The Palin Bus Hoax has gotten a little play in the mainstream media, fueled by the Alaska bloggers who brought it to their attention. The result is the usual consternation by her supporters that she's being hard done by, instead of ebing seen as the obvious fraud she most certainly is. CNN had a story, as did CBS. And ABC had this on Good Morning America:

It was billed as a bus tour, but Sarah Palin's travels across the country to promote her new book have included several flights on an expensive private jet, her publisher told ABC News.

The former Republican vice presidential candidate and Alaska governor, who sold off a private jet belonging to the state calling it "over the top," has been getting around the United States to promote her book aboard a Gulfstream 2 private jet -- at a cost of $4,000 per hour.

And a good piece by Joe McGinniss at The Daily Beast gets it just right:

As much of her entourage, including HarperCollins publicist Tina Andreadis, risked a collective case of White Line Fever, covering more than 3,000 road miles during the book tour’s first week, Sarah Palin herself seems to have remained above it all, apparently cosseted in the luxury of a Gulfstream II 12-passenger jet rented from Universal Jet Aviation of Boca Raton, Florida, at a cost of more than $4,000 per hour.

More than two weeks ago, quoting Andreadis, USA Today reported that Palin would be “making two and sometimes three stops a day, traveling in a bus painted with the cover of her book.” And just before the tour started, Palin herself said on her Facebook page: “I’ll post our progress from the road.” To further the illusion, the populist heroine gave televised interviews from the bus, including one to Greta Van Susteren en route to Fort Bragg, North Carolina. [...]

It seems now that Palin hasn’t been on the bus, except for short hops between local airports and hotels and book-signing sites. Instead, as first reported by the Alaskan blog Palingates, she’s apparently been aboard UJT750, the Gulfstream American twin-jet ...

Both Palin and the publishing house that has invested so many millions of dollars in her seem to have felt it would send the wrong message to let the “common-sense conservative” be seen winging her away across the country just like any other good old-fashioned Republican CEO.

Celtic Diva at Blue Oasis has this interesting bit of speculation on how Miss Palin has been getting around:

Sarah Palin arrived in North Carolina Sunday by way of Asheville. She was slated to have a much-touted dinner with Franklin Graham and his father Billy. While this is a video made by a fan (so pardon the drippiness) it does provide a good view of the plane she arrived on...and the call number. You may also see some "interesting" dynamics at play:

"Linda, Thought I would let you know. The plane Sarah flew in to Asheville had the N number 262SP. The SP does not stand for Sarah Palin but the plane is owned by Samaritans Purse. I checked it out at the FAA registry. Wonder if that plane is being used at Rochester and other book signing destinations? Samaritan donations being put to good use to haul Palin's carcass around."

As if that was not interesting enough, he wrote back later:

Tried to check the flight activity for this airplane (N262SP) at Flightwise.com. The flight activity for this plane is blocked by the owner. Guess he doesn't want anyone to know where he is flying. This is a good site to track an airplane's activity. Might come in handy for checking the use of AK state airplanes.

Yup, especially those Alaska planes now leased by Samaritan's Purse up here.

It seems that one must apply to have their plane's schedule made "private" and in doing so, a reason must be provided. I'd love to see the reason Franklin Graham gave for blocking access.

This might be a one-off thing, or it might be something else. However, as with the attempted book-signing event at Fort Bragg it's clear that Palin will use any means necessary to further her own ends.

Screengrab from the video below of the N262SP.

UPDATE: Palingates has details of a much more luxurious plane, the Gulfstream Jet, also being used by Sarah Palin for her "bus" tour.

Thanks to our reader "snowbilly", we have identified Sarah Palin's private plane which she used for her "bus tour" - so far we can reconstruct all the flight movements back to November 21, 2009.

Sarah Palin is touring around in a Gulfstream II (twin-jet). The flight details of this particular plane can be found HERE.

An extended flight log can be found HERE.

Therefore, it is proven that her big "bus roadshow" is just a fake. Sarah Palin is in fact being carried around with her family on a luxury plane. Sarah, why are we not surprised?

Via NewLeftMedia

On November 20, 2009, Sarah Palin visited Columbus, OH as part of her book signing tour for "Going Rogue." When her supporters were asked broad questions about why they why they thought she should be president, the responses were vague: She's "real." She'll "stick up for America."

It has been said [in] comments that you would find similarly talking point-driven, substance-less supporters at an Obama rally, and we agree. But no politician has emerged on the national stage as undefined and unqualified as Sarah Palin, and her public persona--which is anti-intellectual by definition--discourages substance. Instead, we get winking. One could hardly imagine her giving a complex speech about race in America, or speaking eloquently about our country's relations with Islam. Not just because she couldn't write such a speech (Obama has speech-writers, of course) but because she wouldn't--such necessarily academic discussion is antithetical to the persona she's created for herself and that her supporters have come to love.

