Ms. Disingenuous

A Sarasite's Ignore-ance

I wanted to find out if Sarasites knew how Governor Palin's legal debt came about, how much it actually amounted to, and to what degree the recent ethics complaint-filers were responsible for it. So, I had a little discussion the other night with RA Mansour of C4P in the comments under a post that likened Governor Sarah Palin to Joan of Arc. What actually happened was I asked a couple of questions and got a snarky non-answer and then silence:

ENNEALOGIC: I would appreciate very much someone who is knowledgeable about the "bankrupting" of the Palins to provide some information:

1) The figure of $500,000+ in legal fees: how was this incurred? I'm guessing these fees relate almost entirely to the Monegan-Wooten scandal, and only after VP Candidate Palin was advised by the McCain folks to say nothing to anybody without her own lawyers to run interference. But it would be nice to know the breakdown on this figure. Anyone here know?

2) How does it cost Governor Palin anything when someone files an ethics complaint against her? An ethics complaint isn't a lawsuit. She doesn't have to go to court. Doesn't the complaint get reviewed by the AG and then either thrown out or given to the Personnel Board for investigation? And isn't that investigation part of the job that the Board is paid for (by the state) whether there are complaints or not? If the complaints lack any foundation in law (e.g., if they are in fact "frivolous" as claimed), what would Governor Palin have to pay and to whom? If there is no wrongdoing, all she'd have to do is answer questions and I don't think the Board would charge her to do that.

Seems to me that only if there is wrongdoing would she consider hiring a private attorney to work out a settlement of some kind, which is probably what happened when she agreed to pay back around $9000 of the expenses she billed Alaska for her children's travel.

So, how do these ethics complaints end up costing her any money, much less "bankrupting" her?

RAM: Ennealogic, when a complaint is filed against her or her family personally (not her office), she has to hire a lawyer to defend herself.

ENNEALOGIC: RAM, none of the complaints that I am aware of are filed against her personally. They each relate to her obligations as an executive in the Alaska government.

Unless I'm missing something, could you please point out who has filed either a law suit or an ethics complaint against her that does not have to do with her role as Governor?

RAM: Ennealogic, uh, every one of the complaints allege personal benefit for her or her family. The one from yesterday does. The jacket complaint does. Even Troopergate did.

Naturally, all the complaints relate to her role as governor. Duh! If she were a private citizen they wouldn't be filing executive branch ethics complaints against her.

Are you being willfully obtuse?

ENNEALOGIC: RAM, thank you for re-stating what I said originally.

You said,
"Ennealogic, when a complaint is filed against her or her family personally (not her office), she has to hire a lawyer to defend herself."

Are you confident that this is how executive branch ethics complaints are handled? My initial question was about the process.

I believe it goes like this, but wanted to know if anyone had different information. The complaint is reviewed by the AG. If there is merit, the complaint is forwarded to the Personnel Board for further examination. If the complaint is unfounded, it is tossed. If the complaint is valid, then and only then would the Governor think that maybe she should have her own private attorney to negotiate a settlement or agreement.

In short, if the complaints were strictly of the nuisance variety, I don't see how Governor Palin would be out of pocket for anything. Do you?

(And I know you know what I'm talking about. Let's discuss this without casting aspersions.)

RAM: [no answer to my questions from then on, but in response to another poster...] Anyone defending these ankle-biting idiots is a complete ass.

Sarasitical Meme Origins

Sarasites can be heard chanting this meme of late:
These vile ankle-biters who keep filing ridiculous, frivolous ethics complaints want to bankrupt Sarah and leave her and her family in the poorhouse! They want to paralyze her and keep her from doing her job!

Not surprisingly, this idea that ethics complaints are causing severe financial hardship on the Palin family and creating conditions that make governing difficult originates from Sarah herself and her various spokespersons. (Bolding in the following quotes is mine.)

Are Alaskans outraged, or at least tired of this yet - another frivolous ethics charge by a political blogger? This would be hilarious if it weren’t so expensive for the state to process these accusations and for me to defend against these bogus harassments... How much will this blogger's asinine political grandstanding cost all of us in time and money?
~ Sarah Palin, March 24, 2009

“I must defend against these baseless ethics accusations out of my own pocket as the use of public monies to do so could itself violate state law,” Palin wrote. [My note - Is this true? and what defense does one need if the accusation is baseless, anyway?]

[Palin's financial] disclosure said only that she owed “hundreds of thousands of dollars.” On Friday in the written statement, attorney Thomas Van Flein wouldn’t give a precise number but said it was “a substantial debt.” Palin said she didn’t have an exact figure yet but “the debt is over a half a million dollars.”
~ Alaska Daily News, March 20, 2009

----- ===== -----

"Governor Palin has spent a considerable amount of time and money fighting ethics complaints – and no charge has been substantiated...

“These allegations are categorically false and ridiculous, and are an abuse of the Executive Ethics Act,” Nizich said...

“But obviously the purpose of this complaint and the previous ones is to distract the administration and the public, and to paralyze the Department of Law and the executive branch."
~ Mike Nizich, chief of staff, April 22,2009

The Sarasites either do not know or do not care that "Alaska's Joan of Arc" is asking them to pay for her failings while framing herself as a martyr for their cause. The Sarasites seem willing to accept the notion that unfounded ethics complaints have saddled the Governor with over $500,000 worth of legal bills, brought about by political opponents making bogus charges against her. Let's take a closer look at how the bulk of this financial liability was likely incurred.

Troopergate Redux

Let's all remember, please, that Troopergate did not start out as an ethics complaint! The Alaska Legislative Council was alarmed by Sarah's firing of long-time public servant Walt Monegan and initiated its own investigation, by a unanimous vote, in July, 2008. (The Council is a permanent interim committee of the Legislature and is responsible for conducting the business of the Legislature when it is not in session.)

