What is Flag Day? A brief history of America's Flag and why we celebrate it.

June 14, 2023

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Today is Flag Day, where we celebrate the creation of the first American flag that has rallied the American people since its creation in 1777 and the millions of Americans who have been blessed to call the United States their home ever since.

The flag had humble yet bold beginnings, created during the height of the Revolutionary War when the British army was rapidly depleting the continental forces. It became the symbol of colonial farmers fighting for their freedom against their oppressive master. Now the "Red, White, and Blue" is an enduring symbol of freedom and liberty around the world.

Here is a history of our flag as we honor and remember it this Flag Day.

June 14, 1777

A 1920s vintage illustration depicts George Washington watching Betsy Ross sew the American flag.

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The following resolution was made after the appointment of a special committee from the Continental Congress tasked with designing a flag for the newly independent United States:

Resolved, that the Flag of the thirteen United States shall be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the Union be thirteen stars, white on a blue field, representing a new constellation.

Betsy Ross, tasked with creating a flag by George Washington for the newly-born nation, created the first American flag based on this design.

September 11, 1777

The colonies' new flag was first flown at the Battle of Brandywine, fought just outside of Philadelphia. Though resulting in a British victory, the battle proved that the Continental Army could stand up to the British Army, the strongest in the world at that time, boosting confidence in their strength and resilience. The flag rallied the soldiers in the Continental Army under one symbol, uniting the soldiers from across the 13 colonies under one symbol that now represented their new nation: the United States of America.

February 14, 1778

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Valentine's Day 1778 marked the first time when the flag was saluted by foreign naval vessels. The French navy saluted the flag when the Ranger, under the command of the infamous Scottish-American naval hero, Captain John Paul Jones, arrived in a French port, bearing the Stars and Stripes.

Early 1778

"New Providence Raid, March 1776" oil painting on canvas by V. Zveg, 1973

Public

The American flag was first flown over a foreign entity in Nassau, Bahamas after the Continental Army captured a British fort.

June 14, 1889

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Professor George Bolch, the principal of a free kindergarten school for the poor of New York City, held annual patriotic ceremonies to observe the anniversary of the Flag Day resolution. The State Department of Education took notice of Bolch's Flag Day celebration and mandated all public schools observe Flag Day thereafter. The state legislature then passed a law requiring the state superintendent of public schools to ensure that schools hold observances for Lincoln’s Birthday, Washington’s Birthday, Memorial Day, and Flag Day.

1893

Public Domain

The Society of Colonial Dames helped pass a resolution to have the flag displayed on all of Philadelphia's public buildings. Elizabeth Duane Gillespie, a direct descendant of Benjamin Franklin and the president of the Colonial Dames of Pennsylvania, that same year tried to get the city to call June 14th "Flag Day."

1897

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The governor of New York ordered the display of the flag over all public buildings statewide, which is considered by many to be the first official recognition of the Flag Day anniversary of the adoption of the flag outside of schools.

May 7, 1937

Philadelphia's Independence Hall celebrates Independence Day.

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Pennsylvania became the first state to establish June 14 "Flag Day" as a legal holiday. Though Flag Day is a nationwide observance today, Pennsylvania is the only state that recognizes it as a legal holiday.

June 14, 1916

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President Woodrow Wilson issued the first presidential proclamation establishing a national "Flag Day." In his commemoration, Wilson wrote:

On that day rededicate ourselves to the nation, "one and inseparable" from which every thought that is not worthy of our fathers’ first vows in independence, liberty, and right shall be excluded and in which we shall stand with united hearts

June 14, 1927

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Calvin Coolidge also issued a presidential proclamation calling for June 14 to be recognized as "Flag Day."

August 3, 1949

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Flag Day became official when Congress approved legislation designating June 14 each year as "Flag Day." President Truman signed the legislation into law.

Yes, Republicans ARE weird, and that's a GOOD thing

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Ever since Kamala Harris has become Biden's de facto replacement, mainstream media and Democrats alike suddenly jumped onto a simple yet effective new attack against the Right: they've started calling us "weird." This simple word has gained traction so rapidly among left-wing pundits and politicians alike that Glenn said he suspects some behind-the-scene coordination is in play.

The strange appearance of the word "weird" can be traced back to an MSNBC interview last week with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who called Trump and Vance "weird." The saying gained popularity when the Democratic Governors Association posted the following image on X after the interview:

Exactly right. pic.twitter.com/Y7UYjSyy7o
— Democratic Governors (@DemGovs) July 24, 2024

Why is this "weird" attack so effective? As Glenn pointed out on air recently, it's difficult for Republicans to respond to such a claim without sounding like "the schoolmarm." When Democrats call Republicans weird, the knee-jerk reaction is to play by their new rules: to point out the Left's "weirdness" in response. While this is certainly a fair reaction—and a warranted one—if you respond this way, you have taken the bait. As Glenn pointed out, "The happy warrior wins." All the Left has to do is keep their cool and say, "See, look how weird they are!"

The reason this strategy is so effective is because in essence, the Left is correct, and the Right is weird—if you look at it the right way.

