When you watch George W. Bush on a daily basis, seeing him reveal yet another hypocritical stance is about as newsworthy as a new criminal indictment on a Congressional Republican. Same old, same old.

But watch in the next few days when -- barring Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist being struck down by a bolt of lightening from an angry God -- the U.S. Senate turns its attention to S.J.RES.12, a joint resolution (with the House of Representatives) that would amend the Constitution "…to prohibit the physical desecration of the flag of the United States."

"After September 11, citizens proudly flew the flag, defying the terrorist challenge to our core values of liberty and equality, and confirming its unique status as a symbol of our nation's strength and purpose," said the measure's author, Orrin Hatch (R-UT), of course not missing the chance to invoke 9/11 in introducing his bill. "In the struggle that has followed, our flag stands as a reminder of the many personal sacrifices made to protect and strengthen our nation. And so, to protect this symbol, I am today introducing this amendment."



Given the GOP penchant for hypocrisy, it probably won’t seem odd that Republican standard bearer Bush thinks nothing of desecrating the flag himself, as you can see in the accompanying photo from 2003, showing the president affixing his autograph to an American flag. I'm sure Republican operatives will have an answer for how using the flag for an autograph in lieu of a cocktail napkin isn’t as bad as burning the flag in protest. But Bush should be happy that the Hatch amendment, which he strongly supports, was not yet on the books when he committed his own act of "physical desecration."

I can't claim to speak for every Veteran but, for myself, I did my duty not for the flag itself, but for what it represents -- freedom and the right of each of our citizens to exercise that freedom by burning the flag in protest if that's how they choose to express their outrage. People who burn the flag don't disrespect anyone who fought for our country's creed. Cynical individuals like Hatch, who try to restrict the freedoms that many of our people have died for, most certainly do.

Watch for that to come to the Senate floor as early as this week as the second act in the GOP's wedge-issue June, in which they attempt to solidify their extreme right-wing base with nonsensical issues that have nothing whatsoever to do with governing the country.

Of course, the first act will be Senator Wayne Allard's (R-CO) disgraceful Marriage Protection Amendment, on which debate starts today and which will attempt to insert into our Constitution an article that says the following:

"Marriage in the United States shall consist only of the union of a man and a woman. Neither this Constitution, nor the constitution of any State, shall be construed to require that marriage or the legal incidents thereof be conferred upon any union other than the union of a man and a woman."

Never mind that this blatant pandering to the most bigoted elements of our society stands as much chance of passing the Senate as I do of getting a hot date with Salma Hayek. Is this what Bill Frist and George W. Bush think is a good use of the legislative branch's time when our country is faced with the Iraq quagmire, the situations with Iran and North Korea, the biggest deficit in U.S. history, hurricane season upon us again and 46 million Americans with no health insurance?

But if the terrorists Bush claims to be fighting really do "hate our freedom," they must be busting a gut laughing at the prospect of our government trying to debase the document on which our country was founded -- based on equal treatment under the law -- and cementing within those sacred principles a new article of bigotry and bias against one group of Americans.

With guys like Bush, Orrin Hatch and Wayne Allard, who needs Osama bin Laden hating our freedom?

Both of these amendments must pass both the Senate and the House with a two-thirds majority and be ratified by 38 state legislatures to become the law of the land and that simply is not going to happen. But is seems a fair question to ask the next "moderate Republican" you meet how they can continue to embrace a party that rallies its base by taking away essential freedoms and turning one segment of our population into second-class citizens.

What remains unclear is whether possible presidential candidate George Allen's (R-VA) S. 3275, a gift to the National Rifle Association (NRA) that would allow people licensed to carry a concealed weapon in one state to enjoy the same privilege anywhere else in the country, will make it to a Senate vote this month. This legislation is nothing but political payback to the NRA, terrible public policy and another effort to energize one part of the GOP base on an issue of no significance to the vast majority of Americans.

Whether or not any of these bills passes, the GOP is taking a giant gamble five months before the midterm elections: That when the polls open on November 7, Americans will believe that two men getting married, someone, somewhere burning an American flag or some yokel's right to have his Florida carry permit observed in New York has a damn thing to do with the daily, real-life concerns of their families.

They've won this gamble in the past. This time, they will not.

You can reach Bob Geiger at geiger.bob@gmail.com and read more from him at Democrats.com.

should be:

There too many more important things in this nation right now to be discussing these issues

Like: Iraq civil war that the United States started
Like: A failed Homeland Security system reflected in a failure in New Orleans following Katrina
Like: A record deficit.
Like: Record numbers of people left without Health Care.
Like: Energy prices that are forcing people into poverty.
Like: Scandals at every level of government.
I could go on all day with this.

