The ad is deeply disrespectful of the President of the United States

Strange, I don't seem to recall Moran raising this objection when Bush 43 was in office...

It's not a very good ad, but the first amendment doesn't have a quality requirement.

"An Egyptian court has sentenced a Christian man to six years in prison on charges of showing contempt for religion and insulting the Prophet Mohammed," http://mypetjawa.mu.nu/archives/211330.php

Deja vu, innit?

Regardless of who it is telling off, "go to hell", is pretty distasteful for an ad in a public transit center.

While WMATA may not decline an ad based on political content, it can almost certainly decline ads based on non-political content including language.

"The ad is deeply disrespectful of the President of the United States

Strange, I don't seem to recall Moran raising this objection when Bush 43 was in office..."

I definitely saw a lot of shit talk about Bush, and I'll be happy to give you more of it right now about GWB, the idiot son of an asshole, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1fUaXCmqME, but I can't recall any ads that included that (could just be selective/faulty memory on my part), and certainly nothing like that at all in a public transit station.

"...the idiot son of an asshole...

So, it's drooling idiot day, then? As opposed to criminal mastermind day? I could never quite keep up with what (some) people were saying about GWB.

By the way - have you ever qualified to fly fighters? At all?

You've been distracted from Congressional malfeasance by watching the President. So many do. They think that they should concern themselves with what the CEO is doing, so to speak, instead of the accounting department... when they are why the company is broke.

Somebody other than the President is running the country. These people selected a socialist, with no experience other than in academia and who didn't even write his own book. He reads a teleprompter well, breaks down immediately when away from one, but looks very good.

The fact that this has appeared in a public transit station, when you claim it has not before, should make you think harder than you are.

Last Tuesday was the anniversary of the Weather Underground's bombing of the Capitol building. You know, Bill Ayer's people.

When social conservatives talk about things they don't like popping up on TV, in movies, on billboards, or on the radio, social liberals tell them "then don't look at it."

I would give the Congressman the same advice. If you don't like an ad that says "go to hell," then don't read it, don't support the people/causes that say it. I would also remind those who find this offensive that Maxine Waters said the same about the tea partiers and there wasn't this kind of tizzy.

To support her right to say that and NOT support the opposition's right to say the same thing is hypocrisy. I personally think it's rude to say that to anyone, but suggesting that it should be censored is, well, CENSORSHIP, which last I checked The Left claimed it wasn't in favor of.

I find the ad disrespectful and distasteful (and I HATE Obama) but I'm sooo glad WMATA stood it's ground!!

Hey, jerry, after you become qualified to fly a fighter, let us know when you graduate from Harvard Business School, m'kay?

Mohammed Atta could fly a jet. This is a qualification for ... what, exactly?

> Mohammed Atta could fly a jet.

His landing sucked.

"Mohammed Atta could fly a jet. This is a qualification for ... what, exactly?"

As should be clear to anyone...

Your first sentence is simply false, and an insult to every professional pilot in the air today, not just an indication of emotional bias. The second is simply a craven denial that former President Bush has skills proving that he is, in fact, not an idiot, which is why I brought it up.

You may think the man's policies were mistaken with any degree of outrage you prefer, but claiming stupidity is simply namecalling. It gains you no logical standing with anyone.

Rad, my sentence is not false, it was the position of the Bush Administration that Mohammed Atta piloted flight 11 with utmost precision, after disabling a trillion-dollar defense department with boxcutters and 18 goatherders.

What are you, some kind of truther or something?

that Mohammed Atta piloted flight 11 with utmost precision, after disabling a trillion-dollar defense department with boxcutters and 18 goatherders. -- Gog_Magog_Carpet_Reclaimers at March 2, 2012 5:37 PM

Yes, the DOD and all the rest were then fooled for about 1 hour and then a little less than an hour and a half later Flight 93 crashed in Pennsylvania.

So let's see how far off-topic you want to try and take this.
=======================================

As far as Jim Moran and the ad:

How is saying "Go to hell Barack," disrespectful to the Office of the President of The United States?

