Somehow I don't think Ronny Jackson is going to be the next head of the VA. Update!

Courtesy of Business Insider:  

New details about the alleged conduct of White House physician Ronny Jackson emerged on Tuesday night, nearly 24 hours after the first public allegations against him came to light. including a claim that he banged on the hotel-room door of a female employee while intoxicated. 

According to four people familiar with a 2015 incident involving Jackson, the doctor allegedly caused a ruckus by banging on the door of one employee's hotel room during an overseas trip, CNN reported. Jackson reportedly caused so much of a scene that the Secret Service intervened out of concern that he would wake then-President Barack Obama.

 A former staffer said that the "middle-of-the-night" incident made the employee uncomfortable and that it was "definitely inappropriate," CNN reported. 

The incident adds to a series of other allegations against Jackson, who was scheduled to go before the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs on Wednesday. The hearing was postponed on Monday, amid multiple allegations stemming from his time as the White House physician.

Some of those allegations include claims of excessive drinking at work, creating a hostile work environment, and improperly dispensing medication, according to a CBS News report published Monday night.

Substance abuse,  inappropriate contact with a female subordinates, you might think this would make Jackson a perfect fit for the Trump White House swamp, but that is likely not how the Senate is going to respond to them.

And if Jackson was hoping that Trump had his back, he may not want to rely to heavily on that.

lol. Bye, Ronny pic.twitter.com/y1QDxhLVWt

— Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) April 24, 2018

Yeah, Ronny Jackson meet the undercarriage of the Trump bus.

By the way this excessive drinking totally explains how Jackson was able to examine Donald Trump and think that he was healthy enough to live to two hundred years old.

Update: Oh this doesn't look good.

From Veterans Affairs Committee summary on Ronny Jackson, which says it is based on interviews with 23 current and former Jackson colleagues.

These quotes are apparently from those colleagues: pic.twitter.com/TiBAnX8k4C

— Rachel Maddow MSNBC (@maddow) April 25, 2018

Hard to see him coming back from this.

Rep. Blake Farenthold is a naughty naughty boy.

The New York Times has done a rather extensive expose on the goings on in the office of Blake Farenthold and why this guy has not yet been forced out of office is a complete mystery to me.

Here are a few examples: 

As allegations of sexual misconduct rock Capitol Hill — three lawmakers announced their resignations last week alone — Mr. Farenthold, Republican of Texas, stands out as the survivor. He was sued over accusations of sexual harassment three years ago, paid out an $84,000 settlement, financed by taxpayers, and has an open Ethics Committee investigation into his behavior. Yet only a few Republicans have called for his resignation. 

A peek into the inner workings of his office reveals the kind of hostile work environment, rife with sexual innuendo, that prompted Representative Jackie Speier, Democrat of California, to call Congress “the worst” place for women to work.

He's a bully: Former employees also said that Mr. Farenthold had an explosive temper and often bullied his aides, prompting a high turnover.

.........

Ms. Peace and another former aide to Mr. Farenthold, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of harming that aide’s reputation, described an atmosphere in his Washington office that was freewheeling, yet also filled with anxiety. 

The congressman, they said, was volatile. When he was angry, they added, Mr. Farenthold would berate them, sometimes sweeping his arm across his desk, knocking its contents to the floor, and threatening to fire people. Ms. Daniels, who has worked for Mr. Farenthold since March, said she had never witnessed such behavior, adding, “All the staff get along here very well.”

The work atmosphere was sexually charged and Farenthold was a drunk:  

The refrigerator in the “bullpen” — the open area where aides worked — was filled with beer, and sometimes happy hour would begin at 4:30 p.m., which his aides called “beer-thirty.” Ms. Peace said women would discuss which male lobbyists had texted them pictures of their genitals, and both men and women would talk about strip clubs and whether certain Fox News anchors had breast implants. 

“There were numerous lewd comments that were made either about female reporters’ breast size, or other reporters’ breast size as well as female lobbyists and their appearance that would go on,” the other former aide said. “On any given week you were prone to either ridicule, rude comments, acts of aggression or rage.”

 In the office, the congressman was known to like redheads. In her complaint, Ms. Greene said Mr. Farenthold “regularly drank to excess, and because of his tendency to flirt, the staffers who accompanied him to Capitol Hill functions would joke that they had to be on ‘redhead patrol’ to keep him out of trouble.”

There was a "redhead patrol?"

Okay if freaking Al Franken had to give up his job because of the relatively mild by comparison  misconduct he was accused of, it would seem that Farenthold should be run out of town on a rail for his various indiscretions.

I thought that Donald Trump was probably the biggest pervert in Washington, but I may have to reevaluate that assumption.

Alcoholism is now so out of control in Alaska that some stores are forced to keep everyday products containing alcohol behind lock and key.

Common household products alcohol addicts are abusing... can you guess what they are? We'll tell you at 6 @ktva pic.twitter.com/tj2oQUQFT2

— Daniella Rivera (@RiveraDanie) September 14, 2017

The answer, by the way, is vanilla extract, hand sanitizer, mouthwash, and brake fluid. All containing enough alcohol to make them irresistible to addicts.

Courtesy of KTVA: 

While alcohol abuse in Alaska is nothing new, desperation among addicts is becoming more visible inside Anchorage grocery stores. When users can no longer legally buy liquor, they turn to common household products, forcing many businesses to move them behind the counter, in some cases storing them under lock and key.

Last month, while filming an unrelated story, a KTVA news crew watched a man near Bean’s Café down two small bottles of liquid, throw them on the ground, and ride away on a bike while the camera was rolling. The bottles on the ground, now empty, once held vanilla extract. 

Krystal Taddicken, who lives at the Brother Francis Shelter, told KTVA a the time, vanilla extract is an easy way for an addict to get drunk if they can’t buy alcohol. 

“It shows that it’s 35 percent minimum of alcohol, it’s one of the highest alcohol there is,” she told KTVA, picking the bottle up off the ground and pointing to the ingredients listed on the back. 

It’s not just vanilla extract, addicts are using anything that contains alcohol to get drunk, including mouth wash, hand sanitizer and according to the Anchorage Fire Department, brake fluid.

Alcoholism has been a problem in this state, I believe even before we became a state.

My family is essentially wall to wall alcoholics, with only a few nonconformists like my daughter and I standing out from the herd.

And it is much worse among the homeless community.

