Nick Broomfield needs our help to get his documentary film "Sarah Palin: You Betcha!" into theaters.

From Kickstarter:

Nick Broomfield's quest for the real Sarah Palin involves battling the icy snows of Alaska in mid-winter to speak to the school friends, family, and Republican colleagues that in previous days gave their heart, soul and belief to the charismatic, charming, intoxicating ex-hockey mom. But it's not all plain sailing. People are frightened to talk; Wasilla makes Twin Peaks look like a walk in the park. It's a devout evangelical community – 76 churches with a population of only 6 thousand, and the Crystal meth capital of Alaska. Broomfield brings his celebrated wit and determination to cracking her story. 

The provocative and entertaining documentary is directed by Nick Broomfield (Aileen: Life and Death of a Serial Killer, Heidi Fleiss: Hollywood Madam,Kurt & Courtney) and Joan Churchill. The film is produced Marc Hoeferlin (Battle for Haditha). 

But producing the documentary was only half of the process. We need YOUR help to raise enough money that he can distribute the film. The release of Nick’s film before the potential candidates of 2012 announce their candidacy is a pivotal moment. Getting this film into theaters, and educating the public on Palin needs to happen as soon as possible to truly allow Nick’s vision to be achieved. This Kickstarter will help raise the capital to fund the nuts and bolts of the distribution (print and advertising fees) and help get SARAH PALIN: YOU BETCHA! into theaters.

As of last night when I wrote this post, Nick had about  $1,893.00 ($100 of it was from me), however he needs about $30,000 to start the wheels moving toward distributing the documentary and making it available to movie audiences.

I can attest to the struggle that Nick went through to find people to go on record, and allow their images to be filmed, for this important documentary (Hell even I balked at first!)  I would really hate to see all of that hard work go to waste.

And remember, unlike Palin's propaganda film "The Undefeated," THIS  movie did not have anybody with one million dollars to help finance it or a panting flock of sycophants ready and willing to pimp this movie to friends and family on behalf of their idol.

That movie failed miserably because it was telling an obvious lie, however this movie is trying to get the truth about Snowdrift Snooki, to a wider audience of Americans who may not be interested in sitting down with a good book.

Anyhow I know that Nick and his team would appreciate anything you could do to help.  And so would I.

Thank you ahead of time, for your support.

Jonathon Capehart talks to the man who interviewed Mercede Johnston for Playboy.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Okay this guy is an imbecile, though I guess I should be pleased he liked my state so much. However he did not answer any of the Jonathon Capeheart's important questions.

However it is interesting to note that, despite what people are constantly trying to imply on this blog, he said that the residents of Wasilla did not consider Sadie a liar.

Too bad he did not ask them if they consider Sarah and Bristol liars.

I've asked that question in Wasilla and guess what? Yeah I think you know the answer to that question.I also think it is awesome that Sadie's Playboy pictorial and interview are getting much MORE media attention than the Grizzled Mama's most recent Facebook rant.Oooh that's gotta sting!

At least ONE of Kyla Grace Palin's grandmothers loves her.

The good grandmother, Elizabeth Hanson, is the one on the left.

Courtesy of Radar Online:

In an exclusive interview with RadarOnline.com, Britta Hanson’s mother Elizabeth expressed her delight over her first grandchild. 

“Kyla Grace is great. She’s beautiful,” the proud first-time grandmother said.“I’m very happy,” she gushed about the new baby. 

Her daughter Britta, 21, gave birth to Kyla Grace on Saturday, August 6 just three months after marrying Track Palin, 22, Sarah and Todd Palin’s oldest child. 

“I love my daughter and my son-in-law very much,” Hanson told RadarOnline.com about the overjoyed new parents. 

Elizabeth Hanson spoke briefly about her family’s relationship with the Palins. “They’re their own people; we’ve known each other for a long time.”

Well I am glad that at least SOMEBODY in this screwed up family knows how to honestly share their feelings about this precious child.  Good for you Mrs. Hanson!

It looks like Kyra will have access to at least some sane family members. You know Tripp could have had that too if Bristol and Sarah weren't such...well you know.

(H/T to Joe McGinniss.)

New tidbits leak out from Mercede Johnston's Playboy interview. Oh, the Grizzled Mama is NOT going to like this very much! Update!

Mercede and her mother Sherry. Palin victims no more.

Courtesy of TMZ:

19-year-old Mercede Johnston (above left) just WENT OFF about the entire Palin crew -- calling Sarah Palin a bad mom who's "never there for [her kids]" ... adding, "She doesn't make her kids go to school.

She'd rather parade them around and put on a show, at book signings or conventions."

As for Bristol -- "Everything is about her, her, her. She has to have her own way. She'll be supersweet and then she turns into the most evil person I've ever known ... Honestly, she is the meanest person."Mercede adds, "I didn't know someone could be so vindictive and evil ...[She's] a sociopath. She doesn't think anything she could do or does is wrong."

Mercede also claims Bristol and Levi PLANNED their pregnancy -- saying, "They were trying to conceive for months." 

And for good measure ... Mercede explains why Sarah would have been a TERRIBLE president saying, "I think she'd have had a mental breakdown if she was elected [president] ... She can't even answer Katie Couric's questions." 

Just when you think Sarah's day could NOT get any worse.

You know I waited with bated breath for this summer (and the fall) to finally arrive, but even I did not realize just how many things were coming down the pike to help put an end to Sister Sarah's career as a political hatemonger.

Numerous tell-all books, a damning documentary, Michele Bachmann stealing her thunder, a painfully poor propaganda piece that failed to ignite her political career, unexpected grandbabies, a Playboy interview that reveals unflattering truths about the Palin family, newly discovered pictures proving she was not pregnant with Trig, the list just goes on, and on, and on.

