Krystal Ball could have used the kind of foresight her name is synonymous with. Ball isn’t a rapper, adult film star or fortune-teller; she’s a 29-year-old Virginia Democrat running for Congress.

This week, a right-wing blog dug up Facebook pictures of Ball enjoying herself at a 2003 Christmas party. By “enjoying herself” we mean dressing up as a naughty Santa Claus and pretending to, er, fellate a red dildo strapped to the nose of her then-husband, who dressed as a naughty Rudolph — complete with antlers and choke chain.

Most of the nine photographs uncovered feature the aforementioned act front-and-center. While we’d still consider them tame by Facebook standards, it’s easy to see how they would become fodder for political scandal.

Ball has been on the defensive.

“I think we all have been to parties in our life,” Ball said. “I think we’ve all had photos taken that we wouldn’t want to be in the public eye. I’m angry at the way women in this country are unfairly treated in this regard when they step up and run for office.”

We’re not sure how Ball’s public relations team managed to miss the photographs, or why on earth they’d let her dismiss the party as a gag, but folks, we take hilarity and we run with it.

Risqué pictures can turn a pedestal into a chopping block in a moment’s notice. In the digital age, celebrity sex tape/nude picture scandals are almost a monthly occurrence. Snowboarder Scotty Lago left the Olympics earlier this year after photos surfaced showing a young woman kissing a bronze medal he held below his waist. We’re not sure if Brett Favre was showing Jenn Sterger anything she hadn’t already seen, but he sent the picture. 

Photos that show you engaging in less-than-professional activity doesn’t always help you climb the career ladder — just ask Larry Eustachy.

The idea of Internet anonymity is as antiquated as the chat room. Facebook is no longer esoteric to college students — businesses have admitted to checking the pages of prospective employees, many sports teams have guidelines regarding social media use, and yes, the cops use Facebook to bust parties.

Sure, Facebook has privacy settings, but they also maintain they have the rights to the pictures you post — forever. Somewhere, on one of Mark Zuckerberg’s computers, those compromising photos may still exist.

Everyone loves to have a good time, and some insist on bringing their cameras. Almost 30 percent of our peers have participated in sexting. Your significant other may appreciate the gesture, but once the pictures are out of your hands, you have no control over where they go.

It’s pretty simple, folks: If you don’t want someone to see what you’re doing, don’t take pictures, and if you’re going to take pictures, don’t post them on the Internet.