This isn't like an earring you lost in your carpet that you might not see for a couple of weeks or months, and then, voila, there it is. It's not like the remote that is surely down in your sofa. Or all those damn socks under your drier.
This is a baby. A baby that is the alleged result of a pregnancy that was the primary "proof" that Sarah Palin, Governor of Alaska, nominee for Vice-President of the United States, was the biological mother of Trig Palin, and had not faked a pregnancy last April. Since it is indisputable that there WERE rumors that Bristol was pregnant last spring, Tripp's birth is a compelling piece of evidence that Trig is Sarah's because it proves with near certainty that Bristol cannot be. So Gov. Palin should be eager to show him, to put this "ridiculous lie" to rest once and for all.
But no. What we have instead is a situation that, to quote a friend, "goes beyond strange into the incomprehensible." I could not have said it better.
So far, no one outside of the immediate family has claimed to have seen this child. No pictures have been released. No hospital has been identified as the place of the birth.
Let's review: On December 29th, late in the afternoon Eastern Time, people.com posted an announcement that Bristol Palin had given birth. The source was Bristol's great-aunt (so the alleged baby's great great aunt,) Colleen Jones, who, we learned later had heard of the birth in an email from her brother-in-law Chuck "Sarah's Water Broke" Heath. Great-great-aunt Colleen, readers should be reminded, does not live in Alaska; she lives in Washington state. For your viewing pleasure, here are two interviews with Ms Jones, here and here (from during the campaign - nothing to do with the baby.)
It later was revealed that People had learned of the birth by cold-calling Ms. Jones. Over the next 24 hours, the actual day of the birth as well as the baby's birth weight fluctuated a bit, but the consensus finally was that the baby was born Saturday, December 27th, weighing seven pounds, seven ounces.
As far as I can determine, no news outlet EVER confirmed independently that the birth had occurred. Every media source that I can find that ran the story, including the Anchorage Daily News, did so by quoting the People.com announcement.
Initially, Gov. Palin's office would not comment on the blessed event (though they certainly did not issue any denial stating that the story was not true.) I discussed this in a previous post. Then, however, five days after the alleged birth, and two days after the news "broke" in People, Gov. Palin's office did confirm that the birth had occurred.
Since then, what do we have? Lots of lovely pictures of the happy young mom with her precious newborn? What about impromptu shots with Grandma Sarah and Grandpa Todd? No and no. We don't even have Great-Granddad Chuck Heath holding the bundle of joy. (At least we got that with Trig!)
What we do have is ONE interview, again in the ever-helpful People, from "other" grandmother, Sherry Johnston. She is the only person who has actually stated that she has seen the baby, here in the online article, and again in the print version of the magazine, in the issue dated January 19th, 2008.
But... hold it. A few things just plain don't add up with Granny Johnston's interview. First, although the issue was dated January 19th, it was actually available ten full days earlier, on the ninth. Allowing for printing and distribution schedules, it's hard to place this interview any later than the fifth. OK, so that's nine days after Tripp's alleged birth. Given the fact that most moms stay in the hospital 36-48 hours after the birth, it's reasonable to suggest that Bristol and her newborn would have come home from the hospital on Monday the 29th. So... at the time Sherry Johnston spoke to People, Tripp could not have been home from the hospital more than a week. Keep that in mind when you read the quote:
In their first weeks as parents, Levi and Bristol shared parenting duties. By day, says Sherry, they tended to Tripp and sorted through gifts from well-wishers; by night they traded off diaper detail and the task of soothing a crying baby.Weeks? A typo? Maybe.
But then, ouch! Another oddity rears its inconvenient head. On January 5th, the Anchorage Daily News reported that Levi had quit his North Slope oil job, and that he was flying home. Wait. Wasn't he already "home?' Wasn't he living with the Palins in their (according to People Magazine) four bedroom home that had just gotten "busier?" Wasn't he sharing diaper duty? From Wasilla to Alaska's North Slope is 700 miles. Travelocity lists only three flights a day from Barrow to Anchorage, at prices ranging from $700 to $1050 round trip. Not exactly an easy or cheap jaunt.
In fact, that Anchorage Daily News' article about Levi makes no mention whatsoever of the fact that he had "only recently returned" to the North Slope or "had only been back on the job a day since the birth of his child," or something similar... Read the article again, keeping in mind that People magazine claimed only four days later that Levi had been parenting Tripp for "weeks," and see if you find the omission as odd as I do. Was he ever actually in Wasilla? On the very day that Sherry Johnston is telling People Levi is cheerfully changing diapers at the Palin home, he's actually on the North Slope quitting his job. Hmmmmm........ It's my opinion that, in fact, the Anchorage Daily News article and the People Magazine article contradict each other directly. And if Ms. Johnston lied about Levi being home, did she lie about seeing the baby? It's a valid question. (She might have good reasons for doing as she's asked. Just sayin'...)
And there's another reason to question what the truth is here: A single comment left by Mercede Johnston, aunt of the alleged newborn, on a MySpace page belonging to a former Wasilla resident, Mellissa Wilfong. Mercede has posted to Ms. Wilfong's page on January 4th, telling Ms. Wilfong that she planned on visiting Florida later this winter (and, interestingly, did not mention her new nephew at all.) But then, on January 7th, we get another comment. As Ms. Wilfong's page is now set to private, it can not be viewed directly, but here is a screen shot.
Courtesy of Gawker, here is a translation:Levi is in a bit of a haze right now... Umm, I'm not allowed to see my nephew and my mom isn't either. We aren't Palins so therefore we are white trash and Bristol doesn't want her baby around us. So mom and I are really upset over it. I just hope Levi pulls his head out of his butt and lets us see our nephew and her grandbaby.
What to make of this comment? First, is it real? We know it came from Mercede Johnston's real MySpace account. Second, is it TRUE? It's impossible to say. Most of the Wasilla teen's MySpace pages went private after Sarah Palin's nomination in September; it's possible that Mellissa Wilfong, an older person and outside of the Wasilla group never got the memo, and hers remained public; Mercede may have not realized this. Certainly, the comment has received a good deal of publicity and no one has issued a statement that it is a forgery or a fraud: it's just been ignored.
So what does it mean? Are we to assume that Mercede and Sherry have NEVER seen the baby, which would mean that Sherry lied to People Magazine OR does it mean just that they can't see the baby in an ongoing way? No one... typically... is talking.
What's the answer? I honestly don't know. What I do know is that this family has again provided a situation that simply does not make sense.
Tripp Johnston is the best proof that Sarah Palin has that she is Trig Palin's mother. Yes, other women could have been Trig's mother, but Bristol for many reasons was the most plausible alternative. The rumors and questions about Trig Palin's birth have not gone away. Recently, Gov. Palin and the Anchorage Daily News carried on a rather public email war in which the editor of the ADN stated that while he believes Sarah to be Trig's mom, he also stated explicitly that:
It strikes me that if there is never a clear, contemporaneous public record of what transpired with Trig's birth that may actually ensure that the conspiracy theory never dies.A good place to start - a very good place - would be with a clear, contemporaneous public record of Tripp Johnston's birth. But it doesn't look like we are going to get that either.
270 comments:
1 – 200 of 270 Newer› Newest»You don't get to or from the Slope via Barrow (although some of the flights do stop there). You go via Alaska Airlines to Deadhorse or on the oil company contract charters.
Bristol's alleged pregnancy at the same time Trig was born is the only evidence ever offered by Sarah Palin to refute the rumors that Bristol, not Sarah, is Trig's mother. Sarah continues to express anger and upset about these rumors persisting.
How is anyone supposed to believe that Bristol does indeed have a newborn now -- on the schedule Sarah needs for her alibi -- but they've decided to keep him a secret?
I second that notion; Bristol is an adult and if I were her I’d tell SP to stay the heck away from my baby!
Something is rotten in Wasilla.
Where is Tripp?
Where is Bristol?
Where is Levi?
...and where is the PROOF that Trigg and Tripp are who Sarah Palin say they are?
If there is proof, just show the world. It really is as simple as that.
Good job Audrey.
I have said before, but it bears repeating, that THIS story will be the end of Sarah Palin's political career.
She lied, not just once, but numerous times about her family. And someday the truth WILL come out.
I say the Palin family are grifters and they are just trying to figure out how to earn the biggest buck from the first pictures. Sort of like if you can get the milk for free, you won't buy the cow. They are trying how to figure out how to sell the cow to the highest bidder. Very appropriate for this family.
I had read Johnstons report on 'having seen the baby'. She did NOT say 'Tripp'. She also did not say 'TRIG'. She said how much he resembled Levi. If you check some of the pics of Trig during the RNC time, I would say there definitely is a resemblance between the two. (Maybe it's just my mind palying games with me...)
we all want to known when, where, and IF tripp was born. but we seem to be having difficulties with the when and where of trig's birth too.....
at the end of the last thread there was more speculation along the "early and hidden trig" line which suggested he'd been secretly born in anchorage.
i find this HIGHLY unlikely, as i don't see SP as having any special pull at those hospitals to get doctors and other staff to be complicit in a cover-up. the whole state doesn't just do her bidding, especially on something so out-there.
and it would have taken a cover-up. bristol (or anyone else) couldn't just check into a hospital under a false name, doing so would bring up major issues with health insurance -pretend to be someone you're not and it's fraud, pretend to be an invented person and you have none.
and i bet many people in alaska recognize bristol. look at this number: 670,053. according to the US census bureau's 2006 estimate, this is the TOTAL number of people in the state of AK. 278,700 of them in anchorage. since sarah totes her family to so many functions and community events, i just don't think that her eldest daughter could've turned into into "miss anonymous" at an anchorage hospital in the spring of 2008 -the "first family" must be fairly well known there.
i'd always assumed that if any hospital was complicit in a SP birth deception it was mat-su regional. there MUST be something special about her relationship to this hospital, because SP rushed there all the way from frickin' texas! WHY?
because even if every word she's said is actually true, and trig is her baby, it's utterly unexplainable that she'd land in anchorage, in some kind of pre-term distress, and then drive right past the only hospital in her whole state with a highly equipped NICU (and where her doctor had staff privileges and could have joined her) to drive another 40 min./hour to relatively tiny mat-su regional! there MUST be a reason she was SO VERY DETERMINED to get there.
this is an important part of the story, we do wrong to dismiss it. on the last thread someone ventured "we don't even know if the wild ride is true." i flat-out don't get that statement. we don't know if it's true she was PREGNANT during the dallas-to-mat-su marathon, but people are doubting these travels even took place? huh? do you think she really left TX a day later, by private plane and just barely made it to mat-su for the news-crew? or something? as best i can tell she gave the audio interview with lisa demer april 21st. in AK. here are all the ADN stories on the birth:
http://tinyurl.com/d7fonz
-i can no longer find the link to the audio interview on the ADN stories above. where did it go? it was an important documentation of the wild ride "in her own words." it seems to be gone.
and in keeping with the mystery of SP's magnetic attraction to the mat-su birthing suite, i have a big question:
how did we learn that mat-su regional hospital has ties to, or is "controlled by" sarah palin's church members, or otherwise associated with her on a personal/political level?
here's the hospital's website:
http://tinyurl.com/ab2d4s
it says there was a major remodel/relocation of facilities, as well as a merger in december 2003. though this was one year after she ceased to be mayor, and before she was governor, SP could have helped something along there in the planning/funding phase in 2002. it also lists who the current board members/trustees are, but nothing about them.
i'm not saying the idea of her political-favors-owed influence and/or church influence there is untrue.
in fact i think it's very likely, and if true a VERY important puzzle piece in the whole birth mystery.
i just can't find any sources or articles or anything on it. can someone help me out?
(that final "big question" is a re-post from the very end of the last thread. i'm afraid it will be missed there, please allow it, as i'd really like to know!)
thanks everyone
If you read the Mercede "nefu" message closely, it 100% appears she is talking about Trig, not the mythical Tripp. Why wouldn't she want to be able to see Triggy Bear? Note that she did not say "my knew nefu." She did not say my "nefus."
This changes the perspective considerably.
Today is the 34th day since Tripp's alleged birth, without any independent verification that he exists -- and without "Bristol sightings" to prove she is not pregnant. It was Sarah Palin who used Bristol's pregnancy to prove that BP could not have given birth to Trig -- thus implying that SP must have done so. Now, the lack of proof of Tripp's existence is providing proof of the hoax.
I am going with the mid-March delivery date for Trig because of the following "coincidences":
1- Levi drops out of school then
2- Very little official Sarah activity at mid-March, lasting a couple of weeks
3- No press releases from Providence Hosp from March 16 on
4- Trig not looking "newborn" in April (contrasted with Triggy Bear pictures)
5- wild ride in April could possibly coincide with a hospital release date for a premature, jaundiced, DS baby born in mid-March
Can anybody think of more?
And, as Sarah herself said, when taking Trig home from the hospital - the logistics worked out perfectly - funny word to use...
As far as Tripp, if he does exist, I don't think he is born yet -
He will be accounted for in the various ways already mentioned - either hiding him out for long enough (once he is born) to fudge the birth date (see above) or if he doesn't exist, either adopt a baby of correct age or say that he was given up for adoption once the marriage fell through...
is it possible SP is saving all this for her "book". What else could she possibly have to say that would be of any interest.
I read a comment on the Immoral Minority website that suggests there is going to be a Sarah ad on the Superbowl! If so, this would be the lowest of the low. However, maybe it will be a real Tripp! Explains why the PAC surfaced this week, though!
To TB: I think the report was that Tripp was born in Palmer, no mention of a hospital.
I remain ALMOST firm in my belief that there is no Tripp. Not now, maybe never. The middle-of-the-night thought I had was that maybe Bristol did give birth and then left. Dyed her hair, moved away with Tripp. No one has seen her in how long? Since Ziegler thinks she answered the door that Monday early in January? He's enough of a Sarah cheerleader and kook that he would've made it up, or even misidentified Willow as Bristol. So this teenager has been in hiding in her home, just to please her mother, for how long now???
People deal or no, this is not the behavior of a family with a new baby. Audrey stated it all very eloquently and completely, so I don't need to add much... but the fact that no random person has snapped a cell-phone shot of any family member carrying a bundled-up baby to the local supermarket, to the doctor, to get the mail.... it just goes beyond belief.
TruthPatrol sez:
I second that notion; Bristol is an adult and if I were her I’d tell SP to stay the heck away from my baby!
*****
When you just turned 18, have one or two babes in swaddling clothes, have no job, have no sources of income, are unmarried, and are a well known high school dropout, chances are you may be heavily reliant on your parents, especially during heating season.
What drives this lady to make it so hard to put these salacious rumors to rest?
Even the ADN said they found it hard to understand the resistance they came up against from the people who had the most to gain in quelling the rumors from crazy basement bloggers in their PJ's...
For lack of some simple proof she helps to continue to perpetrate the same rumors she rails about.
Anyone read Mudflats either this morning or last night? This post: Sarah’s Weekend Away
In the comments section, someone found out that there was money given by someone named Malik to the McCain-Palin campaign in APRIL. Just a few days before Trig was born. And that there was donations to the McCain-Palin Compliance fund being made as early as March 1, 2008.
Other interesting info in that link, as well.
The plot thickens, methinks....
Luna 1580,
The transcript of the wild ride in SP's own words can be found here:
http://www.palindeception.com/subpages/transcript.html
Several people have commented that perhaps the reason we have not seen anything of the baby is that Bristol does not want to "play along" any longer with whatever "game" Gov. Palin is playing.
This is certainly possible, but I would like to point out the following: First, not one person has stepped forward to say that they saw any of the Palins at any hospital in the area at the time surrounding the birth. While hospital employees are bound by HIPAA, other patients and families of patients are not. It is very hard to believe that in all the discussion about this birth there has not been a single comment anywhere in Alaska (and there are public boards at the Anchorage Daily News, TV stations, etc where many people have posted about this issue) from one person who saw any of the Palins going in or out. Were they all wearing funny hats and fake glasses? ONE other new mother whispering to her friend the news that "Bristol Palin is here too" would have likely spread like wildfire and the press would have definitely had the hospital "camped" within hours.
Second, there was considerable speculation about Bristol being able to get some money for baby pictures. Early on, the dollar figure was rumored to be as high as $300,000. Then, this was disputed by People, and other comments were made that the value would only be so high if Gov. Palin appeared in the photos. A few people commented that under an Alaskan ethics guideline, it was illegal for Palin or anyone in her family to profit from her position, and since no one would have any interest in Bristol and her baby if Palin were not Gov. of Alaska, this would preclude Bristol getting money.
Is this true?
I don't know, but it seems to me that if it is, then there would be no reason not to show some pictures of the baby. Bristol may not want any part of her mother's plans, but by all reports she is living at home with her parents, and it would be impossible for her to prevent her mother from having a few "candids" of the herself with the baby that would then mysteriously make their way onto the Internet.
If it's NOT true, and Bristol could make money from the pictures, why in the world has she not done this? $300,000 might be way out of the ball park, but there is interest in the baby, and to an unemployed teen, even $50,000 would be a significant amount of money.
regina-
i am happy we have the SP transcript, if not an audio copy, actually hearing her weird stuttering and evasive answers on it was...something else.
along with what audrey just said about baby pictures of tripp, i 2nd londonbridges-
if bristol (with or without levi) wanted to disappear or move away to have a new life she'd need MONEY to do it. and it seems the only real source for that money would be SP & family, so she'd need their blessing to do it.
a girl with at least one baby and no high school or college degree, has limited job options and needs child care if she's going to work the 3 or so jobs at minimum wage it would take her to support her new family. and someone would've tipped off the tabloids if she was working with them at target in florida (or similar)!
remember, levi's apprenticeship went bye-bye, and his mom probably needs whatever funds she has for legal fees and taking care of her own kids.
even if the palin's had set-up some sort of trust for her, hoping it would pay for college some day, the recent economic woes messed up those kind of things pretty badly.
the simplest answer is she is still living with her parents, so sarah has some say in what she does.
my veri-word is "liers"
As someone who has followed this blog on and off since September, I found the recent uptick in troll activity here in early '09--around the time of Palin's PAC formation--to be significant.
Someone suggested that Palin is saving it all for her "book." That is not how book proposals work. In order for Palin to write a book and get an advance from the publisher, she would have to have a book proposal which is about 50 pages long. Then, many people in the company would read this book proposal before they decided to make her an offer. What goes in the book proposal must be proof of why the book would sell.
Any "juicy details" that would make the public buy the book would be in the book proposal or would be strongly hinted at in the book proposal. Again, many eyes would see it in the publishing company. There would be a strong chance for a leak.
