Gov. Palin has made conflicting statements concerning just how pregnant she ever looked. At one point, she stated explicitly that she never needed to do much to hide her pregnancy because she never showed much. However, elsewhere she made the statement that she DID hide her pregnancy, through "fashion-assisted camouflage," beginning as far back as the Vogue shoot in mid December 2007, when, according to the dates she released, she would have been around eighteen weeks pregnant (a very normal time for a fifth pregnancy to begin showing.) But careful analysis of her mode of dressing from December 2007 until February 2008 (Christmas events 2007, State of the State 2008 and other events) in fact shows NO attempt to disguse anything until approximately mid February, when Gov. Palin began dressing in jackets and scarves, and often wearing what were obviously winter coats indoors.
Gov. Palin announced her pregnancy on March 5th. Curiously enough, however, her "dress to disguise" did not cease. In fact, in general it increased, became more pronounced and in some cases almost bizarre. We have photos of her (they will be in part 2 of this post) at one event (a formal lunch for the spouses of the Alaska state legislators) AT THE GOVERNOR'S MANSION in which she is wearing a trench coat which looks like something someone could have picked up at the Salvation Army paired with a scarf that literally falls to her knees.
No sharp, stylish professional maternity clothes for Gov. Palin, which is sad considering how nice and attractive some of the designer maternity outfits are now and how really good she would have looked in them. (Quite a change from the eighties when I was pregnant and maternity "fashion" consisted mostly of floppy bows of varying sizes paired with checkered tops. As if, oh yeah, that'll hide her belly.) No, during HER pregnancy, our fashion-conscious governor favored mannish black jackets, trench coats, frowsy scarves, and winter coats worn indoors (several of which can be spotted in photos from other years fitting remarkably the same when she was "pregnant" as when she wasn't.)
Here, then is a gallery of photos that have not been widely seen before.
This first item is interesting. The event was an awards banquet for the Alaska Outdoor Council. Dating these photos was tough, because the organization's own newsletter says they were taken March 8th, 2008. Here's a screen shot of the page of the newsletter.
If that date was accurate, she would have been around 30 weeks pregnant. Further research however, has convinced me that the organization's own newsletter is wrong - and that actual date was February 9th. While not quite as dramatic a find as if this photo had been from March, Sarah Palin would still have been twenty six weeks pregnant with her fifth child here. We tracked this correct date down through this news article, from the Alaska Journal of Commerce, which contains an additonal photo.
Here's an internet picture of a woman at twenty six weeks just for reference. I posted the skinniest one I could find.
Hmmm. That's all I can say.
The next photo has been seen several places. Here it is:
This picture is interesting for a couple of reasons. First, it was one of the first (perhaps the first) taken of Gov. Palin after she announced that she WAS pregnant on March 5th, 2008. It was taken in conjunction with an event, in Fairbanks, called Fur and Ice, on March 8th, 2008. This appears to be a reception of some sort, held in honor of "the diplomatic corps." Here's another picture from the state of Alaska website.
Another reason that we are very interested in this picture is it allows us to date a blog post made by blogger Elizabeth Eubanks. Her blog entry, dated April 26th, but clearly referring to photos and events that happened earlier, is one of the "proofs" of Sarah Palin's pregnancy. The thinking goes like this: A random out of state person saw Gov. Palin at the airport and said she was pregnant. She would have no reason to lie. Therefore, Gov. Palin must have appeared pregnant. Here's a photo someone at the airport snapped of Gov. Palin, with Ms. Eubanks and Piper Palin.
It's clear that Gov. Palin and Piper are wearing the same outfits that they were wearing in the other Fur and Ice photos. Given that, plus the fact that Eubanks says she saw them in the Fairbanks airport, and it's a reasonable assumption that the photo of Eubanks, Palin, and Piper Palin was taken on March 8th.It's been suggested various places that Elizabeth Eubanks was "paid off" to say that Gov. Palin looked pregnant. I'd like to suggest a far less cynical or dire explanation: she was in Alaska precisely when the pregnancy was announced. It was on TV and in the papers. No doubt, she heard about it, may well have seen it discussed on TV within the 24 hours prior to her leaving Alaska, and when she saw Gov. Palin it was the first thing she thought of. Based on Palin's appearance at the other "Fur and Ice" picture, in which she looks completely unpregnant, it's hard to imagine any great change in belly size between then and the airport that evening. So, my conclusion is: Elizabeth Eubank's oft-repeated statement "Of course I had to check out the “Hottest Governor in the US” and quickly turned to see her pregnant (she has since had her baby) with bags and daughter in tote." is nothing more that her repeating what she had just heard on TV, and had nothing to do with Palin's actual appearance that day.
For further discussion, I'd like to offer this picture, taken just last December less than a month ago, from the state of Alaska website.
The fit of the jacket, in my opionion, is identical from last March (at roughly 30 weeks of pregnancy) and this December (at 0 weeks of pregnancy.) (We hope.)
The last photo in this group is a picture taken on March 11, 2008 in conjunction with a youth summit of some sort. I am still trying to learn exactly what this group is. Here's a photo of Gov. Palin from that day.
Sarah Palin was less than five weeks away from delivering a six plus pound baby in this photo. In spite of not being able to see clearly due to her ubiquitous jacket, I sure don't see a 6-7 months pregnancy here. In addtion, this photo illustrates what I was mentioning above: her almost bizarre penchant for wearing winter coats indoors. The incongruity is made even more clear in this series of photos since many of the young people are wearing short sleeves. One young lady, not in this photo but shown at the event in other photos, is wearing a sleevless top. More pictures tomorrow!
97 comments:
...more evidence...and quess what more ppl are interested in this topic than ever B4...
SP should 'keep' talking about it & I noticed a few more [new] blogs covering this very topic...
Sarah is wearing a different colored scarf from the Fur and Ice event than the second photo taken at the airport, so I don't see that it's still the same outfit.
Still, clearlyyyyyy not pregnant.
isn't is very weird that palin posed in the official awards banquet group photo, the one you see if you click through "Here's another picture" on the "here" in audrey's post, with piper in front of her and her coat on?
so she brought piper, she brings at least one kid to nearly every event (though notably not that last conference in texas), but putting her in the official group photo? no other spouses or kids in the names at the bottom of the higher-res state version that i can see.
and, in that group shot, SP is wearing her "puffy coat" still. now on previous posts i've seen comments that say "you all don't know a thing about alaskan culture, we often wear our coats inside, especially during short events/errands." as i've only been to AK in the summer, i have no personal reference for that, but living through cold chicago winters i believe it.
BUT in that formal, indoor pic no one else is wearing a puffy down coat. there is one other woman in the front row, 2 to our right from SP, who is wearing a big scarf and -possibly- a more formal wool-type winter coat, that's it. and there are a lot of alaskans in that pic.
also, if you watched the inaugural events you saw many, many politicians outside and/or in a glass parade viewing booth when it was 34F at the very hottest point in the day. now, that was doubtless a much more formal occasion, but pretty much all of them wore suit-coats without any top-coats at least part of the time! why would SP leave her coat on for the formal group pic? it wasn't too cold for the other people in the room....
for the record, my thought is that she wasn't pregnant, but i feel her judgement in the wild ride is AT LEAST as objectionable if she was (sorry craig, i feel the risk WAS "unreasonable" from a medically informed perspective. it's my own informed opinion.) and i don't absolutely rule out that she was pregnant, it simply seems more and more highly unlikely.
luna
In the 2nd photo you conclude to have also been taken on March 8th, 2008, Piper is wearing a different sweater, and Sarah a different scarf. I would think the more likely assumption would be they were taken on different days when Sarah happened to wear that fancy jacket, and Piper wore her favorite beanie.
