Blodget Pokes a Stick at the Sleeping Bear
April 14, 2011
Henry Blodget, CEO and editor-in-chief of Business Insider, writes that Northern Kentucky University professor Brad Scharlott alleges Sarah Palin “probably staged a gigantic hoax about being Trig’s mother,” but “our media has been too wimpy and pathetic to investigate.”
The sleeping bear is awake now and starting to growl.
To be clear: I am not at this point accusing Sarah of staging a hoax in regard to Trig.
I am, however, like Andrew Sullivan at The Daily Beast and Jesse Griffin at The Immoral Minority, saying that mainstream media, as well as Alaskan media and some otherwise progressive Alaska bloggers, gave Sarah a free pass re Trig in 2008, and have continued to denigrate anyone who suggests that the issue–a cornerstone of her political identity–is worth exploring.
The question now is whether the mainstreamers will revoke the pass, given that they’ve written Sarah off for 2012.
Posted in 
Tags: 57 Responses to “Blodget Pokes a Stick at the Sleeping Bear”
I hope MSM picks up this story. We need to expose her for the liar she is. I feel sad for the child because to Sarah Palin he is only a prop. Yes expose the liar so we can make sure that she won’t ever be heard again especially for 2012 or 2016.
That is indeed the question. It appears most bloggers and journalists are going to cling to known liar, known crazy person Sarah Palin’s ludicrous story until it is ripped from their cold, dead fingers by a leaked receipt for a tubal ligation or Bristol suddenly deciding to go public with the truth.
Very, very frustrating.
What??? Are telling me that after months and months of research, much of it on the ground in AK, you do not offer evidence in your book that the hoax is a hoax??? If you of all people cannot go beyond saying “I am not at this point accusing Sarah of staging a hoax in regard to Trig,” then I at this point am in despair. Who can accuse her if you can’t? Dunn? The two of you between you can’t get anyone to go on record one way or the other about witnessing Palin’s “pregnancy” and behavior in March-April 2008?? Sheesh. This is hopeless–hopelessly bizarre.
I don’t feel sorry for Trig at all … I hope his parents have placed his rental fee into an account to pay for much needed future therapies when Palin is through lugging him around like a sack of potatoes.
Her story about the Wild Ride is SO far out that you’d really need to be pretty gullible to fall for it – when she started making mistakes about how long she was pregnant and what city she delivered in, her web of lies have all fallen apart.
On the other hand, I’m sure Trig’s natural parents have him back now for awhile – either that or she’s stuffed him in a closet and shoves pizza under the door until he needs to be dragged out for a photo op again.
Obviously, I cannot disclose in advance anything about the content of a book to be published September 20.
Totally feeling your pain, Melly. Couldn’t have said it better myself. If these folks can’t nail it down, how the HELL is it EVER going to come out?
Joe, say it ain’t so. Throw us a bone. Give us some hope!
It is indeed unfortunate that the “progressive Alaska bloggers” chose to avoid the subject and give her cover. Never could figure out the reason for their fear to expose her?
Patience, folks. McGinnis and Andrew Sullivan are saying “where’s the proof she gave birth the baby?” Of course, there is none.
The problem is, as we have all seen over the past 3 years, no one has been willing to do a thorough investigation. The comparative photos are revealing as are the various versions of “the wild ride,” but that just doesn’t seem to be enough.
Love the blog, Joe! There is some circumstantial evidence that I can’t ignore. This page was one that was found and presented on the ADN blog by a fellow blogger. Very curious, indeed..
Read this sentence again:
“To be clear: I am not ((((at this point))))) accusing Sarah of staging a hoax in regard to Trig.”
Doesn’t mean it might not eventually happen, say, in September. 😉
What are you talking about? Trig lives with the Palins as he is one. He is seen with Willow constantly hanging out with other kids his age. He usually travels to AZ when they go there.
Those of us who have been here since Audrey — remember the dead photo links on the State’s website? I do. Wonder if those come under the Freedom of Information Act? They were, at one time, official state photos. Why were they scrubbed?
