This page is necessary because most people promoting the Sarah Palin pregnancy conspiracy are crazy liberals looking to find every reason to hate Republicans. I have been a McCain supporter (ever since it became apparent that Mitt Romney was out of the race). However, I do think that the circumstances surrounding Sarah Palin’s pregnancy and birth of Trig are extremely fishy, especially the plane flight after her amniotic sac ruptured. So I am creating this web page as an internet resource where hopefully the truth can be determined.
THE BRISTOL BABY BUMP PHOTO: DISCREDITED
This photo was said to show that Bristol Palin had a “baby bump” and was therefore pregnant. However, this photo was taken in 2006, so unless Bristol was pregnant multiple times (not biologically impossible), Bristol was just a little chunky in this photo (but still very cute, and I’m sure that Levi Johnston would agree).
Some have insisted that the date on this photo was changed in order to further the conspiracy, however Willow clearly looks two years younger in this photo than she did at the Republican National Convention.
THE PLANE FLIGHT
The story of the plane flight is recounted at the Anchorage Daily News.
Key facts are as follows:
At 4:00 AM, Sarah “leaked amniotic fluid and also felt some contractions that seemed different from the false labor she had been having for months.” There has been discussion about whether there’s a difference between water “breaking” and “leaking,” but they both mean the same thing, that the amniotic sac has been ruptured.
Her family physician, Cathy Baldwin-Johnson, allegedly told her that it was OK for her to give a speech and then fly back to Anchorage. It is noted that Dr. Baldwin-Johnson is not an OB/GYN, but she does have experience delivering babies. May people think it’s fishy that Sarah was not under the care of an OB/GYN, and I agree.
A spokesperson for Alaska Airlines said “The stage of her pregnancy was not apparent by observation. She did not show any signs of distress.”
Sarah looks very pregnant. Source.
In the above photo, Sarah Palin looks very pregnant. How could anyone not observe her pregnancy? (Where did this photo come from? It appeared mysteriously on the internet after the rumors started flying. I believe it was posted by a Palin insider. It was taken with a cheap digital camera and not the kind of camera a press photographer would use.)
If one believes that there was a conspiracy to hide a pregnancy, then the obvious way to synthesize this information is that Palin was wearing a fake belly when the above photo was taken, and she was not wearing it for the plane flight.
Much has been written about the fact that Sarah didn’t inform the airline that she was pregnant and leaking amniotic fluid, but if that were really the case, she wouldn’t have done so because then they probably wouldn’t have let her on the airplane. It has been debated back and forth whether a woman eight months pregnant should be flying at all, even if she’s not leaking fluid.
Finally, the article reports that Sarah was back at work only three days after giving birth. Some people think this is unusual and is evidence that Sarah wasn't really pregnant. They think she flew back to Alaska and drove to Wasilla because someone else was giving birth there and she had to show up in order to pretend to be the mother.
SARAH PALIN SURPRISED EVERYONE WHEN SHE ANNOUNCED SHE WAS SEVEN MONTHS PREGNANT
Here is the Anchorage Daily News article about Sarah Palin announcing she was seven months pregnant. The theme of the article is that everyone was completely surprised.
That the pregnancy is so advanced astonished all who heard the news. The governor, a runner who's always been trim, simply doesn't look pregnant.
Even close members of her staff said they only learned this week their boss was expecting.
I once had a female boss who got pregnant, and I was suspicious only two or three months into the pregnancy. Either (1) Anchorage Daily News was selectively ignoring people who weren’t surprised by the pregnancy in order to tell a more interesting story; or (2) the governor did a very good job of hiding her pregnancy; or (3) she wasn’t really pregnant.
Between March 6th and mid April, when the pregnant photo I posted above was taken, she obviously grew quite a bit.
NEWSWEEK VIDEOS
Newsweek has some videotaped conversations with Sarah Palin which took place during the first week of March, just before Sarah officially announced that she was pregnant. Karen Breslau writes, “At the time, I didn't know that Palin, clad in a loose, dark dress, was seven months pregnant with her fifth child.” Indeed, Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, sitting next to her, has the bigger stomach.
WHERE DID BRISTOL ATTEND SCHOOL?
In the spring of 2007, she attended high school in Juneau, as explained at this blog post.
Then in the fall of 2007, she attended school in Wasilla, but then left for unconfirmed reasons. According to the NY Daily News:
Mark Okeson, the assistant principal at Wasilla High School, told the Chicago Tribune that Bristol started her junior year last fall, in the town where Sarah Palin grew up.
