Since 2001 the employees at the Paso Robles (CA) Post Office have been honoring local men and women serving in the military by placing their picture on a wall behind the counter at the post office. All of that ended on Friday, October 19, 2007, when an “anonymous person” filed a complaint with the US Post Office Customer Affairs Division.
Soldiers Wall of Shame
The complaint alleged that the pictures were “pro-war,” and should be removed. Paso Robles Postmaster Mike Milby and his staff were ordered to remove the display because it “violated a regulation against displays of nonpostal business material at any U.S. Post Office.”
“It’s an emotional issue, and people look at their post office as a hub of the community, but the post office is there to do postal business and it’s not a place to post things or make displays,” said postal spokesman Richard Maher.
“What happen to the pictures? Why were they taken down?” asked Shelley Reeger, (a military wife), who was just one of many who were upset Friday morning when they learned that the pictures had been taken down. “We just cannot put those photos back up, they should not have been up there to begin with,” stated United States Postal Service spokesperson Richard Maher.
The employees at the Paso Robles Post Office could find themselves in more trouble for first refusing to take the pictures down (good for them!), then placing signs at the counter stating they had been “forced” to take down the pictures.
Paso Robles Mayor, Frank Mecham, expressed disappointed over the incident, and made a request to their Congressman to look into the matter.
Commonsense was thrown right-out the window on this one. What is most frustrating though was that the voice of one, small-minded individual, how obviously harbors strong anti-military hostilities, failed to look upon the pictures and see his/her neighbors. Instead, this sad nameless person looked past the eyes of these brave soldiers to see only contempt.
What’s New Pussycat!
Soldiers Wall of Shame
The complaint alleged that the pictures were “pro-war,” and should be removed. Paso Robles Postmaster Mike Milby and his staff were ordered to remove the display because it “violated a regulation against displays of nonpostal business material at any U.S. Post Office.”
“It’s an emotional issue, and people look at their post office as a hub of the community, but the post office is there to do postal business and it’s not a place to post things or make displays,” said postal spokesman Richard Maher.
“What happen to the pictures? Why were they taken down?” asked Shelley Reeger, (a military wife), who was just one of many who were upset Friday morning when they learned that the pictures had been taken down. “We just cannot put those photos back up, they should not have been up there to begin with,” stated United States Postal Service spokesperson Richard Maher.
The employees at the Paso Robles Post Office could find themselves in more trouble for first refusing to take the pictures down (good for them!), then placing signs at the counter stating they had been “forced” to take down the pictures.
Paso Robles Mayor, Frank Mecham, expressed disappointed over the incident, and made a request to their Congressman to look into the matter.
Commonsense was thrown right-out the window on this one. What is most frustrating though was that the voice of one, small-minded individual, how obviously harbors strong anti-military hostilities, failed to look upon the pictures and see his/her neighbors. Instead, this sad nameless person looked past the eyes of these brave soldiers to see only contempt.
What’s New Pussycat!
In one of the more interesting stories this week, and a news story dogs will truly enjoy, some have speculated that “Socks,” the former First Cat, could come back to haunt Presidential Candidate Hillary Clinton.Socks The Wonder Cat
Socks, who was somehow credited with presenting Mrs. Clinton in a “warmer-light (?),” was banished from the White House with the arrival of First Dog Buddy (may he rest in peace). Socks disliked Buddy from the beginning, “hissing and attacking” Buddy each time they came in contact with each other.
From The Atlantic (article):
Some feel that Clinton’s treatment of Socks cuts to the heart of the questions about her candidacy. Is she too cold and calculating to win the presidency? Or does it signify political invincibility by showing she is willing to deploy every weapon to get what she wants?
“In the annals of human evil, off-loading a pet is nowhere near the top of the list,” writes Caitlin Flanagan in the current issue of The Atlantic magazine. “But neither is it dead last, and it is especially galling when said pet has been deployed for years as an all-purpose character reference.”
I am not sure how this story will play out, but I am confident that the Clinton campaign will produce a press release blaming the disappearance of “Socks” on some “right-wing conspiracy.”
“In (fill-in the blank) We Trust”
I end this week’s highlights with two stories about God, or should I say without God:
The Disney Corporation believes that they are so powerful that the can make a cartoon called “The Ten Commandments” without using the name God in its advertising:
(un) Smart Marketing
It is not as if Disney needs any more bad press. Early this year Hamas used Mickey Mouse to indoctrinate future suicide bombers. Minnie Mouse was there as well, but she was wearing a burka and instructed to remain silent. The Mickey Mouse video was the first of many videos Hamas plans to produce that will feature Disney characters. Up next will be a video featuring Goofy and Donald Duck playing the roles of President Bush and Vice-President Cheney:
Now I am not in marketing, but I would think that some smart executive at Disney would have realized that by eliminating the name God the company would be disenfranchise the target audience for such a movie.
The other story comes compliments of the Office of the U.S. Capital Architect:
A 17-year-old Eagle Scout from Ohio, Andrew Larochelle, decided he wanted to send his grandfather the gift of a US Flag that had flown over the US Capital. No big deal, right? Not so fast. Andrew requested the inscription "In honor of my grandfather Marcel Larochelle, and his dedication and love of God, country and family," be placed on the accompanying certificate.When Andrew received the flag and certificate the name “God” was missing. Andrew, who had paid a fee of $9.00 for the flag and certificate, was informed that it was against the policy of the Office of Capital Architect (AoC) to include religious expressions on the certificates.
What is the problem?
Now to be fair, Mr. Ayers is not the bad guy here. This policy was in place before Mr. Ayer’s took over, but apparently never enforced. In a statement Ayers admitted that "It is inappropriate and beyond the scope of this agency’s responsibilities to censor messages from members". Ayers also said that after reviewing the rules, he concluded that they were inconsistently applied and should be changed.
However, every story of “right and wrong” must have a villain, and this story is no exception. None other than the Speaker of the House, the Honorable Nancy Pelosi defended the decision to remove “God” from the certificate, and originally had no plans to change the rules.
House Minority Leader John Boehner, speaking on the behalf of his fellow Republicans and thousands of angry Americans, strongly disagreed with Representative Pelosi:
"This practice, which overturns a longstanding and long cherished congressional tradition, has rightly drawn outrage from the American people, who have grown weary of endless attempts by politicians and bureaucrats to bar the word God and even the most tacit references to faith from our public institutions."
The pressure was too much for Mrs. Pelosi, who suddenly had a change of heart, and later stated that the AoC should not be in the position of censoring House member’s request. Just another example of Mrs. Pelosi’s “bold and decisive (or should I say divisive) leadership.”
This is a First Amendment issue (“Congress Shall Pass NO Law….”) and the policy should not only have be changed, it should have never been written. Since Mrs. Pelosi has more pressing matters (like trying to improve their 11% approval rating), Mr. Larochelle’s Representative, Michael Tuner, R-Ohio, last week introduced House Resolution (H.R). 3779, to amend the policy.
This story does have a happy ending. Mr. Ayers had a new certificate sent to Larochelle that include the name GOD, and with the approval of Congress amended the policy. To think it took an Eagle Scout to provide a civics lessons to some members of Congress. Great Job Andrew Larochelle.
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