CALIFORNIA YANKEE

New York Democrats refuse to stand for the Pledge Of Allegiance

New York State Senate Democrats caught on tape refusing to stand during the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag:

The Senators can play all the political games their constituents will let them get away with, but they should not disrespect the Flag of the United States of America.

They should know better.

United States Code, Title 36, Chapter 10 - Patriotic Customs, provides:

§172. Pledge of allegiance to the flag; manner of delivery
The Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag, 'I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.', should be rendered by standing at attention facing the flag with the right hand over the heart. When not in uniform men should remove their headdress with their right hand and hold it at the left shoulder, the hand being over the heart. Persons in uniform should remain silent, face the flag, and render the military salute.

Perhaps the New York Democrats learned flag etiquette from Presidential candidate Obama.

Democrats Have No Use For The Flag

A worker at Denver's Invesco Field saved thousands of unused flags from the Democratic National Convention that were headed for the garbage.

Even though The Democrats had no use for the flags, the Republicans did. The Democrats' discarded flags were used at a McCain/Palin event in Colorado Springs.

You would think that when your standard bearer has a record of disrespecting the flag, and even replaces the American flag with the Obama logo, his campaign would be a lot more sensitive to the issue.

What's Right With America

"In the United States today, we have more than our share of the nattering nabobs of negativism. They have formed their own 4-H Club -- the 'hopeless, hysterical hypochondriacs of history.'" -- Vice President Spiro T. Agnew: California Republican state convention, San Diego, September 11, 1970

It was true then, it is true now.

The Philadelphia Inquirer's Chris Satullo tells us we shouldn't celebrate this fourth of July:

Put the fireworks in storage.

Cancel the parade.

Tuck the soaring speeches in a drawer for another time.

This year, America doesn't deserve to celebrate its birthday. This Fourth of July should be a day of quiet and atonement.

[. . .]

We've lost respect. We've shamed the memory of Jefferson, Adams and Franklin.

And all for a scam. The waterboarding, the snarling dogs, the theft of sleep - all the diabolical tricks haven't made us safer. They may have averted this plot or that. But they've spawned new enemies by the thousands, made the jihadist rants ring true to so many ears.

So put out no flags.

Sing no patriotic hymns.

We deserve no Fourth this year.

Let us atone, in quiet and humility. Let us spend the day truly studying the example of our Founders.

With all due respect to Mr. Satullo, I think he is full of it. I remain proud of America. We remain the greatest force for good on this planet. We stand for freedom, liberty and helping others. It's sad that Mr. Satullo fails to recognize that.

So ignore Mr. Satullo, and his negativism. Put out the flags. Sing patriotic songs. Watch the parade. Watch the fireworks. Celebrate America's birthday. And remember those that make it possible to enjoy our independence.

Yalies Jailed For Burning Old Glory

Three Yale students have been arrested on charges of setting fire to an American flag. The arrests were not a throw back to less tolerant days, the burning flag was hanging from the porch of a house until police removed it to prevent the fire from spreading.

According to the Yale Daily News, two of the three were foreign students:

Hyder Akbar ’07, Nikolaos Angelopoulos ’10 and Farhad Anklesaria ’10 were arrested for charges including first-degree reckless endangerment, third-degree criminal mischief, second-degree arson, breach of peace and conspiracy to commit second-degree arson, the New Haven Register reports today. The two freshmen are both foreign citizens, and Akbar is a United States citizen, though he was born in Pakistan. Akbar worked as an informal translator for U.S. forces during the invasion of Afghanistan and later published a memoir, “Come Back to Afghanistan,” based on his experiences there.

The three students admitted that they lit the fire.

At their arraignment in Superior Court a few hours after their arrests Tuesday, bond was kept at $25,000 for Angelopoulos and Akbar, but was reduced to $15,000 for Anklesaria. They remained jailed Tuesday night.

Do young adults stupid enough to do such a thing deserve a Yale education?

College Students Ban Pledge Of Allegiance

Student leaders at California's Orange Coast College banned the Pledge of Allegiance at their meetings, saying they see no reason to publicly swear loyalty to God and the U.S. government.

The ban does not apply to other student groups or campus meetings. I think the school has the right approach here. If the student leaders' personal belief is that they don't want to say the Pledge of Allegiance, the school certainly shouldn't insist that they do. It is troubling that the student leaders don't want to express loyalty to their nation.