An excerpt from Bristol Palin’s new book, Not Afraid of Life, was circulated online after the book was leaked to the press. In it, Bristol recounts how she lost her virginity to Levi Johnston after he got her so drunk that she had no idea what she was doing. The next morning, she writes, she couldn’t even remember what had happened, until a friend told her.

Naturally, Bill Maher finds this hilarious:

Bristol, just admit it. You were horny, and while we’re at it stop claiming that you were on birth control pills that didn’t work when you got pregnant. Here’s a tip, hon: They’re not birth control pills if they’re shaped like Fred Flintstone.

As Dr. Timothy Dalrymple comments in a deeply insightful column at Patheos.com, “I cannot confirm the veracity of [Bristol's] account.  No one can, in part because it depends on private communications between Bristol and Levi.” (Bristol herself shies away from calling it “date rape.”) But Dalrymple goes on to add, “Anyone who excuses the kind of behavior alleged of Levi should be ashamed of himself (or herself).”

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Sometimes it’s the questions you don’t ask that are telling.  Case in point: the New York Times account of our event with Governor Palin last night.

Young America’s Foundation hosted Governor Sarah Palin for the keynote address at the opening banquet of our Reagan 100 weekend. This weekend marks the 100th anniversary of Ronald Reagan’s birth. Celebrations are taking place across the country, but this is a particularly significant weekend for our organization—since the spring of 1998 we’ve been preserving Ronald Reagan’s beloved Ranch home in the mountains north of Santa Barbara, Rancho del Cielo. Today Ronald Reagan’s Western White House is a place where young people come to be inspired by the life, the ideas, the character of Ronald Reagan.

Photo credit: (c) Jensen Sutta

And Governor Palin visited the Ranch for exactly the same reason.

The Governor gave a powerful speech at our banquet last night, before an enthusiastic overflow audience. She eloquently and gracefully paid tribute to one of the most significant speeches in American history, Ronald Reagan’s “Time for Choosing” address—while at the same time outlining a vision for America that builds upon President Reagan’s.

The speech was universally well received by our audience of all ages. But the New York Times chose to focus on some of the logistics of the event in their account:

Presidential contenders, regardless of their celebrity, are put through a gauntlet of rituals that require a delicate air of patience as they deal with their admirers. Prospective candidates, particularly if they are courting supporters, routinely sit through dinners and mingle with guests. But in her case, Ms. Palin entered the room only for her speech and left immediately after.

The appearance here was marked by tight security and rigid rules, with guests admonished to stay in their seats when she arrived. (“We’d all like to jump up and give her a high-five, but please stay at your tables,” Kate Obenshain, vice president of the foundation, announced from the dais. “There will be no book signings or autographs.”)

Governor Palin has a remarkable effect on people. For many conservatives, she’s a rock star. When the Governor walks into a room, normally even-keeled and good-natured people tend to forget their surroundings and rush towards her—to give her hug, to tell her how grateful they are for her courage, to tell her specifically how she has touched their lives. Event planning requires adherence to a basic schedule. At a minimum, you have to make it possible for your speaker to take the stage, in the “friendly confines” of tightly-packed and small room. Not an easy task with a superstar like Sarah Palin but our team sought to make the event run smoothly. (more…)

(St. Louis) Let’s imagine that Washington University’s student government decided to put on a conference on Race. Let’s say they invited Al Sharpton as a guest speaker, and in initial negotiation, agreed to pay him his usual $30-50,000 speaking fee. Finally, let’s say at the last minute, a number of bigoted students protested Sharpton, and then the student government decided to pull the plug on Sharpton out of fear of the protesting, bigoted students.

What do you think Sharpton’s response would be?

You damn well know what it would be.

Sharpton would OWN the media cycle. He’d have the heads of the entire Washington University administration. He’d demand to speak. He’d demand a higher honorarium. He’d demand greater minority employment, and a Wash U contribution to Sharpton’s National Action Network. Plus, he’d want public apologies from dozens of people, sensitivity training for the student government, and a host of other minor concessions. He’d publicly embarrass the students and the school for their patent racism.

