I'm leaving Palingates. Yep, I'm having a facelift, a boob job and embarking on a new career as pole dancer. I already have my costume ready: the black bra, the flimsy white t-shirt and the capri pants. I'm waiting for the bumpit to arrive...
Now, seriously. The personal circumstances for Mr Palingates and myself have changed and I won't be able to contribute to the blog anymore.
When I started Palingates 17 months ago as a modest hobby I could not have imagined that one day it would host such a fantastic community of intelligent, thinking, articulate people. There are so many incredible achievements, I could explode with pride! My little baby came of age and in a role reversal, mom is ready to fly the coop.
There are exciting developments for myself and for Palingates, but they are not compatible. If only days were a bit longer... 72 hours, at least!
I made many very good friends, learned many new things, acquired new skills, Palingates has been a wonderful experience. But I have to embrace new opportunities and would not be able to give either project the attention they deserve, so Palingates will have to become one of my most cherished memories.
The good news is that Patrick and Kathleen are creative, dedicated people and Palingates could not be in more capable hands. Together with this very active, vocal community, there you have it: the perfect team.
As if we haven’t had enough wonderful times on Palingates lately, Tuesday brought a new highlight: Patrick’s excellent radio interview by Nicole Sandler! On this program, Patrick displayed his mastery of the many Palingates, and also of the English language, in which he is far more fluent than Sarah! Palingaters sent many ((((())))) to Patrick for another outstanding job!
BellPeppery transcribed part: "…Sarah Palin has, she’s got a bunch of very fanatical followers in the U.S.A. These people, what they see is an image of Sarah Palin which in fact has nothing to do with the reality. They paint an image of her which is just like a fantasy image of Sarah Palin, this strong, conservative woman with convictions."
This post and comments link to Andrew Sullivan’s series of posts on “Why Does Trig Matter?” (here, here and here).
Wednesday started with some fun on an open thread, with a great video of Kathy Griffin and Levi Johnston going ice-fishing…looks like they had some fun! This post also delved into the Norfolk, Virginia Freedom Fest speech and the scuttlebutt around the eviction of several conservative bloggers from the event. Seems that Sarah has a natural talent for divisiveness that really is remarkable and does not exempt those conservatives who dare to speak her name in vain.
Next we had a quick look at the progress that Palingates is making in getting the word out about Sarah, with great numbers for traffic to the site – more than 500,000 page views in June! Help support PG with a donation if you can! And, we ask for your support for the Bloggers Choice awards (please ask others to support PG too). Patrick updated the post with a video of Sarah’s appearance at the International Bowl Expo 2010, where her appearance was very professional, if by that what we are referring to is the oldest profession.
Babygate Revisited! Building on Patrick’s radio interview, Andrew Sullivan’s great posts on this subject, and the posts by litbrit and others, Palingates took another in-depth look at Babygate. This included my own summary (abridged), which is available in the full version for download here.
There are a lot of compelling and convincing pieces of the babygate puzzle; but what is absolutely deterministic for me is not any one of the pieces of evidence, but all of them taken together.
If the only evidence about babygate were the unbelievable and differing versions of the wild ride story, that in itself would be enough to cast serious doubt on Sarah’s story.
If the only evidence were the photos showing her not pregnant shortly before reportedly giving birth, or that no one knew she was pregnant when she announced at “7 months,” that in itself would be enough to cast serious doubt on her story.
If the only evidence were the accounts and photos indicating Bristol was pregnant in late 2007, that in itself would be enough to cast doubt on her story.
If the only evidence were the lack of any documentation of Trig’s birth, or the fact that neither the doctor nor the hospital nor anyone else will corroborate the account, or any one of the many discrepancies that we, and others, have discovered, that would be enough to cast serious doubt on her story.
Each one of these makes for a strong case for babygate in its own right, but it is taking all of this evidence together that proves without a doubt that the Trig birth story is a hoax. As they said about Bernie Madoff, “too many things just didn’t add up.” There is no credible possibility that all these odd circumstances are coincidental; the preponderance of the evidence indicates that this was a deliberate scheme to deceive the public about Trig’s birth. Bottom line in my opinion: Sarah is not Trig’s birth mother; Bristol is.
Readers made many excellent comments, identifying even more discrepancies. These include the fact that the health insurer requested the birth certificate, which they presumably would not need if Sarah had given birth to Trig; conflicts in Levi’s and Bristol’s accounts about telling the Palins about the pregnancy; Bristol reportedly testifying that photos of her baby were on the internet in Fall 2008; research indicating that no DS babies were born in the Valley during 2008 (verified?) and numerous other important observations. Quite a few readers found the March 14th photo (lighter version) to be the most compelling photo – very obvious, no subtle interpretation needed! No doubt, babygate will someday make quite a book!
Another fascinating week wrapped up with our Quitter Day festivities – Palingates celebration of the first anniversary of the Quitter Speech! This memorable moment, complete with word salad supreme, hyperventilation and the accompaniment of honking geese, is forever enshrined in cyberspace for our entertainment and to steel our determination to put an end to Sarah’s political future. The icing on the cake is the written version of this remarkable oration (the original version with enough CAPITAL LETTERS and EXCLAMATION POINTS to make any 6th grader proud!!!!!!!). And the cherry on top is the wonderfully revealing, “I sure showed them, didn’t I” photo of our anti-heroine, completely oblivious to the fool she had just made of herself, but also smugly aware of the fools that she would soon make of her followers by raking in their money, without all the work and pesky restrictions of being Governor. BluedogAK also correctly observed that she used teleprompters for the speech.
