PA Newspaper Takes Ad Calling For Assassination Of President Obama

[Ian David]

PA Newspaper Takes Ad Calling For Assassination Of President Obama

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_t6rV3U9ZEHM/Sh8JU4hmqsI/AAAAAAAAVgY/kXUkUzsBeeo/s400/obama+assassination+ad.jpg

The Warren, Pennsylvania Times-Observer has apologized, saying that the person who approved the ad "didn't recognize the significance of the names" and that they have "notified the authorities." Seriously? Garfield and McKinley...sure. But Lincoln and Kennedy?

More:
http://joemygod.blogspot.com/2009/05/pa-newspaper-takes-ad-calling-for.html

[Why Syzygy]

1. Unfriggin believable.

Yes. Please do call the authorities! :grr:

[HopeOverFear]

2. How nice

:sarcasm:

[vaberella]

3. Damn. It's times like this that I agree with Bill Maher...

This country is full of stupid stupid stupid people.

[Drunken Irishman]

4. Wow...I mean, wow.

[marimour]

5. i probably wouldnt have gotten it either.

I would have thought Lincoln was in the ad because of Obama really admires him. If they had put Lincoln, Bobby Kennedy, JFK, and MLK (or something similar) I would have made the connection.


Is it sad that I didn't even know we had a McKinley?

[vaberella]

6. No. He's not given much love. I know of McKinley b/c I found his last name odd.

For some reason. I think it's the Mc, in the name.

[Drunken Irishman]

8. His great grandfather, James McKinley, emigrated from County Antrim in No. Ireland.

[Ian David]

9. I did a report on McKinley in third grade. n/t

[Zomby Woof]

23. William McKinley was the architect of the American Empire

He not only waged the Spanish-American War, but sent troops to occupy the Phillipines afterward, in which they committed mass atrocities against the civilian population. He defended their actions, saying we were there to "Christianize" them.

McKinley (president from 1897 until his assassination in 1901) is also the favorite president of Karl Rove. No surprise there, when you look at the record. Naturally, he was a Republican.

[Harry Monroe]

27. Yes

[Forkboy]

7. I can see how that would be overlooked.

There's another connection between Kennedy and Lincoln in that they were both presidents that many look up to, and are still considered by many to be strong presidents. I'm not saying that was the intention of the writer, just that I can understand how a bored worker who may not even know about this stuff may not make the connection.

I'm glad somebody caught it though.

[HopeOverFear]

10. With the way education is today, should we be surprised though?

I mean it's quite possible that the person taking the ad didn't know that Garfield and McKinley were American presidents who were assassinated. (I'll give him/her the benefit of the doubt on Lincoln and Kennedy, but then again, the American public school system...)

[Ian David]

13. The person taking the ad was probably in a call center in Bangladesh. n/t

[HopeOverFear]

14. HA!

[Sheltiemama]

41. Most of us here are interested in history.

In the real world, not so much, I've found.

[islandmkl]

11. some responses to this post expose the state of Americans, even here on DU..

who have limited knowledge of our history...

and you wonder how people believe the BS they hear on the radio and TV??...

ignorance, on all parts, is a weapon of the powerful...

to be uninformed has a remedy, but it must be pursued...

i do not attack anyone for being uninformed...but i acknowledge that an uninformed person has a limited opinion of any matter...be it here or on FR...

[randr]

12. Another rat out of the woodwork

and into the arms of the police I hope.

[RamboLiberal]

15. Hope the fool who placed this ad enjoys his visit from Secret Service

and all the fun that will be.

[avaistheone1]

33. That fool better get a visit from the SS. Kids who wore Tshirts to school protesting Bush got

visits from the SS. This ad is really menacing. I hope the authorities find this person and take care of him.

[TripleKatPad]

16. Not everyone is versed in US history

Especially those ad-approving folk located in India.
(I don't know if that is the situation in this case. I'm just being snarky.)

[Sebastian Doyle]

26. Actually that would explain a lot, and it's very possible.

I know for a fact that the "local" paper here completely outsourced their classifieds to India.

Different ownership than this paper, but it's possible. At least an Indian call center employee would have a legitimate case for blatant ignorance of US history.

[zbdent]

17. could you fire the person who took the ad

for stupidity?

Did they get the high school diploma from a gumball machine, while trying to get the Hannah Montana sticker?

[and-justice-for-all]

18. I just sent it to the Secret Service...this shit is unacceptable..nt

[Cha]

19. Hope the stupid

asshole who placed the ad gets busted and sentenced to a nice long cooling off period.