So my question for Bristol Palin is: “What concessions are you seeking?”

The lovely, lady Bristol.

Bristol Palin was contacted recently by Washington University in St. Louis’ Student Health Advisory Committee (SHAC)– an adjunct committee of their student government, the student union (SU) – to be the keynote speaker in a 4 person panel on “[sexual] abstinence in a college setting” during the university’s annual “Sex Week.” Previous “Sex Weeks” saw abstinence proponents poorly represented, if at all. SHAC had apparently selected Palin because they thought it would draw positive publicity and discussion to the event.

Not so, however, as the announcement of Bristol’s selection drew an outcry from vocal opponents, who cited peer pressure and general contempt as factors motivating their disapproval of Bristol:

“I have been getting emails, text messages [and] phone calls from people at universities across the country, laughing at me. Everyone is so riled up about this that there’s not even a point of bringing her here, nobody is going to be able to listen,” junior Ryan McCombe said.

And after a day or two of protest attacks against SHAC, the SU capitulated and announced they had axed Bristol from the panel, because, “the controversy surrounding her appearance would overshadow the event’s intended message of sexual responsibility.”

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Background: In my hometown of St. Louis a controversy is afoot. Bristol Palin was invited to be the keynote speaker February 7th at Washington University during the school’s Sexual Responsibility Week. As part of a four-person panel, Palin is slated to discuss abstinence.

Bristol Palin has been selected as keynote speaker for this year’s Sexual Responsibility Week at Washington University.

Student Union Treasury on Tuesday approved a $20,000 appeal by the Student Health Advisory Committee (SHAC) to sponsor a four-person panel featuring Palin. The appeal was initially set at $25,000 and renegotiated.

The $20,000 comes from the Student Activity Fee collected from each undergraduate student at the beginning of the year. The Student Activity Fee is fixed at one percent of tuition.

While Palin has not formally agreed to the appearance yet, she is expected to do so shortly.

I wasn’t even fully aware of what was happening until a number of Wash U student conservatives reached out, upset at their treatment when they would defend the student union’s decision. Protests are organized and two Facebook pages have been created. Above all else the protest against Bristol Palin stems from no other reason than her last name is Palin.

That’s it.

No one knows what sort of speaking fee Palin is collecting yet some left-leaning students immediately assumed it was eleventy frillion dollars and are attempting to use that as justification for their protest – except when you read the comments on Facebook or in the student paper it’s always followed up with some politically-charged remark about her being Palin’s daughter. Also, some in the community don’t believe in redemption or grace, thus think that once you err you are forever doomed thus, no way can Palin be an authority on abstinence, even though she has more experience than most young adults her age at the result of not practicing abstinence.

A young woman is attempting to say something positive, something about which I think we can all agree. From Huffington Post:

While the politically-charged nature of the selection has caused some minor turbulence on campus, one of the organizers behind the event explained to StudLife that her presence would help round out an annual happening that is often criticized for being one-sided.

“We thought a big name like Bristol’s would help to start a dialogue,” Student Health Advisory Committee President Scott Elman told StudLife. “We also wanted to target abstinence because SHAC and Sex Week have been criticized for being too liberal and too one-dimensional, and that the abstinence conversation hasn’t been brought up.”

Sadly because her mother is who she is, some are seeking to silence Bristol Palin’s voice. It’s bullying, plain and simple, all while the “It Gets Better” anti-bullying campaign is all the rage in Hollywood.

Apparently that doesn’t apply to conservative youth. And especially if you mom’s name is Sarah Palin.

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Every time I think that the “Press” can’t sink any lower than the rock bottom they’ve already hit, they somehow manage to burrow themselves further into the earth’s mantle. As is so often the case, this most recent gutter-dwelling example has to do with Sarah Palin, who dared to go on a humanitarian trip to Haiti. This does not suit! You see, how can the Press feel all holier-than-thou and better than Sarah Palin – and her fellow rubes – when she is out helping people in Haiti, while they are sitting at home and sipping their soy lattes? I mean, you can’t even see their super awesome and caring “cause ribbons” in print. Plus, she’s just a girl and not the right kind of girl; she embraces motherhood and doesn’t hyphenate her name. She doesn’t even limit herself to caring only about topics that women are assigned to caring about by the left. This aggression cannot stand.