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Comments of the Week: (True confessions: I have not gotten through all the comments this week, but I hope to someday!)
Junasie14 (on the CSU speech and Sarah’s propensity for not letting facts get in the way): “…what struck me about it is that Sarah knew exactly where Eureka College was located just a couple of months ago, when she spoke at Five Points Washington in Illinois. Praising the hard-working patriotic Americans of Central Illinois, she paid homage to Reagan's Eureka College, just up the road…”
Ginam and others posted this from c4p: Lipstick: “There was an awkward moment when a Rep. from this area in the TX Leg. came up to speak before Perry. He said Palin was also a Grandma and how her daughter had given birth to a Down Syndrome Child...the crowd really mumbled to correct him but he kept going. I am thinking, do you not KNOW this woman?”
Anonymous: “Some have suggested Palin could be a "puppet" backed by powerful people who are calling the shots. We don't know, and may never know most of what goes on behind the scenes. But generally speaking, in any political puppet situation, it would be a mistake to focus on the puppet or the show. What matters in that kind of situation are the puppetmasters.”
Ontohertricks: “The words ‘carefully crafted fake image’ are the key words to the personality disorder we are describing.”
Fawn218 (responding to this quote from Sarah’s CSU speech: “And a basic knowledge of right and wrong that’s what we desire in our children’s education”): “And yet Sarah has been unable to each her children right from wrong..... IE vandalism of public school buses; illegal drug use; underage drinking; irresponsible actions resulting in multiple teenage pregnancies; vandalism of private property; breaking and entering. hmmm.....maybe Sarah should look from within her own family”
Mel: “Look, as word salad as it was, the speech had a point, and it's a very scary one. She wants to indoctrinate our kids in "American exceptionalism."...she's talking indoctrination at the public school level…we're better than everybody else, we're chosen by God, we are right and you are wrong. And the crowd roared."
AKRNC has a strong and passionate letter to Sarah, worth reading (posted ~3 a.m. Sunday, PG time)
Grasshopper: “…To completely enclose a public school zone with chain link fence for a 30 min. speech by a private citizen is something new to me…”
Here is an excerpt from Teutonic13, who had several thoughtful posts: “So Ms. Palin. In your relentless path to suckle your ego, and mend hurt feelings, do not allow your vainglorious aspirations to tarnish us. You do not speak for me, nor do you speak for most of our people.”
Several readers noticed that publicity for Bristol’s upcoming TV appearance describe her as “the mother of Trig and Trip Palin.” Misspellings aside, we enjoyed seeing that in print!
Espresso4me: “…Just makes things up because she is wired that way.”
Finny: “There are so many, many Sarah Palins. There is the hockey mom in her sweats and jeans. There is the prom queen with her corsage and prom hairdo. There is the hooker with her platforms and mini-skirt. There is the madonna rocking her baby. There is the know-it-all energy expert with tight lips and a bun. There is the wannabe teenager in her trucker cap and shades. There is the sexy newscaster with a skirt climbing up her thigh. There is the sorority girl with her tight tank top....I could go on and on.”
MrsTarquinBiscuitBarrel reminded us that the Heaths moved to Alaska right aftr the huge Good Friday earthquake of 1964: “…Heaven knows what soap opera/family hassles back in Sandpoint, Idaho, motivated a young, broke family to move to a young, broken-up state...”
Sdilmoak: “The great ‘Illusionist’”
Sam 3710 named her Granny Griz; ivyfree came up with a new word: Palingering; and Finny and EOY, among others, channeled Sarah in quitting doing any more laundry ;-0
Drpatois: “Recap of falsehoods [from the bowling alley speech]: 1. $he was too young to have any memories of her father bowling [in Idaho] 2. $he did not go bowling after BB games because no bowling center existed. 3. $he never stepped foot in the Mat-Su bowling center in the 13 years it did exist.”
WendyinCa’s comment was posted by Andrew Sullivan on his blog: “The crux of the controversy about the Trig/Palin issue is quite simple. If Trig is her biological son she should offer proof. PERIOD…. She should do that so that she is worthy of a position of influence within our society. If she can’t do that because she has lied and lied and lied about the circumstances of Trig’s birth and has not only lied, but has exploited the lie to further her personal ambition, then quite simply she has no place in our society that demands trust and accountability. PERIOD.
There is no gray here. The media giving her this ‘so-called’ pass is abhorrent. But what is more abhorrent is Palin’s refusal to address the situation, provide proof and establish credibility. Based on Palin abhorrent behavior, the only logical explanation, to me, for her behavior, is quite simple. Trig is not her biological son. And she has not only lied about giving birth to him, but has also chosen to exploit what may have been very unfortunate circumstance to further her personal ambition. AND THAT IS THE STORY THE MEDIA HAS IGNORED!!!! There are no ‘passes’ here for lying and exploitation just because she is a woman. None at all.”
