E Plebnista, Y'all!
Alabama's Republican nominee for US Senate, Roy Moore, who was removed from his post as chief justice of the state supreme court twice for refusing to obey higher court decisions, would like to offer his learned opinion on f'ball players taking a knee during the National Anthem to protest police killings of black people: They aren't allowed to do it, because the U.S. Code is the Law of the Land, and it says you have to stand for the anthem, no ifs, ands or buts. Moore revealed his highly nuanced understanding of the law in an interview with Time, where he said,
"It’s against the law, you know that?" he said. "It was a act of Congress that every man stand and put their hand over their heart. That’s the law."
Moore went on to say he supports Donald Trump 100 percent and then some when it comes to all this disrespect for the flag, because it's not what the players are protesting is important, only how, and there are some laws you just can't disobey, like the ones about flags and stuff:
"I back the President in upholding respect for the patriotism for our country, on two grounds," he said. "One, it’s respect for the law. If we don’t respect the law, what kind of country are we going to have? Two, it’s respect for those who have fallen and given the ultimate sacrifice. I’m surprised that no one brought this up."
He added that it's a matter of the "the rule of law."
Time, always a hotbed of radicalism, points out -- most likely in a deliberate act of sedition -- that the section of US Code in question "merely outlines proper etiquette, and there are no legal penalties outlined in the law." But it's a law nonetheless, and just because there's no penalty for disregarding etiquette, where would we be if people just willy-nilly started ignoring the law? Roy Moore has had him a good think over this:
"If they didn’t have it in there, it would just be tradition. But this is law," he said. "If we disobey this, what else are we going to disobey?
Who knows? Maybe serious stuff, like Supreme Court rulings, or the First Amendment? Those are just a couple of examples that pop to mind for some reason, Judge Slipperyslope.
[ Time ]
Right on! And while I'm typing I'll say my two cents about NPR's Morning Edition and their unwillingness to ask the follow-ups that get to the root of matters. David Green is particularly guilty in this matter, IMHO. My coffee-spattered kitchen is testimony to my frustration with NPR; I expect better from them but they seem to have joined the ranks of those "castrated journalists" as described by Upstate.
Then while Moore's in that closet, somebody nail the damn door shut!