Flag Burning

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Never let it be said that Congress does nothing useful. Why, it looks like the Senate is within a vote or two of passing a constitutional amendment to ban flag burning. That ought to put an end to the rampant and widespread flag desecration going on in this country:

Scenes of foreigners burning American flags may be common on TV, but such desecration is rare in this country. The Citizens Flag Alliance, an advocacy group that supports a constitutional amendment, reports a decline in flag desecration incidents, with only one this year.

But it’s one too many, no doubt! Here’s a question though. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) says we need to put an end to flag-burning because it’s “offensive conduct.” Right you are, Mr. Hatch. As is, by the way, flying the Confederate flag. So how many Senators want to take up a ban on the ol’ “Southern Cross,” do you think? Oh, right. Thought so.

WE'LL BE BLUNT:

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WE'LL BE BLUNT

We need to start raising significantly more in donations from our online community of readers, especially from those who read Mother Jones regularly but have never decided to pitch in because you figured others always will. We also need long-time and new donors, everyone, to keep showing up for us.

In "It's Not a Crisis. This Is the New Normal," we explain, as matter-of-factly as we can, what exactly our finances look like, how brutal it is to sustain quality journalism right now, what makes Mother Jones different than most of the news out there, and why support from readers is the only thing that keeps us going. Despite the challenges, we're optimistic we can increase the share of online readers who decide to donate—starting with hitting an ambitious $300,000 goal in just three weeks to make sure we can finish our fiscal year break-even in the coming months.

Please learn more about how Mother Jones works and our 47-year history of doing nonprofit journalism that you don't elsewhere—and help us do it with a donation if you can. We've already cut expenses and hitting our online goal is critical right now.

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