The ADN Again

6/22/2011

In the past month, I have attempted eight times to talk to the reporters, writers and editors at the Anchorage Daily News about the paper’s coverage of Trig Palin’s maternity.

I was shut down or refused 7 times. The other effort resulted in an off-the-record phone call. In all cases, the party-line was toed: The editors and reporters are “intelligent” and they thoroughly investigated claims that the then-governor did not give birth to Trig Palin. And they came away satisfied that she, in fact, did so.

What was it specifically that allowed them to arrive at that conclusion?

No one said, other than the fact that reporter Lisa Demer talked to Mrs. Palin’s doctor, Cathy Baldwin-Johnson and it was “clear” that it was Mrs. Palin’s baby. And that to suggest otherwise is “ridiculous.”

Collectively, the answer was that to pursue this matter was akin to the Obama birth certificate conspiracy theories and that people are simply going to believe what they are going to believe.

All right, then tell me what Dr. Baldwin-Johnson said and I’ll believe you.

But by then, the answers to my inquiry were getting shorter and decidedly snippier.

So I searched – again - for a story that the Daily News might have written that I might have missed that might have made it all “clear.” And I couldn’t find one.

So why then, if the pursuit of the hoax story, and the inability of some people to believe Mrs. Palin’s version of events, was "ridiculous", did the paper, in fact, try to investigate it in late December, 2008?

And why did managing editor, Pat Dougherty write this to Governor Palin if, in fact, Lisa Demer talked to the doctor and it was “clear?”

Lisa Demer started reporting. She received very little cooperation in her efforts from the parties who, in my judgment, stood to benefit most from the story, namely you and your family. Even so, we reported the matter as thoroughly as we could. Several weeks ago, when we considered the information Lisa had gathered, we decided we didn't have enough of a story to accomplish what we had hoped. Lisa moved on to other topics and we haven't decided whether the idea is worth any further effort.

This is the nut-graf of the entire nutty exchange between Dougherty and Palin in late December 2008:

And is your paper really still pursuing the sensational lie that I am not Trig's mother? Is it true you have a reporter still bothering my state office, my very busy doctor (who's already set the record straight for you), and the school district, in pursuit of your ridiculous conspiracy?”

This was my reply:

Yes, it's true.

You may have been too busy with the campaign to notice, but the Daily News has, from the beginning, dismissed the conspiracy theories about Trig's birth as nonsense. I don't believe we have ever published in the newspaper a story, a letter, a column or anything alleging a coverup surrounding your maternity.

In fact, my integrity and the integrity of the newspaper have been repeatedly attacked in national forums for our complicity in the "coverup." I have personally received more than 100 emails accusing me and the paper of conspiring to hide the truth (about Trig’s birth.)

(I should acknowledge, however, that many people who commented on adn.com have alleged a coverup. Many of those were deleted as soon as we saw them, but many were not.)

I want to be very clear on this: I have from the beginning and do now consider the conspiracy theories about Trig's birth to be nutty nonsense.

If that's true, why has Lisa Demer been asking questions about Trig's birth?

Because we have been amazed by the widespread and enduring quality of these rumors. I finally decided, after watching this go on unabated for months, to let a reporter try to do a story about the "conspiracy theory that would not die" and, possibly, report the facts of Trig's birth thoroughly enough to kill the nonsense once and for all.

Lisa Demer started reporting. She received very little cooperation in her efforts from the parties who, in my judgment, stood to benefit most from the story, namely you and your family. Even so, we reported the matter as thoroughly as we could. Several weeks ago, when we considered the information Lisa had gathered, we decided we didn't have enough of a story to accomplish what we had hoped. Lisa moved on to other topics and we haven't decided whether the idea is worth any further effort.

Even the birth of your grandson may not dissuade the Trig conspiracy theorists from their beliefs. It strikes me that if there is never a clear, contemporaneous public record of what transpired with Trig's birth, that may actually ensure that the conspiracy theory never dies. Time will tell.

Let me repeat what Mr. Dougherty wrote in case your eyes glazed over:

I think I was clear that we were not asking about Trig’s birth in an effort to validate the conspiracy. Instead we were focused on the persistence of the conspiracy allegations. In the end, we didn't think the story was worth the effort required to develop it.

In other words, the editors and reporters at the Daily News who said the doctor made it “clear” that Mrs. Palin gave birth to Trig couldn’t then debunk the hoax by printing how very clear the doctor allegedly made it?

Come again?

And the managing editor of the newspaper feels he needs to say this to an elected official whose story he is trying to nail down without her cooperation:

I want to be very clear on this: I have from the beginning and do now consider the conspiracy theories about Trig's birth to be nutty nonsense.

Come again, again?

Meanwhile, back at the ranch...Michael Carey is a columnist for the Anchorage Daily News and host of "Anchorage Edition" on Alaska Public Broadcasting. We spoke at length by phone regarding my search for clarity on the ADN’s position on Dr. Cathy Baldwin-Johnson’s “clarity” about Mrs. Palin giving birth to Trig. Alas, our words are off-the-record. Suffice to say that the paper stands by their intelligent reporters who supposedly solved this mystery with CBJ (despite Mr. Doughtery’s pissing match with the then-governor on his blog.)

About Palin’s abrupt, breathless and incoherent speech announcing her resignation, Carey writes in the LA Times:

“not once did she provide a convincing explanation of why she is leaving office. We are left to guess. The only thing we can be absolutely sure of is this: Palin did not tell the truth when she said she is leaving for the good of Alaskans. She is leaving for her own good. With Sarah Palin, "me" always comes first. And with Sarah Palin, the personal and the political are never separate but totally intertwined. In fact, they are the same thing.”

I don’t know who or what really resides at the corner of dumb and stupid. I only know that if the doctor truly did make clear that Mrs. Palin gave birth to Trig, then that would have nipped the story in the bud. And those “intelligent” journalists up there wouldn’t have to shoo me away with the classic yet passive-aggressive tactic of: Believe us, and also, too, it’s all Obama birth certificate territory, otherwise and anyway so you’re the annoying one for asking and we’re too busy to deal with this other than to assure the governor that we’re on her side. Because that’s what the top newsman in a state does, he assures the governor that he’s really on her side. And stuff.

Call me stupid. Because none of this adds up, unless of course, you do the math, as this team of bloggers had already discovered.

In the words of a long-time journalist in Alaska, "It was completely confounding that he (Dougherty) would offer to help Palin out by debunking the hoax, and then drop the story when she stonewalled him. I don't get it either." Or, as this journalist also pointed out, "Is it possible that the ADN was told something off-the-record by Cathy Baldwin-Johnson that called them off the story? Maybe they boxed themselves in with a rash agreement." If so, then I say these folks aren't so "intelligent", and this story not as "clear" as they'd like us to believe.

6/22/2011 22:47:55

Thanks for investigating this, Laura.

There continues to be no real evidence that Sarah gave birth to Trig. I am disheartened that, rather than commit journalism, the ADN tries to Make.It.Stop.

Allie

6/22/2011 23:20:17

From SP: "And is your paper really still pursuing the sensational lie that I am not Trig's mother? Is it true you have a reporter still bothering my state office, my very busy doctor (who's already set the record straight for you), and the school district, in pursuit of your ridiculous conspiracy?”

Funny how the ADN never says anything about what the 'school district' said.

Did you see this email?

4/24/08

Governor-
Just a reminder - Steve Quinn [AP] is hoping to talk with you for a few minutes about Trig. He will be at
home this afternoon 907-xxx-xxxx.

But I didn't see whether she ever called Steve Quinn from AP 6 days after the purported birth. Do you recall if he ever wrote a story about it, like maybe the Wild Ride?

Brad Scharlott

6/22/2011 23:31:42

Nice summary of the inanity of the ADN's position on the matter of Palin's hoax. One ADN reporter who knows better tried to throw me off the hoax story numerous times, until I finally told her that I did not think she was that gullible herself.

Financial pressure on ADN could well be the answer. Recall O'Malley's disingenuous attack on my spiral of silence paper in which she used half-truths and non sequiturs to challenge my research. What else besides financial survival would convince an intelligent and formerly praiseworthy columnist to stoop to such scummy tactics?

Recall also that Wes Loy, who famously wrote that Palin "simply does not look pregnant" in a news story, was somehow pressured into a "recovered memory" over two years later - even though I presented evidence that showed he still pursued the story after the belly-viewing incident that caused him to allegedly reconsider his views. That must have been terribly painful for Loy to write.

If you are reading this, Wes, sorry, but I think we caught you in a situation where truth was not your highest priority. Or if I am wrong, contact Laura, and I guarantee she will give you a platform to share your side of the story.

