Watching the Watchers Wednesday July 1, 2009

Sarah Palin Violates the U.S. Flag Code
by Rogers Cadenhead
Tuesday, June 30, 2009 at 08:02 PM

The August 2009 issue of Runner's World includes a Q&A with Alaska Gov.
Sarah Palin about her lifelong interest in jogging.

The story includes eight photos of Palin in running attire, and the last
one shows that Palin still has a knack for turning a harmless publicity
stunt -- like pardoning a turkey -- into a potential black eye. There's
a photo of Palin draping herself in the U.S. flag.


Palin's violating the U.S. Flag Code, which you can read on the American
Legion's site, in how that U.S. flag is treated in the photo. Under the
heading Respect for the Flag, the code states, "The flag should never
touch anything beneath it, such as the ground, the floor, water, or
merchandise." There's also a rule against using it as drapery.

Though adherance to the Flag Code is optional, some people take it
pretty seriously, as the American Flag wall of shame demonstrates, and a
lot of them are in what Palin would consider the "pro-America areas of
this great nation." You shouldn't drape it over a chair like a cover you
bought at Bed Bath and Beyond.

It's a wonder that Palin hasn't shot her publicity team from a helicopter.

Update: A commenter points out a picture of Palin wrapping herself in
the flag that was reprinted in Newsweek and taken by Wasilla, Alaska,
photographer Judy Patrick, who has included it in her Palin calendar.

http://watchingthewatchers.org/read/3535