Author Christopher Hitchens: "An astonishing number of well-informed people tell me that Sarah Palin is not in fact the mother of baby Trig"

By Patrick

"Babygate", Sarah Palin's faked pregnancy, is on the agenda again, and surprisingly, it is the "Palin-camp" who have made the first move. Following Palingates' report that Bristol received a staggering sum of $ 262,500 for smiling into the camera on behalf of Candie's Foundation in 2009, which was more than seven times the amount that Candie's actually spent on teen pregnancy prevention, the Palin-camp hit back. E!Online quoted an undisclosed "source close to Bristol" who attempted to defend the payment by claiming that:

“She shot PSAs, print and Internet ads and did town hall meetings, as well, and the money she made was an accumulation of all of that. This is not out of the ordinary for a celebrity to make an income off of a charity they represent. “If you do your research you’ll find that most nonprofits compensate their celebrity spokespeople and Bristol’s no different.” Furthermore, our Bristol source says, “this is clearly something that was leaked by the same anti-Palin organization that says Trigg isn’t Sarah Palin’s son.”

Isn't that interesting! Invoking "babygate" as a method for Bristol (and Sarah) to attack the messenger, even if the evidence is bulletproof and indisputable - and even if the subject has nothing at all to do with Trig.

"Think Progress" seems slightly perplexed by this unusal statement:

The spokesperson appears to be referring to the blog “Palingates,” which posted a link to the Candie’s Foundation 990 forms yesterday. However, the 990 form for the Candie’s Foundation is widely available with the IRS, or any charitable foundation database website. For instance, the form can be downloaded by anyone within minutes from websites like Guidestar.com.

Well, I am not perplexed at all. It bugs the hell out of Sarah and Bristol Palin that blogs can claim with impunity that Sarah Palin has faked her pregnancy. Impunity exists because Sarah Palin did in fact fake her pregnancy, as has been explained in detail for example many times at Palingates and most recently with the latest developments at Politicalgates. By not being able to present hard evidence for the pregnancy, for example medical documents, the Palins have no way to "refudiate" the claims.

(Please note that all posts by Palingates about the faked pregnancy with the pictures still intact can be downloaded as hardcopy pdf-documents HERE - unfortunately flickr deleted my account without warning, and the embedded flickr-pictures in the post at Palingates are now gone).

"Babygate" is the issue which won't go away, and this clumsy statement by a "source close to Bristol" comes just at the right time, as we are now at the beginning of new process: "Babygate" will be discovered - outside the blogs.

Let's make a start with a statement which was already published in February 2010, but was at the time completely overlooked by bloggers and journalists. In February 2010, the famous author and journalist Christopher Hitchens committed a heresy, he violated "omertà", the code of silence in the media in respect to Sarah Palin's faked pregnancy, a code of silence which for example Eric Boehlert from the liberal (and usually terrific) website "Media Matters" expressed that:

“Back in 2008, 99 percent of people in ‘the media’ did the right thing and ignored the Trig nonsense."

It is fortunate that Christopher Hitchens apparently did not "get the memo" or simply does not care. He wrote in the UK Spectator in his column "Washington Notebook" on February 3, 2010:

The question of where babies come from also remains surprisingly unsettled. The paternity of the off-the-record Edwards bundle — its existence in utero still a secret while the real father was bargaining with Obama for the job of Attorney General — was only fully admitted last month. An astonishing number of well-informed people tell me that Sarah Palin is not in fact the mother of baby Trig, but that she is ‘covering up’ for another family member whose child he really is. Ms Palin meanwhile incautiously lends her odd cred to the fringe-right demand that the President produce documents showing that his birth on American soil was not faked. Meanwhile — credit to Andrew Sullivan for bulldogging away on this — she will not release any of her own obstetrical records. In this trailer-park swirl, it isn’t surprising that the supermarket tabloid National Enquirer has once again established itself as the journal of record, making the respectable press look stupid.