So, they fall back on sneering contempt, mixed with insanity and outright lies. While that is what they are best at, even that no longer works. A funny little thing happened to their ability to do so: the absolute moral  insolvency of the Fourth Estate is now apparent to most and citizens are now finding the truth for themselves. This again happened on Monday, when the AP ran this picture and caption:

What the photographer purposely neglects to mention is that the woman fixing Palin’s hair is her daughter, Bristol. She is clearly seen in the following photograph, as also noted by Free Republic:

In other photos from Saturday, Todd and Sarah Palin’s white, brunette, eldest daughter Bristol, who accompanied her parents on the trip to Haiti, is wearing the exact same clothing and ponytail as the “hair stylist” in the AP photo.

That’s right, what the Palin-hating AP and others fail to report is that the “hair stylist” is Bristol Palin.

Bristol Palin was fixing a loose clip or an errant strand of hair for her mother. The photographer quite clearly knew that, having taken the picture and having actually looked through the lens at the people whose photo he was taking. He managed to identify Todd Palin, yet purposely did not identify Bristol.

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I’ve never even heard of Thomas Roberts before, so when I read of his name in conjunction with a daytime media attack on Bristol Palin, I put two-and-two together and realized that the dude is some sort of daytime anchor on MSNBC. Roberts and That Dude From “Best Week Ever,” whose name turns out to be Sherrod Small, were apparently light on prep and for an entire segment eviscerated Bristol Palin’s Facebook activities.

ROBERTS: Some people are saying that maybe Bristol has a ghost writer. As I said, she graduated from high school –

SMALL: Maybe?

ROBERTS: Has roughly a 3.5, a 3.5 grade point average. So smart young lady.

SMALL: Right.

ROBERTS:  But there’s been postings on her page where she used the word “canard.”

SMALL: Canard. I know a dude, I know a guy named Canard. That’s how black I am. Spelled with a K. Don’t even think about the words she used. If she’s using subjects and predicates together in a sentence, somebody else is writing it for her.

They stopped short of calling her “sugar.”

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I studied dance for about 15 years, various disciplines, with classical ballet as my primary. Growing up I had lessons six days a week, planned to study ballet before journalism, and as a kid I even competed, once vomiting backstage in a trash can like a champ. I saw a lot in those days of privileged white suburban dance competitions. I saw stage moms who purchased false eyelashes for their girls at Sally’s Beauty Supply and linger backstage, stressing over routines more than their kids. I saw moms freak out if little Janie Smith scored higher in her jazz routine than their daughter and storm out of the backstage area leaving girls in their scary tan-flesh tights with severe ponytails and mothers holding Aqua Net cans all looking on in confusion.

Even though I’ve not competed for thirteen years, I had a flashback to those hair-sprayed school days the other night when I heard that Bristol Palin received death threats because she made it to the finals on “Dancing with the Stars.”

Dude, I thought. They finally hit that level of no-shame desperation. The left has gone all Texas cheerleader mom on Bristol Palin.

Sally Quinn rah-rah’s this outrage and her latest column reads more like dictation from a stage mom running down the Palins on behalf of liberalism.

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First it was the clinger who shot his television after Bristol Palin made it to the finals on “Dancing with the Stars.” Now we learn that white powder was sent to Palin at DWTS studios this past week.

An FBI investigation was launched when a mystery white powder was found by studio employees in Bristol Palin’s fan mail last night.

Fearing the powder could be hazardous, experts were called in by Dancing With The Stars bosses to analyse it.

But it turned out to be nothing more dangerous than talcum powder.

The alert was sparked days after Bristol shocked many by winning a place in the semi-final  of the dancing show.

[...]

‘The L.A.P.D., L.A. City and FBI Hazardous Materials officials responded to a report of a threatening letter containing white powder received at CBS Studios in Los Angeles.’

Police and fire engines rushed to CBS studios where the show is filmed and the area was evacuated, before it was established it was harmless.

