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.

WTF, VFW!? Update: VFW to Dissolve PAC

At this point, all I can say is "about damn time". Habitually endorsing incumbents is not unheard-of by certain PACs. Endorsing incumbents that have showed nothing but disdain and contempt for the group you supposedly represent throughout their entire careers shows a staggering laziness and disconnect that cannot be reconciled.

From Blackfive:

I have reviewed the Political Action Committee (PAC) Board of Directors’ response
to our request to rescind this year’ s Congressional endorsements. I disagree with their assessment.

It is now evident to most of the VFW leadership, both National and especially the
departments, that the VFW has been subjected to extreme negative publicity throughout the nation, and the recent endorsement decisions have, in fact, harmed the VFW’ s reputation and future ability to fulfill our mission.

I cannot let this erosion of public support for our great organization continue. The
apparent lack of the committee to address these concerns will lead to a proposal by me, as Commander-in-Chief, to amend the by-laws at the 112th National Convention for the purpose of dissolving the PAC. Meanwhile, under the authority granted to me as Commander-in-Chief in section 619 of the VFW National By-Laws and under section 620 of the Manual of Procedure, I am withdrawing all PAC appointments effective October 15, 2010.

Accordingly, I’ m asking the council for a vote of “ no confidence” in the VFW PAC as
indicated on the enclosed ballot.

To: National Council of Administration
From: Richard L. Eubank, Commander-in-Chief
Date: October 14, 2010

Also from Blackfive comes word that the VFW Ladies Auxiliary withdrew funding from the PAC effective last week.

Better late than never, but one has to wonder how it got to this point in the first place.

[Hat Tip: Blackfive, Spin Strangeness & Charm]

Members to VFW- WTF? Veterans Of Foreign Wars PAC Endorses Liberal, Anti-Military Incumbents Over Actual Veterans

Something's rotten at the Veterans of Foreign Wars and their political action committee, and the rank and file VFW membership doesn't like it one bit.

I probably should've noticed something was amiss when the West Hartford, CT chapter of the VFW allowed truth-impaired douchebag Dick Blumenthal to stage his photo-op press conference and non-apology apology from their lodge back in May.

Now, the VFW is in trouble over endorsements their PAC has made for the 2010 midterms, including Barbara Boxer, Henry Waxman, Nancy Pelosi and Alan Grayson. Despite the uproar from membership, the PAC has refused to rescind their endorsements, citing some ambiguous criteria that skews heavily towards incumbents. Even after it was revealed that Boxer and Waxman used their positions to aid a radical leftist anti-war group to travel to Fallujah, Iraq (by way of Jordan) so they could deliver money and aid to families of insurgents. I mean, besides Speaker Pelosi using the military as her own personal Chauffeur for her and her family, we have Sen. Boxer who voted against funding for body armour and treatment of brain trauma for American soldiers back in 2007, much to Joe Biden's chagrin. So....again, I'd be really interested in knowing what the PAC's endorsement criteria is- because so far, it seems to be apple pie gee-aren't-our-GI's-swell-now-vote-for-me platitudes from leftist hacks specifically trotted out in the weeks before the election.

Although the VFW leadership was critical of 0bamacare's adverse effects on already-existing healthcare services for veterans and active-duty military personnel, the VFW PAC not only endorsed a number of candidates that voted in favor of 0bamacare [feel free to cross-reference the VFW-PAC's list of endorsed candidates with THE LIST- NANESB!] but liberal Democrat incumbents who are running against military veterans.

For instance, out of the 10 candidates on the revised Vets For Freedom PAC Operation 10 in 10, the VFW's PAC endorses 8 of their opponents and declines any endorsement in two other races- the open seat in Arkansas' 2nd district and the race between House Financial Services Chair Barney Frank and Marine Reservist Sean Bielat. There are post 9/11 veterans in California, Michigan and Arizona who's opponents are endorsed by the VFW's PAC as well.

This doesn't just apply to Republican candidates, either. The VFW's PAC also declined to endorse Democrat Matt Zeller, who served in Afghanistan and is running for the currently vacant seat in New York's 29th district.

Now, all this raises the rather obvious question. What's the point of having a PAC if it goes directly against the wishes of their membership? Will the VFW allow itself to be done in by its own PAC?