I think grandpa is right. Kerry not only turned his back on the flag, but also his commrades in arms still stuck in Nam. Three bogus purple hearts, so his prissy a$$ can go home. W isnt a "fighting patriot", but at least he has his father at his right ear for much needed guidance. FYI posting a flag upside down is a sign of surrender, not distress. Traditionally there are three things atop a flag pole to use before you would ever post your garrison flag upside down.
1) Razor Blade - used for cutting the lanyard and removing flag.
2) Match - used for burning the flag (prevent capturing forces from obtaining)
3) one .45 cal round - used for the last man removing the flag to take his own life.

RB
If I were to look at the picture, what would you expect my reaction would then be to looking at the picture of Kerry. I fail to see your point, although I admit that I do understand the point you think you are making. When I see the picture of the Marines at Iwo JIma, I do indeed feel the patriotic lump in my throat that you would like to think only republicans have claim to. But, when I see John Kerry holding the flag upside down, I see him making a statement that it isn't the administration of the United States that those Marines died to preserve, but our form of government, and a BIG part of that form of government is the right, and the Duty to speak out against it when we perceive that we are not being governed in a way that is consistent with the Constitution. The man is a decorated veteran of combat, no one better qualified to then protest the government's policies that he disagrees with. His right, his duty and to his credit, he stood up for what he believes both when he volunteered for Vietnam and when he led the Vietnam Veterans Against the War. The moral courage that both of these acts required is to be contrasted against Bush who even though he supported the war, thought it worth American lives for, just not His life. Then he went AWOL from the cushy duty his father arranged for him. Why do I need to point any of this out to you ??

I'll tell ya Lead thrower, there's nothing like seeing your "fellow commrades" on tv protesting a war in which you are still fighting in. Talk about a major morale issue, and Kerry being an instigator.

This ground has been trod over and over.

Kerry did not 'turn his back on the flag'. In fact by exercising his right to free specch he was standing up for the very principles that flag supposedly represents.

Even McCain has said so.................................................................................repeatedly.

One form of desecrating the flag is by allowing your bias against Kerry to interfere with your perception of reality to the point that you would begrudge any american citizen their right to free speech....

...harmful to morale? In what way? Further substantiating the idea the soldiers already had that the American people did not support the war in Viet Nam?

Sled

There should always be support for the troops. Support for the troops and support for the conflict do not always go hand in hand.

LT,

Do you know why it's said that some people can be so open minded that their brains fall out?

A peaceful and RESPECTFUL protest of any conflict is the right of all citizens. But when protests go to the point of burning flags and spitting on soldiers, then that is the ultimate morale killer. Of coarse im not saying Kerry burnt flags or spit on his fellow americans, but others did. I know Its not fair to lump the two types together, but it did happen. I'm the Fourth Generation of "combat" vets in my family, and my father and grandfather both absolutely cannot stand the sight of Kerry, just on the fact that they de-moralized the remaining troops in NAM. Yes in a way I do respect Kerry for standing up for what he believes in, but I truely think he did speak out in the capacity that he did, more for "speaking popularity" than anything else.

sled

I do not personally like to see the flag burned either and under no circumstances do I justify spitting on soldiers who did the duty called upon them.

Being stuck in a foreign country, being shot at in miserable conditions of coarse is not fun. Add the fact that you see, or hear of your fellow americans protesting a war that you are fighting and dying in makes you question the leadership. Questioning the leadership will eventually give you a negative mentality (what the fu@& am I doing here anyway). This will lead to combat inefficiency. Combat inefficiency will ultimately result in loss of life. Then your watching the life drain from your buddies body, and if that isnt de-moralizing, i dont know what is

'Respectful' is not a requirement for peaceable assembly granted by the US Constitution.

You have every right to dislike him for it, but calling it un-American couldn't be further from the truth.

I would NEVER call Kerry un-american. But I have no qualms calling him a COWARD

Hanoi John will always be held in high regard by the North Vietnamese Communists!

