Searching "comments":
| # | Comment | Survey |
|---|---|---|
| 11 | Buddy Holly | If you could bring only one of these deceased musicians back to life, which would it be? |
| 12 | I think anyone should be able to speak their mind short of making an immediate threat, but descretating the flag is out of bounds. Personally, I would harbor no problem in giving significant jail time for such an offense | Should the intentional desecration of the U.S. flag by burning, tearing, defacing, or by any other means be made illegal and subject to a criminal penalty? |
| 13 | Its not "just a piece of cloth". Tell that to the legions of people who have died defending what it represented. You can begin with my wife's father who was killed fighting with the 319th regiment of the 80th division in Germany on April 19th, 1945. Or maybe you can tell that to my dad who fought in Korea at the Chosin reservoir. I reserve the "right" ( isn't that what liberals love to "invent" to support their causes? ) to physically put an end to anyone who desecrates the american flag in my presence. | Should the intentional desecration of the U.S. flag by burning, tearing, defacing, or by any other means be made illegal and subject to a criminal penalty? |
| 14 | Is this the best response I can get out of leftists, a lesson in spelling and distortion of my views?  | Should the intentional desecration of the U.S. flag by burning, tearing, defacing, or by any other means be made illegal and subject to a criminal penalty? |
| 15 | Brian, If and when you go off to college and study the foundations of aour republic, you will find recognition of God central to the tenets of freedom and democracy. As you can see for yourself if you read, there is nothing about "religion" in what I said. Again, look up Locke's treatise on government. You might actually learn something beyond what you think you know. Remember, it requires an open mind. As for the flag, it is easy for young people to sit back in the comfort of their freedom and act like patriotism is silly. That is one of the luxuries afforded by a free society and the people who provided it for you. I work with teenagers everyday and hear the same tired arguments. In World War II there was a popular saying, " there are no atheists in a foxhole..." I don't portend to know anything about you , your experiences in life or anything else, but I do know something about my own. In 1980 I visited the Soviet Union for four months on business. This was at a time when they had just invaded Afghanistan and relations between our countries were at an all time low. Having seen first hand the atrocious ways soviet citizens under the bootheel of communism lived, I can safely say our way of life is represented by our flag, and its colors have inspired many who defended it. Our national anthem was inspired by the colors, the most famous picture in world war two portrays marines raising the flag on Mt. Suribachi, and countless veterans will gladly tell you of the pride and dignity they derived in presenting the flag on battlefields across the globe. So when I hear some drivel from a young person who is still wet behind the ears about how unimportant the flag is, I just laugh. Tell the hostages in Tehren the flag wasn't important when Iranian students stormed the embassay there in 1979. Tell the men who held the line under General Hancock at Gettysburg the flag was "just a piece of cloth". Tell the men at Bataan in WW II the flag means nothing after they watched Japanese forces unfurl it and trample it into the ground in the beginning months of that conflict. There was a time when stupidity like that you spew caused anger in me. Now that I have lived long enough, I realize it is simply the rantings of undereducated young people who have never known what it means to put their life in the hands of a cause greater than themself. If this is not enough, ask those millions of people that Ronald Reagan freed behind the iron curtain what it meant to raise the flags of their respective countries in the wake of the Soviet collapse. Consider what it meant for the people of Poland, Czechoslavakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, the Baltic nations, Georgia, Ukraine, Khazakstan (sp?)and countless other nations freed as a result of American efforts and ideals, all of which are symbolized in the flag. When I hear people like you infer flag burning is some kind of protected speech I have to laugh. I guess having sex with baby goats on the White house lawn would be o.k. as well if we claim its protected political speech? Taken to its natural conclusion, there is nothing that could be limited in the way of behavior if any criminal offender chooses to assert his actions were political speech. Hell, I guess Oswald killing Kennedy was just a form of free speech in defiance of the government. Think about it before you end up as just another confused member amid a group of sheople. Ps...please forgive the typos. This is not a doctoral dissertation. | Should the intentional desecration of the U.S. flag by burning, tearing, defacing, or by any other means be made illegal and subject to a criminal penalty? |