I highly doubt that Palin is "saving" anything for her book. Also, as soon as she has any book deal, wouldn't the residents/voters of Alaska have a lawsuit on their hands, as by law, Palin cannot make profit from another job while she is governor?
at least we know where SP will be this weekend.
from the AP:
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin said she will attend an exclusive club dinner in Washington this weekend because it will offer her an audience with President Obama.
In an impromptu meeting with reporters Wednesday outside the governor's mansion, Palin also detailed reasons why she's started her own political action committee and laughed off suggestions that she's in line for an $11 million book deal.
Palin said she is participating in outside events, like this weekend's Alfalfa Club dinner, strictly to promote Alaska's interests as its governor.
"The Alfalfa dinner, yes, in fact that's because President Obama is scheduled to be there," Palin said. "And how often will I have an opportunity to have dinner with the president? I will take up that offer to do so."
According to Politico, both Obama and Palin will address the crowd.
However, Palin said she formed SarahPAC, a political fundraising organization, so that she would not be using state funds to attend events that might be considered political.
She also says she doesn't have a publisher for a book deal, and laughs off media reports that such a deal could bring her $11 million.
It would be extremely hard to figure out what Bristol does or does not want to do with regard to her education, her baby (if there is one... or two), her love-life, or her future--Palin has implicated Bristol since Bristol was a minor, and it appears that Bristol is still living with her parents--that she is a dependent on them, financially.
Recent articles in People magazine (the print version--they are not online yet) and InTouch Weekly, to name just two, include quotes and information from Bristol. Is she a (sock)puppet for her mother? Who knows. But she has not denied anything, which she very well could do.
The whole family is deeply implicated in Palin's maniacal bid for power--and it is true power she is after, having had a real chance at getting it. Can you imagine the pressure on all involved? And the dreams and hopes after getting so close?
An interesting tidbit....
The the MCCAIN-PALIN COMPLIANCE FUND INC. was set up ithe MCCAIN-PALIN COMPLIANCE FUND INC. April 2008
Article: http://www.newswithviews.com/Devvy/kidd406.htm
Misc donors to McCain-Palin Fund while McCain was "making up his mind":
Richard "Bo" Dietl, April 14.
James Woolsey, April 14.
Malcolm S "Steve" Forbes, Jr., April 21.
Actress Susan Saint James, April 30.
Rupert Murdoch, June 5.
David Rockefeller, August 20.
John Elway, August 20
This is around the time of trig's birth,,,,so, when she "gave birth" she knew she was running for VP?
This brings up so many questions...
Why did McCain make it seem like it as all still; undecided in Aug
Trig's birth would of fallen right in the middle of this timeframe
ect......and on and on...........
Sorry for previous mistakes
I am having horrible keyboard trouble
More on her knowing about nomination all during Trig "pregnancy"
(from TX Lisa comment 02:00:11
http://www.themudflats.net/2009/01/28/sarahs-weekend-away/#comments)
Palin knew about the VP job much sooner. The Alaska Magazine, February 2008, the following statement was made in an article regarding Palin. “She can be on the phone with Dick Cheney and have (Republican Senate President) Lyda Green right outside her door, and her kids call and she goes, ‘Oops, hold on,’” said Leighow, the deputy press secretary. “Her kids trump everyone, and I think that’s pretty neat.” So, she was putting Cheney on hold prior to that February article. I also read in another article that she was to speak at a conference but was unable, so Cheney gave a speech in her stead. I believe she knew about being considered for VP in mid-summer of 2007
Three cheers for Audrey!!! This is exactly what was disturbing me so much when I posted The Invisible Baby story to my blog. Who is paying off the MSM to ignore all these questions and inconsistencies? You are to be commended for the detailed information you have unveiled here, Audrey.
Luna,
We have the audio file too:
http://www.adn.com/front/story/382864.html
It's very easy to lose links, there are so many all over the place!
IF there is a book deal I feel it would be like the book A MILLON ITTLE PIECES that was such an embarrasment to Oprah.
Will anyone be able to believe anything in it?
Regarding Trigg and the "massive hospital coverup". Is it possible that he was born in one of the 3 midwiferys in Wasilla? 3. Doesn't that seem like alot for a town the size of Wasilla?
I believe that people are either in or out! The meaning: one is either IN this deception or they’re OUT of this deception. I believe this: WHERE THERE IS A WILL, THERE IS A WAY! So with that said, Bristol isn’t without options!
The longer they don't show us Tripp or Bristol, the greater the reasonable basis for concluding that the entire fiasco was a ruse.
No matter what, we have to conclude that the entire Palin and Johnston families are involved in whatever deception they are pulling. And there is clearly some deception going on, and it goes back to Sept 1, 2008 in its most recent incarnation, with the announcement of Bristol's 'about 5-month' pregnancy.
I see lies built upon lies, and the entire scheme could topple with just one inconvenient fact. Audrey makes a good point that MSM only reports hearsay, and then other MSM outlets report the report. This has been the path to establishing many false 'facts'. I, for one, do not give MSM too much credit for good, skeptical journalism. There seems to be a trend toward just repeating what newsmakers say, without independent verification. This is certainly true about Bristol's great aunt.
Finding and reporting the truth costs lots of money. It easier -- though sloppy journalism -- to report whatever you have so long as you can attribute it to someone else. Then you are covered. Eventually, the 'according to XYZ' goes away and all we are left with is the oft-repeated 'fact'.
Confirmable facts are in short supply, which is the hallmark of a deception. That's the way the deceivers want it. I'm guessing Bristol's great aunt was told the baby was born, and just believed and repeated it. Sherry Johnston's credibility is already tainted by her arrest for drugs.
I predict they will produce the baby when they can, and do so loudly -- like a magician pulling a rabbit out of his hat. It is virtually impossible to distinguish a newborn from a two-month old baby without close inspection. They often lose weight before gaining it back.
Dangerous
OFF TOPIC. BUT...
Per the question about when the McCain-Palin compliance fund was actually created, I read the comment below from a poster on another blog; I got to it by Googling "McCain-Palin Compliance Fund." This respose was dated Oct. 25, 2008:
"However, if you look at the actual FEC Form 3P for itemized receipts (that they link to at the end of each line!), you will see that the full name of the committee accepting these donations is "JOHN MCCAIN 2008 GENERAL COMPLIANCE FUND" (http://herndon1.sdrdc.com/cgi-bin/fecimg/?28931243250) with no mention of Palin. This hardly to me is evidence of misdirection, unless ON the day of the donations, newsmeat.com was listing Palin's name- it's more likely that they just updated it after she was named."
Calm down, folks. The Maleks' contributions were made to what was known AT THE TIME as the "John McCain 2008 General Election Compliance Fund, Inc.", as can be seen by the FEC filing:
http://images.nictusa.com/cgi-bin/fecimg/?28931639322
The name of the committee was changed to McCain-Palin AFTER she was tapped.
You can verify this by looking at other records in the database. Anything filed for August or later is under McCain-Palin, anything before is under McCain 2008 General Election. (The FEC filings are made at the END of the month so all August contributions to the committee have the McCain-Palin tag, even those made before she was picked.)
It is the same committee, just two different names used at different points in the campaign cycle. Web sites like opensecrets.org apparently display the later name for the committee, hence the confusion.
FEC database here:
http://www.fec.gov/disclosure.shtml
Bottom line: This CREEP-y donation provides no evidence that Palin was secretly picked months earlier than announced.
Perhaps we are finally unearthing info that might explain SP's inspiration for the wild ride timing. If she had heard rumors about being considered for the VP slot in the summer of 2007, or at least by February 2008, then she finds out that big donors were putting their support to her being McCain's running mate in the form of donations to the McCain-Palin Fund, around April 14, she HAD TO go to Texas for the publicity, and to get confirmation that she will be chosen...she gets it, now she NEEDS to get back to put this baby thing to bed! But first NEEDS to give that big-get-her-noticed speech. I'm guessing that she and Todd brainstormed, decided to arrive in the middle of the night, announce the birth and produce the three-week-old...OOPS..."newborn" at that time, rather than wait any longer.
She was rushing around in a heady fog, spinning it as she went! As soon as she announces Trig's birth she can stop the charade and start going out in public, as mega-mom/uber-governor/woman-hear-her-roar! Humbly waiting for John's announcement.
She and Todd lie to her folks, unfortunately, Chuck will believe anything his darling daughter tells him, so innocently repeats it to the press. What was a little white lie meant only for dear old dad, became a wild ride story the public got a hold of. She couldn't deny it, so feebly tried to discount it in the famous interview. It really was what brought the spotlight onto her and made people start to think twice and look at her more closely.
I submit that the import of the wild ride story is not that something had occurred with the already birthed Trig, but Sarah and Todd were "all in a tizzy" with their good news. They were thinking only about how Sarah should proceed, Vice President...President...OH MY!
I guess the lesson is...Spinning should not be attempted by novices or the ignorant, and certainly not on the fly!
I do think Bristol is/was pregnant. It would just be too cruel, even for Sarah, to make that up to protect herself. Sarah was probably super "upset" that bristol got knocked up again, and felt that her brand of tough love suited the crime. The timing was just a smidge off. Now, let's say that another boy turned out to be the father, the Palin's would have a hard time convincing Levi to take credit for a child that wasn't his. That could really be the problem. That could be why we haven't seen Tripp, Bristol, or Levi. They have not devised the "truth" yet, but stay tuned!
penny
I
i'm not going to drag this out
If it were true i'm sure it would of made big news
but, the 6th one down says mccain-palin dated 3/2008
http://www.newsmeat.com/celebrity_political_donations/Jerry_Bruckheimer.php
Dangerous, you've just echoed ("I predict they will produce the baby when they can, and do so loudly -- like a magician pulling a rabbit out of his hat. It is virtually impossible to distinguish a newborn from a two-month old baby without close inspection...") what I was saying yesterday, with one caveat: I don't believe there is a baby Tripp.
Hedging my bet, though...that's how I think they'd reveal him, too.
I'm also in agreement with what LondonBridges said at 4:06 AM above.
-----------------
Further:
"....so Mom and I are really upset over it. I just hope Levi pulls his head out of his butt and let's us see our nephew and her grand baby. But I will tell you the whole story when I see you...."
Audrey, you asked in the second paragraph later, "Are we to assume that Mercede and Sherry have NEVER seen the baby, which would mean that Sherry lied to People Magazine OR does it mean just that they can't see the baby in an ongoing way?"
There's one other thing that can be taken from the Mercede quote above: "Our nephew" and "her grand baby" might be, can be one and the same -- Trig.
The latter "her grand baby" may be a "She Who Must Not Be Named" reference.
No clearcut mention of TWO babies....because there aren't any.
Regarding speculation that SP knew or guessed that she would be McCain's pick for VP:
Palin was always considered a long shot in the media and GOP circles. While a handful of people were pushing her, she had close to zero name recognition or national chops.
Further McCain barely knew her even when he picked her, so to assume that she knew she had a reasonable shot at VP back in March/April is belied by established facts. If the McCain camp had been actively considering or courting her, they would have vetted her far more thoroughly.
In this investigation was must consider cause and effect. Just because some events could plausibly be attributed that way doesn't mean that they were. Random timing of events doesn't imply causality. Something was ALWAYS going on in the campaign in early 2008.
I think it is safe to conclude that SP et. al. thought that the faked pregnancy and thin cover stories had worked and they didn't need to worry about them when she accepted the VP nod. Months had passed without a blip, but only because nobody in Alaska was pursuing it. It is also safe to assume that the McCain campaign was ripped apart by the internet rumors which, if proved true, would decimate their candidate and their reputations for having failed to vet her on items citizen journalists could uncover in minutes.
Faced with that prospect, and unable to rebut the conclusions on the internet with evidence, they attacked, cleansed the record as much as possible, shamed MSM into ignoring the obvious (which would have killed the entire election story as McCain would be instantly down by 20 points or more) and sacrificed Bristol to attack the theory at its weakest point.
All those actions made perfect sense when faced with the circumstances. If more people had known the truth, McCain and his camp never would have taken SP. Because the faked pregnancy was a closely held secret that seemed to be safe, the events that followed could occur.
Dangerous
Interesting question, Audrey. I asked the very same thing on an ADN blog the other night. I received a warning from the ADN blog administrator. The warning was for being off topic. I've been off topic on several occasions, yet never received a warning until this one. Makes me even more curious as to what is going on with Tripp. Keep up the good work.
I have read the transcript of the interview Sarah Palin gave to the ADN shortly after Trig's announced birth, and I listened to the audio tape of the interview. I think there may be a very important statement by Sarah Palin in that interview which constitutes a very important admission that Bristol, not Sarah, is the birth mother of Trig.
In the interview, Sarah states that Trig will have many caregivers, including "three (3) sets of grandparents."
Now, the usual situation is for a baby to have either two sets of grandparents (paternal and maternal), or fewer, if some of the grandparents pre-deceased the baby's birth.
A baby has "three (3)" sets of grandparents only if one set of grandparents has divorced, creating two separate grandparent households on either the paternal or maternal side.
So, Sarah Palin's comment would be accurate, if she were the birth mother, only if Todd's parents are alive and divorced. Does anyone know if that it so?
If Todd's parents are either deceased or alive and still married to each other, Sarah's statement regarding three sets of grandparents can only mean that Bristol is the birth mother of Trig. Why? Because, Trig would then have one set of maternal grandparents (Sarah and Todd), and two sets of grandparents on the paternal side of his family--Sherry Johnston, who is divorced, and (if I remember his first name correctly), Bill Johnston, Levi's father).
So, if Todd's parents are either deceased, or alive and married to each other, we have a "smoking gun" -- from the mouth of the fair Governor of Alaska herself.
OT, but following one tangent that's been brought up this morning...
If any of you want verification as to when Sarah Palin began to be considered as a VP candidate, one of her most ardent supporters is a guy named Adam Brickley. He's been following her career since she became the Alaska governor!! His "Draft Sarah Palin for Vice President" blog begins with an entry Monday, March 12, 2007.
(of more pertinent interest, he has a blog entry on the day the McCain campaign revealed Bristol's "pregnancy")
It's well worth working your way through his blog, even up to the present time -- it's quite revealing, if you want to get the POV of an infatuated fanboy with, apparently, some political savvy.
There's more info on Adam Brickley at Slate and a video at ColbertNation (get this quote!: "Adam Brickley explains how he influenced the direction of American politics from his mom's house" -- the very epitome of one of those "bloggers in pajamas").
P.S...straying from the topic once again (please forgive me, Audrey and Morgan) but on that same tangent I mentioned:
Truly, you all should also occasionally read Conservatives4Palin.com if you're interested at all in that peculiar mindset that dotes on Sarah Palin.
The one for today is hysterically funny, from a progressive/liberal point of view: "Rush Limbaugh: Sarah Palin is the Future Leader of the Republican Party".
I understand that the McCain compliance fund existed prior to his selection of Palin, and that it was later changed when she was added. However, we do know that on the all-important Texas trip, she was at a meeting where the governors were asked if they would consider being the VP running mate, and Palin responded in the affirmative. Whatever the status of McCain's running mate in early summer, I actually doubt it was such a mystery as the official campaign story presents it.
As long as no one had been announced, and Palin's name was bandied about, there was a hope. And maybe some big Texas donors and Energy concerns got to have a good look at her in April (wink, wink).
I too am back to the 'wild ride' story, which like many here first clued me into the extreme weirdness of Palinworld. The thing is, there was really NO REASON for all the drama. If events really transpired as she said they did, it seems like a very low-key story would have been much better. And now we know they can 'lay low' when necessary, e.g. Where IS Tripp ?
I also do not think it was necessary to construct the 'wild ride' story out of whole cloth because of Chuck Heath's 'water leaking' comment. It would have been easy enough to just say, 'oh, my dad is sort of hard of hearing and misunderstood over the phone' or some such. We KNOW that Sarah is capable of dismissing info in this way when she wants to. I do think the 'wild ride' story was deliberately crafted to 'imprint' the birth into the public's memory. Fortunately for us it did just that, but not in the intended way !
It is also important to follow up on the 'inducement'. Because the logical thing to do would be to transport Sarah BACK TO PROVIDENCE for that procedure. By definition, if the baby is induced then delivery is not imminent. Why does she say she was induced at Mat-Su ? (This is more information that does not need to be in the story in the first place and to me it is the REAL nail in the coffin).
Every time i think the smoke and mirrors will prevail and it's time to move on, some new tactic of our governor to jockey for 2012 appears and i panic all over again, just like i did watching the RNC convention. Images of the alternate reality (where the US is a fascist country headed by a rogue woman who is advised by men with red eyes) which was the last sequence aired on Star Trek :The Next Generation fill my mind. As an Alaskan, I am horrified by the thought of unleashing that prospect on our country and our world. Please, if you think I am a nutjob on this, go back and watch some of the terrifying rallies last fall and remember just how close the race was for several weeks !
One last thing : when I first read about the Cheney phone calls in AK magazine I thought it was just journalistic hyperbole to impress the masses. But now it seems very probable. And would also explain why Sarah was hoaxed by Sarkozy fakers.
If she was used to getting calls from Cheney at his underground bunker, why wouldn't
she believe she was talking to Sarkozy ?( And I would not be the least bit surprised if Cheney talked dirty to her either ! And she flirted back . . .)
NJESQ-
todd palin's parents are indeed divorced.
i don't know about his mom, but his father is remarried. and that second wife, todd's step mom is a pro-choice independent who ran for major of wasilla after sarah palin's 2 terms were up. she lost to the conservative candidate palin endorsed. she also told some press outlet pre-presidential election that she might vote for obama, being undecided. her name is faye, perhaps someone should cold-call her about baby tripp.
todd's mom's name is blanche and she is one-quarter yupik native.
NJESQ,
Todd's parents are divorced. That explains the comment about three sets of grandparents.
Todd's stepmother ran for mayor of Wasilla when Sarah could not because of term limits, and Sarah endorced her stepmother's opponent! The stepmother also said after Palin joined the McCain campaign that she didn't know who she would vote for!
Todd's Native American heritage is through his mother.
Thanks for the clarification ghostbuster. I still think that Sarah felt like she had a real chance at the VP nod. Knowing this, she needed to make her presence known at the Texas conference. She had planned this for a while, and had plenty of time to announce Trigs birth around the end of the month, or so. I can't help but think that she heard something from someone there that gave her even more confidence in her getting the nod. IMO McCain was under the influence throughout the campaign, and the words came out of his mouth, but he was not the decision maker. So, Sarah and Todd's heads are in a whirl! They need to get back to AK to "give birth" to Trig earlier than planned, so she can ready herself for the announcement. Still fits with what we do know and supports the "Midnight ride of the Mavrick!"
