One thing to interject before I get back to my recap. Apparently There are 66 spineless, anti-American cowards in the US Senate.

I'm talking, of course, about the 66 pathetic demagogues that voted in favor of a constitutional amendment that would make it illegal to burn the American flag.

What a fucking knee-jerk disgrace this government has become. What exactly does it take to contort someone's brain into thinking that the way to protect the most powerful symbol of free speech that the world has ever known is to utilize censorship?

These people are pseudo-patriots. Cowards that favor empty gestures in favor of meaningful action.

Let's not fix health care. Let's not fix social security. Let's not fix education. Let's not make progress in Iraq and Afghanistan. Let's just demonize fags, demonize immigrants, demonize pot-smokers, and demonize anyone that has the balls to stand up to policies of the government that they think are wrong.

Let's protect a SYMBOL by shitting upon everything that that symbol used to stand for. Let's do exactly that.

Hat tip over to This good post at EvolutionBlog. Good quote:

One vote, folks. That's how stupid and right-wing this country has gotten. People who support flag-burning amendments are the sort of people who like their patriotism cheap, empty and emotional. No serious person could possibly think this is an important issue to be discussing now (or ever). There is absolutely no one who is losing sleep over the possibility that some disgruntled college student is going to burn a flag. It is designed solely as a sop to those people who think patriotism is found in protecting the symbols of the country, rather than in protecting the principles of the country. It's so much easier to support a flag-burning amendment and boast of your patriotism than it is to forthrightly address any of the real problems facing the nation.

Probably better than I could have put it, but I do my best, and I tend to lose eloquence when I'm this fucking pissed.