Palin's neighbor of three months on Wasilla's Lake Lucille, author Joe McGinniss, is packing his bags and notebooks and leaving Sunday for his home in Massachusetts to write the book he has been researching on the former governor and GOP vice presidential candidate.
His arrival in May made headlines and drew an indignant reaction from Palin and a visit from her husband, Todd. The Palins even tacked an extension onto an 8-foot board fence between the homes, leaving only a part of their second-story home visible from McGinniss' driveway.
Peeping into windows or peering through knotholes was never part of his research, McGinniss said.
"I've been very busy but on Lake Lucille it's been very quiet," he said. "As I told Todd back in May _ he came over to get in my face about moving in there _ I said, 'You're not even going to know I'm there. A lot of the time, I'm not going to be here. And when I am, I mind my own business. I don't care what happens on your side of the fence. That's not why I'm here.'"
And that's how it has played out, McGinniss said.
Joe made a promise and he kept it. The Palin's were understandably suspicious because they did not understand the concept.
From what Joe said during his book signing at Metro Books and Music the hard part of writing a book starts now, the actual writing. I, for one, will have my copy reserved the minute that option becomes available.
I have nothing but the utmost respect for Mr. McGinniss and how he handled the attack from Sarah Palin and her minions. He was a class act all of the way.
Of course in some ways what Sarah Palin did was a huge favor to Joe because it allowed him to experience the true force of Sarah Palin's anger and the vicious response from her horde of Palin-bots:
"What I've learned from that...is very informative and I think is probably a lesson for the American people of the power Palin has to incite hated and her willingness and readiness to do it," he said. "She has pushed a button and unleashed the hounds of hell...And that's the same kind of tactic, and I'm not calling her a Nazi, but that's the same kind of tactic that the Nazi troopers used in Germany in the 30s. And I don't think there is any place for it in America."
Personally I believe his book will be a much more accurate representation of Sarah due to that experience.
By the way please click the AP link as Joe had much more to say that I did not include in this post.
I'm going with crazy meth and other drug cartel is the reason the townsfolk are fearful. Wasn't the Iditerod initially to deliver medicine? Why would you need an Iron Dog Race? Wasn't the Dukes of Hazard about running illegal booze?
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dukes_of_Hazzard
Can't wait for his book!!!!
ReplyDeleteSo here come the tweets crowing about how the Paylins forced him out and don't mess with them any more you nasty old authors!
ReplyDeleteJoe should get battle pay. But as with most things Palin the "sound and fury" usually only lasts a week before Sarah goes on to another psychotic ADD rant.
ReplyDeleteBravo to all those in Wasilla who extended a hand and their hearts to Joe.
Joe.. hurry up and finish book.
ReplyDeleteMost happy the folks up there were willing to talk.
If the way that the Palins greeted McGinniss was the only example of them overreacting, it would be laughable and forgotten.
ReplyDeleteLuckily, the Palins have incredibly thin skin, and they lash out at any perceived joke, criticism, insult or reporting. They respond with name calling and insulting the author instead of presenting clear information regarding the facts. They attack everyone from Letterman to Hawk, from anonymous bloggers to Vanity Fair authors.
They have attacked the writer of the Vanity Fair piece with name calling, but they haven't contradicted one of his claims. Their emotional, immature response to a banner in Homer is another example of the hair-trigger temper of both Todd and Sarah.
For their information, quitting the job as governor is an action that people can criticize. Most politicians don't just quit when it gets a little hard. Even George W. Bush whined, "It's hard work," but he didn't quit.
Can you imagine someone with that level of immaturity being anywhere near the red button, the world stage, meeting world leaders or getting that famous 3 AM telephone call? Gossip is circulating that Sarah will announce that she is running for President on 9/11. With her thin skin, I don't know how she will last the two year brutal campaign where she will be criticized on a daily bases.
The families who lost dear ones on September 11 asked that the day be set aside as a day of remembrance and service. To exploit the deaths of 3,000. people for a political rally and/or announcement is - to use Sarah's own words - a stab to the heart. She and Glenn should be remembering the dead instead of generating hatred against the living.
I like how Joe found the locals all pleasant and nice to be around. Well, most of them.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to the book, Joe.
thx.
agree with nswfm that there has got to be some widespread shady stuff going on in that town to cause so many people to be so sketchy and secretive and paranoid.
ReplyDeletelooking fwd to Joe's book!
- kellygrrrl
Gryphen,
ReplyDeleteIf you have any way of contacting Joe and leaving him a message.... Please ( suggest ) have him get his booking Agent to get him booked on Letterman the first week the book comes out.
