MARCH 4 is an Important Date in Palin Land

Shailey Tripp announced the publishing release date March 4 for upcoming exposé of her relationship with former First Dude, Todd Palin.   She posted this on her blog 4 hours ago:

I certainly changed over the course of writing this book. In the end during final edits of the past few weeks the book turned into something else entirely. Therefore to mark the change I changed the name of the book.  believe many of you can appreciate it the title:

Boys Will Be Boys:
                 Media, Morality, and the Coverup of the Todd Palin Shailey Tripp Sex Scandal

By Shailey M Tripp   Co authored by Vickie Bottoms

  **********************************************
Clever title, if you remember Sarah's reaction to the Herman Cain "problem."

Palin historian that I am, I'm even MORE pleased with Ms. Tripp's choice of March 4.  


*   MARCH 4, 2008 was the last day that Governor Sarah Palin "hid" her pregnancy.  


*   March 4, 2010 was the day Shailey Tripp was arrested for prostitution and interrogated about     Todd Palin's connections to that business


*   March 4, 2012 will begin a new era for Sarah and Todd.


 KARMA, anyone?

Laughing at Sarah's Cookies

The Winter 2012 edition of Wrap-Up the newsletter of the International Dairy*Deli*Bakery Association (tm) announced:

Sarah Palin to Speak at Dairy-Deli-Bake '12

Now, the article under that announcement doesn't say how the former half-term governor's life story, or business acumen, or political instincts match the agenda of the IDDBA, but even if there's no real link, I'll bet she'll bring cookies. 

Bringing cupcakes or cookies is her schtick. Didn't she bring leftover cupcakes from Piper's birthday to a meeting as governor? I think it made it into Going Rogue. In fact, I'm certain.  That, and the rest of the bologna found in those  400+ pages probably makes Sarah the perfect Deli-Bakery keynote speaker.  And if you don't believe it, ask that dancing Ho Ho she raised - yup, you betcha -  Bristol's mom was homemaker extraordinaire, as documented in that book being given away last weekend. 

 In 2010 the hardly-ever-home mom of three girls ( none of which could be described as "willowy") told the parents at Plumstead Christian School in Plumstead Township, Pennsylvania, "I brought dozens and dozens of cookies."

No, it wasn't because she was feeling generous, or thoughtful, or because she actually baked them herself.   She was making a point of dissing the first lady Michelle Obama's campaign in support of healthy living and healthy food in schools. Sarah Palin, contrary to things she said while governor, told Plumstead parents that that the federal government keeping junk out of vending machines in schools was somehow an affront on freedom and parental rights. 

Maybe the Board at the IDDBA should have done more research on this speaker before inviting her to address their group. After all, the Wrap-Up shows they care about the results of research, and Sarah does not fit this demographic:

Today's consumers are ...interested in grocery retailer-sponsored educational events ranging from cooking classes to tastings to health and fitness events. 

Supporting local charities is also an excellent ways [sic] to generate goodwill and increase word-of-mouth endorsements.

Okay, that last part, the part about supporting charities - forgetaboutit. You can be sure Sarah was paid to address those fine Christian parents in PA.  But that other part - the part about cooking classes, well, I know of only one place where the words "cooking classes" and "Sarah Palin" come together to make something delightfully delicious --  this video by a talented young artist who creates the JennaMarblesVlog available for viewing on YouTube.

Check out "Cooking With Sarah Palin"

Hat's off to the lovely Miss Marbles.  I know some young women in Wasilla who will be so jealous of you when they see this.  Maybe they'll even pass up a few cookies.

Valentines Day Thoughts - Where is Sarah Palin's Heart?

Tomorrow is Valentines Day and this post is about love. Sarah claims she comes from a loving family. I call that BS.


I just found a dormant blog aptly named Lovely and Amazing. Written by Emily Elizabeth, it contains stories from a woman who, like Sarah Palin, is the mother of a child with an extra chromosome. This mom is what Sarah Palin wants to be. Or, I should say, what Sarah Palin wants you to believe she already is. It has writings from a mom who obviously loves her little girl, Emma Elizabeth.


I found Lovely and Amazing when researching Sarah Palin's words versus actual actions and accomplishments in helping promote disability issues. You know - putting love into action. That sort of thing.