Dems need to keep their eye on the ball. Don't be sucked into these wedge issues. FOCUS FOCUS FOCUS

over with. Don't fall for the bait. Don't debate flag burning. Let them try to ammend the Constitution.

Isn't this another "Bring 'em on" moment?

Go ahead, burn our flag, MAKE MY DAY!

Oh, please, no, you're hurting me! We are so weak and stupid, when you disrespect our flag it undermines our nation. We might as well hand them a nuke. They'll burn our flag until we lose all resolve.

Freepers make my brain hurt.

It's the same thing you do to your children--keep repeating the same phrase over again until they stop pulling the crap they are pulling.

A-effing-men.

are served by the nation focusing on gays, guns, and the flag?" Not mine. Or yours.

And it is our job in the blogopsphere to counter the media when it runs with each and every one of these issues ad nauseum.

and that it WILL backfire, BUT I will also say that if it doesn't backfire on them this time,
all hope is lost and it is time for a lobotomy

Doesn't seem to be a problem where I live! In fact, the biggest problem with the flag that I see in the Seattle area is that people who tend to be the right wing types wrongly leave the flag out in the rain.

So let's have an amendment banning the flag from getting wet--makes more sense to me.

Agents provocateur are in chapter one of the dirty tricks playbook.

because the air is so dense with the smoke of burning flags. Of course, that's nothing compared to all the homosexuals kidnapping married couples and forcing them at gunpoint to go down to the courthouse and file for a divorce.

And let me be one of the first to vow, that if this stupid, stupid, stupid thing ever passes, I will publicly burn a big barrel of flags the day before it goes into effect. But I digress.

What I love about this issue is that it is so reasonably easy to enforce. For example:

Mary Big-Ass wraps an Flag beach towel around her giant butt and some bratty kid comes by and shoots her "broadside" with a water pistol full of grape juice. Whom do we jail?

Johnny Rap-Thug uses a flag as a do-rag, and gets into an altercation at a late night drinking establishment. Police are called, one officer is about to "Rap" little Johnny on the head, but cleverly noting the Flag motif, hesitates a brief second, time enough for Johnny to pull out a little "peacemaker" of his own. But aiming poorly in the heat of the moment, shoots the Flag Motif Budweiser clock before feeling the nightstick come down on his head, and you know how head wounds bleed . . . I hope that police officer pays for his crime.

Little Susie Toddler climbs up on top Gramma's dresser, where she plays dress-up with her jewelry, including a tiny flag lapel pin from WWII. Although lacking in flavor, it goes down pretty easily--now do I have to get graphic about what that beautiful little symbol of democracy will have to go through to see the light of day again? SOMEBODY NEEDS TO GO TO JAIL HERE, LITTLE SUSIE TRAITOR!

A little thing I learned from neuro linguistic programming: The Map is Not the Territory.

I'd like to see these idiots

1) define flag (cloth, paper, plastic, metal; 50 stars, 13 stars; black & white, color, process vs navy blue?; whole, partial; photograph-color, B&W); and

2) define desecration (say you were filming a movie that included a flag burning incident that occurred before the law went into effect, would it require that you use some other "fake flag" in the scene, or would a fake flag that obviously represented a real flag be included in the desecration ban (dammit I think that belongs in #1)?; could you burn a photograph of part of a flag, if so how big a part)

Feel free to jump in here-I don't have all day, and I don't have a lobbying organization to write for me.

Stupid is as stupid does. Let's just outlaw the use of Red White and Blue.

:hi: and I also consider this a favorite issue. It's so damn stupid how some people get worked up about it that it's almost laughable. and that's the sad thing. Some people just don't get the whole "freedom" thing. Myself - I refuse to put a symbol above freedom.

as it's own thread?

Just great stuff--I'd nominate this post alone for the greatest page!

:toast: Welcome to DU!

I don't know how many posts it takes, but I am probably not there. If anyone wants to cut and paste it, that would be great.

So if I use an electronic image of our Flag, and overlay W & Condi smooching on it, is that desecration? What if I print it out? On a bumper sticker?

I am still awash in confusion over how I will comply with this amendment. Please send wine (red, dry).

Also, don't forget the use of Old Glory paper napkins, cups, plates, etc. on July 4th, like these:

http://www.plumparty.com/partysupplies/15530.html

See a tongue-in-cheek visual that turns George Bush's support for the notion of one man and one woman upside down...here:

www.thoughttheater.com

How about a bunch of battleground-state referenda on raising minimum wages?

