Yesterday, The Associated Press leaked excerpts on Sarah Palin’s new memoir, “”Going Rogue: An American Life,”” which hits bookshelves today. In the book, she confirms reports of tension between her aides and those of the 2008 Republican presidential candidate, Sen. John McCain. The vice presidential candidate confirms that she had wanted to speak on election night, but was denied the chance. Palin also writes disparagingly of CBS anchor Katie Couric, whom she describes as “”badgering”” and biased.

Press out to sabotage Palin

The Associated Press leaked information on Palin’s memoir before the book’s debut? Why am I not surprised? Considering the media’s near-constant negativity towards Palin over the past year, I expected this kind of mincing with regards to her memoir.

Yesterday, TheWeek.com said “”Going Rogue”” is “”Sarah Palin’s whiny book.”” On Nov. 13, Geoffrey Dunn wrote a column titled “”The First Ten Lies from Going Rogue,”” on the Huffington Post. Why couldn’t critics at least wait until today, the memoir’s publication date, to bash Palin’s writing and thought process?

If she’s “”whiny”” in her non-fiction narrative, President Barack Obama is also whiny for some of his complaints and judgments in his own memoir “”Dreams from My Father.”” Even so, these are personal memoirs, not news reports or political speeches. Palin and Obama are allowed to be as whiny as they want in this diary-esque format.

Clearly, Palin’s book sales haven’t suffered. As of press time, over 1.5 million copies of “”Going Rogue”” have sold on Amazon.com, all before the book’s release. If reviewers are attempting to curb Palin’s success, they’re going to be disappointed. She’s been through a great deal since she was selected to be McCain’s running mate, and the public can’t get enough of her.

More than 63 million people play the Facebook game called “”FarmVille”” every month. Gaming columnist Dean Takahashi told National Public Radio that some people will pay real money to get ahead in the virtual reality game.

Don’t Waste Your Money

Though I’m an addicted Facebook user, I’ve never played FarmVille. I ignore all the invitations from my close UA friend, who has proudly showed me her online farm on several occasions. I won’t go near FarmVille, yet it has somehow invaded my dreams. It’s difficult to understand why a Facebook application can absorb and entice so many users.

The FarmVille community is becoming slightly reminiscent of World of Warcraft players, who have been known to get into the game to an obsessive, unhealthy level. As much time as I spend on Facebook and Twitter, I’d never pay money for social networking websites, and I’m really disturbed to learn that Facebook users would shell out their own cash for a fake farm. Save your money and put it towards your education, or at least towards something that you’ll physically benefit from.

Rodney Bradford’s Facebook status update became a substantial alibi after he was accused of a crime. The update’s time stamp and the location from which it was entered showed he could not have been at the scene of a robbery in another part of New York City. After spending nearly two weeks in jail, the case against him was dismissed, according to Cnn.com.

Can’t Trust Facebook

Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and other similar Web sites have been known to screw many young people over, so it’s great to see something positive come out of a Web site that is kind of a waste of time. College graduates have been denied jobs as a result of their Facebook photographs and tweets, and most others are worried about suffering the same fate.

I’m both surprised and amused that Facebook could bail Rodney Bradford out of jail, but at the same time, how accurate is this find? Since when has Facebook become a valid source of evidence? Many college students have made the mistake of leaving their Facebook accounts signed in on laptops or public computers. These people know how easy and tempting it is for friends to type obscenities and embarrassing statements on the victim’s Facebook status.

With online hacking and creative pranks on the rise, a Facebook status should not be considered solid evidence that someone has a rock-hard alibi. Though it’s pleasing to learn that online social networking web pages don’t necessarily lead everyone into failure, my stomach churns at the thought of Facebook becoming a legitimate source of evidence that can get someone out of jail.

— Laura Donovan is the opinions editor.

She can be reached at letters@wildcat.arizona.edu.