Earlier this week Guardian journalist Ed Pilkington caught a cavalier Sarah Palin affixing her signature to Old Glory and an Ayn Rand book within a few short moments (1:33 in the video embedded below). Apparently that’s not so Kosher. Salon blogger Emma Mustich points out that signing the flag is a clear and direct violation of flag code, although it’s likely to be protected by a slew of free speech rulings (that Palin likely opposes) which have deemed flag-burning protected by the first amendment.
While Palin’s act of “desecration” in and of itself will not stir up liberal outrage, the hypocrisy here is staggering. How would Sarah Palin and her ilk react if it were Barack Obama casually affixing his own John Hancock on the stars and stripes? Surely the outrage and cries of “traitor” would have reached fever pitch by now.
Palin’s treatment of the flag with the same “scrawl on it” attitude that a rockstar has towards a concert program perfectly sums up her credo of wrapping herself in Betsy Ross’ handiwork — she uses symbolic, shallow patriotism to shield herself and attack opponents.
The Flag raised by the three weary firefighters at the WTC ruins was signed as well:
The flag that three weary firefighters raised from the ruins of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11 was returned to them Tuesday in a solemn ceremony aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt.
The flag had been sent to the aircraft carrier in October as the ship steamed toward waters near Afghanistan. It flew on the carrier and six other ships in the war against terrorism.
As a sailor sang the Navy Hymn, three other sailors handed the folded flag to two of the three New York City firefighters, George Johnson and William Eisengrein, who hoisted the flag at Ground Zero. The image was caught in a newspaper photograph seen around the world.
"This is truly a humbling experience," Johnson told the Roosevelt crew. Johnson then presented a fire chief's helmet to Rear Adm. Mark P. Fitzgerald, commander of the Theodore Roosevelt's battle group, as the crew cheered.
About 5,500 sailors and Marines are aboard the Roosevelt, which departed Norfolk, Va., on Sept. 19 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. The carrier, which is due to return to Norfolk on Wednesday, was about 300 miles off the Virginia coast during the brief ceremony Tuesday.
The New York delegation included police from New York City and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Several New York members of Congress also attended the service, as did House Speaker Dennis Hastert.
The third firefighter, Daniel McWilliams, could not make it to the ship because he attended the funeral of a firefighter who died in the attack, said Michael J. Handy, military liaison for New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
The flag was signed by New York Gov. George Pataki and former Mayor Rudolph Giulani on Sept. 23 before it was presented to Adm. Robert J. Natter, commander in chief of the Atlantic Fleet. Natter directed that it be sent to the Roosevelt.
