Bristol Palin is by no means the only possibility for Trig Palin's birth mother. However, the persistence of the rumors that she was pregnant dating to before Trig's birth, coupled with the complete lack of photographs of her from the time period, makes it difficult not to continue to consider her the most likely "other mother."
Since September, numerous people have been looking to social networking websites, like MySpace for additional info about "Life and Times at Wasilla High." As we've stated previously, MySpace has NOT provided us concrete proof about this issue, specifically who Trig's mother is OR whether Bristol Palin was pregnant. But the MySpace comments do give a glimpse into the lives of Bristol, Levi and their circle of friends. And what we can see does indicate that something "changed" as early as July 2007 and that something was amiss during the winter of 2007-2008.
A number of the comments already published here have been suspicious, but none have been conclusive. For example, we’ve seen that Bristol made a series of interesting comments to her friend Johnny in the spring of 2007, including one stating that Gov. Palin had confronted her about possibly being pregnant. Other comments made to her girlfriends also merit attention:
June 22, 2007 9:40 PM
Hey, call me NOW!!
June 25, 2007 1:33 AM
:( now im a mother duck for that baby!
(Note from Audrey: This curious comment is discussed in more detail at the very end of this post.)
June 25, 2007 1:50 AM
ha ha im a slut. but sounds good…what number?
Without context, however, these comments can be interpreted in numerous ways. And, during this same period, other examples show Bristol to be happy and social, engaging in typical summertime activities. This makes it all the more strange when, in late June 2007, she suddenly disappears from MySpace, and is mentioned by name only once after that, even by her good friends.
Please be clear that we have no evidence that as of late June 2007, she actually did stop using MySpace abruptly. It's possible that she could have. Perhaps she became bored with MySpace. Perhaps her computer broke. Perhaps her friends just stopped talking both ABOUT her and TO her as of that date. But it's also quite possible (even probable) that she continued to use MySpace for months after this… and then at some point between late June 2007 and late August 2008, for reasons that we do not know at a point in time we cannot pinpoint, a decision was made to remove Bristol's page from the site, as well as delete any and all comments she made to friends, and apparently either to delete (or asked to be deleted) comments others made about her between themselves.
Because of this, our conclusions are drawn as much from what's NOT there as from what is.
What does our research show post-June 2007? One of the only comments that directly references Bristol after that time (and the only one that uses her name) has already been published, from September 2007, in which one girl (Kaila) is joking with Jenny Jo, who is a good friend of Levi’s off-and-on girlfriend Lanesia, because Jenny Jo had threatened to beat Bristol up for Lanesia.
9/28/2007 Kaila to Jenny Jo:
haha, you were gonna fight Bristol for Lanesia.. idk, it was freakin hilarious though. you were getttin ready to take on like 394083 people yourself. haha..funny ass shit. call me tonight bia.
Is this because Levi and Bristol’s relationship has just been discovered? The problem with this comment is that it references something that happened earlier, "you were gonna fight…" but there is no date context. Was this something that happened the previous night or three months earlier? We don't know.
In any case, by January 2008, Lanesia had moved on to a different relationship, indicating that Bristol and Levi most likely became “official” sometime in either the summer or the fall of 2007.
Although she had a new boyfriend, one specific comment shows that Lanesia might still have harbored some residual feelings for Levi. In late January 2008, there is a burst of chatter that may be significant, though it's inconclusive at the same time. First, messages are left between a young man named Tylor to our old friend Jenny Jo.
In the first, Tylor asks Jenny Jo: "Who do you want to beat up?" (indicating that Jenny Jo has told Tylor that she's angry with someone) and the second – in response to something Jenny Jo then said back to Tylor that we cannot see – "THEY F***ED?"
Is Tylor a newcomer to some gossip? Does the gossip even have anything at all to do with Bristol Palin? The next couple of exchanges certainly indicate the strong possibility that Levi and Bristol are involved. Tylor immediately posts to Rachelle (the sister of Johnny – who has been identified as Bristol's boyfriend prior to Levi) "ARE YOU SERIOUS"
Again, why do we think this has anything to do with Bristol? Because just a couple hours later, Lanesia then posts back to Rachelle:
yea i heard and #### no never again she messed that up to many times and i aint one to talk shit about a girl and go be tight with them but no im not she totally messed up by Fn my Xbf
These exchanges indicate that something surprising was revealed in late January 2008. Lanesia's "yea I heard" can only mean there is new information which involved a girl who was "fn" Lanesia's "xbf," and from our research, the only ex-boyfriend of Lanesia was Levi Johnston. And, although Levi had been linked with several other girls in 2005 and 2006, from 2007 on, the only two girls mentioned in conjunction with Levi were Lanesia herself and Bristol Palin. It would be easy to say that "new shocking" info would be that Bristol was pregnant. Yet – two of the comments specifically mention just sexual activity – as if that might be the "new" thing, which then becomes hard to explain in the context of someone wanting to beat Bristol up FOR Lanesia at least four months earlier.
And then… in this sequence… nothing more.
We can only come back to what was said before: For a popular girl who had an active social life and many friends, and who had been a regular MySpace user, the complete absence of any mention of Bristol through this time period is astonishing. It's important to reiterate that the only comments we can link to her (with the one exception of the comment from September 2007, which makes reference to her being "beat up") do not contain her name.
For example, in April 2008, 8 days before Trig’s official birthdate, an older Wasilla teen named Dannie, someone not closely connected to the primary social group, makes this curious comment on a friend’s MySpace:
April 10, 2008 12:03 AM
…i want to tell you something kinda funny so when you call remind me about the governor’s kid…
Something to do with Bristol?
After that comment, there is nothing more to be found in MySpace about any of the Palins until the end of August. The pregnancy that was announced by the Palin campaign on September 1, 2008 was said to be an “open secret” in Wasilla. Really? Because in spite of the fact that many of the teens’ MySpace profiles were used extensively between April-August 2008, neither Mercede nor any other person makes even one mention of Bristol or the pregnancy. Not one.
Mercede's MySpace page was public until midafternoon on September 1, 2008. We have screen shots of the entire thing. She is so close to her older brother Levi that she had posted several pictures of them together, in which she calls him "her best friend" in the world. She has had his name tattooed on her wrist. Yet not one post about this exciting "open secret" that her dear brother was to become a father, which would make her a new auntie? No.
Numerous comments exist on many girls' pages in which pregnancies, showers, and babies are discussed, in some cases with great excitement and positive feelings. But regarding Bristol, Levi and the Tripp pregnancy... well, it doesn't seem to exist. The only thing we do have is a photograph of Bristol and Mercede together from April 25, 2008 in which Mercede refers to Bristol as her sister-in-law. This is after Trig's birth but before it is plausible that it was known that she was pregnant with Tripp.
Then, the morning of August 29, 2008 arrives, and with it, John McCain’s announcement of his running mate.
On that day, there is an occasional comment along the lines of --hey, did you see who got picked?--but generally nothing more than that. But on the afternoon of the 29th, Dannie (the one who had heard something "kinda funny" about the governor’s kid) does have a specific question, and she poses it to another Wasilla teen, Zach, again someone not tightly connected to the primary group. Because Zach's MySpace profile is private, we cannot see the initial question to him, but his answer is this:
August 29, 2008 3:39 PM
I know who started it. Tylor [last name deleted by PD]
I think that’s how you spell his name
There is no context surrounding this remark to aid interpretation. All we know is that Zach says that Tylor started “it”. Because Zach identifies Tylor by his first and last name, we know for sure that this is the same Tylor who was involved in the exchanges regarding the surprising news back in January.
Fast forward a bit to September 3, the day of Sarah Palin’s speech at the Republican National Convention. Not only is the Palin/Johnston pregnancy an “open secret” in Wasilla, it’s now the most famous pregnancy in the entire United States. The governor of Alaska is on the ticket; her oldest daughter has been outed as a pregnant unwed teen on the national news; said daughter and her hockey star fiance are being seen all over the world. That should warrant quite a few MySpace comments. No need to keep it on the down-low anymore. Right? Or at least a couple of comments? Actually: zero.
Well, maybe just one, a cryptic question--asked by a girl named Kelci of Kaila (the same Kaila who was involved in the exchange with Jenny Jo about beating up Bristol a year earlier):
September 3, 2008 6:06 PM
bp?
Kaila's answer is not known because Kelci's profile is private, but, after receiving a response, she comments back to Kaila
September 4, 2008 6:02 PM
mmmmm gotcha. that’s what I figured but I wasn’t fasho
whadddup?
For the uninitiated, "fasho" in teen speak means "for sure." So Kelci is saying, "That's what I thought [about whatever it is they were talking about concerning "bp"] but I wasn't sure."
But what could it be? If we're to believe that Bristol’s pregnancy is an "open secret" in Wasilla, and that Levi and Bristol are an established, even engaged, couple, why is it that the only possible mention of it at this point (OR throughout the entire previous summer OR during the entire following campaign) is this one girl who dares use only initials? Hmmm.
And what could this girl be asking? We believe she is a relative of Kaila (though we can't confirm that 100%); she also lives in the Wasilla area, and she is friends with many of the same people as Kaila. So she wouldn’t be confirming simply that Bristol is pregnant, because everyone already knows that, right?
So what are my conclusions?
1. Bristol Palin was "scrubbed" from MySpace as of an arbitrary date. This date seems to be around July 1, 2007, though the date the scrubbing was actually done is completely unknown. Numerous comments from before this date existed as of September 1, 2008 (though many have since been removed) including one fairly troublesome one about her mother questioning whether or not she was pregnant. Only one comment exists which mentions her by name after that date, and NO comments from her.
2. There was chatter about something surprising, even shocking, in late January 2008 that involved Levi Johnston, and in all probability, Bristol Palin. This was far too early for her to have been pregnant with Tripp. However, considering earlier comments, it seems too late to have been simply that the two young people were in a relationship.
3. There is not a single mention of Bristol, Levi, or Bristol's pregnancy throughout the entire summer of 2008, even though it was supposed to have been an "open secret" in Wasilla. A single comment, mentioning Bristol only by using her initials, strongly suggests on September 3rd that there is something more going on than just the supposed "open secret. " It was something that there was gossip about, something that some young people in Wasilla (who should have been connected with the group) were unaware of. Something about Tripp's pregnancy was not "as presented" on September 1, 2008, though what exactly that is is completely unclear. Dates? Who the father might be?
The MySpace information is confusing, at time contradictory, and terribly incomplete. Yet, overall, it's hard to escape the conclusion that the timelines of neither the Trig nor the Tripp pregnancies seem plausible based on what is being said (and not said) among teenagers in Wasilla.
-------------
PS. Those who have read this far (!) will probably note that no comment has been made about a curious post from late June, 2007, in which Bristol states:
:( now im a mother duck for that baby!
(For those who don't know, the ":( " is a "frowny face" indicating unhappiness.)
This comment has caused quite a bit of private debate and discussion among those affiliated with this blog. Certainly, it is hard to say it is not significant: it is the second to last thing still available from Bristol on MySpace (only her "now I'm a slut" comment came later, by a couple of minutes) AND – good grief! - it mentions a baby!
But what does it mean? It has been suggested that she is being forced to gestate a child, like a mother duck sitting on eggs. Several of the Palin Deception researchers subscribe to this theory, and find it extremely significant.
It has also been suggested that, in spite of the timing, it has nothing to do with Bristol being pregnant or not pregnant. I for one find the use of the phrase "that baby" to indicate that she is talking about something separate from her, possibly a child (Piper, who was five at the time?) she was being forced to babysit for. (And ducklings follow mother ducks around constantly.)
If Bristol Palin had said, ":( now im a mother duck for THIS baby!" I would be saying that I found it highly indicative of pregnancy. But the use of the word "that" to me means she is talking about something she is not happy about, something she has actual disdain for. Most teenaged women who become pregnant and decide to keep the baby tend to be excited about it (naively perhaps, but still excited.) The negative tone of this comment indicates to me that she is talking about something else. I do not know what.
But I am presenting both sets of thoughts here, and the reader needs to decide for himself on this one.
500 comments:
«Oldest ‹Older 201 – 400 of 500 Newer› Newest»On the matter of scrubbing. It does happen for a variety of reasons and in many ways.
Least we forget
http://tiny.cc/cretin
The Pentagon immediately destroyed evidence while at the same time they claimed they thought it could be "the enemy"
http://tiny.cc/cretins
The lesson is that to this day the above is a very successful scrub.
MISSING NEWS
http://markmail.org/message/to57zsuf4m7lzlnq
This story was reported on by many major news sources, including the Los Angeles Times, Salt Lake Tribune and the Santa Barbara Independent, and celebrity news site TMZ.com. See article from the Salt Lake Tribune
The people really need to see what was scrubbed.
HERE'S THE BRIEF ON LEVY'S BOOK
(Newser) – Levi Johnston is shopping a tell-all memoir about his experience with the Palin family, the National Enquirer reports.
Insiders say the estranged father of Sarah Palin’s grandson is hoping to start a war chest in advance of an anticipated custody battle.
“If Levi could get a million bucks, it would be worth telling all he really knows,” a source said. “He knows what really happened inside the Palin family.”
Here is my interpretation of the "Mother Duck" comment. Sarah finds out Bristol is pregnant and says that she has to carry the baby to full term, but that Sarah will say it is her baby, but, "Not to worry, Bristol, since I am the "Queen of Alaska," you, Bristol, will still be responsible for bringing up your baby."
Thus Bristol is stuck for bringing up a baby she did not want to birth. She IS the mother duck. The baby is Sarah as much as the baby.
I may fall into the tin-foil hat crowd with this comment, but we DO know that the telephone companies gave our government access to phone calls originating in the US in violation of the law and Constitution. And then they got CYA legislation passed.
So is it too much of a stretch to imagine that other forms of communication may also have been compromised?
Floyd,
Thanks for the link. Last sentence in Enquirer web story:
"What are the secrets Levi's kept undercover for months about ex-Bristol and Palin son Track?!"
Freudian slip?
Wanted to comment about the CVS testing and Bristol.. given that Sarah's sister has a child with autism, could it be that they wanted to check fo autism and not DS? I googled CVS testing and it looks like that is one of the things that the CVS test can show.
Let's keep in mind, also, that we were given the DS diagnosis from SP..there are a LOT of other neuro diseases that babies can be born with..including fetal alcohol syndrome and others caused by drug use during pregnancy.
Exactly:
"What are the secrets Levi's kept undercover for months about ex-Bristol and Palin son Track?!"Another way to put it, and we HAVE put that way on this blog, is "why was Track rushed off to remote parts of the world, not once but twice?"
Another way to put it: why is is really interesting that the amnio at 13 weeks could be consistent with amnio-for-paternity-testing rather than amnio for all the other reasons one might initiate amnio?
Interview starts with, "He fathered Sarah Palin's first grandchild," and shows a picture of TriPP, followed by a picture of Bristol holding TriGG with the words next to it: "PALIN'S FIRST GRANDCHILD." Provocative.
my take so far of LKL:
the 3 of them seem like they are holding back; being very restrained.
larry pushes them and they seem to take the bait and then they retreat.
In the first five minutes of the LKL interview Levi was asked about Bristol's parents' reaction. He said, "No mother wants to hear her si..." he stopped, corrected himself, "eighteen year old daughter..." and looked down and directly into the camera.
It was a look that makes me think he slipped, in my opinion.
The banner at the bottom of the screen in the LKL interview keeps stating that Bristol and Levi dated for three years and that they were seniors in high school when Tripp was conceived.
Didn't this blog demonstrate that they began seeing each other about June 2007, and that neither one is matriculated in school (which would have been her senior year but not his)?
I'm watching Levi, Sherry, & Mercede Johnston on "Larry King Live" right now. A few observations:
First, Levi was just asked "How old is Tripp now?"
And Levi said "About 4 months" - with some totally shifty eyes and a look of "I hope I got that right" clearly on his face. Did anyone else notice that?
Second, when I look at Sherry and hear her speak, I don't think "Oxycontin addict or dealer". Granted - they can come in all shapes and sizes and looks, but she doesn't strike me that way.
Third - the rift between Bristol and Mercede is massive. She said that Bristol flat-out demanded that Levi NOT talk to her - and that he did not!
We can only wonder what the true, salacious details are over this happening.
Fourth - this family is still completely and utterly afraid of Sarah Palin and what she is capable of - destroying their lives even more and turning the custody battle over Tripp into one ugly battle.
We all know how ruthless she is....and this poor family has to LIVE it every day. I really pity them at this point.
