"Yikes! I Might Be...Militia!"
Soon after President Barack Obama signed an executive order lifting the ban on the use federal funding of embryonic stem cells in medical research, the wizards behind the White House web site posted the photo above. Though I find it less troubling than the president’s continuing assault on the unborn, the file name (hero_stemcell_main2.jpg) under which someone at the White House saved the photo of the signing ceremony this afternoon is disturbingly creepy.
I discovered the file name when I went to save the photo to my computer. Click here to see a screen shot which shows the file name for the photo highlighted in blue as I was in the process of saving the photo to my computer.
To imply that President Obama is somehow heroic by signing a measure that lifts a ban on the slaughter of human embryos for scientific purposes goes beyond the pale. Such an amateurish action should not, however, surprise anyone familiar with Obama’s socialist agenda (a.k.a., “Obamalism”) and his follower’s blind allegiance to “Dear Leader.”
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UDPATE 3/10/09: Thanks to all of the bloggers and web site owners linking to BMW today. The list includes — but is not limited to — the following:
UDPATE 3/11/09: See also ‘Hero’ Post Pushes Hot Buttons of Liberals
81 responses so far ↓
1 Clay Bowler // Mar 9, 2009 at 5:56 pm
One day soon, you won’t be able to type in hero in google images without pictures like this coming up. The White House Web site, paid for by tax payers isn’t a place for campaign rhetoric. It’s a place to attempt to provide non-partisan, non-bias information to Americans. It’s America’s job to decide if Obama is worthy of a hero tag, not some geeky webmaster working at the White House.
2 Pat // Mar 9, 2009 at 11:57 pm
The amazing thing about this Stem Cell kafuffle is that all the main players have found that they can use human skin for what they want to do, they don’t need the stem cells, the skin works better and is certainly more available and all the big guys have gone in that direction.
The more I see of Zero, the less use for him I have. His idiotic gift to the Brit PM, telling the Foreign Secretary that the UK was no different than 190 other countries the US deals with…the mans an idiot.
3 Always On Watch // Mar 10, 2009 at 4:57 am
This veneration and worship of BHO is disturbing in the extreme! I posted about this cultlike thinking over the weekend.
In my view, there is no reasoned way to convince the most devout of BHO’s followers that he’s leading this nation in the wrong direction. These worhippers are all caught up in some kind of mania and delusion.
It is indeed most disturbing to see the label of “hero” on that photo. Whither our sense of morality, America?
4 hotoffthepress2 // Mar 10, 2009 at 5:26 am
Pat,
I think more people are agreeing with you each day.
5 hotoffthepress2 // Mar 10, 2009 at 5:28 am
AOW — It turns out that the Obamacons at the White House apply the “hero” label to many of the photo files.
6 The Ultimate Blogging Machine « Blog Entry « Dr. Melissa Clouthier // Mar 10, 2009 at 6:52 am
[...] Ferris Bueller President Obama You’re My Hero [...]
7 Obama His Own Hero? // Mar 10, 2009 at 7:25 am
[...] All of the photos in that subdirectory include a certain resident of the White House. Bob McCarty and Jeff Emanuel discovered the same thing [...]
8 Kevin T. Keith // Mar 10, 2009 at 7:49 am
Ah, the irony . . . it amuses so.
In one short post complaining about the computer file label on a digital photo (!), which you regard as “disturbingly creepy”, “beyond the pale”, and “amateurish”, you also manage to work in not one but two childish slurs of your own (“Obamalism”, “Dear Leader”).
I’ll take you seriously when . . . actually, no, I won’t.
9 Calvin Grinder // Mar 10, 2009 at 7:53 am
Hey you idiots, you must know nothing of professional photography. That is a common term to describe your best shot from an event. “hero shot – 1 definition – The best picture of a series, often chosen to represent the whole series.”
Sheesh. – cg
10 hotoffthepress2 // Mar 10, 2009 at 7:59 am
Calvin & Keith — What’s it like to wonder through cyberspace, defending “Dear Leader?”
