I am amazed at what has happened.  The Sarah Palin “Oystergate” scandal is becoming a major national news story!!!  I just pulled this off of the wire 10 minutes ago.   (If you are just finding out about this story here are links to the original article and Palin’s reply)

Click here for up to the minute coverage of Sarah Palin and the Oystergate scandal!!!

Angry Swedish Protestors In Front of The Ikea in Bloomington, Minnesota

Bloomington, MN (API)-In a bizarre scandal that is being called “Oystergate”, Sarah Palin is being accused of having a deep hatred of Swedish people.  This story began when Palin agreed to write a music interview on a small website called “The Tyranny of Tradition”.  Palin’s review, in which she shared her feelings about music including a love for the rock group The Blue Oyster Cult, started off as a simple discussion of heavy metal and quickly turned into an anti-Swedish diatribe where she claimed to be concerned about “slick talking Swedish terrorists” and referred to the government of Sweden as being “brutal and oppressive”.  In a follow-up email, Palin added fuel to the fire by misquoting William Shakespeare and saying that there was “something rotten in the state of Sweden”.

The Swedish Embassy officially condemned Palin’s remarks.  Swedish spokesman Per Gustafson said, “The Swedish people are deeply offended by Palin’s statement.  Anti-Swedism has no place in the world of mature political communication.”

Late in the afternoon, things took a decided turn for the worse for the Palin camp.  Helen Blomquist, the personal housekeeper for the Palins from 2006 until 2008, dropped a bombshell when she accused Palin of using anti-Swedish language around their Wasilla home.  According to Blomquist, during a heated meeting with one of her top advisors, Palin shouted “Grow up!  Stop acting like such a Swede!”

Blomquist also claims that, as a sick joke, she was regularly pelted with Swedish fish and subjected to mocking anti-Swede insults by Mrs. Palin and her husband Todd.

In the wake of the growing scandal, the Palin camp has issued a statement saying, “Sarah has nothing but love and appreciation for the Swedish people.  The comments of Mrs. Blomquist are entirely untrue.  Any accusations of Anti-Swedism are purely a creation of the left-wing media.”

However, growing tension has clearly plagued Palin’s staff. Hilda Erickson, Palin’s Chief of Swedish Relations, resigned this afternoon citing “personal, family related reasons.”

Swedish-Americans have taken to the streets to voice their outrage at Palin’s comments.  A group of nearly 500 angry Swedes stood in front of the IKEA in Bloomington, Minnesota today carrying protest signs, shouting “Palin hates Swedes” and proudly singing the Swedish National Anthem.  Hilmar Lindquist, head of the Swedes For America group, has demanded an apology.  Until Palin apologizes, Lindquist and several of his followers have begun a 40 day lingonberry-only fast.