Kellygrrrl: “…I'm wondering if that physician would agree that no male politician should be questioned about extramarital affairs, cuz that's just what men do…while I agree that throughout history many women have lied, I take strong offense at the implication that all or most women do that and it's ‘normal’
it's not normal it's not OK”
SilentOne: “Read the book Into the Buzz Saw about the many, many brave journalists in various media who DID speak up about nasty stuff they saw going on with the government, military, media, and those in power - and the death threats, burglaries, attempts on their lives, and job losses they suffered…. I was a member of the alternative journalism community for a LONG time. Death threats didn't bother me so much. It was the attempts on my life (one of which put me in the hospital) and the attempts on my family's lives which were the tipping point. Those things will wear you down after a while and, effectively, turn you silent.”
Jk, lilybart, GrannyJ and others objected to Sarah saying that special needs people would not be in the running for a Nobel Prize (and cheapening the value of this honor at the same time). They noted that people with special needs have indeed won such prizes and are highly acclaimed for their abilities.
aview999 posted this from the comments: “If Sarah Palin is the answer, I can’t begin to imagine what the question is.”
JCos aptly noted: “I guess this answers the question, what do you have to do to get kicked out of a Freedom Fest? Exercise your freedom?”
View_From_Here found that the “only dead fish go with the flow” meme is attributed to Linda Ellerbee (a self-proclaimed maverick). Maelewis found that it dates back to the 18th Century.
More_Cowbell and others commented on Palin’s weird comment about whether she would be “merciful enough” to be Trig’s mom. Merciful?
Pallotine posted numerous quotes from the Frontiersman in 1997, indicating that Palin’s behavior is not new:
A Frontiersman editorial wrote, “The mayor’s administration has been one of contradiction, controversy and discord. While she will blame everyone but herself, we see mostly Sarah at the center of the problem.” [Frontiersman editorial, 2/7/97]
In 1997, a Wasilla group called Concerned Citizens asked Palin to appear before them to answer questions, but the Frontiersman wrote, “she doesn’t intend to face the hostile group to answer their questions.” Her deputy administrator said that the group could fax the questions and she would answer them then. [Frontiersman, 3/5/97]
A Frontiersman editorial wrote, “Wasilla is led by a woman who will tolerate no one who questions her actions or her authority.” [Frontiersman editorial, 3/7/97]
A Frontiersman editorial wrote, “Palin continues to lose public faith sticking by her philosophy that either we are with her or against her.” [Frontiersman editorial, 3/7/97]
The Frontiersman reported, “Wasilla voters may get the chance to transform the city to the city manager form of government under a proposal by Wasilla councilman Nick Carney…He said he thinks Palin does not have the management skills to run the City of Wasilla.” [Frontiersman, 2/21/97]
MANY ‘Gaters were especially offended by Sarah’s comment that she almost got into a spat with a 4-year old!
MicMac had a poignant post: “My disabled son was greeted with all sorts of weird responses: “Robot Boy” “Darth Vader” and the like…He looked awkward, he sounded awkward, he smelled awkward, what’s not to like? He smiled a great big smile, and taught me how to smile, at everyone, in return, come what may. All were rewarded by the experience…
I dislike Sarah Palin intensely. But not to the point that I do not feel infinitely sorry for her, as she clearly experiences the parenting of a special needs child as some sort of angry, defensive, one-dimensional political billboard. How painful for her, for her child, her family and everyone who falls within her dark shadow.”
Anne_123 reminded us of an oldie but goodie: Friday, October 31, 2008 Texas Mom says: Thank You Sarah Palin
“I would like to take a moment thank Sarah Palin…for being a perfect example for my bright and creative 11 year old daughter. Thank you, Sarah, for helping open a dialog between us to discuss the mockery of pseudo-equality and the men who hide behind a woman, putting her in a leadership role not because she exemplifies the qualities of a leader but because she *is* a woman and their denial of their own misogyny demands they nominate a figurehead with breasts…
…Thank you, Gov. Palin, for being the ideal example of how maliciousness, pettiness, manipulativeness, and viciousness can hide behind an appealing, friendly smile and look and sound a lot like people you can trust…” (Posted on womenagainstsarahpalin)
Mxm: “She purchased the adjacent land for the Wasilla compound days after the big quit and started building almost immediately. It appears that Bristol also took advantage of some cosmetic surgery. Legal bills could have been substantial for her Troopergate defense, Track's juvenile issues, an adoption of an unrelated infant could have cost $10-$40K."
Aview999 (quoting from FDL): “I think either the cumulative stress of being caught out in all those lies has caught up with her and she’s coming undone…or…if she’s truly psychopathic and thereby immune to feelings of confusion, regret, guilt and remorse, one of the many Damocletian swords that have been hanging over her head is about to fall. …… I have no idea, but I have believed since I did my research for the Portfolio piece that she is mentally and psychologically unsound.” – Joe McGinniss
Lidia17: “The sick, sick truth is that the media has studiously and intentionally avoided investigating the fact that a mentally-ill person, who had stuffed a cushion down her pants to fake a pregnancy, was mounted as a credible candidate for Vice President of the United States, and still is taken seriously to some degree by most major media outlets.”
Mrsgunka: “After quietly rereading the comments tonight I wonder if the Palin phenomena is nothing more than a raspberry seed under our dentures to distract us all as to what is really taken place in this country…”
Many readers enjoyed EOY’s recap of the posts that appeared on C4P on Quitters’ Day last year; here is but one sample: “Folks. This is no time for negativity. Sarah Palin is going into the wilderness. Think Moses, Jesus and Ronald Reagan. This is the beginning of the taking back of America.”
