This is going to be a quick and dirty rant.
I am so fucking sick of the nontroversies and nonscandals that have been rolling out of conservative media. The desperation to smear Obama with SOMETHING, ANYTHING!!!!!11 is getting really, really sad and pathetic.
The latest smear? Obama saluted the Marines standing outside of the Presidential helicopter with a latte or a tea or something in his hand. SO FUCKING WHAT?!?!?! First of all, the President has marines around him all the time. What, he can NEVER carry ANYTHING in his right hand for fear of having to salute a person in the military back properly? His right hand must be dedicated to "showing proper respect"? Come on, that is fucking ridiculous.
Second, our government is lead by a civilian. President Obama is a civilian. Saluting the men and women in uniform back is a courtesy and nothing more. He is not bound by military rules and procedures, and absolutely does NOT have to salute anyone "properly" or even at all to show respect. He has not gone through military training, he does not wear the uniform, therefore he is not bound by proper saluting procedure or regulation. He could salute any way he wants. He could even give them a fist bump and a "whats up?" and still can show respect to both the marines and their vaunted uniforms.
Third -- YOUR PRESIDENT DID THIS TOO! Or don't you remember Bush carrying that poor scottie dog around like a five year old with a teddy.
I think the most unbelievable thing about this scandal is that anyone in the "serious" media is giving this story the light of day. Its the fucking HEIGHT of editorial laziness to give ANY air time either on national or cable news to this topic. With so many HUGE stories going on at any one point right now, please avoid covering the "latte-gate" bullshit any more than it has to be covered -- never.