Quote of the Day (October 10, 2011)

Thank You, Sarah Palin
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Kathryn Jean Lopez, at Catholic Vote:

“I firmly believe that Sarah Palin has been a gift to American culture. People criticize her (and then some) and the prominence of her family, but I’m grateful we’ve met Trig Palin. I’m grateful that his mother helped shatter the mainstream media myth that a woman in politics surrender femininity. Most importantly, though, before her, I’m not sure how many of us realized that upwards of 90 percent of children expected to be born with Down Syndrome are aborted.”

- JP

Dana Commandatore: Hollywood silent on Wonkette's Trig attack

Hollywood needs to stick up for more than just the pedophiles
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In a recent post at Big Hollywood, Dana Commandatore comes down hard on the denizens of Tinsel Town:

Would you rather speak out to defend a baby with Down syndrome or sign a petition to support a pedophile? In some Hollywood circles, the answer is simple, support the pedophile.

Let’s go back to 2009 when Roman Polanski was arrested in Switzerland. The United States asked for Polanski to be extradited to face trial for his 1977 statutory rape case. Hollywood united and Woody Allen, Martin Scorsese, Darren Aronofsky, Terry Gilliam, David Lynch, Jonathan Demme, Tilda Swinton, Wes Anderson, Pedro Almodovar, (I can go on all day) actually took time out of their busy schedules to prepare a petition demanding Roman Polanski’s freedom. But for some reason, no one in Hollywood can take five minutes out of their day to support Sarah Palin’s “right to choose” or condemn the abusive allegations and deplorable insults hurled against her 3-year-old boy’s disability.

While I can understand why so many people want to take down Sarah Palin (actually I can’t understand it, it just seems to be the way people start every negative commentary on Sarah Palin that goes too far) I have no idea why it is acceptable to make fun of disabled babies—or any babies for that matter. Just last week Wonkette, the award winning left-wing satirical waste-of-internet-space website, posted a smear piece on Sarah Palin that sunk to a new low. One of Wonkette’s contributor’s, Jack Stuef, directed his vitriol of Palin toward the most innocent of places. Not only did Stuef insinuate that Todd Palin slept with his daughter Bristol, he took the unique and deplorable approach of making fun of her son with Down syndrome…on his birthday.

This was a great opportunity for many in Hollywood to prove that they care about something other than themselves. Instead, they kept quiet. When people suggest that politicians remove any violent words from their political discourse then can we at least ask our comedians, talk show hosts and pundits to stay away from politician’s children—even if they really, really, really don’t like the politician.

[More]

- JP

Yes, Andrew, Trig was born at Mat-Su Regional Hospital

Is anything preventing Sullivan from making that call?
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We've expressed some rather pointed criticism of David Weigel in the past, but today we have to give him due credit. Weigel is proving what a fraud Andrew Sullivan is:

I called up Mat-Su Regional Hospital, where, according to contemporary media reports, Trig Palin was born. I was patched through to the family birthing center.

[...]

Why'd I call the hospital? One of the original concerns Sullivan had with the Trig Palin story -- one that's based on an absent fact, and not on innuendo -- was that Mat-Su Regional did not list Trig Palin's birth on its website. There's a portion of the web site, the baby nursery, where newborns are listed. Trig, born on April 18, 2008, is not there. And that's somewhat curious. So: Is every baby born at the hospital listed on the web site?

"No, it's not automatic," said the clerk. "Truth be told, we do take security photos of all the babies, but if the parents want their babies listed on the web site, they can request it. We're really sensitive about it, though. I think the hospital took up the policy not to publish names automatically because of possible baby kidnapping issues."

The clerk, realizing that Washington, D.C. reporters don't typically cold call her hospital, asked me if this call was about "our former governor." It was. Was Trig Palin born there?

"Oh, that's not even a question," she said... "Yes. Everybody here remembers that. Yes, this is where the Palins come -- this is their family hospital."

[...]

Is anything preventing Andrew, or one of the Daily Dish's assistants, from making that call? ... The current tone of his Trig-blogging is horribly meta -- "just asking questions," without asking questions of the people who can answer all of this stuff.

[More]

- JP

John Nolte: How Trig's Crew used Twitter to declare children off-limits

"Trig’s Crew didn’t need the MSM to lay down a reckoning."
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While it's been an unwritten rule of political combat for decades that the very young among the offspring of politicians should not be attacked, some hate sites on the far left of the blogosphere think rules are for everyone but themselves. But a coalition of concerned Twitter users which sprang up literally overnight in the whirlwind after Wonkette's demeaning attacks on Sarah Palin's 3-year old son Trig, seems to have found a way to put some teeth into that unwritten rule. Using the #TrigsCrew hash tag, they tweeted Wonkette's advertisers to make them aware that ads for their products and services were being displayed on the leftist hate site right alongside debasing slurs against a helpless toddler afflicted with Down Syndrome.

Big Hollywood Editor-In-Chief John Nolte, in his commentary for sister blog Big Journalism, opines that Trig's Crew "might represent the most potent example of the power of online activism we’ve seen yet."

Best of all, and contrary to Andrew Sullivan feeling all “queasy,” this was not a “Palinista” uprising. (Heads up: When it comes to Trig Palin, Sullivan is nothing more than Wonkette with professorial elbow patches.) Decent people of all political stripes, including some in the media, put partisan politics aside over this — and it was a beautiful thing to behold. Better still, organized under their hash tag, a group of citizen activists discovered the small “d” democratic wonder of Twitter and effectively learned how to politely, firmly, and publicly fight for something they believed in.