They just forgot they told her dad a little more information than he needed, or knew what it meant. oops!
just spitballin'
penny
Where's the money coming from to buy off the MSM?
How is this country really run?
I believe that the Palin/Johnston relationship needs to be examined thoroughly; then we will be getting closer to the truth.
Interesting, NJESQ.
Sarah's parents= alive (Heaths)
Todd's dad and stepmom = alive (Stepmom ran for Mayor of Wasilla without Sarah's blesing; they live in CA part-time)
I don't know about Todd's birth mom.
For those asking for the source of information regarding Sarah's church's connection to the Mat-Su hospital, I read it first here on this blog.
If you go back to the October archive of this blog, scroll down to "Wasilla Project" and I think it's about the 4th video down, title referring to RELIGION. It is there that locals claim that the hospital board was (some years back) taken over by members of Sarahs church.
Just watched Sarah pardon that turkey again! When asked what she was thankful for this Thanksgiving, she responds,"... and my three girls are doing so well in school..." Wait a minute..I guess Bristol was back in school, and doing well last Thanksgiving!
Also, if you haven't watched her most recent interview outside the mansion, you really need to. Her ability to spin pure BS is mind-boggling!
penny
to NHESQ, Todd Palin's parents are divorced. His father is James Palin, now married to Faye. His mother is Blanche Kallstrom.
Palin was the VP choice only after the handlers refused McCain's choice, Lieberman. My guess is that McCain threw up his hands and said, "whatever." Reports are that he was very upset over not getting Lieberman. Why he didn't get to choose is another question!
I don't think they vetted her, and the reason was it was a last minute choice, forced on him by the GOP powers that wanted Palin.
Dangerous:
Thank you for your points regarding SP as a longshot VP choice.
I've made similar points on a previous thread, but it seems that for some, it is an article of faith that there was a powerful cabal within the Republican party that, starting in 2007, was intent on installing SP as VP regardless of the nominee. The Jane Mayer article in the New Yorker was one MSM source for this theory, but that article made very weak couplings between the summer 2007 cruises and the 2008 McCain campaign. In fact, Michael Goldfarb, formerly of the McCain campaign, recently said the JM article was in essence full of it.
So, the evidence that SP was a leading VP candidate by August 2008, much less by April, in reality is, as you say, belied by the facts. McCain barely knew her, and the campaign poorly vetted her.
Some people point to SP's VP chances as one rationale why she went to Texas in April. We know SP is a very ambitious and self-promoting politician. IMHO that's a sufficient reason for why she went to Texas--regardless of 2008 VP possibilities.
One last thing that I haven't seen pointed out here:
Remember, in April 2008, the cage match between Obama and Clinton was still in full force (albeit Obama by that time clearly had the upper hand), going on through June. So in April the Dem nomination was by no means certain, much less the Dem VP choice.
Many observers believe that SP would NOT have ultimately been chosen, had Clinton won the nomination or been selected as VP. Clinton being passed over as VP opened the door for McCain to pick SP. That didn't happen until late August.
I followed Diana's advice on taking a look at the photos posted for a clue.
On the one with Bristol shopping in the convienence store, she looks about 6-7 months pregnant. Look closely at the Pepsi bottles in the background. They all have orange caps. Browsing through the web, I found that the orange caps were released from Sep. '07 - Dec. '07, and may have still been in distribution in January '08. The timeline fits, and this would imply that she is Trig's mother. Can anyone provide more information on those orange Pepsi caps?
Great article as usual!! Please keep 'em coming.
One oddity I found is that Levi was supposedly hundreds of miles away when Tripp, his first son, was born.
Don't we try to encourage young fathers to be involved in the child-rearing from day one? He couldn't stay nearby to at least witness the birth? Wouldn't he rush home to see his son after the birth? Wouldn't both set of grandparents do what they could to see that he's involved? It seems like they did the opposite to keep him out of town. (Similar to what happened with Track?)
As I recall, he returned home only because it was revealed that he didn't have a HS diploma which was required for the job. So, if this wouldn't have happened are we to believe he would still be up in Northern Alaska?
First an invisible pregnancy. Now an invisible baby. How dey do dat?
CBJ is an expert on abuse, sexual and otherwise; SP could have gone to her with the situation of a pregnant Bristol & asked her to use her influence to keep all of the medical records concerning the pregnancy & birth secret, (which CBJ would have the ability to do from having worked with victims of sexual abuse). Then an adoption may have been arranged that fell apart when it was discovered that her baby had Down syndrome. That would explain SP's late announcement of her "pregnancy" and the haphazard way she dealt with it. Fast forward to April 17, when Trig shows up early, and SP races back to Wasilla to claim him as hers. If "Tripp" even exists, I say he's still in utero. Another interesting tidbit I read on The Enquirer website was that when SP found out that BP was pregnant, (supposedly with Tripp), she threw her out of the house & BP went to live with her aunt. Well, didn't BP move in with her aunt in December 2007? So easy to get these mysterious "pregnancies" mixed up!
"Rush Limbaugh: Sarah Palin is the Future Leader of the Republican Party".
If only!
There have been comments made on many other political websites that Sarah actually met with the McCain people and accepted his offer to be his running mate when she was in Texas in late April for the Republican Governor's Convention. The one she had to rush home from. (I’m digging for the website where I read this, my files have grown too large with too many links to check right now)
Why would McCain choose a pregnant woman, with a due date in late May, as a running mate?
It does seem as if lots of work was being done behind the scenes regarding the national campaign possibly as early as late April 2008. I would not be surprised if plans weren’t being made as early as February 5th, Super Tuesday, when a majority of states hold their primaries. If he was vetting her this early she had not announced the pregnancy yet, unless she had told McCain.
This is the earliest actual account of formal vetting I can find is from conservative website wizbangblog May 29,2008
Quote from wizbangblog:
“A tipster sent us word that John McCain's VP advance man Arthur Culvahouse has been spotted in Juneau, Alaska. There's only one reason he would be there - to meet with Alaska Governor Sarah Palin about the Vice President position.”
Informal Vetting June 2007 “The Pundit Cruise”
It’s a long article but worth reading as it shows in June 2007 Sarah was entertaining people capable of spreading her name around and getting her noticed, even if they were journalists rather than politicians.
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/10/27/081027fa_fact_mayer?currentPage=all
So, there were people interested in her even in June 2007. Powerful people that could help her achieve her greatest goals. Would she really have let herself get pregnant in August 2007 knowing what might be required of her in one year’s time?
Back to the pregnancy timeline:
She didn’t start wearing the camouflaging scarves until Feb 19 when she was photographed with the giant orange one (on palindeception website preMarch photos)
She didn’t announce the pregnancy to the public until 3/6/2008.
If McCain were truly involved in vetting prior to May 2008 would he really pick a pregnant woman to be his running mate? The energy required to participate in a national campaign must be extraordinary, not to mention Sarah was still operating as Governor as she did not hand the reigns of office over to her Lt. Gov. while she was on the campaign trail.
If Trig had arrived on his stated due date he would have been little more than three months old at the beginning of the Pres. Campaign. Frequent daytime feedings, night time feedings, multiple daily and nightly diaper changes. So much required of a new mom besides working 18-hour days promoting a candidacy and running a Governor’s office. Did he truly believe she is that energetic? Is anyone?
Can any person really keep up with these demands? Could she have even convinced McCain she could do it all? Perhaps, she could have but only if she wasn’t really a new mom, at all, but a Grandmother instead. That seems to me the only way the McCain camp would have even considered her as running mate.
Sarah puts herself first, regardless of what comes out of her mouth. I just can’t believe that knowing she could soon, in the next year, be a national figure with high demands on her time she was not taking precautions against getting pregnant! Would she really have let herself get pregnant in August 2007 knowing what might be required of her in one year’s time?
I just can’t see anyone setting herself up like this. Plus, it’s not easy for a 44 year old woman to even conceive, much less accidentally.
Sorry for the long post but too many things just don’t add up.
What doesn't make sense about the whole "Bristol is withholding Tripp to get revenge on her mom" narrative is that if she were ever angry at her mom for "using" her pregnancy, it would have been back in August when she paraded out Bristol and Levi as exemplars of romantic teen love at the Republican National Convention. If I were Bristol and my mom flew me (and the rest of the family) to Dayton and sprung on me there that she was running for vice president and now my whole life was going to be raked over by the tabloids (of course, Sarah has also told different stories about what she shared with her family when about being on the ticket, so that's impossible to sort out too), I would be quaking with rage, and I would then and there have refused to be a show pony at the convention.
As has been repeatedly pointed out here, the more you dig into SarahWorld, the less sense it all makes.
Thanks MaryG for bringing up the "hand raising" VP questionnaire at the April Repub. Gov Conference. That is what I had read recently and been unable to find reference to. I did also read somewhere that she spoke w/McCain people there but still have not found that link.
omo said...
"i panic all over again, just like i did watching the RNC convention"
I definitely don't think you're a nutjob and I totally agree! It's really frightening how close she came already.
nilap - Holy cow! You take 'observant' to a whole new level!
Off topic here, but does the 'hand raising' thing at the governor's convention really mean anything? It sounds a bit too elementary school for gauging interest in the second-highest office of the country!
Todd Palin's parents are divorced and his birth mother Blanche Kallstrom is now Blanche Roberts and her and her husband live in Dillingham, Alaska.
If you google her as Blanche (Roberts) Kallstrom
you'll get all sorts of interesting articles. Read for yourself
luna1580 and B, are you two mind-melding?
It cracked me up that you both typed nearly exactly the same thing about Todd Palin's father, step-mother, and his birth mother.
Think about it: this second baby is purportedly one month old. They live in sub-freezing temperatures day in and day out. If it were my baby, I wouldn't be going out with him either. If I were a paparazzi, I wouldn't be hanging out in the bushes either. And if I were BP and I did have to go to the pediatrician, and I were living at home, the car seat would be covered over with a blanket anyway due to the cold. So, it makes sense to me that the ONLY photos available would come from a photo shoot with a magazine (though who really cares about this unemployed, uneducated, unmarried teenager and her baby) OR...from the family or their friends or say, a government website. And that's the part that I concede is weird. And if I were this teenager and my only source of support, financial and moral, was my family - especially one rumored to make millions of dollars some day soon - I'd not rock the boat too much either. That said, I still think this girl is the mother of two baby boys. L.A. in S.F.
The more I think about it, the more I think that Sarah may in fact have been groomed for VP by none other than Dick Cheney, phoning her from his underground bunker or wherever. After all, Cheney is an oil man and alaska is the quintessential oil state. I suspect that Ted Stevens was in on it too , remember that Sarah was on his 501 (or whatever number it was) committee from about 2003-2005.
I also cannot forget how surprised many of us were here in the Interior that Sarah actually won in 2006 as our region was going strongly for Tony Knowles.
The 'wild ride' story still seems scripted to me. We know that Sarah does better with a script. What I am guessing is that it was scripted by a MAN, who went for the drama in the situation but had no conception of how ludicrous the whole story would sound to anyone who has actually given birth . . .
If Sarah knew she was likely to be chosen as the VP pick months before it was official, what motive for her weird birth story, or her announced pregnancy on March 6, is enhanced?
Most of us were led to believe that Sarah was chosen out of the blue at a late date. Vetting minimal at best. Sarah surprised, according to her in-home Greta interview.
But what if she knew sooner? The first donations to McCain-Palin Compliance fund happens March 1.
Maybe McCain set it up early without a tack-on name, maybe he didn't. I don't have info on that yet.
I'm willing to suggest that Sarah knew full well she'd be on the national stage well in advance of her formal announcement.
How does this play into her thinking if she finds out Bristol is pregnant in December '07 or January '08?
AKPetMom:
Your theory about how the opportunity for SP to be VP goes back into 2007 and therefore colors her pregnancy (fake or real) is interesting, but not consistent with known facts.
- You are right that some conservative pundits visited SP in summer 2007. But your saying that they were "powerful people that could help her achieve her greatest goals" is a bit of a stretch. That would be like saying Maureen Dowd is a powerful person who could help Barack Obama achieve his goals.
- According to the New Yorker article: "McCain had met Palin once, but their conversation--at a reception during a meeting of the National Governors Association, six months earlier [Feb 2008] --had lasted only fifteen minutes."
- So this statement of yours seems pretty dubious: "I would not be surprised if plans weren't being made as early as February 5th, Super Tuesday, when a majority of states hold their primaries. If he was vetting her this early she had not announced the pregnancy yet, unless she had told McCain."
- McCain next met SP face to face in AZ at the end of Aug., days before announcing her as VP.
- The first reported item regarding vetting is that May 29 wizbang item you cite. So there is no evidence that vetting took place prior to or around the time of Trig's birth in April. And all MSM reports from McCain campaign sources indicate last-minute and inadequate full vetting.
- Therefore, the simplest explanation is that the pregnancy decisions took place prior to and had nothing to do with the opportunity to be VP. I agree with Dangerous: McCain was probably blindsided by all the fake pregnancy rumors, because the vetting was last-minute. Had McCain really secretly picked SP a lot earlier, say in the April time frame or before, he would have had plenty of time to uncover the rumors--in which case, he would have just as secretly dumped her.
- But we also know from MSM reporting that Lieberman, Romney and Pawlenty were in the mix until the last week--again pointing to a last-minute decision to pick SP.
- I know it makes for a great theory, how the fake pregnancy is wrapped up in SP's drive to be named VP. But I'm afraid it just doesn't hold water. Whatever actions SP took regarding the pregnancy, that was well before the VP thing was seriously in play.
It is ironic that Bristol is nowhere to be seen these days, after having been paraded in the most humiliating way in front of the cameras at the RNC. One can hardly make much of a case for privacy after showing the world how embarrassing she looked in the way too tight dress with the way too bulging bustline.
The non-existence of Tripp is the final nail in the coffin.
This is sort of off-topic, but since it's been discussed about when/where McCain chose Palin as his VP pick:
Lemme tell you something -
John McCain probably had ZERO say in that decision. SP's choice for VP is PURE KARL ROVE!!! And/or, any of the other hardline neo-cons who are now in full control of the Republican party.
(And remember - by this time, McCain had HIRED the very same political operatives who smeared HIM in S. Carolina during his 2000 run. His arch enemies were now on his payroll. 'Nuff said)
And when you look at the other incredibly terrible GOP choices they had, SP was the only one who could fill their "rile the base" checklist:
A) She's a woman
(Because EVERYONE who is fuming that Hillary was out would vote for her instead. I mean, she has a vagina too. Right, PUMAs?)
B) She's pro-Jesus, pro-life, pro-gun, anti-gay
(4 perfect red-meat meals for "the base")
C) She's folksy and kind of ignorant
(The GOP voters insist that their leaders to be as stupid and ignorant as they are)
D) Sex-appeal
(Ignore the cranky, very old man next to her - focus on those legs, the up-teased hair, and wow - look, look - she winked at ME!)
E) "Drill baby, drill"
(Alaska has lots of oil! Unfortunately most of it spilled on shore after the Valdez)
F) Super-Mom! Hockey-Mom! (TM)
(If Sarah Palin can juggle 5 kids AND be a governor, or COURSE she's ready to be president!)
G) Amazing tele-prompter reading skills
(Her stint as a weather-caster early in her career sure paid off. And she will say - and read - ANYTHING if it means more power and attention on HER)
Seriously - this was Karl Rove's most cynical, devious, and nearly scientifically devised plot....EVER!
Believe me, there was no bothering in trying to "vet" her. And any/all of those pesky details like a faked pregnancy, ignoramus statements to the press, or utter lack of qualifications could be bought off or shrugged off by a very lazy MSM.
("The liberal media is in the tank for Obama!! Waah, cry, faux outrage! Waaaaah"!)
John McCain sold his very soul - and dignity and honor - to Karl Rove and the GOP wingnuts, to do ANYTHING just to WIN. Sarah Palin was their only hope to get their shrinking party excited.
Country first?
Ha! Right - and I have a "bridge to nowhere" in Alaska I wanna sell you!
Again, I hope eveyone reads the interview with Jane Mayer (who wrote the New Yorker article) on the "Democracy Now" site.
Mayer tells how Sarah Palin was being seriously "vetted" by the neocons and theocons for a possible VP role as early as summer of 2007. She gives many interesting details in this interview that are not in the New Yorker article, including some fascinating info on the guy who started the first Sarah Palin blog.
http://www.democracynow.org/2008/10/29/jane_mayer_on_the_insiders_how
So Sarah supposedly won't let members of the Johnston family see Tripp. I thought Tripp was Bristol and Levi's baby; how can Sarah prevent them from showing Tripp to the Johnstons? Sarah and Todd supposedly both have jobs; Bristol is, supposedly, in the Palin home tending a baby (or two). If she doesn't have her own car, couldn't she call up Levi's mom and sis and invite them over to see Tripp? Does Levi's mom work during the day, or did she get fired because of her arrest? Is there an electric fence around the Palin home preventing Bristol leaving and/or the Johnston clan coming in? Is Bristol locked in the house? Do the Palins own a digital camera? If so, Bristol can take photos of Tripp and e-mail them to the Johnstons if armed guards prevent her from leaving. This story is very fishy. Good thing Trig is going to be a fish-picker when he grows up.
AKPetMom said...
*SNIP*
Back to the pregnancy timeline:
She didn’t start wearing the camouflaging scarves until Feb 19 when she was photographed with the giant orange one (on palindeception website preMarch photos)
She didn’t announce the pregnancy to the public until 3/6/2008.
*SNIP*
This is why I believe Trig was born prior to Feb 19 and that by Feb 19 they realized he had DS and could not be easily adopted. What is it with these folks and their 18ths 19ths and 20ths? (Remember when they brought the baby to the governor's office and Todd said that he wished Trig could have been born 2 days later like his other "son")?
Anyway, for the two weeks following Feb 19, SP had begun her ruse until making her "surprise announcement" March 6. For the people like myself who think she looks preoccupied in the orange scarf, it's in my opinion because of DS discovery and the need for a plan B since plan A (adoption) was not feasible.
Desperate Housewives
Season 4, Episode 1: Now You Know
Original Air Date—30 September 2007
Meanwhile, Bree continues to hide the fact that her daughter is illegitimately pregnant by pretending to be pregnant herself.
this is sooo weird. SP has Trig who was more than likely birthed by BP and drags him tens of thousands of miles and makes suer he gets every photo opp possible, and now BP allegedly has Tripp and is seems like Sarah owns him and wont let the world see him. I doubt BP has any say. If SP wanted the world to see a pic we'd have seen one. I wish I could say there is a LOGICAL conclusion, but these folks are anything but logical.
