Palin attacked by media

Things are very transparent when you follow the news cycle closely, and it was interesting to see the give and take after the Rahm Emanuel remarks that were made a week or two ago. Emanuel, who is of course Obama’s Chief of Staff, called the Democrats who opposed the so-called health reform bill that has apparently stalled in the Senate “retards.” Aside from political correctness, which is what the flap wound up being about, a man who would say something like that is simply lacking in culture and civility, and that really should not be lost when you consider this imbroglio.

That having been said, Sarah Palin chimed in immediately, calling Emanuel to the carpet on behalf of the developmentally disabled (is that how you’re supposed to say it?) and their advocates because her son fits that description. She likened the “slur” to using the “n-word.” So…it is safe to say that there was probably more than a little political motivation for her outrage, but then again, she is a mom who doesn’t want people to think its okay to taunt her child and others like him with insulting epithets.

Think what you will about all of the above, including the subsequent use of the term by none other than Rush Limbaugh. But we want to point out the control that the White House has over the media. Almost immediately after Palin made her remarks about “Rahmbo’s” insensitivity, the fact that she hasn’t paid property taxes on two remote cabins in the Alaskan bush became big news. It is as though Rahm immediately contacted his pals in the corporate media and ordered them to dig up some dirt on Palin.

These properties can only be reached by helicopter or snow machine. It’s not like they are benefiting from some sort of municipal services, and the agency in charge of collecting the taxes says that people generally don’t seek them out to tell them that they built a remote cabin. Sometimes they find out, sometimes they don’t. Do you really care if someone doesn’t pay taxes (in return for which they will receive nothing) on a remote cabin in the Alaskan wilderness? I sure don’t. But I do care about the White House manipulating the media and punishing others for their own stupidity and arrogance, and I am appalled by the offhanded lack of human decency in the way that they routinely conduct themselves.