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!

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.

An Elaborate and Systematic Plan of Action

Bristol Palin's answers to Greta Van Susteren's questions included several key words that we've heard Sarah use before:  advocate, had to grow up a lot faster, focusing on getting through school, I just am so blessed...

So it struck me when Bristol used the term "game plan" not once but twice in the interview, that those were not her words, either.  Here's the relevant section of the interview to put this phrase in context (bolding is mine and the transcript comes from Fox):

VAN SUSTEREN: And I imagine [your mom and dad] had some guidance for you, or some thought.

BRISTOL: Yes, they just wanted us to sit down and make a game plan, like, what we were going to do and stuff.

VAN SUSTEREN: Had you told Levi's family?

BRISTOL: No, not yet.

VAN SUSTEREN: When did that come about?

BRISTOL: That came about probably, like, the following day.

VAN SUSTEREN: And how did that go over?

BRISTOL: Well, his mom was -- she was scared for us, too. Just we needed to sit down and make a game plan. But she was excited. We were all excited for the baby, of course.

What sort of "game plan" do you need to sit down and devise when your high school junior tells you she's pregnant?  Here's a definition for "game plan" from an online dictionary:

Noun	1.	game plan - (figurative) a carefully thought out strategy for achieving an objective in war or politics or business or personal affairs; "newscasters speculated about the President's game plan for an invasion" scheme, strategy - an elaborate and systematic plan of action
	2.	game plan - (sports) a plan for achieving an objective in some sport athletics, sport - an active diversion requiring physical exertion and competition scheme, strategy - an elaborate and systematic plan of action

Schemes, strategies, achieving objectives, and sports metaphors -- that sure sounds like Sarah and not Bristol to me.  So what kind of "game plan" exactly was needed?  You don't have to make a game plan to figure out what maternity clothes to wear.  Or when to have pre-natal visits.  Or how to get the vitamins and nutrients your body needs during pregnancy.

No, I think this "game plan" refers to something much larger -- a plan to achieve an objective that requires careful thinking-out, diversions, and a flexible strategy.  What was the objective of the "game plan" that Bristol and Sarah and Todd (and possibly Sherry and Levi Johnston) worked out?  If we hypothesize that Bristol is Trig's birth mother, we might have this plan.

The Trig Plan

Objective

Cover for underage, unwed daughter Bristol's pregnancy by making it look like Sarah is having the baby instead.

Bonuses

1. Avoid embarrassing the Governor and disrupting her political ambitions
   
2. Avoid embarrassing the family members
3. Gain sympathy from community and church
4. Use DS baby as a political pro-life credential

Strategy

1. Hide Bristol during last 4 months of pregnancy by sending her to Sarah's sister in Anchorage.
   
2. Preemptively deny rumors of Bristol's pregnancy to the press, to 'nip it in the bud.'
   
3. Wait until 4-6 weeks before Bristol's due date, then have Sarah announce she is pregnant and due in 2 months.  This will cut down on the amount of time Sarah has to fake her pregnancy.
4. Have Sarah start wearing scarves, jackets and coats to disguise body.
   
5. Explain away lack of sharing the news of Sarah's "pregnancy" with family and staff as needed.
6. Keep Bristol and Trig out of sight if the baby comes too early. 
7. Get Sarah's picture taken with a fake belly a couple of times.  Release them if necessary.
   
8. Announce the birth of Trig after Legislative session is over and Texas speech delivered, saying he was born 4-5 weeks prematurely.  Refer to him as a gift, a joy and a blessing.
   

Another quote from the transcript noted above leads me to think there was also a "game plan" for Tripp.  Sarah mentions twice that Bristol's pregnancy was a shock.  In the context she says this, I take it to mean Bristol's second pregnancy was a shock since who would have thought Bristol could get pregnant again so soon?

SARAH PALIN: I'm still getting used to having a -- you know, my last child, Trig, much less that, you know, knowing that we would have another little bundle of joy in our midst. So yes, it was a surprise. It was a shock.

VAN SUSTEREN: Did you give her hell or were you -- at first? I mean, what...

SARAH PALIN: Yes, I kind of did. I mean, I was...

BRISTOL: We were all surprised.

SARAH PALIN: We were all surprised. Let me put it this way. And this is -- I think Bristol's kind of an example of, truly, it can happen to anybody. [...] But still an absolute shock that it happened.

Sarah says, "I'm still getting used to having a -- you know, my last child, Trig..." Why would having recently had Trig contribute to Sarah's shock on learning of Bristol's pregnancy with Tripp?  One answer is that Sarah couldn't believe that Bristol went and did it again.  So then, we have need for another "game plan."

The Tripp Plan

Objective

Get the most benefit out of releasing information about Bristol's (second) pregnancy, in light of already being nominated for Vice President.

