Journalist @baltimoresun writer artist runner #amwriting Chaplain PIO #partylikeajournalist

Journalist @baltimoresun writer artist runner #amwriting Chaplain PIO #partylikeajournalist
Journalist @baltimoresun writer artist runner #amwriting Md Troopers Assoc #20 & Westminster Md Fire Dept Chaplain PIO #partylikeajournalist

Monday, June 16, 2008

20080623 Reception for Jennifer Dougherty June 25 at Salerno’s in Eldersburg

Welcome Reception for Jennifer Dougherty - Candidate for Congress

6th Congressional District of Maryland

Jennifer Dougherty Reception

DATE: Wednesday, June 25, 2008

TIME: 6:30 - 8:30 PM

LOCATION: Salerno's

Liberty Road

Eldersburg, MD

COST: $50 per ticket/$75 for two

PLEASE JOIN US AND HELP SUPPORT OUR CANDIDATE!

IT IS TIME FOR CHANGE IN THE 6TH

FOR INFORMATION/RESERVATIONS PLEASE CALL

ANITA RILEY (410) 781-0206

RICK SOLOMON (410) 552-0645

PLEASE MAKE CHECKS PAYABLE TO JENNIFER DOUGHERTY FOR CONGRESS

Carroll County Democratic Central Committee

5602 Gera Way

Eldersburg, Maryland 21784

20080616 CCBOC Agenda for the week of June 16, 2008

Board of Carroll County Commissioners

Julia W. Gouge, President

Dean L. Minnich, Vice President

Michael D. Zimmer, Secretary

Carroll County Government

225 North Center Street

Westminster, Maryland 21157

410-386-2043; 1-888-302-8978

fax 410-386-2485; TT 410-848-9747

Agenda for the Week of June 16, 2008

Please Note: This weekly agenda is subject to change. Please call 410-386-2043 to confirm a meeting you plan to attend. All meetings will be held at the Carroll County Office Building

Room 311. (Unless otherwise noted)

  • Indicates Outside Activities

Monday ~ June 16, 2008

11:30 a.m. Luncheon

Eldersburg Senior Center

Commissioner Zimmer

Tuesday ~ June 17, 2008

9:00 a.m. Planning & Zoning Commission

County Office Building ~ Room 003

Commissioner Gouge

1:00 p.m. Administrative Session ~ Closed

1:30 p.m. Board of County Commissioners Open Session

County Office Building ~ Room 311

Deliberate & Decide Bid Protest Appeal Filed by Carroll County Contracting

Department of the County Attorney ~ Ms. Kimberly Millender

Bid Approval

Historical Restoration Services Re-advertise

Bureau of Purchasing ~ Mr. Rich Shelton

Department of General Services ~ Mr. Tom Rio

Tuesday ~ June 17, 2008 ~ Continued

2:00 p.m. Signing of Agreement with Carroll Community College

& Carroll County Public Schools ~ Teacher Academy of Maryland

Westminster, MD

Commissioner Zimmer

5:00 p.m. Baltimore Museum of Arts ~ Board of Trustees Annual Meeting

Baltimore, MD

Commissioner Zimmer

Wednesday ~ June 18, 2008

10:30 a.m. Issues & Insights

Westminster, MD

Commissioner Gouge

6:30 p.m. Carroll Community College Board of Trustees

Westminster, MD

Commissioner Gouge

Thursday ~ June 19, 2008

Friday ~ June 20, 2008

8:30 a.m. Annual Housing Conference

Westminster, MD

Commissioner Zimmer

9:30 a.m. Observation of Drug Treatment Court

Westminster, MD

Commissioner Zimmer

Saturday ~ June 21, 2008

Sunday ~ June 22, 2008

8:05 a.m. “The Commissioners’ Report” – WTTR

Commissioner Gouge

ACCESSIBILITY NOTICE: The Americans with Disabilities Act applies to the Carroll County Government and its programs, services, activities, and facilities. If you have questions, suggestions, or complaints, please contact Ms. Jolene Sullivan, the Carroll County Government Americans With Disabilities Act Coordinator, at 410-386-3600/1-888-302-8978 or TTY No. 410-848-9747. The mailing address is 225 North Center Street, Westminster, Maryland 21157.

