Let the Teabaggers do the talking!

This has to be seen to be believed. (Let it load for a while before pressing "play". It's a bit slow...)

Mike Smith / Las Vegas Sun / King Feature Syndicate


Mike Peters / Dayton Daily News / King Features Syndicate

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Sarah Palin's little problem with the truth

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

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

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

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

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

Several people found this information (page 59):

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sarah Palin made another phone call to Politico:

Sarah Palin announced Thursday night that she ended a Hawaii vacation early because of the ruckus raised after she blacked out "McCain" on her sun visor in an effort to elude paparazzi.

After the former Alaska governor was photographed on the beach earlier this week, TMZ.com portrayed the visor marking as a slight of Sen. John McCain, her running mate last year.

"In an attempt to 'go incognito,' I Sharpied the logo out on my sun visor so photographers would be less likely to recognize me and bother my kids or other vacationers.

"Todd and I have since cut our vacation short because the incognito attempts didn't work and fellow vacationers were bothered for the two days we spent in the sun. So much for trying to go incognito."

She twits:

AK has18"new powder!So cut sunny vacation short(thanks, desperate paparazzi)Back early2enjoy AK snow&sparkle&Christmas prep!It all works out
about 1 hour ago from TwitterBerry

Here we go again: she's a victim of the media. First we had the "gotcha" questions, now we have "gotcha" photos...

I love her new word of the week: incognito.

(Click on photo to enlarge)
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Sarah Palin is "just like us", but wants to be more like Queen Elizabeth II

Sarah Palin is depicted on some medallions:

This 1 oz. gold medallion honors Alaska's Sarah Palin. As Alaska's first woman Governor, she had a reputation of being against "business as usual". She was thrust into the national spotlight when she was chosen to be John McCain's vice presidential running mate. A donation from the sale of these medallions will be made to Wounded Warrior Project, helping seriously injured service members. The price for this 1 oz. pure gold medallion is $400.00 over the market price of gold, please call for quote. Order today before gold rises any further.

Another very famous woman also has her likeness on gold coins:

Detailed Coin Information

Gross Weight: 0.2568 Troy oz. 7.9881g
Gold Content: 0.2354 Troy oz.
Composition: 22-Karat (91.67% Gold)
Dates: 1953; 1957; 1959; 1962-1968; 1974-1982; 2000-2006

B.U. British Sovereign "Elizabeth II" Gold Coins $549.95

Although no portion of the gold sovereign sales goes to charity, the Queen is Patron of more than 620 charities and organisations.

The protocol when meeting Queen Elizabeth II:

Only shake the queen's hand if she offers it to you first. If you are wearing gloves, do not remove them.

Do not begin a conversation with the queen. Instead, wait until she starts speaking to you.

Hairdresser Rhonda Halliday had a bizarre experience when she was summoned to look after Sarah Palin's hair:

After being ushered to a room on the 15th floor and given some instructions (don't talk to Palin unless she talks first) she did Palin's hair while the former Alaska governor chatted with her family.

Rumour has it that Queen Elizabeth II doesn't carry money in her purse, apart from Sundays:

The Queen carries a comb, a handkerchief, a small gold compact, and a tube of lipstick in her handbag. The Queen does carry money on Sundays--a folded note of unknown denomination which she discreetly places in the collection plate.

Queen Sarah doesn't appear to have cash in her purse either:

Halliday was the last one out of the room because she had to put her equipment away, then watched as they all drove off without anyone mentioning payment or a tip, which is common when the hairdresser travels to the client for the appointment.

A commenter remarked that Sarah Palin had done something similar in Anchorage:

"Just like when she worked downtown Anchorage. She would go for her fancy coffees, get a few extras for her buddies, and then tell the coffee girls she did not have her purse and would walk out. She did this consistently. Palin pays for NOTHING. Grifter."

I wouldn't say Her Majesty the Queen (the real one) is a grifter. Her staff make sure any bills incurred are paid immediately, so the queen herself doesn't have to fish for money out of her purse.

Sarah Palin needs to take a good look at herself and see that she's no queen, just a spoiled celebrity. She could also instruct her staff to pay any bills promptly, so hard working Americans are not left waiting for their money in these difficult times...