Screenshots:

Christopher Hitchens speaking in 2007

An "astonishing number of people"...well, thank God somebody finally told the American public, even it it was on the website of a UK magazine. ;-)

Unfortunately, nobody noticed. However:

There are currently several developments under way which will inevitably drive the babygate-discussion into the mainstream. The time has come to face the truth - for the public, whose members have been failed by the media up until now, and also for Bristol and Sarah Palin - as well as for her fanatical followers, because a Governor who faked a pregnancy will not be elected as the President of the USA - ever.

I cannot resist throwing in two pictures at the end, just for fun. ;-)

A real pregnancy progression, hurray! (click to enlarge)

Sarah Palin at roughly 32-33 weeks on March 26, 2008 - oh no, what's going on? Three weeks later, a formidable "six-pounder" was presented at Mat-Su hospital! (click to enlarge)

For many, many more details, links and facts, please look up the old posts which were previously published at Palingates.

Dear Sarah, you are running out of luck. It's about time!

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"Babygate" has been covered in more detail in previous posts. You can find all this information here:

Palin-biographer Joe McGinniss: "I think the Politicalgates archives are the best single available resource for anyone wondering why questions are still being asked about Sarah really being Trig’s birth mother." (from August 28, 2011)

Kathleen Baker, editor of Politicalgates, writes in the UK "Guardian" about Sarah Palin's faked pregnancy: "Sarah Palin, unreliable narrator"

Read all posts at Politicalgates about Sarah Palin's faked pregnancy with Trig - FOR THE COLLECTION, CLICK HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE AND HERE.

Download the research paper regarding Sarah Palin's faked pregnancy and the role of the media, written by Brad Scharlott, Associate Professor for Journalism at Northern Kentucky University - CLICK HERE.

Brad Scharlott's revised version of the paper has also been published by "Business Insider."

Read the old post at Palingates about the faked pregnancy with the pictures still intact in hardcopy HERE.

Read the old posts at Palingates online HERE (useful also for watching the video clips which were published with the posts).

In addition, please don't hesitate to watch the excellent video-documentaries about "babygate" which our reader Lidia17 created - HERE, HERE and HERE.

We break the "Spiral of Silence" - Read the details about the "biggest hoax in American political history!"

The Palin/Bachmann ticket,...

By Patrick

...because reality and satire are hard to separate these days!

This post deals with satire, but let's be serious first. We should not kid ourselves: Sarah Palin will run for President, and she still has a serious chance - despite all the gaffes, scandals, and despite all the grifting and shrieking. One reason has been beautifully exposed in Leadfoot's recent post titled "A Slice of America", and it's pretty simple: A significant amount of people are apparently not interested in sound and rational arguments and facts, but instead they see Sarah Palin as their saviour, she-who-should-not-be-questioned.

From Sarah Palin's already legendary, hilarious (and equally painful) facebook-page, we do know that individuals like Leadfoot's relative Amanda, who wrote on facebook "Sarah Palin for president! That's all I got 2 say" and "War is necessary" are numerous. Sarah, save us from the black man, he looks so strange and muslim, and he loves illegal immigrants!

Another reason is that Sarah Palin still has by far the highest name recognition among the potential Republican candidates, as Mark Blumenthal just recently pointed out in the Huffington Post.

The poll by Gallup he presented speaks for itself (click to enlarge):


Andrew Sullivan quoted Mark Blumenthal, who said:

It means that should Palin choose to run, she begins with a relatively large and enthusiastic base of fans who can contribute funds, attend rallies and -- perhaps most importantly -- might be motivated to vote in a low-turnout caucus or primary. The fact some Republicans strongly dislike Palin does not negate that potential.

Andrew Sullivan commented:

My feelings entirely.

Andrew Sullivan is one of the few people who have fully understand what a Palin-presidency would mean: An age of darkness, as we have probably never encountered before in our lifetimes. But despite that, a significant amount of people are apparently hell-bent on voting for her - people who are not moved by rational arguments or facts.

