The nearly finished pieces are the most fun to look at. For three and one half years, we've talked about a baby with Down syndrome, a girl who got pregnant by her high school boyfriend, a woman who told a wild story about being in labor, and a dad we couldn't really figure out for a while but who seemed to be the better parent of the two. All that stuff is pretty normal, except maybe faking a pregnancy part. Even that isn't totally out of the norm if you are old enough to remember the 50s and 60s when "sisters" of newborns were actually the moms. While working these pieces, we have not left our collective comfort zones. And that is part of the reason we have not finished. We did the fun stuff and left the hardest areas for “later.” I’m suspecting that most puzzles are attacked this way.
When people began writing books from an investigative perspective, or a supposed tell-all, we cheered and expected to have some of the missing areas filled in by their work. One by one, we put our hope in the books that came out in 2011. Each one eventually fell short when it came to exposing Trig's parentage. We were disappointed that these authors avoided what are arguably the toughest and most controversial parts of Sarah’s life. But have we done the same? It’s fun talking about wigs and set design for Fox broadcasts, and laughing when she wears shoes two sizes too big. There’s a time and place for that, sure. But the things that tie the whole picture together need more work. The things that will make the entire picture begin to make sense are the things that support the Palin life style of interpersonal, social and political corruption. Understanding those things will (if anything can ) lead to an interest in the media to expose the Babygate hoax. I say if because I’m having my doubts, even about us Truthers. We all like to laugh, most of us like to be clever, many of us like to work puzzles. Few people like to squirm. I think it’s that last part that prevents anyone from finishing the puzzle.
To look at the “big picture” I've been searching for the essence of Sarah Palin's Alaska - not the show, but the place. I’ve done this by reviewing stories from people living in Wasilla, Anchorage, and Juneau and finding reports from people who visited Alaska to write for magazines, make movies, or write Palin-based books. I've looked at Todd Palin's Alaska, and Track and Bristol Palin's Alaska, too. We Truthers have known all along that Sarah Palin's Alaska, the TLC program was fictionalized. The real experiences of Sarah and Todd, Track and Bristol, would not make for family viewing. Yet, I was disconcerted to experience for myself what one journalist described eloquently in Vanity Fair in 2010 : “anywhere you peel back the skin of Sarah Palin’s life, a sad and moldering strangeness lies beneath.” Sad. Moldering. Strange. These words are perfect in their application to not only Sarah, but to Todd and to Bristol.
Nothing I found was new, you’ve heard what I’ve heard, you’ve read it, too. It’s all been said. But it came in bits and pieces. Now, when put together, side by side, all at one time, the picture is grim. I, for one, felt a sense of darkness; darkness that had the weight of a shroud. I’m not exaggerating when I say, the reading I’ve done this week made me want to turn my head, close my eyes, redirect my thoughts. It took me a week to write this post.
I think my readers know I don't live in Wasilla or any where near it. So I have no pictures in a shoebox in my closet. There is nothing in my house that isn't in the home of everyone reading this blog. Each of us has a computer. We have access to the internet, an interest in the Palins and their lives (they started it!), and we have sharp minds. Most of you have probably found the things I’m going to list, and each of them can be found again by inserting into the Google search box the name "Palin" and certain combinations of other names or words. Troubling is the nicest way I can describe these things. Shocking fits, too. As does tragic, depressing, and disgusting. Now, again, these things of which I speak are not things that I can prove, but there are hundreds, thousands, even millions of internet hits (depending on the topic) that will give you more information on any one of them.
I’ll start with fear.. Fear of crossing the Palins has been well documented. Where there’s smoke, there’s fire. The fire of Sarah’s temper. The black smoldering fire of Todd’s temper. The searing flames of Sarah’s vindictiveness lapping at anyone who offends her, from a blogger, to a comedian, to a college kid who guesses her email passwords, to the neighbor petitioning for traffic control. Sarah is like a heat seeking missile out to destroy reputations. All of it can be found over and over and over on the World Wide Web. So put fear into the picture behind everything else I’m going to remind you about here today.
