Independence Day Flag: Choose Made-In-America

Ours is made in America.
Is yours?

The flag we hung out on Independence Day was made in America, unlike so many of them available now.
We got it at a thrift store, where many goods are passed on when people move out of their large houses into smaller ones, or assisted living facilities. We were happy to give this flag, which had obviously seen some use, a new and permanent home.
It just makes sense, when you're getting a flag to show support for our nation, to get one made in our country. We have the land to grow the cotton; we have the looms to weave the cloth; we have the workers to sew; why should we not support American jobs when getting an American flag?
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And that made me think of this July 3 article from "The Hill":

Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Rep. Bruce Braley (D-Iowa) on Tuesday called on the House to pass legislation requiring the government to only purchase American flags that are made in the United States.
"Under current law, the American flags that fly from federal buildings — on July 4th and every day of the year — may be up to fifty percent foreign-made," Brown said. "Many American companies, including Annin and Company in Coshocton [Ohio], proudly produce the American flag right here in the United States."
Their bill, the All-American Flag Act, passed the Senate last July, but the House never took up the measure. A similar bill was approved unanimously in the House by the prior Congress.

Brown and Braley said the House version, H.R. 1344, needs to be discharged by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee in order for it to be considered on the House floor. They wrote to Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) and ranking member Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) asking them to discharge the bill.

"American flags should be made in America using American products," they wrote. "Allowing the government to purchase flags with foreign-made materials is a disservice to our country.

"Now is the time to see that this legislation is signed into law," they added."

Why not contact your Congresscritter and tell them to get behind this bill?
And, when you get a flag, either buy it used so that it supports American jobs in the resale industry, or if it's new, insist on  Made In America.

4freeCLE: Your Free CLE Newsletter - July 1, 2012

I love doing my newsletter; I just don't always get around to posting it here promptly:

4freeCLE: Your Free CLE Newsletter! July 1, 2012

In This Issue Webinar CLEs On-Demand CLEs In-Person CLEs State-by-State Past Issues Get 1 Credit Free From NACLE.com The National Academy of Continuing Legal Education  offers one free CLE program   (1 credit)  just for registering on their website! It has dozens of on-demand, online courses to choose from, so you will probably find something that fits your practice! Read More Here!

