The Beautiful and the Damned

8/10/2011

"Don't worry. Your secret is safe with me."

At least, I would like to think that Levi whispered those words into Mrs. Todd Palin's ear at that moment.

I love this photo. I'd never seen it before someone tipped me off to a bucket (an obsessive-compulsive collection, really) of photos on a Christian, home-schooling, Obama-hating, mother's blog.

It's the only time I've seen this cluster of photos from this angle. Levi's eyeing the camera. I love it.

Now, let's take a moment to review what Levi told Vanity Fair magazine, shall we?

“Sarah told me she had a great idea: we would keep it a secret—nobody would know that Bristol was pregnant. She told me that once Bristol had the baby she and Todd would adopt him. That way, she said, Bristol and I didn’t have to worry about anything. Sarah kept mentioning this plan. She was nagging—she wouldn’t give up. She would say, “So, are you gonna let me adopt him?” We both kept telling her we were definitely not going to let her adopt the baby. I think Sarah wanted to make Bristol look good, and she didn’t want people to know that her 17-year-old daughter was going to have a kid.”

Vanity Fair
September, 2009

I was having a conversation about this very quote just the other night with someone. I know we've all hashed it out before, but I'm going to do it again. I've never really made my peace with it.

Seventeen, Levi. Really? Sarah would keep her oldest daughter's pregnancy a secret while on a national campaign? No one would ask where the teenager was hiding out? Or why a woman with five kids who had supposedly just birthed the last one that would need intensive intervention for a long time, would suddenly adopt another baby? For no good reason? Really? The rumors wouldn't have gotten the best of you all just as they did in real life and send a national press corp to discover the truth? Really?

Then how come Kathy Griffin said sixteen? How come sources in Wasilla say sixteen. How come nothing, absolutely NOTHING in this entire story adds up? How many puzzle pieces can there be that don't fit into a wedge created by the piece next to it?

So, any bets on what will be in Levi's book? He's sort of damned if he does, damned if he doesn't. Tell all. Tell nothing. It either won't be enough information, or the right information for just about everyone.

So who can Levi please? Did he write it to set the record straight for the child widely believed to be his?

Or does he forever regret sending that shot across Sarah's bow in the VF article?

Will he only spill as much as will make him money? Who's to say. Whatever it is, I hope his "ghost" does him proud, cleans up his grammar, and provides the perfect story arc and character development that will make readers applaud the book and encourage others to buy it.

Meantime, Levi's sister, Mercede, has gone for broke. Buck naked with new boobs...and she looks fabulous!!!

Gryphen has the first link to a page with some of the Playboy photos toward the bottom of his post. And at first glance, Mercede is a gorgeous girl with, I hope, a bright future ahead of her. She's got guts and stamina and I'd take her word any day over that pack of lies from the misfits to the north who squatted on her life.

Now, I know this might sound sexist, and I know the economy is shot to hell right now. But I'd like just one investment banker, or attorney, or software developer to take this girl out to dinner. I'm talking a man with money (or woman if that's what she's into). Someone Sadie can bedazzle with those blue eyes and that perfect skin. Someone who will help lift this girl out of the mess created by everyone around her and give her a chance. And I say this because I've seen it happen to others. And it could change her life far faster than four years of education will. At least for now. (Damn I wish I had Kathy G. on speed dial.)

So, I say fly, Sadie fly. (and I mean that literally: Jet Blue is adding 1,900 new jobs in the next year!!) Take those photos and work it girl. Go for the gusto and grab the brass ring and all the other cliches that apply. And if there's an investment banker out there reading this: take the girl to dinner for god's sake!

Sadie is beautiful and her brother is damned, no matter what he does. That's my two cents.

156 Comments

lilly lily

8/10/2011 05:25:04

I think Mercede has already thought this one out. She was doing that with her interviews and with her blog. No one big enough bit.

If I were a man I wouldn't buy into this. He'll be taking on Sherri as well with her history.

She'll have plenty of offers and if she is smart she will go for someone who suits her. You can take the girl out of Wasilla but you can't take Wasilla out of the girl.

Sarah and Bristol prove that little bit of hoopla.

I think she is looking for an offer on T.V. Like Batchelerette. I don't watch T.V., but isn't there something out there in T.V. land that would fit her like the right sized glove?

I doubt she wants to be a trophy, but wants to make dollars on her own steam.

Marriage after all isn't everything for a girl.

Trouble is people seem to have made up their minds about her already. And she arouses loads of animosity as well as support if the comments are accurate as to peoples reactions.

I haven't looked at the pictures, because somewhere along the line I decided she and Bristol are two of a kind locked in mortal combat with battling ego's over Levi among other things.

She will do well as she is gutsy enough, and men do like a nicely turned figure and pretty face.

lilly lily

8/10/2011 05:26:44

LOL.

You should have called this thread. "The Beautiful and the Damned", like an old Lana Turner, Kirk Douglas movie from the 50's.

lilly lily

8/10/2011 05:29:18

Oh, sorry.

So you did called it the Beautiful and the Damned.

Almost time for a happy hour Sangria and beer battered fish at my favorite fish restaurant.

I need sustanence and brain food, my brain isn't functioning. LOL.

Freddy el Desfibradddor

8/10/2011 05:29:23

You write: "I hope his "ghost" does him proud, cleans up his grammar, and provides the perfect story arc and character development that will make readers applaud the book and encourage others to buy it." The ghost writer has a challenging task because, like all fiction, the story has to be plausible. That will be doubly hard here. I don't think Levi's book will tell the whole truth as he knows it - how could it?

And speaking of story arcs, the idea that Mercede would be saved by becoming the wife of an investment banker, or lawyer, or software developer - maybe. But she loves her brother, and her mother, and they have issues, to put it mildly. That it would be a waste of her time to go to college and accumulate a lot of debt - you may well be right on that. Were I her friend, I would warn her that posing for Playboy gives her entry into a demimonde that she would be better advised to stay out of - but I could be wrong. As the saying goes, compared to what?

Melly

8/10/2011 05:36:25

Laura!! Why does a man have to save Mercede!?! How do we even know she's hetero? I think a better-educated guy, who would have to be older to have the careers/education you describe, is maybe the worst possible option for her. She needs to save herself, with her brain, not her body, and that brain needs to get educated or the body/body image/sexuality will not serve her at all.

Virginia Voter

8/10/2011 05:47:15

I am home with a sinus infection today, and just caught the author of Mercede's Playboy piece, George Gurley, on MSNBC.

He vouches for Sadie, and was very impressed with her...claimed she was genuine, social, and knows Wasilla and it's culture well. He gave legitimacy to Sadies claims re Bristol, and said he made more friends in Wasilla in 9 days, than he has in two years in Brooklyn.

As far as that adoption story, I always felt this was Levis way of explaining what happened with Trig...I hope he tells all in his book.

Laura Novak link

8/10/2011 05:49:36

Melly, We don't know if she's hetero (other than her talking about boyfriends in the past.) That's why I was clear about saying "or woman". My sentence is in there.

This is my wish for her. My personal wish. She needs a leg up in life and I think this could be the ticket for her. Leverage it's called. And I hope she uses it to move herself forward.

And I'm not saying that she won't use her brain or her own guts to keep going in life. But what I'd wish for her is "entree" into the world. And this is one way to do it. Formal education isn't for everyone. Or, as a doctor I know, who was once a cab driver, might put it, it's not for everyone right away.

lilly lily

8/10/2011 05:49:42

Mercede is a bit like Rebecka or Becky Sharp? in W.M. Thackery's "Vanity Fair".

The times aren't as limiting for women as they were in Becky's day. So Mercede does have a lot of options.

Getting her married off doesn't make sense to me. She has loads of living to do, and she is only 20.

I also think the Playgirl world is sleezy, and the grotto? Ugh. Hefner major ICK.

Next she'll get a million dollar offer for PORN. They all do, from Octomom to Palin.

Mercede has loads of baggage, emotional and otherwise to contend with. She needs to be careful.

8/10/2011 05:50:43

@Melly--I agree with you. Mercede needs to save herself. I think that she is trying. Hopefully the cash from Playboy will help her on her journey.

Melly

8/10/2011 05:56:59

Sorry, my eyes crossed when I saw the man stuff and I missed the woman option. I do agree she needs a mentor. But not a lover or a commitment to anyone else but herself and her family right now.

lilly lily

8/10/2011 06:08:26

I think Mercede doesn't really know as much about the Palin's as she pretends.

If she did, she would have aced Sarah.

She says the same things over and over as if they were new.

It is Levi who is the key. If he tells the truth. He does know enough to scuttle Sarah Palin, but he is a bit of a dunce who trusted the wrong lawyer.

A nice enough kid, but with a load of growing up to do. (Maturing is the word.)

Ditto, Bristol.

Mercede will take care of herself, I have no doubt that she can swim with the sharks.

lilly lily

8/10/2011 06:27:16

I really think Mercede doesn't need any of my help.

She knows how to work a room and make men and woman want to help her and protect her from big bad Palins. They are real villains, but Mercede isn't a maiden in distress.

Mercede has Gryphen and the photographer helping her out. Can't think of his name. Zachy or something like that.

Mercede worked her blog to her advantage. A load of supporters for very scripted, edited and shaped blog. More so than Shaily Tripp.

With Gryphen and the photographers help and editing.

I think the writer who assisted her at playboy in framing her thoughts in the article has helped her.

A hard luck story and a pretty woman. Who can resist?

She'll get by.

I don't feel protective of Mercede or of any of this cast of characters. I'm afraid that is what they are to me. Characters in a morality play, with no one really moral.

DiAnne link

8/10/2011 06:31:41

I'm an old Trig Truther and I wrote on my blog about some things that don't quite feel right regarding the age thing...16 or 17. Check out the YouTube vids in my article called "Lie To Me." Here is the link: http://calf-rope.blogspot.com/2011/06/lie-to-me.html

Laura Novak link

8/10/2011 06:36:27

Look, I'm not talking about love, marriage and a baby carriage. That's getting way ahead of what I said.

I'm talking about this girl getting exposure of the social kind for probably the first time in her life. And she IS a more sympathetic character to me than Bristol, for example. If this were a movie, Sadie is who I'd be rooting for.

I'm talking about her meeting people, making contacts, reaching out beyond her hometown. Someone knows someone who is looking for an assistant. They make a call for Sadie. Or whatever. That's all I'm saying.

I'm NOT talking about her sleeping her way to the mezzanine at the PB mansion. Not at all.

I'm saying that I'd like to see someone give this kid a break. In the same way that Kathy G. tried to give Levi a break.

I don't sense anyone else in her life has, other than, you're right, Lilly, Gryphen.

Everyone needs a hand up once in a while. And my money is on her to break out of that mess and make a go of it. Using everything she has to her advantage.

That's all I'm saying.

lilly lily

8/10/2011 06:52:46

I guess I feel loathing for the Palins, and a bit of distaste for the Johnstons.

Of all the people, I thought the Hanson family as the most decent, with Britta working to make a life for herself and Track who is a troubled young man.

The Johnstons are a bit of a mess.

I guess I pegged Mercede years ago as a bit of a self justifying mean girl locked in a ego squabble with a meaner girl, Bristol.

The two of them will be squabbling 50 years from now.

Janice Soderquist

8/10/2011 06:59:17

Maybe Mercedes is doing the talking for Levi so he won't get into trouble with the courts blabbing about Tripps mother. Maybe Mercedes and Levi are working together to get all this out and Levi is staying in the background We will see when his book comes out if the Mercedes statements in Playboy are different than what is in Levi's book. Levi needs to call Gloria Aldred. His attorney is doing nothing for him.

Janice Soderquist

8/10/2011 07:04:09

Is there any birth announcement from the hospital on Track's new daughter or Bristols baby? Is Alaska the only state that does not publish births in the papers?
Who delivered Bristol and Tracks babies?
Who was at the hospital when Tracks baby was born? I have never seen a family who does not take pictures of the birth of their children in the hospital. Does anyone even know where Bristol and Tracks babies were born, let alone doctors or hospitals?

daisydem

8/10/2011 07:08:22

Laura, Laura, Laura ... in all the years I have been on these blogs following Babygate, hoping and praying that the story would break on the national scene, looking at picture, after picture, after picture ... I have never seen this one either. Never. Now put it together with the one on the same stage, same night - did it come before this one or after in the sequence ... of Sarah's hand on Levi's cheek ... what is the story? There is a story in those pictures, I know there is. I can see it, feel it; I just don't know the details (I can't hear it).

Janice Soderquist

8/10/2011 07:12:49

The Palin girls love to wear scarves around their necks, even in hot weather. I noticed that Britta carried her flowers at her waist in the pre wedding photo.
Where is Willow. Is Britta covering or her and this new baby is really Willows? When will Willow finally come out into the public. Why did Sarah take her out of school? I am confused as to no one in Wasilla, classmates, etc; asking questions.

Beaglemom

8/10/2011 07:15:23

I still think education and a realistic attitude toward the future is what all of these young people need. Assuming a future on television, in the movies or on the runway because their names have been bandied about by the tabloid press and the E! network is just plain unrealistic. Too many people have assumed that they can join the talentless Kardashians and just get rich and then richer on very unreal reality tv programs.

It was sad that Levi, his sister and Bristol (via Playboy and DWTS respectively) decided that the best way to fame and fortune was exploiting their bodies. This makes a pathetic statement about the values in our country.