Note by Patrick: Unfortunately I wasn't aware of this excellent video before now, otherwise I would have included it in our recent posts featuring Andree McLeod's efforts.
SickntiredofPalin: “Here's the problem with the media. So maybe bloggers will be the news researchers of the future.“(Chart on who controls the media)
Kathleen posted a link to this from Ennealogic on Hypocrites & Heffalump Traps: “She managed to diss, hiss and piss at a whole slew of people but managed to also glorify Glen Beck, falsely credit Ronald Reagan with having grown up and gone to school in California, put down "lowly" Eureka College (Illinois), and confused our Constitution with the "Constitution of Liberty," an essay in which the author explains why he is not a conservative.”
TAMPA BAY (AP) - Two days ahead of its annual nation-wide conference, the American Psychological Association's president Mindy Shullman has pre-announced that the APA will be adding "Sarah Palin Veneration Syndrome (SPVS)" to its definitive catalog of officially-recognized psychological disorders…
From EyeOnYou: (Montrose Press article on CSU speech) America’s favorite victim is at it again...She complained that students who took extraordinary measures to learn her compensation were trying to “silence” her…. For Palin, who is long on rhetoric and short on substance, it was the perfect storm.
Say No to Palin in Politics: “…this article chews Joe Miller, the guy Scarah endorsed to win Lisa Murkowski's senate seat, up one side and down the other! It's delightful and totally applies to Scarah, also too. There's more to read. I have never read this blog before. Very good points.”
"Ignorant of Alaska’s Economic Realities…” and: “… So, how's that environmentally safe oil drillin thingy workin out for ya?" "A state-hired independent investigator is reviewing whistleblower allegations of improper waste disposal, environmental contamination and state regulatory neglect at a small oil field in shallow waters of the Beaufort Sea.
Patrick and Gunsmoke posted this link to Andrew Sullivan on the controversy about Andrew Breitbart’s offer of $100K to publish private emails.
EyeOnYou: from Bill Hess - Bill is traveling and he shares some information that he got by someone he met along his journey… Khaf shares a very enlightening viewpoint that I think everyone should see.
From Finny: “And for more fun, I have just found this video that mixes in bits from "The Office" with $arah's speeches...it's so naughty!”
Juicyfruityy posted a number of good articles on the media’s role: For the media, Palin is great at the box office…For Palin, the benefit is the exposure she needs to maintain her public profile and stir up chatter about a potential presidential candidacy — both of which help her continue to rake in millions of dollars in speaking fees. She also gets a villain with which to further energize her supporters: The more she convinces them “the MSM” hates her, the more they love her.
Juicyfruityy: (quoting Josh Green) “Stop and ponder that one for a moment. Palin's poll numbers are nearly as horrible as George W. Bush's--but only one of them launched two wars and destroyed the economy. That's remarkable. But what's more remarkable, in light of this, is that the idea of George W. Bush running for another term (were such a thing possible) would be greeted by gales of laughter from the political cognoscenti, while the prospect of a Palin presidential campaign is taken seriously.
I believe the blogosphere first truly gained traction in America for a good reason. There is something about blogging's freedom from the constraints of conventional journalism that captures an American ideal: civic engagement totally free of anyone else's influence.
We couldn't leave this occasion go unnoticed, so here's a tribute to Quitter Palin:
Very noble sentiments, but this picture tells another story...
The cat that got the cream
The big Babygate post will be re-published at the top later on, after we had a bit of time to celebrate Quitter's Day. Have fun, let's keep our spirits up and our eyes on the ball.
+++Please read all our posts about Sarah Palin's faked pregnancy HERE+++
ADN-columnist Michael Carey about Sarah Palin's faked pregnancy:
Sarah Palin's "pregnancy" with Trig currently is in the center of attention. Andrew Sullivan successfully started this new round when he once again threw down the gauntlet on June 28 in a major post called "Why Does Trig Matter?". This was followed by a number of other posts by Andrew Sullivan on the same theme, but not only that: Several other bloggers picked the story up, and the mainstream outlet "The Week" wrote about Andrew Sullivan's "obsession" with Trig and received many comments which support Andrew's stance.
See also Andrew Sullivan's long comments regarding babygate in a post from July 1 HERE.
To recap the events of the last days: Progressive radio show host Nicole Sandler contacted me on June 28, primarily regarding the CSU Stanislaus events. But when I later that day spoke to her on the air, the discussion very quickly moved to babygate - and Nicole gave me the opportunity to explain some of the facts in greater detail. The timing proved to be very lucky, as Andrew Sullivan's Trig-post had been published earlier that day and was already generating some buzz.
What is now needed in my opinion is a concerted effort in the blogsphere. When they are united in seeking the truth, bloggers are strong, and babygate is not an illusion, but a reality. Palingates will continue to cover the subject, and in doing so, our brilliant reader "Blueberry Tart", who week for week writes the weekly round-up posts on Palingates has now written for us a narrative description of "babygate".
Following the publication of our summary document, which has been downloaded more than 6000 times so far (!), many readers suggested that a narrative summary would be very helpful as well. Below you will find some excerpts of the new additional summary. The complete document (the first summary and the new narrative description now combined) with lots of more information and pictures about Sarah Palin's faked pregnancy can be downloaded HERE.
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Just the Facts, Ma'am...
