Sarah Palin's "Wild Ride" on April 17, 2008 - The ultimate video, in Sarah's own words - PLUS: Alaskans Sondra Tompkins and Kim Chatman speak out!

Sarah Palin's "wild ride", her flight back from Texas to Alaska on April 17, 2008, was a crucial event, which had consequences that surely nobody could have foreseen at the time.

Four days after the "wild ride", on April 21, 2008, Sarah Palin gave a press conference to reporters in Alaska (those were the days...) and presented a story to them which simply was very hard to believe. According to Sarah, her water had broken in Texas in the early morning of the 17th April. Her reaction was to call her family doctor in Alaska, Cathy Baldwin-Johnson, ask her for advice over the telephone, then give a speech at the RGA conference in Dallas later during the day, and go on a 12-hour to fly home. She then officially gave birth to Trig on the early morning of 18th April, 2008 - about 24 hours after her water had broken.

No hospital or doctor in Dallas was graced with Sarah's presence. The fact that Sarah Palin officially was in her seventh pregnancy (including of two miscarriages), did not prompt her to see a medical professional in Dallas, after her water had broken, at 35 weeks pregnant.

As one of the most importance consequences of Sarah's "wild ride" story, people in- and outside of Alaska started to doubt that Sarah Palin was telling the truth about her pregnancy story - including later several journalists immediately after Sarah Palin's nomination, as was revealed in the "JournoList" emails.

At Palingates, we have extensively written about the details of the "wild ride" - for example HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE.

See also our summary document about the faked pregnancy HERE.

Today, we have news. Our reader lidia17, who already created two amazing videos about Sarah Palin's faked pregnancy, got active for us again and made another video which we have all been waiting for: Sarah Palin's "wild ride" - in her own words!

In the clip, Sarah's taped press conference from April 21, 2008 is contrasted with the story told in "Going Rogue" in 2009, which is also "on tape", because it was published also via audio book.

However, additional material has been included in this video. For example, emails of Sarah Palin's administration which were written at the time shortly before and "during" the "wild ride" in April 2008 give further insights into the highly suspicious circumstances of this trip to Texas. These emails were only published much later, mostly in 2010.

Here is the clip:

Please download the PDF-booklet of this documentary with the full content HERE.

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In addition to the clip, we also would like to publish some additional information which has never been presented to the public before.

It was not only after Sarah Palin's nomination as the vice presidential candidate that people starting to examine her pregnancy story. Immediately after the details of Sarah Palin's birth became known to the public in Alaska in April 2008, there were people who had SERIOUS doubts about Sarah's story.

One of these Alaskans was Sondra Tompkins, a nurse, Air-Force veteran and mother of an autistic son, who wrote the following letter to Alaska Airlines on April 24, 2008, together with another medical professional:

"To: Bill Ayer
CEO, Alaska Airlines

From: XXX, Sondra Tompkins
MVP/MVP Gold members

Date: April 24, 2008

Re: Clarification of Policy for Expectant Travelers

Dear Mr. Ayer,

As noted from your Ask Jen virtual assistant, Alaska Airlines has no restrictions or specifications regarding pregnant women traveling. It is merely a suggestion for the woman to contact her physician before traveling. Unfortunately, we believe this is bad policy for Alaska Airlines that needs updating. Other carriers have more specific requirements as noted per their websites.

A recent high-profile situation is what we believe warrants this request. The Governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin, was featured in several media stories after giving birth this past Friday as having boarded an Alaska Airlines flight from Dallas returning to Anchorage after her water broke at a Governor’s conference in Dallas. In our opinion this is a serious safety issue for the mother and her baby, an inconvenience issue for the other travelers, and a business and legal concern for Alaska Airlines.

As medical professionals we have been called upon on several occasions to attend to in-flight emergencies, most of which could not have been predicted. However, Governor Palin chose to fly full well knowing that she was at risk for labor with her amniotic sac ruptured. Though we are not privy to specifics of her medical condition it is well-known that she was considered a “high-risk” pregnancy, and the rupture of membranes occurred one-month prior to her due date. That constitutes a “preterm” label. A preterm pregnancy, accompanied by premature rupture of membranes, calls for an immediate hands-on evaluation by a qualified physician regardless of the patient’s location at the time of occurrence. A phone call to a physician is woefully inadequate. No physician is ever able to accurately diagnose over the phone. With a preterm pregnancy and labor numerous potential complications can ensue, including cord prolapse, infection, and of course, the delivery of a preterm infant at 30,000 feet. Governor Palin risked her life and the life of her fetus to avoid delivery in Texas. It is also noted, per the media outlets, that Governor Palin was in fact not evaluated before boarding the flight, nor did she notify airline staff of her situation.

