Flag Burning

Nori, at her Reading the Times in California blog, brought my attention to the fact that the Flag Burning Amendment is up for debate again. It has disturbingly high odds of passing, with even Hilary Clinton saying only that she's studying the issue, instead of condemning the amendment outright. I am reminded of a great letter to the editor in the Contra Costa Times of my childhood: a World War II veteran wrote in something like this: I fought under that flag and I love it. I'll be sad and upset if you burn my flag. But I'll be damned before I let you destroy my Constitution. Ah, I wish I had clipped it. This is a great graphical essay on Cracking the Flag Burning Amendment. (Though, obviously I quibble with his implied assumption that all veterans would be for this; clearly, of course, all veterans does not equal the group of veterans you find at the center.)