He said Bristol inexplicably transferred to an Anchorage high school midyear, leaving Levi behind.
"I never heard the story why," he said.
According to a Washington Post article “Bristol went mid-school-year to live with her aunt in Anchorage, finishing at the city's West High School.”
There has been lots of talk on the internet about Bristol being removed from high school because she had mono, but I have yet to discover the source for these rumors. It has not been made clear why Bristol switched schools mid-year, or whether she ever had mono.
BRISTOL’S TRAFFIC ACCIDENT ON FEBRUARY 8TH
Bristol Palin was definitely involved in a traffic accident on Friday, February 8th, time unknown, in Wasilla. She was either turning into a Walmart, or into a doctor’s office.
In this post I have evidence that the accident took place, with a link to an email that the blog Gawker received from the guy who was in the other car.
In this post, I have a satellite map of the intersection, with an arrow pointing to the nearby doctor’s office.
BRISTOL’S TRAFFIC TICKETS
There has been talk on the internet about Bristol having multiple traffic tickets, but I haven’t found a legitimate source for this.
THE HIKING VIDEO
There is a video showing Sarah Palin taking a vigorous walk from the Governor’s Mansion to her offices in Juneau. This video was shot in mid February. Many sources on the web have wrongly stated that she was seven months pregnant when this video was shot, however, the official due date was in May, so she was only six months pregnant according to the story.
One interesting fact about this video, having nothing to do with any conspiracies, is that there is an Israeli flag visible in Palin’s office. At this blog post, I posted a vidcap with the Israeli flag pointed out.
SUE WILLIAMS SAYS THAT TRIG IS SARAH’S BABY
Sue Williams is a chef and caterer from Wasilla, Alaska, who posted some detailed and informative comments on the Mudflats blog (see this post in which she said that Trig is Sarah’s baby, and that Sarah is hiding the fact that Bristol is pregnant. Sue Williams turned out to be right about Bristol being pregnant, so maybe she’s right about Trig being Sarah’s baby.
The Sue Williams comments are preserved at The Seattle People Examiner, which is easier than wading through the thousand comments at Mudflats.
Sue also stated that “The kids are ‘farmed out’ (this is the word used by their associates in ‘the Valley’) to family and friends to raise while Todd and Sarah are off having their respective careers.” This would explain why Bristol is driving around Wasilla in February while Sarah is in Juneau. Sarah and Todd are too busy with their careers, so Bristol is left behind in Wasilla, her care “farmed out” to “family and friends.”
NEW YORK TIMES ARTICLE
This NY Times article has the details of the official version Sarah Palin’s pregnancy.
The governor, thin to begin with, began an elaborate game of fashion-assisted camouflage. When Vogue photographed her, five months pregnant, for a profile in January, she hid in a big green parka. At work, she wore long, loose blazers and artfully draped accessories.
“All of a sudden she had this penchant for really beautiful scarves,” recalled Angelina Burney, who works across the hallway from the governor in Anchorage.
As Ms. Palin’s clothes grew tighter, Alaskans began to talk. She told several aides that she was pregnant, and a week or so later, her parents and her children, who called other relatives.
On March 5, as she was leaving her office for a reception, she shared the news with three reporters.
The NY Times account conflicts with the Anchorage Daily News story which stated that “She's known as a fashion plate, but said she hasn't been dressing differently to cover her barely perceptible bulge.”
What about the plane flight? The NY Times reports:
Go ahead and give the speech, said the doctor, Cathy Baldwin-Johnson, who declined to comment for this article.
. . .
In fact, Ms. Palin was not in labor, and her doctor thought she had time. So the governor flew to Seattle, continued to Anchorage and then drove to a small hospital near her hometown, Wasilla — a journey of at least 10 hours.
The Times article also mentions eyewitnesses to the labor, but there are no names:
Parents who were in the next delivery room said the scene looked like any other, with no security detail in sight. The three Palin daughters came and went, and as Todd Palin passed through the corridors, he stopped to accept congratulations.
WASHINGTON POST ARTICLE QUOTES EYEWITNESS TO THE LABOR (PROVEN FALSE)
Source (last section of the article)."She loves Alaska," said Haylee Davison, who delivered a daughter the same day and watched her governor pace the hospital hallways to encourage labor. "She wanted her son to be born here, not Texas."
News article dated May 5th says that a girl named Haylee May Davison was born to Jennifer Lynn Krueger. An infant was talking to the Washington Post?