If anyone can save America, it will be the independents.

Meanwhile the Palinbots do what they do best: Rig every online poll available in favour of Sarah Palin. On the conservative blog Hot Air, Sarah Palin again won the monthly "online primary" by a wide margin - but the comments of this post show a different picture, one of deep division amongst conservatives: Many commenters for example point out that it's very unlikely that independents will be swayed by "blood libel Sarah."

OK, let's finally get to the satire: LA-based actor D.C. Douglas turned the secret wish of some teabaggers, a Palin/Bachmann ticket, into a spot-on and extremely well executed video clip. He also published a post about it on his blog.

Please show this clip to a right-winger. Will they spot the satire? I bet some of them won't! "Reality 2011", it's not a pretty picture, it's a bad dream which doesn't go away even after waking up.

Here is the clip - don't miss it, it's hilarious:

Weekly Roundup, March 28-April 3, 2011

By Blueberry Tart

Monday, March 28, 2011

Rolling Stone’s Report on Jeremy Morlock and the “Kill Team”

Kathleen’s post highlights the disturbing images and report that Rolling Stone has published about the “Kill Team” in Afghanistan that included Palin family friend Jeremy Morlock. The photos are beyond horrifying. These were murders and mutilations for sport, and it is sickening to realize that members of the U.S. Army have committed such atrocities under the guise of “fighting for freedom” under the U.S. flag. These men are psychopaths, yet the Army and the war arena have provided them with guns and the cover of war, enabling them to carry out their depravity against vulnerable civilians. Morlock’s disturbing history of violent behavior and drug use preceded his time in Afghanistan, but instead of being screened out, he was “armed and dangerous.” Ironically, for someone who cannot let even the slightest slight go unattacked, Sarah Palin has been completely silent about the many connections between the Morlocks and the Palins.

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Contest to Guess Sarah’s April Fools Message

We had a little fun with the news that Sarah Palin was going to make a “big announcement” on her friends' the sexist pigs' radio show. What would it be? The birth hoax? Nah. Running for President? Bristol’s third (or is it fourth) pregnancy? Piper going to school? We had a lot of fun guessing, but in the midst of our fun, Sarah’s minions (hi, Meg, nice to hear from you again!) said it was all a mistake, apparently realizing that April Fools Day would not be such a great time to make a big announcement after all. Instead, Sarah announced her support for a right-wing judge in Wisconsin and made some big dents in the refrigerator. ;-)

Thursday, March 31, 2011

Huckabee says all Americans should have to listen to David Barton at gunpoint

If Huckabee is still leading the Republican nominee pack, then let’s hope this outrageous statement will cook his goose. Someone who says such extremist things has no business running for dogcatcher, let alone President. Hey, Huckabee, how would you like to be forced to do ANYTHING at gunpoint – is that what you think democracy is about? Shocking enough in any circumstances, but after Tucson, you’d think there would be some governor on the ex-governor’s mouth. Apparently no rhetoric is too extreme for the Republicans, who are so completely dominated by the far-right that it excludes any sanity or decency.

Friday, April 1, 2011

Tony Benn, an Inspirational Voice

Kathleen is a long-time admirer of British politician Tony Benn, who is a progressive voice who forsook his peerage to represent the commoners. He suggests five core questions to ask of those in power, and reminds us of the root of power of a true democracy. These views do not seem so extreme, but have caused him to be vilified and slandered in the British press over many years. Then I remind myself that there are few great leaders who have not been subject to such attacks; in some sense, they are a badge of honor, representing the fear of those in power that these simple truths should become self-evident. PoliticalGates joins Kathleen in wishing Tony Benn a happy 86^th birthday; may his vision of political and economic fairness touch more people this year.

