Dumb Decisions Regarding the American Flag

[Dos Equis]

Upstate N.Y. School Apologizes For Reciting Pledge Of Allegiance In Arabic
March 19, 2015

Pledge Of Allegiance (Photo credit: SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images)

PINE BUSH, N.Y. (CBSNewYork/AP) — A school in upstate New York has apologized for reciting the Pledge of Allegiance in Arabic after complaints from district residents who lost family members in the Afghanistan war.

The pledge was read in Arabic during Wednesday morning announcements at Pine Bush High School, located 65 miles northwest of New York City.

Some students were angered and responded with catcalls. District Superintendent Joan Carbone told the Times Herald-Record of Middletown that she received complaints from residents who lost relatives in Afghanistan and from Jewish parents.

The Arabic reading of the pledge has “divided the school in half,” she told the newspaper.

The district said the school’s foreign language department arranged to have the pledge recited in different languages for National Foreign Language Week, which was last week.

Andrew Zink, the senior class president, usually gives the morning announcements and recites the pledge. He said he allowed an Arabic-speaking student to handle the pledge duties Wednesday.

“The intention was to promote the fact that those who speak a language other than English still pledge to salute this great country,” the district said in its statement.

The principal made a building-wide announcement Wednesday afternoon to explain the reading’s context and apologize to students who took offense to it being recited in Arabic. In a statement posted on the district’s website, officials said they apologized “to any students, staff or community members who found this activity disrespectful.”

Carbone said the pledge will be read in English only from now on, as is directed in state Department of Education regulations.

However, New York State Education Department spokesman Dennis Tompkins issued a statement to CBS2 that said, “State regulation specifies the wording of the Pledge, not the language.”

The Pine Bush district spreads across rural parts of Orange, Sullivan and Ulster counties. Its total enrollment is about 5,500 students.

In 2013, the parents of several Jewish students attending Pine Bush elementary and middle schools said their children were the targets of anti-Semitic harassment from classmates. The families filed a federal civil rights lawsuit, claiming district officials turned a blind eye to the behavior. In November, a federal judge in White Plains ruled the case could go forward.

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2015/03/19/upstate-n-y-school-apologizes-for-reciting-pledge-of-allegiance-in-arabic/

[Dos Equis]

Flag fracas at Valdosta State
Protesters walk on Stars and Stripes; veteran banned from university for taking flag from demonstrators

An unidentified demonstrator walks on an American flag in front of Valdosta State University’s Odum Library Friday. Shortly after this photo was taken, a local activist was detained for taking the flag from a protest group in what she said was an attempt to dispose of it properly. She was not charged in the incident but was banned from VSU in the future.

Posted: Friday, April 17, 2015
BY ADAM FLOYD, adam.floyd@gaflnews.com

VALDOSTA — A military veteran was detained but not charged by Valdosta State University police after she approached a group of protesters on campus who were walking on an American flag and took it from them.

Michelle Manhart, an Air Force veteran, said she was not planning to take the flag from the group, but she had heard about the group’s recent campus demonstrations and wanted to take action.

“I did not want anything like this, but I got a call from a student who told me that the flag was on the ground, and they were walking on it,” said Manhart. “I was just going over there to pick up the flag off the ground. I don’t know what their cause is, but I went to pick it up because it doesn’t deserve to be on the ground.”

Manhart said she was taken into custody by VSU police officers who then returned the flag to the demonstrators. She admitted to The Valdosta Daily Times that she resisted arrest after seeing the flag being returned.

The group reportedly declined to press charges against Manhart. The officers attempting to detain her also declined to press charges for resisting.

Instead, Manhart was given a criminal trespass warning which effectively bans her from any university activity, including graduation and football games, said Andy Clark, vice president for enrollment, marketing and communications.

The demonstrators declined to identify their group to The Valdosta Daily Times or speak with a reporter about their cause, but they did engage VSU students in heated debate.

