Lawmaker pushes for flags made in the U.S.A.

Sunday, July 08, 2007 By Trish G. Graber

TRENTON If the state’s paying for a flag with taxpayer dollars, it better say “Made in the U.S.A.”

That’s the message Assemblyman Jeff Van Drew began pushing after discovering a flag in a Statehouse office that was crafted in China.

“If our own government can’t fly a flag that was produced in our country, then something is wrong,” said Van Drew, D-1 of Millville.

Van Drew checked the flag out of sheer curiosity after the issue of foreign-made flags was brought to his attention by a veteran.

And, according to the United States Census Bureau, it’s not uncommon.

In 2006, the bureau reported, $5.3 million worth of American flags were imported to the United States, $5 million of them from China.

Van Drew’s bill, which has more than 30 co-sponsors, would make it illegal for the state to buy a foreign-made New Jersey or American flag.

Tennessee has enacted a similar law. Minnesota’s ban on foreign-made American flags will take effect at the end of the year.

For Van Drew and the co-sponsors including Assemblymen Paul Moriarty, David Mayer, Douglas Fisher, John Burzichelli and Nelson Albano it just makes sense.

And for some residents, like Vietnam veteran Gene Timmons, of Gloucester County, the issue hits close to home.

Two years ago at the funeral of his aunt, a World War II nurse, a Cape May undertaker supplied the 5-by-9-1/2 foot casket flag.

Much to his surprise, when Timmons received the folded flag, the tag read “Made in Taiwan.”

“It was a disgrace,” he said.

Timmons, who sells flags distributed by East Coast Flag and Banner, refuses to handle those made in foreign countries.

“Men are dying for this flag and it is made in another country,” Timmons said. “I can’t see it.”

Van Drew’s bill would only prohibit the purchase of foreign-made flags by the state. The measure passed the Assembly unanimously in June and is pending in the Senate.

Governors have control over federal flags

WASHINGTON, July 3 A new U.S. law requires that all federal buildings in a state fly U.S. flags at half-staff at the request of that state’s governor.

U.S. President George W. Bush last week signed the measure into law, which amends the Flag Code, The New York Times reported Monday.

The piece of legislation was the result of complaints from the families of fallen soldiers, who were upset to see flags on federal buildings flying high after their respective governors had ordered U.S. flags in the state be flown at half-staff to honor the dead.

“This legislation will ensure consistency in how we honor fallen heroes,” said Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., who sponsored the legislation. “While in many cases the local federal employees want to observe the governors’ orders, they may not have received the appropriate directive from their regional offices.”

But the issue of whether to lower the flag every time a local soldier is killed has sparked controversy, with some saying they feel it is an appropriate way to honor the dead and others saying the gesture loses its meaning if it is done too frequently.

States Move to Require U.S. Flags are Made in U.S.A.

At American Legion Post 65, visitors can drop off worn U.S. flags knowing they’ll be disposed of with the proper respect. On their way out, they can buy a new 3-by-5 flag for $20 or a 4-by-6-footer for $30.Made in America, of course.

“That’s our flag. It belongs here in the United States; it should be made in the United States,” Air Force veteran Bob Racette said while fingering a flag in a corner of the legion hall bar.

By year’s end, a new law will require every Old Glory sold in Minnesota stores to be American made. It’s the latest and strongest attempt by states to stem imports of foreign-made U.S. flags.

In Arizona, schools and public colleges were required starting July 1 to outfit every classroom from junior high up with a made-in-the-USA flag. Tennessee requires all U.S. flags bought via state contract to be made here, and similar bills are moving forward in both New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

The Fourth of July is considered peak season for flag sales with millions of them lining parade routes and flying above back yard barbecues.

Most of the major domestic flag makers are privately held companies that don’t release their sales figures, so it’s difficult to gauge the inroads being made by foreign manufacturers.