Don't the Germans have a word for this? Schadenfreude if I am not mistaken.

(I looked it up for you Palin-bots so that you would not hurt your tiny little brains. Just click this link.)

Update: It looks like Hollywood Life has a few more tidbits:

Mercede tells Playboy of Sarah’s eldest son Track, “He would do a lot drugs. He did OxyContin but mostly cocaine. He didn’t choose to go into the army; he went there because his mom made him, to get him out of the way…” Track did ship out during his mother’s campaign, though it is uncertain when exactly he enlisted. 

He may not be the only fan of the drug either as, the interviewer writes; “Someone trying to get my attention makes the incredible claim to have snorted coke with [Sarah] at the Mug Shot (a local bar) and points to the very spot on the bar where said lines were cut up.” This is, of course, to be taken with a grain of salt. 

Mercede also labels Bristol as a thief, among other things. When asked what Bristol is into, Mercede says; “stealing her parents credit cards to order clothes. Literally. And chasing after men and partying.” 

Mercede goes on to say that she could bring any number of men to meet the interviewer and have them show some of the nude pics Bristol has sent them.

Okay I knew about the stolen credit cards, the boy chasing, and partying, but the nude pics of Bristol are a new one on me.

Not that I would have been interested if I had known about their existence.

Update2: More from Hollywood Life:

She is furious about Sarah’s treatment of her brother Levi, who is the father of Sarah’s grandson, Tripp. “Not once did Sarah contact us and say, ‘Is this okay?’”, about her decision to take Levi into the spotlight, when she became John McCain‘s running mate in 2008. 

After all — Levi was only 18 at the time and hardly able to stand up to the powerful Governor of Alaska. “She literally took Levi from a hunting trip and flew him to the Republican Convention. He didn’t have a choice. I don’t blame John McCain — this is all Sarah Palin. She didn’t have to announce on stage that Bristol was pregnant. She doesn’t care, as long as she’s going to the top. But it’s screwed my whole family up. Levi was a prop, and once they didn’t need him, he was out the door.” 

No matter what your political persuasion you have to admit that Mercede’s accusations have a ring of truth when it comes to the Palin treatment of her brother. 

For good measure, Mercede also calls Bristol — “the most evil person I’ve ever known” and a “sociopath” and claims that she , Mercede, has been virtually excluded from baby Tripp’s life. 

Now, we all know that Sarah Palin can dish it out against her political opponents … and Katie Couric. She’s even been accused of inciting violence against Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords by placing her district in crosshairs on an “attack map” that she featured on her facebook. 

Do we really need a “Pitbull in lipstick” or a Mamma Grizzly ( Mercede calls that Sarah nickname “retarded” ) leading our country now? A woman who’s instinct is to attack even the father and aunt of her “beloved” grandchild, rather than reach out and make them a part of her family? 
  
Damn! Sarah and Bristol really screwed the pooch when they pissed Sadie off!

I actually don't know everything that Sadie talked about in the Playboy interview because she signed a non-disclosure agreement and was not supposed to talk about it. Technically I was not even supposed to know about the pictorial, but she did not want me to find out from anybody else.

P.S. I almost forgot to say that I also heard that story about the cocaine use by Sarah at the Mug-Shot. And no it was NOT from Sadie.

Welcome to the world Kyla Grace Palin! Update!

Mommy-to-be, Britta Palin, surrounded by Kayla's gifts from the baby shower.

This from the blog of Joe McGinniss:

Sarah Palin’s son Track and his new wife Britta became the proud parents of a baby girl, Kyla Grace Palin, last night.

I learned last summer that Joe has EXCELLENT sources, so if he says that this baby was born last night, you can bet that his information is correct.

Okay let's see, Track and Britta got married in May, and this wonderful bundle of joy is born in August, which is approximately three months later. WTF?

How is it that these Palin women have the fastest human gestation on the planet? Do ALL women in Wasilla get pregnant and give birth in only two or three months, or is that only the people in this family?

By the way here is the official announcement from Sarah Palin.

Update: Well it looks like Radar Online found somebody close to the family to confirm Joe's tip:


A source close to the family confirmed the arrival of the little girl to the young parents who were married just three months ago in May.

Just for the record let me say that I never had any doubt that McGinniss had the straight poop. He made a lot of good friends in Wasilla during his stay and he hears all kinds of things.  As you will all learn for yourselves when his book comes out in September.

Mercede Johnston bares all concerning the Palin family in soon to be released Playboy interview. Update!

Courtesy of the New York Post:

Mercede posed nude for the September issue of Playboy and gave an equally revealing interview to George Gurley. Asked what kind of president Sarah Palin would be, she responded: "I think she'd have had a mental breakdown . . . As governor she quit on us. What does that say about her?" When Gurley asked what percentage of Wasilla residents "can't stand Palin," Mercede responded, "I would say 70 percent."
 
Mercede also claims the Palins are so polarizing in the small Alaskan town that she can't work. "It's hard to get a job in this town because of the Palins," she tells Playboy, adding, "People say, 'Oh, Mercede Johnston, I don't know if people are going to come in if she works here.' "

Regarding Bristol's relationship with Levi, she claims Bristol sent a text message to Levi after she found out she was expecting son Tripp that read, "Ever since the moment I found out I was pregnant, I prayed to God you weren't the father."

Mercede -- who had claimed on her blog that "Levi never liked [Bristol] to drink since it just made her more promiscuous" -- also told Gurley that Bristol, who's since become an advocate for teen abstinence, wanted to get pregnant: "Bristol's pregnancy wasn't . . . an accident. She and Levi planned it. They were trying to conceive for months."

Mercede also tells Playboy that Track Palin, Sarah's 22-year-old son who is an Army reservist, used drugs. She claims, "He did OxyContin and mostly cocaine. He didn't choose to go into the Army; he went there because his mom made him, to get him out of the way so when she was at the convention they wouldn't know he does drugs and would think he was a patriot." A Palin family rep declined to comment.

