After Tripp was born, Sarah would pay more attention to our son than she would to her own baby, Trig. Sarah has a weird sense of humor. When she came home from work, Bristol and I would be holding Trig and Tripp. Sarah would call Trig—who was born with Down syndrome—'my little Down’s baby.' But I couldn’t believe it when she would come over to us and sometimes say, playing around, 'No, I don’t want the retarded baby—I want the other one,' and pick up Tripp. That was just her—even her kids were used to it.
posted by Zambrano on Sep 21, 2009 - 224 comments

Shatner Interprets Palin
posted by CunningLinguist on Jul 28, 2009 - 73 comments

The research, literary, and copy editors of Vanity Fair go to town on Sarah Palin's resignation speech.
seeing as nearly everyone I talked to at the 10th meetup was an editor of some kind, you'll all get a kick out of this
posted by Jon_Evil on Jul 20, 2009 - 79 comments

Auto-Tune the News #6. I know the Autotune folks aren't exactly new to Metafilter, but, damn, this one's pretty catchy, and it's about the only time I've loved what came out of Rep. Boehner's mouth.
posted by WCityMike on Jul 13, 2009 - 71 comments

Sarah Palin will resign from her position as Alaska Governor. ;-)
posted by Stewriffic on Jul 3, 2009 - 1364 comments

Vanity Fair recently published "It Came From Wasilla", Todd Purdum's lengthy profile piece about Sarah Palin, her involvement with and the inside workings of the McCain campaign, and her political future. [more inside]
posted by Weebot on Jun 30, 2009 - 232 comments

Sarah Palin understands the importance of religion in politics. That's why the Political Action Committee preparing for her 2012 presidential bid is being run by John Coale - an OT-VII Scientologist. [more inside]
posted by Joe Beese on Mar 26, 2009 - 75 comments

In a strangely compelling interview with Fox New's Greta Van Susteren, Bristol Palin weighs in on teen pregnancy, abstinence, tabloid news and at 18 years old who gets to make the decisions. From the Huffington Post.
posted by pianomover on Feb 17, 2009 - 91 comments

Prominent blogger Andrew Sullivan develops an unhealthy obsession over the (lack of) details surrounding the birth of Sarah Palin's youngest child. Sullivan really, really won't let it go. Persistent rumors lead the editor of the Alaska Daily News to, "finally decide, after watching this go on unabated for months, to let a reporter try to do a story about the 'conspiracy theory that would not die' and, possibly, report the facts of Trig's birth thoroughly enough to kill the nonsense once and for all." Palin releases press release slamming the paper. Editor of paper publishes email from Palin's office along with his response. Palin complains about "bored, anonymous, pathetic bloggers who lie," says episode is, "more indication of continued problems in the world of journalism." She also thinks Katie Couric is bad at journalism, not the center of everybody's universe, and is exploiting Palin. Mike Huckabee disagrees, says Couric was "extraordinarily gentle" with Palin. Political pundits and journalists are left scratching their heads - is she crazy? Or a crazy genius? 2012 is just around the corner.
posted by billysumday on Jan 13, 2009 - 188 comments

Pardon the turkey.
It is unverified that the turkey was ever vetted to be the national bird.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur on Nov 21, 2008 - 80 comments

At 12:00am EST, in the Ballot Room of the Balsams Resort in Dixville Notch, New Hampshire, the 2008 Presidential Election began.* The vote was 15-6 Obama -- the first time a Democrat has carried the village since 1968. Despite their "first in the nation" status, though, they have only picked the winner 50% of the time. [more inside]
posted by dw on Nov 3, 2008 - 2076 comments

An independent investigator hired by the Alaska Personnel Board has cleared Governor Sarah Palin of wrongdoing in the Troopergate controversy. (Executive summary and recommendations of the report). As previously covered in MeFi, the Alaskan legislature had conducted its own investigation and had concluded that Governor Palin had indeed abused her power in dismissing Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan, but the independent investigator concluded that the Legislature's special counsel used the wrong state law as the basis for his conclusions and also misconstrued the evidence in the investigation.
posted by gyc on Nov 3, 2008 - 96 comments

This f*cking election. A babble tower.
posted by digaman on Nov 2, 2008 - 100 comments

Governor Palin gets prank called. "Like we say in France, [we could go kill some baby seals]." Governor Palin is mildly amused.
posted by spiderwire on Nov 1, 2008 - 311 comments

Thomas Muthee, the witch-hunting prayer warrior who anointed Sarah Palin, is part of a much larger movement called the New Apostolic Reformation. Researchers at religious watchdog site Talk2Action have released a 36 page report on the NAR (part 1, part 2, part 3 & PDF). Learn about Palin confidant Mary Glazier, the Queen of Heaven, the Christian Emergency Network and much, much more.
posted by scalefree on Oct 31, 2008 - 75 comments

