Defense Dept. puts into effect Mike Thompson’s law calling for stateside production of Old Glory
Several years ago, U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson, the Napa Democrat, stopped by North Bay Industries, a Rohnert Park organization that employs learning-disabled people to make American flags.
He asked the nonprofit agency whether any government agency was buying those flags. The answer was no.
In fact, he learned, only the Department of Veterans Affairs has been required to buy American-made star-spangled banners used in service members’ funerals.
Thompson decided that had to change.
The Department of Defense finally has agreed with Thompson, who authored legislation mandating that each American flag DOD buys should be made in the United States.
The decision was announced Monday.
As far back as 2013, Thompson, Benicia’s representative in the U.S. House, began introducing legislation based on the Berry Amendment to the American Flag.
The Berry Amendment, originally passed in 1941, prohibits DOD funds from being used to acquire food, clothing, military uniforms, fabrics, stainless steel and hand or measuring tools that are not grown or produced in the U.S., except in rare exceptions. Thompson has been seeking to have the same rules apply to the DOD’s acquisition of American flags, which previously were not listed as a covered item.
He introduced the bipartisan-supported provision as part of H.R. 2397, legislation that passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 315-109, but failed in the Senate.
Thompson’s provision passed as part of H.R. 3547, the Fiscal Year 2014 omnibus appropriations bill President Barack Obama signed in January.
It requires every American flag bought by the DOD to be 100-percent manufactured in the United States from articles, materials, or supplies that are 100-percent grown, produced or manufactured in the U.S.
“This Pentagon rule implements my legislation to make sure every American flag DOD buys is made in America, by American workers with American products,” said Thompson, who served in Vietnam.
“As a veteran myself, I am proud that because of this legislation, our brave men and women in uniform will never again have to serve under a non-American-made U.S. flag.”
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I purchase all my flags, personal and business from Dixie Flag out of San Antonio. Even though I’m not found of their name, they are Made in the USA.
As a veteran of Vietnam I hope the Congressman is concerned that a foreign policy of appeasement (especially regarding Iran) can only lead to something much worse.
From the above commenter: “As a veteran of Vietnam I hope the Congressman is concerned that a foreign policy of appeasement (especially regarding Iran) can only lead to something much worse.”
Question: Much worse than what?
Below more information on our Congressman for the community to consider…
Nearly 60 Lawmakers Boycott Netanyahu Speech
Lawmakers condemn Speaker Boehner’s efforts to ‘politicize foreign policy’
http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/03/03/nearly-60-lawmakers-boycott-netanyahu-speech
Rep.: Make military’s U.S. flags in U.S.
Defense Dept. puts into effect Mike Thompson’s law calling for stateside production of Old Glory
Question: Will our Representative and our Defense Dept. also demand that our foreign policy negotiations be made without foreign interference?
From the above commenter: “As a veteran of Vietnam I hope the Congressman is concerned that a foreign policy of appeasement (especially regarding Iran) can only lead to something much worse.”
Question: Much worse than what? The Middle East is already a tinder box. How much more blood and treasure is enough?
Below: an interesting, detailed, informative article on how a select group of our representatives (aided by boatloads of money) feel they can try to influence ongoing negotiations for a peaceful resolution of Iran’s nuclear program .
“Republicans Overreach: Part Deux”
“Of course, the story of the day on the Iran front is the publication of what its authors titled, “An Open Letter to the Leaders of the Islamic Republic of Iran.” It was signed by 47 Republican senators led by freshman Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton, who, as reported by LobeLog, received nearly $1 million in advertising support from Bill Kristol’s Emergency Committee for Israel (ECI) in the closing days of last November’s campaign. The basic thrust of the letter is to warn the recipients that, once President Barack Obama leaves office in January 2017, any deal that he and his P5+1 partners may have reached with Iran regarding the latter’s nuclear program could be revoked “with the stroke of a pen.”