Her fans think she's accessible and just like them:

"Please notice that Sarah is not afraid to reach out and touch the American people when she meets them. In fact, it's rarely just a quick shake of the hand. More often she holds the person's hand throughout the time she speaks with them, with a firm grip with a warm hand as she ... looks them straight in the eye and makes even the most shy open up in the glow of her personality. Just one more great attribute of this great person. BTW: I'll never wash that hand again!!!"

"I love your book, Sarah....feel like I know you...what a normal family and normal life...just like ours....you are truly an inspiration to all women..."

How many of them fail to pay their bills, travel in a private luxury jet, build an enormous house and expect people not to talk to them unless they're addressed first?

Sarah Palin's fans are very misguided and naive. She's a celebrity who thinks she's entitled to be treated with deference, who still carries the title of governor after quitting office after only half a term. Sarah Palin travels with her family to reinforce the idea that she's "one of them". The children are mere props and the adults are just as dishonest as queen Sarah.

I'm not pro-monarchy, but Queen Elizabeth II has centuries of tradition and decades of hard work behind her. She is not a "nouveau riche" wannabe from the Valley pretending to be like her own supporters to make them part with their hard earned money for her own benefit.
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Trig, Sarah Palin's prop

Trig Palin was used as a prop by his "mother" during the vice presidential campaign, after the campaign and more recently during the "Going Rogue" book tour.

Commenters on liberal blogs have been concerned about the lack of proper attire for Trig when we observed that everybody else was nice and toasty in bad weather but Trig had no socks, no shoes and no hat.

Of course the Palinbots (C4P, who else?) immediately defended Sarah Palin's parenting skills:

The only thing that really ticks me off about the Underworld is their constant obsession with Trig not wearing socks.

The people who would most likely advocate aborting a down syndrome child are frantic over his lack of socks.

Note to the insane: Nobody's going to die from bare feet! How on earth did my barefoot farmer ancestors manage to survive? Aahhhhhh!

My main beef is that it's none of their freaking business. Who made them the judge and jury over motherhood? This from the same people who tolerate scumbaggery of all other kinds.

No, we don't advocate aborting children with Down Syndrome:

What it is, is that "they" cannot grasp that pro-choice does not mean pro-abortion. I think I missed the band of pro-choice people "advocating" for abortions. I am pro-choice, but did not have the extra tests done in my pregnancies that look for DS, even though I was the same age as Sarah during our (OK, my) last pregnancy. Why? Because if the baby were to have DS, I would not have aborted him, so why take the extra risk? I'm pro-choice. That means I believe it's NOT MY DECISION what other women do.

We don't like to see Trig dragged out of the bus at 11:45 pm to be paraded to the crowds when the temperature is 41 degrees. We worry about early intervention and appropriate therapies that would give Trig the best chance of an independent life later on. We wonder why Trig is often photographed without his glasses and hearing aids. We don't think it's a good idea for a vulnerable child to be passed from person to person and exposed to germs during the flu season. We worry about the number of air miles Trig is accumulating at such a tender age when he's more succeptible to the adverse effects of high altitudes. We are puzzled about his inability to eat solids.

It might be none of our freaking business, but we didn't make Trig into an object of worship and we wouldn't choose to have him so exposed for the sake of selling some books. Sarah Palin's words, from "Going Rogue":

Please don’t let anything happen to this baby.

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

Does God still know what he's doing? Is the care of Trig to be left to God alone or is his "mother" going to do her bit?

We know Sarah Palin pays close attention to the blogs. If we're in any way instrumental in ensuring that Trig receives the care he deserves so she can deflect criticism, our job is done.

But I'm not holding my breath...




(Click on pictures to enlarge)

Kim Chatman is boots-on-the-ground at Palin's Elmendorf book signing

Linda Kellen Biegel, aka Celtic Diva, has two excellent posts about Sarah Palin's book signing at the Elmendorf base in Alaska. Linda has given us was kind permission to cross post them here.

From Twitpic

Kim Chatman, who filed the AK Fund Trust Ethics Complaint that should have gone to a hearing by now, decided to take her three teenagers and get some signatures from Palin.