Personally, I’m not a boycott person, but that’s my right. Others have a right to boycott, and brother, did Trig’s Crew put on a boycott. All on their own, they organized a list of Wonkette advertisers, tweeted them directly with a request that they pull their ads, and kept track of those who did and didn’t. Within hours, it was obvious a tidal wave was brewing and by the next day it was just as obvious that it had hit. As of this writing, over 30 advertisers [forty-six, as of this Monday morning - JP] agreed with Trig’s Crew and pulled their ads from Wonkette. Seemingly, and in record time, the dismantling of a fairly mainstream, left-wing snark-site seemed probable.

Like the Tea Party, Trig’s Crew has represented the very best of mainstream America as they engaged in an inspiring First Amendment online debate with dignity and decency.

[More]

Some extreme hate sites which don't depend on ad revenue will, of course, continue their despicable attacks on innocent children, but those websites are self-marginalizing, and this form of depravity amounts to little more than preaching to the choir coven.

- JP

The LSM finally notices Wonkette's attack on Trig (for 2 minutes)

"Beyond the bounds of reasonable"
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After a week of silence from the legacy media on the subject, one program on a single lamestream media outlet finally paid a little attention to Wonkette's Trig meltdown. It was the subject of a two-minute roundtable on CNN's weekly media analysis program "Reliable Sources." Host Howard Kurtz, Washington Post columnists Jennifer Rubin and Clarence Page, and Michael Wolff of Adweek were on the panel:


Mediaite's Tommy Christopher criticized the discussion as "disappointingly superficial," opined that Kurtz "perhaps" gave Wonkette too much credit for its "apology," and opined that overall, "the effect was a failure to convey the true character of the Wonkette post."

A transcript of the program is here.

- JP

More Quote of the Day Honorable Mention, Part 260

Special "A Question of Balance" Edition
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Moe Lane at RedState.com:

"It’s actually very entertaining to watch The Daily Beast try to offer a ‘balanced’ look at the Trig Palin situation... The Left is starting to realize just how bad Trig Trooferism looks, you see. The not-totally-brain-dead portions of it don’t want this issue getting any more press... particularly since it will complicate any sort of ‘look at the crazy Birthers’ narrative. So… suppress the Trig Troofers now, and keep them suppressed. Which is the primary reason for The Daily Beast’s damage control efforts, of course. You see, The Daily Beast recently hired Andrew Sullivan away from Atlantic.com, and Andrew Sullivan is easily the most notorious Trig Troofer out there. And I do mean‘most notorious’: Andrew Sullivan obsesses over Sarah Palin’s reproductive system to a degree that puts most heterosexual Casanova-types in the shade. It’s not going to be all that great for Tina Brown if her prized ‘get’ shows up just as the controversy that he’s most known for is being slammed for the pernicious nonsense that it is, all across the blogosphere…"

Dana Loesch at Big Journalism:

"Apparently mothers and fathers standing up for a special needs child is a ‘mob,’ according to Sullivan. Birther Sullivan calls mocking a toddler ‘fearless free speech?’ No, it’s cowardice asinine rhetoric. You cowards pick on the toddler because you’re outmatched by the child’s mother."

Cliff Kincaid at Family Security Matters:

"What drives a left-wing blogger to mock a little boy with a disability? Is it just hatred for Sarah Palin, a pro-life mother who exposes what is at stake in the battle over the ‘right to choose?’ Or is it that a mother would bring a child with Down syndrome into the world? This controversy is important because of what it says about the progressive mentality. The progressives, who like to think of themselves as guardians of the most vulnerable and defenseless among us, do not have any sympathy for people they believe should not exist or be born. They believe that a mother should terminate the life of a baby with potential defects. This is not only because of their belief that women’s rights always trump the rights of the unborn, but because it is too costly to take care of them, once they come into the world. They support Big Government and higher spending, except on babies whose visible and active lives would make left-wing feminists, a key part of their constituency, feel uncomfortable. The Wonkette controversy goes far beyond a blogger with bad taste and no conscience. It tells us a lot about the mentality of the progressives in charge of the federal government who are moving ahead with implementation of Obamacare."

Andrew Marcus at Big Government:

"It hadn’t occurred to me before, but it’s the tiny minority of progressive Democrats who are knuckle-dragging, mouth-frothing, and terminally deranged with hatred for Sarah Palin, who were the original birthers! The Obama birthers are knock-offs of the original birther movement."

Susannah Fleetwood at Parcbench:

"Every liberal entertainer, professor and pundit that most liberals respect call Republicans ‘teabaggers’ and ‘racists’, say horrific things about Sarah Palin, and even spread internet rumors about her son... or her husband... (and yes -- Andrew Sullivan and Bill Maher are both mainstream liberal figures -– they are not the fringe). Therefore, many of them don’t know anybody who doesn’t think that this is unacceptable behavior, so they assume that ‘everyone is doing it’ or would approve of it. So now, they think that anything goes for liberals expressing their point of view... If someone is disagreeing with you, shout them down. If you don’t like a politician, call them a four letter word and attack their family. If someone is arguing with you at a protest, then curse them out–and maybe even hit them in the head with a sign for good measure. Who is going to call you out on it, The New York Times? Please... And as far as Sarah Palin goes, well, you can pretty much say anything that you want about her, because The New York Times thinks that she’s an accessory to murder for using the same kind of target maps that Democrats use, because… well, they don’t agree with her. (See how it works?)"

Noel Sheppard at NewsBusters:

"Maybe this will finally teach these vulgarians that children shouldn't be used as pawns in this dirty game of politics."