Sarah Palin's "folksy" approach has been examined and dissected by the "main stream media." But Anil Dash cuts to the core of what Sarah Palin is saying.
posted by jdfan on Oct 29, 2008 - 184 comments

[SLYT, ElectionFilter, 2:40] Dance-off!! The teams: Obama Dance Crew vs. John McCain's Grand Old Posse. It's ON!!
posted by not_on_display on Oct 29, 2008 - 23 comments

Palin for 2012? She's popular with conservatives, and even before any potential makeover 6 out of 10 evangelicals think she is experienced enough to be president. She'd potentially get the Huckabee evangelical vote in the primaries *and* the talk radio wing. If Obama succeeds in taking moderates, the evangelical and talk radio wings will only be stronger. And the GOP would appear to already be talking about it.
posted by jaduncan on Oct 24, 2008 - 317 comments

PALIN SONG
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 on Oct 22, 2008 - 58 comments

Jane Meyer of The New Yorker explains how John McCain came to pick Sarah Palin [more inside]
posted by Blazecock Pileon on Oct 20, 2008 - 189 comments

John Cleese talks Election 08 with Seesmic (YT) and discusses his views on American Politics, and americans in general. (via)
posted by blue_beetle on Oct 18, 2008 - 54 comments

The Art of Politics. The 2008 election, regardless of the winner, has created opportunities for so many new stakeholders to take part in our national dialogue and be heard be seen. With only weeks left, let us pause to gaze upon the mainstream embrace of political street art. At least we have Bush to thank for something.
posted by MiltonRandKalman on Oct 17, 2008 - 8 comments

Ava Marie Ciptak was born on Friday, October 10, 2008. Except that her name wasn't Ava Marie Ciptak. Her father, Mark, of Elizabethton, Tennessee, "sort of secretively went behind [his wife Layla]'s back and changed the paperwork" by using two separate birth certificate forms. Instead of naming his daughter John McCain — his initial plan — he named his daughter Sarah McCain Palin, "figuring hopefully [he] would get two weeks in the doghouse rather than two months."
posted by WCityMike on Oct 15, 2008 - 84 comments

Welcome to The Sacramento County Republican Party. The official website has removed content calling for Obama to be waterboarded. But it still contains fake quotes supposedly from Obama's memoir. In this political climate, 33% of voters do not identify Obama as Christian, and 8% believe he is Muslim. Yet, the polls predict a landslide, hinted at by early voting. McCain needs something spectacular, and he may be regretting his decision to invoke Bill Ayers in tonight's debate; and perhaps other things.
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 on Oct 15, 2008 - 1600 comments

Palin as President
posted by PostIronyIsNotaMyth on Oct 14, 2008 - 155 comments

Chomsky on the elections, economy
posted by Dragonness on Oct 14, 2008 - 101 comments

Legislative panel concludes that Palin abused the power of her office. A Republican-dominated Alaska State Legislative panel voted unanimously this evening to release to the public the results of the investigation into Governor Sarah Palin's dismissal of Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan. (Full report PDF here) Among four key points released in the report, the most significant "concludes that Palin violated the state's executive branch ethics act, which says that 'each public officer holds office as a public trust, and any effort to benefit a personal or financial interest through official action is a violation of that trust.'"
posted by XQUZYPHYR on Oct 10, 2008 - 477 comments

The Palin Mob "It's no wonder that the slightest incitement from Sarah Palin or John McCain will turn one of their rallies into a lynch mob. Just talk to the folks who attend.

My camera was rolling for literally seconds before people happily said to me, on camera, that Barack Obama is a terrorist. If I hadn’t spent most of my time at the event inside, waiting for the candidates to show up, I could have gotten dozens of these people on tape."

Via Blogger Interrupted
posted by 4midori on Oct 9, 2008 - 489 comments

Sarah Palin has put a new face and voice to the long-standing, powerful, but inchoate movement in US political life that one might see as a mutant variety of Poujadism, inflected with a modern American accent.

[more inside]
posted by y2karl on Oct 4, 2008 - 110 comments

If you missed the VP debate last night, you might enjoy this video of VP debate highlights in song and dance by Michael Gregory. (Also available: Running From Your Shadow, presidential debate highlights in song and dance.) DLYT
posted by MegoSteve on Oct 3, 2008 - 9 comments

Sarah Palin may be a better debater than you think... Sarah Palin, much derided for reasons best not gone over again, may be a better debater than people tend to think. Andrew Halcro, a Republican from Alaska says, "I've debated Governor Palin more than two dozen times. And she's a master, not of facts, figures, or insightful policy recommendations, but at the fine art of the nonanswer, the glittering generality. Against such charms there is little Senator Biden, or anyone, can do."
posted by datter on Oct 1, 2008 - 1422 comments

