News Round-Up April 26 - May 08

News Round-Up by Mrs Tarquin Biscuitbarrel

Plenty of activity on the Palin front the past ten days! While Blueberry Tart has taken a little time off, here's an overview of current events as seen at Politicalgates:

Monday, April 26, 2011

"Politico" reports about the anti-Palin bloggers, mentions "Politicalgates" - The "mission to expose Sarah Palin" continue

By Patrick

"Who'v'e thunk it?" in the words of Pokey Prothero, the rich, irreverently jolly society girl of the novel, The Group, Mary McCarthy's look at eight Vassar graduates, set in the 'Thirties. Even a few months ago, it appeared unthinkable that mainstream-and-tillting-right Politico would report seriously, using real journalism and real reporting, on bloggers who remain skeptical of Sarah Palin's most outrageous bragging.

"In a detailed article which has already angered the Palin-fans, Ken Vogel from Politico takes a close look at the anti-Palin movement and the anti-Palin bloggers in particular. Ken Vogel did not rely on 'second hand informationfor this article, but conducted several interviews, including with myself, which shows that Vogel takes his journalism seriously. This might sound funny, but in a world where even established and fact-orientated journalists and bloggers like Joe McGinniss, Geoffrey Dunn, and Andrew Sullivan are quickly branded 'conspiracy theorists by parts of the liberal media, because they continue to ask very inconvenient questions about Sarah Palin, traces of 'real' journalism are indeed hard to find".

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Prof. Brad Scharlott on the Peter Collins Show, talking in detail about Sarah Palin's pregnancy hoax and the "spiral of silence" in the media

By Patrick

As the "information cold war" about Sarah Palin's faked pregnancy continues, those parts of the liberal media who have recently branded the doubters as "conspiracy theorists" are now quick to declare victory, Patrick points out. The websites of the Palin's cultists are currently very, very silent regarding this issue and don't even dare to mention the discussion about Sarah Palin's pregnancy - and it's quite obvious why this is the case, as Sarah Palin has no evidence to prove her pregnancy.

The websites of the Palin's cultists are currently very, very silent regarding this issue and don't even dare to mention the discussion about Sarah Palin's pregnancy - and it's quite obvious why this is the case, as Sarah Palin has no evidence to prove her pregnancy. But who needs Palinbots when. for example, Justin Elliott at Salon boldly cries, "Sarah Palin, we'd be happy to see and publish your medical records. But the point of our package is that Palin simply doesn't need to do this -- there is no credible evidence to suggest that anyone other than Sarah Palin is the mother of Trig."

Fortunately, Patrick reminds us, not everybody is fooled so easily by Sarah Palin. Professor Brad Scharlott of Northern Kentucky University, whose research paper started the recent public discussion, has already given several interviews, and yesterday he gave an interview which in my view is his best one yet: He was a guest on the Peter B. Collins Show, hosted by a highly intelligent, experienced and courageous radio talk show host. Peter B. Collins has not been fooled by Sarah Palin, as it's apparent that he is highly sceptical with regard to Sarah Palin's pregnancy story.

A surprising opponent to "Trig Trutherism" appears in the form of Jason Linkins, an otherwise well-regarded journalist at HuffingtonPost. Linkins takes the easy out by branding anyone who doubts "The Reckless Ride," or anything else that Sarah Palin says about her allegedly pregnancy with Trig is, in short, a nutcase. On April 26, Patrick exchanged several Twitter messages with Linkins, presented on that day's post. Linkins' dubious position is backed up by David Weigel (and with friends like this, who needs enemies?), who intones in Slate, that "Trig Truthers" are apparently part of a notorious "conspiracy underground", and it's impossible that their assertions are correct. It's not necessary to look at any evidence, because the Trig Truthers are "nuts," just like any other conspiracy theorists - so no further investigations are needed. The knuckles of Palin's unlikely defenders at Salon, Slate, and the Anchorage Daily News are smartly rapped by Andrew Sullivan in The Daily Beast:

Politicalgates' first "moneybomb" began on April 26, with a gratifying flood of responses beginning as soon as the PayPal button appeared on the site. (Cash, check, and money order donations were and are gratefully received; write to kathleenpoliticalgates@gmail.com for information on where to send the boodle.)

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

UK Guardian publishes fact-free article about the "hate" and the "misogyny" of the "Trig Truthers", who are "a group of (mostly) men"

By Patrick

"A new day, a new disappointment: In a fact-free, nonsensical hitpiece, another liberal media outlet underperforms and smears the "Trig Truthers", just for the sake of it. In the "Comment is free" section of The Guardian, hothead Megan Carpentier (American citizen), executive editor at RawStory.com, claims to havediscovered what really drives the "Trig Truthers": They are "a dedicated group of (mostly) men", and they are driven by "creepy misogyny." Carpentier seems unduly proud of the fact that she shoehorned the word "vagina" into three spots in her article. In addition, she and Patrick exchanged a number of Twitters, which can be read at the original Politicalgates post.