Laura, this is the pathology of deceit that you and I need to talk about in a coming conversation.

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4/30/2012 14:04:45

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Noordijk

6/22/2011 23:33:44

Toed the line, not towed.

Melly

6/22/2011 23:36:41

Many thanks for your journalistic efforts. If Palin declares, will be interesting to see which ADN reporter is out of the box first to break the hoax. I have no doubt they know MUCH more than they're revealing. Lisa Demer's notes at minimum.

Mark L

6/22/2011 23:37:26

This is an excellent bit of reporting. Thank you for your diligence.

Floyd M. Orr link

6/22/2011 23:39:52

I am not the least bit surprised that you have been stonewalled by the ADN, Laura. When I was researching my book, I could not get a peep out of anyone. It is my understanding that the paper receives a significant portion of its annual advertising revenue from the governor's office, so no one wanted to rattle the Palin cage. Like Brad said, it is usually the dollars.

Laura Novak link

6/22/2011 23:40:17

Noordijk, where did I write it? Tell me so I can correct it. The mind and the fingers don't always cooperate!

Pam

6/22/2011 23:49:11

not to mention the absurd story Julia O'Malley told about someone seeing sarah's belly while she was running at the gym. She didn't say who. She is obviously covering for sp for whatever reason. It was definitely on the street of stupid.

Laura Novak link

6/22/2011 23:51:35

Never mind, Noordijk, I found it! Thanks for the reminder!

And thanks, Mark L., for the great compliment. I hope you'll stick around.

Floyd, I'm not surprised. They seem to be sitting on something or as my journalist contact said, backed themselves into an impossible corner.

Brad, great reminder of the Loy story and how that played out, or not. And you're right, we have much more to discuss re: pathology of deceit.

Brad Scharlott

6/23/2011 00:01:36

I thought it was "toad the line," referring to a frog-like length of string.

(There's so little humor in Palin blogs.)

Rationalist

6/23/2011 00:11:26

Laura, I am so enjoying your diligent work and fresh look at the Palin story. I look forward to your new posts as much as IM, PG and PoG and even Andrew Sullivan.

Folks - I'm feeling optimistic. In the spirit of Andrew Sullivan, I'm imagining that we are all angry birds and Palin's lies are the pigs. Sooner or later we're going to hit the corner of the structure just right and it's going to come toppling down.
So...I have a question. Has anyone ever determine which reporter it was that asked Palin the question about amniotic fluid that spurred the infamous wild ride story in the first place? Honestly, that's the only time anyone has ever asked her directly about it, and I'm curious who it was.

curiousagain

6/23/2011 00:18:43

Laura

Money? I read earlier about the State of AK "investing" money in services from ADN to the tune of over 600K a year while she was governor. Is Parnell continuing that trend? Can that buy silence?

And is SaraPAC spending money with ADN?

Sometimes following the money leads to motive for other things

BlueberryT

6/23/2011 00:32:15

Exactly. ADN would love to now claim that those who doubt Sarah Palin's story are lunatics, but the facts show that they themselves could not verify her story, despite their best efforts to do so. That's because her story is a lie and a hoax. Thanks for another excellent post probing the many holes in the Babygate story.

curiouser

6/23/2011 00:35:27

Allie - Here's Steve Quinn's slobbering story about Palin the reformer and possible VP candidate who is proving that "a child of special needs will not hinder her professional commitments."

http://articles.boston.com/2008-05-04/news/29280057_1_palin-distanced-governor-sarah-palin-syndrome

Considering the two miscarriages Palin wrote about in Going Rogue, Quinn captured a delicious Palin quote:

"I've never had problems with my other pregnancies, so I was shocked," said Palin, who has four other children."

nancydrewed

6/23/2011 00:43:13

Even if the financial bottom line is the ADN's ownership's concern, I wonder why no one there seems to understand that there is Pulitzer material just slipping through their hands. They are throwing it out the window and for what? This is Alaska's print media's chance to rewrite and explain the narrative. And regain America's respect at the same time.

viola

6/23/2011 01:02:32

@nancydrewed. The ADN can't pursue the Trig story now (for that Pulitzer you mention) without admitting how poorly they covered the story earlier. They're screwed. Also, they're kind of sitting ducks waiting for someone else to make them look like idiots, IF another news source were to go after the story. Unless, they 'fess up. Has a news source ever done that? Admitted their own failing, and then covered the story properly?

Thanks, Laura, for making the calls.

viola

6/23/2011 01:05:38

Laura, when you have a minute, can you clarify Michael Carey's position on Trig? I remember seeing a video of him years ago saying something about the rampant rumors in AK around the time of Trig's birth. Did I imagine that? He just sounded like a voice of reason, to me, at the time. . .

Lidia17

6/23/2011 01:46:35

Laura, excellent questions phrased in a way that is simple, rational, and cannot be avoided without admitting the weakness of their positions.

I’m VERY disappointed in Michael Carey, who had seemed pretty relaxed about publicly entertaining the fake pregnancy story back when he talked to Ray Suarez at the RNC, here:

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/insider/politics/july-dec08/carey_09-02.html

(viola, this is probably the clip you are thinking of.)

@Brad, glad you are appreciating the degree to which this is a real sickness… a pathology, as you say!! What I find fascinating is how the most obviously-sick person seems instead to have garnered the highest levels of omertà and enabling behaviors on the part of the press. When Gary Hart, a apparently fairly competent legislator and politician, had his far more garden-variety indiscretions the press turned on him with lightning speed: he was toast within weeks if not days. I think it was because he had dared them to “catch me”… but isn’t that what Sarah is saying with every wink, lie and lip-lick?

@Rationalist, I have only ever understood that the audio of the female reporter asking Sarah for a reaction to Chuck’s amniotic fluid tale was leaked (sorry!) to the Palingates/Politicalgates researchers. I don’t recall seeing or hearing Chuck’s tale aside from that second-hand reference. It is unofficial and the reporter is unidentified.

I have a personal feeling—unsubstantiated by anything—that it could be Lisa Demer, but only because her name has cropped up so much on the Palin “beat”. Demer was the reporter who was supposed to’ve met with Dr. CBJ, at the meeting that did not take place at the ADN, IIRC correctly. Don’t take me as gospel here… just a possible lead. Demer could be a hostage, who decided to send out what message she felt safe sending. *

*I’ve always thought that first account in the ADN of Sarah’s pregnancy announcement sounded like a letter, written by a hostage, which has to pass under the nose of a kidnapper. Wesley Loy: http://www.adn.com/2008/03/06/336402/secrets-out-palin-pregnant-030608.html

@curiouser, Steve Quinn, I believe, is the reporter who is said to have been conducting an affair with Palin aide Ivy Frye, so…

@nancydrewed, I can only imagine that opening up any can of worms connected to Sarah should lead to other immoralities and illegalities, perhaps things we can’t even imagine at the moment. Sarah jumped to defend Todd from accusations of being involved in a “prostitution RING”. Problem is, nobody had actually accused him of that!

alexis

6/23/2011 01:47:53

Excellent post laura!!

The spiral of silence at ADN is not suprising given they chose not to break the most politically explosive story.

However with the "one Natio" bus screeching to a hault I suspect somethings brewing in wasilla-ville

DebinOH

6/23/2011 01:53:39

LSM - you betcha!

Thanks Laura, and yet people still wonder why we just just can't get it through our heads that something is just not right?

We are just supposed to take their word for it and BELIEVE that she has actually pulled up her top and showed off her pregnant stomach - to MEN!

I am either the dumbest person on earth or crazy........

nancydrewed

6/23/2011 01:55:17

viola--<i>If (big if) </i> they finally broke the story, their financial concerns would disappear. No? They could certainly claim the "stonewalling" excuse, along with less than adequate manpower. But if they went all out now and dedicated resources to getting to the bottom of the Palin "mafia" tale (what I'd call it), wouldn't they change the landscape of their state, for the better and for the future? You'd think it would be a huge breakthrough for them and their readers.

Lidia17

6/23/2011 01:59:39

I should retract my assumption above, about Demer, or whoever the interviewer might be, being the source of the audio; it may not necessarily be the interviewer to've been the one who released the audio.

In the clip, you can hear cameras clicking, so there are obviously some number of other press people there. Though the person intending to register the exchange is the most obvious of sources, anyone could have recorded the audio, when you think about it.

Laura Novak link

6/23/2011 02:03:31

I wish I could tell you what Michael Carey told me, but I promised our emails and call were private. Look closely at what I write in the piece: everyone I contacted at the ADN stood by their "intelligent" reporters who "clearly" knew that Palin gave birth to Trig. Don't look for any of them to say any differently.

