[Commentary] Let moronic flag burners have their say

Protestors who equated the American flag with the Confederate standard only made themselves look ridiculous. (Advance file photo)

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. – Well, the flag burners have had their moment of free speech.

Now allow us to have ours.

Equating the American flag with the Confederate flag is moronic.

Burning the American flag to protest racism and police brutality is idiotic.

A group calling itself Disarm NYPD held a flag-burning protest in Brooklyn's Fort Greene Park on Wednesday night.

Bravo for them. They have a First Amendment right to free speech, including the burning of any flag they like. Even in the days leading up to the Fourth of July. I'll defend that right to the death.

Thankfully for them, the Constitutional protection extends to instances of ridiculous free speech as well. Supporting the group's First Amendment right doesn't mean we have to agree with it, after all.

The group burned a Confederate flag as well as Old Glory.

The Confederate flag has been in the news quite a bit these last two weeks, following the shooting massacre that took the lives of nine people at a black church in Charleston, South Carolina.

Anger and grief over the massacre morphed into a debate over the Confederate flag, which had flown on the grounds of the South Carolina statehouse.

The flag is seen by many as a symbol of racism. Others say it represents Southern heritage and culture.

It's impossible to cleanse the flag of its association with slavery and secession and treason. But wherever you stand on the issue, the Confederate flag is not the same as the American flag to which we pledge allegiance.

That flag is a symbol of national unity. Never more so than when we celebrate our independence from tyranny. It's the flag that our soldiers have marched under for more than 200 years while helping secure freedom for people around the world.

Our allies in Europe were mighty glad to see that flag coming down the road after the carnage of two world wars, for instance.

And it was that flag that we mourned around, and rallied around, in the days and weeks following the 9/11 attacks, as we buried our dead and looked to bring the terrorists responsible to justice.

How can we forget those days, when the whole world was on our side? When we as Americans were all on one side, when we really did see that there is so much that unites us, despite our differences?

Via: silive

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Rush Limbaugh: American Flag Will ‘Come Under Assault’ Next

Yesterday, Rush Limbaugh wondered aloud how the Confederate flag somehow became a “Republican problem.” Now that nearly every major conservative has called for the flag’s removal from the statehouse in South Carolina, the radio host thinks the American flag might be next.

“The next flag that will come under assault, and it will not be long, is the American flag,” Limbaugh declared on Tuesday. “If you take a look at the timeline of progressive events, their speed and rapidity with which the left is conducting this assault on all of these American traditions and institutions, if you don’t think the American flag’s in their crosshairs down the road, you had better stop and reconsider.”

RELATED: ‘It’s Not a Southern Sin!': Ex-Dem Rep. and CNN’s Banfield Battle over Confederate Flag

By Limbaugh’s logic, the American flag is a “symbol of America.” And because the left, “doesn’t like this country very much and never has,” they will soon demand the removal of a flag that stands for “everything that’s wrong with” America.

“It isn’t gonna be long before the American flag is gonna cause chills, fear, scary thoughts,” Limbaugh said, putting himself in the mind of the America-hating liberal, “it’s gonna make me nervous, the American flag, when I see the American flag, it’s a symbol of hate.”

Via: Mediaite.com

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Awesome: Patriotic Boys Rescue American Flag From A Ditch, Don’t Tell Anyone Until Pic Of It Goes Viral…

A small glimmer of hope for our future.

“America is the greatest country ever and we have to respect its symbols.”

Via: weasel Zippers

Banning the American Flag and Reconquista

A federal court has ruled that an American school student has a right to free expression -- unless that American might be threatened for that expression by others, in which case state officials have the right to quash the offending expression to appease potential aggressors. 

Which, ipso facto, means Americans have no right to free expression at all.  For if it’s not the government’s role to protect expression that is thought to be offensive by a vicious mob, what purpose does the First Amendment have?  “Safe” expression needs no protection, after all.

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled upon the constitutionality of a decision by the administration at Live Oak High School in 2010.  On May 5th of that year, student Daniel Galli and his friends had the unmitigated gall to wear shirts emblazoned with that offensive symbol that we call the American flag.  Fearing that the unruly ex-denizens of another country would be infuriated at the mere sight of it on a day they hold in reverence, the vice principal asked him and his friends to turn their shirts inside out.  

