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Say it Ain’t So, Joe! Co-Author of Leaked Palin Book Speaks Out

By Ken Morris, co-author of Blind Allegiance to Sarah Palin, A Memoir of Our Tumultuous Years

Mudflats Friends:

When I first appeared on Jeanne’s ground-breaking pages well over one year ago, I wrote about participating in the eBay auction to buy a meal with Sarah Palin to benefit a worthy veterans’ charity. A short time later, after losing that auction to what looked like a rigged bid, I then offered through Mudflats an additional $200,000 to that charity if Sarah would answer civil question over a second meal, on the record, with the likes or Jeanne, Rachel Maddow, Shannyn Moore, and Keith Olbermann.

While I waited in vain for an answer from your ex-governor, I managed to contact Frank Bailey and his wonderful wife Neen. Over fourteen months ago, after substantive dialogue, we decided to pursue a memoir. Two months later, I realized I needed Jeanne Devon to help me navigate the million details of Alaskan politics and personalities. I invited (actually, demanded) she join the team. Frank balked at first. After all, he’s conservative and she’s a liberal blogger. I insisted they meet or I’d walk away from the project. Well, no surprise, he embraced her inclusion after only a second cup of coffee.

For over a year—that’s right, friends, over a year—we worked in silence. We spent countless hours (on my end, upwards of 70 hours per week) constructing what we believed was an important book, based on documented truth. Within the last month, we finished a marketable draft. Not a final draft–we anticipate changes, both additions and deletions–but something that our agent believed would result in substantial interest in the publishing world. You can imagine our joy.

Then the manuscript was sent out, illegally, to the media. Why? Good question (Jeanne and I have discussed writing-up this disturbing story-behind-the-story with its ethics be damned. New Yorker, are you interested? Rolling Stone?).

With permission from my legal team, Jeanne and I decided to post what is known as a Cease and Desist order. And while there are many other unnamed parties who have engaged in unethical behavior and violated copyright law (you should be ashamed of yourselves), this is the most shocking.

What is written below includes only part of what we sent to this now-officially-named individual, but is, I believe, self-explanatory. A similar letter is going out to those we have identified as also unlawfully reproducing portions of our work. I guess you can say we are not rolling over, and for those who ignore law and morality, we are not going away:

BONFANTE STEINBECK, A PROFESSIONAL LAW CORPORATION

February 20, 2011

SENDER INFORMATION:

Ken Morris, Frank Bailey and Jeanne Devon

RECIPIENT INFORMATION:
Joe McGinniss

RE: COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT

Dear Sir:

I write on behalf of Ken Morris, Frank Bailey and Jeanne Devon (collectively, the “Copyright Owners”). The Copyright Owners are co-owners of the copyright in the unpublished manuscript entitled “Blind Allegiance to Sarah Palin: A Memoir of our Tumultuous Years” (the “Work”).

Between February 16, 2011 and February 18, 2011 you were the recipient of an unlawfully distributed version of the Work. Although you knew that the Work was (i) distributed to you in strict confidence, and (ii) an unpublished manuscript, you choose to unlawfully distribute the Work to multiple news outlets, bloggers, political activists, and any one else you felt might be interested.

As a result of your actions, hundreds of articles and blogs have been published detailing the Work. Some of the publications have summarized the Work in great detail, and others have reproduced the Work’s content verbatim. As an author, you are well aware that your actions have significantly impaired the Copyright Owners ability to market the book….

…The Copyright Owners believe your actions were done with the single intent of destroying the marketability of the Work. It is no secret that you are writing your own “tell-all” book about Sarah Palin. By releasing the Work prior to publication, you have limited the actual interest in the Work and thereby salvaged the marketability of your own book. This matter appears to be no more than that of a jealous author sabotaging a competitor via unlawful and unscrupulous means.

The Copyright Owners are currently reviewing their legal options and I can assure this is not the last time you will hear from them. Besides showing an utter lack of professionalism, you have, at a minimum, willfully caused significant damages by engaging in unfair competition and violations of copyright law. In order to minimize the damages caused by your actions, the Copyright Owners hereby demand that you cease and desist from distributing any portion of the Work. Additionally, the Copyright Owners demand that you provide a full list of the parties to whom you distributed the Work.

This letter is not intended as, and may not be construed to be, a complete recitation of the facts or circumstances connected with this matter. Furthermore, any statement contained in this letter is not intended as, and may not be construed to be, a waiver or relinquishment of any of the Copyright Owners’ rights or remedies under law, all of which the Copyright Owners hereby expressly reserve.

Please feel free to contact me to discuss this matter further.

Sincerely,

Dean M. Steinbeck

Comments

comments

Comments
499 Responses to “Say it Ain’t So, Joe! Co-Author of Leaked Palin Book Speaks Out”
  1. mary j beaulieu says:

    I am reading this four days late.
    I just wanted to let you know, I have a good friend through FB who knows Joe, and has never had a good word to say about him.
    I am so sorry that this has happened to all of the people involved in the “Work”. But to me, it’s a guarantee that I WILL be buying the book, and a few more for gifts.
    Hopefully, this will backfire on Joe. I’d rather a book straight from the source than a second or third hand account.
    I will be recommending your book to all of my friends and associates once it is published.
    Thank you for your honesty!!

  2. Frosty says:

    How many times are you going to post this as NEWS? I can only speak for myself, but it is driving ME away from even checking your blog on a daily basis. And it may well keep me from buying the book if it finally gets published…

  3. nymiss says:

    FYI, on another subject, I thought you’d want to know…

    Both Beck and Limbaugh are card carrying members of AFTRA, which is a subsidiary of the
    AFL-CIO union.

    Heh, heh…such pigs they are…

  4. Women Who Run With The Wolves says:

    I was just in your fair and very cold city Martha. For most on MF I can assure you that MUYS in defiantly NOT a wimp, and yes, she has a wonderful sense of humor. I am still here lurking, very seldom leave comments. Love the F-OFF!
    though. 🙂

  5. LaniN says:

    I’m spending what is left of Friday night making a sign for my front yard. HI + WI = Solidarity
    No rally is planned on my island tomorrow, so I will make my own stance. Thanks to Judi on the forum for suggesting that I make a sign. 🙂

  6. Martha Unalaska Yard Sign says:

    And by the way, if any of the posters of MF or any other blogs which I’ve frequented in the last two and a half years think I’m a wimp because I like humor and perspective – F OFF if you don’t like it. Always and forever – F OFF!

    • AKPetMom says:

      Even in this day and age please realize that some of us are opposed to Facebook for various reasons so we don’t keep up with that technology outlet. Not that I had commented recently, I just think that people need to be reminded that not everyone is on Facebook.

      • Martha Unalaska Yard Sign says:

        This has nothing to do with assuming anything – I personally, absolutely hate FB. Notice that I have probably never used the word “hate” in any blog comment I’ve written save this one. This is about knowing, without a doubt, that no matter what technology or spidey sense we use – we know AKM to be honest with us. Period.

      • michigander says:

        )o: I don’t do Facebook or Spacebutt. Pooey, I would rather not have to talk this way either but since we can’t get together at our homes, at least I feel safer here. My Dad had a B + E from stupid Facebook.

        I have no idea what this has to do with holding the phone or supporting AKM but I do both on a regular basis (o:

        • Martha Unalaska Yard Sign says:

          I joined FB so I could understand. I don’t understand. But what I do understand is the joy of being in Juneau where you are not likely to be tracked down by enemies because it’s A) hard to spell, B) expensive (thank you Alaska Airlines we love you so much NOT and C) such a good place to find yourself distracted by other things due to its beauty and posters like me and my adorable Juneau cohorts.

          • bubbles says:

            i am overjoyed that she is with you and you taking care of our sweet Jeanne. give a hug for me please Martha UYS and Pi. she couldn’t be in a better place or with better people. imho

          • Elsie says:

            I love what Bubbles said.

            I can offer my two cents here, also and too:
            Jeanne, Martha and Pi are just about the most wonderful people you would ever want to know. I have had the pleasure of meeting each of them and found them to be intelligent, funny, hard-working, progressive, GOOD people. I respect and appreciate them more than I can say. Our Mud Mistress, AKM, is in GREAT company while visiting southeast Alaska.

    • Millie says:

      You get pretty tough sounding at times! You are not enjoyed by all that read this blog.
      From one Juneauite to another!

  7. Martha Unalaska Yard Sign says:

    What is that expression…HOLD THE PHONE?

    AKM is in Juneau. If you follow her on FB, you all would know this. Is she paying attention to the blog comments, the zillion questions, the twists and turns? Would you? Would you even want to with all of this wild speculation and weird responses going on?

    Not me. I would also visit Juneau and leave it all behind for a few days. You may have no idea how tempting that is. AKM is just who we know her to be. Honest, questioning, intelligent. Kind, responsive, and fair. She is who she is, she is who we love, she is who we know her to be. Don’t make any assumptions til you read her next post. You know her, so believe in her.

  8. psminidivapa says:

    Hey guys…deja vu is, well, deja vu….It’s Friday night…AKM has the right to post what she wants…we have the right to toast each other with the beverage of choice. (Tonight, I’m choosing “Three Blind Moose” – not because of Brian, but the wine tastes like rubies in wine form.) I’ve enjoyed meeting so many of you (you know who you are), and we all are on the same page in the book of life – and politics – and unions.

    The worse we can do is to get all “middle school” about who likes who, who knows who, who posts where, etc. I’ve been feeling some bad vibes all this week.

    Can some of us get over it?

    {{{{{{all of yourselves}}}}}}

    Let’s move on.

    I TEACH middle school, so I totally can….move on..it’s all you can do!

    • dreamgirl says:

      Like, I so know what you’re saying…. totally! (my ode to middle school)

      My adult beverage this evening was Samuel Smith Oatmeal Stout. Not really a beer drinker, but today I had a craving while at the market today for salami, kosher pickles and beer…. I have no idea where that craving came from. Maybe my body is sympathizing with the weirdness of McGuiness and other’s flouting copyrights.

      Unfortunately, or fortunately, my diet may change radically until I’ve got my paid for books, plural, in my hands. Tomorrow, I’m thinking rice noodles in a dijon, olive oil, balsamic topped with roasted veggies accompanied with a dry sake.

      • dreamgirl says:

        But who knows, I may end up eating oatmeal with peanut butter (organic, mais oui) blobs and chocolate chips accompanied with a warm rated-pg-beverage. Choices, choices…. life.

  9. Bretta says:

    I resent that the mainstream media all has copies and has read it and will persist in sitting on it, suppressing it, and letting Miss Quittypants Grifter $arah Palin continue to get away with her invective BUT we have been deprived of this information and resource.

    I have a big resentment about that. Just in case anyone wants to know.

    • beth says:

      You’d rather the MSM publish the copies they have, and thereby screw the authors out of due compensation for a year’s-worth of work that’s gone into their writing the darned thing, Bretta?

      McGuinness was emailed the mss without a ‘confidentiality’ attachment and he freely admits –through his lawyer– that he passed it on to numerous others via email; he says he ‘told’ the recipients to check with the authors before disseminating it…big whoop. Obviously, some realized they’d gotten the mss through underhanded shenanigans/without the author’s permission, and sat on it – others realized it, and didn’t give a flip; they published it, anyway. There are some things you just do NOT do — one of them is steal (of fence) another’s work for (personal) gain or profit. beth.

    • dreamgirl says:

      So what if “they” read it first. That was a malicious leak. This book deserves to be published first and foremost for people like you, me and millions of others who can’t wait to read this book. Then the authors deserve to be rightly compensated and rewarded for their work.

      Have a glass of wine with the rest of us who are impatient impaired.

    • LaniN says:

      “I have a big resentment about that. Just in case anyone wants to know.”

      I have a big resentment that an unfinished draft was sent out to infinity on the intertubes. And those of us who have followed AKM from the beginning are particularly disappointed that her research skills and hard work have been trashed by McG and others.

  10. Judi says:

    I wish there was a like on the comments….you all made such good wise ones…I like them all

    I LOVE AKM…LOVE all mudpuppies who I have grown to get to know and truly care about over the years…

    Will wait to see how this all turns out…but cant wait to read the book! as anything that AKM is involved with has been excellent to me so far …this of course, but Going Rouge and other writings in the hufpo, etc

    now for the drink…buffalogal…still making drinks? after this week…will take Tequila!!! and then how about a big toast to homeboy Ian Murphy for his crank call!!!!!! yahoooooo

    Now…if you cannot attend a rally on Sat….put a sign in your front yard or window…..with the word…SOLIDARITY….we are united….WE THE PEOPLE are taking back our power…money talks bull walks NO MORE….yesterday we were all Egyptians…today we are ALL Union Workers!!!

    • London Bridges says:

      type 🙂

    • dreamgirl says:

      “….yesterday we were all Egyptians… today we are ALL Union Workers!!!” — Love it!

      • Baker's Dozen says:

        I think you need to send a load of virtual hot beverages and healthy snacks to the rally! 🙂

    • trishSWFL says:

      Great idea Judy. The closest rally for me would be in Miami, and there’s just no way I can get there. I sure as heck can make up a sign though!

      And yes…a LIKE button would be amazin here–the posts and so very many comments I want to “LIKE”.

  11. Lacy Lady says:

    Just got an e-mail——Rally in Des Moines, Iowa

    Wisconsin Solidarity in Des Moines:
    Rally to Save the American Dream

    Where: Iowa State Capitol – West Steps (in Des Moines)

    When: Tomorrow at 12:00 PM

    Wish I could go—but this is 100 miles from my home

  12. dreamgirl says:

    Is it Groundhogs day? (The Bill Murray Andi McDowell kind) I’d better make some coffee, then feed the dog….oh wait, I already did that.

  13. Blooper says:

    I hope AKM and her partners are busy inking a deal with a publisher somewhere. And when I see that post announcing the publication date I’ll be doing a happy happy dance (hopefully not in public or at work though, lol).

  14. Paula says:

    Is this it? The Joe post, then an animal, then the Joe post, over and over again? Something must be up… but what?

    • scout says:

      We know that we do not know motivations at this point. We know; “When people show you who they truly are (happycamper et al), believe them.”

      Looters can dress it up in fancy excuses, but it changes not the truth of who they rilly are.
      Patience. Peace.

      • scout says:

        also FTR, IMO: Bailey owes AK the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. This book does not exonerate him his dirty deeds.
        It’s authors, otoh, have been robbed. And, as dear Bubs said, had the temerity to come here and boast. Like a youtube movie of a looting in progress, it was.

    • Lee323 says:

      The staunch defenders of Joe McGinnis’s virtue should be a little uneasy that Mudflats continues to highlight this post at the top. It’s a rather direct indication that the manuscript authors are confident in their claims and evidence, and that the battle is on-going behind the scenes. It’s a flag planted in the sand, and it ain’t coming down while the battle is raging. Makes sense to me.

  15. fishingmamma says:

    Okay – yeah. old news. He leaked it. We got outraged. Let’s move on.

  16. nymiss says:

    Greetings from Harlem, Mudpups:

    Funny, but I just don’t believe everything I hear…I’m weird like that:)

    Something here is not right (that’s what I said on 9/11). For some reason,
    I won’t downgrade McG as a person yet.

    Now, wouldn’t said media contact the authors before printing excerpts from THEIR BOOK,
    especially if it was sent to the media by SOMEBODY ELSE?

    This whole thing sounds a little fuzzy. Cause with a scoop like this, media usually never names it’s sources, for anything. Never.

    They’ll go to jail first.

    No, I’m not convinced.

    But with all the hate that’s going out to McG–I’d say that whoever promised to fix him, well, looks
    like he’s fixed.

    I think he’d know this would be a career killer.

    And from his own e-mail address?

    Don’t make me laugh!

    But I will say, if this is a revenge thingy–it was plotted by
    someone with a simple mind, you know, someone who does
    not read much… someone who is not too bright! lol!

  17. Califpat says:

    Hey, Tigerwine, I have had a glass of wine and I am perplexed as to why this older post has shown up too!!

    • tigerwine says:

      Hey, Califpat – and what wonderful CA wine did you have? Our ’08 and ’09 recentl won medals at the San Francisco Internal wine competition.

      Too early for wine here now – maybe Irish coffee? How about it, Irishgirl?

      • Irishgirl says:

        Ha, I just spotted this. I’m afraid it’s nearly lunchtime here. It’s a little early for the Irish coffee.

        • Ben in SF says:

          I’ve been drinking too. First cup of Joe for the day. 🙂

          • Irishgirl says:

            Is that Joe coffee? Boodog sent me a hamper when I visited NY last year and there was a bag of Joe, Tall, Dark and Handsome coffee in it. It was the nicest coffee I have ever tasted in my life. I tried to buy it online but they won’t send it to Ireland. (Sad face)

          • Ben in SF says:

            Different joe. (Sumatra beans from Capricorn Coffees, a Bay Area roaster).

          • Irishgirl says:

            Damn and thanks for the information.

      • Fawnskin Mudpuppy says:

        Tigerwine…would you so kindly check your email

    • tigerwine says:

      Left out the name of the wine – Petit Manseng.

  18. tigerwine says:

    I’m confused – is this a re post? Maybe with all the alcohol being consumed, it got up by mistake. Hah!

    I would like to say that even though there are differing opinions here, that, true to the ‘flats reputation and mission, it has been done civilly. It has also brought out many thoughtful points. You should be proud, AKM!

    Chin up!

    • beth says:

      I believe it’s a “Bounce Back Up” post — sort of like a rubber ducky (or Brian) does in a tub. I think this the second time it’s bobbed its way back up to the primo spot. Makes it easy to find out what’s happening on the book front…well, as much as possible, at this point.

      I notice there’s a new link at the top, too: “Blind Allegiance to Sarah Palin – the book”. Articles (and comments) are being archived there. Three, so far.

      I wonder what our grandchildren’s children will say when they read all of this in-the-moment material. Will they be able to fathom (in the least) how one know-nothing woman — a woman with illusions of grandeur and delusions of everything else — was plagued upon our nation by a senile old man in their desperate bid to win the WH, and was able to single-handedly lower the expectations our nation holds for their politicians?

      Will they be able to comprehend how her ugly and ignorance started permeating a multitude of areas in our society; became ‘acceptable’; and became something to be celebrated and applauded rather than shunned? Be able to understand how her “oh-so-innocent’ dirty dealings with others was so common place, that it became infectious to those who examined her in-depth and were the least bit susceptible to her underhandedness and crazy?

      Possibly our grandchildren’s children will be able to explain how $arah Palin has been (and is) so instrumental in the destruction of civility in our dealings with each other. I surely can’t; I just know she is. beth.

  19. Evelyn says:

    I’ve been reading comments for a couple of days and must chime in with support for AKM. She’s in a bad spot – donating her time, intelligence and work only to be betrayed. I thank you,AKM, for all your honest efforts on our behalf. You’ve built a community I love and respect, you’ve entertained and enlightened. Anytime Palin gets involved, crazy things happen. Please take care.

  20. Memphis, NY says:

    Okay for all the skeptics that have questioned AKM’s integrity
    “McGinniss’ attorney Dennis Holahan, in a letter to Steinbeck dated Tuesday, acknowledges that McGinniss sent a copy of the manuscript “to a few people and media outlets in Alaska, advising them that they should not reproduce any of the manuscript before contacting the authors for permission.”
    http://news.bostonherald.com/entertainment/books/view/2011_0223september_release_set_for_mcginniss_book_on_palin/srvc=edge&position=recent_bullet

    • Lee323 says:

      Horse sh*t.

      It went down exactly as he planned …. Otherwise, he would have “contacted the authors for permission” himself before sending the manuscript to the media.

  21. Snoskred says:

    Guys I know that AKM is unable to comment on specifics due to lawyers being involved, but can I just make something super clear?

    If you are a long time reader of the blog you will know this already. If you are not, listen up. 🙂

    AKM does not post things without being 100% certain. She never has. The presence of this post should be all that any of you need to be 100% sure that the leak came from the source mentioned.

    I have seen all kinds of wickety wack about this leak all over the internet. Bizarre conspiracy theories, people who should know better posting stuff they should not, etc.