Joe
may i also add:
if you are immersed in the weirdness that is sarah palin enough to still be following here, or if you are new and wonder what this woman is really all about, may i call your attention to an excellent progressive alaska blogger?
http://theimmoralminority.blogspot.com/
(he links back to audrey in his sidebar, too.)
this is a wonderful site for what is going on with the desperately frozen village of emmonak, how palin is responding (or failing to), and all palin's suspicious governing of her state, from an AK perspective. the sites of celtic diva and of course mudflats are excellent as well.
granted many people reading and lurking here are not alaska residents (i'm not, though i've visited), but if palin interests you, it may be worth checking out what she is doing with the governing power she currently has.
thanks for all the effort audrey, morgan, and everyone else. i DON'T want SP to have a chance at greater power, (and DAMN the girl's ambitious! check this NYT article if you missed it the first go-round, she flat-out says she wants to be president. back on september, 14, 2008. i don't think "team sarah" will ever have the pull to elect her, but still.....)
http://tinyurl.com/cdac36
that's why i come here. but i'm sickened by what she's already allowed under her watch in AK too! people in emmonak still need food donations and money for heating fuel, if you want to help. -all details can be found at the sites i mentioned above.
happy new presidency, everyone :)
Aside from the fact that Sarah Palin is tummy less (best phrase I could think of to describe her obvious lack of a belly) but perhaps more telling is the complete lack of an amble bust before Trigg's birth and after. The smallest busted women can often become a DD cup even before she has official conformation that she is indeed pregnant.
As a nursing Mom who nursed each of my children for at least 18 months,let me address the silk jacket ensemble at the RNC. That was not a wise choice of clothing for a Mom who is breastfeeding. Tight abs are not going to hold back the milk flow no matter how much breast milk was pumped prior to her appearance on stage, one whimper from Trigg, and that silk jacket would have been ruined. Most of us have experienced some breakthrough while nursing, no matter how well we padded ourselves with NO LEAK? breast pads.
An experienced eye, leads one to question who exactly is nursing Trigg? Like the game I so often played with my children, "I spy
a breastfeeding Mom", do you?
Sorry everyone for the crudeness of my comments, but these are plain and simple facts that seem to have gotten lost in the fairytale that has been spun.
Thanks for the new posting and pix, Audrey.
This plot just thickens, as SP keeps whining....
I just wanna throw something else into the ring:
Track Palin
I've said this before, but there's just something odd and weird they way he was magically whisked away to serve in Iraq - and completely out of sight!
(Just as the VP campaign began. Didn't that timing seem a little more than coincidental?)
The cynic in me knows that Track's Iraq deployment was just another shrewd talking point for SP to use on the campaign trail. If she used Trig as the prop she could hold in her arms, Track was the other she could use in speeches, too.
"Super hockey mom - with a special needs child AND a son serving in Iraq! Rah rah, America!"
While the BP = Trig's mom theory seems the most plausible, something in my gut is telling me:
Track Palin's speedy disappearance is about more than just his drug use and wild-child behavior.
And if we're to believe that SP would cover up the pregnancy of her daughter - would she not do the same if her son Track got someone pregnant - which for whatever reason, that girl/woman being pregnant would be TWICE as embarrassing as her daughter getting pregnant??
Food for thought, anyone??
***Moderation Notice***
Some people have mentioned that a large number of comments have apparently been "removed by author." Some have suggested that the author was BluTx, a frequent visitor and Palin cheerleader.
Some are upset by the fact that she/he removed the comments, but that is the right of the author. If they want to remove them they have the right to come back on and do it.
It's really not something to get bent about and I'm not going to approve any comments speculating about why someone would remove their own comments.
So please don't submit them because comment removal is not the topic of this current post.
In the Eubanks picture (airport) it looks to me like Piper's sweater is obscured by the blue striped scarf that Palin herself had on in the previous scene (Fur & Ice event). Don't know where the reddish scarf came from... Maybe the photos were taken on consecutive days, same trip though?
The way she's always wearing bulky and/or tacky jackets indoors and bringing Piper along to numerous official events is just strange, no matter what...
Ha! My posting verification word is "solate" - what might THAT refer to?!?
Are there any old pics around that show whether or not SP was always prone to wearing bulky jackets indoors
The two photos where SP is wearing the black padded jacket:
Look at the blue scarf in the 1st photo. Now look at Piper in the 2nd photo. Piper is wearing the blue scarf!
The photos were taken at different times of the day and SP has scarves for every occasion, as we have observed... So she gives the blue one to Piper and produces another one from somewhere. Maybe it was tucked inside her jacket?
Keep it up Audrey!! You're obviously getting her attention. :)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/01/21/palin-attacks-media-stay_n_159830.html
i just heard
more NAILS hammered ...
the FLAKE is melting!
Audrey mentions this picture in her latest post, but you gotta see it:
http://gov.state.ak.us/large_photo.php?id=115
WTH? This is obviously a very formal affair. Every person at that conference has on a dark business suit.., yet the STATE GOVERNOR is wearing a parka? Why is this CHILD, dressed in jeans 'n' Uggs, parked right in front of her...??! What is wrong with this picture?
MY theory: This photograph remains on the STATE GOVERNMENT WEBSITE because (and only because) her front is covered. All other photos have been scrubbed.
Why?
Why manipulate the state website unless you have something to HIDE?
SP is starting to realize that her political career is over. She is in the final stages of death. Denial being the one she is in now. Soon she'll be at Acceptance. Then and only then will she go away. Even in Alaska she has no chance of staying governor unless she "steals" the next election.
You know, my wife didn't show at all before our baby was born. I would assume that Sarah, like my wife, lays eggs rather than delivering live like your Earth mammals do. You see, Sarah is from the planet Klaxthu like we are. I still think that it was her daughter's egg, FWIW.
Audrey, the picture of Palin in the light blue jacket with the kids is from Alaska Youth for Environmental Action meeting with Palin. How on earth did you find that picture? I searched and searched for more pics from that event and came up empty handed. BRAVO.
http://gov.state.ak.us/large_photo.php?id=114
Regarding the photo with Eubanks: it is possible that the photos were taken on consecutive days.
Eubanks apparently ran into Palin while she (Eubanks) was returning from a Polartrec orientation that is stated to have ended on March 9th. Piper appears to have appropriated her mother's blue scarf in the airport picture. Either the two pictures were taken on the same day, or are separated at most by approximately 24 hours.
(Moderators, if you feel that anything I say is steering the conversation too far into the weeds, please delete and accept my apologies.)
On another tangent, related to the repugnant possibility that a Down syndrome baby was "procured" as a political prop: does anyone know when the silly birth announcement was created? Notice how prominently the initials "VP" are featured in the tiara-looking thing at the top of the picture. WHY would they emphasize his second middle name like that? Has anyone else noticed that Trig's initials are TP-VP ? hmmmmmmm.
Does anyone HIDE a pregnancy AFTER they tell everyone? Especially someone who uses her kids as a calling card?
This is the most strange thing of all the strange things. Women hide a pregnancy for many reasons but she continued this ruse AFTER she told everyone. She was hiding something, but it was a lack of belly instead.
And also strange is not telling the world that the baby has DS. she has been sainted by the Right for that. I think they didn't know the baby had DS until someone gave birth. That explains why Willow asked why no one told her.
The scarf could easily be explained as Piper commandering her mother's scarf, and Sarah having to use another one. Children do that, you know.
Interesting photos and discussion.
I, too, would love to see how many hits you get a day, and how many of those are from Wasilla, perhaps?
Yellowgirl
***QUICK MODERATOR NOTE***
Some people here have been asking about how many hits Audrey gets and how many are from Wasilla, etc.
Not to speak in her stead, but knowing her personally I can tell you it's not her style to crow about how much traffic this site gets. I can only tell you that the feedjit stats are there for everyone to see at the bottom of the page.
We don't really keep up with what's coming in from where, as Audrey and Co. are too busy compiling information and moderating the blog to watch the stats.
Also, some of you have sent in links to sites that either have either sketchy/libelous/clearly unvetted information on SP or that offer her home address and personal contact info. It's against our blog policy to associate ourselves with such sites, even through approval of comments that link to them.
The more salacious, personal stuff can obviously be found online, but we prefer not to direct people to it ourselves.
