{"id":6466,"date":"2023-06-16T08:47:15","date_gmt":"2023-06-16T12:47:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/?p=6466"},"modified":"2023-06-16T08:47:19","modified_gmt":"2023-06-16T12:47:19","slug":"gilding-a-lilly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/2023\/06\/16\/gilding-a-lilly\/","title":{"rendered":"Gilding a Lilly"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Flag Law<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

While the twice impeached and indicted former President awaits trial, my Congressman here in Ohio is up to something much, much, more important.  He\u2019s out there, backing a law to require American flags used by the Federal government to be \u2013 wait for it \u2013 MADE IN AMERICA.   And even though Troy Balderson is a right-wing Republican, on the face of it this seems like a remarkably sound idea.  Of course, it\u2019s the symbol of our country. When the US Government  buys and flies it; the flag should be made in the USA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So that got me to thinking:\u00a0\u00a0why wouldn\u2019t the government buy \u201cmade in USA\u201d American flags? That means the United States; not Usa, Japan; or the thirty-seven places in the world called \u201cAmerica\u201d, and not in America.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Maybe, like shoes and computer chips, flags just aren\u2019t made in the US today.\u00a0\u00a0Ask the folks who used to work for US Shoe down in Cincinnati.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Or maybe the cost is prohibitively expensive, so much so that the national debt would balloon from All-American flags.\u00a0\u00a0Or\u2026maybe there\u2019s some nefarious \u201cwoke\u201d plot to buy Chinese or Russian or Burundian made American flags!!!!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Strange Bedfellows<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

 My personal rule is this: when I find myself in agreement with Balderson, and Elise Stefanik, and worst of all, Ted Cruz; I better start questioning what\u2019s going on.  So, I looked into the \u201cflag\u201d situation.  Here\u2019s what I learned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the Flag Manufacturers of America Association (FMofAA), 94% of American flags sold are MADE IN AMERICA (ours).\u00a0\u00a0Moreover, the FMofAA notes that the Department of Defense buy 100% made in America flags.\u00a0\u00a0The rest of the government buy flags that are at least one-half made in America. (Yeah, I don\u2019t quite know how that works, stars from Korea, stripes from Decatur).\u00a0\u00a0But, since 94% of the US flags sold in the US are made in the US, then I figure that while the government could find 50-50 flags; there more likely to buy good, old, Made in America flags, statistically speaking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In fact, it seems that my good Congressman from Zanesville (he was a car dealer there) is pulling a fast one here. Like the time I had to pay extra for a rearview mirror on my first Jeep (it wasn\u2019t standard equipment, neither was the back seat, and I never did get a radio).\u00a0\u00a0You see, they are implying a problem: \u201cWoke Democrat (sic) Government buys foreign American flags\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0It\u2019s like we need a LAW, on the books, part of the United States Code, to make sure some \u201cDemocrat\u201d Postmaster or ATF agent or GSA bureaucrat (Government Services Administration, they have 8,600 buildings, all with flags) isn\u2019t out buying cheap, knock-off, foreign made flags.\u00a0\u00a0But if they were, then the FMofAA would be raising (flag-pole joke) Hell about it, wouldn\u2019t they?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ain\u2019t Broke<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

When you get right down to it, the USA FLAG LAW is doing what Republican politicians seem to do best:\u00a0\u00a0fixing a problem that ain\u2019t a problem. It\u2019s like a law proposed here in Ohio to ban trans-gendered\u00a0girls athletes in high school. There are\u00a0only six<\/a>, a whole hand and a finger, playing in Ohio high school sports anyway.\u00a0\u00a0So we need to write a law banning those six?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So why is Cruz and Stefanik and Balderson all \u201cup\u201d about this \u201chorrific problem\u201d, even though the FMofAA statistics come from their own Congressional newsletter?  Because it\u2019s easy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They can say they support their \u201cLaw\u201d, without ever having to explain that it fixes a problem that ain\u2019t broke.  Just like it\u2019s easy for Republican state legislators to \u201csave\u201d high school girls\u2019 sports by telling six kids (out of 400,000 playing in Ohio) that they can\u2019t play.   Those Republican legislators, and the Congressmen and Senators on the \u201cUSA Flag Bill\u201d are \u201cplaying\u201d the voters.  They\u2019re \u201cstanding up\u201d for America, American jobs, and American pride.  And there doing so without paying a price. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Easy Way Out<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Flags are easy.  Computer chips, almost all made in Taiwan, are harder.  President Biden got the Chips Act passed, and in this next decade computer chip plants will open all over the United States.  That will create jobs, and ensure that we control a supply of this foundation product for America\u2019s economy.  Now that\u2019s a real problem, with a real fix, that required a real political price.  And while Joe Biden will remind us in the next election that he got this done, it\u2019s so much more than just a checkmark in the culture wars.  And it doesn\u2019t hurt anyone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chips were hard.  Flags are easy.   But what they\u2019re doing to those six girls should be a crime. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Flag Law While the twice impeached and indicted former President awaits trial, my Congressman here in Ohio is up to something much, much, more important.  He\u2019s out there, backing a law to require American flags used by the Federal government to be \u2013 wait for it \u2013 MADE IN AMERICA.   And even though Troy Balderson is … Continue reading “Gilding a Lilly”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"Here's an essay on Our America about the culture wars.","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6466","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nGilding a Lilly : Our America - Essays on Politics and American Life<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/2023\/06\/16\/gilding-a-lilly\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Gilding a Lilly : Our America - Essays on Politics and American Life\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Flag Law While the twice impeached and indicted former President awaits trial, my Congressman here in Ohio is up to something much, much, more important.  He\u2019s out there, backing a law to require American flags used by the Federal government to be \u2013 wait for it \u2013 MADE IN AMERICA.   And even though Troy Balderson is … Continue reading "Gilding a Lilly"\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/2023\/06\/16\/gilding-a-lilly\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Our America - 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