4 ms·

I don't know how much better I can do than copy/paste the exact statement as I did but the quote has nothing to do with my point and that is his claim Bush enac

I don't know how much better I can do than copy/paste the exact statement as I did but the quote has nothing to do with my point and that is his claim Bush enacted a law and the Senate passed a law that disallowed an art display. Neither of these are possible or true and, in fact, the article gives no reference to this. EDIT: I am unable to find any reference for the statement. It is said that George Bush called the art installment "disgraceful". Some US Senators said it would justify changing the law about desecration of the flag but no such change in the law was enacted (that I could find).

mikeash 8y ago
It’s absolutely possible for the Senate to pass such a law. It wouldn’t be the law of the land unless it also passed the House and was signed by the President, and even then it would be unenforceable, but that doesn’t mean they can’t pass it.
hluska 8y ago
First, if you want to do better, copy and paste entire sentences. The original sentence did not say that GHW Bush enacted a law. It says that the US Senate (in 1989) voted to enact a law. I'm struggling to find a source for the President's original statement. President GW Bush unfortunately made a statement about Dred Scott, and I'm only finding references to that statement. I'll keep digging and update this when I find the original statement. Everything started in 1968 when the original Flag Protection Act was passed in response to protests against the Vietnam War. In 1989, the Supreme Court of the United States released the Texas v Johnson decision, which held that burning a US flag was a form of speech protected under the US constitution. In response, Republican lawmakers introduced two measures. They introduced a flag desecration amendment to the constitution and the Flag Protection Act of 1989. The Flag Protection Act did pass, but the constitutional amendment didn't receive enough votes. I couldn't find one particularly good resource, but if you google "Flag Protection Act", the front page of results does a good job of telling the whole story from both Democratic and Republican sides. I'd recommend reading both sides of arguments because honestly, they're quite compelling on both sides. Here are WaPo stories about the votes, but they don't give the same kind of context that you'll find with better searches: https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1989/10/06/senate-votes-to-outlaw-flag-desecration/1387da07-b338-4cb2-b107-46eb7aacb706 https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1989/10/06/s... https://www.nytimes.com/1989/10/20/us/senate-rejects-amendment-outlawing-flag-desecration.html https://www.nytimes.com/1989/10/20/us/senate-rejects-amendme...
- sureaboutthis 8y ago
  Again, you are not paying attention to what I'm pointing to but you are finding out the problem I have with his statement by yourself. You and I both can't find anything to back up this guy's statements and you would think such an outrageous thing would be easily findable and it's not. Thus, we have a problem here.
  - dang 8y ago
    Please don't break the site guidelines by bickering like this on Hacker News. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
- masonic 8y ago
  (1968) Republican lawmakers Whom, exactly? Seems odd given that Democrats controlled both houses, and House Democrats voted in favor 211-16. (Congress.gov only goes back as far as the 93rd Congress.)

mikeash 8y ago

It’s absolutely possible for the Senate to pass such a law. It wouldn’t be the law of the land unless it also passed the House and was signed by the President, and even then it would be unenforceable, but that doesn’t mean they can’t pass it.

hluska 8y ago

First, if you want to do better, copy and paste entire sentences. The original sentence did not say that GHW Bush enacted a law. It says that the US Senate (in 1989) voted to enact a law. I'm struggling to find a source for the President's original statement. President GW Bush unfortunately made a statement about Dred Scott, and I'm only finding references to that statement. I'll keep digging and update this when I find the original statement. Everything started in 1968 when the original Flag Protection Act was passed in response to protests against the Vietnam War. In 1989, the Supreme Court of the United States released the Texas v Johnson decision, which held that burning a US flag was a form of speech protected under the US constitution. In response, Republican lawmakers introduced two measures. They introduced a flag desecration amendment to the constitution and the Flag Protection Act of 1989. The Flag Protection Act did pass, but the constitutional amendment didn't receive enough votes. I couldn't find one particularly good resource, but if you google "Flag Protection Act", the front page of results does a good job of telling the whole story from both Democratic and Republican sides. I'd recommend reading both sides of arguments because honestly, they're quite compelling on both sides. Here are WaPo stories about the votes, but they don't give the same kind of context that you'll find with better searches: https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1989/10/06/senate-votes-to-outlaw-flag-desecration/1387da07-b338-4cb2-b107-46eb7aacb706 https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1989/10/06/s... https://www.nytimes.com/1989/10/20/us/senate-rejects-amendment-outlawing-flag-desecration.html https://www.nytimes.com/1989/10/20/us/senate-rejects-amendme...

sureaboutthis 8y ago
Again, you are not paying attention to what I'm pointing to but you are finding out the problem I have with his statement by yourself. You and I both can't find anything to back up this guy's statements and you would think such an outrageous thing would be easily findable and it's not. Thus, we have a problem here.
- dang 8y ago
  Please don't break the site guidelines by bickering like this on Hacker News. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
masonic 8y ago
(1968) Republican lawmakers Whom, exactly? Seems odd given that Democrats controlled both houses, and House Democrats voted in favor 211-16. (Congress.gov only goes back as far as the 93rd Congress.)