Protection by the authorities. In the darkness of Sarah Palin's Alaska, Todd Palin found cover while he, according to Ms. Shailey Tripp, promoted prostitution and used vulnerable people to satisfy his sexual needs. Todd Palin's position of influence as the First Dude and then as the spouse of the former GOP Vice Presidential candidate would certainly have given him connections to law enforcement personnel who could help hide any involvement in the business of sex trafficking. We know the Anchorage Police issued a news release at the request of the Palin attorney. We know it was not entirely factual. Malia Litman should be credited for taking that on and finding the truth. Shailey Tripp should be credited for speaking out about sex trafficking in Alaska. The internet now has copies of email between Shailey and Todd. It's out there for the world to see and to consider.
Sexual abuse is a statewide problem in Alaska. Lisa Murkowski is raising the issue currently. It’s in the culture. In June, when Malia Litman's blog carried an article about Bristol and her memoir, someone named Thomas entered the discussion thread and convincingly claimed to have had a career in children and family protective services working in Child Protective Investigations as an Investigator (CPI) and Supervisor (CPIS). He was trained, worked, and was certified in that field, and specialized in sexual abuse cases. He left a lengthy comment supporting his opinion that the Heath/Palin clan exhibits clear signs of sexual abuse. Sarah and Bristol, in particular. And we can't prove anything, and certainly the media isn’t going to dig into this, but that doesn't mean we can't listen to Thomas and other professionals and consider what they say. We need to ask pointed questions about these people who want to influence the direction of this country in women's rights, freedom of choice, access to healthcare, and quality of education. Alaska has a terrible problem with sex crimes against children and women - Google it! I know it's not easy to talk about. Even we Truthers would rather talk about dirty wigs than dirty daddies.
Moving on, here’s something everyone can talk about - sex among teenagers. This is the stuff of prime time television. Bristol had her acting debut on a show with fictional story lines about unwed teen moms. Teens and sex, it's a fact of life. It's mainstream. Bristol quotes the statistics in her book, obviously learned them as part of her high-paid gig for the Candies foundation. "Blah, blah, x-percent of teenagers have sex by the time they are eighteen." At a passing glance, this doesn’t look like it belongs with the others. It’s not a deep “moldering” evil – that is, unless you dig deeper.
Alaska has one of the highest teen pregnancy rates in the nation. Facebook and other personal pages give alarming first-person accounts of Alaskan fourteen-year-olds engaging in sex with multiple partners as part of their routine eighth grade social life. In Juneau, popular and wanna-be popular girls Bristol's age had been sexually active for at least two years before the Palins arrived there in January 2007. Yes, I've read their posted conversations and blog diaries. Eighth graders were "hooking up," riding boys "like a cowgirl," agonizing over their need for "A MAN !!!," agreeing with each other that it's a shame the "little asian kid” moved away because he had an unusually big penis, and asking for advice on whether or not to settle for being "benefits buddies" with someone who isn't ready to make a public commitment to "go with" them. These girls were not yet in high school, but they were very comfortable having these conversations.
We who are Babyboomer tend to think of high school pregnancy as a situation that occurs from long term high school relationships in which intimacy evolved over time. Kind of bitter sweet, and totally understandable. That’s not what the girls and boys entering Juneau Douglas High School in the fall of 2005 were talking about. They were talking about recreational sex, partnering up with new acquaintances, priding themselves on horniness and putting out. There are people who have said Bristol was similarly experienced by the time she met her Juneau peers. Nancy French did her best to make it sound otherwise when she ghost-wrote Bristols's book, but that dribble doesn’t put out this fire.. And, while some of us might think this is rather shocking, unhealthy and socially harmful, if it is true about Bristol, and we are searching for truth, then it's a piece of the puzzle. It fills in a part of the picture. A dark and murky part of the picture.
Lest you think I exaggerate that this is dark and repulsive (sex is a beautiful thing, la la), I ask you to consider this – these young teens engaging in recreational sex were doing so while using recreational drugs. And abusing alcohol. That's a recipe for heartache. I think Sarah has seen heartache. Remember the first National Enquirer story about the Palins? Drugs. Alcohol. Track. Bristol. Sound familiar? Oh, yeah. Old stuff. The N E told us about Track and Bristol's matching behaviors using OxyContin, smoking, injecting, snorting, whatever. But were they right? Did they have real sources? Well, fast forward two years. They put Shailey Tripp through multiple polygraph tests, I have to believe they took some steps to test the credibility of their sources about the drug use of a soldier headed for Iraq whose mom was running for VP.