As you well know Dallas-Anchorage is approximately 9 to 11 hours in duration. That is more than enough time for a multiparous pregnant woman to enter into a potentially very rapid labor. Had labor begun during flight a diversion would have been necessary largely because of the premature infant potentially requiring life support. This would have been a tremendous inconvenience to the other passengers on the flight, those passengers awaiting that particular jet, and would have resulted in hundreds of re-bookings. From a business perspective this would have been costly to the airlines. Of course Alaska Airlines is concerned about all of its travelers’ safety and well-being; however, this was not an unexpected situation, like a passenger experiencing a heart attack. Governor Palin again boarded the flight with the knowledge she could go into labor at any time with a preterm infant.

Thankfully the outcome in this situation was positive, her son was delivered safely. But as we all know others less informed tend to follow suit with what celebrities and public figures do. Leaders should set positive examples for others and exercise proper judgment when making impactful decisions.

We would be remiss if we did not bring this potentially dangerous situation to your attention. Many in Alaska are celebrating the fact that Governor Palin made it back to Alaska as if it were some sort of achievement to avoid a “Texas delivery.” This isn’t a game of football. Nothing is more important than the safety and well-being of our loved ones, including those unborn. We fear another individual will attempt to do as Governor Palin did, considering her favorable public opinion at the moment, and not be so lucky.

Providing a statement of caution to expectant travelers, including more specific restrictions we believe is prudent for Alaska Airlines in this increasingly litigious society.

As always we are most appreciative of the excellent service we receive consistently from Alaska Airlines. Thank you for considering our request.

Sincerely,

XXX
Sondra L. Tompkins, BSN"

This was by far not the only activity by Sondra Tompkins. She explains in her own words what else happened, and more background:

"I not only filed an ethics complaint against Sarah but I'm a nurse and wrote as Lee Tompkins for Celtic Diva (a friend). Of course I was attempting to refute conspiracy theories about Trig's birth as a way to get the news media to listen and investigate. I began contacting the media the DAY after Sarah's dad was on the evening news talking about how her water broke in Texas. As an L&D nurse I thought "What???" Unfortuately no one would listen. I contacted the AP, the National AP (their medical reporters), NOW, ACOG, and other news organizations. At the time Sarah wasn't on the national scene and so no one really cared. I even contacted Alaska Airlines to get them to change their pregnancy policy, but to no avail. Most of the folks we were in contact with were from the ADN. I can't tell you how many conversations I had with Lisa Demer as well as Pat Dougherty, the editor. The last conversation one of my relatives had with him, when he told him he was sick of hearing about "conspiracy theories", resulted in the post I wrote for Celtic Diva. I WANTED people to talk about the issue, agree with me or not. I wanted to use the issue to highlight Sarah's hypocrisy of being "pro-life". What pro-life person would endanger the life of an unborn child?

I have to say garnering support in April '08 for questioning Trig's birth here in Alaska was almost impossible!!! At the time Sarah had an 80+% approval rating, even Dems loved her. It wasn't until McCain picked her that people began paying attention. In addition, early on there wasn't much photographic evidence to consider, we had only her crazy words to go by. Today I am convinced that the "wild ride" didn't happen and that she was not pregnant at the time, but early on the information we had was very limited."

After the presidential election, even liberal journalists dismissed the story about the faked pregnancy for example as a rumor created by "some over-eager diarists (i.e. blog readers who are free to write pretty much whatever they want online) who helped hatch and amplify the story."

However, nothing could be further from the truth. Not only was Sarah Palin's faked pregnancy widely discussed in newsrooms in Alaska after Trig's "birth", as ADN-journalist Michael Carey confirmed in September 2008, but also other citizens in Alaska were very well aware that something was seriously wrong with Sarah Palin's story - even without having received any "inside information."

Today we also know that the rumors about a pregnancy of Bristol Palin existed in the AK legislature already in December 2007, as was confirmed to us by former State Senate President Lyda Green. Another high-ranking Republican politican confirmed the existence of Bristol's pregnancy in a private conversation in Alaska in January 2008.

These are just some of the other facts (for more, see HERE). It's the implausible story of the "wild ride", which has been told in two different versions by Sarah Palin, as shown in our video, which is a legitimate starting point for the media to investigate.

How long do we have to wait until the media does their journalistic duty and reports about the case? Forever?

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UPDATE:

In a speech at a fundraiser in Waco, Texas on September 14, 2010, Sarah Palin told the audience that she flew to Alaska on April 17, 2008 and then "had the baby in Anchorage!"

The video was only published today - you can see her remark at 16:50 in THIS VIDEO from the speech.

EDIT: A shorter video with the relevant part of the speech has now been uploaded HERE.

This is another blatant attempt to re-write the story of her pregnancy, just two days before she made more changes to her pregnancy story in a speech in Kentucky on September 16, 2010, as Palingates reported.

If there is ONE THING which is on the record than it's the fact that Trig was "officially" delivered at Mat-Su hospital in Palmer on the early morning of April 18, 2008.

This is getting beyond ridiculous now.

See the email from KTUU-journalist Lori Tipton, who was at the Mat-Su hospital in the morning of April 18, 2008:

Here is Lori Tipton's story at KTUU:

Other media outlets in Alaska like the Anchorage Daily News reported the news as well:

I think that Sarah Palin should go on her favorite show, the "Bob and Mark radio show" in Alaska and clear up these contradictions. This would be especially interesting because Bob Lester from the "Bob and Mark show" is the partner of KTUU-journalist Lori Tipton, who reported about the birth from Wasilla on April 18, 2008. It's a small world in Alaska!

