Despite widespread rumors to the contrary, Bristol Palin will not be attending the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University.
It is true that Bristol, the eldest daughter of Sarah Palin, recently purchased a home in Maricopa, the outlying Valley suburb in Pinal County.
Exactly why she purchased the home - investment? quiet winter getaway? - remains such a mystery, that apparently rumors were necessary to make sense of it all.
So TMZ.com reported that Bristol was "telling friends" that she may enroll at an Arizona college. And because Maricopa is "just miles" from the Cronkite School, the website connected the dots and reported that Bristol would soon be a Sun Devil.
The problem, of course, is that it was never the case.
"She is not a student. She hasn't applied. It is pure fiction," the dean of the Cronkite School, Chris Callahan, said Tuesday morning. "If anybody had called and asked me that, we would have been glad to tell them."
Of all of the rumors swirling about this home purchase (And seriously when was the last time you saw so much speculation?), THIS one was the least believable.
Let's face it, the Palins do not work hard nor study hard. Bristol would be more likely to start smuggling illegals over the border than to start attending a real a college, that expected you to show up to class and study hard to pass the classes, and where her mother could not buy her diploma for her.
I am going to respect the wishes of my visitors and try to be a little more charitable toward Arizona. I realize I was a smidge harsh in my last post.
Actually my father was raised in Arizona, and even went back when I was a boy and worked as a sheriff's deputy there in the late sixties. And yes he hated the place.
My problem is not really with Arizona, but rather with the idea of taking this Alaskan child out of a place where he is surrounded by fresh air, gorgeous scenery, and ever present wildlife and putting him in a place where the temperatures can be in the hundreds and there is hardly a green living thing in sight.
Update: More bad news about Maricopa. And even more.
Look I know Alaska is far from perfect, and Wasilla even less so, but seriously?
Maybe Bristol & Willow will move to AZ. Believing themselves out of the public eye to have their kids!!
ReplyDeleteMight want to check with the local hardware store for the sale of readymade 14 foot fence panels to be constructed by Toad & his Sheriff pal (the giver of pink handcuffs!) to provide the privacy for the girls to 'expand' - if you know what I mean!!! LOL
I'm from a very beautiful green place in CA on the ocean, but I love Alaska, because of the abundance of fresh air and clean never diminished supply of drinking water. Yes, mountains, lakes, wildlife, scenery, too. Arizona is too desert-y for me, and I think it would be a barren place to live year-round... for me.. hot weather is oppressive, but cold weather is refreshing.. to each his own, I guess...
ReplyDeleteHyperbole is fine, but temperatures in the "hundreds?" Maybe consistently over 100 for weeks on end, but probably not in the "hundreds."
ReplyDeleteThere are green plants in AZ, Gryphen, but they often are in softer shades of sage, and bluish-gray. Cactus are plants and are usually some shade of green thought it wouldn't always appear so to those used to more temperature climates. Plus, there are miniature plants often difficult for the casual observer to note. Lots of creatures - many nocturnal.
That said, I agree, it takes a special mindset to appreciate arid landscapes. For someone acclimated to the sometimes lush and often rugged scenery in AK, it would appear barren wasteland - particularly when viewed through sweat rolling off one's brow.
It had to be a political choice or a social choice (birds of a feather meaning the Tea Party mentality) for any of the Palins to select AZ.
Furthermore, I agree that Tripp should not (and perhaps cannot) be taken from AK without the agreement of Levi. Why on earth would he agree to that? Poor judgment, poor advice or just doesn't give a damn. Too bad on any reason.
I do not know Arizona very well to comment on it as a whole,
ReplyDeletebut there are TWO things in Arizona that know that I DO NOT LIKE and never will: Senator John McCain and Governor Jan Brewer
As you know, I have lived in Alaska for just shy of 30 years, nearly 29 of those in Wasilla and I have been fortunate to be able to travel into all regions of this state. I love this place like no other.
ReplyDeleteBut, if fate somehow fell hard upon me and placed a condition that said that I could no longer live in Alaska, but could pick any other state of my choosing, then it would be Arizona, where there is fresh air, gorgeous scenery and abundant wildlife. the only thing that might stop me is that Arizona does not have an ocean.
But Arizona is a wonderful place, marvelous and beautiful. As brutal as it can be, temperatures in the 120's are wonderful and magic in their own right, just as are temps in the -60's. Yes, I have been fortunate enough to experience both in the respective states.
"My problem is not really with Arizona, but rather with the idea of taking this Alaskan child out of a place where he is surrounded by fresh air, gorgeous scenery, and ever present wildlife and putting him in a place where the temperatures can be in the hundreds and there is hardly a green living thing in sight."
The only place I care about seeing the Palins in Arizona is Yuma.
ReplyDeleteRick
If Levi wanted to have Tripp he would have found an avenue to be more vocal in his attempt to procure custody. He has been in the spotlight more than a few times and has not stood up and said "I want to have custody of my son". Perhaps he doesn't, not every 20 year old wants to be a Dad. The Palins put him out there as the Baby Daddy on the campaign trail for posterity sake; to legitimize a teenage pregnancy, one that they used to insure that the country could believe that Sarah Palin birthed Trig, instead of her daughter.