Brett Michael Dykes of Radar Online contacted Haylee’s parents, Jennifer Krueger and Daylen Davison.
"We never saw Sarah before the delivery," said Davison. "I did see her a couple of days after and she didn't look like someone who'd just had a baby."
Haylee's mother believes that the Post's error is all just a simple case of mistaken identity.
"I was the one pacing around trying to induce labor," said Krueger. "We saw Todd in the hall, not Sarah."
Davison and Krueger went on to say that their birthing room at Mat-Su was two doors down from the Palin's and that everything they saw appeared to be completely normal
Thus we see that an article in a highly respected newspaper that appeared to prove the rumors false actually did no such thing under close examination.
OTHER IMPORTANT PALIN NEWS (non-baby-related)
SARAH PALIN HAD PREMARITAL SEX
Alan Colmes reported that Track was born less than eight months after Sarah and Todd got married.
WAS TRACK PALIN ARRESTED FOR VANDALIZING SCHOOL BUSES? (NOT TRUE SAYS NY DAILY NEWS)
Track Palin is said to be one of the unnamed teenage boys in this news article who were arrested for vandalizing school buses.
The National Enquirer seemed to confirm this.
But a NY Daily News article seems to debunk these claims. Deryck Harris, one of the known perpetrators, told the NY Daily News that Track had nothing to do with it (although Deryck and Track were friends who hung out together).
TRACK ATTENDED HIGH SCHOOL IN MICHIGAN
As reported by The Detroit News, Track Palin attended his senior year of high school in Portage Michigan. That’s pretty far away from Alaska. What was he doing there?
PALIN FAMILY TATTOOS
Track has two tattoos: one of a Jesus Fish, and one of the State of Alaska on his back. Sarah talked about this in a speech, the video is posted at Andrew Sullivan’s blog (topmost video).
As reported by Yahoo! News, Sarah has a tattoo of the Big Dipper on her ankle, because she lost a bet.
Levi Johnston has Bristol’s name tattooed on his finger. Gawker has a photo.
Why did Palin hide her every-baby-is-the-greatest-blessing pregnancy until 7 months. Executives, even the governor of Alaska, owes a fiduciary responsibility to their constituents. They can't place the office in jeapardy by taking unnecessary risks to their life, not to mention all the slippery slope issues of placing unnecessary risks to the health of the unborn. Also, executives owe the responsibility to inform if they can't carry-on their duties. Not saying that Palin couldn't be pregnant and carry-on her duties. Apparently, she claims she can, and did. But, if an executive is going to die of a brain tumour, for example, they owe a duty to report so that the position can be filled expediciously. Executives have frequent medical exams for this very reason. The constituients (stakeholders) need to be informed.
None of this makes any sense, and shows poor judgement at the least, but probable psychiatric and or moral issues surrounding this alleged pregnancy.
Posted by: todd | September 08, 2008 at 12:08 AM
"Mark Okeson, the assistant principal at Wasilla High School, told the Chicago Tribune that Bristol started her junior year last fall, in the town where Sarah Palin grew up.
He said Bristol inexplicably transferred to an Anchorage high school midyear, leaving Levi behind."
Mom and Dad wanted to keep her away from Levi?
Posted by: Peter | September 08, 2008 at 10:12 AM
"News article dated May 5th says that a girl named Haylee May Davison was born to Jennifer Lynn Krueger. An infant was talking to the Washington Post? Simple error on the part of the Washington Post reporter Kimberly Kindy, or fake quote?"
A simple error, I'm sure.
Interesting demographic note: there are 13 babies mentioned in the article as being born at Mat-Su hospital, including Trig. For three of the 13, only the mother's name is listed, and for another four the mother and father have different surnames (and I'll bet not too many married women in that area keep their maiden names). This could mean an illegitimacy rate over 50%.
In a nearly all-white area, I hasten to add.
Posted by: Peter | September 08, 2008 at 11:26 AM
"TRACK ATTENDED HIGH SCHOOL IN MICHIGAN
As reported by The Detroit News, Track Palin attended his senior year of high school in Portage Michigan. That’s pretty far away from Alaska. What was he doing there?"
um, he's a hockey player. there are some junior teams in west michigan [portage is next to kalamazoo]. that would surely be the occam's razor explanation [not that said explantion has mattered much when smearing the palins mind you!]
Posted by: Buckaroo | September 08, 2008 at 12:11 PM
sarah palin did more than republicans can imagine, she finally gave light to why democrats are on average of higher iq.
they would have chosen to abort trig palin.
i suppose if we add that into democratic policy, we should abort anyone who might be born poor.