Patrick also, too, has pointed out that Babygate is far from the only "-Gate" with which Sarah Palin has saddled the world. He also cited--just to name a few--Troopergate, Dairygate, SarahPAC filings-Gate, Morlockgate (the decades-long connection of the Palin family with that of American soldier Jeremy Morlock, who in his own words, "waxed" several Afghan civilians and proudly posed with their corpses, just as Sarah does with a dead caribou), the crimes committed by Todd Palin's half-sister Diana, who brought a four-year-old child along with her as she burglarized a house, Todd Palin's in-his-face harassment of a Valdez businessman who had the audacity to open his flip-cam, several posts detailing Sarah Palin's extreme religious positions, as well as one regarding her "legal defense funds." And that was just for starters.

+++UPDATE April 29, 2011: Please note that we have now been given the opportunity to publish a response to Megan Carpentier at "The Guardian" and to explain our position regarding the investigation of Sarah Palin's pregnancy. My statements below which expressed disappointment about "The Guardian" are therefore not up-to-date any more, as we have afterwards been treated in a very decent and fair way by the editors+++

Matt Seaton, Megan Carpentier, Jason Linkins, Justin Elliott and other liberal journalists have put their reputation on the line for a proven serial liar, who refuses to show any evidence for her pregnancy (and as investigative journalist David Neiwert has pointed out, Palin also has lied about providing the birth certificate. These journalists can now only hope that they are not proven wrong. That's not a situation I would choose to be in as a professional journalist.

In an ironically timed event in a news-filled week, President Barack Obama presented his very own personal long-form birth certificate:

So, as Joe McGinniss has pointed out, "The ball's in your court, Sarah."

You won't catch me quoting from Jerry Lewis (not the California congressman) on virtually any other occasion, but to Sarah Palin, I say, "Hey, laaaaaaaaaaady?"

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Posted in "The Guardian": Sarah Palin, unreliable narrator - By Kathleen Baker, editor of Politicalgates

It's wrong to cast those who question Trig's birth story as crazed conspiracy theorists when the media have not done their job

By Kathleen Baker, editor of Politicalgates

Originally published at "The Guardian"

Then Alaska Governor Sarah Palin with Lieutenant Governor Sean Parnell, and Sandy Parnell, as Palin announced her endorsement of Parnell in his run for a congressional seat, on 14 March 2008, at the state elections office in Anchorage, Alaska. Palin's son Trig was born just over a month later on 18 April. Photograph: Michael Dinneen/AP Photo

+++

+++UPDATE: Very sorry guys - the Guardian has pulled the article AGAIN, now for the second time even with the reworded version which you can read below (the rewording was done because the Guardian had requested it). We will see what happens next...keep the fingers crossed that everything will turn out to be fine. The communication with the Guardian is very friendly and open. +++ UPDATE APRIL 29: The Guardian is still checking with their lawyers whether they can put the article back up again. +++ UPDATE 2, APRIL 29: Matt Seaton, editor at the Guardian, just told us: "Got legal clearance; no further changes called for. Article is back on site."

Saturday, April 30, 2011

Shaving Babygate Theories With Occam's Razor - Megan Carpentier, please take note

By Ennealogic

"Thanks to a rather vitriolic post by Megan Carpentier of the Guardian, in which she asserts that "Trig Truthers" are bitter, misogynistic and ill-informed to boot, I got to thinking about one of her more outrageous statements: "In the stubbly nether regions of the internet untouched by Occam's razor, a dedicated group of (mostly) men seeks to prove that the Palin family drama is more soap operatic than the family has already acknowledged."

Apparently Ms. Carpentier is unaware that I, and many co-researchers, fellow bloggers and commenters who contribute to the ever-growing body of knowledge about the fraud that is Sarah Palin, are mothers and grandmothers. We "Trig Truthers" are hardly misogynistic. We seem to be considerably more aware than she is about the bizarre soap opera phenomenon that is Wasilla's Palin family. That Ms. Carpentier brags having used the word, "vagina," three times in her story does not comfort me into accepting she understands the babygate dilemma at all. Razors and vaginas and nether regions oh my!—this is not about shaving pubic hair, this is about a pregnancy hoax, and if Ms. Carpentier had spent any time at all learning about the details of the story instead of dashing off a "cracking piece," she just might have been able to add something to the discussion instead of serving to spiral the question further into silence.