ReplyDeleteIf Levi is moving on, so be it, I hope that he has reduced the amount of child support that he has to pay, and I also hope that he was smart enough to get a DNA test. If he was too stupid to do either, well, he was certainly played by the Palin clan and he deserves whatever he gets. You cannot convince me that his family did not give him even this basic advice regarding his paternity and his rights.
JMO, but I think Sarah had a hand in this and gave Bristol the money to buy it and have it in her name rather than Sarahs. What does Bristol need with a house that big? While Sarah, her eunuch Toad, Willow the empty house vandalizer and the other two political prop kids would find a house that size quite handy to have. Especially in a State that is just as dysfunctional as the Palin herd is.
ReplyDeleteBecause of the census, AZ is getting a new US House district right where Bristol bought her new place. Lower Maricopa and part of Pinal counties.
ReplyDeleteI lived in Phoenix years ago. We actually had green grass and 11 grapefruit trees in our yards--lots of Palm trees and pomegranates, too. I thought it was pretty. It was over 40 years ago.
ReplyDeleteI think all the states have good things about them. Alaska does appear to be beautiful but for me, healthwise, it would be too cold.
Maybe Bristol will rent out her house to VanFlea.
There is plenty of hypocrisy involved in Bristol moving to Arizona, especially to a remote, poorly developed place like Maricopa.
ReplyDeleteSarah has created an identity, a "brand," based on Alaska. She featured all of her family in her TLC videos. Just as it would be an embarrassment for Bristol, the abstinence spokesperson, to have another baby, it is equally embarrassing for Sarah's daughter to turn her back on Alaska. (There is also the rumor that Sarah, the famous Alaskan, is looking for a place in Arizona. Plenty of hypocrisy).
There is also that tacky business of leaving the state and taking Tripp away from his father. There should have been custody hearings. Sarah is supposed to stand for family values, yet she seems bent on keeping Levi away from Tripp.
We just saw Bristol basking in the attention of DWTS, photographers and endless TV reports. What a celebrity! The place for a celebrity is LA, so hiding away in isolated Maricopa is strange, unless Bristol is hiding something.
Arizona has some stunning scenery: The Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, Sedona, Oak Creek Canyon. I have enjoyed visiting the Navajo and Hopi Reservations, the ghost town of Jerome, now a revived place filled with art and antique shops. There are historic places that speak of the Pueblo Ancestors of today's Pueblo Indians such as the Chaco Canyon and Canyon de Chelly. People love the recreational area of Lake Mead. I can't wait to see Bristol and Sarah go sight seeing all over Arizona.
If Bristol isn't pregnant in that photo, then I'm a monkey's uncle.
ReplyDeleteNow, c'mon anonymous at 6:43. Of course, Gryphen meant in the one hundreds for temperatures in Maricopa.
ReplyDeleteHere is a link to the temps in the Phoenix area: National Weather Service. There you can read how oppressively hot it can be for most of the summer:
"Greatest number of days with maximum temperatures of 100 or higher: 143 in 1989
Greatest number of consecutive days with maximum temperatures of 100 or higher: 76 in 1993."
Little Tripp won't get to play outside very much, not only because of the culture of isolation in such neighborhoods, but also because of the heat.
I get it, Gryphen. It is sick and wrong to separate a parent from their child. The emotional damage being done to these children may never be healed. That is the tragedy. It is understandable that you would "hate" AZ for that reason alone, as it brings up bad memories for you and because you know what is going to happen in Tripp's life. It is a train wreck you cannot stop.
Wretched.
My preferred place for the Phalins would not be Yuma. It would be Florence, location of the state prison, preferably as long term residents.
P. S. Republicans are driving out us liberal Tucson residents and are taking over, trying to turn Tucson into a Phoenix suburb. They might succeed, but I hope not. So far, they run everything and we try to ignore them. We all know that's not gonna work for long. The only thing keeping me here is my old adobe house, the quail, the rabbits, the hawks, the cacti, and the prickly pear fruit. The land is the best part of AZ.
I have to go to Arizona on Thursday to visit my in-laws. You are depressing me.
ReplyDeleteI just had a thought, maybe Bristol(Sarah) bought the house so Bristol could go down there, hide out and have a very quiet abortion. Then show up slim and trim and tell everyone that she has been working out!
ReplyDeleteGryphen wrote:
ReplyDelete"My problem is not really with Arizona, but rather with the idea of taking this Alaskan child out of a place where he is surrounded by fresh air, gorgeous scenery, and ever present wildlife and putting him in a place where the temperatures can be in the hundreds and there is hardly a green living thing in sight."
Temperatures in triple digits are no worse than temperatures in single digits or below. If anything it's easier to play and survive at the higher end of the scale.
While it isn't as green as many places in AK, or my personal favorite the Pacific Northwest, even the desert has lots of green. In that area you'll find a lot of cactus and Palo Verde, to name just two. Both are very green.