Lisa Demer gave me the same bum's rush. They are on total lock-down on this subject. And those who were willing to converse with me, suddenly became very unwilling. I recall thinking that an edict had come down from on high.

The subject was shut down unceremoniously.

Lidia17

6/23/2011 02:13:05

Laura… and Carey couldn't even leave you any sort of "Deep Throat" off-the-record hints? Like "follow the prostitutes", or "follow the dairy scam" or "follow the link to Gina Loudon"… ?? ;-)

curiouser

6/23/2011 02:18:37

Unless I've completely missed the point, the bottom line is the ADN doesn't have information that is sufficient to prove that Palin gave birth on April 18. Yet, for the record, the editor and reporters, including Michael Carey, insist they're convinced she did. What happened after Sept 3 '08 to change Carey's mind?

I wonder if the ADN would have a different answer if Alaskans had elected a Democratic governor instead of Parnell.

jeff

6/23/2011 02:31:00

Laura and Brad,

Wesley Loy has exactly one comment on his latest five articles on his blog since last weekend.

http://deckboss.blogspot.com/

Reckon Loy has a moment to answer a couple of questions from one of his journalistic peers?

I wonder if he received an anonymous care package with a gratuity for his remarkable recovery of those "repressed memories" of Palin's pregnancy.

Lilybart

6/23/2011 03:13:26

If she is Trig's bio mother and chose not to prove it to Demer out of spite...well I just don't know what kind of mother that is. I understand being pissed off at being questioned, but how long does this thrill of making everyone crazy need to last? When does what is said and written about her and her family finally cause her to put an end to it, for the kids's sake. Almost like she is ashamed of him.

lilybart

6/23/2011 03:15:23

Shutting you down proves they know the story is a crock. Parnell will pull every ad dollar if they spill. It really is that simple.

BeeEss

6/23/2011 03:36:36

But the ADN is the only major newspaper in Anchorage, so I don't see how the State could pull all their ad dollars. Something is fishy though. Maybe ADN got their orders from their owner (McClatchy).

6/23/2011 03:39:02

There are a lot of people who know it is a crock, but they staked their reputations on Palin. Reporters, politicians. They will continue to work to deflect questions about the story. If Palin's story is proven a hoax it will ruin a big part of the GOP -both the establishment who supported McCain and the religious conservatives who promoted Palin -for a generation. It will ruin the journalists who scoffed at Babygate, and the ones who failed to investigate either because they were starry-eyed over SP, cowed by the GOP, or too lazy to do their work.

Unless ArcXIX goes public, It will be bloggers like Laura, Gryphen, Audrey, who blow this, or Palin herself whose own hubris finally does herself in.

6/23/2011 03:46:28

@Brad. Seems in Wasilla everyone "Toad" the line out of fear.

Brad Scharlott

6/23/2011 04:07:35

@B: Even humor has a dark side where the Palins are concerned.

6/23/2011 05:27:51

This is one of the places where I ran into serious trouble with respect to Palin.

If the controversy only started now about Trig's birth, then her not showing the birth certificate or providing proof would be comprehensible. At this point in her career, she needs controversy; she needs to be able to point to a segment of society that apparently pursues her; she doesn't expect us to "like" her anyway, and the fact that we don't makes her even more attractive to her supporters.

But the controversy has existed since day 1 (or -5 or -6 months, when people started asking what was going on with Bristol). And at that point it would have been very much in her interest to provide a birth certificate, or evidence of visit to the doctors, or something, anything, because she was still in office and seeking even higher office. Yet she did not. Instead we have evidence of a coverup and plenty of stonewalling. And only one picture from Gusty that surfaced in August, a picture that could have easily been faked.

viola

6/23/2011 05:50:47

Thanks, Lidia! That's it! Now read this excerpt and tell me this doesn't sound damn near a statement of fact, as far as Carey is concerned. He takes Suarez by the hand and leads him to the Sarah Faked her Pregnancy story! (Which he had heard from a very reliable source!) I mean, he uses the phrase "the whole thing was faked."

I heard this broadcast, and thought, holy cow. Immediately I went online, googled Palin Fake Pregnancy, and found Palin's Deceptions and Audrey.

---

From a Ray Suarez interview, NPR, 9-2-08
<http://www.pbs.org/newshour/insider/politics/july-dec08/carey_09-02.html>

MICHAEL CAREY: . . .I heard the other story, which is the fake pregnancy story. And maybe you want to go on to that at some point.

RAY SUAREZ: Well, that --

MICHAEL CAREY: The other part of the soap opera.

RAY SUAREZ: Well, that seems to have been what smoked out the Bristol Palin story, the attempt to put the first story to rest that came. Tell us more about the first one, which I guess was highlighted on the Daily Kos website.

MICHAEL CAREY: Yeah, that's been -- that story has been around for quite a while. I first heard it when a lawyer who I like very much and is a very smart guy presented this to me as the absolute truth.

RAY SUAREZ: That is, that Governor Palin was not pregnant?

MICHAEL CAREY: No, and that the whole thing was faked because she was covering up for her daughter who was pregnant. And the daughter was having the child and Sarah claimed it was her child and faked the pregnancy so as not to embarrass the daughter and not to create I guess political backlash for some kind of conservative values concern.

This pregnancy story is now sort of up against the numbers of her real pregnancy, how she could have two pregnancies in X number of months is not answered.

Phyllis

6/23/2011 05:56:06

@Laura:Michael Carey is of course a columnist not a reporter.
Two very different things.

Ivyfree

6/23/2011 06:02:55

Laura, this is a very clear exposition of the faultiness of the ADN's position. I appreciate the clarity.

I've held numerous opinions as to the What and Why of Babygate, over the last couple of years, and I come down to the fact that Sarah, being a deeply insecure person, wants to feel superior. She could easily make herself feel superior by proving that we're all a bunch of crazed tinfoil hat wearers. She could release a birth certificate, medical records, and ask her doctor to answer questions.

If she did that, she could "I told you so" all the way to the bank, because she could really sell that book.

She hasn't done it, because she can't.

She'd rather portray her teenage daughter on the world stage as the Slut of Wasilla, than produce a birth certificate. (And her daughter is busy portraying herself as too stupid to resent her mother's behavior.)

CLF

6/23/2011 06:05:19

I agree that there is something very strange about the Alaska Daily News’ role in the debunking (or not!) of the Trig story.

But I’m also uncomfortable with:

A.) Journalists interviewing each other off the record. (“Michael, I double-promise-pinkie-swear I won’t tell anyone what we talked about.”) If all calls resulted in the party line being toed, then what’s the point of the discussion being off the record? Giving someone off-the-record status from the get-go=bad idea + recipe for manipulation.

B.) Journalists allowing their sources to use the off-the-record cloak of anonymity to badmouth another person or organization or put spin on a story. The quote by “longtime journalist in Alaska” adds no new information. It's just pure speculation. Anybody could have come up with that theory. Why allow him or her to make this comment without attribution? And why hasn’t this “longtime journalist in Alaska” pursued the story him/herself? How do we know that this "longtime journalist in Alaska" isn't Michael Carey himself?

“The use of anonymous sources undermines the trustworthiness of an industry that already generates too much mistrust.”—Joe Davidson, Poynter.org

Worth reading:

http://www.poynter.org/uncategorized/25191/questions-to-ask-before-going-off-the-record/

http://www.nytco.com/company/business_units/sources.html (And yes, I'm well aware that they don't always follow their own policies.)

K.M.R

6/23/2011 10:45:38

Has anyone looked into what Sherry Whitstine has been up to recently? She worked at ADN (or still does). She, (Syrin a.k.a., Sherry Whitstine) has a blog that she continues with today but I've not read it for a good while.
If memory serves, I think early on she wasn't afraid to criticize Sarah.
Then she was told by Ivy Frye to stop blogging about her. An interview with her may just shed some light.

Her blog is here:
http://aksyrin.wordpress.com/

Thank you Laura for your tenacity.

K.M.R

6/23/2011 11:18:01

After I wrote the above I went looking into Sherry Whitstine's work history. I've yet to find her connected to ADN. Sorry, I'll blame my faulty memory on a senior moment.

K.M.R

6/23/2011 11:29:40

K.M.R. again...

Some of February 25, 2008 comments by Syrin / Sherry Whitstine
http://community.adn.com/adn/node/117902

It does seem as though she knew something.

Sorry again for thinking she was a reporter. After 3 years, I can't keep it all straight.

