Strollerderby : bristol palin

Levi Calls BS on Bristol’s Abstinence-Only Message

Hannah Tennant-Moore — Thu, 07 May 2009 18:30:00 GMT

I don’t whether to be disturbed or relieved that Levi Johnston has emerged as the voice of the reason in the ongoing Palin family drama.

After Bristol Palin assumed a (paid) role as the new face of abstinence-only sex education, Johnston decided to speak out about his, ah, more nuanced view of teen sexuality.

In this clip of his appearance on the Early Show yesterday, he is refreshingly frank about the problems with simply telling teenagers, “Don’t have sex! Don’t have sex!”

One great quote not included in the clip: “It's [abstinence] a great idea and a great message she's trying to send out to the world and all the young kids. It's not easy raising a baby. But I do think there's more things to it than just not having sex."

Johnston probably doesn’t know this, but the numbers support his view that it’s just not “realistic” to believe you can stop teen pregnancy with an abstinence-only message. Family planning services substantially reduce the number of abortions and unplanned pregnancies, particularly among poor women—who are certainly not getting paid to fly to New York and preach about how difficult it is to be a teen mom.

Photo: threebrain.blogspot.com

Bristol Palin Campaigning for Abstinence Only

Hannah Tennant-Moore — Wed, 06 May 2009 21:01:00 GMT

So much for Bristol Palin’s courageous admission to Fox News that abstinence-only is “just not realistic.” She is now the new “face of abstinence,” campaigning against teen pregnancy as the teen ambassador to Candie’s Foundation, which promotes abstinence for teenagers. And yes, Bristol is getting paid.

Interestingly, Candie’s Foundation not only wants to keep teens from having sex; it also wants them to buy some sexy footwear. That’s right, the name Candie’s may be most familiar to you as a shoe company that markets to teenagers. According to founder Neil Cole, "Just because you're wearing high-heeled sexy shoes doesn't mean you should have a baby.”

And here I was thinking that six-inch stilettos were the fashion equivalent of a stork! I feel so silly. Thanks for clarifying that for me, Mr. Cole. It’s very important for young girls to know that they can be sex objects AND crusaders against sex. (Just for fun, you might want to check out the site for Candie’s shoes, which features seductive images of a half-naked Britney Spears.)

In keeping with Candie’s Foundation’s commitment to contradictory preaching, Bristol told Good Morning America, "Regardless of what I did personally, I just think that abstinence is the only ... 100 percent foolproof way to prevent pregnancy."

I’m sure that as long as Bristol keeps parroting abstinence-only talking points and Candie’s keeps selling stilettos to 15-year-olds, teen pregnancy will be wiped out in no time.

Photo: Ida Mae Astute/ABC

Levi Calls BS on Bristol's Abstinence-Only Message

Did Sarah Palin Know That Bristol Was Sleeping With Levi?

Brett Singer — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 22:07:00 GMT

In an interview with Tyra Banks that will air on Monday, Levi Johnston says that Alaska Governor Sarah Palin "probably knew" that he was having sex with her daughter Bristol. Levi also tells Tyra that Mama Palin allowed the young lovers to sleep in the same bed at her home.

Well. As the Church Lady might say, isn't that special.

It's all well and good to scream and holler about how "the media" should "leave these kids alone," as Angie Harmon recently did on Fox News. But someone needs to tell these kids to stop doing so many interviews. I mean, Tyra? Really Levi? Why? If the reason is "because they asked," someone needs to point out to the young hockey player that "no thanks" is an acceptable reply.

Over at ParentDish, Susan Wagner writes that Bristol and Levi "clearly they haven't been getting very good guidance from the adults in their lives. It's our job as parents to help our teens mature into responsible people, and sometimes that means saying no -- to sex and to interviews." Funny how the advice from "the media" can be better than whatever these two seem to be getting from their own parents.

Source: US Magazine via AOL ParentDish

Image: FameCrawler

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GMA Tweets Details On Levi Johnston And Son

Brett Singer — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 20:00:00 GMT

I was watching this video interview with Levi Johnston, aka the no-longer-future Mr. Bristol Palin. The breakup was mutual, Levi says. He needs to be more "mature" before marriage. (That sounds like it wasn't so mutual, but who knows.)

Then I saw this:
Check Neal Karlinsky's Twitter page. He'll be tweeting some behind-the-scenes details about the interview.

Um, OK. Sure. Why not. I'm curious about Twitter, which is the big thing online these days. All the kids and TV reporters are doing it. (Me too, by the way.) What does Neal have to say...uh, tweet?

"Levi says he takes son Tripp home alone on reg basis w/out Bristol's supervision--borrows her car seat to do so."

"Levi's son Tripp was born in Dec, but only pix he keeps in his pickup truck are ultrasounds--two of them!"

This is news? This was worth traveling to Alaska for? There's nothing else happening in the world?

Now, before someone else says "but you're writing about it!" let me say that yes, I am. And that contributes to the cacophony of caca we sometimes call "the media." I just wonder if maybe it's time to leave Levi and Bristol alone. Seriously, is it really important to talk about this anymore? During the campaign, fine. But now? Is there such a thing as going too far with news coverage, especially when it involves young people?

I guess that's where my frustration comes from. I understand that there is a market for celebrity news, or whatever you want to call this. And the "ambush them with a camera" thing that TMZ has perfected is the way to go. I get it. I don't care for it myself, but lots of people do. But when you have kids, and I still think of Bristol and Levi as "kids", I don't think it's fair to "tweet" what he has in his truck. Who's business is that?

(And before someone says "what about Chris Brown and Rihanna?" I think that's different as well. They're famous for making music, and they benefit from their image, which is heavily marketed, largely to young people, which is a different issue. Bristol is Sarah Palin's daughter, but Levi isn't even related. Leaving both of them alone is probably the way to go.)

