Palin Blasts Blogger – Again.
25 06 2009
Welcome once again to the wacky world of Alaska politics. When we last left our governor, she was involved in a knock down drag out fight with David Letterman over a crass comment about her daughter getting “knocked up” during a baseball game. We all know how that turned out, and regardless of which side you were on, or whether you were somewhere in the middle, it was quite a spectacle. A battle of the Titans. Former VP candidate and Queen of Alaska Sarah Palin vs. The Undisputed King of Late Night Comedy who can make or break politicians with his sometimes acid tongue, and always razor sharp wit. It was quite a show that culminated in 15 protesters and 35 members of the media showing up outside the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York City asking that the aforementioned King of Comedy get fired from his job.
Fast forward a few weeks.
Local Alaskan political watchdog and blogger Linda Kellen Biegel is in the middle of a project. She’s working in virtual obscurity in Alaska, to get email records released that she feels will reveal questionable communications between the Palin administration and a local gossip columnist, and a local pro-Palin conservative radio talk show host. Palin herself has appeared on the show many times, in addition to her family members, her lawyer, her spokeswoman and various other members of the administration.
The talk show host in question, Eddie Burke, recently showed up at an Anchorage Assembly meeting to give public testimony about an upcoming Municipal gay rights ordinance wearing this.
A few months ago, security forcibly removed him from another Assembly meeting.
Biegel believes the release of these emails will show a concerted effort between the Palin administration and these two members of the media to coordinate attacks on local watchdogs. She won’t know for sure until she can pay the $5500 the state is charging her for costs associated with her records request. Last week she began a fund drive to raise the money online, and each night posted a “thermometer” showing the progress and featuring a different image.
Here’s where the fireworks begin. On Tuesday, a picture of Palin holding up her son Trig during that famous speech at the RNC convention became the thermometer graphic. Only in this picture, Trig wasn’t Trig. In the image Biegel used, the governor is cuddling a Photoshopped baby with the face of Eddie Burke. Disturbing, yes, but meant to illustrate the governor’s strange and cozy relationship with this controversial Alaskan figure, according to the blogger.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the aisle, an out-of-state pro Palin blog expressed outrage. At first they did not realize what the face was, as those outside of Alaska were not familiar with the visage of Eddie Burke. But after finding out, one of the bloggers at the site was featured on the Eddie Burke Show in Alaska and expressed the fact that her readers were outraged. This image was making fun of a precious special needs baby, she said. An hour of Burke’s radio program Wednesday was dedicated to discussing the issue and callers weighed in from both sides. Biegel was called on to apologize to special needs kids everywhere, and the Democratic Party was called upon to renounce Biegel, who had been Alaska’s state blogger at the Democratic National Convention, but whose official relationship with the party ended there.
Today, Meghan Stapleton, the governor’s spokeswoman issued a strongly-worded statement:
Recently we learned of a malicious desecration of a photo of the Governor and baby Trig that has become an iconic representation of a mother’s love for a special needs child.
The mere idea of someone doctoring the photo of a special needs baby is appalling. To learn that two Alaskans did it is absolutely sickening. Linda Kellen Biegel, the official Democrat Party blogger for Alaska, should be ashamed of herself and the Democratic National Committee should be ashamed for promoting this website and encouraging this atrocious behavior.
Babies and children are off limits. It is past time to restore decency in politics and real tolerance for all Americans. The Obama Administration sets the moral compass for its party. We ask that special needs children be loved, respected and accepted and that this type of degeneracy be condemned.
Neither Stapleton nor the governor had commented on a similar photo that had been photoshopped using that same image to show Palin cuddling a baby with a David Letterman head last Friday, points out Biegel who says the photo is obviously making fun of Eddie Burke and the governor, not Trig.
Tactics have changed. This is no longer a battle of the Titans but more like a battle of Titan vs. Hedgehog. One thing sure to come from this latest turn of events is the evidence that Palin has changed her tactics, and that Linda Kellen Biegel and her blog will be better known by the time it’s over. And so will Eddie Burke.
June 26th, 2009 at 12:37 PM
Dr. Chill,
Please chill out for a few days and then come back with a vengeance.
They have NOTHING but blank, hypocritical thousand yard stares.
Dont let them win. In a day or so, they will have something new to obsess over…
June 26th, 2009 at 12:37 PM
Dr. Chill: I totally respect your decision to take a break from it all. Sometimes we just need to get away. But please, do come back eventually. And when the need arises again, please don’t be afraid to use your ‘photoshopping’ talent to call out bigotry and hypocracy when you see it.
And yeah, those pro Palin sites are desert islands of stupidity, ignorance and denial in the sea that we call the ‘rational world’. Best to avoid at all costs.
Take care, Dr. Chill!
June 26th, 2009 at 1:10 PM
The pro-Palin viewpoint seems so painfully indefensible to anyone with an open, logical mind that it’s impossible not to be frustrated by it. It helps, however, to bear in mind that they (TS, C4P) really don’t have the numbers to back up the vitriol. For me, I’ll stay informed and active, but I’ll also try to be patient. (Sometimes I have to remind myself to “Be like Barack.”)
