Friday 8 May 2009

Open thread (with new picture)


I'm going to experiment with this business of "Open Threads". Some posts generate a lot of discussion. Because I'm a bit too prolific, the posts that get people going get buried and the discussion dies out.

So, here you are: if you wish to continue to discuss Bristol, Candie's, babies and all that (or anything else), but don't feel inclined to comment on the more political posts and appear to be off-topic by going back to your preferred subjects, feel free to do so on this thread.

I have no rules as such, and so far all discussions have been quite civilized, just beware of slanderous stuff and don't fight too much, don't get offensive, etc. It's all common sense, really.

It will be interesting to see what happens. I expect a lot of the chatting will happen while I'm asleep, considering the time difference, so I'm curious to see what I'll find in the morning...

If this works out and the open thread is well received (please let me know your opinion), I'll do it every so often, yes?

Picture: I've changed it. I had not seen this one before. Although it's a Christmas photo, it was taken on September 14, 2007. Interesting, eh?

Enjoy.

(Just in case anybody's wondering about the picture I removed, it was a steaming cup of coffee, nothing serious...)
.

43 comments:

jer said...

Stupid fun is making your own Keyboard Cat video:
http://bobsworth.dreamhosters.com/keyboardcat/

ravenstrick said...

Todd fills in for the governor at events in Washington and New York this weekend.

So, um....isn't there a Lt. Governor? Does Sean Parnell ever get to do anything??

FEDUP!!! said...

"So, um....isn't there a Lt. Governor? Does Sean Parnell ever get to do anything??"

YUP! He gets to draw a good salary (especially for not ever having/getting to do anything!)

Dianne said...

As far as that photo goes - somebody must have been pregnant then but, for some reason, I just can't see that in Sarah.

ravenstrick said...

On a CNN comments page:

"Wasilla Cowgirl May 8th, 2009 6:14 pm ET

If the MSM would seriously investigate, they would find there is more to this. SP is doing preDamage control (Bristol too) before the truth comes out about Bristols first baby. Hint-this is the 2nd and it's a sad, sordid story."

teal said...

Little gOV' CAN only DO THINGS wiTH GiNO, too much spotlight on him, you know could show that GiNO is unqualified...WONDEring, DO THEY GET ALONG?}

Rengina! open thread...GREATEST THINGS ever! I'm up all hours of the night - so I for one will be posting...THANKS

Anonymous said...

Couldn't figure out why TAHD P is attending in her place. That is SO weird - who would want to sit next to him? He's a hick.

Then again...I suppose a hick is better than a media whore.

basheert said...

Ravenstrick: Oh yeah I think everyone really is feeling something is coming. And it will be something the MSM is not going to be able to ignore when pandering to the GINO.

I still want to know if they are drugging those babie(s)? Something is weird about that.

Anonymous said...

@ravenstick, it sure seems as if this information is leaking from a different sources now...It will be interesting to see how it breaks...I hope someone has posted the "Wasilla Cowgirl" comments to PD.

WV is "ma topper." Seriously.

wow said...

Bristol sure looks pregnant in that "Christmas" pic.
Especially when you see how thin she looks in pics of her taken three months before that.

Anonymous said...

Regina thanks for letting us discuss the Babygate controversy here. I am sure others have their reasons for banning discussion of it but I think it is fine to discuss it. I think the whole hush hush is why it hasn't leaked yet.
If you have read about abuse of incest, you know "secrets" are always part of it. Until someone has the braveness to speak up. Squashing it or keeping it secret isn't good for anyone. I mean what is wrong with talking about it! It isn't spreading rumors to give your opinion.

Anonymous said...

About the photo on the stairs - there is a photo of the Palins on an outside deck which had been bantied about with speculation as to the photo's actual date. If the photo seen here is Sept 2007 then I suggest the deck pic is from the same photo shoot. Sarah is in a black jacket rather than the red but the other four are in identical clothing.

I can be wrong, but it seems to me the deck photo was posted as proof Bristol couldn't have been pregnant in December 2007.

Be interesting to know...

OzMud -

Lisabeth said...

Maybe people who live in Alaska are afraid to talk about it because they fear being threatened or treated badly. It seems like many fear the Palins.

Anonymous said...

I am with you, basheert, about the babies being "drugged". I don't see how Tripp was not sedated in the video where he didn't have the slightest twitch. For the babies we need to know.