Some hardscrabble work along with education or job training would be preferable for all of them. What are their parents thinking!

daisydem

8/10/2011 07:17:20

And one more thing ... my hubby used to take Playboy magazine (for the articles of course, snicker, snicker) and whatever else one might think of Playboy, it has been around forever and a day now, and Hefner is a very smart businessman (with smarter business people working for him) and I don't think they would dare publish anything that is untrue. Even though they could probably afford beaucoup lawsuits, they just would not ... I imagine when it comes to business they are all class.

lilly lily

8/10/2011 07:23:49

Remember the gun under the bed that she wanted Levi to help her learn how to....

I think Sarah likes to have men jump, and Levi didn't jump to attention like the older men did. Something happened between those two, possibly not sexual possibly, but a power play on her part.

Jump Levi, through my hoop.

And Mercede and Bristol slept with the same boys, from Johnny Chandler on.. These girls know each other and what they have been up to. They are not sweetly naive teens. They jumped into it enthusiastically.

La Ronde... Roundeabout.. The worldly are always there, even in Wasilla. Seduction is old and the game of sex is always being played.

Viola-Alex

8/10/2011 07:25:57

great comment, daisydem. Definitely a moment of some tenderness on that stage, and yep, it reminded me too of Sarah cupping Levi's face. Wonder if it's that ill-fated moment, when all feel that a crisis has been averted (an agreement to give Trig up to Sarah?) BEFORE the storm returns, bigger than ever.

Or was Sarah just a damn good actor? for the fundies, pretending to welcome Levi into the family.

--

Great post, on your blog, DiAnne. But will you please explain to me the significance of the ages. I can't keep the years straight, and frankly, my teenage years are all a blurr. I think in "years" (soph, freshman, sr etc) not ages.

daisydem

8/10/2011 07:59:08

If pictures could talk ... or maybe "a picture is worth a thousand words."

lilly lily

8/10/2011 08:04:27

Mercede is playing her cards well enough with Gryphen kibitzing. How she plays them is not my concern. She is a minor character who has done a fair amount of hinting and relaying gossip that is Wasilla gossip. Not a true insider.

Perhaps I am wrong in judging her position vis a vie her rivalry with Bristol. Mercede started the war there and it never stopped, only escalates.

If she helps bring Sarah Palin down, it will be accidental. Would be nice, but she would have to have proofs, just as Shaily needs proofs. Levi said he had proof, but said it was something that Sarah didn't do, whatever that means.

Kathy Griffith? knows, griffen, griffith.. All those g's, Gifford, Gryphen, Griffith.

Levi did not tell Mercede things. So she is out of the loop on a lot. She knows the gossip in Town. He is close mouthed, and Mercede admits that much.

She is like many people who pretend to know more than they really know.

She would have sold her knowledge by now to the highest bidder.

Sarah Palin wouldn't dare do anything to Mercede except fulminate and gnash her teeth and call her a whore.

Dis Gusted

8/10/2011 08:13:14

Does anyone even know where Bristol and Tracks babies were born, let alone doctors or hospitals?

***

guessing that Willow delivered in NY.

lilly lily

8/10/2011 08:29:40

Sarah is on her way to the Iowa State Fair?

Looks like she wants to spoil Rick Perry's big day.

I notice Huffington post didn't put any new articles about Palin up for 5 days. My word, she IS slipping.

Going to a local park and watch Captain Jack Sparrow in the first two and the best Pirates of the Caribbean on the big screen on a lovely August Evening with the leonide meteor showers overhead.

. A lot more fun than Sarah and Mercede and the squabbling Palin and Johnston family. A blip, a tempest in a teapot.

Leona

8/10/2011 08:37:00

I'm not entirely on topic here, but I have been giving this a lot of thought.
Ruffles: how on earth did his ears get so malformed?
Possible answer: his mom, Bristol, took something that had an iatrogenic effect.
What might she have taken?: Accutane, maybe, if she had acne. Accutane can produce devastating birth defects depending on when, during gestation, it is taken. I would not put it past Sarah Palin to get Accutane for her daughter even if Bristol had only a mild case of acne. Nowadays it is pretty much impossible for a girl or young woman to get a prescription for Accutane because of the possibility of birth defects, but I do believe Sarah Palin could do it.
What happened to Ruffles?: THIS is the question to which none of us has an answer. I think he/she either died or was secretly adopted away from the Palin family.

8/10/2011 08:48:08

I remember Sadie on TV, looking sophisticated in a turtleneck sweater and with non-bleached hair, actually reminding me of a young Ann-Margret, and telling Larry King that she wanted to become a surgeon.

While that sounded like a long shot for a high school grad not known for academics (remember "nefu?"), I was really pleased that she had ambitions and stage presence, and I had hopes for her success in life away from Wasilla.

I still wish her the best, but I fear going the Playboy route was a short-term cop-out for easy money and fleeting fame unless she pairs it with further education and work not based on her body.

Have we really "come a long way, Baby" from Sarah's time, when beauty pageants offered women the best opportunities for scholarships, if girls like Sadie get their best offers for posing nude? I know a single mom with three kids who traded two part-time day jobs to dress skimpily and wait tables at a strip club, where in fewer hours she could both make more money and spend more time with her kids. I find that sad.

frazier

8/10/2011 08:54:44

Sorry Laura. You've lost my vote on this one (but this is America and differing thoughts are ok). I would never tell my two teenaged daughters that one way to get ahead is to take your clothes off for a magazine. (And yes, they are beautiful girls.)What I do tell them is to get a good education and learn how to get along with people. The whole culture of having all your junk out there for the world to see baffles me. There is a word for it -- Fame Ho. Ho is right.

Ottoline

8/10/2011 08:57:24

I too am a long-time PalinHoax watcher and I have never seen this photo before. I'm sure I would have remembered it.

Ottoline

8/10/2011 08:59:28

Laura -- What do you mean "cluster of photos"? I see only one here.

Laura Novak link

8/10/2011 09:10:31

Ottoline,

What I mean by that is the series of photos of them on the stage. The one with Sarah cupping Levi's face. No need to display them again. They are all we've seen all these years. This one is new. It is obviously of that series/cluster/family of photos. Only this angle is unique. How fun that someone caught that expression on Levi's face. I swear it looks like he's whispering to her!

ruffles hunter

8/10/2011 09:38:11

let me get this straight.

the baby in this picture is;

A) 4 1/2 months old,

B) was 2 months premature,

C) weighed about 6 lbs when born then obviously lost weight according to the official palin pictures of trig with sally in the hospital then a few days later in the office and at the shower,

D) was born with downs syndrome which means slower than normal growth,

E) was born with a heart defect,

F) was born with a ruffled ear that experts agree would not fix itself nor be surgically fixed before 4 or 5 years of age.

and we are to believe this chunky, maybe 15 lbs or more boy, with a perfect ear, holding his head up at 4 1/2 months old, is THAT baby?

she must have been feeding him magic moose milk that makes down's syndrome preemies gain weight super fast, fixes heart defects, and unruffles ears, which the world's best surgeons cant even do.

WHERE IS RUFFLES??????????

Lidia17

8/10/2011 09:57:51

Laura, wow, this is pretty depressing. Merecede is supposed to whore herself out to an even greater extent, and Levi is supposed to have someone clean up his story and provide the perfect arc!?

What happened to plain honesty and the truth? I'm a really cynical person, but this is cynical even to me.

Whatever happens, for Levi it seems too late, as his book is already a done deal, apparently.

crystalwolfakacaligrl

8/10/2011 09:58:55

I think alot of people are mis-construing the "victims" here.
The Johnston family are the victims of the Paylin terrorist grifters from hell.
Lest any of you forget Sherry was most likely set up by the Paylins.
http://goo.gl/zwSnm
But The grifter of wasilly is whining to the NE that Mercede is a "Trash talking whore" this from the woman who is the Queen Trash talking whore. Bristol writhed on the stage getting dry-humped by Mark Ballas. Track vandalized buses and was a oxy-addict. Willard also vandalized houses.
Sarah always gets HER kids out of trouble.
The nerve of some of you judging Mercede for being a playboy model? Mercede is a beautiful young woman with a great personality, and I hope something good comes of this.
Shame on you people judging the Johnstons and making the Paylins look like victims. Your all bots.
Shall we talk about the Crash of Curtis Menard?
Tragic...there was water in his gas tank.
Shall we talk how all the girls got off in the Morlock house vandalism, only the boyz got in trouble? And yes sex & drugs were involved too.
Shall we talk about how the grifter still uses State resources to put DOS attacks on blogs she doesn't like?
Or how shadow PAC's pop up where she speaks then disappear.
Or how she pulled off a faked Pregnancy and paraded her prop all over the country until he wasn't cute enough anymore, and hell we don't even know where he is or if he is even ALIVE?
But no, your all so sanctimonious just continue to dump on Mercede & Levi and give the grifter family a pass...
How do y'all sleep at night?
No...she has had the Johnston family in her crosshairs, for quite some time.
But Mercede is spunky and won't Sit down and shut up.

Ottoline

8/10/2011 09:59:21

Laura I love that you are sending positive thoughts toward Mercede, but like some other commenters I would steer her away from any financial good luck that emerges out of sexuality.

My view is that a woman is secure only with her own money, her own earning power. My advice is get a job, put yourself through school, and when you have done that you will know SO MUCH MORE. And possibly be employable at a better level of interest and money.

I know you didn't say "marriage," Laura, but it's all a continuum. And if we look at women who have married for money, we see that they often get a bad deal. Let's take Jackie-O: She should have gotten the traditional Greek "widow's share" (50%? 25%?) but instead Onassis wanted her to have zip. In the end, she got $20M (plus $8M to pay the taxes on it), which might sound like a lot to a lowly peon like me, but it doesn't compare well to the $250M - $500M she should have gotten. Men who are married for money are notoriously cheap in the end. Yes there are exceptions. But even someone as razor-smart as Jackie could not get her fair share.

So I say to Mercede: figure out a way to earn your own way and keep relationships out of that. Sure, a good network and helping hands, but don't take money.

Jane in NC

8/10/2011 10:00:27

I don't see much difference between Mercede and Levi posing nude and Sarah's come hither Newsweek spread and Bristol's dry humping on DWTS. When you think about it, the difference is a few millimeters of cloth. And neither Sarah nor Bristol have the beauty or the bodies to qualify. You make the most of what you have. However, in Bristol's case, I still haven't figured out what she has,

Lidia17

8/10/2011 10:04:41

P.S. Why didn't you mention Mercede's apparently expressed desire to become an MD? Perhaps that is not entirely realistic, but there are plenty of human and animal health professions that could use serious trainees.

Investment bankers, attorneys and software developers are EXTRACTORS. They contribute nothing to society. So what if they might be rich? Their gains are largely ill-gotten. Why would you wish such a crass, conventionally-"acceptable" hook-up upon ANYone!?!? Does Mercede just need a ginormous SUV to rival Bristol's—a nanny for her future offspring—a sugar daddy and that's that?

Yuck.

anonfornow

8/10/2011 10:05:30

I've never seen this photo either, Laura. Wonder where the Christianist mom found it? I'd love to know if it's before or after the hand on the cheek photo.

The VF "Me and Mrs. Palin" article--both the title and the gun under the bed part--has always suggested to me that something was going on between Levi and Sarah, that she either tried or succeeded in seducing him. Levi denied it, of course. But then, he also claimed he was at the hospital when Sarah birthed Trig. So while I think he is a fairly honest person, he isn't honest about everything. He's also not the sharpest blade in the toolshed.

My take on the Johnstons is that Mercede is a nice but also not very bright girl who is absolutely clueless when it comes to dealing with sociopaths like Sarah and Bristol. She has bent over backwards to play by their rules in order to see her nephew, yet it's taken her two and a half years to realize that nothing will ever satisfy those vindictive bitches.

Levi, I think, has kept much from his mother and sister. So Mercede knows a lot, but not everything. I don't think she knows the truth about Trig. She may not even know for certain when Tripp was actually born, since there seems to have been something weird going on there.

Ironically, Sarah's nasty "She'll never see Tripp again!" reaction to the interview is bound to sit badly with some people. One by one, she is losing her supporters.

Lidia17

8/10/2011 10:10:07

@Viola-Alex, I have probably said this about ten times before, in various places, but my take on Sarah's caress of Levi's face was that it was an AGRESSIVE gesture borne of DOMINANCE.

"I'll get you, my pretty… and your little whore Bristol, too."

"Don't fuck with me."

"I have your future and your balls in my hand right now and you know it."

daisydem

8/10/2011 10:23:06

Re: Laura's comment above in response to Ottoline: he is either whispering something to her or kissing her. His face is too close to not be doing one or the other. It is the hand on the back though that strikes me as ... I don't know, uh, intimate? Something more than an awkward teen boyfriend whose girlfriend's pregnancy has just been announced nationally and he is reported to be planning to marry her ... and well, you all know what story we were given. They were either very, very good at acting all happy and family-like or there is more to the story than we even can imagine and personally I think it is the latter.

Lidia17

8/10/2011 10:27:44

I've seen the featured picture before many times: I've always focused on the baby's face, then on Bristol, ignoring Sarah and Levi, frankly. I don't know what may have passed between them at that moment.

Could have been important, could have been banal…

??

Viola-Alex

8/10/2011 10:28:34

Question: will someone explain the significance of the 16 yrs old vs 18 yrs old slip up(s)My brain is old and tired.

17 yrs = Tripp pregnancy
18 yrs = Tripp born
16 yrs = Bristol loses virginity

Was 16 yrs the green sweater photo? And the Christmas photo? In BP's bio, she moves to Juneau high school Jan 07 (16) Goes home for the summer, then to Anchorage H.S. in the fall, for her junior year. (17) She says she had sex with Levi for 3 years starting Spring 2006 (15).

daisydem

8/10/2011 10:29:56

http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRYGiKtFwF_PSDPNwAdpHdZwMGF2fD2wrvuXF58I250S9uZw1nJ

This image with the one posted here!

