The "Palin Brawl" in Anchorage on September 6, 2014: The complete timeline of events and the witness statements do not look favourable at all for the Palin-family, but they now try to rewrite history by distorting the facts - BONUS: Bristol Palin's new post, telling the "truth" about the brawl, contains a blatant, important lie which can easily be debunked (see October 22 in the timeline)

"Born and raised by hypocrites"

Green Day - "Jesus of Suburbia" 

By Patrick

Today is October 25, 2014. The now infamous "Palin-Brawl" happened on September 6, 2014 in Anchorage, more than 1 1/2 months ago.

However, only now we see headlines like this one (from ABC News, October 23, 2014):

So, finally, after such a long time has passed, the Palin-family found their PR-strategy for this incident - and they try to do what they are best at: Claiming to be victims, and trying to rewrite history.

Therefore it is only appropriate to remind ourselves (and the media) what really happened after the brawl.

The Timeline:

Saturday, September 6, 2014:

A massive brawl involving the Palin-family (Track, Bristol, Sarah, Todd, Willow) breaks out at a party at the home of Korey Klingenmeyer in Anchorage, while Bristol's five-year-old son Tripp was waiting for them outside in the car, a Hummer stretch-limo.

The news quickly make the rounds in Alaska, by word of mouth. We hear about it from a source in Alaska already the following day, but the details are still very sketchy. We hear that apparently a group of people from the "Iron Dog" crowd was involved.

+++

Sunday, September 7, 2014:

Sarah Palin posts the following message on facebook:

I was traveling yesterday, so I'm posting Todd's 50th birthday greeting a day late, which is fine because the handsome guy barely looks a day over 50.

- Sarah Palin

Screenshot:

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Monday, September 8, 2014:

Bristol Palin and Levi Johnston attend the settlement conference of their new custody trial for their son Tripp, at the Superior Court in Palmer. According to the Alaska court records, a settlement was reached on this day. The details of the settlement are sealed, therefore we do not know the outcome. See our extensive reporting about the custody trial, including the documentation HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE.

Screenshot from the Alaska Court records, accessible via Alaska Court View (click to enlarge):

+++

Tuesday, September 9, 2014:

The first report about the brawl appears in public, written by Alaska blogger Amanda Coyne, containing a few details, but some facts are still sketchy, as Amanda Coyne also admits herself. Title of the post: "Loose Lips: Hell hath no fury like a Palin family visit."

+++

Wednesday, September 10, 2014:

Politicalgates publishes in the "Important second update" of our post about the brawl several more new details about the brawl, obtained from a source on the ground who saw the incident. Our information was subsequently being confirmed by further media reporting and the police documentation.

Still no statement about the incident from a member of the Palin-family or their lawyer.

+++

Thursday, September 11, 2014:

Blogger Amanda Coyne publishes a post with more important details, titled "A note to readers about the Palin family brawl."

Then, the first report in a mainstream media outlet, by the "Alaska Dispatch News", Alaska's biggest newspaper, titled: "Witnesses, APD confirm Palin family was present at Anchorage party that turned violent." 

Still no statement about the incident from a member of the Palin-family or their lawyer.

Then, on the same day, blogger Amanda Coyne publishes her most comprehensive post about the brawl, titled "Eyewitness comes forward on ‘Palin brawl’." As one of the very first eye-witnesses, Eric Thompson, employee at McKenna Paving Bros, goes on the record.

In the meantime, Sarah Palin publishes a new post on facebook about her support for conservative candidate Rob Maness in his bid for the US-Senate seat in Louisiana.

In the evening, Sarah Palin appears on Hannity and talks about ISIS. In this conversation with Sean Hannity, the brawl is not mentioned at all.

+++

Friday, September 12, 2014:

The story about the brawl hits the national media, for example with a detailed TV-report on "Good Morning America", who spoke with eye-witness Eric Thompson:

Still no statement about the incident from a member of the Palin-family or their lawyer.

Politicalgates is being quoted by a number of mainstream media outlets, for example New York Magazine, New York Post and ABC local news.

Later in the day, news breaks that eyewitness Eric Thompson has been fired from his job by his employer, McKenna Bros. Paving Co, for speaking out about the brawl to the media, in his interview for ABC News.

We posted:

The party happened at the house of Korey Klingenmeyer. He is an employee with McKenna Brothers Paving.