The ethics matter was first brought to the Personnel Board by Sarah Palin herself on September 1, 2008, after she joined the national Republican ticket and reversed her promise of full cooperation with the Council's investigation. Suddenly, and without further explanation, the legislature no longer had a right to investigate her. (The court said they did have that right, but by then it was too late.)

According to an article last month in the Alaska Daily News,

Van Flein initially was hired by the state under a $95,000 contract to represent Palin in a legislative investigation of Troopergate.

Palin said she didn't think it would be fair to "sacrifice public monies to defend against something that was so politically charged."

Apparently Sarah was fine with the state paying the attorney in July and August. If Sarah would have let the Legislative Council do its job, her representation would not have cost her a dime. What was the real reason, then, that she hired her own attorney in the Troopergate matter? I found a clue in a comment made below a recent ADN article about the Alaska Fund Trust. A poster named Msimoniam provided this historical summary:

Everyone seems to forget that it is the Governor's choice to hire a private lawyer and pay for it on her own. Originally, Van Flein was hired to represent the Governor on state contract for Troopergate. That is perfectly legal and normal. That changed when Van Flein started consulting with the campaign and representing Todd too. It made his communications with people other than his client (Palin) subject to the Alaska public records act, thus open to the public. Thus, every communication he had as a state contractor with Todd, staff and McCain campaign people was not protected by attorney/client privilege.

So, Van Flein quickly became her private lawyer to avoid public record disclosure issues. It's Palin's choice to pay for it on her own, or get her supporters to pay, so that she can keep it all hidden. It also allows her to use her lawyer as a propaganda tool, which Van Flein happily did during the campaign. So for her to cry personal financial hardship is disingenuous.

Who's Scamming Who?

Whose fault is it that Ms. Disingenuous has significant legal bills? Any expense as a result of Troopergate was voluntarily incurred in an attempt to sidestep the legislative investigation. Any expense for other supposedly frivolous or bogus complaints needs to be supported by evidence which has yet to be provided. To this outside observer, it looks like Sarah is playing the victim yet again and trying to scam her devotees into paying bills for which she alone is responsible—not the "ankle-biters."

Sarah asked, "Are Alaskans outraged yet, or at least tired of this yet?"

I certainly think they should be. I know I am.

Here's Sarah!!

Found this video attached to a comment on DailyKOS. It needs no introduction, it speaks for itself. And without further delay, heeeeeeeeeere's SARAH!!!!

Larry King - Levi Open Thread

Comments are welcome on your take about the Johnston's appearance on Larry King Live tonight!

Did you send a question? 
Did your question get answered?
Will we find out anything new? 
Why is Levi doing these interviews?
Has his situation improved any since the Tyra Banks and CBS Morning Show interviews? 
How will his TV time tonight help or hurt his image, his chances for custody, or his future?
What response will we see from Sarah and Meg?

Send Your Question for Levi to Larry!

CNN is reporting that Levi Johnston and family will appear on Larry King Live tomorrow evening (Wednesday, April 22).  They invite you to send in your questions for Larry's guests by video or form.  The feedback form is here.

Here's mine:

"Levi, on the Tyra Banks show we saw a picture of you sitting in the Palin's kitchen cradling Trig when he was an infant.  We also saw a picture of you, taken during the Republican National Convention, where you tenderly kissed Trig while Bristol held him.  Can you explain your unusual (for a 17-yr-old) but obvious affection for this child?

"Also, we've heard that you are a volunteer coach for a Special Olympics hockey team.  What got you interested in devoting time to special needs children?"

So, you know what to do!  Get busy!  And share your feedback in a comment!

Sarah Palin's Amazingly Short Pregnancy [Updated]

Here is the story we are supposed to believe about Sarah Palin's 5^th pregnancy. I don't buy it, but I thought it might be worth retelling anyway. The story details that follow are largely from Sarah's own words. [Updates appear in blue]

Sarah found out in late September 2007, while attending an oil and gas conference, that she was pregnant (5-6 weeks). She considered having an abortion. "No one would ever know."¹

Sarah didn't tell anyone she was pregnant because of the "Neanderthals out there," who would criticize her for being pregnant.²

At 13 weeks, she underwent amniocentesis and discovered the baby would have Down syndrome. She once again, "for a fleeting moment," considered an abortion.³ (There is confusion about the date of the procedure. Sarah told told reporters she had the amnio in December at 13 weeks, but if we accept her doctor's statement that this child was born at 35 weeks and the 'official' birth date of April 18, the amniocentesis would have been done in mid-November.)

After receiving the results from the amnio, she waited three days until Todd came home from the North Slope before finally telling him the news.⁴

She chose to have this invasive procedure done, even though she is staunchly pro-life and the results should not have mattered. She also had the test done dangerously early in her pregnancy instead of waiting until the recommended 15 to 18 weeks gestation.⁵

She didn't know what a baby with an extra chromosome would look like. She had a "heckuva time researching Down syndrome" when she was pregnant—she just couldn't get herself to open the book about DS that the doctor gave her. However, she was "very anxious to meet [Trig]."⁶

As time went on, she kept her children, other members of her family, and the people with whom she worked in the dark. She didn't tell anyone about the pregnancy or the DS diagnosis. And nobody noticed anything out of the ordinary—not in November, December, January or February—halfway through the 90-day legislative session.

Finally, on March 5, the day after John McCain's nomination for President was announced, Sarah revealed to the public that she was 7 months pregnant (26 weeks). Nobody had even guessed that she was pregnant. She still didn't mention the DS diagnosis to anyone, not even her children.⁷

She was amazingly fit for a 44-year-old woman who had already given birth 4 times. She did not appear to be pregnant in multiple photographs taken during February, March and even April. She successfully used 'fashion-assisted camouflage' to disguise her condition.⁸

(She was also uncharacteristically frugal about maternity wear. Despite her penchant for clothes, she seemed to have only one outfit to wear for her pregnant public appearances: a black skirt or slacks, a black scoop-neck top, and a long black jacket, changing out a few large, colorful scarves for variety. She even kept wearing her snug-fitting high-heeled boots.)

