Saturday, 17 July 2010

Sarah Palin: Why I am qualified to be President of the USA - UPDATE!

It's time for us to take a break from the ongoing Palin/Johnson marriage soap opera, and turn to politics again.

Is Sarah Palin qualified to be the next US President? What would be better than to let Sarah Palin speak for herself.

She did an interview with Bill O'Reilly on November 19, 2009, and probably because this was during her book tour, the interview didn't receive a lot of attention -it was overlooked. However, it should get a lot of attention! Because this was actually one of the very few times when Palin was ready after her resignation from the Governorship to talk about politics in greater detail. As you can imagine, as usual she performed badly.

You can watch the complete, one-hour interview by Bill O'Reilly here:


As it becomes more and more obvious than Sarah Palin is going to run for President, the time has come for us to revisit this interview. Let's start with a "biggie". Sarah explains why she thinks that she is qualified to be President - certainly a key question:



"Commonsense"! Brilliant! That probably means that a large part of the US population would be qualified to be the leader of the free world. You should expect nothing else from an "exceptional" country! ;-)

See the excellent comments by the "Young Turks" regarding this part of the interview HERE.

Let me also mention some facts, which Sarah Palin conveniently left out or distorted in this clip:

1. After Sarah Palin was elected mayor to the city of Wasilla, she had to hire the city manager John Kramer who then actually ran Wasilla - because Sarah Palin couldn't handle her job.

2. Sarah Palin quit her highly paid job in the Alaskan oil & gas commission after 11 months - because she couldn't handle her job.

3. Sarah Palin quit as Governor of Alaska after 2 1/2 years - because she couldn't handle her job.

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Some more short clips from the interview.

Sarah Palin said that there were people who said that she should have "aborted" Trig:



Now this is a fascinating insight into the crazy mind of Sarah Palin! Who ever wrote or said that she should have aborted Trig? I have never read anything like that. Did she just made this up - or maybe she is convinced that this is the truth? I don't know which alternative concerns me more.

This woman is a whackjob. The fact that we are talking about her is like a scene from a surreal Bunuel movie.

Actually, to be precise, watching Sarah Palin in action is pretty much like Bunuel's great, highly recommended movie "The Phantom of Liberty." Does the description on Amazon sound familiar to you:

"None of it makes sense, except that it makes absolute sense."

Sums up Sarah Palin quite nicely!

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Sarah Palin doesn't like it that the USA is deeply in debt with China. Well, say "thank you" to your friend George W. Bush!



If you have watched this short clip, please pay close attention to the next one. Would Sarah Palin actually have done anything different than George W. Bush? It doesn't seem like it. She praises him and apparently thinks that he has done a pretty good job!

She also thinks that America has to eliminate the "Al Quaida cells", because otherwise they would come over "to destroy America". It doesn't get much more simplistic than that, and with Sarah Palin as President, it's certain that the war in Afghanistan will continue - forever and ever, until the last "cell" in the Afghan mountains has been found and the last billion has been spent. I think the Russians already tried that before, and we all know where that got them. Perhaps Sarah Palin wants to ensure the downfall of the USA.



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If you ask the future President Palin a question, make sure that you explain it properly, because otherwise she might not be able understand it. It''s really just a matter of courtesy!


And for Heaven's Sake, please don't ask her what she reads, also as a matter of courtesy.


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What about healthcare, Sarah? OK, I see: You want "Free-market results-oriented patient-centered solutions", you think that Obama's healthcare plans are evil, and at the same time your family happily enjoys free Government healthcare in Alaska. Glad that we cleared that up!

Apart from that, she talks in this clip for example about "Gitmo", Obama's actions on the road to socialism which "scare the heck out of her", and whether she has ever met Obama (she just met him twice and said "hello").



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Two short and pretty hilarious clips to finish this post.

Sarah Palin dives into the Bunuel movie again and explains that her only "skeleton in the closet" was a "D" on a college course:



Sarah Palin: You lie! ;-)

Your closet is so full, it's about to open on its own!

Let's finish on a high note. Sarah Palin says that it's fair to call out politicians by their associations with others:



Thank you so much, Sarah! We will expand on this point in later posts! :-)

I hope that you have enjoyed these insight into Sarah's qualifications, and please treat this post in the comments as an open thread, as so many other fascinating things are currently taking place in Sarah's world in beautiful downtown Wasilla.

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UPDATE:

I just found this amazingly well done video with Palin's various explanations what the Vice-President does. This should definitely be a part of this little insight into Sarah's limited intellectual capacities. But at least she has "commonsense"! (In Sarah's mind, that means: Make as much money as possible, as fast as possible and take the money and other goodies from as many people as possible)


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Thursday, 15 July 2010

Palin, Johnston/Palin and Johnston struggle with each other - Will it never end? Also: "Trig-politics" continue in the media


Welcome to the next installment of the epic soap opera battle which I would like to call now "Palin vs. Johnston/Palin vs. Johnston" - at least these seem to be the front lines right now. At first I wasn't sure whether I want to write about it at all, because "Jerry-Springer-like internet battles" like these are the not primary focus of Palingates. However, there ARE some interesting aspects to recent events, and ultimately, there is also Sarah Palin. Without her NONE of this would happen. In saying this, I don't want to express that Sarah is orchestrating "everything" in the background - because I am convinced that this isn't the case (more below). But Sarah Palin is definitely the underlying cause for this tragic family battle in my opinion.

Also, there is an urgent need for everyone to try to come their senses and calm down. The uglier this public fight becomes, the more damage will be done and the harder it will be to "make peace" in the end. And there has to be a peace agreement, because little children (well, at least one...) are involved.

Let's take a look at the clip in which Bristol and Levi announced their engagement (click here for the video). As many of our readers have observed, both seem to be genuinely happy. This is good news amongst all the negativity surrounding the announcement.

On a lighter note, the reaction by Kathy Griffin to the news is as hilarious and spot-on as usual (VIDEO).

Then there is the public fight between, broadly speaking, Bristol and Levi on the one side and Mercede and Sherry on the other side. Mercede famously uses her for blog for stabs against Bristol and Bristol has used her facebook to attack Mercede. Tonight Mercede and Sherry will be on "Inside Edition", telling their side of the story.

We will stay out of this fight. After all, it's none of our business, and my hope is that at one point the parties will maybe seek the help of somebody from outside for an attempt to reconcile the parties with each other. I don't know if this will ever happen, but it would be awful to think that this public fight will never end.

Maybe Mercede and Bristol should just fight it out (JOKE!):




As mentioned above, I don't share the popular belief that this engagement was orchestrated in the background by Sarah Palin. This engagement is ultimately a great embarrassment for Sarah Palin. She and Todd did everything to drag Bristol away from Levi. I don't believe at all that Levi has been "bought off" by the Palin, as some claim. Is he earning money from this engagement? Yes, he is, as Levi and Bristol sold their story to US Weekly, and it looks like there could be a reality TV show in the works. However, this is not same as being paid off by the Palins.