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UPDATE 2:

I made a clip about her "I had the baby in Anchorage" remark, showing the part of her speech in Waco, Texas, when she talks about the pregnancy, together with additional info:

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UPDATE 3:

Several readers asked for the video files of the three documentaries which were made by lidia17 about the faked pregnancy in order to burn them on DVD and give them to others.

I have therefore made the three clips available for download in Windows Media Video (WMV) format:

Chapter 1, Part 1

Chapter 1, Part 2

Chapter 2: The Wild Ride

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UPDATE 4:

Bob Cesca reports on his blog about Sarah Palin's latest "Barack Hussein Obama" comment on Greta, noting that she now "goes full birther."

See this clip from Media Matters:

However, Bob Cesca has another good observation:

"How about this? Let's hear about Sarah Palin's background. Let's hear about these ethics violations and apparent anger management -- perhaps bipolar -- issues. How the crap did she get from Texas to Alaska after her water broke? Sarah Palin is the last person to beg for full disclosure about someone else's background."

It seems that our efforts to get the word out there are not in vain.

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UPDATE 5:

Another Alaskan speaks out: Kim Chatman, who already earned her place in history through the filing of the successful ethics complaint against Sarah Palin because of Sarah's unethical first legal defense fund, the "Alaska Fund Trust", commented on her facebook:

Kim Chatman has been living in Germany now for several weeks. She will be working here as a civilian with Army for the next years. We plan to meet her and her family very soon. Although she is in Germany now, she has not lost her fighting spirit at all, but the opposite is the case:

In addition, Kim Chatman just tweeted:

Also:

Let's hope that more Alaskans will feel free to speak out about Sarah Palin's "pregnancy" in the near future!

In addition, every person from in- and outside Alaska can anonymously and securely send messages to Palingates through our very own "Palingates-Wikileaks."

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Sarah Palin's "wild ride": Child endangerment or the fraud of the century?

Sarah Palin, 32 weeks pregnant, on March 26, 2008

We have covered this topic before, but it won't hurt to take a fresh look at Sarah Palin's wild ride...

It's very difficult to find straightforward medical advice regarding long haul flights in late pregnancy, but there are bits and pieces to be found on the forums. Funnily enough, when searching for medical advice about flying while leaking amniotic fluid and having contractions, the results are overwhelmingly about Sarah Palin and the wild ride!

I found an actual medical opinion and emphasized the relevant passages:

Women who fly during pregnancy, whether as passengers or crew, continue to fuel the debate over the potential impact on pregnancy outcome and fetal development, the two risk factors most commonly invoked being relative hypoxaemia due to the decreased cabin pressure and, more recently, cosmic radiation. On both theoretical and experimental grounds (altitude physiology and studies in pregnant women during flight), commercial flight poses no threat to the fetal oxygen supply in a normal pregnancy. As for cosmic radiation, only theoretical estimates are available of flight crew exposure: if annual doses approximate to background at ground level (3-5 mSv), the dose received during an individual pregnancy can be estimated from the fraction of annual flight time spent while pregnant. It is doubtful whether any epidemiological study could ever confirm or refute this theoretical estimate of a low increase in risk. Many airlines have opted to allow pregnant crew to continue flying. There is thus little if any ground for advising against passenger flight in pregnancy. Flying is probably the safest and most comfortable way to travel long-distance in pregnancy. The few relative contraindications include flying close to term, a history of miscarriage and premature delivery, heavy smoking, severe anemia, cardiopulmonary disease, and a serious fear of flying.

We all know that Sarah Palin's pregnancy with Trig was not normal and her own book revealed that she had two miscarriages.

From a forum:

After reading the postings regarding flying when pregnant, and having had a trip planed for my 30 week of pregnancy, I realized that perhaps I also should contact my doctor to get their advice. I belong to Kaiser and can tell you that the advice nurse all but laughed at me when I told her my situation. She said that she would forward the message to my doctor but could tell me immediately that the doctor was NOT going to approve it. Granted, my situation is slightly different as I was planning on flying to a wedding one day, and returning the next. Wanting to get a second opinion, and make sure that Kaiser was not overreacting to prevent a potential lawsuit I sent email to my father-in-law who is a retired general practitioner. Below is his reply. Hence, my trip has been cancelled.

"The third trimester is a time when complications occur, which can be abrupt. As an example, if membranes rupture in the seventh or eighth month, labor can be very rapid, all within the period of an airplane flight. Although the odds are fairly low, such complications, unfortunately are common, and you would have much better chances for a favorable outcome if you are near your physician and hospital. My answer was always no. My usual response was that, although you'll miss the wedding, it is far better to visit later, and show off your new baby."

I don't think doctors anticipate having to advise their patients about flying in the late stages of pregnancy after they start leaking amniotic fluid. Their advice is normally about one or the other, not both! The same goes for contractions.

