The Secret Service and...

[Raito]

the duck!!!!!!

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/a...e/treasury_duck  

For all those who're too lazy to click:

Secret Service Guards Mother Duck, Eggs


By MARTIN CRUTSINGER, AP Economics Writer

WASHINGTON - The Secret Service, which has the job of guarding the president and other dignitaries, now has a new temporary duty ? protecting a mother duck and her nine eggs.

Photo
AP Photo

 

The duck, a brown mallard with white markings, has had several names suggested by Treasury Department people, including "Quacks Reform," "T-Bill," and "Duck Cheney." It has built a nest in a mulch pile right at the main entrance to the Treasury Department on Pennsylvania Avenue.

The Secret Service's uniformed division, which provides protection for the White House and Treasury building, has set up metal guard rails to protect the nest, which has attracted the notice of tourists on their way to see the White House.

The duck has been provided with a water bowl and seems oblivious to all the attention, sitting calmly on its nest on top of the mulch pile that surrounds one of the new trees planted along Pennsylvania Avenue as part of a renovation project.

Treasury Secretary John Snow stopped to pay his respects this week on the way back from a congressional hearing, Treasury spokesman Rob Nichols said Friday.

"He had been briefed on the duck and he stopped to pay a visit," said Nichols.

The eggs are expected to hatch the last week of April at which time the duck will be relocated nearer water. But until then, the duck will occupy some of Washington's prime real estate.

"Foreign leaders, members of Congress, everybody who visits Treasury has to pass by the duck," Nichols said.

[Corsair5]

Do freaking what? Secret Service Officers guarding a Duck? What, are they afraid a terrorist is gonna take a potshot at it? It's a DUCK! A DUCK!

[Ignus_Draconus]

maybe they think it unseemly for someone to harvest dinner off the white house lawn

[Jigen]

Thank you Ignus, I can't stop giggling now.

[Esquire]

The Secret Service was founded by the Secretary of the Treasury, I believe originally to be a police unti and investigation division for the Treasury Department and somehow their priamry goal became defending the President, Vice-President, their staff and families. They still do work for the Treasury, as guards and conducting investigations. This is the reason that they can have branches overseas as opposed to a leader guardian group such as the Royal Guard in Britain(the mannequins in red). This is also why, in movies(such as Rush Hour 2 and Catch me if you can), saying that the Secret Service is investigating counterfeit money isn't as farfetched as it may sound. In short(or long)...


Having the Secret Service guard the duck at the Treasury isn't too out there, because thats where a lot of them work and it would give them good publicity, for instance tree huggers and other such hostile enviromentalists up in arms against the White House can be told, "Well the government isn't all bad, it's helping this duck and her offspring."


Capische?

[Ignus_Draconus]

makes sense, but I like my answer better

[Corsair5]

Yes, I prefer Ignus' explanation.

[Raito]

I prefer the more intellectual answer.


Guess which one? It's not Ignus'.  

[Brassfire]

Actually, someone once harvested a good dinner by taking weeds from the White House garden. Just weeds. (This is a fact, seriously.)

[Lord_Bierhoff]

Clinton? I thought you said you didn't inhail? bad ex-pres, bad

[Corsair5]

Ah, Clinton. You know, around my household, the word Liar has been replaced with Clinton.

[lazygamer]

Cuz of the sex scandal, or cuz of his other actions as president?

[Lord_Bierhoff]

how do either of those make him much worse than most other pres? (In other news, the search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq has been formally ended, in failure.)

[Striker]

I used to dislike Clinton when he was in office... but based on the direction America has turned under Bush, I gotta say, I really miss the guy.

[Ignus_Draconus]

I think that the real question is how often each president looked towards the future.

bierhoff: sure, assembled weapons were in rather short supply, but I've heard some interesting things about a buried air-force.