Thursday 31 December 2009

Happy New Year! Open thread - UPDATE 2!


2009 was a good year for the "basement" bloggers. We tackled serious subjects, discussed many interesting topics and had a few laughs together...

Palingates started very modestly in February, with around 13,000 readers in that first month. We're pleased to say that we're going to wave good bye to 2009 with 180,000 readers in December.

Our little community is growing and we're sure there will be more opportunities for people to make new friends in 2010.

Together we'll continue in our quest for the truth. Many eagle eyed sleuths have contributed extra pieces to the ever expanding puzzle that is Sarah Palin.

Patrick, Kathleen and Regina are the names you know, but commenters and others send e-mails, not forgetting the many people behind the scenes, who gather new information and try to make sense of Sarah Palin's convoluted stories. It's sometimes very tiring and disheartening, but we all get a kick when things finally fall into place. A big thank you to all for your patience and dedication!

The big prize for providing invaluable information must go to Sarah Palin herself. "Going Rogue", Twitter and her interviews are a veritable gold mine. We didn't include Facebook because it's not really our Sarah writing any of it...

Here's to an exciting and fruitful 2010!

Please use this shiny new thread to continue the discussions started earlier. Those threads are getting a tad too long.

(I wonder if the person behind Sarah Palin managed to catch the rat before it escaped from the nest...) .

+++

UPDATE (by Patrick):

Here is one of the last laughs of 2009, and it's a particularly good one:

Palin Family New Year Newsletter!

(h/t Mrs TBB!)

Apart from that, in addition to everything that Regina has said and what I couldn't have said better, I would like to thank our brilliant REGINA for letting me become her co-blogger. It's quite a big deal if you have an established blog and then let someone else fiddle around with it. You lose some of the control you had before, but of course we were doing it properly and Kathleen and I met up with Regina at her home in France before we fully started our cooperation.

I wished that more of you had a chance to meet Regina, who is a brilliant person with a strong sense of justice and whose heart is always on the side of the oppressed and disadvantaged.

+++

UPDATE (by Regina):

Patrick caught me by surprise with his update.We exchanged e-mails before my husband and I left for a friend's house to eat, drink and be merry. Fine tuning of the Open Thread was discussed and agreed, happy new year and all that, and I didn't think I would see any updates... We stayed at our friend's overnight and have just returned home. I headed straight to the computer and voilĂ : I'm still blushing!

I can play this game too!

For some months, Patrick had been a voice at the other end of the phone and I knew there was a Kathleen over there as well. Then we invited them to come and spend some time in our beautiful village, not knowing what to expect.

I'll tell you: they are a most charming couple, with a fantastic sense of humour and fun, coupled with an honest desire to discover the truth. We had a great time and it wasn't all about Sarah Palin, I hasten to add. Patrick can only be described as the most enthusiastic walking encyclopedia and Kathleen as a calming influence, with an uncanny gift for finding things on the internet and making sense of confusing stuff.

Patrick was reluctant to blog, so we started slowly, with his wonderful guest posts. Then there was the trip to Australia and Patrick was thrown in at the deep end of the world of blogging. We became equal partners and you have all seen the results: palingates reached new heights, the readership went through the roof, we were mentioned on national television and linked by some major sites.

Well, Patrick, thanks for fiddling with my established blog!

This partnership works because Patrick and Kathleen are brilliant people with a strong sense of justice and whose hearts are always on the side of the oppressed and disadvantaged.

Thank you, from the bottom of my blogging heart...

( I was asked to link to the full gallery of photos of Sarah Palin in Arizona. I think Bree Palin and other bloggers have been having too much fun with the book tour galleries and they are now private and can't be viewed...)
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Wednesday 30 December 2009

Palin-Johnston custody trial: Some inconvenient facts - The case of Diana Palin - NEW PICTURES! - UPDATE 2

Thomas Van Flein knows how to do his duty.

In his petition for custody on behalf of Bristol Palin, he dutifully points out all negative facts which could speak against Levi Johnston (including messages from Levi's fake twitter account). For example, he strongly emphasizes the fact that Levi Johnston's mother, as everyone knows, had been convicted for dealing drugs and writes:

"Ms. Johnston is a convicted felon. She is also a chronic pain patient and undergoes daily, regular, and sustained narcotic infusions. The side effects of such narcotics are well known, but often include sleepiness. The baby cannot be left with Sherry Johnston without someone else there to supervise, as Ms. Johnston could fall asleep or be too drowsy to appropriately monitor the baby. Further, in light of the illegal drug dealing by Ms. Johnston, there is a risk that she may re-offend, keep medications around the house which could be accessible to the baby, have illegal drug users come to her house (or she could take the baby in her car during a drug sale), or otherwise engage in behaviour (criminal or negligent) which could result in a variety of harms to the baby. For these reasons, any visitation schedule for Mrs. Johnston should be conditioned on a neutral third party supervisor, paid for by Ms. Johnston."