Ottoline

8/10/2011 10:34:22

Thx, Laura. Yes, it's quite a photo. The hand on the back, too.

nswfm

8/10/2011 11:08:42

Laura, seriously?

You live in Berkeley, where I got my undergraduate degree, and are advocating some rich guy to do some Cinderella fantasy thing? Wouldn't that make her some kind of a whore?

Like this kid can't make something of herself without having to have a man rescue her?

Why does she have to accumulate a lot of debt to go to college? I had 8 scholarships and left Cal with twice as much money as when I went in, 4 years earlier. I worked during the summers and saved, and worked part time during the middle two years of school. When I got my graduate degree (I was accepted to UCLA, Columbia and NYU), the company I worked for paid for the MBA degree, which I earned going to school full time and working full time, so again no debt. I've started up companies that have been acquired, raised capital for them and am self employed now doing the same with a company right now.

I have my own big boobs and didn't need to buy any. Or have a guy bail me out, either. Who needs a man to rescue a smart young woman with a backbone? She can make it on her own, just get the hell out of Wasilla, that one moose town.

Palinoia

8/10/2011 11:13:31

V-A,

I believe the slip up had to do with being 17 / pregnant vs. 16 / pregnant & that equate to Tripp pregnancy vs. Trig pregnancy.

Palinoia

8/10/2011 11:14:10

Just posted by Shailey at Blade's blog:

shaytripp [Moderator] 33 minutes ago
I have not had a chance to read the comments but I did read the post. I know my credibility with a lot of people is in question. I examined the forms and I can say this: Sarah Palin was in Anchorage on March 4, 2008 getting services from a spa and one of those services was a massage. Those forms would have been used in that office. Some of those forms would have been used by the staff of the spa and one of the forms would have been used by the staff of the chiropractor. That is all I can say at this time about this subject. Blade you have my support on this and hopefully I will say more on this soon. Shaytripp

Ottoline

8/10/2011 11:26:17

I've posted this before, but the title "Me and Mrs Palin" as well as the title of a British tabloid piece (I have forgotten the details) both allude to an older person having affair with an inappropriate younger person. I would expect the literary folks at VF to know that in titleing their piece, and ditto for the British rag, which echoes the title of the Noel Coward song "Mad about the Boy." Not sure what if anything that means: a cheap shot? a hint for the careful observer? a wannabe innuendo that has no basis? Eventually we will know. But that photo made me think about that again.

Laura Novak link

8/10/2011 11:33:39

Let me repeat my own words carefully for those who have gone from zero to sixty:

"take this girl out to dinner."

That's not as hyperbolic as "a rich guy doing a Cinderella fantasy number on her." I don't believe I said that. In fact, I'm SURE I didn't say that.

Everyone has different ways they can accomplish things in life. There is posing for PB and there is posing for PB and then parlaying it into opportunities.

That is what I said and that is what I am saying.

And I'll say it again, because it is MY opinion:

I hope someone with money and connections takes this girl out to dinner. Introduces her to someone who can give her an opportunity in life. Teaches her how things work in the business world.

I didn't say squat about anyone rescuing her or bailing her out or turning her into a whore.

I find that kind of hyperbole incredibly annoying.

In fact, I'm certain I suggested that Sadie look into Jet Blue because it's hiring 1,900 people.

The other jk

8/10/2011 11:36:31

im not a prude and I think Mercede had every right to pose in playboy. She's an adult (and a feisty, strong-willed one who's been taking care of her mother these past few years). And, maybe Gryphen is right that this is the only way for Mercede to get her

the other jk

8/10/2011 11:39:03

Cont. (sorry )
...to get her Palin story out there. Unfortunately, it also sets Mercede up for criticism and ridicule.

Still, I'd say Mercede is the toughest one in this whole saga.

Janice Soderquist

8/10/2011 11:43:25

OT... Does anyone find it odd that Britta and Track had their so called wedding picture taken three months before she delivered? Why not do it when they found out when she got pregnant? Why did they wait so long? Do you think they had to wait for Willow to have her baby? Do you think the baby is Willows? Will we see Willow appearing now a little fatter? Where is Willow living now. Will she live with Track and Britta?

Ottoline

8/10/2011 11:47:13

Laura, I think our overreacting to your dinner advice is not related to you or that nice advice but to the situation. We all know young women in Wasilla have limited options, and we also know that it's quite the sexually active community. Posing for PB is not something every gorgeous young woman would do, but who are we to judge M's very difficult circumstances. I do not. I guess we all want the best for M, and we are each pushing our best advice (overall, not just re your dinner advice) to her, based on what worked and didn't for ourselves.

Lidia17

8/10/2011 11:54:04

"I hope someone with money and connections takes this girl out to dinner. Introduces her to someone who can give her an opportunity in life. Teaches her how things work in the business world."

Laura, why do you wish that? I certainly don't mean to browbeat you but… no one "took me to dinner" or "taught me how things work in the business world" the way you paint things. I figured it out on my own.

I had a small nest egg (probably less than Ms. Johnston will take away from her nude shots) and then I made my own way and started up my own business.

My limited success didn't come out of my having "gone out to dinner" with anyone.

The fact that anyone's careers might be made by "going out to dinner" is fairly heinous in my view. The fact that women's careers should naturally and casually be so is worse. YMMV.

Janice Soderquist

8/10/2011 11:55:42

Mercedes said that the Palins pressured Levi and Bristol into letting them adopt Tripp. Do you suppose Bristol had Trigg too and since he had Downs, she agreed to let the Palins adopt him?

Palinoia

8/10/2011 11:58:15

I don't comment too often - but still follow most of the blogs. Laura, I really like your blog, and feel badly that you have taken a bit of grief today in the comments re: Mercede and dinner with a man (or woman), etc.

I find your take refreshing, because sometimes I tire of reading about "education, education, education" from most of the readers. I'm not anti-education at all, but agree with your statement earlier in the thread:

"And I'm not saying that she won't use her brain or her own guts to keep going in life. But what I'd wish for her is "entree" into the world. And this is one way to do it. Formal education isn't for everyone. Or, as a doctor I know, who was once a cab driver, might put it, it's not for everyone right away."

Not everyone has their act together at 20, or even 25 to know what they want to do with the rest of their life. Help from others, whether it is via networking (dinner with a man! GASP!) or having others see one's potential is all I think you really meant by your comments. I agree with you wholeheartedly.

The very fact that Mercede has the CHOICE to pose in PB or go to college, or stay at home to help her mom is what is most important. There is also a HUGE difference between the volunteerism of others to help someone (and them accepting said help), than the polar opposite, which is someone like SP who manipulates others and fraudulently makes her way through life at the expense of everyone else.

Ottoline

8/10/2011 12:00:44

The JetBlue website posts only 60 jobs at present. Maybe some of those are multiple hires for the same posting, but it doesn't sound like 1900 to me. Link?

Cracklin Charlie

8/10/2011 12:11:44

V-A,

My take on the age slip-up goes like this:

Age 16 Trig Pregnancy
Age 17 Tripp Pregnancy

The photo above says to me that Sarah and Levi had become somewhat close, but not romantic, because Levi had been living with his children at the Palin home for months by this point.

TksABunchJohn link

8/10/2011 12:21:27

Lidia17: I've seen this pic before as well, and just like you I was charmed by that adorable baby, so much so that I completely missed the intimacy being exchanged between Levi and the witch. It strikes me as odd, after watching his interviews and his guesting on Kathy Griffin's show, he seems shy, almost awkward. This looks like they were pretty cozy to me.

comeonpeople

8/10/2011 12:24:06

Education is the only thing can might be able to save any of these pathetic cast of characters. Lack of education and living in the insulated twilight zonw that is Wasillia got them into this mess. Education would get them out of it. If Levi ir Mercede had any critical thinking skills it would seem they could figure the hoax out for dogs sake.
I am growing bored of the Mercede Bristol saga. Who really gives a shit? It is not worthy of our intelligence.
I cannot wait for the day this is over and people are ashamed that Palin was given any sort of national platform.
Enough already.

TksABunchJohn

8/10/2011 12:27:10

Ottoman: Don't forget the song: Me and Mrs. Jones, sung by the great Marvin Gaye. It's about a young man having an affair with an older, married woman.

That gun under the bed... teach me, I teach you.

Laura Novak link

8/10/2011 12:29:33

There is no link for 1,900 jobs open for Jet Blue right now!!!!!!! That is what an insider in the company has told me they plan to hire in the next year.

There is no link to verify this right now and to try to find that, as if it would change this argument, is to miss my greater point.

Yes, Lidia. I hope someone takes the girl out to dinner. I really do.

Lidia17

8/10/2011 12:38:47

"Yes, Lidia. I hope someone takes the girl out to dinner. I really do. "

As a New Englander, this seems to me as though it must be some kind of West Coast thing…

If that girl is "taken out to dinner" she will own her soul to whomever picks up the check. Hasn't this tawdry scenario played itself out enough over the centuries??

8/10/2011 12:47:33

This photo reinforces the image of Levi as someone comfortable with physical expressions of affection. The way his arm rests on Sarah's back is consistent with his demeanor in both the newborn Trig and newborn Tripp photos. I think that is just his nature.

Sarah's cupping of his face is out of character for her, a woman who doesn't cuddle her own baby. If she grew up with parents who didn't offer that kind of affection, maybe she found it attractive enough to reciprocate a little. I haven't seen her exhibit genuine physical affection for anyone, though I surely haven't seen as many Palin photos as others in my 3 years down this rabbit hole.

Mercede may not need a Prince Charming, but she's surely benefit from developing a relationship with a mentor.

TksABunchJohn link

8/10/2011 12:54:13

Laura, I did a double take when you suggested the dinner, but grasped your intent quickly. When I was a younger, prettier version, living newly divorced 1000's of miles from family, I went out to dinner with a wonderful man who is now a Vice President of a huge world-wide company. He became a mentor, helped me find a great position in the company, and basically became my best friend and family in that state - without benefits. My mother adores him, as do I.

Super Marketing

8/10/2011 13:02:32

Considering how difficult it's been to get the MSM to cover the truth about Sarah Palin ... ?

Mercede's Playboy pictorial is SHEER GENIUS !

With all due respect, Laura, the notion that she be rewarded by some wealthy gentleman lifting her out of the muck and mire of Wasilla is not just an example of antiquated sexism.

It's also a vast under-valuation of Mercede's intelligence, courage and moxie, not to mention her staunch commitment to her family.

By exposing her naked body to Playboy's readership, the accompanying interview exposes the truth of Palin's perfidy, criminality and insanity to a very crucial core demographic of Palin supporters: adult males who would vote for her simply because they think she's "hot" (otherwise known as GWTWTD's -- "Guys Who Think With Their etceteras -- apparently a frighteningly large segment of the population).

Consider Alternet's article from 2009 called "Sarah Palin and the Rise of the Playboy Electorate?" the subhead of which reads: "More men than women believed Palin was qualified to be president. Understanding why will be important in future elections."

http://tinyurl.com/byp4jo

Mercede apparently strategized that by taking off her clothes, she could put the truth about Palin directly into the hands (or, at least, ONE hand) of millions of key Palin supporters.

In other words, Mercede hasn't just gone to bat for the anti-Palin team, she hasn't just hit a home run ... she's knocked one out of the ballpark and struck the bullseye of her intended target.

Brava, Mercede ! (Or whatever one is supposed to yell at a ballgame.)

As for what it may cost her ?

Only Mercede can say, but IMHO her strategy required sacrificing far more than just her clothes -- more even than her modesty, privacy and reputation.

I mean, who knows more than Mercede what it's like to be on the receiving end of Sarah Palin's obsession with wreaking vengeful havoc on those she thinks have crossed her ?

The fact that Mercede went ahead with her Playboy pictorial after the terrible toll scary Sarah's scorched-earth vengeance has aleady taken on the Johnston family is nothing less than jaw-droppingly heroic.

Look at all the evil lies and public humiliation Palin has heaped on Levi.

Even worse, look at the living hell Mercede's mother, Sherry, has been forced to endure after being SENT TO PRISON for selling a handful of Oxycontin pills.

Such a harsh sentence for a first-time offender ? Such a small quantity of pills ? Add the fact that the undercover cop who repeatedly approached Sherry to buy drugs did so by calling the cellphone Sherry had purchased for Bristol but Bristol later returned to her, and ... well, let's just say that the whole thing reeks of getting slapped by the very long but very covert arm of a certain someone seeking revenge. (Details of Sherry's saga at Immoral Minority: http://tinyurl.com/3k4eda5 )

Was Mercede likewise motivated by a desire for revenge ? Maybe, but I prefer to believe that was overshadowed by recognizing the far greater benefit her actions might bring to America: putting a long-overdue end to Palin's screechy, self-serving, power-mad crusade to influence American politics.

So who else -- male or female -- has ever exposed their naked body for a better cause or at greater risk ?

Rather than some fantasy rescue by a rich guy, I think that -- aside from the limitless gratitude, admiration and support of the anti-Palin community -- Mercede Johnston deserves a medal for valorous service and courage under fire. (And based on what her tasteful pictorial shows and what it does not, it could be called the "Croix de Legs.")

Whether the "Playboy plan" ultimately succeeds in bringing down Sarah the Serpent or not, Mercede is a far more heroic patriot than Palin could ever even dream of being.

8/10/2011 13:11:43

@Laura & Ottoline. Yes, I am not criticizing Laura's hope that someone will help Sadie make useful connections. I am projecting my own fantasy that she can take control of her future either without the help of a rich guy with connections or with using those connections to find a way to support herself that isn't body-based.