Saturday, April 02, 2011

Grayson figures Palin would win the nomination if she ran

Former Congressman Alan Grayson has seen crazy up close, and he knows that the crazies drive the Republican primaries. Thus, in his view, Sarah Palin has a good chance of winning the nomination for President, because her most fanatical supporters are singularly devoted and motivated to vote in the primaries. Kathleen reminds us that, in the general election, she is at a big disadvantage because all the lunacy that emanates from her will be on display; it could even be entertaining, if it weren’t for “voting irregularities” aka DIEBOLD. The good news here is that Grayson may re-emerge in politics; let’s hope so.

Sunday, April 03, 2011

What are Bachmann and Palin up to these days?

The GOP slate of potential candidates is shaping up to be a race among fat old white men, a black whack job, and a couple of “hot” mama fizzlies (okay, if Palin can make up words, so can I). In the “will she or won’t she” sweepstakes, we are beginning to shift our attention toward Michele Bachmann, who is just as extreme as Sarah Palin (maybe even more so) but hasn’t faked any pregnancies lately that we know of. Bachmann can lie through her smiling teeth just like Palin, and has proven that she can raise big dollars as well, heading the Republican field in the last quarter. Then there’s Sarah Palin, who is looking more and more like an also-ran even before the race has begun.

Some Comments and Links:

TurtleTears: …They are monsters. Lock them up and throw away the key. That Morlock may spend only a few years in prison is atrocious. Meanwhile, as Sunnyjane pointed out below, Bradley Manning will likely face the death penalty for blowing the whistle on illegal killings by the military. It makes me question everything.

Linda1961: The polls must be showing support for the president's actions in Libya. McCain is a weather vane, not a leader.

Lilylake (on Kathleen’s competition about Sarah’s “big announcement”): I am squirmish with anticipation.

Sunnyjane: here are only two things in this world that Sarah Palin loves: her own ego and everybody else's money.

There were MANY great ideas of what Sarah’s “big announcement” might be; here is one from aussiegal77: Um......not sure what the announcement will be but I am sure it will be something along the lines of "The media is lying about me, I didn't do it, and even if I did there is no evidence plus it's all Obama's fault anyways and also too......I'll run for President if everyone donates $5 to SarahPac!"

Linda1961 found this: "However big the fool, there is always a bigger fool to admire him." Nicolas Boileau-Despréaux

NJFan: If we have to listen to someone at gunpoint then it's not a democracy.

Older_Wiser2 had an excellent long comment on Thursday morning on religion as the basis of much evil-doing; she and other commenters followed up with some wisdom on tolerance and understanding.

Marieke02: …They honestly don't know how "government" works. They just know they hate "it"… They are no more than Know Nothing Extremists, and the whole party is on an out-of-control race to the bottom. (Just makes you wonder, already, if there even IS a bottom.)…

HopeforAmerica: Isn't it ironic that the Tea Party member's motto is "Take our Country Back!", yet the Tea Party is financed by the Koch Industry, who wants to buy up our politicians and take our country over?

Psalm023: I think Alan Grayson is just taunting her to run. He is using a psychological trick to lure the egomaniac to the carrot in the trap. Even if her committed voters or party delegates decide she's worthy of running at a republican convention, she still must be challenged by debates, interviews, and right now with the addition of Donald Trump in the mix, the republican party looks like a reality show party, with billionnaires, cosmetic-surgically-enhanced celebrities, tv con-evangelists, Ebenezer Scrooges who would wish the poor masses be sent out of their consciences to the work houses.

Sunnyjane linked to this excellent article on Our Luck: A President That Gets Complexity and to this cartoon on the LA Times blog.

Cheeriogirl pointed out that Bill O’Reilly is blaming Palin for her drop in popularity; and she found this on Fox News admitting their lie about then candidate Obama being a socialist.

HopeforAmerica linked to PolitiFact on Michele Bachmann’s lies; it seems Sarah does have some competition.

Older_Wiser2 found more on Bachmann’s lies. (BBT: Sounds like another 400+ page tome in the offing…)

Nomadic Joe linked to a great new video from The Story of Stuff, this one on the Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United.