Screenshots (click to enlarge):



Accordingly, we here at palingates feel that we have to do our duty, too!

Which is to continue to expose the truth behind the deceitful facade which Queen Sarah has created!

There is one subject on which our team has done extensive research, starting several months ago, and we have patiently waited for the right time to publish these inconvenient facts. This right time has come now, as the Palins use the conviction of Sherry Johnston as an argument in the custody battle.

I am talking about the subject of Diana Palin.

Diana Palin is the half-sister of Todd Palin. Apparently they share the same father, Jim Palin. We are not aware of the identity of Diana Palin's mother at this point.


Diana Palin in November 2008:

Diana Palin around November 5, 2008 at Biltmore Hotel Resort in Arizona, holding Trig Palin. In the background Sarah Palin's sister Molly with one of her sons. Diana Palin posted this picture on her myspace-account.


Diana Palin in April 2009:




(click on pictures to enlarge)

On April 2, 2009, Diana Palin, Todd Palin’s half-sister was arrested after police say she broke into a Wasilla home for the second time in a week to steal money. The ADN reported the story on April 3, 2009 and followed up on April 13, 2009 with a report about the indictment by a grand jury on burglary, theft and trespass charges related to three break-ins at a Wasilla home:

"Police say she broke into a home on West Mill Site Circle owned by Theodore Turcott to steal cash. Turcott told investigators he'd lost nearly $2,600 in two prior burglaries, so when he saw an unfamiliar car pull into his driveway, he waited in a bathroom for Palin and confronted her after she headed straight for a cabinet where he kept his money, according to a police affidavit filed by officer Jentry Crain. Palin's 4-year-old daughter came into the home as her mother was being detained by Turcott, who was armed, police and prosecutors say.

On April 2, police arrested Palin for that day's break-in and also for a burglary March 31 in which nearly $400 was taken from Turcott's home.

The grand jury on Friday indicted Palin for those break-ins, and also for one March 26 in which $2,200 was stolen, according to court documents."

Since then, not too much else has been reported, although the court dockets for Diana Palin's criminal trial show that the proceedings are still "in full swing". From the court dockets it is also apparent that Diana Palin was granted a privilege which Sherry Johnston didn't enjoy: Confidentiality. In December 2009, a "confidential presentence report" was presented to the court.

In addition, Diana Palin also didn't have to wear pink handcuffs which are designed to humiliate the accused person - unlike Sherry Johnston.

The visible dramatic deterioration of Diana Palin's appearance from November 2008 to April 2009 and the repeated burglaries can in my opinion only be explained the the abuse of hard drugs. This graphic, detailing the horrible effects of the use of methamphetamine, shows what I am talking about.

However, we don't know for certain which drugs Diana Palin has taken, as no reports seem to be available - convenient for Sarah Palin, who of course didn't mention Diana Palin in "Going Rogue". What doesn't fit into Sarah's picture of a model-family has to be erased from memory.

However, "Alaska Dispatch" thankfully reported more details on October 2, 2009:

"Palin's bail was set at $10,000, but she served five months in jail, the majority of the time at Hiland Mountain Correctional Center in Eagle River.

Josh Fannon, Palin's attorney, successfully filed multiple requests to delay her court appearances, and on May 19 wrote, "Ms. Palin has appointments with a treatment center at Hiland and if she is moved for a court hearing she will miss her appointments."

Fannon declined to talk about Palin's case except to say that, "Without commenting on her, some people stay there for longer because of classes or treatments or other objectives they might have."

The Wasilla Police Department declined to comment, as did Sarah Palin's spokeswoman Meghan Stapleton.

On Aug. 29, Palin was released into a residential program at Akeela House, an Anchorage nonprofit that provides treatment for alcohol and substance abuse. Under her terms of release, she must finish the residential program."

+++

How close was Diana Palin to the rest of the Palin family?

More screenshots from her myspace-account give us some hints - Diana Palin with Sarah Palin, Todd Palin, Willow Palin, Wendy Palin, Miranda Palin - and Piper Palin! In addition, Diana Palin also posts a group picture which shows Bristol Palin and Lauden Bruce (daughter of Sarah Palin's sister Heather).

Click to enlarge
:


Apart from that, we have another screenshot from her myspace account which is one of my favourite screenshots of all times:



Diana Palin:

"I really love dysfunctional families. Especially mine - crazy thing is - the more you go through - the better it gets. That is if you hang in long enough!!"

This has to be the first blatantly honest statement I have ever heard from a Palin. It's really like a breath of fresh air...

How do we know that the picture in which Diana Palin holds Trig was taken at the beginning of November 2008?

