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

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.

Happy Flag Day From Not Another New England Sports Blog!

And really- what could be more all-American than a member of the British Royal family at play on a beach in Thailand, clad in nothing but a star spangled bikini? This is the stuff of Norman Rockwell paintings, I tell ya!
I came across these 2009 images of Princess Eugenie (the kid sister of Princess Beatrice of the Doorknocker hat fame) while doing a cursory search of Beatrice without the hat and thought it was an interesting choice of apparel for the the 6th in line to the throne of Great Britain.

Apparently, the London tabloids and paparazzi considered her swimwear 'Very unpatriotic', seemingly a more pressing issue than the £100,000 tab for her security detail whilst cavorting in Thailand as the Asian nation was rocked by a series of violent antigovernment protests in the capital of Bangkok. That said, the vexilologist in me feels compelled to point out that if it were a simple red/while/blue swimsuit, the colors would've been appropriate for Thailand, Great Britain or the USA.

Photo courtesy MinneMom

But heading back to the USA, there isn't much else out there that I'm as happy to see as the Main Street of a small town adorned with the stars and stripes for any number of occasions such as Patriot's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Veterans Day or even Flag Day itself. It's something that can't be obligingly summarised into a few short sentences, but I'm sure many of you reading this feel the same way.

For those of us with a worn or tattered flag- or one with not enough stars- that we need to part with, there is a certain etiquette involved in the proper retirement of the flag.

1. The flag should be folded in its customary manner.

2. It is important that the fire be fairly large and of sufficient intensity to ensure complete burning of the flag.

3. Place the flag on the fire.

4. The individual(s) can come to attention, salute the flag, recite the Pledge of Allegiance and have a brief period of silent reflection.

5. After the flag is completely consumed, the fire should then be safely extinguished and the ashes buried.

6. Please make sure you are conforming to local/state fire codes or ordinances.

A number of organizations are more than willing to properly retire any worn, faded or torn American Flags that are turned in. More often than not, your best bet your nearest Veterans of Foreign War Post- some VFW posts even have a drop box where you can leave the flag even when the post isn't open.

UPDATE- As soxfan4life pointed out, I neglected to mention that today also happens to be the US Army's 236th Birthday. Apparently the US Army decided to celebrate by reverting to the patrol cap in leiu of the black beret that has been the Army standard for the last 10 years. When I first heard of Gen Shinseki's proposal to have all members of the United States Army to be issued black berets as the default headgear for soldiers, I was against it because issuing it would diminish the significance of the berets issued to Special Forces, Airborne and Ranger units. Soldiers had complained that the standard black beret was difficult to adjust, was too hot (particularly in a desert climate) and appeared out of place while engaging in such tasks as filling sandbags or policing up trash.