Thomas Van Flein knows how to do his duty.
In his
petition for custody on behalf of Bristol Palin, he dutifully points out all negative facts which could speak against Levi Johnston
(including messages from Levi's fake twitter account). For example, he strongly emphasizes the fact that Levi Johnston's mother, as everyone knows, had been convicted for dealing drugs and writes:
"Ms. Johnston is a convicted felon. She is also a chronic pain patient and undergoes daily, regular, and sustained narcotic infusions. The side effects of such narcotics are well known, but often include sleepiness. The baby cannot be left with Sherry Johnston without someone else there to supervise, as Ms. Johnston could fall asleep or be too drowsy to appropriately monitor the baby. Further, in light of the illegal drug dealing by Ms. Johnston, there is a risk that she may re-offend, keep medications around the house which could be accessible to the baby, have illegal drug users come to her house (or she could take the baby in her car during a drug sale), or otherwise engage in behaviour (criminal or negligent) which could result in a variety of harms to the baby. For these reasons, any visitation schedule for Mrs. Johnston should be conditioned on a neutral third party supervisor, paid for by Ms. Johnston."Screenshots (click to enlarge):
Accordingly, we here at palingates feel that we have to do our duty, too!Which is to continue to expose the truth behind the deceitful facade which Queen Sarah has created!
There is one subject on which our team has done extensive research, starting several months ago, and we have patiently waited for the right time to publish these inconvenient facts. This right time has come now, as the Palins use the conviction of Sherry Johnston as an argument in the custody battle.
I am talking about the subject of
Diana Palin.
Diana Palin is the half-sister of Todd Palin. Apparently they share the same father, Jim Palin. We are not aware of the identity of Diana Palin's mother at this point.
Diana Palin in November 2008:
Diana Palin around November 5, 2008 at Biltmore Hotel Resort in Arizona, holding Trig Palin. In the background Sarah Palin's sister Molly with one of her sons. Diana Palin posted this picture on her myspace-account.
Diana Palin in April 2009:
(click on pictures to enlarge)
On April 2, 2009, Diana Palin, Todd Palin’s half-sister was arrested after police say she broke into a Wasilla home for the second time in a week to steal money.
The ADN reported the story on April 3, 2009 and followed up on April 13, 2009
with a report about the indictment by a grand jury on burglary, theft and trespass charges related to three break-ins at a Wasilla home:
"Police say she broke into a home on West Mill Site Circle owned by Theodore Turcott to steal cash. Turcott told investigators he'd lost nearly $2,600 in two prior burglaries, so when he saw an unfamiliar car pull into his driveway, he waited in a bathroom for Palin and confronted her after she headed straight for a cabinet where he kept his money, according to a police affidavit filed by officer Jentry Crain. Palin's 4-year-old daughter came into the home as her mother was being detained by Turcott, who was armed, police and prosecutors say.On April 2, police arrested Palin for that day's break-in and also for a burglary March 31 in which nearly $400 was taken from Turcott's home.The grand jury on Friday indicted Palin for those break-ins, and also for one March 26 in which $2,200 was stolen, according to court documents."Since then, not too much else has been reported, although the
court dockets for Diana Palin's criminal trial show that the proceedings are still "in full swing". From the court dockets it is also apparent that Diana Palin was granted a privilege which Sherry Johnston didn't enjoy:
Confidentiality. In December 2009, a "confidential presentence report" was presented to the court.
In addition, Diana Palin also didn't have to wear pink handcuffs which are designed to humiliate the accused person -
unlike Sherry Johnston.The visible dramatic deterioration of Diana Palin's appearance from November 2008 to April 2009 and the repeated burglaries can in my opinion only be explained the the abuse of hard drugs.
This graphic, detailing the horrible effects of the use of methamphetamine, shows what I am talking about.
However, we don't know for certain which drugs Diana Palin has taken, as no reports seem to be available - convenient for Sarah Palin, who of course didn't mention Diana Palin in "Going Rogue". What doesn't fit into Sarah's picture of a model-family has to be erased from memory.
However,
"Alaska Dispatch" thankfully reported more details on October 2, 2009:"Palin's bail was set at $10,000, but she served five months in jail, the majority of the time at Hiland Mountain Correctional Center in Eagle River.Josh Fannon, Palin's attorney, successfully filed multiple requests to delay her court appearances, and on May 19 wrote, "Ms. Palin has appointments with a treatment center at Hiland and if she is moved for a court hearing she will miss her appointments."Fannon declined to talk about Palin's case except to say that, "Without commenting on her, some people stay there for longer because of classes or treatments or other objectives they might have."The Wasilla Police Department declined to comment, as did Sarah Palin's spokeswoman Meghan Stapleton.On Aug. 29, Palin was released into a residential program at Akeela House, an Anchorage nonprofit that provides treatment for alcohol and substance abuse. Under her terms of release, she must finish the residential program."+++
How close was Diana Palin to the rest of the Palin family?
