Monday 15 November 2010

Palingates Weekly Roundup - November 7 to November 14


By Blueberry Tart



The new laptop is already on the job, producing a post highlighting the close relationship between the Palin and Morlock families. The subtexts are 1) whether a person is “guilty by association,” as Sarah has previously insinuated and 2) the ugly side of war and its effects on our soldiers. Here, Bristol is walking with her best friend, April Morlock, in LA. There has been no mention by Sarah Palin or the press about the connections of the Palins and Morlocks. Perhaps this is because it would then be necessary to talk about such inconvenient truths as April’s brother Jeremy Morlock’s participation in gruesome murders for sport in Afghanistan, to which he has confessed; yet April defends him and says he only did what he was trained to do. Is she saying he was trained to murder innocent civilians? What does Sarah say about that? Nothing. There is also the matter of Willow and her friends breaking into and vandalizing a house owned by April and Jeremy’s parents. (“Actions should have consequences,” says Sarah – unless you are a Palin.)



Palingates reveals another clue to the birth hoax. A letter from Alaska Airlines confirms that the “the stage of Mrs. Palin’s pregnancy was not apparent by observation during her travel and she did not show any signs of distress.” It is particularly interesting to have this account directly from the airlines. It certainly doesn’t jibe with the photos of 4/13/2008 that show an apparently very pregnant Palin – which trained flight attendants could not possibly have missed. As HollyP noted in the comments, this means flight attendants on four separate flights did not take note that she was very pregnant. Of course, if the truth be known, she did not appear pregnant because she was not wearing her empathy belly during the flight; too damned uncomfortable and it might set off some alarms…This post also reviews questions that were raised about the fake pregnancy by the MSM, but quickly squelched; the lack of fact-checking by factcheck.org (and others); and the persistent inquiries of Andrew Sullivan, who vainly sought explanations for a story that he showed was not credible.



Regina is back, with a post about Sarah’s latest battle (to keep her name in the news). This time, she is rebelling against school policies that would ban or limit kids’ access to sweets. Regina makes a strong case about the need to promote healthy eating and then sums up the message: “Sarah Palin, take your cookies and laissez-faire back to Alaska. Please stop meddling in affairs that don't concern you, sabotaging good initiatives and setting children a bad example.” Numerous ‘Gaters dubbed her the “Cookie Monster” and pointed out the irony of Sarah’s position, in light of both her previous pronouncements on this subject when she was Governor, and the problems that Bristol Palin seems to have in controlling her weight.



Today we salute our veterans. Pallottine honors his brother’s memory with this moving post, which celebrates Tommy’s heroism, and also reminds us of how painful the aftermath of war is for many of our soldiers. The post recalls the neglect of many veterans after they return from war, often with emotional as well as physical wounds that never fully heal. We also decry the exploitation of our soldiers by politicians who beat the drums of war and wrap themselves in the flag. The comments show the deep and abiding respect our readers have for our veterans.



David Kernell is the young man who guessed the security code question on Sarah’s email (tough one: “Wasilla High” was where she met Todd), then changed her password and posted the new one on the web along with emails that showed Bristol Palin’s cell phone number. This led others, not Kernell, to make phone calls to Bristol Palin’s Blackberry, and to some (vastly overstated) inconvenience to the Palins. The post reports that Kernell was sentenced to a year and a day at a halfway house. He will be able to continue his studies, but will have a felony conviction on his record.



This post proves that the sworn testimony of Bristol and Sarah Palin, claiming that their communications were seriously disrupted as a result of Kernell’s actions, included false statements that exaggerated an inconvenience into a threat. Bristol testified under oath: “That is scary because we live in the middle of nowhere in Alaska. We live in the woods” and stated that cell phones were their only means of communication, there was no land line and she was not able to contact her parents. These statements are all false. Contrary to Bristol’s sworn testimony, the Palin house had a land line; in fact, it is shown in a photo of the Palin kitchen. They do not live in the woods in the middle of nowhere. Contrary to Sarah’s sworn testimony, Bristol had a cell phone that was operational during and for at least 9 days after the incident; so she was not incommunicado. This is aside from the fact that they were under Secret Service protection when the incident occurred! This testimony appears to go beyond the Palins’ typical drama queen, woe-is-me victim personae into the realm of perjury. The post also delves into Palin’s use of three private yahoo accounts for conducting official business of the Governor’s office, including emails about pending legislation and the MatMaid Creamery scandal (Dairygate). She circumvented the public records law by using these accounts for state business.