One member of the group who declined to speak with The Valdosta Daily Times or identify himself told a VSU student that putting the American flag on the ground and walking on it was “a symbol of our protest. When a slave understands his situation and understands he doesn’t want to be in slavery, he does not respect or revere anything his slavemaster has put in front of him.”

Manhart said she was not on campus long enough to discern the group’s message. However, she said if the cause was racism, she agreed with the cause but opposed the method of protest.

http://www.valdostadailytimes.com/news/local_news/flag-fracas-at-valdosta-state/article_8c1f2320-e559-11e4-93ad-dbffd6e2dfd8.html

[avxo]

Flag fracas at Valdosta State
Protesters walk on Stars and Stripes; veteran banned from university for taking flag from demonstrators

An unidentified demonstrator walks on an American flag in front of Valdosta State University’s Odum Library Friday. Shortly after this photo was taken, a local activist was detained for taking the flag from a protest group in what she said was an attempt to dispose of it properly. She was not charged in the incident but was banned from VSU in the future.

Posted: Friday, April 17, 2015
BY ADAM FLOYD, adam.floyd@gaflnews.com

VALDOSTA — A military veteran was detained but not charged by Valdosta State University police after she approached a group of protesters on campus who were walking on an American flag and took it from them.

Michelle Manhart, an Air Force veteran, said she was not planning to take the flag from the group, but she had heard about the group’s recent campus demonstrations and wanted to take action.

“I did not want anything like this, but I got a call from a student who told me that the flag was on the ground, and they were walking on it,” said Manhart. “I was just going over there to pick up the flag off the ground. I don’t know what their cause is, but I went to pick it up because it doesn’t deserve to be on the ground.”

Manhart said she was taken into custody by VSU police officers who then returned the flag to the demonstrators. She admitted to The Valdosta Daily Times that she resisted arrest after seeing the flag being returned.

The group reportedly declined to press charges against Manhart. The officers attempting to detain her also declined to press charges for resisting.

Instead, Manhart was given a criminal trespass warning which effectively bans her from any university activity, including graduation and football games, said Andy Clark, vice president for enrollment, marketing and communications.

The demonstrators declined to identify their group to The Valdosta Daily Times or speak with a reporter about their cause, but they did engage VSU students in heated debate.

One member of the group who declined to speak with The Valdosta Daily Times or identify himself told a VSU student that putting the American flag on the ground and walking on it was “a symbol of our protest. When a slave understands his situation and understands he doesn’t want to be in slavery, he does not respect or revere anything his slavemaster has put in front of him.”

Manhart said she was not on campus long enough to discern the group’s message. However, she said if the cause was racism, she agreed with the cause but opposed the method of protest.

http://www.valdostadailytimes.com/news/local_news/flag-fracas-at-valdosta-state/article_8c1f2320-e559-11e4-93ad-dbffd6e2dfd8.html

I don't have a problem with any of this. It wasn't her flag and she can't just go taking other people's property.

I also find it ironic that this lady objects to having the flag on the ground and gets all verklept with patriotism, especially when she did substantially the same thing while posing nude with the flag for Playboy. Fucking hypocritical bitch.

[Dos Equis]

I don't have a problem with any of this. It wasn't her flag and she can't just go taking other people's property.

I also find it ironic that this lady objects to having the flag on the ground and gets all verklept with patriotism, especially when she did substantially the same thing while posing nude with the flag for Playboy. Fucking hypocritical bitch.

Yeah.  Not exactly the right person to be on her high horse about the flag. 

[Dos Equis]

Illinois teacher fired for stepping on U.S. flag
By Tribune wire reports contact the reporter Educators
June 30, 2015




A teacher in eastern Illinois has been fired for stepping on a small U.S. flag during a lesson on free speech.

The Martinsville School District board voted 6-0 to fire English teacher Jordan Parmenter. Martinsville is about 80 miles southeast of Champaign near the Indiana state line.

The district had placed Parmenter on leave after the May 15 incident.

Parmenter has said he used the flag as a pointer during a lesson on free speech at Martinsville Junior-Senior High School.

A student complained that the teacher was being disrespectful, and Parmenter said he then stepped on the flag as an example of free speech.