Speaking of FOIA emails, THIS CrivellaWest email from Janice Mason gave me pause: “Friday 2.29.08 2:15pm Town Square, South Side of Performing Art Center – Governor and Piper Invited to ride down 9-10ft ice slide. There will be media attending. This is the WILDFEST Winter Festival – a production of Alaska Destination Specialists, Inc. This is the first year of the festival.”
Read the entire email, and it’s apparent that Janice Mason was deeply familiar with the Governor’s schedule. Would this woman not know that her boss was 7 months pregnant with her 7th child, a special-needs infant? Apparently not, because she suggests a wildfest ride down an ice slide!
Read the words carefully…. This is one of those “you heard the words, did you hear what I said?”
Joe,
As the name of my blog comes up here in lower case, I’d like to request that you clarify what you wrote. Thanks.
I agree: we must let Sullivan, McGinniss, Dunn, and Bailey move at their own pace, take things one step at a time — which is far more hopeful a route than any other available to us. If you watched the TYT interview, I rest my case.
But I see it from the other end. Not “where’s the proof she was pregnant,” but “we have proof that she was not pregnant.” The photos. There is no need for more proof than that. And anyone maintaining SP WAS pregnant — whether they show a birth certificate, have a supposed eyewitness from the delivery room, or wish to swear on a stack — must have a convincing explanation for how a flat-profile body can deliver a 6-pound baby in 5 weeks. Without that explanation, no dice: she was not pregnant.
Birth certificates can be forged (as surely as that CBJ medical letter was!), eyewitnesses can lie (whether they are swearing to their lie or not). But a flat-profiled woman cannot give birth 5 weeks later to a 6-pound baby.
People are just calling the photos “blurry pictures.” They’re not enough.
so you think DNA is the only true test? palin has been swatting all us mosquitoes for ages. she should be glad when the truth finally comes out. that will be a happy day.
I’m hedging my bets that when Joe says “at this point”, that he means “can’t accuse yet, but maybe down the road…”
I know that Joe et. al are just sitting here watching how the media treats this. This is their time to redeem themselves. Will they? I still hold hope and I truly believe that Mr. McGinnis will have some new information in his book. Until it’s release, he’s seeing how the people that SHOULD HAVE investigated this several years ago will handle their second chance. So far…not looking too good!
After the McCain clean-up crew got done stripping every hi-def picture of Palin’s flat belly from AK state archives, and every other picture online or in any other form, there isn’t much left other than blurry screen captures from mostly low-def video and a few amateur photos.But they’re good enough for everyone but the flying monkeys (Tina Dupuy and Justin Elliott, come on down!).
From Henry Blodget’s Wikipage:
in 2002, then New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, published Merrill Lynch e-mails in which Blodget gave assessments about stocks which conflicted with what was publicly published.[4] In 2003, he was charged with civil securities fraud by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.[5] He settled and agreed to a bar from the securities industry. He paid a $2 million fine and $2 million disgorgement.[6]
Here’s another choice quote from Blodget’s article on the Huffington Post/AOL deal below:
See Also: Here’s Who Cashed In On The AOL-Huffpo Deal
Disclosure: Huffpo’s founder/chairman Ken Lerer is an investor in Business Insider.
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com…
That’s right HuffPo’s founder/chairman Ken Lerer is an investor in a firm who’s editor was busted for securities fraud by none other than Eliot Spitzer the former Governor of New York and client of Emperors Club VIP and now like Blodget a Huffington Post contributer.