All of my life I have seen drunks passed out in the woods and along bike paths laying next to bottles of everything from store bought booze to cleaning products that they have huffed or ingested.

I once saw a homeless guy spraying what looked like a disinfectant of some kind into a clear bag and then drinking the contents.

It is hard to imagine how that could get any worse.

But if it has that is very troubling indeed.

People are literally dying to get out of Alaska.

(Statistics provided by the American foundation for Suicide Prevention.) 

We have been a leader in this unfortunate category for as long as I can remember.

I personally have never had any suicidal thoughts and remain untouched by SAD, or any other  depression causing maladies.

In fact I am typically a little too chipper, which often irritates those around me.

I DID once briefly work on a suicide hotline, but I was unable to empathize with their situation and kept wanting to say "Get over it slugger, tomorrow will be better day," which was not one of the sanctioned responses we were supposed to provide.

Simply put, I just don't get it. 

Of course suicide is not the only unfortunate circumstance where Alaska leads the nation, we also have three times the number of rapes per capita than the national average, and we are in the top ten states with the highest homicide rate per capita.

When people say they want to move to Alaska I always say "Are you positive?"

This place is gorgeous and awe inspiring to be sure, but it is also often harsh and unforgiving. So if you are not a fairly tough person, with a positive outlook, you are undoubtedly about to become a statistic.

And not one of the good ones. 

Jordan Loewe's father exposes the truth about Sarah Palin's violent out of control son.

Courtesy of Radar Online:

Sarah Palin has turned her back on her boozing and brawling son Track — even as he wages a vicious custody war with his baby mama over his infant son, RadarOnline.com can exclusively reveal. 

In fact, the 27-year-old terror’s violent temper has alienated everyone around him! 

“He’s hot-headed, he’s out of control and he has anger issues!” Matthew Loewe, the distraught father of Track’s baby mama, Jordan Loewe, told Radar. 

“He’s thrown stuff at Jordan, thrown rocks at Jordan — he’s even thrown stuff at her when she was holding their baby!” 

And despite being ordered to undergo a therapeutic program, Matthew says his behavior has done anything but improve since then. 

“From time that this all started and the cops getting involved, I have yet to hear that [Track] is doing any therapy or anything. (From what I heard Track NEVER went to any kind of therapy.)

If anything, Matthew said that Track’s gotten worse — even threatening his own parents when they tried to control his rage-fueled outbursts! 

“Track hates [his father] Todd,” according to Jordan’s dad. “Jordan and Track had an argument one night that it got so out of control she called… and they both came over. 

“He threatened to beat up his dad, saying, ‘Come on old man, you’re full of metal now.'” (So, NO snowmachine accident?)

Matthew also revealed that the former governor and her husband have washed their hands of their troubled son — and even warned their daughter to get away from him. 

“Before Jordan got pregnant, Todd told her, ‘I’d run if I were you,” Matthew revealed.

Jordan's father also claims that Todd and Sarah are estranged from Track and have cut ties with him, which I would interpret to mean that Track is no longer being cared for financially.

However this seems to be after Palin paid Track's legal fees and kept him from going to jail and receiving the kind of help that he desperately needs.

Instead she pulled strings to allow him to escape justice yet again, and now she and her family live in fear of what he might do next.

In some ways that seems like a kind of karma, but it is really too bad that others like Jordan and Britta Hanson have suffered due to their poor parenting.

Well it certainly appears that Mr. Loewe is not going to let a silly thing like a confidentially agreement keep him from telling the truth about that family of Wasillabillies.

Radar Online has more on the Track Palin/Jordan Loewe custody battle. Update!

Courtesy of Radar Online: 

Track Palin‘s baby mama says she is worried about her newborn’s safety, and RadarOnline.com has learned she wants to control when and where he can see his newborn child! 

As Radar reported, Track’s ex-girlfriend, Jordan Loewe, filed for custody of their newborn child, Charlie Mitchell Palin, last Wednesday. 

According to newly obtained court documents, she is demanding primary physical custody of the 3-month-old child because — she claims — she is “concerned” about her “safety or the safety of her children.” 

Loewe wrote in the paperwork she wanted Track’s visitation to be “COMPLETELY” at her discretion.

Well let's go out on a limb here and say that it appears that Track's rehabilitation did not take.

Instead of getting the kind of jail time and court ordered rehabilitation in a licensed facility that he deserved, the Grizzled Mama used her influence to get her woman beating POS son out of any serious consequences for his behaviors.

However it appears that Jordan is using that incident as leverage and is claiming that she was the victim of his drunken rampage and claims "the incident could influence the custody proceedings."

In other words if Track tries to fight this, she will air all of his dirty laundry in court for everybody to see.

Which is exactly the appropriate tactic when dealing with his dysfunctional group of drunken Wasillabillies.

Update: The Daily Mail has the story as well. 

Somebody is finally reporting that Track Palin has a serious alcohol problem. Well that's a start.

Courtesy of Radar Online:  

Sarah Palin’s son is heading into treatment instead of jail after his January domestic violence arrest — and his own lawyer told RadarOnline.com he needs help for his alcohol problem! 

Track “has been assessed” by the VA, his attorney, Kevin T. Fitzgerald told Radar, and at a hearing later this month, he will receive his proposed treatment plan. 

“I would expect it has some alcohol component,” Fitzgerald said. “In all candor, Track could be well-served by treatment.”

That is a fairly significant admission since up until now Sarah Palin has refused to admit that Track has a substance abuse problem, instead blaming his most recent difficulties on PTSD and oddly enough President Obama.

Fitzgerald had more to say: 

Getting the domestic violence assault charge dropped was “not an insignificant dismissal,” he said, insisting that the possession of a weapon while intoxicated charge “really more accurately tracks what went down” when Track was accused of drunkenly attacking his girlfriend in January. 

Still, Fitzgerald said they weren’t altogether pleased with the final charge that stuck. “I believe it’s got constitutional infirmities because it precludes people form possessing firearms, even unloaded firearms, in their own homes if they’re under the influence,” he insisted. “We weren’t going to make a big constitutional issue of it, but that’s what the situation was.” 

(Yeah, after all what is a Palin without their guns? Besides you know a drunken asshole who abuses women?)

Now, Track, 27, will enter a therapeutic program through the VA, which could last “several months,” the Anchorage DA, Clinton Champion, told Radar. 