Theory #1 - According to Sarah's versions of the story, she gave birth on a Friday morning to a 5-week (or 7-week) premature Down syndrome baby, at Mat-Su Regional Medical Center (or maybe in Anchorage), after taking two flights from Texas to Alaska and driving in the snow for another hour, and after leaking amniotic fluid (or not) since early the previous morning. She subsequently brought the preemie to work with her on the following Monday for show and tell.

Documentation of Live Birth (missing from evidence)

A certified Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (not available at Mat-Su Regional Medical Center)

Theory #2 - Sarah Palin was not pregnant in at all in 2008, but perpetrated a birth-story hoax which she initiated publicly on March 5, 2008 and carries through to this day. The Down syndrome child has been adopted by the Palins.

Trig Palin on 18th April, 2008: "A 5-7 week premature infant"

For Theory #1 we should expect to observe:

a birth certificate
an announcement entered by the hospital
pictures of a 5-7 week premature infant taken within a day or two of birth
an explanation of how the attending Family Practice doctor (CBJ) came to the conclusion that it was okay for Sarah Palin to travel by air and car for 11 hours without getting checked out along the way
an honest explanation of why and how the hospital - its directors, staff and doctors - agreed to induce this multipara, 44 yr-old with a high risk pregnancy in a facility that doesn't even have a level 1 NICU instead of stabilizing and transporting her to a facility in Anchorage equipped to handle such deliveries
a further honest explanation of how such an infant was permitted to be handled by her son's military buddies and the elder Heaths within a day of his birthing, and then brought into a public office environment just three days later
entries in the then governor's daily schedule dating what should have been frequent pre-natal visits
medical records evidencing pre-natal visits and tests
empirical evidence in the form of statements, e-mails, images and video from media, colleagues, friends and other community members supporting the fact of Sarah's 7-8 month pregnancy
and a consistent story of how, when and where the birth happened

For Theory #2 we should expect to observe:

photographic and video evidence of a lack of a pregnant belly both before and after Sarah Palin's pregnancy announcement
empirical evidence in the form of statements from media, colleagues, casual bystanders, community members and airline personnel that she did not appear pregnant even just before the announced birth date
an unexplained reluctance to allow questions or provide documentation regarding the birth
occasional hostility and a flippant attitude toward anyone questioning the story
confusion, hesitation, and inconsistencies in her telling of the birth and pregnancy stories
a less-than-motherly caring demonstrated toward the Down syndrome child she claimed she was desperate for.

May 3, 2011

What was Sarah Palin’s motivation to create and continue the hoax of who gave birth to Trig Palin?

Guest Post By Kilob

As the story sits right now, it’s the word of Sarah Palin and a now growing group of partisan reporters that are coming to her aid with newly written stories of eyewitness sightings of a pregnant Sarah Palin in early 2008. The fact is only a few photos of a questionable pregnant Sarah Palin exist, while bloggers have uncovered a treasure trove of photos depicting a miracle pregnancy that lasted only 5 weeks with the photo of a bulging belly that grew large within 8 days.

The ongoing tales of the fateful trip to Dallas days before Trigs supposed birth and continuing to this day that do not make sense what so ever. The tale also gets more descriptive each time Sarah Palin recites her reckless ride story. With what we now know of Sarah Palin and her no holds bar attitude to achieve the highest office in American politics, the national media not only should ask the following questions of Sarah Palin, they should demand answers much like they demanded of President Obama.

Will you provide a certified copy of Trig Paxson Van Palin’s long form

birth certificate?

Will you provide certified documented proof of attending medical

appointments during your pregnancy of Trig Palin from your medical

insurance provider?

Will you provide the name of the Physician who delivered Trig Palin?

Was Cathy Baldwin-Johnson the true author of your medical

information release in the final hours of the campaign, and was any

pertinent information regarding your medical past withheld from the

release for political reasons?

Please add your own suggestions to the comments or send them toKathleenpoliticalgates@gmail.com

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Sarah Palin Praises Point Clear Alabama And Announces A New Tour With Franklin Graham

By Kathleen

Sarah Palin was the keynote speaker at a fundraiser--at her usual fee?--for exceptional people last night and astonishingly apparently still believes that President Bush laid the ground work for the operation that led to the killing of Osama Bin Laden and that President Obama's name need not be mentioned. Her petty and divisive remarks were again totally at odds with the mood of civility, relief and pride in President Obama that most Americans presently display. Even Obama critic Dick Cheney praised President Obama by name for his handling of the operation..

Palin went on to call for the release of photos of Osama Bin Laden after his death in order for the world to know that the United States will not be challenged. I wonder what Palin will have to say if the release of such photos by the White House incites even more hatred against the United States and its citizens? Meanwhile as Palin baits and taunts it will be President Obama who has another tough call to make. She's not Presidential material -- she's a rabble rouser who is quickly losing her rousing ability.