Various inside reports seem to confirm my view. Popeater reports:

Sources tell me that the 2008 Republican vice-presidential nominee is furious about her daughter's decision and thinks Bristol is making the biggest mistake of her life -- despite the fact that she and Todd eloped in 1988 without telling their parents. Levi Johnston and Bristol Palin

But it was ultimately Sarah who played grandma and comforted Bristol during her toughest times, while Johnston soaked up his fifteen minutes of fame by posing for Playgirl and hanging out with comedienne Kathy Griffin.

But it all comes back to politics. A Republican insider tells me Sarah is worried that her loose-lipped son-in-law will continue to ruin her political career and the public's perception of the Palin family.

"You can't control who your kids fall in love with, but Sarah wants this kid to go away. However, that doesn't look like it going to happen," the insider admits.

"So for the time being, Sarah is doing everything she can to protect her daughter and herself. And trust me, Levi has been warned. This isn't the sort of family you want to mess with twice."

In addition, we have confirmation for the fact that Sarah and Todd Palin are unhappy from a surprising source - Ben Barber, who apparently was Bristol's boyfriend shortly before the reunion with Levi (well, didn't Levi say a long time ago that Bristol isn't really the girl for abstinence...).

Ben Barber gave an interview to Shushannah Walshe from the Daily Beast. Shushannah is one of the authors of the very informative and well-written book "Sarah from Alaska".


Ben Barber - pic hockey
Ben Barber
Walshe writes:

Barber is clearly miffed that Bristol and Levi are back together. “I don’t understand how Bristol can go and spend her life with someone who can’t get his GED? What’s he going to do when all this stuff has run out on him?”
Barber may sound like a lover scorned. But it’s clear he respects the Palins—especially Todd, whom he described throughout the interview as “the coolest guy.” He said that Track and Todd had invited him to fish with them last weekend in Dillingham, but he couldn’t get out of work to meet up with them. Barber was in Wasilla with the family when they first found out the couple had reunited.
“[Bristol] never had a good relationship with her Mom and Dad, so not telling them (about the engagement) doesn’t surprise me. But I know the whole family isn’t happy about it. I was in town for a night and stopped by to see Todd and Track. They were furious.”
Barber says upon hearing the news he went outside with Track and asked him what he thought of the rekindled romance. Barber said Track was “disappointed and didn’t approve of the situation”—so much so, Barber says, that Track called his sister by a four-letter pejorative.
By contrast, Barber says Levi handled the news that he had gotten together with Bristol rather well. “It really surprised me. When Levi did find out, he was very mature about the situation. He was more happy that it was me with Tripp and Bristol than someone he didn’t like. I still wanted to be friends, but Bristol wouldn’t let me do that.” Barber admits that he then dropped Levi as a buddy. “I feel pretty low as a friend for doing that,” he says, adding he doubts he’ll be asked back as a groomsman this time around.
According to Barber, the constant attention on her family has taken its toll on Bristol. “She totally swapped personalities,” Barber said. “She used to be super passionate and a really nice person. Two or three years ago she was super cool. And around Christmas time she was the same Bristol. But now a lot of this has gone to her head. Her mom’s, too.”

So we will have to wait patiently and see how this tragic soap opera will unfold. As I mentioned above, I just hope that all participants will be able to get along in the end and will find an agreement. After all, they are family.

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Regardless, we should not forget about the politics! I have said several times before that Palin/Johnston family feud is ultimately a great distraction which takes time and attention away from Sarah Palin's "rise to power". We should not fall into this trap.

Bill O'Reilly recently expressed his outrage that the "Down-Syndrome-song" in "Family Guy" received an Emmy nomination - and so did his guests:



The right-leaning website mediaite reports:

The program itself did not get the nomination, according to O’Reilly’s report, but, rather, the song that plays at the beginning of the episode, which has lyrics about Down Syndrome. After playing a refresher clip of the Family Guy episode for those who had forgotten, O’Reilly asks Hoover and Carlson: “Are the Emmys making a political statement of support for Family Guy’s alleged attack on Palin by nominating the soundtrack to that particular episode for an award?”

Hoover sees a serious problem with the message it sends about special needs people in American society, and called it “rewarding people who are making special needs children the brunt of our jokes.” Even if the episode itself wasn’t nominated for content, the lyrical content of the theme song was enough to be seen as an endorsement of this type of humor.

Unlike her colleague, Carlson didn’t analyze the potential general messages the Emmy organization was sending out. She took the political route, and in no unambiguous terms called the move “a total attack on Sarah Palin, end of story,” by the academy that hands out nominations. She said that the reason Family Guy did not get what she would deem to be an appropriate reprimand, why they chose to air the story, and, later, why the powers-that-be who give Emmy nominees handed one to Family Guy was because Sarah Palin had a child with special needs and “Hollywood hates Sarah Palin.”

So it's all about Trig again. Will this ever end? ;-)

It seems that Trig is the only Down-Syndrome child out there in the nation.

Of course, neither Bill O'Reilly nor his guests mentioned the fact that the down-syndrome-girl in that "Family Guy" episode was famously played by actress Andrea Friedman, who herself has Down Syndrome. And not just that, but remarks by Andrea Friedman received huge attention in February this year, after Palingates exclusively published the full text of her statement in which she was highly critical of Palin's stance. Apart from Palingates, this statement was only also obtained by the New York Times, and they omitted vital parts of it.

Andrea Friedman also directly addressed Sarah Palin on TV - and never received a response from Palin, who because of her well-known personality disorder is unable to admit mistakes:





Sarah Palin can run on an imaginary mountain, but she cannot hide! ;-)

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PLEASE NOTE:

We don't claim that it's the "ultimate truth" what we present here. It's our opinion, based on the available information. Other people might come to different conclusions, and we strongly encourage everyone to discuss these issues and make up your own mind.
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Wednesday, 14 July 2010

Dave Weigel and Sarah Palin's "pregnancy": Believing what I want to believe - UPDATE

Wild ride word salad pic
Sarah Palin's "wild ride word salad" from April 22, 2008 -


Dave Weigel is already well known to the readers of Palingates, as we had a little run-in with him in April (see also HERE), after he appeared on Olbermann and talked about the "perjury story". Dave Weigel recently, with great media attention, left the Washington Post and moved to MSNBC as a contributor. He has written critically about Sarah Palin in the past and is certainly not a Palin-supporter, but it is very interesting to read what Andrew Barr remarked in Politico about Dave Weigel in an article titled "David Weigel sympathizes with Sarah Palin" just a few days ago:

After losing his job over leaked e-mails that showed him trashing the conservatives he covers, former Washington Post blogger David Weigel says he has “new sympathy” for former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.

Palin, Weigel writes in the latest issue of Esquire, is not someone he “pretended to admire much.”

But after getting chewed up and spit out over his critical e-mails, Weigel says that he can understand Palin’s mistrust of the media.