11 Calvin Grinder // Mar 10, 2009 at 8:13 am
HOTP – I’m not defending anybody. Just telling that you folks are getting upset over nothing and are wasting your time. Even semi-pro photogs use the term “hero” to describe the best shot in the lot. You are embarrassing yourself with your ignorance. Look in the dictionary.
12 hotoffthepress2 // Mar 10, 2009 at 8:15 am
More people ARE NOT professional photographers than ARE. Perception is reality. Need I continue?
13 Calvin Grinder // Mar 10, 2009 at 8:26 am
My last post on this.The term is also used by art directors, editors, printers, you know – folks too busy to answer people like you folks who don’t fact check. Go back to school, fool.
14 hotoffthepress2 // Mar 10, 2009 at 8:27 am
Calvin — You must really be in the tank for Dear Leader. Still, the folks you name are a minority.
15 GOP08_DOA // Mar 10, 2009 at 9:02 am
Wingers are just” jealous” because their HERO was George W. Bush. LOL. I crack myself up!
16 hotoffthepress2 // Mar 10, 2009 at 9:07 am
DOA — You’re just in denial about choosing the wrong man.
17 GOP08_DOA // Mar 10, 2009 at 9:11 am
But I didn’t vote for Bush! LOL!
18 Sister Toldjah // Mar 10, 2009 at 9:15 am
Obama: Our “hero”!…
Golly gee – after seeing how an image of President Obama on the WH’s website was named, in part, “hero” for his “heroic” efforts on lifting the Bush-era limits on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research, after rea…
19 hotoffthepress2 // Mar 10, 2009 at 9:16 am
Give it up, DOA, you’re not impressing anyone but yourself.
20 Michelle Malkin » Every shot a “hero shot” in Obama-land // Mar 10, 2009 at 10:13 am
[...] Several bloggers are having good fun with the discovery of a subdirectory of White House photos categorized under the name “hero.” (See Small Dead Animals, Jeff Emanuel, and Bob McCarthy). [...]
21 Calvin Grinder // Mar 10, 2009 at 10:19 am
“Hero: When viewing a proof sheet or selection of images, the Hero image is the image selected for final use i.e. typically the best image from the selection.”-Photography terms glossary
22 CLipper // Mar 10, 2009 at 10:22 am
Normally I would agree with Calvin if the image didn’t also include main2 jpg. The hero is the main in a series, not a bunch of shots.
23 hotoffthepress2 // Mar 10, 2009 at 10:27 am
Thanks for the observation, CLipper!
24 PoliBlog: A Rough Draft of my Thoughts » There’s Nothing Like Serious Political Discourse… // Mar 10, 2009 at 11:01 am
[...] headliner at Memeorandum at the moment is from Bob McCarty Writes: Heroic Name Given to Photo of President Obama Soon after President Barack Obama signed an executive order lifting the ban on the use federal [...]
25 Lyle // Mar 10, 2009 at 11:47 am
Of course, it’s also possible that the photog handed the web-dude an SD card with a photo on it, named “hero_main.jpg”, and the web-dude decided it was too big for the web, resized it, and saved it as “hero_main2.jpg”. It’s all speculation, and making hay over this is pretty silly.
26 tim maguire // Mar 10, 2009 at 11:54 am
More to the point, there is nothing heroic about kowtowing to loud special interest groups.
BTW, Calvin, if “hero shot” is such a common term, then how come you had to google it before posting here?
http://au.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080811002118AAPOJ3x
Does the “best answer” look familiar?
27 hotoffthepress2 // Mar 10, 2009 at 12:00 pm
Tim — You’re hired!
28 drjohn // Mar 10, 2009 at 12:05 pm
GREAT FIND
29 The Farm Report › // Mar 10, 2009 at 12:29 pm
[...] Hero at the White House. Well, at least to his servitors. This was written by admin. Posted on Tuesday, March 10, 2009, [...]
30 hotoffthepress2 // Mar 10, 2009 at 12:47 pm
Thanks, Doc!
31 Some Quick Bites « Bob’s Bites // Mar 10, 2009 at 1:15 pm
[...] Every shot a “Hero Shot” in Obama-land Several bloggers are having good fun with the discovery of a subdirectory of White House photos categorized under the name “hero.” (See Small Dead Animals, Jeff Emanuel, and Bob McCarthy). [...]