Little Miss Attila:

"The only thing left is to challenge the often-repeated assertion, recycled by Layne and Steuf, that Palin uses Trig as a ‘political prop’. We’ve been told this for a long time, originally by Mr. Andrew Sullivan... What these jokers need to tell us is what their suggested policies are for handling infants on the campaign trail, and for handling the mentally challenged on the campaign trail. What. Are. Your. Rules? They won’t do it, because 1) if they spelled them out, they’d have to follow them, and 2) if they spelled them out, they would look completely absurd."

Jim Hoft at Gateway Pundit:

"Stay strong, Wonkette. We are all enjoying your humiliating public meltdown."

Peter Ingemi at Datechguy's Blog:

"One might think that would be a story, and it likely would be if the major public figure was named Clinton or Obama and the web site involved was conservative. Alas, the public figure is Sarah Palin and the Web Site is Wonkette. This makes it a twofer. It portrays the left in a poor light for a start and any such story might create sympathy for her at a time when the Republican Nomination is up in the air. So starting with ‘Morning Joe’ and continuing with all the MSM’s morning shows this has become a non-story. Not even a scroll at the bottom of the screen."

Herman Cain via Twitter:

"All life is precious. @SarahPalinUSA, you have many friends on both sides of the aisle standing with you. #trigscrew"

B. Daniel Blatt at Gay Patriot:

"It’s not anti-gay to hold someone to account for crossing a certain line. And Wonkette went way over the line in mocking the child of a prominent conservative leader reviled on the left. As would a conservative blogger who mocked the president’s children — or the children of any Democratic politician. It’s one thing to criticize Sarah Palin and take issue with her ideas, it’s quite another to attack her children. It is telling that they’re now playing the anti-gay card. Their critics have won the argument. Instead of conceding the point and acknowledging their error, they choose to personalize the matter. They just can’t let the right win. But, here it’s not the right that’s ‘won’, but common decency that’s won out."

Jennifer Harper at The Washington Times:

"Yes, there are limits, even in the blogosphere."

Rick Moran at American Thinker Blog:

"I didn't think anything I read on the internet could shock me. This did... Where's Think Progress on this scandal? Or Digby? Or Steve Benen? Or Jane Hamsher? Or Kos? Or any other liberal blogger who can find the time to trash the right for even the most minuscule of transgressions, but stays silent as a colleague attacks a baby in the most shockingly illiberal manner. No outrage about making fun of a special needs child? Or the insinuation of incest?"

Steven Nelson at The Daily Caller:

"Wonkette post mocking Trig Palin drudges up Journolist"

William Jacobson at Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion:

"Don't Cheer Wonkette's Removal of Latest Post Mocking Trig Palin... First, the point for me was not to get the post taken down, it was to hold Ken Layne, the owner of Wonkette, responsible for a long history of mocking Trig Palin at Wonkette. The most recent post was not even the worst. The other posts mocking Trig Palin, linked in my prior posts, remain active. The writer this time, Jack Stuef, did nothing worse than other Wonkette writers and editors have done repeatedly. Second, there is no true regret or acknowledgement by Layne. Even in this belated removal, in reaction to advertisers pulling ads from Wonkette, Layne cannot hide his disdain. The actions of Layne are nothing more than a post-conviction apology from someone who is upset only that he got caught."

- JP

Quote of the Day (April 23, 2011)

The Angels Who Stood Guard over Trig
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Uncoverage.net:

“The angels were and are standing guard over Trig Palin. Mama and Papa 'Grizzly' Palin, should NOT have had to defend their baby from this vitriolic attack. There were conservative bloggers who took up the shield and brought the right results. Some of Trig Palin’s 'angels' standing guard, IMHO, were our wonderful St. Louis bloggers, Jim Hoft... Dana Loesch... John Nolte... Steven Ertelt of LifeNews... Kudos, of COURSE, to conservative, pro-life bloggers and all of our outraged readers who stood shoulder-to-shoulder to back these dogs into the corner where they belong. SHAME on the liberal media who sit silently on the sidelines as if it didn’t happen.”

- JP

Stacy McCain: The perfect storm which spawns Trig troofer twisters

An overwhelming impulse among Dems to destroy Sarah by any means necessary
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Several of the many who have commented on the Trig conspiracy madness which descended to the bottom of the septic tank that is the leftosphere have asked how it could have come to pass. Or, as Nat Brown at NRO's Media Blog phrased the question:

One has to ask; just how did we get to a point where making fun of a small child for having a mental disability is acceptable simply because of his mother’s politics?

Stacy McCain has a theory of how it all developed:

1. Palin’s surprise choice – Almost nobody expected Sarah Palin to be chosen as John McCain’s running mate. I remember that the DNC had a page devoted to oppo-research on all of the likely GOP VP picks, and Palin’s name wasn’t on that list. So, in the immediate aftermath of her selection, there was a very small supply of information to meet an overwhelming demand.
2. The Alaska sources — The choice of Palin suddenly elevated this tiny handful of Palin’s Alaska enemies, led by Shannyn Moore, to the status of authoritative sources. This was their 15 minutes of fame, and they were eager to capitalize on it.
3. The “Save Obama” panic — Prior to the announcement of Palin as John McCain’s running-mate, Democrats had been confident that Barack Obama was cruising to victory. Within a week of the Palin pick, however, the Republican ticket surged ahead in polls and — by the time I covered a McCain-Palin rally in Ohio September 9 – it was obvious that Palin had struck a spark with the GOP grassroots. So there was an overwhelming impulse among Democrats to destroy Sarah Palin by any means necessary.