Parmenter declined to comment about being fired. He said he plans to speak to his union representative.

Associated Press

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-illinois-teacher-fired-for-stepping-on-us-flag-20150630-story.html

[Dos Equis]

Professors: US flag symbolizes racism, should not be displayed on campus
By Todd Starnes
Published March 11, 2015 
FoxNews.com

A group of university professors has signed a letter showing their solidarity with students who tried to ban the American flag at the University of California, Irvine – because they said Old Glory contributes to racism.

A group of Californian lawmakers is working on a bill that that would prohibit publicly funded universities from banning the American flag.

“U.S. nationalism often contributes to racism and xenophobia, and that the paraphernalia of nationalism is in fact often used to intimidate,” read a letter obtained by the website Campus Reform.

A group of Californian lawmakers is working on a bill that that would prohibit publicly funded universities from banning the American flag.

Hundreds across the nation have signed the letter – including some U.C. Irvine professors, Campus Reform reported.

"We admire the courage of the resolution's supporters amid this environment of political immaturity and threat, and support them unequivocally" the letter stated.

How those professors can sleep at night knowing their salaries are paid for by a bunch of xenophobic racists is beyond me.

On March 3 the U.C. Irvine student government association voted 6-4-2 to remove Old Glory from a campus lobby for the sake of cultural inclusivity.

The un-American knuckleheads blathered on about how "the American flag has been flown in instances of colonialism and imperialism."

Breitbart quoted an unnamed student who said the student government association feared the flag might hurt the feelings of illegal aliens.

“There were people who were like, ‘the flag triggers me’ – that was their exact wording, too,” the student said.

Over the weekend, the executive leadership of student government met and vetoed the legislation and by Monday the flag was once again posted in the campus lobby.

“Our campus is patriotic and proud,” student government President Reza Zomorrodian told me. “We did something right for our campus.”

A March 10th legislative meeting to discuss the controversy was canceled after the university received a “viable threat of violence.”

While the threat was not specific, university officials said they were taking the threat seriously and urged students to be diligent.

“Regardless of your opinion on the display of the American flag, we must be united in protecting the people who make this university a premier institution of higher learning,” Chancellor Howard Gillman wrote in a statement posted on the university’s website.

Meanwhile, a group of Californian lawmakers is working on a bill that that would prohibit publicly funded universities from banning the American flag.

Here's how it should work: you ban the flag -- we ban your student loans.

I'm old school. Where I come from, you salute Old Glory, you don't toss it in a closet. You don't ban it.

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2015/03/11/professors-us-flag-symbolizes-racism-should-not-be-displayed-on-campus.html

[Dos Equis]

Reno mayor apologizes for LGBT flag replacing American flag above city hall
Published July 28, 2015
FoxNews.com

The mayor of Reno, Nev., reportedly apologized after the American flag was replaced atop city hall with an LGBT flag.

According to the Reno Gazette-Journal, Mayor Hillary Schieve had asked that the rainbow pride flag be hung at city hall during gay pride events over the weekend.

But in the process of flying that flag, the city took down the American flag. The mayor maintains that was never her intent.

“I can most certainly see why people would be offended or upset," she said in a statement. "I did not order that the American flag be taken down. I have asked that the flag be put up immediately.”

Schieve said she took full responsibility for the mishap. According to the Gazette-Journal, Reno celebrated the Northern Nevada PRIDE Festival on Saturday.

“I thought it [the pride flag] would hang at the front door of city hall,” she told the Gazette-Journal. She added in the statement: “It was certainly not the city’s intention to be disrespectful, and it should have never happened.”

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/07/28/mayor-reno-says-sorry-for-lgbt-flag-above-city-hall-but-no-american-flag/?intcmp=hplnws

[Dos Equis]

Student punished for American flag shirt
A North Texas student was punished recently for wearing an American flag T-shirt to school.
By: FOX4News.com Staff 

Jaegur’s mom, Shelly Goode, says her son Jaegur does his best to follow the rules.