The LKL interview was interesting in what was not said, more than what was said. Larry slipped at one point and mentioned tha Levi wasn't able to see his sons or something like that. (Of course, Larry makes a lot of slips.) Didn't know that Mercede was blocked by Bristol from talking to her brother "when they started dating last summer." Hmm. Lots of stuff to pick at, but much more to come. This was throwing down the gauntlet to Sarah. Let us see Tripp - or else!
And I just saw The Enquirer link about Levi's book.
It seems like more lips are becoming loose?
But I've said it before and I will say it again:
TRACK PALIN!
I still think he is a CRUCIAL piece of the faked pregnancy puzzle. I don't know how, or who, or why - but something in my gut says: there's a story or detail involving Track Palin, and that's why he was shipped off to Iraq by September 11th (aside from Sarah Palin being able to add that to her phony resume').
They got him out of the picture very quickly.
And there's something more to the reason WHY!
Just watched the LKL show. No new tidbits, IMHO. HOWEVER, the part where they said that Bristol would not let Levi talk to Mercede last summer, and both Mercede and Levi said that he didn't talk to her...it's called FOLLOW UP question, Mr King..how do you keep 2 people from talking to each other if they live in the same house...unless, of course, Levi was "staying at" the Palin's house and NOT living with his own family.
Forgot to add: anyone remember that Track's girlfriend went on the campaign trail with SP and her brood. Now we have the NE blurb bringing up Track's name. Things that make you go "hmmmm"....
Larry King impressions:
1) Larry just isn't much of an interviewer. About the only thing he seemed interested in pressing the Johnston's on was in getting legal visitation/custody set up.
2) The Johnston's have been quite obviously "lawyered up" for these interviews. No more loose cannon type of talk. You just know that they have opinions on things that have happened, but they are not as chatty as they were months ago.
3) Another interview goes by without Levi or anyone else contradicting the 12/27 birthdate. People can rationalize by saying that the Johnston's are saving that for leverage, but that just doesn't seem to fly. The Palin's would know that Levi could easily throw that bombshell out there at any time and it would be very believable to the media and public. Thus, pushing Levi into a court battle makes zero sense, if such a deception is true. And explaining this by saying that the Palin's just aren't rational simply isn't an acceptable answer, to me.
4) I also have to believe that the Johnston's are reluctant to go the legal route partly because they know that some ugly things may get thrown out about them as well. A lot of families have their share of dirty laundry, and Sherry's drug charges may just be the beginning of some family revelations that they are not excited to have brought out by the Palin's lawyers. If the Palin's decide to build a narrative that the Johnston household is not an environment that is safe or healthy for a newborn to be in, there could be some nasty stuff in the mix.
5) One interesting nugget was that Mercedes and Bristol have never been very friendly. Another was that Levi suggested in the Tyra interview that he may look into modeling gigs, but now his lips are sealed. Gotta keep that narrative going that he isn't looking for any money or fame. (Not that I would blame him for trying to take some advantage of his situation, but its another example of being lawyered up.)
Sidenote: "So, Sherry, are you innocent of these drug charges?" "Ummmmmmmm, you need to ask my lawyer."
'nef said.
***Floyd M. Orr said...
Pardon me for butting in, but have you seen the articles today that mention that The Johnstons will be on Larry King tonight or the new story in The National Enquirer that Levi is shopping a tell-all book? I don't know if it is a mistake or not, but the last word in the Enquirer story is not Trig or Tripp, but TRACK.
http://www.nationalenquirer.com/palin_baby_daddy_levi_johnston_tell_all_shocker_bristol_sarah_track_palin_secrets_revealed/celebrity/66556
***
Oh my. Secrets about Bristol and TRACK???
I only caught a bit of LKL but one of the screen crawls said that BP wouldn't let Levi talk with Mercede. I'm not sold on Levi x 2 but there is something seriously creepy going on with these families. I'll leave it at that.
i sensed the same thing, JAMES. for a second LEVY looked stunned, as if he had messed up.
no doubt they were coached, which made them looked stilted.
another interesting tidbit: larry asked how she got BUTLER but she never explained, she avoided the question.
wv: preaki
When asked how SP responded to news of the pregnancy, I also heard Levi start to say "si.." (as in sixteen", then corrected and said EIGHTEEN.
He said something like "no mother wants to hear that her si, EIGHTEEN year-old daughter is pregnant.
Glad to see that Bretta (previous poster) noted the same little slip, 'cause was that was exactly my take on it.
Must be so very hard to keep it all straight. I think it was also demonstrated that Levi can tell an "untruth" with a pretty straight face.
Bretta;
Sometimes I think people can overanalyse every word or motion that someone says or does. Keep in mind that this is still just a small-town teenager thrust into a situation that he is not very comfortable in. Plus he is trying to remember what his lawyers have been telling him to say or not say.
To me, the inconsistencies on the CNN scroll are just an example of how sloppy the media can be about information. Especially the cable news channels and their rush to keep pushing out content. It's only because people on this site are parsing every single word written or spoken about this whole baby issue, that any media errors seem so glaring.
Craig - your take from the LKL interview that Bristol & Mercede have never been very friendly makes the Triggy Bear photos even more interesting.
kaykay;
But Bristol was actually seventeen when "the talk" would have happened, right. So, he was wrong anyway.
I didn't pick up on any stammering by Levi at that point in the interview. Maybe if I listen again, I'll hear it. But, I gotta believe that distinguishing if he was starting to say "si" or "se" (sixteen or seventeen or something else) might need a speech analysis!!
This interview on LKL tonight is why I never bother watching Larry King. Not a quick thinker, no follow-up, blah blah blah.
I was annoyed that the ticker at the bottom of the screen kept repeating the false McCain/Palin talking point “Couple dated for three years before her pregnancy”. You might want to add “but not exclusively to each other”. Just ask Johnny.
Furthermore, either Larry King and/or his production crew have not done their homework and totally ignorant of the facts, or Larry is accommodating the Palin persuasion by another ticker message that said “Bristol and Levi were high school seniors when she got pregnant”. Hello! If Tripp was actually born on 12/27/08, Bristol was still a junior in high school. After all, Sarah based her entire cover-up by claiming Bristol was pregnant with Tripp, therefore claiming Bristol couldn’t possibly have been Trig’s birth mother.
And “UU” said it best at 7:06 pm: “HOWEVER, the part where they said that Bristol would not let Levi talk to Mercede last summer, and both Mercede and Levi said that he didn't talk to her...it's called FOLLOW UP question, Mr King..how do you keep 2 people from talking to each other if they live in the same house...unless, of course, Levi was "staying at" the Palin's house and NOT living with his own family.”
Oh, forgot to add, if Mercede and Bristol “never” got along, why was Mercede over at the Palin’s kitchen holding and taking pictures of TRIG? Difficult to rationalize that, isn’t it?
Oh good grief! My WV is blest!
Craig said...April 22, 2009 7:20 PM
[...] 5) Another [interesting nugget] was that Levi suggested in the Tyra interview that he may look into modeling gigs, but now his lips are sealed. Gotta keep that narrative going that he isn't looking for any money or fame."Yeah, it'd be interesting if that was the way it went down, but it didn't, Craig (where did you get that meme, from TeamSarah.org or C4P? They have been repeating a version of that canard for weeks).
Maggie Rodriguez SUGGESTED in the CBS interview that perhaps he might be interested in acting or modelling, and in his somewhat dopey jock-kid way Johnston grunted some "er, uh, yeah, maybe" answer -- and the pro-Palinistas ran with that as Levi Johnston's eager wish to turn into the next Calvin Klein underwear model.
It's obvious he'll never be an actor unless he has teleprompter screens in front of him... :)
(my WV is expli)
My take:
--Yes, we have some seriously creepy secrets to come. Forget about the birthdates of the babies: we've known for ages they will fall into line just fine, depending on where you start, how you count, which fingers you use. They'll fit. But there's more: there's some big-time stuff. Remember we all said at the outset that there HAD to be for anyone to risk such a ridiculous hoax.
--If Levi wants a book deal, the last thing he would want is to give it all away for free on "Larry King Live" or "Tyra." Larry and Tyra are seasoned players of this game, no? They know that the point of each interview is to give a tiny something of info, but not the whole enchilada. Ditto Greta. Orchestrated. In cooperation with the lawyer(s). They're not bad interviewers: on the contrary, their job is to showcase just so much and no more. A lot harder than playing eager-beaver and waving your meat-axe around. Meanwhile the book deal is undoubtedly being put together and auctioned.
--Ditto, if Levi (and his lawyer) want to maintain leverage over the SP team, the last thing they want to do is give it all away for free. They can threaten to tell all, but once they tell all, they have nothing. No more leverage. All used up.
--The NE mentions book deal and Track. In this context of endless lies, the NE stands out like a beacon of truth and purity, in contrast. To say nothing of courage, given that no one else will touch it. I tend to believe those two NE points. Let's call them a given. Okay, a guarded given.
--Since the lawyer would be pro bono re Sherry Johnston, let's assume for a moment that our smart Rex has figured out a quadruple-play:
(1) Do the best for Sherry;
(2) help Levi get fair custody;
(3) get Levi a book deal that would give him + baby (plus other baby?) (plus Bristol?) a good financial start;
(4) PLUS allow some percent for the clever lawyer without whom none of it would have had a prayer of happening.
No need for a Levi-fund, I bet. The book money will take care of it all. I think $1M could be way low.
Remember when we said on this very blog that SP should consider an exit strategy before it was too late? Before someone else did the book deal, so she no longer can, plus she gets the shame and ruin of the consequences of her actions as they come more clearly to light. I think that ship has just sailed for SP, leaving her behind.
But Levi is on that ship, prob thx to his good lawyer. And my gut tells me he is going to be the most loving, most caring of the whole bunch, so I am rooting for him to win (via his smart lawyer) and give these little boys a good home.
--------
A hilarious postscript: Remember how I've been going on and on that SP really shot herself in the foot with those April 13 Gusty photos? I think she might have done it again. All was going pretty much in the "let sleeping dogs lie" direction for SP. (Remember how annoyed we all were at that point, the doldrums on this blog -- nothing new, it might all sink into oblivion, she might get away with it after all, we were all so cranky with each other because of it, etc.?) Then SP allowed the Bristol/Greta broadcast (Bristol's idea, my foot!), just to flex her muscles a little IMHO. Just for the fun of terrifying the local yokels a little. And Levi had a sad quote about not being told, or not being invited, or being uninvited to that party, I seem to recall. But SP didn't count on a smart Rex Butler being in the picture. Who basically had his clients say "You want to do videos? We can do videos too. And you have a lot more to lose than we do." Which has certainly got to be sooooooooo true from what we know about this whole sordid mess.
Besides the irritating banner with the 12/27/08 birthdate -- Did they verify that as fact?! The next banner said that Levi and Bristol were high school seniors when they learned she was pregnant.
Wrong.
They were juniors in school year 2007/08. Wouldn't they have found out she was pregnant around April or May of their junior year?
They should be seniors now -- graduating with the Class of 2009.
wv: Trilis (noun) Name of next Palin-Johnston child, if it's a girl.
Another statement from Palin's spokeswoman in response to the Johnsons' latest interview: ""Bristol is focused on going to college, raising Tripp, and advocating abstinence."
This is Orwellian. They think if they keep repeating the lie someone will believe it.
Let's see, Palin's mother wasn't abstinent and got knocked up before marriage by Palin's father.
Sarah wasn't abstinent and got knocked up by Todd with Track before marriage.
Bristol wasn't abstinent and got knocked up by Levi with Tripp and maybe with Trigg as well. Only difference between Bristol and her mother and her grandmother is she didn't marry the guy with whom she wasn't abstinent.
And these people are trying to sell abstinence to us?
P.S. I really feel sorry for the Johnson family. They are from an entirely different social strata from me and I'm sure they don't share my politics and my belief that Sarah Palin is a blot on this nation. They just want to see their son(s)/nephew(s).
For me, it's political. For them, it's a family tragedy.
I would, however, definitely contribute to a legal defense fund for Levi.
I think that we can rule out the possibility that Britta Hanson, Track's girlfriend, is the mother of Trig.
From December 2007 until April 2008 Britta was in Europe on an extended trip.
I have seen photos from different months over the span of that trip and she does not look in the least bit pregnant.
Kathleen
Gwyneed said… April 22, 2009 1:30 PM
…As I understand it (and someone please correct me if I'm wrong), comments that originated from a deleted account will eventually be removed by MySpace, although there appears to be no consistency in exactly how long it takes for this to happen. When all of the January-June 2007 comments suddenly disappeared in November 2008, I believe that this is what happened--MySpace finally got around to deleting them as part of its normal processes--so that I don't find mysterious.I don’t know if it’s true however comments from 2006 or 2007 from people whose accounts have been deleted are still on myspace. I don’t know if its because there accounts have been recently deleted or if the accounts were deleted in 2006 or 2007.
Floyd M. Orr said...
Pardon me for butting in, but have you seen the articles today that mention that The Johnstons will be on Larry King tonight or the new story in The National Enquirer that Levi is shopping a tell-all book? I don't know if it is a mistake or not, but the last word in the Enquirer story is not Trig or Tripp, but TRACK.
http://www.nationalenquirer.com/palin_baby_daddy_levi_johnston_tell_all_shocker_bristol_sarah_track_palin_secrets_revealed/celebrity/66556
April 22, 2009 3:35 PM
The link didn't work for me, does any one have the link or a tiny link for it?
Thanks
I'm not one for posting Word Verifications however my word is: Proves....I thought it was relevant since the sight is trying to PROVE the truth!
Bretta said...
In the first five minutes of the LKL interview Levi was asked about Bristol's parents' reaction. He said, "No mother wants to hear her si..." he stopped, corrected himself, "eighteen year old daughter..." and looked down and directly into the camera.
It was a look that makes me think he slipped, in my opinion.
April 22, 2009 6:38 PM
I haven't seen the interview - not in the USA however it does seem like it may have been a deliberate slip?
Everybody, please look at this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DA-M2NfFAjU
We found this interview only a few days ago, although it already aired in September 2008, and I personally think that this is BIG.
The youtube clip is only the part of the whole interview in which they talk about Bristol and the faked pregnancy.
Michael Carey is the former editorial page editor of the Anchorage Daily News (ADN), and he currently is a columnist for the ADN and the host of "Anchorage Edition", a weekly program produced by Alaska Public Television. He has moderated several debates during the Alaskan gubernational campaign in 2008 and he has interviewed Sarah Palin in the past.
Michael Carey confirms that the rumor that Sarah Palin faked the pregnancy with Trig existed long before September 2008, and he also tells the viewers that he heard of this rumor through a lawyer, who is a good friend of his and presented this rumor to him as "the absolute truth".
The full unedited video is here:
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/insider/politics/july-dec08/carey_09-02.html
(click on "streaming video)
Patrick (PD research)
Bretta said: "He said, "No mother wants to hear her si..." he stopped, corrected himself, "eighteen year old daughter..." and looked down and directly into the camera."
And Audrey said: "In the spring of 2007, when Bristol would have been 16 ½ years old"
So, in the summer of 2008, when she found out she was pregnant with Tripp, wouldn't Bristol have been 17? It looks like Levi didn't get the age right either time!
Craig said:
"One interesting nugget was that Mercedes and Bristol have never been very friendly."
Well my question is why the hell was Mercede all up in the Palin's house holding Trig who suppose to be Gov. Palin's son? And why did Mercede put these pictures on her website?
Craig, even you must admit that something is just not right about this picture.
I agree with the general consensus here that the LKL interview was a disappointment. Nothing new really, except for the assertion that Bristol and Mercede from "day one" never got along. Hmmmm, they seemed pretty chummy around the time that Triggy Bear came along.
Permit me to overanalyze though. Did anyone else think it strange when Levi said "this baby"? It would be so much more natural to say "the baby" or "my baby" or "our baby". Mercede also said "that baby" at a point where I would have expected "the baby."
Did any of the three of them even once refer to him as Tripp? Weird.
Do anybody see what I mean about Levi being whipped?! Bristol has really got a hold on this young man. According to the LKL interview, Bristol tells Levi not to talk to his sister, Mercede, for an entire Summer and Levi actually does what she says and not talk to his own sister. Strange!!!
I still say that the 'Mother Duck' comment was Bristol talking about having sex with Levi and not being able to get rid of him. I think this is the news Bristol was anxious to tell her friend when she wrote 'CALL ME!'. She had to tell her girl that she had sex with Levi. Wow!
Also, where was Levi living this past Summer to not have talked to Mercede? Was he living with the Palin's then or he could have lived with his father? Just can't imagine him living at home with his Mom and not talking to Mercede.
Of note is that Levi said he voted in November, and of course for SP. But it was reported in the media that he would not be voting because he had failed to register in time.