It's been interesting tweeting her phone calls:

Kim from Elmendorf Palin book signing--2 hrs early & only 100 people in line. Kims kids only people of color & 1 wore Obama shirt. More ltr

Kim reports from Palin book-signing: full military security there including dogs--unusual 4 someone besides POTUS // R they tomato-sniffing?

Kim reports from Elmendorf--about 1000 there--Palin only signing 500 books-she "doesn't have time"--SPs w/ auto weapons & flack jackets

RT @giacomplex Only first 500 sure of getting books signed. She'll do 2 per person so that's 1,000 books./Doh UR right thx 4 correction

Kim at Elmendorf--woman wearing Palin paraphenalia we never knew existed--Then there R the women trying 2 look like her-creepy

At book signing--a-hole yelled at Kim's 13-yr-old daughter cause she got a wrist band (she's of color &has on Obama shirt)--She was crying

Kim from Elmendorf: Man scared her teenage daughter so she is now covering her Obama shirt w/coat--you know, our Commander in Chief?

Kim from Elmendorf: A friend in line comforted her teenage daughter & supported her wearing the Obama t-shirt--Kim close to getting sig now

Kim Chatman & family met Palin (w/Willow and Piper-no Trig)--Kim's daughter engaged in staredown with Willow--Obama shirt fully exposed

And when I say "Kim Chatman" met Palin--yes, I mean the "AK Fund Trust Ethics Complaint" Kim Chatman! She'll give me the pictures later.

Kim said NO WAY were there 2000 people--maybe whole building but most were there to Xmas shop, not see Palin. She says 1000 MAYBE.

Kim and her family went to get something to eat, then she'll call me back and I'll update the post with the details!

More on Palin's Elmendorf book-signing... Why so much security?... Also, sumary by Kim Chatman

Kim's daughter Kayla at the book-signing wearing an Obama t-shirt

I spent several hours today tweeting Kim Chatman's reports from Sarah Palin's book signing at Elmendorf. Tonight, Kim sent me a summary email (below) and several pictures she took on her cell phone.

A couple of comments before we get into Kim's email:

--During Gryph's and my meeting with Thomas Van Flein on Wednesday, he mentioned that Sarah Palin had received a "threat" a couple of weeks previous. (I almost said "Only one?" I have a number of threats among my emails, as do many of the other Alaska bloggers. And we now know that the Secret Service gets 500 threats a day against President Obama.) I'm guessing this is the justification that Palin is using to a) have these book-signings on base and b) get the large security contingent while there.

--However, I don't believe that those reasons are the "whole truth" when it comes to "why."

I believe it's the money.

For Sarah Palin or her publisher, HarperCollins to duplicate the same kind of logistics support and security she's been getting on the military facilities at a private venue, it would cost thousands of dollars. However, if she continues to have them on military bases, she CANNOT BRING PRIVATE SECURITY. ALL security must be done by the military or federal contractors.

And it's on the taxpayers dime.

So once again, Sarah Palin doesn't mind "government spending" as long as it's to her benefit!

A tomato-sniffing dog?

Kim talks about how she feels about all the security...and the shock at her daughter's treatment:

I'm still reliving my experience, ugh! I still don't think there were 2000 people there and I'm still surprised at the reaction of the people who seemed disturbed by Kayla's Obama shirt. An active member of the military in an Air Force uniform asked Kayla why she wore an Obama shirt at a Palin booksigning. When I told her that we were there to get books signed to sell on ebay and that we didn't support Sarah Palin, she got a look of disgust on her face and just kept staring at us.

I learned that many of the people there knew very little about Palin and I could hardly believe it. One couple I talked to said they've only been back in Alaska for three weeks, and they were there just...because. They knew absolutely nothing about Sarah Palin pro or con.

(Note from Linda: I'd like to find whatever rock they must have been living under this last year. What a vacation!)

You can see in the pictures the number of military SPs (Security Police--Air Force designation) that were there. I was absolutely stunned to discover that they had the street to the back of the Exchange blocked off. That just doesn't happen. You would have thought the President was in town.

A large number of Security Police were standing guard

I still don't get why the whole family has to travel with her. They, too, are basking in the limelight. Is that normal? Her children looked very bored, and Willow looked snotty...you could tell although she was bored the new lifestyle has truly gone to her head. It was surreal.