When she was 35 weeks pregnant (eight months) she flew from Alaska to Texas for a conference on energy. The day she was to give a keynote address (Thursday, April 17) she woke up at 4AM leaking amniotic fluid and feeling a different kind of contraction from the Braxton-Hicks she'd been experiencing. She called her doctor and said she really wanted to give her lunch-time speech, and her doctor said okay.⁹

After the speech was over, she left the conference and boarded a flight back to Alaska without getting checked out by any local obstetrician. Her flight had a stopover in Seattle where she called her doctor again and then she continued her flight to Anchorage. Total travel time was around 10 hours. The flight attendants didn't notice she was pregnant said that the stage of her pregnancy was not apparent by observation.¹⁰

On arriving, she drove past two large hospitals in Anchorage that were equipped to handle premature at-risk deliveries. An hour later she reached a small, local hospital near Wasilla that had no neo-natal intensive care facilities. Her doctor decided to induce labor, and she gave birth a few hours later (early morning Friday April 18) to a 6-pound 2-ounce premature Down syndrome infant with jaundice and a heart condition.^{11 12 13}

Three days later she took the 4-5 week premature infant to her office where she introduced him to her staff and the news media. It turns out she wasn't really in labor when her water broke in Texas. That is why labor had to be induced even though that meant giving birth prematurely to a baby that would have been high risk even at term. ¹⁴

¹ YouTube - Sarah Palin address at Evansville pt 5
² ibid.
³ People Magazine
⁴ People Magazine
⁵ WebMD
⁶ YouTube - Sarah Palin address at Evansville pt 6
⁷ Fox News
⁸ New York Times
⁹ Alaska Daily News
¹⁰ Fairbanks Daily News-Miner
¹¹ Alaska Daily News
¹² Dallas Morning News
¹³ Trailblazer by Lorenzo Benet
¹⁴ Alaska Daily News

"Trig Truthers" ... scum?

"(Except the Trig Truthers, they're just subhuman scum.)"

The above parenthetical comes from a Conservatives4Palin post that thanked AKM and Mudflats for sticking up for anonymous opinion-giving.  No, I won't link there, but the post is named "Should Anonymous Free Speech Apply to….THEM??" -- mimicking exactly the title of AKM's post.

The essence of this Mudflats blog post was to support C4P who was chastised by Jay Ramras after C4P criticized their fellow conservative for being absent from the AK legislature in session, after Jay Ramras criticized Sarah Palin from being absent from proceedings, especially during the critical final weeks.

Ramras asked the bloggers behind C4P to "step out of the shadows." Having recently been 'outed' by an aging and sad ex-newspaper columnist named Mike Doogan, AKM of Mudflats naturally stood up for blogging under pseudonyms.

The essence of the C4P article re-affirmed the right to speak your mind whether or not you identify who you are.  And the author went further to say that it's alright that C4P and Mudflats have opposing political views, and that "we recognize that no matter how bitterly we disagree with our opponents, no matter what their political persuasion, they are still Americans, and human beings deserving of respect."  Except those who have serious doubts that Sarah Palin gave birth to the Down syndrome child named Trig.

This gave me real pause.  Why is this particular subject so touchy for the die-hard Sarasites?  Is it because they have nothing from which to build a counter-argument?

We disagree on pro-choice vs. anti-abortion.  We disagree on exploring ANWR.  We disagree that the people and former leadership of Iraq had anything to do with 9/11.  We disagree on thoughtlessly slaughtering wolves and their cubs to artificially pump up the moose population for out-of-state trophy hunters.  We disagree on allowing Pebble Mine to dump its waste in a pristine river.  We disagree whether Alaskan natives' subsistence lifestyle should be cherished and supported.  We disagree on a lot of things, but it is only when we disagree whether Sarah lied about her pregnancy that we are are no longer human beings.

Sensitive much?  Protesting too much?  Why is this issue so worthy of attacking the messenger and not the message when other disagreements are "still deserving of respect?" 

It is because, in my opinion, this issue strikes too close to home, and the C4P folks know that when it can be shown that Sarah pulled the wool over the eyes of her "right-to-life" base about Trig, the jig's up.  Sarasites are willing to suffer through her all-too-obvious inability to govern wisely and well.  They are willing to make excuses for her routine ethical failures.  They are even willing to pull the blinders over their eyes when, for instance, Sarah nominates an overtly chauvinistic, US government-hating racist for Attorney General.  But if it is proved that she faked the whole "I'm your candidate because my faith helped me to bear a special-needs child, which proves I believe in the culture of life!" — the façade that is Sarah Palin will truly crumble.

 
Let me know if you are an "I love Sarah" person and if you would still love her if you found out she lied, big time, about her right-to-life credentials.  I'd really like to hear how you'd justify that, if you can.  In the meantime, you might want to peek out from behind your blinders.  Palin's Deceptions is a great place to start if you are willing to spend the time.  And if any of the folks there have it totally wrong, well, they welcome reasonable and courteous discussion.

A Tale of Two Lawyers

[UPDATE:  WAR's confirmation FAILED!]

On the one hand, we have Wayne Anthony Ross, affectionately known as WAR.

 

We heard, just today during his confirmation hearing, that he was so generous to the Menard children that he gave them their first guns.  If I was the parent of those children, I would have kicked him out.  But that's just me.

From ADN, we have these words—words that have been recorded by National Public Radio in Alaska.  Yet, WAR is today denying he has ever said them:

It seems to me the most important thing that can be done by the Senate is not argue with legal or illegal but to appoint somebody to represent Juneau.

