Thursday 28 May 2009

Back to normal


Thanks everybody for the kind words regarding the technical hiccup a couple of days ago. Our computer guy turned up first thing this morning as promised, which was totally out of character, so we were still drinking tea and coffee in bed!

It took him 10 minutes to replace the network card and 40 minutes of animated conversation in "Franglais" and voilĂ , I'm back in business! I gave him a cheque, au revoir and all that, but I forgot to sign it... he'll be back sometime this afternoon.

It's great to be able to access all my files and blog to my heart's content once more. My husband is a happy bunny, with the laptop all to himself again.

As we're already off-topic, I'll use this post to answer a few questions.

I'm not American and I'm not French. We're British ex-pats living in France.

We caught the election bug last year and followed the campaigns the best we could, on TV, youtube and on the blogosphere.

My husband became a youtube addict, watching all Obama's speeches. I became very interested in the desperate housewife from Wasilla and didn't buy the story about Bristol's pregnancy. I lost a bit of interest after the election, but by December my curiosity got the better of me and I started following Palin Deceptions.

Other Trig truth blogs appeared and I followed them as well. In February, one of these blogs was intimidated into shutting down. I was furious and decided to start my own blog. As Babygate is not the only "gate" in Sarah Palin's repertoire, I called it palingates and proceeded to learn about the governor's shenanigans in more detail.

I'm not fussy and try to keep all the gates fresh in people's memories. Occasionally Sarah Palin provides us with a shiny new one, so there's no shortage of material!

In the past four months I've learned a lot about Alaska and American politics, made several wonderful friends and became part of a privileged community of intelligent, thinking people.

The comments went from zero to quite respectable. The discussions are animated, humorous and there are the occasional fisticuffs, which I think is normal. We're not sheep and don't follow one single line of thought in the same blind fashion as on some other blogs and sites. Hopefully the people who fell out with each other in one thread will kiss and make up at some point, in future threads...

As you've probably noticed, I'm dead against censorship and REALLY believe in free speech. Things may get a bit heated sometimes, but I trust my readers to be able to work things out without my interference.

We have sporadic trolls, but they don't last very long. I don't think they can follow the conversations very well.

So there you have it, a potted history of palingates.

Your warmth, respect and support is invaluable and I'm very lucky to be in this virtual room with caring, passionate and consciencious people, bound together in the effort to prevent a certain person from "progressing" in the political scene.

What galls me is that I owe HER a debt of gratitude for bringing you here!

Ah, c'est la vie...
.

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Regina, I remember when your blog first arrived that you described yourself as Brazilian, before you went to live in England. I really must compliment your writing since English isn't your first language. Compared with a certain governor who can't stumble out a coherent sentence-- you are brilliant! Do you want to add to your biography by telling us where you lived in Brazil and how you came to live in England? Just curious; we've visited Brazil quite alot due to husband's business and now a relative is "partners" with a Brazilian. It is an exciting and dynamic place!

midnightcajun said...

Ah, I wondered if you might be British, but couldn't figure out why you'd invest so much time in American politics. Of course, if this crazy ever makes it to the White House, everyone in the world will suffer.

While we're on stuff, I want to tell you how much I appreciate this blog. As much as I admire PD for keeping the focus, they are somewhat pedantic and go so long between posts that I worry the site will eventually die. Plus, there is so much else wrong with this woman that needs to be exposed. So thanks for all you do! (And I still think you ought to gather it all together into a book!)

Gail Zawacki said...

Welcome back, I visit your blog every day at least once! Your writing is terrific and posts always interesting.

Anonymous said...

Dear Lord. I just saw a photo of her at the Juneteenth commemoration. Call the fashion police. Those high-priced makeup, hair-stylists, and wardrobe consultants earned every penny.

CC ... said...

Regina!! So glad to have you back. Yours is the first blog I read every day. Thank you for all you do. :)))

I couldn't agree more regarding PD ... I fear it may eventually die out, too. But since our dear Sarah provides sooooo many more gates having one of them fizzle out won't be the end of her. (I hope!).

crystalwolf aka caligrl said...

Hi Reg!
Glad you got your computer back online :)
And I thank you for all you do on your blog, and yes we do have to "thank her"
b/c she has brought us together, probably the only good thing she has done, IMO!

CC ... said...

Must read before submitting send ...

That didn't even make sense, sorry!

What I meant was she has so many gates one of them fizzling out won't matter in the grand scheme of things since we have so many to choose from to bring her down.