As Kathleen notes, "Franklin Graham is absolutely 100 per cent certain that people like Osama Bin Laden will be thrown into hell and so will the rest of us if we don't adhere to his particular brand of 'Christianity.' That doesn't seem fair to me, however, according to Graham, "Jesus took our sin and now we have to pay with our belief in him in order to have eternal life." Bill O'Reilly plays the 'innocent massacred children' trump card arguing that Graham's dogma should not apply to everyone and that he personally cannot imagine that God would reject such children. Graham says 'forget the children' in order to make his point. His God doesn't differentiate -- when it comes to belief in Him there is no wriggle room."

If you really want to help the victims of the Alabama tornadoes, we suggest bypassing Franklin Graham and Samaritan's Purse, and look here for other ways to assist our southern neighbors in rebuilding their lives and homes:

"And yes, that jacket is awful," Kathleen concludes.

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Colorado Christian College Sarah Screech for the Troops Transcript

Transcription of Sarah Palin Colorado College Speech by Dr Patois

Sarah Palin adores talking about heroes. Even some of the folks who hire her in order to hear her free-associations (such as Heroic Media) have the word in their title. But ya wanna know what rill heroism in action looks like? Um, yeah? Ya do? May 5's hero of the day was DrPatois, who transcribed Palin's speech at Colorado Christian University. Here is just a small helping, thank you very much, of the word salad served on that day, meant to convey Palin's five-point military strategy, with Thousand Island dressing on the side:

"Hey you know before we get started even um, and speaking of being here for the right reasons and supporting TAPS and all that uh Bonnie is doing and, and the sacrifices that she and her family have made in um, in order to help those who have been touched by tragedy I thank you for showing your financial support for such a group an’ um in, in order to kind of articulate, in trying to think, in simple terms, which I’m very comfortable doing, I wanna’ read you something, you’ve probably have heard it before, I want to read you something that we believe was written by Charles Provence some years ago and it is again in just simple terms why it is that we are able to assemble here today freely, why it is that we know that we can be here safely and those with opposing views even are able to uh, express their views and um, share and debate and discuss. The reason that we’re able to do that is because of the sacrifices that our military have made for us. Let me read you this real quickly because we do need to remember that “it is, because of, the veteran, not the reporter, who has given us freedom, of the press. It is our veteran, not the poet

who has given us freedom of speech. It is the veteran, not the campus organizer who has given us freedom to protest. It is the veteran, not the lawyer, who has given us the right to a fair trial. It is the veteran, not the politician, who has given us the right to vote. And it is the veteran, who salutes the flag, who serves beneath the flag and who’s coffin is draped by the flag and who allows protesters, to burn the flag” (quotation marks are a guess). It is the veteran who is allowing us to be here today. So, with that, we salute the veteran, we recognize that without the sacrifices that have been made, by them, we would not be sitting here today.

"And what a place to be sitting today. A basketball court for one. I’m just tickled to get to be here, we just fill [sic] right at home. And in Colorado, you know, a lot of similarities between Alaska and Colorado..."

Because I'm a natural-born wet pocket, I'll step on Palin's next line by telling you one of the similarities between Alaska and Colorado: Both have mountains.

Kathleen then rolls up her sleeves to discuss Palin's five-point military strategy, about which I can only quote DrPatois' one-word assessment: "Oy."

Friday, May 6, 2011

Steve Kroft Speaks on Sunday with President Obama in his First Interview Since the Death of Osama Bin Laden

By Kathleen

On Sunday President Obama speaks to Steve Kroft of "60 Minutes" in his first interview since the killing of Osama Bin Laden.

Despite goading from Sarah Palin and others to release the graphic photos of Osama Bin Laden, President Obama makes the correct call and decides that it would not be in the interests of the United States to release photos of Osama Bin Laden's body as such images may inflame the Muslim world. Sarah Palin's call to President Obama that he stop "pussy-footing" and release the photos is yet another example of her absolute unpreparedness for high office. Imagine, for a moment, how Palin herself would react if someone accused HER of "pussy-footing." I believe we've already seen an example, back during the 2008 campaign when Palin took the expression "lipstick on a pig" very, very personally.

Has she copyrighted the word "lipstick"?

Patrick hints in comments that "something is coming up." And was it ever...! No need to wait, just look below at May 8!

Saturday, May 7, 2011

Exclusive live reports, video and pictures from Levi Johnston's 21st birthday party at Chateau Nightclub - What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas...

By Leadfoot_LA

..unless it gets shared exclusively with PoliticalGates readers!

