FC: More on Loyalty Day Proclamation: Don't blame George W. Bush

From: Declan McCullagh (declanat_private)
Date: Wed May 07 2003 - 05:54:21 PDT

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    From: "BobCat" <bob.catat_private>
    To: <declanat_private>
    Subject: Re: Are you a loyal U.S. citizen? President Bush signs Proclamation
    Date: Wed, 7 May 2003 07:43:17 -0400
    Organization: NYMPHS dot ORG
    
     > Declan,
     >   Have you seen this? I can't believe that I missed this in the press...
     > http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/04/20030430-26.html
     >
     > Loyalty Day, 2003
    
    Why didn't we see this in the press when *Clinton* did it? Oh, he's a
    Democrat.
    
    http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/casecode/uscodes/36/subtitles/i/parts/a/chapters/1/sections/section_115.html
    
    ---
    
    From: "BobCat" <bob.catat_private>
    To: <declanat_private>
    References: <5.2.0.9.0.20030507003721.0115e508at_private>
    Subject: Re: Are you a loyal U.S. citizen? President Bush signs Proclamation
    Date: Wed, 7 May 2003 07:48:22 -0400
    Organization: NYMPHS dot ORG
    
     > Subject: loyalty day on may day?
    
    http://mail.theholidayspot.com/mayday/loyalty_day.htm
    
    "While the concept came into being quite early in the '30s giving rise to
    various functions, it took until 1949 to proclaim the observance of Loyalty
    Day. And this was when forty nine states and territorial governors joined
    in. Thanks to the efforts of Senator Karl Mundt of North Dakota and
    Representative James E. Van Zandt of Pennsylvania. In May 1, 1958, President
    Dwight D. Eisenhower made it a day of national observance."
    
    ---
    
    From: [a professor of political science]
    To: "'declanat_private'" <declanat_private>
    Subject: Re: FC: Are you a loyal U.S. citizen? President Bush signs Procla
             mation
    Date: Wed, 7 May 2003 08:11:13 -0400
    
    Declan,
    
    Most of the time I can endure the sophomoric, simplistic beyond belief
    anti-government muck on this listserve to get the few nuggets of thoughtful
    commentary or insight that occasionally sift out.
    
    This time I can't.
    
    President Bush didn't create Loyalty Day.  He didn't even create the idea of
    issuing a Proclamation.  Congress did in '95-'96, which means that President
    Clinton signed it into law.  I suspect that it didn't get much press play
    this year is that, like any number of "days" that the president must
    proclaim, no one cares very much.
    
    http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/36/115.html
    
    For God's sake will someone use their JD? or even the power of the internet
    to fact check occasionally?  And what the heck does Loyalty Day have to do
    with technology or privacy other than to stoke the paranoia that elected
    officials are out to climb into the beds of your readers?
    
    Spare me the flame from your acolytes.  Don't use my name or address if,
    perchance, you choose to correct the error contained in the email that I
    respond to here.
    
    With apologies for the pissy tone and best regards,
    
    [Name deleted. In defense of list members, there are few folks here who are 
    anti-government; that would make them anarchists. I'd guess that most would 
    agree with our professor that government is necessary to provide public 
    goods such as police and the courts. So the question becomes what *level* 
    of government is necessary. --Declan]
    
    ---
    
    Date: Wed, 7 May 2003 07:27:31 -0400 (EDT)
    From: <owensat_private>
    To: Declan McCullagh <declanat_private>
    Subject: Re: FC: Are you a loyal U.S. citizen? President Bush signs 
    Proclamation
    
    This was news to me, but hardly new:
    
    http://www.theholidayspot.com/mayday/loyalty_day.htm
    "While the concept came into being quite early in the '30s giving rise to
    various functions, it took until 1949 to proclaim the observance of
    Loyalty Day. And this was when forty nine states and territorial governors
    joined in. Thanks to the efforts of Senator Karl Mundt of North Dakota and
    Representative James E. Van Zandt of Pennsylvania. In May 1, 1958,
    President Dwight D. Eisenhower made it a day of national observance."
    
