'Obama Presidential Library' float at Norfolk parade draws criticism

[Omaha Steve]

Source: Omaha World Herald

By Hunter Woodall

A Fourth of July parade float that depicted a figure standing outside an outhouse labeled the “Obama Presidential Library” has created a stir on social media and is also receiving criticism in Norfolk, Nebraska.

The float, in Norfolk’s annual Independence Day parade, was on a flatbed trailer being pulled by a blue pickup truck. The figure was dressed in overalls and standing next to a walker outside of the outhouse. The hands and head of the figure were greenish and appeared to be zombie-like; the hands were pressed against either side of the head. Miniature American flags were atop the float and on the truck.

Neither the float nor the pickup identifies a sponsor; a sign in the windshield says it’s entry number 29.

Liz Guthrie of Pierce, Nebraska, took a photo of the float that has been widely circulated on social media and shared about 1,000 times on Facebook.

FULL story at link.


Read more: http://www.omaha.com/news/nebraska/obama-presidential-library-float-at-norfolk-parade-draws-criticism/article_22f03464-04ab-11e4-bf54-0017a43b2370.html

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WORLD-HERALD NEWS SERVICE
The float, in Norfolk’s annual Independence Day parade, was on a flatbed trailer being pulled by a blue pickup truck. Neither the float nor the pickup identifies a sponsor; a sign in the windshield says it’s entry number 29.

[onehandle]

1. KKKlassy. nt

[otohara]

2. Haters

I remember driving through NB during Katrina - I heard a lot of "those people" trash talking.

[liberal N proud]

3. Some Virginia hillbilly is missing their out-house

It is embarrassing how the haters are acting about a black man in the white house.

[Marrah_G]

5. Not Norfolk, VA

[Cha]

8. Actually it's a Nebraskan shithouse.. it got loaned out to their stupid parade thinking

it would be funny to try and pass it off as anything other than what it is.

[billh58]

4. Racist rednecks

who think that they're being clever. Sickening...

[DeSwiss]

6. And yada, yada, yada....

[center]

[/center]

- There is nothing new under the sun.....

[kelliekat44]

7. Actually, this says more about them than about the President. nt

[Cha]

9. Precisely, kellie

[DinahMoeHum]

15. Yeah. Buncha fuckin' hayseeds

n/t

[msongs]

10. why is the license plate not visible? n t

[bearssoapbox]

11. Heck!!

[catnhatnh]

12. Know who else looks like an idiot?

Hunter Woodall, a writer too stupid to realize the difference between a flat bed truck and a pickup truck pulling a flat bed trailer. Also too smug and complacent to fact check his writing...

[Paladin]

13. How many screws in the trigger housing of an AK-47 assault rifle?

I just thought I'd ask you, since you seem to have taken a hint from our resident Gun Enthusiasts in veering away on technical details and engaging in media bashing.

Honestly, what do you think about the float?

[catnhatnh]

16. I find it racist and objectionable

and absolutely protected by the first amendment. I think the three judges who voted to give it the honorable mention award should never again be allowed in a position like this-they brought shame on their town. Were I on the organizing committee I would allow the float with the sole proviso that the names of the sponsoring organizations or persons be prominently displayed.

That said, don't you find that a page representing itself as a news source that would hire a guy who doesn't even understand the definition of the word "trailer" as a writer is pretty embarrassing as well?

[Paladin]

20. Your comments on the float are good.

The trailer thing= Deck chair arrangement on the Titanic. I used to get outraged at the misspelled words I found in best-selling novels, things that human proofreaders took care of, once upon a time. Cut the reporter some slack, and his editor, as well. It's the age we live in.

[tabasco]

17. LOL

Yeah, that's relevant. Not.

[MsInformed]

18. I guess he just doesn't know

what a flat bed truck even is because you can see right in the picture there is no trailer.

[marble falls]

14. These Oddfellows have no knowlege of Oddfellow history: they were formed to provide "insurance".....

before there was any insurance and were the first sort of unions. Thing the President is interested in. Ironic failure.

[bluedigger]

19. How original.

Or not. From 2012:

A shotgun, an outhouse, and a birth certificate stamped “bullshit” all made appearances at Montana’s GOP convention over the weekend.
At Saturday’s convention in Missoula, Montana, a few convention-goers set up outside with an outhouse labeled “Obama’s Presidential Library.” But that wasn’t the most outrageous part. According to the Missoulian, the outhouse was also decorated in sexism, birtherism, and implicit threats:
The outhouse was painted to look as though it had been riddled by bullets.
Inside, a fake birth certificate for Barack Hussein Obama made reference to the disproven controversy over the president’s origins. It was stamped “Bull––.” A graffito advised “For a Good Time call 800-Michelle (crossed out), Hillary (crossed out) and Pelosi (circled in red.)”
State GOP Chairman Will Deschamps of Missoula said he didn’t know who’d brought the outhouse, but dismissed it as “a sideshow.”
http://thinkprogress.org/election/2012/06/18/501145/obama-outhouse-montana/

[Ducksworthy]

21. Out Houses are Honored in Norfolk

The recent innovation of the outhouse means that many Nebraska residents no long have to void themselves in the genetically modified corn.

[IthinkThereforeIAM]

22. A bit of a stretch...

... but close enough. I live about 120 miles north of Norfolk, Nebraska, although for the past 25 years, I have refused to drive through Nebraska while traveling to Denver. The drive through the Black Hills and down through Lusk, Wyoming to Ft. Collins is much more pleasant for many reasons. And woe to anyone that has to stop in Ogallala, Nebraska, to gas up.

[Comrade Grumpy]

23. I like that Highway 61 through the Sand Hills. Nobody there. Go fast.

[Omaha Steve]

25. Welcome to the DU

From Omaha Steve & friends.

[bemildred]

24. Ha ha ha. And these idiots think they are making Obama look bad. nt

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

26. Love how they're trashing the President under a barrage of American flags.

It's not so bad in a parade, since they're going slowly, but I despise seeing the flag battered by the wind as a beflagged RWmobile speeds down the highway. How those "patriots" think that can be respectful to the flag, I'll never understand.

[KinMd]

27. What do most americans think about Nebraska..

we don't

[Manifestor_of_Light]

28. Bunch of hayseeds.

Johnny Carson, of Tonight Show fame, escaped from Norfolk.

They pronounce it "Nor-fork".

I had an ex-in-law from there who was incredibly stupid and said "I seen" and "I done".

I'm not surprised at this kind of idiocy.

[HeartlandDem]

29. Sad to see such disrespect for the presidency...

I'm ashamed of my fellow Nebraskans who think this kind of stuff is appropriate in a parade honoring America. It teaches our children that it's okay to be disrespectful to authority and then they all wonder why kids don't behave in school. They should blame themselves for breeding ignorance and bigotry. I have to say though that I know a lot of Republicans and I count many good friends among them. They are not all this ignorant. Ever since the Tea Party infiltrated our state, it's gotten so much worse. Incivility justified by patriotism becomes a form of insanity I'm afraid.. fueled by far-right propaganda that encourages outrageous behavior in public as long as you're waving an American flag. Ugh.