There's also a lot of wildlife in that area. Hell, in Tucson there are coyotes and bobcats living in the middle of the city. In the Catalina mountains that define the north side of town cougars prey on deer and smaller animals. Out there black bear are common too. When you get up around Flagstaff you'll see lots of trees and elk all over the place.
As far as small kids are concerned Maricopa is no worse than Wasilla. It isn't until their horizons start expanding beyond their home and their immediate neighborhood that it makes a difference. By then I expect the Palins will have been long gone from Maricopa. The one exception that I would note is the sand storms in that area. As someone else noted it's humorous for those of us living in nicer parts of AZ to see the Palins get conned like this.
I'm not saying that one is better or worse than the other, but here's something else to consider when talking about the differences between the two states. In the last ten years AZ has grown by more than twice the total population of AK. That growth has been one of the defining characteristics of this area.
If the Palins stick around for any length of time you're going to have to make a visit down here so you can get over some of your misconceptions. I'm sure there are a lot of us who would be thrilled to host you.
I have to say that I feel your dissing of AZ is way over the top and showing a shocking narrowness in your viewpoint. Alaska is, to be sure, a gloriously beautiful place. I lived there for 25 years and understand your feelings about the magnificent scenery. However, it does have its down side. Winters are long, dark and cold. Breakup is a bitch. In a bad summer it can be overcast for days on end and hordes of mosquitoes that make being out of doors quite unpleasant.
ReplyDeleteSince leaving AK I spent 20 years in the northwest which has its own beauty. Spectacular coastline, gorgeous snowcapped mountains (albeit volcanic) lush valleys and magnificent forests. Every climatic region of North America is represented within the borders of WA.
I now live in AZ and the desert scenery is equally magnificent with saguaro cactus dotting the landscape and rugged mountains etched in the background. In less than an hour we can be in pristine ponderosa pine forests interlaced with verdant prairies and ice blue lakes. Of course, there is also the Grand Canyon.
Maricopa would not be my choice, but it is a nice small town with some very nice new subdivisions. It is surrounded by lush farmland with beautiful mountains as a backdrop. Yes, the houses are stucco - it is what is done in the southwest, and, yes, these are new subdivisions built out in a year or so, but I fail to see the negative value you ascribe to this choice of housing style. As I recall the pictures of your home, you live in a typical Alaskan subdivision with a multitude of similarly styled houses, all clad in 2-111. How is that different than the housing in AZ?
You know perfectly well that many people dislike living in AK as much as you do (and I did), but we understand that AK has its drawbacks and respect that it isn't for everyone. The same is true for the many different regions of our beautiful nation. I wouldn't choose to live in many of them, but I respect that for others it is nirvana.
Please examine your motives in speaking so harshly about other areas of the country which have their own special beauty. Your petulance reflects badly on you.
Maybe Bristol (Sarah) bought the house so she could go there and hide and have an abortion. Then she could be re-born as slim and trim and tell all that she has been working out!
ReplyDeleteI thought Levin was a brilliant lawyer showman that verified every thing. He didn't bother to call the college? Because he was going with VF crap?
ReplyDeleteEveryone is concentrating on this house. But the Palin's have been quiet for days. Since they "deflect" so much, it might make one wonder what is really going on that is obscured by this story.
ReplyDelete"We can't have a fish-picker raised in Arizona!" --no, wait, never mind.
ReplyDeleteMy beef with Arizona is that the state has FAR too many people who think and act just like that wrinkled old bitch Jan Brewer. Brewer seems to think that Arizona would be just SO much better if everyone would quit speakin’ Spanish and if all of them brown folks would just go back to Mexico. If you could get rid of all the Archie Bunker types that have flocked to Arizona since the days of Goldwater, the place wouldn’t be half bad. It’d still be hotter than hell, but at least the nativist buffoons would be gone.
ReplyDeleteSeriously, here in New Mexico, we don’t have the tight ass hang-ups about folks without documentation like they do in AZ. I’ve tried to figure it out, and best as I can come up with it’s because NM Anglos are more bilingual here. You get folks with Hispanic names that can trace their ancestry back 15 generations to the original Conquistadors who don’t speak Spanish and Anglos who do. We’re far more tolerant and aware of other cultures here and more likely to take part in a respectful way in the traditions of others. In Arizona the gringos are going batshit and we’re just doin’ fine here in NM.
I think it’s the heat. Those pasty white rednecks in AZ just can’t take the unrelenting 6 months of blast furnace HOT that you get there. They have their Kentucky bluegrass lawns - HELLO, IT’S THE FUCKING DESERT - their pools, and their undocumented workers to take care of the same and they STILL talk trash about the browns.
Until they repeal 1070, I say FUCK ARIZONA and the horse they rode in on. They can just bake in their own juices and watch Jan Brewer’s face continue to wrinkle like a raisin in the sun. I’ve already cancelled trips there.
Ya’ll want to see a state that’s just as nice - maybe even nicer - come on down to New Mexico. It ain’t anywhere near as hot, we’ve got far fewer Jan Brewer types, we’ve got loads of skiing in the winter, our Northern New Mexico food is pretty damn good, we’ve got art and culture coming out of our ass, and we’re probably more fun anyway.
