Digitopus

Not much surprises me in the way of headlines wherein Sarah Palin is concerned.  Nearly as soon as I am convinced she can do not a thing more to proudly tout her ignorance or further prove her seeming insanity, she shows up on the scene to, yet again, raise the bar.

The latest - following her oddly timed and highly speculative announcement that she was abandoning her position as governor of Alaska - is more of what we have all come to expect from Sarah:  another self-mutilating nail in the coffin of her oft-tortured political career; a career that might have remained viable had the plucky, small town-minded former beauty queen held rank with her moose-eating peers rather than aspiring to a national platform that she was wholly incapable of maintaining.

Indeed, Sarah's latest reality-television-like tantrum is either another ruse in the litany of inane hogwash that she dreams up in some deranged, public relations disaster to keep her in the public eye, or - as is to be always feared - she is actually serious.  Both prospects are equally disturbing.

In summation, Sarah Palin intends to have her lawyers sue any and all media outlets (and a few Alaskan bloggers) for "defamatory" content that was printed about her after declaring she was quitting as Alaska's governor.

Sarah should have expected that the media, and bloggers, were going to question her sudden, seemingly rash and imprudent resignation.  It is simply a natural reaction, not a strategic and diabolical coup against her personally.

I say this because it appears Sarah is convinced that all of this is a personal attack rather than mere media speculation, and she is not alone in her paranoid delusions; apparently her lawyers and sycophant pals, such as Greta Van Susteren, believe the same as that is what they are blathering all over the internet.  (Personally, I would take anything Greta "believes" with a whopping gallop of salt as she also "believes" in thetans and e-meters; she and her husband are devout Scientologists.)

Public figures must anticipate negative reviews and harsh opinions; elected, government officials even moreso.  It is part of the career they have chosen to follow.  Our founding fathers knew our governing officials should be made accountable and held up to scrutiny.   They may not have always been fans of the media, but they realized it was a necessary evil.  Thomas Jefferson was once quoted as saying:

"No government ought to be without censors, and where the press is free, no one ever will. If virtuous, it need not fear the fair operation of attack and defense."
- Thomas Jefferson

When an elected official up and quits such a prestigious position so very suddenly, naturally the media (and the entire country) is going to speculate.  This speculation will, no doubt, lead to some investigative reporting and speculative commentary which - whether true or not - falls under the category of "free speech".

Sarah Palin, Greta Van Susteren, and their gaggle of over-zealous lawyers need to cool their heels.  What is happening is a natural reaction to the very public choice that Palin has made and the way she went about presenting it.  That is all.  The very idea of suing any and everyone who has ever said a bad word about her is bordering on narcissistic lunacy.

It is simply another very bad decision from the Palin camp - a troupe run by a woman that has proven herself to be an egotistical, culturally ignorant, soccer mom who really needs to crawl back to her icy kingdom and out of the national arena.  If McCain's vetters had had half a brain cell, they would have left this woman the hell alone and to her good 'ole boy politics where she could do much less damage.  The idea that this woman was once an old man's heartbeat away from being the leader of this country still gives me chills, and the very idea that Republicans might consider her as their candidate for a 2012 election run is nothing short of terrifying.

It would appear that Republicans venerate some fairly terrifying characters these days.  Speaking of which, perhaps Sarah should ring Bill O'Reilly, who often finds himself in the same delusional boat.  Disagreeing with Bill, or even being so bold as to be critical of him in any fashion, means, unequivocally, that you are out to get him:

"[T]hey are going to do anything and everything to destroy me, or try to. And it’s a war. It is a war."
- Bill O'Reilly

Bill and Sarah could discuss tactics and battle plans for dealing with the hostile media, who are - obviously - attempting to take them down by speculating on their actions,  being critical of their judgments, and not agreeing with everything they say.  In fact, Bill already has a plan; Sarah just needs to jump on board:

"[T]here is a huge problem in this country and I’m going to attack that problem. I’m going to attack it. These people aren’t getting away with this. I’m going to go right where they live. Every corrupt media person in this country is on notice, right now. I’m coming after you…I’m going to hunt you down [...] if I could strangle these people and not go to hell and get executed…I would."
- Bill O'Reilly

It's comforting to know that, unlike Sarah, Bill has not yet decided to attack bloggers.  For the time being, I am safe.  However, as I have now blogged my thoughts on Sarah Palin and her decidedly strange actions in the last week, I anxiously await contact from Sarah Palin's lawyers wanting to sue me for having a voice and opinon and being audacious enough to use it.