Posted on 06/01/2011 9:34:10 AM PDT by FortWorthPatriot
Martin Bashir, it seems, is not a fan of Sarah Palin. And during his MSNBC show and Clear the Air segment, he went looking for a way to roast the possible 2012 candidate who is now on a national bus tour. So what tool did he use to blast the woman even many of her detractors see as patriotic? The American flag.
According to Bashir, Palin could be breaking the law by displaying the American flag on her tour bus:
Heres what he had to say:
"In fact, the whole thing could be in breach of a federal law because the United States Flag Code establishes important rules for the use and display of the stars and stripes, the flag of the United States. Under standards of respect and etiquette, its made clear that the flag of the United States should never be used for any advertising purpose whatsoever. Yet thats precisely what Sarah Palin is doing. Shes using the flag of the United States for her own financial purposes. She drapes herself in the stars and stripes and makes millions of dollars in the process. This has got nothing to do with the presidency and everything to do with filling her pockets. And by raising her profile, she raises her income. It is as simple as that. So she was right when she said that hers is not a campaign bus. Its a cash bus and shell keep it rolling for as long as she can."
NewsBusters quickly takes Bashir to task, especially reminding him that the U.S. Flag Code is not federal law:
"The only problem: the Supreme Court ruled in 1989 that flag burning is protected by the First Amendment. If flag burning is protected speech, certainly displaying the flag on a tour bus is legal. Or do the rules not apply to Sarah Palin? In Bashirs warped sense of reality, conservatives like Palin would be arrested for flying the American flag at rallies in which they promote causes that Bashir does not support."
The Congressional Research Service, a non-partisan organization that provides legal analysis to members of Congress, clarified that observance of the Flag Code is purely voluntary in a 2008 congressional report: While wearing the colors may be in poor taste and offensive to many, it is important to remember that the Flag Code is intended as a guide to be followed on a purely voluntary basis to insure proper respect for the flag.
Considering Palins profile has been raised so much in the last week, she can expect attacks like this from the left. But attacks like this are a weak attempt at a nuanced smear campaign.
Gotta lot to learn :)
Oh, me too, always. Thanks for sharing.
We don’t need foreigners telling us about our own country. I wish MSNBC would go bankrupt.
Oops—one more thing—you can ask about the resident experts and keepers of the pings. For example, Quix has a very unique perspective on all things Asian, and is generous w/his info. (I don’t really know people’s genders here, so please excuse any goofs.) Websites like the Cato Institute have informative publications (some people object because they have a Libertarian slant, I think, but I’m not gonna be picky when I’m being armed w/facts.) Glenn Beck’s research notes are a treasure trove of information, and you can follow his citation trail and do your own digging, too.
Townhall has fun articles (Michelle Malkin, Thomas Sowell, Ann Coulter, et al.)
Have a blast!
-PJ
“its made clear that the flag of the United States should never be used for any advertising purpose whatsoever.”
Apparently this guy has not seen the new spcialty Jeep that is totally painted in an American Flag. We were thinking of getting one. Now that we know it’s probably agains’t the law forget it. LOL!!!
Bashir isn’t even an American is he? British Pakistani?
All I remember of him was his Michael Jackson interviews. He was an idiot back then in the 1990’s, I see he hasn’t changed.
-PJ
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