This combination of factors created a ”perfect storm” environment in which such bogus narratives as Trig-Trutherism could flourish. There was a media updraft by which the most worthless pissant bloggers, like Jesse “Gryphen” Griffin, could be catapulted to national importance. A credulous willingness on the part of liberals to believe anything that made Sarah Palin look bad — a near-infinite appetite for anti-Palin “news” — was the essential element of this updraft.

[More]

Or, in a more simplistic way of looking at things, it could just simply be that, with a precious few exceptions, those on the left have, as our USMC friends say, "no code."

- JP

Stephen Crowder: No Laughing Matter

Cowards
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Crowder's FoxNews.com op-ed is here.

- JP

Quote of the Day (April 22, 2011)

'A grave danger to America'?
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Stacy McCain at The Real McCain:

“It is Palin’s 'grave danger' that, in Layne’s demented mind, justifies the no-holds-barred anti-Palin attacks... Hillary had the temerity [to] oppose the anointing of Obama and, just as Ken Layne says of Sarah Palin, that made Hillary a 'grave danger to America' in the eyes of the Obamaphiliac press. Liberals think we’re stupid, but we’re not too stupid to see what they’re doing or to understand why they’re doing it.”

- JP

More Quote of the Day Honorable Mention, Part 259

"Honesty" Edition
*

Francis W. Porretto at Eternity Road:

"To do as you've said you'll do is a mark of trustworthy character... Your Curmudgeon has been a Palin admirer and booster since he first became aware of her... above all, for being exactly who she says she is, and doing exactly as she's said she'll do. The coverage of Governor Palin since the 2008 elections has demonstrated this repeatedly. It's made her the most terrible threat to the Left, which is aware of how magnetic perceived, confirmed sincerity can be to the public. Thus, it must bend its efforts to her destruction, and "civility" be damned... It must denigrate her performance as a governor. It must attack her religious convictions. It must question her ethics. It must insult her children. It must invade her privacy in every conceivable manner. To those who worship power, all other considerations are dismissible. 'Civility' doesn't even register on their radars; at least, not as decent Americans understand it. It's merely one more indication that one cannot simultaneously be a decent American and a Leftist -- and the twenty percent of American voters who decline to align with either political party in an enduring fashion are becoming ever more aware of it. Keep the pressure on."

Patrick S. Adams at Patrick's World USA:

"The hits on Sarah Palin are ramping up again. The Palin hate tweet traffic was also up. Even the mainstream media was starting to lie about her again. Sarah Palin is back!"

Tina Hemond at Degrees of Moderation:

"Nothing drives the establishment press and Beltway pundits (from all political affiliations) around the bend more than someone whom they feel is not 'up to snuff' attempt to throw a proverbial hat into the ring of political ring as a candidate for higher office – be it a Senator or in this case a run at the Presidency. It is evident, and has been since one Sarah Palin hit the stage in 2008 at the GOP convention as the Vice Presidential Candidate that there was something 'not quite right' about Sarah. For starters she didn’t have an Ivy League degree, nor was she a Washington Insider, she didn’t speak in the manner to which both East and West coast academics were accustomed, rather used language and colloquiums that were more in tune with those whose education and class might be suspect to those who consider themselves America’s Elite. The fact that she was a woman and conservative, that was too much to bear – from the right and from the left came barbs from the ludicrous to the just plain crass – and it continues today, with little known professors writing tomes about Palin that are more fiction than fact."

Dan Riehl at Riehl World View:

"The point, lil' Davey, is that the media loves to cover Palin when they can somehow spin the news to make it seem bad for her. That the Madison speech went over so well, especially on the Right, is the reason people might feel compelled to point out the relative lack of coverage in this particular instance."

Peter Ingemi at Datechguy's Blog:

"Mr. Weigel is read by people on the left and independents, to include these links would defeat the purpose of the article (Mocking Palin and her supporters) rather than inform them of what she actually said or did. Thus he Mattie Fein‘s her, turning the story of an effective speech in a key battleground state into a story of her supporters as petulant children, fitting the MSM/Journolist approved template. This is more evidence to me that Sarah Palin is not only a viable candidate, but that the media still (as Rush has suggested) fear her. People who are paying $4+ a gallon for gas and lining up to get jobs at McDonalds are looking for strong leaders. The last thing the MSM wants to do is highlight one."

John Nolte at Big Government:

"Twitter Power: Mock the MSM and Watch Them Launch Phony Attacks against Sarah Palin..."

Moneyrunner at The Virginian:

"That panel of experts will decide that at some point you should be given a pain pill or a shot and left to die. We all die, and individuals or families face end-of-life decisions. But to have the plug pulled by a government panel who doesn’t know you or care about you but only about the cost of keeping you alive is repugnant. That’s why Sarah Palin was brilliant, and right, to call them 'Death Panels.' That’s their job, no matter how you try to disguise their function."

Uncoverage:

"Remember how Sarah Palin was demonized by the left for pointing out there were 'death panels' to ration health care mandated by Obamacare? The Obamacare legislation now in effect has a death panel. It is here. It is called IPAB."

ZIP at Weasel Zippers:

"Liberal Columnist Cynthia Tucker Has a Change of Heart, Now Advocating in Favor of ObamaCare Death Panels... 'Cynthia Tucker: Yes, we need *death panels*... Jay Bookman had a very thoughtful post on why rationing health care — *death panels,* if you will — is quite necessary. I wrote on a similar subject in my Sunday column. If we keeping spending our health care dollars disproportionately on the elderly, we will have little left to spend on children. That makes for an upside-down society that cannot thrive for long.' Flashback: It took me all of five minutes to dig up this column by Tucker in 2009 where she denounces Sarah Palin’s 'lies' about death panels..."

