John Vecchione, a regular contributor of worthwhile letters to Cornerites, sends this: “[Jonah’s] e-mailer on Flag Burning does not make any good points. The good thing about being a conservative is that we don’t have to dream about some of the laws we would like enacted. As it turns out we wrote a flag protection act in 1968. We enforced it, and the States did the same until it was struck down. The period until the late ’80s when it was struck down were not dark days for free speech nor did red white and blue paper napkins and ties go the way of the hoop skirt. Burning the flag was seen as an invitation to a fight and it was reasonably prohibited. The answer to the e-mailer’s question about what would be illegal is that as with any other statute the Court determines whether the conduct prohibited was engaged in. This used to be done by an standard of reasonableness and common sense but is now done randomly depending on whether the jurist wishes to adhere to the law. Jeesh, this is elementary stuff.”