Patrick updated the post with proof that the Palins had a land line at the time of the Kernell incident of mid-September 2008. We can only hope that, someday, Bristol will face serious consequences for lying under oath to exaggerate the impacts of Kernell’s prank. Ironically, if the Palins had asked for leniency for Kernell, they could have refuted all the reports about how vindictive they are, showing themselves to be forgiving Christians. But no; they are not.


Sarah Palin mocked the FEC, claiming that they are making much ado about nothing, or more precisely about a $25 accounting error in her most recent SarahPAC filing. Palingates’ guest writer mxm (no relation to the MSM) begs to differ. She provides a very detailed summary and analysis of the FEC filing and the information that the FEC says is deficient. This is not just a $25 error. The deficiencies include failing to provide adequate detail about donors, no explanation of a reimbursement from Pie-Spy LLC*, need for clarification of expenditures for fundraising and expenses attributed to postage, clerical consulting, office supplies, photography, video production and more. Mxm’s meticulous research includes the “who’s who” of Sarah Palin’s braintrust and how much she pays them. Questions abound. What do Van Flein’s billing totals include, and are these expenditures appropriate payment from a PAC? What about the Visa bill for $41K? And much more. Mxm sums it up best: …She spends a lot of OPM promoting herself and her family. She spends a lot of OPM on very expensive advisers and consultants yet she remains unpolished, uninformed, quarrelsome, and defiant. She spends a lot of OPM in questionable ways. Hopefully the FEC will stay on the job.

Later the Gaters find out that "Paideia Research LLC" is a company which was set up deliberately to guarantee full anonymity to its owners and hides behind two postbox addresses, which violates FEC rules. The owners are not traceable.

*(a marketing company owned by Sarah Palin but also classified as an organization that provides services for the elderly and those with disabilities?)


Comments of the Week

Brian: This is Sarah Palin's Alaska--inhabited by a cast of dysfunctional characters--drug dealers, meth addicts, alcoholics, unwed mothers, vandals, corrupt politicians masquerading as patriots--and apparently, murderers. The setting is Wasilla, a two bit swath of Anchorage suburb featuring big box stores, fast food outlets, strip malls, bars, evangelical churches, a fancy sports center, and a dead lake. An urban planner's cancerous nightmare eating away at the pristine wilderness. We have all been caught up in the play, willingly or not. We are all complicit to one degree or another. No one escapes the narcissistic death spiral of Sarah Palin and her destiny to fulfill the prophecy of the north star. Welcome to Sarah Palin's Alaska. Everyone is fair game--the caribou, the wolves and bears--the Morlocks, Johnstons and the Palins. We are all Alaskans now.

Mrsgunka: All the pictures of their house(s)… have shown no life in that front yard. That place is void of life. Just like her uterus was of Trig…

LouieCypher: …See here's the thing Sarah just repeating the word Quantitative Easing doesn't mean you know anything about, check this out String Theory, String Theory, String Theory, nope still don't understand it enough to claim I'm an expert on it, hell I was hoping that actually would work…do they have pop-up books on economics?

Later: Hey there Sarah, well it hit me last night, the way to the Really White House is through the ole TeeVee and no not endless political commercials, appearing on Meet The Press (like that would ever happen) or even Fuax News. Nope it's through reality shows, game shows, and sitcom's…

Barb_Dwyer pointed out that Palin did not turn over the reins of government during the wild ride and alleged birth, even though “…Our capital city DID have an emergency [avalanches, no power] and nobody could contact her yet everyone just overlooked it.”

Brilliant from Grasshopper! As amateur hoofer Elsie the Cow moooved across the dance floor it became udderly obvious that she was milking this opportunity by showing off her creamy thighs in order to butter up the judges and their cheesy scoring system.

Femme7: Have you ever heard of anyone who feels the need to pick a fight with everyone? She really seems to have a mental illness.

Guest commented on Dairygate: For those that missed it, Sarah's little fully funded dairy is now over 90 days late in payments to the state....this AFTER Sarah's hand picked board gave them a 6 month moratorium on their payments on a new $200,000+ loan…take, take, take with no consequences whatsoever.

Missharleyquinn: Why is she obsessed with bringing cookies and sweets to a school that doesn't allow them? …she is walking into a school and going to show the kids how good it is to break all the rules…

newsOne: The nanny state is attempting to deprive the good schoolchildren of Penn. of their god-given (enshrined in the constitution) right to mainline sugar in the form of cookies airlifted in by a slightly crazed looking woman from (Sarah Palin's) Alaska.

Vera City had an interesting post on systemic inflammation, which could possibly explain some of Bristol’s recently morphing physique.