June 26th, 2009 at 1:13 PM
Dr. Chill,
Get up off the ground, dust yourself off and send us another graphic ASAP. You have shown the world what an idiot she is…and I am truly proud to be a fellow poster/blogger supporting you. You should be proud!
June 26th, 2009 at 1:15 PM
And Dr. Chill I wanted to meet you in NY in August!
June 26th, 2009 at 1:15 PM
@194 Eye On You
http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3160064&pagenumber=4
Theve’ posted more they are really getting out of hand
Now some of these I could see getting outraged over
June 26th, 2009 at 1:20 PM
New post in the forum (thanks Irishgirl) – in support of Dr. Chill.
June 26th, 2009 at 1:24 PM
Dr. Chill,
Take a rest, chill out (maybe meet up with the lovely and level-headed bubbles for drink?) and I hope we’ll see you back in your usual form soon!
June 26th, 2009 at 1:26 PM
I am sorry that you are feeling sullied by all of this Dr. Chill! The gov has that way with her, doesn’t she. I feel that she has tainted every single thing that she’s touched, and that includes her children, as she has toted & pimped them through her self-promotion tours.
I personally would have liked to see a photo of the vile guy nursing at her evil breast, that somehow would have seemed more apropos to me.
She would have some credibility had she shown outrage re: the other doctored photos, and had she put out a statement laced with a mother’s sadness instead of her usual vitriol and shout-out to Obama to come protect her. As it is, I have zero sympathy for her given the statement that she elected to put out via her evil minion Mug Stapletongue.
I have felt sullied by her myself, and sullied by those who support her. Perpetuating hate & fear. The worst of the Bush legacy come home to roost in Alaska.
Don’t let the bad guys get you down. Living well is the best tonic. Be at peace & let sunshine into your heart & your life. This too shall pass.
Best to you.
June 26th, 2009 at 3:15 PM
Dr. Chill – Do what you have to do to recharge the battery. Lee323 put it so very well. Read his post ’til you are cross-eyed. Give bubbles a ring and go to Harry’s and laugh. I’ll even get a hold of Brian again for a NYC trip. We have your back. Come back when you are ready.
June 26th, 2009 at 4:13 PM
Now this is how citizen’s complaints re: gov’t big shots are handled in FL…an actual inquiry is done on actions by the former, now indicted, Speaker of the House…
Someone pass this on to the AK investigators….it’s time for SP to exit stage, ahem, right….
http://www.floridacapitalnews.com/article/20090626/CAPITOLNEWS/90626007&theme=
Sansom faces House sanctions; committee named to consider case
*snip*
On Friday, Cretul appointed the select committee to determine what action should follow from the investigation spurred by a complaint filed by a citizen. Special investigator D. Stephen Kahn delivered a 286-page report on his more than four-month investigation into Sansom’s dealings and found probable cause for three violations of House rules.
June 26th, 2009 at 4:19 PM
Shiver, I made the mistake of checking out the Something Awful site. . .like Dr. Chill after monitoring a pro-Palin site, I feel sullied.
There have been some off-color comments before, immature play on names – but given the context it is quiet tame and downright respectful. I am relieved to lurk and sometimes contribute to a gentle progressive community that is the mudflats.
This is a refuge to detox from the wingnut conservative political maddness, it is home.
June 26th, 2009 at 4:24 PM
Possible insight as to why some babies may be carried facing out:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/24/study-women-are-more-sque_n_220126.html
STUDY: Women Are More Squeamish About Abnormal-Looking Babies Than Men
June 26th, 2009 at 4:26 PM
AKM, do you have a recording of the good bits of the Burke show?
June 26th, 2009 at 4:28 PM
InJuneau Says:
June 26th, 2009 at 4:24 PM
STUDY: Women Are More Squeamish About Abnormal-Looking Babies Than Men
——————————————–
Funny you should post that, because I was just thinking about the election last year – and how the Palin girls (even Levi) showed the baby a lot of natural affection – but I never saw either of his parents do the same.
June 26th, 2009 at 4:42 PM
Lee323 has put it succinctly, as usual. Dr. Chill, your voice is needed and appreciated. Please recharge and come back. As Lee said, “we’re making progress with the TRUTH!”
June 26th, 2009 at 6:09 PM
Look.. this is my thoughts on a certain website.
The website which is an out of state pro palin blog is not worth anyone wasting their time on.
The more you visit there, the more gratification they gain from your visits. Not just egotistically, but *financially*. Your visits pay them money.
I ask you guys.. please.. stop going there, stop paying attention to what they are saying, and if you can’t do that, please stop bringing what they are saying here. This is our civil space. We do not want their hate and anger here.
They are going out of their way to try and stir up the crazies who actually live in Alaska, and in my opinion it is pretty dangerous to have a place where crazies can practice hate speech – crazies who might own weapons and might be stirred up enough to actually act.