"Whats become of the baby, this cold December morning"
--Robert Hunter
Regarding the amount of prewritten material or a book proposal that would need to be written in order for Sarah to secure a book deal - the true answer is: none would be needed due to her level of fame.
I attended a conference of literary agents a few years ago where an agent who works with his father at an extremely established literary agency specifically talked about the celebrity memoir. He handles these books and it is a speciality for him.
At the time he was working with wrestler Mick Foley and promoting the guy's novel, which was unusual the agent said because Mick actually wrote it. He said with the earlier two "autobiographies" about Mick that were published the routine was simple:
The celebrity sits down with an interviewer, usually a ghostwriter who has already researched the celeb's life. They record about ten hours of Q & A. Then the ghostwriter goes off and polishes the material into an autobiography which makes it sound like the celebrity actually wrote the book.
This had been done the agent said with the earlier two books about Mick's life as a professional wrestler, but then Mick took a stab at writing a real novel and to the agent's surprise it was actually GOOD so he agreed to represent that novel and sell it.
To secure a deal for the typical celebrity "memoir" the agent would pitch the idea to the editor in chief at each respective publishing house and attempt to get a bidding war going - all based on the perceived popularity of the celebrity. Nothing was written down on paper at this point, no book proposal, no nothing. Just the literary agent pitching the idea to publishers and securing a deal after a bidding war.
The agent explained how this was done with other celebrity memoirs from the time - I think he referenced Kelsey Grammar and Fran Dreischer (sp?) whose books read very much as if they have been constructed from several hours of interview material.
Just last week it was announced that a book publisher is paying something like $20 million for a series of 3 to 5 "memoirs" by Britney Spears. It's highly unlikely that she submitted anything in writing, or that she'll ever have to. She'll simply be asked questions in an interview format and a ghostwriter will piece together her life story for the books.
In the world of politics, this agent told us, it's a little different. The politician will usually have their own PR person and preferred ghostwriter in place to "handle" the manuscript aspects and the publishing house has to work with them. Also he said some politicians (although very few) actually write their own material - Bill Clinton's voluminous memoir being a case in point.
So Sarah Palin wouldn't need to have written anything at all as long as she has an entertainment attorney or literary agent (these are the two professional types who usually make book deals for celebrities) to secure a potential book deal.
As for who really controls the mainstream media and for some clear, detailed examples of award winning journalists who were blacklisted and "shut up" when they tried to publish "unpopular" stories, I recommend reading an extremely important book called Into the Buzz Saw: Leading Journalists Expose the Myth of a Free Press. The editor (who provides her own story as part of this collection of harrowing true stories) talks about how she was given evidence about rocket fuel being present on the seat cushions of the 1996 TWA Flight 800 airplane - which provided clear evidence that the plane had been shot down, probably by our own military in a misfire during a drill.
Initially her editor was game to run the story in her paper but then the FBI showed up and confiscated all her evidence. Later her computer was stolen, car and home broken into, and a clear "warning" sent that the story could go no further.
This thing happens ALL THE TIME. Read the book and be amazed.
Do any of you recall some years ago when Connie Chung cohosted the CBS evening news with Dan Rather? I believe this was in 1996 or so but I can't remember for sure. Anyway at one point during her run on that show she was asked on camera as part of an interview outside of the show where she and Dan got all their news for the show, and she said, "That's easy, we broadcast what Washington tells us to broadcast." Or words to that same effect.
After that, within days I believe, Connie Chung was out of a job. And she didn't work very much for years after that.
Blacklist, anyone? Connie dared to tell the truth and wasn't sharp enough to realize that that might harm her.
@ sg at 3:58
"I know it makes for a great theory, how the fake pregnancy is wrapped up in SP's drive to be named VP. But I'm afraid it just doesn't hold water. Whatever actions SP took regarding the pregnancy, that was well before the VP thing was seriously in play."
------
I draw your attention to the Alaska Magazine, February 2008, article which provided the following information:
“She can be on the phone with Dick Cheney and have (Republican Senate President) Lyda Green right outside her door, and her kids call and she goes, ‘Oops, hold on,’” said Leighow, the deputy press secretary. “Her kids trump everyone, and I think that’s pretty neat.”
So, the governor was talking to Cheney before February 2008. And when she was unable to give a speech at a conference in February, I read that an aide said Cheney gave the speech instead. I believe she was positioning herself as far back as March of 2007.
So, if BO had picked HClinton as VP, well, the only way she would have a upper hand is with a trump card....
KaJo, I am pleased to be thinking like Luna. She has great comments. Plus, the stories were so memorable: "Palin endorsed mother-in-law's opponent." "Palin's mother-in-law may vote for Obama."
Laura, I agree with you that the Wasilla winter would be a good reason for us not to see Tripp, even if he existed. But unless doctors do house calls there, he should have ventured out at least once for a well-baby visit by now. Also, I thought Bristol enrolled at the local high school this semester, so we would be seeing her leave the house. Must be another correspondence course.
I am just going to put an opinion out there; if it is not posted, I understand. In my opinion, Bristol is NOT the mom of both Trig and Tripp (if he is born yet). It is also my opinion that “if” Bristol was the mom of both babies (if Tripp is born) then it is also my opinion that Levi Johnston is NOT the father of both babies.
I'm still convinced that the Palin family purposely released the rumor about Bristol getting paid $300,000 for the first pics.
This provides a logical excuse for remaining in seclusion with no pics. Its common for celebrities to do this with their first baby pics.
However, I think it was an effort to buy them more time. Either Bristol will give birth somewhere down the line or an adoption will be set up. Then pics can be released several months later saying that the negotiations for the pics are the reason for the hold up.
Just other opinions of mine are: Mercede Johnston looks happy and at peace in the TriggyBear picture; she does not look happy in any other MySpace picture; she is always silly, drinking or whatever else. Levi Johnston looked like everything was a big “whatever, I don’t have to work for a couple of days” in all of the RNC pictures; and he is probably still on the slope, just not in the apprentice program. In my opinion the awful dress choice on Bristol and Levi kissing Trig were just teenage stunts, meant to embarrass SP on her BIG DAY. I mean really what would SP do; throw a hissy fit for all those cameras? SP probably didn’t even notice all the things going on behind the scenes at the time. Todd Palin seems silent most of the time.
SpecialMom:
I read the Jane Mayer interview you cited (I've previously read her full New Yorker article).
You describe it thusly:
"Mayer tells how Sarah Palin was being seriously 'vetted' by the neocons and theocons for a possible VP role as early as summer of 2007."
I'm afraid that's a distorted characterization of the interview. Mayer does not use the words "vet", "neocon," or "theocon." Nor does she say anything at all about how the summer 2007 cruises placed SP in a possible VP role.
Here's the reality of the summer 2007 cruises, as described by Mayer as well as by the publications sponsoring the cruises:
In the summer of 2007, the National Review and the Weekly Standard (two conservative publications) separately and independently sponsored cruises up to Alaska. They went up to Alaska because it's a nice place to go in the summer, not to court SP. (I think there may be a fund-raising component too.)
I'm sure that there were neocons (like Bill Kristol) and theocons (like Michael Gershon) among the bunch. But a fairer description would be that the writers consisted of a broad spectrum of conservative writers.
SP found out that they were coming to Alaska, and, being the shameless self-promoter that she is, invited some subset of the publications' writers to some events at the governor's mansion in Juneau. The conservative writers came away favorably impressed; Fred Barnes of the Weekly Standard wrote a very flattering piece shortly thereafter. Bill Kristol, in the spring of 2008, plugged SP publicly on Fox News as well as in his NY Times column.
But favorably pub from some outside pundits hardly comprises a serious grass-roots "Draft Sarah" movement.
The problem with Mayer's analysis is that she fails to establish a connection between these outside pundits looking in (as well as that blogger dude Brickley), and McCain himself and his campaign.
Here are the issues:
First, McCain is neither a neocon nor a theocon.
Second, McCain was not particularly loved by the conservative punditry. Remember, too, that in the summer 2007, his campaign had tanked and was left for dead. Most conservatives were on board with either Romney (e.g., the National Review) or Guiliani (a lot of so-called neocons). Huckabee was gaining traction with theocons.
Third, as I've described in previous posts (as has Dangerous), all the evidence is that McCain barely knew SP (first meeting her in Feb. 2008), the campaign decided late in August to pick her, and didn't adequately vet her ahead of time. McCain's first choice was Lieberman, but he was convinced that the party would have revolted. His aides (many former Romney-ites) tried to convince him to pick Romney, but McCain really, really dislikes Romney. So that was a no-go. It boiled down to Pawlenty vs. SP, and McCain rolled the dice, the maverick that he is. Many observers feel the absence of Clinton on the Dem ticket created the woman VP opportunity in August, and tilted things in SP's favor.
It's not that complicated. Given the possibilities of the McCain campaign being impulsive vs. having a months-long master plan, I'll choose the former. Occam's Razor and all that.
I was just enjoying some time with my daughter, who is just about exactly the same age as Bristol Palin was when Sarah put her on display at the RNC as the world's most famous pregnant teenager. The idea that a mom could do that to her teenage daughter is just mind-boggling to me. Sarah Palin is one sick woman, consumed with her own ambition. Bristol, I send you my hopes and prayers that someday you can be free from Sarah's influence over you.
Kudos to Audrey as always.
I've always looked at the "throw-Bristol-under-the-bus" point a bit differently.
The best argument people have against it is that Bristol was obviously showing and they were going to have to disclose it anyway. That's not a bad argument.
BUT fact is, the McCain camp acknowledged it was done to combat the rumors spreading on the internet that weekend (between the VP announcement on Friday or so and the day the announced the pregnancy on Monday or so). So...
1. Of all the rumors and existing Palingates that emerged that weekend when everyone was figuring out who this Sarah Palin was, WHY ADDRESS THAT RUMOR OUT OF ALL OF THEM? Perhaps because this one was potentially fatal? Consider- more problematic than Troopergate that they had to do immediate damage control?
2. Even if you assume that it was merely a pesky rumor they were trying to stifle and they had Bristol's pregnancy to announce anyway, then why commit political malpractice and acknowledge you are issuing the BP pregnancy as proof that there was no fake SP pregnancy? If a rumor/"conspiracy theory" is ludicrous, you either ignore it, or if you must deal with it, you do so quietly (a la BO birth certificate). Making this move-- tying the BP pregnancy to rebut the fake SP pregnancy-- smacks of panic and ill-preparedness.
My word verification is "Triga."
***Laura said...
Think about it: this second baby is purportedly one month old. They live in sub-freezing temperatures day in and day out. If it were my baby, I wouldn't be going out with him either. If I were a paparazzi, I wouldn't be hanging out in the bushes either. And if I were BP and I did have to go to the pediatrician, and I were living at home, the car seat would be covered over with a blanket anyway due to the cold. So, it makes sense to me that the ONLY photos available would come from a photo shoot with a magazine (though who really cares about this unemployed, uneducated, unmarried teenager and her baby) OR...from the family or their friends or say, a government website. And that's the part that I concede is weird. And if I were this teenager and my only source of support, financial and moral, was my family - especially one rumored to make millions of dollars some day soon - I'd not rock the boat too much either. That said, I still think this girl is the mother of two baby boys. ***
But it hasn't been subfreezing in their part of Alaska day in and day out. On many days it's been warmer there than here in NYC, and people do certainly leave their homes with their babies.
Right now, the big story with this family is the baby mystery/mysteries. I really think (and I'm nosing around for proof) that there is some MSM interest in this fake baby story; not enough for paparazzi in the bushes, but enough that I'm sure there are reporters up there trying to see if anyone is willing to talk. As far as pictures, I'm guessing (and again, trying to find out) that Bristol backed out of the People deal. (And right now, I think People doesn't care; they've got the crazy-mommy Casey Anthony story to keep sales up.) And depending on what Sarah does to keep her name in the news in the next few weeks, someone in MSM is going to ask "Where's Tripp?" Sarah just can't lay low (which would let this story die); I think we've all seen that by now. If she keeps her name out there, someone is going to realize that breaking this baby fraud story HUGE will be a major coup for their paper/magazine.
James,
I couldn't agree with you more.
Karl Rove "The Architect"'s antics go waaaay back, starting with getting Dubya elected governor here in our fair state. Scary, scary stuff. Check out the documentary about him on PBS' Frontline. You won't be able to sleep much afterwards.
I think Rove and Cheney figured we're not gonna take this one, so when they asked for a show of hands, it was to basically say (in THEIR minds) Hey guys somebody's gotta take one for the team this go-round.
After her humiliating interviews, ultimate defeat and then the Neiman-Marcus-gate, they probably figured she'd go back to Alaska with her tail between her legs.
Oh No.
Not our gal.
She thawed out a package of ground moose, invited her gal pal Greta up fer some stew, and kicked off her 2012 campaign...!
sg: re timing of VP hopes vs SP preg.
The Brickley blog started in July 7 2007.
The cruise visits were in the summer of 2007. If it was me, I'd have been all a-twitter!
I agree that there's nothing to show that McCain gave SP any thought before the last minute, but SHE surely did, and others did. And it was those others who eventually made that decision. McCain would have wanted Lieberman.
So with the McCain VP slot up in the air all along, and with those cruise visitors so charmed by her, and with Brickley doing his slavish-adoration blog, it seems obvious that SP would have had the whole VP possibility in mind when she decided what to do about the Trig pregnancy. And she told McCain that it was hers. No problem. It's the other rumors that were a problem, but the campaign thought they had it solved with the announcement about Bristol. Or so I read at that time.
Then, for a long time, the rumors persisted but normal people didn't believe them. Just like now -- lots of people scoff.
Then, I am guessing, at some point McCain realized it was true that SP was not pregnant with Trig. That put a different light, a different focus on everything else about her. Ugh!
That's when he got really mad. And now he denies he was mad. Everything went just fine, he recently said in an interview. He's not going to do post-election recriminations. Of course -- he sold his soul. Why fess up now?
Let's see what happens at that big party on Sat night that they are all going to.
James: I agree completely.
omo: I used to be a regular person who would scoff at your last 2 paragraphs, but no more. Big oil and big xxx are struggling to keep their status quo. It won't be pretty. Just read the next-to-last sentence here (Thanks for the link, SpecialMom).
re : I followed Diana's advice on taking a look at the photos posted for a clue.
On the one with Bristol shopping in the convienence store, she looks about 6-7 months pregnant. Look closely at the Pepsi bottles in the background. They all have orange caps. Browsing through the web, I found that the orange caps were released from Sep. '07 - Dec. '07, and may have still been in distribution in January '08. The timeline fits, and this would imply that she is Trig's mother. Can anyone provide more information on those orange Pepsi caps?
~~~~~~~
Nilap, the orange caps are part of the "Pepsi Point" promotion... You could use the codes under the caps to gain points to get free stuff on Amazon.com. That ended officially on Dec. 31, 2008.
I think it is pretty well known that Sarah met some people in the summer of 07 who were taken with her, and that these people maintained an interest in her. What appears to us to be sudden decision may in fact be the result of long gestation (sorry, couldn't help it) in the minds of the string pullers. It doesn't mean she was close to being chosen, it just means they were considering her, and she was aware of being one out of many who had a chance.
We have to realize that there are many movers and shakers behind the thrones of political office, they are not all pulling for the same scenarios, and they do not have just one iron in the fire at a time. They would have plans A, B, C and D. McCain may not have been privy to it until late. And they might not have gotten Sarah - but they did. It's like a chess game. If one thing happens, then plan B goes into effect, and so forth. As things played out, the moment to introduce Sarah came. It might have turned out differently, in which case they had other people lined up.
I continue to wonder why Sarah announced the pregnancy so late. Did something suddenly happen? Perhaps that wasn't her original plan. Perhaps her original plan was just to hide Bristol as people used to do. What if she leveled with Cheney, and it was decided by him to take on the baby as hers? Maybe that is what angered McCain - being let in last on the secret, having Sarah be deeper in the kingmaker camp with more powerful people than himself while they all played him for a fool.
Out of masochistic curiosity I, an Alaskan completely embarrassed by SP, visited the site draftpalinforpresident.com, and found this wording regarding Trig:
"Todd and Sarah have five children--Track, Bristol, Willow, Piper and Trig. Track enlisted in the US Army on Sept. 11, 2007 and is set to deploy to Iraq in the service of his country. This year, Trig joined the Palin family. As the mother of a special-needs child, Governor Palin has pledged to all those families with special needs children to be their advocate in the White House."
"Trig joined the Palin family" is conspicuously vague IMO. As if the writer of the SP bio is an insider, who knows the real circumstances of Trig's birth.
Audrey and staff, with this post I join the ranks of anonymous bloggers. Oh how deliciously bad I feel!!
What are the requirements for adoption in Alaska? Is there a waiting period before a final order of adoption could be entered? After a final order of adoption, a new birth certificate would be issued with the adoptive parents listed as the parents. Perhaps this is why Sarah Palin cannot present a birth certificate just yet to “prove” she is Trig’s mother. This could be why she steadfastly refuses to dispel the “conspiracy theory” by simply producing Trig’s birth certificate. Are there any adoption attorneys on this blog that can answer that question?
On another issue, whether or not Sarah Palin knew she was a possible pick for VP as early as February 2008, (which was probably around the same time or sooner that it would have been suspected or discovered that the baby had Down Syndrome) she knew it would be a political embarrassment with the holier-than-thou Republican Party and with her “abstinence only” church to have a pregnant teenage daughter. But if she were to keep the pregnant daughter in hiding and assume the role of a pregnant Governor and bravely give birth to a Down Syndrome baby, that would certainly endear her to her pathetic uber-religious “base”. It would also save face for Bristol, protecting her from the disgrace of being a pregnant teen and relieving her from the heavy burden of having a Down Syndrome baby. Sarah’s scheme might have succeeded, except Bristol got pregnant – AGAIN! I am guessing from the time frame that Trig was born approximately 3/18/08, and Bristol became pregnant again in mid May or early June, thinking that she couldn’t get pregnant that soon after having a baby. After all, she is only a teenager and teenagers think that way. She was also a teenager who had no education about sex other than “abstinence only”. I believe the normal gestation period is 280 days, therefore “Tripp” will still be hiding in the womb at least until mid February 2009.
Bristol is quite buxom at the RNC. I suspect Bristol’s belly pudge is still left over from Trig’s birth but is attributed by Sarah as being “five months” pregnant when Bristol is probably only about 3 months along. What I also notice is the lack of any significant bosom on Sarah Palin. For a mother of a “4 month old”, Sarah is fairly flat-chested, especially if she was supposedly still breastfeeding Trig. Bristol definitely looks like she was breastfeeding and wearing a tight sports bra to try to conceal any padding to prevent leaks.
