Friday, January 9, 2009

Those G-- D--- Atheists Are At It Again

This morning, Fox News ran a trumped up "story" about atheists "fighting" to remove the words "so help me God" from the end of the Presidential Oath of Office. Citizen K. doubts whether the presence or absence of four words -- be they "so help me God" or "I love you too" -- will much effect whether a president successfully preserves, protects, and defends the Constitution. Citizen K. points out that George Bush said these four words not once but twice, and still did his best to destroy, neglect, and offend the Constitution. Citizen K. also reminds Fox News that these four words do not appear in the oath of office as prescribed by the Constitution...

You want answers, we got answers: The first line above is from the Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant, which I have just begun reading. New First Line soon...

Amy Goodman writes that many Israelis vociferously oppose their country's invasion of Gaza: "If you look at what's been going on in the Gaza strip in the past three years and you see what Israel has been doing to the Palestinians, you would think that the Palestinian resistance is rational..."

The comedy gift that keeps on giving, keeps on giving...

In 1814 we took a little trip: It's not too late to celebrate the anniversary of the Battle of New Orleans...

BREAKING NEWS: "The Seattle P-I newspaper is being put up for sale. Steve Swartz, president of Hearst Newspaper Division, told the newsroom that Hearst Corp. is starting a 60-day process to find a buyer. If a buyer is not found, Swartz said, Hearst will pursue other options. The options include moving to a digital-only operation with a greatly reduced staff, or completely shutting down operations. In no case will Hearst continue to publish the P-I in printed form, Swartz said."

Late last year, the P-I consolidated a number of sections and became noticeably smaller. It's probable demise represents a genuine loss to the Puget Sound community. Like any MSM outlet, the P-I has its limitations, but it has been a reliably liberal voice in contrast to the predictably establishment and often shrill Seattle Times. That Seattle could no longer support two newspapers (it's not even clear that it can support one) has been evident for some time, now, and the P-I's situation comes as no surprise. It's still a shame, though...

Friday's Choice: Speaking the Battle of New Orleans, check out Johnny Horton's surreal reenactment:

10 comments:

Sylvia K said...

Great post! And, of course, you know I agree with you! Will we ever be rid of these jerks???? Have a great weekend.

T. said...

I am devastated by the PI news, although it's hardly a surprise.

Foxessa said...

That's wild. I've seen other vids of "The Battle of New Orleans," but they weren't like this.

You probably know he was a high school history teacher and he wrote this song to help him teach about the War of 1812.

Why do the Israeli hardliners keep doing the same fail, decade after decade after decade. They've been at this same thing since BEFORE I WAS BORN. They've been trying to force the Palestinians to -- what? longer than I've been alive. Why won't they learn? Which by now the Palestinians aren't ever going to learn whatever they need to learn either. The definition of insanity .... Like the Florida Cubans and Fidel and the embargo. Like the Confederates and slavery. That war is still going on too, they just changed the words.

Love, C.

K. said...

Sylvia: Thanks! I don't know that we'll ever be rid of them, but I honestly believe (a) that Fox News has become marginalized and (b) their editorial policy reinforces that.

C.: The official Israeli stance toward the Palestinians completely baffles me. I don't pretend to grasp the dynamics, but we are talking about a highly educated and sophisticated culture. There must be some sort of fundamental paranoia that forestalls logic and reason.

K. said...

I meant to write "highly educated and sophisticated culture that you would think knows better by now."

K. said...

C: I did not know the story behind the song. Thanks for the tidbit.

The video is genuinely bizarre, especially during the modern dance sequence, which seems lifted from West Side Story. The snow white costumes are really something.

RobinB said...

First Red Apple, now the P-I. Sunday's dinner is going to be a wake fo-sure.

K. said...

Tell me about it. Next thing we know, George Bush will be leaving office. How much more can we take?

Foxessa said...

I think Vaquero mentions that bit about the Battle of New Orleans song in TYBTF. Unless we cut it out? I can't remember any longer, going over and editing and revising that ms. it seems like forever ....

Love, C.

K. said...

Well, put it back in! At least give a reference to the video in a footnote -- it is a one bizarre artifact, that's for sure. I'm looking forward to this book.