And he is further quoted from his own letter in support of repealing an ordinance that would
insure that gays and lesbians would be protected from discrimination (bolding is mine).

I am in favor of repeal of the measure. I see nothing involving civil rights in this matter. We all, heterosexual or homosexual, have certain rights. This bill seems to give extra rights to a group whose lifestyle was a crime only a few years ago, and whose beliefs are certainly immoral in the eyes of anyone with some semblance of intelligence and moral character...

It is a shame that you folks don’t have some causes you could become involved in that are of benefit to society in general. Instead, you support degenerates...

[Instead of supporting anti-abortion causes] you collectively contribute $5,000 to the cause of sexual perversion.

If there were any doubt that WAR was 'in the tub' with Governor Palin, there are these exchanges.  Ross, who apparently doesn't "like people taking shots at courageous women," offered, "She's been shot at so much, she doesn't want to reach out."  During a Senate hearing, Representative Ramras asked WAR about Palin's multiple ethics complaints and pointed explicitly to the recent ethics complaint about Palin wearing Arctic Cat gear during official duties:

RAMRAS: She was wearing Arctic Cat gears and leathers--

ROSS: She was provocative. She looked really good didn't she?

RAMRAS: Yes...[beat]...Well no, not to a lot of Alaska she didn't. To a lot of Alaska she looked like a walking billboard.

So, WAR thinks people are beating up on the Governor, and he would like everyone to know he thinks she looked darn sexy in her Arctic Cat gear, ethics be damned.  He's been giving her poor advice, telling her that appointing three Senate replacements at once was legal, and telling her that the Senate Democrats ought to vote in public, and telling her that the whole Senate should really get a chance to vote on a Democratic seat replacement.

========== <<<<<<  >>>>>> ==========

And then, we have Rex Butler.

Rex doesn't go by his initials, he goes by his reputation as a hard-hitting, fair attorney.

From the Anchorage Press, we learn that:

Rex Butler [is] a colorful Anchorage defense attorney who wins the respect of miscreants and cops alike and has a client list that's a who's who of high-profile Alaska crime.

Butler loves this work, he says, because he loves to help the people that the world turns their backs on. He's a smooth, polite, church-going family man. He's also stylish. And unflappable. And dogged.

"He can be a ferocious cross-examiner," says Sergeant Dave Koch of the Anchorage Police Department. "It can be uncomfortable."

Butler can be courtly, too - but not necessarily in court. When his clients' futures are on the line, he goes to war, he says. "This is a fight. It's a battle."

Recently, ADN reported that Rex has taken on not only Sherry Johnston's case but advocacy for Levi Johnston, who only wants to share in parenting the child he recently had with Governor Palin's daughter.

Levi Johnston's lawyer is bristling at suggestions from Gov. Sarah Palin's family that the 19-year-old is a deadbeat dad. "I wish that Sarah Palin's father would get his facts correct, quite frankly," attorney Rex Butler said Wednesday.

Palin's father, Chuck Heath, claims in a story being published Friday in Us Weekly magazine that the unemployed Johnston isn't financially supporting the infant. He said he wishes Johnston would take some money from the interviews and buy diapers for Tripp.

Butler told The Associated Press that Johnston was not paid for the interviews and is tired of the Palin family's characterization of his client.

Heath was "trying to make the young man look like a deadbeat father, and, you know, they may have a rude awakening one day if he tries to get custody," Butler said.

"They don't want to share his child with him like they should," he said.

========== <<<<<<  >>>>>> ==========

So there you have it.  On the one hand, we have someone who defends a nutcase who throws freezing cold water on Iraq "war" protestors and supports his defense by saying that his client was only expressing his own first amendment rights; someone who was overheard saying that men should be able to 'rape' their wives.  And on the other hand, we have someone who is taking up the fight against Palin's bully pulpit from which she is trying to "wooten" Levi Johnston (and possibly Levi's mother).

At this moment, the debate over Ross's confirmation vote still rages.  I only wish I could vote.

Early Spring Yellow

April 12, 2009

Babygate Research: Where We're At

Diana, a valued correspondent and a frequent poster at Palin's Deceptions, has summed up where we are in the citizen investigation regarding Babygate -- the examination of facts as we know them regarding Sarah Palin's faked pregnancy.  With Diana's permission, I am re-posting an excellent comment she left on Audrey's site (Palin's Deceptions).  The only things I've changed are to add some images and a link to Diana's well-researched timeline, and I made a few very minor spelling and grammatical corrections.  I concur with the majority of Diana's suppositions.