Let me remind all of you that Playboy has an average circulation of over 3 million, which is substantially more sets of eyeballs than have ever perused either mine, or Sadie's blog.

That means that many, many more people are now aware of just how duplicitous, and polarizing, the Palin family is considered even in their own home town.

And for those of you who are so quick to pass judgement on Mercede for taking off her clothes, and using her body to get the information out, just ask yourself how she could have done it any more effectively?

And then ask yourself what sacrifice YOU have made to let the world know about the potential harm that Sarah Palin poses to this country, and the harm she has done to those around her?

Personally I am proud of her, but of course she already knows that.

Update: I just received a clarification concerning the text from Bristol from Sherry.

It came after Lanesia dropped by to give Sadie and Sherry flowers for Valentine's Day (Something she does every year.).  Apparently Bristol heard about it and a few minutes later, called and yelled at Sherry for letting her come over, and then sent that text to Levi about wishing that Tripp was not his son.

Classy right?

Remember this was all while refusing to let the Johnston family see Tripp, and a few months before Levi, Mercede, and Sherry went public on the Tyra Banks Show to tell their side of the story.

Update 2: Oops, I forgot about this clip!  Dennis Zaki just reminded me.

Just in case you were still wondering why people in Wasilla do not reveal what they know about Sarah Palin to reporters.

Because some times if they just keep their mouths shut, they can score a reality show simply for having touched Sarah Palin's mighty mane of hair.

The TV network TLC, home to such popular shows as Little People, Big World, Say Yes To The Dress and Cake Boss, announced today that it’s adding the show Big Hair Alaska to its fall lineup. 

The show offers a look behind the scenes at the Beehive Beauty Shop, the bright pink beauty salon that gained national fame for crafting former Alaska governor and 2008 vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin’s signature coiffure. 

The show's time slot has not yet been announced.

You see the Palins don't always have to resort to threats or intimidation to keep people quiet about them, because in fact they have helped Wasilla economically and some really do appreciate that they put their little town on the map.  And yes, there are those who can even get a little fame of their own so long as they don't rock the boat.

I guess Jessica Steele learned to keep her mouth shut after she accidentally spilled the beans about Palin's thinning hair to the New York Times:

Her hair had thinned to the point where she needed emergency help from her hairdresser and close friend, Jessica Steele.

“Honestly, I think all of it just broke her heart,” Ms. Steele said in an interview at her beauty parlor in Wasilla, the Beehive.

Which inspired Ms. Steele to quickly launch into damage control:

“It wasn’t like I did an intervention,’’ Jessica Steele said in a phone interview from her Wasilla, Alaska, beauty parlor, the Beehive.

In fact, despite the juicy hair-loss tidbit that Palin-aholics gobbled up in a New York Times story (“The Long March to a Short-Notice Resignation,’’ July 12), Steele insisted that Palin’s hair hadn’t thinned so much as it had gone blah.

“I think the combination of traveling and just being down there in the lower 48’’ took its toll, Steele said in what was either a brilliant bit of spin, the simple truth, or an attempt to save the good stuff for a cut-and-tell memoir. “We needed to get her back to shiny.’’

She gave Palin a much-needed trim, she said, and “kicked up’’ Palin’s shampoo and conditioner a notch, to the high-end Pureology NanoWorks line. She also gave Palin a chichi leave-in treatment, Altieri Brothers Tuscan Oil.

Does anybody think that Jessica would be getting this great reality show gig, if she had NOT quickly walked back her statement?  Nope me either!

And it is too bad she did not stick to her guns, because it appears to me that Palin's hair is WAY past the "kicked up Palin's shampoo" stage these days.  Which leads me to believe that Ms. Steele was right on the money back in 2009!

Just what kind of reality show is Bristol Palin filming in Wasilla? Update!

A little (very well connected) bird told me that Bristol is currently filming some sort of reality show around Wasilla, as well as in Anchorage and up toward Denali, from July 26th to August 3rd.

Apparently she also purchased a home on Lake Lucille (Doesn't she already have a place to stay on Lake Lucille?), to use for the show.

The film company involved is called Helping Hand Productions, and I am told they are from Los Angeles.

Currently that is all that I know.  I will keep you posted if I learn anything new, including whether or not this is connected to her reality show in LA with the Massey brothers. Or if this is INSTEAD of her reality show with the Massey brothers.

It kind of seems odd that she would buy a house on the same lake as her mother, if she was going to be living in LA in the near future don't you think?

Update: My source contacted me again and confirmed that Helping Hands is definitely working with Associated Television International, the same company producing the reality show with the Massey brothers.So that clears up that mystery.

Remember how everybody just assumed that Track Palin married his girlfriend because she was pregnant? As it turns out everybody is pretty damn smart.

So to bring you up to speed on May 19, I wrote a post about Track and long time girlfriend Britta Hanson tying the knot up at Hatcher Pass.

My assumption at the time (and the assumption of every other rational person with at least two brain cells they can rub together), was that based on the history the Palins have with marriage and pregnancies, Britta was undoubtedly "in the family way."  However nobody was absolutely positive such was the case.

About two weeks later I received a tip that Britta was indeed pregnant and that fellow students in her nursing classes were all talking about it, and the family was afraid it would soon come out. Then not much later I received yet ANOTHER tip saying that Britta was definitely with child and was avoiding certain casual friends so that the word would not get around and embarrass the families.

Yet it was still all hearsay and I did not feel it was enough to say definitively that the quickie marriage was due to the impending birth of yet another baby into the Palin family.