    The full story will become clear in time. In the meantime, I know AKM well enough to know that I can trust what I have read. I am hopeful the rest of you have that kind of trust and faith in AKM too. 🙂

    • Krubozumo Nyankoye says:

      Snoskred –

      We haven’t talked before. I appreciate your comment though because this thread looks a bit moribund at the moment, it might have come too late. Being the Admin I am a little surprised you did not insert it at the top of the thread, but then I don’t know the blog software so maybe that isn’t possible.

      Nothing you say here is untrue and I can say that with the benefit of the fact that Mr. McGinnis has admitted to having sent the Mss to certain parties in Alaska. You omitted to mention two things though. The first and foremost is that the Mss had been widely distributed to publishers. This is a significant fact because there were then many sources that could have made (and did) the Mss freely available. The second significant fact is that it was the papers concerned who actually published the information provided by McGinnis. If his lawyer’s statement is true that he adminished his recipients not to publish any part of the Mss without consulting the authors, then strictly speaking it is the papers who should be specified in this posting and not McGinnis.

      I find the whole thing perplexing and sad. It reaks of Andrew Breitbart and Karl Rove.

    • Laurie says:

      So much for my theory that the leak was done to tempt the Palins to do something illegal in order to keep this information from going public.

  22. Beverley Hughes says:

    I cannot understand why the manuscript was sent out, in full, to ANYONE! But for McGinnis to leak it. Unless it was the PLAN to leak it form the beginning. Look, we all can’t stand Sarah Palin and want her to GO DOWN, so WORK TOGETHER!! Geez!!

  23. jojobo1 says:

    I have been thinking about this and Joe should know who originally sent him the manuscript,shouldn’t he?
    Come on Joe give it up and tell who all this was forwarded to ,be the gentleman we all thought you were.

  24. jojobo1 says:

    Ifr you read OMG link above Joes book agent says he wasn’t the only person in the publishing world to see this..So he has at least acknowledged he had it. Lets remember we all need to stand together

  25. Sourdough Mullet says:

    As for me, I’ll have a “So Long Sarah, Don’t Let the Door Hit You in the Arse Champagne Cocktail”.
    It’s 3 parts of the champagne that you’ve been saving for a very special occasion, sprinkled with just a lil’ bitty dash of crocodile tears.

  26. Buffalogal says:

    In order to keep everyone’s blood sugar level and moods in good order , I’m setting up a Mudflats old fashioned train car diner , right over there —————>

    Taking food and drink orders shortly. Luckily, it’s cyber magical so everything imaginable is available .

    Today I watched an 80’s mini-series on George Washington and the early years of the US and there always seemed to be food and drink around when they were going at each other over heightened, passionate topics. ( at least that’s how Hollywood portrayed it and dammit – I liked the idea ! Lordy – there was lots of drink !)

    Off to plug in the blender and make a new batch of ice….

    • Irishgirl says:

      Baileys on ice, please.

    • boodog says:

      White Russian, no ice. Please 🙂

      • Irishgirl says:

        Black Russian for me next. No scratch that. I really want olives and cheese, Stilton, Brie and maybe Emmental accompanied by a chilled glass of white wine.

      • jojobo1 says:

        Sounds good to me boodog at least in I drank the hard stuff.

    • boodog says:

      I think we’d have a much more relaxed atmosphere for your dining car in the Zen Open Thread- no line, no waiting..:)

    • hedgewytch says:

      Hey Buffalogal, if you’re playing bartender. I’m getting in the mood for the tropics with sunshine streaming through my window (never mind the snow) – I’ll take a rum punch please!

    • GA Peach says:

      Please ice down the Yuengling, Corona, or Blue Moon. He]], I don’t care as long as it’s beer, cold and in a bottle!

      • Buffalogal says:

        I’m moving the dining car up to the chat room until a bit after 7pm est. Drinks are on me.

        • Ripley in CT says:

          Wait….. We’re drinking? Buff? Pour me a Ketel 1 and tonic please. Better make that 2, with a twist in each. I think I’m gonna need them.

          • Millie says:

            Top of the line gin with tonic, please! With a big toast to sister Sarah’s downfall!

    • Ben in SF says:

      After drinks….
      Rocky Mountain Trout Almondine, please.
      (served on the California Zephyr, pre-microwave days, 1976)

      And tomorrow I’ll make my way down the train for Western French Toast (the big, thick triangles of bread served only west of Chicago, on the Southwest Limited and CZ, at least back in the day)

      Though if there are any vendors on the platform selling foil-wrapped samosas (India, 1996) that would be fine too.

    • Baker's Dozen says:

      Baked Alaska. I want Baked Alaska.

    • scout says:

      Buffgal, I’ll have what Sourdough Mullet @144 is having, and some crab stuffed mushrooms, please.

      • beth says:

        Speaking of sourdough…a large stack (or two…or 3!) of sourdough pancakes, please. Preferably using a well-aged starter – 30-years old, or older. With gobs of melting butter and maple syrup. beth.

  27. Simple Mind says:

    Several writers have made this story a test of their loyalty to Mudflats or a test of Jeanne Devon’s credibility. It is neither. Now, it is weird, I’ll give you that. Let’s see. An Alaska blogger, a former Morgan Stanley executive and Todd Palin’s old hatchet man closet away for a year in secret without killing one another and they write a book about Sarah Palin. Chunks of a draft of the book suddenly appear everywhere. Mudflats publishes an article by Ken Morris that includes a demand letter written by a boutique corporate law firm with offices in Beverly Hills and Uruquay. The demand letter accuses Joe McGinnis of being one of the people who leaked the book. The covering note from Ken Morris says this is only part of the material they sent to McGinnis. Gleaning from other sites, we think that the book appeared at multiple blogs and news outlets, coming from various sources. Some of the earliest were attributed to Joe McGinnis. Other sites, including PoiticalGates, claim to have a cover letter from the Carol Mann Agency, the authors’ agent, which included the draft as an attachment. So what happened? Only the authors know and maybe they don’t either. The title of the Mudflats article would imply that. Writers on this site have speculated that it was all McGinnis and that he is guilty of “mafia-like” behavior. I don’t know. Maybe it was all McGinnis. Its equally possible that some intern at the Carol Mann agency screwed up and sent the draft out without adequate protection while they were trying to shop the book to a publisher. Its possible that somebody at one of the publishing places leaked it. Now imagine you are McGinnis or Andy Halcro or Politico or the Anchorage Daily News and you receive this story, believing its already circulating all over. Do you publish it? I know what I’d do, but I’m not a journalist, just a nurse. Of course, that’s all speculation, so before I start drawing battle lines, I guess I’ll go to work and check on the next installment tomorrow.

    • marlys says:

      Simply applauding your mindful comment.

    • beth says:

      “Several writers have made this story a test of their loyalty to Mudflats or a test of Jeanne Devon’s credibility.” — Simple Mind

      Y’know, I didn’t get that at all — didn’t ‘read’ that from the comments. Not a bit.

      What I did read, was: dismay, anger, incredulity, concern, questions, questions, speculation, questions, impatience, speculation, questions, speculation, concern, and more speculation. (Yup, this is a looooong thread with *many* comments!) All with a healthy dose of mudpup opinion tossed in for good measure.

      The ‘flats, to me, are a puphood* of folks from all over the world who mostly agree with each other on the big issues, who (respectfully) disagree on other issues; who share the information they have on a variety of subjects and learn from the give-and-take on the ‘flats; and who, most generously and openly, cheer each other on through good times, bad times, and the times in between.

      So, no, I didn’t get from the comments what you apparently did, Simple Mind… what I ‘read’ was ‘pups just doing their every day, normal (if there even is such a thing amongst this motley lot!), usual, ‘pupping: Caring for, and about, people and issues beyond their own physical self. beth.

      * puphood: 1) pupness of kindred spirits 2) a unique blend of sisterhood and brotherhood found in the ‘flats. 😉 b.

    • Waay Out West says:

      Respectfully disaree, there is no such thing as “just a nurse”

      Otherwise agree 100% and will not judge, anybody.

  28. OMG says:

    This was posted on Sullivan’s:

    Pure Palin

    22 Feb 2011 11:43 am

    She created a Facebook account under the name of Lou Sarah in order to make positive comments on the official Palin Facebook page – and Bristol’s! Great catch by Wonkette. Yes, I’ve read much of the Bailey manuscript by now. Here’s a post on one aspect of it – Palin’s media whores – that you might have missed. The description of Bill Kristol is priceless.

  29. The butler did it,alright.

  30. Califpat says:

    I have probably been one of the first people to come to Mudflats. I dont post much but I definitely read Mudflats religiously. I can see we have grown immensely. All the time that I have been here, AKM has inspired me, made me laugh, encouraged me to fact check information before making a decision on anything and has taught me a lot about Alaska and about that fake, fraud, phony, and grifter. Not to mention AKM’S gorgeous landscape pictures and the beauty of nature with Brian, Brenda, and the kids. She has taught me how to be appreciative and respect the beauty of nature (Being that I am a concrete kid) and artistic nature of what surrounds us. I am so much more aware now. At the same time, she has been the person who has impressed upon me to use civilty when I differ in my beliefs or opinions. That, in and of itself has been priceless. Today, AKM has a problem with something that is important to her, and that is someone who has outed the manuscript that I know that she has researched and fact checked to the nth degree!! All I want to happen for her is for all her hard work to be recognized. I’m hoping that this will blow over without a lot of legal process that can hinder the book’s release soon! My biggest concern for AKM is that she is safe!! AKM, thank you for everything!!

    • Ripley in CT says:

      yes.

      And I, too, have been here since the day the evil one was named to the national stage and Mudflats came up in a search engine.

      Not going anywhere. Backing AKM 100%. Can’t wait to buy this book.

    • prisonernumbersix says:

      I,too, am an old Mudfflatter by many means of measurement. Like you, I post infrequently on the Forum and on the Blog; however, I read Mudflats every day and “catch up” if my schedule prohibits me from doing so at anytime.In our area, I believe I am only junior to futurexpat?

      We (futurexpat? and I) have been to Alaska six times and are just getting started. We are still Chechackos even though we have visited in the Winter one time. Friends and acquaintances at both ends of the trip questioned our sanity! We have discovered and made friends with many fine Alaskans (Her Quitiness, excluded).

      I have known AKM from that time and later had the pleasure of meeting her in person. Any question of her ethics, honor or general rectitude is a non-issue.

      I hope we do not become distracted from a real on-going issue – the Palin question. My take is that it is a P.T. Barnum scam run awry. We all follow the continual ramifications. Nothing would be better than her sinking into obscurity, never to be heard from again. Sadly, she must be watched to monitor the effect of her antics on the world in general. It defies logic that she merits any scintilla of redeeming social importance – a social pornography if you will. however, that is only my individual opinion and it is amenable to change by facts and cogent arguments -but mainly facts.

    • bubbles says:

      yes! yes! yes! you are a grand and great pup and every thing you said is true for me also. it is like i am reading my own feelings written by a mudpup 3,000 miles away. wow1

      • Irishgirl says:

        ((((Ripley, prisonernumber and bubbles))). Count me in too!

        • Zyxomma says:

          {{{{{{{{{ ripley, prisonernumbersix, futurexpat?, bubbles, irishgirl, KN, and all mudpups and hushpups }}}}}}}}}

  31. Super Bee says:

    I realize you guys are upset but know this: I will read whatever you put in front of me, any of them, all of ’em re Palin expose’ books.

  32. bob.benner says:

    Anchorage activist Andree McLeod, meanwhile, is charging that Bailey, Morris and Devon are acting unethically by trying to make money off a book based on emails Bailey collected as a state employee. McLeod first filed an ethics complaint against Bailey last year when she found out he was working on the book.

    http://www.adn.com/2011/02/21/1714921/rival-accused-of-leaking-former.html

    • bob.benner says:

      J.M. needs to speak up and speak up quick… This is getting out of hand…

    • Super Bee says:

      She does have a point.

      He should turn these emails over to the general public and become a national hero!

    • bubbles says:

      McLeod is another ingrate. she is just pissed she didn’t save her emails when she worked for Palin.

    • jojobo1 says:

      You would think McLeod would want these out their.they are not part of the work e-mails so to speak.

  33. Zyxomma says:

    AKM, I’m looking forward to the three of you finding a publisher and putting the book out, or self-publishing, since there’s enough publicity that, after the first edition, a major publisher will come calling. My only qualm is putting money into Bailey’s pocket. This self-described “Fox News conservative” stands for everything I find distasteful. However, I’ll pay if it means $P is exposed for all the world to see. If Joe McG did, indeed, leak the ms, I hope you have a great lawyer who’ll kick his lawyer’s ass, and force him into a large monetary settlement for you and your co-authors.

    Blessings to you, Jeanne. May you have health, peace, prosperity, joy, and a major publisher for your book. I want only the best for you.

  34. hansragnar says:

    if true he did you a favour cuz another turncoat insider screed was going nowhere w/o some 110 octane freak out…

  35. beth says:

    [Bolt of lightening > me]

    I’ve been following the two articles (this, and “Frank Bailey’s Memoir Leaked to Press (and a surprise)”) with much interest. What is *absolutely* clear is: Nothing is clear…the speculation is, nonetheless, incredible!

    I wandered over to IM a short while ago, and Gryph’s posting of the Morris-Bailey-Devon/lawyer C&D notice to JM is also receiving much speculation (from assorted “anonymous” folks; no name required to post there.) Interestingly, to me at least, a great many of the posts bash/diss the C&D notice for its tone and content — talking about what JMs response to it should be, how it doesn’t ‘sound’ very ‘professional’, and all…don’t think I’ve seen much (if any) of that here on the ‘flats.

    But that got the wheels in my mind to whirring…

    …whirring away *with* the words of AKM right in there with all the other stuff — to whit: “There’s not a lot I can tell you now,” and “I’ll be able to talk much more about this in the coming days, and you can check back here for more news and information as it becomes available.” (18 Feb ‘flats article)

    Soooooo, here we’ve got the ‘players’ in this unfolding tale [in no particular order of importance or adhearing to any timeline]: a still-not-finalized manuscript, a bunch of authors, copyright/intellectual property rights, emails, leakers, the law, an agent, confidential/privileged information, collaborators, email forwarders, public domain, lawyers, a bunch of bloggers, email receivers, a whole slue of web sites, a bunch of newspapers, and the media in general. (Whew!)

    I kept thinking and thinking about those ‘players’ (disclaimer: as I understand them to be) and three of them jumped out of the list –almost screaming for attention. And *that’s* when the bolt of lightening hit me: it’s because of those three, that all the other pieces *have* to be played/in play. Whoa! — *all* the seemingly disconnected parts I’d been mulling over, suddenly ‘fit’ like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. All the ducks were lining up in a neat little row. Yea!

    I’ll wait with all the other pups and hushpups for AKM to share with us all the details of the saga — I have a strong suspicion, no, I know!, there are details still ‘not ready for prime time’…AKM has told us a much. And if I’m not mistaken –and I surely hope I’m not!– the ‘reasons’ [my ‘bolt of lightening’] for all of this, are are pure genius and are as solid and steady as are our perceptions of AKM. Yup, Pure Genius. beth.

    –Yeah, I know… I’m ‘pulling a Gryph’ [Hey, Gryph! ++kiss blown your way++] by not specifically naming the 3 ‘players’ *I* have identified as the crux of the matter; trusting, instead, that you’ll be able to also spot the 3 and’ll be able to piece together what I’ve (I think!) pieced together from what’s staring me/us in the face. Truth be told, though, to find out if my most-cryptic ‘hunch’ is correct, we’ll just have to wait for AKM to reveal all. 😎 b.

    • slipstream says:

      Beth . . . I figured out what you’re hinting at.

      It was Colonel Mustard, in the library, with the pipe wrench.

    • Tanaga12 says:

      I gotta get back to work so just tell me please… in your theory does the house finally land on the wicked witch?

  36. Beezer says:

    Wow! AKM it seems that your a very busy gal, hoping that all goes well with you and yours. I really enjoy your words and feel that you have good vibes. I look forward to all future posts and know that I want to purchase any future published stories that you are involved with! Please take care yourself and sleep well, give hugs to all that you hold near and dear.

    Thank you for all that you have given to all of us down in the mud 🙂

  37. Krubozumo Nyankoye says:

    Mudflatters all – and a few new faces (or at least new to me) Take a deep breath.
    Pour one of your favorite adult beverages and think about this situation from a logical
    perspective.

    It has been suggested already but to my mind the crux of all this is very simple.

    Who benefits?

    Let us suppose that the back story is simple and straightforward, the authors completed a draft manuscript after a lot of work and gave it to their agent to shop it around to publishers. Now it is true that it has been a long time since I published anything in the popular press or the scientific literature, but if my memory has not totally gone south, it was considered very bad form submit even a treatment let alone a completed drafted to more than one publisher at a time. As I say, things may have changed in the last 20 years, but somehow I doubt it. Publishers are traditional. You might even say conservative.

    Be that as it may, let us assume that it is perfectly acceptable to try to generate a bidding war by sending a mss to several publishers all at once, or more generously, just to save time. (Remember please, I am talking about the agent here not the authors). Fine so it is sent to some number of publishers. What possible motive would an agent have for sending the same mss to anyone BUT a publisher? Certainly none, and especially none to send it to another author.

    Knowing nothing about who these publishers might have been, it is impossible to speculate in what manner the mss found its way from one of them, into general circulation. One advantage of submitting to only one publisher at a time is that you know who you are dealing with and you can work out a pretty iron clad arrangement such that if your work is somehow compromised you will be able to tell who did it. All publishers are not equal either. Big established publishers like to work from firm well tested contracts and like to run a very tight ship. ALL of them understand clearly, regardless of how formal or informal their relationship to the author/s or agent that all original work enjoys copyright by the author/s until such time as the publisher purchases those copyrights. In general copyright is owned by publishers because they are better equipped to defend them. So that seems to leave only two possibilities of any real merit. Either a publisher was sent the mss unknowingly who would have been overtly hostile to an incriminating Palin related mss, or someone within the organization of those publishers who received the mss was hostile to its content and independently undertook to leak it. Remember please I am just speaking now about what might have happened within the publisher sphere, other leak scenarios come to mind that do not involve publishers at all.

    Now to the crux of the matter as far as all the dustup is concerned here. What possible advantage would accrue to Joe McGinnis by widely circulating this mss even if he had received a copy of it? Does anyone here think that a man who has published several books, some of which were controversial but most of which sold well, and who has a reputation for finding in the mundane and ordinary a picture of reality that is sufficiently unique to merit telling would wantonly and irrationally expose himself to universal ridicule, scorn and legal action because he was ‘afraid’ of another book being published, in all likelihood long after his, would hurt the sale or credibility of his own work? Unless the vaunted Palin Paranoia Syndrome is highly contagious, the idea simply does not bear scrutiny. Moreover, even accepting a vindictive and malicious motive on the part of McGinnis, why would he not hire a bright high school kid (I am sure there are a few in Ma.) who could easily allow him to distribute this mss in a manner that did not stand a chance of revealing who did it without a detailed forensic investigation. Couple that with the fact that it is trivial to fool the simple mail transfer protocol with a spoofed IP address and convince a mail server on almost any network to accept and forward an e-mail message that is falsely authored. Now I do not want to give Mr. McGinnis too much credit here because he is a writer and not a software engineer. But please, let us be reasonable, do you think after a few decades writing books that generate some hostility and blow-back that he is so desperate for income that he would put his entire reputation on the line to thwart the success of a potential competitor publishing after him? Shucks, seems just a little implausible doesn’t it?

    Finally (in this vein) I think we need to look to where this all surfaced and what sources are being cited. Alaska newspapers. Does anyone here think that they would be the logical place to blow open a huge hole in the side of the Palin campaign ship on a national level, given that #1 they have pretty much rolled over for her in the past and utterly failed to pursue the many ethics issues? Does anyone here suppose that Mr. McGinnis does not have somewhat more, shall we say, impressive contacts to whom he could pass this information? Such as the LA Times, the NY Times, the Boston Globe? And if his motives were so nefarious that all he was concerned about was adding to his income (which is no doubt fairly secure unlike that of Palin who garners 6 figure paydays because a few million fools think she is credible) would he *broadcast* such a revelation instead of horse trading with some editor over the price?

    I don’t buy it. Joe McGinnis may well be all kinds of bad things because he peeps into bedrooms to observe their ceiling shadows, but his track record indicates that he is not a moron.

