Curiouser Compares

7/7/2011

You asked for it, you got it, courtesy of Curiouser and Curiouser:

And then this one, on the tarmac and then indoors:

H/T to Curiouser for that fast turnaround. Keep the conversation going, folks. Treat this as
an open thread if you wish. Thanks much!!

91 Comments

lilly lily

7/7/2011 07:55:10 am

When did Mercede say Bristol had her breast reduction surgery? I don't recall.

I still find it odd that Meghan McCain came out on T.V. to say that the Palins "took" one of her dresses. Implying that she didn't loan them the dress, but that they simply confiscated the item?

Actually Bristol looked better on the tarmac.

I also find it enlightening that McCain had to order Sarah to hold the baby for the group shot. She is so intent on her own moment in the spotlight that she didn't even carry the child which sealed her candicacy?

Laura Novak link

7/7/2011 08:01:03 am

Here's another moment I remember Lilly: They flew the kids in (while she was reportedly in withdrawal for them on the campaign trail) and they met up on a tarmac somewhere. Willow holding the baby, Piper along side. Sarah walks up to them, pecks each one on the cheek, including the baby who she barely noticed, then brushed past them...too busy striding toward a crowd with that manic wave that she always did. Barely even noticed that baby let alone the other two girls. They were left in her dust. Another moment I wondered if anyone else caught.

lilly lily

7/7/2011 08:18:19 am

Actually Bristol was quite lovely whenever she held Trig. In your last thread, the photo of her looking down on the infant makes her look like the Leonardo da Vinci of St Anne and the virgin looking at Jesus. The Virgin of the Rocks.

Bristol certainly looked like the mother whenever she held Trig. It always amazes me how much the camera can catch in true feeling. None of her concern was playacting, any more than that of Piper.

I don't care much for Bristol and her lies, but I certainly wouldn't fault her mothering of these babies.

The other jk

7/7/2011 08:46:11 am

I remember that moment, too Laura. I think about how I would have been dying to hold my baby in my arms after being away from him for that long (not to mention my other kids). Yet, she barely gave them the time of day. It was a red flag.

7/7/2011 08:50:37 am

The second photos are consistent with my impression that RNC Bristol was wearing the empathy device with padded bra and belly, and the bra pushed her real flesh back and up, creating the sofa bolster. The top lines of the cups are visible. The RNC belly seems to stick out more than the Tarmac belly.

Conscious at last!

7/7/2011 09:02:20 am

OK, clearly, Bristol's breasts are large in the tarmac photo as well.

Here's what I think-- "Tripp" was born before these photos were taken. Bristol is a nursing mom. (...or she is not yet five months pregnant ?)

I need to know exactly when Bristol's "five month pregnancy" was announced in relationship to these photos. Does anyone know?

Many of us who have been pregnant would have stopped wearing waisted outfits by the fifth month. The tarmac photo could easily be a post-partum, nursing mom. But the convention photo with the dress supposedly taken from Meghan McCain, is a more traditionally pregnant looking outfit. Also, the breasts are obviously accompanied by a pillow and the tummy area looks amended as well. So if BP's own clothing didn't make her look "pregnant" enough to support the cover-up, the McC team had a quick solution.

The reason that I tend to think Tripp is older than we have been told is that his photos have consistently looked like the same kid to me and the TV debut in 2/09 looks like an older baby.(See the post before this one--some one has linked to it towards the end of the thread)

Trig, on the other hand, sometimes does not look the same as his previous photo. I feel more sure that there have been a few different Trigs.

daisydem

7/7/2011 09:10:23 am

On IM Gryphen has a snippet of Bristol's interview on the View today. I didn't watch it, but on blog comments and on another blog someone commented that she remarked that she was 15, but also remarked that the bc pills did not work like they were supposed to? People are questioning, does that mean she got pregnant following that encounter (night with Levi in the tent)?

Alexis

7/7/2011 10:02:28 am

O/T, I urge everyone to head over politicus USA and read an article titled " Hackee becomes hacker As palin as johnstons computer hacked" dated June 7,2010 by Sarah jones. The most important part of the article confirms that a photo exists showing a PREGNANT BRISTOL and NON PREGNANT SARAH taken BEFORE triG's birth. It doesn't state who is in possesion of the pic. But I'm guessing it's Mercedes. Now how do we get this pic?? Laura work some magic!!

Molly

7/7/2011 10:31:17 am

Alexis, that is interesting! I found the article and the relevant quote.

"That, my friend, is the subject of much debate – but this writer can confirm that at least one photo exists that the world has not seen from the time period right before Palin “gave birth”. This photo rests in the hands of someone who is too scared to let it out, so let’s just say the rumors that had been running wild through Alaska about Sarah and Bristol Palin in the months before Palin “gave birth” centered on a supposedly pregnant Bristol and an unpregnant Sarah and many photos seemingly confirm this rumor."

http://www.politicususa.com/en/palin-johnson-computer-hacked

Allie

7/7/2011 11:31:54 am

Bristol's pregnancy was announced September 1, 2008, 3 days after McCain announced his VP bribe, excuse me, choice.

Allie

7/7/2011 11:33:53 am

I forgot to add that I think the waistline in the tarmac photo is elevated above the baby bump. Look at how short-waisted she appears.

I think the convention dress was just too small for her.

Brickian

7/7/2011 12:27:21 pm

I cosign that, Allie. The boobs actually could be the same, too. A too-small bra will make them look misshapen like Bristol's do.

Brickian

7/7/2011 12:32:57 pm

In fact , perhaps someone should lighten them. My lamp just hit my Mac at an angle that makes it look, to me, like the boobage is not padded. The dress looks linen and has that sheerish quality from what I see. I think those are all hers, gang.

Laura Novak link

7/7/2011 12:38:19 pm

Thanks for weighing in, Brickian. Perhaps we will have solved at least one mystery and that was that she was pregnant or at least the same size during that time period. Any way you slice it, no one should have let her go out on that stage that way. Did no one notice the poor girl?

Alexis

7/7/2011 12:38:31 pm

I'm still unsure as to whether they padded her breast to down play her stomach or prevent leakage..., and then there's the 32wk professional pic of her posted on IM and available to see under her book on amazon- through the "look inside" feature. That pic shows her to have lost weight everywhere else besides her growing belly. Was it a return of the "empathy belly" for the professional pic??!

