More Blogging Less Bickering

Cold cases are sometimes reopened or solved when the old evidence is revisited. With that in mind, I spent  hours rereading what was written on the blogs in late March and early April 2009. It was the timeframe when Mercede told a tabloid that her brother and Bristol had broken up and shortly thereafter, Levi, Sadie and Sherrie appeared on the Tyra Banks Show. 

I wanted to watch once again, the Tyra interview in full. Guess what? I can’t find it.

Evidence is disappearing. Links to pictures, websites, Flickr accounts, and YouTube videos no longer work. Rupert Murdoch’s recent problems overseas have taken a toll, too. Sherrie’s interview where she’s describes how the kids must have been “sneaking around” ? Gone.

Now, those who could be considered veteran readers of “anti-Palin blogs” know that links to Bree Palin’s site stopped working long ago; I’ve always thought that was a shame. Still, call me naive, I thought we’d always have Tyra Banks interviewing an eighteen-year-old Levi in his blue sweater vest, Mercede in her Barbie-pink micro mini, and Sherrie swearing that the tears she shed when she learned the news were because she was thrilled with the thought of becoming a grandma.  Classic moments in Palin/Johnston land.

Look for yourselves, you’ll find snippets here and there. The Young Turks reported on what they thought was important, but they don’t see what we might see, and they weren’t even accurate on easy stuff. (Case in point – they said Levi got a tattoo for an engagement ring and Bristol “got nothing.” Not true, Levi bought her a ring. She wore her diamond at the RNC, there are pictures.) Sorry for the detour, I get annoyed when Levi gets an undeserved kick in the shins and Bristol gets undeserved sympathy.  

So if we can’t trust the “lamestream" and alternative media to be archivists and historians, who are we to trust?  Ourselves, that’s who!   Trust the community of anti-Palin bloggers and readers and contributors. WE have amassed first hand accounts. And we must continue to grab screen shots, save text, and make written observations.

Though we may bicker and disagree at times, in the end the objective is met, a record is created. We take apart every idea, follow every lead, pool our resources of saved links and photos, and by doing so, get a little closer to exposing the truth. Keep on! And as far as it is possible, do so respectfully.

Here are examples of good information we as a group, created.  Though the videos are gone, descriptions remain. You’ll see that these eye-witness accounts of the Tyra Banks broadcast posted on Palin’s Deceptions the day of the show raised good questions about Trig, Tripp, and the truth (I’m not cleaning up typos or spelling, this is as is):

>I noticed it When Levi said, "that time, I kinda knew what it was." --this was when Bristol called him over to tell him she was pregnant. "That time"? Why because she'd told you this once before, in much the same way?

>And he said it took a while for them to convince Sarah... He said she thought we were kidding. That matches the UK tabloid account, doesn't it?

>Tyra says Levi was a seventeen year old dad.  Levi turned eighteen in May of the year Tripp was born.  Levi may very well have been a dad at seventeen, but not because of Tripp.

>I also noticed the look Levi passed to Mercede & Mom. Sherri was speaking and saying that she had Tripp for a few times while Bristol was at school or working. Could it be that Sarah didn't know about that? Now she does.

>There supposed to be no picture of Tripp with Levi's family. Sherri took care of Tripp on few occasions...Nobody thought of taking a picture then? hard to believe.

>Levi is wearing a ring on the Tyra show. There’s been more than one ring.

>Told my momma first. She started crying.

>Mercede and her mother specifically said in the interview how sad they were that they couldn't take pictures of Tripp. If all they have are pictures of Mercede standing by Levi holding a different baby, maybe its not so ridiculous that they would use those pictures to convey the mood they want.  But I do agree its very interesting that there is this picture where Mercede looks so overjoyed to be standing next to her brother who is tenderly holding a tiny baby...

>Tripp's birth day - in the interview didn't they say a lot of Bristol's friends were there - so that kinda confirms the birthday, I think it would be way way way to hard to get so many people to cover up if it happened on a different date. So that does throw a monkey wrench into some timeline theories a little - exceot for the timeline that perhaps Trig's birthday was earlier then stated.

>"If all they have are pictures of Mercede standing by Levi holding a different baby, maybe its not so ridiculous that they would use those pictures to convey the mood they want."  Oh, I disagree. If that were the case, they'd say, look, all we have are pictures they let us take of Trig, we'd be so happy if we had pictures of Tripp too.. I mean, why on earth would they be thrilled and excited over Trig? Supposedly, he's not their baby. I can concede a general sense of pleasure in a new baby; I've experienced that, when friends have a baby... and I've experienced the overwhelming joy that comes with a beautiful healthy grandson.  

Showing a picture of Trig was weird. There really isn't any reason for it, when they were there to discuss Levi, Bristol, Tripp and the Johnston's relations with the Palins

>I also noticed that Tyra says that Levi was a 17-year old dad and that Levi is 18 now. Actually, Levi was 18 when Tripp was born, but was 17 when Trig was born.

>Levi and his family did not trash the Palins. They were respectful. And it is not a fair fight at all to have spokespersons on the government payroll, on a political PAC payroll, to be pouncing on the Johnstons. The Palin statement is incorrect at least regarding whether Levi stayed over at the Palin household, because in the People magazine article that came out January 19, it states:
"Since the birth of Sarah Palin's first grandchild on Dec. 27, life at the Alaska governor's four-bedroom Wasilla home has gotten a lot busier--and a bit more crowded. Not only has tiny Tripp moved in with mom Bristol, but dad Levi Johnston has been staying over too."

>Additionally, in the Tyra interview, when she was trying to get him to agree that he could send a message about how if you're not always using safe sex, you can get pregnant, I thought I saw in his eyes that he was not at all down with that notion; previously he had said he was exited to find out that Bristol was pregnant. I think he loves being a Dad and wouldn't change anything, and isn't sorry at all that they have a child(ren), just sorry that Bristol and the Palins are putting obstacles up into his seeing his son(s).

>I gotta say, I'm totally on board with the Johnstons at this point, and I'd really like to know what REALLY changed btw Bristol and Sadie to lead to their estrangement. If it is merely that Sadie has friends who are former girlfriends of Levi's, that is an extremely petty (IMO) reason for Bristol's anger.

Every statement above contradicts something one or another of the Palins or Johnstons has said other places, other times, or in books. I’m not going to detail them now, the point is, we need to keep blogging. We need to recognize new versions of stories or we could miss a lead that could pay off once and for all.  We need everyone and we should not fire at our own troops.

Veteran bloggers are so important to all of this. We need you and yes, of course we will continue to read you. People have loved you and have sent kudos and money and atta-boys.  But there’s room at the table for everyone, every newbie like me, everyone who has had a falling out with anyone else, and every blogger yet to come. It’s a potluck dinner. Each one brings what they do best. If you don’t like my three-bean salad of a blog offering today, come back tomorrow, I’ll make apple pie.

Just saying, every blog starts out new. There was a time in March 2009 when Gryphen didn’t know Mercede Johnston didn’t have and “s” on her first name when he talked about the Star magazine report. We all learn as we go.  The important thing  for anyone taking up blogging as a Trig Truther is that the efforts be honest.

As for readers, what makes a comment valuable is that it be made in a spirit of adding value to the discussion. Snark and spelling correction is getting tiresome on some sites. That’s MHO.

Next post is underway. I’ll talk about some things that go back to these ancient of days and suggest that we might have been a bit hasty, as a community, to write off some clues that didn’t fit our preconceived notions.  We’ve got new information since then and I think it fits a new paradigm. 

Be back soon.