I know we can't prove it yet, but I believe beyond a reasonable doubt that Bristol and Levi are Trig's parents and that Trig was born in Feb 2008. For me it seems obvious and the only struggle I have is getting more facts to flush out the final picture. All the information we have gathered makes it only plausible for Bristol, not Willow, to be Trig's as well as Tripp's mom. Willow was photographed January 15th 2008 when it would have been obvious if she had been pregnant. She was not. She was also still visible and in travel reports going back and forth to school. Not true for Bristol. It appears Bristol became pregnant mid June of 2007 when she was still 16 and just after she finished her sophomore year in High School. This would have made her due with Trig mid March 2008 if she had carried him to full term. It is obvious that Bristol was kept out of view and in hiding once she started showing. It seems she was kept hidden until after the baby was born so that Trig could be put up for adoption and a scandal could be avoided. Bristol moves in with her Aunt and leaves behind all her friends and family and is able to keep anyone in her town from realizing that she is pregnant. They are used to her traveling back and forth to school during the year and they are only hearing rumors, not seeing for themselves she is pregnant.
	Look at the timeline. It tells you everything. She is not photographed once from 9-14-2007 until 4-25-2008 when we see her posing with Mercede the night of Mercede's prom. She left school once it might be noticed she was pregnant and moved in with her Aunt. She is off her mom's travel schedule permanently after 10-7-2008 and doesn't attend any events, family or otherwise, again until June... with one exception: she attends the "American Heart Association" luncheon on Feb. 15th which should have had media coverage and photos yet nothing has been found to show Bristol attended. She either had Trig by then or she did not attend.
Remember she was only 16 and just finished her sophomore year when she got pregnant. Her mom taught abstinence and was very vocal and active on this subject. This would have, at the time, been a crisis for the Palin family.  However, if they looked into the future at the decisions and choices that were being made, they might have realized this should have been addressed straight on and with the truth.  The larger crisis was yet to come. I can't imagine that Sarah ever planned on adopting Trig after Bristol told her she was pregnant.  I think Sarah hoped to keep Bristol's pregnancy private so that her 16 year old could adopt him out without the media finding out and or her friends and Christian following knowing. Sarah was extremely focused on not losing her momentum in her drive for the national stage. Having an adopted newborn, that was her 16 year old daughter's, would have been very difficult to explain. Not when she could privately adopt him out and avoid the fallout for her daughter's benefit as well as for hers. However Trig surprised them all by being born a month early, not only with Downs syndrome but with a heart problem, that would need to be watched and addressed possibly needing a future surgery. This is what changed the direction of the plan Sarah had put into place. From everything we know and from all the reports and timelines we have gathered it appears that Trig was born sometime during the month of February 2008. This was the unexpected catalyst that changed Sarah's direction from adopting Trig out to faking a pregnancy. It appears, Trig having Down syndrome came as a shock to everyone, especially with the problems and health concerns that he would be facing. The information we received from Sarah about knowing Trig had Down syndrome came after the fact and not prior to him being born. It seems they just dated the knowledge backwards to make it appear like they knew, but it doesn't appear like they did. It seems this sudden knowledge attributed to Sarah's rushed and poorly thought out plan.
It seems as this point Bristol's mom decides to adopt Trig as her own and decides to start faking a pregnancy in late February, only after Trig is born. This coincides with the photos of when Sarah started wearing scarves and "pretending" to look pregnant although not very convincingly. Sarah knows that she has at least 6 to 8 weeks to fake a pregnancy before Trig reaches a size that is "not presentable" as a newborn. Sarah already knows she will "present" one month earlier than she tells the press and it becomes a part of her plan to buy some time. Sarah telling everyone he is "one month early" will be very believable and it works to her advantage in being able to make her fake pregnancy work. All Sarah thinks she needs to do is to pretend long enough, say Trig is hers, and she can make this "embarrassment become a solution".
	It appears Sarah was waiting to get the "nod" to become "VP" before she decided to go into labor. On April 18th, after flying home in the middle of the night Sarah starts the birth story and later in the morning when everyone is in place she "presents" Trig as her own child. All the while avoiding the media scrutiny that should and would have been present if she hadn't planned on coming home late in the evening and having the time to make sure everything was in place before they were alerted to "Trigs birth".
In reality Trig was born early, by at least one month, but by Bristol. Trig was born with the complications of down syndrome and a heart defect. He was born to a teenage girl who more than likely tried to hide her pregnancy by "under-eating". Trig very likely lost at least one or two pounds from problems associated with not being able to nurse correctly, in addition to already being smaller by arriving early. Consequently, Sarah was able to present to the public a newborn looking Trig, April 18th, 2008 as her own child.  What Sarah didn't expect was how many people were going to question her behavior. She was use to getting away with mis-behaviors and having things go her way without question. She appears to have been very naive about the position she put herself into and the scrutiny she would receive when she accepted the offer for the Vice Presidential position.	Sarah Palin on March 27, 2008, three weeks before Trig's 'official' birthdate
It seems however, that even before Sarah presents Trig to the public as her own and after Levi and Bristol understand and accept that they are not keeping and raising Trig as their own, Bristol gets pregnant again. Easy to do when you are healing your emotional wounds with the boyfriend/father of your first child you are having to relinquish. Especially when you think breastfeeding will protect you from getting pregnant. Statistics show that it is relatively easy and not uncommon to get pregnant within 6 weeks of delivering because of the false sense of protection nursing mothers feel. So, now begins the newest Palin family crisis! Bristol becomes pregnant “again” at the end of March 2008. Nine months later on December 27th or 28th (as the date is a moving target), they are welcoming baby number 2, Tripp! It all seem clear for me, from their photos, interviews, behaviors and actions! I know from my own experiences that actions always speak louder than words. This could never be more true than what has occurred in Palin family drama! Sarah, Bristol, Levi, Mercedes, their actions ALL speak louder than their words. I sincerely understand Bristol's mom wanting to help these kids out and adopt Trig. But this shows Sarah's own immaturity and incredibly poor judgment. She showed her lack of ethics when she decided to lie and hide the truth.  Then she used her kids as her own personal, righteous and religious platform to further her political career. We have the basics correct. We have the timelines and dates Bristol disappeared. We have photos of Sarah, not pregnant. We have rumors, MySpace pages talking about being sexually active and actions that make it very clear what happened. The rest is coming. It will fill in the missing pieces to the picture. But I am convinced and I think a large majority of people following this site feel the same. We are in the process of filling in the last pieces to this puzzle. That is when a puzzle can be the most difficult to solve. We have been working for months and have accumulated an incredible amount of information. I know more is coming soon and I hope that it will continue to fill out the picture and give us the information we need to finalize this sad family drama. I personally would like to move on and let Sarah get back to finding ways to heal her broken family. But until we have Sarah acknowledge that she lied and covered up the truth or until we uncover that final piece of information that makes it clear, I for one will continue the search.

So, what does this all mean and what does it matter? Like it or not, the Governor of Alaska, supported by a small group of Sarasites, wishes to re-enter the national political scene. If a potential candidate can go to such lengths to deceive and trick her followers, I have no doubt she would lie about lesser and greater things as well, as long as it furthers her aims.

