Happy 4th of July From Not Another New England Sports Blog!

Well...whaddaya know? Turns out the main streets of small town USA aren't the only think I like to see draped in the American flag. Looks like Stargate SG-1 actress Amanda Tapping has done a fine job of wrapping herself in the stars and stripes. I'm told this is what the kids call 'Rule 5' these days, although I'm simply familiar with it under the category of 'Eye Candy'.

	United States Marine Band - The Stars and Stripes Forever .mp3
	Found at bee mp3 search engine

However, before there was an Amanda Tapping and even before there was a Gil Elvgren, there was Rolf Armstrong.

This 1943 print by Armstrong is called Yankee Doodle Girl. While many other pin-up artists hadn't even started out by that time, Armstrong had amassed an impressive resume of magazine covers, theater posters and print ads to his credit. You might recognize another of his works- 1945's A Winning Combination. It apparead on the cover of some scholarly publications and was more recently mimicked by comedienne Tina Fey on a 2009 Vanity Fair cover.
But before I get any more distracted, I wanted to wish the visitors to Not Another New England Sports Blog! a safe and happy 4th of July. Personally, I didn't think it mattered whether or not you were Republican or Democrat to be able to enjoy the 4th of July, but apparently the folks at Harvard feel otherwise.

Jack of all trades- 4th of July as seen from a California citrus grove

Unfortunately it seems that a number of municipalities out west are unable to have a fireworks display this Independence Day because of either wildfire dangers, lack of funds or nuisance lawsuits.

Meanwhile up the road, a California Northern GP15-1 takes in a fireworks display in Tracy, CA. Railpictures.net photo- Eddie P Sarber

With that in mind, I hope that all of you have a good time with your family or friends this Independence Day- try not to blow off any fingers!

Best Wishes!
Fenway_Nation

Today's Train of Thought- Courtesey the Red White & Blue

Prior to the nation's 1976 bicentennial, a number of American railways decided to mark the occasion by introducing one-of-a-kind bicentennial paint schemes. The paint scheme was usually limited to one or two engines- some of which were renumbered 1776 or 1976 for the occasion.

A number of these locomotives have since been repainted, sold, retired or scrapped since then, but there were a number of holdouts. The Alaska Railroad had a pair of F7As that remained in the bicentenial scheme well into the 1980s. Belt Railway of Chicago had one of their then-new MP15AC's delivered in a red, white & blue scheme which didn't get repainted until the late 1990s. Pennsylvania's Pittsburgh and Shawmut was apparently so taken with their bicentinial scheme that they repainted the remainder of their small fleet of SW9s in red white & blue until their 1999 takeover by Genesee & Wyoming. ALCo holdout Delaware & Hudson had a chop-nose RS3u renumbered 1976 that was stored serviceable by the time then-parent company Guilford divested themselves of the D&H. The locomotive never saw service again with the D&H, but it found a home along Pennsylvania's Northern Tier hauling freight and excursion trains for the Tioga Central- where it still remains in its bicentennial colors.

With that in mind, today's star spangled train of thought takes us to the deep south and features some red white and blue engines hard at work.

A solid set of rent-a-wreck SD40-2s- with red, white and blue Helm Leasing #6204 and #6206 leading the way- trundle across the Chattahoochee River Bridge between Phenix City, AL and Columbus, GA with Norfolk Southern stone train 67G in October 2007. Interestingly, railpictures.net contributor Casey Thomason was watching the train approach from another Time Zone as the Georgia-Alabama state line marks the boundary between the Eastern and Central Time Zones.

As all-American as this scene might look, the leading pair of locomotives started out life in Canada, built at EMD's London, ON shops for BC Rail. Not too long after the SD40-2s were delivered, the BC Rail went from a two-tone green paint scheme to red white and blue up right up until their 2003 takeover by Canadian National. The CN deemed the units surplus and they were acquired by Helm Financial and subleased to railroads like Norfolk Southern, Pan Am Railways or Kansas City Southern.