Pass the green chili, por favor.
I used to live in Tucson and it still makes me tear up that I had to leave. Coming from a state where green lawns were the norm, it was odd to see what looked like unfinished yards. Surprisingly, I came to love the desert landscapes and now, back in my "home state," see lawns as a terrible waste of water.
ReplyDeleteI miss seeing the mountains as I drove about town and I miss hiking Sabino Canyon and driving up to Mt. Lemon for some cool air and pie. I even miss the mix of new and rundown. The town had character.
By the way, I don't believe Bristol will ever live in the Maricopa house.
Hey Gryph, wtg, limiting scorn to the boonie trash town of Maricopa is a far cry the original disparaging of the state's natural wonders. The variety is matched only by CA, imho.
ReplyDeleteAmazing how many ppl seem to think AZ is all desert when there's so much forest & mountains.
tm
P.S. Much of suburban Phx does have grass lawns.
I think Bristol bought that house for Levi & co. to live in when they come for extended visits w/ Tripp--to make up for taking him out of state. He'll never get a moment's peace since the press have the address--and isn't that what they really want for Levi? To harass the shit out of him for the next 50 years? Also, too--doesn't his dad (Keith) live just 20 miles or so up the road in AZ??
ReplyDeleteJust a working theory.
She's losing audience every week...
ReplyDeleteWell outside the top 25, Sarah Palin’s Alaska averaged 2.49 million viewers, down from the previous week’s 2.56 million.
http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2010/12/28/
cable-top-25-nfl-toy-story-the-closer-wwe-
raw-top-weeks-cable-viewing/76775
Gasman, are you near Albuquerque by chance? Your comments have me intrigued.
ReplyDeleteGyphen lives in Anchorage which isn't really living in Alaska. Most people that live in Anchorage have been no further than Alyeska sking or to Palmer for the state fair. Most could not even tell you where Copper Center or Valdez or Nininilchik are. there are two different Alaska', Anchorage and the rest.
ReplyDeleteThanks for toning it down about Arizona. This (now exiled) AZ native was getting a little worked up, even if the pesudo-Mediterranean architecture is a hokey and the city of Maricopa is a hill-billy redneck mecca.
ReplyDelete@ 9:02
ReplyDeleteI like your working theory. My other theory was it's the "Let's Play House" house for her, Gino and the new baby. I don't think Bristol will live there. Doesn't make sense.
Anon @ 8:59
ReplyDeleteTucson is a great town. Your comment about pie on the Lemmon made me smile :)
Maricopa - Anyone seen Raising Arizona (set in Maricopa)? Raising Tripp will be the second funniest trailer trash comedy of all time.
ReplyDeleteMaybe she's working her way around the country alphabetically. Next stop: Bentonville! (Home of Wal-Mart :)
ReplyDeleteDoes anybody else think that maybe someone is establishing residency in the land of the Senile Old Dude, so someone could take over his seat when they are able to talk him down? Also too did Bristle look like she lost any "scarves" while she was touring the world with Mommy and Aunt Gretl? Cuz I had a theory...
ReplyDeleteAgree. No flippin way Bristol has applied for broadcasting school! And I too beleive this purchase is a cheap smokescreen. She could be delivering somewhere out of the country and will come home with a 'adoptive' kid?
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone have a link to the Arizona MLS?
ReplyDeleteThanks
Anon @ 9:32,
ReplyDeleteABQ is too damn hot for me. Too much like AZ or Texas without the humidity. I'm up in the mountains where it's cool and comfortable in the summer. NM is so much more progressive, even if we were dumb enough to elect a GOP goober as Gov.
She's one of them global warming deniers. Funny how she didn't say that when she came up here and visited all the Ph.D.s here in Los Alamos. They'd laugh at her.
We might even get enough snow in the next couple of days that I can use my new snow shoes. Yippee!
Anon @ 9:38 said;
ReplyDelete"Gyphen lives in Anchorage which isn't really living in Alaska. Most people that live in Anchorage have been no further than Alyeska sking or to Palmer for the state fair. Most could not even tell you where Copper Center or Valdez or Nininilchik are. there are two different Alaska', Anchorage and the rest."
I beg to differ. I've lived in Anchorage for 47 years, and just got home from skiing the Hillside Trails at 2 degrees above zero. Why is that not "really living in Alaska"?
I've also traveled from Prudhoe Bay to Ketchikan, and many points in-between. I've spent summers in Katmai National Monument, Lake Louise, and Kennicott, hiked many a trail from Ressurection to the Chilkoot, mined for gold in Nome, biked Kodiak, crossed the Gulf of Alaska twice in the middle of hellacious storms, worked in canneries and fancy fishing lodges, flown all over the Bush in a Piper PA-11, and currently call Seldovia my summer get-away. But Anchorage has always been "home", and I don't find it any less Alaskan than any other place in this state.
There are many places in Arizona which are quite beautiful, but Gryphen is right, Maricopa sure ain't one of 'em.
