP.
Conducting government business from a private mail account is just dumb, and also apparently illegal, so it should be prosecuted. Why though have they published screenshots of private mails and also e-mail addresses e.g. of her daughter and other friends? They should not be exposed to this in any way. Let’s just hope for all of us that we don’t happen to be friends with somebody who for whatever reason suddenly becomes famous, because then it might be our mails and our mail addresses that are published on the internet for everybody to see.
This whole story makes me feel extremely uncomfortable. And for the first time ever it’s not feeling uncomfortable about SP, but about the handling of this affair by the people who uncovered it.
I also think this might be counterproductive. Many people will be bothered with this invasion of privacy (the publishing of private mails/addresses), and start supporting her just to fight such stuff going on. And that would be the worst possible effect of the whole saga. Let’s just hope it won’t happen, but I have a feeling that the next surveys will show exactly that trend. Anyone up for a bet?
Scott – ok, I’ll try to do better next time. 🙄
Here’s an idea: why don’t you post your own opinions instead of fixating on other people’s? So anal.
Anna, My previous post went to spam.
He was the President at the time, this affair took place in the White House.
Educate yourself on this, visit CNN and search under allpolitics Lewinsky timeline.
Being an American citizen, I was disgusted by his behavior, in the Oval Office and under oath. IMO It shows a reckless abuse of power, and that he was a liar who couldn’t be trusted. What a role model.
*edit, glad you can’t vote here
Scott F: I was definitely not joking, I thought that was clear enough. What’s so difficult about understanding that in my comment (and comparison with Clinton within the respect privacy discussion) I focused on the Lewinsky affair? And only on that? Clinton etc may be accused of other stuff, however I was referring exclusively to what almost got him impeached, which was the Lewinsky bj. And *that* was, in the beginning, an *entirely* private matter, which got blown out of proportion. That was a true breach of privacy and it had nothing to do with other things that could have been held against him. Clear enough?
Daisy: I am educated about this. Jeez. Just because you were appalled your then-president could do such a thing doesn’t mean it wasn’t his private business in the first effing place! And I keep saying and get this please: he lied under oath and to the public *after* it was splashed all over the media. Getting a bj from someone other than his wife is not a crime, on any level, state or other! It may be disgusting to some and something he should be ashamed of, but this is a moral and human issue, not a legal one IN THE FIRST PLACE. It later became a legal issue because it was so widely publicised, which is what I call a true breach of privacy, compared to what’s happening around Palin right now.
Scott F: I do agree with the whole vigilante thing not being right. But now that is is out in the open and it can harm the McCain/Palin campaign, alea jacta es.
@Anna: “I was referring exclusively to what almost got him impeached”
Anna, he was not ALMOST impeached. He WAS impeached. It’s a good idea to know what you’re talking about before you post.
Not really, he was later acquitted of his obstruction of justice charges. By the US Senate.
Anna – While Lauri is really just citing a technicality, she is right.
Impeachment proceedings were begun against him, so he technically was ‘impeached’. It’s like the difference between being put on trial and convicted. In this case the term impeached just means he was placed on trial by the Congress.
One could also make a really good case that his privacy had little to do with it. If I’m remembering correctly the whole Lewinsky thing came about during the course of a separate investigation into Filegate.
When questioned about his relationship with Lewinsky – he lied under oath. One thing led to another, but the original investigation had nothing to do with his sex life.
Anna — to impeach is to charge, so Clinton was impeached. It’s like someone suing you, even if they don’t win, you’ve still been sued. So Clinton was sure enough impeached, however stupid the whole affair was.
People shouldn’t celebrate the crime of hacking a person’s e-mail account. But Palin (and any government official, elected or otherwise) should not be doing dodgy, evasive things with outside accounts. Sheesh!
Hating to agree with the Republican viewpoint in any way, but Clinton WAS impeached. Impeachment is the procedure, not the result. They did decide not to punish him by removing him from office.
I did not realize it’s illegal to get a blow job in the white house, though.
@ anna: ” blown out of proportion” you say ! 😆
BTW I totally agree.
The stakes are high and everyone is playing to win. The smart see it coming. Having a Yahoo account hacked, please, it’s tempting to propose McCains people did it to try and make the other sides supporters look bad.
Anything’s possible.
Just trying to lighten the mood for a sec…
What do you think her password was? My money’s on “moose” or “tinafey”…
“Not really, he was later acquitted of his obstruction of justice charges. By the US Senate.”
Yes, Anna. He was impeached. Really.
“however stupid the whole affair was.”
Yes, Clinton’s affair was incredibly stupid. I completely agree.
“it’s tempting to propose McCains people did it to try and make the other sides supporters look bad.”
I love how liberals think! They do something unethical-in this case hacking into their opponents email-and then try to convince themselves that she did it to herself to make the left look bad. That’s hilarious.
Congrats on being two days late in breaking this news, Celebitchy.
Can we please stop saying it was hacked? Someone guessed/looked up her security question. Dead simple. No hacking was involved.
