It is crazy that even came that close, but at just about 10:30pm ET, the
Yogi Berra petition reached 100,000 signatures, taking the process to the next step. We wrote about this a month ago, on his 90th birthday (read
SIGN THE YOGI PETITION: PRESIDENTIAL MEDAL OF FREEDOM). Honestly, I didn’t think it would be as hard as it was. Yankees Stadium seats over 50,000 people, so how hard can it be to get a weekend’s worth of attendance to sign a petition for Yogi? Regardless, it is a great honor to be considered for this award, and now the White House must respond to the petition.
Now, a lot of folks seem to think that it’s over and that Yogi is getting the award. Not so fast. The Presidential Medal of Freedom is not given by election. It is given at the sole discretion of the President of the United States. The petition we all signed (if you didn’t, don’t tell me – I don’t want to know) requires the White House to respond to the request. It’s still at their discretion. But let’s be real. The White House is going to say no to give the Medal to Yogi? He’s a sports legend, a World War 2 hero, a D-Day survivor, and an advocate for social issues. Not to mention that he’s a cultural icon whose famous quotes have been used everywhere in American society.
According to the whitehouse.gov website,
“Once the petition reaches the required threshold, it will be put in a queue to be reviewed by the White House.”. So now we wait for a response. If I may make a suggestion, don’t take your time on this. He’s 90 years old, and it’s the right thing to do. I believe that at this point, it’s only a matter of when and how. So let’s get it done. He has certainly earned it.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thank you for commenting on Bleeding Yankee Blue.