It's a natural... because You KNOW there will be a section on Dave in there. The things those two could talk about. The ratings for THAT show would be HUGE!!!
I can see Joe giving Dave his own autographed copy.
So he essentially backs up the recent Vanity Fair piece.
ReplyDeleteShe will surely slip off the deep end here pretty soon; things are really falling apart: Bristol off to a dubious place for a toddler (and who's watching that kid anyway? Some stranger hired for a few months? She take somebody with her on the sly? And how can she take the kid out of Alaska given the parental visiting rights for his father?), the clothes and pose Bristol showed off must gall her, Levi's on the loose again, several pieces written recently are very unfavorable and all agree, and so on.
Anybody know where she stashed Trig? She certainly doesn't encumber herself with him now that he's out of the baby stage. That kid got the Granddaddy of bum raps; I still don't see how she lives with herself after the kind of abuse she heaped (heaps?)on that helpless little human. For one thing she thinks of him as retarded or she wouldn't have gone ballistic over the word itself (wonder if she's yet familiar with the term "developmentally delayed"?), and it may very well be that he's not so disabled as she'd love him to be. She thinks he'll never know how he was treated as a infant. Huh. He wouldn't be the first to take his parents to task for such....
I will be signing up for his book as well. I hope he handles it as he did prior, cutting nothing out to save Palin's image, just giving us the context of how she rose to power, how she stays in power, and where she might go from here (I personally have a couple of precise suggestions, but they are not polite so I will not mention them here.)
ReplyDeleteUnderstanding the rise of such hate is important. Understanding the process of how she can continue to generate such hate and such adoration is important. Trying to get insights into why she is so vengeful and turns on people who have helped her get where she is may save someone else a lot of heartache and prevent another state and national tragedy.
think Tawd will take down the fence now that Joes gone?
ReplyDeleteI hope the owner rents it to another reporter...bwwahahahahha
Hey Gryphen, congrats on your blog's mention in the Vanity Fair article on Palin.
ReplyDeleteWhooooot!
Everything I've read about Joe McGinnis makes me believe that he's a gentleman and a scholar which just adds to the Palins' despising him; they simply can't relate to either of those attributes.
ReplyDeleteUndercurrent of fear
ReplyDeleteJoe got a taste when Todd invited himself over for a quick neighborly introduction, followed, of course, by the local newspaper (?) warning Joe of the possibility of being shot!
The rich always have an innate ability to intimidate-just recently, Palin's lawyer was attempting to intimidate the Murkowski campaign.
Joe McGinniss: "People _ I don't know if they're afraid of shadows or whether there's something real there _ she's no longer in a position of governmental influence but there are people up there who are scared to death to talk ..."
ReplyDeleteI'm disappointed Joe didn't learn the reason for the fear. It wouldn't come from nowhere. It sounds like he didn't talk to anyone who was victimized.
Sarah can breathe a bit easier.
It also seems strange that he doesn't think she wields quasi-political power through her political appointees still in their jobs and a Governor who owes her for his position, not to mention personal power.
I wish him luck writing the book. I hope it will shed enough light to help our country get on a road to reasonable and qualified candidates and kick the unqualified ones to the curb.
Gryphen - Is there any chance you can let us know whether McGinniss has seen the 'ear' photos or if he was at all interested in the strange pregnancy? I don't see how he can avoid talking about how the Trig-factor.
The article is dated June 1, 2010. It was written just as Joe arrived in Wasilla.
ReplyDeleteBy now he has probably learned the reasons why "people are scared to death to talk".
Remember all the guards that Sarah took on her book tour. That was probably a combination of paranoia and a desire to look more important than she is.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I hope Joe's publisher will budget in guards for his tour on this Palin book. That would not be paranoid, it would be sensible. We all know what her trolls are like. If he does find and publish juicy tidbits about her, he will need protection because Sarah's minions are not only ignorant but violent-minded.
Take care, Mr. McGinnis. The truth is always dangerous to those that it exposes. Sarah will be very nervous over the new several months - as she should be. Even if you were not able to find or willing to discuss a darker side to the Palins, I bet they will fear that you have or will.
I am signing up for the book when it's feasible and asking area libraries to buy it as well. Right now, all they stock are pro-Palin books, saying there aren't any others (yeah, right).
Hey Gryphen,
ReplyDeleteAny plans up there for a protest at this curious 9/11 sarah and crazy Glenn beck have planned????
It is in a contained venue, so would be much easier to protest than on a big campus or open park area.
Here's the article that Gryphen links and that I quoted above:
ReplyDeleteAP Interview: Author leaving home next to Palins
September 4, 2010 - 2:37pm
By DAN JOLING
Associated Press Writer
Now that the rental property is again available, perhaps the National Enq. might be interested in holiday stay in AK!