The ultra-conservative Washington Times reported on November 6, 2008:

"Superstar Gov. Sarah Palin spent Wednesday poolside at the luxurious Biltmore Hotel Resort and Spa, surrounded by her children, would-be "first dude" (aka husband Todd), and a slew of family and friends. Dressed in a pair of gym shorts, a Pittsburgh Penguins T-shirt and some big, dark sunglasses, the Alaska governor drew a nonstop flow of the curious, and graciously posed for photos with fans bold enough to speak to her (some poolgoers simply stopped by, took a few snaps and left) Her unruly mob of children, led by the precocious Piper, 7, spent much of the day slipping down a huge water slide. "Piper! Piper!" the other kids yelled as she led a gang up the steps to the top of the slide. They hardly slowed for lunch, and apparently, the governor over-ordered... (Palin's sister walked over to your blogster and said, "Do you by any chance want a cheeseburger? Sarah ordered way too much food and I hate to see it go to waste." Your blogster ate said burger, dubbed by another reporter on hearing the story a "Palin Burger." No, it wasn't moose)."

Here are two pictures from the pool at Biltmore Hotel Resort in Arizona:




Here is the comparison with the picture of Diana Palin holding Trig:


Sarah Palin's sister Molly and her son (who, as we believe, is called "Heath Wooten") are also pictured here, together with Sarah Palin, Willow and Bristol:


The picture above which was taken on September 14, 2007 shows, by the way, Bristol Palin while she was pregnant with Trig. But that is an entirely different story...

EDIT: In the comments, the question came up whether the picture above really was taken on September 14, 2007. The answer: YES, it was. This photo album on flickr will answer all your questions regarding this picture.

+++

UPDATE:

I had mentioned that we didn't yet know the identity of Diana Palin's mother. This has changed, therefore an update is necessary, also thanks to our resourceful readers! In addition, the research of Diana's mother's background led us straight into the "twilight zone" again, surprise, surprise! It seems that this is what you inevitably have to deal with if you research facts surrounding "the Palins" (poor Michael Palin - Monty Python, of course - he will ask for a name change if this is all over...).

Ok, here we go:

Diana Palin's mother was Elayne Ingram.

One of our readers (thank you!) sent us the text of the two marriage announcements of Diana Palin, which were published in the ADN:

Anchorage Daily News (AK) - Monday, June 20, 1994

Diana Dee Palin and Howard Peterson III were married May 14 at Matanuska Lake in Palmer.

Both Diana and Howard are Wasilla High graduates. Their parents are Howard and Gloria Peterson of Wasilla; and Elayne Ingrim of Barrow and James Palin of Wasilla.
___

Anchorage Daily News (AK) - Monday, August 25, 2003

Diana Dee Palin and Scott James McLean were married June 7 in Cooper Landing.

Diana is the daughter of Elayne Ingram of Dillingham and Faye and Jim Palin of Wasilla. She is a 1992 graduate of Wasilla High School and is employed as a major account executive at ACS Wireless. She enjoys fishing with her husband and reading.

Scott is the son of Linda and Mike Quamme of Grand Forks, N.D., and Jim McLean of Prescott, Ariz. He graduated from Red River High School in Grand Forks and works as a ramp agent for FedEx. Scott enjoys fishing, coaching, hockey and flying.

The couple met through parents of players on Scott's hockey team.

The ceremony was at Kenai Lake Baptist Church in Cooper Landing, the bridegroom's favorite fishing area. Willie Johnson officiated. Wendy Palin was matron of honor, and Kraig Rygg was best man. Bridesmaids were Melanie Hoff, Ashley Barney and Laura Young, and Denali Peterson was flower girl. Groomsmen were Donny Taylor, Corey Anderson, Brian Olson and Cody McLean, with Keanan Vivian as ring-bearer.

The reception was at Kenai Princess Lodge. The couple honeymooned at a riverfront cabin on the Kenai River and enjoyed fishing.

Therefore we know that Elayne Ingram and James (Jim) Palin are the parents of Diana Palin.

On a sidenote: Blanche Kallstrom and the same James (Jim) Palin are the parents of Todd Palin.

Let us continue:

In addition, we have the obituary of Jeremy Andrew Lewis, who died in July 2005 "at home in Glennallen", just 23 years old. The obituary in the ADN reads:

GLENNALLEN

Jeremy Lewis, 23

Lifelong Alaska resident Jeremy Andrew Lewis, 23, died July 22, 2005, at home in Glennallen.

A graveside ceremony will be at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at Lake Nerka in Dillingham, where he will be laid to rest next to his mother. A potluck will be afterward at the home of his aunt, Shirley Murphy. Call Diana Palin-McLean at 1-907-715-8165 or 1-907-745-3036 for details.