The U.S. Census bureau estimates that $5.3 million worth of U.S. flags were imported from other countries in 2006, mostly from China. That figure has been steady over the past few years. The big exception was in 2001 when $51.7 million in U.S. flags were brought into the country, most on the heels of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Sandy Van Leiu, chairman of the Flag Manufacturers Association of America, said the imports are cause for concern even though U.S. companies still dominate the flag market.

“That door is going to keep opening,” said Van Leiu, a sixth-generation executive at the family-owned Annin & Co., a 160-year-old business that supplies retailers like Wal-Mart. “It starts small, then it gets big. You’re just opening Pandora’s box.”

To help consumers identify the origin of their flags, the association created a certification program two years ago that bestows a seal-of-approval logo to flags made with domestic fibers and labor.

Whether Minnesota’s law violates international trade agreements — and whether anything would be done about it — is an open question.

Under World Trade Organization standards, the U.S. government can’t treat foreign products less favorably than those produced within its boundaries, said Peter Morici, a business professor at the University of Maryland and the former chief economist for the U.S. International Trade Commission. How the rules apply to states is debatable, he said.

Morici said a foreign business harmed by the law would have to get its government to take action against the U.S. government. Robert Litan, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution think tank, said while the likelihood of Minnesota’s law sparking a dispute is slim the symbolic message is hard to miss.

“It’s symptomatic of an anti-foreign bias moving through the country right now. It would not surprise me if other states copied it,” Litan said. “It’s hard to oppose politically.”

When the bill was debated this spring, some legislators argued it sent the wrong message to close Minnesota’s borders to foreign-produced flags.

“That flag should be made throughout the world because it is our message to the world that there is hope for freedom and justice,” Republican Rep. Dan Severson said at the time.

The law’s sponsor, Democratic Rep. Tom Rukavina, said the flag deserves extra protection. To celebrate his legislative victory, he plans to hand out 1,000 miniature flags at Fourth of July parades in his district.

“The biggest honor that you can give the flag is that it be made by American workers in the United States of America,” he said. “Nothing is more embarrassing to me than a plastic flag made in China. This replica of freedom we so respect should be made in this country.”

The new law doesn’t spell out a penalty for violators. In Minnesota, the default punishment for prohibited acts is a misdemeanor offense, carrying up to a $1,000 fine and 90 days in jail.

Law requires agencies to fly flags as ordered

Law requires agencies to fly flags as ordered

 

July 3, 2007

BY TODD SPANGLER

FREE PRESS WASHINGTON STAFF

WASHINGTON — When 22-year-old Army Spec. Joseph Micks of Rapid River, Mich., was killed in Iraq last July, Gov. Jennifer Granholm ordered flags across the state flown at half-staff. But some federal agencies ignored her.

Now, they can’t.

President George W. Bush signed legislation late last week requiring federal agencies to comply with any governor’s order to lower flags to half-staff in honor of military men and women who fall in the line of duty.

Micks’ Upper Peninsula congressman, Bart Stupak, sponsored the legislation, saying it ensures local offices won’t be waiting for a directive from their regional offices to lower their flags.

“The least our government can do is ensure we honor the family in a manner that is befitting of their profound loss,” said Stupak, a Menominee Democrat, who named the new law for Micks.

Micks was killed, according to a release last summer by Granholm’s office, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle during combat operations in Ramadi.

Stupak’s legislation puts to rest a question that has been raised several times since Granholm issued a proclamation in 2003 requiring flags to be lowered in honor of fallen military personnel.

Even Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson balked at first, wondering if by lowering the flags, officials could undermine support for what he called the war on terrorism. He later agreed to lower the flags on government buildings after a veteran met with him and said it was an appropriate way to honor the men and women who fall in war.

The Free Press has identified 163 service men and women with Michigan ties who have died in Iraq.

On improper flag displays

Lewis flags those with improper displays

By Zandy Dudiak, Staff Writer
Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Sometimes, Cal Lewis embarrasses his wife and children with his love and respect for the American flag.

