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US Congress opts for "freedom fries"
French
fries in the House of Representatives' cafeterias will now be known as
"freedom fries" as part of a Republican protest at France's
opposition to a war on Iraq. Republican representative Bob Ney, whose
committee is in charge of the eateries, said the action was "a small but
symbolic effort to show the strong displeasure of many on Capitol Hill with
the actions of our so-called ally, France". French toast from now on will be known as
"freedom toast". The move - following the lead of a North
Carolina restaurant - reflects the anti-French sentiment among some lawmakers
who feel President Jacques Chirac is betraying the US by opposing its policy
on disarming Iraq. France has said it will use its veto to
block a second UN resolution to allow war to commence with Iraq.
Some legislators disagree with the menu
changes. A Democrat from New York, Jose Serrano,
described the orders as "petty grandstanding" and urged legislators
to concentrate on the US' pressing domestic needs. "Should we ban French wine, Belgian
waffles or Russian dressing? If Mexico votes no, should Mexican restaurants
also be banned?" he asked. Republican Jim Saxton from New Jersey has
introduced legislation that would prevent any French company from receiving
US funding or financing in the reconstruction of Iraq. But House Majority leader Tom DeLay, from
Texas, said he did not think Congress needed to take any formal steps to show
its disapproval of France. French isolation "I don't think we have to retaliate
against France. They have isolated themselves. They have resigned from any
responsibility for the war on terror." In February, a fast food restaurant called
Cubbie's in Beaufort, North Carolina renamed its French fries "freedom
fries" also in protest at France's anti-war stance. The owner, Neal Rowland, said he got the
idea from similar protest action against Germany during World War I, when
sauerkraut was renamed liberty cabbage and frankfurters became hot dogs. |
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The restaurant menus in the three House office
buildings will change the name of "french fries" to "freedom
fries," a culinary rebuke of France, stemming from anger over the
country's refusal to support the U.S. position on Iraq.
Ditto for "french
toast," which will be known as "freedom toast."
The name changes were
spearheaded by two Republican lawmakers who plan to hold a news conference
later Tuesday to make the name change official on the menus.
"This action today is a
small, but symbolic effort to show the strong displeasure of many on Capitol
Hill with the actions of our so-called ally, France," said Rep. Bob Ney,
R-Ohio, the chairman of the Committee on House Administration.
Ney, whose committee has
authority over the House restaurants, directed the change, after colleague
Walter Jones, R-North Carolina, circulated a letter suggesting such a move.
"I represent a district
with multiple military bases that have deployed thousands of troops,"
Jones said in a statement. "As I've watched these men and women wave
good-bye to their loved ones, I am reminded of the deep love they have for the
freedom of this nation and their desire to fight for the freedom of those who
are oppressed overseas," Jones said in a statement. "Watching
France's self -serving politics of passive aggression in this effort has
discouraged me more than I can say."
France has pressed the United Nations to give weapons
inspectors more time in Iraq, saying the U.S. and British-led move to war is
premature.
Washington’s Take On Foreign Policy: It’s Just Plain Silly
Despite the ideological fog that often surrounds the city of Washington, D.C. or even the looming threat of war, however, few people missed D.C.’s Spin of the Week. Phones lines across the nation hummed with news of Congress’s newest foreign policy: Freedom Fries.
Never mind their busy schedule full of debates on other important issues like affirmative action, educational funding, and partial birth abortions.
Excuse me for indulging my imagination a little, but what comes next? If Britain and Canada withdraw their support from our actions in Iraq will we wake up one morning to find members of Congress dining on “Justice Muffins” and “Liberty Bacon?” Does the House expect America’s service industries to follow suit? Pity the poor teenagers who, in addition to the humiliation of neon uniforms and hair nets, will soon have to ask, “would you like some Freedom Fries with that?”
Now, in all seriousness, this veers dangerously close to the cultural prejudices of the forties when sauerkraut was renamed “liberty cabbage.” And France is not even the country we’re fighting! I’m puzzled that Congress has not yet suggested that we stop putting Middle Eastern gasoline in our cars and SUVs. But maybe I’ll change my mind when Amoco and Mobil start selling “freedom fuel.”
In Washington these days, they call this foreign policy. Forgive me for being a Midwestern bumpkin, but I call it just plain silly.
It seems that politicians campaign on large concepts and big ideologies and then get lost in the minutest details all the while hoping that one big flashy piece of legislation will win them reelection. They sell headlines and pray that the American attention span is too short to read the whole story. Why else would the President promise to cut taxes while and increase funding for both education and national security? Anyone with a basic understanding of high school math can understand that spending more money is no way to balance a budget already several billion dollars in the red.
There is no doubt that headlines sell. What Congressman in his right mind would admit to having voted against the Patriot act? Or the Leave No Child Behind bill? No politician could run a successful campaign without mentioning “justice” or “freedom” or “family values” or — a perennial favorite among office-seekers in the Midwest — “the American Way.”
