**
DCG posted: " City: No 'Don't Tread on Me' flag on public land Yahoo:
NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. (AP) — A "Don't Tread on Me" flag hoisted by veterans
outside a city-owned armory has been ordered down because of complaints
that the defiant symbol of the American Revolution" Respond to this post
by replying above this line
New post on *Fellowship of the Minds*
<http://fellowshipofminds.wordpress.com/author/dcgere/> “Don’t Tread on
Me” flag is now
offensive<http://fellowshipofminds.wordpress.com/2013/04/27/dont-tread-on-me-flag-is-now-offensive/>
by
DCG <http://fellowshipofminds.wordpress.com/author/dcgere/>
[image:
liberal]<http://fellowshipofminds.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/liberal2.jpg>
City: No 'Don't Tread on Me' flag on public land
Yahoo<http://news.yahoo.com/city-no-dont-tread-flag-public-land-181020596.html>:
NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. (AP) — A "Don't Tread on Me" flag hoisted by veterans
outside a city-owned armory *has been ordered down because of complaints
that the defiant symbol* of the American Revolution
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Revolution>is now *associated with
the tea party and makes an unwelcome political statement*.
Veterans in New Rochelle, just north of New York City, are threatening to
sue, and a prominent conservative law firm has taken up the case. Some
residents are upset with city officials, and *a small town 60 miles away
has raised the flag — with its coiled snake and yellow field — in solidarity
*.
"They shouldn't be able to tell us what flag we can fly," said Peter
Parente, president of New Rochelle's United Veterans Memorial and Patriotic
Association. "They don't tell us what color flowers to put at the veterans'
graves."
But City Manager Charles Strome said: "They can fly whatever flag they want
at the VFW post, at their own homes, but anything displayed on public
property has to be determined by the municipality. *Anything that
could beoffensive to some people ought not to be on public property.
*"
Both sides agree that the veterans group had permission to take down a
tattered American flag at the vacant New Rochelle Armory and replace it
with a new one.
Parente said someone brought the "Don't Tread on Me" flag, also known as
the Gadsden flag <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gadsden_flag>, to a sunset
ceremony on March 21 and the veterans decided to fly it, *given the flag's
historic military connections*.
Several flags bearing a rattlesnake and the slogan were used during the
Revolution, according to the Naval History and Heritage Command website.
The rattlesnake was a common symbol for the United States and its
resistance to tyranny, and the first commander in chief of the Continental
Navy used the Gadsden flag in 1776, it says.
Since at least 2008, the flag has been used as an unofficial symbol of the
tea party, the loosely defined populist movement that supports reduced
government spending, lower taxes and reducing the national debt. The flag
is often seen flying at tea party rallies and at tax protests and
gun-rights rallies. In 2011, Arizona authorized a tea party license plate
featuring an image of it.
[image: tread]<http://fellowshipofminds.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/tread.jpg>
The flag's tea party association *has prompted complaints in recent years*.
At the Gettysburg Museum & Visitor Center bookstore, a shopper objected to
the National Park Service selling Gadsden flag shot glasses, mugs, magnets
and pins. In Folly Beach, S.C., the mayor got complaints because the flag
was on a crane at a bridge-repair project. A Bethel, Conn., selectman said
residents complained when a private citizen raised the Gadsden flag along
with other historic banners on public property.
Parente said raising the flag at the New Rochelle Armory *had nothing to do
with the tea party*. "No one mentioned it," he said. "I don't think anyone
knew. There is no organized tea party in New Rochelle."
Strome said he wasn't aware of the tea party link either, "but we got a few
complaints that it was affiliated." He said he did his own research and
concluded, *"They've basically taken the flag and written tea party all
over it."*
Strome said he told the veterans it would have to be removed. But after
they presented him with information about the flag's long history, *he said
he agreed to hold off until he could check with city council members*. "The
majority preferred to have the flag come down," he said, and *city workers
removed it a week after it went up*.
At an April 9 council meeting, members voted 5-2 against putting the flag
back up. *It was a party-line vote with a Democratic majority.*
Councilman Jared Rice said the flag now symbolizes "a brand of politics
that's *very offensive to a lot of people in America* and a lot of people
in New Rochelle," *which is more than 60 percent Democratic*.
After the vote, several residents, one almost in tears, spoke in support of
the veterans. A woman said her grandfather, father and uncle were all
veterans, and she told council members, "You have disrespected them by
taking down the flag."
Parente said the Thomas More Law Center in Ann Arbor, Mich., contacted him
and offered legal support. The center's president and chief counsel,
Richard Thompson, said Friday that *the city has violated due process,
equal protection and free speech*. Unless the flag is raised again at the
armory, "I expect it to go to federal court," he said.
Thompson said the veterans didn't have specific permission to raise the
Gadsden flag, but they never needed specific permission to raise the Stars
and Stripes on city property, either.
"They had, in our mind, the authority to put up the Gadsden flag, *which is
an American flag*," he said. The Gadsden flag is "a part of our history
that the tea party cannot take away. It's quintessential America."
Karl Brabenec, supervisor of the Town of Deerpark in Orange County, said he
was at a gun rights rally when he heard about the New Rochelle dispute. His
town put up a donated "Don't Tread on Me" flag on April 15 and "it will
probably fly there forever," he said.
The whole episode is "a slap in the face of veterans," Brabenec said. "This
is a historical flag. It represents freedom and sacrifice."
[image: Jack flown by US
vessels]<http://fellowshipofminds.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/jack.png>
Jack flown by US vessels
Don't these Democratic fools know that the "Don't Tread on Me" flag is also
the Jack of the United
States<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_of_the_United_States>?
This is the maritime flag of the United States. The flag is also used by
the ships of the US Navy, Coast Guard, Military Sealift Command, National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and other governmental entities. It
is also the patch worn on the right sleeve by US Naval personnel in
camouflage uniform.
But never mind the history or true meaning of the flag - anything to
discredit the Tea Party trumps common sense. Patriotism is* sooo* offensive
to somebody, particularly liberals.
h/t Anon
DCG
*DCG <http://fellowshipofminds.wordpress.com/author/dcgere/>* | April 27,
2013 at 3:30 am | Categories:
Conservatives<http://fellowshipofminds.wordpress.com/?cat=35268289>,
Liberals/Democrats/Left<http://fellowshipofminds.wordpress.com/?cat=115894710>,
Tea Party <http://fellowshipofminds.wordpress.com/?cat=34918731> | URL:
http://wp.me/pKuKY-lpU
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