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The Ghostwriter - A Guest Post by Viola-Alex

8/8/2011

57 Comments

 
Picture
The photos in NOT AFRAID OF "LIES" tell their own story.  This is just one of many photos that show Bristol as her mother’s helper, the role she seems to play in the family.

 
I phoned my friend The Ghostwriter to ask him a few questions about Bristol Palin’s book, NOT AFRAID OF LIFE.  The Ghostwriter and I go all the way back to kindergarten.  He’s worked in publishing since he was 16. (While I was busy losing my virginity in a drunken stupor, The Ghostwriter was on staff of a black newspaper in our hometown.  A daring act for a white boy in East Texas, late 1960’s.) A few years ago, debts from a bad divorce, as well as advice from a trustworthy literary agent, steered The Ghostwriter to try “ghosting.”  He’s been successful at it and currently is ghosting a big-name-celebrity self-help book.   The Ghostwriter has published books in his own name, but he tells me that ghostwriting for celebrities is fast becoming an extremely lucrative field for writers.


V-A: Is Bristol making any money off  this book?

Ghost: She made hers  up front.  I’m guessing the advance was in the 6-figure range.  Maybe $125,00-300,000.

V-A:  What about Nancy French, the ghostwriter?

Ghost:  She’d be paid up front, too.  Often the celebrity pays a ghost directly or  makes up the difference between what the publisher will pay.  Think of French as a sub-contractor.  What’s interesting is that French  doesn’t appear to have ghostwritten prior to this.  In that case, the Palins may have gotten a bargain.

V-A:  What about royalties?

Ghost:  Nobody counts on percentages because sales are always risky.  Few books make back their advances.

V-A:  Bristol’s sales don’t look that hot.

Ghost:  From what I see on Amazon, her sales are ok.  Not great.

V-A:  What about marketing the book?  Whose job is that?

Ghost: The publisher will do a few big things.  Get you on TV shows, the kind of thing that takes just a phone call.  But the real work is up to the celebrity and her team.

V-A: Must we call her that?

Ghost: Bristol’s team would have been the ones to hire a literary PR firm and Internet marketing company.  The ones that do the real daily slog to get the book out there, talked about, and of course, bought.

V-A: Tell me about Internet marketing.

Ghost:  Ideally, there’d be a website for the book.

V-A: There’s not.

Ghost: Pity. Well, a blog then.

V-A: Nope.

Ghost: Twitter, Facebook?  I see comments on Amazon --  500 replies to one comment.

V-A:  Yeah, but that’s just the Palin haters vs the lovers.  None of the comments have anything to do with the book, really.

Ghost: A good internet marketing firm could have taken care of all that.  

V-A:  Would it have been someone the Palins hired who sent Bristol to book signing in a Walmart in the middle of Texas nowhere instead of a mall in Tyler or Lubbock?

Ghost: Actually, the idea of a Walmart book tour is intriguing. But you’re right. Why that Walmart and why only one?

V-A:  But if Bristol and Nancy French get their advances up front, who really gives a damn how good the book is or how many copies sell?  Where’s the incentive to hustle?

Ghost:  Welcome to my world.  Have you actually read the book?

V-A: Yep.  Quasi-religious.  A few toots for abstinence.   
                                                                                             
Ghost: Sounds like they went broad appeal rather than niche.

V-A: You’re right.  It’s not quite an abstinence book or a “Christian” book.  It pretends to be the story of a good Christian girl, but there’s way more sin than forgiven, if you get my drift.  The book confuses being born again with “come to Jesus” moments.  My Christian friends would NEVER use that expression.

Ghost:  A good ghost follows orders.

V-A:  There’s some pretty ugly stuff. Allegations of date rape and boyfriend emotional abuse.  Lots of people calling Bristol a bitch and threatening to kick her butt.  Random strangers want to gang rape her.  Tons of mean girl stuff from her, too,  the way she attacks Mercede Johnston and Meghan McCain, who, according to Bristol, is rageful, selfish, and ego-driven probably because she’s been  marinating  too long in politics.  Shouldn’t the ghostwriter have shown the poor girl some guidance?

Ghost:  Like I said, we’re just the hired help. 

V-A:  Predictably there are few dates and lots of confusing flashbacks and flash-forwards. My favorite character is Willow.  She’s the little snoop who finds eight positive pregnancy test sticks while digging through Bristol’s purse AND who pulls Trigg’s ultrasound photo out of an envelope buried under papers piled on the table.  

Ghost:  I suppose this all supports the book’s title as her difficult life warranting some kind of superhuman courage.

V-A:  We get the good times, too.  How  Craigslist is her best friend because she loves shopping for deals on trucks and houses. That DWTS workouts were nothing compared to basketball workouts in high school, which she must have seen passing by the gym door those few semesters she was enrolled. Oh, and that she wanted to take a Haitian baby home but nobody would let her.

Ghost:  How old is this girl?

V-A:  20ish.

Ghost:  There you go.  Bristol gets to be on TV.  Nancy French gets to ghost her first book.  And the publishers write this one off as a loss. 

V-A:  You’re forgetting somebody.

Ghost: The kid who gets his own conception told as a rather dubious bedtime story?

V-A:  No!  MOM!   The world’s most perfect mom, mayor, governor, VP candidate, and spokeswoman for America who is just bound to end up in the Oval Office. Sarah Palin is on almost every page of this book.  We even get Bristol’s two cents on all the scandals from Troopergate to Trig-Gate.