Again, thanks for your understanding.
@ Thinks Too Much
They were making a play off of Van Halen...trying to make a funny.
Search Van Halen album covers and you will see where that came from.
Aren't they clever? Hah!
i don't want to harp on something not directly in audrey's (excellent) new post, but PLEASE grant this some leniency morgan, it's very important. every one who can should email a MSM outlet about this.
if you care enough about sarah palin to come here, please care enough to email media outlets about what is happening in Emmonak, AK right now.
basically it's a mostly native alaskan village that due to a really poor king salmon harvest (and a few other factors, ALL beyond the residents control) is filled with people who are literally having to choose between buying food for fuel for heat. and it's not only one village, it's a regional problem. it was predicted as far as last summer, based on the fishing season (notably by Walt Monegan, the commissioner SP fired in "trooper-gate", in his outgoing letter to alaska and his successor) the AK government knew this problem was coming.
today, in america, people shouldn't need to choose between freezing and starving to death! neither option out to be on the table!
i've just emailed msnbc, rachel maddow and keith olbermann specifically and additionally, air america,
npr, and chicago public radio, huffington post, and -in a short version- the new whitehouse.gov site, imploring them to bring the story of emmonak to the broader public eye/ear.
what i submitted was a version of what's below, tailored to each organization. in the subject line i put: Emmonak, Alaska: the cold crisis
"Hello, this is about Emmonak, Alaska, thank you for your time.
I trust you and your network to bring real news to the nation of the USA. PLEASE, is it possible to call national attention to the crisis occurring in Emmonak, AK and the surrounding communities (mostly native) of rural Alaska?
The governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin, has recently informed the residents there that declaring a disaster area or other designation of needed aid could take as long as A YEAR due to "paper work." People there are without money for food or heat -it is Alaska's Katrina moment.
If they must wait A YEAR people will freeze or starve to death, right here and now in 2009 America! Please bring this situation to national attention, if not to force the Alaska government to act more expediently, then to make other Americans aware of what they can do, where they can donate something, to help.
For an Alaskan perspective on this i direct you to:
http://theimmoralminority.blogspot.com/
it's a progressive and personal blog, so it's opinionated, but the story is real, and it is dire. I don't know who else to email next, but people need help, this needs to go "mainstream."
Thank you always,
L*** O***, Carbondale, IL (formerly of Chicago).
Again, Thank you. This is a news-worthy story of America today."
-hope it was worded well enough, hope someone reads it. i'm encouraging everyone i know to do the same. if anyone likes any of the words i wrote feel free to use them in your own emails.
i know this is a looooong comment. i know it has nothing to do with audrey's new pics.
but everyone, if you care about palin you care about alaska, at least a little (by default, if nothing else). and the people up there are all Americans, even if their human-to-square mile ratio is low.
please help me email the media and anyone else you know. donate only if you can, but emails are basically free!
thank you,
luna
Would Sarah be dumb enough to wear a fake belly through security at an airport?
I believe this picture of her at airport and the statements of Alaska Air about her not appearing pregnant during the ”wild ride” are because she did not wear the belly padding.
Security screeners are trained to spot suspicious items under shirts or other clothing. I do not believe Sarah would have risked a trip through security with fake belly.
Audrey, keep up the good work. This blog is better than any mystery novel.
I find Palin's wearing of coats contradictory. I've never been pregnant myself, but those I've known who have had children were always warm. My friend, who is currently pregnant and is in her third trimester, hasn't always worn winter coats this winter because she's always VERY WARM.
Wow, more pictures. I am so confused now with this stuff. Maybe the baby is Track's with someone else. I can't figure this out anymore, I need a chart. Keep up the good work in here and keep Palin talking!
Oh I had to come back, Meghan McCAin was on CNN and did not want to discuss Palin.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/01/22/meghan-mccain-pressed-on_n_160037.html
Stay on the case audrey, great work, we are with you!
Trev - I was reading that article on Meghan McCain - I find it very curious that she won't say anything - after all if she had something good to say, why doesn't she? If she could put to rest some of the rumors, (which would be a positive), then why doesn't she? One can only imagine what she might know - like who was breast feeding Trig?
The fact that she won't say anything positive is very very interesting.
Perhaps she even became a friend to Bristol - which I hopes so, Bristol could really use a good friend.
LadyRose and Trev,
I've long felt that something happened during the campaign that forced McCain to go from a cheerleader for Palin to shutting her out. I think that thing was finding out that Sarah Palin was not Trig's mom.
It's been widely reported that towards the end of the campaign he stopped speaking to her almost altogether, and after the campaign he refused to even say he'd back her if she ran in 2012.
That's a pretty dramatic shift and I think finding out about Palin's pregnancy "fits." He never explained his sudden frostiness to her and Meghan refuses to even talk about her now. And if you think about it, the faked pregnancy isn't something they could talk about because it would again highlight what a rash, poorly-vetted decision the Palin pick was.
I wonder if he hadn't asked her about the rumors and had her dismiss them only later to find out the truth. Who knows, maybe she even came clean to her himself and hoped he'd just help her cover it up, Wasilla-style. I can only imagine how pissed he'd be at Sarah for putting him in such an awkward situation in a bid to further her own political ambitions.
I still remember how Sarah stood there when McCain gave his concession speech. She had tears in her eyes but I think they were tears of anger. She'd wanted to give her own speech, but the campaign had muzzled the woman they'd a few months earlier touted as their pit bull with lipstick.
It does seem curious, and insider knowledge of the pregnancy can really be the only thing I could think of that would cause this kind of rift between them, and this kind of silence afterwards.
I found this in an article in Medical News Today that addresses what happens to a woman's back during pregnancy -
"In both women and men the curvature of the spine in the lower back, called the lordosis, stabilizes the upper body above the lower body. The researchers studied 19 pregnant women between the ages of 20 and 40, and found that when naturally standing, the women lean back, increasing their lordosis by as much as 60 percent by the end of their term. In doing so, pregnant women maintain a stable center of gravity above the hips."
Although it doesn't address a 44-year-old specifically, I find it so curious that none of the pregnancy photos show Sarah's back compensating for the pregnant belly. Tight abs, ya think?
I totally agree with your assessment, Morgan, concerning the unexpected knowledge that McCain probably learned, all too late to save himself, at some point during the campaign. I would like to expound upon this issue. I think McCain learned either that the pregnancy had been faked, that Tripp was a fabrication and never existed, or both of these together. I think John's wife and daughter also learned the same information, but all lips are now sealed. A question I have is will the Republican movers and shakers keep quiet and let Romney, Huckabee, the Newt or whoever run against this same lie without knowing the truth?
hear, hear, morgan et al!
i agree with your thoughts behind Meghan McCain's current "no comment policy."
if the McCain camp had anything good left to say, they would say it.
Floyd,
You raise a very interesting point that touches on another theory that I have - which is that Palin has far more to fear from her own party than she does from the "left wing gotcha-media" or even us pesky bloggers.
I am certain that McCain's choice of her for VP left both Huckabee and Romney licking their wounds, but you can believe they were thinking of nothing but their own comeback as they did.
It was widely rumored that Romney was incensed at the Palin pick, and I can understand why. McCain clearly picked style over substance and while he may have turned her into the darling of the extreme right he's also set some of the most powerful right wingers dead-set against her.
I happen to believe that we probably get not just a lot of left-wingers happily following this blog, but right-wingers, too, and you had better believe if Palin puts her foot in the political door come 2012 that Huckabee and Romney will use the Trig rumors to help slam it shut. Unless, of course, the truth comes out by then.
I think it will, and I think if anyone in the GOP knows about this - and I'm sure they do - that may be where the final leak comes from. Would they do it directly? Probably not, but rest assured they realize that this is a deal-breaker for her and if she's not out of the way by the time Huckabee and Romney stage their comeback, they'll find a way to use it to edge her out once and for all.
I'm sure Palin knows this, which is also why she's so paranoid. She can't trust anyone, and she knows it.