Here is what I learned from Emily Elizabeth from her post in 2008 following Governor Palin's knock-it-out-of-the-ballpark RNC speech:

I fail to understand how a candidate who disavows Big Government will be able to advocate successfully for the disability community; a community that has historically lobbied for more government, not less.  The disability community has spent decades trying to pass more legislation protecting the rights of those with disabilities; to create more publicly funded programs to provide support of and access to those rights; and to increase budgets allocated to to self sufficiency programs. Disability history is ripe not with government handouts, but with the end goal of creating more tax payers and more active participants in society. These programs in of themselves have created and will create an entire industry which has the ability to bring further economic growth to all Americans.  This is an investment that should Big Government place in the disability community, will return a profit.  That profit is dependent on the full force of the investment, and if we allow the current trickle of funds to continue - a trickle down theory that doesn't support the very legislation it is bound to - there won't be anything to reap.

Is that fiscal responsibility?

The disability community today is faced with many critical issues which may not reveal themselves fully to those of us who do not have children transitioning to adulthood. We are all probably aware that IDEA has never been fully funded at the federally mandated percentage of 40%, today sitting at a meager 17%, and that Special Education and Early Intervention programs across the country have seen their budgets repeatedly cut as a result of this. 

(There is much more, and you can find it and read it here.  Many of you mentioned in my previous post that you, too, love someone with physical or mental challenges, and I think you might find yourself in the writings on Lovely and Amazing and her description of young Emma Elizabeth.)

Fiscal responsibility, it's a line Sarah loves to use, but something she applies unequally. Even when it comes to helping the disabled, she is stingy. But when it comes to big business, she's a giver. Again, I'm going back to historical patterns here to prove a point. Below is a portion of the Boston  Globe's October 12, 2008 article  "Anti-zoning key to Palin's early record,"

WASILLA, Alaska -- Days after Sarah Palin became Mayor John Stein's only serious challenger in 1996, the 32-year-old city councilwoman stood and cast a proud, dissenting vote against one of Stein's greatest achievements: the first zoning plan in Wasilla's history ...

Over the next two months, Palin surprised and excited many in Wasilla by introducing social issues such as abortion and guns to the city's nonpartisan elections on the way to defeating the incumbent. But the centerpiece of her campaign was opposition to Stein's effort to bring zoning to the community.

Wasilla today reflects the results of her free-market approach to development. Running for a second mayoral term in 1999, Palin cited as one of her greatest successes luring a Fred Meyer mega-supermarket to Wasilla. The zoning plan, adopted over then-councilwoman Palin's opposition, proved no impediment for the store, which went up just a few feet from the banks of bucolic Lake Wasilla ...

When Wal-Mart expressed interest in building a store in the Wasilla area, the company faced few restrictions. Residents, who had a smattering of small, locally owned stores but were used to driving into Anchorage for other purchases, appeared to be uninterested in dictating the terms of the development.

"I think Wal-Mart won: They weren't asked to do much," said Stein, then mayor ... [Sarah Palin beat Mayor John Stein in 1996]

In her first year as mayor, Palin repeatedly signed ordinances to rezone lots for denser uses, often turning plots of land from "rural residential," the most restrictive category, to the looser "commercial."

Fearing that substandard construction on these new lots would undercut their members' work, the Mat-Su Homebuilders Association pushed the city to adopt building codes. In February 2007, Palin broke a 3-to-3 tie to defeat a proposed building-code ordinance in the council ...''

Now then, if Sarah was such a freedom-loving, small government politician, how does that fit with her opposition to having group homes in Wasilla?  Remember that?  Way back when she was a member of the town council, with her sites on becoming the mayor, Sarah was vocal about wanting to ban group homes for the most vulnerable members of the community:  

...Dick Deuser, the city attorney... was not your average small-town lawyer. He'd attended law school at the University of Minnesota and had worked for a prominent Anchorage firm. At one point, the council asked him about the legality of banning group homes--such as shelters for runaways--a position Palin championed. Deuser had an academic manner and was fond of citing Supreme Court precedent. When he explained that a ban would be unconstitutional, Palin appeared impatient with such legal niceties. "I would describe it this way: Sarah was not an in-depth person. Never has, never will be," Deuser says. "Her instincts are political as opposed to evaluative."  (The New Republic, October 22, 2008  )

"Political as opposed to evaluative. " That description of Sarah Palin in 1996 as a council member of a very small town, is equally fitting for Governor Palin the VP candidate running with John McCain in 2008.  Remember her making fun of tax-dollars being spent on "fruit fly research"?   She was supporting federal funding for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, (candidate Obama supported it, too), but then she did her trademark snarky thing and criticized a specific research group as having "little or nothing to do with public good."  Political but not evaluative. Guess who benefits from some of the discoveries of fruit fly research -  Autistic children.  In fact, it's been said, that the study of fruit flies has "revolutioned" the study of birth defects.

