Monday, February 6, 2012

Newsweek Magazine Proves Trig Is Still A PROP

In the beginning, Sarah Palin held Trig up in front of thousands of people in the convention hall and millions of others watching on televisions around the world. She led them to assume she was someone she wasn’t – a person who cared about the disabled.  Trig Palin is the very embodiment of the dupification of the American voter.

The Daily Beast reported yesterday that Newsweek Magazine this week has an article titled  "Life With Trig: Sarah Palin on Raising a Special Needs Child."  I read it, and there's nothing new there. Nothing. She regurgitates the same old stuff she was saying under the pen name “Trig’s Heavenly Father” in April of 2008. Same old accusations about the rest of us being mean and ignorant and not as good as she is because she’s "blessed" with a kid with an extra chromosome. It's disgusting.

In four years, this adult has not learned one knew thing she can share with public that’s going to make a difference. She’s not advocating stem cell research. She’s not doing Public Service Announcements for organizations that help families deal with disabilities. She’s just saying “I’m blessed. Trig’s a blessing. People are mean. People are wrong.”  Blah, blah, blah.   

This is all part of the Babygate hoax.  Trig is still a prop. She can't give up the claim to her fame. Here, take a look:

It’s a sacrifice every parent and caregiver of a child with special needs sympathizes with. Families of children with special needs are bonded by a shared experience of the joys, challenges, fears, and blessings of raising these beautiful children whom we see as perfect in this imperfect world. 

During the 2008 presidential campaign, on rope lines at rallies across the country, my husband, Todd, and I met so many of these families and caretakers, and I’ll never forget them. There was an instant connection—a kind of mutual acknowledgment that said, “Yes, these children are precious and loved. Yes, we face extra fears and challenges, but our children are a blessing, and the rest of the world is missing out in not knowing this. 

When I discovered early in my pregnancy that my baby would be born with an extra chromosome, the diagnosis of Down syndrome frightened me so much that I dared not discuss my pregnancy for many months. All I could seem to muster was a calling out to God to prepare my heart for what was ahead. My prayers were answered beyond my shallow understanding of what true joy could be. Yes, raising a child with special needs is a unique challenge, and there’s still fear about my son Trig’s future because of health and social challenges; and certainly some days are much more difficult than if I had a “normal” child. 

I know I'm biased, so I'm going to step back and let someone else make the point. When Sarah was running for Vice President, over 3 years ago, her sister Heather gave an interview to Autism One Radio.  Heather's son, Karcher, was 13 at that time.  Karcher has Autism. Below is a comment about what Heather said. About what she said about Sarah Palin, her sister. This is from a blog "advocating for children and adults with disabilities -   Special Needs Truth : 


October 23, 2008

Heather Bruce, Palin's Sis, Speaks

Gov. Palin's big sister, Heather Bruce, spoke with Autism One Radio, about raising her 13-year-old son with autism. What she said doesn't reassure me about her sister's understanding or commitment to autism. Here's what she had to say:

"She [Sarah] wants to help. She wants to help so badly, but she has a lot to learn, and she knows it. She’s fresh into this, being an advocate for autism, for Down syndrome. People expect her to know everything about everything. [She has said] We need to sit down Heather, tell me what your needs are, what do you wish you could see, what do you think would help the state. And that was just the time she was the governor."

So after Sarah has been an aunt to a child with autism for 13 years and governor for nearly two, the best endorsement her sister can give her is "she has a lot to learn, and she knows it"? Interestingly, she also gives credit to the Democratic candidates for also raising the issue of autism during the campaign. How strongly does she support her sister's candidacy? I can't tell after listening to this nearly hour-long interview.