Anonymous said...

I am an avid follower this site, PD, Immoral Minority and others that are calling SP on the carpet for her pregnancy farce. The wild ride story was what made me think that her story wasn't all that accurate, and when the flight attendants, who after being on a flight with her for 10 hours didnt notice her stage of pregnancy? I checked the weather in Dallas on April 17, 2008 and it was 77 degrees. SP would not have been able to hide under big coats or jackets! When the attendants checked for seat belts four times (departure in Dallas, landing in Seattle, Departure in Seattle, Landing in Dallas) were they not aware of her stage of pregnancy then? The Gusty pic should have let them know she was big as a house.

Anonymous said...

I meant to say landing in Anchorage!!!

Anonymous said...

When I saw her on NBC and looked at that baby, my, HONEST TO GOD, first reaction was "that isn't a real child"...looked like a big doll to me. He did sorta move once, but otherwise was stiff as a board.

anne s said...

Yeah I wondered if little Trigg was given doses of something like cough medicine to make him woozy but have never been around a little downs syndromn baby so wasn't sure if they are normally really docile?
Tripp actually seemed a little squirmy (alive and normal for a baby) in the Greta interview.. but now that they are back in the bright lights.. the babies seem to be back to comotose stage..
Very creepy

trishSWFL said...

Anonymous 04:36said...
When I saw her on NBC and looked at that baby, my, HONEST TO GOD, first reaction was "that isn't a real child"...looked like a big doll to me. He did sorta move once, but otherwise was stiff as a board.
~~~~~~~~~
Yep! My first thought when I saw that 'baby' was that it really wasn't a baby at all---I thought it was one of those baby dolls that look real!

Are they drugging the babies for tv appearances?

FEDUP!!! said...

I am wondering if GINO socked one to Pres. Obama with her substituting the first Toad.
Wouldn't it be up to the host to decide who he wants to attend? I mean, if *I* were to invite my neighbors, and they accept, but withdraw in the last minute, I will NOT let anyone else off the street come to my party, just because my neighbors can't come.
I know the Obamas are too classy for this, but wouldn't it be something, if Toad showed up (with the kids?), and the door keeper says: sorry, first Dud - *YOU* were not invited, and neither were those kids of yours.

FEDUP!!! said...

Trish: That was my reaction, too!
Those doll s *do* exist, also, too! For example, my daughter had a newborn-size doll from Germany, with very real features and proportions, and I remember once when I went with my daughter to the pediatrician, and I was carrying the doll under my arm like you would carry a book.
The nurse got quite testy when she saw me like that - and then had to laugh and apologized when she realized that the doll was just that (wearing my daughters baby clothes BTW!)The nurse was quite impressed by the life-like features.

Lisabeth said...

It's Tripp she had with her and not Trig. I can't imagine someone actually drugging their baby. He did look completely out of it but I guess I'm hoping he really was just exhausted from a long trip and being off schedule.
The thing that strikes me is how you Bristol is! I had so much fun and experienced so much between the ages if 18-25, I really feel sorry for her.

Anonymous said...

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26970782/
Those dolls are called reborns, I think it was HBO that did a special on them. They look eerily real and many people take them out in public and no one is the wiser. Here is a link to a story about them. If you want to see a source to get them just google "reborns". It's a strange world we live in.
I think it's odd that Bristol keeps tapping Tripp with her forefinger and he doesn't respond in the least.

dubaireader said...

I once almost posted the question of a family portrait for Xmas 2007 and never did... And here we go....

Lisabeth said...

Do a google search for an article called "All my Palins." you will find it quite easily and it is very interesting.
It says Track lived in Michigan his senior year. I have never heard that before. Does anyone know what year that was and why he was away from home?

AKPetMom said...

Lisabeth:
There was a massive school bus vandalism in Wasilla in December of 2005. Track Palin was allegedly involved and even purchased the alcohol that fueled the tire-slitting vandalism rampage, although the other two boys rolled over and said that Track was not involved in their highjinks.

However, Track decided to go to attend school in Michigan starting in August of 2006. Perhaps the heat was on and his parents sent him out of town? From all accounts around Wasilla he was a star hockey player that many coaches were happy to have here in the Valley, but alas, he decided to go to Michigan and "get more training"....as he was going to be a hockey player, most likely on the college level and beyond.....