Kaiser, I think it must have been either Hockey Mom or lipstick 😉
*edit; Breederina, your conspiracy theory is ridiculous. Thanks for the laugh.
@kaiser ; pitbullptl ?
Oh Lauri I didn’t say Palin hacked herself I said someone on her side could have set the whole thing up.
Thanks for loving how my diabolical liberal brain works but it’s really just obvious political shenanigans 101 ” how to deflect attention from the real issues”.
oh are you referring to whitewater and ken starr scott? one of the biggest wastes of money and clusterfuck investigations of all time? what a joke.
to daisy424 and Lauri: Oh yes lying to the American people on such serious matter as a BJ is a crime ans should be seriously investigated. But then how is it that lying to the American people about anything else is not a crime? Please tell me, because we are 5 billions people out of America who have been wondering this for the past 8 years
Firstly, LIBERALS did not illegally access Palin’s email, an internet prankster who thought he could get some attention did. As much as we’d all like to believe the “other side” is made up of nothing but idiots and criminals, it’s simply not true.
This is what idiots on the internet do, they cause as much havoc and destruction as possible in order to create a shitstorm. I’m willing to bet the person who manipulated his way into her account doesn’t actually give a fat baby’s ass about the election, they’re in it for the public reaction. Which they are getting in spades.
@ daisy, I know crazy huh ? Because the Republicans
have never authorized anytype of illegal break-in, wire tap, political espionage, sabotage etc. against the Dem’s in the past,cough Watergate cough. So, it’s a real stretch to imagine some McCainite with half a brain would guess McPalin’ s password and publicize her airhead useless e-mails never thinking she’d be stupid enough to email anything even remotely official over a personal Yahoo acct. surprise, then blame those evil liberals for this cruel invasion of McPalins privacy. Please, she’s running for the second highest office in the land, bitch gave up privacy when she said yes w/o blinking.
Hey CB(+staff): What did I say wrong in the previous post? Is it the swears? I try to avoid the spam-words…..
I always give virtual cookies and make nice after I say something stupid….
I love how liberals think! They do something unethical-in this case hacking into their opponents email-and then try to convince themselves that she did it to herself to make the left look bad. That’s hilarious.
Your blanket statements are ridiculous. Not all liberals think this was a bright idea. Personally, I think it was beyond stupid, if only for the reason that it causes that much more distraction from the REAL issues.
And where is the proof that “liberals” hacked her account? Who are these “liberals” anyway?
Edit: I don’t know why I ask these questions because I don’t really care about the answers…
And the political process is set back another 150 years. *golfer’s clap to all GOP posters* Thanks once more for proving why another one of your ilk simply cannot be allowed in the White House.
Cruise did it.
I disagree with “Elisha.” I am extremely happy that celebrity blogs mix it up some. How many more stories about Paris Hilton or Angelina Jolie must I read? I think people should be informed on what is going on in the world..not just which celebrity went on a massive shopping spree, vacation, or cheated, or who is dating who. It is refreshing to know that the people who write these blogs care about stuff other than celebrity news.
breederina… maybe she emailed someone in one or other camp from the yahoo address(es).
Diva… you never know. 😉 Perhaps certain people think that it’s time to have what they feel to be a more libertarian government in power; especially if the alternative is even more religiously conservative than the current administration. And they use their cover as a “religion” to get away with millions, if not murder.
Perhaps they really do think the Republican side are “fair game”.
Breederina & Daisy – Those are good password guesses – how about these : wolfkiller, tedstevens, bridgetonowhere, or pentacostalsnakes.
Lauri,
Your negative usage of the term “liberal” reveals the depths to which you misunderstand the word.
To take the thoughts of one person who does not agree with you and use them to blame the “liberal” agenda proves that you a) have applied one person’s thoughts and opinions to an entire group of progressives (who says it was even a “liberal”?!) b) have bought into the (inaccurate) portrayal of liberal-minded individuals by conservative media c) do not have a proper understanding of what it means to be a “liberal” thinker.
Just like a Republican to take a word that means, according to the OED, “Free from bigotry or unreasonable prejudice in favour of traditional opinions or established institutions; open to the reception of new ideas or proposals of reform” and turn it into a dirty slander. Without the forward thinking “liberals” you refer to, women would not have the vote, and the Civil Rights movement never would have occurred.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/09/opinion/09herbert.html?_r=2&scp=7&sq=liberal&st=cse&oref=slogin&oref=slogin
They have someone in custody for this.
He apparently posted the info onto that site because he couldn’t find anything to damage her with, All the stuff in there was personal.
Republicans pushed for womens’ sufferage in greater numbers, the same with the civil rights bill. So one should not lecture another about blanket statements and do the same thing in the same post.
@ kaiser : methville, gunrack, freealaska, snowarab,
icanseerussia or godshotcuda 😉
@Breed 😆 😆 That’s hysterical! Did you read that LA Progressive article, too? Do you think Palin actually referred to Obama as “Sambo”?