    So that leaves us with only a few alternatives, because I actually exclude the possibility of McGinnis being culpable for this unless he has gone nuts. Just out of curiosity I did a google search on his name and pretty much came up empty for any credible email address. But I want to leave that topic and look a little deeper, remembering the prime directive… who benefits?

    I can see two possibilities.

    The first is the most obvious and that is never trust your enemy. Or to be generous, if your enemy was so easily fooled by a grifter like Palin, never trust his judgement of other people’s character.

    The second is, out of a handful or a bushel of publishers to which this might have been circulated, it is unsurprising if one individual within that set turned out to be a Palinbot.

    Let us consider the first. Mr. Bailey has supposedly repented and is the private holder of a massive amount of incriminating email. He has somehow overcome his deep and abiding convictions of who actually speaks to god and thought it worthwhile, or perhaps socially responsible to reveal the fraud in which he was complicit. He apparently attempted to do so on his own for a while without success but then managed to enlist the aid of two capable writers about a year ago. So in some unknown sequence but apparently Mr. Morris first and then Ms. Devon, he enlisted aid in the form of co-authors. It is notable that Mr. Bailey chose two persons who were clearly his opponents when he worked overtly for the Palin machine. What possible benefit could Mr. Bailey obtain from leaking this manuscript with a bit of help from his friends, and at the same time painting Mr. McGinnis as a bad actor? Well, given the fact that he has a many years long relationship to Palin, and that he shares at least certain portions of her world view (Mr. Bailey do you really believe Fox news is news?), and that he was thrown under the bus but not defamed as a pedophile (couldn’t keep his lunch off his tie), I think that the offer of a big chunk of non-taxable illegal bribe money could possibly sway his judgement. And in addition to that, his complicity alone of prior malfeasence leaves him open to blackmail. This is pure speculation of course, I have no knowledge of what might have transpired, and make no claims to truth, I am just trying to elucidate the plausible from the implausible. It would be interesting to know if Mr. Bailey is apostate in any other respects from his fundamentalist religious view of the world. I admit I am only assuming such because I can’t imagine how an atheist could rise to such a level of responsibility in a Palin controlled regiem. So to summarize briefly, this could have been a fairly simple false flag operation designed to draw in a couple of Palin critics and smear a third for a good pay day. Seems plausible to me, Palin has a lot of money to throw around herself and more importantly vastly larger resources behind that.

    Let us now look at the second alternative. Maybe the agent was indiscrete in selecting publishers to send the mss to and sent a copy to Murdoch’s organ, Harper. Wow, that would be pretty obstuse but not beyond conception. That would no doubt put in play an organized effort. Murdoch is very deliberate and systematic in his efforts to poison the public discourse with lies. And he owns many more publishers than most people realize. So if one of his twigs on the tree got wind of this it is certainly possible that an organized effort to discredit as many ciritics as possible would have been mobilized. On the other hand there is plenty of other right wing press out there that would love to splash this story around.

    In either case the end result is the same, not to dissillusion mudflatters per se but you are a tiny fraction of the electorate. The objective I think behind all this is to dillute the reaction and give Palin a bit of space.

    There is one last issue that I freely admit I do not understand in detail, and that is whether Mr. Bailiey’s documentation in the form of emails is actually publishable.That might or might not be a tangible issue here, but I would assume Mr. Morris and Ms Devon would have obtained sound legal advice that would make plain what could be used and what could not be used if in fact any issue at all existed. I don’t pretend to comprehend that issue, however, I would think that evidence of criminal wrong doing cannot be surrpressed by copyright claims. I could be wrong.

    So in essense what I have to say here is directed primarily towards Ms Devon, for this is her blog and both her podium and responsibility. I tried to warn you earlier that this kind of situation is fraught with peril and that those who wish you ill would stop at nothing. Unfortunately so far no absolutely irrefutable evidence has surfaced that actually connects Mr. McGinnis to this leak, at least I have not been able to find it. If anyone has it, please supply all the email headers that will serve as confirmation. And accompanying evidence that the same email has been used prior to this incident by the person accused. I don’t know, I haven’t the slightest clue how this will all eventually shake out, I sincerely hope that it does not do you any damage because I am convinced by what you have produced historically that your motives and objectives are clear, unambiguous and above reproach.

    But to be prefectly frank and forthright, I think you have fallen into a trap laid to and designed to bring discredit upon you. And on a simple reading of the facts, I think that Mr. Bailey is the prime suspect for having brought this to pass. That is just my considered opinion, it might well be wrong, but until evidence to the contrary is provided, I let it stand.

    • PurpleAlaska says:

      Thank you KN~

      As I read your mini mss . . . I can certainly follow your reasoning and concur with your premise of “Who benefits?”

      Thank you for taking the time to articulate what I concluded at the onset. It almost felt as though “the flats” had been hijacked . . . and purposefully driven into the mud.

      I appreciate your clarity of thought.

    • michigander says:

      This shouldn’t be on here, along with many other theories IMHO. Send it to AKM if you must but my thoughts are you are giving fuel for fire against the truth.

      Snippets are being taken from here, re-posted and are detrimental to not only the book but draw sympathy for Palin.

      Lord I’m tired from my own BS day, I don’t want to be AKM coupled with this situation and reading so many negative speculative comments here.

      Still caring (o:

    • bubbles says:

      it is hard to understand the workings of the human heart/ego sometimes KN. you are a scientist. you need facts and figures in order to reach a conclusion but every once in a while ‘logic does not compute’. all the things we do defy all reason and logic. that is what has occurred.
      if you can, then trust my word that AKM is the fine lady whose blog has been a welcoming place for you to come whenever you have felt the need . sometimes you just need to suspend all the fine points of reasoning and just ‘Know’. sometimes open speculation on gives the people who don’t like this blog or AKM ammunition to use to do more harm. believe me or not. your choice.

      • Krubozumo Nyankoye says:

        Bubbles – As I said I am sure AKM is above reproach in all of this, if I implied otherwise somehow I sincerely apologize. All I was and am trying to do is point out that some of the people involved with this issue (and I do not mean AKM, anyone at mudflats etc. but on the “other side” so to speak) are very dangerous people. In my final paragraph I said that Mr. Bailey was in a very awkward position in as much as he alone of the principles has a long history of being in the Palin camp. If I am being unfair to Mr. Bailey then I apologize in advance, I am just expressing an opinion that he is the smallest circle that can be drawn around the burning question of how and why was the Mss leaked.

        I did not bring it up and I should have but my concern for AKM extends to the publishing of this letter to cease and desist. A generic version broadcast to all known sources who had the Mss would have been fine but to single out Mr. McGinnis might be ill-considered. Unless there is absolutely damning evidence that he is culpable, on its face it could be libelous. I say this because it makes specific allegations as to motive and unless we are sorely uninformed about the overall circumstances there has not be a scintilla of evidence produced that goes to any possible motive on the part of Mr. McGinnis.

        I know I should at this point shut the hell up but my concern is great enough to prevent me from doing so. In my humble opinion Mudflats is the single most effective publication that provides an honest point of view with regard to all things Palin. Many other issues as well. What could be more satisfying to the Palin camp than to have Mr. McGinnis suing Mudflats?

        Elsewhere I think it was michigander who asserted that I should not write here but should communicate directly with AKM. I guess you have a point, but I admit that I don’t understand it. What is in the balance here is the credibility of Mudflats and if I am exagerating the point I still feel justified. Yes I am saying things here that might be construed as personal advice to AKM, however the intention behind what I am saying here is to inform all the readers of this blog that this entire scenario is out of hand. Frankly I am fairly confident that AKM can take care of herself without my advice. The reason I try to explain my opinions of the situation is to inform all who read hear of alternatives they might not have considered.

        Lee323 – Actually my speculation is just a bit different, not so much massive. True I tried to outline the whole situation instead of just a single aspect of it. No we don’t have all the facts, and that fact in itself is odd. What you characterize as speculation I tend to think of as more like a truth table, setting up the available propositions in an array such that one can discern both where to look for evidence, and what evidence to look for. We can differ on that point.

        Purplealaska, okay, thanks, I am pleased if it gave you some perspective.

        • Lee323 says:

          I always enjoy your interesting comments, Krubozumo.

          A mystery can be irresistible to pick apart and analyze, especially for a scientist. A paucity of facts in this case is not really odd when you consider that the blog owner chose to limit the facts at this time for whatever compelling reason she felt was necessary. Discerning the “where” and “what” of the evidence will probably be best achieved by checking back periodically to her blog.

          • Krubozumo Nyankoye says:

            Lee323 – Thanks for the reply. I have stayed away for a couple of days and in the interim McGinnis has responded in a way that I don’t find particularly satisfying but at least plausible. It doesn’t seem to resolve much of anything other than to perhaps put some emphasis on the point that singling him out was not appropriate. On the other hand he did not respond with anything aggressive despite the fact that I have seen many comments in various places from people claiming to have rescinded their prepublication orders for his book. And citing this incident as their reason.

            Other than that not much new has come to light. The one observation that seems to be pertinent is that all the dustup concerning the leaking of the Mss and the many things spawned by that has obscured the central fact that the Mss reveals much about Palin and her behavior over a period of years which ostensibly can be directly supported by personal emails.

            There is one new issue that is actually not that new but the assertion by Ms Mcleoud (sp) that the emails themselves cannot be published for personal gain by Mr. Bailey is an interesting twist.

            So I will continue to await further developments. I must say that I am somewhat relieved that there appears to be no animosity towards AKM on the part of McGinnis and I hope the vice versa is also true.

            I am a little disappointed Bubbles did not seem to notice my response.

        • bubbles says:

          ((((((Krubozuma))))))
          i am sorry i didn’t check back here see that you had replied to me. every once in a while i have flare-ups of pain. i have meds to deal with it but then i sleep. i asked you to trust me on certain matters. i understand it is hard to do that when you don’t know me.
          this was a time for us to gather around AKM. to lend our support to a woman that has given us so much pleasure and has nurtured the best in us. there are times when who did it and why doesn’t matter. what matters is that harm was done. McGinnis did it.
          imagine this scenario with me for a moment . you receive a call. it is about your friend Bubbles. you rush to my side. the other friends gather round us. there i am beaten and crushed. my house trashed. all that i had worked so hard to achieve stolen.
          you and the others ask me “what happen?” “who did this and why?”
          i say ” do you remember the guest who visited last week and who was so nice and charming during dinner? it was he who beat me and stole everything”
          what does a friend do in this circumstance? do you discuss with the others the likelyhood of me being wrong? do you say “oh no can’t be. not that guy.” or do you say “i believe you Bubbles. you are not a liar. nor are you delusional. no matter what others may say i know you and i am here to help. what do you need?”
          sometimes that is all a friend can do. help. anyway they can.
          to behave in any other way makes one a Job’s comforter not a friend. that is what i was trying to convey not only to you but to all Mudflats readers. sometimes silence speaks louder than a multitude of words. you are a good person Krubozuma and i personally adore you. right now i wish i were where you are. warmth and sun and sea breezes. i can see me now swinging in a hammock a good book (AKM’s) in hand and a delicious drink by my side. oh yesssssssss.

          • Krubozumo Nyankoye says:

            Bubbles –
            I am glad you saw my comment and I am glad of your response.I think I understand your reaction completely and if your analogy was appropriate to the situation here I would undoubtedly agree completely. I do not distrust you, or anyone else here (always reserving the possibility of trolls). Unfortunately your analogy does not fit the case.

            I have no wish to argue with you, you are entitled to your opinion of matters. My opinion differs and I would be happy to explain why and how if you so desire. (For some reason the blog software is placing my reply at the end of the thread so it is hard for me to refer specifically to your reply but that is not my reason for defering for the present.)

            You did allude to what is perhaps a bit of an illusion respecting my circumstances here though they are doubtless very different from yours (I think you are in NY? Is that correct?). No sea breezes at all, the tropical Atlantic wonderful as it is, is over 1800 km east of us here. It is warm of course, at the moment (12:35 pm) it is about 98 degrees F with the usual high humidity. It rained all day yesterday but not at all today. I don’t have a hammock, in some respects I wish I did. In the bush, when we are working we use hammocks because it is simply not safe to sleep on the ground. I do have a sanctuary of sorts. My lab, which is the only air conditioned room in this building. Years ago when I first started out here I had a bed in there because I worked until all hours and there was room for it. Nowadays the whole room is taken up by a huge backlog of samples to be processed, some new equipment that I have yet to get up and running (vacuum pump, CRT and cell for cathodoluminescence), and the instruments, microscopes, balances, chemicals, etc. that are sufficiently sensitive to corrosion that they must be kept at constant temperature and dry. So I am sitting out on the Terrace, nothing fancy to drink, just whisky com gello. There are three geckos on the walls and ceiling stalking their dinners which are too small for me to see clearly at this distance. My interpreter has just left, he is a good lad and well intentioned and has learned much, he is my foil – every evening before he takes his leave after an 12 hour day we go over all the day’s events and he conveys my words to the leaders of various teams and their words back to me and then we discuss what was discussed. Next week I will have to go to Brasilia to negotiate with the DNPM over the permitting we will be required to have for the next phase of work planned to begin in April. That will mark the beginning of my eighth year here.

            I am in a small town, about 5,000 people total. It is more or less surrounded by rain forest and it is in the rain forest that we do all of our work. We do almost everything on foot upto the point where we have to bring in drilling equipment, then we have to make “roads”. We don’t cut down big trees, we simply weave in and out between them. We don’t use bulldozers, they are too expensive and sink into swamps alarmingly. We don’t flush our drill tailings into watercourses, we catch them in small impoundments and when the drilling is done, we disperse the dried sediment. It only amounts to a few cubic meters, our drill bore is quite small (57 mm). Since we are drilling for core samples the majority of what we drill gets cataloged, marked, and stored in boxes that hold 5 meters of core. It is my job to look at every bit of that core. Among other things.

            If I was correct above in thinking you lived in New York, then I must also say I lived in the city for four years as well. But my residence was in Brooklyn.

            Cheers,

          • bubbles says:

            hi Krubozuma, all is well here on the blog. AKM is fine as we all are.
            i am speechless at your description of of your daily life. Jeebus!
            well my dear i shall not be able to endure your vigorous lifestyle nor 98 degrees and humid. but i will now think of you beavering away in a rain forest somewhere near Brasilia. i just looked up Brasilia and i remember when it was built. now it has matured into a beautiful city. if i were to go there this is the hotel i would stay in :http://travel.yahoo.com/p-hotel-378067-kubitschek_plaza_hotel-i;_ylt=AiiDsxv6FisWB2mkI.AvI4_iphQB i have enjoyed reading about what you do. bless you.
            i hope to go to Brazil one day with my daughter who, as you know, sometimes travels afar for her job. i want to travel to London with her this December as she will be keynote speaker at a conference. i just have to get her to agree to take me. i so want to see the queen.
            if you ever get back to New York we will have a Mudstock for two and go see The Lion King. have a drink at Sardi’s and eat steak. thanks for understanding and for being a truly concerned and caring person.

            for Mudflat readers who haven’t seen what Brasilia looks like now here is a link:

            http://www.aboutbrasilia.com/

        • dreamgirl says:

          The truth table will come when it comes. If it’s not on your clock too bad.

        • Krubozumo Nyankoye says:

          Bubbles,

          Thanks for the reply, I am actually no where near Brasilia. To get there I will take a one hour turboprop flight to Cuiaba and from there a two hour jet flight to the city. so a long way from the nice structures and very cosmopolitan life there. It is a fine city though and anyone who visits Brasil should take a look at it if they can. I know nothing about the hotels and such because I am always sheltered from those kinds of concerns. Everyone I know who works with me is well aware that I am on the razor’s edge of what we like to call bush fever.

          I don’t keep track any more but back in 2004 or so I had spent 120 days in the bush and the Carioca in Brasilia fawned upon me as if I was some kind of war hero. It was fun but it did not make going back in the bush any easier. And now, when I turn up, it is nothing remarkable, even though the last time I was there was over two years ago. Still, I am looking forward to seeing my few friends there.

          I hope you get to go to London, it is a wonderful city. It is very different from New York but I am confident you will enjoy it. It has been a long time since I have been to either, more than 15 years. If you do get to come to Brasil, make your ultimate destination outside the big cities. Rio, Sao Paulo, are too urban, aim for Cuiaba or Manaus or Forteleza. Even Recife is tolerable as is San Salvador. Then you will see and feel some of what Brasil is.

          If I ever get back to New York I am hoping one of my favorite hangouts will have been reconstructed, Chumleys, in the West Village. Other landmarks for me have faded into obscurity. Or have died. Such is life. Time passes and things change.

          What else can be said?

    • Lee323 says:

      Massive amount of speculation, Krubozumo.

      The bottom line is that we don’t have all the facts in this obviously complex and sensitive case. Until we do, it’s my opinion that speculation and theories based on clearly inadequate data create less clarity rather than more –and more chaos rather than less.

  38. AKPetMom says:

    I look forward to Mr. McGinness releasing a statement regarding his involvement in this activity. Until then, I will reserve judgement, however, it has been most entertaining to visit multiple blogs and find that there are so many “armchair lawyers” that consider their opinions to be equal to the letter of the law. Some blogs are much more endowed with “legal eagles” than others and these blogs have held their own Kangaroo Kourts and judged certain parties in this dispute to be guilty of all sorts of charges, most of which are fabrications.

    There are serious blogs; this is certainly one. There are other blogs that take themselves way to seriously, and in their attempt to be taken seriously merely become a laughing stock. BTW, none of the latter are Alaskan blogs.

    • Gyalist says:

      Until then, I will reserve judgement, however, it has been most entertaining to visit multiple blogs and find that there are so many “armchair lawyers” that consider their opinions to be equal to the letter of the law. Some blogs are much more endowed with “legal eagles” than others and these blogs have held their own Kangaroo Kourts and judged certain parties in this dispute to be guilty of all sorts of charges, most of which are fabrications.

      .

      I’ve beem similarly impressed by the speed at which the highly experienced sysadmins and computer forensics experts posting on this blog have been able to positively identify the source of the leaked manuscript.

      It is a fairly trivial task for an experienced hacker to spoof email headers. As in all matters concerning Palin the first question to ask is, cui bono?

  39. Fawnskin Mudpuppy says:

    {{{{{to my gg2}}}}}

  40. GreatGranny2C says:

    I’ve been absent at posting for a bit with some medical issues, but I’ve checked in regularly to scan the topics and comments. This entire topic has generated a wide variety of opinions, along with some extremely adament beliefs.

    This is probably the most controversial topic that I’ve ever read in the several years that I have been coming to the Mudflats. Quite a few of the posters are unfamiliar to me, and the majority of those are quite hostile. Do we have some trolls present?

    I have great faith in Jeanne’s integrity and determination to deal honestly and fairly with everyone – even Sarah Palin! I do agree with some of the posters that the attorney’s letter goes a bit far with the accusations. If there is proof of Joe’s alledged nefarious deed, then it should be printed.

    As it also has been mentioned, phony e-mail addresses abound and are so easy to acquire, and it is possible that Joe never forwarded anything. I personally don’t want to vilify him until Joe himself speaks up or solid evidence is gleaned that proves Joe is guilty of the leaks.

    Let’s please try to keep the conversation as civil as we can. Some theorizing is a good and healthy, but when the back and forth becomes bitter and attacks are on people instead of inanimate objects or actions, then most everyone suffers for the poor exchange. The ‘flats has consistently had a reputation, there are a whole slew of fantastic people working as moderators, etc. in the background and I would hate to see this great blog go downhill and earn a lousy reputation for incivility and downright nasty rudeness.

    Thanks for letting me vent – life is too short to have to deal with tons of crud every day, then to come onto my favorite blog and see the damage occurring saddens me immensely.

    • boodog says:

      Welcome back, GG2C. I hope you’re feeling better.
      Excellent advice. This great blog isn’t going anywhere, people just need to be reminded once in a while to bring their manners with them- like you just did. 🙂

    • LaniN says:

      Nice post, GreatGranny!

      I’m trying to avoid a lot of the speculation being circulated on this thread, but do want to comment about some of the things written by the attorney. For example: “I do agree with some of the posters that the attorney’s letter goes a bit far with the accusations. If there is proof of Joe’s alledged nefarious deed, then it should be printed.”

