Hard hitting journalism (Obama's dog. Also some hobo kicking)

[McGrupp]

Obama got a dog. Here are just a few of the soulcrushing articles that are getting national attention this week. Because clearly nothing else important is going on in regards to the white house.


Headline:

Sunny Obama, Obamas' New Dog, Has Lots To Learn From Bo (PHOTOS)

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/20/sunny-obama-obamas-new-dog_n_3784173.html


This one actually brings up the valid point that puppy mills are bad. Headline:

The Obamas' second first dog is a chance to talk about all dogs

http://www.latimes.com/opinion/opinion-la/la-ol-obamas-portuguese-water-dog-sunny-20130820,0,7011037.story


This is a story from the media about how presidents pets have historically distracted the media. Good job media.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/style-blog/wp/2013/08/21/whats-the-political-message-behind-obamas-new-dog-sunny/


And of course facebook and twitter have remained bastions of critical thinking and openmindedness through it all.

http://www.theatlanticwire.com/politics/2013/08/best-conspiracy-theories-about-obamas-new-dog-sunny/68543/

Sunny is black because the Obamas are racist

"With the addition of Sunny, the Obamas now have two black Portuguese water dogs," The Daily Caller's Patrick Howley reported on Monday. "The Obamas do not have any white dogs." The Daily Caller was not alone in this assessment

Sunny's real name is Sunni

You know, because Obama is secretly a Muslim.

Sunny exists to distract America from White House scandal

Okay hang on. That one's not far off. Although they do quote crazy people and Obamacare comes up a bunch.


My personal favorite is PETA's reaction, which appears to be keeping with the organizations of goal of 'make the entire world want to hurt animals because we're so smugly self righteous.' There is a semi valid point in there about puppy mills but it gets buried. Also breeder=/=puppy mill all the time.

The headline:

Obamas adopting second breeder dog is the "equivalent of kicking a hobo," PETA says

Ingrid Newkirk, president of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, spoke out against the Obama family's choice of pooch, saying they should have picked a rescue animal instead of Sunny, who comes from a breeder.

Like big brother Bo Obama, Sunny is also a Portuguese water dog. The breed was chosen by the Obamas because of "allergies in their family," but Newkirk doesn't see that as a valid excuse.

The First Family did send a donation — amount unknown — to the Washington Humane Society, but that "can't buy homes or erase a bad example," according to Newkirk. She encouraged the Obamas to adopt a third dog, but this time select a rescue animal.

"Come on, Mr. President, one more time — and this time, do it right," the statement said. "Set a good example and save a homeless animal's life."

Clearly we have reached the full climax of Obama's failure as president. Not the denial of human rights. Not the drone bombings. Not the NSA spying and tearing apart the fourth ammendment. He adopted the wrong dog. Monster.


And by wasting this much time pointing out how the media wastes time, I am now officially part of the problem. 

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

I thought he already had a dog.

[Cain]

I thought he already had a dog.

He does.  He now has another dog.

It's all very newsworthy.  Important.  Totally unrelated to the NSA scandal, which has Big Words and is hard for the press corps to understand.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

I cannot believe people actually care about this.

My people, Cain. What has become of my people?

[McGrupp]

I thought he already had a dog.

He does.  He now has another dog.

It's all very newsworthy.  Important.  Totally unrelated to the NSA scandal, which has Big Words and is hard for the press corps to understand.

Silence those unpleasant truths.  BO WAS LONELY!

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/08/21/sunny-s-debut-bo-s-bubble-the-undogly-life-of-a-presidential-pet.html

[AFK]

FWIW, I didn't even know about this until reading this thread.

[Q. G. Pennyworth]

I love how they keep dropping things to try to get the news cycle off of the NSA thing. CIRCUMVENTING MINIMUM SENTENCING GUIDELINES FOR DRUGS! THAT'S A THING YOU WANTED, RIGHT? NO? HOW ABOUT AREA 51? IT'S TOTALLY A THING LET'S TALK ABOUT THAT! OBAMA GOT ANOTHER DOG!

[Junkenstein]

Well the UK pulled out Diana and a baby to try and shift the attention.

Moderate success. It seems a D-Notice has been in place since early July so the fact that there's any coverage at all in the UK gives you an indication of how relations between Government/Press/"Police" are at the moment.

[McGrupp]

I can hear the phonecall now

"Prince William, this is the government. We need you to place your baby into the car improperly."

"I don't understand."

"It will protect freedom for another few days! Do you want the terrorists to win? Do it now!"

[Junkenstein]

I can hear the phonecall now

"Prince William, this is the government. We need you to place your baby into the car improperly."

"I don't understand."

"It will protect freedom for another few days! Do you want the terrorists to win? Do it now!"

You say this and I think of occasions where Royals have been shoved in front of a camera. Then I think of events around those events. Then I stop laughing as much.

[Junkenstein]

Like, say, 1995.

The year of the infamous Diana Panorama interview. Broadcast in November.

Other events in October/ November (Just from Wikipedia "1995" page only. I bet there's a ton missing here because I'm doing this quickly:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1995
October 4
France launches a counter-coup in the Comoros with 600 soldiers. They arrest Bob Denard and his mercenaries and take Denard to France; Caabi el-Yachroutu becomes the interim president.
October 16 – The Million Man March is held in Washington, D.C. The event was conceived by Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan.
November 4 – Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin is assassinated at a peace rally in Tel Aviv.
November 10
Iraq disarmament crisis: With help from Israel and Jordan, UNSCOM inspector Scott Ritter intercepts 240 Russian gyroscopes and accelerometers on their way to Iraq from Russia.
HM The Queen advises "an early divorce" to Lady Diana Spencer and Charles, Prince of Wales. The divorce was finalized on 28 August 1996.

I wonder what else was going on in late 1995? My memory of the period is a little sketchy. I bet money I don't have that "Shady shit" covers a lot of it though.

[McGrupp]

I can hear the phonecall now

"Prince William, this is the government. We need you to place your baby into the car improperly."

"I don't understand."

"It will protect freedom for another few days! Do you want the terrorists to win? Do it now!"

You say this and I think of occasions where Royals have been shoved in front of a camera. Then I think of events around those events. Then I stop laughing as much.

It wouldn't surprise me if that was actually happening. It's effective. Like the Presidential dog it gives people a nice safe story to chew on.

[The Good Reverend Roger]

I cannot believe people actually care about this.

My people, Cain. What has become of my people?

They're tired, poor, wretched, and huddled.

Exactly what we placed the advertisement for...They meet the listed requirements.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

I cannot believe people actually care about this.

My people, Cain. What has become of my people?

They're tired, poor, wretched, and huddled.

Exactly what we placed the advertisement for...They meet the listed requirements.

[Cain]

I cannot believe people actually care about this.

My people, Cain. What has become of my people?

"People" don't.  The press corps do, apparently, but the press corps don't even look like real people.

And since their psychology is so radically different from that of the human being, their priorities and obsessions cannot be understood by reference to human understanding.