ReplyDeleteI hope Joe gets his book out before the other candidates running for President leak the damning information on Sarah.
ReplyDeleteRepublicans are very good at sifting through details to paralyze a democratic candidate.
In Texas sometimes they pose as FBI agents or use their power to intimidate and use other illegal methods.
Who will publish first?The race is on.Whoever gets it out first gets credit and the others lose.
I am sitting back with a cold beer.
Gryphen-- Lots of things have gone on here in the past two weeks and they will continue. But two things are top of mind: How's the diet going? And most importantly, how are things with your daughter coming back home to Alaska?
ReplyDeletedsmyre, I don't now what article you read that was "dated June 1, 2010."
ReplyDeleteBut, the article linked from Gryphen's post is Sept. 4, 2010.
May no harm some to Mr. McGinniss as he continues his journey of paving the path for all to learn the truth.
ReplyDeleteMay God protect and provide for him against those who would wish or do him moral or mortal injury.
May God offer his greatest shield from those elements in our society who choose to bear false witness against or beckon evil to dwell in his presence.
Protect our proponents of truth -- (especially the hardest working blogger in the blogosphere.)
My most sincere and heartfelt thoughts are with you Gryphen and Mr. McGinniss.
I'm looking forward to reading Joe McGinnis and Geoffrey Dunn's books. I truly hope they have some damaging information on the Palins. Palin has damaged our country long enough. I'm so sick of her divisiveness and hatred. She is pure evil. There is nothing Godly like about her. For those who believe she is, are hopeless lost souls wondering around in the dark.
ReplyDeleteOur corporate owned media has done a piss poor job in calling Palin out and it is sickening.
Thanks to bloggers like you Gryphen and others who have the courage to call Palin out on her BS. Hopefully Joe and Geoffrey are the tickets in bringing this woman down.
My feelings towards Palin have nothing to do with political parties. I love my country and since this woman was introduced to us, this country have become divisive. It is time to put an end to this nightmare for the good of our country.
Joe McGinniss brought up an interesting and foreboding comparison of Palin's Tea Bag speeches. Anyone who has studied WWII knows that Hitler was one of the most dynamic speakers in history. He had captive audiences, members of the "master race." Oddly enough, Palin's audiences bear a striking resemblance to Hitler's, just a bit older. See many Jews, minorities or gays in Palin's audience?
ReplyDeleteAha...someone ELSE has noticed the Hitler/Nazi situation!
ReplyDeleteIt is so ironic that we have to look at so many lame picket signs depicting OBAMA as Hitler. Typically, it shows the immense ignorance of the sign holder.
The Nazis were not "socialists" looking to make the plight of the common man in Germany more tolerable, introducing reform measures, as the Democrats are "guilty" of doing, today.
No, it was a cabal of extreme, right wing religious nuts, extolling hatred of Jews and others who had "ruined" the German economy.
Just as we see hatred being fostered against blacks, gays, Mexicans, the unemployed, the well educated, and virtually anyone other than those who fit the ideal of what they laughingly call themselves: "Real Americans"--the Nazis used the same "Boogeyman" tactics, to scare the easily duped population into becoming the most evil empire in history.
Look in the mirror, Teabaggers: its YOU wearing the silly little mustache and the black armband...trying your best to ruin America.
Wonder if his book will get the same negative reaction from the 'lamestream media' that the recent Vanity Fair article received? Even people who don't like Palin trashed Gross's article as being a poorly sourced hit piece. I had no problem believing his description of bizarre behavior, chaos and inappropriate rages, because I have a sister who has borderline personality disorder and it described her to a 'T.' She, like Palin, also has the ability to look pretty good in public and keep her more insane urges hidden, so people outside of our family have no idea how whacked out her version of reality is.
ReplyDeleteThe fourth estate is in pretty bad shape when a publication outlining disturbing info about a public figure provokes a 'we can't follow up on that--it's just too weird and therefore can't be true' reaction in our courageous media, instead of making them rush out headlong to investigate and determine the facts. I can guarantee you that if Palin has BPD or NPD or both, the behaviors described in Gross's article were classic and not even particularly extreme. The MSM is essentially providing her with cover and may help elevate a woman who should not even be in charge of her own children to a position of decision making for the entire country. One wonders what it will take to finally expose her?
I can't wait for this book - and I agree with another poster that Joe is a gentleman and a scholar... the Palins don't have the class to relate to that. And to think I initially was cheering her on in the fall of 2008. Wow, what was I thinking. I guess I wasn't!
ReplyDelete