When I was in front of Palin, part of me wishes that I would have said my entire name...Kim Chatman. However, at the time, I kept looking at how her children were staring at everyone. I put myself in their position and I believed that REALLY introducing myself would have caused quite an uproar. I realized how it would have negatively effected them after they were already trapped there for hours. They are completely at the mercy of their mother and have to do like everyone else...either go with the Sarah flow or jump off the bus only unlike the adults around them they have no control.

By the way, I almost forgot to mention...People had gifts for her and the kids! She's a millionaire now so you bring gifts?

Kayla asked me on the way home If I thought that people were worshipping her more than God. What an interesting question from a teenager.

If Sarah Palin is so popular, why does she need this level of security?

I find it very offensive that somebody shouted and insulted a young person for wearing an Obama shirt. This event was held at a military base and President Obama is the Commander-in Chief.

According to the ADN, the signing was closed to the general public.

Anyone with access to Elmendorf or Fort Richardson can attend the Anchorage event. A military ID is needed for the Eielson signing, which will be held at the Army and Air Forces Exchange Service (AAFES) shopping center.

"The tour in no way reflects the Air Force's or AAFES' support commercially or politically for Gov. Palin. The event provides an opportunity for Gov. Palin to connect with fans, military members and their families," Eielson said in materials distributed to the news media.

Senior Airman David Carbajal of Elmendorf 3rd Wing public affairs said Palin wanted to have the event on base, and it was Elmendorf's decision to close it for security reasons.

"Being that we were told so late, we don't have time to prepare the base to be open to the general public," he said.

We have to conclude that the person who shouted at the young lady in the Obama t-shirt has military connections...

Sarah Palin should not be allowed to propagate her poisonous agenda on military bases, but as we have come to expect, rules that apply to everybody else don't appear to apply to her. "I do what I want until the courts tell me that I can't!"

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

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

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

We also received an e-mail from a doctor:

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

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

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

EARLY ARRIVAL

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Reporter: So did your water break?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Please don’t let anything happen to this baby.

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

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

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

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

Big laughs. More contractions.

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

(...)

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

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

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

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

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

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

(...)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sarah Palin's question time

Here's our chance to ask a few questions about the wild ride. I hope they will try to answer our questions.

"Ask AP" is a weekly Q&A column where AP journalists respond to readers' questions about the news.

If you have your own news-related question that you'd like to see answered by an AP reporter or editor, send it to newsquestions@ap.org with "Ask AP" in the subject line. And please include your full name and hometown so they can be published with your question.
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UPDATE:

Time for some fun! Bill Maher tweeted:

Sarah Palin flying, driving, lying...

While our focus is on Sarah Palin's wild ride, let's have a look at some puzzling aspects of this tall story.


From ADN, three days after Trig's first appearance:

Some airlines have policies against pregnant women onboard during the last four weeks of pregnancy, and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists advises against flying after 36 weeks.

This was going to be Palin's last flight anyway, her doctor said.

Alaska Airlines has no such rule and leaves the decision to the woman and her doctor, said spokeswoman Caroline Boren. Palin was very pleasant to the gate agents and flight attendants, as always, Boren said.

"The stage of her pregnancy was not apparent by observation. She did not show any signs of distress," Boren said.

Palin never got big with this pregnancy. She said she didn't try to hide it but didn't feel a need to alert the airline, either.

Is this big enough to be apparent by observation?


OK, before the photo above, taken on April 13, Sarah wasn't big at all:



What a difference a few days make, eh? Please look at the slideshow on the sidebar, it shows how Sarah wasn't very big. I would have thought she was bigger on April 17 than on April 13, but the flight attendants couldn't tell our Sarah was pregnant...


Then we have the drive to Palmer:

They landed in Anchorage around 10:30 p.m. Thursday and an hour later were at the Mat-Su Regional Medical Center in Wasilla. (The ADN didn't know the center is in Palmer?)

If you were driving your 44 year old wife to hospital while she was 8 months pregnant with a vulnerable child, who had experienced some leakage of amniotic fluid and who had contractions while giving a speech over 3000 miles away, a wife who had two previous miscarriages, would you choose a fully equipped hospital 6.8 miles (16 minutes) away from the airport, or would you prefer to drive for over 1 hour to a hospital that doesn't have the facilities for more complicated births to see a doctor who isn't an ob/gyn?