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-i1EF9Lbh6Mo/TcTpjgz9XLI/AAAAAAAAAN8/xdh3jMN2EBg/s1600/Levi%2Bposter.jpg

"The life of a part time blogger can be rough. All that sitting in our parents' basements, watching Sarah Palin's bumbling TV appearances and ironing our tinfoil hats. Sometimes a girl just needs to cut loose. So I decided to take one for the team and head to Las Vegas to attend Levi Johnston's 21st birthday bash.

"I dragged my friends Racheal and Heather along with promises of a free hotel room, debauchery and Levi Johnston's radiating hotness. We arrived in Vegas late this afternoon and headed to the hotel to beautify.

"Technically Levi could be my son, if I had him at the same age Bristol had Trig. But that wasn't going to stop me from trying my best to flirt the truth out of him. So I put on my red stilettos and tiniest dress and off we went to the new Chateau nightclub at Paris, Las Vegas.

"Here are a few early pictures from the red carpet. I'm heading into the VIP room to chat with Levi and will post an update and more pictures as soon as I have recovered.

xoxo
Leadfoot_LA"

+++

UPDATE - by Patrick:

Not only did our girl fly to Vegas with her friends just to meet Levi Johnston, she also was given a coveted spot on the red carpet at Chateau Nightclub and a VIP-invitation, as an accredited journalist for Politicalgates!

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-T72-dhx2KKs/TcTlq7PZElI/AAAAAAAAANE/ZhSSTumbbT0/s1600/Jen%2B%2526%2Bfriend%2B2%2Bnew.jpg

Saturday, May 7, 2011

Levi Johnston's 21st birthday party - Exclusive report and interview with Levi, part 2 - Plus: Levi's ghostwriters James and Lois Cowan revealed!

Leadfoot_LA continues...

"What a night! We hit Chateau nightclub at about 10:30 and found our spot on the red carpet. A variety of b-list celebrities (ok, D-list) came out before Levi. Some kid from Harry Potter (NOT one of the main people), a Disney Channel actress I had never heard of, someone from Dexter. Levi and Tank took the red carpet promptly at 11:00 -- as the main and final attraction. As soon as he walked out, the girls and I kind of gasped. He is REALLY a hunk. My first thought was that he is short. He is about 5'9" - maybe 5'10". I am 5'9 without heels, and was about 6'2" last night. If it wasn't enough that I'm too old for Levi, now I am also too tall. [Pout] Racheal kept saying, 'He is cute!,' and Heather kept repeating, 'What a baby face!'

"Levi looked a bit uncomfortable and embarrassed on the red carpet. He was definitely blushing. He didn't have that snotty sense of entitlement that *some people* have (ahem, Bristol). He looked grateful to be there and bashful at all the attention."

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Interview with Geoffrey Dunn about his upcoming book "The Lies of Sarah Palin - The Untold Story Behind Her Relentless Quest for Power"

By Patrick

"We were given the opportunity to interview Geoffrey Dunn about his upcoming book The Lies of Sarah Palin - The Untold Story Behind Her Relentless Quest for Power. The book will be released on Tuesday, May 10," notes Patrick.

"Fortunately we were lucky enough to have received an advance copy from the publishers. Therefore, we have already read significant portions of the book, and I can assure you that you will not be disappointed if you have ordered a copy. Geoffrey Dunn had access to a huge number of excellent sources, many of whom went on the record, as well as access to a large amount of previously unpublished material. Geoffrey wrote what I consider the ultimate biography of Sarah Palin's political career. The book is fact-checked up to the smallest details, and clearly sets a benchmark for all the other books regarding Palin which are to follow this year. The book is incredibly well written, packed with facts and a great achievement by Geoffrey Dunn."

Geoffrey Dunn--author, professor, filmmaker--has a list of credentials that might require a forklift to carry around with him. (That, in itself, is certain to annoy the subject of his book.) Among the subjects Dunn tackles are the generations-long dysfunctional Heath/Palin family dynamics, the reason why so many locals are reluctant to speak on the record about Palin's activities in Alaska, Palin's spotty educational record--and that D in microeconomics.

Before shooing all readers directly to the post to read Patrick and Kathleen's incisive questions and Dunn's replies, let's quote this one in full:

"7. If you could name the "top three victims" of Sarah Palin, who would they be, and why?

"Dunn: 1. John McCain. Because his reputation will always be tainted by her selection. And she destroyed his chance of ever becoming president. Of course, he was careless and reckless in his choosing of her, so I feel no empathy toward him whatsoever. Karma’s a bitch. 2. Walt Monegan. Here’s a guy who’s a lifelong patriot; his father gave up his life for [before Walt even was born!] this country; and she sacrificed his career over a personal vendetta against Mike Wooten. Then lied about it. 3. Her children. They will never know what normal is. Ever. Any of them. Celebrity comes with a heavy price tag attached. And Palin’s with a particularly burdensome load.