Said Fitzgerald, “If he completes the treatment, the last charge too will be dismissed. If he doesn’t then he’s looking at 180 days … with two years of informal probation.”

I will argue that the chances of Track finishing this treatment program successfully are slim.

Because while they seem willing to admit that Track has a drinking problem from what I have heard from just about everybody is that alcoholism is only the tip of the drug addicted iceberg.

And Track has been abusing these substances since he was in high school, so the idea that he can suddenly break the addiction cycle is a high bar to set in my opinion.

I mean do not get me wrong, I really do hope that he is successful because he has two small children to care for, but working on all of this while living with his ever ready to enable, excuse making parents, seems like a recipe for disaster.

Sarah Palin travels to Oklahoma as a Donald Trump surrogate and tries to blame her son's violence against women on his military service. And of course President Obama.

The bullshit starts at around the 4;20 mark:

“I can talk personally about this, I guess it’s kind of the elephant in the room. Because my own family, going through what we're going through today. With my son, a combat vet, having served in a Stryker Brigade, fighting for you all America in the ward zone. But my son like so many others, they come back a bit different, they come back hardened, they come back wondering if there is that respect for what it is that their fellow soldiers and airmen, and every other member of the military so sacrificially have given to this country. And that starts from the top. It’s a shame that our military personnel even have to wonder, if they have to question, if they’re respected anymore. It starts from the top. The question though that comes from our own president where they have to look at him and wonder, do you know what we go through? Do you know what we’re trying to do to secure America and to secure the freedoms that have been bequeathed us? So when my own son is going through what he goes through coming back, I can certainly relate with other families who kind of feel these ramifications of some PTSD and some of the woundedness that our soldiers do return with, and it makes me realize more than ever, it is now or never, for the sake of America's finest that we have that Commander-in-Chief that will respect them. And honor them.”

So in a nutshell Palin is blaming the fact that her son cold cocked his girlfriend with a closed fist, and put a gun in his mouth threatening to end his life, because President Obama did not say thank you to him for driving officers around when he was stationed overseas?

Alrighty.

So let's once again remind everybody that Track is NOT a combat vet.

Here are his discharge papers, and as you can see he does not have the Combat Infantry Badge which is automatically awarded when a soldier is involved in an exchange of gunfire with the enemy.

So the only way that Track could have suffered PTSD during his deployment is if he is terrified of being away from mommy, or has an unnatural fear of camouflage clothing.

By the way my cell phone has been ringing non-stop today with folks from Wasilla wanting to make that I tell everybody that Track has ALWAYS been a violent, out of control asshole. And that he has been abusing drugs and alcohol for many years before his parents forced him to join the military.

Look I am not saying that at this point he does NOT have PTSD. I'm just saying that if that IS his current diagnosis, that it stems from his years living in the Palin household, and NOT from his very brief time in the military.

Okay so let's talk gossip.

So yesterday a bunch of you sent me a link to an article on Celebitchy concerning Bristol Palin.

Now the article itself was addressing that post on the Daily Mail about Levi and Bristol having resolved their custody issues, which of course we all know to be bullshit.

However what was interesting about the post was not the article itself, but rather what showed up in the comments section:  

mimif says: 

October 22, 2015 at 11:58 am 

Cannot tolerate these assholes. A woman I know had an affair with Todd Palin’s brother, James, and oh lawd the tea she spilled. Screen caps and all.

Wait, what?

Other commenters asked for more, and more is exactly what they got:

mimif says: October 22, 2015 at 2:42 pm 

Sorry! I completely spaced out. Okay, I have to be kind of delicate because… f-ck it. 

So my bf is a commercial fisherman up in Bristol Bay (occasionally I crew for him), and he fishes alongside Todd Palin in the summer. Additionally, one of our good friends is a longtime Palin family friend (we constantly tease him but by all accounts he swears Todd is a good dude), so I always get the insider stories and it’s why my face turns purple every time there is a post about them here. Anyhow, the year the Palins had their stupid documentary Sarah and her brood were crawling all over the town we fish out of. This town is teeny tiny btw, there is like zero anonymity. It’s also a very pro-Palin town too, as they have Alaska Native roots there, so one does not speak unkindly of them in public. A friend of mine starts telling me that she’s boinking James Palin, and I was like, yeah whatever, who cares. And then she starts telling me these stories…like super lurid stories of shit that he was into, stuff you wouldn’t make up unless you were a sociopath, but I was busy fishing and couldn’t be bothered. So THEN, she starts sending me screen caps of their FB convos and dude, a) the guy is a total dog (supposedly on a trial separation from his wife, whom eventually divorced him), b) not even going into the sexual details because it makes me want to com (NASTY), but c) he talked so much shit about Sarah it was unreal. That she was cheating on Todd (apparently James and Sarah had a fling too, something about being a knob gobbler, but she broke it off), she’s a total drunk who lets her kids do whatever they want, Bristol is the town bicycle and the rumors about Sarah’s last baby being Bristol’s were true, how her thirst for fame completely destroyed Todd & Sarah’s marriage, talk about swinging…should I go on? He sounded like a jilted lover, he totally despised her. So take that all with a grain of salt, people. 

Then this douche James invited my friend to Hawaii with his kids, wanted to marry her, (also wanted to f-ck her friends) guy was just a piece of work. FWIW, my friend isn’t exactly playing with a full deck so he was 100% taking advantage of her. Ick. The whole family is revolting. From personally experience, Sarah is a hag. Literally. I’ve met her more than once and her voice makes me want to rip my hair out. The End. 

P.S. I’m mad at all of you now for making me type that out AND I’m going to hell.

And then there was more: 

mimif says: October 22, 2015 at 3:00 pm 

Lol knob gobbler is pretty good, but I’m still mad at you (also keep remembering more tidbits!). It’s not too much of a stretch tho, is it? I mean, she’s just a horrible person, and so is her daughter. My bf’s FB feed is a gem of info, too, as most of his buddies are Alaskan. Very few people (outside some of the rural villages) hold them with any kind of regard. They are a disgrace to the great state of Alaska and I can’t wait for them to go far, far away. RANT OVER. 