As for this picture, notice that Bristol's sofa bolster bustline is not as dramatic when she is standing as when she was sitting. I suspect whoever picked that dress saw her standing, not sitting. Also notice she wore drab gray and seems to have worn no makeup to add color to her face. Yet another night she was wearing the black dress which fit her and makeup and looked beautiful, not drained, in the Madonna and child photo. The Republican handlers did not want her to look great the night she took the stage, perhaps because that might glamorize unwed teen pregnancy.

Ottoline

8/10/2011 13:15:44

I usually pay attention to caps and lower case, but I didn't as I read the first paragraph of your book, Laura. So I laughed out loud at the end of it. I don't usually get tricked, but you pulled it off. Bravo!

8/10/2011 13:17:42

What was Levi whispering to Sarah when the picture was taken?

"You owe me big, Governor."

LakeLucilleLoon

8/10/2011 13:27:23

Jesus, someone mentioned earlier that they "understood that a girl's options in Wasilla are limited". That just made me laugh. Plenty of "girls" here go forward to advanced education, out of state even, to, wait for it....places like Yale, or even Harvard. One of my associates daughters is going to Brown. Suffice it to say, here in the Valley there are plenty of girls (and boys) that find themselves attending prestigious schools outside of Alaska and getting themselves "finely educated and such", just like people in other states and in other countries. Fact remains that neither the Palin children nor the Johnston children seemed to be in the educational fast track lane that would lead to higher learning opportunities.

I'm not certain why Mercede went to Burchell (our alternative high school for problem kids and teen parents). I'm not certain why Bristol and Levi quit high school early (with Bristol claiming to have gone back and graduated with a 3.9 and walking with her class). Still, the kids I know who are on a fast track to educational success don't go to alternative schools and don't quit high school with years to go.

I wish these kids, the Johnstons and Palins, the best in life but they surely were not among the best and brightest that Wasilla/Palmer have to offer.

Conscious at last !

8/10/2011 13:30:39

As always, this is a lively and interesting exchange.

We take different paths because we are here, in this life, to experience varying life options.

If a beautiful young woman makes a big splash disrobing for a PB spread, that will be a significant early life experience. Her next steps will be affected by this choice.She will be offered possibilities based on her sexuality and her outer appearance. This is not a judgment, it is the way of our world.

There are other options, education is simply one of them. There are many trades, crafts or skills that a young woman might pursue. There are many ways to express oneself, earn a living and make a contribution to the lives of others.

If there is any help that I think Mercede needs, it is the guidance of some mature and compassionate older adults. She looks like a bright young woman with little real support in the wisdom department.

frazier

8/10/2011 13:46:47

interesting that you did not publish my earlier comment.

frazier

8/10/2011 13:56:19

Disappointed in the pov about "media hos" sent earlier by me has not appeared. Thought this blog accepted all povs and that there was room for dialogue. Guess that's not the case.If true,hope your commentors realize this.Good day.

Frazier

8/10/2011 14:15:51

Sherry + nwsfm, right on. *Lunch* ought to be sufficient. It's more dignified.

crystalwolfakacaligrl

8/10/2011 14:21:55

I think everyone who is attacking Laura has had a brain fart!
This is Alaska!
Wasilly in fact! Alaska's population for the whole STATE is LESS than SAN FRANCISCO!
That doesn't leave many opportunity's for people. Phil Munger has addressed the rampant Homelessness of teens in Wasilla on his blog.
This Playboy model experience opens new doors for Mercede.
Its Los Angles! Maybe if the Grifter ever lets her mom off probation she and her mom CAN MOVE!
Until then her mom is on disability and Mercede can hardly go down to the local Taco bell for a job? Get REAL HERE FOLKS!
To get a scholarship to college you have to have good grades in HS? NO? I don't know what Mercedes grades are but when the local population see's grifter Brisket who may or may NOT have gotten a HS diploma and making bank for having a bastard baby who cares about grades....????
Most of the girls in Wasilly are gettin' preggo!
So at least give props that mercede has not gone that route and as distasteful to you women libbers... it is a door and a way for her to leave Alaska!
Lay off Laura! You totally misrepresented what she was trying to say. She hopes good will come for Mercede as I. Also The lies of Sarah Palin will get exposure...in Playboy where Mercede won't be judged by a bunch of prudes!

V ictoria link

8/10/2011 14:26:46

I haven't followed the Levi side of things very much. In this picture he looks charming and protective of the women and children in his family - qualities I'm sure he has, or else he would not be so popular.

The VF quote is very interesting, because it doesn't add up. I don't think Levi is a whiz with numbers, and I have to imagine that he has so many lies and truths muddled together now in his head, that he has a difficult time keeping them straight.

More telling is an interview he did, with Larry King, I believe, where he first said Bristol became pregnant at *16* - and then immediately corrected to *18*. Knowing how brains work, the 16 might have stuck with him because it was the first time Bristol was pregnant, and then the 18 slipped out because that was her age at the time of the interview.

Does anyone else know this interview? I'm not sure I'll have the time to hunt it down for a while.

FrostyAK

8/10/2011 14:31:44

And in other news, the Quitter Grifter is still grifting from the State.

http://www.adn.com/2011/08/10/2008767/palin-seeks-state-help-in-defense.html

"House said the state will pay for his participation but not for Palin's personal lawyer, John Tiemessen, who will be co-counsel."

curiouser

8/10/2011 14:59:30

I've had this photo in my collection for a long time. Little did I realize it was a cropped photo and was missing an important piece -- LEVI! Holy Cow! This is somethin' else! I think Sarah is whispering something, too.

I was also intrigued by the photo taken the same night of Track handing a baby bottle to Levi.

http://www.zimbio.com/photos/Trig+Palin/2008+Republican+National+Convention+Day+3/xBchvgHbvB1

SLQ

8/10/2011 15:19:21

Laura -- I get what you're saying. I also hope that this beautiful PB shoot will lead to new and great things for Mercede. I hope she has attracted some interest, and someone or someones will help her parlay it into something greater.

But . . . I also hope she has sound legal and financial advice to ensure whatever offers come her way (at a dinner or otherwise) are in her best interests. One cannot be too careful.

Anon55

8/10/2011 16:06:44

Come on, I think there is a lot of hyperbole here. I live in Los Angeles where pretty women are a dime a dozen and Sadie is only moderately attractive by L.A. standards. Certainly not pretty enough to model.

But for the Palin connection, she would have no Playboy shoot. She's an attractive teenage girl; nothing special. I wouldn't advise her to try to get by on her looks and investment bankers and lawyers and whatnot can easily find prettier girls, who might even be college educated.

I hope you are not suggesting she become a call girl, by the way.

Married mom

8/10/2011 16:08:38

Ugh Laura, your hope for her is to get married rather than take care of herself? ICK. And I say this as a former single mom at 20 who married to "become respectable." It has been a long, sometimes hellish road and I regret ever doing it. I wouyld have been better off struggling on my own and I'd recommend the same to ANY woman. I'm disappointed by this post. :( And don't get me started about Mercede getting a boob job, she was lovely and had no need of them... :(

Non

8/10/2011 16:16:17

does anyone recall where the quote from Sarah is, the one about how she "only met Levi twice"? Between their admission that Levi was there for Trig's birth and these photos showing an intimate exchange...I'm wondering why Palin has bothered pursuing the "only met him twice" line.

In that same vein...where the heck WAS Levi on 12/27/08 when Tripp was allegedly born? Depending on the day, Bristol/Sarah say he was there and said "gross" when asked to cut the cord (he can gut a deer with a smile on his face, though?), or he was on the north slope working (the job Sarah's big yap cost him), or more recently, Sarah snidely remarked "he wasn't even there when his own child was born!"

As usual...just another mess of contradictory statements which leave me more confused than I was when I started.

Allie

8/10/2011 17:26:28

At the risk of sounding like a major suckup, I knew what you meant, Laura.

One of the interesting aspects of what appears to be female outrage (pseudonyms are not always sex-specific) is how adamantly women feel the need to make sure it is known that they "made it" on their own. I understand that once the sexual connotations contaminated the conversation that that throws women on the defensive. But, if you think about how men network, networking is an expectation, goes with the territory and you don't hear men establishing the point that they made it all on their own. You don't hear them say, "No dinners, no influential contacts, no referrals, no getting out of a dead-end town, not for me." It's the opposite.

As far as the above photo, I can't really remember whether I have seen it, but I distinctly remember it live on TV because it jolted me. Levi's comments about the adoption always gnawed at me, too, and I had long ago surmised that the pregnancy to which he referred was Trig's.

@Ottoline: "The JetBlue website posts only 60 jobs at present. Maybe some of those are multiple hires for the same posting, but it doesn't sound like 1900 to me. Link?"

Link??? Really??? Link??? You still aren't convinced that Laura is the real deal??? Couldn't you dress it up a little bit, put some lipstick on it and say, "Hey, Laura, I'd like to check out that JetBlue thing; where'd you hear about it?"

One of the things about this blog that I know I can depend on is that I can completely trust Laura; in all this Palin murkiness, she is an island of truth and trust and reality, for which I am grateful.

Molly

8/10/2011 18:11:04

What a very interesting photo!!!

ginny11

8/10/2011 20:51:18

Wow. The judgment and the inability to see past one's own life circumstances, goals, desires, etc. here just ASTOUNDS me.
My family had NO money. I didn't get lucky enough to have parents that even were capable of providing me with non-financial support to go to college (moral support, helping me look for colleges, helping me find information, etc.). I was COMPLETELY on my own, a small town girl from a working class world. So, needless to say, after taking a few classes at a local junior college, then running out of money, I had to quit and work until I was 24, at which time I was considered an adult for financial aid purposes, and could finally get some help to go to school. I worked a job that put me frequently in the semi-close contact with wealthy people. Just before I was about to leave for school, an older, single, very wealthy man offered to finance my entire education. I turned him down. My mother thought I was INSANE. I simply don't like to be beholden to others for such large amounts of money. Today, I am many tens of thousands of dollars in debt with student loans. I don't regret my decision, but I will say this: it was a choice that worked for ME. I certainly would not judge anyone who would have chosen differently!!!
I think some people need to get off of their high horses. So what if Mercede gets a leg up in life because she is attractive? So what if she got breast implants and did a PB photo shoot? So what if she doesn't go to college, or waits to go to college, or is lucky enough to have a wealthy benefactor/mentor help her out? Really, we all make our own choices, and we have NO business judging the choices of others. Get over it. She sure didn't ASK to be dragged into the national spotlight! She may as well make what she can of it!
I hope that whatever Mercede chooses to do, that she seizes opportunities to make the most of her potential and reach her goals in life.

Freddy el Desfibradddor

8/10/2011 21:44:41

Apparently I misunderstood you, Laura, and I regret it - you meant "out to dinner" as "meeting someone who knows someone who knows someone" who can steer one to opportunities, not "first step to being a trophy wife." I agree with you now - while success in life may not be ALL "who you know", not what, it has a great deal to do with it. And sincerity, of course - once you can fake that, you've got it made.

And I agree with Lidia17 - Sarah's on-stage hand on Levi's cheek may exoterically signify "You are dear to me" to the audience, but its inner meaning is "I can do with you whatever I wish." That "whatever I wish" covers a lot of ground, if the darker suspicions expressed in the blogosphere are correct.

8/10/2011 23:47:19

Laura, I don't believe I've ever posted here, but I like this post and your comments. I think your intentions for Mercede were generous and kind. It's been a while since I read Mercede's blog, but I believe I saw lots of people suggesting she put a PayPal on her blog so they could donate money toward her college education. To my knowledge, she has not accepted anything. I give her lots of credit for helping her mom. I'm sure life would be easier for her if she took her money and ditched her mom and got the hell out of Wasilla. Her mom can't even leave the house to buy groceries right now. IMHO the Johnstons have been victims of the Palins. I wish Mercede the best.

Cat

8/10/2011 23:56:20

TksABunchJohn -- Just a note... Me and Mrs. Jones was recorded by Philadelphia native Billy Paul. It's a great song!

Laura Novak link

8/11/2011 00:00:13

Frazier: I did NOT delete any of your posts. There are NO posts from you in my deleted file. You are mistaken and misleading.

Lidia: I am from New England. It's in my blood. I hope someone with connections takes the girl out to dinner.

Others: I said nothing whatsoever at all at any point in this post about her going out to dinner meaning that she will become a rich, married, Cinderella whore who never works hard again in her life. Those do not equate. At least not for me. It's disturbing hyperbole.

One must ask themselves: where do these associations and assumptions come from?

As Dolly Parton once said of her enhancements: Whatever's not real was paid for with good money.

I wish Mercede all the best.

Molly

8/11/2011 00:26:28

I can't believe how so many normally sane people have gotten their knickers in a twist over Laura's post.

I think it was more than clear what Laura meant and it is offensive to put words in her mouth.

College is not for everyone and if Mercede is befriended or mentored by someone with influence who can use that influence to give her a start in life, then why not.

Nowhere did I see sex or marriage mentioned in the post! And yes, if Mercede can use her physical attributes to land herself a job such as an air hostess, she should go for it. All the other air hostesses have.

And Bravo to Mercede whatever she decides to do. She has been incredibly brave to take on Palin. I'm sure it is not without risk.

Frazier....your comment is at the 15.54 mark. You owe Laura an apology.

lilly lily

8/11/2011 01:12:04

'm afraid I don't see Mercede as a victim. Yes her hard drive was cleaned, but she seems to have photos stashed away. We know what she has told us.