BUT WAIT, then he, hurt his shoulder in Michigan and decided that he would enlist in the Army instead of pursuing his college hockey dreams. Couldn't have been some sort of plea deal, you know, join the Army instead of go to jail for your vandalism.

That's what we all see as fact here in Wasilla town. Track got up to some "malfeasance" in Dec 2006, spent school year 2006-2007 in Michigan "studyin' hockey", then oops, injured himself and had to join the Army instead of going to (jail) college.

At least he ended up in a "lite" unit that would not put him in harms way...I'm sure mommy made sure of that :-)

So, that's the story of Track Palin, as it's been told here in Wasilla, AK.

Anonymous said...

As long as we're talking about Bristol and the Baby, this is my take on it: If she really intended to be a serious spokesperson, she would have been a little more prepared with her answers, instead of lovingly displaying the example of why abstinence doesn't work. Todd and the Baby could easily have been backstage in the "green room" and there would be a brief camera shot of them-- then it's no big deal that the kid is sleeping. But the limp baby and daddy did not add to Bristol's "credibility" not that she actually had any. I really think that this was some kind of power play to counteract the good publicity that Levi was getting. They should be working out their custody issues in a lawyer's office, not on TV. They really are "All My Palins."

Anonymous said...

AK Pet Mom, thanks for your input here and on other blogs. I think you put good local perspective on things when outsiders to Alaska are wondering what do these people think way up there. Before Sherry Johnston became famous for her arrest and even before that, mother of Levi the guy who impregnated the gov's daughter, did anyone really know who she was? Is all her noteriaty from these events or was there any common knowledge of a relationship with her and any other of the Palin clan members?

Lisa K said...

AM pet mom I know this is a horrible thought but would that also be the time prior right around when Brisol may have been pregnant? The reason Is I keep thinking about the doctor who supposedly delivered Trig and what her special is and it's not ob! If I was pregnant, one 40, with a. Known DS baby I would want a high risk GYN. I really hope my "thought" is not true. I would not wish that on anyone but but it's more common then we think

And thank you for your answer !

Anonymous said...

I just listened to Bristol's most recent interview while holding Tripp with the sound off twice. That kid really is knocked out especially with the number of times Bristol strokes his face with her forefinger and moves his arm up and down. Any movement is her body moving and rocking and leg shaking. So you have this totally asleep baby and both Todd and Bristol are constantly looking down at him. Weird.

AKPetMom said...

Anon at 8:15pm:
Many scenarios regarding Trig's paternity are bandied about here in Wasilla. Yes, Catherine Baldwin Johnson's specialty is in child services. Family abuse, rape, incest, etc.

No one knows why Palin chose the Dr. that she did, and has chosen that doctor whom does not specialize in OBGYN for all of her deliveries.

I'd like to think that there is no big dark secret in the Palin family, but they just keep proving themselves to be so dysfunctional that I really don't know anymore.

There was a famous cabaret show in Anchorage Alaska at the Fly By Night Club. One of their funniest acts ever in their long history of making fun of all things Alaskan was a little song and dance about the people out here in "the valley". The song was called "I'm My Own Grandpa" and was all about the "colorful" people that live here in our neck of the woods.

I grew up in Virginia, so am used to people making jokes about us mountain people being, "inbred" and such...just came w/ the territory. So I just always laugh off the jokes that the "urban" anchoragites make at our expense out here in the Valley....but, go to WalMart in Wasilla any given Sunday, and you might end up questioning whether this is fact or fiction.

I've stated on other blogs that Palin and others like her were never on my radar. I have much more intellectual and artistic interests than her and her family and regard education as a priority rather than something that is optional. I have to say that people that I associate with have always viewed the Palins as people not worth considering. BUT, darn it, she did get elected Gov because there are certainly more people like her than like me in this state, but I still love it here.

Did I get my point across?

Ok, here, I'll say it. My circle of friends views their entire family as uneducated rednecks whose lives are dictated by the Assembly of God.

That's about it....and for the other poster that asked about Levi Johnston and family...they live 3 miles down the road from me and I'd never heard of them until Levi took the stage at the RNC. Once again, not that they are not nice people, we just don't have much in common.

Anonymous said...