The witness Eric Thompson, who is now fired, was also an employee with McKenna Brothers Paving.

The party was for the 40th birthday of the owners of the company, Matt & Marc McKenna.

The guy who was punched by Bristol Palin was Korey Klingenmeyer.

We believe that the firing of Eric Thompson is also supposed to be a warning to Korey Klingenmeyer, who has a well-paid job there at the company, in order to prevent him to file charges against Bristol. 

The news about the firing of Eric Thompson hit the mainstream media.

+++

Saturday, September 13, 2014:

Although there is still no offical statement from the Palin-family, journalist Scott Conroy publishes "The Palin Family's Side of the Anchorage Brawl Story", quoting only an anonymous source, but the details are rather sketchy, It becomes obvious however that the Palins apparently see themselves as victims.

Multiple media-requests directed at the Palin-family to give a statement about the brawl are denied.

+++

Sunday, September 14, 2014:

Politicalgates publishes more details about Marc and Matt McKenna, the owners of McKenna Bros. Paving Co. who fired Eric Thompson.

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Monday, September 15, 2014 to Thursday, September 18, 2014:

Still no statement about the incident from a member of the Palin-family or their lawyer.

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Tuesday, September 15, 2014:

Fired eye-witness Eric Thompson gives an in-depth interview to the Alaska Dispatch News:



Eric Thompson talks about Palin's involvement in a house party fight from Alaska Dispatch on Vimeo.

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Thursday, September 18, 2014:

Bristol Palin publishes on her own blog (with her ghost-writer, the right-wing journalist Nancy French) a post in which she jokes that some people mistakenly believe that her parents are getting divorced.

Curiously, Bristol Palin doesn't mention the brawl at all, although it had been reported all over the national media that she apparently played an important role in the brawl and reportedly punched the host Korey Klingenmeyer several times in the face (which was also confirmed by our own source who was at the scene).

Screenshot of Bristol's short post:

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Friday, September 19, 2014:

Finally, a first statement by Sarah Palin, addressing the brawl, nearly two weeks after the incident. 

However, Sarah Palin is very vague and just says that she is "proud" of Bristol and "loves" her. Sarah alludes to the fact that the media reporting was apparently not correct, but doesn't say why this should be the case, or what actually happened in her opinion.

+++

Saturday, September 20, 2014 to Wednesday, October 8, 2014:

The big silence!

No statement at all by the Palins about the brawl.

Bristol Palin publishes no less than nine (!) posts on her blog during these dates (ghost-written by Nancy French), but none of her posts addresses the brawl in any way.

Same with Sarah Palin:

No less than 12 posts during this time-frame on her facebook-page, but not one of them addresses the brawl.

So far, there is still no meaningful statement from the Palin-family about what happened during the brawl. The news about the brawl start to fade.

On September 21, 2014, CNN-host Brian Stelter states that he believes that the Palins "deserve the benefit of the doubt about the brawl."

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Thursday, October 9, 2014:

If the Palins hoped that the brawl would disappear from the headlines, they are in for a rude awakening. The report by the Anchorage Police Department is released, and several witnesses confirm what Eric Thompson already said in public: The Palins started the whole fight, showed outrageous behaviour, and Bristol punched host Korey Klingenmeyer repeatedly. Also, the police report confirms that Track and Bristol were "heavily intoxicated."

The police report hits the headlines with full force.

DOWNLOAD THE REPORT HERE

Screenshots:

It now becomes increasingly clear that the strategy of the Palins, which could so far be described with "dodge, dip, dive, duck, and dodge", would not work out in the end. The witness statements in the police report are simply too damning. Also, it becomes more than obvious that the "The Palin Family's Side of the Anchorage Brawl Story", which had been published by Scott Conroy on September 13, 2014, as I mentioned above, was not confirmed by any of the witnesses outside the Palin-family.

So, what to do, how to play the victim, the favourite Palin-activity of all time?

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Tuesday, October 21, 2014:

It is very telling that the silence on part of the Palin-family continued.  

However, the publication of the police tapes on October 21, 2014 appeared as a "stroke of luck" from their point of view, as listeners could now hear for themselves how a crying Bristol Palin described her ordeal (or that's what it now sounded like). 