Related to all this – do you remember the comments that got posted at Mudflats and other blogs naming Dylan Kolvig as Bristol's baby daddy for the Trig-era pregnancy and making a big point about the two of them using hard-core drugs? For me, Babygate is beginning to pale in comparison to these possibilities. It’s been suggested in blog comments for years that Dyllan Kolvig fathered a FAS baby with girlfriend Bristol. When the “two babies” post exploded over at Immoral Minority, a theory quickly emerged that Ruffles was affected in vitro by drug and alcohol consumption by his mom (whoever that was). Our American media isn't going to go there; they aren’t going to present any stories that include real life recognizable celebrity names and talk about the use of drugs and alcohol early in pregnancy. That's a recipe for heartache, the kind of thing Dr. Cathy Baldwin-Johnson might help a family deal with, but not for public consumption. Bristol Palin's Alaska is not a place people want to visit in their imaginations. People refuse to go there, and it’s perfectly understandable. No author has gone there either. It's too dark, too sad, too horrible to contemplate. Critics would rather make fun of her chin. I know I would.
I warned you this post is about dark things – squirming yet? Here is a question that's a tad lighter. How many pregnancies did Bristol have during her teen years? Most Truthers will agree it was more than one. It doesn’t take a degree in psychology to recognize that as a cry for attention. On the internet you’ll find plenty of conjecture that Bristol has had more than two pregnancies. She's a real Alaskan girl. Like so many, she became a teenaged mom. But how many times? There is the Dancing With the Stars baby, which could be number three; and, if there was a fetus under the green sweater in 2006, the DWTS baby was the fourth pregnancy which extended Bristol the pistol's belly. Beyond belief? Not really. For a lot of us, it's distasteful but not impossible to imagine. Physically possible? Yes, of course. It's one pregnancy each year in 2006, 2007, 2008, and the fourth in 2010. How does it fit the Palin family dynamics? It fits with absentee parenting, out of control teenagers, peer pressure and socially acceptable practices in the Alaskan teen community. It fits. It's not something the media wants to talk about. Not ever, and it is probably one of the big reasons Babygate is off the table for any mainstream media coverage.
Okay, let’s see what have we covered – fear of retaliation, protection and cover by law enforcers, sexual abuse, drug and alcohol abuse, serial teen pregnancy with possible chemical-related complication, sex trafficking and sex slavery. Wait, sex slavery? Shailey's first book, "Looking For Inspiration" included a "Special Sneak Preview" into her next book. Now that we are counting the days leading up to that book being released, I don't feel it is unfair to Ms. Tripp to tell what she already published. In the "preview" it she says that the team that arrested her at her place of business included members of local law enforcement and members of the FBI. A misdemeanor prostitution charge with the FBI involved? Hmmm. They wanted Shailey to name names, and they said they knew there were big names she could give them. Her employee was grilled about whether she was a sex slave. Shailey said she was not and did not claim to be, either. Nevertheless, these officers of the law had reasons for bringing up specific criminal behavior and names. They were the ones who brought up Todd Palin. It wasn't Shailey. They asked about specific crimes ie sex trafficking, prostitution, sex slavery, young girls. This was not a television script, it was a day in the state of Alaska, the city of Anchorage. It certainly suggests that Todd Palin’s Alaska is a dark place.
All the above are repulsive in one way or another. Taken one at a time, or as an off-topic comment left on a blog, each of the things below can be tolerated. We’ve seen or heard each idea, suggestion, theory, and fact on this list and have continued our mutual campaign to reveal Babygate. But right now, looking at this list as belonging to one family, a family with national attention for promoting “family values,” I’m saddened and almost ill.
Blog readers have, perhaps, been spared the details by those who know. Maybe knowing won’t lead to closure. I can understand now how Babygate could be ignored and/or covered up rather than exposed in some Pulitzer Prize winning series of articles. Because the implications of what can be found on the internet - by anyone with a keyboard and curiosity - point to things so revolting to mainstream America that editors everywhere refuse to go there. If people want to go there themselves, well that's protected by the Constitution, right? But our free press ain't gonna put it on the top of their home pages. The possibilities of what we Truthers may uncover include some things that are so dark the media will not shine a light on them. For sure, we aren't going to hear about it in a movie like Game Change.
