Sunday, October 26, 2008

More about Bristol and School

I would like to comment a bit more in depth about what is known about Bristol and her school situation.

Over the past few days, "Misty K" has commented several times. Misty presents herself as someone who knows Bristol Palin personally... the mother of a young man who attends West High School in Anchorage... and saw Bristol during the time period in question. While we have had several posters from Alaska, Misty is the only person who has ever commented here to state she has first hand knowledge of the situation.

Certainly, Misty provides a few interesting details - she saw Bristol at a hockey game in January, and in her (Misty's) home later that month; she was supposedly at another specific hockey game that Bristol may have attended in February - she's looking for video; she mentions a time line of when her son told her that Bristol was pregnant (late April / early May); Levi Johnston hanging baby crocs from his rear-view mirror.

Is Misty "for real?" We have no way of knowing. She did not accept my invitation to email me privately, and I'm sorry because I really wanted to ask her some very specific questions, one of which was how her son came to know and be friends with Levi Johnston, since they went to different high schools so many miles apart.

She's also posting here anonymously (not that there's anything wrong with that. I've allowed anonymous posting for a reason - so people can feel comfortable with saying what they want. And no one expects anyone to post with a real name and phone number!) But with that greater degree of freedom to comment all readers need to realize that posts must be viewed with a greater degree of questioning. Misty could be exactly who and what she says she is. She could also be someone in a basement in Brooklyn, who comes on the board, posts reasonably several times, and then quietly drops in one piece of info (like the fact that her son said Bristol was pregnant in May) which calls everything else into question. And because she's been calm and credible, and has offered reasonable-sounding facts, people will take her info seriously.

All that having been said, let's examine Misty's statements. Most of what she says seems very consistent with what we know from other, verifiable sources.

Where DO the Palin children go to school? You'd think that a simple question like this would be easy to answer, but I am having trouble coming up with a solid answer.

Sarah Palin was elected governor of Alaska in November, 2006, just a bit under two years ago. Since then, she's come under criticism for being in Juneau, the state capitol, far less than the number of days many people would have expected her to be. There have been varying estimates as to how much actual time she spent in Juneau (as opposed to her satellite office in Anchorage) but it doesn't sound like very much. Politico.com claims it might have been as few as 85 week days since the start of her term twenty or so months ago.

The point of this post is not what sort of job Sarah Palin did or did not do as Governor of Alaska, but to answer a question about where her children lived. This is relevant because Misty states that there was nothing remarkable about Bristol's showing up in Anchorage last winter - it was planned because she didn't want to go to Juneau with her mother for the "120 day" legislative session.

Is this true? Is it consistent with some of our other information? First, according to the state of Alaska government website, the 2008 legislative session ran from January 19th to April 13th, so it's 90 days, not 120. In addition, examining Palin's travel schedule for those months, even during that time, she was not in Juneau consistently. There would seem to be little need to take her children OUT of school in Wasilla and bring them to Juneau, since she wasn't there half the time anyway. (She does seem to keep Piper with her, but a second grader could tolerate two different schools far better than a middle schooler or high schooler.) The second comment I would make is that it does appear that the previous winter (2007), Bristol Palin did attend high school in Juneau (which would have been her mother's first legislative session) because we have a photo of her in a Juneau High School basketball uniform. Perhaps the Palin family tried having all the children with them in Juneau that first winter and found it did not work well.



But we have an interesting glimpse into what the Palin family plans were as of December 2007 from a source that is unimpeachable, the Alaska Magazine article on Palin that was published in their February 2008 issue (but written in mid December). According to this article, as of December, the plan was that Bristol was going to be "staying in the Valley to finish high school." (The "Valley" is local terminology for the Palmer-Wasilla area.)

Then we're told by the National Enquirer that:

When Sarah found out the teen [Bristol] was pregnant by high schooler Levi Johnston, she was actually banished from the house. As part of the cover-up, Palin quickly transferred Bristol to another high school and made her move in with Sarah’s sister Heather 25 miles away!


The Enquirer gives no date, and does not comment beyond this. Most readers perhaps assumed that the reference was to the alleged current pregnancy. And... of course... the Enquirer can hardly be considered a totally reliable source. But, to be fair, they've been correct a lot of the time, particularly recently.