MicMac

6/23/2011 13:34:51

Most attention focusses on Palin's behavior the night of the Wild Ride, but no reporter appears interested in investigating the "behavior" of the MatSu hospital in admitting a pregnant mother in active labor carrying a known at-risk infant after flying all day long -- when a hospital with the proper facilities and staff was a quick ambulance drive or helicopter flight away. And the mother being the ex-Governor and all! Truly incredible. Not believable by any standard.

Why has no one pushed MatSu to defend or explain their lack of proper standards of care the night of the Wild Ride? I would think that is public domain information. I would think this is a story in and of itself. The citizens of Wasilla have the right to know that their hospital makes correct decisions regarding medical care/procedure.

Or not.

Andy link

6/23/2011 14:18:02

As a newspaperman with nearly 30 years experience, I can state emphatically that something is fishy at the ADN. If nothing else, it at least receives statewide legal advertising from the state which is typically significant for most newspapers of that size. Legal advertising is constantly under assault from state legislators trying to save money. I'm sure if a governor's office promised to lobby against it cutting legals, or put its weight behind the effort to strip newspapers of this important revenue source, it would have an impact either way.

julia

6/23/2011 14:29:56

Every damn day this gets weirder...Someday, hopefully in my lifetime, the truth will prevail. I suspect it is far stranger and more complicated than we could ever imagine.
an aside...where is Trig? I found it disturbing when she dragged him out at every pit stop and book signing, but it troubles me even more that it's been months since anyone has seen him. Even his birthday picture was regurgitated from last year. Who is caring for this little boy? Are his needs being met? Is he Alaska's sacrificial lamb?

Elmo

6/23/2011 14:39:59

The problem with conspiracy theories like this one is that they require an unachievable level of secrecy and loyalty at every step. In the real world, there is always someone who will talk on the record for money. The nurse. The nurse's aide. The janitor. The admissions clerk. The insurance claim handler. The lab technician. Someone.

But there is no one.

viola

6/23/2011 14:48:09

@phyllis -- re: Michael Carey. He may be a columnist but the interview I quote from above (NPR, Sept 08) was billed as a Q & A with an Alaska reporter. People from all over the U.S. could submit questions to Ray Suarez about the newly nominated, unknown Palin-- that Carey, a political insider, answered. So of all AK journalists, NPR picked Carey for this.

<a href="http://www.pbs.org/newshour/insider/politics/july-dec08/carey_09-02.html">Alaskan Reporter Answered Your Questions about Gov. Sarah Palin</a>

[h/t Lidia]

viola

6/23/2011 15:05:35

sorry to beat this dead horse, but Carey's NPR interview seems to be the first and last time any AK reporter/columnist/journalist spoke openly about Palin. When I heard this interview in Sept 2008, Carey's voice was so jocular, clear, and honest-sounding, it confirmed my queasy feelings about Palin and sent me scrambling to the internet to learn more.

After this interview, Carey seemed to vanish from the national scene.

Could there have been consequences to his loquacity?

Pete

6/23/2011 16:00:04

I think it's annoying that people try to pass this story off as if it's the same as the birther conspiracy. There are no similarities between the birthers and babygate. Obama provided proof of citizenship when he accepted the nomination, so he really did not have to provide the public with his short term or long term birth certificate. But he still did it. The birthers were ridiculous because they refused to accept the official documents. Palin hasn't provided a birth certificate to prove Trig is her child so until she does that we aren't in birther territory.

mitch

6/23/2011 16:10:54

Send the story to a competitor of the ADN.
Make them look like fools providing cover for a moron. Send the story to the NYT. Or the WaPo or any other major news outlet. It worked for Woodward and Bernstein 37 yrs ago. Palin's decent in to utter madness is accelerating. So much more has been revealed in the past 3 yrs that surely by now someone has the guts to push this hoax into the daylight of the masses.

silvermoondog

6/23/2011 16:18:25

Thanks Laura for keeping up with this and trying to get the media interested. I always wondered why the National Enquirer would not be interested in blowing the lid off of this story. They've certainly exposed big scandals in the past. I don't know how anyone with half a brain can't see that she faked this whole preganancy. The things she gets away with are absolutely disgusting.

mumimor

6/23/2011 16:27:55

Elmo, a few years ago, I would have agreed with you completely. But after the incident I wrote about in the comments to Laura's last post, I am less secure.
To cut it short: I had to deal with a sociopath with a known history of lying, bullying, blackmailing and even sexual assault. Literally hundreds of people knew this, and dozens had been harmed by his dealings. I had full documentation for the things he had done to hurt my business, some of them blatantly illegal. One of his former employers tried to expose him (at the same time, but in another context), and still it was almost impossible to stop this person. Actually, while I succeeded in getting him off my turf, I did not get him into court, because people around him protected him. (They have since then quietly pushed him out).
The way someone like this works is to make a lot of people complicit in his/her actions. Those who are important, but who can't be lured into this trap will receive seriously scary threats. Everyone else will be ridiculed - not only by the perpetrator, but by a lot of sane people, who think like you do, and I did until I went through this.
It is absurd, like living a nightmare, where obvious truths are suddenly false, rights are wrongs etc.

DebinOH

6/23/2011 16:29:30

Elmo - Arnold?

Not only him but how many people find out years later that EVERYONE in their family knew they were adopted or the product of an affair but the person? I have friends that this has happened to and boy were they pissed off when they found out. I am not talking about children I am talking about 30-60 year olds. Look at Jack Nicholson.

I've always been on the fence (I'm sorry - don't throw rocks at me), but really there could be just a few people who know and they are under oath. A lawyer or doctor could lose their credentials so they would be quiet. All the doctor had to do was order no one in her room because she was "special".

Would someone related to adoption records be able to talk by law?

How do we know that a member of her family is still legally Trig's parents? Maybe they didn't go through adoption and there isn't a record.

I don't know but all I know is that there is SOMETHING seriously wrong with this pregnancy and birth. There is NOTHING normal about this.

DebinOH

6/23/2011 16:34:22

Oops - I meant to say how do we know that a member of her family isN'T still legally Trig's parents.

What if the story is so awful (which has been suggested in the past) that that is the reason they are protecting Sarah or the person who did give birth?

Lidia17

6/23/2011 17:08:30

"Send the story to the NYT. Or the WaPo or any other major news outlet."

I have no doubt whatsoever that the NYT and the WaPo and CBS and CNN and the lot of them are completely aware of our assertions and questions. See the infamous "Journolist" leaks which show reporters shying away from the story lest they be entrapped like Dan Rather with the GWB Nat'l. Guard stuff.* All it takes is one falsified piece of evidence in an otherwise true story, to make the truth no longer relevant. They were afraid, for one thing. I don't know what else is involved because I don't fully understand the mechanism of reporters NOT wanting a scoop.

*Brad Scharlott's paper makes reference to those discussions. Link here: http://politicalgates.blogspot.com/2011/04/download-professor-brad-scharlotts.html

Laura Novak link

6/23/2011 17:35:56

Just to clarify what someone wrote in a comment at IM: Commenters do NOT have to leave email or website info in order to comment here. Many leave it blank and it works. I want to correct that wrong impression. Thanks!

Pete, I agree with you, of course. It's a tired diversion and since everyone said it to me at the ADN, it seems to be part of the group think there now. It's a sloppy method for them to make "you" look bad for asking - complete passive/aggressive behavior - and it's a pathetic diversionary tactic.

Mitch, I don't know that there IS a competitor up there. There in lies the rub on this.

An Andy, welcome and thanks for confirming what we all suspect, that this stinks to high heaven. Glad to have a newsman on board. Come back and tell us more about why you see this as you do. It would be good for readers to hear more.

Many thanks to all. And to Gryphen and Sullivan for linking to this post.

Barb Dwyer

6/23/2011 17:49:56

You should ask Dougherty why suddenly ADN has had to hire an image consultant. They know they're in too deep with this fiasco and will not survive after this story breaks. They've already gone from a 3 story building to just part of the first floor. When this fraud is exposed their last hope is for this "image consultant" to come up with some sort of saving grace for them. It's just a matter of time now

voiceinwind

6/23/2011 18:28:12

Thanks, Laura, for all your efforts.

That doctor said it was not unreasonable for screechy to fly. That statement alone was a red flag.

I experienced amino fluid leakage with two pregnancies. The first time was with my first child and I was twenty four years younger than screechy was with her alleged seventh pregnancy. When I found the Palins' wild ride interview on video, I watched it three times in disbelief. And screechy was walking around just fine; I would bet she was wearing heels, too. Toadie was carrying the baby while screechy kept trying to fix the baby's little cap over his ears.