Please note that I have uploaded the complete police audio tapes in just one file HERE for download. I could not upload them to youtube in one file, as they are more than two hours long in total!

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Wednesday, October 22, 2014:

Suddenly, the big silence stops.

The Palin media-machine quickly kicks into gear again - with the old worn-out phrases.

Bristol Palin publishes "the truth" about the brawl, believe it or not. It was all about "violence against women", and Bristol now conveniently claims to have been the victim.

Screenshot:

However, Bristol's post contains a bold, important lie which can easily be debunked - Bristol wrote:

Why would anyone do this? Well, here’s a hint. The guy was on social media during this incident, tweeting, “about to get famous.”

When Willow saw all this happening she looked at the guy’s mom and said “get ahold of your son.”

But apparently the apple didn’t fall too far from the tree, because his mom pushed Willow. A grown woman pushed my little sister.

(...)

But the evening that began so well took a turn for the worse when this guy decided he wanted to “get famous.”

After I got out of the car, I didn’t get far. I never even got to talk to his mom, because a guy in his late thirties or early forties got in my face. He was towering over me – probably at 6 foot something and over 200 pounds. He puffed his chest out and started yelling.

“You c-nt!” he looked right in my eyes and said. “Get the f-ck out of here, you slut!”

I was alarmed that things had gotten so bad so fast. But it got even worse when this guy started pushing me. He had his hands on me, pushing me down. That’s when I swung and hit his face.

Some would say I should’ve never retaliated in defense against him, but certainly he should never have pushed a girl. It didn’t phase him. He pushed me down to the ground and kept me there.

It was scary and awful. He held me down until someone got me out of the situation.

That’s it – that’s the story.

This guy, who Bristol curiously does not mention by name, is Connor Cleary. His twitter is here.

So, according to Bristol, Connor Cleary tweeted at the night of incident he was "about to get famous".

Really, Bristol Palin/Nancy French?

The problem: This is a blatant lie, which can easily be proven. 

Connor Cleary tweeted, but only five days later, on September 11. The sentence he tweeted was: "About to be famous up in this bitch."

Screenshot:

With this proven lie, Bristol's "new story" falls apart completely. As this was tweeted five days after the brawl, how on earth could Willow have used this as a pretext for approaching his mother, in order to "get hold of her son"....?

Connor Cleary has already been named in connection with the brawl, this is not a secret.

He told his story to the National Enquirer - quote from the article:

One victim, Connor Cleary, 26, told The ENQUIRER it was a peaceful party until the reality show family showed up!

Connor said he was approaching the Palins’ stretch-limo Hummer when Track began getting in his face. “He (Track) kept trying to pick a fight with me and then when it all came down – it happened,” Connor said, in an exclusive interview.

“He kept saying, ‘Oh what, are you trying to get into the ----ing limo?’ and he kept cursing at me and walking towards me,” claimed Connor.

Track allegedly threw two jabs at Connor, according to an online report – and that’s when all hell broke loose outside the residence of 39-year-old Korey Klingenmeyer, host of the Sept. 6 bash.

Alarmed, someone screamed, “This isn’t some damned Hillbilly reality show!” according to an eyewitness.

No word of apology by the Palins about their own behaviour. No mention that the other witnesses had not confirmed the Palin-version of events.

+++

Friday, October 24, 2014:

Sarah Palin started her favourite activity - hunting journalists. Not seeing the irony that her heavily intoxicated family delivered more than enough "punches" at the brawl, poor Sarah now feels "punched in the gut." Why? Because CNN journalist Carol Costello aired a segment which wasn't to Sarah Palin's liking:

Journalists like Carol Costello are "ruining America", did you know...?

The segment was "truly sickening, yet strangely laughable"...?

I think Queenie Palin should create her own media.

Oh, she tried to do that, totally unsuccessfully? Too bad.

Needless to say that although Carol Costello has already apologized for her remarks, Sarah Palin and her ilk want her scalp. Sarah Palin already said that the first apology in a statement to Politico could not be "accepted":

Unfortunately, Sarah Palin forgot to mention that she herself for example never apologized to former Alaska State Senate President Lyda Green (Republican) for laughing when a right-wing radio-jock called Lyda Green a "bitch" and a "cancer." Lyda Green herself is a cancer survivor, which Palin knew.