What do you think? Is it time to leave "the kids" alone?

(One more thing. Can we please come up with a better name for this than "tweeting"? It sounds really stupid.)

Source: ABC

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Levi Johnston Admits He’s Too Immature for Family Life

Hannah Tennant-Moore — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 19:30:00 GMT

Earlier today, Good Morning America caught up with the former GOP teen idol Levi Johnston—and by “caught up,” I mean accosted him in his car outside his house while he was on his way to the gym.

The 19-year-old confirmed that he and Bristol Palin had split up, but said that he could see their son Tripp whenever he wanted. “I’d give everything for him,” he said. “Fatherhood changes things.”

This is apparent if you compare the shy, seemingly level-headed guy talking to Good Morning America to the cocky teen who wrote on his MySpace page that he didn’t want to have kids just months before appearing on the RNC stage to signal his politically expedient commitment to marrying Bristol and raising their child together.

I’m so glad that both Bristol and Levi have been forthright with the press about the difficulties of being teen parents, in spite of the immense pressure upon them to make abstinence-only teachings look infallible. Levi admitted that he was not yet “mature” enough to marry Bristol and settle down. For now, he’s focusing on finding a job.

Although this situation is better for everyone involved than jumping into a forced marriage, it’s also clear exactly why family planning is so essential to gender equality. We can be pretty sure Bristol was neither headed to the gym nor career hunting this morning….

Photo: New York Magazine

Briston Gives Levi the Boot

GMA Tweets Details on Levi Johnston and Son

Bristol Gives Levi the Boot

Madeline Holler — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 22:22:00 GMT

The most watched teen romance of 2008 had few convinced that it would last forever. Still, when Levi Johnston showed up at the Republican National Convention but hours after news broke that he and the VP nominee's daughter were expecting, there was a feeling, at least, that Mama Palin would control their message then and until the end of time.

But someone else has taken over the message now, namely Levi Johnston's sister, Mercede. She tells Star Magazine that 18-year-old Bristol broke off the young couple's engagement a while ago. And also that she's now allowing Levi to see their infant son, Tripp.

This contradicts what Bristol told FOX's Gretta Van Susteren, specifically that Levi was a hands-on father and that the two planned to marry after finishing their educations.

Mercede said the two split up more than a month ago and that Bristol has dropped out of school. Also, the sister reports Bristol won't let Levi see the baby, that she says some pretty harsh things about Levi and the Johnston family, and that she treats Levi badly.

So. Bristol's her own woman, but we can't help but wonder what Sarah's going to do or say about all this. But she's got her own problems with the state of Alaska to deal with.

I hope it's not true that Levi's not being allowed to see their son. That's just mean -- to Johnston and to the baby. Still, don't you feel just a little big sisterly toward Bristol? Notice, only 50 percent of the Palins mentioned in the post made it to this list.

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Photo: Radar

Sarah Palin: Family Has to Pull Together for Pregnant Teens

JeanneSager — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 13:34:00 GMT

In what was supposed to be Bristol Palin's big moment with mom's buddy Greta on Fox News, but I doubt anyone was suprised when Alaskan Gov. Sarah Palin stuck her head - and her two cents - into the conversation.

But while her daughter's common sense approach to abstinence-only education (it doesn't work - duuuuh) has been getting all the attention, the former vice presidential candidate was surprisingly on the ball. When things go wrong, she says, families have to come together.

In fact there are five generations coming together in the Palin clan - Bristol, her mom, her grandmother and even her great-grandmother make four, plus baby Tripp. Admittedly (and this isn't a knock on the Palins), it's a lot easier to pull together that kind of crew for a teen mom - they're the few moms young enough to still maybe have a great-grandmother around. But as VanSusteren points out, there's "joy" in the Palin family when they look at the product of a teen pregnancy. Most families don't have that. If anything, a teen pregnancy has the affect of driving families apart as the various generations point fingers and play the blame game.

It can be argued that's how teens fall into the teen pregnancy trap, but not always. Look at the Palins. For all that's wrong with them (do I really need to go there?), they are neither destitute (stereotype number one), lacking in family values (stereotype number two) or, well, a minority (stereotype number three). Any kid can end up a parent at seventeen, whether their parents support them or not.

Once it happens, the only way to wrest a victory for all three kids involved is to throw the weight of the family behind them. Whether that means supporting a teen's abortion, their choice to give up the child for adoption or their choice to keep it. What's happened has happened, and a family turning their back on the kids in their time of need is the absolute worst thing that can happen - for everyone involved.

Teen pregnancy sucks. There is no way around it. But when a kid is in trouble, it's up to their parents to step in and pull them up by those boot straps. It's called parenting, people.

As Palin points out, "It's not the most ideal situation, but certainly you make the most of it."

Kind of like a liberal agreeing with something Sarah Palin says, huh?

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Bristol Palin Tells Fox Mom's Got it All Wrong

KeriF — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 12:58:00 GMT

Bristol Palin went on Fox News last night to confess that she doesn't think abstinence education works.

Actually, what she said was, "Everyone should be abstinent, whatever, but it's not realistic."

When pressed for detail by mom's buddy Greta Van Susteren, Bristol told her, "Because it's more and more accepted now." "It" presumably referring to hot and heavy teen sex.

Unlike her mom, who seemed to be unable to refocus interviews when they took unwelcome turns, Bristol had no problem holding her own with Van Susteren, repeatedly telling her, "I don't want to get into detail about it," when, well, she clearly didn't want to get into detail about it. Sure, there were plenty of "likes" and "y'knows" sprinkled throughout, but hey, she's a teenager.