Ghost: Trig-Gate?

V-A:  (reading aloud)   Some people actually suggested that Trig wasn’t our brother.  They even insulted us by suggesting he was Willow’s baby. Or mine! (123)  Willow’s baby? Where the hell did she get THAT?

Ghost:  I have no idea what you’re talking about.

V-A:  And Bristol never says that CBJ delivered Trig!  She does say that CBJ showed up later to point out on Trig’s little hand  a characteristic horizontal crease.  That’s how the family learned he had Down syndrome.    Wait a minute. I thought it was supposed to be Willow who figured it out?

Ghost: Who the hell is CBJ?

V-A:  Don’t you see?  Bristol got paid off to be her mom’s apologist!  The book is non-stop Sarah Palin propoganda:  

Ghost: This is a teenage memoir, and it’s all about her mom?

V-A:  Exactly!  What daughter would do that? Not mine. The book doesn’t need to sell or be interesting, because it’s meant to flood the public domain with more Palin disinformation--  while calling Levi Johnston a liar first, just in case, IN CASE, his ghostwritten book spills the beans on Trig-Gate.

Ghost:  You’ve completely lost me.

V-A:  Welcome to my world.   

--

Epilogue:  In the TV interview a few weeks ago Bristol admitted to Dr. Drew that she got pregnant as a result of missing several days of taking the pill.  He was surprised that important fact wasn’t in her book. She looked uncomfortable, lied, and said yes it was.  Take it from me, someone who actually read the book, that fact is not there.  What IS there is  Bristol blaming the pill (which she was taking for cramps)  for “not working right.”

Picture
This is the only photo of Bristol from Jan 2007 to Dec 2008 – a major two year span of her life.  No GOP convention photos.
Picture
Right, Bristol (with old face?) supporting the Trig hoax with a carefully composed caption.  Left, Uncle Track who Bristol depends on to “teach Tripp how a real man acts.”
Picture
Have we ever seen a photo of Sarah holding Tripp?  Like a proud grandmother?   Here she's holding Blackberry.


Thank you, Viola-Alex, for providing us with another insightful discussion with a friend and colleague "in the know." I so appreciate your witty dialogue and probing questions. H/T to you both!
57 Comments
OneMorePoint
8/8/2011 11:13:50 am

Great interview -- interesting insight to the whole book publishing/ghostwriting thing. It looks like they spent all the money paying for the ghost writer and for the Marketing expenses (PR people, travel, etc.) There was probably never any intention of making money or any kind of normal sales like other books.

All a vehicle for more Palin propaganda. Trying to explain how Sarah is such a great mom even though her daughter made a "mistake," which wasn't really her fault anyway.

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jeff
8/8/2011 12:12:59 pm

@V-A,

I enjoyed your post. Nicely done!

You are certainly a trooper for actually reading Brisket's book and touching on the highlights. I enjoy reading but I just couldn't bring myself to actually spoiling an evening trying to elicit any wisdom from the memoirs of SP's mini-me. So, many thanks for taking one for the team, V-A.

I'm envious of your friend, Ghost, with regard to this crazy Palin saga--- often I wish that I knew a lot less than I do. But that's not the case, and Sarah is too dangerous to ignore now.

Thanks again for all of your insight and hard work. Keep fighting the good fight.

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GypsyGirl
8/8/2011 12:38:17 pm

Imagine driving around with a vanity license plate with the name of the woman who your dad might have had an affair with. Or just paid for sexual relations as another possibility.

Then again I wouldn't give my child the name knowing the association much less have the name on my car.

-GG

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KarenJ
8/8/2011 12:55:56 pm

"V-A: And Bristol never says that CBJ delivered Trig! She does say that CBJ showed up later to point out on Trig’s little hand a characteristic horizontal crease. That’s how the family learned he had Down syndrome. Wait a minute. I thought it was supposed to be Willow who figured it out?"

-------------

I wonder if Bristol is a bit mixed up, which Trig prop is she talking about?

Not this one, on the campaign trail 10/1/08 -- note the normal palm creases in this close-up: http://bit.ly/r03mBx

(the picture can be found on Audrey's blog Palin's Deceptions, here - http://palindeception.blogspot.com/2009/08/cornerstone-part-1.html )

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FrostyAK
8/8/2011 01:20:20 pm

Very interesting interview, on many levels. A few comments and questions.

1. Would a ghost who already had a decent reputation take something like this (Bri$tol's/$P's victim rant) on? In French's case, it almost seems like prostitution. I can't imagine this would do anything for her reputation. Or does reputation still count for anything?

2. How much of the advance (percentage) goes to the ghost? In Bri$tol's case it should have been 98%.

3. Whatever happened to the publishing industry that they would allow 'celebrities' to have books written for them, and then plaster the celebrity's name on the cover?

4. Why would a publisher publish a book they knew they were going to take a loss on? We know, in this case, Murdoch underwrote it.

5. If Levi were to get some REAL legal representation, could the ghost be sued right along with the "author" and the publishing company?

As you can see, some of the questions are rhetorical.

This is another sign/symptom that our society is on the skids. All about celebrity (famous for being famous or for getting knocked up), nothing about real values.

Supposedly the guy who invented television said it would be the greatest propaganda tool ever known to man. Was he ever right!

I'm thoroughly disgusted; and glad I'm old and won't have to see the final scenes of this debacle.