7/7/2011 01:16:18 pm

It is hard to get girls with hormones to wear what you want. The choice of clothing may have been Bristol's. I recall on election night 2008 seeing Bridgette McCain onstage in dress which was remarkable in the way it failed to flatter Miss McCain's body type.

For that matter I recall a few gems my sisters and I wore in our teen years.

Clearly Bristol did not inherit her Mother's abs.

Conscious at last!

7/7/2011 01:32:15 pm

So Bristol's pregnancy is announced on 9/1/08. The convention was 9/1-4, but since the tarmac photo was dated 9/3, obviously the Palins arrived during the convention, knowing that Bristol's pregnancy was public. (The candidates always give speeches on the last day.)

So why would there have to be a quick decision to take one of Meghan McC's dresses? The Palins and the GOP planners knew for three days before Bristol's public appearance that she would need to look "5 months pregnant."
Of course, SP's attire was more important than Bristol's-- and we all know what a great job the GOP operatives did of costuming SP!! Still, why was BP's wardrobe decision such a last minute deal?

viola-alex

7/7/2011 01:39:34 pm

from Joe McGinness's Rogue Blog:

Ottoline:
July 8, 2011 at 1:52 am

Joe — Do you know about the photo described in this article?

http://www.politicususa.com/en/palin-johnson-computer-hacked
Reply

*
Joe:
July 8, 2011 at 2:07 am

I have talked to Mercede Johnston at length about this.

–Joe

curiouser

7/7/2011 01:46:08 pm

Bristol seems to be sporting a heavily padded push-up bra that causes a lot of spill-over under that grey dress. Why, oh, why did they think it was a good idea to fill out the top of that dress? Shame, shame, shame on whomever dressed Bristol and on Sarah for allowing it. I think her belly looks the same on and off the tarmac, camouflaged a bit on the tarmac with the high-waisted belt.

lilly lily - Interesting that you mention the Leonardo da Vinci painting. Bristol is stunningly beautiful in the photo of her you mention and I've always thought it should be a classic painting. Sadly, that beauty is no more.

laura - I think you may be speaking of Sarah's landing in Fairbanks on Sept. 10, 2008. My heart sank watching her so emotionally detached from her children, especially baby Trig, as she walked toward the waiting crowd. I'd expect more emotion even if she'd been away from her baby for a few hours. Here's the clip:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dzd_qhTY6S8

Laura Novak link

7/7/2011 01:57:59 pm

Curiouser: I don't see the greeting part on the tarmac in this clip. It might be the same event, but I don't see it here.

And so Joe talked to MJ about this alleged photo and yet he has remained Trignostic. Hmmm. Like I said, I can't wait to read his book!

Ginger

7/7/2011 02:10:06 pm

You know, this story is really simple. Ever since Sarah was elected to be Governor of Alaska, she started her ascent to be on the national stage. Unfortunately, on the way up, Bristol got pregnant. She panicked and for some crazy reason, felt she had to fake a pregnancy to keep her Evangelical base happy and secure her place for the VP slot.

When the RNC (Steve Schmidt/McCain), were evaluating her for this position, they decided they could deal with Troopergate but not the fake pregnancy rumors all over the internet. It was her choice. If she wanted the VP slot, Bristol had to be five months pregnant and she had to accept this. Well, we know how that ended and it worked. It stopped all the rumors.

In over 2-1/2 years of research, I can't find any evidence of Bristol being pregnant a second time. Nor, can I find any evidence Levi fathered any Palin child. Sarah needed a fiancee for Bristol to take to the RNC. That's how the Johnstons got involved. They are trying to become celebrities and make money off this exposure. That's it!

How Bristol came up with a baby (Tripp), probably surprised Levi more than anyone. All the clues, twists and turns, in this story are too numerous to mention.

JMO...

7/7/2011 02:10:45 pm

Brickian The boobs actually could be the same, too. A too-small bra will make them look misshapen like Bristol's do.

That was my thought, too, that her bra was way too small. It may simply have been a poor choice on her part, but then again, maybe she was wearing the same pregnancy device that Sarah wore it was just too small in the bust. When I look at Bristol (in the picture above) in the black dress, her bust doesn't seem quite connected with the rest of her body - not the bulge above the bra or the bra. It's like a picture that's been photoshopped and the angles aren't quite right, which makes me think that she probably is wearing the pregnancy device.

Anonfornow

7/7/2011 02:39:26 pm

It might help to think about the origins of the outfits Bristol is wearing in these two appearances, and why she might be wearing them. I think that can tell us a lot.

The reason pregnant women typically do not wear straight, belted skirts is because such skirts must fit snugly, and when you're constantly expanding to accommodate a growing baby, a straight skirt that fits today will not fit next week. So this tells us that the outfit Bristol is wearing on the tarmac is new, purchased specifically for this appearance and no doubt picked out for her by a GOP-hired stylist (this is sooo not Bristol's typical style). This is not a maternity outfit, and Bristol wouldn't have been able to fit in it for long. But it didn't matter because its purpose was to make it look as if she was not pregnant. At this point, they still thought they could hide the truth. Pregnant women don't wear straight belted skirts, so people seeing her would just think, "Chubby girl with big boobs."

Then the rumors started swirling and the decision was made to save lying Sarah's ass by throwing Bristol to the wolves. So when Bristol was trotted out on stage in that strange gray dress, they had a different objective: to make her look five months pregnant, because that was their story. They could have put her in a proper maternity dress, but they didn't. So the question is, Why not?

My guess is because in a maternity dress she either looked less pregnant than they wanted her to, or more pregnant. Likewise, whatever outfit they had originally planned to have her wear that night also did not make her look five months pregnant.

If this gray dress was indeed borrowed from Meghan McCain--and it looks as if it was--it wasn't because Bristol simply had nothing else to wear that night. You know they'd picked out a dress for her at the same time they assembled the rest of the family's duds. But the outfit they'd planned was intended to make her look not pregnant, so they had to scramble for something different. If you have money--and the GOP does--you just call a store, tell them to bring over 25 maternity dresses in such and such a size, STAT, and then pick the one you want. So why didn't they do that? Why borrow?

