Want Proof That Republicans Have No Sense of Humor? The White House is Suing 'The Onion'!!

From NY Times:
Protecting the Presidential Seal. No Joke.
Katharine Q. Seelye

You might have thought that the White House had enough on its plate late last month, what with its search for a new Supreme Court nominee, the continuing war in Iraq and the C.I.A. leak investigation. But it found time to add another item to its agenda - stopping The Onion, the satirical newspaper, from using the presidential seal.

The newspaper regularly produces a parody of President Bush's weekly radio address on its Web site (www.theonion.com/content/node/40121), where it has a picture of President Bush and the official insignia.

"It has come to my attention that The Onion is using the presidential seal on its Web site," Grant M. Dixton, associate counsel to the president, wrote to The Onion on Sept. 28. (At the time, Mr. Dixton's office was also helping Mr. Bush find a Supreme Court nominee; days later his boss, Harriet E. Miers, was nominated.)

Citing the United States Code, Mr. Dixton wrote that the seal "is not to be used in connection with commercial ventures or products in any way that suggests presidential support or endorsement." Exceptions may be made, he noted, but The Onion had never applied for such an exception.

The Onion was amused. "I'm surprised the president deems it wise to spend taxpayer money for his lawyer to write letters to The Onion," Scott Dikkers, editor in chief, wrote to Mr. Dixton. He suggested the money be used instead for tax breaks for satirists.

More formally, The Onion's lawyers responded that the paper's readers - it prints about 500,000 copies weekly, and three million people read it online - are well aware that The Onion is a joke.

Read the rest here.
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This is really pathetic. The Onion is one of the funniest newspapers/websites ever, and they are a-political. They make fun of politicians from both parties equally. I have been reading The Onion for over 15 years -- ever since I went to college in Madison, Wisconsin (the original hometown of the paper). The White House and the GOP must be so desperate to change the subject from the forthcoming treason-gate indictments and all the corruption, croneyism, and incompetence, that they have decided to sue a joke newspaper. What's next, suing David Letterman over a Bush joke the GOP doesn't like? My God, get a sense of humor. Save the seriousness for picking a new Supreme Court nominee or for hiring a new White House staff once the current one is indicted. Stop trying to destroy your critics -- even joke ones -- haven't you guys learned your lesson yet?