They didn't even say "President Obama". If they had said "The President of The United States can go to hell," then I could possibly agree on the disrespect. But that is covered under the First Amendment, regardless.

First Amendment: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

The highest respect should not be to the holders of the office. There should be no respect for the government. The respect should be given to the U.S. Constitution. If the holders of those offices follow the U.S. Constitution they may earn my respect.

Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth. -- Albert Einstein

All of us should have free choice when it comes to patriotic displays... a government wisely acting within its bounds will earn loyalty and respect from its citizens. A government dare not demand the same. -- Jesse Ventura

Quite frankly -- I hold the federal justices, congress an the president and the whole federal government in contempt any more. I have little respect for a collective group that will pass or consider things like SOPA, CPSIA, TSA, DOMA, AFCA (ObamaCare) and numerous things that aren't in the eighteen enumerated powers?

"let's see how far off-topic you want to try and take this"

God, I love internet tough guys! Thanks for the laff!

but I can't recall any ads that included that (could just be selective/faulty memory on my part), and certainly nothing like that at all in a public transit station.

Naw. Your side simply wrote plays, published books and produced movies fantasizing about assassinating Bush.

However, put up an ad in a metro station telling your Boy King to go to hell? Why, that's blasphemous.

I was just referring to the drag towards the 9/11 conversation. Please refute my statements or justify yours.

I was just trying to get the topic back to congressman Moran's misunderstanding of the First Amendment.

You and Rad have every right to your disagreement over the DoD, 9/11 and all the rest. But the essential point of this post was Moran, the First Amendment, and public "advertising".

Where does the numerous posts of 9/11, Mohammed Atta, Bush or the rest have anything to do with that?

I will agree that the lamestream media does have a bias. But that is a side note to the essential point of this post that is Moran, the First Amendment, and public "advertising".

"Mohammed Atta could fly a jet. "

He could point a jet. Not the same thing.

And for the record, I think the ad is in poor taste. But we're not in the business of legislating taste.

"Rad, my sentence is not false, it was the position of the Bush Administration that Mohammed Atta piloted flight 11 with utmost precision, after disabling a trillion-dollar defense department with boxcutters and 18 goatherders."

Wow. First a fallacy, then you're adding your own drama to try to insist Mr. Bush is an idiot.

Nope!

I'm not a truther - quite the opposite. I know enough about how buildings and aircraft are made.

What do you know about flying? Not much, I guess. Ask Hey Skipper what was involved after the plane was taken over. It's not like that pig had to land anywhere.

For fun: Here's the inside of a Boeing 767.

Apparently complex - but not for the job at hand.
From Patrick Smith:

"Reality: The September 11th cabal’s feats did not require in-depth technical knowledge or a high degree of skill. To put it mildly, the attackers, as private pilots, were completely out of their league; however they were not setting out to perform single-engine missed approaches or Category-3 instrument landings with a failed hydraulic system. They were setting out to steer an already airborne jetliner, in perfect weather, into the side of a building. Maintaining essential up/down/left/right control was not an overwhelming demand, nor was navigating toward New York or Washington in clear conditions. Though, for good measure, Mohammed Atta and at least one other of his group did buy several hours of simulator training, from a private academy in Florida, on a Boeing 727. (This was not the same type of jet used in the attacks, but it didn’t need to be.) Additionally they attained manuals and instructional videos, widely available from aviation suppliers and bookdealers."

And I will come back to the topic:

Even attempts to claim that so-and-so said nasty things about a previous President, or to justify them, activates the "Two Wrongs" fallacy, and thus throws away any support for such an argument.

Likewise, except for considerations about truth as a defense against libel, there should be no debate about this.

Let us note again that it is self-identified "liberals" who shout down free speech when they disagree with it - especially if they have no counter-argument.

The President, as a political figure, enjoys no protections from libel or slander.

Moran can fuck himself with a unit of 2x4's. Sideways.