32 Clay // Mar 10, 2009 at 1:49 pm
Go back to school, fool? Are you kidding me? That’s the way you attack one of the best blogs in the country?
33 hotoffthepress2 // Mar 10, 2009 at 1:56 pm
Thanks, Clay!
34 Dustin // Mar 10, 2009 at 2:31 pm
I’ve worked in graphic design and now web design for 10 years now, and the term “hero image” or “hero shot” has long since referred to the lead image.
In my opinion, every photo in the hero directory was most likely used with one of the lead stories on the home page at one time. Currently the images tied to all 4 lead stories are in the hero directory.
Example;
This image is currently on the home page, and is in the hero directory.
This is a bigger version of the same image, that is not from the home page, and is not in the hero directory.
The first image is in a folder called assets and another folder inside there called hero. Likely all photos in there appeared on the homepage. Also notice the file name there is travis_hero.jpg, nothing about Obama being the hero. The second version of that image exists in a location that makes sense again for its use, it is in the assets folder, and then a folder called slideshow, as it appears in a slideshow, and then a folder that seems to sort photos by their size. It seems quite obvious the photos are organized into folders that are named by how and where they are used on the site.
There are numerous shots of Obama throughout the site that are not in the hero directory.
This is a non-issue that is running wild with no real basis.
35 hotoffthepress2 // Mar 10, 2009 at 2:32 pm
Dustin — You should have been an astronaut.
36 Dustin // Mar 10, 2009 at 2:37 pm
It came in a close second!
37 jvill // Mar 10, 2009 at 3:44 pm
Um, the “hero” image is often the main image on a webpage or in marketing materials.
Seriously, now… You guys are barely one step above a gaggle of monkeys throwing their poo.
38 hotoffthepress2 // Mar 10, 2009 at 3:46 pm
jvill — Typical liberal name-caller. Poo on you!
39 David Granovsky // Mar 10, 2009 at 4:17 pm
Want to read the document that started all the hubub? Obama’s Executive Order is here:
http://repairstemcell.wordpress.com/obamas-executive-order/
40 Zuzu // Mar 10, 2009 at 4:48 pm
Congratulations… you made the top of the memorandum pile.
Thanks for giving the rest of us something to laugh about.
Yes, I meant you, Bob.
41 Caffeinated Thoughts // Mar 10, 2009 at 5:24 pm
The Stem Cell Order Could Go Further…
Not only does Obama’s embryonic stem cell order put science before ethics, but how far does it go?
At the end of this order we see:
Sec. 5. Revocations. (a) The Presidential statement of August 9, 2001, limiting Federal funding …
42 Right Wing Bloggers: Holding Out for a Hero « The Alabama Moderate // Mar 10, 2009 at 5:38 pm
[...] a right-wing blogger discovered that pictures of President Obama (still sounds weird to say) are labeled with the word [...]
43 Sean // Mar 10, 2009 at 6:06 pm
“More people ARE NOT professional photographers than ARE.” Are you the dumbest people who ever lived?
44 Lisa Graas // Mar 10, 2009 at 7:03 pm
Great blog. Great post.
Worst president ever.
45 J // Mar 10, 2009 at 8:11 pm
Obama is an hero.
46 hotoffthepress2 // Mar 10, 2009 at 8:51 pm
J,
I think you meant to say, “Zero.”
47 Swig // Mar 10, 2009 at 9:08 pm
Oh dear, you wingnuts really are a crazy bunch of geese.
You want to contribute anything useful like a real discussion on real policies, instead of a silly comment on a friggin’ FILENAME?
48 hotoffthepress2 // Mar 10, 2009 at 9:09 pm
Swig — Who invited you here?
49 Russ // Mar 10, 2009 at 9:26 pm
Man talk about a huge backfire. You attack Obama over a filename and if that isn’t pathetic enough, it turns out its just a photo editing term? ahahahaha
50 hotoffthepress2 // Mar 10, 2009 at 9:28 pm
Russ — No backfire here, just liberals like you blowing smoke and polluting the air.