Watch:

Senior Republican Lyda Green is indeed not a fan of Sarah Palin, which is not surprising, as she had good insights into how Sarah Palin is wired. Green was a guest on the Rachel Maddow show in 2008, explaining her experiences with Sarah Palin (and Todd Palin).

As an inevitable result of Sarah Palin's attack on Carol Costello, the facebook of the CNN-journalist is now being flooded with ugly comments from right-wingers. This might please Sarah, as her favourite attitude towards her perceived enemies has always been the same: Hunt, seek, destroy. 

Screenshot from Costello's facebook:

However, facts have always been the biggest enemy of the Palins, and that is why I wrote this post.

As usual, the deflections and the lies of the Palins are in plain sight, for everyone to see.

Finally, I would like to highlight the following articles in the media:

Josh Marshall, editor and publisher of "Talking Points Memo": "Sarah, Bristol & The Recurrence Of The Eternal Victim"

Andrew Sullivan, "The Dish": "The Odd Lies of Bristol Palin"

Finally, a rather unlikely source - the conservative "Daily Caller" doesn't buy Bristol Palin's accusations against the media: "Bristol Palin Claws Media With 10 Perfect Post Brawl Nails" 

Have a good weekend, everybody!

(h/t KAO!)

Levi Johnston slams his former lawyer Rex Butler on Facebook and defends himself against "deadbeat dad" claims - Read the full facebook exchange

By Patrick

Levi Johnston, who, according to Bristol Palin's frequent public accusations, is a "deadbeat dad" and doesn't pay child support, has now started a public facebook community page.

On this facebook page, Levi, who often has been silent when he was slammed by the Palin-family in public, makes some first attempts to show that he is is a different type of father and that the constant Palin-propaganda is not accurate. We are on Levi's side here, as it is absolutely believable that the Palins play dirty with him - as they have played dirty with many other people before who got in their way, may it be Mike Wooten, Walt Monegan or John Bitney - just to name a few examples.

It is regrettable that Levi did not defend himself more vigorously in the past, especially since Bristol Palin made a fortune out of exploiting his son Tripp via magazine articles, TV adverts and now a tacky reality TV series.

On May 22, Levi posted on his facebook page a picture of a text message to Bristol, apparently in order to prove that the claims that he does not want to see Tripp are wrong:

However, there might be other reasons why Levi has been "handicapped" as far as his dealings with the Palins are concerned. It is obvious that Levi's anger runs deep. Evidence for this can be found in the comments below the above picture that Levi posted. The following exchange has been posted in a shortened version already on another blog - but we have the full exchange, as "Dorothy Marriott", who commented there, is the facebook-name of our very own Kathleen. The complete exchange is not visible any more, as Levi deleted his last comment.

We did not publish this exchange so far, as we first tried to get into touch with Levi directly, but unfortunately we received no response.

So here is now the full exchange:

Dorothy Marriott 
More action like this, Levi. I hope you have a decent lawyer now.
39 minutes ago

Levi Johnston
 I ask for Tripp twice a week. It's kinda hard going up against a family that can afford to bribe a lawyer a million dollars easily and make it so I lose my son forever.
 21 minutes ago

Dorothy Marriott 
That is terrible. Do you know this for a fact? Now that is big news.
17 minutes ago

Levi Johnston
 No I don't.. just saying that they could easily of they wanted to and are definently like that. Found out my last lawyer was on their side the whole three years he was working for me. That's why I have to find the right lawyer this time so this doesn't happen again.

Screenshot:

These comments by Levi did not surprise us. However, it should be noted that Levi did not claim as a fact that the Palins bribed Rex Butler. He clarified in the second comment that he does not know this for a fact and adds that "they could easily if they wanted to and are definitely like that." This is a very important difference, and should be reported also for Levi's own protection, as the "shortened version" of this exchange reads very differently.

Over the years, there was more than enough evidence that Rex Butler and Tank Jones did not act in Levi's best interest. From the public information alone, witnessing the poorly conducted custody trial with Bristol, one could see that Rex Butler achieved very little for Levi Johnston.

The old days: Levi Johnston, Tank Jones and Rex Butler

An inside source also let us know several months ago that Rex and Tank were not happy at all that Levi decided to tell his own story in his book "Deer in the Headlights." This behavior by Tank and Rex is very puzzling indeed.