By Blueberry Tart
Do you know the story that Sarah tells of the birth of her son, Trig? In brief summary: knowing that she had been pregnant 6 times previously, with 2 reported miscarriages, and that Trig had Down Syndrome and a heart defect, she says that 5 weeks before his due date, while in Texas, she woke up at 4 a.m. experiencing contractions and leaking amniotic fluid. Yet she did not go to Baylor Medical Center (5 minutes from her hotel, with a NICU) to be checked out. Instead, she claims that she gave a lunchtime speech while experiencing “big” contractions, then flew from Dallas to Seattle (bypassing hospitals with NICU), later flew from Seattle to Anchorage (bypassing hospital with NICU), and drove an hour to a small hospital that did not have a NICU to give birth to Trig. She says that she prayed to God that nothing should happen to this dear baby whom she loved, apparently absolving herself of any responsibility for her own recklessness. Do you believe this implausible tale? Does anyone?
Here is a summary of the reasons why many people do not believe the stories Sarah has told of this pregnancy and birth. You be the judge of whether you believe her or not.
Do you believe Sarah or your own lyin’ eyes?
Here are photos taken of Sarah when she was reportedly 7-8 months pregnant. These are but a few photos showing her with no “baby bump” whatsoever, within 1-5 weeks of reportedly giving birth to a 6 lb. 2 oz. baby on April 18th. You be the judge; was she or wasn’t she?
(click on all pictures to enlarge)
Very few photos have ever surfaced where Sarah looked pregnant with Trig; here are two. You be the judge if it is possible to have morphed, within a few days of (or in the first case, on the same day as) photos shown above. Or, is it an “empathy belly”/pregnancy disguise?
Finally, it is worth noting that Sarah did look very pregnant with her first pregnancies – both early in the pregnancy and at late stages. It is typical for women to show more and quicker with subsequent pregnancies than with their first – not the other way around.
Other facts for your consideration:
1) No one knew Sarah was pregnant before she announced she was 7 months pregnant on March 5th, 2008; it came as a total surprise even to those who worked with her everyday. Without exception, her staff, legislators and others who had close contact with her expressed complete surprise at the announcement. As many people have pointed out, this might be plausible for someone who is in their first trimester, but for the third trimester of a petite, slim woman’s pregnancy, this is simply not credible.
2) Sarah announced her “pregnancy” the day after McCain clinched the nomination…knowing she was on the list of possible VP candidates, Sarah Palin announced her pregnancy on March 5, 2008, the day after John McCain clinched the Republican nomination for President. Sarah was aware that she was under consideration as a possible vice-presidential candidate as early as summer 2007, and some of her associates wished her good-luck with the VP nomination just after she announced that she was pregnant. Sarah does not believe in coincidences; do you?
3) She lied when she said she had provided Trig’s birth certificate. No documentation that Sarah Palin gave birth to Trig, or that he was born on April 18th 2008 at Mat-Su Regional Health Center, has ever been publicly released. Not ever. Not by anyone. In fact, Sarah Palin did not even show evidence that she is Trig’s biological mother to the McCain campaign, as was revealed in the book "Game Change". Even the letter purportedly from her doctor, released on election eve, does not say that she gave birth to Trig.
But since Sarah claims she did release the birth certificate, then presumably she is not opposed to doing so on principle. Therefore, she should have no objection to providing it to the Anchorage Daily News (ADN) or another reputable media outlet, so that they can verify its authenticity to the public. Right? Except she did not do so, even when ADN requested it to put an end to the questions about Trig’s birth.
4. Sarah Palin’s story of labor and birth is not credible and is not consistent. Palingates and other websites (notably Palins Deceptions) have posted several times previously on the numerous problems and discrepancies with Sarah’s account of labor and Trig’s birth. We do not intend to belabor this (sorry!), but only to review key facts.
To briefly review her story:
In her first account of the birth, Sarah claimed that amniotic fluid began leaking early in the morning of April 17th, 2008, when she was in Grapevine, TX for a conference. (She makes no mention of this in Going Rogue.)
She said she was experiencing contractions that were unlike the Braxton Hicks contractions she was having for several months.
She said that she called her doctor (but in Going Rogue she said that Todd called, over her objections), and they decided that it would be okay for her to go ahead with the speech and then fly back to Alaska.
Baylor Regional Medical Center, which has a NICU, is within 5 minutes of her hotel. Sarah did not go there to be checked out, even though (if there were indeed no problem) she would have had time to do so and still give her speech.
She said she was “not in active labor” (this aspect of her story is the most credible, assuming she was not pregnant). However, in Going Rogue said she was having “big contractions” while giving her speech.
Todd and she flew back, changing planes in Seattle. In some accounts, she said they changed their plans and left the conference early (missing an evening reception). However, in another statement she said they flew back as scheduled. Sarah was observed in the lounge at Sea-Tac, showing no signs of being in labor.
Seattle and Anchorage also have NICUs; however, the Palins bypassed these facilities to go to Mat-Su for the “delivery.”
They reportedly arrived at Anchorage around 11 p.m., then drove to Mat-Su Regional Medical Center. Note that Mat-Su does not have an NICU and does not do high-risk deliveries (not even the delivery of twins); these are done in Anchorage, even in cases where the mother has to be transported by ambulance. According to her story, Mat-Su induced labor and baby Trig was “delivered” at 6:30 a.m. on April 18th.
5. Mat-Su Regional Medical Center has never confirmed of any detail of this story, and did not list the birth on their on-line birth register. This omission could not be due to the Palins’ wish for privacy, as Trig’s “delivery” was widely publicized.
