Did Sarah Palin commit perjury during her testimony in the David Kernell trial in Knoxville?

+++Keith Olbermann reported the story on Countdown+++

See our follow-up post with more details and clip

Picture: www.knoxnews.com

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Sarah Palin testified in the David Kernell trial in Knoxville on April 23, 2010.

In an earlier post, we reported about the statements she eagerly gave afterwards to the waiting journalists outside. They were certainly delighted that they had the very rare opportunity to communicate with Sarah Palin without having their questions "pre-screened".

Did Sarah Palin commit perjury while giving her testimony in Knoxville? We have to put this as a question, because we don't know the exact wording of all she said and have to rely on news reports for our information.

However, there are strong indications that Palin purposely lied during her testimony.

Let's examine closely some of the statements that Sarah Palin made.

STATEMENT NO 1 - as reported by www.knoxnews.com:

She denied using the yahoo-account to conduct gubernatorial business.

"We know there was an Attorney General's opinion one week prior and a lot of other opinions in the state that, of course, it was proper for me to have a private account," she said.

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EDIT:

I was just now in contact with Jamie Satterfield from www.knoxnews.com. I asked her for a clarification regarding what Sarah Palin said in the testimony.

This is what Jamie answered:

"What she said was the people at the governor's mansion sometimes sent her emails relative to issues regarding the mansion and her children. She denied specifically diverting gubernatorial issues to the account."

Sarah, you better call Van Flein right now. ;-)

You might need him.

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This statement, if it is reported correctly, is WRONG. Sarah Palin used the yahoo account in question extensively for gubernatorial business.

To be very precise here: We are talking about the yahoo account "gov.palin@yahoo.com", which was "hacked" by David Kernell. That was the account that Sarah was questioned about during the trial in Knoxville.

Fortunately, MSNBC.COM a few months ago received through a FOIA request 3,000 pages of emails from Palin's former administration in Alaska. Had Sarah "forgotten" about that, when she obviously attempted to paint David Kernell's actions in the worst possible light?

Do these emails prove that she used the account for her gubernational business? YOU BETCHA!

Just go to the Crivella West database which was specifically set up for Palin's emails and give in "gov.palin@yahoo.com" as a searchword. You then will receive the impressive number of 28 hits!

In many of these emails members of Palin's administration were sending messages to Sarah's yahoo-account, sometimes VERY important messages (more below). In other cases, Sarah Palin sent emails from her yahoo account which clearly referred to her gubernational business to her staff.

Sarah Palin sent from her "gov.palin@yahoo.com" account messages such as the following examples:

April 12, 2008:

April 12, 2008:

May 13, 2008:

May 24, 2008:

In addition, the published emails prove that Sarah Palin often received important messages on her yahoo account which dealt with her gubernational business. One of the best examples which can be found in this database is an email by Ivy Frye, who on April 30, 2008 sent a comprehensive list of "legislation awaiting action" to Sarah's yahoo account, and noted for a particular bill: "The governor has until Friday, May 23, to sign and line-item veto or veto the bill".

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There is another interesting fact which I found while researching this subject. Sarah Palin earlier had a very, very similar looking yahoo account, which she also used for her state business: An account with the address "govpalin@yahoo.com". What's the difference? Well, the "." is missing between "gov" and "palin" in this earlier email address!

I realized this fact when I read a report by Alaska Dispatch from January 2010. Attached to this report were a number of emails from Palin's administration which Alaska Dispatch received from an anonymous source, and which are not part of the Crivella West database. Download these emails HERE.

These emails reveal that Palin first used a "govpalin@yahoo.com" account without the "dot".

Examples:

On February 2, 2007, Sarah Palin then sent a message to her most important staff members and told them that she has to "cancel" her "govpalin@yahoo.com" account and that she will open instead a "NEW personal/private/confidential account" with the address "gov.sarah@yahoo.com". No reason for this change was given in the email.

What happened then later to the "gov.sarah@yahoo.com" account? I don't know. But it appears that Sarah was also was unhappy with the "gov.sarah@yahoo.com" account, and in her unshaken faith to "Yahoo Inc" she then opened at some point the (third!) "gov.palin@yahoo.com" account which she used in 2008 - and which David Kernell eventually accessed after looking up the answers to the "security questions" on Wikipedia.