When asked point blank why she didn't use protection, Bristol replied, "I don't want to get into detail about it." She did say that she was not philosophically opposed to birth control. Perhaps Mom never had the birds and the bees talk with Bristol, or maybe Mom left out the part about everything you can do to prevent pregnancy? Sarah Palin famously stood her ground that abstinence-only education works, even with glaring evidence to the contrary.

So if abstinence isn't realistic, what will keep other teens like Bristol from getting pregnant?

"To see stories like this and see other teen moms," she replied.

Her advice? "Just wait 10 years… It'll be so much easier." Looks like little Bristol is all grown up.

Sarah Palin Speaks To Esquire About Kids And Things

Brett Singer — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 04:15:00 GMT

Sarah Palin is back. In truth, the Hockey Mom/Lipsticked Pitbull/former Vice-Presidential candidate never left. So before anyone hits me with a "Why don't you leave that nice woman alone!", remember that all of these quotes are from Palin herself, via an interview in Esquire Magazine. It's not like people put a camera in her house. We'll stick with the quotes that are about her kids. Here we go:

On Trig:
I'll tell you, yesterday the Anchorage Daily News, they called again to ask — double-, triple-, quadruple-check — who is Trig's real mom. And I said, Come on, are you kidding me? We're gonna answer this? Do you not believe me or my doctor? And they said, No, it's been quite cryptic the way that my son's birth has been discussed. And I thought, Okay, more indication of continued problems in the world of journalism.

Now, I don't want to feed the beast here. And there are certainly problems in the world of journalism. But in that paragraph, she doesn't say that she's Trig's mom. I understand what she means. But she doesn't actually say that she is Trig's biological mother. Just sayin'. (UPDATE: per the comments below, this was meant as a joke, not serious journalism.)

On Bristol's pending nuptials:
This is what I've been telling Bristol, before she gets married, is, Bristol, there are definitely gonna be tough parts in marriage. You have to look at those tough times and remember that you have essentially a business contract with this person. You've signed an agreement: You're going to be together. And you look at it that way as you work through the tough times, because I guarantee the better time is there on the other side. That's how we've looked at it.

To quote another song by Heart (who sang her theme tune, Barracuda), what about love? I kind of hope that there was more to this one because if that's how she feels about marriage, that's kind of a bummer. Not that I'm all flowers and puppy dog tails when it comes to marriage. But it's more than just a "contract." Isn't it?

On Bristol's name:
Two meanings in Bristol's name: I worked at the Bristol Inn, and Todd grew up in Bristol Bay. But also, Bristol, Connecticut, is the home of ESPN. And when I was in high school, my desire was to be a sportscaster. ESPN was just kicking off, just getting off the ground, and I thought that's what I was going to do in life, is be one of the first woman sportscasters. Until I learned that you'd have to move to Bristol, Connecticut. It was far away. So instead, I had a daughter and named her Bristol.

OK. Hang on. First, she says "two meanings" and then provides three. Second – ESPN? Does that mean that she considered naming the girl Boomer, after Chris Berman? This might seem like another opinion from a "pathetic blogger" (another quote of hers), but that's a strange choice. I mean, I like the Cartoon Network but I'm not naming my son Mojo Jojo. (I did suggest that the name Luke, so I could say, "Luke! I am your father!" But then my wife hit me really hard and I gave up.)

Lastly, a general comment on parenting and kids:
A courageous person is anyone who loses a child and can still get out of bed in the morning.

No disagreement there. I do wonder what prompted her to say that, but that's one thing she and I can agree on. (She was really worried about finding common ground with me, y'know.)

One thing that can't be said enough – when Palin says that she wants us to leave her kids alone, she has to realize that she puts them in the spotlight every time she does press like this. She doesn't have to do the interview. And if she does the interview, she doesn't have to mention her family all the time. I said it before and I'll say it again – if you don't want people to write about your kids, you should stop talking about them in the media.

There's a lot more, including the statement "Everything I've ever needed to know I learned through sports," a bit of "y'all" and "ya", and that she doesn't think of herself as "hot." Oh, and to make a good chili, you need mooseburger. The full interview is online at Esquire.com. G'wan. Read it. You know you want to. Y'all. Ya.

Source/Image: Esquire

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Sarah Palin Says Leave My Kids Alone

Brett Singer — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 19:00:00 GMT

Remember Sarah Palin? Republican Vice-Presidential candidate, kind of overshadowed John McCain for a while, said the word "maverick" a lot? Tina Fey did an impression of her on Saturday Night Live? Ring any bells?

She's back. Well, to be fair, she never went away. But the Associated Press has published a story talking about how Palin "is going on the offensive against news organizations as well as bloggers she says are perpetuating malicious gossip about her and her children." They say she has, "personally reached out to media outlets such as People magazine and The Associated Press to complain about information she claimed is wrong."

What information? Well, that her daughter Bristol Palin and her fiancee, Levi Johnson, have dropped out of high school. She says that isn't true since they are taking correspondence courses. That sort of thing. Palin says that she is doing this to "set the record straight" and not because of political ambitions.

American University professor Leonard Steinhorn, described as "an expert on the presidency," isn't buying it. He says that Palin is positioning herself to run for Prez in 2012, and is "attacking the media as a way to generate support among a base she hopes will support her." (He's an expert, so he must be right.)

Here's the thing. I don't think it's fair to go after her kids. But someone needs to explain to the Governor of Alaska that if you don't want "the media" to talk about your family, you probably shouldn't invite them into your home, which she did with the Today Show in November after losing the election. No one forced her to do that. And if she wanted to do the interview, she could have done it alone. But she chose to do it in her kitchen while she cooked dinner. She clearly wants to have her family be part of her image, but she also wants to pick and choose what people write about them.