At first I thought this dress with the massive bust must have been deliberately sewn that way as part of the deception. You do not buy a dress with a huge bosom like that off the rack. It is not a maternity dress. There isn't enough give in the skirt; you can see it's really too tight across Bristol's belly so that it is visibly pulling. So where did it come from? As we saw in the last post, Meghan does have a huge bust, a bust so huge her dresses are custom made to accommodate it. (irrelevant question: anyone know if they're real or silicon?)

So now we understand the reason for this strange, ugly, dress: the outfit they'd planned had been designed to make her look chubby, not pregnant. But a regular maternity dress would have shown Bristol to be either more pregnant, or less pregnant than they wanted her to appear to be (I honestly can't decide which). So they borrowed Meghan McCain's dress, stuffed the bosom which was specially sewn to accommodate Meghan's huge bust, and trotted Bristol out on stage as "five months pregnant".

DWTS taught us a lot about the tricks wardrobe people can play. Make no mistake: that ugly bolster-busted dress was deliberately chosen to make Bristol look five months pregnant. Which tells us, plain and simple, that she wasn't.

I don't know if she was three months pregnant, seven months, or postpartum. But I know that the McCain camp was deliberately trying to deceive the country with that gray dress.

And they did.

curiouser

7/7/2011 02:44:54 pm

I'm so sorry. I didn't check to make sure I had the right link. Here's another one. Sarah starts her triumphant descent from the airplane around 4:29 and greets Trig at 4:51 without even making eye contact with him.

http://www.c-spanarchives.org/program/281023-1

Phyllis

7/7/2011 03:11:26 pm

I wonder if the picture that Sarah Jones is talking about is the same one Gryphen said was given to someone he knows who was going to write a book or some such thing.

I think what he said was that a picture that proved Sarah was not pregnant when she said she was had been given to someone in the media.

Could mean a book or movie,I can only hope is very widely circulated.

Anon55

7/7/2011 03:19:05 pm

What alleged photo are we talking about? The link http://www.politicususa.com/en/palin-johnson-computer-hacked does not work.

curiouser

7/7/2011 03:19:07 pm

The Politicususa 'Hacker' post won't open. It redirects to a 'Top Sarah Palin Posts' page which doesn't include that article. I don't understand what telling photo would have been on Mercede's computer and have her remain adamant that Bristol wasn't pregnant with Trig. Is it possible Joe McGinniss spoke with her about the hacking rather than about any specific photo?

I'm pretty sure Joe said he took a Trignostic approach in the book. If I understood correctly, he said he couldn't use photos, in general, as definitive evidence of a hoax. But he addresses the questions and will bring them to a whole new audience. I can't wait to see what else he uncovered. He's so uniquely qualified to write about Sarah and the culture that allowed this travesty.

Diane

7/7/2011 03:37:32 pm

Laura, I think this video shows the scene on the tarmac that you were describing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NoQc_DzWOdo&feature=related

Allie

7/7/2011 04:08:36 pm

Conscious at last, remember that the first day of the convention was cancelled because of a hurricane in MS.

V ictoria

7/7/2011 04:32:03 pm

@lilly lily - could you provide the source for McCain's comment to Sarah re holding TriG? I've looked for it before but have not been able to find it.

silver

7/7/2011 04:59:25 pm

This clip shows Sarah returning to Alaska where she gives the kids a quick peck. She's attached most of all to Piper and is happiest to see her but no feelings shown for her new baby - she definitely didn't bond with him, that's for certain. When she whined to Schmidt that she missed her baby I always had the feeling she was talking about Piper, not Trig.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NoQc_DzWOdo&feature=related

Scorpie

7/7/2011 09:39:45 pm

Have tried several times to read that story about the 'hackee becoming the hacker' at PoliticusUSA and cannot find it. Has it been taken down?

7/7/2011 10:17:50 pm

Bristol was really quite pretty - makes me sad for her plastic surgery look & wonder about the psychological impact of such a choice.
The RNC dress photos are just bizarre - whatever is going on with her body is an extreme change from the other photos taken around the same time. Her bust does not look natural and it is hard to determine the size of her tummy as everything from her neck down looks enhanced. I can't determine if they were trying to make her look more pregnant or less pregnant.

Brickian

7/7/2011 10:33:23 pm

@Laura: Couldn't agree more. Palin should hang her head, to your point from the previous post. But she is shameless, so we might as well wait for Godot.

That said, as far as Sarah's pregnancy story goes: there's smoke; there's fire.

7/7/2011 11:47:53 pm

@anonfornow. Agree with most, but not sure of the timing. Wasn't the only reason Levi came to the RNC with Bristol because the announcement had been made and it claimed they were engaged? Perhaps you are saying the campaign knew but not the public? I never thought the tarmac outfit was hiding anything, just that the night the family was taking the stage was critical.

BTW, the gray dress looked less horrific when Bristol was standing. I suspect the campaign didn't look at her sitting down when they decided to go with it. The sofa bolster is very,very evident in the sitting photo we have studied.

Molly

7/7/2011 11:51:49 pm

I posted the link to the Sarah Jones article yesterday and I most definitely read it. I can't find it today but I think I may have been using a different search engine. I'll look again.

Leona

7/8/2011 12:10:59 am

Further proof that "$aran Phail" was not pregnant in 2008: There is a clip on Youtube of $arah starting the Iron Dog race in February, 2008. She is wearing her trademark cherry-colored coat, and you can tell that there is NO baby bulge anywhere.
http://www.youtube.com/user/LarryTaylorJr?blend=21&ob=5#p/u/0/RF0Dr_jn5AQ

Molly

7/8/2011 12:16:03 am

The "hackee" article has gone!Now that is interesting. I'm trying to remember it and to the best of my knowledge it was discussing Mercede's blog post about her computer being hacked. She took it to be fixed and the technicians were astonished.There was nothing on her hard drive. Her photos and school work had disappeared. The technicians thought it was the work of some high powered people.

The comments on the article surmised that the hard drive had been replaced. I'm sure Mercede still has her original blog post up.