“A political celebrity who raises money and appears on TV needs the media in a way that a reporter doesn't,” Weigel writes. “But damn if I didn't feel sorry for the way every utterance Palin ever makes is taffy-pulled and inspected for lies.”

“This is, obviously, a weird place to be,” Weigel continues.

The former Washington Post blogger who is now a contributor to MSNBC said that his experience has likely changed the way he will report stories, because he now understands what it is like to be on the other end.


“I can't imagine ever again writing about someone without manning up to get him or her to comment, or provide more context,” Weigel wrote. “I realized that no one could take the same scrutiny and walk away looking saintly.”

Believing Sarah Palin

It seems that Dave Weigel saw an opportunity to show his new sympathy for Sarah Palin in public in greater detail. While Andrew Sullivan is on holiday, he wrote as a guest contributor on the Daily Dish a forceful rebuttal of "Trig Trutherism" titled "Believing Sarah Palin". Certainly, a major reason for his article is that Dave Weigel received twitter messages, asking him for example how he could associate himself with "crackpot" Andrew Sullivan.

Therefore, as someone who is involved in solving the puzzle regarding the circumstances of Sarah Palin's "pregnancy" with Trig, I feel compelled to answer Dave Weigel.

Dave Weigel tells the readers where he doesn't agree with Andrew Sullivan:

"There are two levels of criticism, both of starting with the assumption that by agreeing to blog in this space I am tacitly endorsing everything that usually appears in this space. One is that Andrew Sullivan is wrong and spreading misinformation about the birth of Trig Palin in 2008. The other is that Sullivan is wrong about Israel. I'm in Alaska and the subject of the Palins comes up frequently enough here, so let me just deal with the first criticism. Trig Palin is Sarah Palin's son and it's irresponsible to suggest otherwise."

So Andrew Sullivan is spreading "misinformation about the birth of Trig". Where exactly, in which article about Trig has Andrew Sullivan misinformed his readers? Dave Weigel doesn't think it's necessary to point us to the relevant excerpts, and there is a reason: He couldn't find them. All Andrew Sullivan has ever done regarding the "Trig questions" is to ask questions in a very careful, but insisting, detailed and logical way, for example here, here, here, here and here.

However, in Dave Weigel's view, it's "misinformation", and it's "irresponsible". Why? Has Dave Weigel ever looked at the facts of the case? Did he ever get in contact with people who are actually researching the subject? I doubt it very much. Paradoxically, this is exactly the same mediocre standard of reporting that Andrew Sullivan himself has always criticized and which seems to drive him crazy.

Andrew Sullivan wrote on June 28, 2010:

"But in many ways, my real frustration here is not with Palin, who has behaved in ways that are rational for a gambler of such proportions. My frustration is with the media who have never questioned, let alone seriously investigated, the story, and who have actually gone further and vouched for its truthfulness and accuracy without any independent confirmation."

Dave Weigel seems unimpressed by those arguments and paints a different picture:

"Trig Trutherism" is less serious. Were Sarah Palin to become president and everything the Trig Truthers believed to be proven right, it wouldn't matter at all. But they won't be proven right. All of the evidence indicates that Trig Palin is Sarah's son, and none of it suggests otherwise. I paid close enough attention to this in 2008, and realized pretty quickly that the countervailing theories made no sense. Too many people watched Palin announce the pregnancy and saw her come along until she went into labor, prematurely, while attending a National Governors Association event in Texas. Here in Alaska, people tell me that Palin fans (who at one point made up 85-90% of Alaskans) held "baby showers" for her, and she'd drop in to thank them.

So Dave Weigel claims that he paid close attention to this subject in 2008. This might be true - but he seems to have missed the fact that A LOT has changed since then. People started to research the pregnancy in autumn 2008, and we are now much, much further advanced in our knowledge about the circumstances than we were then. And yes, we HAVE received valuable inside info from Alaska, and in fact we still are. We have known for a long time with absolute certainty that the pregnancy was faked - and that we can write about it with impunity. A good part of the facts which were collected since 2008 can be found in our recently published summary document.

It's not difficult to refute the assertions of Dave Weigel. There is virtually NO evidence that Trig is Sarah Palin's biological son - and that's what we are pointing out: That he is not her BIOLOGICAL son, that her birth story is a lie, fabricated to appeal to the evangelical right and the pro-life movement. He can very well be her adopted son, but Sarah Palin did not give birth to Trig.

Why did the media conclude in 2008 that Palin had given birth to Trig? The most striking piece of evidence for this assertion is a picture taken on April 13, 2008, showing Palin in the Capitol Building in Juneau in the late afternoon while she was being interviewed by KTVA reporter Andrea Gusty. This picture suddenly appeared on Flickr on August 31, 2008, the day Palin's nomination was announced. This picture was in 2008 evidence enough for virtually everyone who didn't want to believe the fake pregnancy claims - including for example factcheck.org, who were so smitten by the picture that they ruled out any scenario other than a "real" birth. The flickr account on which this picture was published in August 31, 2008 was deleted several months ago.

Apart from that, there is virtually no evidence for the fact that Sarah Palin gave birth to Trig. We have never found any hard evidence, as closely as we looked! No documentation, no birth records, no witnesses, nothing.

However, what we DID find is a "mountain" of circumstancial evidence that points extremely strongly to the fact that the pregnancy was faked. In combination with valuable inside info from Alaska, a pretty clear picture slowly started to emerge.

Dave Weigel, however, seems to have not noticed the details which the "Trig Truthers" have published since 2008, because even a quick examination of his claims don't hold up against the growing mountain of evidence that suggests that she was never pregnant with Trig.

Dave Weigel writes on the Daily Dish:

"Too many people watched Palin announce the pregnancy and saw her come along until she went into labor, prematurely, while attending a National Governors Association event in Texas. Here in Alaska, people tell me that Palin fans (who at one point made up 85-90% of Alaskans) held "baby showers" for her, and she'd drop in to thank them."

Dave, I am surprised by your claims! To our best knowledge, Sarah Palin announced her pregnancy when she was supposedly seven months pregnant, on March 5, 2008. No one on her staff knew about it in advance. Yes, people saw her when she announced the pregnancy, and the Anchorage Daily News felt compelled to remark:

"That the pregnancy is so advanced astonished all who heard the news. The governor, a runner who's always been trim, simply doesn't look pregnant."

I had a phone conversation with former Alaska State Senate President Lyda Green in September 2009, who was in the same room with Sarah Palin on March 5, 2008, when she announced her pregnancy. She told me straight away that Palin did not look pregnant on that day. She also confirmed for example that the rumors that Bristol was pregnant already existed in Juneau around December 2007.

I subsequently had contact to other people who saw Palin even in April 2008 from very close who also observed that she didn't look pregnant.

Through inside sources we later learned that Bristol was indeed pregnant in 2007.

We know only of two baby shower, one of which was given by Sarah's best friend Kristan Cole - but that was only after Trig's official birth, on May 4, 2008 (see pictures here).