********

The next day, another writer, Becky Blitch, posted this on  open.salon.com blog 

OCTOBER 24, 2008 10:46AM

Sarah Palin’s “Special Needs Children” Policy Address

First, by going off on impassioned tangents about earmarks and Obama's tax plan, Gov. Palin gave the impression that this speech was merely cover for stump-speech attacks, belittling the importance of the topic at hand.
Second, it's worth noting that absolutely no new territory regarding disability policy was covered in this speech. Given its length, there was very little red meat. In fact, at the beginning, Gov. Palin said she'd be offering three specific policy points, but after watching the speech a second time, I'm still unclear as to what those points were.
Third, while I absolutely agree and understand that changes need to be made for children with disabilities, we must remember that those children do, in fact, grow up. There are millions of adults with disabilities in this country (many of whom acquired disability after childhood, including thousands of veterans), and we are all too often left out in the cold. Sarah Palin said that she and John McCain would support finding ways for adults with disabilities to live independently, but McCain has rejected the Community Choice Act, which would do precisely that.
Fourth, Palin's speech did little to honor the dignity of people with disabilities. We in the disability rights movement have been fighting for decades to be seen and treated as full human beings; we have fought to make people understand that just because we have unconventional bodies, we are essentially—in the things that matter—just like everyone else. Palin, however, pushed the human-interest angle, gushing about how "blessed" families are to have such "special" children. The "Inspirational Gimp" and the "Blessed Gimp" are stereotypes whose time is long gone, thankfully. But Sarah Palin seems determined to resurrect them.
I could go on at length about the very necessary policies and programs Palin could should have endorsed while she had the spotlight on this issue: Respite services for caregivers. Health care reform. Stem cell research. Medicaid reform around durable medical equipment. The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Supreme Court decisions that decimated the ADA. And on and on and on …

*******
Sarah doesn’t change.  She doesn’t come up with new ideas, and she doesn’t learn. Just  look at what her eighth grade rival Cheryl Welch wrote about her in a letter to friends in 2008, you see the same Sarah we’ve studied on the national scene. She hates to lose. She attacks with a vengence. She can’t let anything go. She isn’t the smartest. She wants to be the leader. She likes attention. 

Knowing that Sarah doesn’t change,  it’s no surprise to see that she’s put Trig out there again, with nothing new to say. Same old stuff. Look! I have a child with Down syndrome. I'm blessed. Why isn't there something new?  Because Sarah doesn't care about disabilities. She didn't care in 2008, she doesn't care now. Sarah doesn't change.

Why is Newsweek carrying this tripe?  Who owns Newsweek? I think we should follow the money.

According to Wikipedia, a quick search says 

August 2010, The Washington Post Company sold Newsweek to 92-year-old audio pioneer Sidney Harman—reportedly for a purchase price of $1.00 and an assumption of the magazine's liabilities.

At the end of 2010, Newsweek merged with the online publication The Daily BeastThe goal of the new Newsweek Daily Beast Company is to have The Daily Beast be a source of instant analysis of the news, while Newsweek would serve to take a look at the bigger picture, provide deeper analysis, and "connect the dots," in the words of Harman, and to ultimately return both publications to profit-making.

Now, Newsweek is jointly owned by Harman and IAC/InterActiveCorp.  InterActiveCorp (legal name: IAC/InterActiveCorp) is an American internet company whose Chairman and Senior Executive is Barry Diller.

Mr. Diller was previously head ofParamount PicturesFox Broadcasting and USA Broadcasting.

Diller was the head of FOX Broadcasting?   Oh, that explains a lot.  Fox needs Palin's name out there, in a goodwill kind of way. Newsweek runs a cotton candy article - all sugar no substance. Somebody did somebody a favor. So much for the NEWS part of Newsweek, the deeper analysis, and "connect the dots." 

Good luck, Mr. Harman.  If you really want to make some sales, I'd suggest you breakout the Babygate story. It's much more interesting, and real, than the pablum you printed about Trig this week. 




32 comments:

Anonymous said...

From Wikipedia:
"Harman was married to Jane Harman (b. 1945), a former Democratic member of Congress from California who represented California's 36th congressional district which included the Redondo Beach and Manhattan Beach areas of Southern California."

Hedda Hophead said...

One of the (many) reasons I enjoy your blog is that your research turns up such interesting stuff.

Those quotes from Sarah's sister are priceless! I wonder what kept Sarah from appointing Heather as the (air)head of some state mental health organization at a salary of 200k per year ?