Molly

7/8/2011 12:30:27 am

This is the blog post that served as the basis for Sarah Jones article.

http://mercedejohnston.blogspot.com/2010/06/my-computer-was-hacked.html

lilly lily

7/8/2011 12:36:29 am

I always felt it was Piper she pined for, but Schmidt either mistook it or preferred to make it seems she pined for Trig.

Sarah seemed to barely tolerate the boy. She handed him off to Bristol at the skating rink and immediatly started on her blackberries, ignoring him.

The only Meaghan remark I've seen was made by KatzKids who saw the interview with Rachel and Meaghan. quote is. "Meaghan said the Palins took one of her dresses (custom made for her big bust) and no one asked to borrow it. I didn't see any reference to Trig, other than the implecation that they needed something to accomadate Bristols large (lactating?) boobs.

Why they didn't send out for something appropriate is beyond me. They had a stylist to dress Sarah and over $200,000 went for clothing, silk boxers for Todd, enormously expensive soxs for Chuckie, Armani suit for Levi... A great deal of which Sarah kept. (Sarah went on sprees and sucked in everything in sight. Dozens of Spanx, stockings, panty hose, shoes.. stocked up enough for years.. The totals were well over that mentioned in the press.)

Bristol sniped at Meaghans $1000 custom made dresses, but the Palin's grabbed whatever they could.

They still do.

Mhurka

7/8/2011 12:37:53 am

silver-Piper, being the youngest of four kids, would be the baby of the family.

The other jk

7/8/2011 12:40:01 am

i cannot for the life of me understand why for such an important event (Bristol's "yes, she's pregnant" coming out party where The whole nation would be tuning in) they would pick such an unflattering, ill-fitting dress. Why not a pretty, expensive maternity outfit? There would have been a stylist there. Either the outfit she was supposed to wear got ruined somehow (but wouldn't they have a spare as a matter of course?) or Bristol refused to wear it (why in the world would she do that?) or there was some funny business going on.

Sarah was styled to the hilt. So was Levi for that matter. And there's Bristol looking ridiculous, pathetic.

Laura Novak link

7/8/2011 12:41:38 am

Great point, Mhurka. Odd how with this family there is always another way of looking at it!

Thanks for the video link. Sarah actually looks happy to see the kids in that link compared to the one I am thinking of. In the one I recall, the camera is facing the kids, not behind them. No crowds behind them. Plane in near distance. Sarah barely busses the kids and then walks behind them and then to the left. Yes, the one you linked to was bad enough. But I recall one even worse.

Mumimor

7/8/2011 12:56:16 am

Molly, thanks for posting the link to Mercedes blog post. It is a fascinating read in more than one way.

lilly lily

7/8/2011 01:19:57 am

Enough of Bristol for one day. I glanced at the tape of the view. Her son is a charmer, and people do respond.

Bristol may be more maternal than Sarah, but otherwise she is a clone of Sarah.

It is about time she stopped sniping at Levi when THEIR? son is present. If he is the father? No DNA yet.

Tripp has got a lot going for him in looks and a outgoing personality, but the public display and demeaning attitude of his mother for his father will haunt him in the future. Of course at his age he doesn't have any idea of what is what. How the twig is bent is how the tree grows. The lies can't be good psychologicaly.

We bloggers can say it over and over again, but Bristol is truly a stupid and very spoiled brat and will have her way. Revenge does backfire. Also sniping at the McCains will backfire sooner or later.

Only time will tell.

Alexis

7/8/2011 01:26:14 am

Everyone you can still read Sarah jones article if you google the title and open a CACHED copy. Once you do PLEASE someone take a SCREENSHOT. I would do it but I'm posting off my iPhone.

V ictoria link

7/8/2011 01:32:11 am

@Molly -thanks for the link to the blog. Poor Mercede! How low the Palins have gone, to terrorize a teenager (and destroy her homework, too).

anonfornow

7/8/2011 01:33:19 am

Anyone out there good with Photoshop? It would be interesting to take some of the stills of Bristol in that grey bolster dress and Photoshop down that ridiculous stuffed bust, to see what kind of a silhouette you ended up with. (The way they Photoshop model's waists to make them look even thinner.)

Perhaps if we see what she would have looked like without the padded bust, we'd have a better idea of why they stuffed it.

BicPent

7/8/2011 01:45:58 am

Don't forget about the August 29, 2008 photos that were on the McCain Blogette site (Meghan'McCain's blog during the campaign). These were the behind-the-scenes shots where the two families were posing for a group photo in Dayton, Ohio. They are before the Republican National Convention.

Take a look at the first picture in this post by Celtic Diva:

http://divasblueoasis.blogspot.com/2008/08/alaska-blogs-dispelling-sarah-palin.html

Bristol is wearing a black dress and she does look pregnant - or her shape is consistent with the use of the "pregnancy device". (Celtic Diva's blog post at the above link - dated August 31, 2008 - is also an interesting read. It suggests Bristol is in her 3rd trimester).

If these pictures are a fake or enhanced Bristol pregnancy, the decision to employ that strategy has to have occurred August 29 or earlier.

There is another picture that I always found odd. It shows Bristol stepping off the campaign bus. She is wearing a gray OSU sweatshirt and it looks like the pockets are stuffed full of napkins or something. Here's a link:

http://afp.google.com/slideshow/ALeqM5i3WjzqGbx19JH30v5PVk54XnOttw?docId=080903135416.xjprlfen&index=0

In this picture, where are the boobs? Is she pregnant? Or without the "pregnancy device" and with her pockets jammed full instead. The jeans look pretty tight. Her hair is a mess and she does not look like she was planning to be seen in public, much less photographed.

Molly

7/8/2011 01:58:14 am

Alexis, have grabbed the screenshots. I'm not on my usual computer so we'll see how they turn out.

Link to the cached version here.
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:Ni1qz-haxRcJ:www.politicususa.com/en/palin-johnson-computer-hacked+Hackee+becomes+hacker+As+palin+as+johnstons+computer+hacked%22+dated+June+7,2010+by+Sarah+jones&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=ie&client=firefox-a&source=www.google.ie

Jo Griffin

7/8/2011 02:07:27 am

What is going on? Yesterday I went to the "Hackee Becomes Hacker" article on Politicususa by putting "hackee becomes hacker" in the search block. It brought up the title page and the first paragraph and when I clicked "read more" it took me to the whole article which I read. Today when I clicked "read more" it took me back to the Top Sarah Palin posts and I was unable to get to the whole article. What could have happened to this article since yesterday? I posted this question on the comments to the Top Sarah Palin posts.

