Desecration

The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a constitutional amendment to outlaw the burning of the American flag. They had to do it this way, because, you see, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled flag burning is a legal expression of dissent.

Apparently, unbeknownst to the world at large, there must have been some outbreak of flag-burnings. And what image is the AP providing to illustrate the story? A file photo from Bush's second inauguration. If that's the most recent instance that can be cooked up, then perhaps this isn't as much of a crisis and the Republicans fear.

Either that, or this is an attempt by Republicans to appeal to their base while unifying their party. After all, there are even rumblings within the GOP that Bush should come up with a timeline to withdraw from Iraq.

So how best to tug at the heart strings of Americans, and get them to make this a priority? Well, Republican Congressman Randy Cunningham (R-California) had this to say:
"Ask the men and women who stood on top of the Trade Center. Ask them and they will tell you: pass this amendment."

I'm not sure to whom Representative Cunningham's referring. It could have been this guy, but more likely, he's trying to suggest that one should talk to people perched atop the New York World Trade Center, awaiting rescue, following the attacks of the 11th of September, 2001. Of course, there were no such people, since the doors to the roof were locked. But I suppose mere historical truth is unimportant, when one is shamelessly grandstanding on the corpses of the murdered. Also, I suppose it's hard to stay focused when facing scrutiny for what appears to be a festering corruption scandal.

In any event, I guess Cunningham meant to suggest that the victims of the attack would be primarily concerned with flag burning. Perhaps the Congressman is overlooking the clear, vocal demands made by the attack's survivors, and the relatives of the slain, for a proper investigation of the attacks. The pathetic commissions and investigations that have happened so far have failed to meaningfully address the questions that the direct victims of the attack have quite reasonably advanced. I am unaware of any comparable statement from this group, nor any similar group of 9/11 victims, imploring that something be done about the scourge of flag burning.

Of course, conservatives have grown fond of trotting out the dead of 9/11, and rhetorically riding their cadavers like some Frankenstein hobby horse whenever there's political advantage to be gained. Karl Rove on Wednesday said, "Conservatives saw what happened to us on 9/11 and said we will defeat our enemies. Liberals saw what happened to us and said we must understand our enemies." Imagine the silliness of liberals, thinking that there might be some value to understanding the situation, so that meaningful action could be taken. How stupid to try to comprehend something and approach it intelligently, when it's so much easier to simply lash out in wrath!

And when did Rove make these remarks? On Wednesday, the same day he denounced Senator Dick Durbin, who was cowed into retracting his perfectly sensible comments about the travesties occurring in the name of the United States.

Another quote from the CBS story about the retraction:

On Tuesday, Chicago Mayor Richard Daley - a fellow Democrat - added his voice to the chorus of criticism, saying, "I think it's a disgrace to say that any man or woman in the military would act like that."

Personally, I think it's a bigger disgrace that men and women in the military are being given orders to act like that.

That's a bigger desecration to the U.S., and its flag, than any symbolic protest could ever be.

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Thanks to Roy & his commenters at alicublog for helping inspire this post.