Anyway ... initially, it struck me as strange that Newsweek would not only hand over such prime column space to a haggard has-been like Palin, but would even let her fill it with nothing but recycled Trig tripe.

But you inspired me to do a little research m'self and while I'm definitely no expert, I don't think this was one of "Killer" Diller's deals.

"From October 1984 to April 1992, Mr. Diller served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Fox, Inc. and was responsible for the creation of Fox Broadcasting Company in addition to Fox's motion picture operations."

http://iac.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=20&item=17

But Fox News Channel wasn't founded until 1996.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Fox_News

No, I think this might actually be a simple case of "You scratch my back, I'll scratch your eyes out whenever I feel like it."

A recent Huffington (Com)Post story explains that "Palin seems to have a good relationship with Newsweek under [editor Tina] Brown's stewardship ..."

Brown, it seems, is "renowned for running attention-grabbing stories and covers in hopes of sparking conversation and controversy" -- just what America needs from its news media, huh? -- "So it's not surprising Brown would commission a piece from Palin on Trig just weeks after Palin took a shot at one of the magazine's top writers over his history of raising doubts about Trig's birth."

http://tinyurl.com/84hu5by

Then I came across a story published on 1/9/12, the first line of which reads:

"NBC News and Newsweek & The Daily Beast today announced that will focus on 2012 election campaign coverage."

http://tinyurl.com/77hmere

On January 17th, Sullivan's Newsweek cover story about Obama hits.

10 hours later, Palin blasts Sullivan for -- of all things -- being a "TrigTruther conspiracy kook writer," and the general reaction in the anti-Palin community is "Oh no ... what's she up to THIS time ?"

Now, just under 3 weeks later, Newsweek prints another ghost-written fairytale supporting the "Saint Sarah = SuperMom" myth and -- voila! -- a "joint digital initiative" bears fruit.

I'll even go waaay out on a limb and posit that this may just be Palin's first salvo in a month-long war against "Game Change."

(Some of the Palinbots are already crowing about how they've had HBO removed from their cable TV accounts ... which means that when they have it re-instated in April, they'll have paid maybe $50 in fees and accomplished exactly nothing in return.)

(sigh) Oh, allll those people -- and there are so many! -- who keep commenting that they wish Sarah Palin would just STFU and go away ... ?

If they would just support the effort to expose the truth about Trig, they'd get their wish.

In the meantime, thank YOU Allison for doing so much of the "heavy lifting."

Hedda Hophead said...

Sorry ... the excerpt from the 1/9/12 story should read:

"NBC News and Newsweek & The Daily Beast today announced a joint digital initiative that will focus on 2012 election campaign coverage."

Allison said...

Thank you, too Hedda Hophead , for finding and sharing this. You make good points. This may be an opportunity for the Truthers to find media interest.

It causes me to wonder if we Truthers can put a crack in the wall the media built around Babygate if we hit up the Daily Beast and Newsweek relentlessly over this issue during this Game Change build up time. Maybe if enough of us were doing that and if they want to make a profit again (it's always about money) we might get some attention. Especially since Sarah is putting Trig into headlines again. She brought him up in her Herman Cain reaction and again last month attacking Newsweek over Andrew Sullivan's credibility and now this. Maybe we have a real opportunity here to get one news outlet to pay attention to us.

I don't see any downside to flooding Newsweek with Truther comments this week. What do others think of the idea?

Anonymous said...

That's interesting this interview was in OCt 08. THAT explains the arrival of a DS baby PERFECTLY. PERFECTLY.

In 2010. Heather's family was also at the Buddy Walk when Sarah and Trig were. The buddy walk is a function supprting DS children.

I fully believe Sarah wants to help. Theres a lot we dont know. Sarah privately donates to army related entities. I believe she probably donates to special needs organizations.

And you MAY not want to reference Cheryl Welch. Some of Chuck and Sarah's good high school friends were pissed she (Cheryl) lied to such a great extent. She didn't know Sarah well at all. Sarah doesn't even remember her. According to many, Cheryl is insanely jealous of her.

