A Conspiracy By Any Other Name...

 With all due respect to two of my favorite Alaskan bloggers, and I say that sincerely, their discussion with Nicole Sandler made me grit my teeth.  I am speaking of AKM (Jeanne Devon), and Shannyn Moore. AKM is, of course, the brilliant writer behind The Mudflats, and Shannyn's got a widely-read blog, Moore Up North, and a topical daily radio show. I've corresponded with Jeanne by e-mail and called into Shannyn's show at least twice. I met them both in person, right after last year's Netroots Nation in Pittsburgh, PA. Their warmth and humor were delightful.  Their disappointment in and disagreements with the former half-term Alaska governor are well-known.

Shannyn (L) and AKM (R) at Pittsburgh Mudstock

Why teeth-gritting, though?  Here's why.  It's one thing to make a personal or political decision about whether or not to cover a particular story, and I'm talking about babygate—the pregnancy that Sarah Palin faked in order to boost her pro-life cred with evangelical Christians and parlay her thin resume into a shot to become the Vice President of these United States.  It's another to disparage, however off-handedly, those who do address, research and endeavor to cover that same story.  If you listen to the Nicole Sandler interview (in the first link of this post), you'll learn that Nicole was able to interview Jeanne and Shannyn just as the two intrepid Alaskans concluded their second Netroots Nation in Las Vegas. Nicole had recently interviewed Patrick, one of the chief authors of the Palin watchdog blog Palingates, twice: see here and here for the details. As a result of her education about the babygate topic, Nicole asked some followup questions of the Alaskan bloggers on her segment.  Their responses were, to my ear, condescending and disparaging.

When you use words like conspiracy theory and tin-foil hats in conjunction with describing why you are not writing or talking about a potential story, you trigger a response in listeners, to wit: "Watch your step here, this is la-la land!"  Both these accomplished ladies seemed to "pooh-pooh" any efforts to get to the bottom of the clearly impossible stories Mrs. Todd Palin has given concerning the birth of the child she calls her son, Trig.

Like I said, I can understand why someone would not want to touch a story that the "mainstream media" decided to let lay fallow.  One only has to read the recently released e-mails from the Journolist group to find some sort of justification for this.  Is the justification valid?  I don't happen to think so, but then, that's me, and I have a day job. My future life plans do not depend on whether or not I blog about the right topics, or the safe topics, or the approved topics.  Running for political office is not in my future.  Cozying up to Marcos Moulitsas or any other notable in the Democratic Party is not one of my goals.

Let's face it. though.  Labels have meaning to people.  Label something a conspiracy theory and red flags shoot up everywhere.  BEWARE, BEWARE!

So fine, don't touch the story, but don't label it in such a way that I, and many of my blogging and commenting friends are made out to be kooks.  It's obvious from some of the details that AKM and Shannyn provided during the interview with Nicole that they are not very well read on the subject of babygate.  There is now a mountain of detailed evidence that makes it clear why not one of us, those who did choose to follow this story, have been threatened with a lawsuit for claiming that Mrs. Todd Palin defrauded the country with her impossible Wild Ride tale and imagined magical birth of Trig.  It is because it is NOT TRUE.

For an excellent overview/summary, I implore you to view these newly released videos:

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Videos are courtesy of lidia17 who published them at Palingates, and summarize the indisputable evidence that disproves the assertion that Mrs. Todd Palin was actually ever pregnant with the child she claims as her own son, Trig.

Critical Mass - Reaching for it [UPDATED]

Last August I went to Pittsburgh for a gathering of "mudpuppies" - these are folks who respect and support AKM, the founder and primary author of The Mudflats blog.  Fans across the country have organized several of these gatherings, called "Mudstocks"—a testament to AKM's superb writing on political subjects, but most especially, on Sarah Palin.