Sallyngarland,tx: …I have always thought of her as an abuser because of her constant name calling and need to degrade and demean people with many of her comments--"man up, no cajones"blah, blah, blah,. She seems to have a need in a vicious way to make people feel inadequate…

Dsmyre: I thought Repubs were opposed to handouts for lazy people with illegitimate kids.

Skinnedknees: The picture of the Heaths with their new grandchild is so very odd. He has the defensive arms crossed over his chest and she is looking at him as if to say: quit acting so weird you're going to give it away. It's almost as if someone just stuck the baby in her arms and pushed them out the door for the photo.

AzureGhost found a great quote from Senator Susan Collins of Maine: I think she likes being a celebrity commentator for Fox and a speaker and being able to provide for her family," Collins said. "I think that life appeals to her. It's a lot easier to charge people up than to actually govern."

Cheeriogirl: This is Sarah's M.O.- her "recipe for disaster" if you will. Take a tiny bit of truth
Wrap it in a BIG lie, Fertilize generously with pure genuine Palin B.S. Place it in a tweet, FB, or speech, then stand back and allow the MSM to water it for optimum growth. This "recipe" feeds the delusions of millions of Fox viewers.

Later, Cheeriogirl had a post that about how the pain of her sister’s sudden death was softened by the gift of life and health that she gave to the people who received her organs. Please read her comment if you are on the fence about organ donation (on the last page of the “cookies” thread)

Aussiegal77: Is this really good counsel or good witness to kids? When the President told the kids to study hard and strive to do well in school – he was berated for indoctrination but when Palin openly tells the kids to defy their parents & teachers, it’s patriotism?

FreeTrig: "Let them eat COOKIES!" Queen Palin, Our Lady of Perpetual Publicity

Yknott (and others): Can we start calling Winky the Cookie Monster now?

Jk predicts Sarah’s next causes: Truancy laws! Do we really want the state telling us our children have to go to school? Parents should be able to decide themselves if their third graders need to be in class or if they can skip a bunch of days every month to fly to LA or whatnot. Juvenile justice! Parents know best how to discipline their wayward children. Who needs the government to step in and charge our kids with breaking the law? We can decide if and how our kids should be punished if they, say, sell drugs, cut the brakes on school buses, or break into and trash another person's house.

And: What Bristol doesn't get is exactly what Len said in some interview. People like underdogs, but they like justice more. I'll add that people love underdogs, but they love a good trainwreck even more, especially the trainwreck of someone who is way overexposed.

Itastrocyte offered some insights on the speculation about Sarah’s “meds”: She could however, be on prescription psychostimulants. For example, the amphetamine like drug Ritalin or the actual amphetamine Adderall for ADHD would result in the kind of symptoms she displays. On the other hand, if she is bipolar, during the manic phase she would also show symptoms similar to someone on meth. I suspect something like bipolar co-morbid with a personality disorder…

Sunnyjane quoted Thomas Paine: THESE are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as FREEDOM should not be highly rated.

SCmommy, Tildama, NJfan, CR46, 1smartcanerican and others helped celebrate Veterans Day by sharing their personal stories of loved ones who served in the military in wartime. Disqusux told the story of Walt Monegan’s father, a Medal of Honor winner.

Vilca found this on HP: "....I'd like us to tell them that if you really want to honor our troops you won't use them for an easy applause line, that you won't use them to get votes, or, most insulting to them of all, to divide us into real Americans and fake Americans.”

Aview999 put into words what many of us were feeling: What a wonderful tribute, Pallottine. It brought tears to my eyes and made me proud to call you a fellow Gater. He would be so proud of what you did today - and in MY OWN belief, he IS PROUD. You did him a great service today - you showed your love for him in the most beautiful way. Thank you.

CR46 (responding to Palin calling President Obama our most pro-abortion President): And yet I doubt that President Obama has an abortion in his medical records like Sarah does.

Avasmom: I LOVED this part of the article: "Her attorney, Thomas van Flein, referred questions Thursday to prosecutors, saying Palin provided them a victim's statement." You can use that to describe almost all of her statements.

Suelu814: …most Americans do not view perpetual victimhood as an admiral personality trait. And certainly do not consider it an attribute that reflects leadership qualities…

AKRNC cheered us up with some hopeful news about RNC using Palingates to research Palin!

Linda1961: So $arah and Toad had their daughter Brisket lie under oath to make her situation seem desperate and dangerous. The Paylins not only don't mind lying if it helps them get their way, but looking like at best, careless parents, or at worst, neglectful parents. The pattern continues - $P doesn't care how she really comes out looking in any situation, as long as she can claim to be the "victim" and whine about others "abusing" her and her family.

Skinnedknees: Let's not forget that the entire reason for these easily hacked accounts is so that Palin could hide government business from the people who elected her.