That is it WAS all hearsay until I received this picture in my email inbox of Britta opening up gifts at her.....wait for it.....baby shower. (Apparently the shower took place just a couple of days ago at the Palin compound in Wasilla.)

So based on the tips mentioned above, and this photographic evidence, I think we can safely move this story out of the rumor category, and into the "no shit" category.

So what have we learned here today kiddies?

Number One: That there is a 90% probability that any rumor you hear about the Palin clan will turn out to be true. (Even the crazy ones.)

Number Two: That Bristol is the world's WORST abstinence spokesperson since she could not even convince her own brother's girlfriend not to have premarital sex. ("Stop! Stop it right now, Track! Dammit I'm telling Mom!")

Number Three: That the Palins simply DO NOT get married unless there is a fetus and a loaded shotgun involved. Sarah's mother, Sally Heath, was pregnant when SHE got married, so was Sarah, and then Bristol (Who did not even bother to get married.), and now Britta.  Apparently it's a family tradition.

Not that there is anything wrong with that of course. Well that is unless your future mother-in-law is constantly pimping herself out as a family values fundamentalist Christian savior of America, and your husband's sister is a famous abstinence spokesperson. But whose crazy ass family does that descr....oh yeah, almost forgot!

Well anyhow I wish both Track and Britta nothing but good luck with the new addition to their family.

Based on what we know of the rest of the family, you're going to need it.

Mercede Johnston's pictorial to be featured in same issue of Playboy as profile on Sarah Palin. Oh, SOMEBODY is not going to be happy!

From the NY Post:

GOP presidential hopeful Sarah Palin and her family are the subjects of a profile by George Gurley in the September issue of Playboy, according to sources. Insiders say the story will run next to a four-page nude pictorial of Mercede Johnston, the sister of Bristol Palin's estranged baby daddy, Levi. The Palins did not participate in the Gurley piece. Instead, the writer went to Alaska to interview locals and friends for a write-around. But Playboy sources say that Mercede is outspoken in the article about Palin and Bristol, whom she routinely lashes out against in her blog. One of Johnston's latest blog posts rips Bristol's book, "Not Afraid of Life: My Journey So Far," saying it should have been entitled, "Not Afraid of Lies." Sources say Johnston was paid less than $25,000 to strip down for the magazine. A rep for the Palins didn't get back to us.

I am aware that many of you sent me a link to this story, or others just like it, in the comments section throughout the day. I apologize for rejecting them, but they showed up on posts that I did not want to have hijacked, and plus I really had nothing to say about it until I had contacted Sadie and told her the story was out.


So for all of you who waited all day to weigh in on this topic, THIS would be the post for you to do that. However let me warn you that if you are a troll who just wants to say ugly things, I will kick your ass to the curb so fast it will make your head spin.

Longtime visitors will know that I have already written about Mercede and her Playboy shoot five months ago.

Here is her statement from that post:

First she would like you to know that she has been assured that this shoot will be very classy. She is not intending to go "completely" nude and she has turned down numerous other offers to pose nude in the past (True, she has told me about those before.)

She said that she is definitely hoping to use this money to work on her education, and to remind people that she has been working since she was 13 years old, and is NOT lazy as many have stated.

She has a friend helping her mom while she is in LA because Sherry cannot be left on her own right now, which also has much to do with Sadie's decision.

Oh, and she also wants to remind everybody that she is nineteen years old now, not eighteen.

The only thing that I can add is that Sadie told me about the shoot after the deal was already made. If this had been another magazine she MIGHT have asked me for some advice on trying to negotiate a better deal, but I am sure her instincts told her I would not have been completely on board with the idea, and to be honest she is probably not wrong about that.

When Sadie finally called me to tell me about the pictorial she was VERY nervous, and worried about what I might think. I honestly told her that it would not have been MY first choice for her, but that I understood her desire to make some money to help her mom, and that it certainly could lead to bigger things.

Anyhow I have to say I am pretty pleased that her pictorial will be in the same issue as a Palin profile by this George Gurley fellow.  I know that Sadie gave an interview that will not make the Palins very happy, so assuming that the Gurley piece will tell the truth about Sarah, THIS issue should be a must have for anybody who is not a fan Klondike Kardashian and her family of traveling grifters.

And yes I am sure that the opportunity to see the stunning Mercede Johnston featured au naturel won't exactly hurt sales either.

Speaking of Sadie, she just recently updated her last post to answer some of your questions.  If you are interested to see what she has to say, just click here.

Full Bristol Palin interview on the View.

It is interesting to me that Bristol walks out there  is NONE of the usual hugging and enthusiasm that you see with virtually EVERY other guest.  Instead she she walks right past Elizabeth, Sherri, and Joy to sit down next to Barbara who seems to be the ONLY person glad to see her there.

Then Barbara, no stranger to the plastic surgeon's knife herself, begins to compliment Bristol on her weight loss and her new look. Awkward!

However Tripp is an extremely cute little boy, and when they show him on screen it suddenly defrosts the other co-hosts, allowing yet another Palin to use their children to gain sympathy and acceptance.

Barbara then confronts Bristol concerning her story about having her virginity "stolen," asking her whether or not she gave consent. Bristol stumbles over her response, seeming to believe that "losing your virginity" is akin to losing your car keys, and then claiming that if she had not been drunk it would never have happened. (I did think it funny when Barbara asked her if she was "high." Especially since I have talked to a few ex-friends of hers that say she is not a virgin in that area either. So much for that "moral code.")

By the way Levi WAS at the house almost constantly, and essentially moved in there when her mother was on the campaign trail. I have talked to both Mercede and Sherry about this extensively and they both say he was there constantly for months. Once Tripp was born, that is when the relationship suddenly ended (yet again).