Mr. Lewis was born Sept. 17, 1981, in Glennallen "to loving parents Elayne Ingram and Paul Lewis, and four adoring big sisters," his family wrote. "Throughout his life, he was a resident of Dillingham and Glennallen, where he loved to play hockey, listen to music and hang out with friends and family. He left this world too soon. ... He is deeply missed and will be thought of every day, forever."

He is survived by his father, Paul Lewis; sisters, Dana Bartmen, Margaret Wallona, Laura Lemons-Young, and Diana Palin-McLean; grandmother, Lillian Ingram; and many nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles and cousins.

Arrangements are with Evergreen Memorial Chapel.

There are several things to mention here:

Jeremy Andrew Lewis was the son of Elayne Ingram and Paul Lewis.

Paul Lewis was the third husband of Elayne Ingram. The name of the first husband we don't know yet, the second husband was James (Jim) Palin.

Why do we know that?

Because Elayne Ingram had four daughters. The youngest daughter was Diana Palin (see below). Elayne had three daughters in her first marriage. Therefore James (Jim) Palin apparently was her second husband.

In addition, Jeremy Andrew Lewis was therefore Diana Palin's half-brother.

What did he die of, at the age of 23, at home? I rather don't want to speculate.

From this obituary we can also see that Elayne Ingram is not alive anymore, as Jeremy "will rest next to his mother."

But now comes the most interesting part:

Elayne Ingram gave a long, taped interview in 2001 to the "Center for Alaska Native and Health Research", which is still available online (audio and transcript).

In this interview, Elayne describes in detail her battle with alcoholism and also the alcoholism of her husbands.

In the interview, Elayne said:

"(...) Then I got married at age 19 and had my first daughter at age 20. And at that point in time we still weren't heavy drinkers. But we moved out to Oregon and when my husband at the time was with his buddies then the drinking escalated. I still don't feel like I was an alcoholic at that point in time. I was definitely a battered wife at that time. And I ended up leaving him briefly and then going back to him. We finally divorced after three kids. After I saw that in that marriage that somebody was going to die, because the beatings by then were so bad that I weighed 96 pounds, I couldn't sleep, I couldn't eat, my mind was racing. I had attempted suicide I thought if I committed suicide that would be a way out but then at the last minute I envisioned my kids growing up with him and that thought was horrifying. It was at a point where I figured it was going to be me that died and somehow, someway God gave me the strength to get up one morning and just pack our stuff and then away we went me and the kids. But I was so emotionally distraught at that point in time. I don't know, I didn't have the strength personally to do what I did. You know to get out.

Shortly thereafter I was remarried. I dated this guy who could provided better financially for us. Hindsight is 20/20 and we lived so poorly in my first marriage that I was looking for security. And I found it. And then I worked on the pipeline. And when I became financially secure I left him. By then the drinking… it was alcoholic drinking by then.

DANTE: For both of you?

ELAYNE: For both me and my second husband … It was, the drinking had escalated and by then I had four kids. It seemed like every time I got a divorced I ended up with one more kid and less money than when I went into the marriage. (...)"

In conclusion, following Elayne Ingram's own words, her second husband, James (Jim) Palin, who is also the father of Todd Palin, was an alcoholic, at least during the time when he was married with Elayne.

Never a boring moment with the Palins. I don't enjoy researching these tragic details, but I feel that it is our duty to do it, as we are currently the only ones who seem to be interested to get to know the truth about Sarah Palin's "model-family".

+++

UPDATE 2:

One of our wonderful readers found a page from the Daily Sitka Sentinel from November 20, 1995 which proves that the name of Elayne Ingram's first husband was Larry Lemons.

Screenshots (click to enlarge):





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Tuesday 29 December 2009

Bristol Palin vs. Levi Johnston: The Custody Battle - UPDATE: COURT DOCUMENTS PUBLISHED! READ THE AFFIDAVIT BY BRISTOL PALIN! +++MORE UPDATES+++



If you mess with a Palin, you might need a good lawyer - and you should expect the worst.

Trooper Wooten found this out the hard way in 2005. He learned that Sarah Palin has no hesitation to use the courts for a nasty "pre-emptive strike".

Andrew Halcro reported the story in 2008:

"In 2005, Palin and her sister Molly went to the Palmer Courthouse while Mike Wooten was in Portland with his stepson. They convinced a judge to grant Molly a domestic violence restraining order against Wooten. This was done so Molly could retain full custody of the children.

When Wooten returned from Portland, he realized that there was a order prohibiting him from seeing his kids. Three weeks later, Wooten was granted an appearance in front of the couple's divorce judge.

In front of Judge Suddock, Molly testified that Wooten never hit her or never physically abused her or ever touched the children. She told the judge she was feeling pressure from her family to file the order.


Suddock immediately dissolved the order because there was no proof of any domestic violence and called the order an abuse of the legal system. He then scolded Palin's sister for keeping Wooten's kids away from him."


