This is simply ridiculous. With wars, limits on civil liberties and all the rest eating away at our freedoms, it shows the paucity of intellect that this is what they complain about. Get a life! Read the whole story about what Google is doing instead.
Google logo tweak sends critics into orbit
Should the world’s most-used search engine be more of a Yankee Google Dandy?
Google Inc. occasionally features light-hearted doodles on its colorful home-page logo to commemorate special occasions. But now they are drawing criticism from conservatives for not being more patriotic.
The Mountain View, Calif., company bathes its logo in stars and stripes every Independence Day, but last week’s decision to honor the 50th anniversary of the Sputnik launch — the second “g” in Google was replaced with a drawing of the Soviet satellite — is being blasted by some conservatives.
Not only did Google honor an achievement by a totalitarian regime that was our Cold War enemy, they griped, but it did so without having ever altered its logo to commemorate U.S. military personnel on Memorial Day or Veterans Day.
“It’s a kick to your belly,” said conservative blogger Giovanni Gallucci, 39, a social media consultant from Dallas. “I understand these guys are scientists and engineers and they have their quirks and want to make sure people are recognized who might not normally be recognized . . . but why not celebrate the struggles that we’ve come through as a people?”
If google puts up that picture, then the communist have won.
as Dvorak would say….. oh! brother!!
Chickenshit Dems in Congress worry about neocon twerps like this. So do a few of the media types who flip-flop over sound and fury – with no content.
Devotion to reactionary ideology, ignorance, superpatriotism and fear is an affront to individuals capable of analysis and reason on their own.
Egad! There are really people out there that feel like this? Really?!? Don’t they have something better to do with their time?
I don’t know, but I kinda agree with the wackos. Read the whole article that’s linked and make up your own mind. Just because they’re wacko, doesn’t necessarily make them wrong. I see their point about why Google honors Water Day, and not the soldiers that kept all of us from losing WWII. I like the idea of replacing one of the O’s with a purple heart for Veteran’s Day. Such a simple gesture would deflate a lot of hard feelings. Being a multi-nation mega corporation, Google should try to be more open with their views, and not just take the insular, Stanford view of the world. This world is a little bigger than San Francisco.
Damn, I’m pissed, too. They have never done anything on their logo for my birthday. I’ll never use google again…that’ll teach ’em.
This is old news, it comes up every Memorial and Veteran’s Day. I can understand Google’s wanting to stay away from what it might see as a “political” stand (implying that it would trivialize those days) yet they are fine doing it for other such days including the 4th of July. I could care less either direction, but it seems to me Google is indeed making a statement and they should be willing to stand by it openly.
Can’t these dittoheads get over it, the Soviet Union NO LONGER EXISTS!!!
These right wing wackos are ‘fake soldiers.’
It was a great accomplishment! I don’t care what gov’t. did it. It did light the pants of the USA and kick start our education system. That is how we have had so many advances come from our country.
Be patriotic or we will report you to the
GestapoFBI. These people are the worst kind of American.Big A: We appreciate the talking points you copied from the email from headquarters.
Why do you even acknowledge conservative bloggers? If you posted a reply on here to every crazy statement they made you wouldn’t have room left for anything else. Stop trolling tor comments John.
Hmm… More conservatives that would rather get their panties in a wad over something trivial like this rather than deal with the truly important issues of the day.
What ever happened to the right of someone to express (or not) themselves as they want?
Welcome to Amerika, comrade.
As a certified right-wing conservative wacko, I have to say that getting bent out of shape over this issue is just plain…wacko? This is not the hill I’d choose to die on. As has been pointed out, a.) Sputnik could be viewed as a patriotic achievement for us in that it jump started our own efforts, b.) there are plenty of other things of greater import and seriousness over which to generate debate, and c.) maybe someone needs to do some more stomach crunches to tighten up those belly muscles? Incidentally, communism is still alive and well, and Putin is trying his hardest to reconstitute the Soviet Union, so….
Sputnik led us to a landing on the Moon, a win for the US. The Russians never got there.
What the conservatives should be asking is why the Republicans never bothered to go back to the Moon during all those years when they could have. And now we’re wasting a lot of money in Iraq that could have been put to better use going back to the Moon or to achieve other worthwhile goals.
What is the purpose of “going back to the moon”, Floyd? Are there really that many scientific questions that can only be resolved through human travel to the moon? Or do you see it more as some sort of tradition that needs to be continued?
An important anniversary came along, and it happened to be that of the first man made satellite. It is an important event, regardless of what country achieved it. When you think about it, there are very few technological events with this kind of importance.
I think that Sputnik has much greater significance in our lives than the moon landing (which should also be commemorated), because it eventually led to a revolution in communications, GPS, satellite radio, weather satellites, etc.
They may have a (weak) point WRT to Google’s non-observance of Memorial and Veterans’ Days, but trying to draw a parallel between that, by suggesting that commemoration of the first space flight is somehow “pro-Soviet”, is idiotic.
