Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Interesting post from the Alaska Dispatch.

Writer Don Mitchell finds himself sitting behind Bristol Palin and her fiancee Levi Johnston.

Second, sitting three-quarters of the way up the bleacher was Bristol Palin and her eighteen-year-old impregnator, Levi Johnston. Once I noticed them, I kept my eye on Bristol and Levi. What I learned provoked an odd empathy for the awful pickle Wasilla High School’s hockey stick wielding homeboy now finds himself in.

Bristol and Levi sat shoulder-to-shoulder. But not once did they look at each other, speak to each other, or in any way acknowledge each other’s physical presence. Not once. For an entire hour. Instead, Bristol stared straight ahead and Levi had the glazed look of a trapped feral animal.

Then when Sarah wound up her autograph signing and the people sitting in front of him on the bleacher began climbing down, Levi stood up and, without looking at or speaking to his betrothed, turned in the opposite direction and walked away.

What I took away from that is that the People Magazine spin about how excited the happy couple is about their upcoming nuptials and Levi’s “Bristol” finger tattoo is the Karl Rovian nonsense that anyone who thinks about it for a scintilla of a second intuitively knows that it is. If McCain-Palin lose, my easy bet is that there will be no nuptials. But if they win, the hand Levi dealt himself by having had the poor luck to knock up the daughter of the Vice President of the United States (at the time who could have known?) will have to be played out.

The more I see or hear about Bristol Palin, and how her personal business has been made public, and how she and the rest of her family are paraded about like living breathing props to make her mother seem genuine and accessible, the more my heart goes out to her.

I feel nothing but disdain for Sarah Palin, and anger at John McCain and the Republicans, but my emotions concerning Bristol and her sisters, not to mention baby Trig, are much softer and more complicated.

My most overwhelming emotional response is that they need to be rescued.

I feel they have been taken prisoner by their mother's ambitions. And that they are simply caught up in a whirlwind much like Dorothy was before her house landed in Oz. And when these children finally touch earth again I do not think they will like where they find themselves.

I am convinced that Bristol is Trig's mother, and that her role in her baby's life has been usurped and she has been relegated to the sidelines while her mother accepts the adoration of thousands for her decision to give birth to a child with Downs syndrome. And if that were not humiliating enough Bristol is forced to pretend to be the happy little mother-to-be, sitting beside her future husband, in front of the television cameras and throngs of people who are there to see a mother that is simply too busy to provide her daughter with the attention she obviously so desperately needs right now. No wonder Bristol looks so sad in all of the pictures we see of her at these events.

I would like nothing more then to break the story that would bring Sarah Palin back to earth, and give Bristol her baby back, and provide an opportunity for this family to start the healing process.

Trust me I will never give up trying, you can count on that.

31 comments:

  1. Anonymous4:21 PM

    I think you are soooo right. I do feel sorry for this girl. Her mother's ambitions have completely hijacked her life. When I see her hold that little baby I know that she is his mother. How sad that she has to pretend that he is her brother.

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  2. "Trust me I will never give up trying, you can count on that."

    Yay! I happen to agree with you that Trig is likely Bristol's baby, although I have no way of knowing for sure at this point. I hope you do find a way to get to the truth on this matter. . .

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  3. I'm with Cat, I think it's likely that Bristol is the mom, but I am not convinced. I think Bristol isn't pregnant, and soon she will have a "miscarriage" and Levi will be off the hook.

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  4. Speaking of ambition, watch McCain reject Christian fundamentalism in politics back in 2000. Now, he is much more after the job and willing to sell his soul.
    http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8268308866390254631&vt=lf&hl=en

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  5. I agree with all the other posters and I am concerned for Bristol as they try to unwind the faux pregnancy. She is 5.5 months and counting if we are to believe the story. Exactly how do you miscarry at 6 months and deal with the resulting fetus? This isn't a matter of some "excessive bleeding" and the problem, literally, gets flushed away. They will have to contrive how they dispose of this fetus and the ideas which come readily to mind would put Bristol at great risk.

    This ruse was not well thought out - as with the initial "Sarah Palin pregnant" story - and they are going to have a serious problem going forward. I fear for Bristol's (and maybe Levi's) safety as the campaign tries to extricate themselves from this disaster.

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  6. Anonymous5:22 PM

    Where is Trig Palin now? Did Sarah Palin take him along with her as she campaigns?

    What about Bristol, was she left behind?