I'll have to watch the Bristol with stiff baby again. Anonymous 04:36, do you know the time when he sorta moved once? I only saw her moving move him. trish in SW FL, some young mothers today are more likely to use sleep aids on babies. The little Anthony girl was two, but didn't her mother use something so she would sleep? This is one of those things no one wants to talk about.

The dolls are something else and a little creepy. Do they make them with mouths agape? Someone said they saw something where Tripp was active before the NBC interview.

From the Fox interview from Feb, I remember Tripp as in deep sleep also. I don't remember him moving. I didn't see all the video. She may have something she can give him right before lights, camera, action. A medical person could know the differences in "exhausted", "out cold" or "drugged".

Pat said...

I'm Anonymous 4:36...

Anonymous 9:07 asked when I saw Tripp move on the video...it was at 3:37 just a little movement of the leg.

eat whine rally said...

AKPetMom,

"The song was called "I'm My Own Grandpa" and was all about the "colorful" people that live here in our neck of the woods."

You are one funny lady! Now I've got Cheerios all over my laptop!

Thanks for starting my day off with laughter!

penny

Anonymous said...

I've been a reader but never posted before and I'm rushing to work but....Track being in Michigan makes me think that's a better reason for McCain's NOT campaigning in Michigan, as in the campaign didn't know about Track's (or any Palin's for that matter) escapades before selecting SP. Also, in the Bristol interview..........I've held a lot of nieces and nephews, and observed their mom's holding them, and after a while the arm gets tired and you either switch arms or you link your hands together so the baby's weight is supported by both arms. If you're led to believe that something is a real baby, you tend to accept it, especially if the baby's face is angled away from the observer (tho it seems most women hold babies in their left arm) and there's an effort to keep said baby at a 'safe distance from all those nasty germs' the observer might be spreading. Hope this makes sense.......gotta run.

MrsTarquinBiscuitbarrel said...

Speaking as someone who went on national (and local) television a number of times when my two elder children were infants, I asked friends or relatives near the studios to babysit, either in their homes, or in two cases, in the the studios' "green rooms." (Once, I hired a rent-a-granny sitter highly recommended by my hotel, another time a junior production assistant at the television station was pressed into service.)

With the caregivers I left Playtex bottle-liners filled with expressed, frozen and defrosted milk in a Playtex bottle. As infants, none of my kids otherwise used a bottle of any kind for anything; my eldest held a standard bottle like a clarinet, and was most frustrated. So for drinking water and juice (and for the rare breast-milk backup), I bought Playtex bottles, which don't need to be tipped up, as the liner contracts during sucking in any position.

In no case were my infants interested in these unfamiliar bottles of breast milk. They took only a few sips, and waited for me to come back. When I did (after as long as nine hours away), they spent an hour or more blissfully tanking up at the breast.

Before taking airline trips with our infants and toddlers, my ultra-careful pediatrician prescribed a pre-flight dosage of Benadryl to make them drowsy. Luckily, I tried this method well before leaving home to travel; Benadryl (like some other medications for adults, modified for children) had the opposite effect as for adults, and made my babies want to par-tay 'way into the night.

Tripp appeared not deeply asleep, but drugged or even anesthetized. I have seen two of my kids in infancy and childhood--one child many times, one only twice--put under general anesthesia in my presence for MRIs and/or surgeries. This is a frightening thing to watch: When touched, the little ones under anesthesia do not repond, even by twitching or pulling faces.

Later, when they were able to walk or crawl, before a plane trip, I would take them to a park playground to play vigorously for an hour or more. They invariably went to sleep on the plane, soon after takeoff.

Even though BP insisted that Tripp was "exhausted," that show was aired live, and if he had not been slipped a wee drop of something, it was entirely likely that he'd have woken up and begun to howl. Television lights are hot enough to fry chicken; I found it hard to believe that that he would not have awakened, due also to unavoidable noise made by producers, stage hands, etc., while setting up the shot.

Just my two cents' worth, on the subject of drugged or anesthetized babies, and also from experience having BEEN on television when my primary concern was how and where my then-nursing infants would be cared for while I was being filmed...

regina said...

MrsTarquinBiscuitbarrel,

