It feels like Morning in America all over again, as the House passed the Flag-Burning Amendment by more than 2-1. Among the “yes” votes were 77 Democrats who either deeply revere the flag or are still battling delusions that Republicans are calling them unpatriotic, instead of some other slur, like “liberal” or “ACLU member.” Only 12 Republicans broke away from the pack to vote no. The Hit & Run post linked above mentions a congressman I assume represents Joe’s district, Randy “Duke” Cunningham, who must have been hanging with John Edward:
Ask the men and women who stood on top of the Trade Center. Ask them and they will tell you: pass this amendment.
Rather shameless to see the memory of 9/11 victims tied to a completely unrelated piece of legislation. As disrespectful as burning a flag is, it doesn’t hurt anyone except Mother Nature. There’s your coalition right there – Republicans and environmentalists.
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.