EDIT:

At first, I accidentally added to this post one screenshot of an email which was sent from the "gov.sarah@yahoo.com" address. Although this address is not subject of the trial in Knoxville, I would like to point out that you get 50 hits in the Crivella West database if you search for this email address! Dates from beginning of 2007 up to end of August 2008! So the incredible Sarah juggled with two different yahoo accounts at the same time. Why are we not surprised?

Here is a particularly good example of an email written by "gov.sarah@yahoo.com" - one of the infamous Dairygate emails, a huge scandal of Palin's administration (read the details of Dairygate HERE).

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STATEMENT NO 2 - as reported by www.knoxnews.com and Associated Press:

Davies also sought to use Palin's testimony to show that the answer to the security question that Kernell essentially guessed via Google searches to allegedly illegally access her account - Where did you meet your spouse? - wasn't a secret.

"It wasn't a secret to me," Sarah said, drawing laughter. "I don't know if the rest of the world knew."

This statement, if reported correctly, is also WRONG. Some "digging" is required, but in the end it's not too difficult to find out that this statement is false.

From the time of her nomination on August 29, 2008, Sarah Palin was immediately the subject of intense scrutiny and curious questions. Sarah Palin obviously "forgot" during her testimony in Knoxville that journalists didn't just ask questions - Sarah Palin herself also gave answers in return!

As we already mentioned in our previous post on this topic, Sarah's answer to this particular security question was "Wasilla High" - where Sarah and Todd first met.

So, what was reported about this fact in the media when David Kernell hacked the account on September 15, 2008?

Examples:

People magazine reported on September 15, 2008:

"Palin met husband Todd when both were seniors at Wasilla High School, northeast of Anchorage, the same year the former Sarah Heath cocaptained the girls' basketball team to a state title."

The LA Times reported on September 7, 2008:

"Todd and Sarah Palin are a classic small-town couple. They met at Wasilla High School shortly after he moved here. As the story goes, the then-Sarah Heath was smitten with the basketball star, as he was with her."

But the money quote can be found here:

CNN produced a comprehensive documentary about Sarah Palin called "Sarah Palin Revealed", which aired at September 13, 2008. This documentary was created by Drew Griffin and fortunately the transcript is still available on the CNN website.

Excerpt:

GRIFFIN: By 1987, Sarah returned home in Wasilla, Alaska. To a special friend she met during her senior year of high school.

PALIN: Dad came home from basketball practice and he said -- it was right before school started, and he said, Sarah, there is a new boy in town and he's the best basketball player I've seen in Wasilla, better than -- and he named off some kids. I said, oh, I will have to meet him, the new boy in town.

GRIFFIN: That new boy was Todd Palin, attractive, athletic, charming, a fresh face in Wasilla. Sarah met her match. After Sarah's return from college, the two grew closer.

JOHNSON: Todd, from his fishing boat, had some hand-held radios. And they lived several miles away from each other. They would each sit on the back porch of their homes and talk to each other on the hand-held radios.

Therefore it's clear that Sarah Palin proudly told the journalists exactly where she met Todd! This interview with CNN must have taken place between August 31 and September 13, 2008, most likely several days before the documentary went on the air. It was a large documentary, length 41:30 minutes, which would have needed thorough preparation. The "empty shells" of the youtube clips with this documentary can still be found here - the clips itself were removed in the meantime from youtube.

Therefore Sarah's statement in her testimony in Knoxville "I don't know if the rest of the world knew" is false, because it can be proven that Sarah told reporters at the beginning of September 2008 where she first met Todd.

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STATEMENT NO 3:

a) Version reported by "Associated Press":

The posting of family photos and e-mails on the web fueled rumors that Palin and her husband had affairs and that her youngest child, Trig, was not really her son, she said in court.

b) Version reported by "www.knoxnews.com":

The campaign, in the meantime, was forced to divert attention to the fallout - increased media scrutiny of her use of a free, poorly-protected private e-mail account and a slew of rumors about what the account might reveal.

"Todd and me having affairs," she said of the rumors. "The FBI was investigating me. (Youngest son) Trig wasn't really my son."

c) Version reported by "www.wate.com":

She also said it was shocking and invasive seeing her personal pictures and contacts posted on the Internet, and she spent days correcting the media about assumptions made after this happened.

Palin said some of the rumors included that she was having an affair and that her youngest son, Trig, wasn't hers.