I am a daily reader of this blog and have appreciated the challenging articles and comments and am so interested in solving this mystery of Trig's birth. Now there is another mystery to solve. Laura, can you contact Sarah Jones yourself to find out what happened to the article?

Ottoline

7/8/2011 02:47:47 am

anonfornow: I'm good with Photoshop, but doing what you suggest would be nothing more than an "artist's representation," i.e., fiction. Unlike the changing of contrast/exposure levels, which are just like changing the bass/treble on your audio -- that change does not change reality, only emphasizes which part we see/hear.

But to horse around with Photoshop to reduce/enlarge someone's body is nothing more than doing it with paint and pencil -- but by an artist who has electronic tools.

Someone posted earlier that we should stay away from altering photos -- that is not good for our reputation as seeking only honesty and the truth. I agree 100%.

Once we had the result you suggest, it would be nothing more than a fantasy -- and a different artist might alter it in a different way, so it shows us nothing re the bedrock reality we seek.

NSG

7/8/2011 02:50:44 am

I'm REALLY curious about that PoliticusUSA article being disappeared.

Alexis, I was having trouble with the screenshot, but I managed to print out a conmplete copy, and I got a series of 7 mini-shots that capture the text of Jones' post.

Because of my curiosity, I scrolled thru the June 2010 archives and found it still listed there, but that link is the same as the one posted here, and it also goes to that "Top Palin Posts" page.

Wondering what prompted that getting pulled down. I'm a relative newbie to the nitty-gritty of these info bits, but to me, Jones didn't seem to add any new info, just highlighted Mercede's post. Very odd.

Conscious at last!

7/8/2011 03:38:17 am

Ha! well now the Sarah Jones article is unavailable-- perhaps someone is getting even MORE nervous.(It was from 2010, how did I miss it at the time??)

Laura--In case this is an error, can you ask Sarah Jones what's going on?

I was able to read it yesterday. The key point, in addition to the very professional cleaning of MJ's computer, was that someone is holding photos of SP that clearly show she WAS NOT PREGNANT shortly before 4/18. Also, too, someone has photos of a clearly pregnant Bristol in this time period.

Viola-Alex

7/8/2011 04:01:20 am

A bit OT. I'm in Texas visiting my parents. Last night we had drinks with good friends who are VERY liberal and anti-Palin. They had never heard that Trig wasn't Sarah's. I was astounded. Where can I send them to read a short summary of the case for a pregnancy hoax?

THEN last night my stepdad's nephew comes in. Craig would be Tea Party if he gave a damn about anything. He's just returned from Iraq where he worked for Blackwater or some such. When I told my stepdad that Bristol Palin would be at his Walmart tonight signing her book, Craig said "Is she bringing her wine coolers?" hahaha

My stepdad asked him to explain the comment, and Craig gave the same answer I Would have! So there must be plenty of liberals out there who have no idea about the hoax, and there are plenty of rightwingers who know the score!

See. Texas is not all bad.

mumimor

7/8/2011 04:06:13 am

The cached version works fine, thanks for the tip.
I doubt Sarah Jones can be scared off. But I would think someone who is vulnerable and otherwise nice could call her and ask for the blog-post to be taken down because it brings her/him in a very tight spot. This also applies to the sudden trignosticy of Andrew Sullivan and Joe Sullivan.

Laura Novak link

7/8/2011 04:08:40 am

Mumimor: I really liked your comment yesterday about the 3 generations photo and how it was evidently taken at the Palins. You posited: how could it be Tripp when things were supposedly so tense at that point? Why would the J's even be over there posing for a photo. I would not have thought of that. Good catch!

NSG

7/8/2011 04:18:12 am

@Viola-Alex, what about one of Lidia's videos to introduce the story?

I agree that someone with writing skill and a good grasp of the story & sources needs to craft a solid, credible, non-conspiracy-sounding version that people can turn to when they start learning about this.

A Babygate 101. Good idea!

mumimor

7/8/2011 04:29:50 am

Thanks Laura :-)

And of course, I meant Joe McGinnis, not Joe Sullivan...

viola-alex

7/8/2011 04:30:19 am

Thanks, nsg. Link for Lidia's video? or how to google it?

Laura Novak link

7/8/2011 04:37:29 am

Just saw this over at Blade's blog. This is a valid point that I think others might have mentioned:

http://shesnohockeymom.blogspot.com/2011/07/sarah-palins-got-friends-in-lowuh-high.html

Truly, who's to say with this crowd?

K.M.R

7/8/2011 04:53:11 am

It's catch-up day for me, so forgive me if this has been asked but does anyone know why Celtic Diva stopped blogging? I was reminded of her when I randomly read some of the comments here because that's all I have time for today. She was mentioned by BicPent.

SunnyVee

7/8/2011 05:00:14 am

Viola-Alex & MSG (NSG?)...
you should check out palingates for good summaries on the babygate issue.

you could google it, but I think it is just:
www.palingates.blogspot.com

NSG

7/8/2011 05:12:47 am

@Viola-Alex, here are 3 videos from Lidia17 on youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9ZtzPI2OMw
(1 of 2) The Perfidy of Sarah Palin; proof Sarah faked her pregnancy (8:41)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vm9YxKbmQrk&feature=related
(2 of 2) The Perfidy of Sarah Palin; proof Sarah faked her pregnancy (10:02)

These are both very thorough, with detailed timelines, photos, sources. For newbies to this subject, I think it would be helpful to have a shorter version.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZSVMzeR5jU&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL
The Perfidy of Sarah Palin; Chapter 2. The Wild Ride (14:51)

Personally, I think it might be most helpful as an intro to watch this "Ch 2" first -- it really takes SP's version and demonstrates how outrageous it would be, if it really happened this way.

HTH!

BicPent

7/8/2011 05:37:56 am

Re Celtic Diva (as asked by K.M.R.)