Sputnik also indirectly resulted in “the New Math” -i.e., arithmetic drills should be replaced by set theory, and similar abominations of “education reform”.
These conservative wackos don’t understand that Google is viewed worldwide, not only in US, is not local, and they are the only ones in their BLOCK that think like that. Google is celebrating MANKIND, not dumb nationalist agendas. After all Google is trying to be global, not local and not narrow minded.
Those poor sucker conservatives have never get out of their town and think that the world is just the little state. Let them fgo to their creationist museum to be happy.
Haven’t these people with too much time on their hands ever heard of using another search engine? Just like an “offensive” TV show, just don’t watch it. Don’t like Google graphics on special days? Don’t use Google.
Although I do have to admit that I always wonder why Google only has happy animal scenes for Christmas instead of anything with religious significance. The reason for the season and all that.
This is nonsense.
Most people in the world ‘don’t get it’ yet but Google is just a corporation and corporations don’t consider themselves citizens of any individual country, not even the United States.
The only reason they might even care what Americans think is if it’s going to affect The Bottom Line.
As an example; while in China, forget all about human rights if they might happen to affect profits.
As a Conservative, even I’M embarrassed about this. We won the cold war. Now Sputnik belongs to history. ALL history.
Sometimes we Conservatives need to get a grip. But silly stuff happens to you liberals as well.
Does Google do things for Veteran’s Day or Memorial Day? Did they do anything for Columbus Day or Labor Day? I’ve got no problem with the sputnik thing if other dates are celebrated. But, if they’re picking and choosing days to commemorate, I’ve a problem with it.
#25: Why? What could possibly cause you a problem?
Google is a private company with no reason to do ANYTHING in this regard other than whatever they feel like doing exactly when they feel like doing it. They aren’t a government agency. There’s no law saying they have to commemorate Columbus Day or Labor Day (odd how conservatives who normally side with Big Business and hate unions with a passion (“It’s head knockin’ time!”) would complain about a day celebrating them) or any other day.
If they put up a banner to commemorate the death of MLK, would you object because if you’re a Southerner and they didn’t also celebrate the founding of the Confederation? Should the hot dog makers protest because they don’t get a special banner during National Sausage Month (yes, it’s October)? Where does it end?
What gives you the right to even think they have a ‘responsibility’ to do anything other than, as their slogan goes, “do no harm,” plus make money for their stockholders? Please explain this to me as I really don’t get it.
26. That sums it up, I think I see burn marks on Angus.
This is a non-issue… Move on.
#6 – Being a multi-nation mega corporation, Google should try to be more open with their views, and not just take the insular, Stanford view of the world. This world is a little bigger than San Francisco.
The world is also bigger than The United States. Maybe neocons should consider that before getting all wound up on these amazingly unimportant issues…
#17 – What is the purpose of “going back to the moon”, Floyd?
I’m not Floyd, but the point is to set up a working base, and then a settlement from which the industrial base needed to build spacecraft in space can be managed. It’s the starting point for industry and colonization in the Solar System… an undertaking that if not taken, will lead to the ultimate doom of every last man woman and child on this world.
Anyone who doesn’t think space travel should be a priority is not firing on all cylinders. There is no more important task on this world than the task of getting off this world. Any other concern is short sighted.
#19 – (you again) trying to draw a parallel between that, by suggesting that commemoration of the first space flight is somehow “pro-Soviet”, is idiotic.
On this point you are in every possible way, indisputably correct.
But of course, anytime you use “idiotic” to describe an ideologically neo-conservative argument, you stand a really good chance of being right.
#22 – Although I do have to admit that I always wonder why Google only has happy animal scenes for Christmas instead of anything with religious significance. The reason for the season and all that.
I’m not certain you are correct about that, however, since commerce is the reason for the season, I think happy animal scenes and religious symbols are both equally irrelevant.
#24 – Sometimes we Conservatives need to get a grip. But silly stuff happens to you liberals as well.
It sure does… and its harder for us because we aren’t nearly as monolithic as you are, so when PETA says that milk is murder or something equally stupid, liberals like me get painted with that stupidity, even though our position on milk is simply that mothers should be able to afford it to give to their children.
Conservatives would be more successful, I think, if they’d kick the Bible Thumpers and Neo-cons out of the tent. I used to like them a lot more when it was simply smart guys who liked smaller government.
#25 – But, if they’re picking and choosing days to commemorate, I’ve a problem with it.
Really… what sort of “problem” do you have with a technology and communication company, a corporation for that matter, not a government, not a church, not a food co-op, but a company, who runs a search engine… what sort of “problem” could you possible have with them adding a graphic to remind us of Sputnik and its profound influence on technology and communication?
Jews don’t commemorate Christmas. You got a beef about that too?
#26 and 27 – Sorry… Didn’t see that you already answered that… but I am too lazy to erase what I wrote… but not lazy enough to write an explanation about why I’m posting it anyway 🙂
#28 – Sorry Max… Didn’t realize there were rules against talking about things that don’t interest you.
#29, OFTLO/TP, thanks, you’ve already done all the good work.