Saturday, January 01, 2011

PALIN WEIGHS IN ON FOREIGN POLICY- BUT DOES SHE KNOW WHAT SHE "WROTE?"


(the following letter was sent- but not published- to USA Today after I was astonished to read a guest op-ed from "Sarah Palin", which I put in quotes because, as I pointed out in my riposte, it was obviously ghost written. She's pictured above with blood and guts from a defenseless animal she killed. I'm posting it here because apparently there are a few stalwarts out there who still check in to see what I've written- thanks Kevin & Brian- and I intend to get back to sending in opinion pieces for publication which I will occasionally post here

Dear Editor:

It was hard to decide whether to be more amused or alarmed at seeing an obviously ghost written guest editorial from Sarah Palin on the dangers of a nuclear armed Iran. Amused because USA Today could not have chosen a person more profoundly ignorant of foreign affairs than the former Alaska governor- who, when thrust into the national spotlight as a Vice Presidential candidate, whined about a "gotcha question" when CBS's Katie Couric asked her what newspapers she read. That "gotcha" question, and the total confusion it engendered as Ms. Palin floundered, unable to name a single newspaper, exemplified as nothing else the incredible mistake made by John McCain in selecting her for the Republican national ticket. (Presumably her list of zero has now expanded to include USA Today, but I would not bet money on it). Alarmed because her ignorance is dangerous when it affects public perceptions of Iran, a country that right wing radicals have been urging this country to bomb. It is a shame that USA Today gave Ms. Palin a forum in which to express her misstatements of fact (that Iran has missiles capable of targeting Israel that soon will be able to target the U.S., that it shields Al Qaida leaders) and her lack of consistency (she quotes Saudi officials who urged the U.S. to attack Iran without attributing the source for those quotes- Wikileaks, the same organization whom Ms. Palin and her fellow ideologues want prosecuted for leaking the information). Perhaps the only salutary use for Ms. Palin's article will be to have an interviewer question her to see if she can define any of the words appearing in it-- I look forward to hearing how she defines "Bushehr," the location of Iran's nuclear reactor. My guess is that she thinks it means a follower of George Bush.

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