      The letter is a fairly standard demand letter. It states its grounds and make its demands – stop distribution and provide the attorney with a full list of the parties who received distribution.

      It is not a trial – it’s just the opening volley. Evidence is presented at trial. And readers, the full text of the letter is not provided above. Note the “…”.

      The authors would have cleared the release of this letter (or parts of the letter) with the attorney before posting it here. And what we see is what we get at this point in the legal action. There are good reasons for that. There is no need for anyone to demand that AKM or anyone else involved disclose more on the blog – and it would probably be to their detriment to do so.

    • seattlefan says:

      Thank you GG2C. Great post. Way to put it all in perspective. Hugs.

    • I understand the request for civility. We’ve had way too little of that every where lately. However, when dealing with legal matters, it has to be stated clearly and it has to cover all the points. So, of course, it has to be strongly worded. They can’t quite say “gee, we really wish you would stop sending this around to people, and by the way, we’d kind of like to know who you sent it to.”

      As for Joe – I really think that if he had something positive to say for himself, he would have done by now. He certainly didn’t seem to waste any time sending out something that wasn’t his. And if someone sent something using his name, he should be speaking up. Why would he be silent now when he should be trying to clear his name?

      As an author, he knows better than to distribute another author’s work without permission. How or where he got it is really beside the point. Lack of ethics is lack of ethics, and what we’ve seen so far, doesn’t put Joe in a very good light.

    • bubbles says:

      Great Granny! so glad you are back! you are right sweetie. civility are us. ……love bubs

    • Forty Watt says:

      Hi GG2C! Happy to see you back. And, no worries. Thanks to AKM, her blog is strong enough to absorb whatever is thrown at it with reputation intact. 😀

  41. PollyinAK says:

    But… on a positive note, Laurence O’Donnell got a chance to read a few emails. I like the one where SP says: “I hate this job.” That should go over well to R’s who think she is great presidential material.

    http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/41709939#41709939

  42. Rob in Ca says:

    This is very puzzling to me. The tone of this post – a powerful attack – is out of character for this blog. We do not even have a response from McGinniss, or any explanation of why he would have done this. It is not entirely clear why this is even damaging! This may instead gin up interest in the manuscript, I suspect.

    I could imagine a post that expressed concern over the leak, and a hope that an answer would illuminate the situation. That would sound like Jeanne to me. But this threatening, angry, lawerly letter seems to be something that would be mailed privately…but not posted publicly.

    Do we think McGinniss really leaked this? I doubt it. Yes, he may have passed it on, when he said that it was all over the place already. But it seems the leak lies elsewhere. Shouldn’t the legal firepower and blog posts be aimed at the actual original leak?

    Something is not right here. I hesitate to post this, because AKM has shown herself to be a beacon of integrity and also good judgement over the last 2-1/2 years I have frequented this blog.

    I do not, for a second, suggest that her integrity is in question. Not at all. I cannot imagine that.

    But I question the judgement in this seemingly hasty personal attack. I withhold judgement against Joe McGinniss till I know more – while at the same time I certainly support AKM in her right to protect her intellectual product. I just don’t know enough yet.

    • Ripley in CT says:

      Notwithstanding the tone of this letter from counsel, do you think it was ethically correct for Mr. McGinness to pass on anything he received, no matter the source? It appears that he did. I find that indefensible from another author. Will it hurt the book? I hope not. The potential is astounding.

      And shame on whomever else passed it along, too. But another author? Puh-lease. Credibility right out the window.

    • PurpleAlaska says:

      I could not agree more, Rob . . . and this whole sordid scenario reminds me of the days of Doogan.

    • michigander says:

      Did you read AKM’s prior post about this? Did you read the Alaska Dispatch story? Others?

      You don’t pass something on to a reporter/newspaper expecting them to not publish it. If Joe got the rough draft through Mann Agency (error/sabatage/hack/stupidity?) he surely is not stupid enough to pass it on unless he figured he could afford it. He is a veteran writer – he knows the rules and the law. He says “Look what I got – Hey, ask them (authors) first okay? ” I don’t believe that should excuse him.

      Come on. He thinks he can sail through this. I hope not.

      • Rob in Ca says:

        I read it all. I agree this seems inexcusable. But most of what is out there is speculation, so we are applying the rules of law and ethics to unclear facts.

        Some people are on here saying they cannot believe Joe would do these things. I am not one of those. I don’t know him, though I have liked what I see of him up till now. He may indeed have made a grievous error – or even committed an illegal act for reasons of personal financial gain. But we don’t know that yet.

        Several things are clear to me:
        1. It is indeed an outrage that the manuscript was leaked, and that part of the story has not begun to be told.
        2. We have not been told the story by AKM, by McGinniss, by Bailey, not Morris. We hear from the media, and a typical legal letter that is good at threats and accusations and reveals nothing.
        3. This letter seems heavily weighted with threats and accusations – there was no benefit to public dissemination of this. Simply saying letters had been sent to all who published excerpts would have sufficed.
        4. Again…I have full faith in AKM’s integrity. Unlike McGinnis…I feel as if I know AKM. But I still feel it was questionable judgement to post this letter.

  43. Cassie Jeep says:

    Please remember the place of sanity the Mudflats is, and has been for all of us.

    Patience, Mudpups.

    It will all be good when all is said and done.

    • Writing from Alaska says:

      Yep – I personally don’t see any reason to do anything other than allow this to work itself out. I am fairly certain that this is in more professional hands than mine. In the spirit of sanity (remember that?) I choose to judgment on Joe McGinnis. Of course I didn’t meet the guy.

      Most of all, I hope continuously for the best outcome for our writers as well as safety and peace of mind to them and their families.

    • michigander says:

      Well and simply said XXXXOOOO (o:

      This may be a double post – so I’ll add support/pray/think positive for Mudflats (if can donation button too!), AKM, Ken Morris, Frank Bailey and families. I’m praying for Joe Mc also that he does the right thing but that is just me on a tangent not knowing what it is. Got it from my Mom o:

    • leenie17 says:

      I think we can all agree that the ultimate goal is sending Palin back to Wasilla with her tail between her legs and shutting (and barring) those open doors for good. As resilient as she has proven herself to be, this effort is going to be a marathon rather than a sprint.

      The truth will all come out eventually and we will find out all the information we need to know when it’s the appropriate time.

      Let’s all take a deep breath, have a nice cup of tea and let this mess work itself out. AKM has never let us down before and has always displayed good judgement. I trust that she will prove worthy of our confidence.

  44. Gail White says:

    Let me just say I was delighted to discover this blog. Sarah the Moosekilla from Wasilla
    is an expert media manipulator and it’s high time someone took a shot back.

    • Marnie says:

      Gail
      There are usually many welcomes to new commenters.

      I guess we are a little distracted at the moment. AKM is and excellent and intelligent writer, who I think you will enjoy even when she, and we are not on Palin’s case.

      So don’t go away when this mess is eventually ironed out in one form or another.

      And welcome to the mudflats.

    • bubbles says:

      welcome Gail White. we are not usually so distracted. i hope you come and hang out with us and enjoy yourself.

    • Zyxomma says:

      Welcome to the mud, Gail! Come over to the Forum sometime, and introduce yourself.

  45. techmom says:

    I’m no lawyer- but I doubt that letter was written by one, either.

    “This matter appears to be no more than that of a jealous author sabotaging a competitor via unlawful and unscrupulous means.”? In a legal document?

    This whole affair seems designed to stir up false controversy and take attention away from where we were last week- Todd’s affair? Ms Tripp?

  46. BungaWugga says:

    We need to know: did Frank and the Talibunny make out?

  47. seattlefan says:

    AKM, this is all so strange and confusing. None of it makes sense from any angle. Is it possible for you to clarify this whole thing by posting the facts? Honestly, all the vagueness is generating conspiracy theories and fodder for the palinbots. I value your integrity and have no doubt you would not have posted this letter if you were not completely sure of the details involved. Please share with the rest of us what is going on. If you are legally bound to not speak out, can you at least have a surrogate do it?

    • michigander says:

      Isn’t the post from Ken Morris enough? Obviously AKM is leaving (and should be IMHO) this to the legal team. Isn’t Ken Morris being in a sense as you put it a ‘surrogate’?

      Why can’t we just thank and support her? She’ll be talking soon as she can but let’s let her do it in her own time and trust her. I’m sure she’s writing her thoughts and she doesn’t need extra pressure from those that love and respect her.

      Caring along with you (o:

      • Tanaga12 says:

        With all due respect Michigander, no-the post from Ken Morris is not enough to keep me off the edge of my seat. Asking for clarification does not translate to a lack of support or trust. Requesting the details, in my opinion, is nothing short of what AKM herself would be doing. It’s a shame that something so powerful as email documentation and the confessions from an insider may be loosing some of its impact. I am hoping for a quick resolution; that the information be made available soon, and for those who developed the manuscript to be adequately compensated for their time and effort. But unanswered questions as to how McGinniss received the draft and why he distributed it are, as stated by seattlefan, creating a vacuum for speculation and conspiracy theories. I know AKM will clear this up when she can, but seattlefan just spoke my mind for me. I just chewed off my last fingernail. Somebody pick up this book soon please. I need some yoga.

  48. sjk from the belly of the plane says:

    did MSNBC get a C&D order?

  49. Hedgewytch says:

    Just as the hint of spring starts, when the light box is being used overtime and you’re counting the mintues until that Hawaiian vacation, as we get our last guesses in for the Nenanna Ice Classic and start putting our seedlings in the window in the hope of a prosperous spring, high water and ice flows signal danger yet ahead.

    McGinniss is not who we thought he was! But did we really know?

    Turn back time a bit and McGinniss was one of the heroes come to Alaska to help expose The Grifter Queen for what she is by parking himself, braving the close proximity, right next door to Herself, for a painful, fact finding, researching/interviewing 3 months.

    Accusations flew from the opposition’s camp Our Hero was a peeping tom! A pedophile! A taker-advantage-er of low rent and a disgruntled neighbor’s ire! We pre-ordered from Amazon and placed bets on who was sneaking into coffee shops at odd hours to dump info into McGinniss’s eagerly waiting laptop.

    Fall came, McGinniss left back to more Southern climes and all the authors far and wide collected their notes, and typed away as the snow fell.

    Our beloved AK Mudflats, whom we’ve all believed had enjoyed a productive and interesting relationship with this (now rival author) person, is hinting at a past comfortable footpath now heading towards steep slopes and unstable footing. Another of our Alaskan bloggers Immoral Minority lets it be know that he didn’t get along with McGinnis from since the time the fence got enlarged.

    March rains bring April showers. I, for one, will be hanging around the edges watching and waiting to see what kind of weeds spring up in this long planted garden. But I’m am also confident that there will be plenty of blooms to enjoy all summer long.

    • bubbles says:

      But I’m am also confident that there will be plenty of blooms to enjoy all summer long
      ___________________________________________________________________

      lovely sentiment. thanks. we needed that.

  50. Sheesh says:

    Just watched Lawrence O’Donnell’s report on the book. Great publicity for sure as he pulled out some juicy tidbits from the book on the psyche of SP. Just enough to wet the appetite to read more…in other words….buy the book.

  51. THE REAL BARBIE OF WASILLA says:

    OH NO NOT JOE!!!! In the words of Florida Evans (fictional character from 70’s sitcom GOOD TIMES) “DAMN…DAMN…DAMN…DAMN” I’m just shocked that it turned out to be Joe, but what about the others? And will Bailey’s work ever be published? I guess all the rest of you have asked these same questions. I’m gonna go get me a big ol glass of sweet tea and read all the comments now. I’ll be back in a few minutes ya’ll.

  52. Martha says:

    from Progressive Alaska:

    McGinniss has been identified by numerous sources as the originator of copies of the manuscript to an unpublished draft of a book on Sarah Palin by her former confidante and state official, Frank Bailey.

    ***Several bloggers and news sources**** received the manuscript ***from McGinniss*** very early Friday morning last week.

    ****Many of us have written to McGinniss, asking him why he sent the manuscript out.****

    *** To my knowledge, he hasn’t yet answered anyone.****

    Some articles have been pulled or heavily modified since Bonfante Steinbeck issued a general cease and desist letter late last weekend to media outlets that were carrying extracts from what the authors claim to be a rough draft.

    McGinniss’ release of the manuscript has been vexing to the Alaska bloggers who supported him while he stayed in Alaska last year. I’m not one of them, though. After setting up his security perimeter at the house he rented next to the Palin cult compound on Lake Lucille last May, he and I had a disagreement, resulting in no further contact. Jeanne Devon, one of the parties to the book, helped McGinniss extensively throughout his stay here, though, and is deeply hurt by the author’s action.

    http://progressivealaska.blogspot.com/2011/02/cease-and-desist.html

  53. Maria says:

    But WHO did he get it from in the first place? Someone in the publishing industry one suspects.

    • sjk from the belly of the plane says:

      methinks Bailey is bailin’ on exposin’ paylin……

      • michigander says:

        I figure the leak originated from the Carol Mann email – deliberately or not….? Hacked or accidently sent, I don’t know )o:

        If Bailey did it seems to me Jeanne or Ken would have picked up on it. Besides, it wouldn’t save him nor his reputation.

        Stay positive (o:

      • PurpleAlaska says:

        . . . you just may be onto something there, sjk ~ and “The Man in the Middle” is an interesting sort.

        http://www.financialthrillers.com/index.html

        But LOD was “no holds barred” tonight in his REWRITE segment!

  54. Wallflower says:

    All I really care about is that the bok gets published in some way so I can read it. And I’d like to see AKM make some money off it and get another publishing cred.

    • Wallflower says:

      And I did mean to type “book.”

    • OMG says:

      I agree. From everything I have read, it has done nothing but further whet my appetite. As I have posted before, I simply hope that the literary agent involved can round up a publisher quickly (and lucratively for the authors). And as Andrew Sullivan wrote today, publishers should be tripping over themselves to sign a deal right about now. By all the interest generated, both here and abroad, in this little “tell all” it is already guaranteed to be a success.

  55. giddyup says:

    According to another BIG Palin blog:
    “We are in possession of a letter by the Carol Mann Agency from February 17, 2011, in which Carol Mann, in attempt to market the book, not only revealed the main content of the book in the letter itself, but also attached the full copy of the book with the email……………………………………..The fact that we were sent a copy of the book on February 19, 2011, not only by one, but several sources confirms that the handling of this highly confidential material was done unprofessionally.”

    • Ripley in CT says:

      This is the big Palin blog. And AKM, Mr. Bailey and Mr. Morris have proved that. The end.

      • giddyup says:

        There’s always room for more than one and playing nice with them all will hasten and further the success of all of them. Pretty sure I’ve seen you posting on other blogs also, too. 😉

  56. Sue says:

    Something doesn’t smell right. Why would Joe be so obvious about leaking the book if his “single intent” was “destroying the marketability” of it? Wouldn’t he do it anonymously so as not to harm his reputation? How would this “salvage the marketability” of his own book? Considering this book isn’t finished and doesn’t have a publisher, it’s unlikely it would come out before Joe’s. Wouldn’t people who had already read Bailey’s book be less likely to buy Joe’s? It just seems bass-akwards to leak a book with more insider info than his own.

    And why is the letter so snarky? Isn’t that a bit unprofessional for a lawyer? And why would Jeanne post correspondence between her lawyer and Joe, but not post any proof that Joe leaked the book or that his intention was to increase his sales?

    There’s a lot left out here. Probably for good reason, but at least try to make the story more believable. This feels like another “wild ride”.

  57. sjk from the belly of the plane says:

    ummm…this certainly begs the question of “who leaked the manuscript?”. Someone other than Joe obviously “leaked” it. The Agent, the Attorneys, or one or more of the principles did it. Not Joe McGinniss. And that is indisputable. I understand the purported frustration of the Principles, but this is a sad attempt at deflection of blame.

    • Martha says:

      And Joe’s FIRST reaction should have been to call the authors and say, OMG, I have just received the entire manuscript of your book!!??

      Joe wasn’t the only one to receive this cease and desist letter.

      Instead he chose to pass it around to a long list of bloggers and news sources.

      Rather than a deflection of blame this highlights a betrayal from a supposed professorial author and a friend to Jeanne.

      From Progressive Alaska;

      ***Several bloggers and news sources**** received the manuscript ***from McGinniss*** very early Friday morning last week.

      ****Many of us have written to McGinniss, asking him why he sent the manuscript out.****

      *** To my knowledge, he hasn’t yet answered anyone.****

      McGinniss’ release of the manuscript has been vexing to the Alaska bloggers who supported him while he stayed in Alaska last year. Jeanne Devon, one of the parties to the book, helped McGinniss extensively throughout his stay here, though, and is deeply hurt by the author’s action.

  58. TrueBlueGirl says:

    Maybe this is a sophisticated, savvy move to close the deal with a publisher? I like the idea. Just can’t figure out another explanation, other than the obvious one which is that Joe McG. behaved unprofessionally and dishonorably. Don’t know the man except by his work and reputation. I’ll stand with AKM on this one.

  59. michigander says:

    Thank you Linda Kellen Biegel (Celtic Diva) for trying to get mudpups to be rational (o:

    Could we all maybe calm down and support AKM and her co-authors by trusting her judgement in this situation….?

    AKM said she would post more information when she could. She did, rather quickly (IMHO) through co-author Ken Morris. I think we should appreciate and thank her, not second guess and insult her for her decisions.

    Think before you freak pups! XXXXOOOO (o:

    • Irishgirl says:

      I think the legal wrangling should have been kept private.

      • xguy says:

        public legal wrangling is public what’s with private

      • michigander says:

        Just my opinion but I believe there is a lot more to ‘the legal wranglings’ and it is important to get out a cease and desist order. I doubt we will be privy to all the legal wranglings.

        I feel we need to take a step back, respect AKM and thank Ken Morris for his expertise and experiance in the publishing field. I assume this attorney knows his stuff.

        Hoping for the best, the glass is half full and Blessings in disguise (o:

        • Irishgirl says:

          I agree. I posted that late last night and I didn’t really express myself too well. I’m upset for AKM because she certainly doesn’t deserve this mess. She has obviously put a lot of work into this book and I just want things to work out for her.

      • dreamgirl says:

        I do too also at least until I have a book in my hands and very tired eyes.

      • Laurie says:

        If you think things are out of control today, just imagine what it would be like had we not been informed about the wishes of the owners of the manuscript?

  60. A Fan From Chicago says:

    There are so many thing at work here that I’m sure are influencing the people involved in this: anger, possibly betrayal (a strong word), future earnings, professional prestigue, boy I could go on but I’ll stop there. From the outside looking in it is impossible to to figure out what happened and where it goes from here. I would even hazard a guess that all sides have learned things since Mr. Morris wrote this post that might have resulted in a different word choice or tone in this communication.

    Here’s what I do know. Sarah Palin is a bad person. She should never hold elective office again and it would be in most people’s best interest if she faded quickly from the national scene. If she should be prosecuted in a court of law for some of the things she and her family have been engaged in over the years I would welcome that. If she never has the luxury of a guilt free good night’s sleep for the rest of her life, that would be fine too.

    I say we do retreat, and not reload with each other as the principles involved in this move forward. There’s a whole lot that we don’t know. We all have the same objectives and we need more information (Hint to the author and the blog owner: sooner rather than later would be a good idea!)

    Please, those of you who have the knowledge and the power, Make Her Go Away!

    (And it’s probably time for a new thread.)

  61. rebekkah says:

    Am just as shocked as everyone. Like others, it’s hard to believe JM would ruin his reputation, break laws, and try to ruin his competition, all for a few more book sales. Could it be that the Carol Mann Agency had some Palin supporter that leaked this?

  62. OMG says:

    I’m sorry but I now believe that the leak has become a distraction from the goal. The goal is for AKM and company to become best selling authors and, after publication, to get as much publicity as possible. It’s long past due for Sarah Palin to go away. Her influence in today’s political discourse is shameful. She must be shown to be the fraud that she is and she must lose the power that she has amassed.

    I hope that the authors’ literary agent uses all this attention for the benefit of the authors and that publication of the final manuscript is announced with weeks.

  63. A fan from CA says:

    I’m thinking that the email accounts could have been hacked. It’s not off the table at this point. I’m just glad that there is a book coming out with all this info.