I am extremely puzzled as to why anyone in the Palin family would purchase a home in Maricopa. If they are doing it for Sarah's career, it seems chintzy and out of the thick of things. If it's to hide an awkward pregnancy, wouldn't a big city be easier to get lost in?
Of course the Palin's have always had extremely tacky taste, but still, this purchase just doesn't make any sense. Unless of course, someone might want to run for that newly created congressional seat?
There is a prison in Maricopa, maybe someone plans to have to visit someone frequently? Why else would a family who is quite wealthy approx. 20-25 million buy some nasty track house in the middle of a desert?
ReplyDeleteDamn dude.....So you're not a desert dog....
ReplyDeleteI grew up in San Diego, and miss those days when the weather was hot & dry.
As for the stucco houses....Do you know how many houses are stucco in the southwest? That material makes much more sense than wood siding....
The problem with all those bubble communities in Nevada and Arizona, though, is there is only one source of water for the entire region: the colorado river. It's not like people can start drilling wells or anything......
But back to the desert----I was all set to invite you to crew for me, in about five years, when I ran the Badwater 135. But I don't think I'm going to invite you now, the way you talk bad about desert conditions......!
For shame, sir.
Yes we got it already!! Maricopa is icky! Frankly it's sad because it's the epicenter of the housing crisis. People who dreamed of homes bought one there and now are screwed.
ReplyDeleteSomething about this is hitting you way way too personally though. Who cares where they go? I mean how many posts have you made about this?? Do you think Levi really cares? He isn't you, so stop projecting and move on. This is strange already. Aren't there more important things to write about?? We get it!! Maricopa sucks and why would Bristol go there?? Boring!!! In a year or two no one will care about Sarah or her brood.
Gasman, maybe you should keep your "tolerant" views to yourself, because imo you're ridiculously racist. FYI Gringo is not a welcome term any more than Spic is. And insinuating that pasty white (is that a variation on lilly white?) is inferior to brown skin is also offensive.
ReplyDeleteBTW, it's really hypocritical in general for people to turn their nose up at the white, english-speaking conquerors who settled america, yet trumpet the brown, spanish-speaking population as holding some sort of higher moral ground. They call it spanish because the land was brutally conquered by Spain! Both Spain and England had marauding armies and that's why we speak both languages here. We don't speak Mandarin or Farsi, or any number of other languages around the globe because those armies did not arrive on our shores. So, unless you're indigenous, with no spanish or english ancestry in your blood, and you only speak ancient aztec languages, indian languages or something similar.....then you should shut your fat mouth.
Just how I feel about it. And I'm liberal, a democrat, a woman, gay, and white, fyi. Thought I'd declare that before you start trying to compare me to John McCain, as an excuse for your bigotry.
Anon@7:21 PM. There is the answer to why BP bought the house she is not going to live in. Old bear behind it.
ReplyDeleteIn Florida we're blessed (or cursed) with a lot of water and rain, and humidity, so it would be a change for me to live in Arizona, which is arid. However I have come across several people here who relocated to AZ during the housing boom. We saw it as a place with a lot of land, booming, where you can buy more affordable property than here (because much of Florida has become too expensive). Plus it's warm like here, so it's not like moving to the north, which is cold, and the west (Cali) which is crowded. That was before the crash, but even still, housing here is high and rents are through the roof. I live in a one bedroom, yes one bedroom for over 1 grand a month, with few amenities.
ReplyDeletewhoa, So you think people should remain living where they were born? Thats exactly what you just said. Moving is good for the soul and he's young enough to handle it. The Palins are not leaving AK permanently but there's certainly nothing wrong with having another home outside your home state. AZ is big with AKans as recently discovered. It's a wonderful state.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was 22, I rode from San Diego, CA through the state of AZ on my way back home to NC.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was the most barren place I'd ever seen. I've never wanted to visit it again, and certainly wouldn't want to live there--not after living in this green, lush part of NC for decades.
Never believed the college story. Face it, none of the Palins are college material.
ReplyDeleteMy problem is not really with Arizona, but rather with the idea of taking this Alaskan child out of a place where he is surrounded by fresh air, gorgeous scenery, and ever present wildlife and putting him in a place where the temperatures can be in the hundreds and there is hardly a green living thing in sight.
ReplyDeleteYou are still being offensive. Yes, Maricopa is no great shakes, but Arizona as a whole has much in the way of natural beauty. I've spent many years there, both in the northern and southern parts of the state. Quit knocking Arizona.
Gryphen,
ReplyDeleteInteresting article at the Media Insider Group this morning about blackmail and the paylins. Check it out. Wondering what you think about that site and if we should believe the content?
I was already boycotting AZ, but now I have another reason never to go there.
ReplyDeleteI love the desert, so I really would have gone there before Jan Brewer and her racist band.
This is more than just Bristol buying a house and moving to Arizona. Sarah is making herself a basecamp in the lower 48 in preparation for campaigning for president, or if that doesn't work out, possibly for a future senate run. She knows she doesn't have enough support in AK to run for any public office, so she needs to establish herself somewhere else. Maybe she's thinking if she can't be president, she could take over McCain's senate seat when he retires.