American history is brought to life by adorable children in this truer-to-life-than-you-likely-read-in-your-history-books reenactment of the first Thanksgiving.

Plunderbund takes you to cold and rainy Dublin Ohio at midnight to see the saddest people on planet Earth, those that camp out all-night just to get an autographed copy of Sarah Palin's book. Hilarity ensues.

Warning--video slightly nsfw.

Meanwhile in Noblesville, Indiana fans who waited all day to get their books signed were less than pleased when Palin just left without signing their copies.

Ryan Grim at Huffington Post has the details on the intrigue going on in the House yesterday with efforts to finally audit the Federal Reserve and find out where all those trillions of dollars are going.

In an unprecedented defeat for the Federal Reserve, an amendment to audit the multi-trillion dollar institution was approved by the House Finance Committee with an overwhelming and bipartisan 43-26 vote on Thursday afternoon despite harried last-minute lobbying from top Fed officials and the surprise opposition of Chairman Barney Frank (D-Mass.), who had previously been a supporter.

The measure, cosponsored by Reps. Ron Paul (R-Texas) and Alan Grayson (D-Fla.), authorizes the Government Accountability Office to conduct a wide-ranging audit of the Fed's opaque deals with foreign central banks and major U.S. financial institutions. The Fed has never had a real audit in its history and little is known of what it does with the trillions of dollars at its disposal.

The amendment expressly blocks Congress from interfering with the independence of monetary policy decision-making, but opponents of the measure said that the political pressure would inevitably follow.

Cartman sings a heartfelt ode about how his waterpark is not how he remembered it. A song for the Republican base.

This has to send a potent message to Lieberman. The symbolism is simply stunning. Rabbis protesting outside Joe Lieberman's home in Stamford? This from a man who nine years ago had huge approval ratings in his home state and was within a hair of becoming the first Jewish vice-president.

From the Danbury News Times.

STAMFORD -- Quietly holding candles, hundreds of clergymen, congregants and reform advocates lined the sidewalks outside Independent U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman's Stamford home Sunday night in a show of support for universal health care.

"When we heard not only would he vote against it, but he'd use his power, his position as a swing vote ... to block it from coming to a vote, we had to send a message so he knows people who vote overwhelmingly favor the public option," said Rabbi Stephen Fuchs, of Congregation Beth Israel in West Hartford.

...

The vigil began at Stamford High School, Lieberman's alma mater, and ended at the senator's home, the Hayes House, across the street.

"In some sense, it's poetic," said Stamford Mayor Dannel Malloy, who attended the vigil. "The place where Sen. Joseph Lieberman received his high school education, the place he visited upon his announcement to seek the vice presidency, a place where his run for the presidency began -- and it just so happens, a place across the street from where he lives."

--Sen Joseph Lieberman, Nov 8, on Fox News Sunday.

Rabbi Fish of Beth El, in Norwalk, calls on Lieberman's conscience to do the right thing. His invocation of the Torah commandment (Lo taamod al dam reakha, "Do not stand idly by the blood of your neighbors") was especially poignant.

"The moral imperative for our time is clear. Anyone whose guide in public policy is conscience, anyone who argues that faith and religious traditions should direct our actions, such a person must stand for universal health care in America," Fish concluded. "It happens we are all also citizens of Connecticut. That fact leads us to ask you Senator Lieberman, what is it that you stand for?"

An estimated crowd of 475 files out of Stamford High School to hold a candle light vigil outside of Sen. Joseph Lieberman's Strawberry Hill Ave. apartment building in Stamford, Conn. on Sunday, Nov. 15, 2009 urging to withdraw his opposition to the public option in the health care reform bill. The event was held by the Interfaith Fellowship for Universal Health Care.

..and for which Don Carcieri richly deserves it for his latest bit of asshattery by vetoing a piece of legislation which would have allowed for funeral arrangements among same-sex couples. Via Wikipedia:

Carcieri is the last remaining New England governor to vigorously oppose same-sex marriage; he is a member of the anti-same-sex marriage group National Organization for Marriage.

In November 2009, Carcieri vetoed H 5294 which, if enacted, would allow domestic partners to oversee and care for a same-sex partner's funeral arrangements. The bill's impetus was motivated by an event when the State refused to release the body of a man to his 17 year same-sex partner. In his veto message, Carcieri made the following statement: "This bill represents a disturbing trend over the past few years of the incremental erosion of the principles surrounding traditional marriage, which is not the preferred way to approach this issue."[

In October 2009, Carcieri was the keynote speaker of the annual banquet of the Massachusetts Family Institute, a group openly opposed to same-sex marriage.