I don't know why Celtic Diva stopped posting in her own blog, but I believe she is a contributor at the mudflats these days. Try this link:

http://www.themudflats.net/author/linda-kellen-biegel/

Mhurka

7/8/2011 05:48:23 am

Actually Brad's idea if I remember correctly to use photoshop to eliminate the DS features and see what happens is a very interesting idea and worth exploring because it might lead to something which might lead to something else,etc. which might finally lead to that elusive irrefutable evidence.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

curiouser

7/8/2011 06:21:58 am

The Permanent Fund Division was headed up by Palin pal, Debbie Richter. Debbie's photo was on the state website as recently as a week or three ago but is no longer there. There's simply no longer any listing or contact info for the Director's position. I don't understand why John Bitney, Sarah's first legislative director, was fired [July 3 2007] for having an affair with Debbie (they're now married) but she kept her job.

Annette Kreitzer

viola-alex

7/8/2011 06:40:00 am

Thanks ncr and WOW Lidia! The videos are incredible. What a resource!

curiouser

7/8/2011 07:00:18 am

Does anyone else think that Bristol would still look pregnant even if she added a long scarf to the slim skirt and jacket outfit? Isn't it surprising how Bristol shows at 5 months while her mother has yet to blossom at over 7 months pregnant?

voiceinwind

7/8/2011 07:38:27 am

Great post and photo comparisons.

I would like to see the photo of that daughter wearing a brown zipped up leather jacket, dated 07-19-08 by Alaska Report, compared side by side with the photos above. That photo is at the link below:

http://palindeception.blogspot.com/2009/08/cornerstone-part-2.html

Also, I would like to see several of the photos of the daughter draped with a blanket the first night she walked out on the national stage compared to photos of that daughter wearing that borrowed grey dress.

On the tarmac, that daughter looked older than that young seventeen year old just a day or so before. And that little tan jacket she was wearing was a size too small which would make her look bigger. And the top she was wearing under that small jacket looked a size too big. That daughter didn't borrow a dress from MMcCain the first night she walked out on the national stage. But she obviously needed a bigger size dress after the announcement was made that she was five months pregnant to stop a rumor. IMHO, that daughter did not look five months pregnant or even pregnant until that announcement.

The McCain camp paid high dollar for screechy's stylist and makeup artist. Why didn't the McCain camp send someone to a maternity dress shop to gather a rack of dresses like they did for screechy? Because maternity dresses tend to conceal. The McCain camp purchased tawdie's undies, so why not purchase maternity clothes for that teenage girl?

Sorry for rambling. Thanks, Laura. And yes, screechy appointed a woman in early 2009 to the office that issues birth certificates.

Thanks!

7/8/2011 07:45:41 am

I found this shot on Zimbio quite interesting.

http://www.zimbio.com/pictures/Eu2IuTaaZ-d/2008+Republican+National+Convention+Day+3/sAkcE1On8Xj/Levi+Johnston

Bristol sitting with the massive breast real estate under her chin and a rather square (sound familiar?) looking belly...

the shots are all rather good... at least the close ups...

one of them even has her shoulders looking rather padded...

I'm not so sure she was so pregnant during the RNC, if at all.

as with all things Palin, 2 and 2 never equal 4.

rf

BTW: I did get a screen shot of the cached Sarah Jones article, and all of the comments, after jumping around politicususa like alot of the rest of you did. I was freakin thinkin it had been scrubbed.

Lidia17

7/8/2011 08:18:10 am

During the Palingates era, I had done PDF versions of the video presentations (so you can whip through quicker). Obviously they do not have the audio component. Regina seems to have taken down those links, or they were otherwise broken in transition.

I have sent the PDFs to Laura so that she can host them if she chooses. They are a bit large (12Mb and 5Mb). I can send them directly to anyone who gmails me at "lidiaseventeen".

However, Palingates is still has the link to a "longhand" summary of a couple of megabytes, by Blueberry Tart:

http://www.mediafire.com/?x7p1n2c99yx9q9k

Lidia17

7/8/2011 08:50:39 am

I'm not sure if Laura is aware of this site, where a surgeon had taken up the puzzling case for a moment:

http://ohiosurgery.blogspot.com/2010/06/palin-pregnancy.html

This is around the time that I was getting so fed up and riled up that I HAD to make my videos.

Brickian

7/8/2011 09:33:04 am

Hope this isn't really annoying but for posterity, here's text of the Hackee article:

Hackee Becomes Hacker as Palin has Johnston Computer Hacked

Sarah Palin Pointing Finger
In the world of Sarah Palin, accusations are confessions and should always be taken thusly. Palin’s outrage over the email hacker was simply one finger pointed outward while four more pointed back at herself. Palin has not only hacked a colleague’s computer, but was also a party to harassing Levi Johnston’s sister into getting rid of online photos during the campaign. But Palin’s harassment of the Johnston family apparently did not end there. It seems that in 2008, Sarah Palin and the McCain campaign had Mercede Johnston’s computer wiped clean of all photos.

Mercede reported today on her new blog that she has always kept thousands of pictures on her computer and that during the campaign Levi and Bristol Palin yelled at her repeatedly telling her Sarah wanted her to take down her online photos of the Palin family, Trig, and Levi. Mercede complied with this request.

But it got stranger. The Johnstons were not to be trusted to answer their own phone or door during the campaign, and Mercede reports that “two ladies’ were sent to their house to keep her from talking to outsiders. Mercede could not go to school due to the overwhelming curiosity and questions of everyone including teachers. To put this in perspective, the Obama children (whose father is actually President) go to school every day.

During the time the two ladies were staying with the Johnstons (one wonders if this is also during the time the Palins lent a phone to Mrs. Johnston which later was traced and led to her arrest for a crime that landed her in jail while Todd Palin’s sister was guilty of similar crime but escaped an equivalent punishment, but I digress), Mercede’s computer was suddenly wiped clean of … everything on it. At least one of these ladies was actually on the payroll for the McCain campaign, as reported by Regina at Palingates. Mercede recounts:

“One morning I woke up to log on to my computer and to do some school work. When I turned it on it would not let me log in. It just went directly to the original Windows background … There were absolutely no files, all my desktop icons were gone, and there was not ONE photo on my hard drive besides the “Sample photos” which came with the computer. I immediately started to freak out and yell for my mom. We called the local repair shop and I had my computer in his hands within hours.