6.The pregnancy and birth story ignore multiple risk factors: If Sarah had been pregnant with Trig, this would have been a high-risk pregnancy and delivery even without the leakage of amniotic fluid and onset of contractions, due to 1) Sarah’s advanced age; 2) the fact that she had given birth 4 times previously; 3) her claims of having two prior miscarriages; 4) the fetus being 5 weeks premature; and 5) prior knowledge that the fetus had Down Syndrome and a hole in the heart. If amniotic fluid had been leaking since 4 a.m. Texas time, this means there was a heightened risk of infection and of prolapse of the umbilical cord, threatening both mother and child. Generally, flying is not advised for women in late pregnancy because of the risk to baby and mother (to say nothing of the inconvenience to all on-board) of an inflight delivery with no medical personnel nor facilities. Also, changes in air pressure can cause or accelerate dilation of the cervix. However, by the only accounts available, the flight attendants were not aware of her condition.
7. The credible evidence indicates that Sarah’s birth story is not true; but if it were true, the only logical conclusions are that 1) Sarah acted recklessly, endangering her baby because 2) the speech was more important than the baby’s well-being. Corollary: either Dr. Baldwin-Johnson (Sarah’s physician) assisted Palin in perpetrating a hoax or she gave medical advice over the phone that constitutes medical malpractice. As we shall see, the preponderance of credible evidence is that Sarah faked the pregnancy to cover up the fact that Bristol became pregnant when she was only 16.
8. The Anchorage Daily News tried to put the rumors to rest, but couldn’t… Pat Dougherty, ADN Editor, said that he assigned reporter Lisa Demer to try to put an end to the rumors that Sarah Palin did not give birth to Trig. However, he was unable to do so. Here is the exchange.
9.Sarah’s doctor refused to confirm the story… In the course of this attempt by ADN to refute the rumors, Lisa Demer interviewed Dr. Cathy Baldwin-Johnson, Sarah Palin’s personal physician. The doctor attended the interview in the company of her personal lawyer. When Ms. Demer asked the doctor whether she was present at Trig’s birth, Dr. Baldwin-Johnson refused to confirm that she had been there and, on advice of counsel, refused to answer any more questions. She has not spoken again on this subject, and in fact has maintained a low profile even in her own community since that time. The election-eve letter, purportedly from Dr. CBJ (but released by the McCain-Palin Campaign) was never authenticated by her or anyone else. Numerous problems with the letter cast doubt on its authenticity; none of these problems were ever addressed by anyone.
10.You can fake a pregnancy… Actresses often fake a pregnant appearance for roles that they play. For example, Desperate Housewives aired episodes during the fall of 2007, in which Bree faked a pregnancy to cover for her pregnant daughter. We know (from the emails released by MSNBC) that Sarah Palin also went to see the movie Juno in early March 2008, the same week as her pregnancy announcement. (There’s that darn coincidence thing again!) In this film, actress Ellen Page played a pregnant teenager, using a fake pregnancy belly during filming. Many maternity stores have these bellies so that customers can try on clothes to see how they will look when they are in later stages of pregnancy. Please take another look at the pregnancy photo with Andrea Gusty, above. (Perhaps the pregnancy belly did not arrive in time for the Elan Frank filming; thus the square pillow was needed.)
11.You can’t fake being “not pregnant” when you are 7-8 months along… While you can fake a pregnant appearance, if you are 7-8 months pregnant, you can’t fake looking non-pregnant, no matter how tight your abs are. The fittest athletes and actresses can’t do it; in fact, the slimmer and fitter you are, the less you would be able to conceal an additional 10-20 pounds of weight in your abdomen.
It is physically impossible that a 6 lb. 2 oz. fetus, plus placenta, amniotic sac, fluid and other tissue does not take up any space at all, especially on a petite, slender woman. Sarah Palin did not show any physical signs of pregnancy, even as late as a week before her supposed “delivery.” Yet she was very visibly pregnant in her prior pregnancies. Nor did she appear post-partum 3 days later, despite having appeared very post-partum after Piper’s birth.
Despite some claims that other women were the same size as Sarah and never showed, no one has ever produced a single, verified photo of anyone, let alone someone of Sarah Palin’s build, who was 7-8 months pregnant with a fetus of similar size, without any visible baby bump. No one. Of course, many photos of actresses and others at the same stage of pregnancy belie Sarah’s claim.
12.The baby presented to the world on April 18th and April 21st does not appear to be a newborn premie. Many people believe that the baby presented in early May appears smaller and thinner. Others with experience in neonatal care have said that it is not plausible that a premature newborn with a hole in his heart would be released from the nursery for a photo op hours after birth and would be brought to a public place at 3 days of age. Judge for yourself.
13. Sarah’s daughter, Bristol, was pregnant in 2007 (and again in 2008). It was an open secret in Alaska that Bristol was pregnant in late-2007. Acquaintances of both Bristol and Sarah were aware of Bristol’s pregnancy by late 2007. Sarah herself acknowledged rumors that Bristol was pregnant in late February or early March 2008, but she denied they were true. These stories surfaced prior to the time Bristol could have been pregnant with Tripp.
Bristol was sexually active at least by the spring of 2007. Based on the information Palingates has received from various sources, she was involved in relationships with several teenage boys during high school. We also know that she was also abusing both alcohol and drugs.