    In the meantime, looking forward to a new open thread. Lot’s going on. WI, Libya and others, Planned Parenthood defunding, etc

  64. AK Raven says:

    I can say that I probably would not have bought McGinnes’ book about $arah. I avoid spending more of my time with her than is necessary. But now I will say that I probably will not buy ANY of McGinnes’ books in the future. He does not seem to be the kind of person whose opinion would be worthwhile to me.

    • Millie says:

      I think we need all the facts on this. McGinniss is an excellent author, handled his life in the Valley this summer in a very, very professional manner (after Sarah said he wanted to peek into Piper’s bedroom windows!). I just have a difficult time thinking he would have done this…he knows the publication laws…has been in the business for years. I smell a rat in this now and hope Jeanne will be OK. Everyone has known that Frank Bailey had multiple emails concerning his service in the Administration of the Palins.

  65. psminidivapa says:

    TOTALLY OT, but because of absence of open thread and the overall uncomfortable feeling I’ve been getting from some of the blogs today (Can’t we all just get along?), I think we all need to take a big breath and read this

    http://thepragmaticprogressive.org/wp/2011/02/19/you-might-be-a-teabagger-if/

    We are all on the same side, after all.

  66. bubbles says:

    well said Sunflower and Marnie. i hold with my own. i honor and respect Jeanne Devon. i have been a reader and commenter here for more than two years. in my dealings with AKM i have never known her to be anything other than principled and straight forward. people here can do or think as they please but if AKM has a problem with Joe McGinnis she is woman enough to pick up a phone and ask him about it. i don’t know Mr. McGinnis but i do know Jeanne Devon and so i will await her post on this subject.
    i really don’t care what Palin and or her devotees think of Mudflats. the book will come out. i will buy a copy and devour it in one sitting.
    a word to AKM….. Mz Devon don’t be cast down. all will be well. you will see. you got a great many friends, some of whom know a little something about law and book publishing (that would not be me) so make sure you are checking your Emails. you never know who is trying to reach out to you.

  67. KatieAnnieOakley says:

    AGAIN, with an update below… From Adn.com:

    “Copies of the manuscript were forwarded around Alaska political circles on Friday.”

    “The Daily News RECEIVED COPIES FROM MULTIPLE SOURCES, the FIRST from author Joe McGinniss, who is working on his own Palin book.”

    Read more: http://www.adn.com/2011/02/18/1711185/ex-aide-rips-palin-in-leaked-manuscript.html#ixzz1EcWtzGWU

    MULTIPLE SOURCES. They received the book from MULTIPLE sources. Joe’s email was just the first. Sounds like the manuscript was SPAMMED to me…

    THINK HARD: who benefits when anti-Palin bloggers start bashing each other… hmmmmmm?

    UPDATE to my last post:

    BTW – “…it appears this book has been leaked to Wonkette at least twice, by somebody with a South African e-mail address…”

    http://wonkette.com/438769/leaked-book-shocker-sarah-palin-is-terrible

    People, again I say: WHO BENEFITS WHEN ALASKA BLOGGERS ARE GOING AT EACH OTHER / THE MEDIA / OTHER PALIN AUTHORS THROATS?????

    • jojobo1 says:

      Just weighing in on the spamming deal somehow mine was and I would never had know it but for a friend asking me about numerous emails sent to them.The ones that came back as undeliverable i thought were just garbage until then. After that I look at who all the emails were sent to and it was everyone in my address book. I had to contact my e-mail provider to try and get it stopped.they said something about it being and never ending loop.Finally it stopped or was stopped. Not saying this is what happened but I know it happened to me and some friends were afraid it was a virus or I was purposely spamming them,which was far from the truth

  68. PollyinAK says:

    This is all “weird” to me. I hope the book gets published. I’ll buy it. I’ll read McGinnis’ and Dunn’s books as well. (There are some actors I’m not fond of, but I’ll still watch a movie they are in, because of the subject material.)

    • Dagian says:

      Angelina Jolie…

      Sorry world, but I will always think of her as the less-talented version of Josephine Baker. JB was the REAL deal.

  69. bob.benner says:

    I am going to wait before forming any negative opinions regarding J.M. There are usually 2 sides to every story and I haven’t heard J.M’s side yet. I just can’t imagine J.M. doing intentional damage against folks who have spent so much time and effort in exposing our Quitter Queen. Did she bring him cookies when he was living next door? If yes, I’m was there something in them that isn’t in the Betty Crocker recipe???

  70. Denise says:

    Wow. I am VERY disappointed in Joe. I’ve been a fan of his for years. Makes me question my judgment!

  71. fishingmamma says:

    Take a deep breath – watch this.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=hN8CKwdosjE

  72. HappyPlace says:

    Re: “there’s no proof that Joe was the one who leaked the original manuscript.”

    Incorrect. The first news outlet to run this was the AK Dispatch, who got it directly from Joe. Ditto for ADN, who also got it from him (though, unsurprisingly, it was later forwarded to them from others who’d been getting it—if you want to count that as “multiple sources.”)

    • But did any of them speak to Joe McGinnis, or operate on the assumption that it was him because the email seemed to be from him? If any of them spoke to him, I missed that part…..

      • LaniN says:

        Check out Progressive Alaska – Phil writes that he and others have emailed McGinniss, but there has been no response. A reporter mentions in another article that he’s been unable to get a response as well. I can’t remember where the article was – AP? HuffPo? – there are now so many stories about this matter.

        • LaniN says:

          Well, both were right 🙂 It is an AP article, and it is posted on HuffPo. The reporter is Becky Bohrer.

  73. AHiredGun says:

    If Joe McGinness does have culpability in this he deserves to be condemned for his actions. However, it seems to me that many people are jumping to conclusions without having ALL the available facts to make an informed decision. Ms. Devon needs to seriously consider filling in the factual gaps here (this is her blog after all – and this story appeared here) to allow the public to make such an informed decision. Otherwise, the people jumping to conclusions on here are no better than the Palinistas. Of course, I do realize that Ms. Devon’s lawyers may be prohibiting her from speaking out further, but this letter is nothing more than a demand letter, which are a dime a dozen. Where are the facts to support these charges? The parties need to tread lightly here, because Mr. McGinniss’s reputation is at stake here and the sword of justice cuts both ways.

  74. Tallahassee Lassie says:

    There’s got to be enough dirt on Snosnooki** to fill at LEAST 2 books.

    **Best nickname yet — Thanks, Casandra!!

  75. auni says:

    This story is all over the place–I can’t wait to see how it all plays out. Hope Rolling Stone writes about it. Jeanne writes with the light of truth around her–God bless—-

  76. Ennealogic says:

    “Jeanne and I have discussed writing-up this disturbing story-behind-the-story with its ethics be damned.”

    Ethics be damned? AKM, really?

    • Though Mr. Morris is a great writer, I think he meant “writing up this disturbing story-behind-the-story with its ethics-be-damned (something in the blank here).”

      or maybe….
      “writing up this disturbing ethics-be-damned story-behind-the story.”

      Hey, everybody needs an editor.

    • fawnskin mudpuppy says:

      you might want to read that another way. i read it as saying that it is the original story where the “ethics be damned”, not that jd and he are acting in an unethical manner.

      • Forty Watt says:

        Me too, fawnskin. I’d go further actually and maintain the “ethics be damned” very clearly refers to the story: “….his disturbing story-behind-the-story WITH its ethics be damned” If it was anyone else’s ethics it would read: ….his disturbing story-behind-the-story AND ethics be damned.

      • Ennealogic says:

        Let’s let AKM clarify. I am waiting.

        • bubbles says:

          Ennealogic. long time no see. i am sure AKM will clarify at a time of her own choosing. meanwhile………………………

        • AKMuckraker says:

          You are waiting?
          Oh, for goodness sakes. Of course it’s the story! Did you actually think otherwise?

          • Fawnskin Mudpuppy says:

            I think that, indeed, ennealogic thinks otherwise

          • Ennealogic says:

            I did wonder, since the post by Ken looks like a calculated hit job designed to do harm to a certain well-known author. Not used to that sort of tactic here, is all, and not sure why it was necessary.

  77. Dagian says:

    In the scientific community, when something is submitted for publication there are a number of steps.

    Not least of which is the peer-review process. Once someone has been contacted and agrees to review a paper, it is NOT to be shared. Only THAT reviewer has permission to READ it, let alone comment upon the work and then return it directly to the publisher. Do not pass go. Do not share the information with others.

    There are multiple copies made of the original work and sent out to other reviewers on the committee, all at the same time. They may or may not know who else is reviewing the same paper.

    No one is to discuss it with anyone except the publisher (Nature, Science, etc.).

    It’s almost like a chain of custody thing, minus the signatures on the plastic bags.

    I’m terribly disappointed that anyone within the publishing world would screw this up. Anyone. I hope that it does NOT affect the material value to Jeanne, Frank and Ken.

    I want to believe that someone with the goal of protecting Palin from herself did *something* and made it appear that people who KNOW BETTER did not behave better. Personally, I never would have thought that this book would crowd out any other works about $P. Instead, there would simply be more information presented for anyone who wished to read about her “leadership style”. (I vomited a little in my mouth with that phrase.)

    *sighs*

    • CO almost native says:

      A similar process goes on in the English community, for journal articles as well as research. No plastic bags- but labeled copies, hand-delivered, with comment sheets and return instructions.

  78. BrenDaMoore says:

    Another thought: timing is everything, especially in the publishing world and especially in the political world.

    There is a huge part of me that would like to see SP get the nomination and (try) to run against Obama. Of course if that fantasy plays out, the time time to release all bombshells and books is AFTER the nomination.

    Meanwhile, it seems SP has already put herself out of candidate contention, if she really wanted it in the first place (debatable). She makes money as long as the bots believe, one day, she will be their fearless leader also. In this scenario, NOW is the time to release all bombshells as I can’t stand her stupid, kneejerk reactions to ANYTHING either of the Obamas say/do, even when she’s been on the same page, e.g. breastfeeding.

  79. Susan says:

    How did Joe get a copy of this manuscript? Usually, authors send a copy of a few chapters to an agent, who shops it around to publishers, who , if interested, will request the whole manuscript. So, I assume they sent it to their agent first of all. What did she do with it?? How did Joe get it?? He’s not a publisher. Why did he get it?? And why release it?? It doesn’t make any sense. He is so well known, he would not feel threatened by another Palin book. There are enough secrets and mysteries in Palin’s life to support dozens of writers. I say do not make any assumptions until all the facts are known. If Joe McGinniss had enough integrity to return a million dollar advance to a publisher who wanted him to write a book about OJ Simpson, and after sitting through the trial, decided Simpson was guilty and he refused to write the book, then I sincerely doubt that he did what he is being accused of, and tried and convicted, here.

  80. BrenDaMoore says:

    Lots o peeps weighing in on this. Until more info is available, remember that SP is a sociopath and wrecking this kind of havoc is their specialty

  81. ks sunflower says:

    Questions of innocence or guilt aside, the only people happy in all this at this moment have to be the Palins and their supporters.

    Of course, their joy may be short-lived. The important thing is that truth about Sarah and Todd comes out and is accepted, and come out it will. We must remember that they will try to point out to this controversy to undermine the validity of all the anti-Palin books.

    If Joe McGinnis did intentionally leak this manuscript, then he will have damaged his own career and will deserve the consequences. That would be a shame for all of us as well as a disgrace for him.

    I trust and believe in Jeanne Devon. However, until more provable evidence is announced, I am not going to turn on Joe McGinnis. There may be more to this situation than we, including “our” three authors know. Their attorney had to take these steps quickly, but I bet more research and fact-finding is going on even as we all send in support to Jeanne. We might be better served to wait and see what’s going on if our shared end goal is to expose the Palin trail of corruption. Incompetence and betrayal take many guises.

    The controversy may enhance the sale of all three books, but I have to wonder if something else is afoot. Sorry, but I cannot help but wonder if someone somewhere might have tried to undermine the all criticism. Just ask Keith Olbermann about forged emails and Tucker Carlson. Stranger things have happened. Let’s wait and see if the accounts are legitimate. Just saying, keep an open mind.

    I will buy a copy of Blind Allegiance, that’s a given. Whether I buy Joe’s book is still an open question. I think all three books must be given the light of day. The real point here is to expose the Palins’ wrongdoing, isn’t it? Yes, we want our Jeanne and the other co-authors to receive a fair shake, but that is now a matter of the courts.

    All parties complicit in this breach of copyright should face legal consequences and be shunned by the publishing industry.

    That said, our loyalties to Jeanne should not be blind nor should we lash out blindly. Jeanne Devon is, from our experience, an honorable, intelligent woman, who works hard to earn and deserve our respect and trust. I will not sully her example by prejudging anything or anyone, in part to honor her own respect for the truth even as I wait to denounce anyone who has tried to harm her.

    • Winnie says:

      Well said.

    • Irishgirl says:

      Thank you ks sunflower. I know that cannot have been easy to write and that you probably took a lot of time composing your comment. I agree with you wholeheartedly.

      I trust AKM implicitly, but I do not trust the people behind Palin. I feel they will go to any lengths to discredit this book and others.

      I just feel we need to tread a little carefully until more is known.

  82. Marnie says:

    My loyalty is with AKM. This will be the one and only Sarah book I buy, or CD hopefully

    I have been curious about how readily McGinnis’ name showed up right off the bat as some one who was distributing the Mss, and his is the only name named as an actual distributor.

    In trying to remain open minded, McGinnis is a professional and has to know what kind of trouble he could get in and how badly he could damage his professional reputation and his own sales with a stunt like this.

    It is not unreasonable to assume that Murdoch/Sarah and co. have been trying to get their hands on the mss. If they did, what would they do with it? Could they kill two birds with one stone?

    Everything Typhoid Sarah touches turns to crud. Take your shots AKM et al.

  83. Irishgirl says:

    Colour me confused. This does not seem as if AKM wrote it? AKM is being referred to in the third person?

  84. Blooper says:

    Joe’s credibility was already damaged last year when he claimed that it was only a coincidence that he moved next door to $P. We all knew that was a bs claim and that his proximity to her residence was very purposeful. Now I’m not saying $P was right in her exagerated flailing of the arms and crying wolf but still his claim that his living next door was a complete coincidence revealed a telling flaw in his characters and ability to tell the truth. Still, I was willing to overlook that white lie and believe he was still doing work for the greater good.

    Now with his latest shenanigans Joe has shown his true colors. As an author Joe should have known better than to distribute an unpublished work. My laptop doesn’t have a ‘do not steal’ sign on it but that does not give someone free license to walk away with it. The least he could have done was send a quick email to the authors of the book asking it it was free to distribute. By his action he has sullied his name and reputation by resorting to Palin like tactics. Now it seems like he’s just an author who wants to cash in and bring attention to his name and works by betraying those who had bestowed their trust in him.

    It’s too bad as I was going to buy his book. Not any longer.

    • PA_John says:

      Please …. get off your high horse.

      First, there’s no proof that Joe was the one who leaked the original manuscript. As stated in the ADN, they received it from multiple sources.

      Next, the publicity from this event will likely drive the manuscript to a publisher faster. Given the number of emails that are supposedly revealed, getting the manuscript into the public eye likely saved it from a lengthy legal dispute between the authors and Palin, which could harpoon their efforts to publish.

      Finally, if you are really in the “anti-Palin” crowd, any and all game changing material is needed to expose her, her family, and her associations for the evil they bring to America.

      PA_John

      • Blooper says:

        PA_John:

        I didn’t accuse Joe of leaking the original manuscript. I criticized him for helping to further the circulation of the manuscript. And I think it’s pretty clear by now that he did help to distribute the manuscript.

        Regarding the publicity from this event, there is no way to ascertain at this point how this will affect a possible publishing of this manuscript. Sure, the increased exposure may help this book sell but the problem is that it hasn’t found a publisher yet and releasing it early could put the publishing of this book on hold indefinitely. Hopefully that is not the case but one can’t assume that an early leak will be all beneficial.

        Believe me I am in the anti-Palin crowd but I also think there are lines to be drawn in the tactics used to combat her influence and rhetoric. If you don’t care what tactics you use then you risk being no better than Palin herself. Myself? I do care what tactics are used.

      • jojobo1 says:

        This is not really only an anti palin site not like the S4P is a palin site. AKM is fair and party does not matter as much-as honesty and integrity does.It is informative about everything Alaskan not just the palin heath clan.

        • Blooper says:

          Hi jojobo1, I wasn’t criticizing this site or AKM and I’m not sure where you got that. Of course I know AKM is fair and values integrity above all else, after all I’ve been reading and commenting on this site for 2 and a half years now. This site has a sense of kindness about it that is lacking in some other palin-critical sites and that’s what keeps me coming back time after time. 🙂

    • Sue says:

      I don’t ever recall Joe saying moving next door to SP was a coincidence. He made it very clear he was made an offer he couldn’t refuse by the owner, who had a bone to pick with the Palins.

  85. Southern Yankee says:

    Well Mr. Dunn has a book coming out on Palin I think in April. I pre-ordered on Amazon.com for a kindle. It should be very interesting. I will buy Mr Bailey’s and Mr. McGuiness books. The more you know the better off you can counter the Palin butt kissers.

  86. Southern Yankee says:

    Well Mr. Dunn has a book coming out on Palin I think in April. I pre-ordered on Amazon.com for a kindle. It should be very interesting. I will buy Mr Bailey’s and Mr. McGuiness books. The more you know the better off you can counter the Palin butt kissers.

  87. TNbluedot says:

    OMG! Just waded into the sea of pee… did y’all know our Jeanne is a “Democrat Party extremist”? Well, that’s what the ‘lizard’ fella over there says and we know it must be true! Hahaha! They’re going nuts over the possibility of this book. Too funny!

    Sadly, even when the truth is set before them, those low-info types still won’t believe it.They’re so delusional; one poster even refers to Snowdrift Snooki’s inauguration in 2013. Oy!

  88. HappyPlace says:

    Re: “what WOULD Joe’s motives be?”

    What if he realized his own forthcoming book is nowhere nearly as well sourced? What if Bailey wouldn’t talk to him and he was left to write just another “Palin sucks” tome from a lefty perspective, instead of providing an inside narrative of how things rolled in Palin’s inner sanctum? Supported by Palin’s own words in thousands of emails between herself and Bailey, to which McGinnis didn’t have access? I think the differing value propositions of the two books are thrown starkly into relief, and it doesn’t require a huge leap to surmise that McGinnis realized as much, oh, immediately.

    He clearly views himself as entitled to the franchise when it comes to unflattering Palin portraiture. How dare an Alaskan like Jeanne, who lives down the road from the woman and experiences the fallout of her ascent on a daily basis, embark on a literary project about her? Such matters clearly must be left to our betters in Massachusetts.

    • Ennealogic says:

      “He clearly views himself as entitled to the franchise when it comes to unflattering Palin portraiture.”

      ORLY. Please elaborate, and source this?

      • luckycharms says:

        “Source this?” Seriously? Are you looking for an email from Joe McGinniss that says “I clearly view myself as entitled to the franchise when it comes to unflattering Palin portraiture” before that’s what you think?

        Or might we look at evidence, common sense and past patterns of behavior to come to an intelligent assessment of his motives all on our own?

  89. Alex says:

    There is no excuse for what Joe McGinnis did — and no excuse for what several others (apparently) did as well.

    Let’s hope the damage to this book project can be minimized and that the book is published as soon as practical (and gets lots of attention).

  90. KatieAnnieOakley says:

    From Adn.com:

    “Copies of the manuscript were forwarded around Alaska political circles on Friday.”

    “The Daily News RECEIVED COPIES FROM MULTIPLE SOURCES, the FIRST from author Joe McGinniss, who is working on his own Palin book.”

    http://www.adn.com/2011/02/18/1711185/ex-aide-rips-palin-in-leaked-manuscript.html#ixzz1EcWtzGWU

    Read that again: RECEIVED FROM MULTIPLE SOURCES. They received the book from MULTIPLE sources. Joe’s email was just the first. Sounds like the manucript was SPAMMED to me…

    THINK HARD: who benefits when anti-Palin bloggers start bashing each other… hmmmmmm?