I sat on towels and I began having labor pain within six hours. No doubt, I think screechy could have made it to the conference. And maybe stood around and gave a speech. But not all that travel, not all that travel, thousands of miles of travel. Or all that walking, all that riding, up and down, in and out, all those seat belts. And it certainly doesn't make sense to me that her doctor said it was not unreasonable for screechy to fly. Of course, that remark was made after the alleged delivery. Did the doctor contact the hospital in Texas? Why did the doctor not insist on delivering the baby in Anchorage?

Red flags were everywhere, the biggest being screechy's announcement that she was seven months pregnant out of the blue the day after McCain became the GOP presidential candidate. That paper knew screechy was being considered as the GOP VP candidate. This was a political hoax screechy played on the American people in an effort to win an election. Look at all the lies that hoax has generated. In this day and age, there was no reason to cover for a daughter, except screechy wanted to be the GOP VP pick. And a baby with Down Syndrome gave her that walk the talk to entice pro-life voters for the win against Hillary. She has continued lying to the public while making millions.

Sure, all women and delivers are different. But why would that hottest governor wanting to be the next GOP VP pick take a chance with her alleged seventh pregnancy? Or take a chance of delivering a Down Syndrome baby at the conference? Or in a taxi? Or on an airplane? Or on some snow covered highway late at night? Considering my own experiences with amino fluid leakage, it has been my opinion since watching that wild ride video that screechy lied about the whole thing. And so did her husband and so did her doctor.

That paper does not serve it's public, it serves screechy and money. I do not trust anything reported by ADN.

Thanks, Laura.

K.M.R

6/23/2011 18:28:39

ADN:
Is Bristol Palin accusing Levi Johnston of date rape?

Read more: http://www.adn.com/2011/06/23/1932100/is-bristol-palin-accusing-levi.html#ixzz1Q7ZstdeB

voiceinwind

6/23/2011 18:54:13

Thanks, Barb. That gives me hope.

mistah charley, ph.d.

6/23/2011 19:10:03

Just a reminder - for almost every media outlet today, its most important customers - the source of the income to pay the staff, the suppliers, the shareholders, etc. - are primarily the ADVERTISERS, not the subscribers/listeners/viewers. Keeping the advertisers happy is a matter of life or death in the business sense.

LA_MN

6/23/2011 19:49:12

I have sent this email to Andrew Sullivan at The Daily Beast, but have received no reply, so I thought I would send it to you. It is in response to an excerpt from the Palin emails that was posted on Sullivan's blog on June 13.

I've followed your questions about Trig's birth with some, but not too much interest, hoping against hope that you are right and that she is found out so that she will go away, but not totally buying into the argument. Then today, I read the excerpted email in your "Trig Crack of the Day" post (June 11, 1:10 pm) and I almost fell over. Then I almost fell over again to think that I might be seeing something that you weren't?

To wit: "I signed a bill into law...while in the hospital (and that should be recorded for the record)...but are there a couple of days in there that show that I wasn't in the Anchorage office? I didn't see any..."

This says ARE THERE a couple of days recorded when she wasn't in the office, not THERE ARE.

To my mind, this can have no other interpretation than that Palin was noticing that her record showed that she WAS in the office those days, and she wanted to be sure that things were changed so that it showed that she wasn't in the office. She is trying to make sure that the written record of her activities matches her reports. Am I just crazy, or is that what this says?

FrostyAK

6/23/2011 19:56:14

In the 2007-2008 fiscal year, ADN received between 1/2 and 3/4 of a million dollars from the State. Someone with good investigative skills should look on the state website and see what subsequent years show. One can only expect parnell (Captain Zero, or $palin's Hand Puppet) to be perpetrating the same. Think it might just be hush money?

There is NO competitor newspaper in the state. Hasn't been for many years. Local rags, and the online Alaska Dispatch are the only others.

It has been an obvious cover-up since Lisa Demer "investigated" and the Dougherty/$palin emails. Money talks. Then they sent little Julia O'Malley out to MAKE.IT.STOP!

IMO, there is NO newspaper in the US that is worth reading, or any news broadcast worth listening to. Out of country news is much more honest and above board.

lilly lily

6/23/2011 20:11:57

Didn't Governor Palin point out to ADN after they started investigating the Trig angle that they were dependent financially on her good will, in this day of papers going under financially.

I recall that vividly.

She was threatening the paper. That she held the financial well being of the paper in her hands and wouldn't hesitate axing them.

curiousagain

6/23/2011 20:14:30

The fascinating part of this is the way the stories from different blogs begin to merge and blend. There are a number of observations here that might well be comments from other blogs writing from a different position. I suspect the ADN has a lot more information than they want to reveal. Are they protecting their own self-interests? I suspect so because if Parnell pulls ads then they suffer greatly. It's pretty clear Parnell does exactly what Sara wants, perhaps she knows enough things about him she can take him down with her. A vast conspiracy of corruption with Sara leading the way. You are right, a Pulitzer is less important and the truth irrelevant when it is balanced against protecting the Quitter. After all what else has Alaska got that keeps the media and tourists coming on a regular basis.

Nikogriego

6/23/2011 20:45:13

Elmo, you are mistaken in your assertion regarding conspiracy theories that such a high degree of secrecy is required, that such theories are impossible to keep from becoming public knowledge. The Manhattan Project, the World War II development of the atomic bomb by the U.S., was kept secret for years before the bomb was used. Likewise the invasion of Normandy by the Allies was planned for months in secret. Also, conspiracies that you have never heard about remain secret precisely because those involved do not divulge their knowledge, for legal, financial, or other self-serving reasons. In trying to determine the truth, one must look at facts, not just speculation. The facts are many and convincing that show Mrs. Palin was not pregnant with Trig, and is not his biological mother.

lilly lily

6/23/2011 21:08:50

I vividly recall a obviously threatening e-mail or some kind of letter from Palin to ADN implying a loss of state revenue on which they depended and her pointing out how devastating it would be for ADN financial well being.

All you have to do is check out the correspondence from Sarah Palin to ADN.

To me that is a smoking gun indicating something was rotten and waiting to be exposed about the Trig story.

She snarled and showed her fangs, and they fell in line.

nancydrewed

6/23/2011 21:18:56

Perhaps I've missed this in previous comments--if so, beg pardon. The "ad" money from the state to ADN--isn't this primarily money spent publishing "legal notices" which are required to be posted somewhere as part of the public record. It's dreary mundane stuff, for the most part, and a regular feature of any area's "newspaper of record", which in this case is ADN. Where else would this revenue stream be directed? The financial pressure explanation doesn't entirely hold water, seems to me. Parnell is not going to suddenly reward a more hostile publication with this contract, should the ADN finally "do its job". Yes. Fishy.

Laura Novak link

6/23/2011 22:05:53

LA MN: I see what you're saying, but I must confess that the whole TA email written in August has me confused anyway. Did she want to prove she was working, or not? It's so hard to tell what this confused woman was on about half the time.

And yes, Lilly Lily et al., she did make it very clear that she held some purse strings and that if they messed with her too much, she could pull them. I recall very much thinking it was a bold threat.

And I agree with what a commenter wrote a long time ago on Sullivan: that very few people would have to know about the "conspiracy" that it could actually be pulled off. I am not doing it justice, but that commenter laid it all out and it made perfect sense. That's why I have not held on to the idea that someone would have to talk. After all...she arrived just after shift change and she delivered just before shift change. Darkest, quietest time of night. The coincidences just never end with this woman!

lilly lily

6/23/2011 22:13:57

There is the Juneau Record which is online. I don't know if it is only online or also printed on paper as a hands on newspaper.

Have they followed up on Trig in any way?

Publius

6/23/2011 22:18:44

That fact is that there is much, much more evidence out there that leads to the conclusion that Sarah Palin did NOT give birth to Trig Palin as the story has been told.

There is absolutely no documented evidence anywhere that Sarah Palin did give birth to Trig Palin. Something that can be proved in mere minutes if true.

For any Alaska news organization to ignore this fact is abhorrent at best and negligent at worst.

Ottoline

6/23/2011 22:35:28

Nikogriego -- Here's another big-time conspiracy that was successfully kept secret: "The Man Who Never Was" (book, written way later -- see Wikipedia) -- a WWII hoax that fooled the Germany military into believing and acting upon the idea that the Allies were going to land elsewhere than the actual landing in Sicily. So the Germans redeployed their forces in a way that weakened them, strengthened the Allies.

