Reeee-loading, an apologist speaks

This is, thus far, the single most painful blog I've written.

I am not a Sarah Palin fan. I find her anti-intellectual "you betcha" brand of American pie stale and somewhat silly. The entire consonant-dropping good ole' gal stuff might have its' place on an entertainment or cookin' show, but when it comes down to it I prefer someone who presents him or herself professionally. Just my preference. I want the smartest people in the room running the show.

Lots of folks out there like her very much. If you don't know this you're clearly retarded.

Oh, wait, she has a well-displayed child with Down's syndrome, and is against the use of the word as a derogation of her son. Apologies. [as an aside, I'm 38. I used the word "retard" over and over again and never thought anything of it until later in life, when I learned words can hurt. Learning....it's not a 4-letter word...pass it on]

So Mrs. Palin is much-maligned in today's news for something she posted on her online something-or-other (facebook or twitter, I forget and I'm not looking it up) encouraging like-minded citizens not to give up the fight, but to "reload."

Much -as you probably know- has been made of this.

It....um...it......huh....well, y'see....it's unfair and stupid. Cough....there, I said it. I knew precisely what she intended in her post, and it wasn't referencing the loading of an actual weapon to be fired upon any human being. I hope......I want to believe, I should say, that anyone who read the words understood it in a similar way. Yet, somewhat inexplicably, this is not the case.

Words have plain meanings and figurative ones. While it is true that her choice of words in this case could be interpreted in a manner that suggest violence against her political opponents, I think that's reading waaay too much into it. She was simply exhorting her fans to continue the "fight" against their perceived antagonists in D.C. No, I don't agree with her at all, but it's her right - and the right of her apostles - to protest and vote in any peaceful manner they see fit.

Yes, she should've known better than to have issued a public statement like this. The very air around us crackles with partisan rancor on both sides. Yet, if she were to do edit herself better, then perhaps a little of what makes her "her" dies. This is what she is. You can't expect her to be more. Accept this.

If I'm incorrect in my assumptions, and she was in fact attempting to start a riotous armed movement against our elected officials, well folks - inciting a riot or other armed uprising's an illegal form of speech, regardless of which side of politics you favor.

But, other than that, it's America, ya crybabies, live with that.

On a somewhat related point, I'd like to see her TV show be a big success and a hit. Alaska is supposed to be a gorgeous piece of real-estate (except for the bears and mosquitoes) and anything she can do to help her fellow Alaskans out is admirable. It'd be like building a bridge to ...somewhere.

You betcha