So here we have three versions of this statement. However, there can hardly be any doubt that Sarah Palin expressed in her testimony that the publication of these emails caused the media to take a much closer look at the rumors that Trig is not her biological son.

If we take this statement as fact, then no basis for this assertion is apparent.

The truth is that the rumors that Trig is not Sarah's biological son existed LONG before the day the emails from her hacked yahoo account became public.

The rumors go back a long way - this is extensively documented.

Kyle Hopkins, journalist of the "Anchorage Daily News", wrote in an article called "Rumor patrol -- Baby drama" on August 31, 2008:

"OK - the Palin baby speculation is inescapable at this point. The left-leaning Daily Kos posted an item Friday called "Palin's faked "pregnancy"? Covering for teen daughter?"

It's a version of a rumor - long simmering in Alaska -- that Palin's daughter Bristol was pregnant and the governor somehow covered it up by pretending to have the baby (Trig) herself.

Then the also-left leaning Huffington Post slammed all the speculators saying that Democrats have plenty to target Palin on without the baby drama. "Guys, its a loser. Can we not do this?" writes Bart Motes. And then there's this from the Atlantic Web site, pursuing the questions.

So, time for some rumor patrol. It'd be nice to put this to bed.

The answer here should be pretty simple. It happened or it didn't. For months, we have been getting anonymous people telling us they "know" it's true, or people we do know telling us they've heard it fifth-hand. We haven't seen anything resembling proof. We asked the governor's office, and the governor, multiple times about it."

So Kyle Hopkins made it abundantly clear that they had heard the rumors already "for months".

In a TV appearance a few days later, on September 2, 2008, his ADN colleague Michael Carey said almost exactly the same and gave a few more details:

It is fascinating to read that in the same article in the ADN, Kyle Hopkins also confirmed that Sarah Palin herself was well informed about the rumor that her daughter Bristol is pregnant - even before she had her pregnancy with Trig announced on March 5, 2008:

McAllister was an Anchorage TV reporter before working for Palin. He said Palin once approached him - before people knew she was pregnant - assuming he'd been hearing rumors.

"She said it's not true about Bristol," McAllister said.

At the time, the rumor would have been that Palin's daughter was pregnant.

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Also, already on September 3, 2008, CBC News aired a broadcast asking serious questions about the parentage of Trig:

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Well, from our own investigations we know that this "rumor" that Sarah Palin has faked her pregnancy is true. We have said it many, many times before, and nobody has ever stopped us. We are still waiting for a message from Thomas Van Flein.

The rumors that Bristol was pregnant already existed in Alaska's capital Juneau in December 2007, as former State Senate President Lyda Green confirmed to me when I had a telephone conversation with her in August 2009.

From another source we know that a member of the leadership of the Republican party in Alaska confirmed as a fact in a private conversation in January 2008 that Bristol was pregnant at that time. Other people with direct access to Bristol's circle of friends also let us know confidentially that Bristol is the mother of Trig.

We know - and Sarah knows we know. How inconvenient! ;-)

Sarah never showed the birth certificate or medical documentation to anyone - not to the McCain campaign, not to the media. And you can bet a fortune that she won't do anything like that in the foreseeable future.

See the reporting of Palingates about Sarah's faked pregnancy HERE.

But back to Sarah's statement from the trial: The assertion that the publication of these emails have supported, fueled or even triggered these "rumors" is simply baseless. The rumors existed long before David Kernell hacked Sarah's yahoo account. A connection between these events is not visible.

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Summary:

If we look at Sarah's statements from an objective point of view, provided that the reporting in the news was correct, I strongly believe that many prosecutors would choose "GUILTY". However, this is Sarah Palin we are talking about, the woman who gets away with virtually anything. For how long still? Only God knows!

However, we won't forget Sarah's immortal words:

"I do think there should be consequences for bad behavior."