Article on the ADN:

Palin said she felt fine but had leaked amniotic fluid and also felt some contractions that seemed different from the false labor she had been having for months.

Sarah Palin reinforced the story about the contractions in Going Rogue, but left the fluid leakage out:

The next month, Todd and I checked into a hotel in Dallas. The following day I was scheduled to keynote another oil and gas conference. My pregnancy was going fine, and with five weeks to go, I felt great. But at 4 a.m., a strange sensation low in my belly woke me and I sat up straight in my bed.

(...)

Later that afternoon we entered a packed house at the energy conference, where I’d speak on the urgent need to tap conventional supplies and innovate on stabilizing renewable sources.

(...)

Then I took the podium and opened by teasing the audience about how great it was to be in our "little sister state of Texas."

Big laughs. More contractions.

Dr Cathy Baldwin-Johnston found herself in a very unique position, having to advise her patient on three different aspects of pregnancy, all at the same time.

On the same ADN article, we find this quote:

"I don't think it was unreasonable for her to continue to travel back," Baldwin-Johnson said.

Advice about leaking amniotic fluid: (Preterm Premature Rupture of Membranes -- PPROM)

How is it diagnosed? If you are leaking amniotic fluid, the diagnosis is easy. The doctor will do a pelvic exam to look for amniotic fluid leaking from the cervix. A speculum will be inserted much like when a Pap smear is done. A fluid sample will be taken. The fluid will be tested by putting a drop on special paper. Amniotic fluid will cause this paper to change color. The fluid can also be tested by looking at a drop under the microscope. When amniotic fluid dries, it looks like a fern pattern. An ultrasound will tell if there is less amniotic fluid around your baby.

Based on the information we have, Dr Baldwin-Johnston performed this test and an ultrasound over the phone.

How will the affect my pregnancy? PPROM can lead to other problems such as premature labor, infections of the mother or baby, kinking of the umbilical cord, delivery of the umbilical cord before the baby (prolapsed cord), and poor growth of the baby’s lungs.

The sac around your baby helps to protect the baby from germs that normally live in the vagina. When this sac breaks, these germs can cause an infection in the mother and/or baby. This is called chorioamnionitis.

The umbilical cord could get pinched with less fluid to protect it during uterine contractions or when the baby moves. In rare cases, the umbilical cord can come out of the vagina before the baby is born (prolapsed cord). An emergency delivery would be needed because the baby would not be able to get oxygen. Without enough amniotic fluid, the baby’s lungs may not grow well. If the lungs are too small, (this is called pulmonary hypoplasia), it may be hard or impossible for the baby to breathe after birth. There is no way to predict this problem.

Apparently, Dr Baldwin-Johnston was able to make many predictions based solely on telephone examinations.

There are two ways of looking at the good doctor's behaviour:

1. She gave very, very bad advice over the phone. I can't imagine any other doctor thinking that it would not be unreasonable for a 44 year old multipara leaking amniotic fluid and having contrations to continue to travel back from Dallas to Anchorage, then travel a further hour to reach a hospital without appropriate facilities. Did I mention that the baby in question was already known to have Down syndrome?

2. It was not unreasonable for Sarah Palin to continue to travel because she was not pregnant at all.

Whichever of these options is true, it leaves Dr Baldwin-Johnston facing a conundrum. Either she gave appalling advice or she's covering up a major fraud.

The third option is that she was caught in one of Sarah Palin's many instances of using people as she pleases, then discarding them. Dr Cathy Baldwin-Johnston has been awfully silent and virtually unseen since the April 2008.

I wonder why!

(Previous post about the wild ride)

Click here to hear Sarah Palin's own description of the wild ride on April 22, 2008:

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Sarah Palin can't grasp the concepts of "high risk", "emergency" or "truth"

Continuing on the wild ride theme, we have a friend in Alaska who volunteered to make a few phone calls to the Mat-Su hospital to find out how they deal with premature labour.

I rang the Mat-Su Hospital and said I was 35 weeks pregnant and that I was from Anchorage and planning on delivering at Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage, but because I spend my weekends at Big Lake (a lake close to Wasilla) I was worried about premature labor. I asked if I happened to go into labor this weekend at 35 weeks, should I drive to Providence in Anchorage where there is an NICU or go to the closer MatSu Regional? She told me that if I had any signs like contractions/ruptured membranes I should come immediately to the closer MatSu Hospital and be checked out by a doctor. Then, if the doctor deemed it neccessary, they would transport me to Providence Anchorage where there is an NICU!

We also received an e-mail from a doctor:

I am a practicing Emergency Medicine physician. I have called thousands of physician offices over the last 20+ years. And you know what? Every single one of them says on their opening disclaimer: "If you have a medical emergency call 911 or directly go to an Emergency Room." This disclaimer is universal for any legitimate physicians office or answering service. Sure it's redundant and obvious, but it's there for a few reasons -- to cover the doctors back and to point out the simple fact that emergency services are available to ANYONE, regardless of ability to pay. Really, it is one of the strengths of our health care system.