[Aristus]

38. Yeah, to Gitmo. I worry that American prisons won't be able to hold him.

:scared::sarcasm:

[Occam Bandage]

20. I'd believe it was an honest mistake on the newspaper's end.

Lincoln and Kennedy are two widely admired Presidents. Garfield and McKinley were both assassinated, but I'm pretty comfortable in saying that most Americans are unaware of the assassination (not to mention the existence) of either. If the person responsible for the classifieds section didn't know his/her history, it might just look like a list of four Presidents, two of which are famous and popular, and two of which are question marks. In the middle of a long, numbing day rubber-stamping ads for puppies, cars, and lawn care services, I can see how something like that would slip by.

[Harry Monroe]

28. "Most Americans are unaware of the assassination (not to mention the existence) of either??

How bad have public schools gotten? I'm no brain surgeon but I can name every president, especially those 4 who were assassinated!! I stayed awake in American History. A sad indictment of education in America!!

[gauguin57]

35. I agree! This is American History 101 ... and there's no excuse for not knowing it.

Appalling.

[Cha]

39. Oh yeah, newspapers can make

mistakes..I didn't read too much about it..so I wonder who pointed out their mistake? Lots of letters from readers, no doubt.

[OhioBlue]

42. You're probably right - but it is very sad.

Sad that the person didn't at the very least have the intellectual curiosity or self motivation to check a little bit on an ad that wasn't so clear cut about puppies or used cars. Or sad that the employer doesn't encourage it. Google is quick. Someone with sense could have made the connection pretty quickly.

[BlooInBloo]

21. Either the newspaper condones this, else they're too stupid to remain in business....

Somebody PLEASE remind me why these newspapers are SOOOOOO important to us again?

[Renew Deal]

24. There's someone here that goes by the name of "Czolgosz"

As in Leon Czolgosz. The guy who assassinated McKinley. It's patently offensive and DU has never done anything about it. Does that mean that DU condones assassinations? Of course not. But someone's not thinking.

[eyesroll]

31. Or, perhaps, that person's last name is also Czolgosz.

It's an unusual name in the United States, sure. Not so unusual in Poland. But some do show up on Whitepages.com.

That said, I wouldn't necessarily expect the person taking classified info to recognize exactly what he or she had been given. It's a data entry job--I've had data entry jobs where I really have no idea what I'm entering; it's just words and numbers by the end of the day.

[Sheltiemama]

40. This was not in the editorial section of the paper.

It was in the classified section. We in newsrooms don't proofread the classifieds. I'm horrified any adult wouldn't have understood the implication, but it wasn't a journalist who let this slip through. The publisher called the police, who notifed the Secret Service.

[Renew Deal]

22. I could see how someone would screw this up.

Someone could think greatness with Lincoln and Kennedy. Garfield and McKinley give it away, but that's more obscure.

[gauguin57]

36. It's not obscure at ALL if you took American history in junior freaking high.

Some child got left behind ... big time! Pardoning it as an honest mistake pardons ignorance of our own history.

[kentauros]

43. However, it is obscure if you don't remember all that much from the time period of

"junior freaking high" ;)

I'm 48. How old are you again? Or maybe age has nothing to do with it and you're one of them "eidetic" rememberers :P
I remember band, my science classes and my math classes because I had great teachers in those subjects, but I don't even remember my Jr. High history teachers, much less the classes.

Sure, history is important but I don't see it as important as is being made out here. Lots of history and poly-sci buffs to be had, but knowing the name of the 13th President of the US doesn't come up all that often in conversations about pipeline distances and contours. Wanna talk about whether to use UTM or NAD27, then I'm your man. Want to discuss why Reagan can or cannot be included in that ad, ask the history professors around these parts.

If I need to be more informed, I can go to Google, wikipedia or an almost limitless number of universities online from around the world with information to share. We all have our strengths and interests. For many here, it's history and politics. For me, it's mapping and imagery. So, it's still an honest mistake, no matter how you cut it :)

[Ilsa]

25. I'm not going to blame the clerk who took this ad. He or she probably

didn't realize the underlying message. He or she was probably doing the work of three people since newspapers are doing so poorly.

But let loose the SS on whomever ordered it!

[Ian David]

30. He or she probably worked in a call center in Bangladesh. n/t

[tabbycat31]

29. forward this to the SS

[old mark]

32. Lets see; Garfield's a cat, Lincoln invented big cars, Kennedy...I have

heard the name, but I don't know where, but who's McKinley?

hard to believe anyone could be so stupid.....


mark

[depakid]

34. Actually, given American's general level of historical knowledge- that's not to big a stretch

[Beacool]

37. Doesn't surprise me.

We are not exactly the most cultured nation on earth.

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