Who noticed that Sarah Palin was in labor on April 17, 2008?

The staff of Alaska Airlines certainly didn't notice it.


Lastly, did Cathy Baldwin-Johnson, who supposedly delivered Trig and who supposedly was in contact with her over the phone know that Palin was in labor on April 17, 2008? Apparently not, according to the ADN:

"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.
As far as Cathy Baldwin-Johnson is concerned, Sarah Palin wasn't in labor, but in "Going Rogue" Sarah mentions that she had "big contractions" during her speech but still decided to head back to Alaska on a long plane journey. How can this be reconciled with each other?

So, Dave, I ask you: Who HAS seen Palin when she was in labor? We are still waiting for somebody to come forward.

Do I even need to mention that Palin completely changed her story about the "wild ride" later which she first told in a press conference on April 22, 2008? In "Going Rogue", you will find no mention any more that her water had broken - on April 22, 2008, she described the events completely differently and explicitly said that her water had broken.

Dave, if you accept that Sarah Palin was pregnant with Trig during the "wild ride" from Texas to Alaska on April 17, 2008, why has nobody in the mainstream media confronted her with the fact that she was putting her premature child, afflicted by down syndrome and a heart condition at great risk, just so that he could be a "fishpicker from Alaska"?

At no time when she was in Texas did Sarah seek any medical advice. When Sarah Palin landed in Anchorage, she was just minutes away from a hospital with a NICU, but according to her story she chose to continue her journey and to drive to Wasilla to a small local hospital which isn't certified to deal with such kind of emergencies to deliver her child. Does this part of the story make sense to you? Because it certainly doesn't to us. Isn't that exactly what Andrew Sullivan is doing, asking these questions, without receiving a reply?

Finally, Dave Weigel writes:

"Obsessing over Trig, as much as it annoys the Palins -- and I see why it does -- is one of the best ways of propping her up. It gives her fan base proof that its hero is constantly battling unfair personal attacks that the media won't debunk. It convinces them that critics focus on this nonsense because they've got nothing else to criticize Palin about. She has taken advantage of this impression."

Dave, let me tell you: This story is NOT working for Sarah Palin. The truth will come out in the end, and Palin's credibility will be destroyed. There is no way she will be able to spin this one.

When you write at the end that Andrew Sullivan's articles about this matter have "damaged his reputation" , all I will say is that we should patiently wait until the full facts are revealed - and then it's up for others to decide who misjudged the situation.

The truth will be revealed in the end.

To finish this post on a lighter note, I would like to ask Dave Weigel: Please prove us wrong and ask Sarah Palin for proof that she has given birth to Trig - the editor of the Anchorage Daily News, Pat Dougherty, did the same in early 2009 and only received angry answers from Sarah Palin in response and no other cooperation (see also here for more background). Now, where you have openly declared that you believe Sarah, surely she will use this opportunity to prove us wrong and destroy the credibility of the Trig Truthers and the other doubters once and for all?

You will find the phone number of SarahPAC on their website, if that helps.

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In addition:


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UPDATE:

Dave Weigel posted a new article on the Daily Dish about the "Trig question" and he is not happy about the responses to his "Believing Sarah Palin" article. He again compares us with the Obama-birthers, doesn't seem to understand what all the fuss is about, and he even thinks that Sarah Palin's "anger" that people like that Anchorage Daily News kept on asking questions about the pregnancy is "understandable"!

He also explains that he has sources in Alaska:

"And among the people who told me that Alaskans were well aware of Palin's pregnancy were Shannyn Moore, an award-winning and left-leaning political radio host who has been roundly attacked by Palin fans."

"Well aware" BEFORE Palin announced her pregnancy on March 5, 2008? Sarah Palin didn't even tell her own family or her own staff!

Dave Weigel still hasn't got his facts straight, and frankly, I think he has no interest whatsoever to look at the real facts. Welcome to US journalism in the 21st century. Misinformed pundits who don't properly research their stories and MSM fluff-stories are the future.

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UPDATE 2:

Dave Weigel is in Alaska - but the news about the Levi/Bristol engagement supposedly does not interest him:

Dave Weigel twitter message - Leave her family alone

Leave her family alone?? Dave!!! They have sold the story to US Weekly, probably for their standard charge of $ 100,000!

How much hypocrisy can there be? For God's sake!

Levi & Bristol US Weekly cover


Dave, the more I think about it, the more I actually believe that you shouldn't talk about the Palins at all. Maybe that would be the best for everyone involved.
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Tuesday, 13 July 2010

Two "Pees" In A Pod? - Sarah Palin and Rod Blagojevich



Sarah and Blago 4

Guest Post by BfromC

As a long time reader and commenter on Palingates, and an Illinoisan going through the "Summer of Guv" that is the Rod Blagojevich criminal trial, I am struck by the similarities in personality and circumstances between our former governor and the former governor of Alaska. Each day, tidbits from the trial just scream to me — What is it with these governors, their egos, and their questionable work ethic?!

Besides the fact that they both have "big hair" issues, spouses who seemed to play just a bit too integral a part in state decision-making, and in-law family-feud troubles, "Blago" and the "Babe" have both become known for the limited amount of time they put in as governor, their motives, and their madness.

At the Blago trial on Thursday, former Deputy Governor Robert Greenlee portrayed Blagojevich as disengaged from daily affairs of state government, saying the governor spent on average two to eight hours a week in his office. He said that during working hours, the governor generally was at home or attending high-profile events.

Former budget director John Filan, Greenlee testified, had to chase after the governor to get him to discuss important items. "He would hide in the bathroom, the backroom or leave early," Greenlee said, adding that Blagojevich went to great lengths to avoid staffers whom he felt disagreed with him too often.

More info about the current developments in the trial from Associated Press HERE.

Screenshot surreal moments

On July 1st it was revealed that the Blagojeviches spent over $400,000 on clothing from 2002 to 2008. I especially enjoyed Chicago Tribune columnist Eric Zorn's take on this extravagant spending,

Blagojevich’s Dondi-like haircut was our first clue that he was a man who wanted his appearance to leave a strong impression. And perhaps our first clue that he really didn’t have the hang of the whole image thing.

Look, it’s not a crime to be a dandy, as the dwindling number of Blagojevich supporters are pointing out. And it’s not even a crime to spend extravagantly on luxury duds when you’re already ruinously deep in credit-card debt, though it may be evidence of sickness.

But it certainly provides a motive for criminal behavior and is, at the very least, a shame. In a November 10, 2008 telephone call played for jurors Thursday,
Blagojevich is heard bleating, “I can’t afford college for my daughter,” which suggests how ridiculously desperate his profligate ways had made him.

This same tape showed a governor consumed with paranoia and self-pity worthy of one of his early political idols, Richard Nixon.