ReplyDeleteBut if Bristol thinks she's going into hiding in Maricopa, she'd better think again. The media will be watching just as much, if not more. She's not moving to the Sahara Desert. And in case she's not aware...Arizona is part of the United States.
And yes, Arizona does have wildlife. Along with the deer, cougars and bears, there are rattlesnakes, tarantulas and scorpians. I hope Bristol's nanny keeps watch on little Tripp when he's outside playing. I read somewhere about the large number of people who are treated in Arizona ERs for scorpian bites each year. My husband lived in southern Arizona before we met, and he talked about always shaking his shoes upside down before putting them on in case a scorpion was in one. No thanks!
Gryphen, It would be ironic if you have given a new TV series a fab title with your label " AK SP Sees AZ For The First Time"! Be prepared!!!
ReplyDeleteSP & horde "visit" Bristol and after that they get to see some of the wonders of the state that anon @ 7:42 enumerates. I do not think the Navajo and Hopi Nations have much to worry about being inconvenienced by her. She obviously "does not do" native lands.
I agree with another poster that it takes wide-open eyes to appreciate the desert in its many forms. Many decades ago I left Germany for Delhi (India) and originally was unhappy about the landscape... until I opened my eyes to the hidden beauties. Same for the Southwest. Be Adventurous and Learn!
We are creatures of habit: Retirees move to Florida from large northern cities, love the warmth and landscaped developments. Yet, at the first dropping of leaves from live and water oaks onto their patios they petition the Condo Boards to cut them down. Squirrels? Trap them! Fear of Nature at its "finest".
All of Nature is awe inspiring, once one is willing to accept change in one's surroundings.
Alaska is a unique and beautiful State. It's a great place to visit and then leave.
ReplyDeleteIn my five trips to Alaska I've never come across scum like you.
Where do they hide you?
Gryphen... you stirred up a hornets' nest with your comments about AZ, and you deserve the chiding.
ReplyDeletePlease take our dissent in the spirit it is given and should you have a chance, travel the Southwest, away from the overpopulated centers. Drive down the ALCAN Highway and just keep going. You will be amazed by the variety of the landscape and the beauty of it all. Yes, some of it is harsh, but so is much of Alaska.
Anon 8:05 said, "Then show up slim and trim and tell everyone that she has been working out!"
ReplyDeleteAnon, I think she is saving up the fat to try to get a weightloss product endorsement ( cause thats how they roll). Who would be surprised to hear they approached Jenny Craig or Weight Watchers? I'm sure she would accept 6 figures to live off of beer and Jenny Craig food (temporarily).
Huh? You mean you can't go into your back yard in Anchorage and pick a fresh grapefruit for breakfast? You can't watch the breeezes rustling thru the palms? You can't take a refreshing dip in your backyard pool? Geez, living in Alaska must really SUCK!
ReplyDeleteIt does seem odd the location and address of this house was public after the secrecy of the purchase of Bristol's condo in Anchorage.
ReplyDeleteThe only known fact is that this house was purchased in Bristol's name and Todd spent time with the mayor.There has been a meme running since DWTS about being "hardest working" and a single mom who raises her child all alone without any support including financial support.
I her and detect veiled resentment and milking sympathy for the consequences of having a child or choosing to keep a child e.g. poor Bristol had a cold ride to the babysitters. I think how many parents married or single do that void of playing the sympathy card.
The more the Palins gain and money they acquire playing victim (recall Bristol was a Golden child so Levi is all the fault) it becomes increasingly loathsome and nauseating they pretend they are poor, "struggle to get by" and family is such a burden as these two women spend less and less time with their children. There is a huge discrepancy of reality and what the Palins want people to believe.
Maybe Bristol plans on running for Sheriff...
ReplyDeletehttp://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2010/11/01/20101101maricopa-county-joe-arpaio-payroll-investigation.html
Anon 8:28 said, "Everyone is concentrating on this house. But the Palin's have been quiet for days. Since they "deflect" so much, it might make one wonder what is really going on that is obscured by this story."
ReplyDelete$Paylin has been taking a horrible pounding in the media for the last few days. Every hour a news caster does the story on how low she is in the polls, present and past, and how she is basically unelectable. Concurrently, they occasionally mention the story of Joe Miller being handed his ass for the nth time. For anyone to present proof of a pregnant daughter would be a stake in the heart of our favorite vampire queen. If Bristle (or Willow) is pregnant I'm sure the republican establishment has the proof and is probably in negotiations with the worst mother in public life as we write these words. I'm sure they will give her an offer she can't refuse. She will agree to pretend to run (for financial purposes) but not actually do it and they will salvage her reputation for the future. If she "goes rogue" and tries to take it all the way, they'll crush her. She could use a bit of humbling, imo.
What's weird is not a peep from Palin all week.
ReplyDelete2:25, you are way off base. You have seriously missed Gasman's point. Holy Cow.
ReplyDeleteBroadening one's horizons, whether through travel or relocation, is necessary in better understanding our world. Spending time in places other than where you grew up helps you appreciate how unique everyone and every place can be. Reading about them can be enlightening, but there is nothing quite like being there, boots on the ground. One of Palin's major failings is her total lack of curiosity about the world outside her small town. Provincialism easily breeds suspicion and contempt for anything or anyone different and that is a very dangerous thing.