What happened to all the talk from the left about a “return to sanity?”

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Most media-watching conservatives have simply been flabbergasted at how the Old Media establishment has so neatly come together to destroy Sarah Palin. The Internet has been abuzz with examples of this attack on Sarah since she was chosen by John McCain to be her number two during the campaign for the 2008 presidential election. Every day there is a new example of it and here is yet another one.

This time it was penned by a “TV critic” for the Washington Post named Lisa de Moraes. De Moraes is well known for constantly injecting left-wing asides into her work and her Nov. 19 attack on the Palins is no exception.

She misled her readers (all 20 of them, I’m sure) right off the bat with her snotty headline, “Sarah Palin tries to lure Bristol’s huge ‘DWTS’ audience to her far less popular TLC reality series.”

What is with this “her far less popular” epithet? This claim is not based in logic.

De Moraes went on with her accusatory rhetoric.

Sarah Palin hopes to lure her daughter Bristol’s 20 million viewers to her own, far less popular, reality TV series this coming Sunday:

“Ah yes…Bristol-the-diva! Silly critics! See her diva-ish-ness Sunday, ‘Sarah Palin’s Alaska’ 2 learn truth, before assuming. Thanks & enjoy!” Sarah Palin tweeted Thursday afternoon.

Of course her every word is but hatemongering, left-wing spin not based on any real truthful analysis of TV. After all, anyone with a basic grasp of the statistics of TV would understand that her sniping was simply not based in reality.

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Catch it at 1:43.

Credit where it’s due.

Please, somebody talk me out of finishing this column. Dancing With the Stars, seriously?

But- – the anger the media is displaying over the success of Bristol Palin has to be much more entertaining than the show could ever be.

Wherever you turn there are comments about how horrible it is that Bristol is winning this “competition.” Breaking news here, DWTS is not a real show, nothing real about it. It’s fabricated to get female viewers for ABC and it’s working much better than I ever thought it would. (I made the mistake while anchoring news at an ABC affiliate saying this show would flop – I was wrong and I was also reprimanded for being critical of our programming.)

Hollywood reporters are blasting Bristol because they say she’s a horrible dancer and they say they Tea Party is the only reason she is doing so well. No duh. It’s a popularity contest. Whoever gets the most votes wins. Bristol gets the most votes, she wins.

The vitriol is everywhere. This from the Orlando Sentinel, Chan Lowe, editorial cartoonist, “The Tea Party wing nuts, still excited about screwing up the country with the elections earlier this month, are now overloading ‘Dancing With the Stars.’ There can be no other answer.” Yep. Wing nuts win again.

Like Sarah’s show on TLC, the DWTS’ ratings are going through the roof. Wing nuts win again, while the incorrectly named “progressives” sit and stew in their misery knowing that one of their bastions of liberalism (prime time network programming) has been invaded by the enemy. I say invite Ed Schultz next season and let’s see how he does. See if his three viewers call in to vote for him. Maybe Overstuffed Eddie could show up on Skating With the Stars coming up soon on ABC.

The crew on Good Morning America was booing and hissing when it was mentioned the following morning that Bristol knocked off Brandy to make it to the finals. Seriously, you could hear the booing and hissing and Robin Roberts even referred to it. I don’t expect serious journalism from GMA and my low expectations are always met.

In a sort-of-related move, ABC’s “Good Morning America” spent more than 30 minutes during three segments talking about the Royal Wedding coming up, while they took :30 seconds talking about the pending financial collapse of Europe. George S. did a nice transition between the stories, “There’s another developing story in Britain this morning….. “ Oh, by the way, Ireland is out of money, but coming up more on the Royal Wedding and “Dancing With The Stars.”

The activist old media shell game. Europe is broke, America is broke, our President refuses to see the threat of Muslim extremists (what is “jihad?”), and the media ignores the building wave on the internet that asks serious questions about Obama’s resume, and we get a Royal Wedding and a “Dancing With The Stars” “controversy.”

