In April, two students at Cal State Stanislaus found a partial copy of a speaker’s contract for former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. The partial copy revealed that Palin, who was due to speak at the university in June, has “more demands than an opera diva when she hits the road,” as the New York Daily News put it. It revealed Palin requires a chauffeured black SUV to get her to and from the airport, first class airfare or a private jet, a pre-approved “deluxe hotel” suite, and two bottles of water placed next to the lectern with “bendable straws.”

Many doubted the authenticity of the contract, and Palin blasted the students for digging it up, accusing them of trying to “silence” her. But on Friday, a California judge ordered the release of the full contract under a freedom of information law, proving the partial copy is indeed authentic. The full contract confirms her “diva” demands, and provides new details, from her $75,000 price tag to other extravagances she requires:

– Jet: Not just any private plane will suffice: “The private aircraft MUST BE a Lear 60 or larger (as defined by interior cabin space) for West Coast Events; or, a Hawker 800 or Larger,” for East Coast events. But even if organizers arrange for a private jet, if Palin “changes her mind and opts to fly via commercial flights for US events, the Customer must be prepared to cover the cost of first class round trip airfare for two, and full, unrestricted round trip coach for two.”

– Visiting with heads of state: For international appearances, Palin “reserves the right to visit privately with the host government’s Head of State,” as well as “accept the invitation of [the] host government to overnight at an official residence.”

– Hotels: All hotels have to be “deluxe” and pre-approved by her representatives, with the room booked under an “alias.” Even non-overnight stays require hotel rooms, including a “holding suite” and “one or two single rooms.”

– Stage: The contract has very specific instructions about how the stage and lectern should be arranged. Lighting should be “comfortable, but at an appropriate production level for the Speaker,” and the lecterns should be made of wood — “no Plexiglass or thin lecterns.”

The contract also makes numerous demands to limit the public’s and the media’s access to Palin:

– Questions: All audience questions must be pre-approved, and can only be asked by a moderator or “designated representative,” who must be approved by Palin’s party.

– Media: “All requests for press or media coverage” of the event must be submitted far in advance for approval. “If media coverage is approved,” Palin’s Representatives need a complete list of “media outlets expected to attend” 10 days in advance.

– Recording: The media are only permitted to record the first three minutes of Palin’s speech, and then just for B-roll (no audio, video only). Recording of any other kind is strictly prohibited, unless authorized by Palin, and all personal recording devices, including cell phones, have to be turned off “at all events in which Speaker is present.” Only a campus photographer is permitted document to entire speech, and then only approved photos can be published.

– Autographs and photo ops: “Unless agreed to” early on, organizers “shall not permit or assist in the request for autographs while the speaker is on site.” Photo opportunities have to be pre-approved, and photos are for personal use only and can’t be re-printed. The contract provides very specific instructions, including a diagram, of how the photo opportunity should be conducted.

– Face-time: Paying the $75,000 for Palin’s visit won’t buy you access to the half-term governor. Palin, her “traveling party, and the plane crew will be the only passengers onboard the private jet.” And “[o]nly representatives of the Speaker or WSB are to meet the speaker at the arriving/departing airports.”

– Promotional material: All advertising, press releases, and promotional materials, such as flyers and posters, must be pre-approved, as must be sponsoring organizations.

– Receptions: A full list of all those attending (“including name, title, and affiliation”) must be provided in advance.

The tight restrictions on access reflect Palin’s media strategy, which insulates her as much as possible from tough questions by confining her to Facebook statements and Fox News. Palin, who cultivates a salt-of-the-earth image, got into trouble during the 2008 presidential campaign after Politico revealed that the RNC had shelled out $150,000 for Palin shopping sprees at Saks Fifth Avenue and Bloomingdale’s, among other high-end stores.

Palin’s black SUV was likely among this row of chauffeured black cars parked near the Lincoln Memorial on Saturday for Glenn Beck’s big “Restoring Honor” rally and fundraiser:

In what will no doubt be the first of many court decisions blocking Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli’s frivolous legal theories, a Virginia judge halted Cuccinelli’s witchhunt targeting a respected climate change scientist:

An Albemarle County Circuit Court judge has set aside a subpoena issued by Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli to the University of Virginia seeking documents related to the work of climate scientist and former university professor Michael Mann.