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  7. Anonymous5:23 PM

    There are only 305 Million or so Americans to choose from -- why do we have to have Sarah Palin as one of only two choices for VP -- heartbeats from the president? Where is her experience or even education keeping us safe and out of unnecessary and immoral wars? What have McCain and Palin done out of avarice and ambition? They should be selling Shoes not Souls.

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  8. Anonymous5:30 PM

    We're behind you 100% -- there appears to be no way that Sarah had the baby and her kids and
    Trig's mom seem to be suffering -- let's not let this give the country someone clearly not ready for prime-time. Virginia Mom

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  9. Anonymous5:39 PM

    Does Palin have the baby with her now, on the campaign? The pressure changes in airplane fights are painful to babies' ears, and apt to cause an infection ( not something to risk in a Down's baby, especially)?

    And taking him away from his mother, if Bristol is his mother, is cruel and harmful to both mother and child.

    At the convention, Bristol's bosom certainly looked more like that of a nursing mother than a 5-month girl pregnant with her first child. She appeared to have been wrapped and padded to keep leaks from showing, or perhaps was wearing a compression bra to begin a painful (for both mother and child) forcible weaning.

    Breastfeeding is the healthiest form of nutrition for a young baby, and again, a Down's baby would benefit from the increased immunity it confers.

    http://www.usmagazine.com/photos/mccain-palin-on-the-trail?slideshow_id=849&o=7

    http://www.usmagazine.com/photos/mccain-palin-on-the-trail?slideshow_id=849&o=10

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  10. Anonymous5:53 PM

    What about the odd wording of the Palins' announcement from September 1 -- they never say Bristol is pregnant or use the word pregnant. The statement could be referring as easily to a child already born.

    And even more strange is that campaign people say the media forced Palin to disclose Bristol's "pregnancy" because of rumors about Trig’s parentage. What a weird way that would be to quell rumors. Why didn’t they just show Trig’s birth certificate to the public? Or shown a pic of Sarah hugely pregnant with him?

    It's also usual for photographs to be taken of the newborn baby in its mothers arms in the hospital. There don't seem to be any of Sarah, just her standing next to Levi's sister who's holding the baby! No view of who's in the hospital bed. No announcement on the hospital website, either.

    Statement from Sarah and Todd Palin

    ARLINGTON, VA -- Today, Sarah and Todd Palin issued the following statement regarding today's Reuters story:

    "We have been blessed with five wonderful children who we love with all our heart and mean everything to us. Our beautiful daughter Bristol came to us with news that as parents we knew would make her grow up faster than we had ever planned. We're proud of Bristol's decision to have her baby and even prouder to become grandparents. As Bristol faces the responsibilities of adulthood, she knows she has our unconditional love and support.

    "Bristol and the young man she will marry are going to realize very quickly the difficulties of raising a child, which is why they will have the love and support of our entire family. We ask the media to respect our daughter and Levi's privacy as has always been the tradition of children of candidates."

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  11. Anonymous6:16 PM

    I keep coming back to Trig, for whom my heart literally aches. Is he getting the benefit of any of the early therapy and intervention that is so critical to babies with Downs Syndrome? If not, he will pay with a lower quality of life for his entire life. How have we come to be a nation that can admire a woman who seemingly is willing to sacrifice her son's (or grandson's) quality of life for power and influence? Are these truly our "family values"?

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  12. All the pieces fit together.

    When I saw McCandy stroll onto a stage and "Trig" was held in Bristol's arms, McCandy reached out and patted him on the head like he was a dog.

    Nothing remotely maternal.

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  13. I wish I had more information for you about who is currently caring for Trig and whether he is being flown around the country with Sarah, but I don't right now.

    And I appreciate your comments and the fact that you share my concern for this family and that little baby.

    If I learn more I will definitely post it as quickly as I can.

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  14. Anonymous6:59 PM

    And who has ever seen Sarah nursing???? Or take a break for nursing? is Trig in Alaska now with Bristol? Reporters should be camped outside. The American public have a right to know if this has been lies and a charade by the current nominee for VP. Not to mention possible insurance fraud. Where is Dr. Cathy Baldwin Johnson, can the press not ask her questions, is she AWOL also? We may see all these frauds being bars soon. Keep on the case.

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  15. When they said Bristol was five months pregnant, which would make it impossible for her to be Trig's mom, I left it at that. After all, it would take a lot of nerve to lie about that.

    But now, with the McCain campaign lying about everything, big, small and anywhere in between, I return to the idea a lot of people had. No sane mother of four would take an eight hour plane ride and a 50 minute car trip to a little clinic outside Wasilla when her water had already broken to give birth to a child she knew was special needs.