"Let me also add the American people. Palin’s viciousness and her politics of anger on the campaign trail forever changed the tone of American political discourse. She has unleashed the dark side of the American psyche and has given body to the right-wing, racist hatred of talk radio. So in a sense, we have all been victims—across the political spectrum."

Tuesday can't come fast enough for me... I've even washed and bagged the salad greens in advance!

Among the most popular comments of the week-plus since the previous Weekly Roundup:

BfromC politely but firmly states, "

Message to Linkins and fellow fools ---McGinniss and Dunn have each spent well over a year researching their books on Sarah Palin, with much time spent in Alaska. McGinniss even lived next door for a while. Both of these acclaimed authors have doubts about Palin's birth story and have asked questions. That is what investigative writers do. You listen to a couple of guys who call themselves journalists, who happen to have unusual connections to the Palin administration, who "believe the bump" and you throw your critical thinking skills in the drink. Good luck with that decision in the future.

ja thought, who actually SAW Sarah Palin at a time when she was allegedly pregnant, tells her story here. Thanks, also, too, to MaddiesMom, for encouraging ja thought to re-post her experience:

"Sarah Palin has taken an adoption of a special needs child and given him what could be a good home. Had she chosen to simply state that she hoped the press would respect his privacy, that would likely have been the end of it. Instead, the lie of her giving birth to Trig and her political and for-hire gigs began where she embellished the lie including making a total mockery of the faith she purports by lying about life-changing conversations with God about events that never happened. She has initiated a complete attack machine for anyone who challenges her. 'Trust but verify' does not apply for her. She is as far from someone who respects the truth as any 'presidential contender' I can remember. McCain's organization taught Sarah that she could repeat the same bits over and over, hide, and still be considered viable. Typically, the VP pick is the one who says things about the presidential candidate opponent that the other presidential candidate cannot state. McCain's organization wound her up and no one has been able to find the off switch.

"My story is simply that I saw Sarah at the Juneau A&P. She had on athletic pants and jacket - casual clothes, not maternity clothes. Pink, perhaps. I remember this because when I first saw her, I was torn between going up to her, even as a stranger, and saying that I thought she was doing a good job as governor (she was popular because she replaced a very unpopular governor) and respecting her privacy. I did the latter. The next day, I tell a friend that I saw Sarah and they immediately asked me, "So, did she look pregnant?" I fumbled verbally and said something like I didn't know. My friend then said that Sarah has just announced her "pregnancy" and indicate a buzz around the town about whether or not she was pregnant. I did not think more about this. In the last couple of months I realized that the time between her announcement and her delivery was 2-3 weeks and she would have been around seven months pregnant. Before then the question of whether or not she was pregnant was the same question people have of someone who is a few months pregnant or just starting to show. I was in no position to state one way or another whether she was pregnant in that case. Now I realize that she was at least 6 months 3 weeks pregnant by her own account. There was NO BASKETBALL growing under her flat jacket... not even half a basketball. The number of people in Juneau (and Alaska) who know this and are silent is many.

"You would think none of this would be necessary. It should only take one completely authoritative photograph (best would be one whose date is determined by the event and published in some news venue covering the event) to show incontrovertible evidence of the absence of a 6 - 7 1/2 month fetus in Sarah's belly. A bump can be added. A fetus cannot be removed one day and added back the next. This is reality, not politics. Sarah has more Teflon than Reagan - that's politics. My best, ja.thought."

Leadfoot_LA shares an e-mail she sent to late-to-the-party journalist Dave Weigel:

• "Hi Dave -

• I read your story yesterday and I wanted to give the perspective of a woman who has given birth. I have been a 'Trig Truther' for going on three years now. Please indulge me and let me explain why. If you are squeamish, you might want to have a seat at this point.
  
  "I do this because when I was pregnant with my daughter, I took a flight 4 months into my pregnancy to go on vacation. Just after arriving in Fort Lauerdale, getting on a cruise ship and setting sail, I started bleeding heavily. I was in line at the buffet, felt something warm, looked down and had blood all over my legs and a pool of blood around my feet. The doctors on the ship thought that something about the pressurized cabin on the airplane had triggered a pre-existing bleed, and opened up the clot. They didn't have an ultrasound machine on the ship, but told me I had miscarried the baby. I was devastated. I spent 2 nights in a hospital bed on the cruise ship, crying my eyes out. When we docked in Mexico, I went straight to a hospital via ambulance, had an ultrasound and was told I did not miscarry, but would have to be on strict bed rest for the remainder of my pregnancy. The bleeding continued off and on throughout the next 4 months.
  