Perhaps the only guy who really gets this story right is the guy in Wisconsin who shot his TV set in anger after watching Bristol win. It started a 15 hour standoff with the cops. You can take a guess on what his political bent is. He won’t have to worry about watching the non-stop fall-out from the “Dancing With The Stars Travesty 2010.” He’ll also miss tomorrows GMA.

For the left and the leftists in the media, no news development favorable to the right is ever subject to Occam’s Razor, which posits that the simplest explanation for any given event is the one most likely to be true. Instead, they prefer to see conspiracies everywhere. In their primitive,  increasingly demented fantasy world, dark forces are always in motion: a team of invisible gunmen took out JFK in Dallas instead of a communist with a rifle and a vantage point; Bush blew up the levees in New Orleans, instead of years of corrupt neglect.

And if Sarah Palin’s somehow involved… well, their heads just can’t rotate fast enough, as this clip from ABC’s lobster-shift program, World News Now, clearly shows:

Why else would Levi Johnston apologize for slandering the Palin family?

It can’t be that he was a teenage boy, caught up in the hostile glare of a national press corps that made it Job One to destroy the only real threat to their beloved Bambi and the fulfillment of the great Narrative many of them had spent their lives fashioning. It can’t be that he was the jilted boyfriend, trying to come to grips with the responsibilities of becoming, prematurely, a father. It can’t be that, as a kid from Nowhere, Alaska, he saw a shot a national prominence, listened to the whispers in his ear, and decided to go for it.

It can’t be that he now feels genuine regret for having allowed himself to be used by the vultures of the press. (more…)

In an fascinating development for Sarah Palin fans, readers of People magazine, and people who think it’s best to believe a woman when she claims the infant she’s carrying is her biological child, Levi Johnston has publicly apologized to the Palin family for lying about them. Johnston tells People magazine that he “publicly said things about the Palins that were not completely true.”

“Last year, after Bristol and I broke up, I was unhappy and a little angry. Unfortunately, against my better judgment, I publicly said things about the Palins that were not completely true,” he tells PEOPLE exclusively. “I have already privately apologized to Todd and Sarah. Since my statements were public, I owe it to the Palins to publicly apologize.”

Bristol added her own statement Tuesday saying, “Part of co-parenting is creating healthy and honest relationships between the parents. Tripp one day needs to know the truth and needs to know that even if a mistake is made the honorable thing to do is to own up to it.”

It would seem obvious to any observer of human behavior that a disgruntled, publicity-hungry former fiancé is not the most reliable source for information about anyone. Caution is doubly warranted when the information offered is about a high-profile, controversial politician. (more…)

“The former Alaska governor has complained on her Facebook page that [writer Joe] McGinniss is spying on her famous brood as writes a book about her while living next door in Wasilla, Alaska. She says McGinniss can see into her daughter’s bedroom and into her garden as he works on the tome with the working title: Sarah Palin’s Year of Living Dangerously.” The Canadian Press, May 26, 2010.

May 19, 2010:  I’ve arrived in Wasilla, Alaska, home to Sarah Palin!  But it’s clear she’s already prepared an unfriendly reception. When I told the cabbie “I’m Joe McGinniss, the best-selling author,” he tried to act like he didn’t even know who I was.  Well, if these hillbillies think they can fool this newshound, they’ve got another thing coming!

May 20, 2010:  Delighted to find indoor plumbing and electricity up here.  Took a break from unpacking to check out the new place’s view.  As soon as Bristol saw me, she shut her curtains – as if a few strips of cloth are going to protect her deceptions from exposure!  Next, I tried from every angle to see Russia from here but it simply can’t be done.  Just one day on the ground and already I’ve uncovered another Palin lie – Chapter Five has already written itself! Think I’ll call it “Hoop Dreams…”

May 21, 2010 (10 a.m.):  Walked around town today.  I asked a local where the nearest Whole Foods was and he just stared at me.  I sat down at a diner and asked if the mushrooms in my omelet were shiitake.  The owner told me, “This is a family place and we don’t use that kind of language.” I told him, “Well, that language was Japanese, sir, and where I come from – Massachusetts – we don’t appreciate racism!” (more…)