And now, I need levity. I need to start working on a lighter post. Looking this deeply into Sarah Palin and Todd Palin’s public record has given me the creeps. No wonder there are people in Alaska who keep to themselves, learn to shoot at an early age, and want to escape the laws of our nation by suceeding from the union. With a former governor who wrote down the license plates of a blogger after an interview, it's got to be uncomfortable to ever stick out from the crowd or speak against a person with connections to Sarah.
Even as far from Wasilla as I am, I’m feeling kind of fortunate to have a relative in the Secret Service. He used to be in the CIA. Now, don't get me wrong, I would never ask him for any information. Neither would he ever abuse his connections or his access to information, or his power. He’s an honest man, he keeps confidentiality, and he's highly respected by his peers and higher ups for good reason. He's the best. And we don't talk politics - he’s a Ronald Reagan Republican. But you know if I suddenly become accused of being a pedophile, or of not liking Piper’s lemonade stand, he’d be there for me. You betcha.
44 comments:
I don't understand how anyone can paint a bad picture of Sarah Palin's Alaska. If you truly look at her and their lives, you see...fun and laughter. You see people who laugh with each other, who snowmachine, who hunt, who spend time with family, who joke with family, who find it difficult to leave their lifelong friendships in pursuit of lower-48 things. Please show he concrete proof that your words in this post are accurate? That's never been done, EVER, in 3 years. Aside from people who were offended by SPA for whtever reason, I saw teens write on facebook "watching Sarah Palins Alaska, she's adorable." I see the fun and smiles, and the normal conflict that arises in life.
So please, will you provide your proof that illustrates what youre trying to convey?
"We have access to the internet, an interest in the Palins and their lives (they started it!),"
Actually, bloggers perpetuated it but not allowing the family to live privately after the election. All the Palins so is try to correct lies.
Interesting post, Allison.
Alaska is far from the only place where teens are becoming sexual too early. Hollywood has been glamourizing this for decade. I graduated HS in 1994 and am a little ashamed to say that sex parties were all too common. But really, it wasn;t long ago when girls of 14 were accustomed to starting families. If anything, we've progressed since a century ago, waiting to have babies until early 20s and later.
In environments where a sense of community exists and there are several teen girls who feel called to procreate at that milestone, is it that weird for others to follow, if not to keep up with the Joneses? No one wants to raise children alone. Just to use Palin as an example, her kids are friends with Sarah's friend's kids, their honorary siblings. Were things that tragic or dark then? Looking at pictoral timelines, you only see smiles and fun. Sure some teens had problems, they succumbed to peer pressure. But that happens everywhere. When I graduated, in a class of 65, 4 kids had ODd and 3 dropped out.
While shining a light on a specific region may help encourage more mature behavior, shouldnt we discuss what we know in our own regions of the country? Using people as white bread as the Palins doesn't even touch upon true darkest in our country. There are millions of people at risk everyday because of environment. In comparison, Wasilla could be considered Pleasantville.
But Bristol's never been friend with the truly promiscuous and sordid type. Jokes between Bristol and her friends are that bristol's like a 55 yr old inside a 21 yr olds body, that her grandmother stays up later than she does. She was a popular babysitter in town, had many girlfirends, had girl nights at friends houses, lived the typical life of a popular teen girl (I too am gauging this from actual comments). She was excited to earn money by painting. The girl knows responsibility. Bristol is one person who had good relationships with her elders and was respected by them.
I'd refrain from believing things that start with "it has been said". General rule of rumors is to disbelieve.
Even if true, which to be honest, doesn't sound that way at all, why do you wish to throw a tiny speck of time in people's faces? There are plenty of people currently in grave dangers to help and use as examples, not that I condone spotlighting people in times of need. Lohan anyone? People who experience strife dont need a camera in their face.
Whats interesting to me is, upon reading Bristol's book and reading her comment about her hunting, fishing, snowoardingi Juneau adventures, I draw the conclusion that she gravitated toward the wholesome most of the time. I mean, she was 16 and pot is available to anyone nowadays. But serious problems don't register for me. Not when she remembers this time fondly with her current bes tfriend.
Wow, Troll, how much do they pay you? Within 5 minutes of this going public, you had two comments up and you haven't stopped yet. Is this your only job?