Here's my point, and maybe where the break is, Cathy Baldwin-Johnson KNOWS THIS TOO. We have all speculated as to her motives and cover-up, but the standard of care, hence her duty, was to tell Palin to seek emergency services. Amniotic fluid leakage and contractions in the eight month of a high risk pregnancy ARE, beyond any doubt, a medical emergency -- certainly to a licensed physician or even a prudent lay person. CBJ's DUTY was to tell Palin to seek emergency services, (even if Palin was ignorant enough not to realize that herself!). If she told Palin it was reasonable to fly, that was GROSS NEGLIGENCE, ABJECT MEDICAL MALPRACTICE. If anything untoward occurred, her medical license and millions of dollars would have been on the line.

ADN reported Sarah Palin's account of the events leading to the wild ride on April 22, 2008, days after Trig's first appearance:

EARLY ARRIVAL

Palin was in Texas last week for an energy conference of the Republican Governors Association when she experienced signs of early labor. She wasn't due for another month.

Early Thursday -- she thinks it was around 4 a.m. Texas time -- she consulted with her doctor, family physician Cathy Baldwin-Johnson, who is based in the Valley and has delivered lots of babies, including Piper, Palin's 7-year-old.

Palin said she felt fine but had leaked amniotic fluid and also felt some contractions that seemed different from the false labor she had been having for months.

"I said I am going to stay for the day. I have a speech I was determined to give," Palin said. She gave the luncheon keynote address for the energy conference.

Palin kept in close contact with Baldwin-Johnson. The contractions slowed to one or two an hour, "which is not active labor," the doctor said.

"Things were already settling down when she talked to me," Baldwin-Johnson said. Palin did not ask for a medical OK to fly, the doctor said.

"I don't think it was unreasonable for her to continue to travel back," Baldwin-Johnson said.

So the Palins flew on Alaska Airlines from Dallas to Anchorage, stopping in Seattle and checking with the doctor along the way.

"I am not a glutton for pain and punishment. I would have never wanted to travel had I been fully engaged in labor," Palin said. After four kids, the governor said, she knew what labor felt like, and she wasn't in labor.

In the transcript of the whole interview, there's an interesting passage:

Reporter: So did your water break?

Palin: Well, if you must know more of those type of details, but, um…

Reporter: Well, your dad said that and I saw him say it so that’s why I asked.

Palin: Well that was again if, if I must get personal, technical about this at the same time, um, it was one, it was a sign that I knew, um, could lead to uh, labor being uh kind of kicked in there was any kind of, um, amniotic leaking, amniotic fluid leaking, so when, when that happened we decided OK let’s call her.

Todd: There’s a lot of new doctors out there on the streets in the last couple of days.

Palin: Yeah, that’s significant too. Todd said, uh, after getting a couple of comments he said that he said wow everybody’s a doctor, Everybody’s going to tell us what we could have should have done and even though these folks - especially the critics- they’re not doctors. They didn’t know the situation. They don’t know the situation. They, they certainly don’t know our doctor and the consultations that we’ve had with her. So we did nothing to put our child nor anyone else in danger, uh, going through this five times I know what labor is and, uh, I am not a glutton for pain and punishment. I would have never, um, wanted to travel if I had been fully engaged in labor.

Well, we DO have a doctor's opinion... and the advice from the very same hospital she HAD to reach at all costs on that night.

Later we learned, again from Sarah Palin's own account in "Going Rogue", that she had two miscarriages, one of them described in great detail, which would make her fifth pregnancy even more high risk. She also gave a slightly different version of the events on April 17, 2008:

Todd and I checked into a hotel in Dallas. The following day I was scheduled to keynote another oil and gas conference. My pregnancy was going fine, and with five weeks to go, I felt great. But at 4 a.m., a strange sensation low in my belly woke me and I sat up straight in my bed.

It can’t be, I thought. It’s way too early.

Moments later, I shook Todd awake. “Something’s going on.”

He sat up in bed, instantly alert. “I’m calling CBJ.”

“No, don’t do that. It’s one a.m. in Alaska.”

I didn’t want to call anyone yet. I just wanted to take stock and see whether this baby was really coming. I also wanted time to pray and asked God silently but fervently to let everything be okay. Desperation for this baby overwhelmed me.

Please don’t let anything happen to this baby.

It occurred to me, once and for all. I’m so in love with this child, please God, protect him! After all my doubts and fears, I had fallen in love with this precious child. The worst thing in the world would be that I would lose him. God knew what He was doing.

Over my protests, Todd called CBJ. I told her that I felt fine and absolutely did not want to cancel my speech and disappoint the folks at the conference, including my cohost, Texas Governor Rick Perry. We agreed that I would stay in contact with CBJ through the day, I’d take it easy, give my speech, then catch an earlier flight back to Alaska. I still had plenty of time.

Later that afternoon we entered a packed house at the energy conference, where I’d speak on the urgent need to tap conventional supplies and innovate on stabilizing renewable sources.