ReplyDeleteInteresting article from the NYT, written two and a half years ago. I wonder what happened to the people mentioned in the article. Did they end up losing their homes?
ReplyDeleteHey 2:25, I have a liberal, Dem, white, gay sister who lives in Abq, NM and I think she'd be fine with Gasman's comments. She'd "get it." You missed it.
ReplyDeleteO/t - to those questioning the value of MI, ask yourselves this: what has she written from New Jersey that has come true? Did SP do a big Trig confession reveal to gain sympathy? No. Did BP leave DWTS early as she predicted? No. Did everyone sign bizarre & strict non-disclosures on DWTS as she predicted? If so, why wasn't Cho sued by ABC? Real media insiders don't post on gossip boards or they lose jobs, clout, & connections. And that's a fact. The 'net is so transparent; someone can find out who you are. And real gossip writers do report truth at least 50% of the time.
ReplyDeleteMI is trying to take the IM readers who she thinks are here for the gossip market. (Don't know about you but I'm here for the politics..) Will she soon ask for donations? MI
is akin to Female First--a site of women posting against Angelina Jolie & Brad Pitt. There are advertisers on that site so it must make $. MI has pinpointed the same market need for the Palins in terms of gossip. But there is one problem: she has no info. So much of what she writes about other celebs is old and nothing is substantiated. I was actually at ABC the day Bristol was announced on DWTS. Does that make me an insider?
Arizona does have some scenery to offer, like the Grand Canyon. I haven't been to AZ since I was like six months old. Would like to visit, but to live there, NO!
ReplyDeleteEach state has its unique qualities. MN-the Mississippi River starts there, and also has Lake Superior and Voyageurs National Park. SD-the Black Hills, Badlands and Wind Cave National Park. WY-Yellowstone, the Tetons, and Medicine Bow National Forest. MT-Glacier National Park. CO-the Rockies. FL-Everglades. NY-Catskill and Adironack Mountains. CA-Yosemite and Death Valley. I could go on and on.
http://sarahpalinhasaserpentsheart.blogspot.com/
I lived in AZ many years ago.
ReplyDeleteThe society I observed then was heavily stratified ,with little if any intermingling among ethinic groups.
It was a shock to me coming from the east to see a treeless, waterless place with many, who could afford the water bills, trying to make the desert green. It was a place of conspicuous consumption. Also a place many proudly dispayed shotguns slung on racks in the rear windows of pickup trucks. There was little culture--hardly a theater, no ballet, opera, few libraries, etc.
Golf was big around Phoenix. And Las Vegas style strip malls and tacky, fake soutwest get-up like cowboy boots (although they weren't riding horses) and the de rigueur Stetson cowboy hat.
I found the desrt had its own beauty--but was peilous, especially for light-skinned people. I respected the indigenous culture's wisdom--by the way the native Americans completely segregated themselves from everyone else at that time--and learned the sorrow of the place--especially since it had been overrun by unconscious consumerism and greed.
I was very glad for my time there and also very glad to return to a land of trees and water a more lively and stimulating cultural milieu.
To anon @6:43 pm.
ReplyDeleteThe temps in AZ get into the hundreds regularly during summer. I lived there and can testify that you can cook an egg or burger on a sheet of metal placed in the sun on an afternoon in summer. We always made sun tea--the tea brewed in a jar in the sun. Businesses closed and people tried to say indoors during the hottest part of the afternoon in summer.
I know people from AZ are very defensive about it (my whole family, for instance), but I think it is partly because many people from there don't realize how truly awful the governance of the state is because they haven't ever experienced good governance. Vanity Fair just voted AZ the worst state in the union--and remember, we have Alabama, Mississipi and Louisiana to contend with. There's a lot good and beautiful in AZ, but they let the libertards and Tea Baggers take over running the place and the decline in QOL can't be denied. Hope the growing rational community there can help them get their act together.
ReplyDeleteSteve at 8;09- Totally agree, I was born and raised in Alaska, yes it is beautiful but when I think of Alaska the dark cold long winters, mosquitoes and short summers comes to mind..I now live in Eastern Wa, and we also have temps in the 100's but we can also drive to the coast or the mountains or the big cities like Seattle and Portland. I go to visit Alaska in the summer and can't wait to come home, I would never live there again, to isolated for me.
ReplyDeleteMaybe this move to the "epicenter of the housing crisis" is some sort of weird pitch for a reality show, in which Sarah Palin fights to get foreclosed homes back into the hands of "real" Americans?? Like Extreme Community Makeover...
ReplyDeletenewmom, I totally get the point. The point didn't escape me. But it's how you say your point which matters. You don't have to throw allies under the bus in order to get to the other side of the road.
ReplyDeletegryphen, your posts about az gave me bad dreams about being stuck in az, going there to look into a masters program and not being able to get out of a desolate town with red sand and oppressive sun.