    • fawnskin mudpuppy says:

      agree with you there, kao…
      there is a lot of bashing going around.

      it’s not going to do any of us any good.

    • OMG says:

      Good point.

    • leenie17 says:

      I am also waiting to hear the rest of the story before coming to any conclusions, but it would still be possible for Joe to be the primary leaker. If he sent copies to people, they could have, in turn, sent it on to others, including the Daily News. Since the FIRST one they received was from Joe, the rest of the copies sent to the ADN might also have originated with Joe.

    • luckycharms says:

      Actually it sounds like McGinniss sent to multiple people FIRST, and then some of those he sent it to, sent it to the Daily News.

  91. Mo says:

    Speaking of hacking to mimic someone else’s identity, y’all caught this one over the weekend, yes?

    http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/17/technology/personaltech/17basics.html?src=me&ref=technology

    “Until recently, only determined and knowledgeable hackers with fancy tools and lots of time on their hands could spy while you used your laptop or smartphone at Wi-Fi hot spots. But a free program called Firesheep, released in October, has made it simple to see what other users of an unsecured Wi-Fi network are doing and then log on as them at the sites they visited.”

    Will the real “Joe McGinnis” please stand up?

  92. quarrelous squirrel says:

    The legal eagles will sort this out. Meanwhile, it’s paramount that both these books get into the
    public arena, along with G. Dunne’s – preferably before the pre-election noise begins. I’m not
    jumping to a conclusion as to who is ‘guilty.’ Also, J. McGinniss is an established author with
    enviable credentials, no motive to harm an unknown, first time writer. There’s more to this story
    than we’ve heard. Getting the truth out about SP, IMHO trumps whatever else is going on.

  93. quarrelous squirrel says:

    The legal eagles will sort this out. Meanwhile, it’s paramount that both these books get into the
    public arena, along with G. Dunne’s – preferably before the pre-election noise begins. I’m not
    jumping to a conclusion as to who is ‘guilty.’ Also, J. McGinniss is an established author with
    enviable credentials, no motive to harm an unknown, first time writer. There’s more to this story
    than we’ve heard. Getting the truth out about SP, IMHO trumps whatever else is going on.

  94. ToesInTheSand says:

    My thoughts exactly. Let’s play “pretend”……Let’s say all of these media outlets received an email from “Joe” with the attached manuscript. Let’s say no one double-checked the email addy. Let’s say anyone can make up an email address and make it look like it’s from whoever they want it to be from. Has anyone who received this material sought out the official sender of these emails? Anyone check IP address? Anyone?
    If in fact, Joe DID do this, well shame on him, and let the cards fall where they may.
    I still smell a rat though. If I’m wrong, so be it.
    But I would not put a stunt like this past anyone in the Palin camp or any of her ‘bots.
    BTW, stop by S4P, they are calling our wonderful Ms. Mudflats an extremist and saying this blog has very little traffic. Oh please……
    This entire “outing” of this manuscript seems too contrived. Call me cynical, but……..what WOULD Joe’s motives be? A book of this nature being published would not mean fewer sales for HIM.
    But if I am right, it means his book flops. Wouldn’t that make the Wasilla Witch smile?

    • jojobo1 says:

      I think S4P has very little traffic because no one can say anything unless it is all for palin ,no one can question anything she says or does on that site.

  95. stellans says:

    I won’t put another penny toward any of McGinnis’ writings ever again. If I feel I need to read something he wrote, I’ll borrow it. Period. Shame on him!

  96. TruthSeeker says:

    Boy, this whole leakage situation sure smells of a palinesque strategy: Palin likes to discredit everybody in order to spread confustion (and make herself look good, since she is an empty shell and has nothing positive nor constructive to contribute to society).

    I am now all the more determined to purchase BOTH McGuiness’ and Bailey’s books, plus Dunn’s.

    My deepest disappointment is that it seems no author will broach Wild Ride & Babygate. This too, among her many other offensive actions, is a despicable part of Palin’s legacy – why ignore it?

    I say the more books published that show Palin for just who and what she truly is – the better.

  97. DF says:

    Well, thanks for clearing up that little detail! —-Whaaaaaaaaaat??????!!!!!! A national (no, world known) author sent out copyrighted material?

    I’d make up my OWN magazine company just to publish THIS story!

  98. 24owls says:

    After reading through most of the comments there are a couple of things that seem very odd to me – first – how can Frank let anyone see or use any of the emails until the court has ruled or the Alaskan justice office has released all the emails that the palin administration wrote during that time? If he was an employee of the State and used State computers or palin’s yahoo account to communicate with palin, wouldn’t his emails be under the same release time line as palins? Second – just think for a moment that if Joe sent the manuscipt to everybody via his computer, did he actually sent it or did someone use/hack his computer to make it look like him. I’m not defending Joe but in this computer tech world how can you be sure you anymore. I’ll wait until he comes forward and says something to understand why he did or did not do this. Somehow I think he must be responsible if AKM signed onto a cease and jump off a cliff order.

    • If they are Yahoo account emails, I believe the state ruled somewhere along the way, that state officials can use them and those weren’t considered state records. If they are emails in his possession from the yahoo account, he can use them anyway he wants, I believe.

  99. A fan from CA says:

    Even my local paper had a little blurb about the book. Woohoo!

    I think the most interesting part of the emails may end up being how “it” was vetted and picked by the national R party to run for VP. Frank was in a great position to be the proverbial “fly on the wall” during the whole process. This is an interesting chapter for American history no matter what you think of “that woman”.

    Looking forward to the book tour. Hope it makes a stop in CA. I want an autographed first edition.

  100. MimiC says:

    A few puzzlers:

    Someone sent McGuinness the book. Sounds like someone on your team slipped up or intentially leaked the chapters.

    If Bailey was complicit in some of the illegal and unethical activities, why isn’t he turning information over to governmental authorities, instead of making a buck?

    Not usually so negative on this site, but the quick demonization of McGuinness is not cool.

    • Katmai says:

      I agree. This whole post makes me uncomfortable. It seems like everyone’s dirty laundry is getting aired. This has become a drama with finger pointing, he said she said, confusing tactics. Some things need not be publicized until all the facts are on the table.

    • Katmai says:

      I agree. This whole post makes me uncomfortable. It seems like everyone’s dirty laundry is getting aired. This has become a drama with finger pointing, he said she said, confusing tactics. Some things need not be publicized until all the facts are on the table.

    • Kaiya says:

      McGinniss demonized himself. What is so so hard to understand about that? I think most of us are in shock, but if there is a lesson here, based upon comments like MimiC’s, it is this: People on the left hold on to their heroes just as tight as those Palinbots on the right.

      I was a big fan of Joe’s. But no longer. It is clear Joe is responsible for this wide malicious distribution. He did the same thing 25 years ago. Almost the EXACT same thing with Fatal Vision. Joe has an established mafia-like track record in dealing with his percieved threats. BURY THEM!

      http://www.amazon.com/Journalist-Murderer-Janet-Malcolm/dp/0679731830/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1298271102&sr=8-1

      I will probably not read Joe’s book now as I can no longer separate the author from the art. I will, however, go out of my way to NOT read any online account of the Bailey/Morris/Devon book and wait for my published copy.

    • Nan (aka roswellborn) says:

      Bless you!

      I just read that article and am absolutely determined to get that book when it comes out. And if I’m that determined, I imagine there will soon be publishers lined up to buy the thing (if not already begging!)

    • Irishgirl says:

      Wow.

    • KatieAnnieOakley says:

      Yeeeeeeeesssss….. exactly…..

  101. Paula says:

    Now that he’s read the book, there is no reason he (or anyone) cannot use the information within for their own book – reitterating the ideas and information without actually plaigerizing your work -dates, times, events, and all those damn emails, they are now in the public domain. And it doesn’t appear your work was legally protected in any way to assure it was not distributed.

    I would say who ever your agent is did a piss poor job of protecting your work. Who did he/she send it to? And why would they ever send ot such a huge ms? A great book proposal and some sample chapters is all a publisher asks for or expects. Publishers don’t ask for a complete ms for their review -even a first draft. If they’re interested in a contract, they ask for more.

    And emailing it? In an email? Electronically?Actually, you should have been publisher shopping nine months ago – not this late in the game.

    I think you need to fire your agent. Whoever they are, they are not experienced and have no idea what the hell they ae doing.

  102. Lainey says:

    tell Joe and Frank and Ken…no worries. she is so despised, that people will buy both their books. I know I will. I contribute anything to her permanent downfall.

  103. Suchanut says:

    One phrase keeps rolling around in my head: “Things are seldom what they seem.”

  104. Lilybart says:

    But why did you send a copy to Joe in the first place? Have you answered that yet?

  105. milfaygirl says:

    AKM, I will still buy your book and can’t wait for it to come out. Do you suppose Joe went crazy after living next door to those yahoos? I know I would.

    • michigander says:

      Now that is funny! And the only acceptable excuse for Joe’s behaviour (o:

    • dreamgirl says:

      God forbid the Palin’s ethics have become airborne (ethically challenge virus). It’s possible a strange brew was created with the beautifully toxic Lake Lucille and the wonderfully toxic half-term governor being in close proximity. Who knows?

  106. Jase Chase says:

    Bravo to Mr. Steinbeck for drafting an excellent cease and desist letter. I think that Ken Morris, Frank Bailey and Jeanne Devon should take Joe to the mat!

  107. OMG says:

    Open thread topic (since we do not have one yet):

    Newsweek takes a look at the leaderless GOP:

    http://www.newsweek.com/2011/02/20/wanted-a-gop-savior.html

    “• Sarah Palin Too polarizing and wedded to her grudge-match persona. Grumbles a top Republican: “She’s a media creation.” Besides, they scoff, isn’t she angling for another reality show?”

    • Zyxomma says:

      Best paragraph, IMO, from the article:

      “The GOP has always handed the nomination to the next old guy in line (John McCain, Bob Dole, Ronald Reagan); or the vice president (Richard Nixon, George H.W. Bush); or a close relative (George W.). But after the Tea Party’s rise, says historian Richard Norton Smith, “A party that doesn’t speak with one voice is unlikely to be able to anoint a consensus candidate. And part of it is you’ve got a bunch of retreads.””

      Forgive me, but I read quickly, and thought the last word was “retards.”

  108. Kimosabe says:

    Um I highly doubt that Bailey et al are scratching around to find a publisher. With an explosive book like this the would-be publishers are probly fighting tooth and nail to get it, whoe the authors and their agent play them against each other to get the best deal. Well, at least I hope so.

    • Lilybart says:

      The book biz is so bad that a book like this that has a ready made audience, should easily find a publisher, as long as the publisher is not connected to the Murdock empire or any other corporate entitity.

  109. Jase Chase says:

    I love their lawyer. Way to go. Take Joe to the mat!

  110. OMG says:

    While the leak was not desired it may just have provided the buzz needed to not only publish the manuscript but send it to the Best Seller’s list. I know that I’ll be buying it! Whoever ultimately is responsible for the leak might have actually benefited the project rather than hurt it. At least I hope so as I can not wait to get my hands on a copy.

    • Lilybart says:

      Very possible the leak shows how large the audience is for this book.

      • KatieAnnieOakley says:

        BINGO. Hubs used to work in publishing world. That is EXACTLY what this is. It also is based on emails from Palin herself; remember, her emails are STILL IN LITIGATION is Alaska; publishers MUST tread lightly and verify, verify, verify.

        • Lilybart says:

          I think his emails are his. I don’t send an email with any expectation of privacy. The forward button is right there.

  111. Cassie Jeep says:

    It seems pivotal to me to discern who, exactly, leaked the manuscript to Mr. McGinness in the first place.

    Any distribution subsequent to his receipt of it, while actionable, could not have occurred without that leak.

    Who’s the mole?

    • London Bridges says:

      Was the menuscript sent to a Murdoch owned book publisher?

    • KatieAnnieOakley says:

      Murdoch has moles all over NYC; I think this was a concerted effort to get the book a publisher and create BUZZ at the same time. Murdoch would seek to bury it if his organizations were to get hold of it.

      • jojobo1 says:

        I disagree with that I think he and the palins them selves would love to discredit this sitwe any way they could because people see AKM is fair

  112. pvazwindy says:

    Let’s not forget the agent in this mess, Carol Mann.

  113. London Bridges says:

    Since there is no 2/21 open thread yet:

    More Wisconsin vomit inducing sleeze from the Koch zombified scum brothers:

    This really has to be stopped. Now!

    http://www.buzzflash.net/story.php?id=1298813

  114. Ennealogic says:

    Steinbeck – Van Flein…

    Sorry, publishing this letter sounds just like something Palin would do.

  115. London Bridges says:

    I’m willing to defer making judgement. It almost seems like an attempt by the Palin sleezoes to discredit Mr. McGinnis.

    However, Joe has a history. (From WIKIPedia)

    His 1983 account of the Jeffrey MacDonald murder case, Fatal Vision, was a best-seller. MacDonald sued McGinniss in 1984, alleging that McGinniss pretended to believe MacDonald innocent after he came to the conclusion that MacDonald was guilty, in order to continue MacDonald’s cooperation with him. After a six-week civil trial that resulted in a hung jury, McGinniss’s publisher’s insurance company chose to settle out of court with MacDonald for an undisclosed amount.

  116. pvazwindy says:

    I want to hear an explanation from Joe, then I’ll ponder my thoughts.

  117. scout says:

    Color me naïve, but I am shocked at this betrayal. I can only hope that this will somehow work out to make “Blind Allegiance to Quittypants, A Memoir of Our Tumultuous Years” an international #1 bestseller! (my sic, my keyboard refuses to type that name)

  118. beaglemom says:

    Well, I for one “smell a rat.” With lots of books about to come out that are sure to be critical of Sarah Palin, why not start a fight among the various authors? I just read on Politicalgates that the Carol Mann Agency had sent out manuscript copies of the Bailey book by email in the process of shopping for a publisher. If this is actually what happened, it shows pretty poor security on the part of the literary agency. Given the nasty world we live in, I’d hand deliver the copies along with warnings of what might result legally from handing around bogus copies. Frankly I have become so cynical that I think there are machinations afoot to derail any and all books that will be critical of Sarah Palin.

    • jojobo1 says:

      I’m with you on that one beaglemom Look at all the GOP did up there i Alaska to get rid of anything that might make the palin heath family look bad. I am sure they know how to hack palin sure did at one time.

  119. michigander says:

    AKM and Mr. Morris – Thank you for sharing this with us.

  120. Sharon says:

    Well, that’s a wrap for me. If Joe did this I will not buy his book – the same way I refused to buy any of the quitter’s silly books. But this is inexcusable for any professional and I think I see his book tanking. Oh, I was going to buy it – you betcha! Not now. I hope you’re reading these comments Joe cause you need to know what a low life thing you did and how you’ve just trashed your credibility and reputation. Really? Was it worth it ?? Are you kidding?? What an ass.

    • Lilybart says:

      Total BS that leaking this book makes it hard to sell. If anything, the publishers before this, might not have seen the value. They do now.

      nothing is compromised unless there is nothing of interest in this book but the few leaked passages

      • LaniN says:

        Leaking the book makes it hard to sell if it’s already available for free all over the ‘net.

    • Kilia says:

      Neither of those links work very well, Paul.

    • michigander says:

      Thanks for sharing – they are informative and the 1rst doesn’t give any excerpts for those that don’t want to know anything.

      I read both when they came out and they certainly didn’t deter me from planning to buy the book as soon as it comes out.

      I don’t get the commenters who refuse to read, I’m supporting and buying the book regardless of leaks.

      Many readers want the book in hand – or maybe I am just old?

      Hopefully I am not a dying breed – we still do books for holiday gifts after paperbacks and movies! I even get beaming grandkids faces for hardcopies of their favorites (o:

  121. ToesInTheSand says:

    Personally, I am going to reserve judgement until I hear the other side of the story. When I 1st read Joe’s name connected to this leak in a few news stories, my 1st instinct was to think: “I smell a Palin camp rat”. It wouldn’t surprise me to think that someone in that group tied Joe’s name into all of this to stir this up.
    If in fact Joe DID do the deed, well…..I will be very disappointed. I am still going to wait for his response. I imagine Ms. Palin is smiling as all of this comes down.

    • Nan (aka roswellborn) says:

      My first reaction was “that doesn’t sound like Joe McGinnis, or what I know of him, at least.”

      Well said.

  122. Attagirl says:

    Please…..get your book published ASAP…we need it more than ever now.

  123. GoI3ig says:

    I hope Frank can still round up a publisher. I want to read the whole thing, not just a few leaked snippets.

    • tigerwine says:

      Why, with a hot story like this, is it so hard to find a publisher?

      • KatieAnnieOakley says:

        Because it is based on Palin’s own emails, and her state emails as Gov are STILL IN LITIGATION…

        • the problem child says:

          Ah, but these are the ones the State doesn’t have. These are from the personal accounts (the avoiding disclosure accounts).

          • KatieAnnieOakley says:

            I know that. But they MAY contain cross-server communications. That’s the problem… and email c.c’d to both the state and personal accounts.

        • TexasLawyer says:

          No, the Palin emails are not in litigation. The State’s lawyers are currently reviewing them and redacting stuff. It’s taking forever.

  124. hauksdottir says:

    Many of you are asking how McGuinness got the manuscript. It seems pretty obvious to me. Perhaps not correct, but obvious.

    Every time you buy a book, it has “blurbs” on it from published writers of similar works, from authorities, or from noted critics. Most of the advertising copy is praise from other authors. They have to have read the book (or ought to have read it) before putting their professional reputation on the line. This takes time: to read, consider, and write… sometimes two sentences is harder than a whole chapter.

    My feeling is that the lawyers and authors know exactly who sent McGuinness the manuscript. (Note that the lawyer’s letter does not ask him for this information.) I suspect that the agent or one of her assistants or associates sent McGuinness the manuscript, thinking that he’d review it and supply a comment.

    Authors do these favors for each other, even though they are competitors, because positive advertising helps all of them. Very few people buy one book on a subject. If they are interested, readers will get everything they can get their hands on, even or especially if the topic is controversial.

    Furthermore, writing a blurb helps bolster an author’s own reputation. S/he is giving an opinion, AND it is splashed all over the cover… AS A BIG NAME HOT SHOT EXPERT, whose opinion actually matters. It is an honor to be asked.

    I might be wrong, but I think McGuinness got the manuscript through legitimate channels, and badly abused the trust given to him.

    In any case, all of us with copyrighted material understand the value of intellectual property and the nature of copyright. We know that work is automatically copyrighted by law. It does not need a circle-c or certificate from the Copyright Office (although that does help with claims for certain damages). It does not need a Top Secret stamp on each page. It does not need an accompanying letter of confidentiality. We KNOW that unpublished material is confidential. Period.

    Note to Jeanne:

    I once had to get an expedited copyright (it cost about $500 extra) because my thief was particularly unscrupulous… just saying.

    • Sheesh says:

      Thanks for clarifying that. That would certainly explain Joe McGuinness receiving a copy to assist the authors in shopping their manuscript around.

      What still eludes me though is why McGuinness would leak this. Would it not hurt his credibility (as it already appears to have done so)? If anything, if I were McGuinness and worried that yet another researched book on SP misdeeds was on the horizon I would move up my publishing date quickly and get my work out there.

      It’s true that if people truly have an strong interest in a subject that they’ll purchase all the material thats out there but there’s also a reason to expect that at some point the material becomes repetitive and stale and multiple subsequent books become less relevant.

      BTW, an order can only be issued by the court. Mr. McGuinness likely has his own attorneys who will advise him not to supply a list of recipients he has allegedly sent this manuscript to if any.

      I await a response from Mr. McGuinness and I suspect that this will end up in court.

  125. Diane says:

    Honestly.
    If this is a problem and you cannot find a publisher.
    Go to a copy store and start making copies of the finished book.
    All your loyal readers and all the other liberal bloggers will buy it from you guys.
    Cut out the middleman.

    We will start a Wisconsin style revolution for your guys chanting “Buy the book”!

    • Lilybart says:

      There are internet publishing options if no publisher will take this, but I don’t believe for a minute there isn’t a publisher for this. Books don’t sell now except for political books and self help diet books.

      IF Bailey really wants this all out, there are many ways. If this is a reason for him to chicken out, let’s hope that is not what is going on.