ETA omg I can’t edit my OG post. **makes me want to VOM, not com. That sounds so wrong. 😫

And even more:

mimif says: October 22, 2015 at 3:38 pm 

I’m trying to remember what year this was…2009 or 2010, so back when Palin was kind of a big deal (to some folks). But yeah, I wouldn’t be surprised if James Palin started the whole Sarah pretended to have Bristol’s baby rumor, dude was out to get her. Which was equally odd because he was technically working for her/part of her entourage, not to mention her BIL.

After that this MimiF person started talking about other topics before stating that her boyfriend was mad at her for divulging what she did and then she clammed up for good.

So the first thing I have to mention is that this is a gossip site and one should always take posts by commenters with a big ole grain of salt. However the thing that kept catching my eye was this talk about Todd's brother James.

And the reason why is because it closely matched what my own source had once told me in great detail about this particular family member, whom she referred to as JD.

According to her he was a full blown alcoholic, and sexual deviant, who was considered the black sheep even in a family almost made up entirely of black sheep.

Some of the things she told me were even too graphic for an adult blog like this.

You may remember that in this post my source had told me that the entire family had dealt with substance abuse problems, but what I did not say at the time is that she felt JD, or James if you will, had the worst problems of all.

There was a reason at the time that I did not focus on JD, and it had to do with the identity of my source. At the time we had agreed that she would eventually come out of the shadows and talk openly, but then the Palins essentially shut her up and that was that.

Now the one thing about MimiF's comments that I do not necessarily agree with is her statement that Trig was actually Bristol's child.

The reason for that is due to the fact that my other sources cannot account for a time where Bristol was MIA long enough to have been pregnant and then given birth without their knowledge.

Now they will say that she could have been pregnant up to a year or more earlier, but that around the beginning of 2008 they saw Bristol quite frequently.

Trust me, these folks would NOT cover for Bristol or the Palin family as there is NO love lost between them.

As for the deviant sex and talk of affairs? Oh yeah that matches perfectly.

Some more troubling information about Dakota Meyer.

The other day somebody sent me a link to a story about a lawsuit that Meyer filed against his former employer BAE Systems OASYS Inc. in 2011 for defamation.

Here is the story: 

A San Antonio-based supervisor for a military contracting firm facing a defamation suit by Medal of Honor recipient Dakota Meyer has fired back, stating in court filings that allegations he ridiculed Meyer's service are “absurd.” 

Meyer, who as a Marine serving in Afghanistan was credited with battlefield heroism that saved 36 lives, drew national media attention again after he accused former employer BAE Systems OASYS Inc. and boss Bobby McCreight of thwarting his ability to get a new job.  

McCreight told a government program manager, who controls eligibility for hiring for military contracting projects, that Meyer had a drinking problem and was “mentally unstable,” the suit alleges. McCreight acknowledged in court documents filed Thursday that he spoke with the program manager about Meyer's integration back into civilian life. 

But McCreight, who described himself as a mentor to Meyer, had no idea at the time that Meyer was applying for a job with fellow contractor Ausgar Technologies, documents state. 

Meyer said in his lawsuit he believes McCreight's accusations ruined his chances for a job with Ausgar and other government contractors. 

“All of Mr. McCreight's statements to the (program manager) were true and based on Mr. McCreight's direct interactions with Mr. Meyer,” San Antonio-based attorney Ricardo Cedillo wrote in the filing on behalf of McCreight. “The purpose of these discussions was solely two old vets looking after a young vet.” 

Meyer, who was described as having suffered traumatic brain injury, reneged on his requirement at BAE to attend school and “consistently attend physical therapy,” the latest filing states. 

McCreight also advised him to “exercise judgment when drinking while at business and social settings,” according to the suit.

So to be clear this former soldier, Mr. McCreight, was simply talking to another former soldier about  the problems that a younger former soldier was having becoming acclimated to civilian life. You know the kind of conversation that probably happens all of the time.

What I find interesting is the contention that Meyer did not attend his physical therapy, and that his drinking was a problem in "business settings."

That is troubling. As well as the fact that he is so litigious.

Yes I realize that was several years ago, but there is no indication that Meyer received any kind of counseling or therapy.

This along, with the story about Meyer drunkenly pulling a gun on a woman after she knocked him on his ass, does little to allay my concerns over Tripp's well being.

Apparently Bristol's new fiance Dakota Meyer has never sought treatment for his PTSD, despite a heavily publicized suicide attempt.

So in the above video, if you go to the 10:57, Meyers describes the suicide attempt:

"I was going down, and I was drinking probably a bottle, to a bottle and  half of Crown a day. Just living my life that way. I didn't care about anything. I felt like I was becoming a burden on everybody else. I just pulled my car over one day and I was like 'You know what I'm done. I'm done.' I always keep a gun in my vehicle, and I always keep my guns loaded, all of them are always loaded, so I don't have to worry about it. And you know I pulled the gun out, put it to my head, and squeezed the trigger and it went 'click.'"

Meyer goes on to claim that somebody must have unloaded his gun the day before, which is the only thing that saved him.

He goes on to claim that he made a deal with himself that if he did not try it again in that car, and drove away instead, that he would never do it again. (And of course as we know we simply never break deals we make with ourselves.)

I have to say that if Meyer is accurate as to how quickly he pulled the gun, placed it to his head, and pulled the trigger, that indicates that he was serious and did not even stop to question his actions until AFTER the gun failed to fire.

That gives every indication of a person who is a serious suicide risk and requires a serious invention.

However it appears that he did not get that intervention.

At the 12:26 mark the female host, Cristina Ferrare, straight out asks Meyer if he received any psychiatric help or counseling after the suicide attempt or is receiving any now:

" No, no I don't. You know I don't ahh. When they sent me back fro Afghanistan  I was sent to a PTSD rehab center for precautionary measures. Um I was in there and..uh..you know it gave me knowledge on it, but I've never seeked (sic) help." 

Okay first off if he was sent to a PTSD rehab center then there was very likely something in his psychological profile which suggested that he needed counseling. And of course the suicide attempt essentially proves that.

Secondly surviving one attempt at suicide, in no way inoculates you from future attempts. It's not like catching the measles.

Thirdly if there was significant alcohol use back when he made that first attempt, and there has been no counseling of any kind, then it is quite likely that alcohol may still play a significant role in his life.

And fourthly he is about to marry a Palin!

I'm sorry but if you were not prone to alcoholism or suicide before......

Okay all that I'm saying is that there are so many red flags here that I can barely see past them.