Binding (or heck, even non-binding... this is just to GOTV, after all) ballot questions to enact balanced budget legislation?

Is there a good reason why we can't adopt some of these tactics?

that the Republicans, every man, woman and dog, are responsible for the terrible war, massacre of innocent Iraq women and children, pending war in Iran, The budget, torture, Enron, Haliburton, Exxon, Katrina, etc etc. We don't need more.

, abrogating it on multiple fronts, how can they then stand and say Americans cannot burn the flag? I mean, when the Constitution is no longer respected by Bush and the GOP, does the flag really have any meaning any longer?

While I don't intend to ever burn the flag, I do symbolically fly it upside down.

(Whoops. Maybe I shouldn't have said that, as now the GOP will now try to ban flying it upside down.)

As far as I'm concerned, when I see the flag, I see the nation that existed before the Criminal Bush Regime's reign of terror. So I do salute the flag.

But this nation is in distress, and all GOP lawmakers want to do is ignore the real problems of the country and play games with our democracy, thinking we will somehow forget that many of them are outright crooks, and worse, they provided no oversight over the Bush Crime Syndicate.

America moves headlong into tyranny, while GOP politicians belittle the intelligence of the American people with diversions and wedges.

Never before in this nation have we beheld such treachery.

Great entry. Thanks.

Can you smell the burning midnight oil in GOP HQ?

God, when was the last time anybody in America burned a flag?

I find it amazing that the party of less government has the balls to tell me what I can or cannot do with my private property. They sure get a stick up their ass if you try to legislate guns, but it's okay for the feds to take over rectums, wombs, and the Stars and Stripes?

We have 2 million people in prison, the most of any nation in the world. Now they want to add 12 million illegal immigrants and millions of flag descrators, too?

Ironically, the passage of this amendment (it has 7 years from Congressional approval, I believe) would result in the immediate burning of millions of flags in protest.

If you can't or won't enforce a law, then it should not be a law. It undermines laws that are legitimate and necessary. Flag burning and gay marriage (and probably marijuana, by now) all fall into this catagory.

http://www.politicalgifts.com/rep3x5flag.html

http://www.aspendesigns.com/pages/page2.html

http://www.tace.com/i/20658.html (Oh, look--they've descrated the flag by putting "GOP" where the stars should be).

http://www.dsgifts.com/x30222.htm


Though, it makes me sad, because I like elephants, and it's not their fault they've been associated with the Repukes. I like foxes, as well, along those same lines.

Substituting the GOP for the 50 stars that represent the STATES that they are supposed to represent. Because they don't represent anyone but their own greedy, power hungry selves.

:dem: in the ASS

it will put so much fear in rational average-Americans that flag SALES and flag DISPLAY will decrease. I myself, if this should finally go into the constitution, would get rid of every flag in my house. I wouldn't want to take the chance of hanging one outside and Little Johnny Neighbor tossing a cig butt which causes a house-fire in which my flags are unintentionally incenerated. "The law is the law" a smirking fed would say to me as I'm hauled off to jail.

even-numbered days will be "I hate <gays, flag-burners, reproductive rights proponents, Mexicans, ...>", while odd-numbered days will be "The President is a uniter".

Love dems.com, BTW

wedge issues (even most GOP agree).

The Pew Research Center's study "Beyond Red vs. Blue" (here: <http://people-press.org/reports/display.php3?PageID=943>) has identified the wedge issues that divide the extremist Corporatist-NeoCon faction of the GOP from the the rest of America including the mainstream of the GOP.

Here are seven wedge issues which divide the most extreme and least democratic element of the GOP from everyone else in our society which most generally agrees with us on these critical matters:

1. Fair access to health care


2. Raising the minimum wage


3. Tax cut equity and debt responsibility




4. Protecting American jobs from outsourcing


5. Regulating corporate pollution and misdeeds


6. Appointing fair judges


7. International cooperation not unilateralism


WE SHOULD BE TALKING ABOUT THESE WEDGE ISSUES EVERY DAY AND IN EVERY CAMPAIGN BECAUSE THESE ISSUES REPRESENT THE IDEOLOGICAL DIVIDE BETWEEN THE CORPORATIST NEOCONS WHO MISMANAGE OUR GOVERNMENT AND THE VAST MAJORITY OF AMERICANS!

in that the "representatives" in DC are able to get elected time after time while failing to represent the will of the people.

The graphics show how badly our government has performed at meeting our needs, but they also show how a candidate who will serve the people's agenda has vast room for support across party lines.

a time of war. VERY VERY PATRIOTIC!?!