Just A Grunt at JammieWearingFool:

"Cynthia Tucker, the Maureen Dowd of the south, in her column today admits that death panels will be fact of life under Obamacare... Back in August of 2009 Ms Tucker of course called Sarah Palin's claim of death panels a lie... Well gee Cynthia somebody was lying."

Jim Hoft at Gateway Pundit:

"No wonder they hate her. Sarah Palin went on 'Hannity' Tuesday night and talked about a variety of topics including Donald Trump, the Tea Party, potential presidential candidates and Barack Obama. Speaking on Obama’s record, she said, 'I have spoken out about his lies… he has lied to the American public and we’re saying enough is enough.' Agreed. Enough is enough... It’s about time someone confronted this dishonest man. Heavens knows, the media won’t do it."

Ace at Ace of Spades HQ:

"Salon Debunks Deranged Trigtherism Conspiracy Theory..."

Nathan Jurgenson at OWNI.eu:

"Who Will Be the First Facebook President? ... Go to Obama’s Twitter account and ask yourself if he is really using the medium in an effective way? It is clearly ghostwritten and not at all in the style of mainstream Twitter users. In contrast, we can look at his opponents on the right. For example, looking at Sarah Palin’s Twitter account reveals that she uses the medium more in line with Twitter norms and appears to be Twitter-savvy in style. She better understands the medium compared to Obama... All of this also speaks to the fact that the right has caught up (surpassed?) the left when it comes to utilizing social media politically."

The ADN:

"Bristol Palin will be the guest of People magazine April 30 at the annual White House Correspondents' Association Dinner..."

Patrick S. Adams at Liberty's Lamp:

"If you have someone that you support and trust as much as I support and trust Sarah Palin, stick with them. But if you don’t, join us. It will be a nerve-racking ride, but it will be fun. Following Sarah Palin is a thrill of a lifetime. It is the same thrill we had when Ronald Reagan was on his way in the late 1970’s. Believe it. Believe that we can once again be that shining city on a hill. It will take a unity of purpose and a unity of vision. Picture it. Picture Sarah Palin with a running mate that unites our movement and revives the Republican Party by rallying us like she did in Madison Wisconsin. If you can take the leap of faith, you are ready to take back our country. If you are courageous enough to stand behind Sarah Palin and take on the arrows that will fly from the media, we will win. If we have her back the whole way, she can succeed."

- JP

Trig Conspiracy debunked by an unlikely investigator

Six independent witnesses, none of whom have a reason to lie for Palin, all say she was pregnant
*
The last person we would have expected to step forward to debunk the conspiracy theory which has been trumpeted for years now, mainly by pothead Andrew Sullivan and a number of Palin-deranged Alaska bloggers, that Trig is not Sarah Palin's son, but actually her grandchild, is a reporter for the online left-wing magazine Salon. But stranger things have happened, and Justin Elliott is one of those few progressive journalists who seem to have maintained his intellectual and honesty and journalist integrity. Make no mistake, Elliot has a consistent record of criticizing Gov. Palin, but he's investigated the Trig conspiracy theory and found compelling evidence that there is no truth to it. Here are some excerpts from the report of his investigation, which was published Friday at Salon's War Room blog:

In light of the recent attention this subject has received and the considerable passion it has stirred, Salon embarked last week on an investigation of the circumstances surrounding Trig's birth. The exhaustive review of available evidence that we conducted, along with new interviews with multiple eyewitnesses who interacted with a pregnant Sarah Palin up-close in early 2008 -- most of whom had never spoken publicly about the matter before -- has produced one clear conclusion: Sarah Palin is, indeed, Trig's mother and there is no reason to suspect any kind of a coverup.

We've learned, for instance, that an Associated Press reporter in Alaska who was covering Palin during her pregnancy in early 2008 (before she became a national figure) thoroughly investigated rumors that the pregnancy was a hoax. The reporter directly questioned Palin about the matter in a private meeting in her Juneau office before she gave birth. Gov. Palin responded by voluntarily lifting her outer layer of clothing, offering a clear look at her round belly. The reporter quickly concluded that there was no truth to the rumors and never wrote about them.

So why dive into this old conspiracy theory now?

After all, there's a strong argument to be made that politicians' private lives should not be subject to investigation unless there is suspicion of hypocrisy (e.g., Larry Craig) or some public policy implication (e.g., Mark Sanford). As Atrios put it, "if Trig was sired by Lucifer and birthed from a hippopotamus it's really none of our business." Sullivan has claimed that the birth of Trig, a baby with Down syndrome, played a key role in Palin being chosen for the GOP's 2008 ticket, because it solidified her pro-life credentials. But the idea that this had anything to do with John McCain's decision to tap Palin is easily debunked.

[...]

You can believe that Palin was wearing a pregnancy suit and Hollywood-quality makeup for weeks, all before she had a national profile. You can believe that she fooled all of those journalists with her pregnancy costume, including the AP reporter who literally inspected Palin's belly in her office. You can believe that Palin, and her entire family, and her doctor, and her disgruntled former aide Frank Bailey, have been lying to the press in a tightly organized and mind-bogglingly elaborate conspiracy. You can believe that the medical workers who were involved in Trig's delivery were paid off or have simply kept inexplicably quiet about the hoax. You can believe that Bristol Palin gave birth to Trig and then had another child just eight months later.