In my opinion if Sarah were serious about putting her children first, and not simply using them to attract favorable publicity, she would be counseling Bristol to slow down and plan on a long engagement instead of rushing to the altar.

Pulling back the facade on Sarah Palin and her Wasillabilly family.

Before you start reading this post remember that this is only the information that I can share that does not out my source completely. There is much that is being left for future posts when she decides that she is in a position to reveal her identity.

When that happens all of this will have a far bigger impact. As will what is soon to follow.

As I have shared before the impetus for this source seeking me out was the drunken brawl in Anchorage. When all of that was in its early stages this person was afraid that Palin was about to skate free and decided she simply could not watch that happen yet again.

So as it turned out this person also had an acquaintance that was at the party in Anchorage the night of Throwdown at the Hoedown and I shared that information back in early October.

However after the police audio came out, all of the dust settled, and it became clear that the Palins would NOT face any prosecution, I reached out to my source to tell them that apparently it was up to the two of us to make sure the family did not get away scott free.

That, of course, elicited the response "I'm in."

And after some miscommunication which had me doubting that, it turns out that indeed she is in.

During some of our initial conversations my source made it clear that the behavior captured on audio that night was in NO way new for the family. And in fact heavy drinking and drug use is as common to the Palins as swimming is for fish. (Well except the ones in the lake of theirs. Those just float.)

According to my source the drinking is a learned behavior that the Palin men inherited from their father Jim Palin who, once again according to this very well placed source, was a prestigious drinker with a bad temper. (He also apparently had some problems with the ladies, as he seems to have lost his job with MEA back in the 90's for "sexual harassment." Now why is THAT not surprising?) 

Anyhow Todd and other members of his family seem to have followed in their father's footsteps and developed drinking problems of their own. Apparently a favorite place to indulge is the Petersburg cabin. But when they cannot get there, Todd's garage will do, where, according to my source, the favorite topic of conversation is what a c**t Sarah is.

But of course it is not all just drinking. Also according to the source Todd has a back problem that he treats with liberal doses of Hydrocodone. (In case you're wondering, yes the directions suggest that you avoid drinking alcohol when taking this medication.)

However as we already know drugs are even more of a problem for other members of the Palin family. Like Dianne Palin for instance, who apparently started her breaking and entering career by stealing from various family members first, including Sarah and Todd, though nobody thought to get her any help because, well it wouldn't look good now would it?

And then there is Track, who my source tells me has a crippling problem with substance abuse which seems to only be getting worse. (What you heard on that audio is apparently what Track is like much of the time.)

As for the fighting, well the fighting is also a component of the family dynamic.

There have been multiple knock down drag outs between Sarah and Todd of course. But the one that was new to me was a rather ugly fight that happened between Todd and Bristol back when she was still dating Levi.

Once again according to this source Todd flat out hated Levi's guts, and wanted Bristol to stay away from him. Apparently the argument devolved into a physical altercation which found the two getting all MMA with each other. At one point Todd had Bristol by the hair and was dragging her around with Bristol responding by grabbing him by the crotch. (And here I thought MY family had anger issues.)

Of course as we know Bristol did NOT stop seeing Levi and even conned the poor guy into impregnating her loser ass, so that she could then accuse him of getting her drunk and raping her.

As for Sarah herself my source claims that her decision to quit as Governor of Alaska was nothing new as she had tried to quit just about everything at one time of another.

When she was Mayor of Wasilla she tried to quit in her first term and had to be talked out of it by Jim Palin who told her that she owed a lot of people who had helped get her elected.

She also resigned her position on the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, but of course was able to rework that as an ethical choice in response to all of the corruption that she witnessed.

The most famous one was when she quit as Governor. But perhaps the most egregious resignation was from her responsibilities as a parent, leaving Todd and other members of the family to take up the slack.

As it turned out Sarah uses children as part of a barter system with Todd, according to this source.

As I understand it, when Sarah wants to do something, and needs Todd to sign off on it, she births him another baby. According to my source Todd loves kids and by doing that Sarah has managed to get her way a number of times.

Let's break it down shall we?

• Palin was already pregnant with Track so that got Todd to marry her. 
• Bristol was born in 1990, so Sarah was able to run for city council in 1992. 
• Willow was born in 1994 allowing Sarah to run for Mayor in 1995.
• Piper was born in 2001, and Sarah ran for Lt. Governor in 2002.

Yep kind of all works out.

Oddly enough there were no babies before Sarah ran for Governor, but we all sure know what happened right before she was tapped as John McCain's running mate.  Don't we?

I asked my source if there was one thing that she wanted people to know about Sarah Palin, and her answer was that:

"The family is a facade."

As she states it there is no love lost between Todd and Sarah. As for the kids they are deeply troubled and essentially only respond to financial incentives provided to them when Sarah needs them to play their parts.

None of that should be considered all that surprising of course.

We have already seen the daughter whose name was copyrighted so that mom could hire a ghostwriter to play her part for public consumption.

The son whose military "career" was arranged for his mother's political benefit, and whose troubles are covered up with mounds of cash.

The wild child who is kept under lock and key.

The youngest girl who is being groomed as Sarah's little doppelganger.

And of course Trig, the political prop who has almost outlived his usefulness. (Who my source says most certainly did NOT issue forth from Sarah's loins. Though she is not sure where he did come from.)

I cannot say that I found too many of these revelations shocking, however I was surprised that this person was willing to say them publicly.

As for my source well I have already told you that she is going to go public in the near future. What I have NOT told you is that she actually has others from Palin's past that also want to get a few things off their chest, and who may be willing to do so either publicly like their friend, or as anonymous sources who will back up or flesh out the statements from others.

And for my final tidbit I thought I would share with you the fact that my source was made aware of a certain book entitled "Boys Will Be Boys." And though she remains blissfully unaware of Todd's possible side business, she has learned that some of the names mentioned in the book are people who are very familiar to her.

I know right?

So hopefully this post satisfied those of you who waited so patiently these last several months.

Like I said this is only the beginning, and once certain things are straightened out there will be much, much more.

Stay tuned.

Sarah Palin wants to take the "D" out of PTSD. You know I always thought she had a problem with the "D."