Badger State Civility Update- Racine Firefighter Union Local Pulls Support of 9/11 Memorial Float

Rick Wood/Journal-Sentinel

An Oak Creek, WI fireman who invoked an obscure provision in Wisconsin state law to opt out of his union's political activities says that the union local that had initially supported his parade float has since backed out upon learning that he's a "fair share" union member

Under state law, public employees can drop out of the union and opt to pay just their "fair share" for the cost the union incurs for negotiating contracts. These nonvoting employees don't have to foot the bill for the union's political, social and ideological activities.

Officials say it is highly unusual for Wisconsin firefighters to ask to go fair share. But [Oak Grove FD Lieutenant] Gorniak - who describes himself as a born-again Christian who supports conservative politicians, including Gov. Scott Walker - filed his resignation letter and became a fair-share worker in late March or early April. He said he made the move in response to the protests in Madison over Walker's collective-bargaining plan.

The move is so rare that union officials are still, months later, trying to figure out how much Gorniak should pay to cover negotiating costs.

The theme of the parade float is the now-famous photo of the three New York firefighters raising the American flag amid the wreckage at Ground Zero in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, with local firemen standing in for the FDNY firefighters in the photo.

In 2002, Gorniak and members of his church constructed the float that appeared in three different parades in Milwaukee County. It remained in storage until recently, when Gorniak and others were kicking around the idea of refurbishing it and participating in the Racine, WI Fourth Fest parade. Organizers of the Fourth Fest and the IAFF Local 321 were on board with Gorniak's float- at least until word got back to Local President Craig Ford. Gorniak said Ford, the union president, was on board initially.

"I think he would have hugged me at first," Gorniak said of Ford. The two even agreed to bring in a New York City Fire Department firefighter to march in the parade, with Racine picking up the cost. Gorniak continued, "I was beside myself with joy."

All of that changed a few days later.

"Craig said, 'I've got a question for you: Are you fair share?'" Gorniak said. "I said, 'What does that have to do with anything?' "

Ford decided to take the parade issue to his executive board. Before the vote, Gorniak said, he offered to back out and turn over the keys to the truck, letting Ford and other Racine firefighters lead the float through the parade.

It didn't work.

Gorniak said he was told a few days later that the board had voted not to support the float.

"The float is coming anyway," Gorniak said. "I'm going to run it with or without firefighters."

In 2002, three firefighters stood atop the float, and others from several South Shore fire departments walked solemnly along behind, often with their helmets under an arm.

Gorniak said he is offering an open invitation to any firefighter - union or not - who would like to join the float at Monday's parade.

The last thing he wants, he said, is the homemade tribute to become the latest battle ground in the state's collective-bargaining wars.

"I want to touch our community," Gorniak said. "I'm hoping patriotic people are out in droves, and they don't see this as union or nonunion."

While Ford and IAFF Local 321 officers in Racine may not have wanted anything to do with Gorniak's float, there have been requests for the float to appear in a parade for the upcoming Burger Days in Seymour, WI and South Milwaukee's Heritage Days parade, and its looks as though the float will still participate in Racine's Fourth Fest.

Quickie Star Spangled Sports Chowdah Update- Beckett Dealing as Sox Play Texas Hold 'Em

MLB: As bad as this week's interleague road trip started out, the Red Sox made a strong showing in the Lone Star state by capping a 3-game sweep of the Houston Astros on the strength of Josh Beckett's start Sunday afternoon.

After Friday and Saturady's victories, this was far from the offensive outburst we are often accustomed to seeing from the Sox, however. Boston got on the board thanks to a throwing error on a Jason Varitek ground ball that allowed Youkilis to score. The Astros would manage to tie the game up on an Angel Sanchez pinch hit RBI single.