Anyone that’s waiting for the smoking gun to show up has missed the obvious. The smoking gun is right there in front of us and always has been since she perpetuated this hoax. We don’t need someone to come forward and say she’s not Trig’s birth mother because we all know it. The bottom line is this – she was and still is given a pass on the truth. The media won’t touch it and the question remains – WHY? I don’t have that answer but I believe it’s because of the sheer number of people involved in the cover-up – politically connected like McCain and many, many others. She’s snarky and arrogant and you can’t wipe that smirk off her face. Even when she made the comments about the birth certificate for Obama the other day. Any sane person in her shoes would’ve avoided that argument but she didn’t. And that’s because she KNOWS the media will not call her out on it. And she also has a history of taking on the rumors or accusations towards her – regardless that they’re true – and she makes fun of it or takes a nasty shot at the person or newscast that it came from. For example – the bendy straw comments she made at the university before her speech. It was obvious after that speech when the students found a copy of her contract in the trash that she did indeed ask for specific things that included the bendy straws – and it makes me shudder when I think of how easy it was for her to lie and never broke a sweat over it. She sounded like she was telling the truth. It’s easy to see why her flying monkeys are taken in by her.
The Wild Ride was enough to know that she was lying in the first place. Any woman who has a baby knows when you are in labor like she was supposedly on the plane there would be no way you would be so calm to sit and read a book and not look uncomfortable. No way, no how and having great abs doesn’t do it. She is a bold face liar I feel.
The altitude of the plane alone would have sped up her labour, if she were really pregnant. Not only that, if she were suddenly to have her water go from a leak to a gush, the Airline would have had to make an emergency landing, putting everyone on the plane at risk!
Just goes to show you she is SOOOOO narcissistic, she didn’t even take the safety of others into her grand lie!! I hope $he is exposed for the “Wild Ride” lie and suffers some severe consequences. The Toad as well. He was a major player in this lie. And anyone else who helped to cover it all up.
This is just more proof that $he has NO place in our political discourse.
I suspect part of Blodget’s motivation is the same as Fox News in getting rid of Beck. It;s time for the big money boys to see that the most viable, electable Corporate Business friendly candidate as the Republican nominee for 2012. With each passing day Palin’s viability as a candidate fades and it will be necessary to marginalize her into irrelevancy before this election cycle really heats up.
At this point the only one is Mitt “Mormon” Romney. The larger problem with Romney is not his Mass. healthcare plan or his flip-flops. That can all be explained away. What cannot is that he is a Mormon. Many of the rapture-ready crowd do not consider Mormons to be Christian.
The only other Republican that does not at first glance “appear” to be insane is Tim Pawlenty. This election is shaping up to be entertaining in at least a tragic-comic sort of way. I hope somebody asks Romney if he agrees with Mormon doctrine that the Native Americans are a Lost Tribe of Israel.
It would be a hoot to seem him asked this question appearing on the same stage as the House Majority Leader Eric Cantor who is Jewish.
I am an adult adoptee and, I have adopted a child who is now my daughter.
Speaking only about my situation, I can state what happened in Texas in my own adoption a great many years ago and in the adoption of my daughter more than 20 years ago.
The Certificate of Birth of the child in question was altered in our two different “closed” (not “open”) adoptions to protect the identity of the birth parents. This followed the birth parents giving up their parental rights to the child then being placed into adoption. The judge sealed this original birth certificate by court order. Thus, the new birth certificate provided to the adopting family shows the new adoptive parents as the ‘parents’ of this child.
The sealed birth certificate can only be unsealed by a new court order after going back before the judge and getting a judgment to unseal the original. THAT is how the legal system has worked for me in the past when you find the names of the original birth parents.
Therefore, I’m not sure that just getting a birth certificate on the little Palin boy will state clearly who his parents actually are. My question is, has an original birth certificate been sealed by court order, and, is a judge willing to unseal that certificate?
Below is from the Wikipedia Paternity Fraud page:
” A 2005 scientific review of international published studies of paternal discrepancy found a range in incidence from 0.8% to 30% (median 3.7%), suggesting that the widely quoted and unsubstantiated figure of 10% of non-paternal events is an overestimate. However, in situations where disputed parentage was the reason for the paternity testing, there were higher levels; an incidence of 17% to 33% (median of 26.9%). Most at risk were those born to younger parents, to unmarried couples and those of lower socio-economic status, or from certain cultural groups.[2] ”
The footnote is from an article in the online Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health. When it comes to to the alleged paternity fraud of the Palin family, they appear to have plenty of company judging from the statistics published on this site. Here’s the link.
http://jech.bmj.com/content/59/9/749.long
Surely, one of these writers has pursued the connection of the suspicious fire that destroyed the church office that held the only church sanctioned adoption records and the suspicious fire that killed a nurse, who knew too much. Just “loose ends” that had to be dealt with. Wiping clean computers was a minor act, compared to the arson, played out to protect the hoax.
