Actions Have Consequences

Breitbart is reporting today that the ratings for Monday night football dropped precipitously this week.

The article reports:

“Against a packed Big 4 primetime, MNF snared an 8.4 in metered market numbers. That’s down 10% from the Cowboys and Cardinals game of September 25. Year-to-year, the Chiefs’ fourth straight win this season dipped 8% in the early numbers from the comparable Minnesota Vikings’ 24-10 win over the New York Giant on October 3, 2016 – a season of sliding ratings that the NFL wants to forget, but may repeat.”

Football fans generally respect their flag.

This is Colin Kaepernick‘s original statement as the why he was kneeling:

“I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color,” Kaepernick told NFL Media in an exclusive interview after the game. “To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.”

Before he protests the American flag, he might want to take a look around the NFL. There are a disproportionate number of players who have been arrested for serious crimes. That might be the place to begin to clean up America.

The End Of Common Sense

Yesterday The Daily Caller posted an article about a high school basketball game is Des Moines, Iowa.

The article reports:

Supporters of the Des Moines North High School basketball team, many of whose players are from refugee families, were offended when fans of Valley High School’s basketball team wore red, white and blue last week, The College Fix reports.

“This is an example of BLATANT racism,” said Ty Leggett, a Valley High School alum, on the Valley High School – WDMCS Facebook page. “ALL participating should have been pulled and banned from ALL VHS extracurricular events for the remainder of the year! As a parent, I’d be mortified that my son or daughter thought this way, acted in this fashion and refrained from taking a stand against this 21st century inexcusable behavior!”

Erin Ness Carter, a mother living in the Iowan district, remarked that “for the supporters of one team from a primarily white part of town to paint themselves as the ‘team of the USA’ it strongly implies that the other team, the less white team, is less American.”

Wearing the colors and the American flag is not racist–it’s patriotic. Historically Americans have invited immigrants to join in that patriotism. Historically immigrants have been willing to be part of that patriotism.

The article further reports:

Some Facebook users commented on Valley High School – WDMCS, noting that they had heard the chant “deport him” or “deport them,” but others denied these claims. Valley High responded to the accusations, stating that “administrators and teachers did not hear nor have evidence during the game of this occurring. If we had been aware of it, we would have taken immediate action to stop it. Now having received reports, we are investigating and disciplinary action will be taken for evidence found.”

If evidence of these chants is found, those responsible need to be disciplined, but otherwise, there is no crime in wearing the colors of the American flag. I can’t believe that any school administrators were even willing to give this discussion the time of day.

Some Things Spotted At The Democratic Party Convention

Some of the things spotted at the Democratic Party Convention–an eight-foot-tall, four-mile wall around the convention site (story and pictures here), photo identification needed to get in (so you need photo id to vote at the DNC Convention, but not in a general election), and finally, bathrooms for men and bathrooms for women (story and related tweets here).

Things not spotted at the Democratic Party Convention–American flags (story and pictures here).

This is a screenshot of the DNC Convention stage:

DNCStageThis is a screenshot of the RNC Convention stage:

RNCStageHave the Democrats forgotten who we are?

Heckler’s Veto

Today’s Daily Caller posted a story about the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision to uphold a California high school’s ban on American flag T-shirts on Cinco de Mayo.

The article reports:

Officials at Live Oak High School banned American flags on May 5, 2010 because the year before there had been altercations between white students and Mexican students. There were American flags and chants of “USA.” According to reports, there were also Mexican flags and kids running around saying, “Fuck them white boys. Let’s f**k them up.”

On Cinco de Mayo in 2010, students who showed up with American flags on their shirts were asked to turn the shirts inside out.

The article concludes:

As UCLA law professor and Washington Post law blogger Eugene Volokh notes, the First Amendment typically does not allow government entities to censor speech this way. However, order and tranquility are paramount in a school setting. The Ninth Circuit’s decision arguably accords with previous case law. At the same  time, it amounts to a “heckler’s veto” allowing violent people to co-opt the government into using its own compulsion to enact their desires.

I have a few problems with this. Why weren’t the Mexican students disciplined when they acted up? Why didn’t the school tell the Mexican students that the celebration would  be cancelled unless they behaved? Were the Mexican students allowed to wear Mexican shirts? If a student is violent or threatening violence, why not punish that student instead of limiting the freedom of other students? Why weren’t violent students suspended? Other than that, the decision makes perfect sense. Sure.

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Tonight In Wrentham Massachusetts

Tonight in Wrentham, Massachusetts, a group of patriots got together to wave flags in support of the people in Wrentham public housing who were recently denied their right to place flags outside their houses. (That decision has recently been overturned–see rightwinggranny.com for the background and details on the story). These are some pictures of the crowd.

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Isn’t Massachusetts Part Of The United States ?

Sometimes I wonder if Massachusetts is really part of America. The latest incident to cause me to question this occurred in Wrentham, Massachusetts, over the 4th of July holiday. I really enjoyed the 4th of July. I was in a parade with flags, marchers, patriotic music, and political candidates. There were a lot of flags around. Well, the Daily Caller reported today on a problem with residents of public housing in Massachusetts who decide to fly their American flags.

The article reports:

The Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development is claiming that a memo distributed to some public housing residents announcing a ban on public displays of the American flag was a mistake that is “being corrected.”

“Due to a tenant’s repeated complaints reported to the Department of Housing and Community Development over the July 4th holiday, Wrentham Housing Authority has been informed that the public display of the American flag in common areas is not permitted,” said the memo, which was posted on residents’ doors in the Garden Lane public housing complex.

The memo goes on to say that visible flags could be displayed within a resident’s home. Thanks a lot. Does the state now control how people decorate their homes?

Today I received teh following email:

The Wrentham Republican Town Committee is gathering at 6 pm on Friday July 13th on the common to protest the Patrick administrations original ruling that said American’s didn’t have a right to express their patriotism in public at public housing.  Please join us if you want to make sure this doesn’t happen again when no one is looking.

These are my kind of people!

 

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