Your Tax Dollars At Work
As posted over on Slashdot, the White House has sent a Cease and Desist order to The Onion, a long-running satirical newspaper and website. The Onion has poked fun at politics and the President since their inception (and even before their inception, judging by the book, “Our Dumb Century”), but apparently they struck one nerve too many for the current administration, as they are now demanding that The Onion stop using the Presidential Seal in any article related to the White House or President (such as their regular parody of the President’s weekly radio address). As Associate Counsel to the President, Grant M. Dixon, writes (as reported in this New York Times article):
Citing the United States Code, Mr. Dixton wrote that the seal “is not to be used in connection with commercial ventures or products in any way that suggests presidential support or endorsement.” Exceptions may be made, he noted, but The Onion had never applied for such an exception.
The Onion had a response, of course:
“It is inconceivable that anyone would think that, by using the seal, The Onion intends to ‘convey… sponsorship or approval’ by the president,” wrote Rochelle H. Klaskin, the paper’s lawyer, who went on to note that a headline in the current issue made the point: “Bush to Appoint Someone to Be in Charge of Country.”
Moreover, she wrote, The Onion and its Web site are free, so the seal is not being used for commercial purposes. That said, The Onion asked that its letter be considered a formal application to use the seal.
The White House, perhaps not incorrectly, believes they need to protect the integrity of the Presidential Seal so that its presence and power is not lessened. I guess they might as well protect the integrity of a symbol, because most recent administrations have spent precious little time protecting the integrity of the actual presidency.
December 20th, 2005 14:43
What an age we live in, we’re taking our comedians seriously and we think our polititions are jokes.