I need to say one more time: It is inconceivable to me that a pregnant woman would wear warm outdoor clothes INdoors, when everyone else is not. When *I* was pregnant with my daughter, I FELT HOT and could not strip down enough! After all, you carry extra blood supply around with you for the baby inside you. (Wondering if I might have been an aberation, or if other women went through the same feelings of hotness...)
Although the "wild ride" has received a great deal of (well deserved) attention for being either implausible and/or irresponsible, I'd like to direct a bit more attention to Palin's account of Trig's birth at 35 weeks and hospital discharge only 2 days later as also either implausible and/or irresponsible.
Let's leave aside the Down Syndrome for a moment and concentrate on Trig's alleged prematurity.
At 35 weeks gestational age, here are some of the problems an otherwise normal preemie newborn might encounter:
Serious Lung Disorders:
(10-20% come down with respiratory distress syndrome -- a very serious lung disease which becomes particularly bad about 3 days after delivery); this is only one of several lung disorders which (I would think) need days of close monitoring to reliably detect and treat. Tests before delivery (L/S ratio tests) are needed to see if the baby's lungs are mature enough to breathe properly before an elective delivery would be carried out.
Apnea and bradychardia: failure to breathe, accompanied by slowing heart rate -- premature newborns have monitors attached to them for quite some time to detect this common and dangerous problem. It is due to neurologic immaturity, and, again, a substantial period of monitoring may be needed to detect and treat this problem. Apnea goes away by the 37th week in most otherwise healthy preemies. Many go home with apnea monitors, however.
Temperature instability: preemies of this age are usually cared for in an incubator until they "prove" their ability to maintain a normal body temperature in an open crib -- also a matter of several days of observation
Inability to coordinate sucking with swallowing and breathing: This ability (also neurologically determined) does not really kick in until about 36 weeks. As a result, some time is generally required until a preemie of this gestation is able to take in all nutrition by nursing at the breast or bottle.
Low blood sugar: glucose monitoring is essential
Jaundice: Just about a given in a baby this premature.
Most such moderately premature babies are able to go home only at 37 weeks.
Add Down Syndrome to this mix which greatly increases the likelihood and severity of the problems listed above, and it seems implausible and/or irresponsible that Trig was sent home only two days after birth.
Someone previously noted that the 6 pound + birth weight for Trig was awfully high for a 35 weeker, and it is.
I suspect that this was Trig's discharge weight and that he was born and treated in a hospital (maybe not Mat-Su) for several days, perhaps longer, before being delivered to Sarah.
Thanks SpecialMom, that has always bothered me too. No way a preemie with other issues goes right home and then is dragged into a public office.
Another WHAT? Just like hiding a pregant belly AFTER you tell everyone you are pregnant. THAT is also not logical.
James-
I'm sure that the Track Palin situation has aspects we don't know about, like all things Palin, but I do think that the opportunity to clear his record from the vandalization incident is a plausible reason to join the military. And, regardless of why he joined the military, I think the idea that Sarah would need to cover for a pregnancy of any girlfriend of his, or for Sadie, or for Sherry - all are implausible. Just not necessary for Sarah to do, and I wonder whether such posts are really serious???
Luna 1580-
I thank you for bringing the Emmonak situation to our attention.
Not sure of date of actual Gov’s appearance at this function but was sometime between 3/11 and 3/18, 2008. AYEA is Alaska Youth for Environmental Action and they have a conference in Juneau each year.
Single photo of Sarah at AYEA conference March 11-March 17, 2008
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ayea/2344749556/
Series of photos from AYEA conference March 11-March 17, 2008
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ayea/sets/72157604153868357/
there is a slideshow option on flickr if you wish to peruse all 156 photos in the second link.
Morgan and Floyd,
SP wouldn't get past the primaries... The GOP is very prone to back stabbing. McCain himself was a victim in 2000. Can you imagine what two seasoned politicians like Romney and Huckabee would do to her?
She would be better off if the truth came out sooner, in a more gentle setting, uncovered by compassionate, principled people like us.
If she gets as far as the primaries, they will destroy her so completely and so ruthlessly that I almost feel sorry for her.
I don't know if McCain knows more than us or not. The facts that everyone knows are enough to cause him to be mad about it.
I think the bigger issue is that Sarah was not running as McCain's running mate. Instead, she was doing all she could to promote her own name as a future Republican star. And the undue attention on her definitely cost McCain a lot of votes.
To be blunt, she did a crappy job as a VP candidate. I can see why all of the McCain's are bitter about the whole ordeal.
Indeed, Dianne (@ 11:22 AM), I'd been wondering about that "center-of-gravity" problem ever since seeing the picture arrays of really-pregnant women in advanced stages of pregnancy. They really do lean back quite a bit.
I keep going back to the April 10, 2008 picture of Sarah Palin at that ServeAlaska swearing-in ceremony with Joe Parrish:
http://tinyurl.com/ccovho
In the several pictures of her at that event, she's standing -- in high heels -- perfectly straight and upright, no cantilever tilt backward, and from the back view her skirt falls straight down. She's supposedly only A WEEK AWAY FROM HER DELIVERY DATE!!!
HMMMM.... "you had better believe if Palin puts her foot in the political door come 2012 that Huckabee and Romney will use the Trig rumors to help slam it shut."
THAT gives me an idea... (Evil Grin) :
I guess we have all been going totally wrong about this - we shouldn't necessarily (just) contact the MSM, but mayyyybe... contact Huckabee and Romney and others?
What do you all think about this?
SpecialMom: I agree with all your points, and I thought that the one point her doctor (CBJ) made in her statement was very suspect to me: She stated (loosely quoted) that 'the baby was able to home at two days old'. That was a big red flag for me and did not sound right for a preemie, but then I dismissed it and thought, Oh, well, That's what the doc said...
Littl' Me--
It wasn't just you. During my pregnancies, I was extremely hot, and would become rapidly overheated and flushed, especially at work--where I had no control over the thermostat. Thankfully, I could wear scrub tops there, but I still felt like I needed a fan on me at all times. At home, there were thermostat wars btw me and my husband; I kept turning it down. In my unpregnant state, I normally am the one to turn the heat up.(First baby was born in April, so much of that heat distress was in winter!!)
So, yeah, when I see the pics of SP in her coat indoors all the time when she's supposed to be pregnant, I'm not buying that. Even if she IS in Alaska.
Lil' Me, I have all ideas that the Romney and Huckabee people are way, way ahead of us on this.
And Regina, you really hit the nail on the head. If Palin somehow survived to the primary level they'd not only make her regret any lie she told about Trig and Tripp being born, they'd make Sarah sorry she was ever born herself.
I think Huckabee and Romney are the wolves watching from the sidelines. They'd prefer someone else kill Sarah's career, but if they have to do it they will. And if it gets to that level it won't be a pretty thing to watch.
It is amazing that the woman who said, women can "work and govern and carry a baby" all at the same time would choose to conceal her pregnancy, even after she had announced it. Why wouldn't she wear some of the maternity couture that celebrates pregnancy?
However, we know she wasn't pregnant, but that means she forced another woman to hide a pregnancy. For someone who called men "neanderthals" when they don't think women should be out of the home while pregnant, Palin is the one putting us back in the cave. (And note: according to her creationist logic, the neanderthals must have existed, oh, around the same time as the founding fathers and dinosaurs roamed the earth 6,000 years ago.)
AKPETMOM--i just looked at the photo slide show from the AYEA event. SP is so NOT pregnant in those photos ...plus, what professional (a govenor, for heavens sakes) wears a windbreaker like that at a meeting? tacky tacky....
i guess she couldn't bring herself spend the money on cute fake maternity outfits for just two months....as a friend of mine used to say 'buy cheap, lie in the street'..whatever that means!
what a sceaming squirrel SP is.
Janie in Tally
Morgan -
Thanks, as always, for your moderation here. I had a strange feeling about BlueTx from her very first post, and have saved every one of her comments.