I have long thought the following: the interconnected mongo crookedness of Alaska is such that no one wants to speak up because almost everyone has something to hide, or something big to lose (like a job or a contract). And for the rare soul who might be about to speak up, a house fire or other form of persuasion is powerful. Like Dar Miller's housefire death: a former NICU nurse who would surely have been privy to the closely-held professional gossip about Trig. Whether she was murdered or not, she died in a suspicious fire that was not investigated or reported on (ditto the church fire): just getting Alaskans to wonder about that would probably shut them up. It would me. Especially when we know what the Palins and their pals are capable of: Trig's early vandalism, Morlock's brutality, Willow's trashing of house, Sherry Johnston in jail. And no jail for the Palin kids. To say nothing of Palin's many illegal acts: no consequences so far.

The ADN I bet has the same kind of top-down directive as the other big U.S. papers to stay off this story. In addition, the ADN has the threat of going broke, as others have noted. I bet there's a third-tier of threat that is common knowledge there: much more dark and personal in some way. Who wants to speak up when no one else is?

Fourth tier of threat: Let's not forget the corrupting influence of Big Oil. I sure don't know how it works, but it must be powerful and probably interconnected with conservatives who have billion$ to lose. Because when Palin goes down, who among us thinks she will go down quietly? Business as usual is far preferable, and if everyone keeps the lid on a little longer, maybe the crazy bloggers will forget about it and everyone is home free.

Just like for McCain and crew: it would be so preferable if everyone would forget and move on.

In the early part of the Trig Hoax, a birth cert or a quote from an MD would have settled it. Probably. That would be before we tinfoil-hat bloggers revealed the flat-profile photos just before Trig's "birth," as well as the MOUNTAIN of circumstantial data consistent with it being a hoax and not a pregnancy.

The main "evidence" that Palin gave birth to Trig is her word: the word of a lavishly-documented LIAR. At this point, no BC or MD quote can explain all that, esp not the flat profile.

In the early part of the hoax, we thought we needed answers to ALL the questions, but now I believe that the biggest revelation, the most relevant one, is simply that Palin was not pregnant. She hoaxed us. All the other questions can remain unanswered so long as the MSM acknowledges that this VP candidate used an innocent disabled child to hoax a nation in hopes of thereby improving her chances to win the election.

lilly lily

6/23/2011 22:36:57

I see that the Anchorage Press, which I gather is a free weekly newspaper had an article by Andrew Halcro from his Palin files, yesterday.

Perhaps they printed something about Trig Palin in the past years? Though it seems a community resource, and culturaly oriented than the former half term Governor, Sarah Palin who is proud of being a "good ole boy" type.

Bragging of being considered trash? Cringe making. Not really top level political material.

Punkinbugg

6/23/2011 22:37:59

Maybe the Fairbanks News-Miner or the Juneau Empire would be glad to get the scoop on the ADN.

For example, the Fairbanks News-Miner should have a story & photos from the Wear Red for Heart Assn. luncheon attended by the Palin gals in Feb. 2008. Indoor event. NO photos? Really?

Lidia17

6/23/2011 23:12:01

Laura, what did I tell you?

Heads up, because the "New Agenda" is here:
http://www.thenewagenda.net/2011/06/23/by-insulting-palin-the-new-york-times-gives-itself-a-black-eye/#more-30546

h/t marzapan at Politicalgates
http://politicalgates.blogspot.com/2011/06/sarah-palin-sp-sexual-pathology.html#comment-233537461

Remember, SarahPAC paid tens of thousands of dollars to have members of the NOW talk her up like this:
http://palingates.blogspot.com/2010/04/shelly-mandell-and-elaine-lafferty.htm
[Patrick's flickr account was revoked, but I am sure you can contact him at Politicalgates and get the missing screenshots]

Rationalist

6/24/2011 00:39:34

Hi, Laura - I'm the commenter on Sullivan who wrote about the fact that this is not a conspiracy theory. I maintain that the number of people who would know is less than five. Palin, Todd, cbj and Bristol, if the 3 babies theory is correct.

There's a reason no lab tech or night nurse has spilled the beans - no one admitted Palin and no lab tests were done. Everyone at mat-su apparently thought someone else was on shift when Palin delivered, and as far as I can tell, no one has tracked down mat su employees to compare their stories.

I would want to talk to the janitorial staff and find out if anyone mopped up that night!

Rationalist

6/24/2011 00:48:09

here's the link. Flattered you thought it was well written!

http://andrewsullivan.thedailybeast.com/2011/04/wimpy.html

Laura Novak link

6/24/2011 01:36:20

Our very own Rationalist! That is SO cool! I recall the comment so very clearly and did think it was SO well written and made SO much sense. I am also, too, so very glad that you've connected it here for us. It's worth another read.

I turned to my husband one day and said, "What are the chances that Palin got to the hospital one half hour after shift change into the slowest shift of the day, and then accomplished the deed one half hour before shift change into the busiest shift of the day. I mean, what are the odds?

Odds, indeed!

Thanks for sharing that with us again. And yes, it was very, very well written.

Venefica

6/24/2011 04:05:24

FYI, here's yet another audacious coverup I came across.

An excerpt from a review of the new book, "The President Is A Sick Man: Wherein the Supposedly Virtuous Grover Cleveland Survives a Secret Surgery at Sea and Vilifies the Courageous Newspaperman Who Dared Expose the Truth":

Matthew Algeo, a historian and radio journalist, focuses on a dramatic, little-known event in his new book....

Suffering from mouth cancer in 1893, Cleveland disappeared to undergo surgery on the yacht of a friend. The president, his doctors and political advisers feared that news might exacerbate a financial recession and trigger panic.

Cleveland's popular wife, Frances, young enough to be his daughter, lied to journalists about the president's whereabouts. Cleveland's press aide lied, too. Reporters accepted the falsehoods, misleading the citizenry into believing the nation's leader vanished for five days to undergo dental work -- painful, to be sure, but rarely fatal.

The truth did not begin to leak until about two months later. E. J. Edwards broke the story in The Philadelphia Press, only to be vilified as a spinner of falsehoods by a rival Philadelphia newspaperman, Alexander McClure of The Philadelphia Times, who convinced a lot of readers that President Cleveland had been treated shabbily.

Proud of his reporting and his skepticism, Edwards felt stung.

In this fascinating, rarely acknowledged saga, Edwards' reputation would not be restored until 1917, when W. W. Keen, one of the physicians aboard the yacht, decided to set history straight. He wrote a compelling, credible account in the widely circulated Saturday Evening Post magazine. As Algeo notes, Edwards was able to bask in the glow of vindication for seven years, until his death during 1924.

Cleveland had emphasized truth-telling during his presidencies, so the secrecy and unfair attacks on Edwards sullied the president's reputation. ...

http://www.cleveland.com/books/index.ssf/2011/06/matthew_algeos_the_president_i.html

One can only hope that CBJ will "set history straight" before decades go by!

visitor

6/24/2011 05:07:40

I have read the book "The President Is A Sick Man".

The lies were premeditated, and the President was clearly incapacitated for months. Few had survived this condition and type of surgery when it was done.

The correct prognosis, had it been reported at the time would have been bleak. When there was a re-occurance of the cancer and a second surgery, the situation was less favorable.

This coverup probably prevented the enactment of an amendment that might have prevented the continuance of the Coolidge presidency after he was incapacitated.

This book is recommended reading for all ADN writers and editors.

visitor

6/24/2011 05:11:25

I intended to refer to Woodrow Wilson instead of Coolidge as the president who continued in office after two debilitating strokes.

Viola

6/24/2011 06:04:49

@rationalist. you may be right that as few as five may know the true story of the Trig hoax. However, if Bristol is his mother, then there may be a father involved. If it's Levi, then his mother and sister probably know. And if Bristol stayed with Sarah's sister, then she would know too. And what about Heather's children? Wouldn't they have seen Bristol pregnant? And Willow? Willow would've known Bristol was pregnant, wouldn't she? That is, of course, if Bristol is the mother. But if no one but Sarah, Todd, and CBJ knew that Bristol's baby was DS, the others wouldn't necessarily connect Bristol's baby with Sarah's later. But, as you say, no conspiracy, just another dysfunctional family. . . unless you believe that Dar knew something.

6/24/2011 06:15:42

One commenter above has mentioned that the main thing to prove is that Palin wasn't pregnant.

To me, the spiral of silence is much more interesting. Obviously, some people - health and legal professionals - have very good reasons for not speaking out. And there are those who suspect or even know but who have no proof. But there are those in the press and in politics who must also know and who say nothing. Are they all so terrified? If so, then the terrified nature of these people must also be examined.

