Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Sarah Palin's Latest Hypocrisy Involving Joe McGinniss

Sarah Palin released her latest Facebook post in retaliation to the NBC interview with her new neighbor, author Joe McGinniss.  I found some things interesting in her response - hypocrisy.

Palin begins her Facebook rant painting herself the victim:
It may seem like a small thing, considering the state of the union and international issues of the day, but let me share some facts surrounding a most recent illustration of the untrustworthiness of America’s mainstream media.

Yesterday, Todd and I spent our Memorial Day evening exchanging emails with NBC in regards to the interview they conducted this morning with our new neighbor. As you’ll recall, the “journalist” Joe McGinniss moved all the way from Massachusetts to Wasilla – literally right next door to our home – after tracking us down in various forums this past year, so that he could be close to his “subject matter” while he writes his book about me.
Next, Palin told her loyal followers that she made the strategic decision to not appear in the interview with McGinniss and instead issue a response, which was the reason why she and Todd had such a miserable Memorial Day (I guess she had some pressing matters to attend to).
When NBC asked to interview me for this story, I politely declined. NBC then asked for a statement from us and promised to run it as a full screen graphic during their interview with McGinniss. We were glad to provide a statement and appreciated NBC’s promise to run it. Todd and I both crafted the statement very carefully because our new neighbor has taken to accusing us of “inciting hatred” – a charge which we obviously take very seriously. We knew that he would make more accusations like this, and we felt very strongly that such comments should not go unanswered. So, we emailed NBC the following statements:
Did you notice how Palin attacked her new neighbor before getting to the meat and potatoes of her Facebook post?  Apparently, it was McGinniss who started all this drama, not the Palins.

Here were the words of wisdom from Alaska's former half-term first family:
“McGinniss has followed us for some time now, from showing up on our doorstep last winter, bidding over $60,000 for a military charity auction dinner with me, writing the hit pieces, attending at least one Outside book event, etc. He has a right to pursue his subject, I suppose, and certainly has a right to live wherever he wants, but my family also has a right to expect privacy, and hopefully to enjoy peace this summer. Good fences do make for good neighbors. The fence is now up, and I hope that we can enjoy peace. The media sensationalizes the recent McGinniss’ tactic so the public will tune in to whatever the latest episode is, always with ratings in mind, and that’s unfortunate.” - Sarah Palin

“What’s also unfortunate is journalists’ tactics like this, because it keeps good people from wanting to get involved in public service.” - Todd Palin
While Todd the scholar felt investigative journalism is a horrible practice, summing up his opinions in a single sentence, Sarah went into a little more detail, stating how evil McGinniss is by pointing out that he stopped by her doorstep last year or how he made an impressive bid at a charity auction - she fails to mention that when McGinniss stopped by her house, he was dropping off a book for her.  Sarah concedes that what McGinniss is doing is okay but then copies her statements from the other day about how "fences do make for good neighbors."  I guess figuring out how to cut and paste took up a majority of Memorial Day.  Also notice Palin's last line where she mentions how the media will sensationalize "whatever the latest episode is" - it was Palin who first sensationalized this "nontroversy."
NBC responded to thank us for our statements and again promised that they would “make sure” that the Today Show aired both of our statements “as a fullscreen graphic during the segment tomorrow.” We were grateful because we knew that our statements would counter any accusation of “inciting hatred.” And boy was it necessary because in his interview on NBC this morning McGinniss doubled down on his accusation to actually compare us to the Nazis!
I guess it was McGinniss' silence that caused a threatening Craigslist listing to be posted or a reminder in The Frontiersman of Alaskan law that permits the use of deadly force. I guess that had nothing to do with Sarah Palin blowing the whistle on her new neighbor.
But there was just one problem: NBC broke their promise and didn’t run our statements after all. So, the “journalist’s” sensational claims about us being Nazis went unchallenged. We emailed NBC this morning to ask why our statement wasn’t aired. We were given a lame excuse and told that they would run it tomorrow (after the damage had been done) and that they would be happy to interview me about it (which was their aim all along because journalism today is all about ratings and not about truth).
Taking a play out of the conservative propaganda handbook, Palin continues to paint herself as the victim because NBC didn't print her entire comment in it's entirety. Maybe NBC didn't print her response because it only consisted of accusations against the author - McGinniss was already on air defending himself from Palin's previous accusations. I also find it funny that she is upset that her statement would be aired the following day, "after the damage had been done." Where was Sarah Palin when James O'Keefe and Hannah Giles made severely edited videos depicting ACORN as a corrupt organization... oh wait... Sarah Palin hated ACORN a couple years back, attacking the organization way before the wannabe journalists made their propaganda film.