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Ottoline
8/8/2011 01:45:46 pm

GOOD interview! Thank you!! So after it was over, did you explain about the hoax to your ghostwriter pal? Did he care? Did his reaction offer any insights into why the hoax message refuses to grow legs?

The info you present here has me thinking that whomsoever paid the advance (I don't mean just the publishing company, but whoever decided it would be a good idea to pay her, based perhaps on the funding coming from some other source, in some hidden shell-game fashion) probably thought of it as chump change for the cause of keeping those tax cuts going. The lack of marketing for the book supports the idea that there were motives other than making a buck for this book. As we know from other data.

I just looked up who owns William Morrow: it's HarperCollins. And who owns HC? NewsCorp owns it. And who owns NewsCorp? Why our old pal Rupert. I bet no one reading this is surprised. I never looked it up before because I just assumed it. Blaugh!

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V ictoria link
8/8/2011 02:35:56 pm

To be fair to Bristol, there were a number of comments that theorized that Willow was Trig's mother. Perhaps they were placed by trolls in order to make us look bad, but they were there. One idiot even suggested Piper! (And wes then resoundingly attacked by everyone else.)

Is there any chance of people ever massively returning the books Going Rogue and this one by BP (which, from what you've described, sounds like a slick oil spill) to the publisher? I know that in the UK many readers have created a headache for Crown because they were so disappointed in the last book published by Jean Auel.

If what most of us believe to be the truth - that Sarah did not birth Trig; that Bristol did - becomes more widespread, then the books will be massive frauds and I would love to see Harper Collins (part of Murdoch's empire) hasseled.

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Pat
8/8/2011 03:50:35 pm

After all that's been said about Bristol's bust line in that strange dress at the GOP convention, take a look at the pic of her at the "governor's gala" - not so different, is it? Just wondering.

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Leona
8/8/2011 11:33:43 pm

Viola-Alex, you wrote:

"Predictably there are few dates and lots of confusing flashbacks and flash-forwards. My favorite character is Willow. She’s the little snoop who finds eight positive pregnancy test sticks while digging through Bristol’s purse AND who pulls Trigg’s ultrasound photo out of an envelope buried under papers piled on the table. "

Did you mean Tripp's ultrasound, or Trigg's ultrasound? When did this happen?

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villages
8/8/2011 11:52:02 pm

Why must they constantly display their wealth? Found money, not hard-ass earned dollars.

What other teenage mom drives around a brand-new V-8 gas guzzler with vanity plates no less?

Must they always put bigger, badder and more irresistible 'kick me' signs on their back?

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nenagh
8/9/2011 12:31:40 am

Thank you Viola-Alex & Ghostwriter..

I never would have thought of the book in terms of disinformation for SP...
because I'd never read the book..

That is a great insight.

And thanks also for reminding us Bristol lied to Dr. Drew in her interview:

IIRC, Bristol commented that she had forgotton to take several? 3? 4? birth control pills.

Dr. Drew was quite surprised and immediately commented, as a physician, 'but you can't miss one!'

Later, Dr. Drew said he was surprised that Bristol did not include that information in her book.

Br: 'I put it in my book'

Dr Drew: 'No you didn't'..

Such is the arrogance of the girl that she thought she could get away with lying to a medical professional.. But Dr. Drew was quick enough to point out her lie on air. Wow.

Most of us would be embarrased, but not Bristol with her glazed but better put together look. I think all Palin's feel that if they are having a good hair day... the rest won't be noticed.

Thanks again.

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Viola-Alex
8/9/2011 12:53:11 am

@OneMorePoint: It truly is "Mom's" book -- and you're right. How great Mom is to take my pregnancy so well and to help me out with everything. What daughter makes her story all about mom?

@Jeff: I could read B's book because the non-event at the TX Walmart piqued my curiosity. It was so random, so much effort for so little return, that I wanted to know what was in the book. I thought it would be more about Bristol, her childhood and her feelings about Alaska-- but there is little personal history in the book. No setting the stage or naming the characters (ie grandparents, aunts etc.) It is all opinion and propoganda.
@GypsyGirl: good point. are these people just totally oblivious, or 24/7 foxy crafty?

@wow, Karen J -- good eye. Audrey covered every damn base, didn't she?

@FrostyAK - you bring up good questions. I'll do my best. 1. From the spunky "voice" French creates, I believe she took pride in making the book readable, which my friend says is the ghost's only power. My Ghostwriter admits he's hooked on the $ and now his reputation as a ghostwriter, so it's like an addiction. Can he give it up? At least, he is writing valuable books he would write anyway for interesting celebrities. WRiters earn so little money, that ghostwriting is becoming more desirable if a writer wants to get rich.
2. My friend makes in the high six figures for a book now. If this was French's first, she likely made five. It's a very short book, and little research was involved.
3. The Reporter (my other friend) wrote up a book proposal for his agent, who has represented him for 10 years, and was told only celebrity non-fiction is getting published. It is the age we live in. Like you, I'm old and disgusted, and grateful for wine.
@Ottoline: The Ghost listened kindly to my Sarah rants. But like most men, he kinda just doesn't get it. He has written extensively on other conspiracy type subjects (and been on TV as an authority on several of those kinds of shows) but this one doesn't grab his interest. He's never had children, which may be why. Thanks for the sleuthing on who owns Harper Collins. It's a very attractively put together book. They spared nothing -- but all-out, on the ground publicity.
@Victoria - the point about Willow rumor was that Bristol knew it. How would you know that rumor unless you read the blogs? And why bring up something so tasteless? In a book with few details, this was glaring.
@Pat -- kinda looks PG, duddent she? ummmm. . .
@Leona - yup. It was Trig's ultrasound. Buried under papers. THat's how Bristol learned her "hot" mom was pregnant not fat. Early March 2008, Bristol says. Her parents had been home for the weekend and said nothing. So Bristol called her dad. (about her mom's pregnancy??) He told her over the phone that her mom was pregnant and the boy baby would be "special needs." The next day Sarah announced it to three reporters she trusted right before a seafood reception at the capitol. " Mom thought it would be fun to break the news . . . before walking down to get some good lobster. . ." ( 92)
@Villages: I thought that truck very strange for a young woman. It says FEAR to me, as well as STATUS. Bristol saying that Craigslist purchasing was her hobby was odd too. What young woman does that? Loves truck shopping on Craigslist? That would explain how she found the AZ house. It tells me that B is online ALOT.

