Burning The Flag Here we go again, the small-minded politicians in Washington do not understand how the constitution is supposed to work. You don't put stupid things in the constitution. But now they want an amendment so they can make Flag Burning Illegal. This is a country that realized that the constitution was missing something, a Bill of Rights, and the first right, is for Freedom of Speech. The Supreme Court ruled 16 years ago that burning the flag in protest is a form of Free Speech that is protected by the constitution.

This is the most compelling argument I have heard about the issue.

"The reason our flag is different is because it stands for burning the flag," Representative Gary L. Ackerman, Democrat of New York, said in a speech on the House floor, wearing a flag-print necktie. "The Constitution this week is being nibbled to death by small men with press secretaries."

Also these statements were brought forth in a New York Times Article:

But Terri Ann Schroeder, a lobbyist for the American Civil Liberties Union, said public opinion polls should be irrelevant to debates about the First Amendment, since it serves mainly to protect statements and opinions that may be unpopular.

"That is antithetical to what the Bill of Rights is supposed to be about," Ms. Schroeder said, adding that she thought the amendment would fail by one or two votes.

Like most Democrats, two Republican senators, Robert F. Bennett of Utah and Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, have consistently opposed the measure.

"I don't want to amend the Constitution to solve a nonproblem," Mr. Bennett said. "People are not burning the flag. The only time they start is when this amendment gets offered."

Assessing the chances that his side might lose in the increasingly conservative Senate, he said, "We may," and added, "That is democracy."

I have always believed that even if I do not agree with someone they do have the right to believe the way they wish, even if it is totally misguided. :) However it seems that we must at times make sure we fill the Constitution with silly stuff. As a country and a people we should be removing unjust statements from the Constitution, not filling it with measures that limit the rights of all Americans. That is what the Bill Of Rights accomplished, and why Prohibition was such a bad idea.

Every state in the union has a law against the desecration of the Flag, so why do we need such redundancy in the Constitution? Only law-makers who want their constituency to feel like they are doing their job, worry about such things.

Let us hope that the Senate defeats the motion, since the House is too stupid not to defeat, time and time again.  ¶ 11:33 AM