Bonuses

1. Use the announcement to quell rumors that Sarah did not give birth to Trig.
2. Sarah gains sympathy by being supportive of Bristol.
3. Sarah gains further cred with the religious right because Bristol made a mistake getting pregnant but at least she is going to have the baby and get married (we'll see about that).
   
4. Bristol will become an 'advocate' for something... like the benefits of abstinence, or why you should just say No, or what a pain it is being an unwed mother unless you are a Governor's daughter, or...
   

Strategy

1. Preemptively announce Bristol's pregnancy as soon as possible after the VP selection announcement (throw her under the bus) to quash Babygate rumors.  After all, McCain has made his choice and can't back out now.
   
2. Have some anonymous aide say that Bristol is about five months along, which will be about one month too early for her to have also birthed Trig.
3. Keep Bristol on the bus as much as possible to avoid speculation on the stage of her pregnancy.
4. Once the campaign is over, hide Bristol away.
5. Push the supposed birth date out from middle to late December, and then announce it just before the year ends no matter what.
6. Procrastinate if magazines come calling to get baby pictures.
   
7. Keep Bristol hidden until she does give birth.
8. As soon as Tripp no longer looks obviously newborn, get a friendly TV personality to do an interview with Bristol and finally show the new arrival.
9. Use the interview to start Bristol's career as an 'advocate' for something and as another way to get Sarah's political positions on prime time TV.

[Disclaimer - I have never seen a real Palin family "game plan."  This is just what I imagine one might have looked like.  YMMV!]

Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue

In the Pure Gossip Category

I thought of Crystal Gayle's song when I heard, from more than a couple people, that Bristol Palin's "fiance" has fathered another child besides Tripp.  This is being whispered by a few sources... and then I listened to Bristol's very vague answers about Levi Johnston during her recent exclusive interview with Greta, available here on YouTube.  "Eventually, we'd like to get married," said Bristol.  It sure doesn't sound like there are any firm plans.  We all thought the wedding was to take place last year, before Tripp's birth.  And then the wedding was supposed to happen this summer.  Could Levi's dallying around have anything to do with the hesitation?

Babies, Babies, Who Are Those Babies?

The baby that Sarah Palin brought into camera range as Greta was talking to Bristol could be, finally, the missing Tripp!  We didn't get to see much of him close up, but during the interview, several photographs of babies floated on the screen, interspersed with the live shots.  Just to play devil's advocate, we saw no attribution for any of the photos, nor any dating for the photos.  We should not assume that all the photos were of the same baby. Especially that one image of a grumpy-looking wide-nostriled baby sitting up. Just sayin'...

The Birth Date Issue

Since we have no way of verifying Tripp's birth date, I spent some time looking at babies on YouTube...

Here's a baby at 4 weeks:


And here's one at 7 weeks (Tripp's age if he was born 12-27-2008):


A seven-week infant seems to have more awareness of its surroundings, and responds more affirmatively to stimulus.

The shot we had of "Tripp live" could be at four weeks, five, six or seven weeks of age.  From what I've read, it is not at all uncommon to get pregnant again within 2-6 weeks of giving birth.  A little fudge on Trig, a little fudge on Tripp, and you've got a creamy bowl of Mudflats #4 winner of the new Sarah Palin Ben & Jerry's flavor:  "I Can See Fudge From My House!"

Where to Begin?

[Updated to remove list item - further research indicates that the McCain-Palin Compliance Fund, even though established in 2/2008, did not add Palin's name until late August, 2008.]

I've been puzzling for a few days about how to proceed in my campaign to keep shining light on the politician from Alaska who has made it obvious she has national aspirations.  Every time I start writing a blog entry, the research I do uncovers yet another great take on the falsehoods or deceptions or outrageousness of Alaska's current Governor.  So what I've decided to do is re-hash what has already been said, and along the way, if I can uncover anything new, I'll post it.

Current categories for future posts are lies, contradictions, and things that are missing.

Under lies, we have:

1. Sarah was surprised in late August, 2008, to learn that she was selected to be McCain's VP pick.  The truth is that Sarah likely knew well ahead of the announcement, that she would be named as McCain's running mate.
   
2. Sarah ignored the ruling and results of the Legislative committee charged with investigating Troopergate.  Sarah says, in full voice, that she was cleared of any wrongdoing.  The report clearly states that she was guilty of ethics violations.
3. Sarah claimed that she was responsible for telling the US Congress, "Thanks, but no thanks," when it came to a hefty earmark for "the bridge to nowhere."  The truth is Sarah pushed hard for that earmark, and only when it was nationally laughed at did she back off her support.  And then, even though the specific project was canned, the Congress still provided the funds which were used for general infrastructure projects.  Sarah did not return one cent of the money as she implies.
   