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Websites which linked to this post:

The Political Carnival

Buzzflash

Reported on "Countdown" by Keith Olbermann

Andrew Sullivan - The Daily Dish

David Weigel - The Washington Post

Jason Easley - politicusa

Nashville Scene

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Weekly Sarah Palin roundup and report from the anti-Palin protest rally in Eugene, Oregon on April 23, 2010

Weekly roundup

Guest post by Blueberry Tart

Hello again, Palingaters; Blueberry Tart here with a roundup of the news of the past week (or so) in Palin-la-la-land. My “week” actually began with my own first foray into guest-posting on Palingates, with my report and photos from the Tea(bagger) rally in Boston last week. It’s been a busy week at Palingates since then (as usual); here is a quick recap:

1. The roundup begins with mxm’s excellent guest post, providing a detailed analysis of the first quarter 2010 report from SarahPAC. Some of the key findings: the PAC took in a little less (~$400K) than it paid out in the first quarter ($409K+). The biggest expenditures were for consultants (almost $300K), with very little going to support political campaigns ($9500). Sarah’s promise that her fees from the Tea(bagger) Party Convention in Nashville seems to be another false promise, as there is no evidence that she reinvested her fee in that cause.

The updates to the post include questions about the legality of some of the expenses, such as the payments to Thomas Van Flein’s law firm (PAC funds cannot pay personal expenses). Also, there is a list of all the donors at the $5000 level. Great work sorting through and organizing this information by mxm!

2. This wealth of information about SarahPAC led to several excellent follow up posts. The first, by Patrick and Kathleen, was about Kim Daniels, one of the PAC’s payees ($21,000 this quarter), who is an evangelical attorney at the ultra-Christian Thomas More Law Center. The post has a chilling video about this organization; if you haven’t seen it, you should, but be forewarned that it might give you nightmares. Among other things, the TMLC has filed a legal challenge against the individual mandate provision of the new health insurance reform legislation. Kim Daniels is apparently paid by SarahPAC to write a daily briefing report for Sarah.

3. Next was a comic interlude by Danielle Crittenden (recently ousted Republican political consultant David Frum’s wife), who entertained us with tweets from Palin’s speech in Hamilton, Ontario. Her tweets were biting and especially fun to read, coming from a dyed-in-the-wool conservative. And honestly, if you have not read the transcript of the speech, you really should get yourself an adult beverage and indulge in an almost out-of-body experience (happily, you won’t have to listen to THE SHRIEK), bordering on the paranormal. Beginning with Sarah apparently confusing “Buenos Aires” with “buenos días,” this speech almost gives the resignation speech a challenge in terms of its pure chaos, random juxtapositions and lack of intelligible communication.

4. Back to business with Eye on You’s inquiry about how Krobar (Kurt Robar) earned $51,405 in the first quarter, when it appears that the websites that he designed are rudimentary and still “under construction.” Several commenters with expertise in the website design field offered differing opinions about whether these expenses were justifiable or not. There were theories that there may be websites already created but under wraps, awaiting the grand announcement of a run for political office (God forbid), versus other thoughts that these expenses were way out of line for any such services. One commenter who knows Mr. Robar personally vouched for him as a decent guy with a wife who is, among other things, a biting critic of Her Highness. To add another layer of confusion (so typical in everything Palin), it is not entirely clear that Mr. Robar is even aware that he was supposedly paid this much money.

5. Next, Mrs. TarquinBiscuitBarrel presented an excellent critique of Anne Kornblut’s underwhelming book, "Notes from the Cracked Ceiling", which covers Hillary Clinton’s and Sarah Palin’s failed candidacies for higher office and “what it will take for a woman to win.” Mrs. TBB gives an interesting insider view of why the MSM won’t touch babygate (or many other Palingates). She calls out the books flaws, including its apparent failure to recognize and call out the major differences in the qualifications of Hillary and Sarah – thus by implication equating them with each other. I cannot do justice to Mrs. TBB’s way with words in highlighting the books major weaknesses; my own take is that it is simplistic, primarily a regurgitation, offering nothing new in either information or insight. The commenters encouraged Mrs.TBB to work on a book on Palin, which she seems willing to do – oh, please do! There was also strong support in the comments for Palingates to pull its material together in book form – yes!

6. Rounding out my first week on the job (so to speak) is Patrick’s excellent post on the incredibly foul and disgusting, threatening messages received by California State Senator Leland Yee, due to his calls to investigate the way in contract for Sarah Palin to speak at California State University Stanislaus. His questions about whether public funds are being used for the speaking engagement apparently enraged some totally nasty lunatic fringe Palin-bots, who responded by making threatening calls and sending horrific faxes to his office. Our very own Patrick called Senator Yee’s office and received a copy of the fax and the audio clip of a highly abusive phone call, which he posted. Thanks to the efforts of PG and its readers, the story is being picked up by other sites. Hopefully PG’s great work exposing the disgusting underbelly of the radical rightwing will help to discredit these wingnuts and those who incite them.