More screenshots from her myspace-account give us some hints - Diana Palin with Sarah Palin, Todd Palin, Willow Palin, Wendy Palin, Miranda Palin - and Piper Palin! In addition, Diana Palin also posts a group picture which shows Bristol Palin and Lauden Bruce (daughter of Sarah Palin's sister Heather).
Click to enlarge:
Apart from that, we have another screenshot from her myspace account which is one of my favourite screenshots of all times:
Diana Palin:
"I really love dysfunctional families. Especially mine - crazy thing is - the more you go through - the better it gets. That is if you hang in long enough!!"
This has to be the first blatantly honest statement I have ever heard from a Palin. It's really like a breath of fresh air...
How do we know that the picture in which Diana Palin holds Trig was taken at the beginning of November 2008?
The ultra-conservative Washington Times reported on November 6, 2008:"Superstar Gov. Sarah Palin spent Wednesday poolside at the luxurious Biltmore Hotel Resort and Spa, surrounded by her children, would-be "first dude" (aka husband Todd), and a slew of family and friends. Dressed in a pair of gym shorts, a Pittsburgh Penguins T-shirt and some big, dark sunglasses, the Alaska governor drew a nonstop flow of the curious, and graciously posed for photos with fans bold enough to speak to her (some poolgoers simply stopped by, took a few snaps and left) Her unruly mob of children, led by the precocious Piper, 7, spent much of the day slipping down a huge water slide. "Piper! Piper!" the other kids yelled as she led a gang up the steps to the top of the slide. They hardly slowed for lunch, and apparently, the governor over-ordered... (Palin's sister walked over to your blogster and said, "Do you by any chance want a cheeseburger? Sarah ordered way too much food and I hate to see it go to waste." Your blogster ate said burger, dubbed by another reporter on hearing the story a "Palin Burger." No, it wasn't moose)."Here are two pictures from the pool at Biltmore Hotel Resort in Arizona:
Here is the comparison with the picture of Diana Palin holding Trig:
Sarah Palin's sister Molly and her son (who, as we believe, is called "Heath Wooten") are also pictured here, together with Sarah Palin, Willow and Bristol:
The picture above which was taken on September 14, 2007 shows, by the way, Bristol Palin while she was pregnant with Trig. But that is an entirely different story...
EDIT: In the comments, the question came up whether the picture above really was taken on September 14, 2007. The answer: YES, it was.
This photo album on flickr will answer all your questions regarding this picture.
+++
UPDATE:I had mentioned that we didn't yet know the identity of Diana Palin's mother. This has changed, therefore an update is necessary, also thanks to our resourceful readers! In addition, the research of Diana's mother's background led us straight into the "twilight zone" again, surprise, surprise! It seems that this is what you inevitably have to deal with if you research facts surrounding "the Palins" (poor Michael Palin - Monty Python, of course - he will ask for a name change if this is all over...).
Ok, here we go:
Diana Palin's mother was Elayne Ingram.
One of our readers (thank you!) sent us the text of the two marriage announcements of Diana Palin, which were published in the ADN:
Anchorage Daily News (AK) - Monday, June 20, 1994 Diana Dee Palin and Howard Peterson III were married May 14 at Matanuska Lake in Palmer.Both Diana and Howard are Wasilla High graduates. Their parents are Howard and Gloria Peterson of Wasilla; and Elayne Ingrim of Barrow and James Palin of Wasilla. ___Anchorage Daily News (AK) - Monday, August 25, 2003Diana Dee Palin and Scott James McLean were married June 7 in Cooper Landing.Diana is the daughter of Elayne Ingram of Dillingham and Faye and Jim Palin of Wasilla. She is a 1992 graduate of Wasilla High School and is employed as a major account executive at ACS Wireless. She enjoys fishing with her husband and reading.Scott is the son of Linda and Mike Quamme of Grand Forks, N.D., and Jim McLean of Prescott, Ariz. He graduated from Red River High School in Grand Forks and works as a ramp agent for FedEx. Scott enjoys fishing, coaching, hockey and flying.The couple met through parents of players on Scott's hockey team.The ceremony was at Kenai Lake Baptist Church in Cooper Landing, the bridegroom's favorite fishing area. Willie Johnson officiated. Wendy Palin was matron of honor, and Kraig Rygg was best man. Bridesmaids were Melanie Hoff, Ashley Barney and Laura Young, and Denali Peterson was flower girl. Groomsmen were Donny Taylor, Corey Anderson, Brian Olson and Cody McLean, with Keanan Vivian as ring-bearer.The reception was at Kenai Princess Lodge. The couple honeymooned at a riverfront cabin on the Kenai River and enjoyed fishing. Therefore we know that Elayne Ingram and James (Jim) Palin are the parents of Diana Palin.