They show a very bizarre personality - if they were all done by the same individual - and it's kind of interesting to follow the progression of her posts (her emotions run the gamut from questioning the purpose of the blog, mocking, derisive (you'll never be able to get her - she is way more powerful than you'll ever be) to anger (you are just ruining the lives of her poor innocent kids) to bargaining (what would Sarah have to do for this blog to be removed?). It sounds a bit like Elizabeth Kubler-Ross's stages, as I write this out, actually. Did she reach acceptance and just remove all of her posts?
Anyone interested in a copy and in discussing/dissecting these posts can get in touch with me directly.
:)
" So she gives the blue one to Piper and produces another one from somewhere. Maybe it was tucked inside her jacket?"
Good point, Regina! Maybe it was tucked under her shirt!
OMG Gina, I didn't read your post before I wrote my previous one!
Sorry, Morgan - I'm using more than my share of space!
I don't think McCain found out about the pregnancy -- I think they found out how horribly ill-prepared for the job she was. That's why I think they turned on her.
Jennifer
Jeanie- great job saving BlueTX's posts. I can't wait until BlueTX reads your comment!
Whenever I read her posts, I thought if I were SP or someone close to her, how would I try to infiltrate this blog? You have to be one foot in and one foot out- kinda like others here (ahem) who claim to despise SP and her politics but spend lots of time defending her/playing devil's advocate. So this dual personality persona becomes "Blue" (as in Blue State/Democrat)/ TX (a very Red State). Something someone would do when they're trying to be too clever by half.
Yeah, Mom of One, Esq., but let's not get too hung up on analyzing or wishing ill on BlueTx. I got the feeling she was seeking attention here. She's gone now so let's not make her the focus since that's not what the blog is about.
I liked what another poster had to say about her comments working through the stages of grief. I thought that was very insightful.
We need to allow that BluTx was simply a true believer brave enough to come here and test what she thought she knew. If that's the case she deserves credit, not condemnation, since she was at least brave enough to ask the questions.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'd rather not see a string of comments beating up on her after the fact, okay?
The "diva" comments didn't come out of nowhere. At a certain point, with SP going off-script at events, perhaps acting out behind the scenes, and being a dimwit in debate and interview prep, she must've given enough of McCain's staffers enough information to come to the conclusion that she was IN NO WAY ready for national political office.
I also find it hard to believe the McCain staffers failed to recognize Sarah's it's-always-about-me-ness in short order. Learning about the truth behind her wild birth story would've just been icing on the cake.
More on topic, I viewed the whole lot of pictures on Flickr taken at that March 11 youth event, and there's no way a 7-1/2 month baby was hiding under that turquoise jacket anywhere.
For those who keep throwing Tracks name out there as a person Sarah would cover for if a girl got pregnant.
Sarah and I are about the same age, therefore we grew up in the same turbulent times. Our generation of women were told that we could grow up to be anything we wanted to be, as long as we did not get pregnant out of wedlock. We were a far cry from Jamie Lynn Spears generation. My parents motto was "If my son comes home and tells me he got a girl pregnant. It could be anyones child, but If my daughter comes home pregnant (and not married) we have a problem."
Such was the late 60's, early 70's. Gloria Steinem helped us burn our bra's, But Masters and Johnston had not liberated women from the stigma of being a single mother yet.
So I do not see Sarah covering for Track, as that is the whole "Boys will be boys" and he was just "sowing his wild oats". But she WOULD cover for a daughter being pregnant out of wedlock (hence the whole "They have plans to marry" announcement, following on the heels of the announcement that Bristol was pregnant).
Morgan, Audrey and Co: Thanks again, for the way you keep this site civil, intelligent and on track.
I agree completely with Morgan, no need to 'beat up on' Blue Tx.
Many times, when I read her, I seriously wondered if it wasn't SP herself, specially since she has now scrubbed her posts? Stranger things have happened on the internet!
About the Meghan McCain's not commenting on Palin: could be the old adage we all were told as kids--if you can't say something nice, say nothing at all.
2012 Campaign: My family and I have said all along, that IF SP chooses to run, there is no way she will survive the primaries. Any and all the other possible candidates would chew her up and spit her out! Can you even imagine her debating Romney? Jindal? Huck? or anyone else you can imagine might run?
The only GOOD thing I can imagine coming from her running in 2012, is that she would provide even more material for SNL and late nite talk shows than she already has!
Doubting Thomas, my only problem with your line of thinking is, SP's strong "Pro-Life" (ANTI-CHOICE) stand.
IF Track came to her and said his GF was preggers and wanted to get an abortion, I think she MIGHT have covered for them, rather than feel that she allowed that girl to choose an abortion.
After all, she does not believe in a woman's right to CHOOSE....to her, we all should have no CHOICE.
On another tangent, related to the repugnant possibility that a Down syndrome baby was "procured" as a political prop: does anyone know when the silly birth announcement was created? Notice how prominently the initials "VP" are featured in the tiara-looking thing at the top of the picture. WHY would they emphasize his second middle name like that? Has anyone else noticed that Trig's initials are TP-VP ? hmmmmmmm.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
That was to look like the band Van Halen's band logo. Get it, Van Palin, Van Halen.....
that is as adolescent as it gets, but that is the Palin's....
http://images.google.com/images?um=1&hl=en&q=van+halen+album+cover
Just need to add, even though I think SP might have covered for Track's GF (rather than allow her an abortion), I still think it's more likely that Bristol is the birth mother.
SpecialMom, I appreciate your listing of potential health issues with preemies. I am a nurse, but after I got out of nursing school (shortly after the earth's crust cooled and just before the dinosaurs went extinct according to my kids), I haven't worked OB. I never liked it anyway, didn't like being pregnant, hated giving birth, and quit after two kids. So I knew there were health issues with preemies and really appreciate the recap. I knew that two days after a premature birth was wrong, but I couldn't have listed them. You did, and it really highlights the absurdity of SP's story.
Doubting Thomas said...
"the initials "VP" are featured in the tiara-looking thing at the top of the picture. WHY would they emphasize his second middle name like that?"
I think the VP had the hopeful double-meaning of, well, V.P. - as in Joe Biden, now!
Re: parkas
Sarah wore parkas like business women wear blazers. Remember that official picture from a governors' meeting where she's on the front row with a dark jacket -- that zips? Weird. (Similarly, remember the 2006 or 2007 family portrait with Bristol in a sweater with belly bump, and Sarah in an OUTDOOR vest?)
I suspect as a runner she feels comfortable in parkas or windbreakers. They work in a cold climate where some buildings are hot and some are not. They are thin enough to fit under a coat outside. She had them in many colors, including peach and turquoise, and I'm not surprised that the McCain campaign decided to buy her some new suits with tailored jackets.
I think she wore parkas, zipped and unzipped, before and after she announced a pregnancy, so I don't read anything into that choice.
quick recap:
SP announces she has been hiding her pregnancy to the suprise of her closest friends and staff.
Most pics after that announcment are at best not showing a normal 44year old mother of 4 showing a 5th child. She continues to use clothing to mask her abs.
Then the wild ride, no pics of mom with new baby in bed, back to work in 3days, baby has jaundice, Sarah looks like always, no boob growth, Bristol looking like a new mother in many ways on the campaign trail with a huge chest.
Odd and conflicting birth times for both Trig and Tripp.
I dunno. If it looks like a rotten salmon, and smells like a rotten salmon, and swims like a rotten salmon my guess is its a the bolggers and medias fault!
IT DONT PASS THE SMELL TEST.
Diana says, "Also...the whole Bristol's birthday is 10/18...Trigs original due date is 5/18....but supposedly born 4/18."
Furthermore, the first due date we heard for Tripp was 12/18. And 10/18 was Bristol's 18th b'day.
re numerous comments about how oddly SP dresses in various pictures. It may not all be a deception; it may be that she simply doesn't dress appropriately for the office. Take a look at this picure: http://tinyurl.com/buec3z. She wears BLUE JEANS to receive 2, 3 dozen diplomats.