“I’ll stop at people’s homes and tell them they have the flag improperly displayed,” Lewis says. “Often, they’re just ignorant to the fact.”

Once, with the family along, Lewis pulled over his car on Frankstown Road in Penn Hills after seeing a flag displayed incorrectly. The resident was not home but Lewis did his patriotic duty.

He left a note.

Another time, he called the U.S. Army after a Penn State football game to inform the sergeant in charge that the ROTC color guard had reversed the order of the U.S. and Pennsylvania flags. Even though the game was nationally televised, Lewis was the only person to spot the mistake.

This is National Flag Week, a time when citizens are encouraged to display the flag. Flag Day, which is celebrated tomorrow, June 14, commemorates the day the Continental Congress adopted the stars and stripes as the official flag of the United States.

Lewis, who joined the Army in 1971 and plans to retire on June 24 as a master sergeant with the U.S. Army Reserves, says he has been into flags “as long as I can remember.” His father served in World War II and he grew up with patriotism flowing in his veins.

In his other role, as a U.S. history teacher at Woodland Hills High School in Churchill, he has the chance to share that pride in country with his students.

Lewis spent Monday and Tuesday this week teaching the same closing lesson he does each year.

The final two days, when students generally are counting the minutes until the last bell rings, those in Lewis’ classroom are counting to make sure there are 13 folds — one for each of the original U.S. colonies — as they learn to prepare a flag for storage.

Armed with yardsticks instead of rifles, two students serve as color guards as Lewis has others carry flags in the order in which they are to be displayed.

As the lesson unfurls, the students learn about flag history and etiquette.

He’s found students are eager to learn about the flag — his personal trademark. His classroom is decorated with flags he’s collected for each of the original colonies, colonial flags, military and state flags.

“Being in the room throughout the year, the students learn respect for the flag,” Lewis says.

His lessons touch home as he points out some common mistakes people make when displaying the flag.

“I give the kids all kinds of situations,” Lewis says. “It’s part of being a good citizen.”

For instance, as he was headed home to Washington Township, Lewis noticed that the Arby’s on Route 286 in Plum did not have the flag illuminated at night, as required. After he enlightened the management, the restaurant lit up the stars and stripes.

Another time, he spotted the McDonald’s flag flying above Old Glory at the restaurant on Northern Pike in Monroeville. The flag order was flipped quicker than a fast-food burger.

And he pulled rank early one morning when he saw an elementary school in Monroeville flying the flag upside down — a recognized emergency signal. Serving with the Pennsylvania National Guard at the time, Sgt. Lewis pulled into the parking lot and asked his fellow educators if they were, indeed, in distress that day.

When the late U.S. District Judge Gerald Weber ordered the merger of five local school districts in 1981, some of the schools flew the flag upside down in protest at the start of the new school year in the New District, as it was called before it claimed the name Woodland Hills.

“Not at my school,” says the then-Turtle Creek resident, who made sure Swissvale High School did the right thing.

The United States Code spells out how to give proper respect to our nation’s symbol of freedom. Title 36, Chapter 10 of the code states, “the flag represents a living country and is itself considered a living thing.”

The flag should never touch the ground or floor, or be flown in bad weather unless it is an all-weather flag.

Old Glory should always be allowed to fall free and never be used to carry, store or delivery anything.

When covering a casket, the stars should be at the head and over the left shoulder.

Lewis says one of the myths students believe is that once a flag touches the ground, it should be burned. That isn’t true.

Other questions arise concerning when to fly the flag at half staff. Only the U.S. president or state governor can order a flag flown at half staff.

On Memorial Day, he says the flag should be raised to the top of the pole, then lowered to half staff until noon. Then the flag is raised to wave in the wind the rest of the day.

When it comes to patriotic decorating, there are some things that go too far, such as napkins and paper plates with a flag design. Because they are disposable, Lewis says throwing them away is akin to “defacing the flag.”