    In some ways, the 50 minute car ride makes less sense than the eight hour plane trip, because she passed several better hospitals along the way. IF she were pregnant, it seems obvious she could ask her doctor to meet her in Anchorage or recommend someone qualified there.

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  16. Anonymous12:50 AM

    gryphen - i enjoy reading ur blog.

    i totally agree something doesn't pass the sniff test here. everything about this babygate stinks. i am a doctor in internal medicine, and there are so many things in this story that don't sit right with me. the fact that no one noticed that she was pregnant 7 months in is really fishy. bristol's mono could be believable - though she would probably have to have complications such as hepato or splenomegaly to be out sick for so long - if this is indeed fact. but the one that just isn't believable is the pregnancy story. no woman in their right mind wouldn't seek immediate health care when they start leaking amniotic fluid (premature rupture of membrane). there's a huge risk of infection, both to mother and child and IV broad spectrum antiobiotics are immediately started - the risk increases from 10 % to 40 % after 24 hrs (so jumping on a plane and delaying treatment is incredibly stupid). one aspect that is important to determine is at how many weeks did this happen? PROM (premature rupture of membranes) is at or beyond 37 wks gestation.
    PPROM (preterm premature rupture of membranes) is less than 37 wks and is much more involved due to the prematurity of the fetus. PPROM is much more difficult to manage and should only be cared for at a facility that has a NICU available and can care for the
    neonate. (especially a high risk pregnancy due to downs syndrome! - and most hospitals will provide a neonatalogist just for this purpose to be present at the birthing). So basically, the mother should have gotten to a medical facility ASAP so 1) test to make sure it really is amnitoic fluid leaking and not urine, 2) gyn exam, 3) antibiotics could be started, 4) fetal surveillance , 5) corticosteroid therapy for lung maturation if fetus is less than 34 wks. If the fetus is between 24-34 wks, the lungs are not sufficiently developed to breathe air, and the steroid therapy matures the lungs really fast. But the steroid therapy is usually given over 48 hrs for it to be effective.

    So, there's quite a few areas you can poke a hole in her pregnancy story. Nobody would delay treatment, and no ob/gyn would give permission to do that. I'm sure her ob/gyn documented in her medical records that palin's actions were AMA (against medical advice). And another crazy thing is that palin chose to drive past both acceptable medical facilities with nicu's, and drove to an underquipped hospital that wasn't the best equipped to care for her child. This makes absolutely no sense. One thing that we might
    be able to find out is how many weeks along Palin was when this happened.

    Now I would like to think that it would be impossible for a hospital to be complicit in such a scandal, and be even more impossible to carry out, but in theory it could be done. I remember when i was a medical student, and bill clinton came to the hospital for an
    angiogram, and nobody knew it until the day after...

    Sorry about the medical lingo, but i think it helps put it in perspective if you understand the seriousness of the issue. Also, one point of interest is the corticosteroid therapy. If the fetus was around 30 wks or so, they probably would've done steroid therapy and they would want to delay birth for about 48 hours. Not sure if this jives with when she said they induced labor.

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  17. Anonymous1:04 AM

    arghh it's just so crazy that an ob/gyn would allow a person in palin's position to get on a long flight! it is completely absurd! especially in this era where ob/gyn's basically have to practice "defensive medicine - aka cover your ass medicine" because of lawsuits. ob/gyns are among the most sued physicians and have to pay ridiculous malpractice insurance fees.

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  18. Anonymous3:55 AM

    They were sitting on bleachers and Bristol is 5-6 months pregnant and Levi didn't give his arm or hand to help Bristol down?

    I suppose no one has asked (family "off limits" and all that -- unless used as propaganda props) but is she planning on moving the entire family to Washington D.C. if she is elected Vice President? Either way -- leaving Bristol and Levi and the other kids home in Alaska or hauling them out to D.C. sounds like an awful fate for the family. And I guess it's a toss up whether having a Vice President telecommute from Wasilla to D.C. is a good or bad thing.

    Thanks for your hard work on this blog.

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  19. as a mom, a nurse and as a Human...I am convinced that Sarah is not trigs mom...and I too really do feel sorry for Bristol....poor girl...a prop in her narcisstic mom's path to ????

    sick...

    and sad..

    thanks for blogging this...

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  20. Anonymous5:22 AM

    I googled Bristol Palin trying to find pictures of her over the last two weeks. Now, allegedly at five and a half months pregnant, we should be able to tell from pictures. The google search only returned pictures of her from the Republican Convention.