On this occasion last August both AKM (now known by her real name, Jeanne Devon) and popular blogger, current radio host, HuffPo contributor, and occasional guest on Countdown, Shannyn Moore were in attendance.  They had just both attended the Netroots Nation convention where Shannyn was surprised and honored to win the Gilliard Grant of Merit, an award named after Steve Gilliard who wrote, "I'm a Fighting Liberal."

Shannyn Moore and AKM, fall 2009, right after their Countdown and Rachel Maddow appearances

I've been a great admirer of AKM since September 2008 when, along with many, I discovered her blog in my quest to find out more about Sarah Palin, this person who was named by John McCain to be his running-mate in the 2008 presidential race.  AKM gave us the inside scoop on Alaska's governor, warts and all, and I was so grateful for her excellent writing, her enduring wit, and her razor-sharp and honest analysis.

I've also admired Shannyn and read her blog, listened to her broadcasts on KUDO Alaska, watched episodes of "Moore up North," and have even phoned in a couple of times to comment and ask questions during her radio show.  During the Pittsburgh Mudstock I shared a brief chat at an outdoor patio table with Shannyn while having a quick cigarette away from the rest of the attendees.

AKM and Shannyn, as far as I saw, are both warm, incredible, lovely, funny, delightful people and nothing I write in this post should be construed to negate that.  The fact remains that they both were building, and now have, reputations as trustworthy voices from the far North, the Alaskan front.

Early on at The Mudflats, AKM determined that discussions about "babygate" would not be allowed.  I imagine this was a rather wise decision at the time, since the rumors that bubbled up were quickly labeled as conspiracy theories. Those who create and propagate labels have an unfair advantage over those who seek the truth in any issue.  Shannyn did speak of and even allowed discussion about Sarah Palin's "wild ride" from time to time, but she resisted going beyond questioning the plausibility of the official scenario.

I don't know AKM's personal feelings on the "babygate" matter.  Shannyn's take is evident in a broadcast you can listen to in audio files included in this post at Phil Munger's Progressive Alaska blog.  Shannyn says the reason Sarah Palin doesn't clear up the questions by once and for all producing a birth certificate for Tri-G or authorizing the release of her own medical records is because holding back "is working for [Sarah]," even though Shannyn is not sure why.  Shannyn tries to make the point that as long as Palin conceals the real truth, she gets to play victim while claiming those evil democrats are out to get her.

Frame from the April 7-8, 2008 video taken by Elan Frank

My take is that a simpler answer to the question "why has Sarah not put an end to the questions?" is because she can't—because she was not pregnant in April '08.  She tries to make it "work for her" as best she can, of course, since she can't make it go away. Any documents related to her pregnancy or the birth of Tri-G would prove she's been lying.

Please take note of the fact that she and her bevy of lawyers have never threatened any of us who have stated publicly that we believe her story is a complete fabrication.  Why is that, when she was so very quick to jump about other things—like Shannyn's reporting about the federal investigation "iceberg" rumors, or Gryphen's Immoral Minority blog reporting about the divorce rumors?

She hasn't even mounted a personal campaign à la the David Letterman joke or the Family Guy criticism.  She simply lets her minions try to marginalize and disparage those who continue to work on the babygate story.  Where are her Facebook entries decrying the efforts made by Andrew Sullivan of the Daily Dish or RPK of Palingates or several others?  Where is the cease and desist order from Thomas Van Flein?

I suppose if you are trying to build your career as a trusted voice in radio, television or the 'net, you might decide it's best to turn a blind eye to certain topics.  As a result, though, Sarah's dark cloud continues to swirl and spread and even if she never gets elected to another political office, the damage she has done over the past many months and the damage she continues to do will take a long time to repair.

Sarah Palin, 11 days before Tri-G's "birth"

It is my firm conviction that should it be revealed that Sarah never did make an oh-so-righteous choice to have a DS baby, her entire pedestal will crumble. She will no longer have even one leg to stand on.  Her most fervent worshipers will have to reconsider their object of devotion and their support of her.