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Thank you so much again, Blueberry Tart!

The weekly roundup had been written before the events of yesterday, but I am sure that you have all seen our post about Sarah's testimony in the David Kernell trial.

In addition, we have received an "on-the-spot report" and brilliant photos from our reader "Tyroanee" from the anti-Palin protests which happened yesterday in the liberal stronghold of Eugene, Orgeon. I cannot express how proud we are that so many people are willing to contribute to the Palingates community!

Also, click HERE for the special message of the week from our very own Palingates mascot!

Patrick

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Palin Protest Rally Eugene Oregon 2010

Guest post by Tyroanee

In Eugene we are famous for our outrageous garb, straight talk and some odd looking individuals. We are a nuclear free zone as well… but I’m sure that wasn’t presented in full to the queen of Wasilla.

So on this beautiful sunny day in Eugene Oregon my family and I had a chance to stand along side such individuals. I decided to take my two teenagers, whom hadn’t been to a protest before so they could see and hear what it is that makes some of the Palinbots tick. I was ready to take video and ask questions as to what policies interested them and in what way? There were only 4 or 5 individuals in support of Palin, they only stayed for a short time and were gone POOF.

Many Sarah protesters showed up to voice their opinion on Palin Politics, some carried signs, and others had speaker-phones. Many milled about and took pictures or video and kept to themselves, until this one particular lady showed up wagging her finger across the street and holding this sign:

“The one without sin throw the first stone!!- said Jesus”

Now mind you I am not the one you want to start slinging bible quotes, as it has absolutely no plausible reason to be in a Palin protest… but to be honest I was looking on the ground for some stones. Was she serious? Oh very-very serious, but then so were the others, so we held our signs high because throwing rocks would be completely out of the question.

My two teenagers stood alongside with me holding up signs and cheering to the cars on 6th Ave. As the driving fans honked in support, we did have a few hand gestures directed at us, and the occasional Obama Sucks shout-out, but all in all it was a successful protest.

A few stories above us were the young waiters whom were obviously bored earning their $8.oo hr waiting to serve Palin and her merry followers $$$. As the sky literally filled with dark rain clouds as we walked to our car… Palin stood behind the transparency glass of hidden agendas, deep from the public eye they gathered to hear their queen speak; she had a roaring crowd of standing ovations from her paying admirers.

Nothing but the best…Hilton is the dirty old building in town holding only 800 people

As we walked to our car a block away, I stopped and had to take this picture, here on the same road, in front of the same building that Sarah was to speak parked this truck:

Eugene Oregon Has a Funny Sense of Humor

Parked right in front of the Hilton building (see windows in background) in this picture is Sarah Palin delivering her spew to her Republican supporters…?
This is why I love Oregon.

Peace to all
Tyroanee over and out for the night

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More pictures from the protest yesterday in Eugene, Oregon, taken by Tyroanee:

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Sarah Palin's testimony in Knoxville finished - Afterwards, we get a good look at Sarah's vindictive character - UPDATE!

Sarah Palin already finished her testimony in Knoxville (see links HERE and HERE), and afterwards she made statements which are simply infuriating.

What the heck is she going on about when she said there was"an office being broken in and documents stolen"? First of all, it didn't happen, second of all, she clearly refers to the two girls who have found her contract in a dumpster at CSU Stanislaus - and who were afterwards falsely accused by the University of having "stolen" the documents.

Pictures of the two brave students when they turned over the documents HERE.

This is just disgusting. It's clear that she would like to see these two brave girls, who have crossed Queen Sarah, to go on trial and receive 50 years prison as well!

What's YOUR motivation, Sarah, for having made this comment? Tell us, please!

CSU students Alicia Lewis, left, and Ashli Briggs

with the papers they found in the dumpster

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America gets a good glimpse of the REAL Sarah Palin here - she is a snarky and vindictive liar. Does ANYBODY in America really want this woman, who shows no presidential qualities whatsoever, as a President?