Jaegur is a junior at Seagoville High School. He’s passionate about ROTC and hopes to earn a scholarship through the program.

“He wants to go into the military,” said Shelly. “He wants to help people, and any bad marks doesn't look good.”

But Monday, Shelly says an administrator asked Jaegur to lift his hoodie.

“Underneath that shirt, he was wearing [the American flag] shirt,” said Shelly.

When Jaegur lifted his hoodie, he was sent to in-school suspension.

Seagoville High doesn’t require uniforms; just that students wear solid color shirts. The only exceptions are made for school and college logos or shirts supporting the military.

“Why doesn't [the shirt Jaegur wore] count?” FOX 4’s Diana Zoga said.

“I have no idea,” said Shelly. “I would like that answer.”

Shelly, who works the nightshift at a hospital, lost sleep driving to Jaegur’s school, only to have the assistant principal stand by the punishment.

“If he was breaking the rules, he would be punished and he would have to honor whatever they give him, but he wasn't, and I have to stand by him for that,” said Shelly.

So, Shelly requested an explanation in writing, and FOX 4 started asking the district questions.

While FOX 4 was with Shelly on Tuesday, she received a call from the principal, who apologized for all the trouble and confirmed that yes, the American flag can be worn in school.

“The fact that acknowledging it is huge, and the fact that they're willing to stand by and see mistakes and grow from them, that means a lot,” said Shelly.

Seagoville High is in the Dallas Independent School District. It confirms that flags can be displayed on clothing.

The school’s principal said he was off campus on Monday when the incident happened.

He also explained to Shelly that the in-school suspension time doesn’t go onto a student’s disciplinary record.

http://www.fox4news.com/news/20311560-story

[Irongrip400]

Student punished for American flag shirt
A North Texas student was punished recently for wearing an American flag T-shirt to school.
By: FOX4News.com Staff 

Jaegur’s mom, Shelly Goode, says her son Jaegur does his best to follow the rules.

Jaegur is a junior at Seagoville High School. He’s passionate about ROTC and hopes to earn a scholarship through the program.

“He wants to go into the military,” said Shelly. “He wants to help people, and any bad marks doesn't look good.”

But Monday, Shelly says an administrator asked Jaegur to lift his hoodie.

“Underneath that shirt, he was wearing [the American flag] shirt,” said Shelly.

When Jaegur lifted his hoodie, he was sent to in-school suspension.

Seagoville High doesn’t require uniforms; just that students wear solid color shirts. The only exceptions are made for school and college logos or shirts supporting the military.

“Why doesn't [the shirt Jaegur wore] count?” FOX 4’s Diana Zoga said.

“I have no idea,” said Shelly. “I would like that answer.”

Shelly, who works the nightshift at a hospital, lost sleep driving to Jaegur’s school, only to have the assistant principal stand by the punishment.

“If he was breaking the rules, he would be punished and he would have to honor whatever they give him, but he wasn't, and I have to stand by him for that,” said Shelly.

So, Shelly requested an explanation in writing, and FOX 4 started asking the district questions.

While FOX 4 was with Shelly on Tuesday, she received a call from the principal, who apologized for all the trouble and confirmed that yes, the American flag can be worn in school.

“The fact that acknowledging it is huge, and the fact that they're willing to stand by and see mistakes and grow from them, that means a lot,” said Shelly.

Seagoville High is in the Dallas Independent School District. It confirms that flags can be displayed on clothing.

The school’s principal said he was off campus on Monday when the incident happened.

He also explained to Shelly that the in-school suspension time doesn’t go onto a student’s disciplinary record.

http://www.fox4news.com/news/20311560-story

Dumb. Also, who the fuck names their kid jaegur? They didn't even spell it right.

[Dos Equis]

In the ongoing effort to raise a generation of sissies . . . .

School cancels 'America Day'
By  Todd Starnes 
Published October 05, 2015
FoxNews.com
 
Patriotic teenagers in Jackson Hole, Wyoming showed up to class Wednesday waving American flags in defiance of educators who canceled “America Day” over fears it might upset students who don’t consider themselves to be American.