Bristol’s slender figure changed markedly from June to September 2007, and her appearance in September and October is consistent with second-trimester pregnancy. She disappeared from view in late October and did not reappear until several months later.
Bristol's pregnancy was not an internet rumor; it was discussed among her acquaintances at least by December 2007 and January 2008. Others, including state legislators, were aware of rumors of Bristol’s pregnancy no later than December 2007, far before the pregnancy with Tripp.
Bristol’s remarkably buxom appearance at the RNC suggested that she may have been nursing, especially since she appeared nowhere near as large when she arrived at the airport (her bustline changed as quickly and dramatically as Sarah’s midsection did between April 8th and April 13th). Her maternal behavior toward Trig fed the rumor, reported during the convention by the PBS News Hour and CBC, that Bristol was Trig’s mother and Sarah Palin had faked the pregnancy.
14.Sarah lied when she said she didn’t know Bristol was having sex. Sarah knew that Bristol was having sex, because she suspected that she was pregnant in spring 2007. According to Bristol’s MySpace message to her sometimes boyfriend Johnny Chandler: “ha ha, my mom was asking me who I was on the phone with last night, and she said she heard everything I was saying…now she thinks im pregnant…ahaha call me later if you'd like” (heart symbol)
Yet Sarah denied knowing Bristol was sexually active when asked by Barbara Walters – a blatant lie.
15. Bristol lived with her Aunt Heather Bruce during her (first) pregnancy, not her pregnancy with Tripp. Rumors of Bristol’s pregnancy preceded the earliest timeframe when Tripp could have been conceived (April 2008). Bristol’s friends were aware of the pregnancy rumors in late 2007, as was an Alaska State Senator, Lyda Green. Sarah herself tried to dispel the rumors in February 2008, in a conversation with Bill McAllister. A blogger on reddit.com reported on the Bristol pregnancy rumor and said she was going to high school in Anchorage.
The principal of the Wasilla High School also confirmed that Bristol transferred from there halfway through the 2007-2008 school year. The National Enquirer reported this as well, with some additional details: “When Sarah found out the teen was pregnant by high schooler Levi Johnston, she was actually banished from the house. As part of the cover-up, Palin quickly transferred Bristol to another high school and made her move in with Sarah’s sister Heather 25 miles away!”
While many people apparently assumed this referred to the pregnancy with Tripp, that cannot be true. It can only refer to the winter 2007-2008 period, which coincides with the Trig pregnancy, not Tripp. Adding support to this conclusion, Bristol herself reported that they told Sarah and Todd about her pregnancy with Tripp “after school was out.” The logical conclusion is that Bristol’s banishment to Anchorage was not for the Tripp pregnancy, but for Trig.
(Read our new post about the revelations in the National Enquirer HERE)
16. A risky but brilliant solution (turning lemons to lemonade). Bristol’s first pregnancy threatened to derail Sarah’s political ambitions, especially in light of her ultra-conservative, religion-laden politics. She knew in 2007 that she was a possible running mate if Senator McCain won the nomination. But Bristol’s pregnancy was more than an embarrassment for an über-Christian, family values candidate; it could derail her chances for the VP nomination. So Sarah concocted a daring scheme – if McCain won the nomination, she would fake the pregnancy. She would plow ahead and disdainfully put down anyone who dared to question something so blatantly untrue. Once it became clear that Trig had Down Syndrome, this plan offered an even more dramatic opportunity to cast herself as someone who “walks the walk” by having a DS baby rather than an abortion. Thus “The Story of Trig” allowed Sarah to recast her daughter’s pregnancy from a huge problem into a major asset, and at the same time forged a new identity for herself.
Since that time, she has deftly deflected any real scrutiny of the many discrepancies in her story by characterizing those who dare raise such questions as the lunatic fringe. Recently, she has thrown this comment out very cleverly, making it appear that there is a long laundry list of off-the-wall accusations about her – in fact, almost all of them are true! And it has worked quite well for her, as she is generally given a pass by the MSM and the public at large, on the assumption that no one in her position could pull off such an outrageous hoax. Except she did – so far, anyway.
Some other oddities:
17.Sarah did not buy any maternity clothing; she wore the same clothes during the “pregnancy” as before and after, but “camouflaged” herself with scarves. While there were a few instances when she wore scarves before the pregnancy announcement, this occurred almost without exception in photos of her after the pregnancy announcement (with the notable exception of the April 13th big-belly photos). Why would she conceal the pregnancy after announcing it? What would she be trying to hide? Why would she have to conceal anything, since she claims she didn’t show? It is much more logical to recognize that the scarves were helpful camouflage of her non-pregnancy.
18.Todd Palin never made any mention whatsoever that Sarah was in labor, nor even any hint regarding this, in emails he sent during the day on April 17th. Mr. Palin was in email communication with Palin’s staff in Alaska during the day on April 17th, but he made no mention of the signs of impending birth, nor that there was any need to leave the conference early. He focused only on her speech and how it was received. These emails went to close associates, so the lack of any hint of the labor is curious.
19. One of the arguments used to refute “babygate” is that the hoax is too brazen to believe. However, successful hoaxes are often breathtakingly brazen. Think “Catch Me If You Can.” Think Bernie Madoff. Remember how several people realized that the investment returns that he was reporting could not be correct, and tried to alert authorities about him? No one believed them, apparently because they could not imagine someone of his stature, undertaking such an incredibly risky hoax on such a grand scale. But, paraphrasing one of the would-be whistleblowers, “there was no smoking gun but too many things just didn’t add up.” I ask you to suspend your disbelief for a moment, and ask yourself how many things in the “Story of Trig” don’t add up. There are a lot of coincidences here – that is a hallmark of a hoax.