I don't buy the line about Bristol and Mercede never getting along. Captions on pictures like "best friends" belie that assertion. And remember the happy pic of the two together on Mercede's prom night? I think the difficulty began much more recently and that mommie dearest Sarah has everything to do with it.
WV: "sliers" Says it all.
Punkinbugg said...
Wouldn't they have found out she was pregnant around April or May of their junior year? ***
Bristol told Greta that they told Sarah after school was out.
Assuming that was around when Bristol herself found out, that would be at least late May, which could fit in with a 12/18 due date if she waited until a couple of months after fertilization to find out. Could fit better with a late January due date, though.
But back to your point: After school was out for her junior year, some would say Bristol was technically a senior, though whether she had the hours after her spotty spring semester is questionable. Levi had just almost finished his senior year, dropping out in March, so he was technically still a senior.
I think LKL and the other shows grab captions without worrying about whether or not they are even what their guests say are true.
Naked Truth,
Levi was living on the slope much of the time. Perhaps he was staying at the Palin house when he was off duty. Maybe they were married. (That must be when he was working his butt off parenting.) (Parenting TriG.)
was it my imagination or did Levi almost make a little slip in his Larry King Interview:
He said Sarah Palin was shocked like any mother who was told her daughter was pregnant at the age of si...eighteen
"si" did he almost say sixteen? - which would be how old Bristol would have been when she found out if she was pregnant with Trigg
WV: "Wings"
Fly us to the truth!
I just want to know what happened "last summer" that made Bristol tell Levi not to talk to Mercede.... not long after Trigg's birth and the pictures of Mercede holding Triggy Bear.
Jennifer
Punkinbugg said...
wv: Trilis (noun) Name of next Palin-Johnston child, if it's a girl.
LMAO! hillarious!
you owe me big, i spilled coffee all over my laptop!
Poor inarticulate Levi. Not sure a teleprompter would help. Needs a ghostwriter for sure. But seems sincere. He's so vague about his plans. He should be sacking groceries if he had to to help support his child. Instead it sounds like he wants to take TriPP hunting. Dads like that upset me.
Anyone want to bet on party girl Sadie, who attends an alternative high school, perhaps because of her alcohol convictions, becoming a surgeon? She could be the model or actor instead of Levi, though. The most articulate of the trio.
I bet her friend is Lanesia, or whoever was Levi's former girlfriend and wanted to beat up Bristol. But if she really wants Levi to bring TriPP over to the house, couldn't she meet up with her friend(s) elsewhere until visitation is resolved? Fair or not, it seems Mercede is the problem, not the fear that Sherry's home is a drug house, which would be my issue if I were Bristol.
Seems a month ago Bristol was finally going back to school and work three days a week, when Sherry was going to watch TriPP.
I still don't get it. They haven't even talked to Sarah about taking TriPP to their house? But they are on the verge of filing in court? I'd have more sympathy if the two families had talked it out, now that Levi and Bristol are not going to be a couple.
Maybe that filing is a threat because it would make public that they are already married? It wouldn't have to bring in TriG, even if Levi were his dad.
Something is going on other than, "We want to see TriPP." They apparently haven't tried working that out with the Palins. There's an implicit threat of telling more, but I don't know if it has to do with Sherry's trial or Levi's rights or even TriG.
With each appearance the Johnstons look better and better but tell us less and less. So looks are inversely proportional to info.
While I'm sure we would all love to have had Levi come out last night on Larry King and tell the world the truth about Trig, realistically, it wasn't going to happen. Trig is the Johnstons' ace in the hole; they're being coached by Sherry's lawyer, and he's too clever to give anything away without a reason.
HOWEVER, that interview actually does tell us that Levi is Trig's father. How? Think it through:
It's possible that Tyra and CBS didn't think to ask Levi about Trig; after all, according to the accepted script Bristol was newly pregnant with Tripp when Trig was born. But dozens of people from this site and Alaska sent LK Trig questions, so we know he chose not to ask them. It would have been a juicy question: "So, what about those rumors that Trig is really Sarah Palin's grandson?" The fact that King did NOT ask that question tells us that the Johnstons have made it a precondition to ALL of their interviews that Trig not be discussed.
Now, if Trig wasn't Levi's son, they would have no reason not to discuss him. Therefore, Trig is Levi's son. It's the dog that didn't bark in the nighttime. Although I've no doubt Craig will come up with some lame excuse for why Trig hasn't been discussed or even mentioned in any of the three interviews. Think about it--not even mentioned. Two babies in one household? Baby and uncle almost the same age? Yet no one mentions him? And Larry King chooses not to ask the juiciest questions sent in to him, the ones that would send his ratings sky high?
A couple of other points from the Larry King interview:
The only way Levi is going to get a book deal is if he is the father of Trig--and keeps it quiet until the prepub publicity for the book. Simply being able to spill the dirt on Track and washing the Palins' other dirty laundry in public won't be enough. As for how much he's going to make, remember the publishers will need to hire a ghost writer and send him/her up to Alaska for months. That is going to be expensive--probably $50-75,000 right there. Take out another 15% off the top for an agent. The publishing industry is hurting right now, and one of the things they're cutting back on is those huge advances they used to give and that so rarely earned out. It's why Sarah hasn't sold "her" book yet--she's asking too much and is unwilling to take a lower figure. Publishing is my business. Trust me when I say Levi still needs a legal fund.
Also, it's very believable to me that Mercede and Bristol never got along. I get the impression from the Myspace comments that they were rivals for "Johnny's" affections. For Levi's sake, they may have made the effort to get along--i.e., Bristol helping Mercede dress for the prom--but never really liked each other. In that light, the only way the Triggy Bear photos make sense is if Trig were Mercede's nephew. And as for Levi not talking to Mercede, the only way that makes sense is if he was living with the Palins after Trig was born. Since they did it with Tripp, why not with Trig?
Isn't it interesting the way Levi never appears on TV without Sis and Mom in tow? At fist I thought it was weird, but then I realized it's very clever. It totally changes the way we see him--as a persecuted kid, as Mercede's adored big brother, as the beloved son of a worried mother--rather than as a stud who knocked up the governor's daughter. That Rex Butler is a shrewd manipulator of people and their perceptions.
But for all of you chomping at the bit to learn the truth, if Levi DOES cut a book deal, we won't have that long to wait. This kind of book is rushed into production. The writer will work 18 hours a day talking to Levi and typing up his notes; the manuscript would then be rushed into production. I can see it hitting the shelves in four months, once the deal is cut.
Levi will not be an actor. He can barely speak. A model, yes. Hes a good looking kid. I think Trig is the trump card if he doesnt get proper parental rights with Tripp.
WV = douse
Published Feb.9 2008 in the Wasilla newspaper Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman.
Wasilla fell to the three-time defending state champion South Anchorage Wolverines in the first round on Thursday.
Senior Adam Friese, senior Brian Turner, junior Levi Johnston and sophomore Matthew Friese.
Levi Johnston was a junior in the 2007-2008 school year.
I think I read somewhere that his birthday is in May,but I could be wrong about that.
James, you were correct to say that Sherry Johnston doesn't "look" like an OxyContin user or dealer. They could look like anyone. Of course, diverting Schedule 2 narcotic meds is wrong wrong wrong--those prescriptions must be written and duplicated. They can't even be phoned into a pharmacy!
But Sherry has said that she's been "disabled" since a hysterectomy, when she started taking OxyContin for ongoing pain. People in chronic pain who take such strong opioids regularly, over time, don't get high, don't get goofy--generally, if you didn't know, you couldn't tell. The medication restores them to something resembling a normal life.
The response to OxyContin and its fellow meds is different, of course, with a recreational user, or someone who's also drinking alcohol, mixing medications, or otherwise not following the strict legal document between compliant pain patients and their prescribing physicians.
When OxyContin was first introduced, and it first began to be abused, the news media explained EXACTLY HOW TO ABUSE it: It's a time-release medication, so if it's crushed and shot, or snorted (as Track Palin is said to have done), the response is different. The women who bought OxyContin from Sherry were meth-abusing Wasilla mothers whose children had been coming to school hungry and dirty. These women were told that if they participated in a sting involving Sherry, Child Protective Services would give their children back. So they did, and the results were released AFTER Election Day last year. (No word yet on whether those mothers and children are faring any better.)
And to Amy1, when you call the National Enquirer a "beacon of truth," you're right. They often present deeply unflattering information, and they sometimes pay their sources. But they have not been sued successfully for a long time. I think the NE's tipping point came during the O.J. Simpson trial in 1995, when the NE printed a photo of him in what he called the "ugly-ass" Bruno Magli shoes he'd denied owning. Even reporters from the New York Times sat up and took notice.
Naturally, my family and friends tease me for reading the Enquirer, but over the past fifteen years, at least, they get the story right, and very frequently long before any other news source does.
My WV: bhumba, as in, "Bah, humbug!"
Levi's birthday, May 3rd
"And Larry King chooses not to ask the juiciest questions sent in to him, the ones that would send his ratings sky high?"
I'm not disagreeing that it's significant that nobody is asking about Trig, but I will point out that Larry King, at least, has a history of asking softball questions and never putting his guests on the spot. It's why Dick Cheney arranged an interview with him after he shot his friend in the face, and it's also why George Bush agreed to be interviewed by him.
"They haven't even talked to Sarah about taking TriPP to their house? But they are on the verge of filing in court? I'd have more sympathy if the two families had talked it out, now that Levi and Bristol are not going to be a couple."
If Bristol is refusing to allow Tripp to go to the Johnston house, they don't need to discuss it with Sarah. Bristol is the mother and technically, Sarah would have no say. There would be no point in talking with Sarah.
Naked Truth said;
"Craig, even you must admit that something is just not right about this picture."
Are you trying to establish logic in the actions of a teenage girl or in the relationship of two teenage girls??? Especially when the main bond between them is that one's brother is dating the other one? LOL!!
Like anyone, I can only speculate, but I'd say that when Bristol and Levi were "in love", that the girls could at least tolerate each other and be/act friendly. Back when it was all good, there probably wasn't any inclination on Bristol's/Sarah's part to create discord by not allowing Mercedes access to the Palin's. Mercedes may have be enamoured with the idea of having a high-profile family connection, and liked to flaunt that publicly on places like MySpace and such.
But once the campaign started and then the baby came, the false fronts were dropped and the claws came out! Now its all about how they never really cared for each other (although we haven't really heard this from Bristol yet, I think).
Logic and consistency were not words that often applied to anyone during their teenage years!
To the person who said autism could be why they did a CVS test: there is no prenatal test for autism.
Agree that Levi almost said sixteen instead of eighteen regarding Bristol's age at the time of pregnancy discovery.
However, the bigger slip of the tongue was Larry's when he referred to Levi being allowed to visit "one son, occasionally, in the house" !!!
Midnightcajun: I have also been saying that it is the absence of evidence that is most curious:
No birth photos
No birth cert
No birth announcement at hospital
No photos left at the State Website or the ADN for Jan-April 08
No one supporting Palin's stories with letters or personal photos or recollections
NO kids in Wasilla talking about anything, on any public website
No posts left on myspace
And now, no mention of Trig, the baby which cannot be spoken of
midnightcajun said;
"Although I've no doubt Craig will come up with some lame excuse for why Trig hasn't been discussed or even mentioned in any of the three interviews."
*************
Nice.
This is where you have to think outside the bubble. The other side of the coin is, the large majority of people believe that the Trig conspiracy stuff is not credible. That is not me being snarky, its just the current general mindset of the media and the public, like it or not.
For most people and media oulets, the public feud between the Palin's and the Johnston's is plenty juicy enough in itself. The focus is going to be on the immediate dynamic of Tripp, Bristol, and Levi, with the other Johnston's and Sarah thrown into the conversation.
You may want to have Trig addressed by the media, but that angle isn't the central theme that most people are interested in hearing about, in this case. It's all about a teenage cat-fight and a teenage unwed mom, and a "common" teenage boy and his family caught up within the family of a high-profile popularist Conservative political leader.
Besides, how many questions did Larry use from the website? Two? Three? Larry seemed barely interested in his own questions, let alone the public's.
Unless some information comes out that changes the current dynamics, the only person that is likely to get any questions related to the Trig issue is Sarah (and maybe Bristol).
The following might be neither here nor there regarding the primary purpose of this blog, but I thought it was an interesting exchange between me and a C4Per, if only for the misinformation I attempted to correct regarding release of medical information (specifically re: Sarah Palin) to "the public":
In the "Elise Patkotak: It Is All Palin's Fault, All Of The Time" topic over at C4P, the now?/former? Alaskan C4Per "upinak" stated several misinformed comments about HIPAA guidelines on release of medical information regarding Sarah Palin to "the public" based, I guess (from what upinak herself refers to), on personal experience.
I endeavored to correct upinak yesterday, and I got this reply -- then found out after posting my responses, that I've been banned!! Because I'm a Trig Truther!
--------------------------
upinak said...April 22, 2009 3:01 PM
KJ you do realize that only other medical institues can release information... it is not to be released to the public for any reason or any family member as it states in the document when you sign it per the medical staff for whatever doctor you are seeing. Right!
FYI there KJ, HIPA has been around for YEARS in Alaska as Alaska does not have malpractise clauses like other States. So your "medical records technician" doesn't actually go any further then your own State. Also with that said I do not think you also realize that ANY records are to be given out to ANYONE whom is not a family member in question.
How do I know.. when my father died I asked for all of his medical records... I am the eldest and I needed them for a case. I am still waiting on those records and have to use a lawyer to get them 3 years after his death. So don't give me that HIPA can be given to the public analogy. Because if you gave information out to the public concerning a patient in your State.. I hope you get sued for everything you OWN!---------------
upinak said...April 22, 2009 3:05 PM
Also KJ, you can not do FOIA on people with medical cases unless the Family is willing to release said information.
Family is surviving spouse, eldest child(ren) of first marriage, and then Parents of said person. In that order.
Interesting how you have no clue on this either. Pretty pathetic actually.--------------------
Mel said...April 22, 2009 3:51 PM
Hit the door, KaJo. I'm tired of having a Trig Truther like you around. Your future comments will be deleted.I failed to notice the above comment by Mel the Moderator until after I'd posted the following:
KaJo said...April 23, 2009 11:38 AM
upinak said "KJ you do realize that only other medical institues can release information... it is not to be released to the public for any reason or any family member as it states in the document when you sign it per the medical staff for whatever doctor you are seeing. Right!""That's absolutely not true, upinak. You're stating a specific regulation for THIRD PARTY MEDICAL inquiries. There are many other instances in which medical records are released for any given patient.
The specific instance that applies to Sarah Palin's medical information can be released thusly:
1) she gives permission to her doctor via written dated signature to release copies of office notes and summaries of history/exam/treatment.
2) she gives permission to a medical facility such as a hospital or home health care unit via written dated signature to release copies of accumulated records covering stated dates (either only those authorized, or more generally, those requested) of care and/or treatment. This could also cover copies of scans, x-rays, ultrasound, EKG recordings, and other graphic analyses.
Let me state at this point that these medical records (etc.) are usually released in the form of COPIES of the original medical records.
These records can be released to the patient (Sarah Palin) herself, to another doctor, to another hospital, to an insurance company, to a lawyer (her own!), or anyone Sarah Palin chooses. That's her perogative.
She doesn't OWN the records, but she can direct their release, or refuse release. Of course, in the instance of refusing release to insurance companies, that means she might be personally responsible to pay her hospital bill...
The only situation in which Sarah Palin has no options about release of medical records is if those records are demanded by an officer of the court via subpoena duces tecum. In that case, an officer of the institution having custody of the medical records transports the original records to court and swears that they are the official, original, unaltered medical records, and in most cases a true, complete copy of the records is accepted into evidence.
If the officer of the institution ignores the subpoena or fails to appear or brings redacted records, both the officer AND the institution can be held in contempt of court.
It's similar to the same rule of law that the AK state legislature relied on in censuring the folks who deemed their subpoenae "optional" in that "Troopergate" situation."
-----------------
KaJo said...April 23, 2009 11:44 AM
upinak also said "FYI there KJ, HIPA has been around for YEARS in Alaska..."I'm pretty sure in my comments yesterday to you that I noted that HIPAA is a federal Act, and that I noted its enactment date, 1996. Which means that it covers authorization and limitations of release of medical information in EVERY state, including Alaska, and that it has, indeed, "been around for YEARS".