Ozmud offers a good insight into what could have happened:

Labour is not predictable. What would Todd have done if, on an isolated road in the dead of night, his wife had gone into hard labour? How would he have delivered his son? Protected his wife? What provisions did they have on hand? Hot water? Clean blankets? Could Todd have at least washed his hands? Was there light? What would he have used to clamp or cut the umbilical cord? What if the infant, born a month early, had trouble breathing? How would he have kept his son alive long enough for help to arrive? What if Sarah began to hemorrhage?

One would think Todd would have at least arranged for an ambulance to meet them at the airport in Anchorage, providing his wife and unborn child with immediate medical assistance and the safest possible passage on the last leg of what must have been an incredibly tense, gruelling trip for him.

One would think.

It seems to me that Sarah Palin's stage of pregnancy wasn't apparent to anyone, including her husband...
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What if Sarah Palin had given birth during one of the flights from Dallas to Anchorage?

This very convincing ficticious newspaper article was sent to us by FormerRepublican, which further illustrates how ridiculous Sarah Palin's account of the wild ride really is...

Alaska Governor Gives Birth on Flight

April 18, 2008
Billings, Mont.--Alaska Airlines Flight 666 from Dallas to Seattle was diverted to Billings for an emergency landing Thursday afternoon after Governor Sarah Palin, 44, of Alaska, went into labor. A son, Trig Paxon Van Palin, her fifth child, was born on board the airplane thirty minutes before it touched down in Billings.

Gov. Palin was returning home to Alaska from Dallas where she attended an energy conference for the Republican Governors Association, and had given a luncheon speech before her departure on the 3:30 p.m. flight.

The infant, who was born five weeks premature, has been diagnosed with Down Syndrome and jaundice. He was admitted to Billings General Hospital Neonatal Intensive Care Unit where he is listed in satisfactory condition. Early tests indicate he may have a hole in his heart, a surgically correctable condition that occurs in up to 50% of infants with Down Syndrome, according to Dr. Rebecca Crider, chief of neonatology at Billings General. The infant will remain hospitalized for at least one week. Gov. Palin is expected to be released Sunday, following treatment for an unspecified infection.

Palin's husband Todd, 43, was on board the flight and assisted two passengers, a nurse practitioner and a dentist, with the birth. The flight crew hastily devised a maternity ward in the last row of the first class cabin, using blankets to shield passengers from the sight.

"Man, that was the most scared I've ever been," said Mr. Palin, a champion snowmobile racer, visibly shaken by the surprise birth. "I've been lost in blizzards that weren't half as scary as that." He expressed his gratitude for the quick actions of the Alaska Airlines crew.

Following the emergency landing, which occurred without incident despite icy conditions following a sleet storm, passengers were forced to spend the night in Billings. Although Alaska Airlines provided passengers with vouchers for hotel rooms, numerous passengers voiced their complaints.

"My 93-year old father was moved into hospice care yesterday and the nurses told me to come at once," said a tearful Mitzi Showalter, 64, of Grapevine, Texas. "There are no flights available until tomorrow night. I'm afraid I'll be too late to say goodbye. But I'm grateful that Mrs. Palin and the baby are all right," the self-described lifelong Republican added.

Other passengers weren't so forgiving. Catherine Paglia, 50, of Austin, Texas, said the diverted flight would force her to miss her daughter's wedding. "My only child is getting married in the fairy-tale wedding that we've been planning together since she was five and where am I? The Holiday Inn Express!" Paglia said she had contacted her attorney about the possibility of suing Mrs. Palin and Alaska Airlines.

Officials at Alaska Airlines had no comment today pending review of the incident. Company policy permits expectant mothers to fly in the late stages of pregnancy with a doctor's approval; other airlines prohibit travel for women in their eight month. It wasn't known at press time whether flight attendants verified that Gov. Palin had permission from her physician to fly. Airline officials said that the policy will be reconsidered. Next week a formal statement about the incident will be released. It will include the extra cost incurred by the airline for the detour and emergency landing.