  "Late in my 7th month of pregnancy, my water broke. It wasn't a gush as you might imagine, but more of a leak. It was exactly what Sarah Palin said happened to her in Texas. Now, I completely give you a pass for not knowing this, because you are a dude, but when your water begins to leak, it does not seal back up. Every time you move, laugh or cough, about a half-cup of fluid comes out of the vagina. And it isn't really "water" -- it is more like a gooey liquid like Jello that hasn't set yet. It is viscous and sticky. After my water broke, I thought, 'Oh crap, I don't have a video camera yet and need one! I'm going to stop at Best Buy on my way to the hospital!' Big mistake. I had soaked through 4 maxi pads by the time I bought that camera. But I wasn't feeling any pain yet, so I thought I was okay. When I got to the hospital - my doctor was FURIOUS with me -- saying that I had risked infection to the baby and myself. She said any time the amniotic sac is ruptured in any way, a pregnant woman needs to get to a hospital ASAP. At any rate, I delivered a healthy baby the girl, one month early. She is now a thriving 8-year old.
  
  "When I read about Palin's "wild ride," I was appalled that she would take such reckless risks with the life of an unborn child -- on purpose. My own'"wild ride' was by accident. Had I known, I never would have gone on that trip. And I never would have gone to Best Buy. So I started reading Sarah's story and, it just didn't add up. I have put many, many days upon days into researching this. I am asking you now, for all the mothers of the world who might not know about the dangerous risks that Sarah and I took, and for Trig, please don't stop at that desk clerk. Please dig just a little bit further. Call back and ask if they would accept a patient who is 44, has had 2 previous miscarriages, delivering early, and carrying a down syndrome child. Ask what date Trig was born and to whom. Please take your responsibility as a reporter seriously. For all the moms out there who KNOW Sarah's story doesn't, um, hold water. :)
  

  JCos replies to Leadfoot_LA, "

  Your story is very moving and well written. If Weigel can't find this compelling, perhaps you'll have to wink and wiggle your breasts." Ever ready to take one for the Politicalgates team, Leadfoot_LA answers, "Hey, I am completely willing to do that too. Whatever it takes. :-)"

  BradS notes, "I strongly suspect Weigel is now part of Team Palin -- bought and paid for. I'm doubting the conversation he reported having with a Mat-Su clerk ever happened. People at hospitals know not to talk like that in possible violation of federal law. Remember, he's the one who "found" Quinn and Loy of recovered memory fame -- the whole thing stinks. Indeed, the more I think about, the more preposterous the alleged Mat-Su conversation sounds. Would any experienced journalist truly do what he said he did here? Give a promise of confidentiality to a clerk so she can make vague, general statements about something like the alleged birth, and then he doesn't ask the obvious followup Qs, like were you there? Did you witness the birth? And then he did not try to get someone to officially comment? He's not that stupid. Either the whole thing was staged and scripted, or perhaps simply did not happen. And he did not ask who the mother is. What bullshit."

  maelewis remarks, "Chris Matthews revealed that the OBL house had been under observation for months from a CIA safe house which had a good view into the compound. They used all kinds of technology to be sure that they had the right guy, and to be certain of the layout and the movments of everyone in the compound. As opposed to the action thrillers on TV and in the movies, where the entire operation takes place in a hour or two, this was a methodical, carefully planned operation. Quite a contrast to Sarah, who shoots from the hip with insults without giving her statements a moment's thought."

  Teutonic1 shares this post left by diz at ImmoralMinority.blogspot.com: "The woman who screams that the President should be more transparen­t operates solely from behind closed doors and juvenile websites. The woman who sees no problem asking for his thesis does not produce the transcript­s from the five colleges that allegedly resulted in her earning a bachelor's degree. The woman who supported the 'birther' BS has some secrets of her own that she protects with vehemence. The woman with Bill Ayers Tourettes tries to hide her own connection to a secessioni­st group-AIP. The woman who belittles the President'­s political experience as State and U.S. Senator was unable to finish one elected term as Guv. (Nope, being 'mayor' in a town of 4,600 doesn't count for much.) The woman who denies the President the slightest bit of off-time playing golf or hoops tries to convince us she spends most of her time climbing glaciers and filling her freezer with game and clubbed halibut. The woman who claims everyone picks on her family roundly supports a man who has shown himself to be a bigoted bully. The woman who wants to establish a theocracy in the U.S. exhibits no Christian values beyond her tightly held demagoguer­y. Noisemakin­g is her only claim to fame. The loud, irritating unfounded screeches heard round the world. Hypocrisy is the refusal to apply standards to oneself that are demanded of others. And in that alone, she appears to have found her 'winning' moment."