----------
I might add that in your specific instance that you referred to, where you attempted to obtain your father's medical records -- yes, you would have had to go through the court system (thus, your lawyer) to obtain those records unless you were on record as being your father's representative in legal and medical issues; i.e., you had power of attorney. And yes, I've heard of cases like that taking 3 years.
upinak, you still seem to be under the mistaken assumption that "HIPA can be given to the public...Because if you gave information out to the public concerning a patient in your State.. I hope you get sued for everything you OWN!", which is to say (I guess) that you think a facility that has medical records on a public figure might kow-tow to what the media calls "the public's right to know" without the subject's say-so.
Of course that's not true.
You also accuse me of having "no clue" about something neither of us have even discussed, namely "Family". Aren't we talking about Sarah Palin? Not your personal experience? Isn't Sarah Palin the only one who has the right to authorize release of her own medical information to WHOMEVER?
Lastly, I see I've been banned.
However, I feel that upinak deserves an answer to her comments and questions.
--------------
I just reposted my comments here because I think it's worthy to know how much control (a lot) Sarah Palin has regarding the amount of her own medical information that has been released (not much).
Going forward, I think the best thing to do is for all of us to distill this all down to the most unanswerable questions. Ideas:
*ADN: we construct a letter with the evidence of missing photos. Plenty of posts around from Sept 08 about a photo that immediately went missing. Ask them point blank, why are there NO photos from Jan-April 08? Why were they scrubbed? Mention the official events during that time that are normally photographed. (She is photographed constantly, except for that time period?)
Just one example of how we could move this forward.
Regarding the age that Levi MAY (or may NOT) have begun to state when asked about when the birth was first announced....
While I earlier posted that it sounded like "si" (16), it could have as easily benn "sE" (as in 17). Oh, I do embarass myself getting all over-analytical about this. His blip was VERY slight, but he did emit a tiny s-sound before firmly saying eighteen. Heck, maybe he started to say "SILLY".
I am also somewhat puzzled by Mercede's statment of NEVER being close to Bristol in light of the photos and comments posted on her old myspace pages. On the other hand, I've raised teenage daughters...and I KNOW that during those intense peer-pressure years the duplicity and mixed-alliances amongst girls are (sadly) not uncommon. They are trying to find their place (hopefully in the top pack) and in the process try on many different faces.
Vaughn said...Published Feb.9 2008 . . . junior Levi Johnston
I stand corrected. He could have been called a senior when the school year ended, but for his dropping out before his *junior* year was finished. He said he hadn't taken his tests yet. GED?
I also agree with B who said:
"With each appearance the Johnstons look better and better but tell us less and less. So looks are inversely proportional to info."
The fact that they say nothing new and that their complaint of visitation can seem kind of thin... wants visitation in home of POSSIBLE drug dealer, also admits he hasn't really tried to communicate with Sarah (not that that'd be easy or possible). I think the motivations for the interview serve other purposes as suggested by lawyer Butler.
ALSO, look up TANK JONES, who Levi says is his current lawyer (bodyguard?). Not sure if he's a lawyer, but he IS a private investigator who partners with Rex Butler and it sounds like his first name says a LOT about him!
Ivyfree said... If Bristol is refusing to allow Tripp to go to the Johnston house, they don't need to discuss it with Sarah.
You are right. But they don't need to go on national TV to talk about it either. If Bristol won't let Levi take TriPP home, he has legal recourse.
But since the three of them say they just want access to TriPP, and since Bristol and TriPP live with Todd and Sarah, I'd think a first step before the TV or the court would be to talk to the family and see if they can convince Bristol to change her mind. I don't think it would work, and I'm not convinced that Sarah isn't the one telling Bristol not to let Levi take TriPP, but it would be worth a try if what they really want is access.
I think they want something else too.
A picture of Bristol holding TriG with these words next to it:
PALIN'S FIRST GRANDCHILD.
This after the voice over said Levi fathered Palin's first grandchild.
Did anyone else find this screen shot another message.in.a.bottle?
For the record we should get Larry King's quote correct so that things don't get screwy. "He can see but one son occasionally but it has to be at the house"
[He being Levi]
My WV is "clues" I should go buy a lotto ticket today!
""" dipsydoodlenoodle said...
Bretta said...
...Levi was asked about Bristol's parents' reaction. He said, "No mother wants to hear her si..." he stopped, corrected himself, "eighteen year old daughter..."
I haven't seen the interview - not in the USA however it does seem like it may have been a deliberate slip?""
Dipsydoodlenoodle - I don't think it was deliberate: Levi doesn't impress me as being devious enough of mind to do that.
I also think he slipped on the TriPP age, too, because if the baby is four months old, that gives a January birth date; more in the time frame I thought he would be born.
According to Gryphen's commenters, maybe about three minutes in, Larry says, "He could see but one son occasionally, but it has to be at the house." Freudian slip?
***MODERATOR NOTE***
If your comment doesn't get through there's a reason. Do NOT keep sending it over. And over. And over. Or *none* of your comments will.
If a comment doesn't make it in the first time, don't post again. Write me at thetokenhippie@gmail.com
FYI, there are a lot of comments on this thread. I go through them and approve the ones relevant to the discussion.
I know some of you like to be clever or whatever but every little quip or play on words is not going to be put in when we have this much traffic.
So take heed.
Craig said:
"Are you trying to establish logic in the actions of a teenage girl or in the relationship of two teenage girls??? Especially when the main bond between them is that one's brother is dating the other one? LOL!!"
Yes, LOL that you are so clueless when it comes to teenage girls. I was a teenage sister once who had a brother that dated a girl I didn't like and I gave a damn about taking pictures with her and talking about how she was my best friend. You are the one that indicated that Mercede and Bristol were never close friends. I believe that. I think that it probably had something to do with Johnny. Remember the myspace comments.
I just reminded you that at some point they were good friends and IMO this friendship started because of Sadie's 'nefu', Trig. He is what brought Bristol and Sadie together.
KaJo: The banning on seafurpea seems to be arbitrary. I think there are several different moderators, and they have different tolerance levels. The information you gave was good, and I can't see that it was a "trigtruther" kind of comment.
Aren't you glad we have this site where the moderation is "moderate" and not kneejerk?
I believe a vicious, vindictive Palin may have denied all access to Trigg by Levi after the Tyra interview, even when Levi's in their home visiting Trip.
Levi can go to court for visitation of Trip because he is the legal father. Levi's at the mercy of Palin to see Trigg.
Levi (& Rex) sent a clear message, in my opinion, to Palin via Larry King...
LET ME SEE BOTH OF MY SONS OR I'LL SEE YOU IN COURT.
a shot across the Palin's bow...Let me see Tripp. NOW. or else...
I have been thinking about Trigg's well being when it is revealed that Sarah did this fraud. I'm hoping that he is considered "technically" adopted whether by actual adoption papers or by "common" law being that the Palins claimed him both legally and socially as their own. So he should be able to continue to get the health care and therapies that he will need for the rest of his life. Regardless of the birthmother, unless she outright demands/challenges to get him back, he should be okay legally. Kind of like the mother in Solomon's court. Only the real mother would rather give him up than see him harmed.
I want the truth of his parentage to come out but also want to make sure that he doesn't suffer because of the schemes of others.
Bretta - actually, if he said Tripp was about 4 months old, he's right. A 12/27 birthdate would make him almost exactly 4 months old.
There are two reasons why, I think, no one is talking, either to support or deny any of this BabyGate stuff:
1) She is powerful and vindictive and since she only appoints sycophants, no one dare cross her or there will be hell to pay, jobs to lose, etc...
2) She could be a major Gravy Train for many people IF she were to get higher national office. How many has she promised big things to if they go along? IF she were to be President (ugh) her family and everyone would be RICH and POWERFUL and they want to go for the ride in case it happens.
Can you imagine all her high school friends in Cabinet postitions!!??
Some folks have mentioned that Levi dropped out of school in March. That would be March 2008, right?
I've been looking for a source for this information.
If true, what on earth would make him drop out of school then? That should've been real close to when Triggy Bear was born. Did Levi think he had to go get a job so he could be a good daddy?
KaJo,
Doesn't it seem C4P would use a derogatory name with a different connotation than TriG Truther? Like TriG Liar? It's as if they agree that we are seeking the Truth and it's not what Sarah said it was. Banned is a badge of honor!
From LKL:
Sherry- "He's(Levi) talked a lot about babies since he and Bristol's been together."
I bet.
Kajo,
Excellent response! Articulate and to the point...obviously something the SP folks on that site aren't too keen on!
To Ennealogic:
Here is the tinyurl from a NYT article regarding hockey in AK and when Levi quit school:
http://tinyurl.com/clnq4t
It's a little too quiet from Team Palin. I bet it's taking four or five of her groupies to keep her mouth shut. Can't you just see her tied to that chair in the Palin kitchen, her Wasilla team standing over her, and Meg on the speaker phone, "NO SARAH! Remember how WE LOOKED the last time you critized them? OK, now repeat after me ...No comment!"
You know she can't follow direction ;) I can't wait for her to blow!
I thought I'd just point out that, having looked at Rex Butler's website, his firm does not handle family law/custody cases. So, Levi' first answer is probably more correct (LKL interview). He does NOT have an attorney handling an actual custody case. His mother has Mr. Butler along with Mr. Jones, the PI, and I'm sure the family as a unit is getting advice, but neither, it seems, would be handling court procedings for a custody case on behalf of Levi.
In light of the revelation that Sadie and Bristol have never really gotten along, and that any strife is NOT of recent vintage, the "Triggy Bear" series of pics becomes even more important: there is NO WAY I see that Mercede was invited over to see and be photgraphed with Trig if he was Sarah and Todd's infant. In that case, Sadie is merely the sister of the boyfriend whose girlfriend's mother has a new baby. The proud pics, and especially now enhanced with the new photo of Levi with Trig, and Sadie cuddling the two of them really tells me that baby Trig was THEIR RELATIVE, Levi and Bristol's son, Sadie's nephew, and Sarah, the Mommy in Law. Yes, just what Sadie wrote: Sarah, the MOMMY IN LAW, not the MOMMY.
Re: Tripp custody dispute
Here are some questions that I'd be interested in having someone comment on, who has legal background in these sorts of custody disputes:
- What are Levi's rights?
- What sorts of things could he request from the court?
- Given the facts of both families' situations, is there a likely court judgment? If not, what is the range of possible judgments?
The first time I heard the word "truther" was in "9/11 truther": someone who believes 9/11 was a US government conspiracy, an "inside job" with controlled demolitions of the WTC buildings.
That's maybe why "truther" is a pejorative word at C4P.
A thought occurred to me. Does anyone doubt for one minute that if Levi did spill the beans on Trig's true parentage that it wouldn't be on every major news outlet in the country? I don't.
Therefore I don't believe the MSM is ignoring the story, I believe they are waiting on the story. And if and when it breaks it will be huge and it will seriously damage Sarah Palin politically.
And does anyone else wonder if that smart lawyer that was mentioned by Michael Carey might just possibly be Rex Butler? Stranger things have happened and why indeed did Rex Butler get involved?
----
MICHAEL CAREY: Yeah, that's been -- that story has been around for quite a while. I first heard it when a lawyer who I like very much and is a very smart guy presented this to me as the absolute truth.-----
Let's consider this. If Trig is Levi's son and Levi is not allowed to see Tripp that probably means he isn't allowed to see Trig either. If the arrangment after Trig's birth was that Sarah & Todd adopted Trig but Levi was promised that he would be allowed to see him anytime, what is happening now?
Levi may have legal rights to see Tripp but his rights to see Trig are very cloudy, especially if he gave up parental rights with adoption.
I believe that all these pictures we see of Trig and Levi on these talk shows are not accidents. I think there is message is being sent to the Palins.
Levi johnston loves his boys and he wants to be part of their lives.
I do think this is going to break eventually.
What is Rex Butler's ultimate goal in all this?
Do he want money and/or fame? Does want to bring Sarah Palin down? Or does he really care about the Johnston family and doesn't like how they are being jacked around?
Why IS Levi Johnston doing these interview shows? If it is just to get visitation with Tripp it doesn't make sense as that is a court matter and he has undeniable rights as a father.
If it is to get visitation rights with Trig, well that could be a whole different ball of wax and may need to be fought somewhere else, besides a courtroom.
This is just getting interesting...
What if after Trig was born to Bristol & Levi, Sarah says to them:
"Ya know, kids, I really, really think I have a chance of becoming nominated as the next Vice President of the U.S., but if everyone finds out my 16 year old daughter became pregnant, my chances would be ruined. Wink wink. Once I'm elected, I'll tell everyone that I was just trying my darndest to help you young kids out, and you can then have the baby back.
However, Sarah lost, and rather than giving Trig back to Levi and Bristol, she says, "Sorry, I have to break my promise, because I have a really, really good chance of being elected POTUS in 2012, but in order to do this I have to keep Trig, especially now that everyone knows that he has Down's Syndrome."
Is this what Levi meant when he said Sarah "changed" after losing the election?
KaJo;
Actually, we may both be wrong. After reviewing the interviews, I didn't hear any direct comment about acting or modeling from Levi. The interviewer on the Early Show did say this at the end, though:
"He (Levi) says that he will either be an electrician, like everyone else in his family, or maybe all this publicity will lead to a modeling or acting gig, which he is open to."
I could swear I remember him somewhat sheepishly admitting interest in modeling, during some recent interview. But maybe not.
I'm reposting Patrick's AMAZING video find:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DA-M2NfFAjU
Michael Carey is the former editorial page editor of the Anchorage Daily News (ADN), and he currently is a columnist for the ADN and the host of "Anchorage Edition"
This part of the interview clip was shot at the RNC, Sept. 2nd, 2008. In it, Michael claims that the whisperings of SP faking Trig's birth had been around for "quite a while", and that he has told about this by a lawyer.
A lawyer who I assume isn't a "blogger in his pajamas eating Cheetos"
One has to ask: Of all the things a person might make up to smear or damage someone's reputation, would "faking a pregnancy" be high on the list? You know what I mean? How would that kind of train of thought even enter into their thinking - WITHOUT talk or gossip about it already going on?
I guess my point is:
There's a REASON why the SP fake pregnancy story had legs, way way before SP got picked to be VP.
In fact, it has two legs, two arms, 10 fingers and 10 toes. And his name is Trig - and he did NOT come out of Sarah Palin's womb!
Ennealogic said...
Some folks have mentioned that Levi dropped out of school in March. That would be March 2008, right?
I read an article from the NY Times in Early Sept.and all it said was that he had dropped out.
Did,nt give any date,also his Mom was interviewed and when they asked her all she would say was they
would have to ask him.
I have never read anywhere that he actually gave a date to anyone.So don,t know where the March
date came from but he was still in school in early Feb.2008.
Anyone catch the slip on Larry King with Levi? They were talking about going to the Palins with news Bristol was pregnant and Levi said it would be hard for a "s" and then stopped himself (as in sixteen) and then said 18 year old. Hmmmm!
Hey B (at April 23, 2009 7:11 AM): no need to insult the Johnston family. I have them down as doing the best they can in trying circumstances. I do know that people who are perfectly charming and intelligent sometimes don't do so well in front of a TV camera, or in an interview situation. I bet some of us might not be our perfect best if we were on stage like that, under duress.
And let's not think Levi's job now is to tell altar-boy truth. One set of little white lies I have noticed: he is being almost unfailingly polite and kind about the Palin family. Saying lots of nice things about them, when asked. Its like a mantra. I see the hand of a good tv coach here. Not a problem for me.
Has Levi spoken privately to the Palins to settle the visit/custody suit? Have they negotiated? argued? screamed and shouted? How/why would we know? Let's assume he has done his best. He is not obliged to give us chapter and verse about this on national TV! In fact, I'd prefer to know less, not more, about this. Remember, these interview programs are not NEWS -- they are ENTERTAINMENT! Our dear Rex knows that!
Did anyone find out what the Track info in the NE was about, if anything? I guess I will have to go grocery shopping and stand in the long line.
MrsTarquinBB: DO you have link to the source for the info on "the women who were hired to buy the OxyContin from Sherry?" That sounds like entrapment. With the added icky angle of children as pawns in this: children who are perhaps not safe in their parents' homes being returned to them. Plus your explanation of OxyContin over-use is very much in line with my understanding of how chronic-pain sufferers end up using a lot of pain-killers, and then perhaps sharing them with fellow-sufferers. Illegal? sure; dangerous? perhaps; but hardly unethical. Or a menace to the public and thus worthy of jail time. If this view of it is the accurate one.
Is it crass of Levi to be following directions to maximize his chance at a big score for the tell-all book deal? I say NO, not crass! He was sucked into this maelstorm of political expediency, deception, etc., and then dumped. He now has family responsibilities. I say "do what you have to do, Levi." Do your best with these bad cards you were dealt.