Posted: 07/07/06

CARROLL COUNTY

a great place to live, a great place to work, a great place to play

20080611 Carroll County Times editorial: No agenda is sign of poor government




Carroll County Times editorial: No agenda is sign of poor government

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

No agenda is sign of poor government

People often complain that governments have hidden agendas.

Unfortunately, some Carroll County governments are very literally living up to that, if they have an agenda at all.

Take for example the City of Westminster's Common Council meeting Monday night, where the council approved the fiscal year 2008 budget.

The problem? Despite numerous attempts, we were unable to get an agenda for the meeting until about 3:45 p.m. Monday - just slightly more than 3 hours before the meeting.

It was only then that it came to light that the city planned to approve the fiscal year 2008 budget.

Needless to say, there probably were few average citizens who were aware of what the council was going to do at Monday night's meeting.

Passing the budget is, more often than not, the most important decision any governing body will make during the entire year. And for some reason, the Westminster Common Council didn't view this as important enough to let taxpayers know about it sooner than three hours before the meeting.

On the town's Web site, there was still no agenda posted Tuesday morning, just a notice that the May 26 meeting was canceled because of Memorial Day, and the next meeting was scheduled for June 9. There was no agenda for the meeting, and certainly no mention of the approval of the budget.

The state's Open Meetings Law doesn't require governments to post agendas of their meetings. But common sense would suggest you aren't going to get too many people to your meetings if you don't tell them what the meeting will cover. Posting agendas is just a basic part of good government, whether it is required or not.

The fact that the budget was approved without a public hearing is another matter altogether.

This is just the most recent and egregious example of governments not posting agendas for meetings within a reasonable time frame. Municipalities around the county routinely do not post agendas until the day of the meeting, if at all.

Another example is last week's quarterly mayors meeting with the Carroll County Board of Commissioners. No agenda was released until Tuesday - two days before the parties were scheduled to meet - and the meeting was postponed the next day.

How is it that a once-every-three-months meeting doesn't have an agenda until 48 hours prior? (In this case, the mayors and commissioners hadn't met in six months, because the December meeting was canceled so the parties could attend tree lightings.) And could it be that the involved parties weren't prepared for the topics on the agenda, hence the weeklong postponement?

These same government officials often state they want more involvement and better attendance from residents at these meetings. But if these boards aren't making residents aware of what will be taking place at the meetings, why would they bother to attend?

Not releasing agendas until hours before a meeting is not only a bad practice from that standpoint; it also raises serious concerns about these governments trying to hide something. Do they not want people attending meetings? Or is it just laziness?

If governments really want community involvement at their meetings, they absolutely must do a better job of informing people about what is going on. Releasing an agenda well in advance so people can decide whether the meeting is worth attending and giving them enough time to make plans to do so is the first and simplest step in the right direction.


20080611 Carroll County Times editorial: No agenda is sign of poor government
Westminster Governance taxes, Westminster Governance open and transparent govt, Westminster Mayor 200505 to 2009 Thomas K. Ferguson, Westminster Dept Finance Budget 2008 – 2009 FY, Media Newspapers Carroll County Times,

Sunday, June 15, 2008

20080612 Jim McKay


Jim McKay

Thursday, June 12, 2008 © by Kevin Dayhoff

Author’s note: A shorter version of this column appeared in The Tentacle on June 11, 2008…

I finally got an accompanying YouTube video up. Find it here:

20080607 NBC's Bob Costas pays tribute to Jim McKay

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoAatCui6zw

Last Tuesday morning the spotlight of the sports world was focused on the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in Baltimore as folks came together to pay their last respects to Maryland’s own Jim McKay.

Mr. McKay passed away last Saturday on his horse farm in Monkton, in northern Baltimore County. He was 86 years-old.