I also would like to add a comment made by our reader "Moon":

"The fact that she couldn't respond to the "Bristol has no phone" emergency for a couple WEEKS makes me wonder how she'd handle a real emergency if she was ever elected to the presidency. The woman lacks any common sense, no matter how much she loves to talk about fixin' all those problems with a dose of common sense. If (and that's a BIG IF!), she actually did give birth to Trig, and really did fly from TX to Alaska while leaking amniotic fluid, that was the biggest breach of any common sense I ever heard of. The entire business of no phone for poor little Bristol alone in the big scary woods, reeks of concocted drama. Do the American people really want a woman who uses an un-secure Yahoo address to conduct state business and can't figure out how to get her pregnant teen a new phone, to be the leader of our country? Astonishing."

By the way: You can see in the videos that Sarah Palin was accompanied by her lawyer Thomas Van Flein in Knoxville. Why, I ask? Was Van Flein there in case things were brought up that they weren't quite prepared to handle?

Here are Sarah's statements in front of the courthouse in Knoxville after her testimony:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Uncut clip with the complete interview after the testimony:

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UPDATE:

Our brilliant reader "Ardiva" sent me the complete documentation regarding David Kernell's email "hack". There are two things I hadn't seen before:

1. The picture with Trig in the plane had the original camera properties on it, which is important for documenting when and with which device the photo was taken.

The properties are:

BlackBerry 8310

Date taken: 16.08.2008 19:28:39

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EDIT: I have now uploaded the original plane picture containing the original data to my flickr - you can see the complete so-called "exif-data" HERE.

Also, thanks to our reader Ardiva, the original picture is now available in a very LARGE FORMAT.

I am talking about this picture:

Screenshot exif-data, taken from photoshop:

Here is a comparison with a picture of Trig at the RNC. Kathleen and I strongly believe that it's Trig in both pictures.

(h/t ThanksABunchJohn)

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2. But what is particularly interesting are the exact circumstances how David "hacked" into Sarah's account. Never in the history of hacking has breaking into an email account been made so easy, thanks to Sarah's pea-brain!

This is how David Kernell did it, in his own words:

"In the past couple days news had come to light about palin using a yahoo mail account, it was in news stories and such, a thread was started full of newfags trying to do something that would not get this off the ground, for the next 2 hours the acct was locked from password recovery presumably from all this bullshit spamming.

after the password recovery was reenabled, it took seriously 45 mins on wikipedia and google to find the info, Birthday? 15 seconds on wikipedia, zip code? well she had always been from wasilla, and it only has 2 zip codes (thanks online postal service!)

the second was somewhat harder, the question was “where did you meet your spouse?” did some research, and apparently she had eloped with mister palin after college, if youll look on some of the screenshits that I took and other fellow anon have so graciously put on photobucket you will see the google search for “palin eloped” or some such in one of the tabs.

I found out later though more research that they met at high school, so I did variations of that, high, high school, eventually hit on “Wasilla high” I promptly changed the password to popcorn and took a cold shower…"

This is the woman who her fans want to get access to the frikkin nuclear codes! Sarah Palin is not even able to imagine that you DO NOT set up security questions for an email account with information that is publicly available on the internet for everyone to see!

Also, as Frank Bailey testified, he already had warned her about the lack of security of these yahoo accounts!

Please! This woman is a moron!

Vindictive + moron + not able to deal with any criticism + nuclear codes = ???

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UPDATE 2:

Our reader Debbie sent me the following message, which I would like to post here without changing it, because I couldn't say it any better myself:

"I tried to play a bit and did a search which got me to http://whitepages.addresses.com.

This site lists 2 entries for the Palin household with a phone number. I do not know if the number is still accurate or when it would have stopped functioning.

Sarah H Palin Residential Listing
1140 W Parks Hwy
Wasilla, AK 99654
(907) 373-xxxx

Todd M Palin Residential Listing
1140 W Parks Hwy
Wasilla, AK 99654
(907) 373-xxxx

The site below shows that this number is a landline plus there is a map showing this landline's location (we don't want to post the full number here on the blog, so I won't include this link - P.)

So, was this phone number in use during the time that the young college student accessed Palin's email account? If so, it looks like both Bristol and Sarah's testimony might not be exactly on the up and up.

Maybe this is something that can be checked out by someone more in the know than I would be?"

EDIT:

A blog post from September 3, 2008 proves that this landline at the home of the Palins in Wasilla already existed in September 2008 and was easy to find via the White Pages!