My vision for this is that with Rex's help, Levi and his family (extended or not) pull together enough of a modest trust fund to assure good care for all, plus time and resources for a GOOD education for Levi + family. Yes, Levi does it by pulling down the SP sham, but that was going to happen anyway, in time.
At least some good will come out of it this way.
In the discussion about the relationship between Mercede and Bristol - I think something really crashed between them after the prom photo last spring with the caption on Mercede's MySpace page - "my sister-in-law I love her so". Why would Mercede have that photo taken and write that caption if the hate was spewing at that point? And why was Mercede allowed into the Palin house to take photos with Triggy-Bear, if there was such hate then? It seems obvious to me they were at least on friendly terms until after April, and not mortal enemies from the start.
I just watched the LKL interview after reading everyone's posts. I just want to say that the three of them seem to want this to be resolved out of court - they don't want any trouble. They seem saddened and upset and well, overwhelmed by it all.
Levi said only good things about SP, TP and BP - he went out of his way to say good things about all of them. That is very telling to me. He seems hurt and out of his league dealing with the sudden turnaround in the relationship with all of them.
Where is his dad in all of this??
I agree with those who posted about his slip of the tongue when saying how old BP was when she told SP she was pregnant. He almost said sixteen.
I also couldn't help but notice that the answers Mercede gave about her relationship with her brother while he was dating BP, and her own relationship with BP corroborates the MySpace reporting done on this site.
So where is the link to NE re Track. When I do my usual search (pretty klutzy I admit), I get nothing that isn't old.
Like this is a surprise!
http://tinyurl.com/dyw7n7
"Sarah Palin Says Ethics Complaints Victimize Her.
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's office says ridiculous ethics complaints are victimizing her.
The latest came Wednesday, whehn Anchorage resident Sondra Tompkins filed a complaint with the Alaska Attorney General's Office saying Palin violated ethics rules by accepting outside employment with her political action committee.
The complaint also accuses Palin of participating in partisan activities last week when she spoke at an anti-abortion dinner in Indiana. Tompkins says the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act bars the governor from partisan political activities for personal benefit.
At least 11 other ethics complaints have been filed against Palin.
Palin chief of staff Mike Nizich calls the complaints "categorically false and ridiculous" and an abuse of the ethics act. "
SP has shown abysmal judgment in handling private family matters. I perceive "teen-like" attitudes in her. She seems utterly unable to control her revenge impulses and uses her public position and resources for those purposes. She trashed Levi after he spoke to Tyra via her official spokesperson.
I perceive in SP a mischievous smile in the April 2008 photo in which she looks very pregnant. Her hands seem to be supporting her belly - as though the belly was too big or too unstable and needed support. Her smirk appears to say: "I'm impersonating a pregnant woman and I'm getting away with it."
Does anybody else see what I see?
What other secrets may be in her household, should be none of our business if it wasn't for the fact that she aspires to be one of our nation's leaders. As such, we have the duty to investigate and the right to know "the content of her character."
Levi, family, friends - speak up, speak out, speak on.
Is word getting out to MSM? Check out the first line in yesterday's Vanity Fair article!
http://www.vanityfair.com/online/politics/2009/04/is-levi-johnston-hot-enough-to-be-a-model.html
Converted to tiny: http://tinyurl.com/cbqkux
wv: thlohype
Now Here is a Mystery - The Three Amigoes.......Now You See Them....
...and Now You Don't!
The user "erik99559" at Flickr is no longer active.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/30076181@N02/
The Three Amigo picture, The Palin with Gusty picture - both gone, gone, gone like the wind.
"The photo you were looking for has been deleted.
You might like to ask erik99559 about it!
Here's a link back to your home page."
Clicking the link sends you to this message.
"This member is no longer active on Flickr."
This makes no sense! Why leave them there for so long and them take them down - Why didn't "erik99559" just leave them there for all to see Palin in her pregnant glory?
Now that is a mystery worth a question or two.
Kathleen
wf - cowsub!!! Whoops!
Amy1, today I'll look for those links about Sherry Johnston and her drug diversions. I do remember the story very vividly, but of course, at the time the story broke, I hadn't started frequenting this blog. Those links are very helpful to the overall timeline.
midnightcajun: good to hear the view from your publishing business perspective. I would add the the ghostwriter is probably already working away, or should be. 90% of the book can be written now, from the various existing sources (books, blogs, the media they refer to): just missing those few facts.
I went to the grocery store last night -- nothing that I could see in the current issue of NE -- it's the cover with fat women on it.
The check-out clerk asks me "Did you find everything you wanted?" and I say "yes, except -- do you read NE? I didn't see the latest SP blast in it."
She looked at me with an inteligent look.
I said, quietly, "You know SP was not pregnant with Trip, right?" and she said "Oh, yes."
I asked if she actually believed that, and she said "Yes!"
What made her believe it? She cited a blog I had not heard of. She cited some survey that compared the various NE wanna-be tabloids, and said NE came out first re accuracy. I laughed to myself and thought "well! I'm comparing NE to the NYT and the other MSM, and it still comes out ahead -- on this subject, at least."
And then I realized there was someone behind me.
So I got home and googled around a little and refreshed my memory re NE: last fall, they floated a story about SP having an affair with Todd's business partner. Remember the man who had his divorce records sealed the day after the story broke? and then they were unsealed, and nothing much came of it. The McCain campaigned threatened to sue at some point in there. This must be the affair SP is described as tearfully denying in the Sherry Johnston Brit tab interview. (The sealed/unsealed records did not reveal anything interesting, and the story died.)
It seems NE got burned on that one. Not that it might not be true, but it clearly had no legs.
So now I'm thinking that the big NE news about Track, at least initially, is to going to be to repeat the buzz from last fall that he used OxyContin. No need to go deeper, at least not yet.
Thanks to everyone who worked to salvage anything available from MySpace! I agree with those here who've said it's not so much what is said, but the time at which everything went dead, that's really telling.
On another thread, I called MJ and BP "frenemies" and I think the MySpace messages bear that out, especially regarding MJ's posts about Johnny. MJ and LJ have an unusually close relationship and I believe MJ was as friendly as she needed to be while LJ and BP were dating, but was really not happy with the relationship. Maybe BP was a 'mother duck' to MJ, who BP saw as hanging around too much when she was with LJ? This would be somewhat of an explanation for the family photos of Trig; MJ wasn't there to see her bestie BP, but rather to be with her brother and HIS new baby.
Didn't everyone know a Levi in high school? Cute, dumb as a box of rocks, surrounded by girls, great with a story for each of them. That's probably why, as midnightcajun points out, he lies with such ease without giving himself away. His eyes go down a bit, but I have no doubt that he'd be able to convince a 17-year-old fling that despite what she was hearing around school, he really wasn't with that other girl. But I don't think his lies on LKL (for example, whether or not he has a lawyer) are lies as much as they are an attempt to not go full-bore at SP by admitting he plans to go after her in court.
Rex Butler is giving the Johnstons very good public-relations advice. This must be killing SP! The trashy Johnstons, all of whom have police records, have cleaned up nicely and are cautiously telling the baby-related side of their story. The MSM hasn't gone after this story fully (yet) because SP's been spinning it as a mean spirited attack on a mama grizzly protecting her cubs (both infant and abstinent, ha). LJ is now the papa grizzly who just wants to see his baby. The effin' redneck who doesn't want kids is gone, so far gone that some want to contribute $ to help him see his baby! The collateral damage in this will be that SP's lies will be exposed, but it can now be done under the banner of dads' rights. The photos of Trig that keep popping up around each of the Johnstons' media appearances are most definitely warning shots fired at SP. And I believe more strongly than ever that this is all coming to a head. What day is Sherry in court again? I think the weeks following her appearance (and I'm betting the drug charges will be greatly reduced or gone) will be very telling...
wv: nomarch ("was Trig born in April? No, March!")
Kathleen,
Re: the missing Gusty picture
I remember that Gusty defended the veracity of those pictures in a news report just a few months ago. Is the link to that news video still around?
Thanks
Kathleen: Isn't it true that:
--The Gusty photo was initially out there on the web last fall? I recall seeing the SP+Gusty one, not the 3 amigoes.
--Then it was pulled.
--Then someone showed the photos to Gusty, who claimed to think those photos had never been released, that she was surprised they were on the web, ever. That she thought she was the only one who had copies of those photos.
--Then we had the big discussion of the photos here on this blog. The identity of "erik99559" was discussed, but no info came forth. Someone posted an unrelated video, suggesting that erik was the narrator, a woman, who was identified by name in the credits. I can't find that link.
Then the video that accompanied that Gusty photo shoot appeared. Accompanied by a new video by Gusty saying there was nothing fishy about any of it. We went through some discussion on this blog about hair lengths, etc., trying to date the video, but no luck. I think those two videos were on TV news that night.
If anyone sees an error in this chronology, pls say so. At one point, we thought erik's indentity might be interesting. .
Re this Vanity Fair article assessing Levi's chances as a model, (thx musingegret!) it just goes to show how brutal the modeling business is: you get 100 absolutely gorgeous models together in one cattle call, and if they pick one (which sometimes they do not), then ONE model goes away thinking s/he might be okay-looking and 99 of these ethereal creatures go away knowing s/he was rejected, not beautiful enough, etc.
I guess the ones who succeed have a strong self-concept and can put things into perspective, keep those nutty judgments of others at arms' length -- but talk about brutal.
"Why didn't "erik99559" just leave them there for all to see Palin in her pregnant glory?"
Allegedly pregnant glory. Yeah, that's weird. Why remove it? Why not just let the account die naturally?
Of course, there are screen captures... butnow, are there ANY publicly available pictures of Palin obviously pregnant? This story just keeps getting weirder.
*** Raquel said...
SP has shown abysmal judgment in handling private family matters. I perceive "teen-like" attitudes in her. She seems utterly unable to control her revenge impulses and uses her public position and resources for those purposes. She trashed Levi after he spoke to Tyra via her official spokesperson.
I perceive in SP a mischievous smile in the April 2008 photo in which she looks very pregnant. Her hands seem to be supporting her belly - as though the belly was too big or too unstable and needed support. Her smirk appears to say: "I'm impersonating a pregnant woman and I'm getting away with it."
Does anybody else see what I see? ***
Absolutely! And that's a great summation of SP's behavior. This whole sad saga is very Mean Girls, what with the backstabbing, lies, secrecy, rivalry... and except for Levi, the menfolk are silent.
To The Dame: THX! for accuracy. So important.
*** Shelby said...
A thought occurred to me. Does anyone doubt for one minute that if Levi did spill the beans on Trig's true parentage that it wouldn't be on every major news outlet in the country? I don't.
Therefore I don't believe the MSM is ignoring the story, I believe they are waiting on the story. And if and when it breaks it will be huge and it will seriously damage Sarah Palin politically.***
You are right; MSM knows and is waiting. I've discussed this with fellow editorial people. That's why I've said getting the dads' rights issue out there is so important; it's a timely angle that allows the truth out without seeming like simply a vindictive smear on SP.
Right now, I don't know anyone who wants their last name attached to this story, even as far away from AK as we are.
*** musingegret said...
Is word getting out to MSM? Check out the first line in yesterday's Vanity Fair article!
http://www.vanityfair.com/online/politics/2009/04/is-levi-johnston-hot-enough-to-be-a-model.html
Converted to tiny: http://tinyurl.com/cbqkux***
I love it! MSM is getting bolder at letting everyone (including SP) know that the truth is out there!
Audrey/moderators etc.: I know there's traffic coming here from everywhere! It might be helpful to have two buttons right on the opening page: A photo comparison and a timeline. Let MSM see that first, then let 'em wade through the massive number of blog posts!
musingegret,
Good find on Vanity Fair. First sentence of article:
"Levi Johnston, the father of Sarah Palin’s first acknowledged grandchild, appeared on The Tyra Banks Show two weeks ago to end his silence."
Palin's first ACKNOWLEDGED grandchild!
If you go to the Yahoo page on the internet today and scroll through the news stories, there is a story of Levi's complaint that he doesn't get to see Tripp often. So this story is on the mainstream media again, and this is better than the Tyra Banks Show.
NY tabloid chick, May 18 is Sherry's court date.
To AKPetMom, thanks for the link to the NYT article about Track and Levi. As someone else noted later, there is no date given for when Levi left school.
I think this date, if indeed he left school in March 2008, is a critical puzzle piece.
Shelby: great connecting of the dots, that "a lawyer" might well be Butler. Or maybe only a v few degrees of separation.
I see Butler's role as first painting the Johnston family as a normal, wholesome family. I bet he will reveal to us all the ways in which OxyContin use can seem okay, even essential, for people who suffer chronic pain. Even sharing of the meds, or selling them among fellow-sufferers. Butler's claim to fame is getting a better deal for the guilty -- who might be guilty as charged, but if you had been there, in their shoes, you woudda done the same. (Remember the "I didn't Do It" song in "Chicago"? Start at 4:45 if you are in a hurry. Exactmundo.)
My take is that Butler might be just trying help the Johnstons do the best they can. Custody and visit rights? sure. Work things out without suits (or a specialty lawyer) about that? Why not.
But if it seems to be an impossible situation, then let's grab some cash cow and move on. That's what the rumored book deal sounds like to me, and what a good outcome for Levi, esp if he is a good man (as he seems to me to be) who could take good, healthy care of his extended family (incl himself!) out of his new-found wealth.
Amy1, here at least is the National Enquirer story for its May 4, 2009, which I just bought on my way home from carpool. The NE doesn't post full stories on its website; this one mentions Track as well:
"Baby daddy to EXPOSE Palin family problems," reads the headline on page 24, subheaded, "Levi Johnston SHOPPING TELL-ALL to finance custody battle for son."
"Gov. Sarah Palin's worst nightmare is coming true! Her grandson's dad is shopping an explosive tell-all book targeting the former vice-presidential candidate," say sources.
"It's the latest shot fired in the all-out war between the families of the Alaska governor and 19-year-old Levi Johnston, the estranged father of Sarah's grandson Tripp.
"'Levi was right there in the middle,' a source told The ENQUIRER. 'He knows what really happened inside the Palin family.'
"LEVI SAYS HE HAS BEEN BANNNED by the Palins from going on outings with his baby son, and he believes a tell-all book could help pay the legal bills in an anticipated custody dispute, say sources close to him.
"'If Levi could get a million bucks, it would be worth telling all he really knows. He's already broken with the Palins, calling them liars on national television,' says the source.
"Levi's battle with the Palins exploded when he revealed on 'The Tyra Banks Show' that he is not allowed to take his son out of the Palin home. And Bristol, he said, 'doesn't want me around.'
"A spokesperson for Gov. Palin responded by trying to discredit the teen, saying Levi and his family are 'engaging in flat-out lies.'
"Said the source: 'Levi knows a lot about the family not only from his relationship with the governor's daughter, Bristol, but from his longtime friendship with the Palins' oldest boy [Typist's note: they don't say 'son'], Track.
"Levi is in a position to be able to address the long list of scandalous allegations regarding Sarah since Sen. McCain tapped the 'hockey mom' for the Republican ticket last summer.
"SOURCES IN ALASKA HAVE ALLEGED THAT THE pretty politician had an affair with husband Todd's former business partner. And lifelong friends of Bristol, Levi, and Track have charged that the three have engaged in drug use, drinking and other illegal activity that the governor tried to hide.
"ENQUIRER investigative reporters were told that Track, now in the military, had become an OxyContin addict allegedly involved in vandalism and theft.
"A pal of Levi's told The ENQUIRER that the young father is eager to write the book to provide financial security for his son Tripp and himself, to set the record straight--and to help pay legal bills if he gets embroiled in a custody battle over the youngster.
"Out of the spotlight, Levi is now working odd jobs. His dream: to be an electrician--and the author of a blockbuster expose."
--by SARAH CORDES
scordes@nationalenquirer.com
There's a large photo of SP in a red suit with that big jeweled flag pin, staring angrily at a smaller, somewhat blurry headshot of Levi, as well as a photo of Bristol and the Alleged Tripp from the GVS interview (Fox logo visible), captioned, "Levi claims he's not allowed to take Trip (shown with the baby's mom Bristol) from the Palin home."
There are also smaller headshot photos of Track and Todd, captioned, "Sarah's son Track (left) and husband Todd have both been embroiled in scandals."
So, friends, whaddya think? No mention of Rex Butler or Meg Stapleton. No Mercede.
Amy1,
Don't get me wrong. I side with Levi, not the Palins.
But I believe if just taking TriPP home with them is really the issue, they wouldn't say, "No," when asked if they've talked to Sarah about it. They'd be saying, "She says it is Bristol's decision," or something like that.