"about the rest of us being mean and ignorant"
You're assuming Sarah's referencing you or bloggers. How vain. She's probably referencing people who actually advocate that ALL special needs babies SHOULD be aborted no matter what. These people do exist. I am sure Sarah's heard from many via email or whatever.

Anonymous said...

How presumptive.

MC3031 said...

Nice that the Fairy Tale Troll visits here, Allison! It means you've hit the big time!

It also means you've hit a *wee bit* close to home.

You are spot on about SP using Trig as a prop. She has and will continue to be a fraud until the day she is fully exposed (and even then, I expect her to have a spin about it all.)

FT Troll, if we can pick out your stupid posts so easily, why don't you try to up your game? Make it at least a challenge, hmm?

Anonymous said...

Actually, according to everyone, Sarah is insanely jealous of Cheryl Welch. It's a shame none of those "good high school friends" that were so gosh darn pissed spoke up so you could leave a link. Then again, I suppose it has been very difficult for you to figure out how to leave a link to the voices in your head.

Anonymous said...

I think someone at Newsweek probably saw Sarah's tweet and thought it an interesting idea to follow the Santorum story with a similar one. Trig and Bella are two beautiful, cherished children who need the country's support along with their DS friends. Believe it or not, Sarah is NOT referencing people here when she criticizes those who deem special needs children unfit for life. There are people of all ages who believe this. Open your minds, close your biases, relax and start spreading love, not hate. Some of the most hateful rhetoric I read on the net come from sites like these, stemming from ignorance and bad assumptons.

Anonymous said...

Anon 9:14, how ignorant or you. Those who know nothing are easily identifiable.

What do you think it going to happen IF Trig truth is exposed? They're going to give him back? Their brother/son? That's a ridiculous and hateful assumption to even consider.

Anonymous said...

"according to everyone"

And your proof is where? If you're going to accuse me of not providing proof, and you fail to do so as well, that's just PATHETIC and typical of haters.

Allison, I emailed you.

pol said...

Allison -- This is O/T, but I think someone was looking for a photo of Trig in a Steelers jersey? You have to scroll to the bottom to see the photo:

http://www.gossiprocks.com/forum/u-s-politics-issues/rumors-speculation-did-sarah-palin-fake-her-last-pregnancy-page75-80794.html

Anonymous said...

"If you're going to accuse me of not providing proof"

Ummmm.. You didn't provide any proof so it was not an accusation, it was simply a fact. I realize that actual facts are something you and the other zombie rats have an enormous amount of trouble dealing with, but that's on you fairy tale princess

Anonymous said...

I emailed Allison some info that I place MY trust in. What have YOU done but spew lies, assumptions and hate?

Anonymous said...

Dear Anon 11:18, what are you blabbing about? I simply stated that it was a stupid move to state a generality that I would bet $2000 you cannot prove when you're accusing me of stating what I know to be true. Let's practice spelling dearie: H-Y-P-O-C-R, can you continue?

Anonymous said...

"I simply stated that it was a stupid move to state a generality that I would bet $2000 you cannot prove when you're accusing me of stating what I know to be true"

Gosh darn, you know I've looked all over this blog and I can't seem to find where you "stated" any of this anywhere.. Well, up until right now..lol

The zombie rats are slowly losing their mind.. running around mumbling "I sent all my money to Sarah and all I got were these crappy blogs"

Anonymous said...

Excellent blog, Allison, well-written and well-researched. I especially love your coining of the word "dupification." Now you can join Sarah and Shakespeare in the roster of Thesauriticians. (My new word). Keep them coming.
~physicsmom

Anonymous said...

Anon 9:14, how ignorant or you. Those who know nothing are easily identifiable.

What do you think it going to happen IF Trig truth is exposed? They're going to give him back? Their brother/son? That's a ridiculous and hateful assumption to even consider.