We need to reach critical mass.  That's the point where enough voices with enough substance and respect finally weigh in with their doubts and questions.  That's the point where it is no longer unseemly to ask the vital questions of someone who has most assuredly been running for high political office since July, 2009 when she quit as governor of Alaska.  We could surely benefit from the now respectable voices of The Mudflats and Shannyn Moore.  But thanks to the tireless dedication and documented research of Palingates and others, more and more people are encouraged to speak out.  Visit the Buckeye Surgeon blog for example.

It's time for others to stop being selfish.

UPDATE: Replaced photo of Shannyn and AKM with one that is much better.  Also, just in case I did not make it clear -- I respect the AK bloggers who have decided not to focus on babygate.  At the same time, I wish they would sanction a broader discussion on this topic.  The reason?  Her abysmal ethics and perpetual idiocy can be and are, regularly, excused by most Palin supporters ("so, she misspoke, so what?").  Sarah's courageous and sanctimonious "walking the walk" is her trademark, though.  It is the central supporting column of her political essence. Once it becomes common knowledge that she made it up, we'll stop seeing every Facebook entry and Twitter from this twit reaching headline status, and nobody will suggest that she has any credibility at all as a future political candidate.

The Constitution and Mrs. Palin - Part 2

The First Amendment - Freedom of Speech

Mrs. Palin has a curious take on the free speech part of the First Amendment of the Constitution.  Here she is, recorded by WMAL, an AM station in Washington, DC: "If [the media] convince enough voters that that is negative campaigning, for me to call Barack Obama out on his associations, then I don't know what the future of our country would be in terms of First Amendment rights and our ability to ask questions without fear of attacks by the mainstream media."

When she railed against her running-mate's opponent during the 2008 race, her attacks were vitriolic and incessant.  She maintained that Barack Obama could not be "one of us" because he got his start in the living room of a domestic terrorist, and continued to "pal around with" Bill Ayers, a member of the Weather Underground when candidate Obama was not yet a teenager. As a result of her rhetoric, Palin rally attendees called for Barack Obama to be killed. In a twisted interpretation of the First Amendment, Mrs. Palin insisted that she not only had a right to say what she did, riling up redneck crowds at every campaign stop, but that the media had no right to call her on it.

 Let's take a look at that part of the First Amendment. "Congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press..." Nowhere in this amendment does it say that a person who speaks freely shall be protected from the press reporting on what was said.  Yet Mrs. Palin appears to regard commentary by the press as an infringement on her right to free speech.

At the same time, she seems not to recognize the hypocrisy of her personal view because through her attorney, Mrs. Palin threatened to sue Alaskan blogger Shannyn Moore for reporting the existence of rumors about a pending investigation of her potentially corrupt dealings.

So, let's get this straight.  If Mrs. Palin says wild and incendiary things on the campaign trail, her right to free speech should protect her from the media talking about what she said.  But if someone else mentions an extant rumor that names Mrs. Palin, that person deserves to be sued for daring to repeat what others have been saying.

I'd say that Mrs. Palin's understanding of this part of the First Amendment is wanting.

Mudstock Memories -- Random Thoughts and Images

What a joy to meet so many other mudpuppies in Pittsburgh, for the 3rd Mudstock there!  This post is just random thoughts and images of the event.

Here is our live blogging setup.  I think that's Lori in LA and behind her is a computer (someone is at it) and if you follow the wire up, there's a projector that is shooting The Mudflats dot net comments up on the screen.  We took turns posting our hellos from the room at Roland's where we gathered, waiting for the guests of honor.

I got there about 20 minutes before 1:00 PM, but it still took about an hour for everyone to arrive.  All told a good 35 folks came up, although not necessarily all at one time.

There's some mudpups on the left, and on this shelf that divides our "room" from the rest of Rolands' upstairs area, a lovingly carved wooden moose held forth.  Nearby were baskets where one could make donations to the Pittsburgh mudpups who organized the shindig, and donations to the Alaskans whose villages got wiped out by the flooding ice.