Administrators at Jackson Hole High School pulled the plug on “America Day” – citing concerns that celebrating the USA would alienate some of their young people, the Jackson Hole Daily reported.

Activities Director Mike Hansen said that a number of students did not feel American and felt “targeted and singled out by this day.”

I wish I could say what happened in Jackson Hole was an anomaly. However, there are many other public schools engaged in similar anti-American behavior.

“America Day” was part of a homecoming tradition at the high school. Students would show up to class either waving American flags or wearing red, white and blue clothing.

“Many different students could have felt singled out,” Hansen told the newspaper. “We’re trying to be inclusive and safe, make everyone feel welcome.”

Principal Scott Crisp echoed those concerns, telling the newspaper that they wanted the homecoming activities to “bring our students together holistically as a student body.”

You’d expect that kind of academic hog wash in Berkeley, California – but Jackson Hole, Wyoming?

The newspaper reported that a number of juniors and seniors protested “political correctness” by showing up to school wrapped in American flags.

And at least one Son of Liberty flew Old Glory from his diesel truck – which I’m sure drew the ire of environmentalists.

“It’s homecoming week and our school administration thought it was too ‘offensive’ to have an America Pride Day,” parent Ted Dawson wrote on Facebook. “Where have we gone so wrong! I don’t care what race or religion you are, you live here, benefit from the schools, enjoy tax benefits or whatever – your (sic) an American or at least you better be.”

One wing nut liberal actually thought the school’s decision to cancel America Day was appropriate.

“Unchecked nationalism is not a great thing and has historically resulted in gross atrocities here and elsewhere,” the unnamed woman wrote on Facebook.

I wish I could say what happened in Jackson Hole was an anomaly. However, there are many other public schools engaged in similar anti-American behavior.

There was a school system in Tennessee that banned the American flag. There was a school district in Massachusetts that banned a day to celebrate the Land of the Free. And there was a California school district that prohibited American flag t-shirts on Cinco de Mayo.

The New York Post called Jackson Hole’s anti-American activities a “pathetic and perverse ban on patriotism.”

“The right response would’ve been to explain to those teens that they are Americans – as entitled to take pride in this nation and its flag as kids whose forebears have been here for generations,” the newspaper’s editorial board wrote.

There was a time when immigrants came to America because they loved freedom. They loved this land of opportunity. They wanted a better life for their children. But I’m afraid those days may be long gone.

And I suspect we would be a much better country if we gave all the America-haters the heave-ho.

As we say back home in Tennessee, don’t let the screen door hit ya where the Good Lord done split ya.

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2015/10/05/school-cancels-america-day.html?intcmp=hplnws

[Dos Equis]

Florida College Bans Pledge of Allegiance
Wednesday, 14 Oct 2015

A Florida college in Tampa has banned the Pledge of Allegiance after some students, faculty and staff said it made them feel uncomfortable and violated their “academic freedom.”

Hillsborough Community College’s Institutional Advisory Committee took the action, it seems, more from a lack of enthusiasm about the time-honored ritual of patriotism than from anger or specific protests. Students also complained that it took too long to perform.

But HCC students who served in the military said they felt dishonored and insulted.

"I'm serving our country and my dad and my grandfather did, too,” said student Angela Brown. “I think it's messed up.”

Jason Rodriguez, who served 16 years in the military and now attends HCC, agreed.

“Maybe some of them have not had an opportunity to fight for their country, and know what it's really like,” said Rodriguez.

 One former Marine, Scott Vosler, now an HCC student, said he and others fought to defend the very freedom the council members have to not say the pledge if they so choose.
 But they could at least, he says, put their hands over their hearts and let others say the pledge out of respect.

“If you don't, then I'm sad,” said Vosler. “Because a lot of people have bled and died for you to have the freedoms that you do.”

