How Much More are the American People Going to Take?

We have seen a barrage of personal attacks leveled against Governor Sarah Palin since being named as Senator John McCain’s running mate. The attacks, although not instigated directly by Senator Obama’s campaign, have been perpetrated by those who support him and his candidacy; leaving some to wonder if someone within his own camp might be orchestrating them.

The individuals behind these attacks are brutal and they will stop at nothing to destroy any perceived threat to their pursuit of power. Currently that perceived threat is Governor Palin. Their primary goal is to destroy her at all cost and take no prisoners. It doesn’t matter whether the methods they use are legal or illegal; and they don’t care whether or not their irresponsible actions might possibly lead to physical harm to their intended target or her family members. They are under the assumption that anything goes.

The latest in this endless string of attacks occurred yesterday with regard to Governor Palin’s personal e-mail account.

Governor Palin has been accused by some in Alaska of using her personal Yahoo e-mail account to conduct official government business. No proof has been given…just allegations. Yet, an internet terrorist group, who calls themselves “Anonymous”, managed to acquire her personal e-mail account. How? You might ask? By way of an article that was written regarding the allegations. In the article the author included her personal e-mail address for all to see.

A member of “Anonymous”, with the ammunition he had been provided, called Yahoo pretending to be the governor and telling them that he had lost his password. They allowed him to change the password to her e-mail account and then he was able to get inside and make a zip file of everything. The contents that he stole included two sample e-mails, an index of messages and Palin family photos. He then posted the information on the whistleblower site Wikileaks contending that the information was proof that Governor Palin had improperly used her private e-mail to do official government business.

I have not seen the information he stole from Governor Palin's personal e-mail account, and I have no desire to do so. However, Paul McNamara on the website Network World has seen them and this is what he says,

"There's no way to tell at a glance whether this material is authentic or a hoax, but the organizations involved are well known. Obviously, the method by which the information was obtained and posted will be hugely controversial. (And inclusion of the pictures seems gratuitous, if not mean.)

However, the e-mail index from Palin's account does appear to indicate that she has been using it for both private and official business, with one entry addressed to California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and another to Palin's chief of staff, Michael Nizich, to cite only two obvious examples.

As for the sample e-mails, rather than bolstering the contention that Palin uses private e-mail to avoid possible public scrutiny of official business, at first blush they actually seem indicative of her dutifully separating Alaska business from Alaska and national politics. Both samples are overtly political in nature, which, based on my admittedly limited understanding of the law in this area, make them inappropriate when using government resources."

What I can ascertain from this account is,1) Governor Palin may have used her private e-mail account for official business, 2) the official business was not related to Alaskan government issues, and 3) because the business was not related to Alaskan government issues, it would have been inppropriate for her to use her government issued e-mail account.

This most recent attack; unlike all of the others, which were downright nasty and vile or had bordered on defamation, was illegal with a capital I. When caught (not if), and prosecuted, the culprits will face jail time of one to five years. This violation was not a matter of freedom of speech or of improper search and seizure or of phishing for information that could prove unethical activity; this was a violation of Governor Palin’s privacy, which is covered by Federal law.

It is time for the federal government to wield all of its constitutional authority to bring a stop to these attacks and prosecute those they can; especially those who illegally obtained Governor Palin’s personal e-mails. It is time for the American people to say enough is enough. It is time for us to protect the rights of us all by protecting the rights of one woman who only desires to serve the people of this nation.