For many of us who grew up watching early television, Mr. McKay was one of the first recognizable television celebrities in our lives.

One of the driving forces of television in its infancy was sports programming and many a youngster learned manners, poise, integrity, and speaking skills from Mr. McKay.

Much has been written about the socializing affect television can have on young impressionable minds. Of course, in recent years, much of the conversation has centered on the concern over the terrible impact the manners and behavior and violence displayed on television are having on today’s young children.

We may not have known at the time that we were learning to be gracious ladies and gentleman – but learning social skills is exactly what was happening.

We just thought we were watching sports.

(For many baby-boomers, the example set by folks like Mr. McKay may very well be one of the reasons that we are so disillusioned with Hollywood, television, and sports celebrities of the last decade or so.)

Mr. McKay was always very knowledgeable, well spoken, and gentlemanly as compared with television and sports of today which frequently appears to emphasize empty glitz, pizzazz, and mindless, banal banter over depth, talent, and integrity.

Mr. McKay was born James Kenneth McManus on Sept. 24, 1921 in Philadelphia. His family moved to Baltimore when he was 15 years-old, according to a definitive article written last Sunday by Baltimore Sun reporters David Zurawik, Tom Keyser, and Justin Fenton.

Running nearly 3,000 words in length, it is must reading for anyone who really wants to gain insight into the life and times of Mr. McKay – and why so many of us came to admire him as one of the truly great gentlemen of our time.

For the seasoned newspaper reader, one subtle tribute stands out. The AP stylebook now has folks simply referred to by their last name after they are introduced in an article. Unfortunately not many newspapers use a modified AP style that allows a writer to refer to a person by “Mr.” or “Mrs.” or “Dr.” after they are first mentioned.

In the article which appeared in the Baltimore Sun last Sunday, Jim McKay is referred to as “Mr. McKay.” It is one of the first times in recent memory that I can remember such respect for the subject of a Baltimore Sun news story.

As it should be, Mr. McKay began his career as a police reporter for Baltimore’s Western District, in 1946, for The (Baltimore) Evening Sun.

Dan Rodricks proudly pointed out in his column from last Sunday, that “Jim McKay had once been one of us. (So had his wife, Margaret; so had Louis Rukeyser of Wall Street Week, the author William Manchester, CBS reporter David Culhane, to mention a few.)”

Before Mr. McKay joined the paper, he graduated from Loyola High School and Loyola College where he “was sports editor of the college paper and … the public address announcer at basketball games. He was president of his senior class, and president and star of the drama club, which abruptly altered the course of his life,” said the Baltimore Sun.

“After graduating from college, Mr. McKay served 3 1/2 years in the Navy during World War II, mostly on escort duty in the South Atlantic aboard minesweepers.”

In 1947, A. S. Abell Company, the publisher of the Baltimore Sunpapers at the time, started the 11th television station in the country, WMAR – TV.

Last Sunday’s article noted that Mr. McKay did not understand why he was being recruited for the brand new medium. He was told, “(D)idn't you say you were president of the dramatic society at Loyola College? That's good enough for now.”

The television station began on Oct. 27, 1947 with a live broadcast of “two horse races at Pimlico.” The article noted “the first words heard on television in Baltimore were spoken by Mr. (McManus) McKay: “This is WMAR-TV in Baltimore, operating for test purposes.”

He changed his name in 1950 to Mr. McKay after he was recruited that year to work for CBS - TV. His first program was “The Real McKay.”

Many of us remember Mr. McKay for different reasons. In his long and storied career, he broadcast 25 Kentucky Derbys beginning in 1978.

He was the first host of the “Wide World of Sports” in 1961 and over the next four decades, he introduced many different sports to the American living room other than the traditional fare of baseball, football, or basketball. Many will remember the iconoclastic opening for each episode: “the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.”

He reported upon the Olympics for the first time in 1960 and went on to cover a total of 12 Olympics throughout his career.