When Bristol admits she has asked Levi to hand over his parental rights, that part is accurate. Bristol seems determined to have the opportunity to refer to herself as a "single mom" (And earn money by doing so) and Levi has made that hard by constantly attempting to be a part of Tripp's life.  It seems much of the reason she wants him out of the picture is because his presence screws up her ability to attract pity for raising her son on her own, with no support. (I guess everybody is just supposed to ignore that her mother is a millionaire now.)

Now as for WHY Levi has not taken Bristol back to court for not allowing him his visitation rights, I cannot explain.  I will say that back when Levi was first going through this legal process with Bristol that I tried to get Tank and Rex to hire a REAL family lawyer to represent him, even going so far as to find one willing to look at the case for free, and possibly representing him pro bono.

They refused, and instead seem to have made the worst possible custody deal I have seen in a long time.

Yes, it has occurred to me that Team Levi was paid off, but I have no real proof of that. I have also wondered if Levi himself was paid off, but both Sherry and Sadie simply refuse to accept that possibility. And once again I have no real proof.

As for Tripp being Levi's child, I truly believe that he THINKS Tripp is his son, which is why he has his name tattooed on his bicep. I know that he never had a paternity test, which I also pushed for back in the day, so of course we can always speculate, but Sherry and Mercede went to the hospital on December 27, and believe they met their nephew/grandson on that day.

After this Levi portion, around the 4:37 mark, Whoopi asks Bristol if the criticism she has received since "writing" the book has bothered her, which gives Bristol the opportunity to trot out her newly discovered Christian talking points.

Next Barbara asks her about her new abstinence pledge to wait until she is married before having sex again.  Bristol ABSOLUTELY lies right to her face when asked about this. (Hey Bristol if you are reading this I saw the pictures, and I know you are lying.)

By the way I really believe that Bristol's dislike of Meghan McCain and her family stems from NOTHING more than simple jealousy.

Clearly Bristol has had her hand slapped for saying that Sarah has made her decision to run or not, and refuses to answer the question this time.

At the end I almost choked when Whoopi said that Bristol was being a good mother (I totally disagree with that), and when Bristol said that she welcomes Levi into Tripp's life all of the time (Nothing could be further from the truth). She has become a seamless a liar as her mother, and I truly fear for how Tripp will be raised by this family.

You know I really do not believe that Bristol, nor Sarah for that matter, are really able to perceive just how poorly they come across to the majority of Americans. Even the terrible book sales may not be enough to convince Bristol that she has defined herself as an untalented, money grubbing, hypocrite, who uses her child to line her pockets while disrespecting his father in the public square, and that MOST people find that extremely distasteful.

If things don't go her way she will simply blame it on the "haters," and walk away without learning anything, or growing as a person in any way.

Essentially, despite her often expressed denials as a teenager, she has now BECOME her mother. Which, by the way, is EXACTLY the fate that she deserves.

Didn't something important happen on this day? Gee what was that? Oh yeah, I remember!

Today was the day that Alaska gained its independence from a no talent, limelight seeking, opportunist who had turned our state into a national joke.

Gee whatever happened to her?

(Just for fun perhaps all of you can share what you were thinking the day that she quit, and how your opinion of her has changed in the two years since she admitted how thin skinned and easily defeated she is.)

P.S. Just for fun here is the edited video of all of Palin's erratic breathing during her resignation speech.

What makes you think that Michele Bachmann is trying to steal Sarah Palin's mojo? I mean besides everything?

The idea that Michele Bachmann is ACTIVELY trying to supplant the Grizzled Mama in Teabagger hearts is simply ridiculous.  Bachmann even said so herself a  few days ago.

"They want to see two girls come together and have a mud wrestling fight, and I am not going to give that to them," Bachmann told a voter Wednesday who asked about her relationship with the former Alaska governor.

See media? No mud wrestling! (Even though from a purely male perspective that would be pretty AWESOME! Sorry, had a little testosterone surge there.)

So get over it media.  Just because they sound alike, screw up historical facts alike, and dress alike,

sometimes exactly alike, it does NOT mean that Michele is trying to rip Sarah Palin off.

So just relax and enjoy watching Bachmann launch her Presidential campaign with her bus tour, and....

what?

Oh come on!  ALL candidates have a bus that they ride around on to meet the voters.  Why must we compare Bachmann's bus to....

Wow, they are similar aren't they? Are those even different buses, or did she actually steal Palin's bus and repaint it?

Well forget about the buses, because beyond that they have very little in common. And I am sure that most political observers would agree with me on that.

I'm sorry Sarah Jones, of Politicususa, what is that you are saying?

Both Bachmann and Palin are GOP puppets; religious extremists dressed up, puffed up and pushed out, sold to the highest bidder to put a pretty face on ugly ideas. Both women seem nice enough from afar, both are ostensibly good mothers from afar, both are absolutely hypocritical on almost every issue they purport to stand for and too ignorant to know it. Both are wildly over-confident, in the way that can only come from a small mind that cannot conceive of larger issues beyond the self-aggrandizing, unregulated id that drives them.

Both women bring out the worst in our culture. Both appeal to the lurking sexism, hooking it with a wink and bringing all women down into the mud with them if we dare call them out on it. Yes, if we dare say a word, we are then labeled ugly haters or “fat”. It’s as if we are back in Junior High, only I never knew anyone so shameless and tawdry as either of these two women in Junior High. It offends me to even address their vulgar cries for attention via their sexuality.

Oookay, well perhaps I misspoke. 

Fine, I guess Bristol IS right for once and Bachmann is copying her mother (And doing it better by the way), but SURELY Sarah Palin is a big enough person to let it slide and simply enjoy what she has going for her. 

You know like Bristol's very successful book tour.  Oh that's right.

Well how about her new film?  It's not like her supporters have to fake attendance numbers in order to make it seem more pop...oooh that's going to leave a mark.