Jeff

6/24/2011 06:19:51

Here's an (O/T) excerpt from an article [link at bottom] today written by Craig Meldred in Anchorage Dispatch:

Johnston says Palin’s loss of virginity claim not true
by Craig Medred | Jun 23, 2011

Bristol Palin is not telling the truth when she claims in a new book that her virginity was "stolen" by boyfriend Levi Johnston, Johnston's attorney said Thursday.

In the just released book, "Not Afraid of Life: My Journey So Far", Palin -- the daughter of former Gov. Sarah Palin -- claims she drank so many wine coolers on the night in question that she has no recollection of events, and that she woke the next morning with "something obviously askew" only to be told by a girlfriend that "you definitely had sex with Levi."

Johnston attorney Rex Butler disagreed with the part of the story that has Bristol so drunk she didn't know what was happening.

"That's obviously not true," he said.
Several websites have already raised the question of whether Johnston raped Bristol.

Alaska laws says that "an offender commits the crime of sexual assault in the first degree if...the offender engages in sexual penetration with a person who the offender knows is unaware that a sexual act is being committed."

Sexual assault in the first degree is what is commonly known as rape.

Bristol's book clearly paints her as being "unaware that a sexual act" was being committed on the night she lost her virginity.

As she tells the story, the last thing she remembers is sitting by a campfire laughing with friends after consuming a lot of wine coolers. The next thing she remembers is waking up in a tent with Levi's empty sleeping bag next to hers and the sound of friends "outside the tent laughing", according to the book.

She then texts a female friend, who comes to Bristol's tent to inform her she is no longer a virgin.

Butler, one of Alaska's better known criminal attorneys, admitted that if true the story sounds a lot like rape, but he said the story isn't true. And he seemed a little perplexed that Bristol, who had a child with Johnston, would be telling it.

"That's not a good thing for her son to digest on down the road," Butler said.

[…]
----------------------------------------
Question: Why does Butler not consider Tripp to be Levi's son as well (saying "HER child" instead of "THEIR child")?

If I were trying to see my son more often, this IS NOT the attorney I'd want fighting for my parental rights.

Was this a Freudian slip and/or just incompetence?

Just askin'.

http://www.alaskadispatch.com/article/johnston-says-palin-s-loss-virginity-claim-not-true

ginny

6/24/2011 11:23:22

Jeff,

Why would any of it matter to "her" child since this child was not conceived as a result of this (supposedly her first) sexual encounter? Especially, why would it matter to "her" child if Levi is not his father? Answer: it wouldn't matter much at all (except in that the child might still be embarrassed someday by his mother's general airing of dirty laundry).
My point is that I think we sometimes read too much into very small things, like the choice of a pronoun.

ginny

6/24/2011 11:40:42

"Butler, one of Alaska's better known criminal attorneys, admitted that if true the story sounds a lot like rape..."

Ummm, I would think that a good lawyer would not comment AT ALL in this manner. Even though he says "[the story] is not true", he shouldn't be doing or saying ANYTHING to make his client look possibly guilty or bad in any way!
Levi needs a better lawyer.

Ivyfree

6/24/2011 12:16:21

When dealing with liars, it's very difficult to sort out what people are saying. In this instance we're trying to sort out what Butler said regarding Bristol's story. He said it was obvously not true, and he didn't understand why she wouldn't realize this isn't a good thing for her so to hear, when he gets old enough to care.

But there are lots of things we just don't know.

Maybe it was Bristol's first, but not with Levi. Or maybe it was her first time with Levi, but not her very first time. Or maybe the whole camping trip story is a lie, and Bristol's first time occurred with or without Levi somewhere else. Or maybe they went camping, but didn't have sex. Or maybe they went camping and had enthusiastic consensual sex.

Sarah has raised her daughter to be a lyin' skank ho, and Bristol's delivering the goods.

And apparently, they think this presents Bristol in a good light.

If the story isn't true,

Molly

6/24/2011 13:34:32

I'm beginning to think more and more that Levi is not Tripp's father. I wonder if he was in on the ruse at the RNC and his mother's subsequent troubles with the law "happened" to make sure he kept his mouth shut. Bristol did not look pregnant in August and then all of a sudden she looked huge at the RNC a few weeks later. Remember the church video of her in December when she spotted the camera and she took off running into the church. An eight and a half month pregnant woman could not move like that.

When Audrey started to wonder about all of this, she was threatened and then stopped blogging.

I wouldn't put anything past this family!

Leona

6/24/2011 14:30:39

I have a question about inherited traits, specifically hair color and eye color.
Levi has dark brown hair and brown eyes.
Bristol has dark brown hair and hazel eyes.
Tripp has light blond hair and blue eyes.
Is it even possible for two dark haired people to have a light blond child, and for two dark-eyed people to have a child with blue eyes? I thought light blond hair and blue eyes are recessive traits.

viola

6/24/2011 14:43:55

@Leona. If both parents have the recessive traits, then a blue-eyed blond child is possible. When my dark mother bore my blond, blue-eyed brother, my darkhaired, browneyed father accused her of hankypanky (she later told me), and she had to have her doctor explain it to my father.

@Jeff RE: Rex's odd statements. The first time I read the article I thought it was sheer incompetence. But now I'm wondering if Rex is hampered by knowing the truth, and the things he said were his best effort not to lie outright yet call Bristol on her own lies. I mean, that's a tricky walk for a lawyer.

While there may be a spiral of silence in the media, there is a spiral of bullshit in everything any of these players say or do.

Molly

6/24/2011 15:20:56

Gryphen has some new photos of Trig and Levi at Mat-Su hospital taken on the 18th of April. It looks like the same baby the Heaths were holding. It is definitely bigger than Ruffles.

http://theimmoralminority.blogspot.com/2011/06/previously-unknown-pictures-of-levi.html

molly malone

6/24/2011 15:55:13

We are looking at a number of mysteries here: 1)The ADN's wall of silence. 2) Palin's reason for faking a pregnancy, 3) Why the Palins and Heaths concocted the tale of the Wild Ride, 4) The extent to which CBJ and Mat Su Hospital were involved, 5) Why two or more babies were presented as Trig, 6) The identity of Trig's birth mother (and possibly Tripp's, too, for that matter), 7) The dates and locations where Trig and Tripp were actually born.

I have a nagging suspicion the answers are fairly simple. Sarah does not appear to be capable of anticipating long-range consequences; her responses to situations are often more reactive than reflective of careful planning and thoughtful consideration.

Problem is, how does one put together a puzzle about someone whose thinking may be a bit scrambled and who has little impulse control? Especially when those who can provide the missing pieces refuse to do so.

DebinOH

6/24/2011 17:30:58

Molly, go check out Immoral Minority. Just one more puzzle to add to the mix.

It just never ends!

FrostyAK

6/24/2011 19:23:01

On Rex Butler as an attorney - he is the dregs at the bottom of the barrel in the legal profession in AK. In addition, AK has very few good lawyers anyway.

On lies/LIES - anyone involved with the $palins should be considered a liar/LIAR.

On the AK media - look at the deplorable condition of the public media in this country, then realize that the best and brightest do NOT choose an assignment in AK. Some may take one as a first rung on the ladder, but they are gone ASAP. Those who stay for a long time began as locals. Many of those locals have agendas.

Rationalist

6/24/2011 20:35:10

Well...in light of Gryphen's post today, I have a new theory. I think there are degrees of knowledge in this situation.

(btw - molly malone - i think you're absolutely right, both about the mysteries to be solved & the fact that the solution is probably something fairly simple because of Palin's inability to think long-range.)

So...there's Sarah, Todd and CBJ who would absolutely have to know the truth. Now I include Bristol. But I honestly don't think the Johnstons were in on it, though I bet they suspect what happened now.

Here's what I think happened. Bristol had a baby in Jan/Feb 2008 and gave the baby up for adoption. That's the baby in the pictures Gryphen posted today. Since that baby was born at Mat-Su, I'm assuming Bristol checked in under an assumed name, and the staff had no clue she was the Governor's daughter. CBJ might have been able to help with a "Jane Doe" registration. Mercede and Sherry may or may not have known Bristol had that baby, but I suspect at least Sherry did. Maybe not Mercede because of the powere Bristol seemed to exert over Levi at the time (and they may have even been married, hence the ring).

Then, in March, wow! What a weird coincidence. Sarah Palin announces her pregnancy.

The "adopted" baby has actually been in foster care, possibly through the church, and when Palin needs it back, CBJ retrieves it and here we go.

This does not account for the contemporaneous appearance of Trig and Ruffles, however. I can't figure that one out.

What is clear to me, though, is that some or all of the Johnstons could know Bristol was pregnant without having any idea that Sarah faked a pregnancy.

