So The Onion broke the law by using the Presidential Seal on their website. No big deal, all they should have done was admit wrongdoing, misunderstanding of the law and cease using the Seal. I bet the issue would’ve been put to bed. Why didn’t they come up with a comical mockery of the Seal in the first place? That’s not what they’ve chosen to do though. They’re trying to argue that their use is obviously satirical and not for commercial gain. Very few could confuse The Onion for serious and factual journalism, but they’re lying about the commercial gain. They don’t charge for hard copy prints of their paper or for access to the website, but they do make money on it. The Onion makes nearly all of its money through placement of advertisements in the paper and on the website, that’s commercial gain. Of course readers of The New York Times would be led to believe that The Onion makes no commercial gain. Good job getting the facts completely wrong again NYT.

The White House has the obligation to protect the Seal and seek enforcement of the laws governing its use, regardless if the President is a Republican or a Democrat. Also, having the White House counsel write a letter to The Onion asking them to cease using the Seal does not cost additional taxpayer money. The counsel is already on staff and paid. That counsel costs the taxpayers the same amount of money if they sit in the Rose Garden all morning playing cribbage or if they spend that morning writing a letter to The Onion.

Here’s an idea Onion, just say oops and get one of your artists to come up with a mock seal. Maybe give the eagle on the Seal an eye patch and a big “#1” on the shield. In my opinion, The Onion got lazy on this one. I suppose it was only a matter of time before they turned lame after they moved to New York City. Think they’ll consider moving back to Madison once they realize they’re not as funny as they used to be?