May 5th, of course, is the holiday more commonly referred to as Cinco de Mayo.  And apparently, Mexican-Americans would be prone to engage in a bit of the old ultra-violence if some haughty American had the audacity to brandish the American flag in America on a day in which Mexico won a victory in a battle against the French way back when.

Via: American Thinker

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Federal Court Upholds School Ban on American Flag T-Shirts

Yesterday, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld a California high school’s prohibition on American flag t-shirts on Cinco de Mayo. The case is Dariano v. Morgan Hill Unified School District, and while it might get the law right, it certainly highlights a worrying trend in American schools: the inability or unwillingness to protect students whose speech is unpopular.

On Cinco de Mayo, May 5, 2010, three students wore American flag t-shirts to Live Oak High School. Live Oak, according to the Ninth Circuit, had a history of gang and racial violence. The students who wore the American flag t-shirts were threatened with physical violence. Rather than discipline the students who made the threats, the school decided to tell the American flag t-shirt-wearing students that they could either turn their shirts inside-out, or go home. Two of the students went home, and the students collectively sued the school district in federal district court, claiming that the school violated their First Amendment rights.

Yesterday, the Ninth Circuit upheld the dismissal of the students’ claim, on the grounds that school officials “anticipated violence or substantial disruption of or material interference with school activities, and their response was tailored to the circumstances.”

In the landmark 1969 case of Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District, the Supreme Court of the United States upheld the First Amendment right of students to peacefully protest the Vietnam War by wearing black armbands to school. In a famous passage, the Court opined that neither students nor teachers “shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech or expression at the schoolhouse gate.”

Via: The Foundry

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Vets group halts donations after official refuses to stand for Pledge

A north suburban parks official says he's standing up for the U.S. Constitution by sitting down during the Pledge of Allegiance.

But Morton Grove Park District Commissioner Dan Ashta's symbolic actions have spurred an ideological tug of war with a local veterans group, which recently halted cash donations to the Park District until its entire board stands for the pledge at park board meetings.

"Every veteran has taken an oath to support and defend the Constitution, and has been willing to pay the ultimate sacrifice for all of the freedoms we enjoy as Americans," said Joseph Lampert, 47, commander of American Legion Post 134. "Nowhere did we say that he has to recite the pledge or put his hand over his heart. We would just like to see him stand out of respect."

Ashta, an attorney who focuses on constitutional law, said he, too, is defending the Constitution with his refusal to stand during the pledge.

"We have an item on the agenda that says 'Pledge of Allegiance,'" Ashta said. "The only choice you have is to utter a statement. … You don't have a choice to remain silent."

Standing, but not saying the pledge, is still an act of speech, Ashta said. And by having the pledge on the agenda, the park board is potentially infringing upon the freedom of speech guaranteed by the Constitution, he asserted.

After discussing the issue for several months, Post 134 members agreed to withdraw all financial and volunteer support for park programs "until such time that everybody stands for the pledge," Lampert said.

Via: Chicago Tribune

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Students Suspended For Decorating School With American Flags...

They Thought It Was Patriotic, The School Saw It As Suspendable

RED WING, Minn. (WCCO) – Students said they wanted to show their love for their country, but a superintendent believes it went a little too far.

The result? More than a dozen students are suspended for drawing on doors and windows and scattering small American flags outside their high school.

It took place Monday at Red Wing High School as part of Homecoming Week, but it’s a back-and-forth that’s gone on for weeks.

“Red, white, and blue streamers, small American flags and erasable paint,” Bryce Reps said.

He’s a senior and took part in the senior “prank.”

Some seniors covered almost every window, some outside doors, even the skylight with the paint.

“We have to take these things seriously,” Red Wing Schools Superintendent Karsten Anderson said.

There’s a bit more to this red, white, and blue demonstration that dates back to last month.

When the high school didn’t mark the anniversary of 9/11 as it had in years past, Reps said he took it personally.

“I’m planning to go into the Air Force,” Reps said.

Via: CBS MInnesota

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