ReplyDeletewhat's weird is that i have been to az on a long road trip out west with friends, and i really loved it and thought it was beautiful. granted, i wasn't in phoenix or maricopa, but the places i went to were full of life and beauty. the desert is a special place. i don't know what the people were like, though they seemed to live to hunt in someplace called snowflake, i think. the southwestern states i also spent time in were new mexico, tx, and ca. if forced to move to the sw from my precious spot in northern new england, i would pick new mexico in a heartbeat - there is just something that appeals to me about it, and the people that we met were particularly friendly. i would consider az in the winter, but only really as a jumping off point to see national parks and the like.
i would like to point out that i understand the love you have for your state - i feel the same about mine and i personally prefer cold winters to long hot summers. but different strokes for different folks. we are lucky in this country that many of us can decide where it is we would like to live and move there to suit our taste and needs. i
Here's something else to consider when you're worrying about how unhealthy Maricopa may be for children. While Maricopa has to be one of the most ridiculous and boring cities in the country Anchorage is one of the "drunkest". The Daily Beast ranks it at number 9.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2010-12-28/40-drunkest-cities-from-vegas-to-milwaukee/
"So which cities have the biggest drinking problem? Here’s a hint: They’re disproportionately from where the winters are chilliest."
http://www.thedailybeast.com/beltway-beast/sarah-palins-death-panel-claim-resurrected/?cid=blogunit
ReplyDeletedude, i know you dont like the Palin's. i dont either. but lay off AZ will ya? its not our fault Slutty Barbie's kid decided to buy a house here. i was born and raised here, and AZ is one hell of a state. at least we can go out of doors 365 days a year without worrying about freezing to death.
ReplyDeleteAnon @ 2:25,
ReplyDeleteYeah, you pretty much missed my point. I'm reasonably fluent in Spanish and I AM a gringo. I know damn well what the word meant and means. That was one of the points I was making. Racist? No fucking way. I can be charged with many faults, but racism isn't one of them. You're going to have to come up with more compelling evidence than lilly-, pasty-, snow-, white, pale faced, gringo me using the word "gringo." No sale.
While we’re at it, THIS is what Wikipedia has to say about the word “gringo”:
“The American Heritage Dictionary classifies gringo as ‘offensive slang,’ ‘usually disparaging,’ and ‘often disparaging.’ However, the term can also be used to simply identify a foreigner and does not carry a negative connotation according to the definition in the dictionary of the Spanish Royal Academy which defines the Spanish language.”
No offense, but in matters Español, I will defer to rulings by the Spanish Royal Academy over The American Heritage Dictionary and your assessment every time.
And while you're hurling your poo at the Spanish, except for the Navajo Nation, Spanish is spoken in nearly all of our Pueblos and they are mostly Catholic, or a hybrid of Catholic and traditional religious beliefs. There is quite a bit of animosity of the indigenous New Mexicans toward the deification of the Conquistadors, but they still embrace Catholicism and elements of Hispanic culture. The culture here is a might messy and not as nearly cut and dried as you like to portray. We don’t have any time machines, so we make the best with what we’ve got. Were there really bad white folks in the past? Sure. We’ve even still got a few. And I’m not responsible for any of them. All I can do is treat people reasonably as I meet them, and that’s what I do. Maybe you’d like to come down here and point out to me exactly who are the folks in the white and/or black hats, because apparently it is a little more cut and dried from your perspective.
As to the term “Spanish,” the majority of Hispanics here in Northern New Mexico prefer to trace their lineage to the Spanish Conquistadors. It is amazing how few people in New Mexico think they have any connection at all to Mexico. Come to Santa Fe during Fiesta. Lots of folks pretending to be de Vargas and Oñate, much to the dismay of the Pueblos. It may not fit with your vision of how things should be, but it is the way things are. Look up Oñate. He was a major league prick. He cut off the hands and feet of Pueblo men who resisted as a warning to others. Yet, some folks still think he was worth remembering. They erected a couple of statues to him down here and some of the Pueblo peoples scattered plaster hands and feet at the base of one statue. They actually cut a foot off the other. I am quite conversant about my adopted state’s history.
In fact, I’ll bet that I know a whole lot more about the history of New Mexico in particular, and maybe even of the entire Southwest than you do. As for my mouth, it is hardly fat. I make no claims as to its beauty, but fat it ain't. I am also not inclined to shut it - or refrain from my keyboard - simply because you jumped to a whole BUNCH of errant conclusions.
I quite enjoy my Hispanic and my Pueblo neighbors. Hell, I can stand in my front yard and damn near throw a rock onto San Ildefonso Pueblo land. If I was a bigot, I certainly picked the wrong state to move to. We’ve got the highest percentage of Hispanics of any state, and I’m OK with that, gringo that I am.
If you’re ever in New Mexico, look me up. I make some pretty mean queso enchiladas con chili verde, I’m far more cultured than you could probably imagine, and I even happen to be on pretty good terms with some of the coolest lesbians in the state. As far as liberalism, I'll stake my lefty credentials against anyone's, anywhere. I'm certainly not perfect, but I’m really not so bad once you get to know me.