Or you can believe that Trig is Sarah Palin's son.

[More]

Will the evidence detailed by Elliot in the course of his investigation convince Sullivan and the deranged Alaskans that they have been barking up the wrong tree lo these many months? We doubt it. Their all-consuming hatred of Sarah Palin is a berserker bullet train which long ago left the station. Not even logic and reason can bring it back, because it has gone well off the tracks.

- JP

Quote of the Day (April 21, 2011)

Chin up, Ken. Now you get to be a martyr.
*
Jim Treacher at The DC Trawler:

“I’ve never understood the charge that Palin 'exploits' Trig. It started from the moment she held her baby onstage at the Republican National Convention. What was she supposed to do, leave him in the car?”

- JP

More Quote of the Day Honorable Mention, Part 258

Special expanded "Not that different at all" Edition
*

Kingsjester:

"When I read this classless tripe, as the father of a special 24 year old daughter, I almost threw my computer monitor out the window... The Left’s defense of this garbage is the feeble argument that Sarah Palin is making political hay out of Trig and his condition. That’s awfully hypocritical, especially since they cast the first stone. Since Trig arrived in this world, the Left has accused him of belonging to Sarah Palin’s daughter, Bristol. And when they weren’t doing that, they were scurriously declaring that Palin should have aborted this sweet little child of God, embracing eugenics, similar to the way in which President Barack Hussein Obama’s Regulatory Czar, Cass Sunstein, did... What Liberals do not seem to understand is that fact that special, and all other, children are not disposable handfuls of cells, nor are they targets to be attacked for political gain. Just as I love my daughter, Sarah Palin very clearly loves Trig. And, just like every other human being, they are fearfully and wonderfully made."

Scared Monkeys:

"Who knew that jokes about Down Syndrome, incest, child rape, and fetal alcohol syndrome was humor. But when the LEFT attacks Sarah Palin, all things are perfectly ok. Imagine if those at Wonkette made similar comments about Obama’s daughters... Happy birthday little man Trig!"

John Hayward at Human Events:

"Trig has two great challenges to face in life. One is Down Syndrome. The other is the mindless, bestial hatred of knuckle-dragging liberals. Trig’s birthday prompted a fantastically deranged post from Wonkette blogger Jack Stuef, who decided it would be marvelous fun to call him 'the greatest prop in history,' then slide downhill from there... An appreciation for free speech does not require us to leave our taste at the door… or tolerate vicious insults against three-year-old children in silence. Let the outraged defenders of ugly slander against a boy with Down Syndrome pressure Papa John’s into restoring their advertising to Wonkette, if they dare. Happy belated birthday, Trig! I hope you like pizza! I believe I’ll have some for dinner tonight myself."

Dan Riehl at Riehl World View:

"So, what does [Layne] do by way of an alleged apology for his blogger? He attacks other Palin children... Still, it is only America's tradition of free speech that gives them the room they need to show us who they really are, or enough rope to hang themselves, if you prefer."

Dana Loesch at Big Journalism:

"Sarah Palin didn’t 'parade' Trig Palin around in the media. She held him in public. It’s hyperbole to state otherwise. Layne is unconcerned with the welfare of the Palin children, otherwise he would have pulled the post and fired the guy that wrote it costing them advertisers. Pretending to recognize and uphold 'family values' is shtick Layne uses to lend himself credibility in this instance where none actually exists. Stueff didn’t 'confuse the target.' He wrote a heinously awful in both form and tone piece attacking a child and mocking that child’s special needs. Don’t you confuse the target, Layne."

Van Helsing at Moonbattery:

"Again we see that progressives are to be exposed, not argued with. Treating them as if they have a point of view worthy of debating is an insult to those who do."

Jenn Q. Public at NewsReal Blog:

"Wonkette intentionally hires despicable, soulless writers who relish the chance to call Trig Palin 'retarded,' and it’s not just because they enjoy being a__holes (though of course, they do). It’s because their disgusting attacks on Sarah Palin and her family draw ire from the blogosphere, and with ire comes traffic... Hatred of conservative women and their families sells, and each time we promote this trash, we’re lining the pockets of hate sites. Stop linking to Wonkette and Gawker. Let their advertisers know how they’re attracting traffic. Stop allowing them capitalize on your anger and indignation. It’s time to starve the beast."

Peter Ingemi at Datechguy's Blog:

"The first rule of civility for the left is this: any statement, no matter how vile or misogynistic, that is directed against the Palin family is OK."

Nat Brown at NRO's Media Blog:

"One has to ask; just how did we get to a point where making fun of a small child for having a mental disability is acceptable simply because of his mother’s politics? Rantings like this take the liberal media double standard to a whole new level. What started out as an already ludicrous conspiracy theory about Trig’s birth has gone off the cliff and devolved into a contemptible, hateful, and rancid attack on a helpless toddler. Wonkette should be ashamed."

Jim Hoft at Gateway Pundit:

"This is disgusting, even for Wonkette."

Bryan Preston at The PJ Tatler:

"Going back several years now, Ken Layne, Wonkette’s editor, has revealed himself to be a small, bitter and amoral creature. I appreciate Layne’s tenacity in defending his employee against outside criticism, I really do, but in this case he is defending the indefensible. There is a deep and serious lack of judgment and proportion on display in all this, from both the writer and his editor. Who in their right mind thinks jokes about child rape are funny, at all? What Jack Steuf wrote about the child of a politician he opposes is simply vile. It reflects extremely poorly on all involved, and ironically, will only end up benefiting Steuf’s target to the extent that anyone can possibly 'benefit.' No one outside the angry left’s most agitate ranks can see anything redeeming at all in what Steuf wrote and Layne defends. If there’s any justice, Wonkette’s other advertisers will join Papa John's and leave that miserable site for good."