Tank Jones had been Levi's constant companion for years, his "handler", being together with him virtually all the time during public appearances. Officially, Tank was a bodyguard. But it also might have very well been the case that Tank's role was to make sure in the first place that Levi did not do anything "stupid." But at this point, we can only take guesses.

Then there is "Sarah Palin's big elephant in the room" - her faked pregnancy with Trig. Rex Butler certainly knows much more about this topic than is known in public. He once said to an Alaskan journalist, strictly "off-the-record", as he stressed, that he "doesn't know for certain" that Sarah Palin is Trig's mother and then showed no desire to discuss this topic further. Levi Johnston on the other hand always seemed convinced that Trig is Sarah Palin's biological son - a fact which many of our readers did not like in the past, but which could be explained, as I am convinced, by the fact that Levi himself was duped by the Palins regarding this matter.

The Palins made sure that their big deception was guarded as carefully as possible - and made sure that Levi right from the start had no doubts about Sarah being the biological mother of Trig. As it turned out, this plan worked. It is a shame that Levi does not really want to talk about this topic. We surely would be very interested to talk to him about this, as it could solve some open questions, but also raise new questions. Regardless, it would most likely bring us closer to the truth about Trig.

Levi Johnston, who is still very young and whose anger about the whole situation is more than understandable, is in a very difficult position right now, but his only possibility is to try to take charge of his own life. We wish him lots of success, and he surely has our blessings.

Levi Johnston, We are Fighting --- Deer In The Headlights

By Leadfoot_LA

There is no easy way to say this, so here it is: Levi Johnston did not tell the truth about the Trig pregnancy in his book, Deer in the Headlights: My Life in Sarah Palin's Crosshairs.

I had planned to write a fun,snarky, 4^th grade-style book report for you all. But I’m no longer in the mood. I just spent this afternoon pouring over each word, trying to figure out if Levi is lying, or just doesn’t know the truth.

It’s like trying to sort out a giant ball of tangled yarn. There are SO many inconsistencies, it’s nearly impossible to unravel. For example:

In Going Rogue, Sarah Palin says that Levi Johnston was not present for the birth of his son Tripp. But in Bristol’s book, she says Levi and her mom were there. Levi says he was there. Obviously, somebody is lying. (I’m going to give this lie to Sarah).

Unless…they are mixing up details of two different birth stories. We know Levi was there when Trig was born:

Do we have any photos of him holding a newborn Tripp in the hospital?

Levi describes Tripp’s birth:

Once I got inside the lobby, I headed straight forthe Birthing Center. I had taken this same route eight months before,for Trig’s birth. This was different. This was Bristol’s and my baby. Sarah’s head swiveled when I walked into Bristol’s suite. I walked over to the other side of the bed. Sarah looked like the weight of the world had been lifted off her shoulders. Levi’s here, she said, leaning over Bristol and patting her hair. Isn’t that great? Bristol shook her mother’s hand off her head. I didn’t know it then, but it would be another five hours before my son was born. Sarah, Bristol, and I were the only ones there. No one had called my trailer-trash father, mother, and sister.Why didn’t I? I guess I didn’t want to ruffle any feathers. Levi, Sarah broke into my thoughts. Thank you for getting here so fast, she said, leaning over Bristol to touch my arm. I was John Wayne who had just ridden in to rescue the pretty lady in distress. Sarah could have been the one in labor. She looked a mess, hair stuck to her forehead, glasses askew. A little like the librarian who just let down her hair. Poor Bristol was twisting and turning, throwing her body side to side. She grabbed for me, hit my chin. I kissed her forehead. She smiled up at me, and then she screamed. Oh my God. My babe was in serious pain. It was her first delivery and she was only a girl. She screamed again. I mean flat-out screamed. Where was the epidural? I called the nurse. Bring that epidural in here right now. Bristol was wailing, cussing up a storm, bitching at her mother. We need that damn epidural! Now I’m yelling,too. Sarah and I were trying to talk Bristol down and it made her angry. Again, she went after her mom, verbally and then physically. Sarah ducked. Calm down, babe. Calm down. Breathe. Breathe. Bristol lay back and squeezed my hand until it was bloodless.