The problem is, it doesn't work that way. You can't have your cake and bake it on national television too. There are plenty of ways to keep your family out of the spotlight. One of them is very simple: keep them out of the spotlight.

Source: AP via HuffPo

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Tripp Palin's Name Explained

Brett Singer — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 18:15:00 GMT

Curious about the choice of Tripp for Bristol Palin's newborn son?

Laura Wattenberg ("The Baby Name Wizard"), told the Chicago Tribune that Bristol wanted to go with a "tr" name to go along with her brothers Track and Trig. That's speculation, of course, but it seems like as good a theory as any.

According to Wattenberg, adding the extra "p" is unusual – Trip with one p is "more traditional," and is a "preppy-style nickname for a 'third,' like the popular name Trey." The extra p usually makes it a surname, says Wattenberg, like Linda Tripp. Remember her? Wattenberg says that Bristol "is doubtless too young" to recall the woman who secretly taped her phone calls with Monica Lewinsky. I can't imagine anyone would name their child after Linda Tripp, especially making the choice to shift a last name to a first name. Although I guess if you really hated Bill Clinton, that might motivate someone to do it. I'd probably pick "Star", after Ken, but drop the extra R.

I didn't really think about how my kids' name would go together, although many families do. Melvin Van Peebles gave all of his children names that started with M, that way the initials would always be MVP. And George Foreman named all of his kids… George.

Anyway, here's the deal with the name, according a naming expert:

- Bristol probably wanted to continue with names that started with "tr".
- the extra P is unusual.
- it's a preppy name
- it means "third", like Trey.
- the name was probably not chosen to honor Linda Tripp.

I really wonder if these baby name gurus are just making stuff up as they go along. But hey, it's a tight economy, and work is work.

So there you have it!

Source: Chicago Tribune

Image: Babble Via Reuters Via ParentDish

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Study: Virginity Pledges Fail Big Time. Bristol Palin Declines to Comment

Cole Gamble — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 17:00:00 GMT

According to the research, 1 out of 8 teens will take a vow of virginity until marriage. Did you think the stat was that high? That’s means 1 of every 8 couples in America is having some very awkward, highly uninformed and unprepared post-marital sex. But virginity pledges aren’t about enjoying sex (‘cause that would be super sinful to enjoy your body). Instead, these pledges are meant to save youngsters from the dangers of sex with the fool proof abstinence method.

But guess what? It doesn’t work. At all. What’s more, virginity pledge takers are more likely to engage in dangerous sexual activity such as not wearing a condom.

You know abstinence is also the main line of strategy our outgoing administration has used to combat the AIDS epidemic in Africa. Upon hearing that they could just stop having sex, all of the genocidal rapists primarily responsible for the epidemic must have slapped their collective heads and said, “Why didn’t I think of that?”

If you could tell by the tone of this blog, I see no point in virginity pledges and in fact find them dangerous. That’s is not to say I want my kids doing when they’re 13 and I certainly not going to encourage them to do it sooner than later. It’s just that it’s completely biological normal to want to have sex as a teen. When you stand in the way of biology you tend to get burned.

But maybe I’m way off. Do you think virginity pledges are a good thing? Maybe you didn’t believe in them when you were young and single, but now that you have kids of your own you’ve flipped your position. How wrong am I?

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How Much Is Bristol Palin Getting for Her Baby Pics?

SunnyChanel — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 16:31:00 GMT

How much did you get paid for your child’s first photos? Me? I got nada, zilch, zero and in fact had to actually pay out money for prints. But then, my mom hadn’t just run for Vice President. According to MSNBC, Bristol Palin, daughter of Sarah Palin, will be receiving an estimated $300,000 from People magazine for the rights to publish the first pics of her newborn son with fiancée Levi Johnson. The baby boy named Tripp was born on December 28th.

Even before the baby was born there was a mini bidding war for the pics. The numbers are nowhere near Jolie-Pitt territory but 300k will go a long way in Alaska. The bidding started at $100,000 but got a bit hotter after Levi’s mom was arrested recently on drug related charges. Nothing like a little family scandal to raise the price tag. People and In Touch Magazine were the active bidders with People winning in the end.

Do you think 300k is a fair price?

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Source: MSNBC

Sarah Palin Is A Grandma! Bristol’s Baby is Born!

SunnyChanel — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 00:55:00 GMT

Yes, she may be the wet dream to many a die-hard Rebuplican, but now the object of their lust is...a grandma. On Sunday Sarah Palin’s daughter Bristol gave birth to a baby boy. According to People Magazine, her son was born in Palmer, Alaska and they named him Tripp Easton Mitchell Johnston. The Trippster was born on Sunday and weighed in at 7lb 4oz. "The baby is fine and Bristol is doing well. Everyone is excited," said Colleen Jones, Sarah Palin’s aunt.

Source: Reuters

Stop Sending Palin Baby Presents

JeanneSager — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 13:03:00 GMT

So the economy's in the crapper, and parents are cutting back on everything from Santa to travel. So why are gifts pouring into the Palin household?

The former (so happy to say that) vice presidential candidate's father, Chuck Heath, told Grandparents.com that gifts for granddaughter Bristol Palin's soon-to-be born baby boy have been piling up from around the world. Really, this is what people are spending their money on?

In case none of you remember, the Palin family isn't exactly hurting. Mom just got offered a raise by one of the commissions she helped appoint (OK, OK, she turned it down - but who is actually getting offers for EXTRA money in their paycheck this year?). Then there are all those RNC shopping spree clothes (including that Ramones tee for a tot).