It's time to let someone else have a say. Take a deep breath. Step away from the keyboard. If you rack up any more comments right now, I'll have to protect my readers by deleting them. Their time is too valuable to have to read through the same old stuff from you.
Allison
Allison, I really think that you should write a book. I have enjoyed your blog tremendously, but I think that the writing in this post is some of your best. Yes, you are talking about some very dark stuff. I am guessing that there are pockets of this kind of teen behavior in many parts of America (not just Wasilla) and I think that it would be a great thing to shine some light on it. Truth can be a great disinfectant. As far as the Palins, I don't care how bad the truth is, it needs to come out. SP is still dangerous for our country. So, thank you Allison and keep at it.
great post Allison. You are correct in that the "LSM" deems this story sad, seedy and sordic but does not deny it's true.
The multiple comments by the resident troll prove you are correct in your summary.
I don't see a happy family at all. I see a couple that fight a lot, don't share bedrooms and keep a lot of secrets. I see children that are jealous and cruel to each other at all times. I see children who have no intention of respecting their parents and take every occasion to 'stick it' to them.
Normal families don't have kids repeatedly in trouble and repeatedly pregnant. Normal families may have one drop out, but not three. 3 out of 4 is not the norm. Is Piper in school? if not, then it's 100% fail. Again, not normal.
As for the latest emails being released, a list of titles for all of the redacted emails is included. Most were family stuff but one (or more)references "custody" and\or "child custody"
Assuming it was redacted because of a personal nature as opposed to state business enforces the lie of The Wild Ride, IMHO
Out of the ballpark Allison! Trolls, Johnny on the spot, as usual. You are hitting a nerve.
Yes these things are happening all over the country, but not usually by someone who is trying to win a national election or be a celebrity at the same time. There is truly all indication of mental illness that runs perhaps 3 generations deep merely by the environment they live in and the people they associate with. Beauty and intelligence, or lack thereof, has been put on center stage. Both are visible but not compatible in this circumstance. In Sarah's situation, those who should have been making serious decisions were blinded by her looks and thought they could mold her how they wanted to get votes for their shakey candidate and win the election. She knows how to work people and blind them of who she really is. They tried to make the proverbial silk purse out of a sows ears and they lost. She broke every rule in the book to be a public servant (politician). I'm sure the media saw what was happening when they went to Alaska and realized what was going on and passed the word down...just don't go there. Thus that grifting family was able to get away with their con game as no one wanted to admit they were suckered in.
As George Bush so aptly tried to say, "You can fool some of the people some of the time, but you can't fool all of the people all of time." Fox News made it possible to garner the trust of the unenlightened and if you tell a lie often enough, there are those that will believe it. (Trolls).
What you are doing is not pleasant. Kind of like being a nurse....many messy things to deal with, but in the end, you become accustomed to the unpleasant things in life and when you see a patient beat all the odds, it's worth it in the end to know you did your part in making things better. Please know that we are behind you. Just dump the trolls. They are too stupid to learn anything. Their loss, our gain. This woman must be stopped from ever having any say in running any government. Hope someone in authority can do something to get the small children some help before they end up like their older siblings. We will always have those who can't learn around us. In every life, some rain must fall..or blizzards or tornadoes or hurricanes. Some make it, some don't.
MrsGunka
Allison -- Your post links neatly and sadly with one that Floyd Orr put up last fall which is accompanied by a childhood photo of Palin I've found more disturbing, each time I've seen it. I have hundreds of photos of my child and in none of them is there an expression that comes close to the one captured here. There are several other photos which can probably be found archived at Palingates, taken about the same age (I'd guess 8 or 9), with the same affect. Something just looks so 'off' for a child so young. To me she looks both distrustful and determined, wanting to give no indication that she will 'smile for the camera'. I see those photos as puzzle pieces. And yes, I'm aware that that's extremely subjective.
' If you truly look at her and their lives, you see...fun and laughter. ' I took a "true look" and saw a bully of a big sister humiliate a little sister by pushing her face into a cake, while the family laughed.
That's not the kind of fun my family has.