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Viola-Alex
8/9/2011 01:20:56 am

@GypsyGirl: It seems your remark is RIGHT on the money, now that Shailey has come right out and declared herself Todd's whore and Sarah's massage therapist.
http://shaileytripp.yolasite.com/blog/hey-alaska-where-is-my-property-

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lilly lily
8/9/2011 01:38:01 am

For me,Palin fatigue has set in.

Bristol is even more wet tissue paper uninteresting as she gets older. Her only draw is being the old hags daughter. lol (I'm almost twice Sarahs age and have yet to be called an old hag.)

Mercede has attacked again via the Playboy article, so the middle school vendetta continues. Claws are out.

We haven't seen the claws come out with the Republicans candidates. Now that should make the situation more interesting once again. How can they enviscorate each other?

Isn't it about time to make her bleed politically?

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V ictoria link
8/9/2011 01:38:04 am

@V-A - I agree that Bristol's bringing up Willow was not tasteful, but I'd like to distinguish between lies and bad taste. The latter doesn't bother me; the former does. Just as I don't care if Sarah's pants were wrinkled one day - but I do care that she had a pillow instead of a baby beneath her shirt.

And we're reading/writing blogs and comments, so why shouldn't Bristol read them?

But I really thank you for reading the book and conducting the interview with the ghost. It is very interesting.

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Laura Novak link
8/9/2011 02:00:39 am

Yes, thank you V-A!! It might have been an easy read, especially following your Walmart reporting, but still, you took one for the team.

Fascinating to learn that really, the book wasn't marketed because it didn't need to be. SARAH already has a FB page and book pages and marketing pros in place. This is a tangent to that. And on a personal level, more narcissistic supply for her.

The family is in the service of the mother's needs and desires. Prediction: they will all spend many years in therapy as they age, or they won't, and will suffer broken relationship after broken relationship.

And why oh why can't simple stories ever line up with that family. Oh that's right, PhD has already explained that in other posts.

Thanks again, V-A. I love that you have all these contacts out in the world who give us fresh perspective on this story!

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Ivyfree
8/9/2011 02:02:43 am

Bristol can't write that she didn't take the pill correctly. That would imply that the pill would have worked. The official position of the rightwing Christians is that birth control does not work... only abstinence "works" 100% of the time. So she has to ignore the fact that she's too stupid and undisciplined to manage to take a pill every day. It's all the pill's fault for not working! Because Bristol was an innnocent victim!

Seriously, the abstinence-only curricula only mentions birth control as something that Does Not Work.And yes, I have read more of them than I want to have read- but I was on a school board at the time.

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NSG
8/9/2011 03:19:52 am

V-A, thanks for doing this and sharing it here. Very interesting dialogue, and follow-up discussion!

And to respond to the question you posed to @OneMorePoint -- "What daughter makes her story all about mom?" -- I'd point to one with a severe lack of self and boundaries. Often found in children of parents with certain personality disorders (e.g., Narcissistic, Borderline, etc.).

Interesting that this SP disinformation project also provides plenty more evidence about who & what she really is.

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Ivyfree
8/9/2011 04:22:30 am

"My favorite character is Willow. She’s the little snoop who finds eight positive pregnancy test sticks while digging through Bristol’s purse"

This is trivial, but I really hope that Bristol had at LEAST put the pregnancy test strips in a plastic bag or something. Ewwww.

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Viola-Alex
8/9/2011 05:00:56 am

Totally O/T but isn't it interesting that the two voices we have speaking up right now, Sadie and Shailey, are women. Even if you don't like nor trust them, will they finally engage the Media and topple the Birth-Hoaxer?

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lilly lily
8/9/2011 05:19:34 am

The trolls really infested Joe McGinniss Rogue blog over the new Palin grandchild. They also have gone gangbusters against Mercede Johnston wherever they can.

Mercede is very attractive and young, so can do whatever she wants with her 15 minutes of attention to better her situation. Nude? who cares, I think it is better than popping out children year after year with no partner.

Joe McGinnis is a bit touchy and ambivilant about what can or can't be posted, so I see no point in posting there any longer. Basically it is a blog for his book. And that is how I'll treat it.

Personally I have no interest in Track or Britta and wish them well.

If it is privacy they want they should keep a low profile.

It can be done.

No one really cares what any of these youngsters does. And no one would care about Sarah Palin if she wasn't so dangerous and stupid.

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Molly
8/9/2011 05:21:26 am

V-A, I was just thinking the same thing. Thanks also for the interview with the ghostwriter, it was most illuminating.

