Saturday, November 26, 2005

Torture is for Turkeys

"The President ... shall have Power to Grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offenses against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment."
-Alexander Hamilton, The Federalist Papers



As American cultural liason to the town of Goderich, I've been asked by Pat Crawford to explain a peculiar tradition: The Presidential Turkey Pardon. In this photo, we see President Bush pardoning a turkey named "Marshmallow" by U.S. citizens taking part in an online poll.

The Presidential Turkey Pardon is a tradition dating back at least as far as the Truman administration (late 1940s), and according to some sources, back to the time of Lincoln. I can only assume that it was proposed to the president as a marketing gimmick by the nation's turkey farmers. I'm at a loss to explain what sort of offense turkeys could've committed necessitating a pardon. The last time I checked, deliciousness wasn't a crime.


I wonder if Bush tried to torture a confession out of it first...

"Which came first, Marshmallow, the chicken or the egg? Talk!"


Read It

http://www.infoplease.com/spot/tgturkey2.html
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