Do You See The Irony?

Do You See The Irony?

A bit long... but balanced, hopefully interesting, and NOT a rant...

There's been much buzz in the media and on the net regarding draping and backdrops used for President Obama's speech at Georgetown University on April 14, 2009. Thanks to a Washington Times misquote of a CNS News article, A White House request to cover all signage and symbols behind the stage to accommodate the backdrop of flags, pipe and drape used for policy speeches quickly morphed into an outcry that Obama himself had insisted that the "IHS" symbol for Jesus be covered.

-- Georgetown Says It Covered Over Name of Jesus to Comply With White House Request

http://www.cnsnews.com/public/content/article.aspx...

-- Jesus Missing From Obama's Georgetown Speech

http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Jesus-Miss...

-- Scarborough repeated myth that White House requested Jesus' name be covered up

http://mediamatters.org/items/200904170026

In early 2003, during the lead-up to the invasion of Iraq, there was similar buzz over a mural at the United Nations that was also draped. The spin was that the mural had been censored by the White House, Bush Administration, Colin Powell, UN officials (pick one or all the above). Most likely a large, blue curtain merely photographed easier and was was thus a more appropriate backdrop for the cameras. The mural was a reproduction of a famous portrait by Pablo Picasso, depicting horrified faces and titled "Guernica" (link to .jpg image file below), named after a Basque town of the same name.

http://kbagdanov.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/picas...

on April 26th, 1937 (market day), Guernica was carpet bombed by Facist Italian and Nazi German forces. Three-quarters of the town was destroyed and 1,600 civilians were killed.

-- Pablo Picasso's "Guernica" censored at U.N.

http://www.art-for-a-change.com/News/guernica.htm

-- The "Guernica" Myth

http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Artic...

-- On Anniversary of 1937 Guernica Bombing, Basque Community in Idaho Looks Back

http://www.democracynow.org/2009/4/24/on_anniversa...

To repeat the question... Do you see the irony? Or perhaps more appropriately, which irony do you find most striking?