There have already been two wingnut killings this year. Do we want one of our Alaskan progressive bloggers to be the third? Threats have been made and continue to be made. I do not know how serious those threats are and neither do any of us.
Many of us do not live in Alaska. Our lives are not potentially at risk.
But we all have a responsibility to those we support who are in Alaska to not *engage* and *enrage* the crazies.
We have a responsibility not to visit websites which can only be considered hate websites.
Would ya’all be so keen on visiting if that site were a KKK blog encouraging people to hate anyone not white? No – but what they are doing and allowing in their comments section is just as bad, from what I hear. I do not visit it and nor will I, ever.
June 26th, 2009 at 6:15 PM
[...] photo clearly pokes fun at the talk show host, who is a huge Palin supporter. But since the original [...]
June 26th, 2009 at 6:20 PM
[...] photo clearly pokes fun at the talk show host, who is a huge Palin supporter. But since the original [...]
June 26th, 2009 at 7:18 PM
247 Mudbug Says: June 26th, 2009 at 11:56 AM
Better yet, have Sen Kerry come on the show and point it out.
_________
Kerry ought to go on Letterman and read the Top Ten List of Failed Palin Attempts at Humor.
June 26th, 2009 at 7:30 PM
Dr Chill-
I’m in need of rest from all things SP too and haven’t even begun to step into the fray as you have. Hoping you are rested, rejuvenated, and returned from your own home concerns when I pop back in…
I’d WAAAAY rather listen to your voice on issues than SWWNBN.
June 26th, 2009 at 7:38 PM
Dr. Chill…
Take so time off and regroup, but do come back. I use to visit some of the proPalin sites, but I never posted. How can have an intelligent discussion with those who don’t want to hear any dissent. They get outraged over every little thing, they twist things to fit their perception of reality, and their only means of disagreement is to call people names.
You are better than that. Just don’t visit those sites. Or if you must, just read and don’t post. They have nothing of value to offer. Don’t let them defeat you or bring you down to their level.
June 26th, 2009 at 10:20 PM
I agree with Snoskred- it’s better to ignore those that we can’t have reasonable conversations with. I personally have never been over to that site and don’t plan to. I also don’t plan to hang out in a clear plastic box full of mosquitos.
June 27th, 2009 at 4:44 AM
[...] photo clearly pokes fun at the talk show host, who is a huge Palin supporter. But since the original [...]
June 27th, 2009 at 4:47 AM
267 Snoskred:
I agree 100% with Snosk, too.
You all have no idea how much it weighs on me to ‘hear’ their insanity here, even 2nd hand, in what has become (forgive me, but this is how I see this place) MY oasis…
It is bad enough that, at the very least, increased traffic to their site allows them the satisfaction of believing that their popularity is growing; but the fact that every ‘visit’ there actually helps them financially…!
JUST SAY ‘NO’, MUDPUPS!
June 27th, 2009 at 5:01 AM
@267 Snoskred, count me +1! Well said!
June 27th, 2009 at 5:20 AM
[...] photo clearly pokes fun at the talk show host, who is a huge Palin supporter. But since the original [...]
June 27th, 2009 at 6:30 AM
@267 Snoskred.
I’m with you 100%. Let’s just not go there, folks.
June 27th, 2009 at 9:18 AM
Yes, Snos speaks with wisdom – and I would add, that I sense deeply that any contributions to divisive dialogue makes all of us more unsafe – I think at this pivotal moment in history, with an African American president, that divisiveness contributes strength to those who would truly prefer that he fail. I don’t know how to explain it, but I just have a gut feeling that adding to the furor even makes it more unsafe for him. We need all the positive energy we can get – and sometimes that even includes ignoring stupidity and moving on. The reactions to the photo are intended to do nothing more than stir up murky waters. The statement from the governor’s ‘pokeperson’ (intentional misspelling) is intended only to poke the hornets’ nest. It is highly deceptive and seeks to cast the blame for this supposed insult all the way to the White House. It is ugly politics at it’s worst. Other than speaking truth as to the actual and obvious intent, let’s move on.
June 28th, 2009 at 12:59 PM
#28, June 25th, 2009 at 6:17 PM, BodieP Says: “”Well, that does it. I didn’t want to do this, but after that last Palin/Stapleton comment I have no choice. I’ve started work on the Official Republican Party Nativity Set. I won’t give everything away, but Mr. Ensign and Mr. Sandford get to be Wise Men, because they strayed far from home, and Guess Who gets to be the Madonna? “”
hOLY cOW!! Also! too, add Pales the Donkey-Headed God who is always crucified at full moon nearest Vernal Equinox (where have I heard that before??)!!
June 28th, 2009 at 1:13 PM
#263, June 26th, 2009 at 4:24 PM, InJuneau Says: “”Possible insight as to why some babies may be carried facing out:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/24/study-women-are-more-sque_n_220126.html “STUDY: Women Are More Squeamish About Abnormal-Looking Babies Than Men” “”
Well, now, that makes me believe more than ever that Bristol and Levi are TriG’s parents. They held him close, chest to chest or chest to belly and looked in his face with love.