Tildama: To solve the human equation, we need to add love, subtract hate, multiply good, and divide between truth and error.

The Last Word: Former WI Governor Patrick Lucey (with H/T to cheeriogirl and ella):

"I have followed with increasing dismay and now alarm the campaign of Justice David Prosser, whom I endorsed at the outset of his campaign and in whose campaign I serve as the honorary co-chairman," Lucey said in the statement. "I can no longer in good conscience lend my name and support to Justice Prosser's candidacy. Too much has come to light that Justice Prosser has lost that most crucial of characteristics for a Supreme Court Justice -- as for any judge -- even-handed impartiality. Along with that failing has come a disturbing distemper and lack of civility that does not bode well for the High Court in the face of demands that are sure to be placed on it in these times of great political and legal volatility."

A Slice of America

By Leadfoot LA

It’s no secret that I have relatives in Ohio that subscribe to right-wing ideologies. I usually just ignore them and remain thankful that we are separated by geography so I don’t smack the stupid out of them.

But a recent exchange on Facebook with a pair of these relatives made me think about what we can do to overcome the misinformation that has become so pervasive and accepted as reality. Until we are able to combat the stupidity somehow, the left doesn’t stand a chance.

We are just a community of a few hundred people who meet on the Web to educate each other and vent, but we are smart and motivated. Maybe we can have a virtual brainstorm to figure out a way to shine the light on the truth. Even if we just change one mind on Facebook at a time, and then they change one mind….maybe we could make an impact. I don't want to complain anymore, I want to change things. I just don’t know where to start. So, I give you, an example of what we are up against.

I think you will be able to tell which one is me (click on pictures to enlarge):

That is where I threw up in my mouth and almost gave up. But I gathered my strength and decided that I had to do what I can to educate them. So I pressed on:

Oh lord, it is like debating with Willow and Bristol. The racism, it burns. It should be noted that my great grandfather emigrated here from Italy, and somehow THAT was okay. I was getting awfully tired of having my questions and valid points ignored while they threw Fox News talking points at me. But I’m not one to give up…

My aunt did not go to college, and my cousin Amanda dropped out of high school. So to them, I am the “elitist” West-Coast relative who is just a heathen bound for hell. I’ve also been called “spoiled” (because I have worked hard to improve my life?). I’m sure you all have similar tales. Those of us who educate ourselves somehow become the bad guys who want to “ruin this country.” How do we even begin to bridge the divide between us?! I don’t mean on a personal level – I don’t care that much and have written off any racist and religious fundamentalist relatives long ago. I mean on a national level. There is a humongous gaping divide. I wish I could see a way to close it.

UPDATE:Just as I predicted, I am a "know it all" because I went to college. And with that, I am done. I have read all your comments and sadly, I agree. You just can't fight stupid.

Open Post - Michelle Bachmann at the Tea Party D.C. Rally and Sarah Palin Endorses Judge Prosser

By Kathleen

Cartoon published at South Florida, Sun Sentinel

Patrick and I thought that this cartoon would be appreciated by the Politicalgates community. Later this evening I will post news of an upcoming event that I hope as many of you as possible will want to participate in. I'll announce the details then.

Meanwhile here are a few links that you may have missed. But please use this as an open post.

The Hill reveals that Michele Bachmann, who has confirmed that she is seriously considering a run for the 2012 Presidential race, has raised more money than any other GOP person pondering a bid of their own. Her personal PAC and her congressional campaign account have drawn in $2.2 million in the first quarter of 2011 placing her marginally ahead of Mitt Romney who raised $1.9 million through his own PAC.

A few days ago Michele Bachmann spoke to the Tea Party rally in D.C.

Bachmann told the rally attendees that Democrats (sic) were determined to blame the Tea Party if Government is shut down -- she knew exactly which buttons to push. Bachmann is a much more confident orator than Palin is. She responds well to her audience and can ad lib in a more natural, humorous way than Palin can. Bachmann appears to have a stronger sense of politics than Palin does and she has proven that she can raise money and support easily.