On a sidenote: Blanche Kallstrom and the same James (Jim) Palin
are the parents of Todd Palin.Let us continue:
In addition,
we have the obituary of Jeremy Andrew Lewis, who died in July 2005 "at home in Glennallen", just 23 years old. The obituary in the ADN reads:
GLENNALLENJeremy Lewis, 23Lifelong Alaska resident Jeremy Andrew Lewis, 23, died July 22, 2005, at home in Glennallen.A graveside ceremony will be at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at Lake Nerka in Dillingham, where he will be laid to rest next to his mother. A potluck will be afterward at the home of his aunt, Shirley Murphy. Call Diana Palin-McLean at 1-907-715-8165 or 1-907-745-3036 for details.Mr. Lewis was born Sept. 17, 1981, in Glennallen "to loving parents Elayne Ingram and Paul Lewis, and four adoring big sisters," his family wrote. "Throughout his life, he was a resident of Dillingham and Glennallen, where he loved to play hockey, listen to music and hang out with friends and family. He left this world too soon. ... He is deeply missed and will be thought of every day, forever."He is survived by his father, Paul Lewis; sisters, Dana Bartmen, Margaret Wallona, Laura Lemons-Young, and Diana Palin-McLean; grandmother, Lillian Ingram; and many nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles and cousins.Arrangements are with Evergreen Memorial Chapel.There are several things to mention here:
Jeremy Andrew Lewis was the son of Elayne Ingram and Paul Lewis.
Paul Lewis was the third husband of Elayne Ingram. The name of the first husband we don't know yet, the second husband was James (Jim) Palin.
Why do we know that?
Because Elayne Ingram had four daughters. The youngest daughter was Diana Palin (see below). Elayne had three daughters in her first marriage. Therefore James (Jim) Palin apparently was her second husband.
In addition, Jeremy Andrew Lewis was therefore Diana Palin's half-brother.
What did he die of, at the age of 23, at home? I rather don't want to speculate.
From this obituary we can also see that Elayne Ingram is not alive anymore, as Jeremy "will rest next to his mother."
But now comes the most interesting part:
Elayne Ingram gave a long, taped interview in 2001 to the "Center for Alaska Native and Health Research",
which is still available online (audio and transcript).In this interview, Elayne describes in detail her battle with alcoholism and also the alcoholism of her husbands.
In the interview, Elayne said:"(...) Then I got married at age 19 and had my first daughter at age 20. And at that point in time we still weren't heavy drinkers. But we moved out to Oregon and when my husband at the time was with his buddies then the drinking escalated. I still don't feel like I was an alcoholic at that point in time. I was definitely a battered wife at that time. And I ended up leaving him briefly and then going back to him. We finally divorced after three kids. After I saw that in that marriage that somebody was going to die, because the beatings by then were so bad that I weighed 96 pounds, I couldn't sleep, I couldn't eat, my mind was racing. I had attempted suicide I thought if I committed suicide that would be a way out but then at the last minute I envisioned my kids growing up with him and that thought was horrifying. It was at a point where I figured it was going to be me that died and somehow, someway God gave me the strength to get up one morning and just pack our stuff and then away we went me and the kids. But I was so emotionally distraught at that point in time. I don't know, I didn't have the strength personally to do what I did. You know to get out.Shortly thereafter I was remarried. I dated this guy who could provided better financially for us. Hindsight is 20/20 and we lived so poorly in my first marriage that I was looking for security. And I found it. And then I worked on the pipeline. And when I became financially secure I left him. By then the drinking… it was alcoholic drinking by then.DANTE: For both of you?ELAYNE: For both me and my second husband … It was, the drinking had escalated and by then I had four kids. It seemed like every time I got a divorced I ended up with one more kid and less money than when I went into the marriage. (...)"In conclusion, following Elayne Ingram's own words, her second husband, James (Jim) Palin, who is also the father of Todd Palin, was an alcoholic, at least during the time when he was married with Elayne.Never a boring moment with the Palins. I don't enjoy researching these tragic details, but I feel that it is our duty to do it, as we are currently the only ones who seem to be interested to get to know the truth about Sarah Palin's "model-family".
+++
UPDATE 2:One of our wonderful readers found a page from the Daily Sitka Sentinel from November 20, 1995 which proves that the name of Elayne Ingram's first husband was Larry Lemons.
Screenshots (click to enlarge):
.
Here's to an exciting and fruitful 2010!