The Democrats’ number two, Sen. Dick Durbin, warned that Republicans “should think twice about whether their political stunt is worth the threat of another war in the Middle East,” while the ranking member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Dianne Feinstein, was quite direct in her assessment of the letter
“This is a highly inappropriate and unprecedented incursion into the president’s prerogative to conduct foreign affairs and is not befitting this chamber. This letter only serves one purpose—to destroy an ongoing negotiation to reach a diplomatic agreement in its closing days.”
http://www.lobelog.com/republican-overreach-part-deux/
Will,
It’s unfortunate but the issue isn’t just the Middle East. When our foreign policy is, in effect, appeasement, the message to our enemies (and the enemies of freedom everywhere) is that they can do anything they want. That message is an invitation to aggression. Frankly, I’m afraid that they’ve come to believe that we will do NOTHING in response – even if they were to attack US.. Keep in mind, Will, that the victims of that won’t just be the children and grandchildren of the people with whom you disagree.
Rep.: Make military’s U.S. flags in U.S.
Question: Will our Representative and our Defense Dept. also demand that our foreign policy negotiations be made without foreign interference?
From the above commenter: “As a veteran of Vietnam I hope the Congressman is concerned that a foreign policy of appeasement (especially regarding Iran) can only lead to something much worse.”
Question: Much worse than what? The Middle East is already a tinder box. How much more blood and treasure is enough?
Below: an interesting, detailed, informative article on how a select group of our representatives (aided by boatloads of money) feel they can try to influence ongoing multi-lateral negotiations for a peaceful resolution of Iran’s nuclear program .
“The Real Story Behind the Republicans’ Iran Letter”
“The real story is how enforcers of Likudist policy on Iran used a young Republican politician to try to provoke a breakdown in nuclear talks”
“The letter has provoked the charge of “treason” against the signers and a demand for charges against them for negotiating with a foreign government in violation of the Logan Act. In a little over 24 hours, more than 200,000 people had signed a petition on the White House website calling such charges to be filed.”
“The more serious problem with focusing on the Logan Act, however, is that what Cotton and his Republican colleagues were doing was not negotiating with a foreign government —but trying to influence the outcome of negotiations in the interest of a foreign government. The premise of the Senate Republican reflected in the letter – that Iran must not be allowed to have any enrichment capacity whatever – did not appear spontaneously. The views that Cotton and the other Republicans have espoused on Iran were the product of assiduous lobbying by Israeli agents of influence using the inducement of promises of election funding and the threat of support for the members’ opponents in future elections. ”
“Senator Cotton just happens to be a protégé of neoconservative political kingpin Bill Kristol, whose Emergency Committee on Israel gave him nearly a million dollars late in his 2014 Senate campaign and guaranteed that Cotton would have the support of the four biggest funders of major anti-Iran organizations.”
“Cotton proved his absolute fealty to Likudist policy on Iran by sponsoring an amendment to the Nuclear Iran Prevention Act of 2013 that would have punished violators of the sanctions against Iran with prison sentences of up to 20 years and —extended the punishment to “a spouse and any relative, to the third degree” of the sanctions violator. In presenting the amendment in the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Cotton provided —the useful clarification that it would have included “parents, children, aunts, uncles, nephews, nieces, grandparents, great grandparents, grandkids, great grandkids”.
“That amendment, which he apparently believed would best reflect his adoption of the Israeli view of how to cut Iran down to size, was unsuccessful, but it established his reliability in the eyes of the Republican Likudist kingmakers. Now Kristol is grooming him to be the vice-presidential nominee in 2016.”
It would be interesting the next time the Herald interviews congressional Representative Mike Thompson about this particular story; and, also, why he chose not to attend the Netanyahu’s speech .
http://www.commondreams.org/views/2015/03/13/real-story-behind-republicans-iran-letter
Sorry Wll our Local Research expert. The Rep caters to his base. You have not figured that out yet. Will how come I do notr seer any OP ED on the Forum page anymore? That would be a question that would deserve an answer.
From the land of cotton—- American made; Israeli puppet. Sociopath .