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nenagh
8/9/2011 05:54:57 am

Thank you Ivyfree for explaining about the pill & rightwing Christians..

Very sad but fascinating info..

I'm afraid to read up about rightwing Christians then because it wouldn't be good for the BP :)

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Viola-Alex
8/9/2011 06:17:20 am

@LillyLil: I hear you. Palin fatigue indeed, but it feels like our perseverance may pay off. You know it's been the Palin watchdog troops like us who've kept the fight alive. Let's pat ourselves on the back. . .

@Ivyfree: no baggie in the story, and BP sez Willow was hunting for a stick o'gum. double ewww.

@Victoria: thanks for helping me clarify my remark. I meant not that BP lied but that clearly she is haunting the blogs. Frankly that's a sad thought, that a young woman might spend time reading the attacks on her family even if they are true. I know myself how hurtful literary reviews can be and have only faced a few in my life. The Palin family was forced to live in public and they have.

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lilly lily
8/9/2011 06:22:46 am

Before shutting down any Palin stuff and nonsense for the day I did check in on Palingates. I also voted on their new poll, that I didn't give a rat's ass if Sarah ran or didn't run. Either way she will make as much trouble as she can.

One person did comment about Sarah Palins sick need for Piper at her side. I too think Piper is acting up and can't be Sarah Palins sidekick anymore. This psychological need for family, especially Pipers presense is puzzling.

Why?

She has no boundries where her children are conserned. That is obvious, but Piper has always been the favored child.

Piper is no longer willing to be her mothers caretaker and the little messenger of the gods.

That does put a crimp in Sarah Palins style.

No one except Bristol wants to be with Mama Grizz. Bristol has benefited monetarily and will continue to benefit.

The book is as much about Sarah as it is about Bristol. What will look best in print for Bristol of course, but mainly how good it looks for Sarah Palin. Lied to by her foolish daughter who was taken advantage of for 3, yes that is 3 years by the local bad boy of Wasilla.

The bots at the Rogue blog really laid it on thick about the happy Palins.

The bots were so many, and laid it on so thick that something must be rotting in Wasilla. Two even used, though altered my internet name and Curious's name in their praising the happy, oh so happy extended family fun in Wasilla without a nosy neighbor spoiling their summer.

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curiouser
8/9/2011 07:06:48 am

Viola-Alex - Many thanks for reading the book and watching the Dr. Drew interview, for the interesting conversation with Ghost, and for your comments, one of which is my favorite thought of the day:

"Like you, I'm old and disgusted, and grateful for wine."

Classic!

The 'strange' is bountiful in Bristol's book starting with it being a vehicle for Sarah's mythology. It's fascinating that they brought up speculation that Willow may be Trig's mother when that was limited to a few commenters on a few blogs. Historically, the early rumors in Alaska were centered solely around Bristol which is well documented even by Palin's own emails. I'd like to know why Bristol isn't furious that her mother didn't stop the rumors.

What are the odds that V-A would chose to include the story of the simian line in Trig's palm in a post that appears on the same day that a photo of Trig with normal palm creases is brought to our attention? Only 45% of DS individuals have the simian crease so it's not surprising that Trig's palm is normal. But the discrepancy between the photo and Bristol's story is astonishing. I'd love to see this as a blog topic.

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Melly
8/9/2011 07:27:44 am

At least in interviews, B's comments re birth control pills were something like "they weren't used effectively" or they didn't work, obviously," like it's the pills' fault not hers. I'm surprised she didn't tell Doc. Drew that the pills did not make their way to her mouth the way she thought they were supposed to. Obfuscating twit.

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Lidia17
8/9/2011 08:15:37 am

Ivyfree, thanks for explicating the Xtian birth control position. Interesting that people find it hard to believe, but it's true!!!

Birth control MUST not be seen to work EVER because that undermines their brainwashing campaign. Logic, science, and reality are the last things that interest them.

I would recommend to anyone a book I recently finished, "The God Virus"

www.thegodvirus.net

which sets out magnificently the mechanisms by which competing religions have jockeyed for supremacy over the millenia. It answered a lot of questions for me as to "how" and "why" things have come to this.

Reason and reality have nothing to do with most of the important decisions and political movements of our history. We are led by people making concrete decisions invoking absurd fantasies from thousands of years ago. It's chilling.


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Next Chapter link
8/9/2011 09:01:08 am

I didn't realize that Bristol had said in her book that CBJ had not delivered Trig (didn't read it).

Does she say who did deliver him?

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Viola-Alex
8/9/2011 11:07:22 am

@Next Chapter: Bristol says that she, Dad and Willow were in the room when Trig was born. Then, that thirty minutes later Dr. CBJ "came into the room" and showed them Trig's palm. Then, later, that CBJ had delivered Piper. She may be implying that CBJ delivered Trig BUT she does not say so. Very careful wording.

Where did the Trig hand photo show up?

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curiouser
8/9/2011 12:55:01 pm

Viola-Alex - Commenter Cackling Rad had a comment on Palingates this a.m.:

"OT, I know, but a commenter on another site had a link to this photo of Trig at the Convention, and points out that his palm--which is clearly displayed--has a normal crease pattern."

http://bit.ly/r03mBx

I saw that Karen J, above, gave a link to the palinsdeception's post that showed the photo. I didn't read the comments at PD and don't know if anyone noticed the palm creases before now. I know that, until today, I've never read any comments about Trig's palm in the almost 3 years I've been following the blogs.

