The Red-White-and-Blue Herring

I was relieved to hear today that the Senate did not pass the assinine flag-burning amendment, though the 66-34 vote was too close for comfort. Senator Frist's comments that our men and women in the service are fighting for the flag are misguided. What they are fighting for, actually, is all of our rights, including the right to burn a flag as an act of expression, as Senator Inouye correctly observed. Only three Republicans (Chaffee, McConnell, and Bennett) have the proper notion of the First Amendment. Regretably, Senator McCain was not among them. And far too many Democrats (including my own Senator Feinstein) joined the "yea-hoos". Off course it's all just another election year stunt. Most of these people aren't so concerned with waving the flag as they are with waving the Flag Amendment come November. Sad.