Much clearer (I think) ... but should get some coffee to help with incoherency lest I be confused with someone else due to word salad in previous post ...

Anonymous said...

Thanks for sharing, Regina. I appreciate your initiative of starting palingates. You have done a great job and all of your hard work will pay off. I am with midnightcajun on the book thing.

Thanks, again, for everything!

MrsTarquinBiscuitbarrel said...

Thanks for all the bloody hard work! In less than a year, I've read more from and about Alaska than in my entire life so far. And though we'd all adore it if GINO would just retreat into her free house and chew Tahhhhd's mukluks--or anything, anything, anything at all that doesn't involve, ya know, governin'--we've met some perfectly wonderful folks along the way. Such as you, Regina! So perhaps the silver linings, all of them, you and others, will completely blot out the menacing "cloud" that lets us know that SP's around.

Anonymous said...

Where is the picture of Sarah in jeans and heels at the Juneteenth Celebration?

regina said...

Anonymous@20:37,

The link to the picture is on the post "How appopriate, Sarah Palin!"

I have to do a post about her dress sense with a load of photos!

Reg

honestyinGov said...

Thanks for the little History lesson Regina. It helps us to put in perspective the writers own history and experiences as it relates to their stories and opinions. It's all Good. Being a British ex-pat I think you should email Heather Burke, the woman in England who broke the story with the FOIA requests and the Parliament scandal.There could be a 'connection' and a bond there. I just posted some comments to this on Mudflats open thread and there is a link for contacting Ms. Burke or her newspaper. She might respond to you and share some insight.( I sent an email to the link) Afterall... her expertise is as an Investigative Reporter. You could share ideas. Glad you are back.Here is her background story and the link to contact her.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/may/15/mps-expenses-heather-brooke-foi

Lisa K said...

Regina thank you thank you for the photos and biography. I really appreciate your efforts. It is interesting that you became so interested in the election and the Alaskan diva. I have also thought about why it interests me so much and it's complicated! I don't live in Alaska but Palin has her eyes on a bigger prize. As a woman, I really want to support women in politics. But Palin is the antithesis of what I admire in strong and effective politicians. She uses her winks, legs and other things like this to manipulate people. I could go on an on about how she is the last woman I would want in public office !
So thank you for keepng these issues, these serious concerns about Palin on the Internet!

One more question. Have you gotten threats or nasty emails, letters from her supporters? I just hope not.

Thank you again!!

Kat said...

Thank YOU for all you do Regina! I'm so glad your computer is "all better," and you are back to writing your wonderful posts

I, too, am here every day, looking forward to the information you bring us.

Please do write a book, it would be a best seller. The last chapter hasn't been written yet, one can only hope that it will be illustrated by a picture of the SS Palin sinking into the sea at the foot of a giant iceberg. LOL

Again, many thanks!

ps - my word verification is oughter. SP "oughter" be brought to justice soon!!

teal said...

Regina:::thanks so much for all the effort you put into this blog. I'm one of the early followers & liked it much from my first visit...Tou do an excellent/outstanding 'job'

[thank the hubby for us, we didn't have to go cold turkey waiting for your computer tech-guy to arrive]

On the day that GiNO HAS to leave office, you/your postings will no doubt be a part of the reason - as more ppl are paying attention to her crap.

ProChoiceGrandma said...

Regina, so many have already said what I would like to say, but let me (there, also, too) add my genuine gratitude for the magnificent work you have done gathering all of this information on Sarah Palin. You are an extraordinarily gifted writer and I really like the reference format you have used to easily access the many “gates”. I refer your site as the best place for people to get a good overview of why Sarah Palin should NEVER hold public office. Palingates is now the first site I visit each day, (several times a day), as well as The Immoral Minority, Palin’s Deceptions and several others. Midnightcajun, I agree that PD is taking far too long to post comments. I am so grateful to Audrey, Patrick and the entire PD team for the dedicated hard work they have put into Palin’s Deceptions and I am certain they are gathering the necessary information for their next post. If I were to make a guess, it will be the one I have been anxiously awaiting.

I keep hoping PD will develop a numbered timeline with corresponding numbered pictures and documents that will be easier for people to understand that Sarah Palin is NOT Trig’s birth mother, that Trig was presented on 4-18-08 but he was NOT born on 4-18-08, and Bristol is the mother of Trig and Tripp.

MrsTarquinBiscuitbarrel said...

smily, there's probably a family living behind a high wooden fence in Wasilla that could use a course in CERTIFIED DEBT MANAGEMENT. Or will, soon.