Overstepping their bounds

I try to be as clear as possible on this space. Unfortunately, I am not always as clear as I'd like to be.

About two weeks ago I posted an item where I suggested "celebrities" might follow glossy magazine celeb Valerie Plame's lead and sue prominent government officials as a way of garnering publicity if, for example, their book deal has just fallen through.

I thought I had made it abundantly apparent it was only cool for celebrities to do this. Reason being celebrities are different than the rest of us.

By different I mean better. Why else would they get all the latest products and fashions for free and be allowed to openly practice a strange Martian religion without becoming a laughingstock at work?

It is possible Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter thinks he is celebrity. I'll be generous and conclude there was some sort of mix-up in his office involving C-Span's Nielsen ratings, a decimal point and a low-level staffer. It happens all the time. So I'll direct this to all of the Specter camp:

Arlen Specter is not a celebrity and should not be suing President Bush. Especially in a confusing way that makes everyone's head hurt when they try to figure it out.

Luckily he has yet to file the suit. I can only hope this message will encourage savvier heads to prevail.

No such luck with a group called the The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee. They have already filed suit against Secretaries Rumsfeld and Rice. Something to do with Lebanon, evacuations, all sorts of silliness.

What isn't so silly is I can't think of a single Arab celebrity. Not a one. Maybe the "AAADC" should get busy figuring out why that is because actually having celebrities is a great way for an ethnic group to get publicity. Far better than suing the Secretary of State.

Quite frankly, I don't think the whole suing the prominent government official thing has been the publicity bonanza Valerie Plame expected it to be. In fact, I haven't seen her name anywhere since she filed.

If I was writing about it now, I probably wouldn't suggest celebrities follow her lead. I certainly would include a better definition of what a celebrity is.