Noel Sheppard at NewsBusters:

"What has happened in our society where something like this is considered acceptable political commentary?"

Marooned in Marin:

"You have to be one of the lowest forms of life on Earth to attack a three year old special needs child, simply because you have an intense, insane, pathologically psychotic hatred of his mother. This has become commonplace among the so-called compassionate Left who claim to care so much about children. I've even seen this behavior firsthand from some liberal latrine slime at Gov. Palin's booksigning in 2009. But, that only shows how intellectually bankrupt the Left is in fighting Sarah Palin. They cannot defeat or make this woman go away, so they take cheap shots against her handicapped child. I don't know about you, but I'm thinking of ordering a Papa John's pizza at lunch tomorrow."

Dana Loesch at Big Journalism:

"This is why we take screenshots.... They’re apparently deleting the offensive comments as well, while pretending such comments never existed."

Jenn Q. Public at NewsReal Blog:

"This is what needs to be done and thanks to sites like Twitter and to citizen journalism, it can happen... If you choose to be disgusting and vile in order to garner the attention – and traffic spikes – you so desperately crave, don’t be surprised when that attention backfires when those with common decency are outraged and call you out on it. And when advertisers use their right to pull their ads from sites that publish absolute filth. Well done, Papa Johns... As for me, I’m ordering Papa John's for dinner tonight. With bacon, which is just an added bonus."

ZIP at Weasel Zippers:

"Hero Buys Domain Name of Wonkette Author Who Attacked Trig Palin, Redirects it to Down Syndrome Society Donation Page... JackStuef.com"

Tax Nomo at RightWire.net:

"I'm not going to link to Wonkette here... What kind of human filth posts something like this about a child? And just because you hate his mother's politics? This is really beyond the pale... I hope Trig had a nice birthday with his family, who loves him, and, in that way, I'm sure he's much luckier than Wonkette will ever be. May none of us ever think ourselves so superior that we attack disabled kids and think ourselves 'witty'. Now THAT's retarded."

John at Verum Serum:

"New tone"

Dana Loesch at Big Journalism:

"I have three family members who have special needs and let me tell you, they don’t need someone putting a target on their back and calling them 'almost human' in a zealous fit to take shots at a political figure. Jack Stuef made Trig Palin a political prop. Period. This post published two days ago and for two days it sat until we got a few emails, wrote about it, raised awareness on Twitter, and watched as citizen media participants held Wonkette accountable and even complained to advertisers. Only then was remorse felt from anyone at Wonkette. It’s BS for Stuef to piggyback another idiotic potshot onto an attempt at an apology... Stand by your 'criticism' all you want to, but there’s a time and a place to take a stand so pathetic, and it’s not while you’re apologizing to a child for calling him a 'retard' on his birthday."

Greg Pollowitz at NRO's Media Blog:

"Not only is this disgusting, it fails at its intended purpose of being funny. Losers."

Mollie Hemingway at Ricochet:

"Care For Some Papa John's This Evening? ... The post, which editor Ken Layne has since vigorously defended, is so crass that it's difficult to characterize... To their credit, Papa John's, Huggies and Vanguard immediately stopped their ads. While Wonkette eagerly took these groups' funds earlier in the day, they responded by calling these advertisers 'homophobic' and supporters of 'wingnut extremists'... Something tells me Papa John's might be a bit easier than normal this evening."

Donald Douglas at American Power:

"This is not an aberration. This is not an anomaly. Try denial as they might, progressives simply can't get around this, for this is what they do. God help them."

Patterico at Patterico's Pontifications:

"Layne has put the blame for all this squarely on Sarah Palin, whom he labels a terrible parent for supposedly parading Trig Palin in public, rather than hiding him in shame the way Top Parent Ken Layne would. Speaking of Top Parent Ken Layne . . . check out his e-mails to Tommy Christopher and David Weigel about all this. Pay special attention to the parts I have bolded... Layne writes Tommy Christopher... 'And with two kids of my own and another on the way, I am obviously a great fan of children, especially mine...' And here Layne writes David Weigel... 'I have four kids myself...' Unlike Sarah Palin, Ken Layne is a great parent, you see. Why, Ken Layne cares so much about his own children, he can tell you how many he has! ... give or take a couple...' Indeed. Mr. Layne, I see you have set yourself up as the arbiter of Sarah Palin’s quality as a parent. But you know what? At least Sarah Palin knows how many children she has."

William A. Jacobson at Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion:

"Trig Is A 'Prop' To Them Only Because They Don't Like Seeing A Child With Down Syndrome... Ken Layne and Jack Stuef need to do some soul searching, and stop blaming Trig Palin and Sarah Palin for their own emotional shortcomings."

Mary Ann Kreitzer at Les Femmes - The Truth:

"Now I have never read Wonkette's blog, so this was my first visit. I had to take a shower when I was finished. The site overflows with articles using gratuitous ridicule. For example, a post on D.C. in the summer takes a slap at both Passover and Easter (and presumably those who celebrate them)... Wonkette especially hates Sarah Palin in an almost mad-dog, foaming at the mouth style. It is truly ugly, playing to the liberal mob. But can that possibly be true? After all, liberals are nice, even nicer than nice. We know this because they tell us so all the time. Conservatives, on the other hand, are mean and cruel. They want old people to eat dog food and children to be deprived of health care... The post on Trig Palin stripped the mask of compassion off these troglodytes."