Sarah apparently came up with this scheme in February 2008, but she couldn’t just become pregnant one month and give birth the next month. She had to gradually grow a tummy by wearing coats and scarves and lousy padding, and decided that a May due date would give her enough time to carry out her scheme. However, it seems that something happened while she was in Texas to mess up her carefully laid plan, so she quickly concocted the premature birth scenario to fly back to Alaska to give birth on 4/17/08. She obviously did not think out that scenario very carefully. Add the fact that Grandpa Heath opened his big mouth about the plumbing leak when Sarah was in Texas which stirred up many questions with people knowledgeable in the medical field and led to this website.
I have been reading this blog for about 2 1/2 months now. I am impressed with the thorough documentation and hard work that so many people have contributed to get to the truth. Great job! Sarah Palin is a liar and shows that she will go to extreme measures to carry out her deceit.
nilap
followed Diana's advice on taking a look at the photos posted for a clue.
On the one with Bristol shopping in the convienence store, she looks about 6-7 months pregnant. Look closely at the Pepsi bottles in the background. They all have orange caps. Browsing through the web, I found that the orange caps were released from Sep. '07 - Dec. '07, and may have still been in distribution in January '08. The timeline fits, and this would imply that she is Trig's mother. Can anyone provide more information on those orange Pepsi caps?
Imagine if that simple detail clinched the deal haha? Would contacting pepsi be an option?
so my state got a new governor yesterday, and people are saying the blago impeachment "will provide a model for cleaning up government." one of the the things the chicago tribune quoted a state senator on as sealing the ex-gov's fate? "He reminded us today in real detail that he is an unusually good liar."-that was in reference to the gov's own self-defense closing argument at the impeachment trial!
maybe alaska will follow this "model" soon.
also, interesting observations on how HIPPA effects the media: those octuplets born in california? the mother requested her name be kept private and the hospital complied, having no choice. but this didn't stop the media from locating her house, speaking to the neighbors, interviewing some siblings (6 prior kids) of the new babies and a grandfather, and telling us the dad is a military contractor soon heading back to iraq! whew, all of that without the hospital ever breaching HIPPA!
so like audrey noted, what has stopped private citizen's from making any mention of bristol or tripp in the past month?
people may think no one but "us bloggers" cares, but i guarantee some "celebrity news" gossip would jump at the chance to talk about it. people like perez hilton (who currently thinks michelle obama may be pregnant!) would SO blog about baby tripp if anyone anywhere had a photo. gossip sites will talk about anyone who's ever had their name in the press, even the huffington post "reported" on SP's monkey shoes on ebay -"celebrity" anything is considered interesting, and they count SP as a celebrity.
so where's the baby?
Lionness, yes!
I saw a commercial advertising the Desperate Housewives' episode you mention (in rerun) and thought Well, that's a pretty bizarre coincidence.
But to see you put a date to it, that it first aired in fall 2007! Well. . .
Plagiarism works in mysterious ways. People steal ideas all the time, with no idea they're doing so. They don't remember pilfering from others.
I bet you're right here. No proof. Just jives with what I think I know of Sarah.
______________
great summmaries, Amy1 and others. So nice to have some factual scenarios to cut through all the crazy spin and bull. So many great posts today. Love the contributions of all!
And Tabloidchick-- weren't you our first Gawker source? Stay on it, girl! We're counting on you to keep us informed.
Concerning the photo of Bristol in the convenience store -- I thought we knew that was from Election Day. I'm pretty sure I recall seeing it back in November, too.
I'm confused about why the bottle caps matter. Does someone think it was taken in Jan. 2009, thus proving BP is still pregnant?
diana-
my thinking on the hospital situation is this:
if bristol (or anyone else who isn't SP) gave birth to trig at mat-su regional and the hospital then allowed SP to pass off the child as her own, they knew what they were doing, they were complicit in the deception.
that's why i think her small, home-town hospital,
-which wasilla project (this is the source! thanks everyone) shows through local resident interviews was indeed "taken over" by sarah's ultra-conservative church brethren during her mayoral terms. everyone go to this site and watch their videos if you never have, "religion in politics" talks about the hospital-
http://www.wasillaproject.com/
where the people running the place supported the idea that "god has chosen SP to lead a new america" on a very deep level, is the ONLY place where doctors and staffers would help her perpetuate the ruse.
who cares if you break a few "laws of man" to get it done? if it was "god's plan for the greater good" they'd do it.
for example, the video cited above tells us how these same people at the hospital had it completely stop offering abortion services for a while.
think whatever you will on the morality of abortion, the point is it was ILLEGAL for a hospital (that if it serves all of Matanuska-Susitna Borough serves about 80,000 people, if it only serves palmer and wasilla it's more like 10,000) to stop offering a medical service based on the board's personal religious convictions.
so this hospital IS squarely in SP's camp, in all meanings of that phrase, and willing to break laws to uphold their convictions, and it's fairly small, fewer people to see, know, or convince to take part.
what better place in the world for SP to pull off a "baby switch"?
what better reason for her to be DETERMINED to "give birth" there and ONLY there, and avoid any other medical attention for her pre-term ruptured membranes in dallas, seattle, or anchorage?
that is why i feel the wild ride HAD to end at mat-su regional, and trying to "lose the birth mom in the masses" down in anchorage is not only complicated and unlikely, it's completely unnecessary.
why risk a deception in anchorage when you've got a hospital in your pocket back home?
B- thanks for the compliment :)
Check out the CNN/SITUATION ROOM/Cafferty File re Palin in 2012
I am no good at posting links, perhaps someone else can.
Can you believe her fanatical fans? This is why we are still here!
penny
The arguments regarding how seriously the Republicans considered Palin as VP material are interesting and, of course, inconclusive. I mean, who had ever heard of Dan Quayle before he was put on George I's ticket? And we have seen that the VP slot can be either a springboard or a--bridge to nowhere?? But an important point to remember is that even as mayor of Wasilla, Palin hired a public relations firm, from the Northeast I think, to--well, promote her. I can't imagine the mayor of my town doing that! Just like I can't imagine that person ever being on a national ticket. I think Palin did that to get what she could out of her job--find out about money, conferences, programs, earmarks, honors and awards for her and her minions. This self-promotion and ambition have been pretty consistent. (Sorry, I should try to find the link to the piece about the PR firm....)
Amy1, good work on assembling the timeline. However, I've got to point out that this bit is almost certainly incorrect:
"The birth is announced by the hospital's web site, and then the announcement is pulled."
The only evidence ever put forth (that I'm aware of) for this assertion is that Google returns a "hit" linking to the hospital's birth announcement page when you search on Trig's name.
However, that hit is almost certainly generated because Google returns hits based both on terms appearing in a page AND terms appearing in links pointing to a page. Clicking on the "cache" link and looking at the information bar at the top reveals that the "trig palin" terms only appear on links pointing to the page - ironically, those links were most likely created by bloggers pointing out that his birth announcement wasn't listed. Sort of an unintentional googlebomb.
(I gave a more detailed explanation on another thread a while back; if anyone who is interested can't find it on their own let me know and I'll try to dig it up for you.)
Anyway, good job on the timeline; I just wanted you to know that the rumor of the pulled birth announcement is based on faulty evidence.
Two last points re SP and VP possibility, then I'm moving on from this issue (which I'm sure will please many! ;-) ):
- One doesn't have to believe that SP was motivated by a desire to be the VP nominee in order to conclude from the factual evidence (photos, wild ride) that the pregnancy was fake. (And I use "believe" in its faith sense, because there are no facts supporting tying the VP matter to the pregnancy.) The "protecting the daughter" and/or "raising the DS child" are more than sufficient motivations.
- But let's suppose, for the sake of argument, that after first meeting McCain in Feb. 2008, SP decided to put herself in the best possible position to be picked as VP (even though there's no evidence the McCain campaign paid attention to her before late spring, after Trig's birth). What should SP do about Bristol's pregnancy? One could come up with good arguments for either case: fake the pregnancy, or let Bristol give birth. One could even argue that faking the pregnancy was the WORSE choice, if SP wanted to be VP: the risk the hoax would get exposed under national media scrutiny; doubts that a woman with a newborn child could campaign. Furthermore, the perceived "advantages" to SP of having her own DS child, and hiding a pregnant daughter, may be overblown, for the simple reason that McCain is not a theocon. But no matter, let's call it a push, it could go either way. Thus the VP thing is indeterminate, it doesn't strengthen the fake pregnancy argument, and thus my first point.
Wouldn't it really stink if someone out there leaked to the media that either Todd Palin had a vascectomy before Trig was conceived OR if Palin had her tubes tied after Piper was born?
Could it be that baby Trig isn't a down's baby but rather a baby with FAS, fetal alchohol syndrome? Don't the two resemble each other?
It will be interesting to see if Redoubt erupts while SP is in DC for the alfalfa dinner. Apparently she stayed away during the Juneau crisis and was criticized for that. Hmmm.
sandra in oregon
ghostbuster: Thx! -- for correx on Mat Su hopsital web annnouncement -- that there was none.
I thought I read that someone had seen it and was annoyed that it was pulled. So easy to think we saw something. I'm convinced by your explanation.
I did think it was true that CBJ was listed there, and then unlisted -- i.e., no privileges there any more, but DID have them on Feb 7 08 and who knows when they ended. So it was never clear if she attended the "birth" or not, and she never is documented as having attended.
Diana said @ 1/29/09 6:28 PM "How do you think celebrities go in and out of hospitals without anyone knowing. As long as her doctor agrees and she has her confidence...she can use any alias name she prefers...except to her immediate doctor and the insurance company. And they wouldn't leak any information or they would end up in trouble."
One possible leak can be eliminated -- the insurance company -- by paying cash/credit card (with the borrowing limits as high as they are on some cards, the entire hospital stay could be "charged"). That would also eliminate the difficulty of filing an insurance report using an alias.
If it's a credit card, it wouldn't have to be a Palin family credit card. Not with those loyal faith-based friends in Wasilla...
----------------------
Amy1, you made the same mistake I did when reading Adam Brickley's blog: we both didn't realize the earlier blog entries start at the BOTTOM of the page rather than at the top.
You noted in your post above @ 1/29/09 10:22 PM that Brickley's first entry was 7/7/07. If you scroll down to the bottom of the page, the first entry is actually dated 2/26/07.
My mistaken reference to his "first blog entry" is about a third of the way up, 3/4/07.
------------------------
luna1580, you bring up a good point in your post @ 1/30/09 5:49 AM...
Namely, the interest at HuffPost, etc. about the Naughty Monkey shoes being on eBay.
As you ask, "where's the baby"? It's odd that HuffPost, CNN, CrooksandLiars, DailyKOS, TalkingPointsMemo, USA Today, etc. etc. aren't periodically asking that like we are here.
Sarah Palin's tentacles probably don't reach so far as to threaten retribution to any of those news outlets and blogs, but I'll bet the neocon Repubs do (one possible answer to tb's question @ 7:14 AM).
Under Alaska law, when a child is born to an unmarried woman, a whole set of legal considerations and processes kick in:
Alaska Paternity Law summary: (http://lawdigest.uslegal.com/paternity/general/6644/
Assuming there is a Tripp, and assuming that Bristol is not already married to Levi, these legal considerations and processes will be applicable here.
Perhaps -- just perhaps -- one reason for the lack of information being released about the Tripp situation, is that some "issues" have arisen in regard to the matter of determining or confirming paternity.
Does anybody know if any of the information about paternity/child support determinations in Alaska ever finds its way into public records?
RuffShod-Completely agree "...Trig joined the Palin family..." is non-specific. Again. Semantics and deniability is the game here.
Before the thrilla from Wasilla goes any further in her fundraising PAC and backstage maneuvers I think we all need to select one MSM person and demand they ask SP & CBJ to make the following declarative and precise statement:
"I SP GAVE BIRTH to Trig Palin, with Dr. CBJ in attendance, at Mat Su Regional Medical Center on 4/18/08. Mat Su Staff in attendance were: (names). and I have directed/requested Dr. CBJ to make this statement as well."
"I CBJ confirm that SP gave birth to Trig Palin at Mat Su Regional Medical Center on 4/18/08 in my presence as attending physician"
If she wants to pass the PAC hat and collect dollars to apply to her own advancement it's time for her to make this statement. It is past time for the MSM to ask for it, and it's time to report if she isn't willing to do so. Why doesn't any MSM ask her to make such a simple and non-intrusive statement?
What an embarrassment to those in MSM that they cower and compromise everything they once stood for. Clowns and jesters is what they have become.
What an embarrassment to a physician, CBJ, who will always be implicated in a backroom birthing scam.
What a great offense to this child and to all parents of Down Syndrome children, that SP wouldn't stand up and gratefully acknowledge being blessed with a son. Perhaps he an embarrassment as well as an inconvenience to her. How could they ever vote for her?
How could anyone who values what SP CLAIMS to value, cast a vote for this woman who wouldn't even stand up and claim her own son.
Where is the precisely worded statement? Say it out loud if it's true.
About the book: There are so many crazy Christianists that buy these books that there is market for whatever Palin would "write."
So don't underestimate the market for books by crazed theocons.
Although, I think coulter's new "book" is disappearing fast.
Lion55ess said:
This is why I believe Trig was born prior to Feb 19 and that by Feb 19 they realized he had DS and could not be easily adopted.
The notion of an early Trig birth and discovery of DS leading to SP's faking the pregnancy is clever, but suffers from many logical flaws.
I think that when you give a baby up for adoption, you give it up whether it has DS or not. They don't MAKE you keep the baby.
If it was an arranged adoption, and the adoptive parents reneged upon learning of the DS, who were prospective adoptive parents, and why are they keeping quiet?
It is plausible that learning of DS changed prospective adoption plans, but that would have been a choice by the Palins. They could still place the child for adoption through appropriate agencies, and maintain confidentiality. There would be no reason to have SP fake a pregnancy to account for a baby they didn't decide to keep.
This theory might explain the late start SP got on faking, but if the baby was already born, and SP announced a mid-May birth date, it would have been VERY easy to tell the difference between a newborn and a 3-month-old infant.
Some people claim that Trig 'looks' older in the April 18 photo with the Heaths. That seems like opinion more than evidence, and the baby looks pretty small to me. Definitely not 3-months or even 2-months old. My opinion is on this subject is as worthwhile as anyone elses; that is, not much.
Other say Trig looks newborn size, but only because he was born prematurely in March or February. But that still doesn't explain why the Palins thought they could hide for weeks or months the existence and origin of a premie needing NICU care.
I've pursued this line of reasoning several times but some people's pet theories continue to survive all efforts at dispelling them with insurmountable facts and logic. I will try one more time. All theories of Trig's birth must account for the following facts and reasonable assumptions regarding SP faking the pregnancy:
1) SP began her 'fashion assisted camouflage' some time in February.
2) SP announced she was pregnant, although she didn't look it and was aware of that fact, in early March. At the time, she stated that she would produce an infant in mid-May.
3) We first see the infant on April 18, seemingly catching SP off-guard and out of town, leading to the implausible 'Wild Ride' story.
4) SP, Bristol and Willow all attended a large, indoor, public event in Fairbanks on Feb. 15, when and where a late term pregnancy for any of them would have been difficult or impossible to hide.
A Trig birth date much before April 17-18 simply does not fit those facts AND allow SP and the Palins to believe that a faked pregnancy would effectively disguise the source of Trig.
Dangerous
Dangerous
Blogger TruthPatrol said...
I am just going to put an opinion out there; if it is not posted, I understand. In my opinion, Bristol is NOT the mom of both Trig and Tripp (if he is born yet). It is also my opinion that “if” Bristol was the mom of both babies (if Tripp is born) then it is also my opinion that Levi Johnston is NOT the father of both babies.
---------------
Trouble is with that theory is that there's no way Bristol would have done the humiliation of Sarah telling the world that she was pregnant with Tripp. So Bristol was either pregnant with Tripp or that pregnancy was created to cover for the first one. What other reason can you think of why Bristol would go through the humiliation?
The one thing that just cannot be explained away is that Palin hid the pregnant belly AFTER she told everyone.
Wearing coats inside and huge scarves that are not a usual tradmark of her, questionable, fashion sense.
When you are a pro-life Bible thumper, why hide the belly? And WHY not tell the world you have a DS baby that you will not abort?
Has anyone commented on the story about the Mat-Su Hospital's new policy not to publish birth announcements?
IMO there is an illusion created by the pres candidate to make it look like he is undecided on who his VP choice will be. That's good for campaign purposes in order to prolong the suspense and thereby keep everyone interested. Sarah most likely knew long in advance thta she was the chosen one.
McCain would have been informed that Bristol had a baby and Sarah was pretending to be the mother. There is simply no way that she would have kept that secret from McCain. This places her in good stead for the VP pick and in fact even enhances her morality and appropriateness. After the election and assuming that McCain was successful, the truth coming out is of no consequence in the least and in fact would most likely be ignored by Palin's detractors. What's the point after she is VP? And if it's even pursued and proven that Bristol is the mother that adds to her credibility because it would be seen as a very selfless and honourable thing for her to do for her daughter. However- For a run at pres in 2012, it's a real problem because Romney, Huckabee, et al. will use it on her. Politics are dirty right accross the board of course.
The grocery store picture of Bristol- The Pepsi caps would allow for the picture to be December 2007. If as someone has stated, the picture could be dated Dec. 2008 then it's obvious the picture wasn't in circulation before that time. Right someone? Therefore, where did the picture come from? Was it a deliberate plant by the Palin team to further the illusion of Bristol being that far along pregnant in Dec. 2008? When in fact the picture is from Dec. 2007? That's something to work on now.
No Tripp to show? It all works doesn't it!
I pulled my earlier timeline post, this is rev 2 of it. You all had so many good additions once I looked again this AM. This is supposed to be only what we know for sure. Pls keep correcting. It would be nice to have this be bullet-proof, no errors. The ital stuff is not fact.
Fall 06-Mar 07:
•SP sent Track to school in Michigan for the 2007-08 school year.
•Track returns in spring 08 and is at home until deployed in Sept 08.
•First Brickley blog on 3-12-07. Thx KaJo!
•Levi drops out of school.
May 2007:
•Quote from wizbangblog 5-29-08: “A tipster sent us word that John McCain's VP advance man Arthur Culvahouse has been spotted in Juneau, Alaska. There's only one reason he would be there - to meet with Alaska Governor Sarah Palin about the Vice President position.”
Jun 2007:
•Two Pundit Cruises come to AK; SP entertains and impresses Krystol, Barnes (who write favorably about her), among others.
•Summer of 2007: cons consider SP, as later reported by Jane Mayer.