For many folks, who are not sports enthusiasts; his place in history occurred when he anchored the live coverage, for 16 hours straight, of the terribly tragic 1972 Munich Olympics when 11 Israeli athletes were senselessly murdered by Palestinian terrorists.

History will forever remember Mr. McKay’s concluding remark when the ordeal was over: “When I was a kid, my father used to say our greatest hopes and our worst fears are seldom realized. Our worst fears have been realized tonight. They have now said that there were 11 hostages. Two were killed in their rooms this morning -- excuse me, yesterday morning. Nine were killed at the airport. They're all gone.”

He is the only sportscaster to win an Emmy for news coverage - for his reporting at those 1972 Olympics.

In 1968, he was the first sports broadcaster to win an Emmy for sports coverage – his first of 13 Emmys. He received a lifetime achievement award in 1990. In 1995, he was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame.

In a statement released by President George W. Bush, he said: "For a generation of Americans, Jim was more than the much-honored host of Wide World of Sports and ABC's Olympic coverage. He was a talented and eloquent newsman and storyteller whose special gift was his ability to make the viewers at home genuinely care about more than just who won or lost.”

His death marks the end of an era. He leaves behind a legacy of sharing, with several generations, a life known for the thrill of victory.

Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster Maryland USA.

www.kevindayhoff.net

http://www.youtube.com/kevindayhoff

http://kbetrue.livejournal.com/

http://gizmosart.com/dayhoff.html

Kevin Dayhoff’s Facebook photo album

Kevin Dayhoff’s Facebook page

Blog Net News Maryland: http://www.blognetnews.com/Maryland/feed.php?channel=33

E-mail him at: kdayhoff AT carr.org or kevindayhoff AT gmail.com

His columns and articles appear in The Tentacle - www.thetentacle.com; Westminster Eagle Opinion; www.thewestminstereagle.com, Winchester Report and The Sunday Carroll Eagle – in the Sunday Carroll County section of the Baltimore Sun. Get Westminster Eagle RSS Feed

“When I stop working the rest of the day is posthumous. I'm only really alive when I'm writing.” Tennessee Williams

20080615 Creating a Jubilee County: 35th Blog Carnival of Maryland & Happy Father's Day!

Creating a Jubilee County: 35th Blog Carnival of Maryland & Happy Father's Day!

June 15, 2008

"Creating a Jubilee County: Prince George's Co., MD"

has posted:35th Blog Carnival of Maryland & Happy Father's Day!


Carnival of Maryland Hosted by Maryland Blogger Alliance of which this blog is a part.

My post from Prince George's County for this article is Change is in the air... something you can always count on. Changes include Jews & Muslims finding common ground, other local news stories, an upcoming national March for Change, and an alternative to driving with these higher gas prices. Feel free to check this entire blog while you're visiting by clicking on [info]prince_georges. Here are the entries for today's carnival:

Check it out here: 35th Blog Carnival of Maryland & Happy Father's Day!
And also check out her work at: http://uu-mom.livejournal.com/ and her video at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wezp1W2HKlU


Tags:, ,

20080615 Creating a Jubilee County: 35th Blog Carnival of Maryland & Happy Father's Day!


20080614 dajones1944: Old dog learned new trick

dajones1944: Old dog learned new trick

June 14, 2008

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9v7U0Mm1fo

Analog’s 10-year-old "rescue" hound/lab discovered how to open house doors to go outside!

####

People Carroll County Analog dajones 1944

Saturday, June 14, 2008

20080613 MSNBC NBC Tribute to Tim Russert

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eoe8nTdgUfw

June 13, 2008

Tim Russert, “a giant in journalism and in politics” passed away unexpectedly on June 13, 2008 at age 58.

He has been a guest in our living room every Sunday since he took over “Meet the Press” in 1991; after having joined NBC News in the Washington bureau in 1984.

So it can easily be understandable that NBC did a must-see and appropriate tribute to one of the more professional – and powerful journalists from inside the beltway bubble.

We hold his friends, family and loved ones in our thoughts and prayers at this difficult time.

