Sarah Palin's 'Snuff Film' Gets Global Attention

Jason Deans, writing in the UK's Guardian:

West Wing creator Aaron Sorkin today gave Sarah Palin both barrels over her US TV reality show, accusing the contender for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination of shooting an animal "for political gain".

He described Palin as "deranged", a "witless bully" and a "phony pioneer girl". He also said The Learning Channel, the US cable network, "should be ashamed of itself" for broadcasting her "truly awful reality show".

Before the show, in what was likely an attempt to gin up controversy and boost the show's ratings, which failed, Palin tweeted: "Unless you've never worn leather shoes, sat upon a leather chair or eaten meat, save your condemnation." Palin also accused those whom she was trying to bait of hypocrisy.

Deans continues, quoting Sorkin:

"I eat meat, chicken and fish, have shoes and furniture made of leather ... I'm able to make a distinction between you and me without feeling the least bit hypocritical," Sorkin wrote in an incendiary comment piece posted on the Huffington Post website early today.

"I don't watch snuff films and you make them. You weren't killing that animal for food or shelter or even fashion, you were killing it for fun. You enjoy killing animals," he added.

"And you didn't just do it for fun and you didn't just do it for money. That was the first moose [sic] ever murdered for political gain. You knew there'd be a protest from Peta and you knew that would be an opportunity to hate on some people, you witless bully. What a uniter you'd be – bringing the right together with the far right."

Sorkin said he could not make a distinction between what Palin got paid to do in her show and "what Michael Vick went to prison for doing". Vick is an American football player convicted three years ago on dog-fighting charges.

Sorkin's post is receiving a lot of attention. The Washington Post's TV Column, written by Lisa de Moraes, covers it here.