Sarah Palin goes on to describe her speech, saying that she had contractions when she told a joke:

Big laughs. More contractions.

Then I introduced everybody to Todd, Alaska's "First Dude," who, instead of sitting at the head of the table, was standing at the back of the hall, giving me the "get on with it, let's keep it short this time" look and practically holding the door open for our quick exit to the airport.

(...)

The audience graciously gave me a standing ovation. Then I handed the mic back to Rick and walked off the stage.

"Hey," Rick drawled over the sound system with a chuckle, "we're not finished with the program!"

I turned around, smiled, waved, and kept moving.

"I know you're pregnant," Rick said, joking into the mic. "But don't tell me you're going off to have the baby right now!"

The audience laughed. I smiled and waved good-bye. I thought, if you only knew!

I reached Todd at the exit, and he eyed me with a grin, "Love this state, but we can't have a fish picker born in Texas."

(...)

Many hours and two plane flights later, with Todd and our daughters nearby, I delivered Trig Paxson Van Palin into the world at Mat-Su Regional Medical Center.

So we have a version where she states she was not in labour and another where there's a sense of urgency.

If we believe the first version, Sarah Palin self-diagnosed, concluding she was not in labour, her doctor performed examinations over the phone and concluded it was not unreasonable for her to continue to travel back to Alaska.

If we go with the second version, despite having contractions, she embarked on a long journey home because they couldn't have a fish picker born in Texas. (Couldn't the fish picker have been born in Anchorage in a better equipped hospital, or is Anchorage not Alaskan enough?)

I don't think there were any phone calls at all. After Chuck Heath opened his big mouth to say Sarah had leaked amniotic fluid, she had to come up with something and that's how her doctor found herself involved in this fiasco.

Sarah Palin doesn't do or say anything without making a new victim. I suppose Cathy Baldwin-Johnson can look after herself, but the biggest victim in all of this can't do anything about it.

That's baby Trig. (Seen in this photo at 11:45 pm, temperature 41F)

Watch Greta van Susteren talk to Karl Rove and freak out about the fake pregnancy allegations!

In a new interview with Karl Rove which was shown at Fox News on 25th November 2009, Greta van Susteren talks about "Going Rogue" and freaks out about our favourite subject - "BABYGATE". Apparently enraged about the fact the "horrible internet rumors" about the faked pregnancy with Trig still exist, Greta desperately asks how Sarah should "overcome" these rumors. See for yourself (relevant part from 2:28):

Here is the relevant part from the transcript - the complete transcript can be found here:

VAN SUSTEREN: How do you show substance?

ROVE: Well, you show substance by -- you know, by -- by talking about it, by, you know, offering interesting ideas, by commenting about current events in a way that people find -- find revealing of your leadership skills, and by, you know, charting a course, by setting a theme and charting a course for what you want to do and where you want the country to go that people would find attractive.

VAN SUSTEREN: But here's the interesting thing, is that all those rumors about who her son, Trig -- you know, who is the real mother of her son, Trig, a horrible Internet rumor -- you know, there were Internet rumors about a lot of candidates. There were Internet rumors about President Obama that he was never confronted with, it would have been wrong to confront him about. But she gets slapped around with that. I mean, so how does she overcome the ones that she gets hit with?

ROVE: Well, look, it's to answer the -- the ones that she feels she needs to but move on. I mean, don't get stuck in this. Don't get -- you know, don't get in a debate with Levi Johnston. Don't get sort of focused on it. Don't show your anger.

VAN SUSTEREN: But she gets asked about that. What does -- what does she do...

ROVE: Well...

VAN SUSTEREN: ... if she gets asked about it? I mean, the problem is, you know, if she sits down in an interview and someone says, Hey, how about Levi Johnston? Is he really posing nude in the magazine? What do you think about it? Will he be there for Thanksgiving? What's she supposed to say?

ROVE: She needs to...

VAN SUSTEREN: Talk about Iran?

ROVE: She needs to -- well, no, she needs to find a way to move off of it and get on to things that are important because, look, the media wants to stick her there. They want to have her be somebody who's more comfortable -- that people are more comfortable seeing her on the front page -- on the front cover of "People" magazine than seeing her in the Oval Office. And the way to do that is to keep these questions about, you know, sort of minor side issues coming and keep her drawn into those conversations, rather than allowing her to begin to develop and flesh out a vision of where she would want to take the country were she to become a candidate.

Interesting how Greta brings up the fake pregnancy rumors and in his response, Karl Rove jumps immediately to the subject of Levi Johnston, although Greta hadn't mentioned Levi at all!

Did Karl Rove realise that it would be most advisable not to start talking about the fake pregancy rumors in more detail...?

In addition, it's of course a complete lie that President Obama was never confronted with the Internet rumors about him - after all, he felt compelled to provide his birth certificate, and several court cases were initiated to challenge Obama's birth certificate! These court cases were doomed right from that start, of course.

I have an answer fo Greta's question, how should Sarah "overcome" the Internet rumors "she gets hit with." Well, what about showing for example Trig's birth certificate and medical documentation about the pregnancy?