So, hold on. When was this? January? Or May?

Well, we have this:

Mark Okeson, the assistant principal at Wasilla High School, told the Chicago Tribune that Bristol started her junior year last fall, in the town where Sarah Palin grew up.

He said Bristol inexplicably transferred to an Anchorage high school midyear, leaving Levi behind.

"I never heard the story why," he said.


Then from the Anchorage Daily News, on September 1, 2008, from a reporter who had actually spoken to Heather Bruce that day:

Bristol Palin went to West High School in the spring, living with her aunt, Heather Bruce.


Then from our own poster, Misty K:

I just know that my son told me that she did not want to go to school down there [Juneau] and she ended up here [Anchorage] for a month or so.


Misty also tells us that she first saw Bristol in Anchorage in January, but then Bristol left school because she'd done "distance learning classes" and finished early. But... she was only a junior last year, not a senior, and we have no record whatsoever that she did finish even her junior year to say nothing of high school.

So, putting it all together:

As late as December 2007, the Palin family is planning to have Bristol remain in Wasilla to finish high school, and not go to Juneau with Todd, Sarah, and Piper. We have no information about Willow. (Correction: Based on honor role records, it appears that Willow was in Juneau, in eighth grade, in the spring of 2008.)

"Midyear" Bristol is suddenly removed from Wasilla High School and shows up in Anchorage. The story put out in Anchorage seems to have been that she is in Anchorage because she didn't want to go to Juneau. Fine... except in December there were no plans for her to go to Juneau. So what changed?

The National Enquirer specifically states that the decision for her to live with her aunt was a direct result of her mother finding out she was pregnant. Her aunt, making obviously no mention of a pregnancy, told the Anchorage Daily News that Bristol lived with her "in the spring."

We don't know how long she actually attended West High School, but it doesn't seem to be very long. Misty says about a month, maybe a bit longer. This would mean she left around the end of February or the beginning of March. Given the due date of May 15th, she would have been around 28 - 30 weeks of pregnancy.

Sarah Palin announced her pregnancy on March 6th.

The fact is that, pulling together from all these disparate places, the ONLY piece of info that Misty gives us that doesn't fit with a pregnant Brisol in late 2007/early 2008 is that her son said Bristol WAS pregnant by early May, which of course supports what the McCain campaign is saying.

As I have said so many times, draw your own conclusions. I think, however, it is certainly reasonable to suggest that right around Christmas, 2007 something happened. Something changed.

What?

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow - I am amazed by how good you are at clearly and chronologically laying out that timeline. Just when my head is swimming, too! Thanks!

MC

Unknown said...

Nice issue spotting, Audrey. I'm completely baffled as to why there are no credible/reliable reports from Anchorage-West High students, faculty or staff regarding whether or when Bristol attended classes there (and, of course, whether or not she appeared pregnant in early 2008). Seriously, why is there such a dearth of information on this topic?? And, as an aside, why is there so little information on where Willow was during this time as well?

Anonymous said...

Did Track graduate from high school in May/June 2008? If so, where? Also where was Willow in school when the caterer said her boyfriend told everyone that Bristol was pregnant? Perhaps Sarah's parents stayed with the older children in Wasilla.

It seems that someone in Alaska could easily answer these questions. Why don't they?

Ohio mom

Anonymous said...

Audrey,

Thanks for laying this out with your usual clarity. I have a few
questions I hope you will address:

Is West High School the only high school in Anchorage? Or are there possibly two? Is "Misty" talking about West?

Where does Heather Bruce, Bristol's aunt live, in the West High school district in Anchorage, or another one?? I'm not clear also on whether the Palins maintain a home in Anchorage or commute from their Wasilla home? And how many high schools are in each town?

Also, it sounds as if you're suggesting that maybe Bristol has dropped out?

Last, I looked at all those 500 news photos of the recent Palin campaign on the site recommended by a commenter on a recent post. Willow and Piper are in almost all the wide shots on the stage...but never a sign of Bristol. Where are they hiding the poor girl?

--C.

GraceR said...