51 Shii // Mar 10, 2009 at 9:38 pm
I’m sure Bob is about to respond to Wut, so I’d just like to add:
C-C-C-COMBO BREAKER!
52 hotoffthepress2 // Mar 10, 2009 at 9:38 pm
Wut — You obviously don’t keep up with the latest news. Pat was spot-on with news about the use of adult stem cells and skin cells. I recommend you run a Google search and check for yourself. Oh, what the heck, I’ll save Pat the trouble: Discover Magazine Blog, March 5, 2009 or Popular Science, March 4, 2009.
53 hotoffthepress2 // Mar 10, 2009 at 9:45 pm
In case anyone’s wondering what happened to the comment posted by “Wut,” I removed it after finding that the URL he provided was NSFW in a very bad way.
54 Orlando // Mar 10, 2009 at 9:48 pm
What you people don’t understand is that in production the term “HERO” is used for the photo or clip that will be used. This has NOTHING to do with somebody proclaiming that Obama is a hero.
the ignorance is baffling.
55 Tyreed // Mar 10, 2009 at 11:01 pm
Okay. Let us assume that the photo was titled by someone who thinks Obama is a hero for signing this executive order.
Is it that terrible that a person employed by a photo contributor to the White House website actually supports the President? I think it would make sense. People who like the man want to work near him.
Also, do you have any proof for your claim that the inclusion of the word “hero” means that someone thinks Obama’s actions are heroic? Other commenters have provided sources to back up their response, but it seems you let your personal opinion influence your definition of “hero”.
56 David Lane // Mar 10, 2009 at 11:04 pm
hotoffthepress – While it is good to criticize the President Obama over his actions, you do undermine your own criticism when:
1. You try to link something he has nothing to do with to him and
2. When you seem unable to admit a mistake.
So far, i admit i like Obama but it is early days yet. I read a variety of sources to help evaluate his performance but the big problem i face is finding sources that are objective. It is reasonable that people have a bias but if that bias prevents them acknowledging the truth, their opinion has little worth.
57 Tim // Mar 10, 2009 at 11:05 pm
Wow…. I cannot believe this. Actually I can. Whilst I didn’t want to believe there were crazy people like “hotoffthepress2″ in and around America; it certainly is hard to ignore when he/she continually tries to defend this blog when it is VERY clear that they are so far in the wrong. It becomes funny to read their posts.
Oh and “hotoffthepress2″… there’s no point calling me names or sending back some blatant response that says you think I’m wrong… you’re in denial, you need help… you need some kind of therapy.
And by the way… I’m not from America so it doesn’t matter if you say I’m for or against Obama… clearly it doesn’t matter and my opinion is based off of my own ideals and COMMON SENSE. Go look that one up in the dictionary – it seems you haven’t heard it before.
58 MichaelAWill // Mar 10, 2009 at 11:12 pm
Holy shit. Did you guys notice the word “JPG” also in the file name? Those pretentious democratic whores!
59 MichaelAWill // Mar 10, 2009 at 11:16 pm
This must be what passes for “hacking” in conservative circles.
60 MichaelAWill // Mar 10, 2009 at 11:17 pm
I’m a liberal and I spend most of my time saving pictures of Republicans I can’t stand to my computer.
61 MichaelAWill // Mar 10, 2009 at 11:20 pm
The funniest part about this post is that whatever the original story was that this picture was being saved for, wasn’t good enough to NOT be replaced by this retarded mess.
62 NigelP // Mar 10, 2009 at 11:29 pm
Well as Bob says “Perception is reality”.
And the perception now is that Bob is a dimwitted clown.
63 Matt // Mar 10, 2009 at 11:32 pm
@ Orlando
The ignorance is NOT baffling!
These are guys who choose to stick to their interpretation of reality despite being presented with the facts because the ones who don’t know the facts are in a majority, and offer that up as a good enough reason not to back off.
The appropriate response – Oops, we didn’t know, my bad.
Ever seen any fundie – either wingnut or commie back off so easily?