Posted by: dale | September 10, 2008 at 01:04 AM
Thank you for this website. It is extremely fair and even-handed.
Please note that in the Sue Williams article,in The Seattle People Examiner, she admits that she does not know if Trig is Sarah's baby. She says that 14 year old Willow's boyfriend was saying in April that Bristol was pregnant. The question is was he saying it because she was one month pregnant or eight months pregnant?
The one month pregnant in April scenario still leaves unexplained the mid-year (January?) change of schools. However, the eight months pregnant in January scenario fits it perfectly. Bristol would have been about four months pregnant around that time. It was the perfect time to change schools if one was covering up a pregnancy. Does anybody know if she ever attended the High school in Anchorage?
Posted by: Philosopher Jay | September 12, 2008 at 10:07 AM
check you papers buddy. That photo has NOT been discredited!!! I suggest you take a look at the Inauguration Photo 12/06 and check back! Look at the little kid.
http://govserv.state.ak.us/photos/pict0210.jpg
Posted by: sarah.hoax | September 13, 2008 at 08:15 PM
If the inauguration picture was 2006. There is no way the picture at the top of this page is also from 2006. You can probably get school pictures from the school photography company.
Posted by: Ozzie | September 15, 2008 at 12:53 PM
Just some common sense, practical discussion to dispute some facts about Palin's doctor, flying home when suspecting a leak, etc. First, in a rural area not having an OB/Gyn follow your pregnancy is common- there simply is a shortage of providers, and family practice doctor should be adequately prepared to handle the delivery. In fact, several medical school are again advocating that the family practice doctor be back into the cradle to grave business instead of turfing out pregancy & deliveries.
Sometimes, it's also very hard to tell the initial stages of labor from false labor, and sometimes leaks are so small that you think that you might be leaking, but you're not really sure if it's amniotic fluid, or just urine. Which happens, by the way, frequently when a just about to be born baby is sitting on top of your bladder, putting pressure on the nerves that innervate the bladder, and you have weakened pelvic floor muscles, which would be very common for a woman who has had four previous pregnancies. The only way they would be able to tell is through an examination, and even then sometimes its difficult if the leak is small or high up, where it sometimes "seals" back up over itself and isn't a constant leak.
That being said, there are plenty of other thing to rail about this woman and her ability to make decisions.
Posted by: amanda | September 17, 2008 at 03:05 PM
I'll weigh in on some of the obstetric questions. First, in a rural area, you're right, lots of family practice deliver babies. But Wasilla is only about an hour from Anchorage, the site of Alaska's only level III NICU. There are many fine obstetricians associated with that hospital, and most people would say that delivering with an OB at a hospital equipped with "high-risk" facilities would have been a far more appropriate choice for a 44 year old woman, in labor at 36 weeks with a Down's baby.
Yes, occasionally an amniotic fluid leak does appear to seal up, though Gov. Palin has also stated that she also had some contractions in Texas. For a woman who's on delivery number five, after four previous "normal" births, a LONG labor would be 6-8 hours. There's no way, given the information that's been released, to rationalize her getting on that airplane. No way to convince me that any doctor said it was OK.
Posted by: Audrey | September 22, 2008 at 01:50 PM
Here is a conspiracy for you: where these rumors are coming from.
http://mypetjawa.mu.nu/archives/194057.php
Nailed! Ethan Winner confesses he was behind video!
Posted by: Turambar | September 22, 2008 at 11:19 PM
Are you kdding me? You people obviously have nothing else better to do with your time. I cant believe I just wasted my time reading this garbage. I truly believe what goes around comes back around for people like you. You create rumors and cause problems for others. You dont have solid facts but your spreading rumors. I think freedom of speech is abused in the U.S. Journalists should be held accountable for not having accurate information but report it anyway. Thats whats wrong with the world today you cant determine the truth from the lies.
Posted by: Gwen | September 30, 2008 at 10:58 AM
I agree that this website is logical and fair, except for Gwen's comment on 9:30. If Barack Obama's daughters were older and this very same scenario applied to them, the Republicans would be screaming for proof. Sarah Palin told the American public that Trig is her child and she decided to keep him, even after she found out he likely had Down's Syndrome. If that never happened, the American public should know it. Just as they would if Obama had told a similar lie. It's not just a family issue for Palin. It's about her whole character and what she will do to further her ambition.
Posted by: Maggie Woods | October 13, 2008 at 02:10 PM