Webinar CLE Free webinars earn you CLE credit with zero travel time! July 6: Best Practices in Patent Illustration. Improving your patent prosecution. By LegalAdvantage.     July 9: Introduction to Fastcase. By Fastcase.  July 10: Family Law Series: Domestic Violence Dynamics, DV and Parenting Plans, Sexual Abuse. Also presented in-person (Seattle). Training for the Washington State Bar Association (WSBA) Moderate Means Program. By WSBA. July 10: Filing State Legal Actions Against Notarios.Protecting immigrants against notario fraud by using consumer protection law. By Immigration Advocates Network and ABA Commission on Immigration. July 11: Advanced Tips for Enhanced Legal Research on Fastcase. By Fastcase.  July 17: Best Practices: Prior Art Search. For patent attorneys and their staff. By LegalAdvantage.  July 19: Understanding Hate Crimes in Minnesota. By Minnesota Alliance on Crime.  July 23: Ethical Pitfalls Plaguing the Best Prosecutors and Public Defenders. Ethics and witness preparation, reasonable doubt, candor toward the tribunal, etc. By LexisNexis.  July 25: Spotlight on Conflicts of Interest. Ethics rules and what to do when a conflict arises. By Attorney Protective. On-Demand CLE  Learn and earn credit when and where you want! Defense-Initiated Victim Outreach (DIVO): Policies, Practices and Implementation Video. DIVO is a new program that seeks to address the needs of crime victims and their families throughout the legal process by providing a bridge between them and the attorneys who represent the defendant. By The Institute for Restorative Justice and Restorative Dialogue.  Legal Services/Social Worker Collaboration in Elder Abuse Cases. How social workers and lawyers work together in cases involving elders. By Legal Aid Association of California.  Mediation Panel Discussion. The mediation process from the perspective of three experienced mediators. By Lexvid.  Paying Fact Witnesses - Can Do? No Can Do? When your most knowledgeable witness is a former employee, where is the line on compensation? By Trial.com. 4freeCLE's List of On-Demand CLE. Several dozen CLE you can take now - free! In-Person CLEs State-by-State Are you are hosting an event offering free CLE? Send your event to the editor for publicity here!  California July 9/San Francisco: SCOTUSCare?: The Affordable Care Act. By American Constitution Society.  July 17/San Francisco: Introduction to Landlord Tenant Training and Housing Negotiation Project training. Two programs back-to-back. By Bar Association of San Francisco.  July 18/San Francisco: Introduction to Family Law training. By Bar Association of San Francisco.  Illinois July 12/Chicago: 2012 CLM Illinois Event. By the Council on Litigation Management.   Massachusetts July 10/Boston: VLP Training - Fair Debt Collection Practice. By Volunteer Lawyers Project (VLP) and Senior Partners for Justice. July 24/Boston: Intro to Guardianship of Minors. By VLP.   Minnesota July 10/Minneapolis: Searching Westlaw.com and Searching WestlawNext. By Hennepin County Law Library.   July 11/Minneapolis: New Volunteer Orientation/Working with Pro Bono Clients. By Volunteer Lawyers Network (VLN).  July 19-21/Minneapolis: Law and Technology Workshop for Federal Defenders. Training to Federal Defender Organization staff and CJA panel attorneys.By Office of Defender Services. July 25/Stillwater, MN: Digital Forensics Goes Mobile: Evidence You Need to Win in 2012. By Washington County Law Library.   New Jersey July 10/Saddle Brook + July 11/Florham Park: Winning in the Second Half. By Niraj Chhabra. New York State July 2/NYC: Preparing Fee Waivers for Immigration Petitions. By New York Legal Assistance Group (NYLAG). July 9/NYC: Family-Based Immigration. By NYLAG. July 11/NYC: Annual Capital Defense Training Program. By New York City Bar Association. July 12/NYC: Child & Spousal Support. By NYLAG. July 26/NYC: Domestic Violence Appellate Cases. By NYLAG.  July 30/NYC: Mortgage Foreclosure Crisis Part 1 of 2: Consumer Perspective. Free to members of the Federal Bar Council.  Pennsylvania July 11/Philadelphia: Avoiding Foreclosure Through Litigation. By Philadelphia Volunteers for the Indigent Program (VIP). July 13/King of Prussia: Pro Bono From Your Desk - Providing Pro Bono Legal Services Through the Pennsylvania SeniorLAW HelpLine. By Senior LAW Center, Pennsylvania Bar Association and Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network. Washington State July 10/Seattle: Family Law Series: Domestic Violence Dynamics, DV and Parenting Plans, Sexual Abuse. Also presented as webinar. Training for the WSBA Moderate Means Program. By WSBA. July 11/Seattle: More Than Just A QDRO. By McKinley Irvin. July 13/Tacoma, WA: Removal Proceedings in Immigration Court - Model Hearing Program. By Volunteer Advocates for Immigrant Justice, Tacoma Immigrant Court and ICE.  July 20/Seattle: Representing Asylum Seekers, With An Emphasis on Domestic Violence and Detained Cases. Preregister by July 13! By Northwest Immigrants Rights Project; at Perkins Coie.        Thanks for the News! A big thank-you to Attorney Beverly Angel of Cedar Creek, TX for sending us notice of the DIVO program above! That is a wonderful resource for our colleagues and clients.  If you host or know of free CLE programs (which include free training in exchange for providing pro bono service)share it with us!  About 4freeCLE Your comments are very welcome; please email the editor.    Feel free to forward this to your colleagues.   If this was forwarded to you, you can get your own subscription for free by signing up now!  4freeCLE is delivered weekly and will always be free!

More:
http://4freeCLE.com

If Your Newsman's Sexuality Is More Important Than The News: You're Doing It Wrong!

I never gave one thought to Anderson Cooper's sexuality, but it turns out he's gay and "Big Whoop!" says I.
Well, it *is* a Big Whoop because there's not a whole lot of openly gay people at our highest levels of reporting and other important institutions (excepting entertainment).
So far, it hasn't seem to have affected the simple fact that in his field he's among the best of the best, but I suppose there will be a certain amount of hysteria among the professionally fearful.
My reaction is as in the caption I put on his photo: if you're watching the news because of the sexuality of your newsman, you're doing it wrong (but there's nothing wrong with that I suppose.)
Anyway, good job Cooper; that must have taken some guts and it makes the world just a little be better that you are being honest.
Now get back to work!
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The above notwithstanding I'm sure this is a significant event. As Jennifer Vanasco wrote, it  does matter when people come out because the reason that life is getting better for minorities is that more people are coming out. I  don't mean to minimize the courage it takes to come out; I'm just hoping that we are now approaching the era where homophobia will join racism in the garbage dumpster of history (... a regrettably smelly dumpster, that just won't go away, but still...)