Now I have the feeling that we might be able to watch "Troopergate Reloaded". As it was reported today in the national media and already extensively discussed in the comments of the previous thread, Bristol Palin filed for sole custody of "Tripp Johnston-Palin" on November 4, 2009.

Here is the link to the court records.

My feeling is that Sarah Palin, this time impersonated by Bristol Palin, revived her old strategy - and it looks like it will be her Waterloo, again.

The commenter Stephanie, who is a lawyer, if I recall correctly, posted interesting first observations of the events on Immoral Minority:

"A couple of observations from the docket entries:

The initial motions were filed ex parte--that is, initially without prior notice or any opportunity to respond afforded to Levi.

Before Levi's attorney even had a chance to enter an appearance on his behalf, Van Flein already had filed, and the Court had denied, a slew of motions seeking: (1) to have Levi held in contempt; (2) to have Levi pay Bristol's legal fees & costs; and (3) to shorten Levi's statutory time to responsd to the petition for custody. (See 11/09 entries.)

On December 9, Rex Butler filed an answer to the petition for custody. That of course has not been ruled on, and will be the subject of the custody proceedings Van Flein unsuccessfully sought to close and keep from the public record by use of pseudonyms.

Following that, on December 23, there was a flurry of filings: the Court received from Van Flein a reply to Butler's oppositions to the ex parte motions (and appears to have denied Van Flein's request for oral argument on those motions), but denied all of Van Flein's ex parte motions--not only the motions to substitute pseudonyms, but also the motions to close the proceedings and for protective orders.

It is not entirely clear from the docket entry, but it appears that on December 23 Van Flein also applied for an extension of time in which to file his own reply to Butler's answer to the petition for custody. If so, it appears that Van Flein is asking for more time to respond to a (responsive) filing for which he unsuccessfully asked the Court to shorten the period of time granted to Levi to respond.

Let's just say it's my impression that an extraordinary amount of lawyer hours are being devoted to generating a flood of procedural motions against a nineteen-year-old boy."

Then, Andrew Sullivan weighed in.

The latest details were published by "Alaska Dispatch":

"On Nov. 4, Palin filed for sole custody of Tripp Johnston-Palin, the former couple's son, who celebrates his first birthday today. Kristiansen initially issued temporary orders limiting access to the case file and allowing the parties to file under pseudonyms.

Johnston wasn't playing along, however. In an opposition to Palin's motion for a gag order, Johnston's attorney, Rex Butler, said: "Simply put, this matter is public in nature, the courts are not refuges for the scions of the elite to obtain private dispensation of their legal matters because the public at large has an interest in the proceedings."

There's another factor in the mix, of course: Palin's mother, former governor Sarah Palin, with whom Johnston has repeatedly locked horns in the press, and from whom he claims to fear retaliation.

"I do not feel protected against Sarah Palin in a closed proceeding," Johnston said in an affidavit accompanying Butler's filings. "I hope that if it is open she will stay out of it. ... I think a public case might go a long way in reducing Sarah Palin's instinct to attack and allow the real parties in this litigation, Bristol and I, to work things out a lot more peacefully than we could if there is any more meddling from Sarah Palin."

Johnston's affidavit did not disclose exactly what "meddling," if any, the former governor has engaged in during the custody case's brief lifetime; however, he theorized that the closed proceedings might be intended to conceal some "fairly aggressive" tactics."

(h/t EyeOnYou - thanks!)

I cannot help thinking that it's quite funny that Palingates never needed a lawyer to defend ourselves against Sarah Palin - despite the fact that we published very embarassing facts about her, like the fact that Sarah Palin faked her pregnancy with Trig!

Why is that?

Because facts are facts - challenging them is a futile exercise, a no-win situation.

Even a Palin understands that.

But the Palins seem to love their custody battles - and luckily, Levi Johnston apparently has what he needs: A good lawyer.

I just don't understand at this point why Levi didn't strike first and started the custody proceedings himself. Did Team Levi underestimate Sarah? If this was the case, they should better not make this mistake again.

+++

UPDATE (h/t again EyeOnYou):

The original court documents have been published by Alaska Dispatch!

Here is the DOWNLOAD LINK.

EDIT: The download link given above is for the document which contains 64 pages and in which Van Flein pushes for closed custody proceedings. The affidavit of Bristol Palin is included in this document. For the complete set of all 5 documents from the custody proceedings which are available, see Update 4 of this post below!

I haven't had the chance to look through the documents yet, but I am sure that they will be a fascinating read, as the Palins always understand how to provide good entertainment!

How is it possible that the documents are now publicly available? Is there a lawyer who could explain? Is this a leak or standard procedure?

EDIT: The commenter Stephanie, who I mentioned above, just sent me an email and explained why the court documents are public - thank you, Stephanie!