It was amazing to many of us that we had learned so much about Alaska thanks to John McCain's insane shot in the dark.  And we also expressed our amazement and delight that we had found each other as a result of the intrepid bloggers, primarily AKM, who helped us connect.

Shannyn and AKM arrived, bubbling with smiles and energy.  Here's Shannyn holding forth by the projector screen.  I kept trying to figure out where the "receiving lines" started, but I should have had no worry.  The two lovely ladies circulated throughout the room throughout the event and we each had lots of opportunities to greet, hug and chat with the guests from the "upper 1."

You know, Shannyn looks just like she does when she's on Countdown.  And AKM looks just wonderful too, although she asks that we don't publish her pic directly.  However, I did manage to get a photo of her in disguise ... incognito, as it were... and here it is:

AKM is wearing a Steelers cap and a moose mask, graciously provided by our hosts for the afternoon, Hamlets Mill and the other Pittsburgh mudpuppies.  Okay, so I used a little Photoshop filtering too...

One thought dawned on us as we discussed AKM's identity exposure by Doogan.  Had that not occured, it is quite likely that AKM would not have appeared in person at Netroots Nation, and by extrapolation, we would never have gotten to meet the real live AKM.  There was a silver lining in the Doogan cloud, and now, months later, my disgust and antipathy towards him has moderated.  He's still a dirtbag, though.

My sincere hope is that our intrepid Alaskan bloggers, having trekked this far, make some new friends and firm up some good contacts for the future.  I am ever so grateful they were there, doing what they do, because without a doubt they helped save us from the massive disaster that would have been a McCain-Palin administration.

Safe travels, AKM and Shannyn.  Thanks for meeting with us!

Get Ready, Pittsburgh!

Netroots Nation starts tomorrow, and the firecracker radio host and blogger, Shannyn Moore, together with the irrepressible weaver of wonderful parables, AK Muckraker, have hit the town to attend this annual event. These two are not the only Alaska bloggers I admire greatly, but they are the two who actually made it this summer to the eastern part of the 'lower 48.'

The Pittsburgh area folks have been planning and plotting and putting together a Mudstock to coincide with the conclusion of Netroots. A Mudstock is usually a brief gathering of mudpuppies, ordinarily consisting of sharing a delectable meal somewhere and possibly joining for some sightseeing to boot. A mudpuppy is simply someone who is an admirer of AK Muckraker, and by extension, the rest of the fantabulous, progressive Alaskan voices we turned to when Sarah Palin was thrust upon us as a candidate for ... Vice President of the United States of America. I still can't believe John McCain did that to us. Oh, the two iconic images that all mudpuppies respond to are a pair of yellow boots (duh, for walking through mud!) and a majestic moose, code-named Brian.

It is my great fortune to be near enough to Pittsburgh and able to travel to the upcoming Pittsburgh Mudstock! Can you tell I'm excited? I've been preparing for days.

• Ordered and received my very own figurine of a moose - check
  
• Dusted off and cleaned out travel bags - check
• Made a list of computer essentials to bring - check
• Installed IPhone apps that will let me tweet text and even images - check
• Got approved for a day off work - check
  
• Reserved a rental car since mine may or may not make it - check
• Reserved a hotel room - check
• Cooked and froze food so housemates wouldn't starve in my absence (guys... *eyeroll*) - check
• Charged up the battery on the camcorder - check
• Printed out driving directions and loaded destination maps - check

Okay, well, it's just a weekend and I won't go into what I'm packing to wear and stuff. But I'll be tweeting as I can along the way (you can see my Twitter feed on the left of the blog), and blogging when I can when I get there, and uploading pics when I return.

For anyone in the neighborhood, you can still RSVP until Friday night to join in the fun! Here's the forum thread with all the Pittsburgh Mudstock info. Just e-mail Hamlet's Mill and let him know you are coming!