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Rdtf
CNO
Joined: 13 May 2004
Posts: 2209
Location: BUSHville
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 Posted: Thu Jun 23, 2005 12:48 pm Post subject: House approves flag-burning amendment |
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Finally some good news!!!
http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/06/22/congress.flagburning.ap/index.html
| Quote: | House approves flag-burning amendment
Measure might finally pass Senate
Thursday, June 23, 2005; Posted: 6:53 a.m. EDT (10:53 GMT)
A constitutional amendment banning flag burning would have to pass 38 states.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The House on Wednesday approved a constitutional amendment that would give Congress the power to ban desecration of the American flag, a measure that for the first time stands a chance of passing the Senate as well.
By a 286-130 vote -- eight more than needed -- House members approved the amendment after a debate over whether such a ban would uphold or run afoul of the Constitution's free-speech protections.
Approval of two-thirds of the lawmakers present was required to send the bill on to the Senate, where activists on both sides say it stands the best chance of passage in years. If the amendment is approved in that chamber by a two-thirds vote, it would then move to the states for ratification.
Supporters said the measure reflected patriotism that deepened after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, and they accused detractors of being out of touch with public sentiment.
"Ask the men and women who stood on top of the [World] Trade Center," said Rep. Randy [Duke] Cunningham, R-California. "Ask them and they will tell you: pass this amendment."
But Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-New York, said, "If the flag needs protection at all, it needs protection from members of Congress who value the symbol more than the freedoms that the flag represents."
The measure was designed to overturn a 1989 decision by the Supreme Court, which ruled 5-4 that flag burning was a protected free-speech right. That ruling threw out a 1968 federal statute and flag-protection laws in 48 states. The law was a response to anti-Vietnam war protesters setting fire to the American flag at their demonstrations.
The proposed one-line amendment to the Constitution reads, "The Congress shall have power to prohibit the physical desecration of the flag of the United States."
For the language to be added to the Constitution, it must be approved not only by two-thirds of each chamber but also by 38 states within seven years.
Each time the proposed amendment has come to the House floor, it has reached the required two-thirds majority. But the measure has always died in the Senate, falling short of the 67 votes needed. The last time the Senate took up the amendment was in 2000, when it failed 63-37.
But last year's elections gave Republicans a four-seat pickup in the Senate, and now proponents and critics alike say the amendment stands within a vote or two of reaching the two-thirds requirement in that chamber.
By most counts, 65 current senators have voted for or said they intend to support the amendment, two shy of the crucial tally. More than a quarter of current senators were not members of that chamber during the last vote.
The Senate is expected to consider the measure after the July 4 holiday |
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I B Squidly
Vice Admiral
Joined: 26 Aug 2004
Posts: 879
Location: Cactus Patch
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| Posted: Thu Jun 23, 2005 5:44 pm Post subject: |
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This is not good news. The House should have something better to do: Social Security comes to mind.
If people burning flags aren't in violation of local fire codes they aren't making friends. It's a symbol, powerful yes, but only a symbol and ironically a symbol of the US that gives them the right to burn it. It's an assinine act and helps us recognize the moonbats.
Flag etiquette, 'honors and ceremonies' were my responsibility for years. At $35 a pop at ServMart I learned when the flag was dirty you washed it. When it was torn or frayed you sewed it. If you dishonored it I didn't need an amendment to tell me you were a jackass.
_________________
"KILL ALL THE LAWYERS!"
-Wlm Shakespeare
Last edited by I B Squidly on Thu Jun 23, 2005 6:03 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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mtboone
Founder
Joined: 10 May 2004
Posts: 470
Location: Kansas City, MO.
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| Posted: Thu Jun 23, 2005 5:53 pm Post subject: |
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I agree with IB Squidly that this is not good news. Basic freedom should prevail even if it pisses me off personally.
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Terry Boone PCF 90
Qui Nhon 68-69 |
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Snipe
Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined: 03 Jun 2004
Posts: 574
Location: Peoria, Illinois
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| Posted: Thu Jun 23, 2005 6:04 pm Post subject: |
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Having spent many a year in a destroyer fireroom, my forearms are
covered with these little white scars. You get those from dunking a
torch in a bucket of JP5, lighting it, then shoving it into a firebox and
lighting off the boiler or superheater.
I've never seen someone gleefully burning a flag, but I figure that if
ever I do, I'll just wait until it gets too hot for him and he drops it.
Then I can scoop it up and shove it up under his shirt. Hey, if you
can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.
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Tin Can Sailor |
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coldwarvet
Admiral
Joined: 03 Jun 2004
Posts: 1125
Location: Minnetonka, MN
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| Posted: Thu Jun 23, 2005 6:10 pm Post subject: |
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I agree with you I B Squidly.
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Defender of the honor of those in harms way keeping us out of harms way.
"Peace is our Profession"
Strategic Air Command - Motto
USAF 75-79 Security Police |
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Rdtf
CNO
Joined: 13 May 2004
Posts: 2209
Location: BUSHville
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| Posted: Thu Jun 23, 2005 6:18 pm Post subject: |
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Well I don't agree. I am glad that some respect is being forced. Basic freedom and respect for your country - and burning the flag means you don't respect it - are not the same thing. It would never have been tolerated in 1776!