Palin's next paragraph is a real winner:
The interview itself was quite an eye-opener. I’m not sure what “ugly innuendo” was in my Facebook post or why it is so controversial to suggest that the presence of a hostile “journalist” writing a hostile book about me is an imposition on my children who simply want to enjoy their summer outside. When I say or write “leave my kids alone,” it means simply that: let my kids have a fun summer without having a “journalist” 15 ft from their play area. How that equates me with the Nazis is quite beyond me. If receiving nasty emails and even death threats is the standard by which we judge “inciting hatred,” then the left in this country has been “inciting hatred” on my family for almost two years now. We don’t complain about this or call people “Nazis” because we value freedom of speech enough to believe that even ignorant and hateful people have a right to it. It’s a shame that a self-proclaimed “journalist” doesn’t understand this.
Palin plays dumb as to what she actually meant when she pondered in her earlier Facebook post what McGinniss was going to write about while watching over her young daughter's bedroom, repeatedly referring to McGinniss as a "journalist" in quotation marks.  McGinniss also stated in his interview that he didn't care about Palin's children, yet she continues to drag them into the picture, stating that she wants McGinniss to "leave [her] kids alone."  I don't know about you, but to me it seems that Palin is trying to justify herself by claiming she was doing it in the name of protecting her children.

Palin mentions that McGinniss is 15 feet away from her children's play area - in her previous post, wasn't he 15 feet away from her kitchen window?  Does Palin have any comprehension of her spatial reality?  Again, Palin paints herself the victim, discounting McGinniss' claims that he is being threatened by claiming that she has been threatened longer.  I love how Palin also calls this accomplished author a "self-proclaimed 'journalist'.  She did get one thing right - stating that ignorant and hateful people have the right to freedom of speech too.

Palin ends her letter with some sort of ramble about the freedom of press:
And it’s a shame that Todd and I had another disappointing encounter with the media on Memorial Day of all days. It was time that we could have spent with our kids and on a day when we honor those who have died in defense of our Constitution, including our freedom of the press.

Freedom of the press is integral to our democracy, but reporters must be held accountable because with power comes responsibility. A corrupt, deceptive, and manipulative media can ruin the lives of good people, disrupt families, destroy reputations, and ultimately hurt our country.

I’d like to believe that it’s not too late to demand integrity from our media. Thank goodness for social networking sites like this and new media sites which have allowed us to get around the “lamestream” media and present the facts. But let this story be another example of why you must seek out facts and truth about anything and everything you see reported today.
Palin is correct in that "reporters must be held accountable," so what does she have to say about her coworkers at Fox News who continually distort the facts day after day?  What does Palin have to say for her own "journalistic" piece that misrepresented interviews like the one with LL Cool J?  What does Palin know about journalism?

Palin's little Facebook piece is pure hypocratic trash.  She attempts to distort the facts and make herself the victim in a situation that she created.  Sadly, Palin followers will fall for this crap and attack McGinniss, but now that Palin is beating this horse to death, her fans are going to get riled up even more.  I suggest McGinniss buy a gun because you never know what kind of crazy person is lurking around the corner, and as we have learned from The Frontiersman, Alaskan law allows you to use deadly force in protecting life and property.

I also question as to whether or not NBC was acutally in contact with the former half-term governor on Memorial Day.  Palin offers no evidence, and taking her advice to heart, I am holding Palin accountable for her actions because God forbid she commits an act of hypocrisy and posts something "corrupt, deceptive, and maipulative..."

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