Yes her mother sold drugs, and how many? She was punished. That goes with selling drugs. I don't feel for her. Diana Palin got off easier, but the initial offense is serious stuff.

Mercede has a new Volkswagen, given to her by relations? So she has wheels.

She has a steady boyfriend, or had one.

She has friends and Mercede is not without funds.

If I'm not mistaken Bristol seems to imply she took the first photos of Tripp and sold them to Star negating a deal for 6 figurs that Bristol could have made. The amount for the borrowed photo which Bristol asked not to be used. $5000. While I don't care for Bristol, some of what she says is true. Mercedes was feeding tidbits to Star for money. Mercedes hasn't denied that as far as I know.

Mercede can sell her own photos, but I think using the baby Tripp first photos makes it understandable for Bristol to keep her at a distance. Bristol does make a solid case for keeping Mercede out of the loop. There is a war going on between these two. And Mercede is as much an aggressor as Bristol. The pot calling the kettle black routines.

I loathe the Palins, and they are not shining examples of truth telling, but Mercede is always disengenuis. A What me? girl? What did I do to deserve this? As she rolls her eyes over Bristols actions. Very like Bristol in a way. Both have had body work. That is their business. I think Mercede knows she is to blame in her interactions with Bristol. Neither is saintly. Both are aggressive.

Certainly she will be mentored. Gryphen and the photographer friend have been doing just that for years now.

Remember President Cleveland. He took a widow out to dinner, walked her to her boarding house and then according to her raped her. There is a new sugar daddy routine going on now to pay off student loans, or so the girls say..Internet sale of sex. Nice dinners in expensive places too.

I used to go to the New York Plaza at tea time. LOADS of rich uncles showing off their NEICES. An old routine.

Playboy mansion is a mother lode for ambitious, and attractive young girls, who think they will make their fortunes. According to Keith Richards of Rolling stone, a high end house with Hefner as a p***. I doubt it is really an honor to be a featured nude there. But many woman and men do. That is up to them.

Mercede chose to do this, and it isn't to get Sarah, it's for her own advancement. I guess I'm a bit of a cynic here. I see her as opportunistic. More power to an ambitious girl.

Certainly she is entitled to be taken seriously, but this is not a serious girl. She is an ambitious girl and has made a choice.

Perhaps she has it in her to become a Pamela Anderson, marry a rock star if that is her desire, she is what she is. Ambitious and useing her god given, and enhanced body to further herself.

All well and good, but don't say she did it for a larger audience to bring down a dangerous woman.

Bull.

lilly lily

8/11/2011 01:34:42

I don't mean to imply that all mentors want something substantial in return.

And a dinner is the standard first move in the majority of relationships.

I'm 76 and get asked out to dinner by men often since I'm reasonably attractive, and there usually is a bit of the male-female, will you or won't you get involved undercurrent, even at the earliest stage of the game. Because male-female relationships do have a bit of that game playing element in them. ALWAYS. Until your dead.

Times have changed, and kids are more buddy-buddy. They are somewhat looser than my generation. I don't envy them.

Which doesn't mean they can't be friends, and that a woman can't network, or develop a platonic mentor relationship.

LOL. Look at Murdoch and Rebekah Brooks. NOW that is some mentoring.

Viola-Alex

8/11/2011 01:47:32

@Victoria: DiAnne posted the Larry King link you mention-- above in the comments. Where Levi says 16, then corrects it to 18. verry interesting.
her link: http://calf-rope.blogspot.com/2011/06/lie-to-me.html

--

My praise of Laura and her blog is that she is a professional journalist. What she writes is what she means. What she writes, even when opinion, is based on fact. I, on the other hand, am an impulsive, emotional blatherer. Therefore, I bow to her and anyone who can keep their head in these times, in these mega-messes.

80 % of CEO's are male. In a recent New Yorker, Facebook COO, Sheryl Sandburg, ADVISED all young women to find a male mentor. Hers was Larry Summers. From the beginning of time, women have used men (and their wiles with them) to get ahead. Sure, any woman can give herself away cheap. But we're also capable of screwing ourselves up, by ourselves. Sometimes, just getting a taste of what's out there is enough to rise up one rung on the ladder.

As a poorly educated East Texan, I clawed myself through an ivy league education 40 years ago, but I did it with the help (and attention) of male professors who I shamelessly charmed with my accent. I'd do it again.

Brava Mercede! Brava Laura!

DiOR

8/11/2011 02:01:53

@curiouser: Your link to a convention photo got me looking at other pictures in that album, many of which I don't remember seeing before. There are LOTS of pictures that give really good views of Trig's ear. My initial response is that this Trig could very well be Ruffles. Some of the ear pictures suggest to me an intermediate stage between completely "unfurled" ears and the initial ruffled ears. I'd be interested in others' opinions. The last of these allows a good comparison of Trig's and Sarah's ears. I believe she is related to him (as others have said), which eliminates (for me) some theories of his origin.
http://www.zimbio.com/photos/Trig+Palin/2008+Republican+National+Convention+Day+3/sXwN8zL1o_Z
http://www.zimbio.com/photos/Trig+Palin/2008+Republican+National+Convention+Day+3/H7czphkRhHH
http://www.zimbio.com/photos/Trig+Palin/McCain+Palin+Campaign+Ahead+Republican+Convention/ELTHnVnMUz3
http://www.zimbio.com/photos/Trig+Palin/Sarah+Palin+Campaigns+New+Hampshire/QaRuG9VySvI
http://www.zimbio.com/photos/Trig+Palin/Palin+Campaigns+Pittsburgh+Area/fR3Pw7ZfSM8
http://www.zimbio.com/photos/Trig+Palin/2008+Republican+National+Convention+Day+3/HbSb4v8WcS4 (Sarah and Trig ear comparison)

DiOR

8/11/2011 02:04:26

Also, in that album are two more pictures I found interesting.

This one shows Trig with a smashed face, not unlike the picture in Sarah's office that was in Bailey's book. I haven't compared them yet, but thought a comparison might be useful.

http://www.zimbio.com/photos/Trig+Palin/John+McCain+Accepts+Republican+Party+Nomination/OwUQgCUqSMz

This one shows Sarah handing Trig to Willow with a very strange trajectory if the only objective is to transfer a baby to a shorter person.

http://www.zimbio.com/photos/Trig+Palin/Biden+Palin+Square+Off+VP+Debate/kUkmXc1BfhF

Guest

8/11/2011 02:14:44

lilly lilly you said it for me. Mercede and Bristol are equal partners in this junior high level jousting match. I'm tired of the comments at IM and at Gryphen's bias. Sadie is cute. Big deal. Bristol didn't have makeup on. Give me a break. Sadie does not tell the whole truth, neither does Levi, neither does Sherry. Watch the Larry King interview and you'll see them glancing sideways or turning to look at each other to get approval before answering. The story and first baby picture that Mercede sold to Star for $5K is the reason Bristol stopped taking Tripp to Sherry to be watched when she went back to school in March 2008. It's right there in the Larry King footage. Sadie went to Florida, Bristol went back to school, Tripp was watched by Sherry for two days, then the magazine interview came out and ...Boo hoo, poor Sadie isn't seeing her nephew but Sherrie had "no idea" why and is still "trying to get her head around it." Maybe that 5K bought the boobs. We all make choices, Sadie has to live with hers. Actually, a lot of men are probably living with a couple of Sadies choices as desktop wallpaper. Sorry, couldn't resist. (Gryphen would never let that one get by.) As for the person who doesn't think Sadie took money for her blog, yes she did. Maybe we bought her the pink high-intensity headlights for her car, or the headrest TV screens for the back seat. Or some of the 100 pair of designer jeans in her closet. Who knows. We all make choices. Sadie and Bristol are ying and yang. Blonde and brunette. Equal in their willingness to throw out crap about the other. Equal in the level of passion about Levi, one hates the other loves. Fun to watch, but not worth pressing the PayPal button. Not on Sadie's blog, not on Gryphen's. My two cents is right here.

anonfornow

8/11/2011 02:30:37

It occurs to me what Levi may be whispering to Sarah: since he was living at the Palins' house (Levi told us he lived with them that summer for months, and Mercede complained that Bristol didn't let him talk to his sister all summer, and that's only possible if he wasn't living at home) I assume he and Bristol were taking care of the baby. Thus, he could be whispering advice to her on some aspect of how to handle Trig, something he knows that she doesn't because he's the baby's father and has much more experience dealing with the boy.

He's glancing around to make sure no one's hearing him, because it would be odd, obviously, to have your daughter's boyfriend give you advice on handling your own child. And he puts his hand on her back, comfortably, naturally, because they've been living together for months. They are bound tightly by what they share: a deep, dark secret.

I agree with whoever said it above: That hand on the back is more telling than the whisper.

lilly lily

8/11/2011 02:38:20

I'm not a feminist, but I do think we females need self respect.

Use your wiles and looks to level the playing field, but don't pretend otherwise when you do it. In the end used to excess it is demeening and pulls a woman down.

Use men, as Sarah Palin does and you lose respect for them and from them.

Having always attracted men, I never had to scrap for attention. While I grew up poor it didn't matter much that I was (best things in life are still free).

Look at the poorest people on this planet and you can see some of the happiest people on the earth. If you aren't hungry and have a roof over your head count yourself lucky.

The very rich almost always seem greedier for more, and more, and more.

Like Murdoch and Sarah Palin. Happy? I don't think so. Murdoch is on the griddle and humbled.

Palin will get her just deserts in the end.

She is nervous, and running from her troubles.

KatieAnnieOakley

8/11/2011 02:40:16

I think Levi mixes-up details of both pregnancies. And yes, I believe Bristol and Levi are the parents of BOTH Trig and Tripp.

The quote you are remembering above is, I beieve when Levi had an Oops! moment... everyone else THOUGHT he was speaking about Tripp, but HE was actually THINKING about Trig.

The quote once more:

“Sarah told me she had a great idea: we would keep it a secret—nobody would know that Bristol was pregnant. She told me that once Bristol had the baby she and Todd would adopt him. That way, she said, Bristol and I didn’t have to worry about anything. Sarah kept mentioning this plan. She was nagging—she wouldn’t give up. She would say, “So, are you gonna let me adopt him?” We both kept telling her we were definitely not going to let her adopt the baby. I think Sarah wanted to make Bristol look good, and she didn’t want people to know that her 17-year-old daughter was going to have a kid.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

All the details fit the Bristol in-hiding at $arah's sister's home suffering form "mono" in Anchorage story;

The story of Bristol having a major fight with her mother after she announced her "pregnancy" with Trig;

ONLY Bristol's age is not right in Levi's quote, but it would be only one year off. Bristol was 16 at the time of Trig's birth, but Levi WAS 17.

And I don't think $arah wanted to make Bri$tol look good, but HERSELF look good...

Bristol delivering a baby within weeks of McCain selecting his running mate would have knocked Palin out of contention: what would the famously prudish right-wing have to say about the 16 year old daughter of a far right-wing governor giving birth out-of-wedlock? We KNOW Palin told McCain about the Tripp pregnancy AFTER her public selection...

And remember: "Trig was Tripp before he was Trig."

Dis Gusted

8/11/2011 03:09:24

any possibility that Britta and Track are the parents of Tri-G? the baby bottle that Track hands Levi gave me the idea.

Britta went to Europe early 2008 and Palin gave her a high paying job in her first 100 days of office. Britta has lived with the Palins for years.

lilly lily

8/11/2011 03:15:03

About Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones...exact quote about the Playboy Mansion.. "basically it's a whorehouse."

With the revelations as to Hefners relationships (ho ho ho) with scads at any given time, of the bunnies anyone can read what girls like one of his companions, Kendra Wilkenson, wrote. They got their generous allowances doled out personally by Hefner, and marched in groups into to his bedroom for their turns onto his sacred male ehanced erection.

Pretty tawdry, totally icky and documented by the girls themselves. All mentioned in Huffington Post, so I didn't have to read the dumb book written by Kendra, also a DWTS alumni.

Mercede should be careful about the path she has chosen.

Now so is Mercede.

It is her life.

lilli link

8/11/2011 03:20:13

Keep up the good work Laura..to the person who is saying Willow could be the mom of the latest baby..wasn't Willow on the bus tour, in the pictures she didn't look pregnant, unless she had the baby before the bus tour or wasn't that far along and had a preemie, (jury duty excuse anyone).

Dis Gusted

8/11/2011 03:33:24

http://s406.photobucket.com/albums/pp141/WestCorrespondent/Sarah%20Palin/TPalin/?start=all

check out the same photo from another angle - picture #42 SP is puckered up for a kiss.

Also note the huge difference in the TriG photos #33 and #34.

everspring

8/11/2011 03:42:43

Okay, here's my two cents: I am not buying whatever it is that Mercedes is selling as it relates to the Palins. I think whatever secret is being hidden is known fully by all of the Johnston family members including Sadie. And I don't buy for a second that Levi and Bristol were "trying" to have a baby. I think that Levi and Mercede are doing whatever they can NOW to earn some money because when the truth catches up with them - they're done.

V ictoria link

8/11/2011 04:23:30

@Viola-Alex & Dianne

thanks for the link to the LK interview!

-> to everyone: I have read that phrase "Trig was Tripp before he was Trig" many times, but I'd love to know where it comes from. A virtual star of gratitude to anyone who posts it first!

Viola-Alex

8/11/2011 04:42:46

Guest: Mostly, I'm with you. It's all a sad, sordid mess. I doubt anyone will triumph in the end. But there is something to be said for Sadie speaking up publicly regarding the Palins. Even if she's tit-4-tatting, she IS being rather brave, since we know the Palins are vindictive folk. And she is going on the record. I simply can't imagine how it feels to have a former friend write a memoir in which I'm one of the bad guys-- and I have no way to defend myself or my honor.