This sounds eerily like Chuckles Heath who ,when confronted with the truth that Sarah isn't Tri-G's mom said "You can never proove that!". That is a really weird thing for daddy-o to say. AS is this quote above. No Chuckles, we don't expect she'll give him back, although she probably should. What we want is for the ugly truth to be known. A very very sick woman almost became VP of the US, to an old cancer surviving (barely) man. This very ill woman faked a pregnancy to advance an agenda that is unconstitutional. Then the GOP covered up for her.
That is what we want exposed.

Allison said...

Physicsmom - Thanks for noticing! I rather liked it myself. Feel free to use it again, and often.

Natalie Bryer said...

"she probably should"

So you're saying Trig should live with a mother (family) who may not be able to meet his needs (probably due to money issues) than with a warm family financially able to?

That makes PERFECT sense.

I am offended by all of you. I am offended by your assumptions that Trig is not receiving the love and care he deserves. I am offended that you don't get that you're being offensive in your assumptions. I am offended that my "fellow Americans", evidenced by your behavior, cannot accept everyone as human and choose not to judge. I am deeply worried. For you. Because of you.

Ivyfree said...

"I am offended by all of you. I am offended by your assumptions that Trig is not receiving the love and care he deserves. I am offended that you don't get that you're being offensive in your assumptions. I am offended that my "fellow Americans", evidenced by your behavior, cannot accept everyone as human and choose not to judge. I am deeply worried. For you. Because of you."

Okay, somebody remind me to care about Natalie's offense. I've pencilled her in for next Monday, 10 am- I think maybe 2 minutes is enough to care about her widdle feewings, don't you? Okay, somebody please call me Monday at 10- thanks!

GinaM said...

Hey Fairy Tale troll finally came up with a name!

*waves at Natalie Bryer*

Anywho...Allison I posted this at Gryphen's but I think you may find this bit of news interesting...Gov Baldy is receiving an award this weekend...please hold your vomit until the end!

It's for "Woman of the Year" for NOT running for President due to putting her family first!! Yeah...I know...hilarious, right?

But here's the kicker...the folks at "Crazies4Palin" are UPSET that she is getting this award for not running for President!

The nutjobs STILL believe Baldy is going to throw her filthy dirty mangy wig into the ring! Here's the link to the award site...

http://tinyurl.com/6mx3lrt

This is why I think they posted that Trig story...she's also suppose to be on Chris Wallace Sunday show in addition to CPAC!

I'm guessing her handlers will inject her with some serious drugs to get her into some kind of coherent shape...especially after seeing her interview on Greta "VanCrookedFace" last night!

This weekend should be FUN!

Will be stock up on some popcorn and wine for the weekend festivities! Good times are here to stay folks!

GinaM said...

Allison...did you see this comment posted at IM's about Willow and Adderall?

Anonymous said...

She takes Ritalin or adderal. She is off the rails lately b/c she got the prescriptions for "Willow" for her "hyperactivity" and now Willow has graduated from her pediatrician (wow, a cause to use 'willow' and 'graduated' in the same day) and is of an age where it's harder to get those type of drugs. The valley has such a bad meth issue, doctors tend to be particularly aware of scams like this. And while I have never personally spoken to willow's pediatrician, I'm sure he/she must have been aware of what was going on.

When Sarah directed Willow to visit a particular new doctor, Willow refused and said she was done telling the "I'm so hyper, it's like a train crashing around in my head!" lie. (yes, that is actually what Sarah made her say, at age 14, to get her gremlin mitts on these pills)

2:20 PM

Unknown said...

GinaM, As a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner, I can't tell you the number of times I've seen parents, usually Mothers, become addicted to their children's Ritalin or similar substances prescribed for ADD or ADHD. It's sad that these medications which often are of great assistance to these children are suddenly used by the parents. The first sign would often be the parents telling us the dosage wasn't working and requesting increases. I don't jump to the parent taking the child's medication at first but after awhile, the signs become obvious with complaints of "lost pills", scripts needed early, and their inability to bring their kids in for lab work to check levels in their bloodstream. If Mom is addicted to the kids meds, their levels are going to be non-existent or extremely low. It's sad to see this happen in most cases and it's not as if these women start out planning to get addicted but Sarah is a different story entirely. There were rumors about her and diet pills and if those were true, Todd should have and could have put a stop to this nonsense about Willow having to lie for her Mother so she could get Ritalin for her. I wonder if Track was diagnosed with the same problem. She didn't just suddenly decide to start using such a heavy duty medication out of the blue.