Bristol Palin does not need our charity. But at last count, Chuck Heath says there are one hundred thousand gifts waiting for baby boy Johnston. Yes, you read that right - one hundred thousand.

He admits she'll probably never use them all (ya think?), but I've yet to hear any offers to give these things away to a pregnancy center or maybe make some Christmases brighter around Alaska.

We get it, some people actually liked Sarah Palin. If you really want to pay tribute to her, how about donating some gifts in her name to someone who could actually use them?

Ooh, I know, how about one of those centers for pregnant teens she cut funding from? Just a suggestion.

Image: Reuters Via ParentDish

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Matt Lauer Talks To Sarah Palin In The Kitchen

Brett Singer — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 13:35:00 GMT

Sarah Palin is off the campaign trail but not out of the spotlight. Now that she isn't running for anything, she's doing interviews left and right (that's not a political reference, by the way). This morning, NBC aired the first part of Matt Lauer's interview with the Alaska Governor; part two airs tomorrow, and there's even more coming on NBC Nightly News.

Sarah sat down with Matt in Alaska for a traditional interview (as morning news gigs go, I think Matt Lauer has it the worst – dude has to travel a LOT). He also spent some time at the Palin home, sharing a salmon and halibut casserole, which he said was quite tasty.

Some of the video is below (click here if the embed doesn't work).

Here are some highlights:

Matt says that the Palin family was, “down to Earth.” Palin herself is, “a working mom...making dinner for her family.”

As for Governor Palin, she was thrilled to be, “representing middle-class, hardworking American families” as part of the McCampaign. (I'm waiting for a candidate to say that they represent lazy people who don't care about money.) She “did not know” that the media scrutiny would be as intense as it turned out to be, and she was upset about the rumors that Trig was not her son. Still, it was all worth it because, “I knew we were on the right path...offering me and my family in service of my country.”

Todd weighs in, kind of. Asked about how the Palin family dealt with the crazy campaign schedule, the First Dude said, “our family is very adaptable.” As for the criticisms? It's just “part of the business.” It sounds like Sarah was more interested than Todd in tearing some of her critics a new one. Still, the Governor says that it's all, “part of this beast called politics in America.”

So what about all of the post-election mud that's been flying around our heads? And did the McCampaign keep her from doing interviews? Palin doesn't want to get into “inside baseball” with regard to “who was calling the shots in the campaign.” She makes it pretty clear that she, “loves doing interviews” because she wants to tell the American people what she plans to do to/for them. “You have to be able to speak through the media.” Lauer points out that she answered his question, “without answering it.”

Then we hear from Piper. She awkwardly answers Matt's questions about the campaign, saying that the hardest part was going to the rallies. She missed “a lot” of school, and its been hard to catch up now that she's home again. How would she feel about another campaign, like, say, in four years? “I don't know,” is the 7 year old's answer. Then mom jumps in and asks her daughter, “Would you want to do it again, sister?” Piper, without missing a beat, says, “Yes.” (UPDATE: apparently Piper was wearing high heels.)

I have several thoughts about this of course, but one thing comes to mind immediately. Governor Palin expressed frustration with what she calls a “double standard” regarding how the media covers her. “I don’t know if anybody’s asking Barack Obama, for intance, ‘Who did your makeup before you went on stage?’ But they’ve been asking me.” True. But when John McCain goes on Jay Leno tonight, I don't think he's going to be doing a cooking segment. Live by the mixing bowl, die by the mixing bowl, y'know?

Source/Image: NBC/MSNBC

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UPDATE AGAIN: Palin Prepper Defends The Gov

Brett Singer — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 05:15:00 GMT

ANOTHER update to the "McCampaign staffers can't seem to stop talking" story. From Gawker:

Republican and former Bush executive secretary of the National Security Council Steve Biegun has gotten in touch with National Review editor/wonderboy Rich Lowry to redeem the former vice presidential candidate by repudiating recent claims she has no idea who's in NAFTA and thinks Africa's a country. He calls the allegations "absurd," while managing to note that she had a "steep learning curve on foreign issues," as Lowry formulates it. It's nice someone is stepping out on Sarah's behalf, but is this half-hearted defense simply part of the larger scheme to discredit her for 2012?

I really am fascinated by this whole thing. The word I keep coming back to is childish. Someone bashes her, someone else defends her, the woman herself uses the words "jerks" and "stinkers." Now the person responsible for preparing the former VP candidate for her interviews says, "there's no way she didn't know Africa was a continent, and whoever is saying she didn't must be distorting 'a fumble of words.'" What does that even mean? Steve Biegun offers a theory about the charge that Palin didn't know beans about NAFTA:

He was briefing Palin before a Univision interview, and talking to her about trade issues. He rolled through NAFTA, CAFTA, and the Colombia FTA. As he talked, people were coming in and out of the room, handing Palin things, etc. She was distracted from what Biegun was saying, and said, roughly, "Ok, who's in NAFTA, what's the deal with CAFTA, what's up the FTA?"—her way, Biegun says, of saying "rack them and stack them," begin again from the start. "Somebody is taking a conversation and twisting it maliciously," he says.

Gawker says that, "this can only be the work of a Republican faction that wants Palin never to speak on behalf of their party again." I guess this could be Karl Rove sneaking his way back into the hearts and minds of the GOP. But after everything we saw this campaign season, I think there is a distinct possibility that the people speaking out about what went on behind the scenes at the McCampaign are NOT the best our country has to offer. At the very least, they're behaving very badly. Is it just me or do they sound like children, and not terribly well-behaved children at that?

Original post and updates are below. This is like "The Neverending Story." (Which, by the way, is only $4.99 on DVD. Not a bad deal.)