Youkilis would then factor into the go-ahead run in the 9th after the Astros bullpen decided to intentionally walk Adrian Gonzalez (who was actually starting at 1B in an interleague game) to load up the bases with 2 away for Kevin Youkilis. Youk, for his part, was unintentionally walked by Mark Melancon to being home Drew Sutton- who was pinch hitting for Beckett to lead off the tio of the 8th- and make it a 2-1 Red Sox lead.

Papelbon would give up a 2-out single in the bottom of the 9th, but it would do no damage as he got the next batter to strike out for his 17th save and complete the sweep of the Astros. Beckett allowed five hits, one run and struck out 11 in eight innings of work.

The Red Sox head back to Fenway for a series against the Blue Jays that kicks off with a 4th of July day game on Monday- Brandon Morrow (4-4; 4.36 ERA) will start for the Jays while John Lackey (5-7; 6.81 ERA) goes for the Sox. First pitch gets underway at 1:35 PM ET on NESN

ALL STAR VOTING: Starting pitcher Josh Beckett, DH David Ortiz, 1B Adrian Gonzalez and outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury were named to the 2011 MLB All-Star game. The contest is set to take place on July 12, 2011 at Chase Field in Phoenix, AZ.

4th of July: You're Doing it Wrong, Progressives

Restored fire truck carries VFW Members in Aloha, OR 4th of July Parade- Oregonian photo

I mentioned this earlier (altho some of you might've been distracted by the pics of Prinecess Eugenie at the beach), there isn't much else out there that brings as much joy to my heart as seeing the main street of a small town adorned with American flags or red white and blue bunting. Apparently a recent ivy-league study claims that my conservative political leanings play a role in that.

According to a recent Harvard study, 4th of July celebrations energize only Republicans, help boost Republican turnout on election day and are likely to turn young spectators into Republicans.

Democratic political candidates can skip this weekend's July 4th parades. A new Harvard University study finds that July 4th parades energize only Republicans, turn kids into Republicans, and help to boost the GOP turnout of adults on Election Day.

"Fourth of July celebrations in the United States shape the nation's political landscape by forming beliefs and increasing participation, primarily in favor of the Republican Party," said the report from Harvard.

"The political right has been more successful in appropriating American patriotism and its symbols during the 20th century. Survey evidence also confirms that Republicans consider themselves more patriotic than Democrats. According to this interpretation, there is a political congruence between the patriotism promoted on Fourth of July and the values associated with the Republican party. Fourth of July celebrations in Republican dominated counties may thus be more politically biased events that socialize children into Republicans," write Harvard Kennedy School Assistant Professor David Yanagizawa-Drott and Bocconi University Assistant Professor Andreas Madestam.

I'm sorry- was I supposed to throw up my hands and recoil in horror at the last part? Was the end result of this study supposed to be me wringing my hands over how politicized independence day has become? I really don't recall Independence Day parades featuring veterans riding on fire trucks or high school marching bands as having an inherently political bias- but then again, these guys are super-smart and from Harvard, so I could've just as easily missed something I suppose.

For all their faults, the GOP has not been out there in recent weeks attempting to circulate the meme that the Constitution is obsolete and needs to be replaced with an open-source document via social networking outlets like Twitter or Facebook. In fact, the same people attempting to advance that argument have been sharply critical of the GOP- particularly the incoming crop of freshman supported by the Tea Party last year- going so far as to claim reading the founding document aloud was some sort of perverse fetish.

Or is yearning to be even more like a sparesly populated, bankrupt Scandinavian nation the new definition patriotism now?

Nor is the GOP attempting to stop 4th of July fireworks displays through the use of nuisance lawsuits or attempting to limit the number of times a city council meeting can say the pledge of allegiance. In fact, given the open contempt that the media elites have demonstrated they hold for the flyover states and small town America, I would venture a guess that many of the progressives that make up so much of the voting bloc of today's Democrat party would be downright uncomfortable at one of these functions, however non-partisan they may actually be.