Re: Doubting Thomas
"So I do not see Sarah covering for Track, as that is the whole "Boys will be boys" and he was just "sowing his wild oats". But she WOULD cover for a daughter being pregnant out of wedlock (hence the whole "They have plans to marry" announcement, following on the heels of the announcement that Bristol was pregnant)."
Believe me, I agree with you 100% - and the difference between a teen daughter getting pregnant, as opposed to a teen son being the impregnator.
There's for sure a double-standard on how each is viewed.
I guess my thought process with Track is:
What if it involved an underaged girl?
IE, under the Alaskan age of consent, which is 16 - which is also, technically - statutory rape.
Again, it's just (yet) another possibility, as to why we would ponder WHY Sarah Palin would be forced to fake a pregnancy, and/or adopt a baby whose true story & parentage couldn't be found out.
Me, I still think there's more going on with Track besides his drug use and wild behavior. At the very least, he might've been shipped off to Iraq to keep his mouth SHUT?
This is slightly off topic, but others have commented on the constant presence of a child, usually Piper, at times that seem inappropriate.
When my sister was in a very fundamentalist group, there were rules about where she could be (as a wife and a mother of three) without her husband. Once she needed to catch a ride to a funeral of a relative. All those in the car were male. She had to take her two year old daughter as a "chaperone" as it would be inappropriate for her to be alone with men.
I've often wondered if some such dynamic is at work here. I know that she is governor, but she often strikes me as a front for the menace of Todd lurking in the background. In that scenario, Piper's presence is another reminder that she is being watched, even if Piper is totally unconscious of that.
I've always thought the term diva means a demanding and temperamental female singer, but I think this definition from the urban dictionary describes Palin perfectly:
a bitchy woman that must have her way exactly, or no way at all. often rude and belittles people, believes that everyone is beneath her and thinks that she is so much more loved than what she really is. selfish, spoiled, and overly dramatic.
And she lies (okay, I added that part)
AdAstra… “It would be inappropriate for her to be alone with men”
Interesting, however for me her child[ren] are just covers. Being with Mom, does not mean I’m in each & every picture…whatever happened to the sidelines?
We all need a constant reminder about how much SP loves ‘them’ kids.
Plus perhaps she's keeping the little one away from home - with her - since 'other stuff' needs to happen while Mom is doing her [so-called] job.
Perhaps, everyone is so busy, Mom is the only one left to babysit - after all you know what a great Mom SP is…and how busy the rest of the family is – doing their own thing.
Interesting YES, but it does little to explain Todd in the office while she worked on state business, his harassment of State Employee, etc…
TRACK…just another political string SP plays, I mentioned before about [her stating] that he joined on 9-11 and deployed the following year on 9-11…how she stretched the truth, because his unit had a deployment ceremony & not their actual deployment.
Just more of that old fashion SELFISH PERSON [SP] Behavior!
Don’t get me started!
OK, I'm not buying this whole "Piper as chaperone" argument. Sarah Palin travels extensively and even visited the troops at the Iraq-Kuwait border. So I really think what's being said here about restrictions on her travel is a major stretch.
Thanks to Audrey and her support people for compiling and publishing this analysis of an undisputed Palin deception.
I say 'undisputed' because SP herself admits to this deception, which is not a small thing. If a suspect was forced to admit that they had deceived the police, their entire testimony would be suspect, no matter what excuse they gave for lying. SP didn't even give a good excuse, and managed to contradict herself in the process!
As Audrey (and others) have pointed out, she said she didn't have to try that hard to hide the pregnancy because she didn't show much. But the evidence is that she tried REAL HARD from early February on to disguise her midsection. Coats, scarves, people -- whatever she could find to avoid a clear shot at her belly.
Further, she continued to disguise her midsection -- an open deception -- after announcing the very thing she said she was trying to hide. And did she think people would never notice?
The facts align completely to disguising a non-pregnancy, not a pregnancy that a woman could not, would not and should not try to conceal.
A grand jury would find that admission enough to indict for fraud, if such a crime applied. If SP ever had to face cross-examination on this deception, it might even be enough to convict her of lying to most impartial juries.
It is this reasoning which allows me to confidently conclude SP faked the pregnancy. She did such a poor job of it because by the time she started it was too late.
Dangerous
James, AK statutory rape also requires an age difference, maybe 3years, not just age<16. Certainly avoiding statutory rape charges would be a reason to hide a pregnancy. Not likely here, though.
Along breatfeeding track...Perhaps the reason Bristol's chest looks so large at the convention is that not only was she breastfeeding, they had to pad her heavily so she wouldn't leak through her dress?
Those new Alaska Youth pics are interesting.
Do 30-31 week pregnant women normally lean forward with their elbows on the desk and press their midsections tightly up against a desk?
http://tinyurl.com/btbubs
Something is rotten in Wasilla.
Diana- along with your dates with "18" in them, Levi announced in October that Bristol's baby was due on December 18!
Bristol does seem like the most likely candidate as mother of Trig.
The big problem I have is, if it was Bristol who motivated the faking, WHY would SP not just have a small announcement back then that her teenage daughter had a kid?
Everyone would have forgotten or not cared by the time she got the VP nomination. Well, maybe some of the radical neocons, but, hey! this is the 21st century, Sarah, not the 1950's.
This attitude of hers is problematic because I see Sarah Palin as so out of date, out of touch with what is now much more acceptable, though not ideal. Who would want a woman leader living so back in the dark ages, so unliberated? This is not to promote teenage preggo's, but to be more down to earth on the reality that it happens.
Diana said "Sarah flew into Anchorage from Juneau on March 14th and was there until March 27th when she flew back to Juneau with no noted public activities or photos. She then flys back to Juneau and is in the public eye until April 17th!"
Piper and Willow were enrolled in Juneau schools during the spring semester last year. Where were they during this time? If they were with mom, was this over a school vacation? If it was not over vacation, that's a notable absence from school (not that it would be an issue for Sarah, just wondering if anyone in Juneau might have noticed). If Piper and Willow were not with Sarah, who was looking after them in Juneau?
Morgan and Floyd --
I have a darker version of the same scenario you described. Remember the straight-talk express? And the idea that, whatever his limitations, McCain was a straight-arrow guy, a good man? And how that faded away in the last months of the election?
My take (and sorry, I've said this before, but I've just got to keep on until I'm healed) is that the rightmost wing of the Reps gave McCain a Faustian bargain, or threat. Something about his HAVING to accept one of their candidates for VP, rather than Lieberman or any normal politician. I've speculated before that SP might have been the best of the bunch.
In this theory, I'd guess that McCain knew that accepting this hyper-conservative VP meant his days were numbered once he won, but (for whatever funding or political reason) accepting the full terms of this deal was his one chance to win. So his choices were:
(1) refuse and lose -- remember, before his VP pick his campaign was turning lackluster and declining,
(2) refuse and announce what he was being pressured into, leveling with the electorate, causing an uproar, and surely losing, but also exposing the RR or ultra-conservative tactics and coercion and thus remaining honest and upholding his values and the best interests of the nation. Obama did a version of this option when he decided to do his race talk, which advisors cautioned him against -- too big a risk -- and he said I'll either do the right thing (the talk) or I won't be president.
(3) Take the deal and hope for the best. Get to be president, even knowing that he'd be killed so SP could be president at some point.
So he took the deal. And the other top guys (Romney, etc.) knew it. Although they all knew that this RR or far-right wing are a bunch of crooks, they also thought "maybe it won't be so bad," "maybe I've exaggerated the crookedness of the RR," (just like the thinking about Hitler when people thought he was a joke, or at least could be controlled) and they kept quiet and watched.
And then, in time, they (McCain, his wife, his daughter, the other top Rep guys) realized how crooked SP herself was. Just like for me, the faked preg crystallized and symbolized all the other things that are more subtle or less clearly proveable -- but that are just as wrong as a faked preg.