| 16 | dabs...You disappoint in referencing the ninth amendment you leave out any mention of the tenth. The authors of the constitution never intended to enshrine each and every right the people shall enjoy. Aty the same time, they very much intended people, through local control and state legislative bodies to have considerable say in how their lives are governed. Thats why we have laws in most states forbidding desecration of the flag. While the Supreme Court at the moment disagrees with this long held tenet of "state's rights", judicial interpretation of the constitution is not constant. | Should the intentional desecration of the U.S. flag by burning, tearing, defacing, or by any other means be made illegal and subject to a criminal penalty? |
| 17 | twister, Your response is entirely predictable and I harbor no ill will toward you. Still, its was Reagan's leadership, determination to negotiate from strength and his silent resolve to protect American interests and free enslaved people all over europe and asia that one the day. I did not mean to infer he did anything alone. It was his foresight and convictions that led to the collapse of the Soviet Union. In 1987 he challenged chairman Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin wall. Two years later it came down. This matter is not in dispute...I acknowledge and supported his ballooning federal deficits because it financed this vision of ending the cold war. What a deal! Instead of sending troops overseas to fight another war, we bankrupted our enemies and are the only super power left on the planet. Freedom in the countries I mentioned in earlier message was secured thanks to this kind of leadership. | Should the intentional desecration of the U.S. flag by burning, tearing, defacing, or by any other means be made illegal and subject to a criminal penalty? |
| 18 | Brian, Communism is a lie bred and retold for the purpose of having people believe their freedom is a subordinate concern to their daily subsistence. That is why communism is on the way out. It doesn't work, suppresses political speech, results in a welfare state and is incapable of dealing with large social problems. You would do much better to about the merits of free society and free economic markets. | Should the intentional desecration of the U.S. flag by burning, tearing, defacing, or by any other means be made illegal and subject to a criminal penalty? |
| 19 | pcpr...No one suggested the constitution prevents people from burning the flag. Statutory law is where you will find the flag protected. Your reference to freedom of "expression" being protected by the Constitution illustrates an important point. In telling a part of the truth, you seek to accomplish what telling what the entire truth would jeopardize. In fact, the Constitution recognizes freedom of religious expression, speech, press, assembly and organized petition. All of these can be limited by statutory law, and are in every jurisdiction of the United States. Sure, the supreme court has ruled laws prohibiting flag desecration as unconstitutional based on some mysterious "right" that every Supreme Court prior to the Rehnquist gan6g failed to find. Oh well, the Supreme Court has been famous for its folly. Just ask Dred Scott *L*...Hell beyond slavery being sanctioned, the court had a 70 year period when they approved of segregation. Thats what happens when you give nine old folks in black robes a lot of power over you. God forbid we should allow the intended democratic processes of state legislatures and Congress decide these important issues...Who knows, one day Congress may wake up and recind ( or at least amend ) the powers of the federal courts. After all, the courts were created by Congress. | Should the intentional desecration of the U.S. flag by burning, tearing, defacing, or by any other means be made illegal and subject to a criminal penalty? |
| 20 | Thanks for distorting my views while inflating your own sense of self worth. Your lack of understanding the original intent of the founding fathers and the provisions set forth in the constitution is comical. Having lived in Spain, Mexico, visited and worked in the former Soviet Union and Great Britain, I have to laugh at the absurdity of your comments. Please feel free to research the origins of American government. Its not what you think it is...its a lot better. In the meantime, you might want to learn to distinguish between physical acts and speech. They are not one in the same thing, though I can see where you might be confused. BTW... How long have you suffered from such irrational dementia? *just curious* :) | Should the intentional desecration of the U.S. flag by burning, tearing, defacing, or by any other means be made illegal and subject to a criminal penalty? |