  Kilob, who is totally on a roll these days, presented the most popular comment to her own post on what motivation Sarah Palin had to fake a pregnancy with Trig: "Thank you all for the kind comments. I attempted to bring the topic regarding Sarah and the supposed birth of her fifth child into simpler terms. Both professional and non professional working women get pregnant each and every day. And yes, even female politicians, What is most striking is this character in Alaska was dropping more than hints she was interested in a possible VP position while being a new governor in AK and pregnant. This is HIGHLY irregular behavior even for a sane person. Now lob in the fact the child she was carrying had a serious disability and health concerns which would sideline most women to care for such a child. Not Sarah Palin. She soldiered on and acted like she adopted a dog and let others care for him because she had other plans and absolutely nothing would hold her back. You can tell a mothers love for her children. You sure dont see her love of Trig from the day she held up her trophy at the Governors office after "giving birth", the Republican convention, the campaign stops or the subsequent book tours and reality shows. Any woman that gave birth a child and had someone question the birth validity would happily show the proof. Sarah Palin is incapable of doing such an act because she has no love for the child."

  BradS and Laura Novak present Sarah Palin and Photoshop: An Expert Opinion, Part 1, http://www.lauranovakauthor.co...

  Sondra T adds, "...If a woman has a history of preterm labor THAT is a risk factor for subsequent pregnancies. [Sarah Palin] didn't have an amnio at 12 or 13 weeks like she stated. Didn't happen. And if she mistook an amnio for CVS (chorionic villus sampling) that didn't happen either. No one in Alaska does CVS. And early amnios have become more rare since it has been discovered they are problematic. An early amnio is like trying to hit a water balloon inside a bucket of water with a very long needle. It sometimes requires multiple pokes which increases likelihood of miscarriage. But one has to wonder WHY a pro-life woman would have an amnio anyway. Sooner or later the indications for Downs would show up on ultrasound. The saying is that a person has an amnio if they plan to DO something with the information given.

  FreeTrig's Mother's Day remark deserves to be posted in full: "There is no HAPPY in Mother's Day for the Palin kids. For that matter....there's no Mother either except in name only. There is only sorrow, pain and resentment.

  "Geoffrey Dunn was right in recognizing the Palin children as victims. But....the abuse, misuse and neglect started long before her national rise to power.
  
  "Track resents Sarah deeply. Sarah forced him to leave his friends when he was a senior in high school by shipping him off to play hockey in Michigan. He was a hard partier and she didn't want him around 'f*cking up' the myth she was spinning while running for governor. Sarah also forced him into the Army. It wasn't too hard of a sell. Track figured Iraq couldn't be any more hellish than home. When he got out of the service, he moved to Arizona to put some distance between him and the 'bitch' as he calls her. Sadly, Mommy Dearest now spends most of her time in the Scottsdale mansion when she's not out fleecing her flocked up followers. I wonder if he is haunted by the thought that his mom most likely deceived him by covering up who his real father probably was.
  
  "Bristol still resents Sarah, but has pushed those feelings under the surface because of the money and fame (infamy really) that her mother's celebrity status has brought into her own life. IMHO, Bristol has suffered the most. Her first baby was taken away by Sarah to protect her VP aspirations. Time and rationalization may have blunted the sharpest edges of this horrifying act, but I imagine the deep wound this created will never fully heal.
  
  "Willow. She's on her way to being a mini-me of her mother. Mean. Self-centered. Manipulative. Impulsive. Just look at what we were allowed to see on SPAK that was Sarah approved: Willow slams Piper's face into a birthday cake. She whines about not getting a shiny new truck. She makes fun of her older sister's appearance. Is it any wonder that Bris had so much plastic surgery?
  
  "Piper 'Diaper' had her childhood taken from her far too early. She is struggling with school. It's hard to learn anything when you've been pulled out of class for extended periods to serve as a prop and shield on campaigns and book tours. She wears heavy make-up in public. And high heels. Piper refers to her mother as 'Sarah'. She may have yet the roughest path through adolescence of all the Palin props.
  
  "Trig. PropINO (Prop In Name Only now) He's gotten far to big and unruly for Sarah to haul around on her hip for show and tell. His 'Special Needs' status is still useful to Sarah but she's never spent any time EVER attending to those needs. He's stashed away in Alaska most of the time, shuttled between relatives and nannies. Is he getting the therapies he needs? Is he getting any love and affection from anyone who isn't being paid for his care? Will he grow up with the capacity to understand that he was used, but never loved - or even liked- by the woman who people call his mother.
  
  "So...do you think Sarah will get flowers today from her family? A special brunch? A hug? An appreciative word?
  
  "Nah."