She says:

"In answer to your question about why the custody documents are available: as court filings they are presumptively public documents. Such documents always are public unless a Court grants a motion to seal or impound them. Their availability to the public temporarily was forestalled while the Court had under consideration the plaintiff's motion to seal them (the apparent subject of the rejected "protective order") and use pseudonyms. When those motions were denied, the documents reverted to their presumptively public status (and you'll note that at that point the parties' actual names seem to have been pasted into the documents, without regard to the appropriate part of the sentence and thus tend to be missing the possessive form, etc.; they must originally have been filed with pseudonyms, and some poor clerk probably had to print out the parties' names and paste them in at all of the appropriate spots without regard to grammatical content)."

I will provide another download link for the documents in a minute, just in case.

EDIT: Here is now the second download link of the same document.

For the download links to all available documents, please see Update 4 below!

+++

UPDATE 2:

As expected, Van Flein plays dirty and babbles about "Levi Johnston's foray into the porn industry."

In addition, Team Levi's contacts to Gryphen are also heavily featured.

Screenshot (click to enlarge):

+++

UPDATE 3:

More strong stuff! Bristol was homeschooled by Sarah alright, it seems!

The documents include an affidavit by Bristol Palin herself, signed on December 22, 2009!

Not a nice Christmas present.

In this document, Bristol Palin testifies under oath (if this is the correct legal term):

"1. I am the mother of Tripp Johnston-Palin.

2. Due to the overwhelming media interest in my family and in Levi Johnston, I believe it would be in Tripp's best interest for this custody matter to be closed, and for everyone associated with this case to refrain from talking to the media about this case.


3. My mother, Sarah Palin, is not involved in this custody matter other than as a grandmother, so Levi Johnston has no need to be "protected" from her. This case is between me an Levi; my mother has nothing to do with it.

(...)


7. As can be seen by all of the previous media publications cited in my original Motion to close these proceedings and for a gag order, Levi Johnston has used the media to cause my family (and myself) embarrassment. Levi's family (Mercedes (sic) Johnston in particular) has previously attacked my character in the media and made disparaging remarks about me and about custody issues.

8. I believe that Levi Johnston will soon be filming a reality show in Alaska. I do not believe it would be in Tripp's best interest for Levi's reality show to be filming this case as it unfolds, or for Levi Johnston to be capitalizing off of this custody case through his reality show.


9. I cannot imagine any reason why Levi Johnston would think that having this custody proceeding take place in the media spotlight would be in Tripp's best interests. It appears that the only reason Levi wants this case to remain public is so that he can continue to capitalize on his name and this case by selling stories to the media. To my knowledge, Levi's media exposure is currently his only source of income. That leads me to believe that Levi's interest in keeping this case unsealed is purely financial. Levi's interest in self-promotion has nothing to do with Tripp's best interest."


Screenshot (click to enlarge):

+++

UPDATE 4:

Here are the complete court documents, as published by Alaska Dispatch (click to download):

1. Levi Johnstons's answer to custody petition.

2. Levi Johnston's opposition to closed proceedings.

3. Palin's push for closed proceedings.

4. Judge's order.

5. Palin's arguments to secret proceedings.

+++

UPDATE 5:

This is hilarious! Van Flein uses a twitter-message from Levi Johnston's FAKE TWITTER ACCOUNT as evidence!

This part can be found in document No 5 (see my update 4 above).

Screenshot (click to enlarge):

+++

UPDATE 6:

I just cannot stop reading! Van Flein really gives it all:

"Further, as the record already demonstrates, scurrilous scandal publications like Vanity Fair and the National Enquirer will pay money for falsehoods or any statement coming from these proceedings. Neither Levi Johnston, nor any member of the Johnston family, should continue to profit off of Tripp Palin by seeking media attention and money for "stories"."

Screenshot (click to enlarge):


Vanity Fair is a "scurrilous scandal publication"?

Profiting from Tripp Palin, by seeking media attention and money for "stories"?

Does Van Flein mean something like that?

+++

UPDATE 7:

It's getting crazier and crazier! I think Bristol/Sarah might need a new lawyer soon!

From the court documents, it can be seen that this whole Palin PR-disaster might have happened in the first place because Palin's lawyer Van Flein FILED AN UNTIMELY REPLY - 9 DAYS TOO LATE! See the order of judge Kristiansen from December 24, 2009 (click to enlarge):


+++

UPDATE 8:

Is anyone surprised that Sarah/Bristol were extremely agressive in the custody proceedings right from the beginning?

On November 9, 2009, Van Flein filed a "Motion for immediate hearing ordering defendant to show cause why he should not be held in contempt and fined for violating for November 6th court order and motion for fees and costs" (in THIS DOCUMENT starting on page 35).

In this motion, Van Flein claims that Levi had violated the court order from November 6 which stated that Levi was prohibited to speak about the custody matter in public. According to Van Flein, the violation occured during Levi's TV-interview with "The Insider" on November 9.