The doc came in and gave her the epidural. Then she was all sweet and nice and messed up out of her mind. Then she passed out, asleep. Sarah and I looked at each other, took a deep breath together, and smiled. We’d broken the filly with good teamwork. I was starving. Sarah suggested I run over to theTaco Bell. It was her favorite fast food. I knew she loved their quesadillas and asked if she wanted me to bring one back for her. I don’t think I could manage it, she said. When I got back fifteen minutes later, Bristol was still sleeping. She woke up an hour later with me at her side. She was sweaty, exhausted—and so beautiful. It would be three more hours before the doc said those wonderful words to me: She’s good to go. Bristol wanted to push. Together we were panting that baby out. How the hell does anyone manage to do this all by themselves? Tripp took his time, finally arrived after six hours of labor.

The cord had been wrapped around his short, little neck twice. One look at this baby boy—a miracle!—and I knew my life would never be the same. I was given scissors to cut the clamped cord. What I needed was an oxygen mask. My fingers were jelly. I was overwhelmed, grabbed on to the rail of Bristol’s bed with one hand, and passed Sarah the scissors. Snip. Baby Tripp was on his own. I would have loved a little Piper of my own, but when we found out we were going to have a boy, we already had the name picked out—actually way before Bristol had even conceived. Trip was a character in one of those psycho scrambler motocross films. Trip Carlyle. It had a nice ring to it. Bristol added the second “p.” Easton Mitchell? Easton was my favorite hockey-stick supplier.

You know what stands out to me? (Keeping in mind that I am trained in messaging and "spin" and I can spot a well-crafted message a mile away.) "I had taken this same route eight months before, for Trig’s birth." -- Why would he even mention"eight months"? In natural conversation, he would not. But he had to get that in there to reinforce the Palin story.

Also: "It was her first delivery and she was only a girl." -- Um, it was her ONLY delivery. It is REALLY strange to say it was her "first" -- unless it wasn't and he is lying about it.

Now let’s examine what he has to say about the Trig pregnancy:

Mom thinks she might be about to go into labor, Bristol said into my ear. We’re meeting her at the hospital. Sarah had been telling Bristol during the past month that her water was leaking once or twice a day, in drops. When she left for the lower forty-eight, though, her baby wasn’t due for another five weeks. I had told Bristol it was nuts for her mom to be traveling here and there,giving speeches. I sure as hell wouldn’t have let Bristol do that. Now Sarah was telling Bristol that the drops were pretty much constant. Sarah had felt she had plenty of time to get back to Wasilla.She wanted to be home rather than deliver in Texas so that her new son could be a true-blue Alaska boy. She wanted this child, possibly a Down’s baby, to be delivered by her doc, who knew the deal, in our new medical center in Wasilla.

Let’s ignore for a minute the ridiculous assertion that Sarah was leaking amniotic fluid throughout her seventh month of pregnancy and went on about her business like nothing was happening.

Levi, the circumstances you describe aren’t even possible. If they suspected that the baby was a “Down’s baby,” the new medical center would never have accepted Sarah as a maternity patient. This was a high-risk delivery (advanced maternal age, earlylabor, Downs Syndrome) and that medical center is not accredited to handle high-risk births. They would have put her in an ambulance and shipped her off to Anchorage. If they didn’t, they could be fined, liable for any damages to mother or baby and lose the accreditations they do have.

But what is even more interesting than these new details to the Trig fairytale, are the new details to the Tripp pregnancy story:

I was worried though about leaving Bristol. I told her I wasn’t going to go, but she insisted, wanted me to get some time with Todd. I don’t know whether Bristol was trying to get rid of me or really hoped Todd and I would become closer. I didn’t care at that point. I was just happy for a break. I also was getting a reprieve from the wedding series she loved to watch with me. It had been getting worse, this fascination with marriage. I saw so many of these shows that I could be a wedding planner, doing anything from divas to redneck weddings—with the bride and groom wrestling pigs in a mud pit. Before I left that morning, I made Bristol lunch and left a surprise box of her favorite candy, Almond Roca,under her pillow. I loaded my machine in my truck. Bristol wasn’t due for another three weeks. At least that was the plan…

Chuck Heath originally announced that Bristol’s due date was Dec. 18. Levi says that Bristol gave birth"3 weeks early" on Dec. 27. (date changed by Kathleen) Three weeks later would have made her due in mid to late January. Does this mean Levi never believed the date the family publicly released? Why doesn't he confront this discrepancy? Does this mean the Palins lied to America about Bristol's due date? If so, why?