“I don't wanna be governor for the next two years,” he says “ wanna get going. I'll, I, this has been two (very bad) years where I'm doing the best I can trying to get through a brick wall and find ways around stuff but it's like just screwing my family and time is passing me by and I'm stuck, it's no good. It's no good. I gotta get moving. The whole world's passing me by and I'm stuck in this (very bad) job as governor now. Everybody's passing me by and I'm stuck.”

He goes on a bit later, “Here's the immediate challenge. How do we take some of the financial pressure off of our family here? Okay? And then I have a personal issue which is, I feel like I'm (doing bad by) my children. That's what I feel like. The whole world's passing me by, I'm stuck in this(very bad) gridlock for two more (very bad) years, okay, and nasty (very, very, very bad) press and everything, you know, and every (bad person) out there.

Blago drawing


Were he and Palin separated at birth? I ask.

But the recordings show Blagojevich was most obsessed with the Senate seat. On one call, Harris suggests Blagojevich could just go ahead and appoint Barack Obama's friend Valerie Jarrett to the Senate like the incoming president wanted. Having Obama happy with him was "not a bad thing."

But Blagojevich brought the conversation right back to where it had been for days, asking how that would be something on which he could cash in.

Blagojevich said he had "scrutiny going on and lawyers to pay," speaking about the ongoing federal probe. "How in the hell am I going to send my kid to college?"

And this, from a June 30th Chicago Breaking News Center post, really shines a light on the similarities of what we know about Palin:

Scofield, a former top Blagojevich campaign aide and deputy governor, returned to the stand for a second day to explain how Blagojevich sought to enlist him and others in a constantly shifting tableau of alleged schemes involving the Senate seat.

As a lobbyist, Scofield said he needed to maintain good relations with Blagojevich. So he was loath to throw cold water on ideas tossed around by Blagojevich that Scofield admitted were "absurd." When the governor went on one of his frequent and erratic tears, Scofield said he would only half-listen and more than often pretend to agree when he really didn't.

Scofield isn't the first witness from Blagojevich's inner circle to testify that they found placating the governor the path of least resistance when he obsessed on something. Former chief of staff John Harris said earlier that he had been pretty much worn into submission by Blagojevich, who fancied yes men over naysayers.

There is another shared characteristic between Blago and Palin, beautifully illustrated in this Daily Herald article from July 5 — Psychologists: Blagojevich Trial Reveals Narcissism.

Ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich's denial that anything was wrong, selling himself to reality shows, even his always-perfect hair have caused some to question his state of mind. But now that Blagojevich's federal corruption trial reveals his interest in running for president, his jealousy of others, and his struggle to get money while he and his wife spent $400,000 on clothes over six years, some psychologists say they believe they can put a name to his mental status.

Specifically, two prominent Chicago psychologists said Blagojevich displays symptoms of a condition officially known as narcissistic personality disorder.

Dr. Daniela Schreier, a forensic psychologist at the Chicago School of Professional Psychology, said it's impossible to make a clinical diagnosis without a personal evaluation, which she has not done. But, she said, Blagojevich definitely has traits of the condition. She compared him to former President Richard Nixon and to French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte.

"Nixon always denied he did anything wrong," she said. "And even when he was defeated, on the island of Elba, Napoleon still tried to round up a local army."

Despite political success that culminated in the leadership of the state, Blagojevich sees himself as the underdog son of an immigrant steelworker, and always maintains an upbeat public persona, she noted.

"He's very glib and superficial," she said. "He's very self-confident, maybe overly self-confident. He's dramatic and erratic. He has an inability to acknowledge, 'I messed up.'"

Blagojevich is hardly alone in those traits. U.S. political culture values many of those characteristics, Schreier said, blaming them as part of the reason we often wind up with political scandals.

Scott Ambers, a Chicago psychologist, said Blagojevich appears to "hit the jackpot" in meeting the criteria for narcissistic personality disorder.

"Everything that's come out has confirmed it even more so," he said, following testimony that Blagojevich consistently wrangled to get a job or appointment in return for appointing someone to a U.S. Senate seat.

"One hallmark of a narcissistic personality is they're motivated almost exclusively by self-interest," he said. "So if you're going to have someone in public office whose motivations are predominantly, 'What's in it for me?' in the long run they're not going to serve the citizens very well."

There are many other similarities between Blago and Palin. But one final one I want to mention is their shared "Obama Hatred-Envy". At the trial on June 30th, tapes were played with Blago making these statements:

An angry Rod Blagojevich is heard grumbling on FBI wiretap tapes played at his corruption trial Wednesday that he is willing to appoint a favorite of Barack Obama to the U.S. Senate but the newly elected president is "all take and no give."

"The arrogance of these people," Blagojevich is heard saying on a tape of a conversation with adviser Doug Scofield a few days after Obama's November 2008 election to the White House.

When another adviser tells Blagojevich in a telephone call at about the same time that he would be wise to go ahead and appoint Obama's friend, the governor explodes, saying no one is willing to help him in his political troubles with Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan.

"I'm left with gridlock, a pissed-off speaker, a potential impeachment and a president who is all take and no give," Blagojevich snaps.

Blagojevich is heard saying he wants a reward such as secretary of health and human services in the new administration in return for appointing Chicago businesswoman and civic leader Valerie Jarrett, a family friend of the Obamas, to the Senate seat that the president-elect was leaving to go to the White House.
Scofield said that his boss assessed his political situation the day after Obama's win, and said there was nothing he could have done about Obama -- unless he'd been able to stop Obama from speaking at the 2004 Democratic National Convention. Obama became famous for his keynote speech.

Blagojevich once had presidential aspirations of his own. Scofield says there was "a measure of jealousy" in what Blagojevich was saying.

Illinois is used to having governors who end up being thrown in prison for corruption. I honestly thought Democratic candidate Blago was going to be different. But he obviously "got the disease" and traded in what integrity he may have had for a big slice of the money/celebrity pie. I can honestly say the one great thing he did for the Chicago area was push for the Open Road Tolling system that has made an enormous difference in the traffic gridlock. I give him props for that. But, of course, he insisted on taking credit by putting his name on every tollway plaza in the region. When he was ousted, a lot of tax dollars had to go to remove those signs,

He also was proud of enhancing and promoting the Illinois All Kids health insurance program (ala Palin at one point). But again, he had to put his name in the logo for the program.

I hate watching "The Apprentice", but I did just to see how Blago behaved, and he showed his true, self-promoting colors during that gig as well.

The State of Illinois and the City of Chicago are really beautiful places with wonderful people and a great mid-western sensibility and work ethic. That we continue to be identified by dirty politics is thanks to just a small, but powerful, group of people. I know the same is true with Alaska.

We are in the process of putting Blago in his place (behind bars). May the many "Gates O'Palin" eventually put her in a similar place as well.
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Monday, 12 July 2010

Palingates Weekly Roundup, July 6-10


By Blueberry Tart




We Palingaters were in for a shock, with Regina’s news that she is retiring from the blog. The comments were, without exception, heartfelt expressions of our appreciation for Regina’s efforts in creating a community and bringing Sarah Palin’s many scandals to light. Thankfully, the blog will be in the good hands of Patrick and Kathleen. We all send our wistful but sincere best wishes, Regina! ♥♥♥


This card is not a joke - this is REAL !!!