The day Sarah Palin swears off any future political candidacy is the day that I will happily let her slip quietly into the Alaskan night to take care of the family she professes to hold most dear.

Babygate - Editorial

Let me ramble for a bit.  If you haven't taken the time to check the Babygate resources that are available, well, that's sort of your loss, I guess. This post is a basic summary of what Babygate is all about.  I welcome your comments or any information that challenges what I post.

Sarah Palin was selected as John McCain's running mate in the last days of August, 2008.  Because nearly nobody knew who Sarah Palin was at the time, everyone who could buy a plane ticket to Alaska and everyone else who had access to "teh Google" began looking.  Blame John McCain for selecting a veritable unknown.  Nobody denied that McCain's running mate would stand a decent chance at inheriting the Presidency if he won.  And since he'd chosen someone almost nobody had ever heard of, the search for information ensued.

Throughout the McCain-Palin campaign, countless individuals and several bloggers brought information to light.  Who was this Palin person?  What did she believe?  What records did she leave behind?

Here was a new Governor (not even 18 months in the job), a former mayor of a village of less than 6,000 people, a mother (ostensibly) of five children, the last of whom suffered from Down syndrome.

Governor Palin made quite a splash on the national scene.  Her pro-life credentials went unquestioned even when her 'maverick' credentials turned out to be stagecraft.  Rumors swirled, almost immediately.  She had given an unbelievable story surrounding the birth of her Down syndrome child, which she "chose" not to abort, and for which she gained multiple kudo's from the far right Republican base.  On closer examination, the story of her pregnancy was more akin to fantasy than reality.

Sarah Palin, two weeks before birthing a 6lb+ baby

In brief, when Sarah announced her "pregnancy" when she was supposedly 7 months gone, it was met with disbelief.  Nobody -- and I mean NOBODY -- said, "Yeah, I thought so."  Everyone said, "Wha???"  If you don't believe me, go look it up.

And then, barely 6 weeks after her telling everyone she was pregnant, she supposedly gave birth.  There are scores of pictures of Sarah dating from February through April 2008.  With one salient exception, these pictures do not show a pregnant woman.  The only picture that does show a belly on Sarah was, conveniently enough, released and published right after she was announced as McCain's running mate.  The image is vouched for by a single 'reporter,' who, curiously enough, has no explanation for who posted her private picture on the Internet.

As if that is not enough, we have the wild ride story.  That is, Sarah claimed that she flew from Alaska to Texas when she was 8 months pregnant to attend a conference.  The night before she was supposed to give a keynote address, 'her water broke.'  Unfazed, she dressed, breakfasted, conferenced, and gave her luncheon speech.  Afterwards, she flew back to Alaska, spending at least 8 hours in the air and a few on the ground for a stopover.  Then she drove past fully equipped hospitals and finally arrived at a small local hospital where she allegedly gave birth.

Since reasonable people can have reasonable doubts as to whether she was pregnant in the first place, the wild ride story is almost an insult.  Add to this that, as the official story goes, she KNEW she was pregnant with a Down syndrome baby who would likely need special care at the time of birth.  The wild ride took place approximately one month before Sarah was supposedly due.  In other words, she suposedly gave birth to a premature Down syndrome baby, after the wild ride, in a facility that had no equipment to deal with such births.

Then.. to top it off, she appears at work WITH the newborn, just three days after birthing this month-premature Down syndrome baby (born with a heart condition, according to a biography).

Any thinking human would have a lot of reluctance before buying into this story.

For anyone who reads this and doesn't know the backstory, I'll try to add in links later, or just leave a comment and I'll reply.  I believe that someone other than Sarah Palin birthed the child known as Trig Palin.  I've got my suspicions.  But that's what Babygate is all about.
So, what does it really matter?  To me, it matters in two respects.  One - Sarah Palin bases her entire political persona on the notion that her family values and morals are unblemished.  Two - whenever a politician lies, either about personal or professional matters, I can no longer trust them.  And it is clear that Sarah Palin (and a small but dedicated following) thinks that she has a future in national politics, so it matters to me.

Hypocrite?  Liar?  Snake oil saleswoman?  Maybe.  After seeing first-hand how she's tried to destroy the reputations of Randy Ruedrich, Walt Monegan, Mike Wooten, and lately, Levi Johnston and his family, I have a good feeling about where I should place my bets.

I urge you to do your own investigation.

Levi, Special Olympics and Trig

It's hard to think of Sarah Palin without also thinking about the rest of her family, and in particular, Trig Paxson Van Palin. Sarah made sure everyone knew how pro-life she was by carting Trig around everywhere with her during the campaign. Trig has Down syndrome, a chromosomal disorder, which means he will need special education, careful medical monitoring and extra encouragement as he grows.

Organizations like Special Olympics provide unique assistance and opportunities to children and adults with Down syndrome, giving them the chance to excel while rewarding hard work and dedication, and cultivating the will to succeed. Special Olympics programs could not exist without public and private financial support; and Special Olympics could not exist "without the time, energy, commitment and enthusiasm of its diverse volunteers."(1)

Levi Johnston kissing Trig Palin who is being held by Bristol Palin

Levi Johnston is one of those volunteers.  He coaches a Special Olympics Alaska ice-hockey team.(2)

Someone who seems to know Levi left this comment (replying to someone else who had made disparaging remarks about Levi) after a US Magazine article about the CBS interview:

This "PUNK" is a coach for the Special Olympics hockey team in Alaska. This "deadbeat" had a $67,000 a year job on the North Slope in Alaska before Palin got him terminated by bragging about him being there without a high school diploma. This "beast" of a man is working with his father to gain apprenticeship status so he can have a meaningful trade, that is IF the Palin's stop their distracting him with playing keep away with his son so he can focus his attention.(3)

So, why would Levi care enough about the developmentally disabled to volunteer as a Special Olympics hockey coach at age 17 or 18?  Could it have anything to do with Trig?