Check out who else is shining a light on this subject!!!
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1376824/Sarah-Palins-pregnancy-just-presidential-campaign-WAS-hoax-claims-academic.html#ixzz1JVN6N52o
Sarah Palin had her tubes tied after the birth of her last child, Piper. It was well known at the time, especially among the other moms with whom she carpooled her older kids. In fact, she made such a big deal out of her “surgery” that it was memorable if for no other reason than that it was just another time she shirked her carpooling turns.
That’s one of the main reasons she only provided a letter, somewhat suspect in its own right, the night before the election in November 2008, saying then and later that she had actually provided her “medical records” (which apparently would also show the terminated pregnancy which required “wite-out” to be replaced with “miscarriage” )
Furthermore, a simple comparison of her own statements in interviews, speeches, and her two books provide more than enough inconsistencies to raise the doubt of any reasonable, thinking person.
Add to that the very odd facts regarding the hospital’s lack of NICU, etc and there is no question that something is, well, hinky.
On a separate but related issue, that of her blatant disregard for the known risks to a DS child, she is criminally negligent.
Hard to know where to start, which is one of the problems. So many lies, so little attention.
Rationalist @4:55 says: “People are just calling the photos “blurry pictures.” They’re not enough.”
You are right, Rationalist: many people are not accepting the photos as proof. Some are blurry, but some are not:
We have long known that there is some odd impediment to this proof being accepted and the questions coming to light and being discussed. The “spiral of silence” is one explanation, and it is surely real, as we see demonstrated in many of the rebuttals re this issue. Deliberate suppression also comes to mind. Not sure how to explain what is right in front of us, for anyone to see (as sharon @11:44 says).
All the more reason to ask the questions.
Sarah Palin and the Professor: A Conversation. My interview, or rather, ongoing conversation with Brad Scharlott is up. Please join us: http://www.lauranovakauthor.com/blog.html
Thank YOU for your part in this… one voice becomes many!!
Both birth certificates would have his actual date of birth. Many believe that the baby presented to the media in April 2008 was not a preemie with jaundice, and that he was probably born earlier that year. A birth certificate would be a good place to start debunking the story of the Wild Ride. She told a reporter that she has produced a BC, and she simply hasn’t. Yet another lie.
Phil–
Happy to clarify (and I used lower case because I wasn’t focusing primarily on your blog). In your excellent “Quitterday Anniversary” post of July 3, 2010, you wrote, “I remain convinced that Palin, by hiding her last pregnancy, was merely trying to kill the fetus, whether she was fully conscious of that or not.”
People who are already “convinced” of an answer tend to stop asking questions. Some even grow impatient when others continue to ask and explore. The Anchorage Daily News spent a lot of time on a story about rumors surrounding the birth of Trig, then never printed a story. Others, having arrived at their own conclusions, consider the issue closed. My point–which has been Andrew Sullivan’s point all along– –is that considering what a monumental hoax this would be, surprisingly few people or organizations have invested time or money in an effort to get over, around or through Sarah’s stonewalling. And all sorts of liberal journalists have derided Sullivan for continuing to point out that media have been derelict in their duty. That just might be starting to change, which just might be why Sarah may decide not to run for president.
Cheers,
–Joe
I think I know the 2 bloggers he’s referencing and he’s right about those 2..Your blog didn’t come to mind when I read that..love your blog too.
I see your point that you want a birth date. That absolutely makes sense. But I’d also like to know who the child’s birth parents are.