And then the election was over, and the Reps who had a sense of decency and principles were so digusted with themselves for having tolerated this VP thrust upon them that no one wanted to talk about it, because to have known and not objected is pretty shameful.
So nobody knew a thing, but we're not talking to each other either, now. Ditto the guys who own the newspapers. Let's just all try to forget all this happened. Maybe we can all come to believe it didn't.
Does this sound too weird? It did to me until recently.
Re center-of-gravity problem: I was not like some of you really fit Moms when I was pregnant, with twins, as an older Mom. I was TIRED! I had that center-of-gravity problem, but I almost didn't notice it because I had other issues: I walked SLOWLY. Tiny elevations in sidewalks (which I had walked daily, for years, thinking they were flat) now revealed themselves to be steep hills, and I'd get out of breath. "Morning sickness," in my case, felt like a snail trail down my throat at all times. I was super-sensitive to smells -- including my own. Yikes, we are smelly breed! (But not any more! not after I delivered.)
I mention this only because, like so many other Moms who have written in, we just knew at a glance that this woman was not experiencing any effects of pregnancy. Yet we have to organize our thoughts around it all, very logically, to seem credible to others.
Trotting along on heels on ice? Never tired? Never tired-looking? Face never a little puffy? Never hot all the time? Bouncing out of the doorway when first showing off Trig when he was supposedly a few days old? Exposing your tiny precious baby to all the germy people in the world at such a tender age? It's all just so obvious. But only if you've been preg yourself.
Jeanie Morgan -
Thanks, as always, for your moderation here. I had a strange feeling about BlueTx from her very first post, and have saved every one of her comments.
They show a very bizarre personality - if they were all done by the same individual - and it's kind of interesting to follow the progression of her posts (her emotions run the gamut from questioning the purpose of the blog, mocking, derisive (you'll never be able to get her - she is way more powerful than you'll ever be) to anger (you are just ruining the lives of her poor innocent kids) to bargaining (what would Sarah have to do for this blog to be removed?). It sounds a bit like Elizabeth Kubler-Ross's stages, as I write this out, actually. Did she reach acceptance and just remove all of her posts?
Anyone interested in a copy and in discussing/dissecting these posts can get in touch with me directly.
:)
Blue TX also stated she had a baby at 17; she was about 100lbs before birth and around 5ft 3 as far as my memory serves me....roughly the same size and age as Bristol eh?
I can't help but wonder... if Sarah's abs are so "tight" that she didn't show until he week before giving birth, why wasn't Trig's skull crushed in when he was born?
I had a friend who was a very high caliber athlete at the time she became pregnant with her first child--I'm sure her ab strength and general fitness would have put Sarah's to shame. During this first pregnancy, her belly was huge. I do think her excellent ab strength and fitness helped her quickly lose her pregnancy weight and belly after the baby was born, but they sure didn't hide the baby before its birth...
Maybe Sarah isn't giving definitive proof that she is Trig's birth mother because she hopes to use all the pictures Audrey compiles as advertising for her new "baby crushing abs" workout DVD's...
As usual, not a single photo where she clearly looks pregnant (prior to the Gusty photo), and not a single photo where she clearly looks unpregnant because she's always wearing coats and scarves.
janie,
Isn't it AMAZINGLY odd that there has been NO sign of Tripp? SP is such a media whore...if there was a baby, she would have been totin' that baby around like a prize... However are they going to explain away this 2nd baby thing away?
Looking back, whenever she was hauling poor trig around during the election, I never saw her look at that baby with any affection or maternal warmth...it was like he was a prop---and she sure wasn't showing Bristol any warmth--she seemed almost tight lipped and angry with her oldest daughter.
My fantasy: Bristol scoops up Trigg, take money from the National Enquirer, and runs as far as she can from the whole bunch...then maybe finish highschool and get some counseling?
Where is Tripp? I know there can be no photos if they are making a big $$ deal for the rights to the first photos, but c'mon now!
Where is Tripp?
RE: Piper in attendence
The beauty of always having Piper around with her during this time was that she could place Piper in front of her like a shield. (There's a great shot of them both at a basketball game just after Sarah announced, and Piper is clutched tightly in front of Sarah.) As W.C. Fields knew (or was it Mae West?)little kids-- particularly adorable little girls-- always steal the show.
Parkas + scarves + a cute little girl = less focus on flat non-pregnant stomach
dipsydoodlenoodle said...
The contrarian posters like BlueTx always baffle me. Who would want to spend lots of time with people who have the opposite views than you? I could see posting once or twice to tell us we're nutcases, but to spend as much time as she did on this site is just plain weird.
And I've noticed it always ends up being about their personal lives. Being the lone dissenter is certainly a way to bring attention to yourself. Maybe these are just attention-starved people.
The moderators have done a great job allowing dissenting opinions. The problem is that it's very hard to intelligently argue Sarah's side of the story. :)
Ivy said, "if it was Bristol who motivated the faking, WHY would SP not just have a small announcement back then that her teenage daughter had a kid?
... this is the 21st century, Sarah, not the 1950's."
Bristol's pregnancy at the age of 16 hit at several things important to Sarah: her madonna image, since it cast doubt her mothering abilities; her "abstinence only" stance on sex education; and her good Christian family values. Remember, last winter was when the Christian right was so viciously attacking the Jamie Lee for getting pg at just that age. It must have been embarrassing and infuriating for Sarah to find her own daughter in the same position.
Bristol's pregnancy could have been hidden if they were planning to give the baby away. But what if Bristol wanted to keep it? And what if ultrasound testing in February showed something that, when follow-up testing was done, proved the child had DS? For health insurance purposes, Sarah was going to need to adopt that child , a mill stone around the neck for a woman with ambitions. In that situation I can see her thinking, Hey, I can turn a potential liability (a pregnant unwed daughter whose child I need to adopt) into a political bonanza (prolife woman has DS baby she wears as a symbol of how godly she is). That sort of duplicity would be repugnant to most of us, but not Sarah.
Although less than a year separated the hidden pregnancy from the declared one, there is a surprising image difference between "my daughter got knocked up while a sixteen-year-old high school Junior" and "here is my pregnant daughter who will be 18 when she has the baby and plans to marry the father."
Looking at the ages of Sarah's children--the cluster of Track (conceived before marriage), quickly followed by Bristol and Willow, with a 7 year lag before Piper came along, I suspect Piper was an accident and Sarah had her tubes tied afterwards (or got Todd snipped) to prevent another distraction to her planned political career. No woman who announces she wants to be president is going to take the chance of another such surprise.
Amy1 said...
"Get to be president, even knowing that he'd be killed so SP could be president at some point."
Maybe I'm hopelessly naive, but as convinced as I am that Sarah Palin did engineer a huge cover-up with the fake pregnancy, etc. I can't bring myself to believe that there is a super-right wing group this powerful and evil! I sure hope there isn't, anyhow!
Re: certain contrarian poster
(Morgan, please don't post this if it's out of line)
The thing that was particularly intriguing about one of our recent contrarian posters is that early on she claimed to be an adamant supporter:
"I believe SP is a liar" "The simplest scenario is someone else had the baby and couldn't keep it for whatever reason. SP offered to raise it as her own. Most people would be able to pull it off, but given that SP had so much media attention, she isn't doing a good job..." "Maybe SP wants to keep the adoption private to protect the natural mother and to make sure that Trig feels no different".
My point is that early in her posts she had a very different goal - it wasn't to convince everyone that SP was telling the truth, it was merely to make them (us) stop because it should be private, it was hurting the kids, etc. (Basically what SP herself said to the media later that week.)
As the couple of weeks went on, the tone switched to "I'm actually starting to believe Sarah did have Trig" and then the true contrarian posts began.
It was just a very interesting series of posts! BTW Dipsynoodle, I was struck by some of those similarities, too! :)
After Trigg was born, there were photos of him 2 or 3 days later from photograpers as the Sarah and Todd left the hospital with him.
It has now been almost one month since Tripp was supposedly born and there has been no sight of either baby OR Bristol.
