Officials Redirect Flag on Freedom Tower

[DoYouEverWonder]

December 21, 2006

NEW YORK -- An American flag plastered on the first steel column for the Freedom Tower at ground zero was removed Wednesday after the builders realized the stars and stripes were on the wrong side.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey removed the decal on the 31-foot column after The Associated Press and other media questioned the display, with the 50 stars on the right side instead of the left. Readers also called the AP after seeing the news agency's photograph of the column in Wednesday newspapers.

"When it's laying down, it's correct," said Bill Dolphin, 73, of Ocala, Fla. "When it gets lifted up into the air, the blue field should be on the other side."

Federal flag code requires that, whether displayed horizontally or vertically, the blue field displaying 50 stars is always on the left side to the viewer. When construction workers put the decal onto the column as it lay on the ground, the flag was horizontal and the stars were on the left, Port Authority spokesman Steve Coleman said.

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-attacks-freedom-flag,0,2992086.story?coll=sns-ap-nation-headlines


Oops.

[DRoseDARs]

1. Silliness, but whatever...

At least no one was signing their autograph on it or standing on it with the First Lady. :shrug:

[SpiralHawk]

5. Who could possibly be stupid enough to sign a flag, or otherwise defile it?

[Karmageddon]

9. Really, autographing a flag would be traitorous, wouldn't it?

Arrest this man!

[Cooley Hurd]

2. I really dislike the name "Freedom Tower..."

It reminds me of all that silliness a few years ago with "freedom fries," etc... They've turned the word "freedom" into a dumb slogan. Hopefully, someday, when the truth of this era is laid bare, they'll rename it something less jingoistic.

[Captain Hilts]

3. I really dislike the Freedom Tower itself. The WTC was ugly and no one wanted to work in it.

They couldn't fill it and they had a lot of government offices in it.

[TankLV]

12. Got any links to back up your claims? The WTC was over 90% occupancy last I read...

It was an interesting "sculpture" for two "shoe boxes"...

Very novel idea structurally, and then there was the height record thing...

But I agree - as an aesthetic, it could have been better...

[tanyev]

4. Yeah, well, you're not supposed to demean the flag by using

it on clothing and all sorts of cheap trinkets, but no one cares about that any more, either.

[DoYouEverWonder]

11. I remember when Johnny Carson

had Abbie Hoffman on has a guest once. This was back when Abbie decided to wear an American flag shirt all the time. Johnny did the interview but whenever the camera was on Abbie, all you saw at home was a blue screen.

Then the Repugs all started defacing the flag and forgot all about the laws against such things.

[soothsayer]

6. My friend's got a tattered outdoor flag, so must burn or bury it

(as that's the only way yer supposed to dispose of 'em). I think she'll burn it in her trash barrel (lives on a farm).

[LTR]

7. The VFW and Legion take old flags for disposal

If you really want to go there...

Just so long as they don't turn them into clothing.

[Bassic]

8. Have they actually started building now? nt

[DoYouEverWonder]

15. The event in the report

was to celebrate the start of construction of the French Fry Tower.

[damntexdem]

10. It would seem that on an actual flag, ...

that would depend on which way the wind is blowing.

[Nihil]

13. Shush!

Damn your logic Batman! Have you no sense of indignation?
:toast:

[POAS]

14. Only if you stand on the left. n/t