But then we know that Sarah cannot do it - because it is a FACT that she has faked the pregnancy.

Greta was wrong (surprise!). It is not an "internet rumor" that Sarah Palin has faked the pregancy with Trig. It is simply the truth!

Please click on the title of the blogpost or CLICK HERE before using the toolbar below for sharing!

Giselle Bundchen doesn't have tight abs...

Sarah Palin, then 44 years old, 5' 4" tall, 7 months pregnant with her 5th child.

Giselle Bundchen, 29 years old, 5' 11" tall, 7 months pregnant with her 1st child.

Honestly! Models are very slack with their abs. We recently saw photographs of Heidi Klum very pregnant with shameful abs, not tight at all. Now look at Giselle Bundchen, how could she let herself go like this?

Open thread - Taking a break

I'll be taking a break from the blog for a few weeks, starting next week. We're going to Australia! The blog will be in Patrick's capable hands, so there won't be any problems with continuity. I don't think I'll find the time to blog, but I most certainly will read Patrick's insightful, well researched and beautifully written posts.

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Someone left this comment on the last thread:

Anonymous said...

Unless you have definite, unequivocal proof, you are only being a "birther". Yes, I do believe that Obama was born in the USA, and at least Sarah has been vetted more than tnan any politician right now. I believe that she gave birth to Trig, if not only because she had the "pregnant face". Regina, you must remember that face, when it is so swollen that you look at yourself in the mirror and wonder if it will ever become normal again. Since you have shown us pictures of your child, I think that you must remember that time, My MIL gave birth to my husband and no one knew she was pregnant and he weighed over nine pounds when he was born. My Mom was pregand with me and her doctor was leaving the country for vacation and I was "taken out" early because she was confortable with her obstetrician and even though my birth was "high risk" she wanted her doctor. I was supposed to be a child of "Pro-Choice" and my mom chose LIFE. I guess that it worked out for her because or all of her children, I am the one that takes care of her.

24 October 2009 06:22

Well, Anon, as it happens, I didn't have a pregnant face. I hardly had a pregnant body, but had a definite bump. In my first pregnancy I only started showing at around 5 months and showed much earlier in my second. I expect I would have shown even more if I had more pregnancies, who knows? I'm 5' 2" and very slim.

I don't know what your your mother-in-law looks like, but I have met some plump ladies who didn't look pregnant at all, just fatter. If one of these women didn't tell anybody that she was pregnant, it would be quite possible to surprise her acquaintances with a nine pound baby...

(Click to enlarge)

Many women manage to disguise their pregnancies and get away with it because nobody was paying attention, there are no photos to jog people's memories and it becomes irrelevant in the excitement of a new baby. That's not Sarah Palin's case. The very few photos that survived the scrubbing tell us a very different story. If you read all the posts and discussions about Babygate carefully, you will see that we base our suspicions regarding Sarah Palin's fake pregnancy on a lot more than just a couple of photographs. There are too many inconsistencies and her own account of events surrounding the pregnancy and delivery of Trig sound absolutely ludicrous.

Can all this circumstancial evidence be considered unequivocal proof that Sarah Palin faked her 5th pregnancy? Not yet, but we know we're on the right track.

As for taking the baby out early because the regular doctor was going abroad on vacation, that was your mother's choice, but I find it bizarre and I certainly wouldn't have done that. I'm glad you're a caring daughter, good for you.

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I posted a couple of links about Down Syndrome on that same thread, here they are again:

Sarah Palin and Down's Syndrome

Sarah Palin, baby, fluids, risks and the doctor

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I'll be busy preparing for our trip next week, but will be following the discussions when I can and might even find the inspiration to write a couple of posts...

A tout a l'heure.

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Huffington Post And Babygate: The Iron Curtain On Sarah Palin’s Faked Pregnancy Starts To Decay – But The Censors Are Still Busy

The Huffington Post and their approach towards “babygate”, the scandal surrounding Sarah Palin’s faked pregnancy with Trig, is a sad tale. Ever since Huffington Post blogger Lee Stranahan on September 1, 2008 rejected the faked-pregnancy theory and declared:

“Sane people need to come to reasonable conclusions”

and added in the comments

“She was pregnant, according to multiple interviews I've done with people in Alaska. They think the speculation is crazy”

...the Huffington Post has taken such a “hard line” on anything related to babygate that it would make a censor outside the “free world” proud. Therefore, it is not hard to believe what Lee Stranahan then wrote in the comments of another of his articles about babygate on October 22, 2008:

“Thanks but I'll tell you that the editors of HuffPost -- including Roy Sekoff and Arianna -- have been nothing but supportive of my writing here.”

As I myself and many of my fellow companions have experienced multiple times during the last 12 months, comments left on Huffington Post about babygate are usually vigorously censored. At times, it was virtually impossible to get any comment through which referred to Sarah’s faked pregnancy, even if it was “moderately worded”.