Last edited by Rdtf on Thu Jun 23, 2005 6:26 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Navy_Navy_Navy
Admin
Joined: 07 May 2004
Posts: 5777
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| Posted: Thu Jun 23, 2005 6:18 pm Post subject: |
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Totally agree!
Someone might have a difficult time burning a flag in my presence. You can't burn what you do not possess. 
The flag is precious to me, but it is a symbol of the Bill of Rights. When we start adding clauses to what we consider inviolable, we are heading down a very slippery slope.
Despicable act that it is, it seems to me better that a flag burns or gets disrespected occasionally than to undermine the very freedom that that flag represents.
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~ Echo Juliet ~
Altering course to starboard - On Fire, Keep Clear
Navy woman, Navy wife, Navy mother |
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GM Strong
Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy
Joined: 18 Sep 2004
Posts: 1579
Location: Penna
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| Posted: Thu Jun 23, 2005 7:19 pm Post subject: |
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They may think they have a right to burn my flag, but it impinges on my obligation preserve, protect and defend and I will act. It is also my right to do so in preventing that insult to my country.
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8th Army Korea 68-69 |
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blue9t3
Admiral
Joined: 23 Aug 2004
Posts: 1246
Location: oregon
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| Posted: Fri Jun 24, 2005 5:44 am Post subject: |
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Simple Simon says----burn flag/get free nose job and dental work! 
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MOPAR-BUYER |
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I B Squidly
Vice Admiral
Joined: 26 Aug 2004
Posts: 879
Location: Cactus Patch
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| Posted: Fri Jun 24, 2005 6:52 am Post subject: |
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GM Strong,
My oath vowed me to protect the Constitution, not a piece of cloth. Flag burners can't grasp the difference between the symbol and the freedom to do so. You should.
Rdtf,
Listen to yourself. You will "enforce respect". "Good Order and Discipline' works in the military but not among a free people. You're plainly unfamiliar with George Washington who in 1776, and again and again through 1783, to his immortal greatness knew and and worked his way through the conflicting standard.
blue9t3,
Flagburners deserve busted teeth and a broken nose, (tar and feather is logistically out of fashion!) and I believe it's justified as 'hue and cry', beneath any court or jury, let alone the consideration of a federal magistrate.
Once we start jailing jackasses there's no escape for any of us!
_________________
"KILL ALL THE LAWYERS!"
-Wlm Shakespeare |
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Rdtf
CNO
Joined: 13 May 2004
Posts: 2209
Location: BUSHville
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| Posted: Fri Jun 24, 2005 12:26 pm Post subject: |
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| I B Squidly wrote: | GM Strong,
My oath vowed me to protect the Constitution, not a piece of cloth. Flag burners can't grasp the difference between the symbol and the freedom to do so. You should.
Rdtf,
Listen to yourself. You will "enforce respect". "Good Order and Discipline' works in the military but not among a free people. You're plainly unfamiliar with George Washington who in 1776, and again and again through 1783, to his immortal greatness knew and and worked his way through the conflicting standard.
blue9t3,
Flagburners deserve busted teeth and a broken nose, (tar and feather is logistically out of fashion!) and I believe it's justified as 'hue and cry', beneath any court or jury, let alone the consideration of a federal magistrate.
Once we start jailing jackasses there's no escape for any of us! |
Pretty strong words there. Maybe I am not a scholar like you, of American history, but I know enough to know that the symbol is an important part of our history and means a great deal to most of us. You burn it and you are slapping us all, especially George Washington, in the face. YES enforce respect. I choose not to go to jail by punching them in the mouth, as you would. I'd rather send them there. |
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I B Squidly
Vice Admiral
Joined: 26 Aug 2004
Posts: 879
Location: Cactus Patch
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| Posted: Tue Jun 28, 2005 10:01 pm Post subject: |
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No amendment needed for these punks:
http://www.local6.com/news/4660589/detail.html
| Quote: | Fla. Teens Charged After Allegedly Burning American Flags
POSTED: 12:11 pm EDT June 28, 2005
UPDATED: 4:32 pm EDT June 28, 2005
SARASOTA, Fla. -- Two Sarasota teens accused of burning six American flags have been charged with arson and manufacturing a firebomb.
Old Glory
Scott A. Baber and Brian A. Richard III, both 18, told deputies they burned the flags because they are anarchists and disagree with the war in Iraq and other U.S. government policies.
IMAGES: More strange stories, images featured on Local6.com
They set fire to six flags Sunday and tried to firebomb a car, the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office said.
Richard remained in jail Tuesday on $402,120 bail. Baber was released Monday on $101,120 bail.
The pair were charged with arson, manufacture of a fire bomb and criminal mischief.
Baber and Richard burned about five flags at homes in the Bent Tree subdivision, where they live with Baber's parents, then set fire to a flag at its clubhouse, said Lt. Chuck Lesaltato, a spokesman for the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office.
"Our deputies came up on them as they were returning to their car," he said.
The arrest of his son surprised Brian Richard II.
"His grandfather was a decorated military man. The whole thing really stunned me. I was really sad that they made that choice," the elder Richard said.
Residents of the golf course community were also upset.
"How stupid," Pat Davidson said, straightening the stones surrounding her blackened flagpole. "What kind of thrill would you get burning an American flag?"
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"KILL ALL THE LAWYERS!"
-Wlm Shakespeare |
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