Kilob offered us a guest post focusing on how Sarah’s birth hoax was crucial to her selection as the VP candidate in 2008. Without these credentials, she really had little to offer, but by claiming motherhood of a DS infant, she had instantaneous appeal to the right-wing base of the Republican party. Among other things, Kilob reminds us that Franklin Graham and Samaritan’s Purse have Alaska connections and met with McCain in summer 2008; that Palin arranged to have Todd accompany her to Texas, rather than any state employees or her security detail; that Todd emailed on 4/17 that Sarah’s speech “kicked ass,” but made no mention that she was in labor, or that they decided that it was more important to travel back to AK than to find out whether the baby was in distress. Unnecessary, of course, because Sarah was not pregnant and the whole pregnancy tale was a “ruse born out of a political need…” Guest had some more info on Graham’s AK ties at the end of the comment thread.


Sarah Palin and Jon Corbett - "No Pebble Mine" Photo

On Thursday, I stopped on my way home to see what kind of fish the market had, and got a beautiful wild Alaskan sockeye salmon filet for supper. Got home, decided to check the site here before firing up the grill, and lo and behold, there was the most fantastic photo of these gorgeous fish! Kathleen wrote an outstanding post on the dangers posed by the Pebble Mine. Making it even better were the comments by Jon Corbett of the Windmill Grille in Dillingham, who took the opportunity afforded by the filming of Sarah’s TV series to promote his cause – protecting the fish of Bristol Bay. Sarah’s people tried to silence him, but he refused to sit down and shut up (and to take the photo down from his blog) -- Palingaters gave thanks and a special salute to Jon! We also thank him for taking part in the comment thread – that was great! He later predicted on his blog that he expected some retaliation. Stay safe, Jon – and keep in touch so we know how you are.


National Enquirer - Sarah Palin - Other man revealed - Brad Hanson affair

This post looks into the recent reports in the National Enquirer and elsewhere, about a masseuse who now alleges that Al Gore sexually assaulted her several years ago, although a police investigation did not find evidence of a crime. The post highlights the double standard that the right-wing applies in accepting this reporting as fact, while ignoring stories of the many scandals around Sarah Palin. Palingates revisited NE reports of: Sarah’s affair with Brad Hanson, Track’s Oxycontin addiction, his vandalism of school buses, Bristol’s drug use and promiscuous behavior, her time banished to Aunt Heathers, etc., all reported by NE. The MSM hasn’t touched them with a ten-foot pole. We point out again that the reports of Bristol’s pregnancy and the attempted coverup MUST refer to a pregnancy PRIOR to Tripp. She did not become pregnant with Tripp until the end of the 2007-08 school year, yet she was banished to Aunt Heather’s in the MIDDLE of the school year; Aunt Heather herself acknowledged that Bristol was pregnant at the time she lived with her. Reports about this banishment were published during the first week of the 08-09 school year, so that could not be the school year in question. C’mon, already, MSM, how hard is this to figure out? H/T to Kevin at the Midnight Review blog.

The update picks up a link first posted by GinaM to an interesting interview at palinbabygate with “Bree Palin”. The interview has lots on babygate, and more: Bree: “I think you may be on to something there. There are definitely a lot of Americans who are not presently concerned about the growing dementia of the GOP propaganda machine and its followers, including an awful lot of influential journalists and politicians who should be. They write them off as too nonsensical to be taken seriously…”


screenshot 2

Patrick put together the two recent Bill O’Reilly interviews with Sarah into a new post. BOR actually did us all a favor by revealing her idiotic ideas about stopping the oil leak and her clueless generalities about addressing illegal immigration. Make it simple! Too complicated! Even Dana Perino had to agree that Sarah doesn’t have a clue how to solve these problems. The footage of Sarah’s angry schoolmarm expressions during these interviews is priceless! The post wraps up with screenshots of some hilarious comments by Sarah’s devotees on C4P…they are delusional cultists, pure and simple.

Comments of the Week:

This week we had comments from many, many old and new friends, some of whom we haven’t heard from in a while, and others who don’t usually post – it was really great to hear from you all!

Aha suggested a new Palingates motto: 'To boldly go where no blog has gone before...'

Consciousatlast!: “SP demonstrated her ‘special kind of crazy’ by appearing in public without any obvious baby bump yet telling folks that she was 7 months along. Just that alone speaks volumes about her. She expected that she could tell this whopper of a lie, that was OBVIOUSLY not true and get away with it.”

Kellygrrrl: “O M G ! ! ! ! The Secret Life episode with Barstool is starting ... the whole opening scene is about teen moms getting pregnant AGAIN within 2 years of first preg.”

sickntiredofPalin has a great new avatar, and posted this from US Magazine’s article on Bristol’s acting debut: “Asked if she wants to pursue an entertainment career, she tells UsMagazine.com, ‘Not acting. I like doing speaking engagements and stuff like that. Right now I'm just focused on raising Tripp,’ her 2 1/2-year-old son with Levi Johnston.”
[Of course, Tripp is just 1 ½, but Trig is *reportedly* 2¼ but *actually* about 2½, based on what we have learned.

AKSandhills and sunnyjane picked up on this gem from Bristol: “Sounds like what she said about teaching Tripp about sex. I don't remember the exact words, but it was something like, ‘I'll tell him not to have sex until he's married or whatnot.’ What the hell is whatnot?”

AKRNC has an interesting post about a conversation (at 8:47 a.m. Tuesday) with an RNC mucky-muck; here is just a tiny bit: “Palin has really made some enemies among the old guard members of the GOP because she refuses to take advice or listen to what anyone has to say about ANYTHING!”

Soapydog, jula, wesinoregon and many others weighed in on Levi’s apology to the Palins: There were lots of comments about Levi’s demand that Mercede take down her blog or she would never see Tripp or him again. From Thanks_a_bunch_John: “I think the ‘apology’ and the simultaneous threat to Mercede to take her blog down are so telling and obvious. This is coercion, plain and simple.”

Kilob had a great response to one of Louie’s gems: “Once again Louie drops nuclear snark from half court on the Bumpitcuda! Yea, Louie!”

Drpatois gave us hope: "Nothing is hidden that will not be made known;
nothing is secret that will not come to light." Luke 18:17

Cheeriogirl got us back to babygate: “There is no way on God's green earth that ANY doctor would deliver a 44 year old mom, with a history of six previous pregnancies, four live births, 5 weeks pre-term, with a fetus known to have Down Syndrome and a hole in his heart, in a community hospital with no NICU, no obstetrician, and no neonatologist present, other than in a bona fide medical emergency. The hospital's own legal team would NEVER allow this type of delivery to take place for any other reason, because it would expose them financially to a humongous settlement.” (part of an excellent longer post, good followup comments)

Ripley in CT reminded us of more inconsistencies in Sarah’s story: “Look, Mrs. Palin. You can't say you never tried to hide it and then say you tried to hide it with scarves, then say you had tight abs so you didn't need to hide it, then ... Oh wait, you did. YOU LIE”

Sdilmoak: “Yup...remember the email about ‘the puppy was ready for pickup?’"