    A quick search shows GWB issuing similar proclamations in 2001 and 2002,
    as well as Clinton, Bush Sr., Reagan, Carter - I stopped looking at that
    point.
    
    Bill.
    
    ---
    
    Date: Wed, 07 May 2003 05:16:46 -0400
    From: Nick Bretagna <onemugat_private>
    Reply-To: afn41391at_private
    To: declanat_private
    CC: dfcat_private
    Subject: Re: FC: Are you a loyal U.S. citizen? President Bush signs 
    Proclamation
    
    Douglas F. Calvert wrote:
    
     >
     > http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/04/20030430-26.html
     >
     > Loyalty Day, 2003
     > By the President of the United States of America
     > A Proclamation
     >
     > <snip>
     >
     >  I also call upon government officials to display the flag of the United
     > States on all government buildings on Loyalty Day
     >
     > <snip>
     >
    .... uh...
    
    1) I am rather amused that this isn't standard practice for typical
    government buildings **every** day. If they can put surveillance cameras all
    over them, they ought to be able to deal with one flinkin' *flag*
    
    2) Will this include -secret- CIA and NSA installations??? LOL.
    
    
    
    --
    ------- --------- ------- -------- ------- ------- -------
    Nicholas Bretagna II
    mailto:afn41391at_private
    
    ---
    
    Date: Wed, 7 May 2003 02:30:50 -0700
    Subject: Re: FC: Are you a loyal U.S. citizen? President Bush signs 
    Proclamation
    From: Ask Bjoern Hansen <askat_private>
    To: declanat_private
    Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
    
    On Tuesday, May 6, 2003, at 21:40 America/Los_Angeles, Declan McCullagh wrote:
    
    >http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/04/20030430-26.html
    
    The Onion hacked the whitehouse.gov server!
    
    
      - ask
    
    -- 
    http://www.askbjoernhansen.com/
    
    ---
    
    To: presidentat_private
    Subject: Re: FC: Are you a loyal U.S. citizen? President Bush signs 
    Proclamation
    Message-ID: <1052308126.3eb8f29ecf694at_private>
    Date: Wed, 07 May 2003 07:48:46 -0400 (EDT)
    From: Chris Blask <blaskat_private>
    Cc: declanat_private
    
    
    Mr. Bush:
    
    This is a little unsettling.
    
    I am a pretty hard-core Ayn-Randian American capitalist individualist -
    precisely the values I believe are the core value set of America, that make it
    unique in the present world and in history, as well as what makes it worth
    defending at almost any cost.
    
    Let's not get Orwellian with this "Loyalty Day" theme.  Also, "nation" is not
    capitalized when it does not appear at the beginning of a sentence, unless 
    it is
    a Dictatorial Nation or you speak German, which I'm almost positive is not the
    case in America.
    
    I believe that the way to strengthen America is to strengthen Americans: to 
    show
    them how to build confidence in themselves and their abilities, to appreciate
    the uniqueness of their situation and encourage them to own and cherish their
    responsibility for their lives and their actions.  By supporting the 
    freedom and
    individuality of each American citizen you are creating an environment which
    will foster "loyalty" to the ideal and fact of the American nation.  By
    declaring "Loyalty Day" you are artificially manufacturing a giddy groupism
    which misses the whole point of being American.
    
    As an American citizen who lives outside the country (I married the one 
    Canadian
    girl who thinks like a Yank ;-) I find myself with, I believe, an unusually
    clear view of what makes America priceless.  My heart and soul support the
    ideals of my country and my words and actions support the fact of my country on
    a daily basis.
    
    Please take this note in the spirit it is intended - that of one as supportive
    of America and what it stands for as is likely to be found in the light of 
    day -
      and consider the point I am making for the merit it has.  Do not place 
    too much
    emphasis on "Creating Loyalty to Your Nation": love cannot be forced and 
    loyalty
    is a characteristic that can only exist where it is unasked for.
    
    -cheers
    
    -chris blask
    
    
    
    
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