It's plain to see that Sarah is either on drugs or is just plain crazy. Which one is it? Time will tell. I think Willow will probably spill it all in the years to come about her Mother and what they put up with. What a "Mommy Dearest" story that will be!

Allison said...

GinaM This is news to me. I missed your comment at IM and the one about Willows meds. (ha, the spell correction feature suggested "mess", I could have gone with that ).

Thanks for reposting both things. It goes to show there is still a lot to figure out before we are rid of her.

The Ritalin topic is so far outside my experiences I need to read up and learn more. AKRNHSNC is great to have on board here giving us a professional point of view. If Sarah is abusing her daughters prescription meds, she's breaking more laws, being neglectful as a mom, and doing it on camera and in our faces. It sounds so much like her I can believe its true.

Anonymous said...

Hey Ivyfree, two minutes of offense is too much. Two seconds is better.
Love how these people think the hoax is A-OK because now Tri-G has a series of nannies to care for him paid for by SarahPac, rahter than a bio family who may be poor. Newsflash: all this money doesn't seem to be helping Tri-G reach his fullest potential.

Anonymous said...

Hey Natalie,
Why no offense that the lunatic who is currently "providing" for Tri-G named him after his Down Syndrome? I think your offense is really misplaced.

Anonymous said...

Allison, what's up with the Babygate book that Gryphen had been reporting about? Have I missed an announcement? Is there apublishing date? Thanks.

Ivyfree said...

"It's plain to see that Sarah is either on drugs or is just plain crazy. Which one is it? Time will tell."

Those are not mutually exclusive positions. It's entirely possible that she's crazy AND is on drugs. You know how ambitious she is.

Unknown said...

I was reading the above article again and this paragraph really stands out in reference to Sarah's detachment from her family and how it's always about her. Just read what her sister says below and then remember she was saying this when her son was 13 yrs. old. Didn't Sarah have a clue as to what her sister was going through all those years? Why should she have to suddenly explain things to her now that she is Governor? I realize that Palin wasn't in a titled position prior to this where she could actually effect policy changes that might help her nephew but it's sad to see that she was blind to their troubles and unaware of what they actually were. She should have known what her sister was going through because she was her sister, no other reason.

Of course, it's always all about Sarah and in trying to boost her sister's image, Heather made it quite clear that Sarah was far removed from what she went through in dealing with a special needs child. It's not surprising, though, considering she never met a relative of Todd's until her TV show and he had Down Syndrome. It was a first cousin of Todd's, you would think they would have crossed paths at some time during the years they had been married. Right? Wrong! It just gives more credence to all of the people who talk about Sarah and her incredibly selfish attitude. She uses people and then discards them. Obviously Todd's cousin or her nephew were not needed prior to her running for office or her TV show, depending on the situation.

You poor pathetic trolls who are here trying to defend the indefensible. Pull your head out of your ass and look at this woman. Ask why she doesn't have anyone on her staff for more than a year or two! Because she uses people and then gets rid of them if they are no longer useful. What a disgusting creature she is!

"She [Sarah] wants to help. She wants to help so badly, but she has a lot to learn, and she knows it. She’s fresh into this, being an advocate for autism, for Down syndrome. People expect her to know everything about everything. [She has said] We need to sit down Heather, tell me what your needs are, what do you wish you could see, what do you think would help the state. And that was just the time she was the governor."

Unknown said...

Ivyfree, you're absolutely right. She probably is crazy AND on drugs, one is not exclusive of the other.

Allison said...

Anon, I know nothing about Fred's book. I'm not in that loop. I think Floyd M. Orr knows who Fred is, I don't, though. Floyd, are you able to add anything to this?

I'm still hoping Brad Scharlott can get one out.

I do know Shailey Tripp is self-publishing. She talks about it on her blog and you can ask her about her book on Fridays when she answers questions in real time.