Allison
You must be hitting some nerves. What some of these trolls fail to realize is from the outside everything looks great. A beautiful home, plane on the lake to fly off. Cars in the drive way. Nice looking kids and husband. It all looks good just like a beautifully wrapped box for christmas until you open the box then you realized you got a gift that was re-sent from another person. If these trolls are really interested all they have to do is google her name. It is what it is. Track, Bristol and Willow's drug problems are well known. Sarah Palin chose to put her family in the limelight. She has no one to blame but herself. She acts like a victim when really she left the whole town of Wallisa as victims. Let's face it when people are afraid to speak it tells you something about this family. Sooner or later all the truth will come out and the town will finally get to look over their shoulders without fear.
Well written, thoughtful, insightful, and dark ... but the latter isn't Allison's fault.
I am an adult survivor of child abuse. Some families and communities are this dark. Denying it doesn't change a thing.
I grew up in the 80's and we were having casual sex in our early teens. The only difference was that we didn't have Facebook or MySpace to talk about it, but we were doing it as soon as we could get a moment alone with a guy. I have a feeling that teen sex is not a new phenomenon but one that is as old as mankind itself. The kids in AK are no different now that kids in any country or state or in any generation that came before. There are always those curious teens that engage in sexual behavior.
Very well-written, Alison. Very thought-provoking.
Anon. 4:01....did any of you go on to tell others to practice abstinence and get paid thousands for something you didn't do yourself? Did any of the mothers fake a pregnancy when their daughters got pregnant and prance them before a national television coverage making her carry the baby to cover another pregnancy? Sexual promiscuity is world wide but those involved don't run for national office and lie to every one. Just watch television today as the people are fighting these politicians that are pushing their intrusion into our personal life and making it a law to intrude. If these kids were able to have birth control perhaps there would be no need to have abortions. STD's may be their biggest worry. It's obvious abstinence doesn't work for the hormone driven ignorant teens!
Very good post... thank you for putting factoids in perspective. About a year ago, I too wanted to put the Palins into a "cultural context" to try to understand their bizarre behavior.
I chronicled - as much as i could - Bristol and Track's activities during their mother's first year as governor in Juneau, 2007.
I concluded that the Juneau blue bloods did not accept Palins into their inner circle. Track and Bristol, given their own sense of entitlement, simply became hoodlums - what we would have called them back in my day. You know, the kids with rich and powerful parents who always seemed to get away with everything. I believe this is why Sarah moved her governor's office back to Wasilla. The kids were out of control.
I read the blogs - that were left standing - about the MV Pacifica, Dylan Kolvig's father"s yacht. It was reputed to be a teen party boat; drugs, alcohol, and sex were also reported. Dylan and Bristol were also reputed to be a couple.
After the mysterious burning and sinking of the Pacifica in Juneau in March 2007, and the coverup afterward, just makes this "rumor" more curious. Following up on Bristol and Track in 2008 confirms they were dealing with some "problems."
I believe Dylan is really Trig's father and that Levi was simply a handy stud to create cover for Bristol. He probably believed the baby was his. At this point I am not sure Tripp is his.
I like your approach in providing the social and cultural background where behavior such as that exhibited by the Palins can be put into perspective. Doing my own research, I can confirm that Alaska has some very serious problems with teen sex and drugs, and sexual abuse of children and women. Yes, Alaska is a very dark place.
Well-written post, Allison. I commend you for pulling all of these disparate bits of information into one place. Yes, it is a disturbing picture. Some of it is "normal" teenage behavior, but the combination of behaviors and lack of supervision and desire for attention makes the whole ugly and unsettling.
Like many others, I've always called Sarah's father "Creepy Chuck," thinking in the back of my mind that he was abusive to Sarah. I have no evidence of it, but I have personal experience and have consequently done a LOT of reading on the subject. I had not heard about the commenter on Malia's post before. That's the only reason I now feel comfortable enough to express my impressions about SP's past.
I hope the Truthers will keep digging. Yesterday, Andrea Mitchell was talking with another pundit about Rick Santorum and how he "walks the walk" with regard to his special needs daughter. Mitchell chimed in with, "just like Sarah Palin and Trig." I was appalled. Such comments show why it is still important to expose the hoax of babygate. Thanks for all you do.
~physicsmom
"If you truly look at her and their lives, you see...fun and laughter. .. Please show he concrete proof that your words in this post are accurate?"
You first.
Didn't Gryphen once write that the real Trig truth was dark and evil? (not his exact words, but what I remember getting from them)
Anon@ 5:26 YES, Gryphen said something like that. It came to mind as I was writing this. And, as I recall, he said it would hurt innocent people if it came out, and that it was very dark, or bad, or awful.