@ breederina & Kaiser: what about…. “chastity” 😈
I doubt she called him anything of the sort.
On a weird cultural differences thing – although I spent a lot of time in England when I was a kid, sometimes I forget that Hiberno-English can be quite different from “English”. So, one day I was chatting with a some of friends and I mentioned that I was hungry and was going to get a “sambo”. All I could hear was the sound of jaws dropping to the floor – I never realised that an Irish nickname for a sandwich was also an slang for black people 😳
I still call ’em sambos though – yez can take the girl out of Dublin, but yez can’t take the Dooooblin out of the girl 😉
God those photos of her are terrible – she looks like her lips have been pumped to within an inch of their lives and she’s had a not very flattering brow lift – yikes!
@Mairead – I doubt it’s chastity. 😉 But there’s a chance for unwedpregnantteenagedaughter.
Interesting about the Sambo thing, I didn’t know that about Irish slang. Is it for all sammiches? What in the world is the origin? Weird.
I think Breederina’s passwords are the best. First place to “icanseerussia”.
polly, i am with you. much confused about why lying about a bj is what gets you impeached? if lying gets you impeached, then you should be impeached as soon as you stand up and say, “hi, i’m a politician.”
impeachment should be reserved for important things, like lying about reasons for starting a war.
@kaiser haven’t read article but will certainly look for it. I don’t doubt that certain Reps have called Obama all sorts of things, after all he is “uppity”. This is also the same party backing Bush Jr. who in last elections South Carolina primaries did their best to convince voters that McCains” black baby” was his biological child and not adopted. ( One source for that is the 9/15/08 New Yorker profile on Cindy McCain. ) So calling Obama Sambo is really all in a days work for any one of this bunch.
Mairead : 😆 Do hot chip botty’s fall in the sambo catagory ? Between Brit rail watermark ham slices and the afore mentioned botty samboing in the U.K. was quite a culture shock in the day.
@ what… when you lie under oath, it doesn’t matter WHAT you’re lying about, it’s still against the law.
@ breederina and Mairead… the spotted dick was the mouth dropper for me, lol (literally cos it’s DELISH!). And my husband tells a funny story about entertaining clients from the US and telling them he was going to outside for a fag and the reaction THAT got.
I like the button she’s wearing, too bad she doesn’t follow the advice on it.
And I loved what pends wrote because it spoke directly to how I feel. Apparently unless you’re a conservative, bible thumping, right wing republican then you’re a brainwashed, idiot liberal. 🙄
I find it sad that the people who listen to Rush, Beck, Hannity, Coulter, Savage and the worst of all offenders Cunningham are in actual lock step with the commentary they spew forth. They’re efn ENTERTAINERS people, paid for and backed by CORPORATE RADIO STATIONS such as Clear Channel. You don’t think there isn’t some type of agenda there??
Thank the good Lord for Satellite radio.
I think you’re thinking of “butties” breederina 😉 it’s more from the North of England than here 😉
“icanseerussia” is he best of the bunch 😀
Ta for clearing that up Mairead, and to you and kaiser both, aw shucks, the best? thanks gals! 😉
Too stupid to secure a simple email account- and we’re supposed to trust her with our national security? I think not.
For Pete’s sake; what’s with all of the “just like a Republican; just like a liberal; just like a Democrat.” People are speaking their minds and opinions; not parties. If an Independent relays facts about Palin that are not exactly flattering regarding her record or leadership style, they’re labeled “bleeding hearts liberals.” Get a grip, people. What is this, the Civil War?
remaining totally off-topic, the latest langerland.tv episode has the term “hang sangwich” in its native habitat, (a hang sangwich is how many country people pronounce ham sandwich.)
It’s feckin’ deadly boy!. 😆
This is insanity. Doesn’t the 48% still backing McCain see this as a problem?? Doing government business on yahoo?
Okay enough politics already they bog down these blogs toooo much. Elizabeth Hasselbeck gets 426 comments! That’s insane! I thought this site was a forum for an exchange of light-hearted bitchiness about celebrity strangers we really know nothing about, we just think we do. Honestly we’re all nothing more than glorified voyeurs commenting on the rich and famous, but it’s fun! When you throw politics, and elected officials into the mix it makes the discussions more heated and not so fun. Everyone’s opinion is just that, an opinion, no right or wrong. It doesn’t matter for our purposes here whether you’re Democrat, liberal, conservative, Republican, Marxist, socialist, fascist, communist, elitist, Royalist, materialist, fatalist, Kabbalist–who the hell cares! Truth is next January our new Prez will either be McCain or Obama, the odds are about 50/50. And what about those of us who aren’t thrilled with either one of them? Do you hear us bitchin’?! We can blab on here all day long with our opinions, but we each only get one vote. Why get your knickers in a twist or your panties in a bunch day after day? Personally, I can’t wait til November comes and goes. Now back to sandwich slang. My hubby is a Geordie from Newcastle, his parents from Yorkshire region and he calls sandwiches “sarnies.”