    It is amazing that Bristol Palin seems to have disappeared again, just as she disappeared in late December of 2007, four months before the birth of Trig.

    Where is Bristol Palin now and why can't we see a picture of her?

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  21. If that baby is Bristol's then Sarah Palin is one sick bitch that ought to be prosecuted for abuse and neglect. She is the epitome of the charismatic/pentecostal right wing nut jobs I knew so well while attending these types of churches. Isn't is astounding, while professing the love of Christ, people like this lie, cheat, steal to get what they want. Just like George Bush. He professes to be "very religious." If this is his brand of christianity, he can keep it. Jesus said "you shall know my people by the fruit they bear." I sincerely hope that these aren't His people...peace Oh-I have the same question as anonymous. Where the hell is this kid now?

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  22. Somebody needs to get a hold of those med. records legally or otherwise.

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  23. This election is too important to allow that chicanary that clouded 2000/04...

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  24. you're on fi-ya, dude!

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  25. anon wrote: "They were sitting on bleachers and Bristol is 5-6 months pregnant and Levi didn't give his arm or hand to help Bristol down?"

    That is a very good point! Hmm..

    In reading the account I thought well maybe they had a fight, didn't want to go and Ma Duggar (oops), Ma Palin forced them to go. Still even if they were pissed at each other, wouldn't he have wanted to make sure that his fiancee and child got safely back down on the ground??

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  26. Anonymous2:45 PM

    The good doctor above raises many of the same things I wondered about, just from my own pregnancy with my second child. A little more than two weeks prior to my due date, I noticed my son wasn't moving around as much...went to the doctor,who ordered an ultrasound, long story short, I was sent to the hospital immediately to be induced. Labor started about 2 hours later, and ended in less than 5 hours with two pushes. Sarah's story is just too outlandish to believe, and if it is true, it is horrifying. Those My Space pictures tell the story...

    No pregnant woman in her RIGHT MIND who is leaking amniotic fluid would get on an eight+ hour flight. With this supposedly Sarah's fifth pregnancy baby Trig would have basically fallen out of her.

    So many questions...why is her doctor now MIA? Why was the birth not recorded with the hospital? Why won't she release medical records? It goes on and on. Gryphen I agree that she is using her family in the worst way possible...for her own gain without any regard to their welfare.Her son was a meth/coke addict, her daughter is supposedly planning a wedding and birth at the same time, and a precious baby who also needs both parents who are busy on the campaign trail(I thought TODD was a say at home dad). It says alot about what kind of mother Sarah is...

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  27. Why is there no reporting on the fact that her spokesman Mcallister admitted he had no clue Bristol was pregnant until the Mccain camp announced it in September?

    Why is there no reporting on the strange timeline Mcallister provided to the ADN? He claimed that Gov. Palin approached him saying rumors about Bristol's pregnancy were untrue back in February 2008! Before she even conceived!

    http://community.adn.com/adn/node/130178

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  28. Yeah I posted that over two weeks ago.

    Every single clue that is needed to get the answer to this resolved is sitting right in front of the MSM, but they simply refuse to connect the dots.

    If Sherlock Holmes were a real person he would be spinning in his grave so fast the kinetic energy could provide power to every household in Anchorage.

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  29. Anonymous1:38 AM

    I have been watching this business the entire time, and there is one angle that I haven't heard anyone discuss: Palin's cell phone records from the 4:00 a.m. phone call.

    My understanding is that cell phone records are not terribly difficult to acquire, although I don't know how. If I had to guess, I'd say that while in Texas, the first call was an incoming call from Alaska rather than an outgoing call to her doctor. I think that if one could look at her phone records, the events of that morning would unfold pretty clearly.

    Good luck.

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  30. For anyone who is interested in this issue, please visit my blog and website, located at: http://www.palindeception.com Gryphen has already been kind enough to link to me on several occasions.

    We have a lot of material over there to read and review.

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  31. Anonymous4:01 PM

    In response to fgwhite1's comment:
    "No pregnant woman in her RIGHT MIND who is leaking amniotic fluid would get on an eight+ hour flight. With this supposedly Sarah's fifth pregnancy baby Trig would have basically fallen out of her."...

    Sorry, that's just not true. I PPROM'ed with my fourth child and my son remained firmly in place for another 6 weeks. Many of my other PPROM moms have carried their children 2,3, even 4 months post-rupture.

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