20.Adding to this is the strong possibility that Sarah already had experience living at least one huge lie, regarding the biological father of her son, Track, and perhaps another regarding the “wite-out abortion.” She had covered up her prior indiscretions, successfully, for years. She knew that she had already gotten away with a birth hoax, and, especially given her new position of authority in Alaska and the ways in which secrets could be hidden from the public, she had no doubt that she could do it again. Of course, she did not expect that a tireless and determined cyber-posse would be on her trail!
In closing:
There are many more pieces of this puzzle than can realistically be put in a short synopsis. Keep in mind that Palingates and others have found all this out through dogged and creative use of the internet, as well as seeking and receiving information from some sources with specific knowledge. The level of investigation here is careful, well-documented and remarkable. At the same time, Sarah has done everything within her power to thwart revelation of the truth, including having photos scrubbed from the government website and (apparently) forging or tampering with a letter from her doctor.
The facts show that Sarah’s story does not add up and suggest that she is a con artist and that babygate is a grand, fraudulent scheme, further her own ambition and burnish her right-wing credentials. We at Palingates hope that you will use your own eyes and your own critical thinking to draw your own conclusions.
This month seemed to go too fast, I can't believe we're already doing our monthly "housekeeping" post!
Palingates had another good month, with over half a million page views in June. We're getting nearer to breaking our own record for February, when the Family Guy controversy brought an unprecedented number of readers to the blog, curious about the full text of Andrea Friedman's press release. Sarah Palin may no longer carry Trig like a loaf of French bread, but her speech in Georgia showed her usual willingness to use Trig as a political tool.
It goes without saying that we couldn't have had such a successful month without your help. Your selfless contributions, through the comments, via e-mail and the clicking on the paypal button give us a friendly push to continue our work in exposing Sarah Palin. A big thank you to all.
Kathleen assures me that Patrick does sleep. The big question is "When?" As I'm nearly two decades older than the youngsters in Germany, I can't pull the all-nighters with the same ease. This old lady needs her beauty sleep!
I had to sacrifice some of it to listen to Patrick's chat with Nicole Sandler. It was worth it, what a fantastic way to end a busy but rewarding month of palingating!
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The next item on the housekeeping agenda is the Blogger Awards. If you are a new reader and like what you see on Palingates, please consider voting for us. Every vote counts, eh?
Finally, I would like to point out that there is a special 4th of July promotion at Zazzle. You can purchase some fun items at a generous discount.
We have loads of different goodies and will accept sensible suggestions for new products. You may purchase the following by clicking on the caption under each item.
Sarah Palin appeared yesterday at the International Bowl Expo 2010 in Las Vegas, where she delivered her usual worn out talking points for a lot of money.
Palin recalled her youth when her father set pins in Idaho. "My Dad was on a Thursday night bowling league," she said. "He bonded with his buddies. I have memories of that point of my life which mean very, very much to me."
Well, Sarah Palin left Idaho, according to her own account in "Going Rogue", when she was three months old. As we know that Sarah Palin invents facts basically on a daily basis, her remark in Las Vegas is not very surprising from our point of view. She has this insatiable urge to bond with her audience, and lots of her speeches are full of made-up stories. It's almost impossible to keep up with all these invented "facts".
Then of course there was her outfit. As some of our readers remarked, she proudly displayed her "brand", and I am sure many of the usual "bold-headed guys" in the audience were happy. ;-)
Phil Munger from "Progressive Alaska" just left the following comment on Palingates, which I would like to repeat here:
She also claimed in her speech, "There were a lot of cold nights where I'm from where after basketball games we would meet at the bowling center."
The Wasilla bowling alley, on the Palmer-Wasilla HWY, was completed in very early 1985. Before that, there were no lanes in Wasilla. By the time the lanes were in, she had given up basketball, and was somewhere between her 2nd and 3rd college.
Hopefully this post will be picked up by Andrew Sullivan as well, like her previous post! :-)
Excerpt:
In short, the candidate is asked to explain himself. The narrative--the heroic soldier bona fides--that helped define him as a man with a "servant's heart" is, at least most of the time, exposed as a partial or complete fabrication.
Yet with the latter candidate--who in this case is embodied by one Sarah Palin, former half-term governor of Alaska, vice-presidential running mate and likely, if not certain, presidential candidate in 2012--the vast sea of inconsistencies and outright lies in her narratives are simply accepted, or else acknowledged in private by those with functioning ears and eyes but never questioned fully and responsibly by our national media, and, to a great extent, by bloggers of any political persuasion.
Other than a handful of Alaskan bloggers, Palingates (which is written and read by Europeans and Americans and has unearthed and published a staggering amount of linked, on-the-record facts), Andrew Sullivan, and now, me.
This is unacceptable. I find it deeply troubling in ways that go well beyond the story of Palin, even. And I believe it to be sexist in the extreme that our press will investigate, and hold responsible for their lies, male candidates--and do so in the adversarial manner in which the press should approach its subject matter--yet when a conservative female is the topic at hand, everyone takes a Don't Go There attitude.