Okay well Sarah Palin has "tough skin" so I imagine like any Mama Grizzly whose life is in the shitter she is taking all of this in stride, right?

Did anybody else just lose the feeling in their testicles? (Look away, Gryphen, look away!)

Yeah somehow I think that things might be a little chilly at Casa De Grizzly for he next several weeks.

Now if only no OTHER potential candidates do anything to piss her off, or make her feel like even more of a loser, things might just settle down.

From Politico:

Mitt Romney is slated to have private sit-downs with top officials while he's fundraising in London next week, potentially including Prime Minister David Cameron, per the Globe.

The story raises the possibility of a get-together with Margaret Thatcher, which would be noteworthy on a few levels - including her recent reported refusal to take a meeting with Sarah Palin. (Thatcher's office reportedly denied two British papers' stories that there was an intended snub by the elderly former politician) .

Somewhere in Wasilla a refrigerator just screamed in terror.

Nick Broomfield's documentary might make it virtually impossible for Sarah Palin to weave her web of lies ever again.

I kind of hesitated to weigh in on Nick's film, mainly because I had promised not to let the cat out of the bag.. 

And as all of you know once I make such a promise, I NEVER break it.

However, now that EVERYBODY is talking about it, I guess the cat has officially escaped the bag.

First I will let the Guardian describe for you just who Nick Broomfield is, and why Sarah Palin should be pooping cinder blocks.

He's tackled Kurt Cobain, Biggie Smalls, Tupac Shakur and Heidi Fleiss. Now British documentary-maker Nick Broomfield has turned his attention to Sarah Palin, darling of the American right and potential candidate for a US presidential run next year.

Broomfield's as-yet-untitled film reportedly offers a critical examination of the former US Republican vice presidential candidate via interviews with her parents, friends and ex-colleagues from his subject's time as governor of Alaska.

Broomfield is known for working with minimal crew, often in a "gonzo" reporting style. His Palin film is the film-maker's first documentary feature since 2006's His Big White Self, about the South African far-right leader Eugene Terre'Blanche, which was screened on More4. The film-maker's two most recent features, 2006's Ghosts and 2007's Battle for Haditha, adopted a docudrama approach, using untrained actors to play themselves in dramatic roles.

Broomfield's films have attracted controversy in the past. An interview with Courtney Love, ex-partner of the late Nirvana singer Kurt Cobain, for the documentary Kurt and Courtney, was so damning that Love successfully campaigned for the movie to be removed from the lineup for the 1998 Sundance film festival. A version was eventually screened in cinemas without any of Nirvana's music, after Love refused to allow it to be used.

Essentially Nick turns the harsh light of reality on his subject, and cuts right through the carefully constructed media facade that they hide behind.  Which of course is the very thing that Sarah Palin fears the most.

This is what Sarah Jones of Politicususa had to say about Broomfield:

Derek Malcolm of the Guardian once said of Nick, “If Broomfield took up wedding photography, the divorce rate would be even higher.” This is not the man you want helming a documentary of you if you are hiding under a perilously constructed myth.

Peabody winner Broomfield also holds numerous other prestigious awards, from First Prize at Sundance to a 2006 Bafta Award for his contribution to the documentary genre. If that doesn’t impress you, Broomfield’s filmography includes “Aileen Wuronos: The Selling of a Serial Killer”, “Biggie & Tupac” and “Kurt & Courtney”.

I’ve already heard that Broomfield exposes Palin for who she is, and that is not a good thing for Sarah Palin. The truth may even shock average Americans who don’t follow politics.

Now since I am still honoring my promise to Nick I can only share a few innocuous things with you about what I know of the film.

I know that Nick interviewed a lot of the main players in Palin's political life.. A LOT of them!

I know that he attempted several times to interview Sarah Palin herself, but I am not sure that he was ever successful.

Nick and his crew interviewed me a number of times as well, in a number of different locations, including the office in my home while I was blogging. So you can imagine how exciting THAT footage must be to see on film!
Nick also managed to make it to a number of Palin's book signings (Including one you might have already read about), and speeches all across the country.

Hint: One of these hands might belong to a British filmmaker.

I cannot say definitively how the documentary will treat Sarah Palin.  I do know that Nick wanted to be as fair as possible, and to get a well rounded vision of who she was by interviewing people who liked her, as well as people who actually know her. (That is a little snark for my English friends.)

I believe I can also share that Nick was very thorough in his research and did check into some of the scandalous stories about the Palins, as well as to conduct interviews with people who had grown up with her, worked with her, or had been impacted by her in one way or another.

Personally I think this film has the potential of impacting the Palin mythology in a way that the books may not be able to do, in that it is a visual medium which does not require the ability to read.  Even the simplest of Palin loving simpletons should be able to understand the moving pictures well enough to finally realize that their Queen is in actuality the Court Jester.

Okay maybe I DO have some idea of how this documentary will treat Sarah Palin. After all it is attempting to show the REAL Sarah Palin, and we all know how unflattering reality is to the Grizzled Mama, now don't we?

Professor Brad Scharlott and Laura Novak continue their fascinating conversation over on Laura's blog.

Courtesy of Laura's blog:

LN: But let’s get back to the question of harm. What is the harm, Palin supporters ask, even if she did fake the birth of Trig?

BS: I would say that a pathology of fear has enveloped much of Alaska, especially the Wasilla area, over this issue. You have to remember that Sarah Palin is demonstrably ruthless, unethical, and vengeful – it’s good to keep in mind her campaign to destroy the career of Mike Wooten, her former brother-in-law. Plus, in the space of four weeks in late 2008 and early 2009, fires in Wasilla damaged Palin’s church and caused the death of a former neonatal nurse, Dar Miller. The church fire was due to arson; the cause of the fire at Miller’s home was not determined. Some people speculated that adoption records perished in the church fire, but I can find no confirmation of that.