####

20080614 Wall Street Journal: TV Journalist Tim Russert Dies at 58

TV Journalist Tim Russert Dies at 58

By REBECCA DANA and SUSAN DAVIS

-- Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg and Jackie Calmes contributed to this article.

June 14, 2008

Tim Russert, dean of Beltway political journalists and the hard-charging anchor of NBC's Sunday morning interview show "Meet the Press," died Friday of a heart attack at the NBC bureau in Washington. He was 58 years old.

Mr. Russert had been a fixture in Washington for a quarter-century. Through books, commentary and his two, hour-long television news shows, he established himself as one of the toughest questioners in journalism and an outsize personality in political circles.

Early Friday, Mr. Russert was back in Washington after a trip to Rome with his wife, Vanity Fair contributor Maureen Orth, to visit their college-age son, Luke.

[…]

A native of Buffalo, N.Y., Mr. Russert was a lawyer by training and had a brief but accomplished career in politics, including stints as aides to New York Governor Mario Cuomo and New York Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan. He joined NBC News's Washington bureau in 1984, graduated to bureau chief four years later and remained there for the rest of his career. Mr. Russert took over "Meet the Press" in 1991. He also served as a roving political commentator and hosted an hour-long talk show for the cable news channel CNBC.

Read the entire piece here: TV Journalist Tim Russert Dies at 58

MORE ON RUSSERT

Wash Wire: Washington Mourns Loss | Russert Set Standards

BuzzWatch: Russert Clips, and Tributes

Law Blog: Russert's Role in Two Big Cases

Health Blog: One of a Kind; One of 300,000

Related Articles from WSJ.com

NBC Picks Jimmy Fallon To Succeed Conan O'Brien May. 13, 2008

Tim Russert: One of a Kind; One of 300,000 Jun. 13, 2008

Tim Russert Set Standards Jun. 13, 2008

Washington Mourns Loss of Tim Russert Jun. 13, 2008

Related Web News

NBC's Tim Russert dies at 58 after collapsing Jun. 13, 2008 news.yahoo.com

AP News - Turnto10 Jun. 13, 2008 hosted.ap.org

Tim Russert Dead at 58 - Tributes, Tim Russert [spherepeoplekws:("Tim Russe... Jun. 13, 2008 people.com

TV newsman Tim Russert dies of heart attack Jun. 13, 2008 reuters.com

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121338573342572737.html?mod=rss_whats_news_us

20080613 Westminster Police Department Daily Briefing Report

Friday, June 13, 2008

Westminster Police Department

36 Locust Street

Westminster, Maryland 21157

410-848-4646

410-876-3100

Westminster Police Department Daily Briefing Report

June 13, 2008

On 06-11-08 at 6:44 AM, this department arrested Bonifacio Araujo-Ramiro, age 35, of Shaeffer Ave., Westminster. He was taken into custody following a traffic stop that occurred in the area of Sullivan and Wimert Avenues. He was charged with one count of driving without a license.


On 06-11-08 at 9:12 AM, this department arrested Joseph Lee Stein, age 21, of Oakland Ave., Mountain Lake Park, Maryland. He was charged with being a fugitive from other agency.


On 06-12-08 at 12:14 PM, this department served a criminal summons on James Edward Hardy, age 24, of Denham Cir., Baltimore. He was charged with one count each possession of controlled dangerous substance marihuana and possession of controlled dangerous substance paraphernalia.


On 06-12-08 at 12:53 AM, this department arrested James Lewell Hamlet, age 18, of Westchester Rd., Baltimore. He was taken into custody following an incident that occurred in the 100 block of West Main Street in Westminster and charged with one count of assault-2nd degree.

Friday, June 13, 2008

20080614 Flag Day


Flag Day

The long version of Sunday Carroll Eagle column for Sunday, June 8, 2008

by © Kevin Dayhoff (1,089 words)

Related: 20080606 Presidential Proclamation: Flag Day and National Flag Week

Tomorrow is the 231st birthday of the United States Flag. For the past 92 years we have observed June 14th as Flag Day.