I was brought up in a television family. Both my parents were TV producers, I worked for a couple of TV channels as well and I know the environment... It's the last place I would expect a healthy, non-drugged baby to sleep so soundly.

I had two boys, one placid, one who could cry for sport and I wouldn't entertain the idea of taking either of them on a campaign trail (a punishing schedule for grown-ups!)or a TV studio for an interview.

I worked in childcare for over 20 years and have a deep passion for children's rights and wellbeing. It pains me to see these Palin babies being handled like mere props. If they were dogs we would see some society or the other stepping in to protest about their treatment.

Some people regard their children as personal property and that's very disturbing. When Bristol said a baby is not an accessory to have on your hip, it made me want to swim the Atlantic and give her a slap.

We all have different lives and the pressures that come with our occupations. But a thoughtful mother would try to minimize the impact of certain choices and not expose their babies to hours of distressful chaos.

I could go on, but I'm getting really pissed-off.

Thanks for telling us what goes on behind the camera.

Reg

Anonymous said...

After reading these last two posts, I feel ill. I didn't notice the quiet baby until some mentioned it and then I went and looked. I really want to give these people the benefit of the doubt but.....
Do you think someone will report this? How could anyone even investigate this! To me, Bristol seems depressed and not happy. I feel badly for her, I can't help it. Something about this whole thing is sad.

crystalwolf aka caligrl said...

Mrs. TB: says
Tripp appeared not deeply asleep, but drugged or even anesthetized. I have seen two of my kids in infancy and childhood--one child many times, one only twice--put under general anesthesia in my presence for MRIs and/or surgeries. This is a frightening thing to watch: When touched, the little ones under anesthesia do not repond, even by twitching or pulling faces.Mrs. TB you bring up a excellent point here!!!!!
As a ex Vet Tech one of the ways we could test for depth of anesthesia was the "twitch test" touch a cat or dog at the inside of their eye and look for response/no response!
This is getting horrifying! I know if I take bendryl I go fast asleep. But to give to a child that doesn't need it or worse give something Else stronger, to actually anesthetize the baby....makes my blood run cold.

Anonymous said...

Has anyone seen a comment where someone has said the baby looks fine, there is nothing wrong with the no twitch, no pulling faces baby?

There is only silence. The c4pTEAM types, ALL are not mentioning something so obvious to others. Is this something her Church does? The baby could look "normal" to them. Do they all do this to their babies?

Anonymous said...

MrsTarquinBiscuitbarrel
I had no idea a legitimate doctor would prescribe Benadryl to a 4 month old baby. Can't you get Benadryl over the counter? I've never seen baby Benadryl, that may be why a prescription? We don't know that is what put Tripp's central nervous system out cold.

ItchySkratchy on an adult sleeping and drug thread said...
"well, I'll tell ya that I get laughed at every time I say that diphenhydramine (benadryl) is my fav. sleep aid short of benzos, but it's the truth... I say, if it works, do it.....just don't take too much, because a diphenhydramine overdose can cause all sorts of UGLY dysphoric occurances in you, so be careful..."

Aren't we talking about what they use to make Meth? Ephera, Diphenhydramine or something they get from the Benadryl?
I also notice where some people prefer to snort it.

how are kids getting "high" off benadryl?
http://tiny.cc/dryl

from info on Benadryl
PREGNANCY: Diphenhydramine has not been adequately evaluated in pregnant women. It should be used only if the benefit outweighs the potential but unknown risks.
NURSING MOTHERS: Diphenhydramine is secreted in breast milk. Because of the risk of stimulation and seizures in infants, especially newborns and premature infants, antihistamines should not be used by nursing mothers.

I know my family has allergies. When I took Benadryl I fell asleep, it did help the allergy. A relative with the same allergy won't take it because they have the opposite reaction.

It is plausible a nursing mother taking Benadryl could put their baby out by nursing? I don't know Bristol is nursing now.

When she was rubbing his mouth I wondered if she was a little worried she may have given him too much. When my parents got old and would nap, sometimes I would want to get a reaction because I wasn't sure they were still with us.

Obviously, with Sarah Palin's "Strong, Kind-Hearted, Independent" daughter the Palinbots will dare not take off their rose colored glasses. Tripp is a prop for the ones that can't see his condition.

EyeOnYou said...

Okay to lighten the mood a bit here, what the heck is up with those outfits the girls are wearing? I swear to you that they look like what we wore in the 70's!

Anonymous said...

EyeOnYou I think it is called "retro".