Courtesy of Palin's infomercial Facebook page:

Like most every American I stand by our U.S. military vets! Thank you to our active duty heroes and all who've served this great country in the past. I was honored to speak at a recent fundraiser in Texas for The Mighty Oaks Warrior Foundation to support our returning troops who have left the battlefield overseas, but face new battles upon their return. America owes them a debt of gratitude, and our troops suffering from PTSD must not be ignored by a grateful nation. In the following video, I discuss what Mighty Oaks does for our vets.

There is also a video embedded on her page that claims the Mighty Oaks want to take the "D" out of PTSD, and during which she claims that all these poor soldiers need is a little Jesus in their lives.

I mean really who needs trained therapists, with years of experience, helping you deal with a complicated and often life altering disorder that can cause you to completely disassociate from family members, and friends, and to self medicate with alcohol or drug use?

Instead this program essentially tells the vets struggling with this diagnosis (Or as the program calls it, their new "deployment.") that they are made in God's image, and that since they are trained soldiers they can deal with anything. A kind of camouflage version of "Buck up or stay in the truck."

You know according to Palin her son Track benefited in some way form this program. (One report even claimed he was a councilor.)

If that is true, then you might imagine that she would angry and disappointed at this program for failing him.

After all a well adjusted person does NOT drunkenly start a fight at a birthday party, nor tear off his shirt and start flipping people off when asked to leave that party.

And after leaving a well adjusted person also does not immediately go to a bar, get into another fight, and end up with cracked ribs.

If THIS is what The Mighty Oaks considers a success story then I would make sure to keep friends and family members as far away from them as possible.

Track really is a tragic story, and I have recently heard that his substance abuse is worse than ever, and that he spends very little time with his new daughter Kyla. In fact when she comes over to visit the family, he is often nowhere to be found.

That is just sad and it is clear that he needs much more help than can be provided by the religiously saturated pseudo therapy center. (I mean they have a program called "Fight Club for Men: A Quest for Authentic Manhood. Which is described thusly: "Our six day Post Traumatic Stress Reintegration Program is designed to serve as the catalyst in discovering the answers to the “why” questions in a man’s life. Through camaraderie, recreational activities, and thoughtful conversation, Fight Club teaches men to overcome any past experience that be limiting their personal success. Individual adversities that have grown out of traumatic experiences are able to surface during these six days, as we foster a confidential, safe, and vulnerable environment with a faith-based foundation through Christ.")

Six days. Seriously?

Look I work with clients who have PTSD all of the time. And the idea that they can simply "soldier through it" is not only wrong, but it is dangerous. This disorder, and yes it IS a disorder, is quite complicated and it affects the individuals suffering with it in a variety of ways.

Usually it is approached using a combination of therapy, medications, and family support. It is not enough to simply deal with the patient, you have to help shape their environment and educate the people who are the closest to them in order to provide the kind of wrap around services these individuals require.

And as I have said before, I do not think that Track's problems stem from his time in the military, however stunted that appears to have been. His problems started well before then, and as long as he is surrounded by so many dysfunctional people I do not see them ending any time soon.

So for Palin to suggest that a six day program in a military frat house environment is enough to deal with the complexities of such a disorder may be a new level of deceit.

Update: Also apparently Palin is planning to sue Bob Cesca over the use of her clips. But we all know she is bluffing.  (Palin part starts the 6:00 mark.)

Texas Governor Rick Perry compares homosexuality to alcoholism. Because Texas Governor Rick Perry is an idiot.

Rick Perry knows nothing about being gay. But his corndog might.

Courtesy TPM:

Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) raised eyebrows Wednesday at an event in San Francisco when he drew a parallel between homosexuality and alcoholism. 

An audience member asked Perry about the Texas Republican Party's recent endorsement of "reparative therapy" for gays during the governor's appearance before the Commonwealth Club of California, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. Perry responded that he didn't know whether the therapy worked. 

Perry was then asked whether he believes homosexuality is a disorder. 

"Whether or not you feel compelled to follow a particular lifestyle or not, you have the ability to decide not to do that," he responded, as quoted by the San Francisco Chronicle. "I may have the genetic coding that I'm inclined to be an alcoholic, but I have the desire not to do that, and I look at the homosexual issue the same way."

You know I think ole Rick might be on to something here.

I remember watching my alcoholic father stumbling around the house and thinking, "That's so gay."

Obviously being gay is NOTHING like having a predisposition toward alcoholism. And suggesting that it does demonstrates a deeply inaccurate view of homosexuality.

If he wants to make a more accurate comparison he might suggest that homosexuality is like the need for water, in that without love they will die.

It seems to me that people always get hung up on the mechanics of gay love ("Oh God, he put his winkie in his butthole!  Gross!"), instead of recognizing that, just like heterosexual love, there is an emotional and even chemical connection.

If you ever meet an elderly gay couple, and I suggest you do because they are often delightful, you will notice that, much like elderly heterosexual couples, they may not have sexual relations very often anymore but the love and sense of connection is as strong as ever. Perhaps even stronger.

If my father had been able to resist his impulse to drink he might still be alive today.

But if a gay person resists the impulse to love, then what is there to live for?

I really think this sign should be placed all over Alaska.

Sign at The Mad Hatcher (Hatcher Pass, Alaska.)

Not to sound too arrogant, but the facts are that my state kills both outsiders and residents, with alarming regularity.

We have lots of high places to fall from, animals that will eat or kick your ass just for shits and giggles, rivers that will seemingly reach into your boat and drown you beneath it, and weather that will coax you out of doors with sunshine only to rip your body heat away with freezing rain and wind just as soon as you are a mile or more away from your automobile.

And then there's the people. The whole state is like a giant penal colony with no bars separating you from the inmates.

We have some of the highest rates of suicide, alcohol abuse, drug use, and gun violence in the country.

But then again the place is so damn beautiful. I mean the mountains are just sparkling in the morning light, and the sky is this gorgeous shade of blue.

I hear birds outside my window singing to the dawn, and is that the smell of pine and chimney smoke wafting through the window?

What was I saying before?

Oh never mind. I have to grab my car keys and head off to the local national park for a quick hike. The sun is up, so I will leave my jacket at home, after all what can go wrong?

CNN reporter investigates the incredibly high number of rapes in Alaska. Well it's about time.

You know this is something that I have revisited on this blog time and time again.

However it does not always get much attention nationally.