He had my computer for about a week and called me to ask if he could keep it longer because he was very “fascinated” by how there was nothing left on it, and that it appeared to have been completely wiped clean. He had worked on my computer previously so he KNEW there were once thousands of pictures, school work, documents, etc. He also asked if I wouldn’t mind if a few computer friends/techs come in from Fairbanks and Washington.

By the time early December rolled around he told me he had over 12 techs look at my computer and that they spent days and days working on it, and searching for what had gone wrong, and could not figure it out…..

It was later that I started to put the puzzle pieces together, especially after the computer Tech said this had to be the work of someone from the Secret Service, or from some other branch of the government, because what happened to my computer was remarkable. It did not click until just recently that perhaps the ladies who were supposedly “protecting us” by answering our phone, were really there to protect the Palins and had cleaned out my computer just to make sure there was nothing incriminating on it which might have caused a problem for the campaign.”

Computers do not erase themselves magically. Someone with a motive to hide the photos Mercede had on her computer got access to it and deleted them. Mercede tells us of the Palins’ harassment of her regarding the photos and comments she would leave online. We also know that Sarah Palin had photos removed from her own parents’ home during this time, as her father had unwittingly shown photos Palin didn’t want the world to see. Concurrently, the Alaska Governor’s website photos were also scrubbed.

By now, you’re asking yourself what Sarah was trying to hide. Or maybe you’re sympathizing with a private Palin who just wanted her personal life kept personal.

But we all know Palin isn’t a private person. Her use of her family and her children in particular is so well known her children are now referred to as “props”. Palin is no Hillary Clinton in this regard (or any other, I might add). So, what’s the big secret?

That, my friend, is the subject of much debate – but this writer can confirm that at least one photo exists that the world has not seen from t

Laura Novak link

7/8/2011 09:48:13 am

Lidia, I DO remember that Ohio surgeon. I've bookmarked his site. Never got around to asking him to join our conversation. If anyone's on his site, do let him know to stop on by!

curiouser

7/8/2011 09:50:26 am

Lidia17 - There's a pdf of your 'Perfidy of Sarah Palin' video here:

http://www.box.net/shared/4ehka8vp11/2/31987008#/shared/4ehka8vp11/2/31987008/475304812/1

Brickian

7/8/2011 09:59:53 am

Got cut off...hackee 2/2:

That, my friend, is the subject of much debate – but this writer can confirm that at least one photo exists that the world has not seen from the time period right before Palin “gave birth”. This photo rests in the hands of someone who is too scared to let it out, so let’s just say the rumors that had been running wild through Alaska about Sarah and Bristol Palin in the months before Palin “gave birth” centered on a supposedly pregnant Bristol and an unpregnant Sarah and many photos seemingly confirm this rumor.

And why should this matter to America? It could be argued (and I suspect it will be one day) that Palin is a saint for adopting her fifth child. And perhaps in this regard she will deserve some credit, as adoption is a wonderful thing. But that won’t change the fact that Palin has presented her fifth child as her bona fides to the Pro-Life (Anti-Choice) movement. It won’t change the fact that Palin lied to the American people as a Vice Presidential candidate. And it won’t change the fact that Palin has some very suspicious medical records for someone who claims to be “Pro-Life”. And it certainly won’t change the fact that whatever went on in the Palin family does not smack of family values. It has the distinct odor of a cover-up for the sake of image, with no regard for the children involved.

But perhaps the most important aspect to this story is the lengths to which Palin, or someone working on her behalf, is willing to go in order to cover up whatever secrets she’s hiding. She had no qualms about infringing upon the liberty and freedom of the Johnston family in order to ruthlessly protect her own image and it’s more than suspicious that Mrs. Johnston was arrested right after the campaign (December of 2008) and locked up in a facility run by a Sarah Palin appointee whose management of the prisons has caused the prison guards’ union to give him a vote of no confidence as well as causing an inmate to sue Sarah Palin in federal court over his alleged mistreatment. In other words, this is not a prison you want to be in, especially if you are a perceived threat to Sarah Palin.

All of these actions speak to an already established pattern of Palin’s; she’s a thug, a bully, and a person who views herself as above the law.

The computer of a young girl was wiped clean and the tech thinks only the Secret Service, or some other extremely advanced expert, could have done such a thorough job. Sarah Palin was harassing Mercede about the very pictures on her computer that got wiped.

Palin willingly harassed a young person under the age of 18 in order to protect her own image. This is the same Sarah Palin who was once warned by a judge to leave her sister’s children alone, to stop “abusing them” by harassing their father. Of course, Sarah didn’t listen to the judge then, and that situation turned into Troopergate. Sarah Palin has an established pattern as an unconscionable liar, abuser, and bully. She wraps her predatory ambition in the flag and a cross, but the damage she leaves in her wake doesn’t resemble any of the values of this country or of Jesus.

“I’ll do whatever I want until the courts tell me I can’t.” ~~ Sarah Palin, Mayor of Wasilla

The next time Sarah Palin opens her mouth, twits a tweet, or takes to her Fraudbook page to denounce someone, remember the email hacker and Mercede Johnston’s computer, and ask yourself what Sarah is really telling us.

Updated: June 8, 2010 to change link re McCain campaign worker at Johnston’s home via Regina at Palingates.

Lidia17

7/8/2011 10:00:10 am

Thanks, curiouser. I did try to look for the old links, but to no avail.

I didn't make it a point to save Patrick's links because I already had the files, plus who would have thought such chaos would have occurred with links in general?

Before seeing your comment, I had already posted the files to box.net myself; links here:

Chapter 1:
http://www.box.net/shared/hystoxbkan9lyjsrip7n

Chapter 2:
http://www.box.net/shared/tpkcz9fnk6tnvmixvohq

curiouser

7/8/2011 10:25:41 am

Lidia17 - I'm glad you were able to save the files to the web yourself. Those links are much easier to handle and there's no need to worry about future changes. Thanks for all the work and care put into making the videos.

Brickian - My understanding from the article is that the photo Sarah Jones saw was from someone other than Mercede.