There were MANY comments on 1) Palin’s history of hacking computers; 2) Joe Miller’s computer malfeasance; 3) Track and Willow’s vandalism, without consequences; and 4) how much more egregious James O’Keefe’s actions were, for which he got a much more lenient sentence than Kernell.

Sharon expressed the anger that many ‘Gaters feel about the Palins’ testimony in the Kernell case: The absurdity of "I wasn't able to get another phone because I was only 17 and unable to enter into a contract" is jaw-dropping. They're maintaining that the Governor of AK's kid, with aunts and uncles and grandparents and Secret Service people, couldn't get a phone for the kid? Sarah and/or Todd couldn't pick up someone else's phone, call a phone store and give a credit card number? Bullshit. BULLSHIT. Her Royal Highness could spend $150K - $250K (depending on who's telling it) for clothes during that time but they couldn't manage to get their pregnant daughter a cell phone? Couldn't go to Nicole Wallace or Steve Schmidt and say "we're worried, we're scared, we can't concentrate on dazzling the crowds and we're concerned about little Bristol alone in the woods with the Big Bad Wolves on the loose. Could you PLEASE call the Secret Service agents and tell them to get her a phone? OR could you tell them to show her how to plug the landline in?" Sarah hadn't named Parnell as governor while she was on the campaign trail. She maintained that she was in constant touch with her office. She couldn't tell someone in her office to get a phone to Bristol? What a crock.

Molly_WI: [Bristol] was inconvenienced, in my opinion, because she was w/o her blackberry and was bored, bored, bored to death not being able to constantly text and phone her friends.

Later: So, MXM, are you saying that the dispute with the FEC is *NOT* just due to a $25 discrepancy? That's not what SARAH said. ;)

BluedogAK had a good title for the unreality series: "Sarah Palin's Ego: As Big as the Great Outdoors."

Femme7: If I want wholesome entertainment, I'll watch the original Beverly Hillbillies....NOT the Wasilla Hillbillies. At least in the original show, they don't pretend to be something they are not.

Austintxx: Last nite I had two phone conversations with my virtual "big sister" and was told in no uncertain terms to get my ass back to work. Thank you all. Let's rock the house !!


Links of the Week

Jane linked to the New Yorker on SP’s “reality” show taking us for a ride

Honestyingov reported that Andrew Shirvell, he of the obsessive stalking of University of Michigan student body president Chris Armstrong, was fired.

More on the Shirvell story

Austintxx found that Teabagger Rand Paul has already flip-flopped on earmarks

Paradigm Shift: Sarah Palin's Ridiculous "Mama Grizzlies" Failed--Now Will They Fracture the GOP?

Camping100 quoted from the New Yorker’s article on SP’s Fake Alaska: "When they arrive back home, Palin attempts to poison Piper’s little mind with her mean-girl attitude…"

Veryvery (from the same article): "I can’t say what Palin is really up to with this show. She seems to want viewers to think that she’s conflicted about public life. She says that she’d “rather be doing this than in some stuffy old political office” and “a poor day of fishin’ beats even a great day of work.” In that spirit, I wish Palin many, many days—years—of fishin’, starting now.

Juicyfruityy: Malia Litman on Sarah’s ignorance

Vera City linked to Andrew Sullivan on grocery-gate

More on this topic from from Madam Deal and others – a double smackdown for her inadequacies in both economics and journalism

Former Republican had this from the Daily Mail on Bristol’s DWTS

"Is it like -- lap-dancing scandalous?" asked Sarah Palin… "Don't worry, Mom, it's no more scandalous than having a baby at the age of seventeen with the local no-brain jock when one's mother is a famous proponent of abstinence-only education," replied Bristol, in the parallel universe where she is able to string together a sentence. - Greyshine, Los Angeles

Jane had this gem from Margaret and Helen

ForeverAnon: These “threads,” not the economy alone, are also the source of the vote where white lower class and white middle class Americans voted in droves against their own self-interest."

Sickntiredofpalin linked to Harpers on Palin and her Pastors

Ella urged us to vote for Time’s Person of the Year: here it the link to Sarah

ProChoiceGrandma, wayofpeace and others linked to WTF has Sarah Palin done?

Patrick found a great critique of SP by Anderson Cooper: He claims that when the media makes a mistake, they have the responsibility to correct it, and so should “responsible politicians.” A novel concept.

Later he had an excellent catch, noticing that Sarah told another version of the Trig birth saga. Now she reportedly said her *water broke* in Texas at 7½ months. [BBT: I can hear the music from Dragnet again… dumdeedumdumdumb!]