There's another agenda here than just fathers' rights. If that is the issue that gives the MSM an excuse to pay attention, that is good news for those of us seeking the truth. But I am uncomfortable that the Johnstons could be using TriPP as a pawn now for some other purpose.
Child support and child visitation are not connected, but I'd feel better if Levi were earning some money now and offering it to the Palins. It's not an issue of whether TriPP needs the support, it's TriPP's right.
As for my catty comment about Mercede, I have known too many serious students committed to being doctors who didn't get into med school. As a heretofore non-serious student, Sadie likely has no idea what hard work, and luck, are involved in becoming a surgeon. Gray's Anatomy doesn't show that part. But I'm all for girls having high goals, and time will tell how she does with hers.
I believe Levi and his family are sincere in their love for TriPP.
I read somewhere that Levi has ADD, was home-schooled. Had a lot of school trouble. That makes me very much on his side.
Great, interesting, fabulous intelligence (to say nothing of a loving, kind, good heart!) is often concealed under all the slings and arrows that create a suffocatingly poor self image for a kid with ADD even before 6th grade. I know that many of you know exactly what I'm talking about, since we've discussed our very intimate connections, for lots of us, with learning disorders and various learning disabilities earlier on this blog.
Can anyone confirm/deny the ADD and homeschooling? I looked for verification at the time I read this and got distracted -- and therefore didn't find anything from a primary source.
Gotta love how Vanity Fair referred to Levi as the father of Palin's "first acknowledged grandchild." Methinks the MSM are catching on.
I think it is very strange that photos of Levi and Trig keep appearing when he goes on talk shows instead of Tripp.
He should say he doesn't HAVE any photos because the Palin's don't let him, or whatever the reason might be.
But then, how could they prevent him from taking any pictures if he sees the kid? do they tell him that for protection they should take NO photos?
weird, but then what isn't
Amy1,
Go to www.NationalEnquirer.com.
Select in the left-hand column:
LEVI'S PALIN FAMILY TELL-ALL
Thx, B. I know you are on the Levi side: I've been reading -- and liking -- your posts all along.
But the current NE issue does not go beyond asking "What are the secrets Levi's kept undercover for months about ex-Bristol and Palin son Track?"
No answers yet, Right?
JJ -
I went to KTVA and pressed the link to the Palin Pregnancy Controversy here
http://www.ktva.com/iteam/ci_11437597
Pressed play on both videos and they link you to this report
http://www.ktva.com/video?bcpid=1641243975&bclid=1632695727&bctid=6983645001
I cannot explain this. The Palin Controversy report by Gusty has been replaced with another report. I checked other stories and they match up with the original story.
I'm bamboozled!
Photos gone....video gone. Whoosh!
Kathleen
Wow. Thx, Mrs TarquinBB!!
It seems that other older KTVA reports dealing with Palin are being redirected to the same new report aboutt he Alaskan machete murderer.
Older KTVA reports dealing with other matters remain linked to the original report.
It could be a simple decision such as saving file storage space. Palin is the subject of many reports whereas other people are not and so her reports are relegated to archives or some such place. That's my theory anyway.
Sorry for all the excitement - I still think that the photos disappearance is strange.
Kathleen
Tyra showing Levi with tiny TriG.
Larry's picture of Bristol holding TriG with these words next to it:
PALIN'S FIRST GRANDCHILD.
Vanity Fair's "Palin's first acknowledged grandchild."
Let's keep 'em coming.
I have to tell you, Amy1, I burst out laughing when I read your story about having the conversation with the check-out clerk at the grocery store.
"then I realized there someone was behind me..." just broke me up!
Yeah, we can get rather focussed, can't we? :)
KaJo: Yes! I just wanted to have long chat with her, she seemed so up on it. Whereas my so-called well-educated friends will have nothing to do with the subject, just laugh at me. Still.
Just wait.
Kathleen said...
Now Here is a Mystery - The Three Amigoes.......Now You See Them....
...and Now You Don't!
The user "erik99559" at Flickr is no longer active.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/30076181@N02/
The Three Amigo picture, The Palin with Gusty picture - both gone, gone, gone like the wind.
"The photo you were looking for has been deleted.
You might like to ask erik99559 about it!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On the other hand, The Gusty report on KTVA is still up (the photo's and interview, that were taken just minutes before the 3 amigos pictures) were taken http://tinyurl.com/d2gdcr
As well as the forum board discussing it (Be prepared, there sure are some rabid Palin defenders there...) http://tinyurl.com/d6nu56
I am a long time watcher of this site, but don't post very often since I seem to have trouble getting through and someone usually makes the comment I might have made.
About Erick99559 who had the Gutsy/Palin picture on Flicker, he also had a picture of himself, Palin and McAllister taken the same day. You can find the titles of the missing pictures in cached information. It looks as though those are the only two photos that he posted and he did so on August 31, 2008.
Two thoughts. Given the timing, it looks like these may have been uploaded by a Palin supporter.
Or they were uploaded by someone who thought they had something interesting when they heard that Palin was nominated.
It wouldn't have been done casually since they didn't usually use flicker (only the two pictures) or they set up a second account for these two pictures.
Gutsy said she thought she had the only picture but the person who took it must have had one. We know that neither the cameraman or Gutsy took the picture.
I remember back some that there was an intern that had been doing some talking about his experience. I wonder if he is the one who took the picture.
@B:
Levi shouldn't be giving the Palins any money at this point. He wants to care for his son. On LKL he mentioned that he doesn't have to give money for diapers because he has diapers at home. If he could take Tripp home, he could provide half the care.
B said..."Tyra showing Levi with tiny TriG.
Larry's picture of Bristol holding TriG with these words next to it:
PALIN'S FIRST GRANDCHILD.
Vanity Fair's "Palin's first acknowledged grandchild."
Let's keep 'em coming.
April 24, 2009 9:28 AM"
-----------------
Is there a screenshot of the LKL picture? And we know it was for sure Trig, not Tripp?
Cool catch!!
P.Bugg
p.s. to Wayofpeace - thanks - that made my day :) Sorry about the laptop!!
Punkinbugg said...
Is there a screenshot of the LKL picture? And we know it was for sure Trig, not Tripp?
I saw it. I don't have it recorded and I don't know how to do screenshots. It was the oft-seen photo of Bristol holding a sleeping TriG against her chest back in the early campaign/convention. TriG is wearing a golden brown overall. Even LKL would know it was TriG, not TriPP.
The LKL interview started with, "He fathered Sarah Palin's first grandchild," and showed a picture of TriPP followed by the familiar picture of Bristol holding TriG with the words next to that picture: "PALIN'S FIRST GRANDCHILD." Cross my heart. LKL would probably say they weren't refering to the baby in that picture -- I think it intentional.
BTW, in his very young picture TriPP had on a baby cap that said Wasilla, AK. MatSu is in Palmer, isn't it? Wonder if it's a cap from the Wasilla midwives?
sandra said...
@B:
Levi shouldn't be giving the Palins any money at this point. He wants to care for his son. On LKL he mentioned that he doesn't have to give money for diapers because he has diapers at home. If he could take Tripp home, he could provide half the care. ***
Sorry, Sandra, but unless Alaska is very, very different, that's not how child support works. Levi will owe support based on his own income even if the mom is a millionaire. (The more money she has, the less likely it is she will seek court-enforced shild support.)
Visitation is a separate issue, and splitting time 50/50 is not reasonable for an infant TriPP's age -- whatever that exact age may be. Even more so if Bristol is still nursing/pumping. Levi can't just say he'll pay for food and diapers and toys at the Johnston house. If Bristol has TriPP 80% of the time, he needs to be contributing for some of TriPP's time with the Palins.
I don't want our sympathy for Levi to cloud our view of Bristol's rights. Either the two of them will come to an understanding, or one of them will go to court seeking orders for the custody, visitation, and support.
Gusty said SHE took the pics. She e-mail me when I asked her...how did those pics get out of her camera?
WV= oveye
OY VAY!
Sometimes all it takes is a word. In this case: 'acknowledged'.
Wow! That choice of language is not an accident. I recall VF ran an on-line survey at the time and most people didn't think SP was Trig mother. A vast majority thought it was Bristol. Perhaps it's a throwback to that.
It certainly acknowledges our presence, which is a HUGE thing from MSM. Clearly, someone at VF has as many doubts as we all do, but that is as far as they were willing to go. It's pretty far, since anyone paying attention would have to ask 'Does Sarah Palin have any un-acknowledged grandchildren?"
We all know the answer to that, even if we don't have proof of the specifics. I've come to conclude a couple of other things, too. First, as I've noted before the evidence against Bx2 continues to mount with each interview the Johnstons give. If they knew something damaging, they would have dropped that bomb by now. If he's paid a bundle for a tell-all book where he'd reveal that, doubters would say his story was purchased and, hence, unreliable. He'd need proof.
Second, the AHA luncheon where the girls were there and uninvited was certainly intentional related to this affair. It was just at this time that SP started her 'fashion-assisted camouflage', so it was probably an attempt to alibi them in a forum where the girls wouldn't be heavily scrutinized. And no pictures. I'll bet the girls didn't take their coats off, just as Mom had begin to do.
Third, while I still count Willow as the prime candidate, the circumstances could be stranger, such as an anonymous girl that Track got pregnant and would get an abortion unless the Palins adopted him because the mother didn't want him. Under the right circumstances, SP may have agreed to that and felt she had to fake the pregnancy or people would suspect something sleazy.
There's no evidence of that, it's just speculation, but we need to consider all plausible scenarios or we'll miss the clues and view evidence through the prism of our pet theories.
Dangerous
There's a great article on Sarah, Levi, and Bristol, "Trailer Park tendencies keep getting in the way of Palin family values," at
http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/fullcomment/archive/2009/04/24/trailer-park-tendencies-keep-getting-in-the-way-of-palin-family-values.aspx
Blogger Amy1 said...
If anyone sees an error in this chronology, pls say so. At one point, we thought erik's indentity might be interesting. April 24, 2009 6:47 AM
Amy1: here's a thought,
BETHEL AK 99559
I wonder if the Anchorage Daily News photographer Erik Hill came from Bethel and uses "erik99559"
- in a press session he would have access to the govenor and be apt to take pictures; pictures Gusty only thought she had exclusively.
"" Punkinbugg said...
Is there a screenshot of the LKL picture? And we know it was for sure Trig, not Tripp?""
I watched the LKL - Levi interview again -
One picture of each baby, both Trig and Tripp, are briefly flashed as the voice-over introduces Levi as the father of Palin's first grandchild.
You can tell for sure the picture of TriG is TriG because it is at the RNC and Bristol is large.
I may have assumed the other baby picture is TriPP.
from the SHE-KEEPS-MELTING desk:
WASHINGTON POST:
Campaign Solutions, a Republican consulting firm advising Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's political action committee, has parted ways with the former Republican vice presidential nominee.
The group had been working with the Palin operation to raise money for SarahPAC but decided to step aside after a series of strategic and philosophic differences, according to a source familiar with the decision.
...
The parting of ways between Palin and Campaign Solutions is the latest sign of a divide between the governor's official Alaska staff and those advising her on the national level. . .
To: Amy1
Re: Levi having ADD.
On Audrey's thread, "So Many Descrepancies, So Little Time..."
You posted a long post about Levi and how you felt about him and asked if anyone knew if he Had ADD.
March 19, 2009 5:10p.m.
Reluctant as I was, I responded because I had read a post over at Mudflats where someone said he had dyslexia.
March 19, 2009 10:08p.m.
Then you found the article from people quoting Sherry and you posted the link.
March 20, 2009 8:49p.m.
I wondered if Levi had been tested by a professional or if Sherry just said he had ADD because he was a slow learner.
Anyone know?
It occurs to me that it's really tacky of the Palins to treat Levi badly. He's good enough for Bristol to screw around with; not good enough to associate with. What users they are.
Video of the Levi Johnston interview on the Larry King Live Show.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Zt_pxG-xPo&feature=player_embedded
or tinyurl
http://tinyurl.com/dk6v2b
First, I implore anyone interested in the custody/child support rights in paternity cases to read the Alaska statutes. If they acknowledged paternity utilizing the proper state sanctioned form, both parents have right to custody with the needs of the child taken into consideration should parenting time become an issue decided by the court. Breast feeding or not (and who says she is) Bristol must allow Levi to shared parenting time. Publicly they have both acknowledged paternity and that will be hard to overcome unless one or the other asks for a paternity test. As such, Levi should be demanding his rights to parenting time and not allowing Bristol to brush him off.
Parenting time and payment of support are separate issues. One is entitled to parenting whether or not they pay support. I agree, Levi should pay support within his means or the minimum set by Alaskan statute. Nonetheless, if this is the basis for Bristol refusing him time with his son, she is in the wrong.
Also, if Levi is Trig's father his time for objecting to any adoption is closing very quickly. No final adoption happens immediately, but even if it took 3-6 months after Trig's birth, he has only one year from final adoption to contest it or Alaska law disallows the contest FOREVER. If interested, go to Alaska Statutes Sec. 25.23.140.
I'd say that Levi needs to decide whether or not he has an attorney (he said no on LK and his mother said yes) and that if the adoption of Trig is an issue, he needs to challenge it NOW. And he needs to borrow some kahunas from Hawaii and demand parenting time with Trip. Call everyday, no sometimes! Drive the Palins crazy until they give you adequate time with your son(s)!
Re: LKL rerun
Punkinbugg,
I just watched the beginning of all the Youtubes of Levi on LKL and they don't include the voiceover and photo part. Rats.
But the cnn lkl website says that Saturday's 8 pm Central showing of Larry King Live will be the Levi interview. If they run it exactly as Wed. night, you can see the photo of Bristol and TriG with the words "Palin's first grandchild."
Actually, I can't think of any public pictures of Bristol and TriPP other than Greta's on Fox. Maybe CNN couldn't or didn't want to use those, but wanted to show Bristol with a baby.
Re: Larry King Live rerun of Levi
Saturday at 9 pm Eastern.
If it is shown exactly as it was Wed. night, at the very beginning you should be able to see the photo of Bristol with TriG that says Palin's First Grandchild.
Doesn't prove anything, but is curious.
In case you haven't seen this...
http://www.andrewhalcro.com/
Skeptical I agree they must share TriPP, but I don't think a family court judge would order 50/50 time sharing of an infant. He'll continue to live with Bristol.
I also don't think Levi will go to court until after May 18 when Sherry is either cleared or in jail, so that the Palins can't argue against TriPP being taken to a drug house.
These appearances must be negotiating tools, reminders to the Palins that there are beans to spill if necessary. I don't agree with Dangerous that because there's been no real spillage so far, there are no beans to spill.
Vaughn's hockey article suggests that Track going to Michigan his senior year was not an unusual act for an Alaskan hockey player, as we had thought. But since he returned to Wasilla after injuring his shoulder, Track was around for part of the spring semester in Wasilla, so he's not ruled out as part of the TriG story.
Ginger: thanks for your post, and thanks for sharing an interest in Levi's learning situation.
I recall being told that genius Charles Schwab has dyslexia, which is why he founded this good dyslexia resource page.In rereading those early comments about Levi (thx again, Ginger!), I stand by them. Anyone who can refrain from being acrimonious and snarky after a romantic heartbreak PLUS the issue of children is a big hero in my book. And to do so despite the goading of the press is a near miracle. This young man has a LOT of strength.
Much as reading is a big deal for me, the Charles Schwab story demonstrates that reading is not essential to being a GREAT human. There are other routes to what we need -- always. We each have limitations, and it's all about workarounds. It's not as hard for some of us, but in the end the ones who have it hard as kids turn out to be the best adults IMO -- the ones you want near you -- unless they self-destruct from their pain first.
I think your question re whether Levi was properly diagnosed is a good one. I bet not, but that doesn't mean there was not a real problem that was way beyond a child's ability to "shape up!" -- i.e., heal himself. Imagine if we asked a cancer victim to do that, yet we regularly ask learning-disabled students to do so, and offer them punishment (rather than therapy) if they fail. So easy to see the appeal of self-medication for this situation.
I would guess that if Levi had a learning disorder, Sherry would have had poor options to help him, however much she looked, researched, followed-up, etc. The fact that she tried home-schooling him speaks to her distress: the knowledge that school was not helping her dear one. From having this experience myself, I know that blame is easy to find and pass around, but it does not help one's child. Sometimes, no help is to be found, making the Mom's sense of responsibility and desperation huge.
(Pardon me for assuming that Wasilla is a provincial little outpost, but I would guess there is little real, genuine help -- help that actually succeeds in helping, I mean -- in that little town. So I am willing to give Sherry a huge benefit of the doubt -- she had her grief in very large measure seeing her son not served well by school. There is little that is harder for a Mom.)