Has Sarah grown in her knowledge of disability issues?  No, just look at her pathetic pandering in Newsweek . Talking about Trig eating pureed food. Compare that with the Lovely and Amazing miss Emma Elizabeth. 

What has grown exponentially is Sarah's bank account. She sells her brand - "Sarah Palin, mother of Trig Palin."  Apparently, Sarah's definition of fiscal responsibility is "whatever puts money in the Palin family coffers." If it's coming out of the pockets of those Jesus would have called "the least of these,"that's just fine with the former president of the Wasilla High School Christian Athletes.

May 11, 2010 - Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is at the downtown [Birmingham, AL] Sheraton hotel greeting residents and supporters of Rainbow Omega, a faith-based group home for adults with developmental disabilities...Her appearance at the Rainbow Omega event is a paid appearance.  http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2010/05/sarah_palin_greets_residents_a.html

Malia Litman reported on the above appearance for the Huffington Post:

According to Stentson Carpenter, the Board Chairman and CEO of Rainbow Omega, the contract with Palin prohibited him from disclosing the fee paid to Palin, but he did confirm that the amount was agreed upon in advance, and that the fee was in addition to travel expenses. Palin's usual fee is $100,000. Travel expenses in this case did not include a private plane, but a first class ticket for Ms. Palin and two coach tickets for her security guards. Obviously Grandma Palin was not donating her time, but was receiving financial compensation for this 39 minute speech.

It's Valentine's Day and I have no love for Sarah Palin. None. That doesn't make me a hater. I just don't love that woman.   And I'm very sure that if those hits I'm getting from Wasilla are from the compound on the lake, then Sarah Palin has no love for me.

Sarah can love, however. Sarah loves herself. She loves power. And Sarah loves money.  

Is that who you want influencing the future of this country? Neither do I. Press on Truthers. With love.

Interview With Shailey Tripp: Parenting Special Needs Children

It’s been a great week for Sarah and Trig. Four days ago, Newsweek published Sarah’s same old platitudes in an article “My Life WithTrig,” and right after that came the announcement by the Clare Boothe Luce Institute that Mrs. Todd Palin has been named their “Woman of the Year.”  I think “Quitter of the Century” would be more fitting, but hey, I’m not part of the Institute so I wasn't asked my opinion. They said she's a role model, and she puts “her special little baby, her children, and her first in her life.”  Obviously they haven't read what we've read these past three years.

Newsweek and the Clare Boothe Luce Institute see something in Sarah that I don’t see. But I’m no expert on raising a child with a disability, so I went to an expert and asked for her opinion. Making it all the more interesting for the community at The Palin Place is the fact that our expert here today is someone who got to know Sarah’s other half intimately during the crossover years when Todd Palin went from father of four to father of five, and through the first years of his being the dad to a child with Down syndrome.

We’ve heard- ad nauseum - Sarah’s version of having a child “the world sees as less than perfect.”  Below is Ms. Tripp’s interview on the subject. And remember, this is a single mom who also lived in Wasilla when she was dealing with babies who needed special care.

 Hi Shailey,

Thanks for agreeing to be interviewed for The Palin Place readers.  I have some questions based on the recent “My Life With Trig” article in Newsweek; I’d like to ask about your personal interaction with Todd on the topic of disabled kids, and I think that's different than what people have learned so far from your blog or your book or your interviews

For the readers here who might not know you, Shailey, I want to establish that you have two children and both have disabilities. You are a single mom, and for a while, you made ends meet by working at a school as a substitute, a massage parlor as a masseuse, and as a computer tech. All simultaneously and all part-time. Your claim to fame, unfortunately, is that you entered into prostitution and Todd Palin’s name has been linked with yours in that way. 

This past week, Sarah was interviewed by Newsweek magazine on the topic of raising children who have special needs. That’s a subject near and dear to your heart. You live it every day. And Rick Santorum’s recent urgent flight home to be at his 3 year-old’s hospital bedside was  mentioned right up front by Sarah, so it’s in the presidential primary conversation this year, too.

SHAILEY:  Thank you for asking me to participate. I want to start by saying that I read the Sarah Palin interview by Newsweek. My first thoughts are as a parent of special needs kids I do not relate to what Sarah Palin is saying when she says  

"…[the] blessings of raising these beautiful children whom we see as perfect in this imperfect world…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.”

This is NOT the mentality of most parents I have met with disabled, handicapped, retarded, special needs kids. Every parent I have ever met that is involved with their kids is tired, strained, extremely stresssed out, has lots of moments of shame in that they are depressed about their child's inability to be normal. They get upset with themselves for having these negative thoughts about their kids, all their family members are maxed out and tired. Parents of special needs kids constantly have to stay on top of their sitters, daycare, and schools.