More news and information on Arkansas Senator. Tom Cotton. ( yikes !! from the same state that produced Bill and Hillary) for the community to consider…
“Tom Cotton is the Worst Bully in the Senate – Here Are 10 Reasons Why”
Hailing from Arkansas, 37-year-old Senator Cotton boasts the title of being the youngest member of the Senate, but he spouts the old warmongering rhetoric of 78-year-old Senator John McCain. From Guantanamo to Iran, food stamps to women’s rights, here are ten reasons why Tom Cotton is a dangerous dude.”
http://www.commondreams.org/views/2015/03/12/tom-cotton-worst-bully-senate-here-are-10-reasons-why
Will you are very good at calling people. Try calling the Rep or Senator Cotton. I am sure they would love to hear from the Local Citizen Researcher.
I think it was his duty to attend the speech. Many, many other Democrats did, including those who support the administration. As a veteran of Viet Nam I would have expected him more than most to understand when folly at the highest levels of an administration leads to something much worse.. Frankly, I was surprised that he was absent and have lost respect for him. Your suggestion of giving him an opportunity to explain is well founded.
From the piece: It requires every American flag bought by the DOD to be 100-percent manufactured in the United States from articles, materials, or supplies that are 100-percent grown, produced or manufactured in the U.S.
A noble cause indeed, but why not take it a step further by adding: “and produced by workers who are citizens, or authorized legal residents of the United States, with a big preference granted to veterans.”
If we want to “buy American” why not “by Americans”
I won’t hold my breath for that to happen.
Amen!
I make my own flags.
I thought that the capitalistic system relied solely on supply and demand, which will then determine prices and availability. Therefore, the cheapest and easiest way to manufacture anything, including flags, is determined by the above and, according to said system and philosophy, be allowed to run the markets. So, if manufacturing a flag is cheaper and easier in a foreign country, capitalism determines that the consumer be allowed to demand the cheapest and most available. It’s amusing to me that when certain “patriotic” issues arise, “big government interference” is A-OK. p.s. Now we have to know our times tables to get on here? Jeez…
Jfurlong stated:I thought that the capitalistic system relied solely on supply and demand…
In a pure “capitalistic’ system, the above may be true. But we do not live in such a system and never have.
There is no contradiction in working within the system to achieve desired results. Although such results may be less then what is hoped for, one must often times settle for something much less than ideal. Such ‘settling for less than ideal’ gets us people like John McCain, John Boehner, Harry Reed, Nancy Pelosi, Al Gore and others.
I agree that we do not live – thanks be to God – in a purely capitalistic system. My point was one of observing a bit of hypocrisy. It seems ok to interfere in the market when someone wants to buy a flag made in China, but not ok to interfere in matters of worker safety, environmental protection, infrastructure needs because, after all, the “market” will take care of all that. Well, tell that to all the poor bozos in “Right to Be Exploited” states who have lost their protections or in states where toxic dumping, etc. is ignored or flat-out ignored. I was just trying to make a point about the paradox between issues that really affect a huge amount of people vs. issues that are marginal, at best, such as wasting legislative time on something as ridiculous as who makes/sells US flags. I guess it’s easier to zero in on that catastrophic situation that attack our real problems.
I understood your point, but I believe you misunderstand the true nature of most people on the right (ignoring the far right for now).
I do not pretend to speak for all on the right, but I do believe most recognize a proper role to be played by the government in many of the areas you mention. However, in a lot of cases the government’s reach has extended well beyond proper and reasonable controls, to an over extension far beyond that which is reasonable.
Example: Sarbanes-Oxley.
In response to that law, the corporate lawyer for my company was required to visit all offices to explain the law and the corporate policy in response to that law. One edict was that all managers needed to get corporate approval, in writing, for all entertainment over $50.00 (later upped to $100. I gave a box of 48 baseball caps for a customer golf event, value was $96.00. I had to get corporate approval.
Does anyone really think a professional is going to be unduly influenced by a ball cap or a $25.00 lunch?
There is a big difference between managing and micromanaging.
Excellent comment Dennis. As an excutive of major companies I did a lot of entertaining of vendors. Just for the simple reason so they could understand the company they were selling or trying to sell. I did everything I could to buy made in USA. That market shrunk dramatically in a very few years. So what did I do? I looked for small privately owned local vendors to supply my needs. Made a small company rather large very quickly and was very proud of that. Believe me the Government does not miss a chance to get in on all issues. If they do not they are now out of business. The big issue is that government has becone a way of life and want every part of your life they can get. Some good but plenty of bad stuff.