The school's president says the administration will attend the next Institutional Advisory Committee meeting, making it clear the administration does not support the decision.

http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/florida-college-bans-pledgeof/2015/10/14/id/696291/#ixzz3og3DHco5

[Dos Equis]

Navy veteran fights California city to fly American flag again
Published March 20, 2016 
FoxNews.com

King-Kennedy community center in Modesto, Calif. (City of Modesto)

A broken flagpole at a community center in Northern California has a Navy vet seeing red.

George Russell wants to fly the Red, White and Blue at the King Kennedy Memorial Center in west Modesto. He said he’s been trying for years to get the City of Modesto to address the problem.

“As a veteran, all I ask is the flagpole. Fix the flagpole,” Russell, who is in his 70s, tells KXTV.

Flag thieves broke the cable to raise and lower the American flag a long time ago.

Russell urged the city to mount the flag permanently and install a light to fly it at night to foil any vandalism.

But the fix would cost Modesto nearly $10,000, the station reported.

Russell complained that the city is already spending $75,000 on a bicycle race that’s not even taking place in Modesto.

“Why you spending $75,000 to house bike riders and feed them and you can’t fix a flagpole in front of a city-owned building?” Russell told the station.

KXTV told viewers that union electricians have stepped up to install the light for free.

“We just want to do what is right and add a light to the flagpole and get it flying for him,” union rep Bobby Stutzman said.

Modesto’s new mayor, Ted Brandvold, said Russell hasn’t been ignored for years.

He told the station work on the flagpole will begin soon.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2016/03/20/navy-veteran-fights-california-city-to-fly-american-flag-again.html?intcmp=hplnws

[Dos Equis]

High School bans American flag at football stadium
By  Todd Starnes 
Published August 29, 2016
FoxNews.com


Travelers Rest alum Hunter Ballew is blocked by a police officer from entering the football stadium.

Dean “Chico” Bolin was my great uncle.

But to the folks around Travelers Rest, South Carolina, Uncle Chico was a legend – on and off the football field.

Click here to join Todd’s American Dispatch: a must-read for Conservatives!

He was a good man – a Christian man –a no-nonsense disciplinarian.

Uncle Chico was also a Marine. He fought in World War II and was severely wounded – shot in the leg at Iwo Jima.

When Chico returned home he enrolled at Furman University and eventually took a job at Travelers Rest High School.

Among his first assignments was to restart the dormant football program. So that’s exactly what he did – naming the squad in honor of his beloved Marines.

And since 1949, the football team at Travelers Rest High School has been known as the “Devildogs.”

Uncle Chico, who passed away in 2007, lived long enough to see the school name its new football stadium in his honor – a decorated war hero who loved America.

So you can understand why our family was disturbed to learn that students and fans were blocked from entering the stadium with American flags.

This item appeared in the Greenville News:

“Several people posted about the incident on social media Saturday, claiming the student wasn’t allowed to carry the flag into Friday night’s Travelers Rest – Berea game because it might offend Berea’s large Hispanic community.”

Beth Brotherton, a spokesperson for Greenville County Schools, confirmed to me that several students who wanted to bring American flags were blocked from entering the stadium.

“The principal, in an effort to prevent any potential issue in this rivalry game, decided not to allow students to bring in full-sized American flags,” she told me. “They were turned away at the gate with the flag and told they were welcome to come in but they could not bring their flags with them.”

So here’s the back story: during last year’s game, some students allegedly flew Old Glory and hollered out, “Go home, go home.”

“The principal made a decision in terms of what he thought was best for student safety,” Ms. Brotherton said. “Because of prior incidents, that was not something he felt like was in the best interest of maintaining a good relationship between the two school communities.”

Travelers Rest Police Chief Lance Crowe disagrees with the principal’s decision and fired off a statement letting the locals know that the police department loves America and Old Glory.

“To my knowledge, every TRPD officer, except one, believes that barring the American flag from a football game is not a correct policy,” Chief Crowe wrote.

The school district wanted me to make it very clear there is no official policy banning the American flag. Blocked, barred, whatever.

But if that’s the case – if there is no ban on the flag - will fans be permitted to fly the Star-Spangled Banner on Friday night?