Lewis reminds students that when the Star Spangled Banner is played, they should remove their hats, place their hands over their hearts and stand facing either the flag or music if the flag is not visible.

Lewis says he has never had a student who didn’t stand for the Pledge of Allegiance.

One time, though, a transfer student from McKeesport wouldn’t stand — until Lewis told him that some fellow soldiers who had completed basic training with him had been killed in Vietnam. He asked the student to stand out of respect for them and he did every day after that.

For his annual yearbook staff photo, Lewis brings his own flag for the background.

And he always carries a small copy of the U.S. Constitution and a booklet, “Our Flag,” in his sports coat pocket, under his flag lapel pin, next to his heart.

300 Flags Retired – TN

Friday, 06/15/07 300 flags retired during ceremony Flag Day ritual draws veterans, honors Old Glory By CHANTAL ESCOTO Gannett Tennessee

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. — Whenever Tip Gibson saw a U.S. flag being mishandled, it was time to make an “on the spot correction,” his family said.

That’s why it was so important for his widow, Myrtle Gibson, and her son, Gene Gibson, to honor Old Glory on Flag Day.
“He was never able to see it fly,” Myrtle Gibson said about her husband, who had planted the pole but never flew his large American flag. He died Feb. 15, 2005, and the flag flew at half staff during his funeral.

Tip Gibson served 20 years in the Army and drove for the Montgomery County Veterans Van Service for 15 years. “The flag was such a big subject for him,” she said.

And it was Tip Gibson’s reverence for the flag that left such a big impact on his son.

“He had a lot of respect for the flag and what it stood for,” said Gene Gibson, who retired from the Air Force. “He instilled it in us, too.”

Myrtle Gibson watched proudly Thursday as her son gently tossed his father’s flag into the fire in a 50-gallon metal drum.

About 300 worn and tattered flags were retired in a dignified burning during the Flag Day ceremony at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post No. 4895 on Haynes Street.

Event organizer David Ross, who works with the Montgomery County Veterans Service Organization, said it’s important to give the flag a proper ritual before disposing of it.

“Anytime you have a celebration like Flag Day, you have to remember our circumstances,” said Ross, also a Vietnam War veteran and Purple Heart recipient.

“We’re a nation at war, and we have soldiers deployed in harm’s way,” Ross said.

“When you take an oath as a soldier, you defend your country and your flag. Because the 101st Airborne Division so close — we make this an important event.”

Flag Day was designated at the National Flag Conference Meeting in Washington, D.C., on June 14, 1923, by various patriotic organizations. After World War I, the goal was to have an official document outlining how the U.S. flag is to be honored, with specific instructions on how to fly it, fold it, carry it and retire it.

IT’S ONLY MY OPINION: Where have all the flags gone?

By Stanley P. Gershbein

I am standing here looking at the Stars and Bars waving in the breeze across my terrace rail and I was just thinking – Old Glory, Stars and Stripes, the Colors – call it what you want. It’s the American Flag and today is Flag Day. Many years ago I was one of the few people on my block that owned a flag. I would display that four foot banner every Memorial Day, July 4th, and, of course, Flag Day. I would say Presidents’ Day but I go back to the time when we celebrated the birthdays of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln on two separate days and I displayed the colors on both. I now hang the flag from my terrace for the entire week, being careful to remove it in the evening and put it back in the morning as per proper flag protocol. I remember seeing flags at one house across the street and about five more up the block. That’s all. Then came 9/11. Everybody bought flags. We bought flags for our lapels. Flags hung from plastic brackets on the back door frames of our cars. Flags of all sizes hung from our windows, stoops, and porches. There were so many flags being sold that the flag manufacturers had a hard time keeping up with the demand. Then, as the sights of the two airplanes crashing into the World Trade Center and the scenes of people running from clouds of smoke on that horrific day drifted further back in our memories, so did our need to display our patriotic feelings. Now, please. I did not mean to imply that we are not patriotic. I am saying that we stopped displaying our feelings. There’s nothing wrong with displaying a symbol, a sign, an emblem …A FLAG … to remind us that despite the shortcomings, this is the greatest nation in the world. I know all about the millions of people from all over the planet who would gladly risk their lives to come here. I don’t know of one single person who wants to leave.