The Palins have ridden roughshod over the Valley long enough. We may have to settle for the Lone Ranger(s) we get.

Janice Soderquist

8/11/2011 04:44:08

OT... per the Des Moines Register

http://caucuses.desmoinesregister.com/2011/08/11/palin-to-visit-fair-on-friday-activist-says/

Per the DM Register, no one from Sarahs camp has notified the fair committee that she is coming on Friday. Does that mean she can come without permission and just walk around? Or is it just safe that she does not have to show up at all. I wonder if they like the huge bus parked on their fairgrounds. I would say advertising would cost some money for Sarah.

lilly lily

8/11/2011 04:51:15

After the Vanity Fair article by Levi there were the inevitable Mrs Robinson jokes about Sarah Palin and Levi.

The Vanity fair people vetted that article better than the McCain people vetted Sarah Palin.

I'm sure Sarah Palin not only gave the McCain camp heartburn, she probably raised everyones blood pressure to higher levels. A gift she seems to have and enjoy exercising daily.

Perhaps posting the series of pictures. Sarah cupping Levi's chin, Levi with his hand on her back. (Come on people, a young man puts his hand on his future mother in laws back?) Then the shot someone mentions from another angle. I haven't seen it, where Sarah is puckered up for a kiss? Maybe she'll meant to be blowing kisses to the audience as she does now and again.

Sarah was on a natural high in those shots. Bristol looks thwarted, I recall seeing her clutching her hands tight. Levi a little bemused, but not uncomfortable. Taking it as it came.

Sarah Palin was known to be abnormally flirtatious to young boys in her Juneau period. Made people nervous.

Perhaps she is like pedophilic men who prefer young undangerous girls they can handle to grown women. Maybe younger men are more attractive to her because she as well as Bristol are stuck in their middle school years.

Mercede as well. If she was as smart as Gryphen and co say, she would have shut up by now. Enjoyed her Playboy shoot as an all American girl next door and moved on to any opportunity that opened for her. She is not battling for justice, she is caught in her little war with Bristol.

I want Sarah Palin brought down, but these squabbles with Bristol are idiotic. They do nothing. We know Sarah Palin couldn't handle the Presidency. We know she is unstable. We know Track has drug related issues in the past, and remains troubled even now. We know Bristol is a controlling bitch like her mother. What new facts has she told to anyone anywhere?

She has nothing new to sell to Star but quarreling with Bristol. The next step will be mud wrestling as well as name calling.

Cat fights are nothing new in this world. This one has gone on for over 3 years.

I've enjoyed the discussion.

Having lived through so many decades of change in the female condition, and seen womans lives in so many other countries, I count myself fortunate to be an American woman. we American females can count ourselves as very, very lucky to live here and have the freedoms we have, and to have the indulgent and kind American males who do tolerate nonsense from many of us. We are very blessed.

I remember a Swiss abvart (concierge) in a building I lived in saying, that if it weren't for American men there wouldn't be such a thing as a washing machine. We would be scrubbing our laundry by the washboard or rocks in the river. Americans value their women. I know I have always been indulged and cherished by men and treated kindly.

I think Levi tried, truly tried to make the relationship work with Bristol. He might be something of a player, but he seems to have a kind heart. Bristol lost a decent guy. She isn't that brainy or truly bright, so intellectually they were equals. And that counts in a relationship.

Ivyfree

8/11/2011 05:11:47

"I have read that phrase "Trig was Tripp before he was Trig" many times, but I'd love to know where it comes from. A virtual star of gratitude to anyone who posts it first!"

A commenter wrote in on Gryphen's blog a couple of years ago, and people picked it up and kept using it as if it was Gospel. Many people insist that Gryphen actually wrote it, but so far as I recall, he didn't. It was just a commenter, with absolutely nothing to support the statement.

Dis Gusted

8/11/2011 05:17:49

Guest at 09:14:44 writes:

The story and first baby picture that Mercede sold to Star for $5K is the reason Bristol stopped taking Tripp to Sherry to be watched when she went back to school in March 2008.

You mean TriG? 'cuz according to the Palins, Tripp was not yet concieved.

Dis Gusted

8/11/2011 05:20:26

And remember: "Trig was Tripp before he was Trig."

it's Tripp was Trig before he was Tripp. I assume it means the Ruffle photos.

Suelu

8/11/2011 05:37:24

I simply hope the best for Mercedes, and know that despite tenacity and
determination, none of us exists in a vacuum, and none of us achieve of our lives what we will independent of relationships. I hope she is responsible and attentive to her self health, as that will reflect in the choices she makes and the people she interacts with, and ultimately the experiences that collectively will be her life.

She is outwardly a very attractive girl, I would not have disrobed for eyes I did not know, but her choice was not mine to make. I don't judge her for her choice.
I hope that she treats all of her being, mental,emotional, physical and spiritual with respect,responsibility and care.

At one time I tried to have a sense of compassion for the Palin's but those days are long gone. The only thing I wish for them is that the truth be brought to the light of day, not to punish them, but to set us collectively free from the negative forces and consequences of deceit and delusion. Maybe in the end that is a compassionate wish for the Palin's as well.

Thanks for the due diligence and dedication to finding the truth, when in the end it is finally exposed, and I believe it will be, we will have much to learn from, to gain from and hopefully to grow from.

Viola-Alex

8/11/2011 06:02:20

RE: Trig was Tripp before he was Trig

In an IM post Dec 26, 2009 - Gryph states:

"I have never used the phrase "Trig was Tripp, before he was Trig". I believe the story is actually more complicated than that."

and in the comments below the post, a commenter (10:02) claims to have used the phrase first.

Thanks, V, for making me look this up. I'd wondered too.

http://theimmoralminority.blogspot.com/2009/12/andrew-sullivan-deems-levi-johnston.html

Laura Novak link

8/11/2011 06:11:35

Lilly, I agree with you that the role and situation of women is complicated. And there is no doubt that there are many sides and nuances to the relationship of these people to one another.

What I found odd was the PB writer suggesting that Bristol and Sadie duke it out in a cabin in the woods somewhere. Really? Do they have to get along? Did it mean something to this man that they didn't? I thought it a very odd comment.

I recall the Trig was Tripp before, or whomever was whatever before the other. I recall reading it clearly, but don't remember if it was someone surmising or stating fact.

As for this photo of Levi. Times, they are a changin'. No doubt. But the day my high school boyfriend put his hand on my mother's back is the day...I don't know what.

Wouldn't happen. Never. Not in a million years. Any more than my mother would have kissed him like that.

The gun under the bed indeed. I don't R/O anything in this tale.

julia

8/11/2011 06:14:37

This is just never ever going to end is it?

I truly think the Playboy interview is going to do more harm than good. I don't care that she's nude. I care that she sounds mean spirited and seems to be contradicting herself.

I'm putting all of my eggs in the Joe basket...I hope he doesn't let me down.

DiOR

8/11/2011 06:30:11

FWIW, in the puckering Sarah picture, she is facing Track, not Levi. She was apparently working her way down the line. Here she is puckering for Bristol. http://www.zimbio.com/photos/Trig+Palin/2008+Republican+National+Convention+Day+3/i3BYwcAiRO8
Doesn't mean that it's not weird that Levi put his hand on her back, though.

mistah charley, ph.d.

8/11/2011 06:46:05

Laura, I don't agree that Levi "is damned, no matter what he does." He has a part in the Palin saga, and no doubt that will redound not necessarily to his advantage. My grandpap would have called him a young punk.

Nevertheless, dum spiro spero, as Cicero said - while I breathe, I hope. A chance for learning, growth, and change will come to him, and he may yet have time to "think again" - repent, in the original Latin. According to the applied philosophy collective Monty Python:

Exec #1: Item six on the agenda: "The Meaning of Life" Now uh, Harry, you've had some thoughts on this.
Exec #2: Yeah, I've had a team working on this over the past few weeks, and what we've come up with can be reduced to two fundamental concepts. One: People aren't wearing enough hats. Two: Matter is energy. In the universe there are many energy fields which we cannot normally perceive. Some energies have a spiritual source which act upon a person's soul. However, this "soul" does not exist ab initio as orthodox Christianity teaches; it has to be brought into existence by a process of guided self-observation. However, this is rarely achieved owing to man's unique ability to be distracted from spiritual matters by everyday trivia.
Exec #3: What was that about hats again?
Exec #2: Oh, Uh... people aren't wearing enough.
Exec #1: Is this true?
Exec #4: Certainly. Hat sales have increased but not pari passu, as our research...
Exec #3: [Interrupting] "Not wearing enough"? enough for what purpose?
Exec #5: Can I just ask, with reference to your second point, when you say souls don't develop because people become distracted...
[looking out window]
Exec #5: Has anyone noticed that building there before?

At this point, the Crimson Permanent Assurance firm makes its hostile take-over bid.

This scene can be viewed at tinyurl dot com slash 6qba8l

Lidia17

8/11/2011 06:51:39

Gryphen had said in response to the "Trig was Tripp before he was Trig" comment that that was "within spitting distance" of the truth.

What remains to be seen, though, is whether Gryphen knows the truth, or just a version for his consumption.

Lacy

8/11/2011 07:02:01

http://www.flickr.com/photos/66265258@N04/6033428468/in/set-72157627286960631/

Here are come chrono ordered emails for Mar 04

And a Trig pic composite. I say the same baby. But if one's different, I'd say the upper left corner, the first official photo.

Molly

8/11/2011 07:09:47

I forgot to say that the hand on the back moment is odd, odd, odd.

It does suggest a certain intimacy.

lilly lily

8/11/2011 07:27:30

I think at the core of Mercedes problem is that she loves Levi too much. Though now she too seems to be dissing him (he is like Todd controlled by Bristol).

They had a tight relationship when younger which altered when he became sexually involved with Bristol. A natural progression. Certainly Mercede was sexually active, drank and did all the things Bristol did, except get pregnant.

The writer, (I heard it too and though it odd) caught on to that rivalry.

I am certainly not implying anything sexual between the brother and sister, except even the natural love of a sibling can go too far. She wasn't jealous of Lanesia, but she certainly put her claws out for Bristol, and Bristol did the same. Like Sarah she isn't an eye for an eye. She wants two eyes for an eye.

Love is wonderful. A mother for a son, a sister for a brother, a wife for her husband. But it can go to extremes that are hurtful. Possessiveness. Jealousy.

Levi should speak for himself in his own defense. Mercede shouldn't be doing it for him. He is diminished. If he allows it to slide that is his lookout.

I think the whole Bristol-Mercede thing is sick. The writer is saying, they should thrash it out someone in private. Perhaps he thinks it is idiotic to carry a grudge match into a nudie shoot.

I do. These two snipe at each other and will to the end of their lives. They never were friends. Bristol wanted Levi, and girls have done this from the beginning of time. Chummed up with the sister of a boy they want.

Look at history.. Madame Pompadour,who was a charmer. Married rich and born rich, King Louis XV of France was married and restless, and Madame paraded herself in her blue and pink outfits and matching carriages wherever the King was till he noticed her. The Queen wasn't happy but like all the Queens of history she had to turn a blind eye and accept his relationship.

Levi did what was natural to a young man, he moved from his family to a young woman who accomadated him as well as she could and had an important family. I doubt that he is a climber, but it helps to have important relatives. That is a fact of life.

Now he is suffering for it. If they weren't important he would have moved on long ago. And he has to a degree moved on.

Mercede? She isn't being smart. But is making hay while the sun shines. It profits her to make as big a stink as she can to be noticed.

Beaglemom

8/11/2011 07:34:01

I guess I am simply old-fashioned but the easy tabloid money from the very beginning of this mess (that began with Sarah Palin's fake pregnancy) has caused more harm than good to everyone involved.

No one has given any of the young people involved, Bristol, Levi and Mercede, good advice.

What they all need is for the media to leave them alone and for them to leave the media alone. It's easy money but at what price ultimately?

My advice is for each of them to shut up, get a job (it won't pay hundreds of thousands of dollars, that's only on television) and find something that you really want to do with your life. Each of us, at some point in our lives, has had to decide to become a grown-up and then figure out how to become prepared to do it well.

In the meantime, it really makes me sad about the state of our values as a nation to think that these particular young people seem to have concluded that anyone can live like a millionaire, that disrobing and gyrating is the ideal way to fame and fortune, that dissing one another in print and on television is a good idea, and that the money and media attention will keep coming forever. In a word, it won't.

Sorry for the "rantiness" of this but I have teen-aged grandchildren and these young people, like many young celebrities, are dreadful role models.

Lacy

8/11/2011 07:34:46

Honestly, about the pic, I think it was an understood thing (maybe family meeting) that they would embrace Levi. Which is weird as hell since the whole summer, they never really say him. The girls and Sarah spent time in Juneau, in Philly, in Fairbanks. Bristol and Levi had major problems beginning in May that caused Levi to go hunting a lot. (ok so im not sure his problems were with Bristol, but JOhnny and Sadie had a myspace convo in May where Sadie said Levi was pissed and has a new boy now (new buddy)

Though Levi has said the Palins didnt treat him badly back then, both he and Sadie have both said he was never too close.

Oh and in Bristols book, she says when she went into labor, TOdd and Levi were at the cabin trying to forge ahead and form some relationship. I actually believe that.