Sarah Palin and Mercede Johnston holding Trig Palin

The image above was taken prior to May 5, 2008, in the Palin family kitchen.  Sarah Palin bends in to the picture, and Mercede Johnston, Levi's sister, holds an infant Trig.  This image was on Mercede's MySpace page which was public at the end of August, 2008.  The MySpace page was made private shortly thereafter.  The caption that went with this picture was "Mommy-in-law, Trig and myself."

 

Bristol Palin and Mercede Johnston, holding Trig Palin

This image also comes from Mercede's MySpace page and was titled "Family Love."  Note the chair, the woodwork, and the piece of paper hanging on the cupboard in the background.  Note also Mercede's and Trig's clothing.  They match those in the previous image exactly.

*** !!!!!! ***

 

Levi Johnston holding TRIG and Mercede Johnston

The photo above appeared briefly on the video screen that was visible during the Johnston's interview with Tyra Banks.  Note the chair.  Check.  The kitchen and woodwork.  Check.  The paper hanging on the cupboard in the background.  Check.  Mercede's and Trig's apparel.  Check.

Here, then, is 17-year-old Levi Johnston, sometime prior to May 5, 2008, paternally holding ... his girlfriend's mother's baby?

They say a picture is worth a thousand words.  Put this image together with a teenage boy's unusual volunteerism for special needs children.  Remember this rugged Alaskan youth loves hockey, fishing and hunting.  Then review again the recent interviews that Levi has given, where he quietly but determinedly expresses his angst at not being able to share in seeing and raising his new son, Tripp.  Connect the dots.

I'm not the only person who has noticed the importance of this previously unpublished image.  Palin's Deceptions took note, right away.  Andrew Sullivan, the only sort-of mainstream blogger to address Babygate before finally dropping it several months ago, has a post about it.  Wonkette has now weighed in, too.

*** !!!!!! ***

On the one hand, we have Sarah Palin who talks about supporting Special Olympics, but slices a $550,000 line item in the 2008 budget for it by 50%.(4)  There was enough money to fully fund the request.  The state spent over $2 billion in PFD checks to residents.(5) And Sarah Palin tried to turn down (and may have succeeded in doing so) $40 million in Federal stimulus funds for special education programs.(6)

And on the other hand, we have Levi Johnston who is doing volunteer work for Special Olympics and demonstrating one heck of a lot of tenderness to a special needs child, if we can believe the pictures at all.  Who is acting more like a real parent of Trig Paxson Van Palin?

__________
(1) Special Olympics Volunteers
(2) Newspusher
(3) US Magazine article
(4) Think Progress
(5) Alaska population: 680,000 x $3,200 per person from State = $2,176,000,000
(6) The Plumline

In Defense of Levi Johnston

"I have known Levi and his family for many years and am most impressed with Levi's work ethic. Levi is organized, efficient, extremely competent, and will prove to be an excellent employee. Also, Levi's physical strength and determination are assets that will be useful to your company."
~ Sarah Palin, Letter of Recommendation, June 23, 2008

Levi Johnston with baby Tripp

"Bristol and Levi are committed to accomplish what millions of other young parents have accomplished, to provide a loving and secure environment for their child. They are both hard workers, they’re very strong, and have faith they’ve made the right decision in setting aside their own interests to make this child their highest priority."
~ Press Release from the Office of the Governor of the State of Alaska, December 31, 2008

Levi Johnston with baby Tripp

"This is the REAL Levi...he was at a major Special Needs Olympic event last month supporting disabled and special needs children. (Which he has a history of involvement). Levi then went to California the following weekend to coach the Alaskan Special Olympic hockey team. Did you see him in a tabloid spread? No you did not. Did you see him on the nightly news mugging for the cameras, no you did not. The guy is sincere. He is real. He is not Hollywood."
~ Comment on the CBS News Web site, April 8, 2009

Levi Johnston with baby Tripp

======:::=======

A lot of people have been talking about Levi lately.  His recent appearances on the Tyra Banks Show and the CBS Early Morning Show came about, according to Levi, to correct misinformation about his family and himself.  You can find the videos here:

• Tyra Banks Show part 1
• Tyra Banks Show part 2
• Tyra Banks Show part 3
• CBS Early Morning Show part 1
  
• CBS Early Morning Show part 2
  

Levi Johnston with baby Tripp

In these recent interviews, contrary to what we read in a preemptive prejudicial statement released to People Magazine on behalf of the Alaska Governor's office before the interviews aired, Levi appears to be a sincere young man who wants nothing more than to be able to share custody of his son, Tripp Easton Mitchell Johnston.

Levi Johnston is 18 years old now.  Please go back and read the comment above about his involvement in Special Olympics.  It might come in handy for the next post.

Can Fox TV Kill You?

The same question could be asked about Michele Bachman, Rush Limbaugh, Michael Savage, and a host of other extreme right-wing mouths who spout their invective over our public airways. Here's a recent example of Fox's Glenn Beck, courtesy of a DailyKOS video that accompanies a diary titled, By all means necessary:

Here's Michele Bachmann:

I want people in Minnesota armed and dangerous on this issue of the energy tax because we need to fight back. Thomas Jefferson told us, having a revolution every now and then is a good thing, and the people — we the people — are going to have to fight back hard if we’re not going to lose our country. And I think this has the potential of changing the dynamic of freedom forever in the United States.

And Rush Limbaugh:

We do, hopefully, the right thing for the sake of this country. We're the only one in charge of our affairs. We don't farm out our defense if we elect Democrats ... and riots in Denver, at the Democratic Convention will see to it we don't elect Democrats. And that's the best damn thing that can happen to this country, as far as I can think.

