(The following is from Mike Kerr, Executive Director of the Honor Run, 06/01/2009)
To All Honor Run supporters;
This is a call to additional action by all those who support the Honor Run and who support the right of Americans to fly the American Flag!!!
On Friday of this week, ABC News will be doing a story on the Honor Run’s effort to fly 1,000 American Flags along Interstate 5 in California over the Labor Day Weekend and during the Honor Run’s ride through California. This has never been done before in the State of California. Three years ago the State of California told me I would be arrested for placing 350 American Flags along this same stretch of Interstate. I was told “if we let you fly the American Flag then we would have to let Sadam Hussein fly his flag”. I told them “go ahead and arrest me”. Fortunately the Marine Corps came to the rescue and let us plant the flags one inch inside the Camp Pendleton fence line clearly visible from the Interstate.
Once again this year the State of California has denied us the right to plant an American Flag along the Interstate. ABC News has seen fit to do a report on the absurdity of the fact that the state would deny COMBAT VETERANS the right to plant an American Flag on American soil.
We need all of you to go to www.firstgiving.org/gratefulpatriot1 and make a $20.00 donation to sponsor a flag. If you have already done this please do it again. ABC News will by showing this page on their segment as a way to motivate other patriots around the country to stand up and tell the State of California how we feel. ALSO, I AM PLEADING WITH EACH OF YOU TO FORWARD THE LINK www.firstgiving.org/gratefulpatriot1 to a minimum of 5 friends asking them to personally support this effort.
If we can get the State of California to stand up and take notice of what we want to do by showing the depth of grassroots support we have it will be a great day for all patriots around the nation.
Please go on line and just donate 20.00 bucks and pass it on to five friends. EVERY DOLLAR YOU DONATE WILL GO TO SUPPORT THE CONSTRUCTION OF A FISHER HOUSE AND TO PROVIDE SCHOLARSHIPS FOR THE CHILDREN OF OUR FALLEN AND WOUNDED WARRIORS. SEE WWW.THEHONORRUN.ORG FOR DETAILS.
better yet. Tell HOG that California does not allow more then 350 flags along a stretch of highway because CA is afraid of other flags. I bet the HD riders will come out of the wood work and individually plant a flag.
And people ask why some vets have anger issues when they get home from a long deployment... what country am I coming home to again? Thought it was the land of the free...
I got out just in time in 07. Theres no intelegence left there. Daily you hear of some absurd bunch of beaurocrat BS just degrading California into the ground. I think most people who are not from there wish they would Cecede from the United States......serrious.... They are what ? the 7th largest economy or something in the world? Well its not looking to good for them. All the liberal nutcases conglomerate there it seems, all the queers, and illegals and just run of the mill malcontents. Dont get me wrong, I was born there and lived there 50 years, and in that time go from a friendly folksy place to what you have now. They pretty much got what they were looking for, a place where anything goes, no restraints, no morals, no curtesy, its all come home to stay. The poverty, greed, and septic conditions that All the Mexican way of life, just another suburb of Mexico. Now every nut case bunch is demanding their rights and demanding action against anyone contrary to their beliefs. A pure pit California...... It's too late to fix, and will oneday be another Bangladesh. I know I'm about to cross some of you that live there still, but so be it...... theres truth in everything I say and you cant deny it, but for the native Californians, my sympathies. YEA I'M A VET AND THAT IS PURE BULL CRAP period. The day you cant fly a flag around here I will go into Gurrilla mode. you can count on that.........
Before we get too spun up . . . I'd like to see the letter or know who said the:
quote:
I was told “if we let you fly the American Flag then we would have to let Sadam Hussein fly his flag”. I told them “go ahead and arrest me”.
This may be a bunch of ado about nothing. The best thing I can do is . . . well, to do something about it and 10 of those flags flying will be mine to restock my "flags for deployed folks" stock.
If there is any problem, I have no concerns about planting the flag alongside I-5 near San Onefre and standing tall with it.
WHile I understand what they are trying to do, and the point they are trying to make. I can't help but feel that everyone's $20 would be better spent going to something like http://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/
You want to know who is responsible for this? Surprise! It isn't the "queers and illegals" and it isn't the "liberal nutcases."
This all stems from a ruling made by Ronald Whyte, United States Judge for the Northern District of California, who in 2002 decided that no American flags could be flown along the freeways. More accurately--Caltrans cannot exclude the flag from it's blanket ban of unapproved roadside displays.
WHile I understand what they are trying to do, and the point they are trying to make. I can't help but feel that everyone's $20 would be better spent going to something like http://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/
Johnnylunchbox, the Wounded Warrior Project appears to be a very worthy cause - thank you for the link.
FYI, the "Fly an American Flag in Honor" fundraiser referenced in Mr. Kerr's letter at the beginning of this thread is just one part of the upcoming Honor Run, a nationwide fundraising and awareness event in honor of American servicemen and women killed or injured in the line of duty, and their families.
The California Honor Run is a Motorcycle and Hot Rod Touring event to honor our veterans. This event is sponsored by Gratitude In Motion and organized by the 1st Marine Division Association and Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 785. We have requested permission to transit Marine Base Camp Pendleton as part of our recognition and Gary Sinise and his "Lieutenant Dan Band" are currently scheduled to entertain participants at the end of the run. The event will be conducted on September 5, 2009 in the Southern California region, but will draw participants from across the USA.
Proceeds from this event will benefit the following charities:
what basis do they think that they have to let an Iraqi fly his flag? 1) he is disposed and gone 2) Its America 3) Nowhere in the Constitution does it limit your freedom of expression because if we let you do it, we would have to let everyone else do it.
Fricken revisionist bueracrats, they really ought to read that document sometime.
I am off to look for a sticker of the "Dont Tread on Me" flag. Apparently the Stars and Bars of Old Glory are "Offensive"
I am proudly wearing my "Join or Die" t-shirt, today. I guess I'm a subversive. Oh well.
I heard discussion on an XM talk radio station about a woman that was forced to remove a small American flag from her desk because one of her co-workers, an immigrant, said it was offensive. I'm sure this kind of stuff happens more often than we'd care to believe.
I heard about that too, but it was not a small flag, it was a giant flag, it took up a good portion of a wall of the office that she shared with two other people.
A minor point, as the flag was removed because it "offended" not because it was huge.
The company has invited her to put the flag back up.
The flag is often associated with the Right of revolution. This current use of the flag has caught the government's attention. Some authorities now label the Gadsden flag as "Extremist". Reports from Louisiana say that a man was detained by police for driving with a "Don't Tread on Me" bumper sticker on his vehicle.[3]