Americans know how to work words. Our policy-makers and -shakers pride themselves on their powers of persuasion. We are the verbal bullies of the international schoolyard. And now other nations may just call our bluff.
So before we dig ourselves into an even bigger hole over something that is — I just can’t resist — small potatoes, I wish that the politicians over there on D.C.’s other Hill would take some time to consider the potential consequences of the esoteric concepts they throw around to lend weight to those actions that seem somewhat less than consequential.
I’d like the hawks of Congress who jump to support the President’s tough-love preemptive policies to walk along the rows of white crosses at Arlington or read the tens of thousands of silent names etched into the Vietnam memorial. I’d like them to understand the way most average Americans do that each soldier sent to the Gulf is someone’s brother or sister or daughter or son or mother or father or classmate.
I’d like them to walk the streets of my hometown where miles of yellow ribbon are tied around trees, lampposts and mailboxes. I’d like them to see the fields and houses of the farmers and auto workers who struggle to feed their families. These are certainly not the ones who benefit from the famed tax cuts.
Sometime they should drive down the highways of the rural south, say in Georgia or South Carolina or Mississippi, and see the children who, despite whatever legislation Congress may cite or celebrate, are still very much left behind.
I’d ask them to wait for a day at one of the offices of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, where hundreds of desperate immigrants, visas expired, clamor for green cards, knowing the wrong name or skin color could jeopardize their chances for a better future.
Renaming French Fries is not going to help these people. It does little more than create fodder for late-night comedians and make other nations roll their collective eyes in our general direction.
Washington is a place of big ideas and noble concepts. But those who have the power to affect change should not forget those citizens who voted them into office in the first place.
I’d like them to remember what they’re fighting for.
Americans are known to wear their patriotism on their sleeves. Now they are extending it to menu cards. In an expression of support to their soldiers in the Gulf and resentment against French opposition in the U.N., some restaurants in American backwaters are beginning to rename the popular "French Fries" as "Freedom Fries".
This is rooted in American tradition too. During the First World War, anti-German sentiment led to a number of restaurants renaming German foods such as "Sauerkraut" and "Frankfurters" as "liberty cabbage" and "hot dogs".
Right now American anger against the French remains restrained. But if France vetoes the second resolution in the coming days, expect more from the American heartland and harsher rhetoric from the U.S. Congress for punitive actions against Paris.
Hindustani Times of India
No Matter How You Slice It
By: Lisa Kadonaga - 03/22/03
This
week, one of my undergraduate students reported that his girlfriend had come
home on the verge of tears. She works at a resort, and in recent days she's
been facing a barrage of complaints from visiting tourists who take umbrage at
the "French things on the menu".
Okay, I'm going to be fair here. Not all of them are Americans. In fact, a
woman in Calgary who owns the "Nellie's" chain of restaurants
followed Congress's lead and changed the menu to offer "freedom"
fries and toast.
But honestly -- think about it. French is one of our official languages.
Most of our leaders during my lifetime were from Quebec, which was founded by
colonists from guess where. A lot of provinces have mandatory high school
French classes. And anywhere in the country, there's going to be at least one
TV channel that broadcasts on behalf of all the francophones out there.
Anybody who can't stand seeing anything French could probably pick a much
better place for a vacation than Canada, where we've had bilingual packaging
nationwide for more than a quarter-century now. (When that guy at the
government's tourist information hotline said "Hello/Bonjour!", what
did you think he was speaking -- Danish?)
And besides, it's not entirely clear where exactly the toast and the fried
potatoes came from anyway. One legend attributes "French toast" to a
guy named Joseph French, who served it in the 1700s at his tavern in New York
State. I've seen variations of fried sweetened bread in Apicius's cookbook from
Imperial Rome, so the recipe could have been around a lot earlier ... but even
if French toast were an important Gallic cultural tradition, what's the point
of renaming it? The Wikipedia website mischievously suggests that some people
used to call the dish "German toast" until the Second World War ...
well, given that Germany's also opposed to the invasion of Iraq, I guess
there's no chance of reverting to the former name.
As for the fries -- a chef explained to me that french fries are probably
called that because of the way they're sliced -- in long strips, which is
called "french-cut" or "frenched". But whether frenching
existed before the fries, or was tried out first on potatoes then applied to
other vegetables (like green beans) -- you just don't see French people
referring to "our fries".
In any case -- maybe I'm wrong, and replacing everything with the word
"freedom" is completely appropriate these days. Again and again,
George W. Bush's administration claims it wants to bring "freedom" to
the rest of the world -- and in their hands, it can become synonymous with
being cut into pieces and seared in hot oil.
Lisa Kadonaga is in Victoria, B.C., Canada. She is a contributing writer for Liberal Slant.