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curiouser
8/9/2011 01:01:49 pm

lilly lilly - Thanks for the heads-up about the Palin supporter's use of names.

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FEDUP!!!
8/9/2011 02:57:29 pm

Check out Blade's blog! She has some whopper of scans from some massage therapist/Physical Therapist! $P had lipo-injections (liquefying abdominal fat)a day or two before she declared to be pregnant!

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FEDUP!!!
8/9/2011 02:58:39 pm

Blade's site: http://shesnohockeymom.blogspot.com/

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V ictoria link
8/9/2011 04:21:52 pm

@Lidia - that book, The God Virus, sounds really interesting.

It seems bizarre to me that ignorance and lies could be put on a pedestal the way they are - but so it is. And the roots go way, way back. One of the first stories in the Bible is about Satan tempting Eve to eat the apple from the Tree of knowledge, and her doing so. Because of this - acts which I think should be applauded - Satan (who certainly has a bad character in other stories) and all women are punished and villified. Yet in other mythologies, seeking knowledge is welcomed. For example, in Greek mythology, Prometheus is credited with teaching people lots of things - how to weave, and how to use fire, for example. And although Prometheus was punished by Zeus, at least mortals knew to eppreciate him.

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Gyalist
8/9/2011 05:21:47 pm

Laura, have you seen <a href="http://shesnohockeymom.blogspot.com/2011/08/day-before-sarah-palin-announced-her.html">this</a>?

The blogger seems to have obtained Sarah Palin's SOAP notes from her massage therapist. Noteworthy is that the day before she announced her pregnancy, the therapist noted that Palin had recently undergone a weight-loss procedure (Lipidissolve).

This seems to be the reason why she was wearing what appears to be some sort of wound dressing on her stomach in the "nail in the coffin" photos.

Of course she couldn't be pregnant and also undergoing a procedure to lose weight.

This seems to be a line of inquiry that is worth pursuing.

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lilly lily
8/9/2011 11:40:30 pm

Have been debated how to quit blogging at all about Palin and Company. Until the media alknowledges the hoaxed pregnancy nothing more can be accomplished by my voice or comments on blogs.

The media has to point out the pile of Sarah Palins sins of ommission, lies, and ethical misdeeds.

Bristol certainly looked like a cute and happy kid holding her sister and neice. She obviously has the maternal gene, and had it early. Otherwise her character stinks. Nasty woman now.

As far as Trig is concerned, his being DS is what it is. What did disgust me was how Sarah Palin pushed him out at the public. Having traveled a great deal it reminds me of the maimed and deformed that are out there in the big world by their keepers as beggers. I remember one very wrinkled old legless woman begging outside of St Isaacs Cathedral in St Petersberg. I smiled at her, because I'm a smiling woman (a cast of my features) and being of a happy disposition I smile at babies and children and everyone that crosses my path, and they always break out in the happiest of grins, she was no exception, she broke out into the biggest happiest ear to ear smile that you can imagine. Later I saw her being trucked away from her begging spot, by two very obviously hale and hearty young men.

Palin struck me as one of those users, who keep the unfortunate among us for others to pity, and for her financial benefit in some way.

I think the others in the family love him, so he is lucky in that way.

I don't need to pity Trig. He is a happy child because he is limited, and he doesn't know that something isn't quite right. But Sarah shoved him out there like a holy icon to be worshipped by her bots. At the expense of his being made to be as independent as is possible. (Hearing aids and glasses and therapy.)

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lilly lily
8/9/2011 11:58:09 pm

Sarah Palins Scandals has papers pertaining to Sarah Palin lipo-disolve treatments and therapy for the pain on 3-4 -08. Another nail in her coffin.

She could not have this therapy of fat removal if she was pregnant. Part of her vanity because the treatments are painful. Like Bristol these two take the easy quick way out for weight reductions. Pain is always a side effect.

This should interest Andrew Sullivan, and if the media doesn't pick up on this final nail in her coffin, they should be ashamed to call themselves a news organazation.

Her hoaxes are as much news as her crazed attacks on the sitting President and his attempts to make this country stable. In such precarious times what she is doing is sedition and treason.

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Laura Novak link
8/10/2011 12:09:19 am

Quite a find for Blade. And thank you all for sharing it here. I encourage everyone to go over and read about the "SOAP" notes.

There is the indication that the year is not written on the forms. Did I understand that correctly?

It will be interesting to learn more about where these came from and whether someone on the "inside" wants this information to get out.

Will keep following this as Blade writes more:

http://shesnohockeymom.blogspot.com/


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Diane
8/10/2011 12:32:10 am

The Bristol in the first picture looks so sweet and happy.
She looks like a poster child for Norman Rockwell.

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pam
8/10/2011 12:52:04 am

Hi lily lily, please don't give up.. I love to read your commentaries.. I, too, become very frustrated with the lack of coverage of this very obvious HOAX. But we need to stay energized by the fact that more is coming out all the time. Palin has stopped much of the tweeting that she used to do, she has stopped much of the FB posting; maybe it is because RAM is gone, maybe because she knows that the end is near.. whatever the reason, everyone staying on this story is the only way to keep the truth coming to light.. keep the faith.. more and more people are going to know the truth.. maybe the media will be the last... so what? I refuse to give up the knowledge and speaking of the truth just because it is not spoken of in the media. She is a FRAUD.. and I will continue to say that to anyone that will listen.. Let's get focused and continue to dig, dig.. If nothing else, the Mercede piece in PB will add a new dimension to this story they are trying to ignore and bury..