It's something I'll look it up sometime, but right now, I'm going to spend the evening with the Sarah emails.
THANKS EVERYONE for making really good points on this thread. I'm stopping back every so often and it's inspiring.
Briliant piece, Allison. After months and months of bad wig and tacky mantel arrangement cracks, i am glad I hung around to read this. In the way back when there was Palingates, Audrey wouldn't allow any speculation about incest, and I can see why. You really should write a book. You practically have an entire format in this one article, and it is very, very rewarding and enlightening to have this synopsis. Thanks!!
Allison -- One set of e-mails you might want to check are the ones quoted by Gryphen at IM today. From a 2009 basketball game, where SP goes into serious overdrive due to the public and hardly surreptitious presence of two men (which she can't accept --Gryphen and his friend, Dennis Zaki), who request an interview of the standing Governor. She's totally focused on a paranoid/pervert explanation for their presence with repeated use of the word 'creepy' which we've seen over and over. She seems convinced that they are there to inappropriately spy on and 'record' Willow's bb game.
Some sort of personal history writ large seems to me. Stalkers everywhere it seemed to her, even in the middle of the Wasilla sports complex which was public and well-attended. On the surface, seemingly crazy-talk and behavior -- license plate reports?
An excellent poster - ProChoiceGrandma - had a detailed post on Palingates, about two years previously, in which she set out very exactly the disconcerting signs of family/sexual abuse within that household. She made references to public statements, such as that there were certain aspects to Track's enlistment which the Palin's preferred to keep private, so they would not be issuing a statement, etc.
Nancy Drew brings up an email that shows Palin's absolute paranoia at the thought of Dennis Zaki and Gryphen at a "little girls' basketball game". Whether she really believed this or was doing her usual nonsense of ramping up divisive behavior and trying to incite her staff to rally around her is questionable, although I think it's a little of both. Sarah LOVES attention, negative or positive.
I remember in doing CEU's for my Nurse Practitioner's license, I took a course on recognizing signs of possible sexual abuse in young teens. Wanting to have a baby of their own was one of them, also having a parent who was paranoid regarding others looking at their children in a sexual manner was another sign of either their having been abused or suspecting someone of abusing their child. These things have all been discussed on other blogs, although nothing has been proven. It's quite easy to see the possibilities are there.
This is an exceptional post, Allison, and although I'm not a fan of Palin, I really wish there was no need for it. If Sarah was abused, it would also explain her compulsive lying. That was another common factor seen among those who have been abused. She builds such fantasies about their life growing up in Alaska and continues to this day. In her mind, it might be because she truly wants to think that's the way things were for her. It's her escape from reality. This doesn't excuse her behavior but it could be a reason for it.
While the real story of Sarah Palin's fake pregnancy may prove to be upsetting to a few people, it is important that the fraud be made public. I don't think that the truth will hurt Trig (no one would allow that) but it will hurt those who helped Sarah Palin in perpetrating her fraud. And they, and Sarah, have a lot of explaining to do for lying or for cooperating in concealing the truth during a national election campaign.
By the amount of coments you are getting I think you have hit a nerve. Your layout of events and the way you lay them out as you put the pieces together does indeed bring us to a place no one wants to go. Part of the problem with Alaska is the population is so small but the area so incredibly big thus isolation. Isolation is an easy way for people to start justifying behaviors as there is not many people to condemn what you are doing. Also isolation means everyone pretty much knows everyone in one way or another and thus keeping secrets becomes a part of life. Keep going. Shaytripp
Remember that posed picture of Palin & her daughters that Frank Bailey mentioned that was on display in the house? (Wasn't it Bailey?)
"This is an exceptional post, Allison, and although I'm not a fan of Palin, I really wish there was no need for it."
We all do. Whether we wish Sarah hadn't been abused- as I am convinced she was- or whether we wish she never became a public figure, or both, we all wish there was no need for it. But Sarah took her life and her issues public, and we can't allow somebody with her vicious dishonesty and vacuous cowardice to co-opt public dialogue.