•Another view of the “Pundit Cruises.”
Jul/Aug 2007:
•Lots of partying, drug and alcohol use rumored on MySpace-type web pages, which are pulled when RNC announces SP as VP candidate.
Sep 2007:
“Desperate Housewives,” Season 4, Episode 1: Original Air Date = 30 September 2007. Meanwhile, Bree continues to hide the fact that her daughter is illegitimately pregnant by pretending to be pregnant herself. (And Katie Couric gave SP the oppty to say “I read the NYT, WaPo, HBR, etc., for my info.”—Amy1)
Dec 2007:
•Someone (let's call her Ms X) announces pregnancy to SP.
•Bristol goes to live with her aunt; this might be related to previous item, or it might not be.
•The due date is late May -- either Ms X thinks it is, or says so for a variety of reasons, or others establish that as the official due date for Trig.
Feb 2008:
•First wearing of giant scarf 2-19-08 (on palindeception website preMarch photos).
•SP and three daughters (or perhaps a daughter lookalike) attend a benefit lunch, one day before Iron Man. No photos or eye-witness accounts of pregnant (or not) bodies have surfaced.
•Alaska Magazine quotes Leighow, the deputy press secretary, saying “She can be on the phone with Dick Cheney . . . “
•SP meets McCain for first time. According to the New Yorker article: "McCain had met Palin once, but their conversation--at a reception during a meeting of the National Governors Association, six months earlier [Feb 2008] -- had lasted only fifteen minutes."
Mar 2008:
•SP decides to fake the pregnancy as her own and announces it on 3-6-08 as due late May.
•The ADN reports that the announcement is received with surprise and disbelief by those who see SP each day.
AT SOME POINT, TRIG IS BORN. He could be on time in Feb-Apr, he could be early in Feb-Apr, he could be diagnosed as DS before or after the birth; it doesn't matter.
Apr 2008:
•Several unimpeachable photos show SP to have a pregnancy that varies in size and shape (including padded-looking and square) and grows from flat to normal in 5 weeks.**
Apr 2008:
•SP raises hand at verbal question at Rep Gov Conf re who would run as VP if asked.
•There is some reason to announce the birth on Apr 18 (many reasons are inconclusively proposed).
•SP returns via "the wild ride," which is wild only in retrospect and only if one assumes she was pregnant, which we know she was not.
-- Here is her account of it.
•The birth is not announced by the Mat Su hospital's web site. (thx ghostbuster.)
•The Mat Su hospital board of directors is said by Wasilla residents to be populated by SP’s church members (at 2:45 on the Oct 10 2008 video on this page).
•Trig appears, looking non-premature in a photo the day after; he is brought to SP's office two days later, where he is video-ed.
•Dr CBJ is quoted in the ADN, but where the CBJ quotes come from (from CBJ or "someone else [wink wink]") is not clear.
At some point
•It becomes "common knowledge" (whether true or false) in AK that Bristol is pregnant -- in Dec 2007, during summer 2008, at the time of the RNC. The buzz about that persists and engulfs the VP announcement at the RNC.
Aug-Sept RNC:
•In late Aug, McCain meets with SP for 3 hrs, days before her announcement at the RNC.
•Bristol is caring for Trig, is a little thick around the middle for whatever reason (eating to lose the blues, post-partum weight hard to shed, nursing, preg again -- doesn't matter). She is announced by SP as 5 mo preg at the RNC, in order to thus "prove" that SP is the mother of Trig (because Bristol can’t be), to preempt further rumors that are already on the internet, emerging from AK, that SP is not Trig's bio-mother).*
Nov 2008:
•Puzzling MD letter by Dr. CBJ is issued by McCain campaign hours before polls open the next morning. (Dr. CBJ issues no other statements.)
•After the election, SP complains about blogs and MSM reporting rumors about Trig's parentage, but does nothing to quell them.
Dec 2008:
•Levi's Mom is busted for drugs.
•Levi's lack of HS diploma results in loss of his apprentice job, which requires one.
•Tripp's birth is announced in an unconvincing way at a time when Levi is not home.
•People mag either has or has not agreed to pay $300k for photos of Tripp, but they never appear, nor does any other photo.
•SP insists that Levi and Bristol are not dropouts but are taking correspondence courses.
•Levi's Mom says he has been caring for Tripp for "weeks" at a time when he could have been home at most one week.
Jan 2009:
•ADN tries to support SP's story, but writes that SP sources would not cooperate. Bristol, Levi, Tripp remain invisible.
•SP initiates web PAC.
Feb 2009:
•SP announces her sixth pregnancy. Ha ha, just kidding. But how about that for a shiny object? I bet she will have a better one.
_________
*Even at the RNC, just moving the dates around a little would have made everything and nothing possible. If Ms X is someone other than Bristol, then Bristol's condition is irrelevant to the possibility of SP's pregnancy. (Have you ever seen so many people counting to 9 on their fingers as after that announcement -- and then starting over with a frown and a slightly different set of dates, and then giving up in disgust because it's too bizarre to imagine.)
**By Nov/Dec, bloggers have assembled these photos and it is impossible to maintain the fiction that SP was pregnant.
If anyone else is having trouble embedding links into text:
I've discovered that "smart quotes" (the slanted upside-down commas) won't work, but the "dumb quotes" (the plain little lines) do.
When copying a URL off the web, one often gets smart quotes, and Audrey's site rejects that coding -- either by not giving you a preview (you get that red reject notice below the window) or by making your link not work when you test in "preview" mode.
Took me forever to figger this out.
Luna,
The Supreme Court ruled that hospitals and/or medical providers cannot be forced to provide services which violate the religious or moral convictions of a group or provider under the Protection of Conscience Law. Hospitals can and do refuse to provide services under this law and are protected from actions resulting from those refusals.
I can't believe this strange woman is again keeping us all awake at night. My husband, who has taught college level political science for years, has insisted that she will turn out to be nothing but a footnote and Trivial Pursuits question. I'm not so sure. Has anyone on this blog ever advanced a scenario where Track Palin possibly knocked up some poor girl and then she went to the Palins threatening to end the pregnancy. From what we do know about SP, since she thinks she's bulletproof, I can imagine her charging in to shush it all up, adopt the child, and if the adoption was not an open one, the matter would be legally sealed. Might that explain the surprise birthdate and the "why didn't you tell us regarding DS--a teenage mom-to-be would not have had amniocentesis. Forgive me if you all have already been down this road.
Having read that Todd's father and stepmother live part of the time in California, I wonder if that is where Bristol is. It is hard to believe that she could be in Wasilla that long without being seen. Perhaps she never went back to Alaska after the convention.
SG, said:
"What should SP do about Bristol's pregnancy?
"One could come up with good arguments for either case: fake the pregnancy, or let Bristol give birth.
"One could even argue that faking the pregnancy was the WORSE choice, if SP wanted to be VP."
interesting points and you're right that out of the 2 options, the latest makes more sense.
but i think you're assuming that SP can think clearly and logically. there is not much evidence of that. in fact, the opposite is the case.
also, i believe that having a pregnant, unmarried, teen daughter would have been for SARAH a big blow to her cultivated image of a PIOUS CHRISTIAN MOM.
also, she would have thought it to be more politically risky than 'birthing' a DS baby.
I don't want to sound snooty here, but I would like to suggest that newcomers might want to spend a little time reading past posts before rehashing info that has already been hashed to death over and over ad naseum here since last September.
Also, reading conspiracy into every little thing IMHO does make us look silly. For example, the whole thing about the birth announcement being mysteriously 'pulled' from the Mat-Su Regional web site is a dead end that keeps on popping back to life. Remember, a Trig Palin birth announcement DID show up in the Anchorage Daily News under Mat-Su birth Announcements. You can look it up for a fee on the paper's archive. Oops! Did Sarah's people forget about that one?
I've seen speculative posts about all sorts of things where it is apparent that the poster does not have all the facts. An example of this concerns Levi and his whereabouts after the alleged birth of Tripp. Researching the airfares between Anchorage and Barrow might make y'all feel like you're doing some real investigating, but the reality is that when people work on the North Slope, the employer (and even former employer) provides the air transportation. Depending on the job, slope workers may work 1 week on - 1 week off or more commonly 2 on, 2 off. Slope workers who have family emergencies can fly out on the next set of wings.
Almost every LITTLE thing usually has a very simple explanation that is often twisted into something quite different by some on this blog.
For those of you who wonder why no one has snapped any pictures of the alleged new baby, may I offer this?
Wasilla IS a small town and perhaps people are content to mind their own business? Why in the world would Bristol (who has ALWAYS hated the media glare) subject herself to more media scrutiny, especially now that Mommy dearest is not directly on center stage?
The point I'm trying to make is that ALL these little goose chases detract from the main goal of getting to the truth about Sarah Palin and her alleged pregnancy last spring.
The MSM has certainly let us down. The Blogforce, as imperfect as it is, continues to push for truth and transparency from Alaska's opaque Governor.
Do we honestly think that us pajama wearing bloggers will uncover that GOTCHA! moment in the comfort of our dark little basements?
Personally, I think the only way the 'truth' will come out is when an insider comes out. This blog would be a great place to do that, but ONLY if it remains a credible place.
I implore all of us to stay focused and avoid getting tangled in the minutia that would make us look like wack-a-doodles.
Readers:
Doctors, nurses and other hospital staff DID NOT have to be "complicit" in the cover-up. They are forbidden by federal HIPAA law from revealing medical information about a patient without his/her consent. This means they CANNOT say, for instance, "Bristol Palin gave birth here on April 18." This would be true for both Mat-Su and any hospital in Anchorage, Seattle or Texas.
OK, so how did the journalists learn where the mother of those octuplets lives? (By the way, she already had 6 kids, aged 2 - 7, so why did she get fertility treatments? Doctors implanted 8 embroyos, contrary to common practice of implanting 2 or 3.)
*** Alex said...
Lionness, yes!
I saw a commercial advertising the Desperate Housewives' episode you mention (in rerun) and thought Well, that's a pretty bizarre coincidence.
But to see you put a date to it, that it first aired in fall 2007! Well. . .
Plagiarism works in mysterious ways. People steal ideas all the time, with no idea they're doing so. They don't remember pilfering from others.
I bet you're right here. No proof. Just jives with what I think I know of Sarah.
______________
great summmaries, Amy1 and others. So nice to have some factual scenarios to cut through all the crazy spin and bull. So many great posts today. Love the contributions of all!
And Tabloidchick-- weren't you our first Gawker source? Stay on it, girl! We're counting on you to keep us informed.***
I'm doing my best... and there are a lot of us in MSM who are totally skeptical of both baby stories yet we're not all in a position to 'make' the story. I just ran into a former co-worker who's now at another tab and he is definitely on our team... and we got quite a few 'I agree' type smiles from our fellow subway riders! The 'great leap forward' we need is to have MSM see it as a story that's a scandal exposé rather than picking on a mommy and a teen. My gut tells me that the People deal is kaput, but no one can say that publicly (especially not the mag; they denied it all along, just like they deny all celeb baby pix-for-pay deals). And money's so tight at all print media that I'm sure they won't be annoyed to not pay (and right now they've got a 'free' story in Casey Anthony)... but they may want to put a little money into figuring out why the Palins are suddenly so coy. All just speculating on my part, but based on my knowledge of how this business works.
Oh, and just for the record, the $11 mill for a SP book is beyond ridiculous and is most certainly a number that SP's camp put out there. No publishing house is going to pay like that for someone who only has niche appeal. Look at the prices for popular politicians who really have/had something to say and you can see that the $11 mill is a figment of SP's imagination. Much like Tripp! :)
Thanks for the link to the article about how SP was considered for VP. OK, it's because she's young and pretty and gave Bill Kristol a boner. If she were 65, and/or fat, and/or un-pretty, her candidacy would be a joke. Wait, it was anyway. OK, it would have been non-existent.
I don't think Bristol has any power to tell her mother to buzz off. She's probably living with her parents. Remember, she doesn't have a job or a high school diploma, and has one or two babies to raise, in addition to trying to finish high school somehow. What's she going to do, work at McDonald's and get her own apartment?
I've enjoyed reading this blog the past 2 months. I rarely post but IMO, knowing how small communities can be, I find it very interesting there are no reports/sightings etc of Bristol, Levi or Baby Tripp! It might be easy to sequester them in the winter, but it can't go on forever. Hang in there Audrey, something's got to blow sooner or later.
I just scratch my head about all the people and talking heads who seem to think Sarah is a realistic threat for the Republican nomination for president in 2012. Her appeal is simply too limited to attract the wider segments of voters that are needed to cobble together a voter coalition, if you will, to win a general election. The election of Richard Steele as the RNC leader is a signal that the Republicans are realizing that to be viable again they have to broader their platform and appeal. Sarah is a step backwards, not forwards.
That being said, she will still be a niche power player for the forseeable future.
So much for the side topic.
Dangerous, I assume you are suggesting that the McCain campaign discovered Sarah's deception after naming her as the VP candidate? And then decided to be complicit in a wild, high-risk cover-up?
If so, I think adding participants to the game make it less likely that it could have held up over time (and less likely that the deception is true). Once the campaign was over, given the leaked nastiness that senior staffers engaged in, how could this bombshell still be "unleaked"? Yes, it would damage McCain somewhat too, but he could partly spin it as having his hands tied by a wacky, lying Palin clan. The press, especially the liberal side, would let McCain off fairly easy, if they could instead rip Sarah apart.
Oops, that's Michael Steele. I think I said Richard.
Have we seen Trig at all post-election?
I know we have seen Sarah.
What is with the orange cap Pepsi comments? If you are talking about the one in the convenience store with the secret service man in the picture then it was fall of 2008!
Amy1, a good effort to try to organize and summarize the information. However, I think you've got the dates messed up. In your first block, the heading is correct as Fall 06-Mar 07, but then the dates in the block itself are all off by a year. Track in school in MI was 06-07; he returned in spring 07 and went into the Army in Fall 07; Levi dropped out in the Spring of 2008, right? (Was this ever corroborated?) Then the next block -- should this be May 08? Also, I think you've got the Katie Couric interview in Sept 07 when it was actually in Sept 08.
For those commenting on when McCain found out about this fiasco, I think that his icy reaction observed by Chuck Todd and others in late October, right at the time when the medical records issue was hot AND when the "diva" and "whack job" comments were flying from McCain's senior staff, gives a pretty strong clue.
I second the notion that Brrr made in regard to minutely looking into every last detail! This is only because I don’t feel that SP thoroughly thinks things out before she does them. I second the notion in regards to the North Slope comment as well; thank you for saying it Brrr!
sheesh-
i'm well aware of an individual's right in america to refuse participation in reproductive health procedures that they personally find morally objectionable.
but these rules are complex, as one person's right to act in keeping with their beliefs cannot infringe on another's right to obtain a fully legal health service.
when it comes to hospitals that are not fully private institutions and are operating with some benefit of public funding they cannot just refuse things they don't like.
in the case of SP's "home hospital" it went to the AK supreme court. the religiously inspired ban was indeed deemed illegal:
"The Alaska Supreme Court has ruled that this refusal clause is unconstitutional under the state constitution to the extent that it applies to "quasi-public" institutions and has issued a permanent injunction prohibiting enforcement of a "quasi-public" hospital's policy barring the performance of abortion. Valley Hosp. Ass'n v. Mat-Su Coalition for Choice, 948 P.2d 963 (Alaska 1997).
In addition, the Alaska Attorney General has issued two opinions stating that under the state constitution, non-sectarian hospitals built or operated with public funds may not refuse to offer abortion services. Alaska Op. Att'y Gen. No. 15 (Mar. 31, 1978); Alaska Op. Att'y Gen. No. 8 (Feb. 10, 1978)."
so i stand by my assertion that the people running mat-su regional hospital are motivated to do things that they feel are religiously "proper," regardless of what the law might require.
windy city-
so even if you believe trig is not sarah's and was born -let's say in a private home, HIPPA free- he was still presented as her birthed-baby at mat-su regional hospital. at least one AK news crew went there. they said they didn't see sarah (who was "resting" in her room) but spoke to bristol. a news-crew took the picture of the heaths holding him in the hospital.
this means only two possible things:
*SP really DID give birth to trig at mat-su regional, so they had no problem letting reporters film him there with his family (and if SP WAS the patient HIPPA covers her and the babe only. any other family who are not patients can be freely discussed).
*or SP DID NOT give birth to trig at mat-su. someone else did. or he was born somewhere else and smuggled in for photo opps. if this happened and the hospital put SP in a room so she could pretend to give birth and then brought out a baby from that room for the heaths and the news-crew to see, well i'd call that complicit in a deception.
that's it folks.
either sarah actually physically had the baby at mat-su and it was all real and on the up-and-up.
or she didn't and the hospital allowed her to make it look like she did -regardless of where the baby came from, they'd know if having her in the birthing suite was a sham!
i just don't see how anyone who cares about this story could think that this isn't IMPORTANT. one more time:
SP walked out of mat-su regional hospital holding baby trig and told the world she had him there.
so she did.
OR the hospital helped her tell a lie by even giving her a hospital room at all!
To Have a Nice Tripp: I think it would be great if Bristol were in her own apartment and working for McDonald’s! Not a darn thing wrong with an honest day’s pay!
Craig:
Re your statement:
"I just scratch my head about all the people and talking heads who seem to think Sarah is a realistic threat for the Republican nomination for president in 2012."
From a new Rasmussen poll:
http://tinyurl.com/b3mwam
"Coming off a shellacking at the polls in November, the plurality of GOP voters (43%) say their party has been too moderate over the past eight years, and 55% think it should become more like Alaska Governor Sarah Palin in the future, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey. Just 24% think failed presidential candidate John McCain is the best future model for the party, and 10% are undecided."
Furthermore:
"Regarding the future of the party, 46% of unaffiliated voters say follow Sarah Palin, while 26% like McCain. Just five percent (5%) give the nod to Bush, and 22% are not sure which way the party should go."
Brrr:
Excellent post.
Dangerous,
I hate to see you get so frustrated by us "illogical people," But, I too find flaws in your insurmountable facts.
There may never have been any plans to adopt Trig out.
There is no proof that Sarah and her three daughters attended that luncheon/event on February 15.
We do not know that Trig was born prematurely, so how he looks on a given date may be significant.
I think many of us "clever" theorists believe that it is not EASY to tell the difference between a newborn and a three or four week old infant.
I appreciate your wanting to put an end to our pet theories surviving, but you can't dispell something without all of the facts...FACTS WHICH NONE OF US HAS.
I thought the goal was to have a rational discussion about totally illogical people who have thrown themselves in the spotlight and lied to the American public. I believe it takes theorizing and speculating without being made to feel like we are not free to speak our minds.