If Bristol has actually given birth, this would be utterly bizzare to me. After a month, I would absolutely be going stir crazy.
I might understand not wanting to have anyone take pictures of the baby if they are hoping to cash in on pictures later, (and if that's the case, why not go ahead and do that now?) but I can't understand not having Bristol out and having any pictures taken of her, especially if it will help dispel rumors.
Unless she is still pregnant.
Deb
Blogger Alex said...
RE: Piper in attendence
The beauty of always having Piper around with her during this time was that she could place Piper in front of her like a shield. (There's a great shot of them both at a basketball game just after Sarah announced, and Piper is clutched tightly in front of Sarah.) As W.C. Fields knew (or was it Mae West?)little kids-- particularly adorable little girls-- always steal the show.
Parkas + scarves + a cute little girl = less focus on flat non-pregnant stomach.
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And Piper gets high heels to make her a little taller.
Nawwwww, Sarah wouldn't do that would she?
LOL
This is realllyyyyy long but I think should be mulled over by our group here. I hope you will post it and those that want to read it can.
The quote and the subsequent link at the bottom are from a news story done by KTUU Anchorage on August 21, 2007. It is off topic (maybe?) but gives non-Alaskans an insight into what the Palins were thinking during that time period. The article in question deals with Todd Palin going back to work on the North Slope (oil fields) while Sarah, as Governor, would be negotiating an increase in taxes to oil companies doing business in Alaska. Many Alaskans, politicians and just average people, felt that his returning to work would be a conflict of interest. This quote from Todd shows what high hopes they had at the time regarding the educational future of their kids, and why it was critical that he return to his job; the family wanted money to send their kids to college. With two graduating within a few years this seems natural. College is expensive.
"I mean, we're still fairly young and we've got kids going into college. Some governors and their spouses, I'm sure, are independently wealthy, but we're not one of those couples. So we have to watch out for our kids' future," Mr. Palin said.
Perhaps there were college hopes for both Track and Bristol, most families I know scrimp and save for the day that their children will go off to college. However, Track went away for 7 months to Michigan and then returned home to graduate and then chose, or was pushed into military service. Perhaps military enlistment was the lesser of two evils as he supposedly assisted in school bus vandalism in December 2005 and local lore has it that he chose military over jail. Once again, Track has no bearing on this story, just a glimpse into what the Palins were dealing with in 2007.
If there were college hopes for Bristol, well those went down the tubes when she was sent to Anchorage to live with Sarah’s sister and then subsequently contracted mono and spent many months out of school. I think this news story (that I have linked at the bottom of this lonnnngggg post) reflects the Palin family mindset regarding their children’s future as of August 21, 2007, but things sure seemed to awry for them shortly after that.
Something suddenly changed how this family regarded their future and their aspirations for their oldest children and it all started around September 2007.
The Track episode was probably taken care of with his military enlistment, but what about Bristol’s college hopes? Why all of a sudden was that not discussed and why did she disappear from school if college was in her future?
We have great home school and correspondence opportunities in Alaska, not to mention an “alternative” high school less than 1.5 miles from the Palin home (Burchell Alternative High School). and I’m sure that a homebound child with mono could find the energy to participate in at least some home schooling/correspondence classes.
A LITTLE BIT ABOUT BURCHELL HIGH SCHOOL IN WASILLA:
Burchell High School. It has been mentioned on this blog and website because Mercede and/or some of her friends attended Burchell. It is an Alternative High School. The children that attend Burchell do not respond well to the standard curriculum in our local schools OR are facing some sort of challenge that precludes them from attending regular school. I know a person that went to Burchell because she was pregnant at 15 and didn’t fit in at the regular High School any longer. My ex husband used to teach art classes at Burchell and he told me that many of the teens there were either “troubled youth” or pregnant teens.
-The school is less than 1.5 miles from Sarah’s home. Was it too unpleasant for our Governor to send her daughter to Burchell, if she truly was pregnant? Why didn’t Bristol go to Burchell with the rest of the pregnant Wasilla teenage girls? There is a support group there for teens who want to keep their children and make a go of it. My friend that went there is 32 years old with a 17-year-old son and she always says that Burchell was the best thing that could have happened to her. She is a successful insurance agent and solid active member of the community. However, her mother was not there for her and the people at Burchell were and I will always believe that the support group at that school helped her to succeed, despite being a teen mom. Many in the Valley here feel the same way; Burchell gives kids a chance to “redeem” themselves when they’ve “messed up”, for whatever reason. Many of the kids that attend Burchell are considered “white trash” or “valley trash”, as the Anchorage people like to refer to Wasilla/Palmer people. Nevertheless, Burchell does help kids to achieve their goals if they are willing and able to.
Perhaps Sarah did not want her possibly pregnant daughter to be associated with “those types” of people? She is the governor after all and as we’ve seen keeping up “appearances” is very important to her. Plus, remember, that Mercede attended the Burchell prom as well as two of the boys that were involved in the school bus vandalism of 2005 (with Track Palin purportedly involved) were from Burchell High School. The kids that attend are troubled youth, for whatever reason, be it run ins with the law or teen pregnancy. I think that Sarah would never allow Bristol to go there and finish her education because of the local perception of the student body at the school.
Here is where I am going with this:
I feel that something pending in Bristol’s future prevented her from considering continuing her education in any form, until perhaps a later date. What point would there be in continuing even your high school education when you would have a baby to take care of in the spring of 2008? She had options even if she did have mono or was preggers. There is correspondence, home schooling and Burchell Alternative High School. Why did she just give up?
Just in fairness, the Palin family has considered education to be a very important part of their lives and Sarah has championed not only traditional college preparatory schooling, but vocational tech education in Alaska. She seemed to lose some of those values on the national campaign trail when she kept the kids out of school, thus allowing them to fall behind on their studies, but I firmly believe that she wanted for her kids to continue on to institutions of higher learning. Part of her reasoning is because she herself is perceived as being uneducated (despite her degree from Idaho State) and as Governor she has always had to stick up for Todd and his blue-collar job on the North Slope. They are not perceived as an “educational powerhouse” as a family, but I think that she wanted to begin building a dynasty with her children whereby they achieved MORE than the parents. Once again, circumstances have prevented this from happening. Or at least it seems so to me.
Something around September 2007 seemed to throw the “Palin Family Plan” off the rails and it doesn’t seem logical that it could be from Sarah Palin finding out she was pregnant with Trig. What would that even matter, except to perhaps delay Sarah’s national aspirations. The only thing that could have wreaked this much havoc on the “family plan” would have been an unexpected event with one of their “college bound” children.
Anyway, here is the link to the article. I had some time to peruse old Alaska news stories and this one, especially the quote from Todd, really got me thinking. (obviously J I hope it was a good read an got you all thinking too)
http://www.ktuu.com/Global/story.asp?S=6965360
Alicia in Wasilla
Alicia in Wasilla,
THANKS for your post:
it is good to have you on-board to give us an insider perspective on-all-things wasilla and alaska.
The media is saying Palin is looking for a book deal which would rake in $11 million or so. Hopefully any publisher willing to cough up that kind of cash would be savvy enough to be aware of this site and require a DNA test on Sarah, Trig, Todd, Bristol & Levi before writing a check.
Alicia in Wasilla- that is some very interesting information and speculation there- thank you for posting it.
I wonder what happened with Todd's position- we hear that he has been very present around the Governor's office, and of course he was with her on the campaign; did he take another leave or quit his job?
midnightcajun -- yes, i can actually see Sarah
'praying' about the situation (probably after finding out that the baby would be compromised) and getting her 'answer' from God that, yes, dear Sarah, this was all meant to be and it is My Plan (for which your daughter Bristol was drafted) and this is what you need to do . . . starting with buying a bunch of BIG scarves . . .
Remember, she TRULY THOUGHT that God was going to 'offer up the election to His Greater Glory through McCain and Sarah winning', I saw a quote where she said something to that effect shortly after their loss and how she was so surprised . . .
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