More Nationwide Fallout on the Huntsville Obama Float

The Obama float saga that has officially gone viral is still a hot topic.

First, we will link to an excellent piece from our friend Rudi over at the Weber County Forum.

The Huntsville 4th of July Parade Kerfuffle Isn't Dead - Not by a Long Shot

Rudi highlights yesterday's Standard Examiner article, by none other than Charles Trentlemen, a trusted and reasonable journalist. Charles' article is a worthy read.

Next, the petition that we posted yesterday had over 300 signatures in the first 24 hours of the petition going live. The silent majority is alive and well in Ogden Valley.

Also, since this fiasco started with some shoddy reporting on behalf of the Standard, we overlooked a more accurate description of the events published by the Salt Lake Tribune. Since the Tribune was "scooped" by the Standard's fabricated story of a threat of the President, the Tribune had time to pen a more accurate account of the story - a story which should have been a non-event.

Alleged anti-Obama parade float causing Huntsville grief

We have a special treat for our humble readers as we have video of the Obama float (or more correct, the limo and secret service agents).

Click here to view the video

The issue hit the big time Tuesday when it was a segment on the O'Reilly Factor. The Factor is keeping close tabs on the video of their show, but here is a summary from their website:

Barack and a Hard Place Segment  Fourth of July parade float mocking Obama causes controversy in Utah Guests: Monica Crowley and Alan Colmes

Fox News analysts Alan Colmes and Monica Crowley scrutinized the Independence Day parade in Utah that included a display mocking President Obama. "These people have done satires of both the left and the right," Colmes said, "and their biggest offense is bad humor. It's not funny, but they have the right to do it. You also can't discount that there's a certain hatred of this President because he's black." Crowley took issue with the display primarily because of its timing. "Obviously the First Amendment protects even bad taste, but I think Independence Day is a sacred holiday. There are 364 other days in the year when you can make fun of President Obama, but the Fourth of July is a time when we should put politics aside and celebrate the sacrifices and courage that built this country." The Factor smacked extremists on both sides, saying, "It's almost a mental disorder that people get so upset when people don't agree with them about politics."

We would love to share the O'Reilly video, so if any of our loyal readers has access to it then please send us a link.

Lastly, Huntsville was not the only site of an Obama float, and wethinks the Huntsville float was less political. The difference being that some parade goers apparently had the inside line to the news room at the beloved Standard Examiner.

Anti-Obama Kingsville Parade Float 'Not Sanctioned by Committee'

We are guessing there was a more diverse audience at this parade near Baltimore, but Huntsville's parade seemed to get the nationwide spotlight.

And that's a wrap. It is your turn to opine.

UPDATE: 7-13-12 @ 9:30pm

Here is the original article that was printed in the Standard. The online version was later amended.