Van Flein wrote on November 9th, 2009 (p. 39):

"Mr. Johnston is now out of state on another media tour - a tour that consists of giving interviews about the Palins and the baby. It appears from his statements that he does not care about the court order and is indifferent to its application. He should be ordered to promptly appear and show cause to answer why he should not been held in contempt of court. If he fails to appear for the show cause hearing this week, an arrest warrant should be issued to ensure his compliance.

(...)


Plaintiff further requests that this Court, upon finding the Defendant in contempt, sanction the Defendant in the amount of $ 5,000 for his violation of this Court's order (to be paid to the State of Alaska), admonish and instruct the defendant to strictly comply with this Court's November 6, 2009 order, and order the Defendant to pay full and actual attorney fees to the Plaintiff which were incurred in bringing this motion, and attending any hearing."


Later in the proceedings, in Van Flein's reply from December 23, 2009 which he delivered 9 DAYS TOO LATE (the court had already finally ruled on the morning of December 23 and notified the parties immediately via fax, and Van Flein then handed in his reply several hours later in the afternoon of December 23) he has some things to say about Levi Johnston which I find just despicable and which seem to come straight out of Queen Sarah's vindictive big mouth:

"In reviewing the Opposition brief, and Mr. Johnston's affidavit, one thing stands out: Mr. Johnston focuses only on himself, he does not mention the impact on Tripp or show any real concern that a public media circus could have on Tripp or these proceedings.

These gravamen of all child custody proceedings is the best interests of the child.

Yet all Mr. Johnston refers to is his own self-interest, his own interest in endless publicity, his desire for press-mongering, and his appetite for self-aggrandizment. This matter is about Tripp.

Nothing in Mr. Johnston's Opposition suggests that Tripp will benefir from daily news accounts and salacious interviews by Levi with scandal hungry tabloids.

(...)

Tripp deserves better than this. The Court can ask this fundamental question: does the Court want the parties to try this case in court, or does it want the parties to engage in daily press briefings, accusations, recriminations and grandstanding by Levi and his entourage?

The track record of Levi and his retinue suggests strongly that publicity,
and the sustained character assassination of Tripp's maternal family, are the end, and this proceeding is to be used as a pretext and means to that end."

Screenshots (click to enlarge):


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UPDATE 9:

(h/t vivienneajones)

Rex Butler released the following statement to ET Online:

"Now we feel that we can fight this case on level ground. When you look at what they're saying, and their attempts to put him in jail, there were no attempts to have a fair and reasonable custody fight. When you're asking to put an 18 year old in jail, they clearly wanted to stop his forward progress, whatever they thought that forward progress was. It's clear to us that they wanted to shut Levi up."

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UPDATE 10:

I still find it hard to believe that a lawyer can be so stupid to submit excerpts from a fake twitter account as evidence. It's just surreal that Van Flein didn't hesitate to accuse Levi Johnston of possible "substance abuse issues" based on fake twitter messages!

Screenshots from Van Flein's documents (click to enlarge):



Guess what, Mr Van Flein, I have more screenshots for you (click to enlarge):




These are screenshots from Bristol Palin's REAL myspace messages! The full set CAN BE DOWNLOADED HERE.

EDIT: Here is a second download link for Bristol Palin's collected myspace messages, in case there is a problem with the first link.

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Monday 28 December 2009

Sarah Palin's little problem with the truth


Meg Stapleton has released a statement regarding the "gang rape" threats against Willow Palin, saying that the threat was real, made in a MySpace post and duly reported by the family to the governor's security detail, investigated, blah blah. The statement comes as an obvious reaction to speculation that Sarah Palin lied about the incident in "Going Rogue".

There are many, many lies in Sarah's book. If we give Sarah the benefit of the doubt, there are certain memory lapses, at the very least.

For example, Sarah Palin tells this little tale relating to Willow's birth:

"Then our third child, pretty little Willow Bianca Faye came along. I went into labor with her on the Fourth of July while kayaking with the Menards on Memory Lake. I so wanted a patriotic baby that I paddled as hard as I could to speed up the contractions, but she held out until the next day."

Sooo... according to Sarah, Willow was born on July 5. (Memory Lake, sweet irony!)

Several people found this information (page 59):

Willow Bianca Faye Palin was born July 7, 1994 at 7 lbs., 12 oz. [Anchorage Daily News (AK), 7/25/94]

Did the Anchorage Daily News make a mistake? Who reported the happy event in the life of Wasilla's council member and provided the birth date?

Sarah Palin appears to have a recurring problem with birth dates. Nobody seems able to get any dates right!

Cathy Baldwin-Johnson's letter released on the eve of the November election gave Piper's birthday as 2000.