Audrey, I am only playing devil's advocate here.....but it's possible there was an easy explanation. Perhaps Bristol's parents "discovered" her relationship with Levi was getting way too serious and decided a bit of separation might cool things off. I have a friend who just did this with her daughter (sent her to her sister's for school a couple towns over)to separate her from her boyfriend.
OR...it's also plausible that a pregnant 44 or whatever mother and a teenage daughter could be fighting like cats and dogs---the hormones in that house would've been raging---and maybe they just couldn't get along and were making the rest of the house miserable. I have also seen this scenario as well.

Anonymous said...

"No information about Willow."

Lots of conflicting and confusing stories about Bristol but no information of Willow's whereabouts. It could be that Willow doesn't matter. Or it could all be about Willow.

It could also be all about Bristol, but it is clear something happened late 2007 that changed everything for the Palins. Someone got pregnant in the family and gave birth to Trig in April 2008. They would have learned about the pregnancy in late 2007, of course.

These stories all have a missing link, don't you think Audrey and posters? Nobody can confirm that Bristol was pregnant in early 2008, yet there were rumors back then since Bristol was on the move and out of school. And she was living with the Aunt.

I'd like to repostulate that Bristol's movements were a cover for something. They could be a cover for herself and her own pregnancy. Yet we have no direct evidence that she is Trig's mother and no direct evidence she was pregnant at that time and we may soon have direct evidence that she couldn't be Trig's mother.

If Bristol is even 5 months pregnant now, I think we all agree that it is unlikely that she had Trig, and got pregnant immediately again by Levi. Possible, but unlikely, whether Levi is the father of Trig or not.

But something also happened to make Sarah Palin announce that she was pregnant to stunned onlookers early in March 2008. Was Bristol's cover about to be blown? Before she announced, how did the Palins think they were going to explain a baby? Hoping for a miscarriage? Again, motivations seem all wrong.

If you stand back from all the facts we have, the only conclusions that fit the facts are these.

1) Sarah Palin is not the mother of Trig.
2) Bristol is not likely the mother of Trig, but in early 2008 is sure looked like to outsiders like that was going to be the case, although nobody saw her pregnant.
3) Willow is MIA and could be Trig's mother.

Someone please prove this theory wrong. Show me a pciture of Willow from February-April 2008. Or show me school records for Willow.

Audrey, do you have travel records for Willow's reminbursements? It sounds like you do.

Further evidence to support the THEORY (emphasis intended):

1) Willow had an eighth-grade boyfriend. Said boyfriend was supposed spreading the Bristol-is-pregnant rumor before most people knew anything about it. Why?

2) Both Bristol and Sarah WOULD attempt to protect Willow. If so, you have to respect it and the secrecy they are attempting to maintain.

3) The doctor was an expert in child sexual abuse, which would would ALSO be applicable for a very young teen pregnancy, even without abuse. (I do NOT allege any abuse. I do NOT believe the Palins would cover that up.)

4) I recall from HS health class 500 yeas ago that very young teen mothers are ALSO more likely to have a Downs infant. (Audrey, please confirm with statistics if true.)

So far, there are zero facts in evidence that defeat this theory out of hand. If correct, then all attempts to prove that Bristol is Trig's mother will fail. So far, they have.

Again, if anyone can disprove this theory, please post. Audrey also has my personal private email address.

Dangerous

Anonymous said...

New interview up with Sarah on People.com http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20235099_1,00.html Be sure to keep clicking ahead; it's 10 (short) pages. She touches on Bristol's pregnancy and schooling, Levi's schooling and parenting Trig.

Anonymous said...

i dont believe misty is a mother of anyone

on youtube, there was a poster who was going around saying that she was a schoolmate of bristol and levi...and she was saying the same thing...that bristol stayed in wasilla and went to achorage, because she didnt want to go to junea, cuz there is nothing for kids to do there (no meth labs, i guess)

she also used the 120 day number

Anonymous said...

The rabbit died?

Anonymous said...

Maybe Bristol had the baby earlier than was expected (around the time of Sarah’s announced pregnancy so March), as someone on this site has said previously that how come a special needs premature baby was allowed home after one day…Maybe she got pregnant again say April, and then by May it might be possible to be pregnant again…OR it may be all rumour and Levi was then “allowed” to say she was pregnant to ensure Bristol isn’t Trig’s mam. To me Trig in the photos the day he was born he doesn’t look overly premature, he may look like he’s maybe been premature and then fattened/grown a bit to normal size?