That has just changed as CNN columnist John Sutter has taken a deep dive into data that not only reveals the number of rapes up here, but also explores the reasons why:  

The extent of Alaska's problem with violence against women is both horrifying and clear: Alaska's per capita rate of reported rape is the highest in the country, according to 2012 FBI crime data. An estimated 80 rapes are reported in Alaska for every 100,000 people. That's nearly three times the national average of 27; and almost seven times the rate in New Jersey, the state where reported rape is least common. Those comparisons are imperfect, of course. But localized surveys in Alaska paint an even bleaker picture. A majority of women – 59% -- have experienced sexual or intimate partner violence, which includes physical violence and threats; and 37%, nearly four in 10, have been raped or sexually assaulted, according to a survey of 871 adult women in Alaska, published in 2010. 

There was a time when politicians in Alaska argued rape survivors were simply reporting rape more often in this state than elsewhere. Those arguments, however, have been largely abandoned as the scope of the violence has become clearer. If anything, the taboos surrounding rape here would suggest that the crime is underreported in Alaska, relative to other states. 

What's unclear is exactly why the violence is occurring. "That's part of the problem," said Andre Rosay, director of the University of Alaska Anchorage Justice Center, and a national expert on this issue. "We can't answer that question. ..."

My rationalization through the years as to the reason why we have so many rapes up here has always been a combination of the fact that many rapes take place in isolated communities where help is out reach, our incredibly high rate of alcoholism, and some cultural obstacles which make it easier for men to prey on the young and helpless of both sexes.

However after his research Sutter offers his own theories:  

After talking with dozens of people in Alaska, here are the best theories I heard about why the state has the highest rape rate in the country: 

1. The history of cultural trauma, abuse, disease and dislocation imposed on Alaska Native villages has led to a cycle of despair and violent behavior. 
2. Rape is tolerated in some communities; when victims like Claire come forward, they're not believed or told to forget what happened. 
3. Offenders are too rarely punished. Of nearly 1,000 cases of sexual assault studied by the University of Alaska Anchorage Justice Center, 46% were referred for prosecution and 22% resulted in a conviction. It's difficult to compare those rates with other states, said Andre Rosay, from the justice center. What's clear, he said, is that "the biggest hurdle really is in getting the case referred for prosecution, "especially in villages with no local law enforcement presence. Sexual assault cases are 3 ½ times as likely to be prosecuted in communities with a Village Public Safety Officer, he said. 
4. The state is so large – four times the size of California – and so sparsely populated, that it's nearly impossible to police. State troopers must fly to many remote villages, and that can take days, depending on the weather. 
5. Long winters make it easy for offenders to perpetrate the crime. 
6. There's a high rate of alcohol abuse, which doesn't cause rape, but can lower inhibitions for would-be offenders and can be used as a date-rape drug. 

If I placed a bet, it would be on a seventh reason: the silence.

Those reasons seem as reasonable as anything, and as you can see many also reflect some of my opinions.

Sutter also interviews Sean Parnelll about his Choose Respect campaign. (An attempt that I have very little confidence in, but appreciate the Governor's attempt to at least do something.)

The article is fairly long, but I encourage you to read it, ESPECIALLY if you are a resident of Alaska.

I don't know what it will take to make a significant impact on our culture of rape up here, but it is certain nothing will change if we do not try.

Hypocrisy alert, Mormon Senator who claims he "abstains from alcohol" arrested for DUI. What? No!

Senator Mike Crapo mugshot.

Courtesy of Politico:

Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) issued a public apology after being arrested for drunken driving in Alexandria, Va., early Sunday morning. 

Jody Donaldson, a spokesperson for the Alexandria Police Department, said in an e-mail that Crapo was arrested at 12:45 a.m. Sunday. An Alexandria police officer noticed Crapo’s vehicle run through a red traffic light, and after the vehicle was stopped, the officer conducted field sobriety tests, which Crapo failed, Donaldson said. Crapo was arrested for driving under the influence, and taken into custody without incident, Donaldson said. 

But hey at least Capo takes responsibility for his poor failings. (Unlike a fellow Mormon of his that I could mention.) 

In a statement, Crapo apologized for his actions. 

“I am deeply sorry for the actions that resulted in this circumstance,” Crapo said. “I made a mistake for which I apologize to my family, my Idaho constituents and any others who have put their trust in me. I accept total responsibility and will deal with whatever penalty comes my way in this matter."

“I will also undertake measures to ensure that this circumstance is never repeated.” 

Police said the senator’s blood-alcohol level was .110. In Virginia, drivers at .08 or higher are considered intoxicated. 

Now this is an unfortunate circumstance and it would not be worthy of discussion if it were not for this last part.

The 61-year-old Republican is serving his third term in the U.S. Senate. Crapo is Mormon, and has said publicly that he abstains from alcohol. 

If you are going to publicly claim that you are holier than thou, than by Thor you better indeed BE holier than thou. That's all that I am saying.

It's almost enough to drive you to drink.

I have an idea. How about not being a party full of douchebags?

Just a thought.

Long time Palin family friend faces first ever recall effort in Wasilla.

Courtesy of the Frontiersman:

Steve Menard moved another step closer to making history as the first city council member to face a recall vote. 

A petition asking Wasilla voters to oust the two-time councilman was turned in Monday at Wasilla City Hall about three and a half hours ahead of a 5 p.m. deadline. The petition, which has 284 signatures, says Menard’s behavior at a Sitka hotel room while on city business in August rises to the level of official misconduct in office. 

If the petition has at least the required 201 valid signatures of registered city voters, it would be the first time a recall effort of a Wasilla official would be decided by an election, City Clerk Kristie Smithers said. In 14 years as city clerk, Smithers said she hasn’t seen a recall effort make it as far as Menard’s. 

The recall effort, spearheaded by the local Conservative Patriots Group, is in response to Menard’s actions while attending the summer Alaska Municipal League meetings. When he went to check out after a three-day stay at the Westmark Sitka, the hotel discovered extensive damage to his room and charged the city $350 for cleaning. 

An itemized bill from the hotel to the city lists damage that included two mattresses and a chair had been urinated on, a burned mattress and vomit on the carpet. After Wasilla City Council met in a 50-minute executive session after the trip to discuss Menard’s behavior, the councilman agreed to repay the entire cost of his trip, about $1,400, and was restricted from traveling on city business in the future. 

Although Menard also apologized and acknowledged a longtime problem with alcohol, that he continues as a city councilman is unacceptable, said Jennie Bettine, CEO for Conservative Patriots Group. The group hoped Menard would resign, and when he didn’t, felt compelled to act. 