I guess this is off-topic, except that "children with disabilities" is woven though this blog, both in terms of SP's flawed approach to it and the wisdom I have heard from many other bloggers here, speaking of their own situation.
So all the more reason to hope that the book deal comes through, giving Levi the breathing room to pursue his education; Levi can serve as pater familias and keep the rest of his family (whomsoever it should come to include) healthy and loved -- and financially supported.
This would be a pretty happy ending to this sad tale.
Re: Gusty tape
The Immoral Minority still has it on the Jan.12 2009 post.Gusty stated that Dan Carpenter
took the pictures of Sarah,herself and the cameraman.She also stated that she took the
Three Amigos picture.
This fake pregnancy thing got off to a start on Daily Kos when a diarist named Inky99
said he believed she faked the pregnancy.That was on Aug.29 2008.
Then on Aug.30 ARCXIX posted a diary along the same lines.
Well! along comes another diary by The Red Pen on Aug.31 right before midnight that showed
the Gusty picture.He or she said ,OK now this has been debunked can we get off of this.
Diarist went on to say they found this picture on Free Republic because they figured if
there was anything out there about this Free Republic would have it.
So convenient that some one named bahblahbah posted the Flickr account and the picture at
about 10:00pm that night.Never said how they found the picture on Flickr.My guess is that
whoever erik99559 is made sure they got this information either that or bahblahbah is erik.
I went to Free Republic and went through a lot of posts about Sarah Palin and only found 2
posts from this person that had anything to do with Sp. One was the picture and the other
was a reprint of the government statement about Trig,s birth.
I have never believed that Gusty did,nt know how those pictures got on that Flickr account.
"If he's paid a bundle for a tell-all book where he'd reveal that, doubters would say his story was purchased and, hence, unreliable. He'd need proof."
Ordinarily, I'd agree with this. The burden of proof should be on the back of the person making the accusation.
But this isn't an ordinary situation. This is a situation where a sitting governor has been gossiped about for over a year about an alleged "pregnancy." If Levi chose to announce that the baby is his Bristol's and he's willing to take a paternity test to prove it, it's going to look very fishy if Sarah doesn't say, "It's a stupid lie, but if this is what it takes to deal with a stupid lie, so be it. And once it's proved a lie, I don't ever want to be asked about it again."
Only she doesn't dare say that. A legally incontestable DNA test? She'll never allow that. And she's too dumb to realize that it's just going to make her look worse. It's a lose-lose for Sarah.
Actually, I kinda love it.
"""B said... Vaughn's hockey article suggests that Track going to Michigan his senior year was not an unusual act for an Alaskan hockey player... April 24, 2009 6:16 PM"""
I've lived in Alaska 25 years and I haven't heard of this as a common event for high school hockey players. I remember being shocked when I received a copy of the trooper report of the school bus vandalism where Track was involved [but at work] I'll try to find it.
IMHO Palins sent Track out-of-state and eventually into the Army to avoid being disciplined for the vandalism. Now you make me wonder if there was another situation, a unplanned pregnancy.
Well, my WV is just too good to pass up.
I wonder who next will be 'balin' on Palin?
Skeptical at 4/24/09 at 4:36 gave the Alaska Statutes Sec. 25.23.140. I was interested to see if there was any requirement that the relinquishing parent had to be 18 as in signing contracts. I believe I found the answer at Alaska Statutes Sec. 25.23.180 Relinquishment and Termination of Parent and Child Relationships. It appears Levi (or Johnny or whoever is Trig’s biological father) would not have to be 18, it says “regardless of the age of the parent”. Whatever the case, Levi (or Johnny or whoever is Trig’s biological father) would have to have a copy of any document. Here is part of the statute:
(b) All rights of a parent with reference to a child, including the right to receive notice of a hearing on a petition for adoption, may be relinquished and the relationship of parent and child terminated by a writing, signed by the parent, regardless of the age of the parent, a copy of which shall be given to the parent,
(1) in the presence of a representative of an agency taking custody of the child, whether the agency is within or outside of the state or in the presence and with the approval of a court within or outside of this state in which the minor was present or in which the parent resided at the time it was signed, which relinquishment may be withdrawn within 10 days after it is signed or the child is born, whichever is later; and the relinquishment is invalid unless it states that the parent has this right of withdrawal; or
(2) in any other situation if the petitioner has had custody of the minor for two years, but only if notice of the adoption proceeding has been given to the parent and the court finds, after considering the circumstances of the relinquishment and the long continued custody by the petitioner, that the best interest of the child requires the granting of adoption.
I am of the opinion that Levi may not be Trig’s father, but Levi may have been led to believe that he fathered Trig and under that assumption, Levi may have signed documentation relinquishing his rights to Trig, believing he was doing what was best for Trig.
IvyFree says: "A legally incontestable DNA test? [SP]'ll never allow that." Unless SP denies all alone-time for Levi and each little boy, the DNA test would be ridiculously easy to do, and only a little harder to do in a way that is legally acceptable.
From the Washington Post:
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/eye-on-2012/palin-fundraising-firm-part-wa.html
“The news of the latest problem in Palin's political world comes on the same day that the Alaska governor announced the formation of the Alaska Fund Trust, an official legal fund designed to "defend the integrity of the Alaska Governor's Office from an onslaught of political attacks launched against current Governor Sarah Palin, the First Family, and state-employed colleagues," according to a mission statement on the organization's Web site.
It also comes less than 24 hours after Levi Johnston, the former fiancee of her daughter, Bristol, appeared on CNN's "Larry King Live" to discuss his relationship with the Palins.”
Sounds to me like the trust fund is for the “First Family” to fight Levi. Who are the "state-employed colleagues"? Does she mean all her junior high school cronies?
"IvyFree says: "A legally incontestable DNA test? [SP]'ll never allow that." Unless SP denies all alone-time for Levi and each little boy, the DNA test would be ridiculously easy to do, and only a little harder to do in a way that is legally acceptable."
Unless SP agrees, there's nothing easier than her saying that it wasn't Trig or Tripp being tested, but some other baby. Yeah, it would be stupid of her, but she's not noted for her judgment.
"IvyFree says: "A legally incontestable DNA test? [SP]'ll never allow that." Unless SP denies all alone-time for Levi and each little boy, the DNA test would be ridiculously easy to do, and only a little harder to do in a way that is legally acceptable."
Additional evidence that it was Trig tested would come from his trisomy 21 chromosomal mapping, done as part of the DNA testing. (Unless Down's syndrome is not what Trig has) DNA testing results that showed 1) trisomy 21 and 2) related enough to Levi for him to be the father of the tested person would be very hard to explain. In fact, the obvious alternative explanation OTHER than Levi and Bristol would be Levi and another Palin woman/girl. There would be some Palin incentive to disprove those other possible mothers.
Lila
IvyFree: You have identified the exact difference between a DNA test done purely for one's own info and a DNA test done in a way that is suitable to legal action.
As I've mentioned before, establishing the "chain of custody" of the samples is the difference.
I'm no expert here, just did some reading on the sites that offer these tests: for a legally valid test, an unimpeachable witness certifies that the child is actually Child A. I suppose one could take a photo and a fingerprint and have the witness notarize (or the equivalent) that Child A is the one whose testing material is placed into the test kit.
Then the possession of the test kit, until the point that it reaches the testing service, must be documented in a legally acceptable way. There are people who do this for a living. Costs a little money, but not a big deal. It's done all the time with evidence from a crime scene. (And one often reads that the chain of custody of the evidence was compromised. Meaning that the documentation wasn't perfect, so it MIGHT have been possible for someone to exchange one sample for another.)
But the point I've tried to make before is that if one did a plain, simple, ordinary, not-for-legal-use test, one would know what the results are. THEN one could repeat the test in the legally okay way (at greater expense).
My guess is that such a test (the non-legal one) has already been done.
My further guess is that SP did that from the start with the amnio -- which has been discussed all along in connection with the DS (which it also reveals) but which was an unexpected result (to SP), who simply wanted to verfy, at the outset, what the paternity of Trig actually was. Not what it was said to be, but what it actually was. This is just my guess, and timing of the test (at the unusual 13 weeks) fits with that. But it's just my guess.
I still further guess that Rex Butler is informally helping, advising Levi (as a favor -- so he is not Trig's lawyer officially, which could explain the mixed response for the LKL qu "do you have a lawyer?"). Rex is serving as an uncle to Levi while he is engaged by Levi's mother for advice on her case. He is giving an avuncular look to the book deal arrangements (which would proceed via an agent). Rex has arranged to have the privately done, not-legal-proof DNA testing done. Because it is so cheap and easy to do, and because Levi would want to know for sure what he is dealing with).
So now they all know. They might have communicated to the SP team that they know, or they might not have communicated that. But I would bet the mortgage that the Rex/Levi team know, and the SP team guesses (or knows) that they know. Levi could do further testing, whether it be on his own as I described above, or it could turn into court-appointed testing. All this could be discussed with a smile, at some point, but the reality is either enormously threatening to SP, or it is not. They know. We don't.
But don't you feel just far better about this now that we see that Levi is smart enough to know to follow Mr Butler's advice, and that he is able to do so (in these interviews, which I see as enormously difficult (at least they would be for me).
I was just reading an article on Daily Kos about the torture controversy and what Cheney and Repubs are doing to themselves trying to defend torture. This paragraph really made me think of Sarah, and how she is behaving, and how she might go down, politically and personally, if she keeps it up. (One can only hope)---
This is the way the mafia was broken up. All organized criminal enterprises rely on the ability of its members to keep their mouths shut and their leadership to remain cool under pressure. When the leaders overreact and start to shoot at each other, the rank and file will start to blab. Their fear of the law exceeds their fear of bosses. As each one tries to save his skin, more and more crimes get revealed. The honorable members of the community to which the criminals belong will organize to expel the evil. That is what Rudy Giuliani did to the NY mafia. It was Republican Senator Howard Baker who asked "What did the President know, and when did he know it?" during the Watergate hearings. He was among those who advised Nixon to resign.
Interesting videotaped interview with Rex Butler, Levi's attorney.
http://www.aksuperstation.com/news/local/43636242.html
Levi holds Bristol and the Palin family in high esteem and is not out to damage the Palins.
Bretta @ Ap. 24, 7:39PM said:
"I remember being shocked when I received a copy of the trooper report of the school bus vandalism where Track was involved [but at work] I'll try to find it."
Bretta, please look really hard to find that report! It could clear up alot of purposeful misinformation that has been given regarding that incident. That report would be extremely important.
If you find it, you might consider providing copies confidentially to Audrey or Gryphen at Immoral Minority.
"My guess is that such a test (the non-legal one) has already been done."
Oh, I'd bet so. I'd bet that either Sarah Palin has had one done, or Levi sneaked a cheek swab and maybe some hair from the baby. They know to their own satisfaction, but not to legal standards- at that point, the Palins could quibble as to exactly which baby the DNA sample came from. It's not like anybody else will identify the baby on sight-even if Levi took Tripp to a lab and said, "This is Tripp Easton Palin Johnston" or whatever his name legally is, Sarah could still deny it was Tripp or even Trig who was tested. Yes, I know. Trig has Down's and that would certainly show up on a DNA study. What wouldn't show up is Trigg's maternity results, unless Sarah agreed to donate a sample. See, doesn't that sound weird? We're so accustomed to the phrase "paternity testing" and not at all to "maternity testing." There's actually a serious shortage of women who claim to give birth to babies when they haven't.
I bet Sarah and First Dude and Bristol and Levi all know exactly whose babies Trig and Tripp are, and that's why Sarah would never allow it done if challenged. It's not difficult or even hugely expensive to do- and if all you're wanting is to prove who the father is, all you need is the probable father's DNA sample.
The difficulty is when you not only want to prove the father, but the mother. Then you'd have to have Sarah Palin's DNA (for Trig) and she will NEVER permit that. You'd have to steal hair from her hairbrush or something. In fact, to prove that Trigg is Sarah's and... I'm drawing a blank on the First Dude's name... you'd have to have comparison DNA samples from both of them. Which means you'd have to have their cooperation. Which won't happen. Oh, you could steal it- you might be able to bribe a hairstylist- but then again, that wouldn't be admissible in a courtoom. Sarah would have plausible deniability.
I'm assuming that there's no real controversy over Tripp's mother. I'm comfortable that Bristol did give birth to him. Again, I don't really care much about Tripp: I hope Levi goes on to prove he's the father and win court-ordered visitation and so forth. I hope he writes his tell-all book, if it's really a tell-all and not just a "from the Inside" fakeout. I won't buy it until I read that it actually has some information.
It's Trig I'm really interested in. Because no way did Sarah give birth to him, and more and more I'm believing in Bristol x 2, with Trig actually born about a month premature- in February, rather than March.
Just read the article Doberman posted a link to, about the interview with Rex Butler. Great quote: "I believe he and Bristol will work out their issues involving their child and that's really what Levi wants," says Butler. "That's what he wants to happen. I don't see how that will not as long as the fringe players stay out of it."
It must burn Sarah to be referred to as a fringe player!
Ivyfree -- yes, maternity testing: hahahah. not much call for that. But if legal-quality testing shows Trig's Dad to be someone other than Todd -- now there's a little incentive for SP re testing -- or at least 'splaining with yet another wild story.
Do you think Todd is Trig's Dad? I don't.
Has anyone considered creating a short video of the best photographic evidence on SP's "pregnancy", along with a simple spoken narrative, and placing it on YouTube? No kids in it, just SP (and Sponge Bob of course). Going viral sure beats MSM at the moment, and if it's done right and labeled right (search engine optimization, I believe it's called), that could certainly happen.
And if you need to be refreshed about why this governor's political advance must be stopped: take a look at the videos of her end-of-current-session press conference, posted in full over at "Mudflats" a few days ago. It made me quake to think anyone so incompetent could be in charge of such an equally incompetent--to say nothing of listless, evasive, and unconcerned--bunch of staff members. She seems to inspire only a sort of cowed loyalty from dull people. But if she ever goes for the big time politically, her birth story intact, performances like the one at this press conference will provide outtake after outtake of her airheadedness.
Mel
Here's a question I haven't seen anyone ask: WHY did L. have a wedding band? We've seen 2 references to that now: one in EQ mag. where it's stuck on his thumb while SP is showing him how to stuff a dead bird. And two, on LKL when he said he lost in while hunting.
Common for women to have an engagement ring, sure. But for a guy to have a band before the wedding...as in way before, as in no date set....I find that odd. The folo-up would have been to ask why he had a wedding band and why, for God's sake, was he already wearing it! I'm wondering if they did get married.
Not sure what that would mean, but might add to some of the legal complications of their lives with the baby/ies. there. also. too. L.A. in S.F.
If the Palmer District Attorney knew Sherry Johnston was leaving Alaska to appear on "The Tyra Banks Show" and "Larry King Live," he would not have signed off on the trips...
http://www.adn.com/palin/story/772281.html
re ME's video suggestion:
i believe that would a great next step!
PD has now collected credible and persuasive photo evidence and a very comprehensive time-line.
I found this picture of sarah dated Feb 2008. I was just wondering if it could be verified as actually being taken then. http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2009/04/16/2009-04-16_gov_sarah_palins_giving_home_state_the_cold_shoulder_say_alaska_lawmakers.html
Here's the tiny url for the Rex Butler interview:
http://tinyurl.com/ddavcs
Did you notice that he said Levi is still in LA. Does that mean he's looking to do more interviews? Hmmmm.
ProChoiceGrandma said...
From the Washington Post:
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/eye-on-2012/palin-fundraising-firm-part-wa.html
"""Who are the "state-employed colleagues"? Does she mean all her junior high school cronies? April 25, 2009 7:33 AM"""
I'm thinking this refers to the people subpoened by the State Legislature to respond to the charges in the 'Troopergate' scandal: SP had the [former] Alaska Attorney General, Talis Colberg, advise about 11 state workers to refuse to testify. It went to court and the judge did find they had to testify to the Legislature in the matter. SP was found in violation of State Ethics, although the McCain campaign put it out that she was not. How that opposite result could have been put forward by the MSM stunned me and a has made me have a severe distrust of our establishment media.
The next result was the governor-appointed State Personnel
Board found Her not in violation, but hey, they would have been excommunicated otherwise, so how is that not a conflict-of-interest?
And, Yes, most of those people were her childhood friends, including the AG.
Gryphen on Immoral Minority had a teaser post yesterday, but then today his last post is perhaps a teaser too if you check the labels for the post: "babygate" is one. Check it out!