And for the love of God, WHY ALL THE INCONSISTENCIES?!?! When you have a baby, your due date and labor story is BURNED ONTO YOUR BRAIN forever!! They were OBVIOUSLY lying, and trying to revise history, while struggling to get the story straight on Tripp’s birth. WHY? Why would they have to do that unless they were covering up for a previous pregnancy?!

Well, that should give you some discussion points. Overall, Levi throws in just enough "Sarah is a liar" examples in his book to remain credible and seem like he is anti-Palin. But I'm telling you, my Spidey Sense is tingling like crazy -- the kid is lying.

We’re in for a very busy and exciting week here at Politicalgates, with lots of coverage coming up on Joe McGinniss’ book as well. I will post a full review of Levi’s book later in the week. But for now, I’m going to go cry on my pillow.

UPDATE: Levi's televised publicity schedule.

“DR. PHIL” – September 20

“The INSIDER” CBS – September 2

“THE JOY BEHAR SHOW” HLN – September 21

“THE LAST WORD WITH LAWRENCW O'DONNELL” MSNBC – September 22

CNN “NEWSROOM” – September 22

“WENDY WILLIAMS SHOW” – September 21

“INSIDE EDITION” CBS – September 21or 22

CNN “SHOWBIZ TONIGHT” – September 22

EXTRA – September 22

A Parody of Outraged Maidenhood - Review of Bristol Palin's Book "Not Afraid of Life: My Journey So Far"

The author of this review on amazon.com about Bristol Palin's book "Not Afraid of Life: My Journey So Far" has kindly given us permission to republish this review here.

***

A Parody of Outraged Maidenhood

Corinne Quayle, Tricia Nixon, Sarah Gore, the Agnew girls (Pamela, Susan, and Kimberly), Jennifer and Judith Kemp... all of them, any of them, and other Vice Presidential candidates' daughters must be limp with relief that Mummy didn't find a ghostwriter and publisher to put out a book this sleazy, and so early in a young woman's life.

Bristol Palin professes many things in her life: that her parents gave her a "purity ring" in adolescence (a sure-fire applause line for one of her mother's speeches, had she used it, which she hasn't), that she has had only one sex partner at the age of twenty ("one too many," as Nancy French writes). After being put on birth-control pill at age fifteen, she says, to relieve menstrual cramps, Bristol woke up "cold in a tent" after passing out from too many wine coolers and losing her virginity; and that the young man to whom she announced her betrothal not once but twice is "a gnat." Oh, and that she felt she had to "watch her back" in the presence of Meghan McCain. Bristol's many, many grievances--such as why her family did not routinely fly first-class when her mother was, briefly, governor of Alaska, or why the McCains owned so much Louis Vuitton luggage and had more hairdressers at hand during the 2008 campaign--take up most of this book. And from the foreword by Theodore Roosevelt, the person who actually reads this book has to wonder how much of it Bristol herself read. It also appears to be a catch-all for grievances accumulated by her mother since the publication of Sarah Palin's ghost-written "Going Rogue."

"'Wow!' said my mom," pointing out that the "Dancing With the Stars" finals garnered more viewers than Keith Olbermann, whom Bristol says, "has seemed to disappear, and is more irrelevant than ever." Umm, Keith Olbermann returned to the airwaves this week--poor timing, girl.

The knife-sticking and twisting goes beyond Olbermann, President Obama and the McCain and Johnston families, including Bristol's fellow contestants on DWTS, a competition entered by no other politician's daughter. Bristol/Nancy call the human-interest pieces on Kyle Massey, Jennifer Grey, and Florence Henderson "sleekly produced tearjerkers," a phrase difficult to imagine emanating from Bristol's lips, given her trash-talking posts on MySpace and Facebook. Yet she tells her professional dance partner Mark Ballas that their chances are "all in God's hands." Really? After the instructions given on the Internet to Palin fans about how to game the system and multiple-vote for her?

The real victim of this otherwise forgettable book is little Tripp Easton Mitchell Johnston. Children are cruel, as his own mother has demonstrated in 253 pages. Tripp will be the target of playground gibes before he can read.

The real culprit for foisting this tawdry family on the American scene is John McCain. Without him, we never would have heard of Bristol Palin.