The American Flag

published

I heard, years ago, about a rule prohibiting the use of the flag in advertising for any means. I committed this to memory, but never looked it up. No one ever believed me when I mentioned it, because I couldn’t cite a reference for it.

I looked this up after seeing a link to this page, which compares the latest updates from Kerry’s and Bush’s blogs side-by-side (ingenious, if you ask me!). It ticked me off that Bush was using the flag, and I decided to find out whether my memory was correct.

It turns out that George W. Bush’s website is in violation of the United States Code, Title 4, Chapter 1, Section 3. He owes $100, or thirty days in jail.

It’s hard for this layman to interpret the legalese as it applies to John Kerry’s website. Specifically, the US Code states:

Of course, since GWB is the standing president, he can modify the rules to exempt himself.

I’d be interested to know from a real legal perspective if my interpretation is correct. And if so, what relief can we pursue?


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