Suzy Khimm at Mother Jones had this to say

But though Palin and Bachmann may seem like GOP doppelgangers, there's a lot separating them as well. And the differences have led a growing chorus of Beltway watchers to conclude that Bachmann would actually be the more credible candidate of the two. Having watched the Minnesota congresswoman on the trail for years, Minnesota political operatives on both sides of the aisle warn against simply laughing off Bachmann. "You underestimate Michele Bachmann at your own peril," says Zach Rodvold, the campaign manager for her Democratic opponent in 2010.

We ignore Michele Bachmann at our peril.

In other news, Sarah Palin endorsed Justice David Prosser as her choice candidate for a place on the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Prosser has been accused of running an uncivil and bipartisan campaign and mentioned that he had not sought Palin's endorsement. I guess he has enough troubles without Palin adding to them. Read more at Americablog.com

Hat tip to Nomadic Joe for the cartoon graphic.

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UPDATE:

We have had a busy but very productive day and will unfortunately have to put off our announcement for a few more days.

The winner of our competition is yknott who was the first person to say that Palin would not show up and that the radio personalities (!) were pulling an April Fool stunt by suggesting that she was. Please contact me by email with your address and I will get back to you soon.

In the meantime Leadfoot has written a great post which I will put up in a few hours. You do not want to miss it.

Does Former Congressman Alan Grayson Believe That If Sarah Palin Decides To Run That She Can Win the GOP Nomination?

By Kathleen

Last Thursday Alan Grayson, former Congressman for Orlando, was interviewed on radio by the broadcaster Alan Colmes. They discussed many issues ranging from whether Grayson would run again to whether or not Sarah Palin could win the GOP selection to represent the Republican party in the 2012 Presidential election if she decided to run. Grayson's response was not the predictable one that we usually hear from progressives. More than likely it is not one that you want to hear yourself.

The unpalatable truth is that Grayson believes that Palin could win the nomination and he has good reasons for believing so. Grayson says history proves that

"in a contested republican primary the craziest candidate wins" and "at the top of the list of serious candidates is Sarah Palin."

When challenged by Colmes that Palin is not going to run Grayson replied

"I think that if she did run then she would win. Her voters are more committed and more determined to turn out and vote for her than anybody else on the other side."

Colmes countered that

"her negatives keep going up and up and up and her popularity rate keeps decreasing as does the Tea Party. the Tea Party according to recent polls is losing ground. They've got an approval rating somewhere near Rick Scott at this point."

Colmes has a good point. Recent polls show that Palin is losing ground and her popularity is at an all time low. How can she possibly consider running in the face of such obvious statistics? Grayson however thinks that those polls don't matter and points to the very sad and realistic fact that across the country roughly 4% of voters on either side of the aisle votes during the primaries. He adds

"In the case of the Democrats you have a mixed group of people who vote. In the case of the Republicans you simply have the 4% who represent the craziest elements in America and they're the ones who determine who their nominees are. Not just for President but basically all over the entire country. I had to sit with these people for two years and listen to them defend things like hate crimes, so I know who these people are, and Sarah Palin is the perfect representative for them. I mean, you know, er, she's ah, look, she's always happy. She's always smiling, uhmmm, because ignorance is bliss. So she's the happiest person you're ever going to see and that's the face of the right wing today. Happy people who know nothing and don't care about anything either."

Although I'm not convinced that Sarah Palin is such a happy, smiley individual, unfortunately the rest of Grayson's argument is a reasonable one. Palin, if she decides to run, can expect strong support from the majority of the GOP primary voters because those voters who bother to turn out for the GOP primaries are usually those of an extreme persuasion. They simply are the most determined to get out there and vote for their candidate. Palin can expect such voters to support her. It seems grim -- but it is not all doom and gloom. Palin still has not announced that she will enter the race.

