Finally, Comeuppance For "Faux" Journalists?

Well, everyone on the planet knows about Sarah Palin's resignation by now. She has her reasons, of course, whether one agrees with them or not. I would say that if my children were continually being hammered in the press, with my Down's Syndrome baby bearing the brunt of the cruel humor, I might be a bit inclined to get out, too. Add to that having to spend enormous amounts of time and money dealing with frivolous ethics complaints (talking to YOU, Obamabots), and the woman can scarcely do her job.

In other words, Sarah Palin is damned if she does, and damned if she doesn't. If she stays, and continues to deal with all of these ridiculous complaints, eating up time better spent dealing with issues facing Alaska and its citizens, she gets slammed for not doing the work of Alaskans, wasting taxpayers' money, and on and on. If she doesn't deal with it, then she is ethically challenged, has "abused her power," is a poor representative of Alaska, and on and on. Her work environment has been made untenable by these ridiculous challenges, as each one has to be addressed. I can only imagine the mounting level of frustration for her. Oh, and many of those complaints have been dismissed already, further highlighting that they are being used solely to harass her.

And then's there's her family, and how they have been treated. Fellow NQ writer, LisaB, had an EXCELLENT article on this recently, "Andrew Sullivan's Reckless Cruelty to "White Trash Concupiscence." There is no need for me to re-state what LisaB already did so well, except to highlight this point regarding Palin's daughter, Bristol, getting pregnant at 17: so did Obama's mother. So EVERYTHING nasty you say about this young woman, you are saying about Stanley Ann Dunham.

Once again, while I do not agree with many of her policy positions, she has every right to HOLD those positions. This is a (more or less) free country, after all.

Okay, all of that being said, this is the portion of the article, Palin Links Resignation to 'Higher Calling', on which I want to focus. There is MUCH more in this article, so feel free to take a look. But THIS is what I wish Al Gore had done when he was being portrayed as a liar and as delusional by many Republicans (and Democrats who repeated the intentionally manipulated statements Gore did make on the internet, the Love Canal, and "Love Story"):

The abruptness of her announcement and the mystery surrounding her plans have fed widespread speculation. But Palin attorney Thomas Van Flein on Saturday warned legal action may be taken against bloggers and publications that reprint what he calls fraudulent claims.

"To the extent several websites, most notably liberal Alaska blogger Shannyn Moore, are now claiming as 'fact' that Governor Palin resigned because she is 'under federal investigation' for embezzlement or other criminal wrongdoing, we will be exploring legal options this week to address such defamation," Van Flein said in a statement. "This is to provide notice to Ms. Moore, and those who re-publish the defamation, such as Huffington Post, MSNBC, the New York Times and The Washington Post, that the Palins will not allow them to propagate defamatory material without answering to this in a court of law."

He also told the Anchorage Daily News that Palin wasn't in any criminal legal jeopardy.

"I can say definitively I am aware of no criminal investigation whatsoever involving Sarah Palin. Zero," he said.

The FBI reiterated that claim Saturday, telling the Los Angeles Times for a story Sunday that the Federal Bureau of Investigation was not investigating Palin's activities as governor, a former mayor or in any other capacity.

"There is absolutely no truth to those rumors that we're investigating her or getting ready to indict her," Special Agent Eric Gonzalez, the bureau's Alaska spokesman, said.

Oh, SNAP!!!! See, that's how these people SHOULD be treated. Al Gore AND Hillary Clinton could have taken some pages from these people's playbook, though it seemed when Clinton DID try to clarify the record, they just made fun of her for it (like the whole insurance flyer thing - remember that? Obama claimed her outrage was "tactical." It couldn't possibly be that she was well and truly pissed off because of how he was portraying her.). Same with Gore, come to think of it - it seemed whenever he tried to point out what he ACTUALLY said, they just made fun of him even more. I think both of these folks can understand the whole "damned if they do" mentality that surrounds Palin ...

If journalists, whether for MSM outlets or blogs like this one, purposely print false statements about prominent people, they should be held to account. I hasten to add, if the statements were made in good faith, and were just wrong, the opportunity should be available to print retractions (though I think we all know what happens then - people never remember the retraction, just the initial accusation). But I say, GOOD ON PALIN'S ATTORNEY for making it crystal clear that no more of these false accusations that slander the governor will be tolerated. About damn time, too, I'd say. The character assassination on her (and too many others) went over the top long ago.

It is way past time for journalists to return to FACT CHECKING their statements before making them, to stop rumor mongering (or flat out making shit up), and REPORT events. We don't want your OPINIONS of why Palin resigned, just the news THAT she resigned. Think you can do that? If not, meet Palin's attorney. I'm sure you'll get to know him well (and may be then YOU can experience what it is like to try and work while dealing with a lawsuit, only in YOUR case, it will be deserved). Bottom line, right on, Mr. Van Flein!