Hopefully, you and your family will display the Old Glory for Flag Day.

Please take a moment to reflect upon the flag that has steadfastly stood for America’s strength, unity, and liberty for 231 years.

The flag has remained a constant reminder of the sacrifices that have been made to maintain the freedoms, liberties, and way of life in this great experiment; we call the United States of America.

When we display the flag, our community also expresses our gratitude to the men and women who have gone before and fought to ensure that the many blessings and freedoms we enjoy will continue for many generations to come.

Flag Day was established by President Woodrow Wilson on May 30, 1916. On August 3, 1949, President Harry Truman signed an Act of Congress that designated June 14 as National Flag Day.

Also this Saturday we celebrate the birthday of the United States Army. It was two years before the Flag Act of 1777; on June 14, 1775 that Congress established the United States Army. Ten companies of "expert riflemen" were originally authorized - approximately 800 soldiers.

On June 15, 1775, George Washington was chosen to head the Continental Army. The delegate to the Second Continental Congress who nominated George Washington was Thomas Johnson, from Frederick.

While we are on the subject of birthdays, this year is also the occasion of another milestone in United States military history; the 100th birthday of the U.S. Army Reserve.

The origins of the Army Reserve began in April 1908 with a group of doctors being designated as the Medical Reserve Corps, which could be called to active duty in an emergency. Today there are more than 200,000 “citizen-soldiers” in what we now know as the U.S. Army Reserve.

The origins of Flag Day go back to the Second Continental Congress, which met from May 10, 1775 to March 1, 1781. It passed the “Flag Act of 1777” on June 14, 1777.

Originally, the purpose of the Second Continental Congress was to hopefully continue negotiations with Great Britain over the “Intolerable Acts.” The First Continental Congress drafted the “Articles of Association,” in 1774, in a furtive attempt to mitigate England’s policies towards the colonies. Severing the relationship with England was not part of the plan at the time.

Nevertheless, by the time the Second Continental Congress had convened in Philadelphia, on May 10, 1775, the American Revolution had begun. The Battles of Lexington and Concord, in Middlesex County, Province of Massachusetts Bay had taken place just a few weeks before on April 19, 1775.

Quickly, things weren’t not looking good for the home team. Instead of conducting economic negotiations with the most powerful nation on the planet at the time, the Second Continental Congress found itself at war; equipped with a non-existent army, no money, and the support of about one-third of the population, on a good day.

One of the immediate challenges for General Washington was to negotiate with a congressional committee in September 1775 for more soldiers, equipment, and supplies.

Factionalism plagued congress and regionalism challenged the military and the agreement reached with congress was ultimately not satisfactory.

According to Volume I of the U. S. Army’s “American Military History,” edited by Richard W. Stewart: “A Continental Army had been formed, but it fell far short of the goals Washington and Congress had set for it. This army was enlisted for but a year, and the whole troublesome process would have to be repeated at the end of 1776. The short term of enlistment was, of course, a cardinal error; but in 1775 everyone, including Washington, had anticipated only a short campaign.”

A representative from New Jersey, Francis Hopkinson is accepted by history to have been the designer of the first flag. He was a poet and an artist who began serving on the “Continental Navy Board” in November 1776. It was in this capacity that Congressman Hopkinson began work on “admiralty colors.”

Tradition has it that a Philadelphia flagmaker by the name of Betsy Ross was also involved in the design and manufacture of one of the first flags. The May 29, 1777 minutes of the “Board of War” meeting reads: “... an Order on William Webb to Elizabeth Ross, for fourteen pounds, twelve shillings, two pence for making ships colours & put into William Richards' stores.”

Hopefully she got paid.

Congressman Hopkinson billed the “Board of Admiralty” in 1780 for his work on “‘the flag of the United States of America’ as well as several ornaments, devices, and checks appearing on bills of exchange, ship papers, the seals of the boards of Admiralty and Treasury, and the Great Seal of the United States. Hopkinson had received nothing for this work, and now he submitted a bill and asked "whether a Quarter Cask of the public wine" would not be a reasonable and proper reward for his labors.”