Lacy

8/11/2011 07:51:23

I think Mercede may have attachment issues. She got her Levi tat AFTER Levi got Bristol tattoed on his finger. I know Levi supposedly wasnt allowed to speak to her but that a bit extreme. Im close to my siblings but I would never get a tat of their name. I think not having a father be a father to her has scarred her.

She WENT OFF when she found out he married his mistress. And this is after the cozy xmas pics with him.

I thing things may be good now, as she discussed him recently on fb and didnt read annoyed. Her blog IS a lot of overdramatization.

jeff

8/11/2011 07:55:04

In the business world, many times the better opportunities (especially entry-level) are afforded based on nepotism or personal connections. I didn’t write the rule book on this matter, and my opinion of whether it is the best way to staff a company is unimportant to this discussion. It’s just the way things are. Personally, all things being fairly equal, I will hire the person into an entry-level position whom I feel is most motivated to excel. Usually, there is more room for error in these hires, as they are unable to “screw up” too many important things. I’ve had friends and associates make recommendations before, and usually the hires worked out okay, so I’m open to their future suggestions.

Closer to home, is there any reason that Britta Hansen would qualify for the executive assistant in the Gov’s office more so than someone like Sadie? Apparently, Britta has done well enough in her position to at least maintain the job she started in without any pertinent experience. But surely she got the job based on her family connections with the Palins. Theoretically, if Sarah had no idea who Britta was but knew me personally, and I recommended Britta for the position because I felt like she would do a good job in the position Sarah had open, the same situation would apply. What's wrong with giving a break to a good kid with no connections into the business world? After all, if the young employee does a good job, it helps the employer and strengthens the relationship between the hiring personnel and the associate making the recommendation. Why should Sadie be treated differently than Britta? Should she be punished because she has an attractive body and a pretty face? If Sadie is “hungry and motivated” enough, I don’t think it matters any more than if she is a young, single mom, assuming she has the minimum skill set for the job.

I suppose I have a bias because I didn’t have a mentor starting out in the business world. My college grades as an undergraduate reflected my priorities on happy hour and skirt-chasing, but I did okay. The fact that I was employed full-time my last 2 years while my grades actually improved seemed to make an impression on recruiters that I had become more serious about my future. It was in my job early in my career that I met a mentor who I was able to learn from and discuss things that I might not want to talk about with my direct supervisor on some occasions.

I think I “get” what Laura was suggesting in her post. Most kids don’t know how to network until their parents or other concerned adults help them to learn to market themselves. The fact that Sadie is a “minor celebrity” can be her bridge to other opportunities in business. Those opportunities may or may not be related in any way to modeling. But she can use her experience as a model to leverage herself into something that is more sustainable over the long-haul. I hope she gets a mentor who helps her identify her future goals and guides her to making decisions that will help her achieve those goals. And I hope she will do the same for others she can help in the future by “passing it on”.

Lacy

8/11/2011 07:59:33

I do thinkit hurts Levi for Sadie to be so outwardly immature, as some people have labeled her. There are legal way to go about things. L and S camp and fish a lot. But they aren't progressing themselves? Does Levi not care about his future? That doesn't look good as a legal parent and MIGHT encourage the courts to withhold 5050 custody. Bristol worked at a mundane job for a year, yet "70% of Alaskans hate her family?"
Willow works as well. There are these little things that dont quite mesh with Sadies version of events. I think attention has gone to her head. Palinhaters have liteally idolized this girl when she doesnt warrant that. OF course her ego is huge now.

I fear two things could happen/one or the other:

1. Levis attention in Sept will completely drown out Joe and his book will be pointless
2. The country will have been SO OVER Palin that neither book will matter.

Bristol is supposed to be in LA for 2 mos (her words on facebook) I think as long as she remains in the public view, Levi's "words" are worthless. Yes he'll sell to the blog crew and MAYBE other boys like himself, but who would buy it? Im betting Kindle sales will eclipse all others. The cover is a joke if thats final.

Sad. But I have faith in everyone and I think Levi's just happy to be a AK doin the redneck thing. His girlfriends like 19 and they seem good for each other, though I think shes blind to it all.

Whatever.

lilly lily

8/11/2011 08:06:11

Be thankful you aren't a celebrity. Watching Bristol filming her reality show. LOL. She must be fuming.

She actually is keeping her big mouth shut? They are harassing her about what Mercede said in Playboy?

I agree about the easy money from the tabloids. The whole celebrity thing is overdone. Sarah courted celebrity. Bristol courts celebrity and now Mercedes is attempting to become a celebrity. None of them is worth a damn, but because Sarah Palin is dangerous we are paying attention.

Sarah is a puppet and paid very good money for that. Bristol is parasitic and has nothing really going for her but Tripp and her mothers temporary fame. And her fake abstinence gig.

Sadie has natural youthful good looks her only asset. Billions of girls over the world are as good looking as she is.

Tidbits of gossip that she repeats over and over again aren't worth anything.

It will be over by next spring. I've signed up for a Community Garden plot in the spring, and just bought a Horticulteral Society Book on Gardening for $25 at the rare book section of our local book sale. Hundreds of thousands of books. I'm looking forward to 2012 being a Palin Free year. Also being overstocked in Heritage vegetables and Tomatoes.

Bristol will be married to Kyle. Palin will be opening super markets in Debuque and judgeing moose chili at the Alaska State Fair. LOL.

Lacy

8/11/2011 08:14:17

haha Lilly, you're awesome

jeff

8/11/2011 09:32:20

@lily lily,

You're doing a mighty fine job pre-selling those veggies and tomatoes.

Both of my parents grew up on farms, and they brought the garden thing with them when they moved to the 'burbs. So we had a huge garden growing up, and it seemed to always be waiting for us whenever we got home from school and on every summer day. It was hard work and often very hot, and my brother, sis and I just hated it.

But soon after I left for college, I realized just how spoiled we were by having garden-fresh vegetables on our plates every day.

My Mom and Gramdma canned a lot of things. In fact, my Dad added on a storage room just for the deep freezer for the butter beans, field peas, okra, etc. with shelves all around for all of the cases of green beans, tomatoes, etc. that were canned. These days, we go to the farmer's market, and the food is high-quality, but it's never as good as growing it yourself.

Anyway, I'm pretty good with a tiller, hoe, a spade, or even my hands, soI hope you'll remember all of your friends here whenever it gets to be "pickin' time". (hint hint)

jeff

daisydem

8/11/2011 10:09:15

My daughter had several boyfriends, some who lasted longer than others, so they were in and out of the house frequently. Our house was the "hangout" for my son and daughter and their friends. I probably gave some of my daughter's boyfriends a little hug from time to time (the ones she dated the longest perhaps) just as I gave my son's friends hugs sometimes (boys or girls) especially the closest ones but never, ever did I kiss any of their friends, not on the cheek, not anywhere. Never would I have had a reason to touch their chin, sort of cup their face like the one picture shows.

daisydem

8/11/2011 10:17:17

Familiarity. That is the right word. There is a familiarity between Levi and Sarah in those pictures that belies Sarah's stories about not liking Levi very much (or someone's story - someone, maybe Bristol said Sarah and Todd never cared much for Levi), belies Sarah's comment about having known Levi only a short time before he and Bristol became "engaged." Things just look too familiar.

Janice Soderquist

8/11/2011 14:02:28

Hannity just said he and Sarah will be at the Iowa State Fair live tomorrow. Maybe it will be on his night show. He is live there now.

crystalwolfakacaligrl

8/11/2011 14:41:48

@Ginny11 Like 10000x times!
@Molly- like also!
@Laura N- some are putting their own spin/agendas on this?
@Jeff BINGO! Hello I love you!
(hit the nail on the head re: Britta vs Mercede)

Ivyfree

8/11/2011 17:09:52

"Sorry for the "rantiness" of this but I have teen-aged grandchildren and these young people, like many young celebrities, are dreadful role models."

I'd agree, but I think that regardless of Bristol's being the Abstinence Girl, nobody thinks of them as role models. None of them are particularly important. Bristol's only known as the slutty daughter of a has-been wanna-be. Nobody is saying, "Look at Levi- don't you want to grow up like him?" and it's not because he's not done much with his life, it's because nobody particularly knows him or Mercede or, come to that, Bristol.

Face it. We know them because we track Sarah's insanity. The kids are popcorn.

Exp:Nov5/08

8/11/2011 23:58:12

The Johnstons and the Palins have a history that none of us should even be aware of, and don't really know the truth of, and that aspect of this saga only makes everything more confusing for me. I want to believe what the Johnstons say, but there've been so many breadcrumbs, veiled hints, leaked photos with cryptic captions, retractions of statements, revisited engagements, lies, scrubbed evidence of who-knows-what, implications, dates and events all spoken around, and wrapped in this weird cloak of solicited celebrity, with the Fake Pregnancy as the Kardashian Sex Tape that these kids are still banking off of. It's as if Andy Warhol rose from the dead and rewrote The Art of War.

No matter what Levi or Sadie say, they know she faked the pregnancy, as well as anybody who's reviewed SP's own words and photos does. They know that's why what they have to say might be of interest. They have more details than we do, because they were closer, and were involved in some way. They appear to dangle carrots for the Palins reminding them of this, and we chase, hoping for a nibble.

This is all the media's fault.

We wouldn't even know who these kids were if she hadn't dragged Levi onstage to help perpetrate her family values fraud. They're ALL using their names to gain celebrity, and it starts with SP. Mercede is merely Pippa 0.1, interesting because she's pretty, and we know she knows things. Palin knows this as well. But we also know that the Johnstons have been ensnared in a web of political corruption beyond their comprehension, and that in that photo above, Mercede and Levi had no idea just where this crazy rocketship would take them. And it's so convoluted that it's possible that both families are riding the same fame train, with the other's consent.

Meanwhile, where's Keith? And what does "baby brother" Triggybear mean coming from Sadie?

I want to believe the Johnstons are still in it because 1) Palin upped the ante when she had Sherry arrested (I wonder... had the investigation into the drug dealing already begun when the above photo was taken?) 2) Palin is still in it and they have the goods on her fake pregnancy and she knows it and 3) they can't get jobs on a local level anymore (doubtful anyone will hire Levi or Mercede in AK) so they may as well use the publicity that was initially thrust upon them... for retribution for having the publicity thrust upon them. While, at the same time, reminding Sarah not to go running for President just yet.

However the Johnstons are involved with Babygate (Levi as dad, Keith as dad, Sherry as mom, whathaveyou) Mercede has a potential Monica Lewinsky/Oliver North position in this that I think would be compelling to watch if she and Levi are the ones who ultimately expose the hoax. Maybe they'll sing when the statutes allow Sherry to leave AK. Or, maybe the Johnstons are really in on the whole thing, and they're cashing in. On us. And the Palins are allowing them to ride their coattails and make their money, as long as they keep their secret. Strange silence from Levi lately, if a child is at stake. But these are all reasons why the Johnston participation takes it from a Flowers In The Attic (dark mystery with secrets and lies at its core, and a public hoaxed) to a Not Afraid of Life (boring and snipey teen soap opera to milk sympathy and a few bucks) for me. The distraction seems almost deliberate, and I wouldn't be surprised if Sarah advocated behind the scenes for the Johnstons to be taken care of, in exchange for keeping the Trig secret, and the whole load of them are having a big old laugh at our expense.

As far as Trig's dad goes, at this point, I believe it's anyone's game. I want to know what Levi and Mercede know about Sarah faking the pregnancy, and how they were involved. Beyond that, I wish them well.

Thanks for the space to speculate/rant openly. Does anyone else wonder about this? What if the Palin and Johnston feud is also a big, fat phony, designed to cloud the issue of Babygate?

GhostbusterTX

8/12/2011 00:55:28

About the "new" photo - interesting discussion, but we're all going to see what we want to see here. The GOP convention was televised; there is video footage out there I am sure to provide more context to this moment if anyone is seriously thinking this is means anything.

Laura, if this was from the tip I sent you, glad there was at least a little payoff for looking through that mess!

lilly lily

8/12/2011 01:18:56

A hall of mirrors, and fun house mirrors at that.

Here we sit at our computer terminals pecking away at our shared insights.

One secret is certainly out. Sarah Palin was not pregnant in that picture at the museum at the end of March 2008, and we know she was recovering from a plastic repair...the fat melting off her midriff. (Remember Willow talking about Sarah getting Porky?) And she was Porky Piggie in her face(liposuctioned) and midsection (liposuctioned )menapausal fat gain?

That we know is evidence.

Everything in her deception and hoaxing of the public is suspect.

Remember how unlike the carved faced Sarah she looked in her Red jacket with her then bleached hair piled on her head sometime before the fake pregnancy emerged? White faced,fat and bloated.

She isn't the first woman to tell convoluted lies, but the extent of her lies are phenomenal.

She is a giant bewhiskered catfish bottom feeding in muddied water.

I also think of her underjaw as that of a Salmon swimming upstream to spawn.

Her classmates called her the barracuda.

She is very fishy. And not a fresh fish. She's been around the block sitting in the hot sun.

Similar to the enormous bass caught by a farmer on a rainy day decades ago, which was the biggest large mouthed bass ever caught. (It was weighed at the general store in front of witnesses) He fed it to his family of sisters and brothers, and said it was lousy, but it was food and protein during hard times.

Bloated, fat and barely edible.

Laura Novak link

8/12/2011 01:27:36

Ghostbuster, if that was you, thank you and forgive the lack of H/T on that one. It's been a while and I truthfully can't recall. But it was a good find, that blog.

So, thank you again.

So, all eyes are on Iowa. It's really been such a nice relief to not have Sarah Palin in our midst on a daily basis. What a shame she has to return!

lilly lily

8/12/2011 01:47:37

I doubt Mercede will leave Wasilla forever. She likes the lifestyle. To believe every one is scared of the Palins retaliation or public shunning and loss of business is too much. She gets around, knows most people there and is personable.