A first class passenger and father of four who wished to remain anonymous indicated he overheard Mr. Palin telling the nurse practitioner who assisted with the birth that Gov. Palin had experienced leaking of amniotic fluid very early that morning and had contractions while giving her luncheon speech. Mr. Palin said that after a phone call that morning to Gov. Palin's doctor, the couple decided attempt the trip home so that their child could be born in Alaska.

"That's plain crazy," the passenger, an Anchorage resident, insisted. "It's crazy. Come on, we're talking about a trip that's two four-hour flights, a two-hour layover in Seattle, and 45-minute drive to Wasilla. Everybody knows that the more kids you've had, the faster they come. Our youngest kid came in just a few hours."

Although the infant's early arrival was a surprise, Mr. Palin confirmed that the Palins knew he would be born with Down Syndrome and faced the prospect of serious complications at birth. "We thought we'd make it home," he shrugged.

A Seattle couple, also seated in first class, said their four-year old son received an unwelcome biology lesson during the flight. "There were blankets up, but we could hear everything that happened. I mean, everything," the wife stressed. "Try explaining to a four-year old why the pretty lady in the next row is screaming and yelling like that."

Her husband said, "Now he can't stop talking about it. It's safe to say it was traumatic for him. The whole thing has been surreal. When was the last time a governor gave birth on an airplane?"

Mrs. Palin was elected governor of Alaska in 2006. She served as mayor of Wasilla from 1996 to 2002.

Sources within Senator John McCain's presidential campaign say that Palin is under consideration for the vice presidential slot on the prospective McCain ticket. A staffer explained, "What Gov. Palin lacks in education and experience, she makes up for in good old common sense. And Sen. McCain intends to make a good old common sense choice that's best for the Republican party and for America."

(Click here for a real story of a baby born on an airplane a few days ago)

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What can we believe about Sarah Palin?

There's been a lot of criticism regarding the last post about Sarah Palin's family values since I added information about her father, Chuck Heath.

It all started with the obituary of Dorothy Mooney, which included Chuck Heath as Mrs Mooney adoptive son. I'm not familiar with obituary etiquette in the US, but it appears Chuck Heath was mentioned because he was very close to the family and they wished to pay him a compliment at a difficult time for them, a pain they all shared.

A simple tidbit became far more convoluted when we realized that Sarah Palin herself had made some reference to it in "Going Rogue", detailing some of the events from her father's childhood.

Chuck Heath is central to much of Sarah Palin's story. When running for governor, instead of preparing some policy statements about education, she presented a "My Dad" type of essay. In her mind, having a father who had been a teacher was all she needed to counter any policy statements made by her opposing candidates.

Chuck Heath is well known for saying things that reflect badly on Sarah, such as the little detail of her leaking amniotic fluid at the start of the wild ride for Trig's birth in Alaska. He said the kids kept losing their underwear when Sarah Palin's campaign wardrobe became an issue. He called Levi a deadbeat dad, then had to retract it. He criticized President Obama as Commander-in-Chief during the book tour. More recently we learned that he explained why Sarah transferred from a college in Hawaii to one in Idaho: the unglamourous presence of too many Asians and Pacific Islanders made her uncomfortable.

So Chuck Heath IS relevant when we peel the layers to get to the truth about Sarah Palin...

In "Going Rogue" she painted a very dark picture of her father's childhood, stating that he had to pursue his own outdoor and sports interests by fending for himself due to the lack of support and interest from his parents.

After I updated the post to include excerpts from Sarah Palin's book, somebody sent me an article by a Michael Patrick Leahy, which was included in a book. Mr Leahy based his article on interviews, as described on Amazon:

Relying on interviews with those who know her best--her parents, sister, high school teammates, coaches, teachers, and colleagues, What Does Sarah Palin Believe? will provide unique insights into this fascinating, once a generation political leader of today and tomorrow.

About the Author
Michael Patrick Leahy is a Christian apologist and the author of Letter to an Atheist and What Does Barack Obama Believe?

From his own website:

Michael Patrick Leahy, the conservative radical.

Conservative author and grassroots new media strategist.

Mr Leahy has great admiration for Sarah Palin and wrote his article in 2008 to put the record straight regarding her beliefs and to contrast them with Barack Obama's. He's also a big fan of Ronald Reagan, just like Sarah Palin.

Leahy's article contains some passages, based on interviews, that contradict Sarah Palin's account of her father's childhood.

