By: Juliana
A couple of days ago a story broke that Sarah Palin admitted she and her family had….GASP….crossed the border into Canada to take advantage of their single-payer health care system. NO! It couldn’t be! Outrage! HYPOCRITE! LIAR!! These were just a few (censored) things that came to my mind. I first read the story when it broke on the Huffington Post, not exactly the cream of the crop when it comes to news sources, but I have always found their stories for the most part to be factual, biased perhaps, but accurate nonetheless. The story literally broke about 30 minutes after the Palin confession. There is always a race to be first. Forget about the facts and let’s leave out the “inconsequential” details. Break the story, damnit!
ERRRRRRR!! Hold on. STOP! Let’s look at the whole story. Where we’re going, we don’t need roads. If you look at the full text of the speech Palin gave, you will see she was talking about in the 1960’s when her brother once burned his foot and they crossed the border to get treatment. Back in the 60’s, Canada did not, I repeat, did NOT have a single payer health care system. The Canadian Medical Care Act was not passed until 1967, and this act only allowed for government to pay for approximately 50% of approved expenditures for hospital and physician services. So in reality, the Palin clan was not fully taking advantage of the Canadian government when they hopped the border. They were not participating in a full on “socialized medicine” system. Thank goodness. Heaven forbid they be subject to one of those death panels I’ve been hearing about! That liberal rag got it wrong! Ha!
The conservative base and blowhards were quick to rebuke the story. The talking heads got on FOX news faster than Joe Biden can shotgun a beer. “The Palin’s weren’t doing anything that was wrong” and “Sarah Palin continues to invigorate the base of the party…”
ERRRRRRRR!! Halt!! Backtrack, AGAIN. Seems the Huff Post wasn’t the only one to get the story wrong. It seems even Palin herself can’t seem to get it straight. Palin first told this story in 2007 to a newspaper in Juno, Alaska. Only that time, the story had a different ending. It went something like this… “Well I remember one time when my brother burned his foot and we had to drive all the way down to the city of Juno to get it treated…” Either Palin has a pandering problem or her poor brother is a pyromaniac. Alliteration, yes! Telling people only what they want to hear, no! Where did her brother actually receive treatment? Does Palin have a truthiness problem? MSNBC was all over it.
The fact that Palin lied at some point when telling this story doesn't even matter to me. Politicians embellish and pander all the time, some more than others (not pointing any fingers). The bottom line is the ups and the downs of this story were just too much for me. Why does the media hang on every single word this woman says? What is it about her that makes her so damn newsworthy? I know the media loves to follow a train wreck, and even more love a comeback story, but does anyone really think there is a game of rope-a-dope going on here? Are we really supposed to believe that after all the controversy (and idiocy) she has swirled up she is going to miraculously get herself elected leader of the free world? Whether you love or hate Sarah Palin, do you really think she stands a chance in the arena of Presidential politics? Absolutely not. She would never make it through the vetting process now. Not a chance. But here we are, still talking about her, day in and day out.
And you know why? Because people like me keep reading and writing about her! I can’t control it and it drives me craazzzyyyyyyyyyy. It’s like this woman, as insignificant as she may now be, represents everything I despise. To say she is polarizing would be the understatement of the century. When I read something she does, says, or writes, I can’t help myself but to have a reaction. It’s this love/hate relationship that keeps her in the media’s focus. So I am writing this post today, asking for help. My name is Juliana Wright, and I’m a Palinoholic. The first step is admitting you have a problem, right? I’ve read the 12th step goes something like this, “Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, carry this message to other addicts, and practice these principles in all your affairs.”
I clearly need an awakening. I know there are others out there who do too. I would start a facebook support group, but that is just way too cliché. I suppose I will just have to tackle this beast on my own. It won’t be easy. I think I shall just lay low for a while, stay away from Huffington Post, Politico, and the Times for a while. It won’t be easy, but you have to do what you have to do. Hopefully, in result, my next blog post won’t be about the Real Housewives of New York City. But if it is, I suppose you know I have been making progress.
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