  126. tigerwine says:

    I’m in the minority for sure here! I plan to buy both books, and Andrew Sullivan’s, too! Even considering suggesting both books to read in my book club in tandem and compare.

    I really don’t believe that Mr. McGinniss passed along this book in order to swell the sale of his own.
    Both books will be from widely different prospectives: an inside view from the gov’t end of things, and the day to day stuff that the Palins pulled both inside and outside government.

    We shouldn’t jump to conclusions until we hear from the other side. Just think how SP is celebrating over this Brough-ha-ha about her former neighbor!

    • dreamgirl says:

      I agree. I’m a fence sitter patiently waiting publication of the three books. As you mentioned “the widely different prospectives” will be wildly interesting.

      Here’s to wishing a fine and speedy publishing deal for Bailey, Morris and our dear AKM.

  127. Gindy52 says:

    I for one am more than willing to wait until the other party to this fiasco speaks out. I have learned that when dealing with ANYTHING Palin related, it is wise to withhold any judgment until all the facts are in.

    • Irishgirl says:

      Yes, I’ve just been thinking of that. It suddenly dawned on me that the Palin clan might have had a hand in trying to destroy both books. For the life of me I can’t understand why McGinnis would do this. It would only destroy his reputation.

      We’ll have to wait and see.

      • Irishgirl says:

        Having said that, I have great faith in AKM’s integrity. I don’t believe that she would allow this letter to be posted on her blog unless she was pretty certain of the culprit.

        It is all so confusing and disappointing.

      • yukonbushgrma says:

        Yep, Irish … I’ve been thinkin’ that all along. Something smells stinky …

    • Nan (aka roswellborn) says:

      Thank you!

      We’ve ALL forwarded something along that someone has sent to us with no more thought as to who wrote it than… well, no thought about it at all.

      I also read at the ADN site that they’d received it from several sources besides (and after) McGinnis’ email..

      We haven’t yet heard from McGinnis, nor do we know who sent it to him originally.

      We know better than to assume the worst until all the facts are in, until all parties are heard from. Innocent until proven guilty and all that.

      Gindy52 is 100% correct. This is the Palins, after all.

    • johnny says:

      I wonder how they verified that the email was actually that of Joe McGinnis. There’s something missing in the story, it just doesn’t make sense. But I can see that it would benefit McGinnis to get this other book out sooner, but it will benefit the authors, too. Although not having seen the books, I assumed they are very different. From the columns I read of Dunn in Huffpo, I would say that he is the one (authors of the 3 books) that doesn’t verify everything. Anyway I hope Jeanne and the other authors either find a publisher, or get it out self-published, but soon. Once Mrs. Palin announces she isn’t running, then local books will have less draw, as troopergate and Palin’s antics as short term, part time gov, will be too historical for the national audience.

      • Rationalist says:

        This makes sense to me. Is there any chance Palin commissioned this to discredit both you folks and McGuiness?

    • Sher says:

      I agree with you Gindy52. It’s more than disappointing if this is what happened (and right now, it seems that it did). I started to go cancel my order to Joe’s book and then I thought, “No, the other party deserves a say in this, too”. I just can’t understand why a best-selling author that certainly knows the ramifications would do such a thing. We’ll see.

    • ValleyIndependent says:

      Good advice. As noted earlier on this thread, the Palin camp would like nothing better than for the opposition to tear each other to shreds and discredit themselves in the process.

  128. Ripley in CT says:

    And the mighty dollar rears its ugly head. Shame on you, Joe. You sold your soul. And to think that these people trusted you. You’re off the island, now. The tribe has spoken.

    Joe, your book might contain the smoking gun, but unfortunately, I’ll never read it because it’s dirty now. Mess with the Mudflats, suffer the consequences.

    Thank you Mr. Morris. And lawyer. Let’s hope that this answers some of the “they did it on purpose” questions.

  129. El Jefe says:

    Sorry motherf**ker. Kick his a**.

    • bubbles says:

      he shouldna messed with AKM and her pups. this means war Joe McG! when AKM started the ‘Flats someone, i forget who now, said that Mudpups were like ‘no see ums’. or annoying little bugs who swarm and bite and torture their prey. you Joey McG are now prey.
      seriously. i am very sorry for this betrayal. it is never easy to get over the hurt of being let down by someone you trust. you broke bread with this man. you introduced him to friends and family and your beloved pups defended him when Mz Palin called him a creep and a degenerate; and when Todd put up a fence we all laughed and said they were wrong to do so. well. i might as well say it……. BLAST! @@#$%^& ratfink son of a scroungy *())^^$%#!!!. and further more…… ^^$#@_++^&&^$$%
      there. that’s better.

    • bubbles says:

      i’ ll hold your coat sugar.

    • Ripley in CT says:

      el Jefe! Reporting for duty! lol…. those were the days, huh? The Angels in CT….and NYC, too!

      the thing here for me is this: Clearly, the book or parts of it, were not meant to be shared with media. Media is saying that Joe M. shared with them. That’s just unscrupulous. He’s an author. I’m sure there is an unwritten code about these things. He had no reason to share what he had, even is his intentions were not sinister. It’s too bad that he got ahold of the manuscript in whatever way he did. Hindsight is 20/20, they say. Now, Mr. Morris, Mr. Bailey and AKM have to rein it all back in. That’s not gonna happen. Well, I say, now that the cat’s out of the bag, so to speak, let’s have it all. Get it published ASAP. I know I want to get my grubby little paws on it!

      I’m sorry this drama happened to you, AKM. You do not deserve any of it. And you know beyond a doubt, that you have friends all over the country who believe in you. You’re one of the best people I think I have ever met.

      All the “regulars” here, do not be goaded into any sort of speculation. Trust that AKM has the truth and we’ll know it if we are meant to.
      Though “they” might be right: you might just be an “extremist”. LOL

  130. Irishgirl says:

    What a bummer. I was really hoping that it wasn’t Joe M. I’m so disappointed in him. He needs to speak up and set the record straight. I can’t understand why he did it as his own book would have sold anyway. As it is, people are now cancelling their orders.

    While I enjoyed reading some of the snippets released early on Friday (thinking at the time that it was a publicity stunt), I would much rather have had the pleasure of one day awakening to the surprise of a published book.

    I can’t even begin to imagine how AKM/Bailey/Morris must have felt to have their work leaked liked this after all their hard work.

    Please find a publisher soon, AKM. I will be buying several of your books.

    • jimzmum says:

      I feel the same way. I am saddened by this. I hope he speaks up and tells the truth about why he did this. Going to cancel my order now for his book.

  131. blue_in_AK says:

    This is so disappointing after the trust all of you put in this man. I can’t believe he would do such a thing. Does he have any explanation for this breach of ethics? It wouldn’t seem to do his career any good to be known as a copyright violator. I certainly won’t be buying his book if it turns out that he is indeed the culprit.

  132. Wow. No matter what Joe’s reason is for sending on a manuscript that wasn’t his own, I won’t ever think of him as ethical or honest enough to warrent spending any of my money to read anything he writes. I don’t care where he got it or whether or not there was a confidentiality clause, as an author, he knows better than to distribute someone else’s work.

    This reminds me of when the entire last Harry Potter book was put on line a few days before it went on sale. I could have looked, but I chose not to. In fact, I remember pretty much staying off the internet and shutting off the TV whenever they started talking about it. And I bought my book at midnight with everyone else.

    I don’t understand why some people have no respect for authors and their intellectual property. And to have an author disrespect other authors in this manner is so wrong. Any respect I had for Joe McGinnis is gone and any desire I had to read his work has evaporated.

    I haven’t looked for any of the leaked passages of “Blind Allegiance”, nor will I. If I come across it accidentally, I won’t read it. I’ll wait for the real book, printed and copyrighted and published as it should be.

    Hang in there, you have more support than you can imagine.

    • Kath the Scrappy says:

      Pat says: “..If I come across it accidentally, I won’t read it. I’ll wait for the real book, printed and copyrighted and published as it should be.”

      Same here! I have no interest reading anything of this book (no matter how long I have to wait) except the REAL DEAL! Published & copyrighted, with the authors acknowledged! Then, I plan on buying extras for family & friends.

      • dowl says:

        …especially because your (and my) family, friends, acquaintances thought we were crazy when we articulately responded in the negative to the crazy that is Mrs. Todd Palin.

        • bubbles says:

          no kidding Dowl. my family almost duck taped me to a chair and had me delivered to Bellevue. sheesh.

      • jc in co says:

        that would be “rill dill” Kath.

  133. R.M. says:

    Don’t worry, be happy! I am still planning on buying your book! This is the first time I’ve heard of it!

    What I want to know is this: what does Sarah Palin have to gain if all you authors of books about her are fighting? Hmmmmm?

  134. AKjah says:

    OK seems to be the question. How did Mr McGuinness get the manuscript?

  135. Quetzalcoatl says:

    just glancing at mcgin’s wiki page…it’s sadly almost predictable.

    so… mcgin, having read the latest from ken, frank and jeanne-all the hard evidence of emails…the amount of work they put into it, clearly, he had squat in comparison.

    it wouldn’t be his first time settling out of court nor would giving back that advance on his own grifter piece.

    sue. he betrayed a trust, aside from breaching copyright, pretty unforgivable.

    yes, please, may we have that story behind the story?

    thank you all in advance for your much anticipated book.

    when jeanne was identified a year or so ago, she carried on.

    a leaked manuscript? pshaw, that aint nuthin!

  136. mommom says:

    While it is certainly against copyright law to have distributed the copies,and I am sure it puts stress and pressure on the authors,I am pretty darn sure they will not be losing any interest in or money from this book.I know dozens of people who can’t wait to get their hands on a copy because of this publicity.And I am a stuck at home disabled grandma.I imagine if I was still out working I would know hundreds interested.

  137. SME131 says:

    I find it hard to believe there was a disclaimer attached when Joe M got the transcript. He knows copyright law quite well and I seriously doubt he would have leaked it – especially using his own name. It makes sense he would share it openly under his own name if in fact as previous reports state there was no disclaimer.

    I think the real culprit is whoever sent it out without a disclaimer and they are attempting top cover their own ass.

    All in all the press this is getting will not only secure a publisher for your book but also peak interest with the public.

    • beth says:

      Devil’s advocate here…. Whether there was a disclaimer attached to it -*or not*- is rather beside the point, no?

      If you find a wallet laying on the ground, do you pick it up and distribute the contents to people you think might be ‘interested’ in those contents? Or do you contact the owner and say: “Whoa, do you know where your wallet is?” Ethics and integrity would dictate the latter. McGuinness *chose* to do the former; he violated a trust extended to authors for *their* intellectual property.

      *Unless* he can prove someone *else* used his email account to transmit the draft manuscript, he deliberately and willfully violated that trust; as an author, himself, there is *no* excuse for such an egregious lapse in judgement and professionalism. beth.

      • Jen in SF says:

        Well put, Beth.

      • leenie17 says:

        As an author with several books and many years of publishing experience behind him, Joe should have know the process. If something came across his desk without the proper legal paperwork, he should have realized it right away and contacted someone to alert them of the leak. Since he spent a lot of time in Alaska to write his own book, it would certainly be easy for him to find out how to contact the authors, if he didn’t already know them.

        I hope there is an explanation that we have not yet heard but the whole situation is unfortunate for everyone. With the collaboration of Palin’s close associate and thousands of emails as documentation, this book seems to be the most potentially damaging to the Palin mystique. I hope this all gets sorted out and that our own AKM and the others involved in this book receive appropriate compensation for all of their their hard work.

    • Martha says:

      If there were no disclaimer, even a lay person would wonder WHY.

      ALL Joe had to do is pick up the phone or e-mail the author.

      Joe knows these people so you would THINK he would have concern for them author to author.

      I don’t know why folks don’t understand this.

      If Joe is so “innocent” why hasn’t he said anything?

      This reminds me of my cousin, who bought her husband a beautiful leather briefcase for his birthday.

      There were two briefcases in the store , one black, one brown, same make, one was on sale for 50% off because it didn’t have a key.

      Someone in the store had inadvertently put the sale price tag on the briefcase WITH the key.

      She knew this and bought it without saying a word and never to this day regards this as “doing anything wrong”.

      You cannot claim innocence when you know better and Joe has been around long enough to know that this made no more sense than a 50% off sale on the briefcase with key compared to a full price on a useless briefcase without a key.

      • learningcurve says:

        Why was it passed along to him? Who else leaked the book? Why isn’t everyone in a tizzy about the other leaks?

        • Nan (aka roswellborn) says:

          Very good question. Here’s hoping that gets addressed (sometime soon, hopefully!)

        • Martha says:

          They ARE……….read the this post, the letter did not go JUST to Joe!

          Jeanne assisted Joe considerably when he was in Alaska and promoted him on her blog.

  138. Canadian Country Girl says:

    Just adding my voice in support. Time will tell, but I’d like to believe that the integrity that is behind the writing of this book will see it through. It WILL be published / made available in a legitimate way, and the sales will soar. Timing is everything. Wait and see if I’m not right. I am banking in it being a huge success – in more ways than just financially. My best to the writers. Now they have a book within a book / or a second book. Looking forward to purchasing many copies and advertising it through all my contacts.

  139. Jay says:

    As terrible as it must be to wake up to news that your work’s been distributed illegally (I cringe even writing that), the people who know this site are out there turning a negative into a positive, talking up the manuscript and its authors. Once the process unfolds, this book will find a home and make a splash in the market. It sounds like one of a kind.

  140. Lori in Los Angeles says:

    I am confused (and disappointed, of course). The Joe McGiniss book would be a likely best seller – with or without Frank Bailey’s book. Joe is a time-tested best selling author, and Bailey’s book (as an insider and with real e-mail correspondence) will be gobbled up as well.
    I am just baffled that Joe would think that Bailey’s book would somehow take away from Joe’s own.
    The silence from Joe M. is deafening – awaiting to hear the WHY of all this.
    I wanted to believe that the leak was a brilliant publicity move by Bailey/Devon/Morris – to find out that it is a betrayal is shocking.

  141. Moose Pucky says:

    So, how did the manuscript get unlawfully distributed to Joe? And why? And why did he spread it around?

    Sometimes, there is nothing a publisher likes better than controversy to get a jump start on the marketing angle. Perhaps there will be some silver linings in this dark cloud?

    • trishSWFL says:

      That’s what I wonder too. How did Joe get it? WHO did this?

    • SpillTheBeansAlaska says:

      Finally, some one asks question #1. WHO sent it to McGinniss? The authors sent it out in good faith to someone who needed to read it. My first thought would be their agent – and if that’s the case, they really have been betrayed.

      • PollyinAK says:

        You know how the back cover of books and sometimes the first page of the book has a list of quotes from people (news people and other authors) who have “reviewed” the book? I think that the agent of Bailey’s book, was in search of “reviews” from other authors and news media before publication and printing the book cover.

    • learningcurve says:

      As far as I can determine the object of this post is to trash McGinniss, not to ask or answer the logical and obvious questions.

      Whose tactics does this remind anyone of?

  142. Casandra says:

    I wanted to read everything about Snosnooki by all resources. Shame McGinniss had to pull such a bone headed move. It’s important that this comes to the light of day, which is the best disinfectant.

  143. Rationalist says:

    This whole scenario is very disappointing. Between the Palingates breakup and this, the credibility of those of us who want to expose Sarah Palin is suffering. Very sad.

    • dreamgirl says:

      I fail to see how credibility suffers when a book is well documented and written.

      I am not sad as the Bailey, Morris and AKM book will be published someway, somewhere, somehow to great acclaim

      This book is greatly anticipated and will be purchased and read far and near regardless of the publisher and I can not wait.

  144. Hope says:

    Actually it was the leaks that got me curious about the book. Free advertising!!! I don’t think it hurts anything and drums up more interest. Hope (no pun) that you’ll all work it out. Haven’t been here for awhile and came back to see if there was more info on the book and potential publisher. The book could be added to your site if all fails.

    • Lilybart says:

      Very possible the agent leaked this for interest from publishers. Don’t think all the details are known.

      • CO almost native says:

        I agree. I hope someone sorts this out soon- and doesn’t get dragged on and on through the courts.

  145. Village Reader says:

    This is really disappointing and I hope that it was all a HUGE mistake and Mr. McGinnis has a logical explanation. Although, there probably isn’t, which makes it worse.

    I think a part of my disappointment (some anger) has to do with how nice people here on the blogs and within Alaska, have treated him and he repaid that courtesy with betrayal. He didn’t backstab just anyone but an Alaskan, one of ours. Shame on him.

    • seattlefan says:

      I find it interesting that he hasn’t made a statement. That is very telling. His silence on this speaks volumes. If he has a rational explanation it should be made.

      • Millie says:

        I wonder who gave the manuscript to McGinniss? I’m sure there is a lot going on behind the scene from his end of things too. Legally? Protecting the source? Again, what a mess!

  146. Katmai says:

    One question. Why would you title this piece after words spoken by that ignoramus (SP)? say it ain’t so Joe ???? Somehow it’s all starting to lose it’s meaning.

    • A fan from CA says:

      The saying comes from some famous movie line I think. Anyone know the original reference?

      • beth says:

        It was made to Shoeless Joe Jackson…major league bb player who was part of the “Black Sox Scandal”. beth.

        ““““““““““““`
        (although I hate using wikipedia as a ‘source’…)

        [snip]
        In testimony before the grand jury on September 28, 1920, Jackson admitted under oath that he agreed to participate in the fix. Contemporary news accounts contend that Jackson told the grand jury:[16]

        “ When a Cincinnati player would bat a ball out in my territory I’d muff it if I could — that is, fail to catch it. But if it would look too much like crooked work to do that I’d be slow and make a throw to the infield that would be short. My work netted the Cincinnati team several runs that they never would have had if we had been playing on the square. ”

        No such direct quote or testimony to this effect appears in the actual stenographic record of Jackson’s grand jury appearance.[17]

        However, Jackson did admit to receiving a cash payment of $5,000 ($85,651 in current dollar terms) and that he had been originally promised a $20,000 ($342,604 in current dollar terms) bribe. Legend has it that as Jackson was leaving the courthouse during the trial, a young boy begged of him, “Say it ain’t so, Joe,” and that Jackson did not respond. In an interview in SPORT nearly three decades later, Jackson contended that this story was a myth.[18] A contemporary press account does refer to an exchange of Jackson with young fans outside of the Chicago grand jury hearing on September 28:

        When Jackson left criminal court building in custody of a sheriff after telling his story to the grand jury, he found several hundred youngsters, aged from 6 to 16, awaiting for a glimpse of their idol. One urchin stepped up to the outfielder, and, grabbing his coat sleeve, said:
        “It ain’t true, is it, Joe?”

        “Yes, kid, I’m afraid it is,” Jackson replied. The boys opened a path for the ball player and stood in silence until he passed out of sight.

        “Well, I’d never have thought it,” sighed the lad.[19]

        Regardless of whether Jackson’s exchange with the shocked young fan was a true historical event or a fabrication by a sensationalist journalist, the “Say It Ain’t So” story remains an oft-repeated and well-known part of baseball lore. [/snip]

        Full write-up, here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shoeless_Joe_Jackson

    • dowl says:

      The movie ‘Eight Men Out’ is the reference–Shoeless Joe Jackson, Chicago White Sox (called the Black Sox scandal because Shoeless was thought to have thrown the 1919 game when baseball was relatively new as the the national pasttime). Based on a true baseball scandal.

    • Kimosabe says:

      “Say it ain’t so, Joe” is a modern equivilent of “et tu, Brute?”. It is very apt here.

    • PurpleAlaska says:

      I wholeheartedly agree . . . there’s a dead fish on the line here somewhere and the hype is all-too-convenient. How was Joe ever in possession of the fabled manuscript?

      Something is missing in the details here ~ and again, one, sarah palin wiggles free.

      Disappointment all around in the whole finger-pointing saga and the manner in which it has transpired.

      Say it ain’t so, sarah.

      • yukonbushgrma says:

        …still makes me wonder if $P or her cronies didn’t have a hand in this somehow.

        just guessin’ ….

  147. Lee323 says:

    I’ll just repeat my comment from three days ago on the news of the leak:

    “Compared to Bailey’s “insider” status, I suspect that McGinnis’s book will be a poor cousin, several times removed….and nobody probably knows that better than Joe McGinnis.”