Sarah: Perjury? I think you should get 50 years, if you ask me!

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UPDATE 3:

WBIR.COM has published court drawings of Sarah - priceless!

Here is another one - h/t Vera City!

Sara Hickman sings "Palin' By Comparison" - Lyrics and special message to Palingates

I already mentioned Sara Hickman's brilliant new song "Palin' By Comparison" recently in an update, but the topic deserves its own post - especially now where we have received the lyrics together with a special message from Sara Hickman!



Sara Hickman is the reigning official "State Musician of Texas", following in the footsteps of Willie Nelson, and she is a truly independent musician with a most impressive biography.

A great source for updates is also her facebook page.

And she clearly has courage, because she is willing to take on the Quitter Queen. ;-)

Palingates received a special message from Sara:

Dear Patrick!

THANK YOU!! so!!! much!!! for posting my little handmade video about some of history's amazing women and how Sarah Palin pales by comparison.

Here is a copy of the lyrics, but more than that: thank YOU SO MUCH for helping an independent artist share a creation with the world. It's a big world, and having people pitch in to share my music has made MY YEAR! I hope it also educates people further about looking into women's studies and learning more about significant women---not just Democrats, Republicans, Green Party, or independents, but artists, doctors, lawyers, dancers, social commentators, so many I didn't get to include - all who have made contributions to social change on behalf of others.

For example, EVERYONE should know who Elizabeth Fry is....Do an entire page on her contribution to changing prison conditions for women, and men, in Europe, in the 1800s...while she was still, I believe, only 11 years old!

Palingates rocks my world!
A very grateful mamasita,
Sara Hickman

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Thank YOU, Sara!

Here are the inspiring lyrics of "Palin' By Comparison":

PALIN’ BY COMPARISON
Words and music by Sara Hickman

Last week you came a – callin’
Seemin’ mighty proud
Like you’ve got all the answers
And you haven’t gotta doubt
You’re makin’ all these promises
I know you’ll never keep
I guess someone forgot to tell ya
Talk comes cheap
So I don’t buy your act
When I know the facts
About so many other women who
Took courageous leaps…

Joan of Arc went on a mission
No other teen would take
She helped the French beat the English
She was burned at the stake!
Since 1431
She’s been in movies and books
Even the pope named her a saint
For the bravery it took

So you’re palin’ by comparison
Yea, you’re palin’ by comparison
Oh, …I hate to have to be the one…
To tell ya you’re palin’ by comparison

Back in time I’ll take your mind to 1852
When Harriet Tubman knew exactly what to do
In the dark of the night she set to settin’ others free
Determined to break the chains of slavery
Thru the swamps
Without fear
And no where certain to go
She led hundreds of people home to freedom’s shores

CHORUS

Helen Keller was a woman who will really blow your mind
She couldn’t hear or speak and she was totally blind
She had a teacher who could reach her
Who taught her how to sign
She was a beacon of light
That no child should be
left behind
By learning to speak
To read and to write
With a little love you never know who’s
Waiting inside…

CHORUS (add “ooh oohs”)

Now I’m bringing up two women
That are daughters of my own
Who may grow up to call
The mighty White House their home
But whatever they decide
And wherever they go
May they always remember
What you will never know:
That it’s more than a suit
Or a smile or a wink
And you can betcha they’ll be mavericks
Who can think on their feet

CHORUS

Aspasia, Frida Kahlo, Juana Ines de la Cruz
Rosa Parks , Rosa Bonheur,
Wilma Mankiller, too…

Pearl Buck, Emily Dickinson,
Maya Angelou…
Sappho, Sojourner
…and the ruler T’zu

Gilda Radner, Carol B the wacky Lily T.,
Tina Fey, Wanda Sykes all make
Ya scream, “Whoo-pee!”

Betty Friedan, Sally Ride,
Took us to the another side
Mae West was the best
She’d come up and see ya sometimes!

