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Sarah Palin Is Not A “Real American”

I denounce and reject myself for posting this because I am always harping on the media for covering stupid meaningless stories rather than real informative news, but I really dislike Sarah Palin and found this story interesting and representative of her character.  This story that I found on Huffington Post, outlines demands that were found in Mrs. Palin’s speaking contract rider.  I am well aware of celebrities often asking for ridiculous things in their riders, but Mrs. Palin is a politician, a politician who decrees frivolous spending, and claims to be a woman of the people, a “real American.”  The demands in her rider reinforce the idea that her identity is manufactured, and her claims of being a “real America” are a farce.  Mrs. Palin is just as coddled as any other Hollywood celebrity, taking advantage of her fame to get what she wants.  Here is a list of required items that can be found in her rider:

1. Mrs. Palin must be provided a two-way satellite broadcast.  For Q&A, the questions must be collected from audience members in advance for pre-screening.
2. Mrs. Palin must be flown to and from events in first class, unless she chooses to fly coach.
3. In some instances, Mrs. Palin may need to fly on a private jet, in which case it must be a Lear 60 or larger for West Coast events, and a Hawker 800 or larger for East Coast events, and both are subject to Mrs. Palin’s approval.
4. Mrs. Palin must have private security provided for her and her party for the duration of the engagement.  She must be transported in SUV(s) from a professionally licensed car service.  Black town cars may be substituted in the event that SUV(s) are not available.  The cars and drives need to wait at the venue for the duration of the program.
5. Unless Mrs. Palin agrees in advance, autographs are not permitted.
6. Mrs. Palin reserves the right to participate in private business during her visit.  This includes but is not limited to book signings or political events.
7. Mrs. Palin requires a tall, wooden lectern with lip and fixed microphone in addition to a hand-held microphone.  The lighting should be at a comfortable, but appropriate, production-level for Mrs. Palin to be able to see the full audience from the lectern without interference.
8. Two bottles of still water, and bendable straws, placed near the wooden lectern.  A representative from Mrs. Palin’s party must be allowed to open the water bottles prior to Mrs. Palin’s arrival.
9. Security arrangements must be deemed satisfactory to Mrs. Palin and her party.

The point of this post is not to bash Sarah Palin because of the things she asks for, in fact, I don’t think that, comparatively speaking, the things she is asking for are all that unusual.  I just wanted to point out that when she presents herself as a common person, she most certainly is not.  Mrs. Palin is making upwards of $100k per speaking engagement, which in my opinion, in the only reason she relinquished her governorship in the first place.  Mrs. Palin is no different than any other famous person, and she should be treated no differently than any other celebrity.  Don’t try and convince us that she is just a regular person, and she is looking out for common folk.  She is a typical spoiled celebrity, and a stupid one at that.

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