Updates...

At least forty-three advertisers (so far) have pulled their ads from Wonkette's virtual septic tank.

Wonkette finally pulls the post, citing "some people who have nothing to do with Sarah Palin, but who do have an interest in the cause of special needs children." Yeah, right. We're sure it had nothing whatsoever to do with the departing sponsors and their evil capitalist advertising dollars.

- JP

Quote of the Day (April 20, 2011)

Fear the talons of Iowahawk, leftists
*
David Burge via Twitter:

“In the online advertising biz, Wonkette now known as Chernobylette.”

- JP

The Palins thank "TrigsCrew"

Fighting the "tolerant" left...
*
Gov. Palin thanks those who tweeted for Trig and all special needs kids today:

"Big thanks from the Palin family to folks on Twitter today who took a stand for children w/special needs. Happy Easter!Thank you #TrigsCrew"

h/t: US for Palin

- JP

Has HuffPo banned Trig Troofers?

"The whole theory should have, by all rights, collapsed"
*
Ben Smith says leftsite Huffington Post is at least giving the appearance of banning Trig Truthers. Though HuffPo has since scrubbed the stuff from its website, it had no qualms about posting such filthy fare in the past. Perhaps AOL is trying to make the place more respectable or -- more likely -- they're afraid of an advertiser exodus similar to the one now taking place at Wonkette.

At any rate, here are excerpts from Smith's blog post:

Palin critic Geoffrey Dunn, who has contributed a long line of attacks on the former Alaska governor to the site, published his version of the "Trig Truther" theory to Business Insider today, after Huffington Post turned the blog post down.

"We did pass on a submission by Geoffrey Dunn about Trig, as it ran counter to our policy against conspiracy theories," Huffington Post spokesman Mario Ruiz confirmed in an email.

There's a solid bipartisan tradition of such purges, which includes in the online era the DailyKos ban on 9/11 Truthers and RedState's Birther ban. But the Trig theorizing had mostly avoided that fate, partly because it never developed the sort of mass following of the others, partly because there's so much vitriol for Palin on the left and partly because its most visible proponent, Andrew Sullivan, is a unique media property with a large audience of his own, valuable enough to the Daily Beast that they'll shrug off the Trig theories as an eccentricity as long as his readers abide it.

The theories of Trig's nativity seem -- to my nonexpert eye -- to share one thing in particular with the conspiracies about Obama's birth: They began in one form, then changed to evade inconvenience (sic) facts.

[...]

In any event, if Palin decides to run for president, she'll if anything benefit politically from attacks on her motherhood. Indeed, Palin's allies online are spending today denouncing -- and drawing attention to -- a blog's attack on her son. And of course popular disgust with such attacks won't stop them...

[More]

- JP

Beck: 'Progressives in both parties' out to destroy Sarah Palin

Glenn mocks the Trig-troofers
*

h/t: Barbaric Thoughts

- JP

Sarah Palin: Happy Passover

And next year in Jerusalem.
*
Gov. Palin took to Facebook to offer best wishes to the Jewish community on the holy day and festival of Passover:

Happy Passover

Tonight is Passover, the Jewish people’s celebration of their deliverance from bondage and their Exodus to the Land of Israel. Passover contains poignant spiritual and historical meaning for Jews, but it also reminds all of us of mankind’s universal aspiration to be free from bondage and oppression. Today, in the same region where the story of Exodus took place, Arabs suffering under despotic regimes are seeking their own freedom and self-determination. As Jews in Israel, the Middle East’s only liberal democracy, gather for Passover, we hope for the spread of freedom and peace throughout the region. On this Passover holiday, our family sends our best wishes to the Jewish community. Chag kasher V'Sameach. Happy Passover. And next year in Jerusalem.

- Sarah Palin

Today is also one of celebration for the Palin family, as it is Trig's birthday. Happy birthday, Trig!

- JP

Michael Moriarty: We are Trig!

Unless we know that, the Obama Nation wins
*
At Enter Stage Right, Michael Moriarty argues that unless Roe v Wade is overturned, the American Maoists will win:

What might turn the tide? A President Sarah Palin.

[...]

We are Trig!!

The only thing standing between us and an early grave are women and men such as Sarah Palin and the very Catholic (grade school and high school) trained, Col. Allen West. Please listen to Col. West's CPAC speech here.

May they both succeed in rescuing the White House and America, freeing us from the Bipartisan, Progressive and Decidedly Pro-Abortion, New World Order.

Fervently pro-life defenders of the Second Amendment, encompassing the two major minorities of America, women and blacks, will simultaneously dumbfound the anti-American world; while, at the same time, they will rule with God's blessings by saving the lives of unborn infants.

Until Roe v Wade's infanticide ends, America and Americans will not only founder; they will drown in the ocean of hypocrisy which they created for themselves. Once Roe v Wade was decided in 1973, the Obama Nation was sure to follow. "Morning for America" will not be possible until we begin to overturn Roe v Wade.

We are Trig.

Unless we know that, the Obama Nation wins.

Trig and the right to be a human being are inextricably wedded.

Progress for a Progressive means becoming something greater and more powerful than a mere human being. It obviously means, in the face of Roe v Wade's legalized murder, becoming God.

I'd really rather be Trig. No one can play The Creator better than The Creator already has.

If you think so, I'm glad I'm not you.

[More]

- JP