We the People at Palin's Hat Shop

The Washington Post has reported on yet another ethical lapse by Governor Palin. Apparently, state officials in Alaska are forbidden by law from taking sides on ballot initiatives. Palin bit her tongue about a conflict between mining and fishing industries, but put up partisan info on her government website. When the fisheries complained, she was ordered by the courts to remove the info. She did and then called a press conference, explained that she was "taking off her governor's hat" and told them that as a private citizen she was against the protections for fishing. The next day full page ads in the papers carried her picture announcing Governor Palin (not private citizen Palin) was against the initiative. It failed.

As former Governor Tony Knowles told the Post:

"She says, 'I'm going to take off my governor's hat,' but the only reason the press was there was that they were called to a press conference by the governor. Being governor is not a costume -- you either are the governor or not."

In honor of Sarah Palin's discovery that laws only apply to those wearing the appropriate hat, I would like to celebrate the ways in which this discovery could make all our lives easier.

"I took off my teacher hat and cursed out a fifth-grader. And then I went back to being a caring instructor. But I'm only human and the kid was getting on my nerves."

"I took off my employee hat and took a nap. My boss started to yell at me, but I showed him that hat on the rack and he was suddenly embarrassed. You can't just scream at people unless you're their boss. He apologized and just to show no hard feelings, I put my hat right back on and got to work."

"I took off my law-abiding-citizen hat and robbed a bank. Just for a minute, and then I put that hat back on. Now my finances are peachy and I want all the laws enforced, as any law-abiding citizen would."