From the Sublime to the Ridiculous

In a Slow News Day

The non-news has hit it big time today; both the Washington Post today and Channel 4 gave play and coverage to that ridiculous issue of the fact that a black triangle obfuscated the "IHS" golden logo (meaning Jesus from some latin initials) above Obama's head at his economic speech at Georgetown after the cabal of conservative right winged bloggers raised holy Hell over it- (I will suppress hitting the button that sings "sha na na na, sha na na na na get a life, sha na na na ....)
Channel 4 actually interviewed a few people (aired this morning) who unanimously said "it's a policy speech, who cares if the initials were covered up" (paraphrased) in various incantations. Someone obviously looking at the press (C-Span et al) play indicated that it would look like a cleaner line with the flag backdrop if initials didn't appear above his head. Who knew if the 1st Amendment advisors also chimed in on the establishment clause issue. (the establishment clause states that congress shall make no law establishing any religion- so technically it didn't apply but it has come to mean a clean respect for the church-state divide.)
Who cares, indeed- none of the other christian symbols were obfuscated- and everyone knew it was in a Jesuit school. They didn't plaster over the stained glass windows which have biblical allegorical significance. They didn't put dresses on the naked Jesus on the cross, like Ashcroft draped Lady Justice at the Justice Department did they? They didn't rip the crosses off the students at the door. Obama actually referenced in his speech the Sermon on the Mount which he knows everyone who knows what that is knows that the Sermon was delivered by the Rabbi Jesus of Nazareth.

I can only imagine what would have taken place if Obama stood directly underneath the IHS on camera-the blogosphere would have exploded with cries of "Who does he think he is!! JESUS!" or "Mocking everything Sacred there stood Obama in cynical arrogant contradiction and juxtoposition to the IHS above his head..." If Notre Dame doesn't secularize its stage expect this sort of tripe times a thousand. Because there are some nasty bigots who just are never going to like our first African American President.

The great moral of this story is- you can't win with these people. So stop trying. Stop stooping to them. You won. They didn't. The conservative religious wacked have determined to trash and undermine at every opportunity everything OBAMA because they just can't stand him. So don't apologize and stop trying to cater to them. Don't invite people you know are going to use the opportunity to completely trash you in five languages to the press balcony of events. Don't answer questions like-who exactly told them to cover up the Holy Name- as they curse you under their breath.

Bless your small minded persecutors and just move on. You have bigger fish to fry.