And the really, really sad thing isn't that she was abused or that her daughters have been- and again, I believe they all were. That, sadly, is all too common in our society and especially Alaska. (Why DID her father pack up a young family and haul them all off to Alaska suddenly, anyway? Was there an honest law officer doing some investigating?) The sad thing is that there's enough knowledge in the public realm for a person of average intelligence to realize that help is available, counseling is available, whatever happened or is happening is illegal and wrong- and Sarah hasn't taken advantage of any of that knowledge because she's too cowardly to address the real issues.
And the fact that there are people who show up and vociferously claimm, against all public evidence, that Sarah's family is perfect and her life is perfect and everyone loves each other and supports each other- good lord, you can look at the public record of what they're doing and realize that's nonsense. But her supporters are too stupid to realize that they're fools.
http://www.celebitchy.com/30116/levi_johnstons_mom_we_dont_understand_she_was_in_pain/
OT^ My local news posted a report on Dec. 18th that Bristol had her baby. Here is a written report stating the same thing.
first paragraph: 18 year-old Bristol welcomed her first baby, a son named Tripp, on December 18.
this article was written on the same day of all the redacted e-mails re: Levi/custody
(that's how I found it) searching by date.
December 18, 2008, was the originally released EDC for Tripp, wasn't it? Then they changed it to the 20th?
I don't understand why their estimated birthdates keep changing. I went to my doctor, told them the date of my LMP, and he gave me the estimated birthdate. Now, it was harder with my second kid, because I had several periods AFTER I was pregnant, so for a while I had an estimated birthdate of January until March, but eventually we did an ultrasound and narrowed it down (ultrasounds were not routinely performed back in the dark ages. No, we just waited it out with the doctors and they did the best their could with such things as fundal height. You youngsters don't know how things used to be...)
At any rate, it's typically not difficult to estimate a date of birth, and there's no need to change it. Maybe we should question the caliber of their medical advice, were it not for the fact that they're all dumb as posts and probably don't understand half what their doctors say.
agreed Ivyfree - however the article was written in January - you'd think they may have heard the later birthdates - 12/27 or 12/28 or 12/29 that were reported in multiple sources
Where on the internet can we see Shay and Toads email?
Thanks
Anon@12:28pm, Shay posted on her blog an email she sent Todd Palin in December 2006 and his response the same day:
http://shaileytripp.yolasite.com/blog/email-dec-5-2006
He tells her "You light up my life."
Thank you Alison :)
Allison, thank you for this blog. I have been thinking for some time about Sarah's origins in Sandpoint, and this may be the place and time to mention them. I have no new facts to add, just that the circumstances of the Heath's leaving are mysterious and tweak my intuition that there is a scandal there. In particular, Chuck is known to have spent time watching a big fire (car business that burnt down) when Sally went into labor with Sarah. A short time later (3 months?) they moved to Alaska. Given that there were several mysterious fires in Wasilla THAT WE KNOW OF (church, Dar Miller, neighbor's shed with an anti-Palin sign near Lake Louise, and the boat burning and sinking), it is worth wondering if Chuck had more of an interest in the Sandpoint fire than simply a curious bystander. And if so, he would want to move out of town before an arson investigation got too close. He also is known to have been a bully who harassed people who criticized the principal for wanting to fire a teacher who was a pedophile. I would not be shocked if there was a link to some scandal in Idaho that Chuck needed to get away from. I am sorry I have nothing new to add but my "Spidey sense"!
Anon@12:10am. Using intuition can lead to solid discoveries. Thanks for taking the time to share and explain the questions in your head. Someone who moved to Alaska and has since left told me that Alaska attacks people who are running away from something. They said that to me two days ago, and then you post these questions. Something for us to think about.
The darkness in Alaska is there. The winters people drink to get through it. The drinking causes bad behaviors. Anyone can just look up the police statistics.
Alaska attracts not attacks people running from something! lol!
Speaking of creepiness, I saw Chuck Heath is writing a book to be released in Sept. 2012 called Our Sarah, Made in Alaska. That really creeps me out, and I can't quite put my finger on why, but it kind of gives me the same dark kind of feeling about this family. A dad writing about his daughter made in Alaska. Blech. Check out amazon, I just saw it there.
Very poignant post, every word...
Unfortunately I am guilty of the crimes of laughter and comedy when dealing with the Palin family. Why, I think it is to mask the pain for which is found in every word of this post.
Thank you for taking the time to write this, it pulls my mind into perspective, while still leaving me some room for sanity.
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