Mrs TBB and a Guest had an interesting exchange about what the tabloids know, including:
“He hinted during the 2008 election there is a LOT they uncovered about her, so I think your conclusions that they have some good stuff are sound. Kathy Griffin was on the show in the last couple of weeks and she said that Levi has told her stuff about Sarah that would ‘absolutely take her out.’ …She said that he wanted to have access to Tripp and had to make a decision…I'm sure that the McCain staffers have told many stories over drinks in the last couple of years, so the GOP leadership can't be in the dark about her mental illness. They think they have no other viable candidate and are going to try to get her elected the same way they did with Dubya--through dirty tricks and a redacted record.”

There were some interesting comments on the Frontiersman and ADN sites; here is one that Buffalogal found: “ sarahsexfriend wrote on Saturday, Nov 14 at 05:22 PM »
How in the Hell did you ever convince Todd he was the father of your first born child after you celebrated all those times up at the Forks Roadhouse ??”
and another from janpatches & TruthSeeker: "HelenKennedie wrote on 07/06/2010 07:33:21 PM: Let's have a little chat with SARAH about Sheep Creek Lodge and the Fork's Roadhouse.... (yupp! some of us remember you before you were NOTORIOUS!)"

Laprofesora: “Not to oversimplify things or ignore the hard work and research that has gone into this matter, but when dealing with disbelievers it really comes down to this:
1) By her own account Sarah Palin selfishly put the health of her unborn child in serious danger by flying back to AK while leaking amniotic fluid or
2) She made the whole thing up.
Which is it?”

Maelewis: “Judge Judy always say, ‘If it doesn't make sense, it isn't true.’”

Arctic Loon asks a good question: “What is Baldwin-Johnson's explanation of why labor was induced once Palin was safely in the hospital, rather than just putting her on bed rest? Was it because of THE RISK OF INFECTION from the water having broken? Then was this or was it not a risk the day before?” [My note: just one of many reasons CBJ won’t talk.]

Peacepax responded: “…If she was not leaking amniotic fluid, there was no reason to induce a five week pre term DS infant, and like you say, every effort should have made to keep the baby in the protective environment of the uterus as long as possible…There was absolutely no reason to induce a high risk pregnancy in the poorly equipped hospital in Wasilla. A short ambulance ride would have taken her to a modern NICU. I always feel so foolish typing this nonsense. Sarah Palin clearly is not the birth mother of Tri g. To suggest that she was pregnant with Trig is an insult to our intelligence.” Pat- RN (mother of 11)

newsOne clarified that Sarah herself said amniotic fluid leaked in TX; Bree (on palinbabygate) made the good point that most people don’t know that this is Sarah’s own story.

Cheeriogirl: “Different medical presentations call for different medical actions, which was my point. Some scenarios would call for an emergency cesarean, some would call for you to use everything in your arsenal to stop contractions to halt delivery for as long as possible, keeping in mind the babies due date as your goal. There are a myriad of choices in between… NONE of which a family practice doctor from a hospital with few deliveries annually is qualified to make.

I'm not just talking medically here, sunnyjane. The practice of medicine, and medical care these days is largely driven by legal issues and malpractice insurance. There is NO WAY that CBJ would have been allowed to make that medico-legal call , to induce the sitting governor of the State of Alaska, five weeks ahead of her projected delivery date. That would be left up to a high risk obstetrician with many, many MILLIONS of dollars in malpractice insurance coverage, and YEARS and YEARS of obstetrical experience behind him/her to make that call.

NO hospital's attorney would ever allow a family practice physician to make those kinds of decisions. To do so would be to basically INVITE the family to file a medical malpractice/malfeasance suit against the hospital- and WIN!”

Ivyfree had a number of excellent comments about how she reads the hospital scenario and CBJ’s involvement. Well worth reading…

Patrick: “And I can tell you here and now that Cathy Baldwin-Johnson will strictly REFUSE to take responsibility for the infamous medical letter which was patched together by the McCain/Palin campaign. I guarantee you 100% that she will say that she has no responsibility for the content whatsoever.”

More_Cowbell: “this is a woman who puts first class flight or learjet in her speaking contracts FOR HERSELF, and she turns down a private flight WHEN THE SAFETY OF HER HIGH-RISK BABY IS AT STAKE?”

Minnesotamud: “That's a problem: If she did not give birth on the 18th but was allowed to position herself in a room/in a bed in the hospital, there had to be some collusion with someone of power in the hospital.” [My comment: perhaps that’s why CBJ was no longer on active status at Mat-Su as of June 2008.]

Lilylake: “She has a faux religion, had a faux pregnancy, works for faux news, and faux hair, probably a faux marriage; I can't think of much about her that seems real at all.”

Cheeriogirl found this: “The Nation reported that she had been vetted by the secretive Council for National Policy just before the convention, but that meeting may have been more of a ratification of the McCain selection. The Council is composed of several hundred of the foremost leaders and funders of the ultraconservative right wing, including billionaires from the Amway families, the Prince families ( the Blackwater mercenary operations in Iraq ), as well as Pat Robertson, James Dobson, Phyllis Schlafly and the late Jerry Falwell".”

More_Cowbell: “This 2008 story from The Independent has this quote from Phil Munger "Mr Munger also asked Mrs Palin if she believed in the End of Days, the doomsday scenario when the Messiah will return. "She looked in my eyes and said, 'Yes, I think I will see Jesus come back to earth in my lifetime'." So what does she care about maintaining renewable resources?”

bluedogAK had an excellent post on AK’s wildlife policies that increasingly allow “predator control” (euphemism for wanton slaughter): I wish the country knew what really happens to Mama Grizzlies in Alaska, thanks to Sarah Palin's wildlife policies. She didn't invent predator control of wolves and bears, but her policies and her appointments to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game have accelerated them to a degree that would shock most people… the guiding political philosophy of the Board of Game in Alaska is now, ‘Kill 'em all and let God sort 'em out.’ …Mama Grisly is more like it.” [lisantx suggested a full post on this]

Louiecypher can always make us laugh: “Hey there Sarah, well quite the movement with the whole Grizzly Mamma thing going on, here's the thing, did you know Grizzly Mamma's (well all Grizzly Bears) hibernate from about early November to mid-April. So I was thinking to stay true to your moniker how about you do the same?”

Grasshopper: “Is it my imagination or is that funny looking lady with the dirty hair and googly eyeballs standing next to that nice man holding a dead fish who is NOT going with the flow?”

Historygoddess aptly dubbed Sarah “the Deflectress.”