Realise your life-long desire and interview Sarah Palin
a markov-your-own-adventure by metajack
posted by East Manitoba Regional Junior Kabaddi Champion '94 on Sep 27, 2008 - 97 comments

SLYT: Crazy preacher comes to the defense of Bristol Palin. Starts out slow, but picks up steam.
posted by greenie2600 on Sep 24, 2008 - 98 comments

Rusty Shackleford over at right-wing anti-Muslim jihad blog The Jawa Report has posted that the Obama campaign, in an effort to portray Sarah Palin a member of the secessionist Alaska Independence Party, is engaged in a smear campaign through the use of viral video and astroturf techniques on You Tube. [more inside]
posted by Skygazer on Sep 24, 2008 - 73 comments

Sarah Palin's email gets hacked by Anonymous (right, that Anonymous). And given the legal controversy surrounding her email, one wonders if the fact that her yahoo email accounts are now deleted constitutes destruction of evidence or violations of public-records laws. Its hit Wikileaks too, but, I'm not sure they have more then what's already released (rapidshare).
posted by yeoz on Sep 17, 2008 - 416 comments

All pregnancies are now recommended to be screened for Down Syndrome. 90% of those tested positive have opted for an abortion, while some in support groups discourage this to avoid becoming a vanishing minority with less funding. Now that campaign promises are being made to those with special needs, while vowing to outlaw abortion, a parent or voter might want to know more details. The costs used in this analysis were $146 for first-trimester screening, $66 for the second-trimester Triple Screen, and $86 for a second-trimester Quad Screen. A consultation with a genetic counselor is estimated at $68, and if a diagnostic procedure is also done, the total cost is $1,308. Terminations of pregnancy done in the first and second trimester are $648 and $1,146, respectively. The societal cost of raising and caring for an individual with Down syndrome is $762,748. Previously on Metafilter.
posted by Brian B. on Sep 15, 2008 - 274 comments

This is Your Nation on White Privilege is an excellent essay by anti-racism activist Tim Wise about how white privilege is shaping current American politics. " ^{^} previously
posted by FunkyHelix on Sep 15, 2008 - 209 comments

Have the wheels come off the straight talk express? At least one sleeping giant woke up today: the NYT finally gives Sarah Palin a thorough vetting and the results aren't pretty. The McCain campaign's aggressive - and many say dishonest - tactics in promoting Palin may have sparked the beginnings of a media backlash. Camp McCain's reaction: We don't care and intend to stay on offense. And about that offense, they will soon have some help: Group With Swift Boat Alumni Readies Ads Attacking Obama. How low will things go? At this week's Values Voters Summit, 'Obama Waffles' with racial stereotypes were all the rage.
posted by madamjujujive on Sep 14, 2008 - 1755 comments

"Political content aside, the discussion provided a lovely example of how a term from literary theory has established itself in American political discourse." via Language Log

"We may expect the following. Language will be carefully crafted. Advertisements will focus on personal narratives. The campaign will employ “attack” advertisements that emotionally sway voters. Policy will be sketchy with vague descriptions that emotionally satisfy Americans while offering scant details. The emphasis will be on creating narratives that resonate with the values, beliefs, and identities of prospective voters."
– Literary Gulag, on Lakoff, Nunberg, Westen, and the narrative of the 2008 presidential election. [more inside]
posted by iamkimiam on Sep 9, 2008 - 26 comments

This is a long-awaited update to the previous Palin thread. A LOT has happened since then, which I think deserves additional discussion. The last time Palin's Travels was linked to was 2004 and his most recent book that you could view on the site was Sahara. But now you can read the full texts of two more books in Michael Palin's wonderful travel/adventure series: Himalaya and New Europe. There are also loads of pictures, video (Quicktime req.) and audio clips.
posted by ND¢ on Sep 4, 2008 - 75 comments

Enemy of the State. Wolves in Alaska are gunned down from the air for cash bounties, their orphaned pups often discovered by agency biologists in the field and killed. Alaskans soon vote on proposition 2 to stop the controversial slaughter that serves the interests of large game hunters.
posted by Brian B. on Aug 29, 2008 - 30 comments

Fox, the BBC and CNN have all revealed that Republican US presidential candidate John McCain has picked Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate on his 72nd birthday on the eve of the start of Republican National Convention. Despite being wildly popular in Alaska, Palin has recently been involved in an investigation over whether she dismissed a public safety commissioner because he refused to dismiss her former brother-in-law.
posted by HaloMan on Aug 29, 2008 - 5555 comments

Monty Python's Fliegender Zirkus is a two part film oddity from 1971-72; two episodes of the legendary British sketch comedy show with all new material performed entirely in German, despite the cast's inability to speak German. Well... not 100% new material, as the Lumberjack Song did get its own German version. Here's a brief interview with Michael Palin about phonetically learning the words to the song. via
posted by jonson on Sep 25, 2006 - 19 comments