Levler10 on Mark McKinnon saying Sarah has overstayed her welcome

TruGal helped us celebrate Tina Fey’s 2010 Mark Twain Prize!

and found this review of Sarah’s unreality show

Aview999: Malia Litman calls us all to action

And this article: 'Very few people were true Nazis,' he said, 'but many enjoyed the return of German pride, and many more were too busy to care. I was one of those who just thought the Nazis were a bunch of fools. So, the majority just sat back and let it all happen. Then, before we knew it, they owned us, and we had lost control, and the end of the world had come.

Sunnyjane had two excellent links on Justice Alito’s violation of ethical standards for judges: HERE and HERE.

Sdilmoak linked to Progressive Alaska on Joe Miller’s friend Floyd Brown and intimidation tactics

Kasha Knish, cheeriogirl, HIG and dusty17 found that Sarah’s got some ‘splainin’ to do to the FEC: HERE and HERE.

Patrick found this zinger from Kathleen Parker and Malia Litman’s "just say no to B.S.” campaign"

Cheeriogirl found this on Tea Party: Now You Will Get Yours

and this on Tennessee law on perjury

Madam Deal found Sarah Palin Bingo -- excellent!

Juicyfruityy found that Sarah’s BFF Gina Loudon was kicked out of the St. Louis Tea Party:


Tweets of the Week

Kajo said what many are wondering: Bristol Palin pix @DWTS from Sept 20 2010 to Nov 1 2010 -- Is She, or Isn't She? http://bit.ly/bk3ToJ (Going All The Way ;-} )

Honestyingov with h/t to TruGal: Great simple line 2 describe @SarahPalin byTruGal @palingates. "She's an imposter posing as a fraud dressed as a grifter." #tcot, @spalaska

More from HIG: @SarahPalin Tweets on @MarkBurnett idea:"clever marketing sticker!" Is THAT all U #READ ? Stickers+Fridge magnets?Try the @WSJ nxt time @p2

@ParkerSpitzer, @cnnbrk, @SarahPalins "Straw-Man Cookie Monster" a #LIE.She was FOR it-B4 she was agnst it.http://tinyurl.com/2g5q9zy FRAUD

Kernell Ct Testimony a LIE by Palins :@andersoncooper, @cnnbrk, @dailydish, @spj_tweets, @dailykos, @Salon, #p2 I http://tinyurl.com/3achcsr

Sunnyjane was on a Tweet-Tear; here are a few:

@sarahpalinusa: Tell us again about the Wite-Out abortion you had. Oh, and about having a “choice” when you were “pregnant” with Trig.

@sarahpalinusa: Miller campaign files protest with wrong court. Miller, Van Flein & Palin to open new law firm: Dumb, Dumber, and Dumbest.

@sarahpalinusa: Sarah had THREE email accounts to hide government business from the people who elected her. Who’s guilty of what here?

@sarahpalinusa: Sarah proved Bristol committed perjury in Kernell trial. Bristol says No Landline Phone; Sarah says there WAS a landline.

@sarahpalinusa: Bristol scared for her safety “in the middle of nowhere.” Bristol, can you say: I can see the Best Western from my house!

dusty17: Jeez @SarahPalinUSA U dont C Pres.O whining 2 the media abt everything said abt him or his family. Gawd knows U attack him enough @spalaska

@SarahPalinUSA Demands Spending Cuts 4 WA but SarahPAC spent $927,295 on consultants&only $254,500.on Candidates http://tinyurl.com/37bwt7k

@SarahPalinUSA the FEC is not LSM & they wont buy your BS, $arah. BTW, Y do U pay folks inside the isolated & insulated beltway? @spalaska

ProChoiceGrandma: We Can See Sarah Palin's Fake Pregnancy from Germany & around the world @Palingates http://tinyurl.com/2594h8xUSA MSM wears blindfolds. #p2

Crystalwolfakacaligrl: http://goo.gl/IGVhC We have photos, we have testimony we have proof they are #lies.But they continue&continue&continue.@spalaska #DWTS

***

I loved this from dusty17, who gets the last word this week:

Hello God,
Dusty here. Yes, Dusty from Palingates.

I understand you have your hands full right now, but please God I only have 2 requests, first please bring Austin back to us.

Second please allow $P's next book tour to complete w/ a media blackout, well with the exception Palingates they are special after all.

Thank you in advance for any assistance on the 2 above requests. I'll continue to hold down the fort here as best I can.

Umm, I ah sorta kinda forgot I have a 3rd request- it is an easy one though cause you most likely already have it covered, but if you could watch over Mr & Mrs. G and our other Gators in need, we here at Palingates would sure appreciate it.

Thanks Again,
Dusty
.

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