For example,

Born in Los Angeles, California in 1938 to a UCLA
graduate school teaching mother and a Chicago born free
lance photographer, 30 Chuck moved with his parents to tiny
Hope, Idaho in 1948.31 His parents had been drawn to the
remote community at the tip of Northern Idaho because of
the outdoors life and the fishing. His father, Charles F. Heath,
or “Charlie” to most everyone he knew, loved fishing so
much he eventually started his own little lure company. His
parents were in their late forties when they left Los Angeles
for Idaho, “the first of many that would come over the next
several decades” according to childhood friend Kermit
Keiver.32 Keiver remembers Chuck’s father fondly:

“He was a very gregarious fellow, kind of short and
rotund, and very pleasant to be around. He wore a distinctive
cap with a bill, and when he wasn’t driving the school bus for
the kids that went to the local elementary school, you could
often see him smoking a “cee-gar”. 33

Oh, we would occasionally tip over an outhouse, but most
of the time we were just hunting and fishing. I remember some
great times just being outside, drinking apple cider in the fall,
just enjoying life. Chuck just loved the outdoors. He and his
family just fit right in perfectly with our Northern Idaho
community. 34

I left the reference marks to show how extensively Leahy researched his article. Did he have any reasons to make things up?

Now, we would expect a daughter to have more reliable information about her own father, but we're talking about Sarah Palin.

How can we possibly know what to believe?

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Giselle Bundchen doesn't have tight abs...

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

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

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

Open thread - Taking a break

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

*****

Someone left this comment on the last thread:

Anonymous said...

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

24 October 2009 06:22

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

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

(Click to enlarge)

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

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

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

*****

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

Sarah Palin and Down's Syndrome

Sarah Palin, baby, fluids, risks and the doctor

*****

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

A tout a l'heure.

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Sarah Palin, money, business...

Sarah Palin is looking for business deals, according to her Linkedin profile:








Sarah Palin’s Contact Settings

Interested In:

• job inquiries
• expertise requests
• business deals
• reference requests
• getting back in touch

Our Sarah doesn't appear to have a good track record as a businessperson, as seen in a Washington Post article:

In addition to being a mayor and raising four children, Sarah Palin found time for another venture in her Wasilla years -- she was part-owner of an Anchorage car wash.

Palin and husband Todd each held a 20 percent stake in Anchorage Car Wash LLC, according to state corporation records filed in 2004.

A review of Palin's gubernatorial disclosure filings indicates that she failed to report her stake in the company on the form that requires candidates for governor to disclose any interest in a nonpublicly traded company.

A Feb. 11, 2007 letter to the governor's business partner advises that the car wash had "not filed its biennial report and/or paid its biennial fees," which were more than a year overdue.
The warning letter was written on state letterhead, which carried Palin's name at the top, next to the state seal.

On April 3, 2007, the state went further and issued a "certificate of involuntary dissolution" because of the car wash's failure to file its report and pay state licensing fees.

Another report elaborates a bit more on the business side of the venture:

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s ownership in a carwash was nothing more than a real estate investment. Although she and her husband, Todd Palin, did hold a 40 percent stake in a company called Anchorage Car Wash LLC, the business never got off the ground, according to Carolin Wells, one of Palin’s partners in the aborted venture.

The irony of the warning letter to her own business being written on state letterhead is too delicious!

Sarah's other business venture never materialized either. Rouge Cou was just a name and remained as such. It indicates the quitter governor's lack of taste and finesse, plus her ignorance of the French language... (In order to read as Red Neck, it should have been Cou Rouge).

Politico quoted an ADN article:

Palin obtained a business license for marketing and consulting, saying that she wanted to line up her ducks if she chose to pursue it. “Asked about the business registered under her name, Palin said, ‘Rouge Cou, it’s a classy way of saying redneck. It’s a French word, rouge is red, cou is neck. It’s for marketing and consulting, in case I wanted to go that route, I’d have my ducks all lined up and have a business license. I just was granted that business license. … I would like to, with some of the endeavors that I have going on right now, there comes a time when one desires to be paid for them!’” [Anchorage Daily News, 6/8/05]

It seems the Palins are very good when it comes to real estate deals, but not so much when it involves actual business.