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Lidia17
8/10/2011 01:30:25 am

@V ictoria, and in fact wasn't to be "Hellenized", in the early Christian world, a Bad Thing? I'm not clear as to what extent this has to do with a legacy of pantheism/"paganism" versus the a legacy of more atheistic experience-based lines of study and inquiry. Old gods could be, and were, syncretized into Jewish and Christian rites and mythology, but pure scientific inquiry could not be, making it that much more threatening to the elite classes guiding religion. It seems a "ruler" cannot be unreligious (however, rulers have ostentatiously switched religions if something can be gained by it).

The pursuit of concrete knowledge has always been antithetical to organized religions and certainly remains so today. Free-thinking is a risk to the scams they have been running. I don't know what the Greeks' level of appreciation for Prometheus was at the time, nor do I know much about how the Greeks generally worshipped, but the Prometheus myth was certainly crafted to end with his horrifying and eternal punishment, sort of a precursor to the hellish nightmares envisioned by Bosch. Socrates was sentenced to die for, among other things, "not believing in the gods of the state".

I was just reading in another book about the "apikoros"… a person who leaves the orthodox jewish faith (to follow "Epicure"… which figure stands for outside, scientific, ways of knowing). Epicure sustained an atomic model of matter, following Democritus, for example.

"The term first occurs in the Midrash, and is defined by Maimonides as anyone who rejects revelation and prophecy, or who insists that God has no knowledge of human activity. Currently the term is used to describe anyone holding heretical or heterodox views. "
http://www.themystica.com/mystica/articles/a/apikoros.html

Here is Erasmus, writing about the new Protestantism (from wikipedia): "I have sometimes seen them returning from their sermons, the countenances of all of them displaying rage, and wonderful ferocity, as though they were animated by the evil spirit.... Who ever beheld in their meetings any one of them shedding tears, smiting his breast, or grieving for his sins ?... Confession to the priest is abolished, but very few now confess to God.... They have fled from Judaism that they may become Epicureans.[31]" Our own society is hardly different: in recent US polls people would elect a Muslim for president sooner than an atheist, they aver.

People say they want the truth, and that they want "freedom" but that's not really what they want at all. They want belonging, comfort, subjection, frequently iced with the satisfaction of anticipating the suffering and destruction of others. My born-again sister is quite happy in her new adopted outlook that I and other members of her family will burn in eternal hellfire, that the world will be destroyed and most people will rot in hell forever experiencing unspeakable tortures.

Then she calls ME a nihilist…
LOL!

;-)




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Viola-Alex
8/10/2011 01:39:12 am

I concur with Pam. All our voices and comments keep this story living. Too many voices have been lost. Look what came out of my post-- a small thing-- but Bristol's lie about the palm crease. I had no idea that Trig doesn't have the palm crease. (Or at least one of the Trigs didn't.) But sure enough, there's the photo. Small things, really. But you never know what will be uncovered, or who will be moved to speak up.

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lilly lily
8/10/2011 02:37:42 am

Yes, Bristol in the first photo is "Saturday Evening Post" material. Definatly Norman Rockwell with the grin and pigtails.

LOL. I had pigtails too. a easy hairstyle for young girls and tomboys. An American Heidi of the Mountains.

That is almost a classic Palin prop picture, though in that one Bristol has a genuine grin, and feels genuine pleasure at baby sitting.

Another standard American rite of passage. Who hasn't been a baby sitter as a teen?

I would never hire Bristol or her nosy sister Willow rooting around in my drawers and closets, and having the boys in for abstinence sessions..

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anonfornow
8/10/2011 02:52:16 am

The SOAP forms from Blade dovetail exactly with what Tripp was saying. When she talked about giving Sarah the message, she said that Sarah came in complaining of abdominal soreness, and that she'd had a procedure done that you would never have done while pregnant.

Unfortunately, the documents lack the year date and have nothing to identify the facility. I do think they're genuine, but the media won't touch them without a clear link to the source and someone willing to go on record.

But we now know that 1) the patch on Palin's stomach was there because she was sore from the injections; 2) that Palin had so much fat in her stomach at the time that she was willing to risk these injections to lose it; and 3) Palin doesn't care much about her health.

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lilly lily
8/10/2011 03:06:18 am

From Town and Country March 2011.. Samantha Marshall.

Extracts..

"Today it is actually possible to freeze, melt, heat or ultra-sonically blast fat cells."

"Like traditional liposcuction, this technology can debulk most problem areas, but because the fat layer is pre-treated and liquified using heat from a laser, the mechanics of extracting it are less drastic and the cannula used to extract fat is only one to two millimeters in diameter, which means less bruising and swelling."

"It can be done under local anesthesia."

a comment from someone who underwent a number of the proceedures.."The only thing that reminded me I had anything done was the compression garment I had to wear for two weeks." This woman had a number of separate treatments. Neck, love handles and bra bulge and stomach. She plans to have her upper arms done next.

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Viola-Alex
8/10/2011 03:37:36 am

A very strange thought: what if Sarah cooked up the pregnancy to hide the compression bandages and swelling from procedure?! Kill two birds with one stone. And the Trig(s) really were just loaners. . .

My apologies to DOC. Apparently, he was right!

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Laura Novak link
8/10/2011 03:39:28 am

Fabulous dialogue entre Lidia and Victoria. I'm about to go all low brow on you, so I'm so pleased that Victoria's book post and Viola-Alex's book dialogue inspired loftier thoughts from your great minds.