It is a full time job plus. You are the only one fighting for your children. This is where shame comes in. Parents are human they get tired and they start to resent their kids, resent not having a life, and wonder why they ended up with kids who are not normal.

These parents DO love their kids or they wouldn't put in all the effort; but being tired and worn down and always fighting for your children wears on you.

I will say it again, It isn't that the parents don't love their kids but it is HARD.

It is wonderful when you can find [other] parents who understand what it is you are going through; and yes you love your child and you do think they are special and wonderful, but your heart breaks for your child almost every day when you watch them interact. And tears of joy come out of you like a waterfall when you see someone else befriend your child or show tenderness and understanding towards them.

We live in a cruel world and if people can't see the physical handicap of your child [such as deafness] and you have tantrums, incidents, behaviors out of the norm people judge you, give you unkind words and stares, and basically add to your overall stress and it does not make you feel all lovey dovey. 

ALLISON: When I read Sarah’s words about the bond parents of special needs children share with each other, I wondered if what she said applied to you and Todd Palin during the years you were in each other's lives.

  

 Sarah Palin said,

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… Todd and I met so many of these families … 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.”

Questions

You met Todd Palin a year before the date Sarah claims she found out she was carrying a child with Down syndrome. When you met Todd, how long before you shared with him you’re your children had special needs?

SHAILEY:  The first time I saw Todd for a massage I had shared with him a little about the disabilities of my kids and how hard it was. I shared with him a picture of my kids that I kept in my massage room at that spa.

 Do you remember how he reacted to that information?

He was surprised. He asked did I have help and was their Dad in their life. I told him how proud I was of my kids and how far they had come; that I was raising them at that time alone but was happy they were with me and growing and improving.

 So, he learned you were a single mom without a supportive family at that time, no family helping you with the kids?

 Yes, from the first massage on forward he knew I was a single parent.

 We know Sarah kept the Down syndrome diagnosis a secret until after Trig was born. In an interview with Jesse Griffin that you were shocked to hear of Sarah delivering a baby in April 2008.  So, after that, did  Todd ever talk openly with you about being the parent of a special needs child?   

 He asked me a few time about names of specialists, places to get help. He asked if I ever regretted having my kids or ever had doubts about them. He wondered sometimes if my kids could ever be independent and I had never thought about that before.

I never once thought that my kids would have to be with me for their whole lives. Occasionally he would also ask how I go out in public with no help.

Did the two of you “bond” over this (like Sarah says happened so often with other parents) ? 

I don't know if we ever bonded over this. It never made me feel closer to him.

Was there ever a time when Todd showed a new interest in hearing about the joys/fears/challenges that come  from  having  children  with disabilities?

 No, not really unless he was asking about doctors or how I managed being in public.

If so, can you remember when this change occurred?

 Well after Trig was born – maybe he was about 3 -4 months, [Todd] started talking about Trig. Except it was always "the baby"

 Sarah also addressed this as a women’s issue:

Every parent struggles with juggling the commitments of work and family. Women, especially, know this well.

And further into the article, this:

Many everyday activities like doctor’s appointments and social gatherings and travel accommodations and even mealtimes and a solid night of sleep are that much more difficult, but at the end of the day I wouldn’t trade the relative difficulties for any convenience or absence of fear.

… Granted, I know I may be more fortunate than others to have loving friends and a big, supportive family I call on to help, including [Todd]who spends many sleepless nights with this restless little one. (And Todd actually makes Trig’s puréed baby food!) Others aren’t so fortunate, and in our thankfulness I am made more compassionate toward others who have less.

 I read in your book “Looking for Inspiration” that you even lived in a shelter for a while with your two disabled children. You have certainly known a difficult time in providing any and all of the above things Sarah mentioned.  

So my question is, did you feel any of that stuff Sarah’s talking about – that compassion toward the less fortunate - coming from Todd Palin toward you? 

 I never felt more compassion coming from Todd on my end. I felt like he thought everything came so easy for me. And he seemed like everything was so hard for him. But he was not overly personable and often if I shared a story with him he would interrupt and redirect about his own life.

 If so, can you give an example?

I was telling him how hard it was for [my son] to go out in public after his [ear] surgery. Noises terrified him. He would scream. I got thrown out of Barnes and Nobles because I was upsetting the customers when he wouldn’t stop crying. At the end of the memory Todd was like, “well you should have known better.” Suggested I should have someone go with me next time. I just wanted to hit him.

Thanks, Shailey, for taking time to give us a first-person report on  the bonding of two parents with special needs children – one a Palin and the other named Tripp.  Those names have a fascinating history and a future, too. Which is my segue into asking, is there anything you want to tell us about your soon-to-be-released book about your relationship with Todd Palin and the period of time in your past when you were involved with prostitution?