Oh-prah! Madame Curie… Anne Frank…
And O’keefe…
And the little ol lady who said,
“Where’s the beef?!”
Pearl Bailey
Indira
Evita too
All these women’s names should
Mean a-something to you

Ani and Ellen are
Two Nice Girls
And let’s at least give Eve credit
For naming the squirrels

Josephine, Ella, Bessie, Sarah, Marian
Bonnie, Alberta and the Divine Miss M
Billie Jean, Mother Teresa,
Sacagawea, Susan B.
And, of course, we all love…Ethel and Luu-ccccy!
Last but not least
Are The Guerilla Girls
Why doncha Google ‘em up
Cuz they’ll rock your world…

CHORUS

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What I saw as I wandered through last week's Wasilla Tea Party rally

By Bill Hess - Wasilla, Alaska, by 300

The following is an excerpt from Bill Hess's post: What I saw as I wandered through last week's Wasilla Tea Party rally

Of course, it is always a little bit challenging to remain respectful and civil when right away after you get out of your car and walk into the crowd you come upon the smiling face of a man who is telling you that you have a mental disorder. I know it doesn't really mean anything. It is just rhetoric. Everyone does it. So what the hell. Let him wave his sign.

I wonder, though - why is he wearing Mickey Mouse boots? And why is his friend wearing Bunny Boots? Those boots are designed for 40 below and it was 40 above.

One could develop sweaty feet this way. It still gets pretty cold at night. Maybe they were out all night, setting up.

And you who wave that flag just remember that it is not a conservative flag, it is an American Flag. Yes, wave it with pride, but don't forget that we who see the political situation differently than you do also love that flag - no less than do you.

Never have I felt more proud than I did on that day when I saw that flag draped across my father's casket as he was carried to his grave by six of his fellow warriors. They were much younger than he and I knew that some had fought or soon would fight in Iraq and Afghanistan. Maybe one or more would themselves return in a flag-draped coffin.

I looked at those soldiers who carried my father and I felt love - pure love; strong, heart-piercing love. Tears streamed down my face and they were not all tears of grief. There was pride in those tears. Afterward, I thanked them, but I owed them so greatly that I knew my thank you to be vastly inadequate.

Remember after 9/11, how flags few from just about every home, be it occupied by conservative, liberal, middle of the road, unsure?

And then there was that very chilly January 20 of last year, when I stood with my youngest daughter and wife in the midst of two million others on the National Mall in Washington, DC. Two million people, two million flags, all waving, people smiling, people cheering, tears of pride streaming down cheeks - white cheeks, black cheeks, brown cheeks, yellow cheeks, red cheeks; all the cheeks of a diverse America; an America that had become a place of greater equality and thus greater potential than had been the America that I grew up in.

And then, as we waited in the chill for the hour when the man who, under the provisions laid out by the US Constitution had been duly elected as President would be sworn in as Commander-in-Chief, images of Bruce Springsteen and Pete Seeger appeared on the many gigantic screens spread throughout the the mall. Chilled though they were, two million joined in the song, "this land is your land, this land is my land..." two million flags waved... Powerful! How proud we all were to be Americans. How proud I am to be an American. And how proud I am of the vote that I cast to make what happened that day on our National Mall possible.

Nothing that anyone could say or do or write upon a sign can ever take that pride away.

So wave your flag, but remember: it is not your flag alone - it is OUR flag.

And when you shout, "Patriot," remember that a liberal can be every bit as much a Patriot as any conservative and a conservative can betray his country as quickly as can a liberal. Liberals also wear the uniform. Liberals also shed their blood for America. They die right alongside conservatives, as Americans.

Read the full post HERE.

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Many thanks to Bill Hess for giving us permission to post this excerpt! We are big fans of Bill Hess. He has the most amazing posts and pictures. Never have we been able to get better insights into life in Wasilla and Alaska. Please check out his blog!

In addition, I would like to post a fabulous new clip by "New Left Media" - which is a project formed by Chase Whiteside and Erick Stoll, who are currently students at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio.

This must-see, highly entertaining and revealing footage was taken on April 15, 2010 in Washington D.C.

I just love the clips of these two guys, because it's an excellent example of what citizen's can achieve in the new media world. In their numerous clips, they thoroughly exposed the fans of Sarah Palin and the teabaggers as ignorant, shockingly uneducated and sometimes often as just plain crazy. Easy targets for Fox News, Sarah Palin and the others - rarely have we seen a group of people which basically is screaming to be manipulated, because they just WANT to believe the propaganda which is fed to them.

Amongst other things, this new clip contains a crazy female singer screaming on stage "There is a communist living in the White House", a teabagger who claims that President Obama "considers banning fishing in America" and even a loony British Lord!

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