Appreciate that Ezra. Excellent service you’re providing with this blog! Continue on with your mission Brother…

@Amy: You’re the ultimate diplomat… able to see both sides of the coin, probably at the same time too. lol.

But I do understand what you’re saying too. And I think you hit the nail on the head with your comparison of the news media and certain public figures to advertising.

They know what the masses want, and they send them these subliminal messages in an effort to coerce them into saying or doing certain things.

Perfect analogy!

Wow, incredible! It’s still up on her Facebook.

@ Ezra & Jill: While I have to agree with Jill’s earlier concerns about reposting Palin’s unconscionable graphic, I also see Ezra’s point of being responsible for outting Ms. Palin and promoting awareness of how public figures and the media can manipulate the masses. In the advertising field there is a ‘must read’ manual called ‘The Hidden Persuaders’. The book cites the various ways consumers are subliminally coerced into buying goods or services. Key words, catch phrases, images even colors and shapes are used to psychologically persuade you to react favorably to a product.
Some folks can see past the bullshit and make their own rational decision based on what they need and want. Others are totally sucked in. Palin knew exactly what she was inferring by using a well known, identifiable image such as the crosshairs of a rifle. She and her advisers were aware that people would take her message one of two ways — and all she needed was one person to take it the wrong way.

It’s okay Jill, and I do agree with you. The least she could have done was to completely distance herself from this, especially this. But she chose to keep it prominently displayed on her site.

She created this display, kept it up and after the shooting of one of the people named on her list, she keeps it up anyways. Amazing!

Jill, you make a great point, and I’m glad you identified yourself as a liberal earlier. But if someone wants to take aim at a liberal/democrat, they won’t be coming here to a liberal blog to see the Sarah Palin crosshairs, they can see it still on her Facebook page. Yes, Sarah Palin still has it up on her page.

Here’s the link:

http://www.facebook.com/notes/sarah-palin/dont-get-demoralized-get-organized-take-back-the-20/373854973434

I agree with your words 100%, but in your own words this map “arouses fearful, hateful emotions . . . Suggesting your opponents be ‘taken out'”. All anyone needs to do is say “Sarah Palin’s map” and everyone knows what you are talking about. Posting the map with names and locations was reckless, stupid and potentially dangerous when Sarah did it. Why is it OK for anyone else to do it? Regardless of motive, you know just because liberals are disseminating this map virtually everywhere, it won’t be seen by exclusively like-minded people. We think we’re cornering Sarah but we’re really playing a very dangerous game.

@Lisalways: I couldn’t have said it better, so I’ll just agree with everything you said. Members of congress who have been in office forever, are all saying that the present political atmosphere is the worst they’ve ever seen. What changed? The issues are all the same – Democrats believe in the people, and Republicans are for Businesses – so if that’s the case, then why have things become so bad, so quickly?

Sarah Palin came on the scene with her blatant lies, like death panels and all the scare tactics they use to drum up small political victories. And being that she started out on the national scene as a vice presidential candidate, she quickly gained a following. Then FOX NEWS decided to not only continue their republican leaning ways, but they fully divulge themselves into it. The market was there, created by Mrs. Palin.

Enter the Main Stream Media (MSM). Instead of sticking to news and broadcasting facts as they are, the MSM saw the huge following FOX was having and decided that drama – having two different sides fight for 5 minutes then breaking to commercial – was better than actually reporting the news.

So yes, Sarah Palin created the atmosphere and everyone else, in an effort to capitalize on the market she created, they follow-suite!

Thanks Sarah!!!

I can definitely understand your concern, if I look at your point from just one perspective. But the overall point of me posting this blog and crosshairs is to show what the world had already seen. This picture of Sarah Palin’s crosshairs was posted on her site for months, so anyone who would want to harm any of the Democrats shown under the crosshairs, have already seen and possibly, memorized this picture.

My posting this picture too, is obviously for a different reason. It is to make a point to Palin, to conservatives, to everyone who have access to the national airways. The ones who say careless, reckless, and suggestive things on radio and television, then try to hide when the uninformed takes their words at heart. My point is, you may try to scrub your website, or delete your audio/videos, but in today’s technological age, archives of your words are being stored immediately after they leave your lips.

My words in this post are clear. Anyone reading this blog will see that I am 100% against anyone being harmed because of something as simple as a difference of political ideology. Unfortunately, that cannot be said about most of today’s political punditry, and it especially cannot be said about Sarah Palin.