 My next book will be out within the next 20 days and I hope that people will read it with an open mind. I talk about a lot of issues that are personal and to some extent painful and shameful. But I hope this book can help at least one other person.

 There you have it. We owe a big Thank-You to Shailey for giving us her time and being honest.  Sarah may be given a title, “Woman of the Year” but Shailey gets my admiration.

As for Todd, I’m saving up my best comments for a post after we get to read Shailey’s book.

Okay, your turn. Comments and shout outs to Shay (and don’t forget to stop by her blog, it’s open question Friday!).

Next Post: Shailey Tripp Talks with Allison About Newsweek's Article

Just a head's up that on Friday I will be sharing Shailey Tripp's take on special needs and Sarah's syrupy Newsweek article.  I sent Shay some questions earlier this week, and she took a break from working on her book to talk about this important issue. Todd's name came up, too, because, you know I had to ask !

What AKRNHSNC Said So Well Applies To Heather's 2007 Email

On the previous post Newsweek Magazine Proves Trig Is Still A PROP, our friend AKRNHSNC made a point so well, that I 'm repeating it word-for-word:


I was reading the above article [from October 2008] 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.

Well stated, AKRNHSNC, I saw exactly the same thing. And I saw it last week, too. That was when I began preparing a post about  the November 2007 email Heather sent to her sister Sarah, the then- Governor of Alaska.  That post got set aside on Sunday when the Newsweek article came out. The timing actually couldn't have been better. These two fit together like...like pieces of the same puzzle.  Side by side the picture is bigger, and it is looks exactly like what we Truthers would expect.

Here is the Heather email, and some Sarah reactions (in reverse order, because it's an email chain):

.Thanks for caring?  Wishful thinking, Heather?

What I see in Sarah’s response is a concern for herself not “looking” concerned about the disabled. She doesn’t say “You know how important this is to me” but instead, admits “I don’t know much about this issue.”  And she wants to make a council member change (small) to have thing looked at differently “a bit.”  This is not a heartfelt response. It’s a cold political one. Even when she shows that people [taking care of persons with special needs] have daily challenges, her reasoning goes to what they think of her. Not what she can do to help them.  And she wouldn’t want to ask anyone to be inconvenienced by serving on this  board, she makes that clear: “Only 2 or 3 more meetings so it is only a small thing.”

Heather’s second paragraph sounds  as if she is telling her own sister these things for the first time, even though her son Karcher is 13years old.   :”Sarah, you can’t imagine the lack of support we parents are experiencing these days…”  Why would Sarah even have to imagine?  Why hasn’t Sally brought it up? And Chuck? And of course, Heather herself?  What gives? Why would Sarah already know that her nephew has been  on some lists for 8 years?  Didn’t she car at 7 years? Six years? Five? WTF?

Then she says nice things about Sarah, how when people tell her they are expecting Gov. Palin will be much better on the issues than Murkowski was, Heather assures them that her sister cares and has experience because of Karcher.  The one thing that rings true is that people told Heather that Sarah lets them take pictures, says she cares, and remembers names. No doubt those things are true. That’s Sarah’s public MO.  But look at the email if you want to see the real Sarah Palin. When there are no cameras, when she's in her office or home office, alone with her Blackberries, it’s “only 2 or 3 meetings,” a “small change” and the real purpose is to improve the image.
 

I find it curious that Sarah didn’t answer her sister. Very curious.  And I don’t see anything here that suggests Sarah and Heather were close. It suggests that Sarah has hardly learned anything about how difficult it was for Heather to have an autistic child of middle school age, or what might be done by the government to help. Heather even says she fears what will happen when he is an adult. What will become of him? That does NOT fit the “big, helpful, tight-knit, warm and loving” Palin family image we’ve been told about (yes troll, this is your cue).

Sarah is all about what this LOOKS LIKE to the public. How it plays out in politics.  “Man oh man oh man.”

The image she's worrying about. And image that's taking flak for being only an oil-and-gas governor and she says to Frank Bailey “We do need to do a better job in other areas…”  Sure, she had some real feelings about this, but I think the word “commitment” was a gross exaggeration.  If there had been a real heart-felt commitment , articles used in my previous post, the ones that caused AKRN to speak out so clearly, wouldn't have ever been written. But a whole year after Heather said to Sarah "you wouldn't believe" and a whole year after Sarah said she wanted to "show" she cared Sarah Palin hadn't done or learned diddley-squat.

Thanks AKRNHSNC!