This blog has gone on for a while, and perhaps some participants need to step back and take a break from it rather than dissing others.
Brrr,
Maybe you should turn off the computer too.
penny
I'm contemplating Sarah's purported book deal. Think about it - if YOU were SP, would you want to put all of your lies in writing? The more she reveals about herself, the more others can check on - and disprove - her incredible stories, including the baby stories. Her silence is the only hope she has for 2012. Must feel awful seeing (purportedly) millions of book dollars just out of reach.
Good point. $11 million dollar book deal is probably self-promoting fiction, like the "pioneer mom" Wild Ride story re the birth of Trig.
Maybe the same is true of the supposed $300K from People for pix of Tripp. Or maybe they said that to send out feelers to see if anyone else would offer money for those pix. Or they are buying time, waiting for Tripp to arrive (via birth or adoption).
Todd and Sarah have four children of their own: The oldest, Track, 18, graduated from Wasilla High last May and then enlisted in the U.S. Army. Next is Bristol, who is staying in the Valley to finish high school...
Oh REALLY?
…AND LATER…
SP: “We’ve said all along we are going to be open and honest,” she said. “We’re certainly going to have to continue to let our actions speak louder than words.
http://www.alaskamagazine.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=876&Itemid=141
open the PDF of the article, to see the pictures forthe article
This High Definition video is of the start of the 2008 IronDog Race
http://www.stage2studios.com/simpleplayer.php?media=Irondog_Palin
Lots of footage of SP before the race…again NOT looking with/child…
Andrew Sullivan spoke at Claremont McKenna College Thursday night. The Daily Kos diarist "utopiandrive" shared Sullivan thoughts on Sarah Palin:
In the Q&A section, Sullivan made some powerful and biting comments about Sarah Palin’s candidacy for Vice President. He accused her of being "incapable of telling the truth consistently," or answering basic questions, or governing in a transparent, accountable manner. Sullivan labeled her a "farce" and a "joke" – someone who had "no business" being the Governor of Alaska, let alone Vice President or God forbid, President. Sullivan went on, concluding that any party that nominates someone like her is "not a serious political party, and will lose, and will keep losing, and will deserve to lose."
@ dangerous
Sarah could have already heard of the rumors concerning Bristol being pregnant and invited her niece to the lunchon in Fairbanks to dispell those rumors.The possibility exists that nobody there was from their hometown and they do look enough alike to pull something like that off to people who didn't know the family that well. Or at least to the organizers who had to set up extra seats at the last moment.
Should we be requesting the AMA to issue a "warning" that it is not safe to travel, or post-pone medical examination in the event of ruptured membranes.
It seems to me that Dr. CBJ stated that she did not advise SP to travel after she noticed possible leaking, but that she saw nothing wrong with her decision.
That statement could cost lives.
Pat-RN
i feel compelled to add a p.s.
if SP did not actually give birth at mat-su she was not really a patient, so HIPPA would not apply to her at all. of course, if that hospital allowed her to pretend to have given birth, i don't think they'll be telling anyone, regardless of HIPPA.
figuring out the weirdness of what she did or didn't do is as least as important as looking for an alternate birth mom.
Sarah Palin's Focus Questioned By Alaska Lawmakers
JUNEAU, Alaska — Driving home at night from her Capitol office, the leader of Alaska's House Democrats often passes the governor's white-columned mansion and wonders why more lights aren't on.
Rep. Beth Kerttula assumes Gov. Sarah Palin is out of town, though Palin's staffers say so far their boss has been there for most of the legislative session that began Jan. 20.
It's a small matter, but it's part of the buzz around the Capitol among lawmakers who are seeing less of their governor than in years past and wondering what it means in the wake of a Republican vice presidential run that brought Palin global fame and notoriety.
They're accustomed to spotting her striding past, using two BlackBerries, stopping to chat in the hallway or inviting reporters into her office while she prepares for a speech.
Palin insists her focus is still on Alaska.
"I swore to steadfastly and doggedly guard the interests of this great state like a grizzly with cubs," she said in her State of the State address two days after the session began. "We've got to fight for each other, not against, and not let external sensationalized distractions draw us off course."
Some say she appears more tense than the vice presidential candidate who delivered sly jokes and incendiary speeches to packed rallies across the Lower 48.
"Not so sparky," said Sen. Bert Stedman, R-Sitka, who wonders if the distractions of her newfound celebrity will keep Palin from devoting her full attention to Alaska's looming budget shortfall.
more
thanks OUTSIDER.SA,
just read that at HUFF.POST.
this says it all:
"she appears more tense... Not so sparky."
i'd like to think this blog has interfered with her highness's sparkyness.
nin, Consensus here from those who know the traits to look for is that Trig is DS and not FAS. Has been discussed at length.
CBJ letter would contain outright, rather than couched, lie as well. She says Trig has Trisomy21. If Bristol is Trig's mom, no evidence she was "wild." Photos said to be of her partying were not her.
Re: Role of VP ambitions in Palin faking pregnancy.
Whether it started in 2007 or 2008 and whether it was serious conversations or casual comments, can't we agree that Palin may have factored her national political future into decisions she made throughout 2008?
Harder to agree how she made her decisions -- unwed teen pregnancy vs. governor mother of DS baby -- and which helped/hurt her more and with whom. Why hide the first pregnancy and showcase the second? Etc. Nevertheless, there are plausible answers to every "Why would she . . . ?" question we can ask.
Only time will tell the reasoning. But the pictures, and lack thereof, tell the story.
Brrr said '...the reality is that when people work on the North Slope, the employer (and even former employer) provides the air transportation.'
Yes, that is true. But if you quit, you pay your own way out. I understood Levi quit, but I don't know if it has been said if he quit while 'in' or quit while 'out'.
(A minor detail that has nothing to do with the Palin pregnancy story. Sorry.)
Diana,
Has anyone asked Providence Hopital in Anchorage why they stopped putting stuff on their website mid-March and started up again in 2009?
I'm not saying their answer would necessarily be the right one, but it would be interesting. Perhaps they were figuring out HIPAA. Perhaps the person doing it retired or went on maternity leave.
The timing is way too suspicious. This might be an angle the MSM would pick up on.
Ennealogic, The only time we've seen Trig that I know of since the election is the photo in the Palin Christmas card.
I suspect that while Sarah is in Juneau for the legislative session (or in the lower 48 to meet the Pres), Trig is at home in Wasilla with the rest of the family. With Trig 9 mos. old, she says, Sarah's not likely to be criticized for no longer claiming to breatfeed him. It's not unusual in a large family for the grandparents and siblings to help the nannies and sitters.
Would be nice to hear a few "values voters" at least ask her who is mothering her special needs infant while she lives in Juneau and travels the lower 48.
NY tabloid chick,
Just wanted to thank you for your many and valuable insights. If you are still with us, can more of the MSM be far behind? (OK, don't answer that!)
Tabloidchick--
Thanks for the update from your world. (I'm relying on you for Gawker-reading so I don't have to.) That reporters could suss out who the octuplet-mom is and spill all those beans and not get to the bottom of Triggate or Trippgate still boggles me. But then again, my friend who was laid off at the NYTIMES after star-reporting for ten years, just dismisses Sarah the way Andrew Sullivan does. Sometimes I just think MEN don't get the enormity of all this. (My apologies to men on this blog.)
__________________
If Sarah's church runs Mat-Su as I believe it does, I'm sure she could tapdance on the operating tables if she wants to. A beautiful connection for her. She wants to show up for photo op? Sure thing! No questions asked!
___________________________
I believe the man-perspective also played a part in the McCain/Party relationship. IF THEY KNEW she'd faked a pregnancy, I'm sure they thought it was no big deal-- but they would want her to clean up the messes and rumors and move forward. I'm sure she lied about Bristol's pregnancy, whether about the due-date or the fact of it. THAT I"m sure nobody knew the truth of.
Tabloidchick,
One more thing. 15 years ago my sister worked as an actress in Hollywood. She knew lots of A-list actors, and she told me that if I wanted the truth about what was going on, to read the Enquirer. Her tip was It Happens First in the Enquirer; two weeks later in People.
She went on, that the Enquirer was fearless and had no one monitoring its propriety, BUT that they did have excellent lawyers and never printed what they couldn't substantiate.
I have an MA in English from the U. of Virginia and a literary agent in London, but I never pass an Enquirer in the checkout line that I don't think of what my sister said. AND read the cover.
You tabloid folks may be the only real reporters left. Thank you (and Audrey) for the work you do.
Since this blog is dedicated to the truth I think I should correct a comment misquote that seems to have taken root.
•Levi's Mom says he has been caring for Tripp for "weeks" at a time when he could have been home at most one week.
The truth is that the direct quote from the People magazine dated 1/19/2009 is:
"In their first week as parents, Levi and Bristol shared parenting duties. By day, says Sherry, they tended to Tripp and sorted through gifts from well-wishers; by night they traded off diaper detail and the task of soothing a crying baby."
It never said 'weeks' as has been mentioned here a few times.
But what it even stranger and more interesting is the fact that Tripp's birth was mentioned in TWO People magazine articles.
The Jan. 12th issue had a short one page announcement on page 132 with a picture of Britol and Levi from the RNC and an inset picture of Sarah. No picture of Tripp.
• The Jan.19th issue had a much lengthier article - a four page color spread complete with the following pictures:
• Bristol & Palin (no date but Palin on a couch and Bristol standing behind here visible from above her waist only (right below her breasts)
• Levi & Bristol (RNC)
• A picture of the outside of the red Wassilian Palin house (with the caption - "The couple and new son are living with her parents and siblings at home in Wassila)
• HS Pics of Bristol and Levi with the caption "Bristol and Levi (seen in 2007) were both athletes in high school." (Bristol pictured as basketball? Player #21 and Levy as hockey player #5
• An inset of drug-pusher grandma Sherry Johnston offering up the fact she had a hysterectomy 8 years ago which is what got her hooked on OxyContin (IMO, a classic Wassillian logical inference as I’ve known many, many women who had hysterectomy and I’ve not run into one who ended up hooked on prescription drugs as a result.)
• The famous pic of the Palin clan against the foggy mountains with Bristol in the brown dress and slight stomach bulge which is labeled - 'The Palin clan, ca. 2007" (Canada?)
• And finally an endearing pic of Bristol tenderly holding TRIG from the RNC.
Once again, as with just about every darn thing involved with this whole strange tale, what is not there is much more compelling than what is there.
In TWO issues, People magazine dedicated 5 color pages to the birth of one Tripp Palin (born 12/27/2008 according to them) to Bristol Palin and Levi Johnston.
And what is NOT there is ONE SINGLE PICTURE OF TRIPP PALIN.
And really one just has to wonder about this “Trippless” article which includes a much debated family pic with a buxom Bristol, an entire inset to the drug selling grandma Sherry J, a picture of the outside of the much discussed and controversial house in Wassilla, and a pic of Bristol tenderly holding Trig. Was someone at People just a tiny bit miffed at the Palin clan?
Or was the entire article gleaned from an interview with drug pusher Sherry Johnston who has not seen Tripp herself and if just reporting what she has been told to say.
(My verification word is 'singrat')
Re: Did Sarah have her tubes tied?
Yes, back in October we discussed this or a hysterectomy as a possible reason that Palin was not releasing her medical records.
Still a possibility since she released a short letter rather than her records. But I don't think I had a right to demand to know whether or not she could get pregnant. Even as she used Trig.
Following up on Luna's post, it's not just that HIPAA doesn't apply if SP was not a patient. Doctor-patient confidentiality does not apply to perpetrating a fraud. CBJ and any other medical personnel at Mat-Su (or wherever) who helped carry out the ruse are in violation of medical ethics and may be in legal jeopardy for abetting a fraud.
Luna,
I stand corrected on the law of conscience ruling overturned by the AK Supreme Court. I was not aware that Mat-Su was one of a handful (the other being in FL) of hospitals that the ACLU targeted to challenge the Supreme Court ruling. Thanks for clearing that up and providing those citations!
Back to the subject at hand...where's Tripp?
What makes this question so difficult to discern and answer to is that despite the odd photographic evidence and the conflicting comments (most notably the ones involving Levi and his presence or non-presence in Wasilla during the dates in question) from family members there just doesnt seem to be anyone (non-medical)from the area coming forth to confirm sightings of Bristol and Levi.
I do actually believe that there will be a Tripp and we'll get to see him by the end of Feb or at the latest early March but it's just interesting how little buzz there seems to be in Wasilla and that the NE just isn's all over this one. I still hold out hope that someone in the area will come up with a case of loose lips and one of the theories (or combination of theories) posited here will be borne out.
I am still stuck on the 'induced' aspect of the delivery.
The birthing mother / baby were clearly not in distress because an emergency c-section was not performed.
And since induction was 'necessary' (this to me does sound like something done after membrane leakage in this case), then by definition delivery was not imminent. So why the induction at mat-su ? CBJ had privileges at Providence. Good medical protocol would practically demand that a 35 week preemie special needs baby being born to an older multiparous mother would be delivered where the best facilities were available.
In other words, after an ambulance ride (no lights, no siren, keep it low key) back to Anchorage . . .
I truly believe only a male could make up the 'wild ride' story (my suspects are Todd or Chuck, both of whom seem to have a lot of control over Sarah) and
naively expect other mothers to believe it . . .
sg, in your response to Craig about Palin being a "realistic threat for the Republican nomination for president in 2012"....
I wouldn't attach too much importance to Rasmussen polls. They're usually too conservative for progressive issues or progressive/liberal politicians (such as the poll on Obama's current approval rating), but they're overblown and optimistic regarding conservative issues or right-wing politicians. Rasmussen was too conservative in his findings during the election, and quite wrong, as it turned out.
Go with FiveThirtyEight.com polls -- the least biased and the most accurate, judging from his work during the election campaign -- or Gallup polls.
-----------------
OutsiderSA, I was going to post the very same article just now; it's a good thing I read down to the bottom of the comments!
Regarding legislators' observations that she seems more tense, "not so sparky", gee, I wonder what could be bothering her? :)
OT but last night I watched the TV show "Lie to Me," which discusses facial expressions used by people both when they lie and at other times. One expression they discussed last night was that of eyes wide open, both eyebrows raised to show fear even though the person was smiling. And one of the photos they showed as an example of this was Sarah Palin, who the show described as showing fear while facing the press. I was glad to see that someone recognized that expression for what it was, even if it was a TV show. I agree that she'd be risking a lot of she writes a book containing details that can be verified. But maybe she's thinking of something "inspirational" to her fans, and short on details.
'If' the grocery store picture is definitely established as being fall 08 then I apologize for pondering the chance that it could have been 07.
I think the Republicans themselves know that there is a big credibility problem with Palin that is waiting to explode and therefore they must know that it would be foolish to risk a presidential campaign with her. Their and her only chance would be to put this whole thing to bed long before 2012. This will be done but the question is whether or not it will have positive ramifications for Palin. There 'is' a possibility that this will be seen in a positive light for her when this is exposed. She did it for her children, blah, blah.
I think we must accept that we are being infiltrated by a few people whose motives are not the same as Audrey's or Morgan's. There is little doubt that teamsarah is and I can say that with certainty. ;-) It may be a good idea to pass on to Morgan any suspicions on any individual who is looking a bit fishy here on this blog. A Palinite here feeding false tips could be quite misleading and destructive to the cause.
Nice timeline of Sarah saga here:
http://tinyurl.com/c7c72s
No picture analysis, but really, when plain old pix or narrative are laid out in order, it's a wonder there's any debate at all on the question: did SP give birth to a child in 2008?
Thx truthseeker2: you are right about those bad dates and I'll fix. Thank you!
Ocean: thx for A Sullivan info. He is so right, except his conclusion is wrong. He is like the NYT friend of Alex, who discounts SP ("her 15 min is over.").
luna1580: I did not know that Mat Su hospital had that lawsuit that went to the AK Supremes. One would expect that, eventually, but I did not know it had happened. So it IS true, as stated earlier, that the Mat Su Bd of Directors is pro-SP, anti-choice. I did not know that confirmation piece of data until you just posted it. I appreciate that info.
PennyInP, Brr, and Dangerous: Aren't we lucky to have Morgan and Audrey moderating? We don't have to be vigilant about these things ourselves -- our moderator(s) can decide. (What a relief to be rid of that chore, and thank you again Morgan for doing this weary-making task for us.) And once again, I make the plea to be welcoming to all views and contributors who make it past moderation.
Penny, I agree that viewpoints different than our own actually have a lot to offer. I love to see a post I agree with, but a post that does not AND THAT MAKES A POINT I SEE AS VALID (this has happened often to me in this blog) is the true gold.
We are reaching mid-project doldrums and are getting cranky: this is normal and to be expected. Not a problem. Every hard project has this. And if this weren't HARD, they wouldn't need us, right? Someone would already have done the work we are doing -- if it was easy. But it's not; it's hard. It's supposed to be hard. We are supposed to be cranky at this point. All normal in a complicated project.
We have a great team here. We have come a long way. We can weather it all! Let's congratulate ourselves, all of us, for having come this far and raise a special glass of the very best to Audrey and her great staff!
*************
I have never thought SP was not smart. A liar, yes. Uneducated, yes. Views I dislike, yes. But street-smart way beyond most people. Way beyond me.
So my pea-sized brain now sees her plan as this: continue to stay in nat'l spotlight. She already has that great agent Barnett for her eventual book -- he is undoubtedly in the process of informally auctioning it, implying (but nowhere saying or -- God forbid! -- writing) that it will be a tell-all, explaining the hoax. SP knows the hoax will come out in time. She is ready with a convincing, juicy, tear-jerking, heart-rending confession. She will either complete her elected term (if hoax fails to come out) or be kicked out, and that's when she will do her book -- unless she gets a better offer, like the political future that sg's post above implies.
What a smart woman to have a multi-pronged plan: either she succeeds in charming the yokels who still fervently believe in her (which is why I am here on this blog: I think there are MANY of them, and that they are well funded by non-yokels), or she crashes, burns, does the charming confession, the advance for her tell-all book keeps going up, she writes it (gets it ghost-written) and retires to Acapulco.
Either way: definitely making lemonade out of the lemon. Except I don't want her to be president or hold high office.
OutsiderSA: thanks for that post. Doesn't it fit nicely with my theory, above?
I think we will have some fun this weekend, with whatever emanates from the Alfalfa dinner and this big trip to hobnob with the Washington insiders.
