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Flag Burning Amendments.....What a waste of time

by Tryan Hartill


It seems the whole reason for this is a power struggle between Congress and those “Activist Judges” (Including Scalia):

It represented Congress’ response to Supreme Court rulings in 1989 and 1990 that burning and other desecrations of the flag are protected as free speech by the First Amendment to the Constitution.

Hmmmmm….So let me get this straight, when it comes to unimaginable campaign contributions, Congress says “it’s free speech”, but when it comes to burning the flag…..66 say “no way”!

Even if this passed, WTF does it mean?
What is a “flag” anyway?
And what is “desecration”?

Knowing Congress and their hypocrisy this would end up being just like another recent Constitutional Amendment:

The 27th Amendment, ratified in 1992, was first proposed in 1789. It says pay raises that Congress votes for itself can’t take effect until after the next election for members of the House.

Whoops forgot about that one, because the Senate gets a $3,300 raise every year, for 7 straight years! Reminds me of monopoly, “pass go and collect”:

Despite record low approval ratings, House lawmakers Tuesday embraced a $3,300 pay raise that will increase their salaries to $168,500.
The 2 percent cost-of-living raise would be the seventh straight for members of the House and Senate.
In the early days of GOP control of Congress, lawmakers routinely denied themselves the annual COLA. Last year, the Senate voted 92-6 to deny the raise but quietly surrendered the position in House-Senate talks.

Wonderful. It’s nice to know that Government leaders can get automatic pay raises, but many citizens are making the same amount as they did over 9 years ago.

As Russ Feingold says on DailyKos:

For myself, I only take a raise when I get reelected, because that’s as close as I can get to my boss – the people of Wisconsin – telling me I’m doing a good job. It is also consistent with the 27th Amendment to the Constitution, which says: “No law, varying the compensation for the services of the senators and representatives, shall take effect, until an election of representatives shall have intervened.”

Allowing automatic, stealth pay raises for members of Congress is never o.k., but especially right now, with massive deficits and the enormous cost of the Iraq war, giving ourselves a $3,300 stealth pay raise is outrageous.

In other flag posturing, the Senate also voted down the other alternative:

The Senate also rejected an alternative put forward by assistant Democratic leader Dick Durbin of Illinois. It would have made it against the law to damage the flag on federal land or with the intent of breaching the peace or intimidation. It also would have prohibited unapproved demonstrations at military funerals.

Along with Dick Durbin this one was also sponsored by Hillary Clinton, but she voted against the desecration Amendment.
What is different about this one, is that it would go to the Supreme Court and would most likely be struck down as Unconstitutional. The other one would go straight to the States.

So, it appears as though she is in favor of passing a law that is unconstitutional, but against amending the Constitution.

What inspiring leadership on such a burning issue.

Jun 27, 07:35 pm | Tryan Hartill
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6 comments on this article (post your own)

1 On Jun 28, 12:55 pm, Walter Richards wrote:

Yep. Too bad God didn’t hit WADC with a tsunami, instead of just enough rain to flood some buildings. (What do you expect, building in a swamp?)

Hey, at least the IRS flooded. Whoot!

Anyway, I trust Congress to amend the Constitution … less than I’d trust a pedophile to run a day-care center.

2 On Jun 28, 12:57 pm, Walter Richards wrote:

Speaking of desecrating the flag … what about those military units that have everyone sign a flag? That’s desecration, and against flag decorum regulations. If Congress is so against flag desecration, why don’t they demand those units face charges?

3 On Jun 28, 03:09 pm, Lee wrote:

It’s the spirit, not the symbol.

4 On Jun 28, 10:21 pm, Mom of Three wrote:

Hey, it’s election time. Look for more life-or-death issues to overtake the bottomless pit of Iraq or the suffering in Darfur, like GAY MARRIAGE! I’m sure the founding fathers would have loved to waste our democracy on BS like that.

It’s the old bait-and-switch, and the Red Staters just love it!

5 On Jun 29, 12:05 pm, Tryan Hartill wrote:

Walter

Do you know exactly what a “flag” is and what exactly “desecration” is?

This almost sounds like the “Price gouging” bill that passed recently, there is no definition of price gouging, so how can you write a bill to outlaw it?

6 On Jun 30, 01:52 pm, Walter Richards wrote:

I think you misunderstand my point, Tryan.

There are already regulations on “proper flag etiquette”. Those regulations have to be followed by military personnel. And writing on the flag is a definite “no-no” under those regulations.

So, if Congress really has their panties in a wad over this issue – rather than it being an election-year gimmick – they could demand the President discipline that military unit.

Personally, I think burning the flag is just as much protected speech (under the 1st Amendment) as holding a sign saying “Fuck the Republic”. But we all know what the SCOTUS thinks of the 1st Amendment.

cough McCain-Feingold cough

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