    Yep.

  148. Katmai says:

    This whole thing is toooo weird. Confusing. I just want her to be over with as soon as possible. Don’t really care who brings the goods to do it. Just please get it over with.

  149. carol wolfe says:

    Jeanne,
    I was contemplating buying a copy of Joe mcGinness book—but no longer. I IMPLORE you to find an editor for Frank Bailey’s book as I plan to buy a couple of copies of this book. and this will be the only book that I plan to purchase. I am very disappointed in Joe’s lack of ethics. ANd that is putting it mildly. Jaded is more like it. Does anybody care about ethics and doing the right thing these days–it does not appear that way. It seems like our society and its members have lost any moral compass–a sense of right and wrong. This is sooo disturbing. It makes you wonder who to trust.
    With that said however, I am going to trust you Jeanne to do the right thing and I look forward to the publishing of this book. Good luck and blessings to you and Frank Bailey and the other folks involved in this endeavor.

  150. seattlefan says:

    Oh my….what a mess! And what a shame! It saddens me that all of this only gives Ms. Quittypants more strength as the ultimate victim. I hope this book makes it and look forward to buying and reading it. Too bad the kiss of Palin has descended upon this project and by that I mean it is all f*cked up. AKM, Mr. Morris and Mr. Bailey….I hope this leak is vindicated and your book will indeed be published with HUGE sales. So sad 🙁

    • laprofesora says:

      Yes, I hope it is published SOON! I have an Amazon gift card I’m itching to use. Of all three Paylin books, this is the one I want to read most.

      PS It’s a shame about the leak, but it really convinced me that this is THE book to read.

  151. beth says:

    Yowzers! Joe McGuinness, huh…

    A “cease and desist” notice means he can’t continue to pass the draft manuscript around, right? – *that* is easy enough to understand (maybe not so much to check if he’s in compliance with the order, or not, though.)

    But what about the “additionally” part — in receiving the notice, is he now *legally* obligated to “provide a full list of the parties to whom you distributed the Work” to the authors? Is there a provide the list ‘by date’ to it, or can he just carry on pretty much as he wants and ignore that demand all together? beth.

    • barbara says:

      i’m not sure but my guess is that will be up to a judge if he declines to do so voluntarily.

      • StElias says:

        Agreed. I’m not a barrister, but bet that Steinbeck’s letter is just that, a letter destined for the dead letter file.

        It might have provided evidence of an honest attempt toward mediation of the issue before legal hostilities develop. Unfortunately, the harsh accusatory language utilized throughout the letter defeats that.

        Looks to me like, someone is going to have to spend some bucks and get a Justice of the Peace to issue a restraining order and evidentiary request, before this means any more than diddly.

  152. PollyinAK says:

    You know how it is a proven fact that when there are competitive fast food joints in the same area, sales increase for all? I say that is true for good books too. McGinnis’ book is based on personal interviews of people who know Sarah, her background, her rise to power so to speak. It seems both books compliment each other. There is no reason for McGinnis to feel threatened. This makes no sense, so yes, whatever is it, it must be “disturbing” indeed.

    • beth says:

      I’m going to go out on a limb and be snippy here… When you consider all the times the McGuinness book’s pub date has been extended (and extended and extended!), you kinda have to wonder if there’s any ‘book’ to be published. Has writer’s block set in, big time? The literary equivalent of flop sweat? Panic? beth.

      • Nan (aka roswellborn) says:

        I think it was Geoffrey Dunn’s book that has been postponed time and again. I know that whoever it is, there’s a general consensus that it’s going to have to be a multi volume effort at the rate he’s going (and at the rate SP keeps putting her foot in her mouth)

  153. StElias says:

    Well, I’m all ears. Doesn’t really make sense that Joe would distribute this, i.e. little to gain and a lot to lose, for him, if found out. But assuming he did sole source leak it, it still doesn’t make sense that he would do so in such an overt manner.

    There must be more to this part: “Between February 16, 2011 and February 18, 2011 you were the recipient of an unlawfully distributed version of the Work. Although you knew that the Work was (i) distributed to you in strict confidence,”

    Likewise, I’m not into the multi-multi party conspiracy theory stuff voiced either. Must be a mundane explanation lurking out there.

    Stay tuned.

    • Nan (aka roswellborn) says:

      … second the motion.

    • giddyup says:

      I’m not buying this at the moment either and I won’t jump to conclusions. Think I’ll just wait to see what comes out in the days to come. Just doesn’t sound like something an experienced author would do to a fellow author. We shall see.

    • tigerwine says:

      My question is: How did Joe get it? Who had it to give?

    • johnny says:

      I’m a fence sitter here…need to know more of the story from his point of view. It just seems too blatant and ridiculous for him to overtly connect his name to the distribution. I’ll buy both books.

    • Fairbanksy says:

      The statement does not say what evidence leads to the conclusion that McGinniss is the culprit.

    • omomma says:

      Yep, me too. I don’t understand what Mcginniss would gain here. Loss of credibility is substantial.

      • Laurie says:

        My only thought regarding why he might have done this (if he in fact did it) is if he was courting Frank Baily as a source for his our book and Frank pulled out of something McGinnis might have felt like was some kind of agreement. That’s just my guess about what might motivate someone to intentionally harm the value and potential sales of anothers work. I know that the truth will come out in good time.

    • ValleyIndependent says:

      I agree. It looks like there is more to this story. In any case, I am looking forward to an official release of the Bailey/Morris/Devon book. It sounds like an interesting read. I’m also still curious to see what McGinniss and Dunn have come up with.

      The advantage to the Bailey book is that it may be the only way to get copies of the public records known as Sarah’s emails that her administration and the Parnell administration have kept delaying the release of, and I bet Bailey’s got a bunch from the yahoo account, too, which is the only way we’ll get to see those. Those yahoo accounts should never have been created, and I’m disgusted that she was not instructed to turn over all correspondence in them as soon as their existence was made known to the public. The fact that she created them in the first place says much about her lack of ethics.

  154. LibertyLover says:

    What a shame.

    The universe provides more than enough room for everyone. Both books could have been very marketable and not necessarily in competition with one another.

    • AKRNC says:

      I definitely would have bought both of these books and also the one by Geoffrey Dunne. I’m sure there would have been something revealing in each of the books, making them all worthwhile reading. I’ll read McGinniss but I’ll get it from the library rather than keeping it for myself to refer to at a later date or when wanting to make a point in a post I’m writing. He’s responsible for his own losses and nobody else is to blame.

  155. Millie says:

    I am so disappointed in this announcement. I really didn’t think it could possibly have been Mr. MGinniss since he is such a good author and knows the publishing rules. Sad to think he did it because he had a book yet to be published – perhaps he felt this one was more informative than his? Who knows – but, what a mess! All over Sarah Palin who always seem to create trouble and problems.

    • Andy says:

      Your last sentence implies that Palin is somehow responsible for this mess. I think blame should be placed where blame belongs. Palin didn’t “create trouble and problems” of this mess, McGinnis did. Goes to show what a unethical person he is. Makes everything he has done, suspect.

  156. Kath the Scrappy says:

    I thought Joe has been suspiciously quiet since all this hit the fan. No denials, just crickets.

    This just sucks every which way possible. Glad I hadn’t pre-ordered any books. I’ve just seen maybe a couple of paragraphs or hints from the manuscript via IM and Andrew Halcro. It just sounds like a well written book that leaves a LOT of us chomping at the bit to buy.

    Maybe after Joe read it, he discovered his own book was dry as a bone and felt his only recourse was nefarious actions. Disappointing since so many Alaskans were welcoming and helpful to him when he spent those months researching his own book.

    • AKRNC says:

      I think you’ve hit the nail on the head. McGinniss read the manuscript and realized while his own book may have had a lot of stories about Palin, this manuscript was able to back up everything or almost everything it said with emails relating to the content. When you add that it was written by Alaskans, with one of them having worked next to her and observing her daily for almost 3 years, it’s difficult to top that authenticity. This is not an excuse for what McGinniss did but what I think may have been what pushed him to do what we all see as an inexcusable action and betrayal. He’ll pay for it in the long run with his decreased book sales.

  157. the problem child says:

    I am so sad. Please keep us updated.

  158. ibwilliamsi says:

    A real disappointment that this happened this way.

  159. TNbluedot says:

    Amazing. I was hoping there would be a different outcome, but it is what it is. Would love to hear an explanation from Joe McGinniss. As far as I’m concerned, he’s lost a sale if he can’t refute this.

    Hope a contract is signed soon or y’all decide to self-publish… can’t wait to read it!!

  160. Hedgewytch says:

    Holy Moly. Hope we get to hear the behind the scenes details at a later date.

    I certainly wouldn’t have guessed the McGinniss would do such an act maliciously.

    I sure hope this issue can be settled amicably and successfully for all without too much legal BS and dragging out.

    • Dan says:

      Really? He’s always been a biased, vindictive bastard. He’s probably jealous because his book won’t have any true sourcing, as he isn’t a Palin insider. His book will be based on rumors and anon sources. Sad Joe, you’re pathetic. And your title needs work, as the real Sarah Palin will NEVER be found by only speaking to people who approach you. Guess what? People who know Sarah longterm and intimately would never approach a journalist/writer who has been stalking her for a long time. This is fact. And you are a dumbass

      • learningcurve says:

        When did McGinniss claim impartiality? Facts don’t always present themselves with the balance that people claim is “fair” today. It will always be baffling to me that there is a public demand that every truth be balanced with a lie in the modern media.

        Maybe people just want to believe and don’t want the truth muddling their opinion.

        This entire faux controversy is just a transparent publicity stunt aimed at stifling McGinniss’ book sales and improving this book’s sales.

      • Zach Roberts says:

        I know Joe and consider him a friend. I just can’t imagine he would send this out.

        When I was in Alaska making a film about the political landscape he shared far more than he should have (if he was a vindictive bastard) when it comes to contacts, phone numbers and direction on where he thought my story should go.

        He led me toward things that were unreported, but were going in his book – knowing well that my film will be coming out before his book. Selfish, vindictive, jealous are not things that Joe McGinniss are.

        As a person who has worked as an investigative journalist I can say that lots of people that are friends of famous people come forward silently to speak to us. I’ve had dozens of conversations from blocked numbers or in coffee shops in far parts of towns with people that shouldn’t be talking to me.

        Secrecy and promises are some of the most important things that a journalists have in his personal arsenal. We don’t have guns or even bullet proof vests, this is our only weapon. S/He can use them however he sees fit. Joe only ever has used them for good.

        Publishers do this all the time with controversial books – leak it and claim that someone stole it and make it heard everywhere that they SHOCKED! SHOCKED! SHOCKED I SAY! that the book was released and talked about in hundreds of blogs. Oh dear! All the free promotion!

    • Martha says:

      Hedgewytch, Do you never tire of defending the obviously indefensible?

      Joe knew better, no matter WHAT the circumstance.

      All he had to do is pick up the phone or e-mail the authors, to congratulate them and ask WHY there would be no confidentiality clause.

      That is so unusual it made no sense, even to a lay person, let alone an author of his years.

      What a sad and truly pathetic tact, for an author of his talent longevity, to turn on his supporters and admirers.

      It doesn’t get any worse than this for a an author and diminishes everything else he has ever written.

      It is just like the steroids in baseball, it spoils his legacy.

      Now we wonder how many underhanded things he has done to secure his publishings in the past, because a person doesn’t start this type of behaviour late in life.

      It is as if the Palin poison infects whatever it touches and caused Joe to commit literary suicide for $$.

      He will be despised and shunned by ALL of his peers.

      • etPinwheel says:

        This is a curious take. I wonder how many, besides us, care. Or imagine the publishing houses knocking their heads against walls. They favored the wrong horse.

      • learningcurve says:

        But several others also released the book. Were the authors’ computers hacked? Is there verification of the request for confidentiality made to McGinnis? Did he steal the release he passed on?

        • Kilia says:

          learningcurve..that’s what I would like to know as well. Hope we find out the answer to these questions, soon.

        • Martha says:

          Good grief!!

          Read the lawyers letter above!

          There doesn’t have to be a specific confidentiality request to break copyright law.

          A professorial author KNOWS BETTER regardless!

          If you leave your keys in your car do you expect a friend to steal it?

          The IP addresses were traced, Joe has not uttered a WORD about this and now another blogger said he got his copy directly from JOE, from Progressive Alaska:

          McGinniss has been identified by numerous sources as the originator of copies of the manuscript to an unpublished draft of a book on Sarah Palin by her former confidante and state official, Frank Bailey.

          Several bloggers and news sources received the manuscript from McGinniss very early Friday morning last week.

          ****Many of us have written to McGinniss, asking him why he sent the manuscript out.****

          *** To my knowledge, he hasn’t yet answered anyone.****

          Some articles have been pulled or heavily modified since Bonfante Steinbeck issued a general cease and desist letter late last weekend to media outlets that were carrying extracts from what the authors claim to be a rough draft.

          McGinniss’ release of the manuscript has been vexing to the Alaska bloggers who supported him while he stayed in Alaska last year. I’m not one of them, though. After setting up his security perimeter at the house he rented next to the Palin cult compound on Lake Lucille last May, he and I had a disagreement, resulting in no further contact. Jeanne Devon, one of the parties to the book, helped McGinniss extensively throughout his stay here, though, and is deeply hurt by the author’s action.

          http://progressivealaska.blogspot.com/2011/02/cease-and-desist.html

          • Gimme-a-break, Sarah says:

            Hi Martha, I’m not defending Joe but would like to say that it may be that Joe’s email address got caught in a ‘spam loop.’

            Some years ago I got caught in one of these where it looked like I was spamming people but was not. Turns out my email address (and many others) had been hacked from an online petition site; a ‘spam loop’ type virus was inserted into a politically inflammatory email and sent out to all of us. Each time anyone responded (and I did) it started a whole new loop of spam. I responded a few times before figuring this out. But in the meantime, several people had traced my email address and reported me to my ISP as a spammer.

            Strange things can happen in the world of email.

          • Kkaye says:

            Gimme-a-break, Sarah could be right about the email spamming. This has happened to me twice in recent months. Emails were being sent to everyone in my address book and I only knew it when I started getting lots of returned email messages. I’d have to see more proof that these emails were actually from Joe, before I believe it. I don’t think Joe needs to do something like this to sell his book, but the whole controversy has generated attention to Bailey’s book.

      • Hedgewytch says:

        Martha, I haven’t defended anything here. All I have said is that I hope it can all be resolved quickly, for the benefit of all, without long term, money sucking, legal battles. Because in the end, if that happens, who wins? The lawyers? Not the people who want to see the truth be exposed and those who are guilty of wrongdoing be held responsible – whether that’s Palin or McGinniss or anyone else. Right?

  161. Califpat says:

    I did not want to think that it was Joe McGinnis!!! Wow!!!

  162. luckycharms says:

    Wow. Just, wow. I was hoping it wasn’t this, but there’s no doubt now. What a colossal disappointment. Shame on anyone who is violating the law, or a basic journalistic or professional code of ethics for that matter. Anyone know how to cancel an Amazon pre-order? Shame on Mr. McGinniss.

    • Village Reader says:

      To cancel with Amazon, I believe you go to ‘your account’ and then to ‘your orders’. Then, you can cancel the specific item you want or your whole order, as long as it never entered the shipping section yet. Good luck. Mr. McGinniss really disappointed.

      • Grandma Joan says:

        There is also an option to start a discussion on the book page on Amazon. I don’t know enough about the issue to start one, but someone else here probably does. I just cancelled my pre-order.

    • learningcurve says:

      Where did he get the book?

      • Lilybart says:

        That is the question, isn’t it? What about the agent? How is Carol Mann involved?

        I will read all exposes and appreciate all who will spill.

        Keep your fights out of the public square and keep your eyes on the prize, Ms. Devon.

      • Kilia says:

        As soon as we find out WHERE Joe got the manuscript from, the sooner the pieces will fall into place on this incident.

  163. Eyes wide Open in Pgh PA says:

    Holy Sh*t. I didn’t expect that. Kick his *ss!

    • luckycharms says:

      Since there’s no “like” button here….. LIKE.

    • etPinwheel says:

      Forgive me if I interrupt, below is a take out from a story about the Gulf of Mexico. How soon we do forget. I will never forget.

      “I’ve been to the bottom. I’ve seen what it looks like with my own eyes. It’s not going to be fine by 2012,” Joye told The Associated Press. “You see what the bottom looks like, you have a different opinion.”

      NOAA chief Lubchenco said “even though the oil degraded relatively rapidly and is now mostly but not all gone, damage done to a variety of species may not become obvious for years to come.”

    • KatieAnnieOakley says:

      Authors share proposed manuscripts with publishers; publishers consult with writers, both in-house and those “in the field.” In the publishing world, Alaska is a zillion miles away.

      Joe McGinniss has a book dropping in September; in the publishing world, he now has a level of expertise in Palin, and substantial “clout” with his other published books. Unless a publisher has opted the book, it is still being actively shopped.

      This manuscript is NOT the tongue-in-cheek snark / repudiation of ‘Going Rogue’, whick is what ‘Going Rouge’ was; this is a fact-based expose, just like McGinniss’ book. It MUST be substantiated and vetted, to DEATH. The fact that it’s content is substantiated with Palin’s own emails is significant – after all, her emails are still IN LITIGATION in Alaska from a going on three years old FOIA request.

      Palin and the right-wing will throw EVERYTHING they’ve got at this manuscript. It incriminates Palin and her entire entourage (obviously), but also Mitt Romney as head of the RNC (at that time), his present adviser Steve Schmidt, and a host of GOP players. The Koch brothers, et al will also do everything they can to STOP this book. And THAT’S WHY it needs to be gauged in regard to public interest.

      Is there a market? More importantly to a publisher: Are we going to be in litigation with this book for time eternal? Is the author authentic? Are original, authenticated emails (with headers) available?

      I believe much saber-rattling is going on at this point. But I do know this: I will buy any and ALL BOOKS relating to this subject. Palin has caught waaaaay too many breaks from the MSM.

    • learningcurve says:

      I’m not clear why everyone who passed this book along isn’t being outed. The others get a “shame on you” but unbridled vitriol is reserved for McGinniss? Why?

      • KatieAnnieOakley says:

        Exactly. People – GET A GRIP.

        “Copies of the manuscript were forwarded around Alaska political circles on Friday.”

        “The Daily News RECEIVED COPIES FROM MULTIPLE SOURCES, the FIRST from author Joe McGinniss, who is working on his own Palin book.”

        http://www.adn.com/2011/02/18/1711185/ex-aide-rips-palin-in-leaked-manuscript.html#ixzz1EcWtzGWU

        Read that again: RECEIVED FROM MULTIPLE SOURCES. They received the book from MULTIPLE sources. Joe’s email was just the first. Sounds like the manuscript was SPAMMED to me…

        THINK HARD: who benefits when anti-Palin bloggers start bashing each other… hmmmmmm?

        • THE FIRST FROM AUTHOR JOE MCGINNISS.

          Doesn’t it stand to reason that the other sources got it from him as well?

        • dreamgirl says:

          “Anti-Palin bloggers”? That is a rather harsh term. Most mudpups, I believe, regard AKM and her guest bloggers as shinning a light on dirty politics. To label AKM as such I find as dismissive. Sorry but that’s how I feel.

          • Ripley in CT says:

            No need to defend ourselves, Dreamgirl. We here know exactly who we are, and exactly who AKM is. Let the others do and say what they wish. They’ll all fall back away again.

    • 10catsinMD says:

      I am commenting here to put it at the top of the pile. Why is Susanna (sp) Walshe of the book Game Change still offering tid bits from this book on the Daily Beast site?

      As an author she ought to be aware of the implications of impinging on copyright. I am more interested in buying the eventual book. She offers no other insight beyond here is additional gossip for you.

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  1. […] Allegiance to Sarah Palin,” posted a cease-and-desist order addressed to Mr. McGinniss on the Mudflats […]

  2. […] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Jason Leopold and taunia adams, Mudflats. Mudflats said: BREAKING on Mudflats – Say it Ain't So, Joe…Co-Author of leaked memoir "Blind Allegiance to Sarah Palin" speaks out. http://bit.ly/dJBRVg […]