So much so that they honor him (Hanoi John Kerry), Hanoi Jane Fonda and other anti-war activists in a communist museum in Ho Chi Minh city.

Check it out:
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http://ice.he.net/~freepnet/kerry/staticpages/index.php?page=20040531140357545
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Communist Vietnamese honor John Kerry, the war protestor, as a hero in their victory over the United States in the Vietnam War.
In the Vietnamese Communist War Remnants Museum (formerly known as the "War Crimes Museum") in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), a photograph of John Kerry hangs in a room dedicated to the anti-war activists who helped the Vietnamese Communists win the Vietnam War. The photograph shows Senator Kerry being greeted by the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, Comrade Do Muoi.

Jeffrey M. Epstein of Vietnam Vets for the Truth acquired the photograph over the Memorial Day weekend as America was commemorating its military heroes. Epstein's organization, Vietnam Vets for the Truth, issued a general request last week for photographs documenting Kerry's activities on behalf of the enemy. Bob Shirley, a Vietnam Swift Boat veteran (www.pcf45.com), sent the photograph to Epstein in response to that call. Shirley recently joined over 200 other Swift Boat veterans in signing an open letter questioning Kerry's fitness to serve as Commander-in-Chief.

Photograph of John Kerry meeting with Comrade Do Muoi, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, in Vietnam, July 15-18, 1993. Photo taken in the War Remnants Museum (formerly the "War Crimes Museum") in Saigon in May 2004.

Jeff Epstein explains the importance of the photograph:

"This photograph's unquestionable significance lies in its placement in the American protestors' section of the War Crimes Museum in Saigon. The Vietnamese communists clearly recognize John Kerry's contributions to their victory. This find can be compared to the discovery of a painting of Neville Chamberlain hanging in a place of honor in Hitler's Eagle's Nest in 1945."


War Remnants Museum, Saigon, May 2004. The uniformed sailor is from an Australian minesweeper docked in the Saigon River.

Photographer Bill Lupetti, who is currently visiting Vietnam, took the photographs in Saigon during his recent visit there. Lupetti, a former Hospital Corpsman, is also a Swift Boat veteran.

Photograph of Bill Lupetti outside his billet in Can Tho, 1970.

.
Below the photograph of John Kerry are explanatory placards in English, French, Vietnamese, and Chinese. The English placard reads:

"Mr. Do Muoi, Secretary General of the Vietnamese Communist Party met with Congressman and Veterans Delegation in Vietnam (July 15-18, 1993)"

Senator Kerry may argue today that his anti-war protests did not render support to the enemy in time of war and that his activities did not violate the definition of treason given in Article III, Section 3, of the US Constitution. This exhibit paying tribute to Kerry in the War Protestors Hall of the War Remnants Museum in Ho Chi Minh City tells a very different story. The Vietnamese communists clearly feel that the American anti-war protestors were a very important force in undermining support in the United States for American war efforts, a force that contributed materially to ultimate communist victory in 1975.

On Fox News' Hannity and Colmes show on Friday, May 28, 2004, Rear Admiral Roy Hoffman (USN, Retired) accused John Kerry of being a traitor because of his anti-war activities. This photo, which demonstrates the extent to which the Vietnamese communists acknowledge that he supported them during the Vietnam War, corroborates this charge. (Hoffman, the former commander of the Swift Boat force and one-time Kerry's superior officer, is Chairman of Swift Boat Veterans for the Truth (SwiftVets.com).

Vietnam Vets for the Truth (KerryLied.com) was established for the sole purpose of organizing a rally targeting Kerry's lies before the US Senate in 1971 based on the so-called "Winter Soldier" hearings. The rally, appropriately called "Kerry Lied," will be held on Capitol Hill on September 12th.

That line from Forest Gump keeps ringing in my head......Sorry to have spoiled your Black Panthers Party.

Well, I can't tell if that's actually president Bush in the photo, but I'd like to think that anyone running for president woud refrain from signing (or otherwise desecrating) an American flag. I agree that it's an inanimate object, but............ it's still the American flag.