There’s no evidence linking the Palins to those fires. But several Alaskans have told me that Wasilla residents fear they may suffer similar fates if they cross the Palins. Certainly Alaskans have good reason to fear they may lose their jobs if they anger Sarah Palin, as safety commissioner Walter Monaghan did when he refused to fire Mike Wooten. She may not be in power now, but many of her loyal appointees are.

LN: And I might add here that I know first hand about people who talk, and then clam up, because they know that people are whispering about them. I know about people in government putting pressure on reporters not to report. About newspaper reporters who were talking to me one day, and then shutting down the conversation the next.

BS: And then there are stories of people who know too much or said the wrong thing about the Palins, who then suffered vandalism or worse, such as the documented case of a car window being shot out while children were inside – the apparent reason: an anti-Palin personalized license place.

I would further argue, Laura, that this pathology of fear has spawned a pathology of deceit. You recently noted how all the reporters, editors and columnists at the Alaska Daily News have seemingly been told to sing from the same hymnal concerning the fake birth question – contradicting earlier actions by ADN staff – even though the newspaper provides no documentary evidence to support the claim that Palin birthed Trig. And as I’ve noted before, former ADN reporter Wes Loy, who famously wrote that Palin “simply does not look pregnant,” for some reason decided to recant, despite evidence I provided that directly contradicts his alleged change of heart.

I am reminded of the fall of Saddam Hussein. After the liberation of Iraq, Iraqis came forward to say how terrible it had been to live in a society where saying anything negative about Saddam could have fatal consequences, and that therefore they were careful, even before their own children, to never to speak too freely. Alaska is not Iraq, of course, but I am sure there are people in Alaska who likewise are afraid to say what they know about the Palins and who dissemble in front of their children, lest loose lips lead to horrible consequences.

Considering what I know about Sarah Palin I have NO problem with the Professor comparing her to Saddam Hussein, if we are talking about the heavy handed way they treat their subordinates and the fear that Palin was instilled in a handful of people living in Wasilla. But I must reiterate that I have NO evidence that either Todd or Sarah did anybody any physical harm.

Cause them to be fired, or damage their reputations? Yes. Cause them to lose their lives or suffer significant injury? No.

Having made that one point, I direct you to click the link and read the rest of this interesting back and forth conversation.  You might even see a name or two that you recognize.

Previously unknown pictures of Levi Johnston holding Trig Palin at the Mat-Su Regional Hospital. Update!

Recently these two photos were discovered among a pile of pictures at Mercede and Sherry Johnston's home.

It is clearly a picture taken in one of the delivery rooms at Mat-Su as confirmed by THIS picture from Palingates, showing another couple with their newborn in a room that could be a carbon copy.

As you can see that is the same hideous couch, the same beige colored walls, and the same metal window frame.

Stamped on the back of these photos is the date May 13, 2008, indicating when they were developed.

According to Mercede the ONLY baby that her brother EVER visited in the hospital was little Trig. (Clarification: What Sadie meant was Trig was the ONLY baby she knew of that Levi visited in the hospital prior to May 13, 2008, when these pictures were developed. Obviously he was there when Tripp was born later in December, which is when the picture down at the bottom of this post was taken.) So now, for the first time, we have photographic evidence  that Levi was indeed at the hospital on the day that Trig was presented to the world as Sarah Palin's fifth child.

But did you notice anything about this baby?  Here take a closer look.

Does THAT look like a jaundiced premature newborn baby, only weighing a little over six pounds, to you?

Well if it doesn't, you are not alone. Mercede also felt that this baby was significantly larger than the baby that SHE held in her arms on May 3rd, only fifteen days later.

However, he looks to be much the same size as the baby held by the Chuck and Sally Heath, for the NBC reporters,

But are is my questions.

Since both of these pictures were taken at Mat-Su Regional Hospital, ostensibly on the day of Trig's "birth," why is he wearing a completely different hat and wrapped in a completely different blanket in the two sets of pictures?

Why was a premature baby with a hole in his heart, and a case of  jaundice, handed around like a little girl's babydoll only hours after his birth?

Why would a woman allow her daughter's boyfriend to sit in the delivery room and hold her newborn baby? (Especially considering this boy had stolen your child's virginity, and you had sent your daughter to live in another town to avoid him?)

In other words, just like most of the new evidence uncovered about Sarah Palin's pregnancy, these pictures actually bring up more questions than they answer.

By the way the pictures came off of Levi's camera, and were supposedly taken by Bristol.  That is essentially all that I know about them.

Your thoughts?

Update: Holy crap!  Where is the tattoo?

A very observant Bree Palin just pointed out that the "Johnston" tattoo that runs up Levi's forearm is not present in the pictures above, yet it is prominently displayed in the picture taken in the Palin's house two weeks after Trig's "birth."

WTF? Okay well fifteen days passed between the pictures taken at the hospital and ones taken on Levi's birthday, so he COULD have made a trip to the tattoo parlor during that time.  But if that is not when he received that tattoo then these pictures tell a far more interesting story than I originally thought they did. (Update: Mercede just sent me a text saying that Levi got that tattoo when he turned eighteen years old.  Which would have been the very day the picture up above was taken. I cannot speak as to WHY his tattoo is not still bandaged however. Mine bled for two days.)

Update 2: Many of you are bringing up THIS picture of Levi wearing the hospital bracelet. So let's address it shall we?

Sadie confirmed long ago that this was a picture of Levi with Tripp, and as you can see he looks significantly different than he does in the Mat-Su Hospital pictures up above. They were definitely NOT taken on the same day.  So let's put that conspiracy to rest.

Finally! Levi's attorney answers charges of rape made in Bristol Palin's book against his client.