(See here's where I stand in awe of SP: wasn't it charming the way she swept aside all that has happened in that reporter's POINTED question about "You're going to that insider dinner??!!?? But Pres Obama will be there !!!!?!!!" and she sweetly said “The Alfalfa dinner, yes, in fact that’s because President Obama is scheduled to be there," Palin said. "And how often will I have an opportunity to have dinner with the president? I will take up that offer to do so."
Wouldn't you?
You couldn't make this up.
I'm going to present something that was dismissed before as coincidence but I think is still possibly relevant.
We agree that it was likely that Bristol was residing in Anchorage with her Aunt while pregnant with Trig. If this is true, she might not have driven back to Wasilla to give birth. Since she had a high risk child the responsible thing would have been to deliver in a hospital with good neonatal care. Would she have done this under an assumed name?
While we haven't agreed on a birth date for Trig, the Wild Ride leads us to believe that someone went into labor around April 18th.
Now, Alaska Regional would seem to be a logical hospital for Bristol to give birth at. It's in Anchorage where she was supposedly staying and has neonatal intensive care. So I present one of the 2 babies born on April 18th.
http://tinyurl.com/bzebdy
Born to an Amber and a Levi. Could CBJ have delivered him at Alaska Regional? It's one of the three hospitals that CBJ is affiliated with:
http://tinyurl.com/cp2qhz
Why would the family allow the hospital to post a picture? Perhaps the baby had to stay there for a while (phototherapy) so they decided to post the baby under a different name to avoid suspicion. Or the same reason Sadie had myspace pictures of Trig uploaded. The young mother was proud and wanted to show people, even if she knew she had to do it under a different name.
Just some food for thought. We most likely won't be able to confirm or deny this baby one way or another because of HIPPA rules.
Thx too to KaJo (thx a second time) for alerting us to the true start of the Brickley blog as 2-26-07 (scroll down for earliest).
Dangerous,
You seem to put a lot of stock in that February 15 dinner and use it to disprove the early birth theories because the pregnancy would be too advanced to hide. But I think that if all three Palin women were there, then none of them could be the mother of Trig.
The problem is, if the due date were April, she would be 7 months, but even if it were May, she would be 6 months.
Do I think a 14 or 17 year old girl could hide a 6 month pregnancy? No. Not if they were indoors and sitting at table in normal clothes. The only way they could possibly do it is with a brief encounter and a very big winter coat.
SQ;
Asking GOP voters to choose between Palin, McCain, or Bush (???) isn't going to be predictive on two fronts. First, other candidates will, and must, become known between now and 2012 (Jindal, Barbour, Pawlenty, etc.). Secondly, the approval of more than just self-identified Republicans are needed to put them back over the top.
Again, even unaffiliated voters seem to be given only Palin, McCain and Bush to choose from, in terms of party mentors for the future. No wonder Palin leads in that limited group of choices.
Of all unaffliated voters, 39% say the GOP has been too conservative, and 34% say too moderate.
Palin may be a default frontrunner, but ask Hillary Clinton, Mitt Romney and Rudy Guiliani how well that distinction worked out for them.
All I'm sayin' is that 2012 is still a loooooooong way away. I don't think her political heft and personal appeal can survive.
Morgan, I promise to get back on-topic now!
realalaskan: thx for the 9-28 9:26 post (top of this page) about Barrow, Deadhorse, etc. I zoomed in on these places on goog maps, and asked for directions for going between them, and THERE ARE NONE. No roads. And the zoom-in photos are amazing. So remote, such weird topography. Such tiny, industrial towns. Just a different world. Thanks for your info which pointed me toward it and my own reverie about Alaska.
Is it significant that Palin herself never said how far along Bristol's pregnancy was? Palin's pre-RNC statement just said Bristol was pregnant.
It was McCain aides who said she was "about five months" along. They said the announcement was meant to dispute the Trig rumors. Sarah didn't say that part either.
Interesting, yes. Significant?
I believe our best bet in uncovering this deception would be to focus on the simplest of all scenarios:
How did this story evolve?
1) Rumours involving Bristol being pregnant, as far back as March, BEFORE SP announced the pregnancy, when SP herself told Bill McAllister that the rumours weren't true.
2) When SP was chosen to run for VP, the rumours gained a new momentum and people started looking more closely at the whole story: wild ride, photos that kept disappearing and other contradictions.
3) The campaign announced BP's pregnancy in such a way as to dispel the vicious rumours, but no evidence that SP was in fact Trig's mother. People notice BP's body language, how maternal she is towards Trig. Likewise, how unmaternal SP is towards Trig.
4) Some anonymous bloggers started putting evidence together, analysing photos, questioning the wild ride and all the inconsistencies in the story.
5) On November 3rd, a very vague letter summarising SP's medical history is released. Bloggers not convinced.
6) By the end of December, SP goes on the offensive, complaining bitterly about the media and anonymous bloggers, which coincides with Tripp's "birth".
7) Tripp's birth is announced in very vague terms, with unreliable accounts on People magazine, etc.
8) No Tripp.
The most likely scenario, in my opinion, is the original and simple one: BP is Trig's Mother, SP faked the pregnancy, there's no Tripp.
There is a mountain of lies to cover up the original lie. There's where we seem to be getting a bit lost...
Word verification: galcoven.
Oh,the witches!
On the Orange Pepsi caps. OMG you are correct!
In the picture of Sarah and a Pregnant Bristol shopping for diapers, there are ORANGE Pepsi caps shown in the picture.
The reason this is important;
1. PEPSI STUFF PROMO - ORANGE caps - ENDED 12/31/07
2. Pepsi Stuff Promo - YELLOW caps STARTED - 2/1/08
This means the Pregnant Bristol picture was proof of being pregnant with TRIGG not Trip!
I need to respond to Brr. While I understand what you are saying, what you describe is precisely the problem. It's because of Palin's refusal to come clean about everything that every little detail gets twisted. She could put an end to all this in a matter of seconds. The way I see it, the ball's in her court.
The comments about the Pepsi caps are interesting. Is the information supplied about the promotions relevant to Alaska? Perhaps there was a different promotion there. The source of that picture was supposedly on election day when the Palin entourage visited a family Chevron store. Probably a Pepsi distributor in Alaska should be contacted.
sandra
**From the Moderator**
Don G said:
"I must think we must accept that we are being infiltrated by a few people whose motives are not the same as Audrey’s and Morgan’s. There is little doubt that teamsarah is and I can say that with certainty. It might be a good idea to pass on to Morgan any suspicions of any individual who is looking a bit fishy here on this blog. A Palinite here feeding false tips could be quite misleading and destructive to the cause."
My response: Please, please don't. With respect to Don G. the LAST thing I want is a flood of emails from readers "informing" on each other.
Please be aware that Audrey and Co. realizes that such tactics can and do come into play, which is why comment moderation comes in handy since we can check "tips" out before posting them to the board. Some of them are indeed misleading, but some are spot on.
Also, Don G., your advice fails to allow for the flip side of your scenario. A Palinite spooked by a valid lead may use your suggestion to claim it's a false plant when it's not.
I'm really proud of our readers here, who have for the most part followed Audrey's lead of thoughtful investigation and civil discourse. I've found that they are a bright lot and an extension of Audrey and Co., and are excellent on the whole for debunking things on their own.
I think Amy1 can attest to how helpful the other readers have been in pointing out errors on her excellent chart as she was working on it.
Such camaraderie and politeness is what sets this blog apart from many others.
So no, I do not want members policing each other. We are a team, and a smart one. If someone's gaming us, truth will inevitably out.
To ennealogic: We saw what appeared to be Trig sitting in Todd's lap at the State of the State address. I don't think he's missing.
sandra in oregon
It is true that there is no direct evidence to confirm that Bristol and Willow attended the AHA luncheon on Feb 15. I am relying as conclusive evidence the statement of Ms. Bartels, since that statement was contrary to SP's interests in several respects. That why I don't think she was lying.
Ms. Bartels may have been mistaken and it is possible that the Palins employed a stand-in for one of the two older girls. But we have no evidence of that, and passing off in public someone else's child as a replacement for your own is a ultra-high-risk deception, that could blow any effort to fake the pregnancy.
The other facts I've cited as insurmountable hurdles for a Feb or March Trig birthdate have been independently confirmed. While a theory of an earlier Trig birth may prove correct, the combination of circumstances currently makes me think it is no more plausible that SP having given birth to Trig just as she said. Too many unusual and uncontrollable circumstances would have to line up to hide the birth of a child for weeks or months AND allow a faked pregnancy to run its course. Once a child is born, it's too late to fake a pregnancy and expect to get away with it.
I agree with Craig the SP is not a future national political threat. Most of America has decided that she's a joke, and if the GOP wants to commit suicide and put another bozo in charge of the party in 2012, it will be a larger loss than Johnson v. Goldwater. She may have aspirations -- in fact, I think she does -- for national office dating back to her run for AK governor. As I've said many times, SP has more ambition and personality that wisdom and character. But whatever assets she had she quandered in her feeble VP run.
Perhaps those aspirations played a part in her decision to cover for an unmarried daughter's pregnancy. That would make sense. If so, we can't also attribute crazy motives and expect her to have had such success at convincing others to keep quiet.
Everyone's motives must align for a faked pregnancy scheme to work -- SP, daughter, family, and medical professionals. Once Trig was born, HIS motives -- or rather the motives of his concerned caregivers watching out for his interests -- must also be considered. That includes ALL medical parties who would be providing care during a hospital stay, and these people would be beyond SP's control and not care a whit about her motives.
My open suggestions is that we all view the evidence as impartial jurors, and be sure that our theories make sense based on all existing evidence prior to adding speculation based on 'facts' not in evidence.
Dangerous
Sorry for the back-to-back posts, but some news ones crossed in the delay.
As Onething notes, the Feb 15 luncheon is a critical date, based on the reasonable assumption that all the Palin women attended as was reported at the time. Ms. Bartels may have been mistaken, but we can't assume she wouldn't know the girls or the Palins pulled a switcheroo. That's why I want photos from that event.
I agree that disguising a six-month pregnancy for any woman would be tough at the indoor event. SP didn't look pregnant at that time, which is a key basis for our conclusion that she wasn't. One of the girls could have employed some camouflage, and a younger girl's could get away with it more than well-known and observed Sarah.
If we had photos of all three Palin women and none of them looked either camouflaged or pregnant, I agree that we would all be scratching our heads -- and looking for other suspects.
To Craig -- I'm anxious to engage in a discussion about the McCain campaign announcement on Sept 1 that Bristol was pregnant. What did they know? Wouldn't that put the deception at risk? (Yes.)
Whoever was involved in crafting the statement for release had to be aware of the internet chatter. If SP faked the pregnancy and told them the truth (or they drew the same conclusion as most of us), then covering it up and maintaining silence going forward are both in their interests. I'm guessing most of them are lawyers and lawyers are honor-bound to keep secrets and get good at it. They will even lie by omission or exaggeration, such as repeating that Bristol was "about five months pregnant".
Someone involved may eventually spill it, but more likely they would trash SP about other things so they are never put in that position. Oops! That's just what has happened.
Craig, if SP was telling the truth, please explain why they outed Bristol's pregnancy to debunk the internet chatter, instead of producing inequivocal evidence of SP's pregnancy and/or Trig's birth. They would get MORE PR mileage out of exposing and destroying the "nasty, unfounded rumors", so I will pre-emptively state that a two-fer release because Bristol's pregnancy would be outed inevitably does not satisfy me as a valid motive.
Dangerous
Shelby,
You said:
"The truth is that the direct quote from the People magazine dated 1/19/2009 is:
"In their first week as parents, Levi and Bristol shared parenting duties. "
I'm sorry I finally threw out that magazine because I remember particularly looking for that phrase, and it did say weeks.
I didn't put all that much credence on that phrase, though, because the entire sentence was a synopsis by the reporter of whatever she really said in the interview. I doubt it was supposed to be an exact, verbatim quote, because they seem to clean up the language and take it out of the vernacular.
What I noted about that article is that not one of the pictures was a new picture. Not even the house. The house picture is from early fall-late summer, because the trees and grass are green with a hint of yellow.
The shot of Bristol and Palin was probably an old, posed shot that had not been used, or at least I had not seen it before. That means people never went to Alaska for that article, not even a drive-by.
Another thing I can't help but note is that the article said that the couple may get married this year. This means that the wedding date has not only not moved up since before the election, but has in fact receded. A lot of times, an unwed pregnant couple will prefer to wait for a wedding till mom is feeling better again after a baby, or will not want the wedding while she's actually pregnant, but they would certainly be getting married by this spring!
But they are not. And yet the article specifically states that Levi is living in the house. I find this just incredible. The conservative base should be really offended. It is one thing to forgive transgressions, but it is expected in conservative and religious circles that one rights the situation with marriage, and that parents do not help their kids to shack up under their roof.
In what way are Palins values different than, say, a left, liberal, new-age hippie?
It's doubtful Levi and Bristol are together at all.
After having dinner with Fred Malek last night (Fri) and the Alfalfa Club members tonight (Sat) a very different Sarah Palin may return to Alaska on Sunday. (a “DC pod person” if you will, face it, she’s been exposed to some pretty serious “koolaid” this weekend).
Fred Malek has been a very powerful figure within administrations as well as in managing campaigns. I believe that Sarah is going to have received some "good advice" from the Washington Elite that she was so proud to not be part of during her campaign. Those Elites might just help her put MORE SPIN on some of these pesky little image problems that she's been dealing with since becoming a national figure.
Compared to some of the other cover-ups that Fred Malek and some of those politicians attending the Alfalfa dinner have been involved in, a fake pregnancy is probably "small beans" to them and they will assist her in how to further "bury this". Heck, some of these people helped Bush to explain away the lack of Iraqi Weapons of Mass Destruction that were the root cause of us going to war in Iraq.
Pregnancygate, Troopergate, housegate, broken-water-gate, ignoring-hungry-and-cold-Alaskans- gate? I can just see them laughing it off and coming up with spin enough to cover all of those in under a minute. All while stuffing their faces with gourmet delights and sipping vintage wines.
The more she insinuates herself into these groups of elite political insiders, the more they will help her to “wash these things right out of her hair”. I can't help but see the vast majority of politicians as nothing more than spin machines and liars, not to mention how reprehensible those are that pull string behind the scenes. She is spending the weekend with some of the best in the business.
All I can say is let’s keep up the pressure. A Pajama Clad Blogger (Adam Brickley) helped to get the ball rolling for her, perhaps another segment of the “Jammie Coalition” can at least slow the momentum a bit.
Keep the pressure on, keep up the blogging and keep those wheels turning and let’s see if in the end at least some glimmer of the truth may appear regarding at least one of the many PalinGates.
Truth Patrol,
Please don't get me wrong. I see nothing wrong with Bristol working at McDonald's and getting her own apartment, especially if Levi and child(ren) are with her. Millions of people in USA actually live this way. I just don't think it's financially feasible, unless Levi were also working. (I hope he saved up some money from the job he just quit.) At minimum wage, 20 hours per week (these jobs are usually not full-time), there would be not enough $ after rent and groceries to pay a babysitter, and someone who grew up in a comfortable middle-class home would probably not tolerate what she'd have to put up with. Plus it would put the family in a bad light (headline: "Palin daughter struggles with minimum wage job to support her kid(s)") and jeopardize Sarah's career.
That's what I meant.
Sarah probably realizes this and would prefer to have Bristol & kid(s) and Levi in the Palin family home. I think if I had a teen in that situation, it would be better for all for her and her new family there, rather than struggling on her own.
re: the Pepsi bottle caps.
The bottle caps indicate a promotion being held by the company and they will ship out however many of the product with the said bottle caps indicating on the caps the promotion and the expiration date.
However, the company will still ship out and retailers will still sell said items with expired promotions on them.
Just a thought.
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Doubting Thomas said...
On the Orange Pepsi caps. OMG you are correct!
In the picture of Sarah and a Pregnant Bristol shopping for diapers, there are ORANGE Pepsi caps shown in the picture.
The reason this is important;
1. PEPSI STUFF PROMO - ORANGE caps - ENDED 12/31/07
2. Pepsi Stuff Promo - YELLOW caps STARTED - 2/1/08
This means the Pregnant Bristol picture was proof of being pregnant with TRIGG not Trip!
--------------------
No sooner do I apologize for assuming that this picture could have been 07, than does this come up! Is there the presence of a person in the store preclude the possibility of it being 07 or is there still a pollility? This is a lead which obviously has to be followed until there is an answer to the question.
And fwiw, Pepsi caps can be on a store counter after the promotion has expired. I know for a fact that they are not taken down. But to have the caps there when the promotion has expired by a year is too long to accept as being possible. Even for Alaska where stocks are shipped to Alaska and rotated a little slower. We need to get to the bottom of this one and put it to bed forever, one way or another.
I would like to ask the person who reprimanded me for thinking it could have been 07, to perhaps substantiate the claim that there was a person in the store who was identified and that person couldn't have been in that store in 07. Or whatever your reasons were for unequivocally putting down the possibility of it being 07. Thanks ahead of time.
You put into words exactly what I've been thinking, AKPetMom, about Sarah Palin and this weekend's whirlwind tour of "elite" powerbrokers.
I've noticed how Palinbots and other neocons dismiss any criticisms of ANY of their wingnuts by -- you guessed it, a childishly meant-to-be-insulting fake medical term -- "(insert neocon wingnut name here) Derangement Syndrome".
I've also noticed how so many of their complaints mirror what rational people think of them. Odd...
The McCain camp press release about the reading program called the school "Wellers Elementary." It is Weller - no "s."
It is a bit odd that a visit by the governor would not have resulted in at least one picture of the Palin family at the reading program, and they do have other pictures posted there. Why? Censorship? No visit? Other?
http://tinyurl.com/cybnd8
Well said AKpetmom. I think this is exactly what the DC trip is about.
And this is exactly why I remain interested in exposing SP's lies and shenanigans. She may have been a laughing stock to many but this is a woman who will stop at nothing to get what she wants. She wants that national stage and she's keeping her name in the public eye. I do feel a sense of public responsibility to keep dogging these issues (babygate, troopergate, housegate, etc) so that when 2012 rolls around we can make sure she's quickly halted in her tracks. My guess is that by that time Romney, Huckabee and other potentially serious contenders will support efforts to discredit her from behind the scenes. Politics is a cutthroat biz.
B said...
Is it significant that Palin herself never said how far along Bristol's pregnancy was? Palin's pre-RNC statement just said Bristol was pregnant.
It was McCain aides who said she was "about five months" along. They said the announcement was meant to dispute the Trig rumors. Sarah didn't say that part either.
Interesting, yes. Significant?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In a word...YES!, as it allows for the all important Republican policy; DENIABILITY!
as in;
"I never SAID that."
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