Hello, I am looking forward to reading your new book. I am a Democrat and I’m no fan of Sarah Palin. However, while I agree that it is fun to think about the Trig hoax, I really don’t think there is anything to it. If there was a hoax, by now, someone would have come forward..Levi and Mercede have both said that they believe that Sarah gave birth to Trig. Levi visited at the family at the hospital. There are too many people who have had contact with the Palins. Surely someone would have something to say about the hoax if it were true. In one blog I read, a while ago, a video was posted of Sarah walking from her house to the Capital while she was being interviewed for some sort of TV show about tourism. She had not yet announced her pregnancy. I watched that video and I believe she looked pregnant. I think the truth is closer to what Phil Munger theorizes – that she did not want this child and could not accept the pregnancy and/or the DS diagnosis for a long time – which explains her very late announcement and the “wild ride.” I also think that if she did have an abortion many years ago, the person who could confirm this is Dr. Susan Lemagie, who at that time was the only OB-GYN in the valley and who was Sarah’s doctor. However, HIPPA does not allow any medical providers to disclose medical information. I also think there may be some truth to the rumor that Track is the biological son of Curt Menard. But as for Trig, he looks just like Piper; he looks like his parents.
Thanks. lillibird and Joe.
Although, as Joe pointed out, my most recent post on this was on July 3rd last year, before that time Progressive Alaska has commented on the ongoing quest to determine this issue in a definitive way. As recently as last fall, I’ve tried to help others writing about Palin and about Trig’s birth get better information than what we have. Additionally, just about every time Palin ends up saying that she has provided Trig’s birth certificate, I’ve felt compelled to write a post at PA or firedoglake that observes that Palin is lying.
The reason this has resurfaced is because a highly regarded journalism prof has criticized the way this story has been covered. The most closely I’ve been involved previously with authors comparing PA’s attention to this issue and the MSM or other AK bloggers, was in Chapter 13 of Eric Boehlert’s book, Bloggers on the Bus. That chapter, titled Saradise Lost, compares two approaches to Palin coverage in the 2008 presidential campaign, contrasting a viewpoint he centered around a biographical sketch of me, to coverage Trig, and of Palin’s family life. I do not represent Boehlert’s viewpoint, as presented in the second part of that chapter. Rather, when this picture emerged:
http://progressivealaska.blogspot.com/2009/09/two-interesting-photos-i-caught-today.html
I wrote to Eric, bringing it to his attention.
Dream on – he may be some kind of Palin, but he isn’t Sarah’s.
OMG I didn’t catch that at all either Phil. Speaking for myself, I never thought it was your blog he was referring to (just giving you an idea of what might be a typical response)!
This may seem like a stupid question – but WHY would Levi be wearing an ID bracelet to visit his girlfriend’s mother’s baby?
Of all the new moms I’ve seen and visited in hospitals, “friends” or “boyfriends” are NOT given a matching ID bracelet – EVER! There is no explanation for this small yet glaring error as Levi would need to be either the father of the baby, or the husband of the mother in order to be receiving a BRACELET. Even in the larger hospitals you may need to check in and get a nametag to visit a patient but NEVER AN ID BRACELET. That bracelet indicates you are MEDICALLY TIED to that baby.
Usually? You mean sometimes they leave him behind?
I also believe that Sarah had her tubes tied when she had Piper. That information came from a variety of sources who seemed to indicate she used it as an excuse (like she always does) to get out of some responsibility with carpooling.
And it would make sense … due to her rapidly advancing age.
TrueBlueGirl: Wanted to touch base on your comment re: miscarriage and wite-out.
I believe Sarah had an abortion. It is against the law to alter a medical record – doesn’t matter if it is a physician, nurse, clerical worker. Medical records are legal and 100% discoverable. Physicians must sign off on notes.
A miscarriage is a spontaneous abortion. She may not like the word abortion, but that is the term used medically for an expulsion of a fetus. On the other hand, an “abortion” alone is a legal medical procedure and would not be recorded in any medical record as a miscarriage.
She’s playing with words (not too smart an idea for someone as loopy as her). IF by some remote chance she had suffered a miscarriage, the physician’s bill would probably stated Dilation & Curretage to resolve incomplete spontaneous abortion. A miscarriage is not a medical term.