Leona

7/8/2011 11:15:39 am

To Bricklan: Thank you so much for posting the "Hackee becomes Hacker" post. $arah is a control freak of the highest order. She is a bully and an abuser of power. She used her position as governor to intimidate and control the very people whose lives she was supposed to protect. Abominable. Unspeakable.

Laura Novak link

7/8/2011 12:12:34 pm

Apparently it was simply a Wordpress problem at Politicususa. They updated the site and lost lots of posts and comments. But looks like folks found the article anyway.

And yes, thanks for the video links! New post up with Part I.

lilly lily

7/9/2011 12:33:33 am

N.E. is mentioning Brad. They have now dipped their toes into BABYGATE. Let us see where their people take it.

They didn't use very good pictures, but they have one in her fat suit, with a double chin, a fat back (from said Empathy Belly suit). They should use the ones that Lit Brit had used in her blog.

These people (The Heath family) show blood loyalty to the Heath blood relations. Even Todd Palin will be expendable if the prostitution lead pans out. (Shailey Tripp).

The lies that they put out are insulting to the intelligence of the public. Does Bristol truly believe people are fooled? I have news for her. She and her wine coolers have become a bad joke. Like her mother before her, she is bringing women down. Her virginity was stolen. PULEEZE....

Tripp may be well loved, but he will be exploited by Bristol, just as Sarah exploited Trig, and Bristol in Babygates, for her political advantage.

Bristol will make money off of faked absinence, and Tripps photogenic appeal and big blue eyes. The boy has something of a toddlers and childs charm. But many children have this appeal. I see them every day of the week. Beautiful children. We Americans live in a era of plentiful good food, abundent resources unlike the past or some third world countries.

Lucky us. We dodged the bullet of a McCain Palin winning ticket for POTUS and VP.

And it was Sarah Palin who doomed them. Enough people didn't buy what she was selling. Though Murdoch did.

mistah charley, ph.d.

7/9/2011 02:12:39 am

I wouldn't give credit to Sarah Palin for "dooming" the McCain ticket. Obama would have won no matter who the Republicans nominated for vice president. Palin was seen as a high-risk "hail mary pass" which might have reversed the outcome, although in fact it probably lost votes overall. Like the first Bush appointing Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court, McCain's yielding to Christianist/oligarchical pressure to pick Palin shows the character, or lack thereof, of the Republican branch of our Demopublican overlords.

lilly lily

7/9/2011 05:39:18 am

Palin did it for me. I wasn't crazy about Obama, and certainly not McCain, but I was considering it until Palin came aboard.

That was my tipping point. I hate to vote for the candidates that head the ticket, but I do vote for the lesser of two evils it seems.

I am still not on board with President Obama politically, but considering the alternative choice, I give him and his wife Michelle high praise.

They have behaved with great dignity under immense pressures.

The right calls itself the Family Values Party, well the Obama family have proved to be the true family values model.

everspring

7/9/2011 09:14:49 am

Good point about the three-generation Johnston picture being taken at the Palin's house at a critical time when there was no love lost between the families. Didn't happen.

Also, the request to scrub Mercedes photos of the Palin family, Trig and Levi is curious. Why the need to scrub unless there are really good loving pics of Levi with Trig, Levi with Bristol and Trig, etc.

MO Inkslinger

7/10/2011 12:17:49 am

Can anyone explain why a woman with tight abs in the spring of 2008 would need for the RNC to pay for spandex?

Ripley in CT

7/10/2011 01:03:25 am

Bristol is post-partum in these September 2008 photos. She had Tripp in late August. Guaranteed. The padding in her dress is for leakage. Her milk was coming in fast and furious and she was unable to excuse herself to go pump. I suspect they learned they had to pad her up on September 3 because she leaked all over the place on August 29, when the family was introduced.

Tripp was born in August. This is also why Bristol testified in court against the hacker that she was upset in September 2008 that photos of her "newborn" baby were posted online for public consumption. All of this would explain the scrubbing of anyone's computers. Photos of Tripp in August would ruin the ruse. It also explains why no photos of a newborn Tripp in December. And why he looks like a 5+ month old in a February interview.

Think about this.

Allie

7/10/2011 02:12:46 am

What is your evidence, there, Ripley? So, the Wild Ride is true?

BTW, Frosty, thanks for the Wasilla info. Got a question. Where is the Mayor's office in relation to that strip mall on the way to the lake?

Lidia17

7/10/2011 02:44:23 am

Ripley in CT, that is the picture that has been forming for me, as well. In the recent pic of the two kids standing it certainly looks to me like Tripp is older than 2 1/2. He's not really a "toddler" anymore.

A summer birth for Tripp would also explain the Keith Johnston photo attire and light quality. If we really want to push it, we could even speculate that Tripp was born prematurely, earlier than August: he looks small in the photo with Piper and also the one with Levi and the hospital bracelet.

The problem is, neither one of the latter babies looks like Ruffles, the Tri-G on Sarah's birth announcement and in the Triggy-Bear photos.

Re. the court case… the baby on the plane doesn't look anything like Tripp to me, though, nor like the I'm still thinking there is an extra child in the mix from somewhere.

The "old Tripp" theory does fit in with the cryptic "Trig was Tripp before he was Trig" supposition that Gryphen said was "within spitting distance" of the truth.

Lidia17

7/10/2011 03:42:12 am

oops, a part got deleted. I meant to say " the baby on the plane doesn't look anything like Tripp to me, though, nor like the *baby presented by the Heaths.*"

everspring

7/10/2011 04:08:55 am

There's been much frustration about Sarah Palin and The Wild Ride that did not happen. I think we need to take on a new train of thought and quit speculating on what didn't happen to Sarah and start focusing on what did happen to Bristol (or may have happened). My theory is two children (twin boys) born in early 2008. Twins do not have to look alike! And one twin can be a DS child. Sarah took one as her own for noble and political purposes. Those two babies could have been used interchangeably. But for the most part, Bristol kept her child hidden. Bristol must have used a substitute baby for things like the GVS interview, etc. But later when they started using Tripp for pictures, he was huge! At least one year bigger than they were portraying him to be. Does anyone have a running series of pictures of Tripp from about age 1 year and up? Particularly pictures of him with adults and with Trig?

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.

Curiouser Compares

Leave a Reply.

Laura Novak

Blogs I Read

Categories

Archives