Bill OKs Lowering Flags When Troops Die

By JIM ABRAMS

The Associated Press
Friday, June 15, 2007; 9:58 AM

WASHINGTON — Legislation passed by Congress would require all federal agencies in a state to comply with a governor’s request that they fly their flags at half-staff to honor a fallen service member.

The bill, which now goes to President Bush for his signature, was crafted by Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., who was upset by what he said was the “inconsistent, patchwork display of respect” in his state toward troops killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The House passed the bill in May and the Senate approved it late Thursday _ Flag Day _ on a voice vote.

The measure would amend federal law with regard to the flying of the national flag at half-staff to allow a governor to require that federal facilities in the state lower their flags when a member of the armed forces from that state dies while on active duty.

It is named for Army Specialist Joseph P. Micks, a 22-year-old from Rapid River in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan who was killed in Iraq last year.

Stupak said there were several instances in his state of federal facilities ignoring the governor’s request to lower flags, and this was particularly painful in rural communities when funeral facilities pass through multiple communities, some with lowered flags, some without.

In the Senate, the bill was backed by Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin, D-Mich., who said that flying the flag at half-staff was “one of the most powerful ways we honor those who have made the ultimate sacrifice.”

More than 3,800 Members of the military have died as a result of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

___

The bill is H.R. 692

On the Net:

Congress: http://thomas.loc.gov/

Texas Governor Perry Directs Flags to be Lowered In Memory of Wyoming Senator Craig Thomas

Jun. 05, 2007 — AUSTIN – Texas Governor Rick Perry today issued notification that pursuant to federal law provisions, flags should be flown at half-staff at state buildings in memory of United States Senator Craig Thomas of Wyoming, who died Monday.

“Anita and I send our deepest condolences and prayers to the family of Senator Craig Thomas during this time of great loss,” Perry said.

This directive applies to all U.S. and state flags under the control of the state. Flags will be at half-staff on the state Capitol Building and on flag displays in the Capitol Complex, and upon all public buildings, grounds and facilities throughout the state until sunset today.

Individuals, businesses, municipalities, counties and other political subdivisions are encouraged to fly the flag at half-staff for the same length of time as a sign of respect.

Veterans replace broken flags – Binghamton, NY

 By John Hill
Press & Sun-Bulletin

JOHNSON CITY –Vandals broke hundreds of American flags at Floral Park Cemetery this week, and Dick Slate has a car full of them to prove it.

“I just can’t believe … anybody would want to do it,” said Slate, a Vietnam veteran who served in the Navy, and a member of Johnson City Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2332.

On Wednesday, the 63rd anniversary of D-Day, flags with broken wooden stems filled the truck and a large cardboard box in the backseat of Slate’s green Pontiac.

Each year in the week before Memorial Day, members of the VFW place new flags at the graves of veterans buried in the Johnson City cemetery, Slate said.

About six members revisited the graves Wednesday to replace the broken flags with new ones. The group obtains the flags from Broome County, said Slate.

The veterans found broken flags across the entire cemetery — from the front, where soldiers from the Civil War are buried, to the back, where more recently dead veterans lie. Virtually every flag in the cemetery was snapped, Slate said.

Doug Moore, a veteran from Johnson City, was still finding broken flags around 7 p.m., after hundreds had already been replaced.

“Your immediate feeling is not mad,” said Moore, of Johnson City, who served in the Navy. “It’s sad — it’s just sad.”

Johnson City police are looking into the incident, which occurred sometime this week. Police also said they would step up patrols in the cemetery.

Anyone with information about the broken flags can call the Johnson City Police Department at 729-9321.