Our Palingates community sends ((((♥♥♥)))) to mrsgunka and her hubby. Warm hugs and best wishes to NJfan and Beverly729, too.

MrsTBB: “Most unbelievable to me of all is the fact that the stories already published by the National Enquirer--each one vetted and PASSED by TWO American Media staff attorneys before publication--got no further play from the MSM. Maybe, just maybe, I could understand what litbrit calls the "Don't Go There" factor applied solely to Tri-G, if he were the only iffy story in $P's family psychodrama. But add the NE's reporting on her affair with Brad Hanson (unanswered by Camp Palin), Track's woes, Bri$tol's banishment(s), plus every -Gate in the sidebar at right... it just doesn't make sense why the MSM hasn't sent Our Girl back to Wasilla for good. Except that she's a living, ongoing soap opera, she generates copy every week (if not every day), she's someone whom the "low-information voters" can adore and the so-called "elites" can feel superior to. Let enough muck about $P trickle out and just about anyone the GOP presents as an alternative will have to look like an improvement.”

Older_Wiser (welcome back!): "’Pink elephants’ are what alcoholics suffering from delirium tremens see, aren't they? Is she trying to tell us something else?”

Peacepax: “Hi lilybart, You say: "Yes, the timing of living with Aunt Heather is the smoking gun now isn't it?" Definitely. It doesn't even take much of a brain to figure that one out. Any body that wanted to see the truth could do so in about five seconds. Of course it was for a pregnancy other than Tripp. There was no missing school, or staying with Aunt Heather with Tripp. There were just a couple weeks left of school when Bristol discovered she was pregnant with Tripp, and school was out for the summer before Bristol told her mother.”

Janpatches had a great quote: "If you can't dazzle them with your brilliance, baffle them with your bullshit."

Quiet1: “Even a hypothetical mention of "President Palin" makes me nauseous : ( “

Mitch233: "I believe in the idea of amnesty for those who have put down roots and lived here, even though sometime back they may have entered illegally," - Ronald Reagan.

Maelewis had a good, detailed analysis of the BOR interview, ending with: “Bottom line: Bill gave her every chance to make clear statements, and she couldn't handle an interview from a friendly source.”

Links of the Week:

Kathleen linked to Andrew’s Sunday Times of London article.

EOY had a good find in the Peoria Journal Star on the Eureka College gaffe.

Honestyingov and seallen posted the link to the March 4, 2008 video of a Newsweek interview with Janet Napolitano.

Palinoia: Another excellent write up over at Politicsusa (President Obama vs. "self styled shadow president" Palin), freshly posted by Jason Easley.

Finny: Have you ever seen this video from the Young Turks with their speculation on why she went to so many colleges? It's quite funny ;)

Litbrit linked to PG in her recent post on babygate.

Ginam posted a link to gawker with Bristol’s acting debut.

Kilob: LOL... The Cocky Wacko starring Sarah Palin... (Lincoln Chafee commenting on her)

Darkefang urged us to comment on pandagon: let's see some Palingates people back up poor Chet, who seems to be in way over his head.

Several readers linked to Mercede's blog post.

Thanks a bunch John posted links to Andrew Sullivan on the Mercede blog dispute, which was also picked up by newser.com.

Crystalwolfakacaligrl from Andrew Sullivan on the Levi situation.

SickntiredofPalin: Sarah Palin: “I think it is so far in outer space, the possibility that [Giuliani] would ever want a hockey mum from Wasilla to be his running mate, that I haven't considered it. I think the obligation that I have here is to serve my four-year term as a governor of Alaska. That's the deal that I struck with voters. There is much more that Alaska can do to contribute to the US and I think I can help it do that as governor. But it would obviously be an honour for me to serve the country. And for Alaska's sake too, it would be very good for our future for an Alaskan to be serving nationally.”

honestyingov posted this from palinoscope (Alaskans : Palin Birth story must be Told): “Sarah Palin has lied about her pregnancy with Trig. That much is clear at this point. There are people who know the truth, or a piece of the truth, which, if added to the pieces that others know, would create a cohesive narrative. If there are enough tips to piece together a narrative, the parts that don't fit the facts already known, and the general shape of the narrative that emerges could be eliminated. What we find could be placed in the public domain where anyone who is researching could use it as a starting point."

So_many_unanswered_questions: Mining for a message in Palin's speech
(brief excerpt from clever piece) “Now, about that speech: What did she say? Not much. And we listened to it twice…”

Pallotine linked to an email on Sarah’s VP chances.

EyeOnYou had an interesting post on Forbes’ report, with insider info, of how much money Sarah has made since Quitter Day, closing with: “Bottom line: thanks to a memoir published at the zenith of public interest in her, the former Alsaka governor had a windfall year. But her best days, financially, could be behind her. Unless, of course, she's elected President.”

BanditBasheert: “Head on over to Andrew Sullivan - he's got a guest post [from a parent of a special needs child] on Palin's FAKE Mama Grizzly meme”.
Patrick also linked to this: “And the reader is none other than Mickey7, who published a brilliant guest post about the same subject at Palingates in May."

Honestyingov took the initiative to let palinscope know about Palingates’ secure tip box and they linked back to us – H/T! “Palingates Has a Secure Anonymous Wikileaks Link"

Orangetriangle gave us a little respite from the storms: “OT...but fun. Try this crazy anagram finder. You type in your whole name and up comes a silly anagram...and some are pretty accurate! Try: Sarah Louise Palin

Palingaters had lots of fun coming up with PANT DILDO (for Todd) and HA HA! HIS PRENATAL (for Sarah). Comeonpeople (later): President Palin: Randiest Nipple; Maverick Mccain: Man, I'm crack vice; President Sarah Palin: Piranhas and reptiles; Meg Stapleton: gleam not pest;
Conservatives for Palin: Fornicator enslaves VIP; Rebecca Mansour: on macabre curse [lot’s more there and Saturday morning] ***** I need an intervention***** I can't stop*******

Pallotine: Earlier today i posted about Palin's professed love for Bristol Bay. Which was really ironic, because we know how she spoke out on prop 4. Here is the other side of Palin. The mining lobby showered Palin with gifts, one being a $1200 dollar pin or broach, whatever. Gifts totaling over $25000, but she claimed ignorance in not declaring them.

SoCalWolfGal: Sarah and Faux News have resurrected the Death Panels in full force now. And I had hoped this August would not be another Summer of Hate.

Very good article in Salon.com about Sarah's presidential ambitions.

Excellent piece in Huffington Post: Women voters will choose progress, not Palin.

Palinized: This is a rebuttal to Palin's video. It needs to go viral.

Several readers posted links to articles about jewelers who have come together in opposition to the Pebble Mine; here is one.

Here is the link to the BOR interview on immigration and aview999 sent a link to the transcript.

Anony in Fl: Crooks and Liars has the BOR interview up with a great article - "Sarah Trainwreck strikes again."
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