Laura Novak link

6/24/2011 20:44:25

Rationalist, Molly, I think you're both quite possibly correct. And as with Gryphen's great new post today, there is never an event, a photo or a message that clarifies the story. At least not on their behalf. Each discovery muddies the waters and leads even the most open-minded people to remember how this math simply does not add up. Ever.

lilly lily

6/24/2011 20:50:18

Mercedes release of a blonde streaked curley haired obviously younger Levi with a baby is odd. No huge Johnston tatoo, but a gold wedding band that he later loses out hunting. He looks a bit sheepish in these shots.

Could this be another child given the coverings and cap? Was it dated 2008?

Going through old photographs for the new book by Levi?

I can't see Mercede really telling all before Levi's book is published.

Seems to be the same old tease. But who is to blame Mercede Johnstone? She doesn't owe anyone anything in this.

Now that he has been branded a opportunistic rapist by Bristol in a sneaky fashion. It is up to him to defend himself if he knows what is good for him. Brisols "He plied me with Wine Coolers and I'm a good girl I am."

As if Levi who seems to have been one of the local studs would hang around someone who didn't put out when he obviously had teen aged high school girls (in a girl short state) drooling.

And that included Bristol.

The only thing that I wonder about is that name TRIPP. Bizarre.

Two pregnancies for Bristol, I can see it. Even that she was on the pill after number 1, if Trig was her child. She didn't care and drugged and drank, but actually may have been more careful with contraceptives the second time round.

I don't believe any of the people involved in this. Everyone has their own ass to cover.

I really can't understand any of them.

Bristol insecure and thick as a brick,starving for attention. Not untypical. And deluded about her hold on Levi. No way could she be a virgin.

Levi, a school drop out, hormones raging boy, not yet a man who knows he is attractive to girls, women, and possibly men.

Not that unusual with the usual results. Two teens, both not too bright, horny, and no boundries= pregnancy.

lilly lily

6/24/2011 20:59:28

Sarah Palin as Governor could have married them, with no one the wiser. A mayor I know married a number of people.

Then the marriage was conveniently erased as far as the Palins were concerned. I don't see Levi wearing a ring if he wasn't married to Bristol to cover for the pregnancy. He isn't the wearing a ring kind.

I don't believe much of Bristols tell all. Pretty much I'm a good girl, and we know how her abstinence thingee was a fraud. A swimming coach, Ben Barber, Levi again. Some other man, then Gino, then a member of a rock group, etc. Bristol has round heels. She will never change. Needy girls like Bristol never do.

molly malone

6/25/2011 03:15:50

@ Rationalist.

The only reason I can think of for the two babies is that the one the Heaths are holding in the Mat Su photo is the real 2 to 3 mo. old Trig. Maybe they realized that he wouldn't pass for a newborn preemie, so they'd arranged to "borrow" another, smaller substitute for the early public viewings.

What if Ruffles's mother had given him up for adoption, and what if he had been born a few days earlier (possibly at an Anchorage hospital), but for some reason, that hospital declined to release him to the care of a custodial organization or individual as scheduled? Palin's timeline was tight: she had to "give birth" during Mat Su's shift change; a baby had to be shown as evidence of that birth; and an appearance at her office on Monday was necessary to avoid the risks involved with taking maternity leave. What to do, oh what to do?

Maybe the only other baby available to them was Trig, so they bundled him up good and said, "Here's the 6 lb, 3 oz preemie." Then Ruffles was delivered a day or so later, just in time for show and tell. And, after their paperwork finally cleared, the actual adoptive parents of Ruffles collected their son and took him to his new home.

I know, I know. Sounds crazy. But when you consider the other perils of Palin, maybe not so much.

6/25/2011 13:35:55

Molly, I've been pondering the same thing. This scenario would also fit with two other things that have been lingering out there... Gryphen's mysterious "Trig was Trip before he was Trig" and statement of the recent anon poster that Dar Miller was asked to care for Trig after his birth.

LTA

6/25/2011 15:44:14

Wow, what a mess. I had a bad fall recently and my arms hurt so badly I could not even hold up my iPad...so imagine my surprise to come back to the fold and see Bristol calling Levi a rapist (for "Christians", the Palins seem not to worry about standing before the ultimate Judge & Father one day) and new photos of Levi with a baby, a wedding ring, and maybe all of sixteen years behind his childlike and scared expression.

That first photo of Levi from Gryph's post yesterday...it was powerfully emotional. I see a young man who just has realized life changed in an instant. For any of our Fellas here...remember back to your teen years. Think about your high school girlfriends. Even if you were as committed as teenagers can be, would you have gone into your girlfriend's mother's hospital room, where she presumably is in a gown, being given breast-feeding lessons, having the nurses put catch-all pads on the bad...and then hold her brand new baby?

Now if the baby is premature, critically ill, etc...it becomes even harder to imagine.

One of the newly released emails has a staffer asking Todd Palin for a photo of Trig for the media. Todd says he doesn't have any but suggests asking Chuck Heath.

So...there are photos of LEVI, the hated boyfriend of the baby's supposed "sister" holding the babe tenderly. But there are NO photos, not ONE of Todd, new dad, with his long awaited second son?

Todd hated Levi and didn't even want to acknowledge his new grandson by deigning to pose for even a cellphone photo with the baby.

That's what I see here.

molly malone

6/25/2011 16:44:09

@ Up

I'll admit that I was a bit skeptical about Wholly Mary (who commented on this blog) and the anonymous poster "Shitfire", who posted that same day on Gryphen's site. Now, in light of Rationalist's above posts and the newly discovered photos of Levi with a newborn baby--at Mat Su Hospital, no less--I think I may well have foolishly shrugged off some very significant information.

6/25/2011 21:41:25

Rationalist, molly malone, LTA: I think you have it. Your scenarios sound very credible and almost reasonable (if that is even possible in this wacky story). Keep at it all.

Vistor

6/25/2011 23:21:44

With condolences to his family, and in memory of the late actor Peter (Lt. Columbo) Falk, even he would have had to exclaim: "Just one (million) more thing(s)"....(in attempting to solve this unflippinbelievable case....)

Ottoline

6/26/2011 21:09:39

Where did you see this: ". . . recent anon poster that Dar Miller was asked to care for Trig after his birth."

ProChoiceGrandma

6/27/2011 20:52:34

@Ottoline
That comment came from "Shitfire":

http://theimmoralminority.blogspot.com/2011/06/i-am-no-expert-on-pregnancy-but-is-it.html

"I can state with certainty that Dar Miller, the sweet and lovely woman who perished in a suspicious house fire in 2008 was ASKED to assist in caring for Trig. I do not know whether she ever considered or accepted the job. I cannot stand to think that her death was the result of a purposeful act. However, I find it extremely suspicious that any attempt to access records or evidence of the house fire (which should be public record if the case was ruled accidental death and closed) are met with what I can only describe as inappropriately aggressive stonewalling."

FWIW, "Shitfire" seems to know too much information. In other words, it seems there is too much information that he/she could not have been privy to knowing with any certainty.

However, I also have suspicions about the house fire that led to Dar Miller's death. That house fire occurred on January 5, 2009, not in 2008.

http://www.adn.com/2009/01/13/653001/death-of-hospice-nurse-shocks.html

Some pertinent points:

"Firefighters found the 54-year-old Miller unconscious and badly burned, but still alive in her Wasilla home Jan. 5. Though a cause has yet to be established, the long-smoldering fire apparently started near a bed on the first floor, burning so hot it charred beams and melted pictures on the wall. Miller's two dogs died next to her.

She was flown to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle for burn treatment, but she died the next day."

"Miller's desk at the center's Bogard Road office remains as she left it: a tidy memorial with a picture of her dogs -- spunky cattle dogs called heelers, one young, one old."

"Miller started out as a neo-natal nurse practitioner but wearied of watching babies die, coworkers said. Starting with the Mat-Su organization in 2001, Miller took on the role of mentor. She was one of four hospice nurses and worked as a case manager."

SOMEONE with special skills was taking care or assisting with the care of Trig from whenever he was born (I suspect January 2008) until the time of his staged presentation on April 18, 2008. Dar Miller lived within 1 mile from the Palin home.

Karen

6/28/2011 17:55:31

Just getting caught up after being out of the country for the last 10 days: Molly, if you are still on this thread, can you elaborate on this:

"Remember the church video of her in December when she spotted the camera and she took off running into the church. An eight and a half month pregnant woman could not move like that."

thanks!

Logan adult link

10/24/2012 07:52:32

Anyone know where I can find more information?

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