“We’re going to have to make decisions wisely on a case-by-case basis,” she replied.

It’s a mighty sad day in Travelers Rest, South Carolina – where patriotism is determined on a “case-by-case” basis – in a stadium named after a man who nearly gave his life defending the Stars & Stripes.

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2016/08/29/high-school-bans-american-flag-at-football-stadium.html

[Las Vegas]

Here's what we're angling toward by attaching actual personal identities to the insanity.  Make a real person answer for it.

Schieve said she took full responsibility for the mishap. According to the Gazette-Journal, Reno celebrated the Northern Nevada PRIDE Festival on Saturday. “I thought it [the pride flag] would hang at the front door of city hall,” she told the Gazette-Journal. She added in the statement: “It was certainly not the city’s intention to be disrespectful, and it should have never happened.”

[Dos Equis]

Flag-stomping teacher has no regrets, wants student punished
By Todd Starnes  Published September 21, 2016 
FoxNews.com


The teacher who desecrated the American flag inside a North Carolina classroom told me he has no regrets and wants the student who photographed him to be punished.

Lee Francis, a first year history teacher at Massey Hill Classical High School in Fayetteville, has been placed on administrative leave while the school district investigates the incident.

Francis admitted stomping on an American flag Monday during a lesson on the First Amendment. A photo of the incident, taken by a student, was posted on Facebook and went viral.

“Do I regret what I did? Absolutely not,” Mr. Francis told me in an exclusive telephone interview. “Would I do it again? All I can say is I did it and I stand by it.”

Mr. Francis said he has obtained legal counsel.

“There were some laws broken as far as photos of me taken that violate the county’s policies – and issues that could be considered defamation of character,” he said.

He said the student who snapped the photo of the flag desecration “broke the law.”

“I believe that child does need to be punished in some way – absolutely,” he said. “I can’t take a picture of them and in turn they cannot do the same of me.”

Mr. Francis confirmed most of the events as they were reported by local news organizations – including the actions of a young patriot.

He said the student got up from his desk, took the desecrated flag and left the classroom.

“I don’t personally blame the children,” the teacher told me. “This is exactly what America is about. This is exactly what freedom of speech is about – freedom of protest. You stand upf or what you believe in. Whether or not I agree is not really the point.”

And based on the outrage posted on my Facebook page, many residents around Fayetteville and nearby Fort Bragg do not agree with the teacher’s actions.

“What that teacher did was a gut punch to all the military kids at that school,” one livid active duty parent told me.

Mr. Francis said he did not intend to offend or disrespect the military with his anti-American lesson.

“That was not the goal, that was not the point of the lesson,” he said. “For me, it was about the First Amendment, teaching about the Bill of Rights, the beginning of what we call America.”

Supt. Frank Till, Jr. told television station WRAL, “There are other ways to teach First Amendment rights without desecrating a flag.”

Mr. Francis said he does not disagree with that assessment.

If nothing else, the offensive lesson is a reminder of how public schools have become incubators for un-American activities.

It’s unclear what became of the desecrated flag and it’s also unclear whether the first year teacher will be a second year teacher at the school.

Should Mr. Francis need to find gainful employment, perhaps he would be more comfortable with a career in the National Football League?

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2016/09/21/flag-stomping-teacher-has-no-regrets-wants-student-punished.html

[Soul Crusher]

Howard University cheerleaders kneel during National Anthem
Ny daily news ^ | September 21, 2016 | CHRIS SOMMERFELDT
Posted on 9/22/2016, 7:41:01 AM by lowbridge

For over a month, athletes across the U.S. have been sitting and kneeling during "The Star Spangled Banner" in a nod to footballer Colin Kaepernick's well-documented protest against police brutality.

Now, cheerleaders are joining in on the action.

The Howard University Cheerleaders knelt while the National Anthem blasted from speakers during the AT&T Nation's Football Classic at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C. Saturday afternoon, CNN reported.

Howard is one of the country's few historically black universities, with notable alums such as New York City's first African-American mayor, David Dinkins, and Congressman Elijah Cummings.