Judge Paul M. Peatross Jr. ruled that Cuccinelli can investigate whether fraud has occurred in university grants, as the attorney general had contended, but ruled that Cuccinelli’s subpoena failed to state a “reason to believe” that Mann had committed fraud.

The ruling is a major blow for Cuccinelli, a global warming skeptic who had maintained that he was investigating whether Mann committed fraud in seeking government money for research that showed that the earth has experienced a rapid, recent warming. Mann, now at Penn State University, worked at U-Va. until 2005.

Judge Paul Peatross’ opinion highlights a number of amateur mistakes in Cuccinelli’s document request, including the fact that four of the five grants that Cuccinelli is investigating appear to involve federal funds — and thus are beyond the Virginia attorney general’s power to investigate.  Most significantly, however, Peatross finds that Cuccinelli failed to provide even a very rudimentary explanation of just what Professor Mann did “that was misleading, false or fraudulent in obtaining funds from the Commonwealth of Virginia.” In other words, in the course of an investigation into whether Mann violated Virginia anti-fraud law, Cuccinelli forgot to claim that Mann actually committed fraud.

Peatross’ opinion leaves open the possibility that Cuccinelli could fix the many egregious errors in his document request and refile. But given the sheer breadth of these errors, it is unlikely that Cuccinelli’s witchhunt will go any further. And this is hardly the only example of Cuccinelli filing an embarrassingly incompetent legal document as part of his many ideological crusades.  In one case, for example, Cuccinelli claims that discredited “climategate” allegations somehow strip the EPA of authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions.  In another, he claims that the mere fact that the Boston Tea Party happened somehow makes the Affordable Care Act unconstitutional.

But of course, filing grossly incompetent legal documents is, in the words of Dahlia Lithwick, “one of the perils of treating one’s elected office like a Fox News show.”  Cuccinelli is so busy trying to get right-wingers to pay attention to him, he’s forgotten to actually do his real job.

While virtually every Republican and conservative leader has come out strongly against the construction of the proposed Park 51 Islamic community center near Ground Zero in New York City, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) strongly defended the organizers’ right to build the center today, saying, “what made this country great is we have religious freedom.” In an interview with Fox 13 News in Salt Lake City, Hatch — who has long been a proponent of religious liberty — said it shouldn’t “make a difference” that the majority of Americans don’t support the center’s construction, because religious freedom is too important, and noted that the proposed site is actually “a few blocks away” from Ground Zero.

And countering those on the right who have implicated Islam in terrorism, or who have tried to paint it as anything less than a legitimate religion, Hatch said that “there are Muslims killed on 9/11 too,” and said, “we know [Islam is] a great religion”:

HATCH: Let’s be honest about it, in the First Amendment, religious freedom, religious expression, that really express matters to the Constitution. So, if the Muslims own that property, that private property, and they want to build a mosque there, they should have the right to do so. The only question is are they being insensitive to those who suffered the loss of loved ones? We know there are Muslims killed on 9/11 too and we know it’s a great religion. … But as far as their right to build that mosque, they have that right.

I just think what’s made this country great is we have religious freedom. That’s not the only thing, but it’s one of the most important things in the Constitution. [...]

There’s a question of whether it’s too close to the 9/11 area, but it’s a few blocks away, it isn’t right there. … And there’s a huge, I think, lack of support throughout the country for Islam to build that mosque there, but that should not make a difference if they decide to do it. I’d be the first to stand up for their rights.

Watch it:

In defending Muslims’ right to build the community center, Hatch, who is Mormon, noted that his religion has faced its own opposition the building its houses of worship. Nonetheless, fellow Mormons like Fox News host Glenn Beck, and disappointingly, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) have come out against the mosque in New York. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who is also Mormon, has been “noticeably absent” from the mosque debate.