Gotta love those "Christian rodeos" (Bill Clinton as "bull dummy")

[KansDem]

I remember reading about a rodeo some years ago in which Bill Clinton was portrayed as a "bull dummy" (the thing rodeos use to distract bulls so the riders can escape unharmed). Whenever I hear about George W. Bush being treated "disrespectfully," this incident comes to mind:

Bucking Broncs for God and Country
Horse manure and jingoism, on the hoof

BY FIONA MORGAN

The smell of horse poop greets us as soon as we walk inside the Governor James B. Hunt Indoor Horse Complex Arena, the site for the annual Cowboy Christmas Championship Rodeo at the State Fairgrounds.

<snip>

After a couple more events and another clown shtick, the lights go off and a woman comes out dressed head to toe in white cowgear. Four crosses are placed in the dirt, and the announcer begins "a tribute to all of the victims of Sept. 11." The woman places a fireman's hat on one cross, then a stethoscope, a policeman's hat and a flag on the others. The announcer dedicates the flag to "all the husbands, dads, grandparents, and children" who died, with no mention that women were killed.

A prerecorded monologue begins with "Silent Night" in the background. It is a first-person Sept. 11 story, but right away I can tell where it's going. "I was there on the 101st Floor with a man who was calling his wife to say goodbye. I held his fingers steady as he dialed." The story builds with the Jesus voice describing how he was there for everyone. "Some chose for the final time to ignore me," it says, "but I was there. ... " And finally, "I will be in the stairwell of your final moments." Wherever Jesus is, I think to myself, I hope this is pissing him off.

The two riders come back with flags as "Glory, Glory, Hallelujah" plays again and the announcer tells everyone to stand up and sing along. A smell of fries mingles with the horse poop smell and I want to be sick.

Suddenly the techno music and pyrotechnics return, and a bull is let loose. He cuts a fine figure against the spraying lights. Bucking bulls are the ultimate rodeo event, but like a roller coaster ride, it's short and a little anticlimactic. After throwing its rider, one bull gores a dummy that's wearing a Bill Clinton facemask. In spite of all the ceremony, the rodeo ends abruptly and we rush to the car.

http://www.indyweek.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A18776

I keep this incident in mind and use it as one source to counter neo-Con fascists' complaints about disrespecting the Office of Presidency.

[Stephanie]

1. I walked by a stationery store in NYC a few years ago & in the window

they were selling paper shredders, and to illustrate they had Hillary shredding papers, things like to-do lists that included "liposuction" and "get a divorce." I mean just crude, rude, sexist and uncalled for bullshit. I went in the store and demanded to know who was in charge and gave them hell. A customer said "don't they have the right to put what they want in the window?" and I said absolutely, and I have the right to tell him that I will never shop in this store again and neither will anyone I know. Then I sent out an email to all my friends. Not that it made any difference. But they did take it town. In midtown Manhattan! Unbelievable. Airline Stationery, if anyone wants to know.