64 Michael // Mar 10, 2009 at 11:35 pm
re: #12
Why does how many pro photographers out there make a difference as to how the file should be named by said pro photographers? And, of course, other people who work with them such as web designers, who would understandably pick up the same jargon.
65 Dillon // Mar 10, 2009 at 11:40 pm
Wow… so many people are laughing at you OP.
Ultimate Idiot Machine is more like it.
66 JustWondering // Mar 10, 2009 at 11:41 pm
So I guess the only remaining question is: Does Bob Mccarty admit, and issue a correction, when he’s obviously made an error in judgement?? Or, like a coward, does he ignore the truth and hope that it fades into the past??
Time will tell…
67 _______ // Mar 10, 2009 at 11:43 pm
“jvill — Typical liberal name-caller. Poo on you!”
Have you looked at your own site?
/face palm
68 uFunny // Mar 10, 2009 at 11:45 pm
It must be hard going through life as the object of humor, it’s great for the rest of us though. Keep up the blogging Mr Clownpants!
69 Dig // Mar 10, 2009 at 11:47 pm
What’s hilarious, Mr. McCarty, is that your silly, ginned-up story fell apart completely with just a few seconds of Googling. What’s sad is that instead of updating the post with a clarification, you dug deeper. Behold, a Super Sleuth of the Internet!
70 Dale // Mar 10, 2009 at 11:54 pm
“More people ARE NOT professional photographers than ARE. Perception is reality. Need I continue?”
What does this even mean? The person who took that photo is a professional photographer, hence he or she used the term “hero” in the sense that professional photographers mean it: as the best shot of a series.
Pride is one of the Seven Deadly Sins, Pride is the beginning of all sins. You seem unwilling to admit your mistake. Your soul is walking on thin ice, my friend.
71 charlie // Mar 11, 2009 at 12:03 am
I worked for my school’s newspaper as an undergrad. When organizing photos, we were taught to use “hero” to label the lead photo of a set.
72 S.o.G. // Mar 11, 2009 at 12:06 am
thank you very much for posting this article. It is annoying to have to share the world with ignorant people; the shadenfreude one feels when they make ridiculous gaffes helps to make up for it.
73 Josh // Mar 11, 2009 at 12:14 am
I’m saying this as a right wing republican.
This is why some good people hate us, this crap right here. It blatantly obvious that hero shot was not used in any sort of reverential way, but instead of arguing about ideas and policy nutjobs like the writer of this blog latch on to non-issues and make the entire side of the political spectrum look like paranoid lunatics.
74 Fail // Mar 11, 2009 at 12:38 am
Way to go dude, just goes to show that if you’re looking for a certain particularly heinous stance in a political opponent you often make it up out of thin air.
75 jonbovi // Mar 11, 2009 at 1:23 am
HAHAHAHA at this post (and the subsequent defending of it)
76 Kurt // Mar 11, 2009 at 2:24 am
wow… just wow! The sheer stupidity in this post is mind boggling. But then again, no one expects anything other than ignorance from the Republicans. Heck of a job McCarty!
77 John // Mar 11, 2009 at 3:20 am
This post is indefensible. The only way to defend it would be to make irrational remarks and ad hominem attacks.
Are you big enough to admit that there might be nothing sinister behind the naming of the photo?
I would hope so, it doesn’t mean you’re an idiot or anything, everyone makes mistakes. Sticking to your guns though only makes you look increasingly foolish.
78 Joe // Mar 11, 2009 at 5:09 am
Obama must be going great if you have to resort to crazy web master onspiracy theories to bash him.anyway this article is stupid, “hero” is a common photographic term.
79 bob // Mar 11, 2009 at 5:47 am
What a bunch of maroons!
80 Steynian 334 « Free Canuckistan! // Mar 12, 2009 at 5:38 pm
[...] POTUS = HERO? Obnoxious name given to morally troublesome act …. [...]
81 Conspiracy Alert: The White House statement that never was, but it is. « The Alabama Moderate // Jun 10, 2009 at 6:22 pm
[...] let me just say that this particular blogger could easily be grouped with those who broke the hero-shot non-scandal– which I promptly made fun of. When you take a look at his typical fare, it [...]