Gryphen over at theimmoralminority.blogspot.com is indicating that babygate is just about to blow?! Is this true? I don't know about the rest of you, but I can not even discuss this with my family anymore! Ahhhhhh to be vindicated!
Since there has been some additional mention of Levi and the wedding ring, here's the link again for the tabloid article that includes a photo of Levi with a wedding band...
http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/news/article47917.ece
Combined with the "in-law" references from Mercede, it seems that they may have had some sort of ceremony, although who knows whether it would have been legal. I think to marry at an age younger than 18, they would have needed their parents' consent.
Here is the question I haven't seen answered. Why the heck is Levi going on Nat'l TV to get visitation rights with his biological son? Can anyone explain the logic there? This is a legal matter, with very specific laws and rights allowed. He doesn't need to go on TV, he needs to go to court. And alienating the Palins by going on nat'l TV certainly doesn't help his case.
I'm would like to believe there is method to this madness but at this point I'm scratching my head as to what the Johnston's ie: Rex Butler - are trying to accomplish.
They go on TV. Flash pictures of Trig all over the place but NEVER MENTION TRIG, and then give boring interviews that really say absolutely nothing except Levi wants to have a relationship with his son..
I'm in the, "they are sending a message to Palin" court, but I'm perplexed exactly what that message is.
I just can't help believing that this has more to do with Trig than Tripp.
I know how Levi could get more visitation with Tripp but how would he get more visitation with Trig if had no legal rights?
Vaughn,
I've been searching the web and this blog unsuccessfully to figure out where we got the idea that Levi quit school in March to work the slopes. I can't find the source. It was memorable because it tied in with his becoming a father to TriG and needing to work.
I did find where Audrey said that in Alaska school is mandatory until age 17. If Levi turned 17 in May of 2008, he probably finished his junior year that month and then didn't go back. He was supposed to be enrolled in online courses while working as an apprentice, but that doesn't seem to have panned out since he's talking about taking tests now, which I assume is the GED.
mel,
The whole viral-video format presentation thing is an idea I also mentioned once a few months back. It has certainly been of great value to other groups who are pushing alternative narratives to commonly-held public/media beliefs.
I'm not sure why that path hasn't gained much traction here. Maybe there aren't enough video production/editing people here who would be willing to devote the necessary effort. Maybe its a cost factor. Maybe there is a general lack of interest in doing so.
I don't really know.
Laura,
The wedding band has been brought up. Also Sue the caterer said there were rumors Bristol & Levi were married in spring 2008.
Maybe making it public would not only say Sarah lied about it but also point to a date before Bristol would have known she was pregnant with TriPP, and give more credence to the TriG rumor. Maybe Sarah made them marry so Levi would be the official father of TriG without a paternity test (if it works that way) and could allow TriG to be adopted by the Palins. It would explain why Sarah let Levi stay/live with Bristol after TriG, we think, and before and after TriPP.
I am anxious for Sherry's trial to be over. I think this story will move again. We've come so far, know so much more, and yet proving Sarah faked to cover for Bristol, the original rumor, or anyone else is still elusive. I am grateful to Audrey, her helpers, and all of the contributors here for keeping alive the search for truth.
Watching LKL again now...
Levi's kind of handsome, sure.
But he speaks in the most boring, monotone, zero-emotion voice I've ever heard. Listening to him talk is like watching paint dry.
And Larry King -- good god here's terrible...
Thanks, Bretta & "B",
Did you see the Larry King rerun, and did they make the same "error(s)" with the picture, voiceovers and scrolling captions?
What good is the MSM if they can't get the details right?!
Rewatched the Larry/Levi interview. Punkinbugg, I hope you saw the picture of Bristol and TriG that said "Palin's First Grandchild."
I'm reminded of Audrey's birth certificate post. The key was, what is on that certificate that Palin can't make public? The conclusion: Likely the date of birth. TriG probably wasn't born on April 18, 2008 as claimed.
Now, the Johnstons are saying over and over that they'll take their case to court but they really don't want to do that. If this is pressure for the Palins to get the visitation worked out outside of family court, what is it about TriPP that the Palins would not want to come out in court, that the Johnstons think makes their threats to take the matter to court scary and effective?
Could it, like TriG's birth certificate, be TriPP's birth date? Is that the threat of disclosure they are using?
Laura @ 1:20PM--
I just saw this article from last fall that described the ring as a "promise" ring from Bristol.
The article had this quote regarding Bristol's pregnancy with Tripp:
"We were planning on getting married a long time ago with or without the kid," he said. "That was the plan from the start."
So, if true, it looks like they wanted to get married even before Bristol's pregnancy with Tripp and even had a ring to symbolize their intent to be together.
Sorry, here is the link to the "promise" ring article:
http://tinyurl.com/dfqgar
Here is a very close-up picture of “newborn” Trig that I have not seen before.
http://tiny.cc/T3EwF
It occurred to me that Sarah visited the grand opening of the Fairbanks Medical Center on 10-25-07 which would have been AFTER she and Bristol went to NYC and learned that Trig had DS. I highly suspect that something significant happened during the AHA/Iron Dog trip to Fairbanks the weekend of 2/14-2/17/08. Perhaps in October 2007 Sarah was looking for a distant location to keep Trig in hiding. I believe Trig was born before the AHA event, and now it occurs to me that Trig was brought from Wasilla to Fairbanks during this weekend and left there until Sarah could develop her six-week pregnancy because it was after that weekend that she began wearing her long scarves. To me, everything hinges on what occurred during that weekend in Fairbanks and I believe the final piece of the puzzle is in Fairbanks. Remember, Piper’s ticket was refunded and someone drove Piper from Fairbanks to Wasilla, which means that someone drove from Wasilla to Fairbanks in the first place, and I think Trig was the passenger.
I also came across this at:
http://tiny.cc/uCHBv
“We didn't know ahead of time, and no, I won't answer the obvious what-if question.”
“In the first month of my daughter's life (3/4 of which were spent in the NICU),”
I am only bringing this up because of the reference of the baby spending so much time in NICU.
Would someone remind me where to find the article and information when and where Sarah visited the special needs center in December 2007?
As several people here have noted, the mysterious "erik99559" (aka Dan Carpenter?) had finally decided to delete his two infamous Sarah Palin pregnancy pictures (the "Gusty pictures") from flickr, after they had been online for about 8 months and had been seen by tens of thousands of viewers...
While we don't know what "erik99559"'s motivation was, we certainly have saved all the evidence, which can be seen here in it's full glory:
http://tinyurl.com/dxbzkd
I was a bit puzzled that the pictures were deleted only now, long after the controversy which surrounded the Gusty pictures was over with regard to whether the pictures were faked.
My impression is that somebody thought that these pictures might prove highly embarassing in the very near future...
And it is extremely interesting to note that the KTVA TV-clips regarding Sarah Palin's TV-appearance on 13 April 2008 with Andrea Gusty are also not accessible online any more. It is unclear whether this is intentional, as it seems that older TV-clips on KTVA regarding Sarah Palin simply "expire" after a while and cannot be viewed any more... (which I find a bit odd - try and look it up on the KTVA website for yourself!)
And this link which a reader has given us above...
http://tinyurl.com/d2gdcr
...links to the original page which was created after Andrea Gusty went public on TV regarding those pictures in order to legitimize them. This page gives the appearance that the TV-clips are still there. However, if you click on the links which are provided on the KTVA page, it doesn't link to the Gusty-reports with Andrea Gusty any more!
Although it might seem at first that the videos are still there on the KTVA website, they are in fact not accessible any more online.
Fortunately, these TV-clips have been saved and can now be viewed here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACIGuxJ-LRE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFbxjiaWH3A
Therefore no evidence has been lost. :-)
Furthermore:
I am hopeful that the Alaskan bloggers are joining up together in order to solve the Trig pregnancy mystery. Gryphen on "immoralminority" has left a clue that this might be possible. Hey Gryphen, if you are reading this, anything we can do to help you, we will.
And Gryphen has given us a quote of Walter Scott which sums up the pregnancy scandal perfectly:
"Oh what a tangled web we weave, When first we practise to deceive."
This is a famous quote from the poem "Marmion" which has as one of its themes the story of a knight who lies and deceives. At the time that the poem was published, this theme was considered impossible because people at the time did not believe that it would be possible that someone so important as a knight could possibly lie.
Patrick (PD research)
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Story?id=6019811&page=2
"Wasilla hockey coach Bill Sturdevant, who was invited to the wedding, said he was sorry to hear Johnston wasn't going to return for his senior year of high school. But he said he believes Johnston, a talented hockey player, will find his way."
This statement says two very important things!!
1. A wedding Date was set (He was invited to the Wedding. You do not get invited without knowing a wedding DATE!)
2. That Levi was a Junior when he dropped out of School (Something Sarah keeps denying.)
Vaughn.
You asked when Levi dropped out of school. I seem to remember reading somewhere that after the hockey season (does that end in March) his grades deteriorated. I also recently read one of his teachers in the Fall of 2008 “I’m sorry he isn’t coming back to school. Those two statements lead me to believe that he stayed in school until May but might not have passed his classes at the end of the school year.
Nana
I can’t seem to get your link to work. Could you post it again? Thanks.
It is from August, but here is a very detailed account/with photos/huge comment area of the whole Trig birth mystery
http://www.politicalbase.com/profile/jnail/blog/&blogId=3422
"Water Breakgate" - 8/31/2008 - New Odd and Disturbing Facts
"Oh what a tangled web we weave,
When first we practice to deceive"
- Sir Walter Scott
"But when we've practiced for a while,
How vastly we improve our style!"
- J.R. Pope
Lets hope not!! I've thought often of that first quote in relation to our Sarah.
Dangerous said, "Second, the AHA luncheon where the girls were there and uninvited was certainly intentional related to this affair."
I disagree with "certainly intentional" but I'd go for "possibly intentional."
An alternative explanation is that Sarah's intent was merely to get the state to pay for her daughters' trip to Fairbanks to see their dad cross the finish line and visit with their extended family.
Sarah may have told Ms. Bartels that she was bringing her three daughters to the luncheon. She would then be able to write off their travel as an official appearance. That doesn't mean that Bristol, or Willow, might not have made it to Fairbanks but "felt ill" at the time of the luncheon and been unable to attend.
Ms. Bartels refusal to answer questions as to which Palins were there or to allow access to photos may be because not all of the Palins did show up and she knows they charged the state anyway, so she wants to stay out of it. It could be a travelgate rather than a babygate issue for her.
Similarly, Piper returning to Wasilla by car is possibly, but not certainly, significant. The Iron Dog finish seems to be an annual family get-together for Todd's family. Some of them probably drive rather than fly from the Anchorage area. After all, most people can't get the state of Alaska to pay for their plane tickets. Driving's cheaper.
If there were Go Red 2008 photos that show both Bristol and Willow at the luncheon and not pregnant, we would have seen them by now. If the photos show one of them obviously pregnant, the photos would be missing but someone at the luncheon would probably have talked by now.
Either the AHA photos don't rule out pregnancy for Bristol or Willow, or one of them did not attend even though the state paid for her to go.
Punkinbugg said...
Did you see the Larry King rerun, and did they make the same "error(s)" with the picture, voiceovers and scrolling captions? ***
I saw it and this time recorded it. I didn't pay attention to the scrolling captions. Give me some examples and I can check.
Looked like nothing was changed about the broadcast, though, except the commercial breaks went to different commercials and the news break had different news.
Shelby states: "I'm in the, "they are sending a message to Palin" court, but I'm perplexed exactly what that message is."
Okay, my personal explanation for this:
I believe in the Levi + Bristol x 2 scenario, with a couple of weeks of discrepancy for each of the birthdates. And there were rumors, I understand, that Levi and Bristol were married, which to me explains the reference to Levi's "wedding ring stuck on his thumb." Not a promise ring, and it's not usual to give engagement rings to boys, and I doubt if Bristol would spring for an engagement ring- she strikes me as the type, raised by Sarah, that believe that she should get things, not give them. So it's actually a wedding ring, because there was actually some kind of wedding.
Because there's bound to be a question about "When? And where?" The answer is very, very small. BTW, I can perform marriages in my state, because I've been ordained in my faith tradition and there's no requirement that I be listed in some registry- our state constitution demands a separation of church and state and all that is required is that my coreligionists see me in that role. As for a license, you show up with two people who swear that you are who you say you are, and you pay the money, and you get the license. No big. (And if she gets, "Hey, you look like the Governor's kid" the obvious answer is, "Yeah, I know. I get that ALL THE TIME!!! HAHAHA!")
With that as background, I can believe that an argument between two jerk teenagers would break up a marriage pretty easily, and I can see Bristol being immature and selfish enough to refuse access to Tripp unless she was there to supervise, which she wouldn't want to do because their relationship is over and she doesn't want to see him ever again. {"ZOMG he's such a LOSER!!!1!" That's an imaginary line, not a quote.)
The oxycontin charges against Sherry may play into this, as well.
I can also easily believe the report that Bristol would park in front of the Johnston house, honk the horn and yell for them to bring the baby out. Poise, grace and class are not the words that spring to mind when considering the Palin clan.
So here's Levi, okay with the breakup but wanting to see his kid (at least one of them) regularly, and having to fight with Bristol for each opportunity, and getting no help from Sarah. And Todd's gonna do what Sarah says. And Bristol and Sarah are standing firm and sneering, "so what are you gonna do about it?" (Note: that's also not a quote. It's just what I could see happening. They're PALINS and they get what they want.)
So there's Levi, immature, not very sophisticated, and broke because he's out of a job. He's heard from Mercede that the Palins are calling them all trash. He's hurt and confused and he wants to support his Mom and he wants to see his baby. (at least one of his babies. He may be fine with letting the senior Palins adopt Trig. He may feel that he and Bristol aren't really in a position to give Trig the kind of care he needs, and that Trig is better off being raised by Sarah and Todd.)
What's he gonna do? Hire an attorney? With what money? Plus, going into court means swearing to tell the whole truth, and maybe there are things he doesn't want on the record. Maybe Sherry really is an Oxycontin abuser and small-time dealer. Maybe he smokes nonlegal substances. Any number of things.
And then his mom has this hotshot attorney (and I think highly of Rex Butler, he seems smart and motivated) and Rex says, "Hey, you know, if you went on some talk shows you could put some pressure on the Palins, maybe you could get them to sign an agreement without going into court and involving a judge." Or some other friend points it out. Or Levi thought of it himself. But I think Butler played a part in it, because all the Johnstons seem to have smartened up their appearances and gotten some coaching on how to handle obvious questions.
I think the message being sent is to Sarah and Bristol. I think he's saying, "I know. You know I know. And I can talk." And this will put him in a better position when a lawyer calls on Bristol and says, "You know, young lady, it's always better for everyone when the couple can come to an arrangement without having to fight it out in court. It's private, it's more dignified, it's quicker, it's cheaper. Here's what Levi suggests."
Actually, the whole marriage thing? You could skip that, because the rest of it works (for me) even without it. I was just trying to cover everything I could think of.
Anyway. That's what I think the message is. Let me have access to Tripp, and I'll keep my mouth shut on Trig. Hassle me, and your whole self-important world goes down in flames.
On a different note, I've been wondering. Has anybody seen a picture of Trig with those glasses that Sarah raved about, "how cute is this"? Because I haven't. It could be I'm just not seeing Trig's picture much now that Sarah's less in the limelight.
I am among those who feel the AHA luncheon and Iron Dog Race period are important. In trying once again for something on the luncheon I came across this blog. “Sarah was supposed to introduce Richard Simmonsat the Go Red For Women American Heart Association luncheon and fundraiser Friday (2009), and was obviously in Fairbanks for the conclusion of the Iron Dog, but she was a no show. Must have had something else more important to do. And apparently didn't bother to notify the event organizers that she could not attend.” If this is true, maybe she didn’t want to attend and risk bringing back questions.
Here is something else I had seen before. “KTVF-TV/AlaskaEach year, KTVF-TV in Fairbanks, Alaska, goes "all red," from their anchors’ clothing to the graphics during newscasts, in support of the American Heart Association. ………. In addition to news stories about cardiac health, the station donates $5,000 worth of promotional spots to "Go Red" seminars and events, including a fundraiser luncheon that sold out in 2008. Off-air support includes videotaping the seminars and providing audio and visual technology for the luncheon. So there must be video somewhere and there may have been a TV report on it. I have looked some and couldn’t find any. Anyone from Fairbanks able to check this out with KTVF?
I am new to this but will try posting tinyurl to the picture of sarah at the iron dog feb 2008. If this date is correct she has her coat open and the picture is straight on. http://tinyurl.com/cr3jtr
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