4. Sarah claims she has shown her medical records, proving that she gave birth to Trig.  The truth is, she has not permitted even one medical record to be released.

Under contradictions we have, so far...

1. Sarah says on one hand that she hid her (alleged 2007-2008) pregnancy with fashion-assisted camouflage, and on the other that she did nothing to hide it because she believed that women need to show they can do a job and have babies too.
2. Sarah claims on one hand that the McCain campaign kept her from doing more interviews with members of the press, and on the other, that the McCain campaign insisted she keep on with interviews (esp. Katie Couric) even when Sarah felt they were not going well.
3. Sarah's spokesperson keeps insisting that Sarah is keeping Alaska first now, and has only initiated SarahPAC so that she can "draw a bright line" between her activities as governor and her activities as a potential 2012 presidential candidate.  Meantime, Sarah does not have time to meet with Alaska's Mayors, or travel to Emmonak, or show up in Juneau during the current legislative session -- but she does have time, for instance, to go to D.C. for the Alfalfa Club dinner among other self-promotion activities.
   
4. Sarah blasted media in general for failing to take the extra step to investigate dastardly rumors concerning her alleged maternity, yet when her own state's premier news organization tried to get unbiased, verifiable information to disprove the rumors, she refused to provide it, calling the requests outrageous.

And then, things that are in-your-face missing:

1. We've got no confirmation of the date of birth, or the place of birth, for Trig Palin.
2. Following what seems to be a pattern, we also have no confirmation of the date of birth or place of birth (not to mention proof of birth) for Tripp Johnston.  This is critical because if Bristol was pregnant with Tripp and gave birth to him in December 2008, that makes it extremely unlikely that the rumors that Bristol is Trig's birth-mother are true.

I'm sure there are plenty more lies, contradictions and things that are missing.  But that's a start!  Let me know if I should include more items on any one of these lists.  I plan to do individual blog posts for each.

Tripp-in'

Back in late August, 2008, the media and blogosphere were asking, "Sarah who?"  John McCain's VP pick took a lot of people by surprise, so those who like to be informed about Vice Presidential candidates started trying to find out about Sarah.

When Sarah introduced herself to the country from Ohio on August 29, 2008, she presented four members of her family as well -- husband Todd, daughters Bristol, Willow and Piper, and baby Trig.  Bristol was wearing a burp-cloth and nestling Trig during Sarah's speech (video).

Immediately, the Internet began buzzing about rumors (that had already persisted for many months in Alaska) suggesting Bristol was the one who had been pregnant with Trig, not Sarah.

McAllister was an Anchorage TV reporter before working for Palin. He said Palin once approached him - before people knew she was pregnant - assuming he'd been hearing rumors.

"She said it's not true about Bristol," McAllister said.

At the time, the rumor would have been that Palin's daughter was pregnant.
(ADN)

(Sarah had made her surprise announcement that she was 7 months pregnant on March 4, 2008, so her attempt to dispel rumors that Bill McAllister may have heard would have been earlier -- February? January?)

Three days after Sarah's entrance on the national stage, through a statement released by the McCain campaign on 9-1-2008, Sarah acknowledged that one rumor was, at least sort of, true.  Bristol was expecting a baby.  She was "about 5 months along," according to an aide who asked not to be named (CNN).   The campaign said this news was released in order to squelch the other rumor that Sarah was not Trig's biological mother.  Someone who gave birth 4-1/2 months ago could not also be 5 months pregnant.

At that time, the Internet storm subsided somewhat and people took a "wait and see" approach.  Would Bristol deliver on or about her (first announced) due date of December 18?



It turns out that there has been a birth - maybe. All the media outlets who picked up on the story referred to People Magazine as the source. According to People, Bristol's great-aunt (who lives in Washington State) got an e-mail from Bristol's grandfather, Chuck Heath, saying that Tripp Easton Mitchell Johnston was born to Bristol Palin and Levi Johnston on Sunday, December 28, 2008 and weighed 7lbs 4oz.  The date and birth weight shifted a bit over the next few days and is now reported as taking place on Saturday, December 27, 2008 / 7lbs 7oz.  The same issue of People tried to get a statement from Sarah.

Bill McAllister, a spokesman for Gov. Palin said, "This office will not be issuing any statements on [Bristol's baby]. We’re here to talk about state government and that matter falls outside of that."  (People Magazine)

However, the Alaska State Web site did publish a news release about the birth on New Year's Eve, 12-31-2008.  Here's Bill McAllister again:

The governor's office previously declined to comment to honor the family's wishes that the event remain as private as possible. However, the high volume of press inquiries, along with some erroneous information that was published, prompted the governor to make a statement. (AK.US Press Archive)

The people who were waiting and seeing since September 1, 2008, are still waiting but not seeing anything yet.  Where's Tripp?