The same document (also on page 59) that gave Willow's birthday as July 7 states:

Piper Indi Grace Palin was born March 19, 2001 at 7 lbs., 13 oz. [Anchorage Daily News (AK), 3/29/01]

Last year Tripp Johnston's birth date was initially given as December 28, 2008, according to a relative in the state of Washington, then changed to December 27. The press release from the office of the then governor didn't specify the date.

Poor gal, there must be some kind of conspiracy going on. All these people get their facts wrong and make Sarah Palin come across as some kind of liar...
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Sunday 27 December 2009

Sarah Palin's week in pictures

It's been an interesting week for Sarah Palin in Wasilla. She signed books, banned people from her book signing and served Christmas dinner to the less fortunate...

Let the pictures tell the story.

Sarah signing books, helped by Todd and Juanita Fuller


(Photos by Bill Hess)

(Photo by Kim Chatman)

Others weren't so lucky. Todd provided a list of people who weren't welcome at the Curtis D. Menard Memorial Sports Center.

There were four names on Todd's list. Gryphen and Dennis showed up, the others didn't.

Gryphen, from Immoral Minority

Dennis Zaki and Shannyn Moore

Andree McLeod was too busy to attend

One person wasn't prevented from entering the sports center, but her signs were confiscated and destroyed. Dawn was threatened with arrest for disturbing the peace. On the plus side, Dawn could display her beautiful t-shirt and got her flu jab!

(photo by Kim Chatman)

...I turned up at 12 in my Sarah Palin LIAR shirt & with 2 signs 1 of which had palingates.blogspot.com & 3 others with slogans. I planted them in the snow at the front door where I stood. After 45 min, bldg security told me to get rid of the signs cuz Palin’s publisher was paying $85/ hr for facility, (can’t remember exact amt )I said no. He said the cops would come. They were parked right there. I said FINE. They can just give me a ticket. Anyway, he took the signs before I could grab them since using a walker slows one down. He crumbled them up after refusing to return them to me. I did make him give me the sticks back.( one was my meter stick) . He asked for my ID. I refused. I told him I could stay out there & sing my slogans & he said I’d be taken for disturbing the peace. I didn’t sing cuz I really don’t & laughter was something I didn’t want to inspire. So, instead, SarahPalin LIAR shirt prominently displayed, I entered what I thought would be the lion’s den only to find an H1N1 flu clinic giving free flu shots. GEEZ. And lucky too cuz I had planned on getting one. The nurse filled out the form for me cuz I didn’t have my reading glasses on the picket line. I pulled my sleeve down for the shot hoping that with my SP LIAR shirt I wasn’t at the mercy of 1 of Sarah’s biggest fans. It didn’t hurt. The next 1/2 hr I spent displaying my shirt to a winding line of people passing by with their books to be signed. I talked with people getting flu shots, ate a few Palin Xmas cookies & let those in line see that yes, even in Wasilla, there was a real live person who considered Palin less than legitimate. Had I known there was a flu clinic going on, I would have been more aggressive about letting brown uniformed security man get my signs. Other than that, mission accomplished, at least on a personal level. (Comment by Dawn on Shannyn Moore's blog.)

UPDATE - Commenter William Henley, at C4P, disputes the photographic evidence shown here and issues a charming threat to detractors of Sarah Palin:

Sandra, you are lying out your a**. I was at the Wasilla book-signing. As a matter of fact I was there at 10 p.m. the night before and was in line at 05:30. I was one of two people who sat out there all night. The second person (Amy) got there at midnight. I was there through-out and not a single protester with signs showed up at anytime. No single person was there handing out oblabla/hitler pictures. You are nothing more than a lying bi**h and need to go to one of the sights that care for what you are lying about. Just as one of the security heads told me, if anyone started trouble they probably would not have survived. I and many others at the signing were carrying our sidearms. Mine happens to be a police special 357 mag. and I know how to use it and rather enjoy using it for the right reasons, i.e. protecting Sarah Palin and family.

(H/T to gunsmoke)


Sarah turned her hand at food serving at the same venue a few days later. She wore gloves, but somehow she never seems able to find a hairnet for these occasions. Maybe hairnets don't come in big enough sizes to contain her generous mane...

Yum..

Todd looks tired...

Sarah signing yet another copy of "Going Rogue"

Yes, all in all, it was a busy week for Sarah Palin. It provided a lot of material for the bloggers, as usual...

We can't wait for the New Year!

Thursday 24 December 2009

A big thank you and best wishes - Open thread

To all our readers and fellow bloggers, have a fantastic holiday season, wherever you are and whatever festivals you celebrate. May all your wishes come true in 2010 and may it be filled with health, peace, love, happiness and harmony. Thank you for your contributions to this blog and for the good vibes you have sent us over the past few months.

Enjoy this collage from around the world.







(Click on pictures to enlarge)
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