(Excerpt) Read more at nydailynews.com ...

[Soul Crusher]

Navy Sailor Refuses to Stand During National Anthem
Fox News ^ | September 26, 2016
Posted on 9/26/2016, 1:00:17 PM by detective

U.S. Navy sailor is under investigation for refusing to stand during the national anthem.

Intelligence Specialist 2nd Class Janaye Ervin, a reservist stationed at Pearl Harbor, posted on Facebook about why she's following in the footsteps of Colin Kaepernick and others who have demonstrated against police brutality during the anthem.

"I feel like a hypocrite singing about the 'land of the free' when I know that only applies to some Americans," she wrote. "I will gladly stand again, when ALL AMERICANS are afforded the same freedom."

Ervin says she lost her security clearance and was threatened with jail by the Navy in response to her actions.

(Excerpt) Read more at insider.foxnews.com ...





Hey you ungrateful POS - stop cashing checks that I and others are providing you.  Miserable leech

[Dos Equis]

Navy Sailor Refuses to Stand During National Anthem
Fox News ^ | September 26, 2016
Posted on 9/26/2016, 1:00:17 PM by detective

U.S. Navy sailor is under investigation for refusing to stand during the national anthem.

Intelligence Specialist 2nd Class Janaye Ervin, a reservist stationed at Pearl Harbor, posted on Facebook about why she's following in the footsteps of Colin Kaepernick and others who have demonstrated against police brutality during the anthem.

"I feel like a hypocrite singing about the 'land of the free' when I know that only applies to some Americans," she wrote. "I will gladly stand again, when ALL AMERICANS are afforded the same freedom."

Ervin says she lost her security clearance and was threatened with jail by the Navy in response to her actions.

(Excerpt) Read more at insider.foxnews.com ...





Hey you ungrateful POS - stop cashing checks that I and others are providing you.  Miserable leech

I agree.  Get the heck out of the Navy already. 

[avxo]

Boy, there's some mega-patriots in this thread!

[Soul Crusher]

Boy, there's some mega-patriots in this thread!

No - its called not being a POS - which most of these people are

[avxo]

No - its called not being a POS - which most of these people are

Someone has a problem with the concept of irony, it seems.

Also, didn't you falsely claim to be in the Navy? Isn't that being a POS?

[Soul Crusher]

Someone has a problem with the concept of irony, it seems.

Also, didn't you falsely claim to be in the Navy? Isn't that being a POS?

LOL - I explained that situation entirely - thats all you got.   I was in a federal service Academy (USMMA) w a Naval Reserve status until I got bounced for shitty grades. 

Have to do better than that man.  for real. 

[avxo]

LOL - I explained that situation entirely - thats all you got.   I was in a federal service Academy (USMMA) w a Naval Reserve status until I got bounced for shitty grades. 

Have to do better than that man.  for real.

Spoken like a typical lawyer.

[Dos Equis]

Nothing unpatriotic about criticizing a service member who is violating her oath and military regs.  There is no civil disobedience in the military and every service member knows it.  She needs to be a civilian. 

[avxo]

Nothing unpatriotic about criticizing a service member who is violating her oath and military regs.  There is no civil disobedience in the military and every service member knows it.  She needs to be a civilian. 

Like SoulCrusher, you misunderstood my post. It wasn't aimed at you or him, but I guess unless it's spelled out in crayon with large, crudely drawn block caps, you don't get it. Fine:

MY COMMENT WAS REFERRING TO PEOPLE LIKE THE SERVICE MEMBER IN THE ARTICLE WHO CLAIMS, HAVING VOLUNTEERED TO JOIN THE ARMED FORCES, A PATRIOTISM SO UNBRIDLED AND EXTREME AND A PROFOUND SENSE OF MORALITY SO STRONG THAT SHE CANNOT STAND FOR THE INJUSTICE AND THE DESECRATION OF THE FLAG THAT THAT THE REST OF US ALLOW, AS AN EXCUSE TO NOT DISPLAY THE PROPER RESPECT TO THAT FLAG.