A congressional committee was appointed to investigate Congressman Hopkinson’s request for payment. It summoned witnesses and took testimony. However, “the men of the Board of Treasury ignored the summons. In its report to Congress, the committee recommended that the present board be dismissed.”

The more you read about the behavior of Congress in the early days of the Republic, the more one wonders if we were at war with Congress– or Britain.

On August 23rd, 1781, congress passed a resolution that the Congressman, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, be paid. Ultimately he was never paid, not because it was disputed that he did the work, but because his political adversaries prevailed in denying him payment.

Bear in mind, while all this is taking place - there is war going on; a war that never really went well.

Objective history that is ambivalent as to whether the American colonies won the war or Great Britain got tired of the hassle and expenses and walked away. At the time, members of congress and a congressional committee were haggling over whether Congressman Hopkinson should be paid or not, the final military maneuvers of the war were being conducted in Virginia.

It was around August 23, 1781 that French Admiral de Grasse arrived from the Caribbean, blockaded the Chesapeake Bay, and pinned British General Cornwallis down at Yorktown. General Cornwallis surrendered on October 19, 1781.

Only by the Grace of God did our nation survive, in spite of ourselves – in spite of Congress.

When he is not preoccupied with reading Revolutionary War trivia, Kevin Dayhoff can be reached at kdayhoff AT carr.org.

20080614 Flag Day

20080606 Presidential Proclamation: Flag Day and National Flag Week


For Immediate Release

Office of the Press Secretary
June 6, 2008

Flag Day and National Flag Week, 2008

Flag Day June 14, 2008 the week beginning June 8, 2008, as National Flag Week.

A Proclamation by the President of the United States of America

White House News

The American flag has been our national symbol for 231 years, and it remains a beacon of freedom wherever it is flown. Since the Second Continental Congress adopted the Stars and Stripes as our flag in 1777, it has stood for freedom, justice, and the resolve of our Nation.

When Francis Scott Key saw the American flag flying over Fort McHenry in 1814, he believed that liberty would triumph. The flag that inspired Key to write our National Anthem still energizes and emboldens the American spirit today. As our Nation faces the challenges of a new era, Old Glory reminds us that liberty can prevail over oppression.

Since the first days of our Republic, Americans have flown the flag to show their pride and appreciation for the freedoms they enjoy in this great Nation. Every day, Americans pledge their allegiance to the flag of the United States, and our troops carry it before them as they defend the liberties for which it stands.

On Flag Day and during National Flag Week, we remember those in uniform whose courage and sacrifice inspire us here at home. We also remember the rich history of one of our oldest national symbols and reflect on our duty to carry our heritage of freedom into the future.

To commemorate the adoption of our flag, the Congress, by joint resolution approved August 3, 1949, as amended (63 Stat. 492), designated June 14 of each year as "Flag Day" and requested that the President issue an annual proclamation calling for its observance and for the display of the flag of the United States on all Federal Government buildings. The Congress also requested, by joint resolution approved June 9, 1966, as amended (80 Stat. 194), that the President issue annually a proclamation designating the week in which June 14 occurs as "National Flag Week" and calling upon all citizens of the United States to display the flag during that week.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim June 14, 2008, as Flag Day and the week beginning June 8, 2008, as National Flag Week. I direct the appropriate officials to display the flag on all Federal Government buildings during that week, and I urge all Americans to observe Flag Day and National Flag Week by flying the Stars and Stripes from their homes and other appropriate places. I also call upon the people of the United States to observe with pride and all due ceremony those days from Flag Day through Independence Day, also set aside by the Congress (89 Stat. 211), as a time to honor America, to celebrate our heritage in public gatherings and activities, and to publicly recite the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this sixth day of June, in the year of our Lord two thousand eight, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-second.

GEORGE W. BUSH

20080606 Presidential Proclamation: Flag Day and National Flag Week