A physician billing statement would use the term “abortion” – and there would be NO witeout – a doc could easily lose a license over something like that…
Sarah had better watch herself. If she wants to really go for the brass ring, she’d better be prepared to have ALL her dirty laundry hung out to dry in front of the world. Right now, she’s pretty much nothing and no one and people won’t pay for info on her. If she goes for it, the money will start falling out of all the trees around her. People will be bought off and they will spill.
Trashy Brisdull hangs out all the time at the dumpy WalMart in Maricopa / with TRIPP. No one has seen the loaf of frenchbread.
Could you please explain where Trig came from since Palin had a tubal ligation when she had Piper??? This from her own mouth? I’m not saying he doesn’t belong to Palin .. I’m wondering if he is Toads and NOT Sarahs…. incest does tend to run in families. Predators and incestuous relationships tend to follow within family limits.
Unless they are schlepping Trig down to the “rental” in Scottsdale. That will stop soon when they realize what 118 degrees for 2 weeks feels like when it doesn’t cool down below 100 at night.
Again: tubal ligation = NO Trig from Palin.
Thanks so much!
Bandit, I figured they kept avoiding it because they were hoping to make it in the bigger national arena, and being associated with Trig Truthers would not earn them ‘brownie points’.
Then again, from what I’ve read, there are a lot of people in AK who are afraid of Paylin causing them harm.
Just guessing here…
People are still wondering why the Media is giving Palin a pass.
Don’t you realize that MOST of our Media is now owned by FIVE corporations (!!!), and those corporations are inter-related?
If the Koch Brothers want to suppress something (or spruce up something), they can and will.
If Murdock wants to suppress something (or spruce up something), he can and he will.
They have decided that Palin is becoming a liability, so they have agreed to let the relatively conservative Businessinsider have a run at it now. She dug her own grave when she made that video about the ‘blood-libel’ and being a bigger victim than the real victims. That’s also why they have decided to let her go into the lions’ den in Madison this weekend. Sure – they will bus in people, but don’t hold your breath that people will show up in force and let her know that she and her ilk are NOT welcome there!
EXACTLY!!! I work in a hospital, and ONLY FATHERS, MOTHERS AND THE BABIES are given the bracelet! Not even the grandparents get one!
Two Alaskan bloggers will discuss the “Trig Truthers” on Shannyn’s radio show today.
Your right on point. I am so surprised people are that stupid to fall for that Wild Ride. I was alright when I was having my baby until the water broke then all hell broke loose. It was down right uncomfortable.
I think Mercede or Levi have explained in various blogs that the pictures were from Tripp’s birth, not Trig’s birth.
The pictures were posted before Tripp’s supposed birth, and labeled Triggy-Bear by Mercede if I remember right.
To me, the BC is irrelevant– if Palin ‘faked’ a pregnancy and delivery, then she had help. Mostly, from a Dr who was willing to be part of it.
Therefore, once in on the hoax, it’s no biggie to also participate in false hospital documents, INCLUDING the BC documents.. otherwise, it’s only part of a hoax, no?
As for ‘adoption’ — why bother? If she is going to adopt a baby, legally, then what would have been the point of pretending to be pregnant? There is nothing ‘wrong’ with an adoption, so why would she try to hide it? No matter WHOSE baby it is, there would be no reason to hide that with a fake pregnancy.
Don’t forget, Sarah was the GOV at the time AND most people had no reason to think she would fake a pregnancy — with a Dr’s signature on the proper documents, then she would easily get a BC.
To me, the whole thing rests on the Doctor– someone in authority who has the ‘records’ and the obligation to keep silent. Dr Cathy Baldwin-Johnson could very well NOT have known what she was getting into until it was too late.
In any case, if Sarah presents a BC, it will probably be FAKE but more importantly, those who have been asking for it will be forced to accept it, or else be in the same category of the birther nutcases.
I am willing to bet that she DOES a BC …. it’s her trump card.
Just my opinion