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UPDATE: Palin Says Critics Are Jerks, Some Media People are Stinkers

Updating the earlier news regarding the comments made by one of Sarah Palin's aides, the New York Times is reporting that Governor Palin has made the bold move of referring to the "unnamed McCain campaign aides who have been maligning her in recent days" as "jerks." Also, some members of the media are "stinkers." No word on whether either group is made of greasy grimy gopher guts and mutilated monkey feet. It is also possible that the unnamed sources are, in fact, poopyheads infected with massive amounts of cooties. We'll stay with this story all night if we have to.

OK, OK, we're being silly, but so is everyone else. And we weren't involved in a Presidential election campaign.

Here's the direct quote from the Times:

Referring to the McCampaign staff members who have criticized her: "that’s cruel and it’s mean-spirited, it’s immature, it’s unprofessional, and those guys are jerks, if they came away with it taking things out of context and then tried to spread something on national news. It is not fair and not right."

As for the media: “For the most part, absolutely, media persons, reporters, have been absolutely right on and there has been fairness and objectivity...There have been some stinkers, though, who have kind of made the whole basket full of apples, once in a while, smell kind of bad.”

And there you have it. The original post continues below:

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An aide to Alaska Governor Sarah Palin has fired back at sources in the McCampaign who claim that Palin was, well, something other than a good VP candidate.

"This is so unfortunate and, quite honestly, sickening," Palin aide Meghan Stapleton said Thursday in a written statement. "The accusations we are hearing and reading are not true, and since we deny all these anonymous allegations, there is nothing specific to which we will respond.
"We have the highest regards for Sen. John McCain. Gov. Palin was honored to be chosen as McCain's running mate. And as governor of Alaska, Gov. Palin looks forward to working with President-elect Obama on securing energy independence for America."

Palin herself says she will not respond to "individual accusations."

"I won't comment on anyone's gossip or allegations that are based on anonymous sources," she said. "That's kind of a small, evidently bitter type of person, who would anonymously charge something foolish like that -- that I perhaps didn't know an answer to a question. So until I know who was talking about it, I won't have a comment on false allegations."

Others in the McCampaign are bummed out that things fell apart so fast. "Despite the acrimony, many McCain aides say they are sad the campaign team dissolved so quickly." No kidding.

I'm a little surprised as well. Regardless of what anyone thinks of Sarah Palin, she was chosen by the McCampaign. So if they had problems with her, wouldn't before the election have been a good time to figure that out?

Not to get too silly about this, but don't we tell our children to be good sports when they lose? And isn't this type of behavior the exact opposite of that? Frankly, the Presidential election is a hell of a lot more important than a soccer game. Sometimes talking about it doesn't help.

Source: CNN

Image: HuffPo

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They say: Obama Wins

They Say: Sarah Palin Knows Nothing

Brett Singer — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 19:15:00 GMT

Let the backbiting begin!

As Madeline reported over in Morning News, some members of the McCampaign is seemingly saying that Sarah Palin is to blame for John McCain not being elected President of the United States. Even you think that's going too far – I haven't heard anyone say that directly – McCampaign staffers are certainly telling tales out of school. And none of the tales are particularly flattering to Governor Palin.

As Fox News reports it, members of the McCampaign are now saying that there were, "gaps in [Palin's] knowledge." Gaps like not knowing that Africa is a continent. Not knowing which countries were part of NAFTA. Little things like that. As Howard Stern said on his Sirius XM radio show the other day, maybe it's OK for an average citizen not to know these things (he did say that everyone should know that Africa is a continent). But a Vice-President candidate?

The video (at HuffPo) of Bill O'Reilly discussing these revelations with a Fox News is particularly hilarious. Responding to the notion that Palin didn't know a lot of important stuff, he says, "You can tutor people," says Bill O'Reilly. "It's gotta be more than that." It does? Why?

Regarding Palin's refusing to be prepped for her now-infamous Katie Couric interview, Bill says, "She didn't want to be bogged down with a lesson before Ms. Couric talked to her." BUT then "Palin began to attack staff… she hadn't been warned." WHAT????

When the McCampaign wouldn't allow Palin to do an appearance on The O'Reilly Factor alone, Bill said they couldn't make it work "logistically." It makes O'Reilly sound like a guy who just wanted some alone time with Sarah.

Palin was throwing "tantrums… there was the throwing of paperwork and things of this nature." Then she met McCampaign staff wrapped only in a bathrobe. "She's a bit of a shopaholic." That's what the Fox News reporter says he was told.

Do you think McCain's loss was her fault? Or is this just a lot of blame shifting?

Source: HuffPo (also image), Morning News

Sarah Palin Gets Pranked By Canadian Radio Hosts – Video

Palin Speaks Out On Special Needs Trusts

Eliot Spitzer Cleared of Prostitution Charges

Barack Obama Asked If Bill Clinton Was The First Black President

The Obamas Are a Great First Family

They say: Obama Wins

Brett Singer — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 04:11:00 GMT

CNN, The New York Times, and even Fox News have called the Presidential race for Barack Obama. (UPDATE: so has everyone else.)

Amazing to think that it's almost all over after so much campaigning.

Not much to say. I'm still going to watch the news for awhile; I'm like Yogi Berra – it ain't over 'til it's over, y'know? Then again, McCain just conceded. Wow. (Classy speech too, for what it's worth.)

UPDATE: I'm watching Barack's speech now. I can't imagine what must be going through his mind. Think about where he was in 2004. Wow. I know I should have something more articulate to say but "wow" is going to have to do. (It's late.)

My kids don't seem to care that much, which was actually sort of nice in a way. No matter who wins, they get up, go to school, eat lunch, run around, jump on my ribs – a typical day. Eventually I'll talk to them about this election, but not right now.