Then came October 21, 2009 – yesterday. I almost fell off my chair when I read what Glynnis MacNicol, senior editor at www.mediaite.com dared to write in her article (which has been tucked away in the media section of Huffington Post):

Top Ten Outrageous Sarah Palin Stories Oprah Will Have To Address:

"Who's Your Mommy: Palin and the Trig Birthers

2. Calling Andrew Sullivan and the Sarah Palin birthers! Ever since Palin stepped into the national spotlight in August 2008 there has been persistent speculation as to whether she is truly the mother of her youngest son Trig or whether the baby actually belongs her daughter Bristol and Palin's merely claimed to be his parent as some sort of cover-up. Levi hit on the sensitive subject again in his first-person VF piece. It remains to be seen if Palin mentions it in her memoir, but if she's considering another run for public office it's absolutely fair game for Oprah. Below, a typical birther vid.”

Can you believe it! Asking questions about Sarah Palin’s pregnancy is “fair game”! Hallelujah! Does that mean that we are now…allowed to talk on Huffington Post about what is supposedly one of the greatest taboos in US history?

Well…yes. I mean, no. Not so fast! Don’t give the people too much freedom! They might abuse it. A small dose of freedom of speech, that’s what we need. Emphasis on “small”. After all, Sarah Palin “sells”, we don’t want to damage the product too much, do we!

So, yesterday, the struggle began. The struggle to find the right words, so that the comment on Huffington Post doesn’t get rejected. What is it like to live in a dictatorship with limited freedom of speech? Well, you can find out for yourself and get first-hand experience – just try to leave a comment on Huffington Post about Sarah Palin’s faked pregnancy and you can get a glimpse of what the people in communist Eastern Europe had to go through.

REJECTED:

“Sarah Palin faked her pregnancy. She is one of the biggest frauds that there ever was in US political history.”

ALLOWED:

“Sarah's explanation regarding the wild ride is unbelievable. Oprah should question her about it and ask why she undertook such a risky journey.”

REJECTED:

“The parentage of Trig was the first lie told by the Palins on the national stage. And Palin continues to use that baby as a prop for her own political gain; promoting pro-life and special needs children agenda.”

ALLOWED:

“Absolutely ...biggest HOAX pulled in American political history. And main stream media refused to carry the story for some reason.”

REJECTED:

“Can anyone explain to me the reason why Sarah Palin travelled by plane from Texas to Alaska whilst she was in labor and her waters had broken? Why didn't she go to the nearest hospital which is what any normal woman would do in her situation? Is Sarah Palin such a poor decision maker that she is willing to risk her own unborn down syndrome child's life in order for him to be born in Alaska? The above facts are not some nutty story made up by conspiracy theorists. These are the facts that Palin related herself regarding Trig's birth. Also remember that she supposedly knew that he had a heart defect that would require immediate attention when he was born. I think that her story does not hold water (excuse the pun) and that it requires further investigation.”

I could go on. There are many, many more examples of rejected comments.

Any form of censorship makes me literally sick. It makes me feel even more ill when a “liberal” publication censors valid concerns of citizens which are based on a huge pile of “circumstancial” evidence. If a right-winger would censor me, I don’t mind too much, because that’s what I would expect from them. But the Huffington Post? It just breaks my heart that this important progressive publication is basically at the forefront of censoring comments about one of the greatest scandals in US political history.

There is a fascinating twist to the story. Paradoxically, Lee Stranahan once had his own problems with “censorship” in progressive publications. Lee was involved in a huge controversy about the handling of the John Edwards story in the media – he complained that the progressive media was ignoring the story. From the LA Times:

“Stranahan argued that even though the mainstream media had been silent after the National Enquirer broke the story, "the progessive blogosphere is ignoring this story at its own peril because it's going to be big." It was the most popular piece on HuffPo for two days. It also caused Stranahan to be banned from the liberal blog Daily Kos, whose users decided they did not like Stranahan's insistence on discussing unflattering news that originated in the National Enquirer. (…)“I was genuinely surprised that I got banned from Kos,” he said. “I just wrote an editorial. Now I find myself doing hard reporting." Although no other liberal blogs have joined Kos in shunning him, he feels he has a lot at stake in figuring out the details of the Edwards affair that are still cloudy. "Suddenly my reputation is tied in to the outcome of this story," he said.”

When I read this story, I had the impression that someone like Lee Stranahan, who also created some incredibly funny videos featuring Sarah Palin, should be our “natural ally”. But for reasons we will probably never find out, “the left” partially has lost its mind and is so scared of doing any false reporting about Sarah Palin’s pregnancy that they all apart from a few lone voices have collectively closed their eyes, Lee Stranahan included.

Interestingly, the website www.mediaite.com that Glynnis MacNicol is editing is certainly not a liberal website. It clearly appears to be a “conservative” website, although possibly with a “moderate angle”, as far as I could see. In the same way hasn’t, for example, the conservative publicist Peggy Noonan published one of the most devastating articles about Sarah Palin that was ever written?

There are many shades of liberal and conservative, and we cannot agree with each other all the time – but we should all seek the truth together. That’s all I ask for.