From Michael Savage (né Weiner)'s book, The Savage Nation:

Liberalism is unraveling the very fabric of this great nation. And the sooner you understand that liberalism is a dangerous mental disorder, the sooner you can break free from this insanity that attacks the way you live, how you conduct your business, the way you worship, the choice of SUV you drive, the food you eat, and the very freedoms you enjoy.

------:::-------

Glenn Beck and the rise of Fox News' militia media

Please have a look at the link above when you can.  Media Matters' Eric Boehlert has written the story I wish I could have penned about the unnerving rise in hate speech on the part of the Becks, Bachmanns, Limbaughs and Savages of talk radio and television.

The bottom line is, people like Richard Poplawski* and Jim Adkisson** are out there.  And they are listening to talk radio. They are buying Bill O'Reilly's, Sean Hannity's and Michael Savage's books.  They are watching Fox programming and making comments like this on Free Republic's Web site:

And let's face it: all the speculation about Obama being the actual Antichrist will either be confirmed or denied if someone gets off a lucky shot at the SOB.

It's not enough that we sort of know this kind of speech is out there.  It's certainly not enough to simply ignore it.  We have to find positive ways to defuse the hate, or at the very least, shine a light on it and call it out for what it is.  We must become patient educators and dedicated peacemakers.  And most of all we must be very careful not to become infected ourselves by similar vitriol, no matter our cause.

------:::-------

* Richard Poplawski is the 22-year-old who just recently killed three Pittsburgh policemen with an AK-47 because he was convinced the government wanted to take away his guns.
** Jim Adkisson killed two people and wounded several more last summer at a Unitarian Church in Tennessee because he was convinced that the evil liberals needed to die for the good of the country.

Sarah Palin's Family Matters (Updated with links)

Sarah Palin's family matters to her.  Sarah Palin's family should matter to the rest of us too, because Sarah Palin's "family matters" paint a picture of where Sarah came from, what surrounds her now, and constrains where she can go in the future.

VAN SUSTEREN: I mean, isn't it -- I mean, like, you know -- you know, I mean, this is obviously a wonderful child and -- you know, and bring great joy to your family, but the bigger thing is, like, the whole family's sort of pitched in.

SARAH PALIN: Yes.

VAN SUSTEREN: That's -- you know, because if you didn't pitch in, this would be a different story.

SARAH PALIN: It would be a different story. It would be some sad and some dire circumstances, I think, if the family doesn't all really kind of circle the wagons and help one another at a time like this. This is what family is for, also, to pitch in. And I'm proud of Bristol for accepting the help, too, that's being offered her by her grandmother, her great- grandma, her great-great-grandma, and aunts and cousins and -- we're very thankful to be in the situation that we are with so much help. 
[link to transcript here]

Troopergate was a family matter that got Sarah into a whole lot of trouble, not only with the divorce court judge who told the Heaths and Palins to chill, but with the Alaska legislature who decided it was important enough to spend a hundred thousand dollars to investigate it.  Neither Sarah's sister Molly, nor Molly's ex-husband Mike, came out of it looking nice.  Needless to say, neither Sarah nor her husband did, either.

Travelgate was a family matter that got Sarah into trouble too.  Being a governor meant that Sarah ought to be able to take her family with her during her official travel, and the State ought to pay for it.   However, Sarah finally agreed to a settlement with the State wherein she has to re-imburse the coffers to the tune of at least $9,000.

PerDiem-gate was also a family matter.  Why move to Juneau when you can commute to Anchorage, live at home and be with family while the State pays a daily allowance for meals and incidentals on top of your salary?  Sarah didn't realize she had to pay taxes on this allowance.  It remains to be seen whether she'll continue the practice.

The entire McCain-Palin campaign was a family matter that included the RNC buying clothes for the whole family, feeding the family and carting the family around in buses and planes and putting them up in hotels.  I like to call it Hockey-mom-gate. The family signed autographs and sat on stage and even the elder son was there in word, if not in deed, because his enlistment in the military was a frequent Sarah talking point.  Younger "son" was a prop and a talking point.  Hockey-momness was a talking point.  That the campaign failed, though, was the fault of the media.  It had nothing to do with Sarah or the family, of course.

Babygate is an ongoing family matter, whether you subscribe to the whole story or just the part about Sarah's elder daughter's most recent teenage pregnancy.  Babygate morphed into Abstinence-gate with elder daughter's declaration on national TV that abstinence isn't realistic.  And Babygate is threatening to morph further into Wardrobe-Malfunction-gate with elder daughter's baby-daddy going on TV with his family and saying he's "pretty sure" Sarah knew about the sexual intimacy that was going on.  Unwed-teen-mothergate is another related family matter, now that there will be no marriage to sanctify the pre-marital sex. 

Then there's Oxycontin-gate, where baby-daddy's mother got busted for running an unauthorized prescription drugstore.

And Schoolbus-gate, strongly rumored and not denied by Sarah, where allegedly, the Oxycontin-using elder son participated in vandalism of a school bus fleet causing school to be closed for a day.  The truants involved were expelled from school and not permitted to set one foot on school grounds for a year.  Curiously, this coincided with elder son being sent to school in Michigan for a year... and upon his return, he joined the military.

Then we have Felony-burglar-gate thanks to Sarah's husband's sister who just got caught stealing a couple grand in cash from a residence near Sarah's infamous hockey rink.  I guess when Sarah was doin' her wagon-circlin', hubby's sister's wagon got left out.

Yes, this is a real picture

This is not a normal, upstanding, family values family.  But it is where Sarah comes from and what surrounds her even today. They say you can't make a silk purse from a sow's ear.  I say, Sarah Palin shouldn't have retired this T-shirt after she wore it during her run for Governor.  I bet it still fits.