“We had hoped he would have been man enough to man up and say, ‘I did something wrong and the people who voted for me shouldn’t have to put up with this,’” she said after CPG first submitted its petition application. “He did not choose to do that. … He should really just resign and not put the city through this.” 

By the way the Conservative Patriots Group is a local group of Teabaggers that you would normally assume would have the back of one of the Grizzled Mama's longtime family friends.  I guess urinating and vomiting all over hotel rooms and charging the town for the cost is where they draw the line.

Besides being close friends of the Palins little Stevie's mother, Linda Menard, is also a State Senator, but simply does not have the influence to protect her little boy from his own stupidity and weakness.

Stripped of their culture, their way of life, and even their very identity, for many Alaskan natives suicide represents a sweet release from constant emotional pain.

The following is an excerpt from testimony provided by Evon Peter a former Neetsaii Gwich’in chief, and submitted to the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, which I found over at the Alaska Dispatch.

This is only an excerpt and I strongly urge you to read the rest by clicking the link.

I should also warn you that this may be difficult for some to read this early in the day, and I apologize ahead of time for your emotional discomfort. However I believe that if you truly want to understand the complicated situation facing the Native people of Alaska that you must hear what Chief Peter bravely shared with the Senate.

Within my culture, we speak from personal experience because that is the story we know best. Our stories shape who we are and reflect the learnings we have garnered about life. They also enable us to identify our relationships to one another. Additionally, in order to fully address the complexity of suicide in Alaska Native communities, time must be taken to briefly detail a history of colonization. This history may not initially seem relevant, yet is inextricably connected to the breakdown of the cultural, political, spiritual, and social fabric that sustained Alaska Native peoples for thousands of years prior to western colonization. 

Research has shown that colonization is one of the single largest factors driving the abnormally high suicide rates within an Indigenous population.1 Therefore, in order to fully engage in the battle against suicide in Alaska Native communities it is crucial to ask a couple questions: Just what is colonization? And how has the colonization of Alaska impacted Alaska Native populations historically and in the current time? I will attempt to answer parts of these questions through sharing with you part of my story, how I am here before you today. 

I was born to a Gwich’in and Koyukon mother and a Jewish father. I lost my father to divorce when I was five and I did not see him again before he died, for these reasons I was raised as a Gwich’in person from my earliest memories. But my story begins further back; my grandmother was adopted at a young age after losing her parents to disease -- one of several diseases that had caused a great number of deaths among Alaska Native people between 1870 and 1950. As a child, following the adoption, my grandmother was sexually abused by men in her new community, and she did not realize until adulthood that this was not a normal part of what childhood was supposed to be. This later weighed heavily on her relationship with my grandfather and their ability to raise my aunts, uncles, and mother in a secure and openly loving way. 

Like many Alaska Native people of my grandmother and mother’s generation, my mother endured the emotional, psychological, spiritual, cultural, and physical duress of a rapid transition from a traditional way of life on the land to the 21st-century “city life.” Federal policy and practices, implemented through schools and some churches, enforced the assimilation of Native peoples through the direct and indirect eradication of rights, language, culture, and philosophy. My mother’s generation was born into a world that immediately told her, both in popular culture and in government policies, that she must change. 

The policies and practices of colonization brought with them the social illnesses of sexual abuse, alcoholism, and neglect, which can be passed from one generation to the next. This is often referred to as intergenerational trauma, which equates to an experience of post-traumatic stress disorder among many Alaska Native people. In many ways, my mother’s generation was born with the scars of assaults carried out in previous generations of our ancestry as the colonizing culture attempted the eradication of who we are and the undermining of our control over our destiny as a people. 

These multiple layers of stress and pain associated with generations of assault, abuse, and loss are all too easily numbed with alcohol and drugs. Yet drugs and alcohol do not heal the pains, they amplify it. Alaska Native communities have seen an epidemic of drug and alcohol abuse, which has resulted in continuations of the cycles of social illness and suicides. My family has not been immune to this; my story, until recently, was not an exception to this cycle.

As I stated before there is much, much more and if you have been moved by what you read so far, I urge you to continue reading over at Alaska Dispatch.

Now as many of you may, or may not, know I have written about the shameful history of how the Alaskan natives were treated before, as well as the racism that many of them face on the streets of Anchorage today.

As a Caucasian living in Alaska, this topic brings me great shame, and through my job I have found myself dealing with the fallout that has resulted from this complete lack of respect for our indigenous people more times than I can count.

Chief Peter is absolutely correct in identifying the forced assimilation of the native people as the key factor in understanding why they are taking their lives in such overwhelming numbers today.

This started with the missionaries who came to Alaska to teach the "savages" the loving message of Jesus Christ, and in so doing gave the children in their care Biblical names because their native names felt pagan and wrong to the ears of the nuns and missionaries who ran the schools.

Later these schools would be replaced with more secular schools, but the abuse continued.

When American style schools were started in Alaskan communities, the idea was to wipe out Native culture - to undermine connections with spiritual worlds, lands and waters, and to break the feelings of individuals and groups that are the essence of a culture. The agenda was to "civilize the Natives" and to make them more like the white settlers. Any beliefs that Natives had that involved understanding the world differently, or defining their place in the world as separate and apart from the white settlers was not allowed in school. English only language policies were strictly enforced, and punished anyone speaking in a Native language. Those policies erased Native languages from schools and from some communities as well. Schools disparaged Native language, food, dress and customs. At the same time the curriculum of the schools and the teachers taught students to view the world from a Western point of view. Policies were aimed at the hearts of students. Feelings of inferiority and shame were associated with things Native. Good grades and rewards were associated with things Western. This was a tough message delivered by a powerful system. 

I don't know how anybody can read that last paragraph and not feel incredible pain for the way these amazing human beings  were treated. We owe the indigenous people of my state more than we can ever repay, and I believe the suggestion that Evon Peter made at the end of his written testimony was more than fair.

I would like to suggest that an equal, if not greater, scale of investment that was put into eradicating our cultures and assimilating Alaska Native peoples into western ways be invested into healing, wellness, and leadership development to help us recover.

Considering how wealthy the state of Alaska has become off of the oil retrieved from the land these proud people once called home, and how inhumane they were treated in the not too distant past, don't you think we owe them at least this much?