No expert here, but I'd caution about the hand crease. That photo is not from the RNC. Trig is older. I believe it was the event in the hangar, or her state of the state, but I'm pretty sure that he was older than 4 mos. in this photo.

I've seen newborns without the palm crease, in Prade Willi syndrome to be specific. When they are hypotonic in utero, they don't move much, hence their hand is folded and stays folded.

Not sure if the hand creases INcrease with age and activity. But I wouldn't put much stock in that.

What is flagged for me is yet another inconsistency. Willow was supposedly the expert, diagnosing Ds on a new new newborn. And now it's the doctor who shows them. Sure, whatever. There is no single reality in that family.

I'd like to see a full date on that SOAP form. Has the year been verified?

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lilly lily
8/10/2011 03:57:12 am

The National Enquirer of Edwards baby fame is going viral on the Palin family.

On Track. The Wedding and Baby are now formally announced.

On Palins snarling at Mercede Johnston and her family as white trash?

Seems NE is going to keep up the pressure. They know they are onto a scandal breaking. Like the Edwards business unfolding, this hopefully will throw her into one of her psychotic breaks. As she did as reported in Game Change.

Sad that it has to be a tabloid outing her and not the legitimate reportage of the main stream press.

A middle aged woman was so presidential spatting with a teen aged Levi Johnston a few years ago. She is getting shriller and more idiotic with Mercede.

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DiOR
8/10/2011 04:15:33 am

I haven't had much chance to read all the comments, so forgive me if this has come up before. According to the SOAP at Blade's site, not only was Sarah's abdominal area sore, but also her neck area. Is it possible that the original reason for the scarves was not preparing for a pregnancy hoax but covering up bruises on her neck? Can the lipodissolve treatment be done on the neck area?? Liposuction obviously can.

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Leona
8/10/2011 04:54:23 am

Those silly Palins, they lie so much they can never quite keep their stories straight.
In Bristol's book, there is a reference to Willow, the little snoop who found Trig's ultrasound and learned then that Trig had Down Syndrome.

Now wouldntchaknowit, but Sarah said something quite different in one of her speeches at a pro-life rally sometime in 2009 or 2010 when she was describing her pregnancy and Trig's birth. She said that Willow was on the phone to Track right after Trig's birth and she told Track that Trig looked like he had Down Syndrome.
Now come on, Bristol & Sarah, try a little harder to get your stories straight.

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lilly lily
8/10/2011 04:55:14 am

Well I definatly will keep reading the comments for a while.

Had considered going away for a week or so to ween myself off of my internet addiction to politics. The weather here is stunning. Perfect for ignoring the net.

Seems to me the floodgates are opening. Someone is dropping spicey tidbits out there for sharp-eyed anti Palin bloggers to see and snap up. Chum...

Are we sharks? LOL.

Is Sarah bleeding, just the tiniest bit?

I certainly hope someone is sharpening their claws and playing with her.

Let us see how much it takes to bring her to her knees.

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curiouser
8/10/2011 05:51:04 am

Laura - Perhaps a physician can chime in about whether a simian line can differentiate over time. I'm certain, though, that the palm lines couldn't change as significantly as seen in the palm photo of Trig. How can we conclude anything other than the palm photo baby is not the same baby as the one in Bristol's story of Trig's birth? What am I missing?

For fun and to possibly help date the palm photo, I have links to photos of Trig in the same shirt. His size and hair is closest to the VP debate on Oct 2 '08, although none of the Palin females are wearing clothes that match the palm photo. The second link is to a photo that shows both palms, though not clear enough for my eyes to make out the lines.

campaign photos, including Oct. 2 debate:
http://www.zimbio.com/photos/Trig+Palin/Biden+Palin+Square+Off+VP+Debate/kUkmXc1BfhF

stills taken during filming of the Special Olympics video, probably Feb '09:
http://wayback.archive-it.org/1200/20090726160437/http://gov.state.ak.us/large_photo.php?id=352

the Special Olympics video:
http://www.viddler.com/explore/Palinmania/videos/10/

And this priceless March '09 photo of Sarah hiding behind a sleeping Trig, a bottle, and two blackberries:
http://wayback.archive-it.org/1200/20090726175458/http://gov.state.ak.us/large_photo.php?id=267



Reply
Lidia17
8/10/2011 07:32:55 am

@Laura, sorry for careening OT… what a genteel way of steering us back! Wish I had your diplomacy at times, certainly.

The Trig hand-crease discrepancy is a wonderful find, and you and all the health caregivers here have real knowledge of such things, which is bit more valuable for our current purposes than is philosophizing.

I wish there were an easy way for us to register and compare all these disparate stories and timelines.

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Phyllis
8/10/2011 07:58:18 am

AS Curiouser11 said on Blade.s blog Sarah was in a airplane on the way back to Alaska on March 4 2008.
So no way was she having a massage in Anchorage at the All About You Spa on that day.

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Laura Novak link
8/10/2011 08:29:46 am

Oh Lidia, not at all! That's not what I meant. I always learn something new from all of you and it's delightful to see a post take off into new territory. I'm delighted you both engaged in this discussion. If only I had the time to read everything everyone suggests.

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Lidia17
8/10/2011 10:19:19 am

The Greek philosopher is Epicurus, of course… not Epicure… damn the lack of an edit feature!

Thanks, Laura… it's always welcome to have some parallel space for exploration.

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