What about you – how do you feel?

image: me waiting to vote today

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109 Year Old Daughter Of Slave Votes For Obama

Other Stuff to Vote On Today – Same Sex Marriage, Chicken Cages

Brett Singer — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 20:15:00 GMT

So the United States is picking a President today. But there are other candidates, and also many ballot measures in play today.

A quick round-up:

ARIZONA:
- Ban same-sex marriage.
- Require that any initiative involving spending or tax hikes be approved by majority of all registered voters, not just those casting ballots.

ARKANSAS:
- Create state lottery.
- Ban unmarried couples from adopting or being foster parents.

CALIFORNIA:
- Ban same-sex marriage.
- Authorize high-speed rail project.
- Require parental notification for a minor's abortion.
- Create 14-member commission to draw state legislative districts.
- Require all utilities to generate 20 percent of their power from renewable energy by 2010.
- Ban cramped metal cages for egg-laying hens.

I think I'm noticing a trend here.

Several states are voting on ballot measures to "ban same-sex marriage." Personally, I find this bizarre. Isn't it already banned? Are people that freaked out at the possibility of two men or two women marrying each other that they need to put it on double secret probation? (For the record, I think if gay people are crazy enough to want to be married, it's fine. Go for it.)

Looking at the article on MiamiHerald.com, it looks like the to-do of an insane person. Authorize slot machine gambling, check. Allow state's first casino, check. Ban abortion and dog racing, check. Ban cramped metal cages for egg-laying hens, check. (Those are all from different states, not the same one.) That's not to say that all of the measures are insane, it's just funny to think about them out of context. "Let's see, today...Prohibit mandatory union membership and mandatory union dues, authorize slot-machine gambling, and make English the official language of government proceedings. Got it." Busy day.

Sources: Miami Herald, MTV

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109 Year Old Daughter Of Slave Votes For Obama

Brett Singer — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 19:45:00 GMT

The line to vote for President and other stuff today might be kind of long. If you get cranky, here's an inspiring story to keep you a little bit sane.

From the Austin American Statesman:

Amanda Jones, 109, the daughter of a man born into slavery, has lived a life long enough to touch three centuries. And after voting consistently as a Democrat for 70 years, she has voted early for the country's first black presidential nominee.
…
Jones' father herded sheep as a slave until he was 12, according to the family, and once he was freed, he was a farmer who raised cows, hogs and turkeys on land he owned. Her mother was born right after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed, Joyce Jones said. The family owned more than 100 acres of land in Cedar Creek at one point, she said.
Amanda Jones' father urged her to exercise her right to vote, despite discriminatory practices at the polls and poll taxes meant to keep black and poor people from voting. Those practices were outlawed for federal elections with the 24th Amendment in 1964, but not for state and local races in Texas until 1966.

First of all, the fact that anyone lived to be 109 is cool. More importantly, though, is her story. I can't imagine what it must have felt like for Amanda to cast her vote in this Presidential election.

Source/Image: Statesman.com

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Why Monday Night Football Is Important To This Election

Brett Singer — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 22:00:00 GMT

You probably think that a football game has no bearing on tomorrow's election.

Silly voter!

First: both Barack Obama and John McCain will appear tonight on Monday Night Football. They will be interviewed by Chris Berman, a man whose idea of humor is referring to quarterback Jack Delhomme as "Daylight Come And You've Gotta Delhomme." (Get it? "Go home?" "Delhomme?" It's even funnier when he says it every single week.) According to media reports, "The interviews will give both candidates a last major chance to appeal to Americans during a coveted spot on prime-time television. Monday Night Football has averaged 12.2 million viewers this season." That's better than the typical halftime show, although I doubt Janet Jackson will show up and offer a wardrobe malfunction. And while I would personally love it if Obama quoted Chris Rock and said, "Redskins? That's racist! That's like having a team called the New York Ni**ers," I'm guessing he won't say that. But maybe McCain will? Nah. Wouldn't be prudent, you know?

Second: if the Redskins win the game, the incumbent party – the Republicans, in case you've forgotten – wins the election. This has been true since 1948, except for once. In 2004, the 'Skins lost and George W. Bush won. Obviously this isn't a lock. Still, this is one of those weird little things that make you believe in a higher power that has a sense of humor.

The predictions I've seen generally favor the Steelers tonight, but it should be close. So if you want to start obsessing a day early, you can stay up late tonight and watch the game.

Also of interest: Obama was on Monday Night Football back in 2006 to announce… that he was a Chicago Bears fan. Here's the video.

Sources: WSJ, CBC (also image), Sporting News

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Evangelical Teens' Very Active Sex Lives

Hannah Tennant-Moore — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 21:00:00 GMT

In this week's issue of The New Yorker, there's a cartoon that made me laugh so hard I spit out my tea. Although it's not technically Bristol Palin's unborn child speaking, it easily could be. Two kids are sitting on a stoop and one says to the other, "I was an abstinence-only baby."

An article by Margarot Talbot in this same New Yorker tackles the issue of evangelical teen pregnancy in a more serious vein. Even for someone who is already convinced that abstinence-only sex education doesn’t work, these statistics are shocking.

Although 74 percent of white evangelical teenagers are opposed to premarital sex, more evangelical teens are sexually active than almost any other major religious group, including mainline Protestants, Jews, and Mormons. The average age for an evangelical to lose her virginity is 16. And half of these kids are not using protection. Compare that with 69 percent of non-evangelical teens who report using contraception every time they have sex.

The reason for this high percentage of unsafe sex among evangelical teens likely stems from shame at being sexually active—if you carry around condoms or suggest using one, you could give the impression that you are looking for sex. Furthermore, abstinence-only sex ed. teaches that condoms are not effective protection against STDs and pregnancy.