Also according to the main article, looking at it from a totally different point of view, maybe Bristol changed schools because she was lonely of being alone and wanted some family? I don’t think it is the case but it is a possibility.

In another article somewhere on this site, when the Palins were in a magazine for a gala – it stated Bristol went to some other city away from where they live to get a “special” dress…..special because it maybe needed to hide a bump?

Dipsydoodlenoodle

Anonymous said...

Maybe Bristol had the baby earlier than was expected (around the time of Sarah’s announced pregnancy so March), as someone on this site has said previously that how come a special needs premature baby was allowed home after one day…Maybe she got pregnant again say April, and then by May it might be possible to be pregnant again…OR it may be all rumour and Levi was then “allowed” to say she was pregnant to ensure Bristol isn’t Trig’s mam. To me Trig in the photos the day he was born he doesn’t look overly premature, he may look like he’s maybe been premature and then fattened/grown a bit to normal size?

Also according to the main article, looking at it from a totally different point of view, maybe Bristol changed schools because she was lonely of being alone and wanted some family? I don’t think it is the case but it is a possibility.

In another article somewhere on this site, when the Palins were in a magazine for a gala – it stated Bristol went to some other city away from where they live to get a “special” dress…..special because it maybe needed to hide a bump?

Dipsydoodlenoodle

Anonymous said...

Dangerous,
Teenage mothers are not at increased risk for Down syndrome.

from http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=18833769/"
"Résumé / Abstract
BACKGROUND: Teenage pregnancy may be associated with some forms of congenital anomalies. The objective of this study was to identify the types of congenital anomalies associated with teenage pregnancy. METHODS: We carried out a retrospective cohort study of 5 542 861 nulliparous pregnant women younger than 35 years of age with a live singleton birth between 1995 and 2000 in the USA. RESULTS: Compared with adult pregnancy (20-34 years old), and after adjustment for confounding variables, teenage pregnancy (13-19 years old) was associated with increased risk of central nervous system anomalies [odds ratio (OR) 1.08; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.01, 1.16], gastrointestinal anomalies (OR: 1.39; 95% CI: 1.31, 1.49) and musculoskeletal/integumental anomalies (OR: 1.06; 95% CI: 1.03, 1.10). The teenage pregnancy associated increase in risk for central nervous system anomalies was mainly attributable to anomalies other than anencephalus, spina bifida/meningocele and hydrocephalus and microcephalus; for gastrointestinal anomalies the risk was mainly attributable to omphalocele/gastroschisis; and for musculoskeletal/integumental anomalies the risk was mainly attributable to cleft lip/palate and polydactyly/syndactyly/adactyly. No increased risk was found for circulatory/respiratory anomalies, urogenital anomalies, or Down's syndrome. CONCLUSIONS: Teenage pregnancy increases the risks of congenital anomalies in central nervous, gastrointestinal and musculoskeletal/integumental systems."


On the other hand, 80% of Down syndrome babies are born to women under 35, because of increased fertility and less prenatal testing. (Almost 90% of women that are diagnosed with Down syndrome prenatally abort). Statistically speaking, it's actually more likely that Bristol is Trig's mom.

Anonymous said...

Sarah needs to produce a baby for Bristol by December 17 or the jig is up.

I am not convinced that one has not been found to be adopted.

It shouldn't be hard to find Bristol a baby to adopt. According to an article just published in the New Yorker, based on sociological studies, most evangelical girls lose their virginity at 16 and there are large rates of teenage pregnancy.

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/11/03/081103fa_fact_talbot

Evangelicals aren't shocked about teenage pregnancy because it is so common in their midst.

I wonder if this is related to teaching their children that dinosaurs and humans roamed the earth together 6,000 years ago. --- Sorry it is just my deep *ick* reflex to the idea of a community that just thinks it is peachy keen that their daughters drop out of high school knocked up, so long as they don't have an abortion. It must be an elitist coastal thing.

Anyway, if they want an adoptive baby for Bristol, there will apparently be plenty of evangelical tykes to chose among.

Anonymous said...

Is Trig a down syndrome baby? Trig resembles Alaska's Native Indians?

Another puzzle for me is why hasn't the marriage occured. What is Bristol or Sarah or the fiance waiting for?