Courtesy of Alaska Dispatch:

Johnston attorney Rex Butler disagreed with the part of the story that has Bristol so drunk she didn't know what was happening.

"That's obviously not true,'' he said.

Bristol's book clearly paints her as being "unaware that a sexual act'' was being committed on the night she lost her virginity.

As she tells the story, the last thing she remembers is sitting by a campfire laughing with friends after consuming a lot of wine coolers. The next thing she remembers is waking up in a tent with Levi's empty sleeping bag next to hers and the sound of friends "outside the tent laughing,'' according to the book. She then texts a female friend, who comes to Bristol's tent to inform her she is no longer a virgin.

Butler, one of Alaska's better known criminal attorneys, admitted that if true the story sounds a lot like rape, but he said the story isn't true. And he seemed a little perplexed that Bristol, who had a child with Johnston, would be telling it.

"That's not a good thing for her son to digest on down the road,'' Butler said.

"I don't think anyone would buy that,'' Butler said. The legal bar there is a high one. To prove Bristol's statement malicious, Butler would have to demonstrate she is telling a story she knows to be false. All Bristol would need to demonstrate is that she is telling a story that is true to the best of her recollection.

On the other, if her story is documentable -- if there are witnesses who can support the story as her book indicates -- Johnston could find himself the subject of a rape investigation.

Let me get this straight.  Levi's attorney for these last two years is PERPLEXED that Bristol would lie about Levi?  Has he been unconscious during most of this time?

I KNOW he has sat across from her during depositions.  Didn't he pick up on the fact that there was little she would NOT do to hurt Levi and his family when her attorney was trying to make Merecede cry and telling her to never speak to me again or risk never seeing her nephew again?

Do you know what perplexes me?  Why in the hell it took three days for Levi's legal counsel to finally put out a statement to defend his client against these allegations? He should have sent out a message on DAY ONE telling the media that this was absolute bullshit and threatening legal action against both her and her publisher.

Levi for God's sake, get yourself a REAL attorney who knows what in the hell he is doing, and start fighting back before this family leaves your bleached bones in the middle of a tundra somewhere!

An interesting photo from Frank Bailey's book.

Until today I did not realize that a picture existed of the exact moment that Sarah Palin was e-mailing Frank Bailey in a desperate attempt to find out the name of the person who had just interviewed her.

That person in fact, was ME.

Here is the interview, for those who have never seen it.



What happened next I covered in my post titled The Bloggers and the Barracuda or A funny thing happened on my way to Wasilla.

We finished packing things up, thanked her for the interview, and exited the building to load up the car. After we finished I left Dennis outside with the equipment and went inside to get my friends and tell them that we were ready to hit the road.

When I located them in the sports center one of my friends asked “Did you see her?”
“See who?” I asked warily.

“Sarah Palin! When you left she handed Trig to Piper and charged across the middle of the basketball court in hot pursuit of you guys!”

Uh oh!

As we walked toward the exit we kept our eyes peeled, but did not see any sign of the Governor, so I figured that maybe it was no big deal and that she had given up and decided to rejoin her kids on the basketball court.

However when I climbed into the car I asked Dennis if HE had seen Palin.

“Oh yeah” he said. “She came out with a notebook and wrote down your license plate number.”

Apparently right before she stormed after us she was frantically e-mailing Frank Bailey, which was why moments after we drove away he would call Dennis Zaki's phone and try repeatedly to find out just who had interviewed the Governor. I was still anonymous in those days so he did not get an answer.

For some reason the incident was not mentioned in the book, but there is no doubt that the picture is from that day.

You can read the rest of the story, and discover how I think she DID find out who I was, by clicking the link above.

The Anchorage Daily News links to my Jeremy Morlock story, and undoubtedly earns their place on Sarah Palin's enemies list. Update!

Courtesy of ADN:

Jeremy Morlock, the Washington-based soldier from Wasilla who has pleaded guilty to the murder of Afghan civilians, once sought help from then-Gov. Sarah Palin in getting an Army assignment closer to home. But Morlock, whose family was reportedly acquainted with the Palins, got only an electronically generated email response from the governor's office. Morlock's request was among the huge release of Palin emails last week and was first reported on by Alaska blogger Jesse Griffin.

Well since we know Palin is back in Alaska right now, if any Wasillians are frightened out of their slumber by a banshee like scream, or the sound of canned goods striking refrigerator doors, they will know who to blame.

Sorry?

P.S. This gets even better as it appears that it was the News Tribune in Tacoma that first linked to my post.

Gee I wonder who might follow up on it next?

Update: The Seattle Times is now weighing in as well.  You know folks I think this story might just have legs.

Shailey Tripp had her last court appearance today, and her charges have all been dropped. Now the fun begins.

From Shailey's blog:

My court date went great. The charges were dismissed and that was amazing news for my life.
But now I am free to talk about Todd Palin. What was so special about me and him? Why was my name put with his?

To put it simply Todd Palin along with other people recruit and groom men and women to be prostitutes. These prostitutes are eventually given positions inside a company and used to secure business deals. These business deals often involve obtaining military and government contracts. The people who use the prostitution services are usually in positions of power.

I have witnessed this first hand and am speaking from my own personal experiences.

Some of you have asked me for more information about Shailey, however until today's court appearance she was not terribly comfortable saying things on the record that she had told me in confidence.

Today that all changed.

And by the way, for all of you who keep trying to suggest that Shailey is less than believable, all I have to say is that much of what she has told me was backed up by the court records and e-mails which she shared with me, and that the National Enquirer has consistently expressed total confidence in her story, as well as stating that they polygraphed her multiple times and she passed every one with flying colors.

If she can back up these claims, which she swears she can, this may be just as big of a scandal as babygate.

If they are false, then Sarah and Todd Palin will have no choice but to respond to them.
And just when you thought this summer could not get any better.