As we’ve seen in the widespread conservative support for Bristol Palin’s plans to get married and have a baby at age 17, for many evangelical parents, a teen daughter becoming pregnant is not a problem—so long as she keeps the baby and marries the father. This is a perfectly valid attitude based on a personal moral belief. The problem is that this retroactive problem solving often does not lead to happy families.

The states with the highest divorce rates and the highest teen pregnancy rates are all red (where people are, obviously, more likely to be evangelical conservatives than social liberals). The states with the lowest divorce and teen-pregnancy rates are all blue.

Many are arguing, even within the evangelical community, that if Christians want to preserve a commitment to abstinence until marriage, they must do more to encourage happier, younger marriages, since delaying sex until age 25 or 30 is just not realistic.

A large part of encouraging young Christians to have happier relationships is offering them more realistic attitudes toward sex. If hormonal teenagers are taught, for instance, that masturbation is sinful, they are more likely to have less engagement with and control over their bodies. Similarly, teen girls who are taught that they can always become "born-again virgins" if they "accidentally" have sex before marriage are not likely to embark on a responsible sex life. And such guilt-addled, unrealistic attitudes toward sex are likely to cause problems for couples well into marriage.

Photo: Mary Ellen Mark/The New Yorker

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Sarah Palin Gets Pranked By Canadian Radio Hosts – Video

Brett Singer — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 02:07:00 GMT

When you were a kid, did you ever make prank calls? Call a bar and ask to speak to Dick Hertz? Dial 867 5309 and ask for Jenny? Or "is your refrigerator running? Well, you'd better go and catch it!" (That last one is way old school, dude.)

Some lucky grown-ups actually make a living doing that sort of thing. And Sarah Palin is their latest victim.

Marc-Antoine Audette and Sebastien Trudel, two Canadian radio performers who go by the name The Masked Avengers, have made calls to numerous celebrities and government officials, including Britney Spears (she's a celebrity, not a government official – just wanted to clarify that.) Now Alaska's governor can add her name to the ranks of the pranked. The Canuck comedians got through to Sarah Palin herself on Saturday and convinced her – for five minutes – that she was speaking to French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

The remarkable thing is how easily they get through. Sure, one would think that Palin would have figured out this wasn't actually the French Prez when he says that he loved the "documentary" that Hustler made about her, "Nailin' Palin." But the really sad part is the staffer who puts her right on the phone. No, "Are we expecting a call from the President of France?" Nothing.

Another good line: "We have the equivalent of Joe the Plumber in France. It's called Marcel, the guy with bread under his armpit."

The campaign released the following statement: "Governor Palin was mildly amused to learn that she had joined the ranks of heads of state, including President Sarkozy and other celebrities, in being targeted by these pranksters. C'est la vie."

So I guess if you catch your children on the phone asking some stranger if they have Prince Albert in a Can (let him out! Ha ha!), maybe you should encourage them? OK, not really.

Here's the entire Sarah Palin prank call for your listening pleasure.

Source: miamiherald.com, huffingtonpost.com

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Jon Stewart says: Ted Stevens is a Cheap Date

Brett Singer — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 22:00:00 GMT

By now you probably now that Senator Ted Stevens has been found guilty of lying about campaign gifts. But what WERE those gifts? Must have been some spectacular stuff to be worth risking his political career and legacy for. Right?

Eh, no.

Howard Stern has been talking about this for awhile now – basically, Stevens sold his soul for, like, a barbecue grill. (But a really NICE one.) Jon Stewart weighed in last night (if the video doesn't work, try clicking here):

Personally, I prefer my corruption big. If you're going to go to jail for something, shouldn't it be something really huge? And if you're going to completely sell out to special interests, shouldn't you get better stuff than that crappy fish sculpture?

The details are just too wacky to be true, except that they are. From the Miami Herald:

Stevens maintained throughout his own testimony that he didn't want the things he was given — a grill, a fish sculpture, a generator, furniture, a high-tech massage chair, free labor — and that he never received bills for some of the work done on his home, even though he asked for invoices. He also continued to place much of the blame on his wife, Catherine, saying repeatedly that she was responsible for overseeing the renovations that led, in part, to his federal indictment. He simply was unaware of all renovation-related expenses, Stevens testified.

Let's review. He didn't want the stuff. He asked for bills and never got them. (Funny how that NEVER happens to me. Or anyone else on the planet.) He's blaming his wife. (Nice.) And it gets better:

But jurors are unlikely to regard some of his assertions as credible, including Stevens' claim that a $2,695 massage chair was a loan, not a gift, from his friend Robert Persons in 2001.
The lead Justice Department prosecutor, Brenda Morris, read from an e-mail in which Stevens told Persons "the chair arrived and it's great," but added that he couldn't accept it as a gift, just as a loan. If it's a loan, Morris asked Stevens, why then is the chair still in his Washington, D.C., home more than seven years later?
"I told him I would not accept is as a gift," Stevens said. "We have lots of things in our house that do not belong with us."

If you could hear me, you would know that I am laughing. Out loud. "We have lots of things in our house that do not belong with us." What can one say about that? Imagine you are in your child's room and you notice a toy that looks unfamiliar. You ask them where they got it. "It's not mine. I have lots of things that aren't mine." Oh! OK.

And one more thing: Madeline points out in Morning News that Sarah Palin has asked Stevens to resign his Senate seat. Some have the audacity to suggest that Palin might be eyeing his job. Or as Madeline puts it: "Is Palin looking out for Alaska's best interest? If by Alaska, you mean Sarah Palin, then some say the answer is 'yes!'"

Oy.

Source: Miami Herald, hulu

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