At heart I am an optimist and with that in mind I keep repeating to myself my daily mantra "President Obama is still beating Palin in the polls, President Obama is still beating Palin in the polls, President Obama is still beating Palin in the polls." Can Palin risk defeat? Would she want to be beaten by President Obama a second time? I think not. I hope not. Moreover, a run for the Presidency would cost her more than just credibility it would cost her money, and money we all suspect is her true love.

Further good news from the interview is that Alan Grayson might run again. Here is the link to the audio of the interview. Enjoy.

Ask The Powerful Five Questions -- Tony Benn's Birthday

By Kathleen

By KathleenBB

Bye bye blackboard .... from Tony Benn

My very good friend Joe sent me this graphic last night and brought on the third or so of many smiles this morning. You will understand why when I tell you that I love Tony Benn. I even had a teensy girly crush on him back in the day…….

However my true love for Tony is one of admiration.

Leadership roles came naturally to Tony Benn and when he returned to Oxford University, after having served as a Royal Air Force pilot during the second world war, he was made President of the Oxford Union. Past Presidents have included many notable names from the field of British politics.

Tony Benn's family have a history of being involved in politics and he himself became actively involved when he entered the British political scene on the 1st November 1950 having been elected as the Labour Party MP for Bristol South East. A seat that he battled to retain when his father Viscount Stansgate died in 1960. This was because his father's death immediately elevated Tony Benn to the House of Lords and subsequently under Parliamentary rules he was required to resign his place in the House of Commons.

In the past Tony Benn had tried on several occasions to renounce his succession to his father's peerage but his attempts were all unsuccessful. Despite these setbacks he was determined to remain as a representative of the people in the House of Commons and fought to regain his seat in the by-election that was a result of his inheritance. Unfortunately, even though he took the highest number of votes, Tony Benn's seat was given to his opponent. Not being one to take no for an answer he continued his petition to renounce his peerage and on the 31st July 1963 the Peerage Act 1963 was enacted enabling him to finally and legally refuse his elevation to the House of Lords. His opponent, Malcolm St Clair, as a gesture towards the original election results decided to step down and a new by-election was called.

The by-election was held on August 20, 1963 and Tony Benn regained his place in the House of Commons. He had battled with the powers of institutionalism and tradition that were deeply rooted in British politics and he had won. His victory was not a small one and is an example of his belief that people should stand by their convictions and not bow to pressure from those who say that it cannot be done.

Throughout his years as a politician, and later after he retired in 2001, Tony Benn has defended the rights of the people against those of institutions and those who have power because he recognised that on the whole such power is not exercised for the benefit of others but for themselves. The following video reveals Tony Benn at his best accusing the BBC of capitulating to Israeli pressure by refusing to air an appeal on behalf of the people in Gaza under the guise of media impartiality. He goes on to broadcast the appeal address himself not once but twice -- yet again refusing to accept that something cannot be done just because someone in power has deemed that it cannot be. It is just one example of the consistency of his belief, to borrow a phrase, that "Yes we Can!"

It was his insistence that ordinary people should take on the establishment that caused him to be constantly vilified by the media, especially during the 1980's when the SUN newspaper ran constant articles attacking him , one on the day of the Chesterfield by-election which concluded that he was certifiably insane.

Tony Benn is currently the President of the Stop the War Coalition and spends much of his time heading panels and conferences. He says that he does not protest but that he demands.

Did I say that I love him? Tony Benn is an inspiration, he has been my inspiration for much of my adult life.

On Sunday it is Tony Benn's birthday -- he will be 86 years old. I wanted to share a little of him with each of you because his message is clear. Stand up against people who wield power and the institutions of power because they do not have your interests at heart. Do not take no for an answer. Ask them Tony Benn's five questions.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TONY AND MANY, MANY HAPPY RETURNS OF THE DAY! XOXO

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Notes used:

BBC Profiles - Tony Benn

Wikipedia - Tony Benn

Tony Benn: A Political Life by David Powell

Thanks to Nomadic Joe for the graphic and inspiration.