Would Home Depot, Walmart or Target dare turn anyones application down for a behind the scenes job?

Like Bristol she might feel herself to be special. Maybe she is. Who knows. I wasn't impressed.

We are all special, but realistic. A lot of life is luck, good or bad.

Mercede had offers from well intentioned people in her blog to live with people in California. L.A. But there she would be just another average pretty girl among greater beauties who may have talent. Mercede has no talent.

She is too short to model bigtime, though she is photogenic. Maybe catalogues, which is good money.

Sherrie could have arrangements made for her care and transport for drug testing.

Of course there is Levi.

After all she is his mother, even if he acts footloose and free. He has a home, and a live in companion who could do the same thing as Mercede, provide transport.

And so I'll put my thoughts of a minor character in this morality play aside.

I've mulled Palin business over for the last three years for one reason . Sarah Palins ability to divide the country is scary. She has done so much damage and we are in hard times. WE need co-operation not divisiveness.

Disgusting, unfortunatly she is charismatic and backed by powerful forces. The Charisma and photogenic qualities, plus her ability to lie with a straight face are why they back her. And she will push their agendas as a very well paid for puppet.

So we, the "little people" she talks about have pushed back.

Thank you Laura for being patient and giving us a forum.

comeonpeople

8/12/2011 02:47:45

I really think I have a valid explanation for Levi's utter sweetness and outpouring of affection at the convention: He WAS HGIH AS A KITE ON SOMETHING.
Explains his tenderness with Tri-G, explains his tenderness with Sarah.
He was FEELING NO PAIN and this is the result.
No more no less in my opinion.

lilly lily

8/12/2011 03:39:42

I have my gorgeous American Horticultural Society Guide to Gardening. A good starter book, but am off to the giant book sale to buy more gardening and fish cook books. Going to fish for trout and grow my own veggies and mushrooms next year, so I'll spend the winter reading gardening catalogues and starting seedlings. Far back, I come from farming stock, but outside of heirloom tomatoes haven't used my own acerage. Too many deer.

The community gardens have high fences and running water. It should be a interesting spring, summer and fall diversion. My own baby field lettuce, halloween pumpkins and no rabbits, groundhogs, deer or ravens chomping away at the produce. As irritating as Sarah Palin but not as lethal.

Hopefully in a few months Sarah Palins possible hoaxy candicacy for president will be done with and we can go on to other life issues in our very beloved but terribly divided and troubled country.

I don't know what I find most repellent about this woman. The smarmy "I love my country red white and blue faked patriotism". Her cynical, even cruel use of her adopted child, her fake religious God talk, or her everyday lies and need to be in the public eye anyway she can. She is the most basically toxic individual we have in the political arena at present. With a few other fundi frauds following close behind.

Palins stupidity and hypocrasy is evident in every word she utters. She is so far out, that she would be unbelievable as a character in a novel.

How on earth did the McCain camp keep from kicking her scrawny hide out of the plane?

Pam

8/12/2011 03:48:10

I am a little late to the discussion here, but wanted to support what Laura and Jeff expressed. I think that Mercede could definitely benefit from an introduction. Just because you pose in PB does not guarantee anything without some follow up from someone that could help her further her goals, which she may not even have developed yet. The more she sees in the world about her, the more she can even begin to realize how her dreams can be created and shaped. Never underestimate a good connection. What you do with a connection may be a reflection of your character, but just having the benefit a connection is good sense. I posed for PB years ago, and did not take advantage of where that could have lead me. I was treated very respectfully and professionally. I could have used the same guidance that you offer - to look at the possibilities and be ready to take advantage of whatever might transpire. I have no complaints; I was very naive and not very mature. Mercede is poised and has presented her well in a stressful situation. I have seen a few clips of her on various shows and she seems ready to take on the challenge of what is offered. Who will be the lucky person to befriend her and make history together.. life is an adventure, but not for the faint of heart.. go Mercede.. thanks Laura.. I love to read what you post..

lilly lily

8/12/2011 05:17:26

Back from my foray into Bookworld. Another shopping bag full of wonders.

A small 10 year old girl volunteer dragged my heavy bookload to my car. Now that is something that Mercede could do in Wasilla if no one would hire her. Do volunteer work of one sort or another. At the hospital she would turn a few heads and perk up a few male patients spirits. A candy striper angel of mercy.

Though like the Palins I doubt she is into public service. (without compensation).

Lets see what doors are opened for her by the Playboy skin spread.

When I hear Sarah Palin refer to her "servants heart" I want to gag.

I don't think Palin realizes she is being laughed at in her Americana announcements for ex: eating fried butter on a stick at the State Fair. That skeletal stick of a woman eating a million calories? she will be rushing to the porto johns to vomit.

Have you seen the Jimmy Kimmel mockup of Britta Hanson Palins baby birth. A Palin baby at birth, emerges blasting bullets at the nurses and doctors killing them all. A bit unfair to dig at Palin through a blameless young mother, but I did laugh quite a bit, and I do like a laugh.

I am agog. Stopped by a library to use a public computer and a Sarah look alike this very minute, took over the computer opposite me. Didn't want to stare.. Twenty years younger, thinner and prettier with the upswept bumpit and perfect porcelin white face and arms and healthy glowing pink cheeks. Not a speck of makeup. Talk of the devi

Perhaps Palin will go to the ER with indigestion and a queasy stomach after all that fat. Fried Twinkies, butter on a stick. Will find out tomorrow. Can't wait for the coverage.

nswfm

8/12/2011 05:50:19

I think these are the words that led to the commentary:
"Now, I know this might sound sexist, and I know the economy is shot to hell right now. But I'd like just one investment banker, or attorney, or software developer to take this girl out to dinner. <b>I'm talking a man with money (or woman if that's what she's into).</b> Someone Sadie can bedazzle with those blue eyes and that perfect skin.

Laura Novak link

8/12/2011 05:53:02

Lilly, I appreciate your thoughts and your writing. And Pam, thank you for your kind comments and some insight from someone who has literally been there and done that.

No matter what anyone thinks of Levi, it's fascinating to think that this young foolish boy had a front row seat to the dysfunction of the ages. And how much stock people either will, or won't, put into what he writes in his book (or his ghost does.)

Thanks everyone for a great discussion.

lilly lily

8/12/2011 05:53:07

Time to go swimming. Weather is perfect.

I haven't gone to a State Fair for 10 years.

Now Sarah Palin is touring one after another.. A State fair can be fun, and expensive, but one a year is usually enough for anyone.

Photos show she is not wearing her triple DDD Belmont girls, she is in her Triple AAA mode. I guess to point out her differences with shallow Playboy playmates.

Toured the cattle barns? Bad move, reminds some people of DairyGate and the mess she made..

God what a waste of reportage and T.V. coverage. The Republican hopefuls must be sick of her. Perry is about the only one who can eat her alive. She is starting to snipe at Perry. He'll take her on, much as he resembles her inopportunism and stupidity, it will be big hair pit bull against lipstick enhanced pit bull. She may be a lady pit bull, but I don't think he will hesitate going for the jugular.

shaytripp link

8/12/2011 06:40:50

I posted more about my evidence and APD today! shaileytripp.yolasite.com

anonhey1

8/12/2011 15:21:57

Yes, you do have ALOT of patience Laura, esp. with Lilly lily (j/k, well somewhat, are you a writer btw?) I think it's amazing that some of you are overboard with this post (esp lilly and guest 9:14:44 who agreed I believe, and used lilly to lay it thick and take subliminally sexist shots unecessarily, inclu. on Gryphen, I mean how do YOU know what's in Mercede's closet lol?) given that women, like another person said, that has done this and will still do it for the end of time and that's do "whatever" they want in order to get what they want. Don't like it at times, mainly like the other guy said, it might devalue their minds and intelligence in the process, but unfortunately that itself is some parent's faults for not taking measure in order to stop that process. Besides, like caligirl said some are forgetting or not forgetting (being reminded) that Sarah herself has done the same thing if not much worse than Mercede will EVER do probably. Like Jeff said, now what we should have been getting on was the fact that she let her now daughter in law be her exec. secretary at 18, but won't cause she is seemingly nice and still has her clothes on I guess. Like you said though lilly, not that it's still necessarily okay to justify.

Another thing, why are some angry at Sadie and her brother? Like what I believe Lacy was trying to say: Umm Hello that's YOUR own faults for putting that much stock into some just minutes ago former teens to do something that folks much older than them STILL won't do and may NEVER do. That is to tell what they know about this woman and/or bring her down. You truly expected them to? There are some we expect/know that will never tell squat, some that may have been scared or even killed because of fooling with this woman and they probably won't even go there telling the real juggular. Then they'd have to tell that in another sense, they were lying/keeping secrets for a while too as well. These young folks, (whom like Sarah and her clan) got a taste of the high life and can't/wont come down and go back and get an education/go back to the real world. Hell they just want something out if too. (Like Sarah does unfortunately) They don't want to tell and get jack squat for it (not that she in this case is telling anything new). I think it isn't just them that's the problem. I think that it's all of us, in a sense, for one, expecting something we had no business expecting from them (I mean who says that they haven't been apart of this all along? Or that they haven't been recently bought/scared off, what did you expect?) and getting mad at so young folks who are playing dangerous game but what are they getting involved in, a GAME. Something that kids or young adults do. If she wants to take her clothes off fine, but I would hate to believe that she had to in order to get attention and/or have her voice heard about the Palins (or in this case, tell stuff that isn't no where near juggular. Like the other person said, in that case she is doing NO ONE a favor for anything, well not even herself for that matter. Still I digress, she and her folks were put into some mess in the first place. Keep in mind that's Sarah's fault and the campaign's for even coming at them and into their house like that in the first place, not just for their sake but to cover the Palins' hides as well. What were they scared of hmmmmmm? This is what Sarah gets for all of that. Well the Johnston's are doing the same thing, to the Palins, at their and their own families' expenses as well, though now they may be doing it at their supporters' sake as well. So in another sense, I guess you might be right Lilly lol.

lilly lily

8/13/2011 00:55:41

Mercedes told everyone on Facebook what is in her closet. A weakness for high end labels. Also that her family income was $250,000 a year. Mercede is a material girl. Loads of pictures with Chivas Regal. It is all out there for anyone who looks.

Yes indeedy, I was thinking the same myself yesterday. Laura must be weary with my posts.

sorry Laura, take a few days away from the computer, and try my luck at the craps tables.

I do like Sarahs black with dots toenails, reminds me of dice.

Someone anonymous at Gryffens did a hilarious riff on Sarahs girls activities yesterday. Take a look.

Some busy, busy trolls follow me around.

lilly lily

8/13/2011 01:20:07

Oh don't mean to imply that anonhey1 is a troll.

Simply getting a lot off her or his chest.

LOL, I don't use punctiation much myself.

I know I use the blogs to vent. And overdo it.

And know I need to get off for days to decompress and live without a single thought of the mess these people have made.

I mention what I am doing to indicate that I do not live, breathe nothing but what issues from the Palin garbage dump. A foetid land-fill site all of its own, with Sarah's speechifying hot air hovering like a miasma over the wasteland.

Was it Cicero? who said something like "Politician are excreted, not born." Sarah proves that.

Far too toxic to waste more time on today..

Back to the Book fair and more and more rare books on gardening knowhow.

mudmanor

8/13/2011 01:36:21

To the Ruffles Hunter: I agree, always thought that baby was WAY too big at the September 08 convention to have been born premature on April 18.

And yea, the hand on the back way too intimate for a teen age ice hockey jock.

nenagh

8/13/2011 22:35:52

A stunning photograph, Laura.. of all the photographs of La Palin.. it reverses my preconceptions about the family.

Maybe he is just saying..that the silk jockey shorts are divine and the suit is to die for. But, like yourself, I cannot fathom Levi's hand on Palin's back.

I was entranced by that hand, then focused on the cut of Palin's suit jacket.. because it was easier to focus on the beauty of the jacket and avoid seeing Bristol's weary face. She is completely eclipsed by the star of the stage. It is so sad.

I feel you have taken us down the Rabbit Hole, Laura.. where the Wicked Queen is holding the trump card, a baby.

Go Mercede go.. I hope the legal department of Playboy Magazine provides a firewall for Mercede however I fear retribution from the Palin family down the road, so to speak.

So if Mercede is able to become included in a more affluent group... she would have more protection from the crazies.

And Laura, because of blogs like yours, Sarah is slowly being revealed as quite different from her portrayal by the MSM in 2008. Well done and thanks.

lilly lily

8/14/2011 05:33:56

Iowa has finished Palin off. About time.

No more politics for me. I'm off to Martha Stewart- Julia Childs- Ruth Stout territory.

So much for Alaskans and the Palin-Johnston tribes.

Thank you Laura for your forum. You did your bit to bring her to her knees.

It is all over but her scraping the bottom of the barrel for any money she and her family can make from their bots.

She remains a cult figure there.

NoMooseStew

8/15/2011 07:37:33

lily lily Mercede is playing her cards well enough with Gryphen kibitzing. How she plays them is not my concern.

For someone who is not concerned you wrote quite a few posts about Mercede. First of all Mercede doesn't have the money Bristol's family has, she has a sick mother, her mother is not a drug dealer but a pain patient, and Mercede cares for her. Taking off your clothes if you have the body is not the worst thing you can do.

I think taking money from people and organizations preaching how you are all about abstinence while you had a child is more disturbing. Mercede doesn't pretend to be the innocent as Bristol does. I call bull on your post.

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