Weird is a relative term—weird compared to what? Compared to today's culture of identity politics, gender-affirming care for minors, drag queen blasphemy at the Olympics, and embracing Marxism? If that is the standard of "normal," then yes, conservatives are very strange indeed. For years, the Right has defined itself by opposition to the mainstream media, Hollywood, elitists, and other such trendsetters. Apparently, the Left is only just beginning to catch on. If refusing to participate in such "thrilling" events like "White Women for Kamala" or "White Dudes for Harris" makes you weird, then maybe it's better to be weird.

Don't fall for this playground bully tactic. There are more important things to worry about. The election is far from won, and we have to choose between a president who is "weird" when compared to the Left's standard of normalcy and a president who will take America further down the radically progressive road that has nearly destroyed this country over the past four years. This November, the choice is yours.

Newcomer to art? Join Glenn Beck for a world-class art show celebrating the American heritage

Glenn is inviting you for a once-in-a-lifetime celebration of our American heritage--through art.

You know Glenn as the Radio Hall Of Fame-winning host of the Glenn Beck Program. Since 2020, Glenn has been making his mark as a fine artist, curating pieces that highlight the Western and American heritage. Now, Glenn is hosting a new national art show featuring 100 works of art created by himself and 30 elite artists, featuring the beauty of America's history and landscapes.

The vision for the art show began at Glenn’s Idaho ranch in July 2022, when he and a select group of artists gathered to explore how to create art with a pure motive to inspire that is more inclusive and accessible to newcomers in the art market while also still appealing to seasoned patrons and collectors. Thus the inspiration behind “American Narratives in Fine Art” was born.

Glenn and the participating artists of this exhibition aspire to unite people through art and celebrate cherished American values in a time of increasing division. Artist Josh Clare said, “It is a new concept for an art show. We are exercising faith to participate, but nothing beautiful happens without a leap of faith.”

As a self-taught historian, Glenn has amassed a valuable and vast collection of national historic artifacts, and he offered this collection to the artists to use as inspiration to create art for this show. Artifacts used by the artists will be displayed with the art to create an interactive and unique presentation of illustrative American storytelling.

You won't want to miss this one-of-a-kind celebration of our American heritage in this world-class art event on September 20-21, 2024. Click HERE to buy tickets and learn more, and stay tuned for content highlighting the participating artists.

These 3 things PROVE Kamala Harris is a radical leftist

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Vice President Kamala Harris seems to be the apparent democratic nominee (for now), and despite her image over the past four years as Biden's cackling sidekick, her reputation is no laughing matter. If elected, Kamala would be the most far-left, progressive America has ever seen. Glenn discussed on his radio show just how extreme Kamala's track record is, highlighting some of the most radical things she has said and supported. While she may try to pass herself off as moderate, here are three things from Kamala's past that PROVE that she is a radical leftist:

1. Her stance on the environment

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When Kamala was in the Senate she openly stated that in the name of stopping climate change, she was in support of a total ban on fracking. This would mean a complete halt on one of the most important pillars of America's energy sector and a collapse of the U.S. economy. Not to mention we would become completely dependent on foreign powers, such as Russia and the Middle East for oil and wouldn't address oil consumption, only make oil and gas even more expensive for everyday Americans.

Kamala was also among the eleven most progressive Senators who endorsed the Green New Deal, which aimed to combine radical climate protection with wide-sweeping socialist reforms. This is one of the most radical pieces of legislation to ever be proposed in America and would completely rewrite the entire country from the ground up.

2. Her economic theory

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Kamala's economic theory seems to be "it's easy to spend other people's money," as demonstrated by her Senate track record. In 2019, Harris introduced the "Housing is Infrastructure Act" which proposed to spend $100 BILLION on housing projects, $70 billion of which would be on government-owned housing units.

During her 2020 presidential bid, Kamala openly supported debt-free college. This followed her support for Senator Bernie Sanders's plan to make college tuition-free for low and mid-income families. Even Bernie Sanders admitted that this plan would cost the tax-payers $48 billion a year (keep in mind that's 48 billion pre-pandemic, 2017 dollars), which by all accounts was a low-ball estimate.

Speaking of the pandemic, Kamala's response was just about as extreme as it gets. She proposed a $2,000-a-month allowance for every U.S. citizen during the pandemic. Kamala also introduced a bill that would have capped price increases during the pandemic at 10 percent, which would have caused crippling shortages across the country should it have passed. Kamala's short-sighted economic vision would spell disaster for America should she be elected.

3. Her encouragement of lawlessness

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Possibly most shocking, Kamala worked to free violent criminals and rioters in the wake of the George Floyd "mostly peaceful protests" of 2020. In June 2020, Kamala tweeted a fundraising call for the Minnesota Freedom Fund, a non-profit organization that was created to bail out rioters who were arrested. Approximately $41 million was collected and used to bail out rioters who wreaked havoc on American cities. But even more disturbing is the fact that large portions of the funds were used to bail out violent suspects that bore no connection to the riots. One of these people, a man by the name of George Howard, who had a violent track record, was bailed out using this fund money and quickly went on to gun down Luis Martinez Ortiz in a road rage incident.

Kamala's tweet of endorsement is still up, and she has never commented on the incident. If the lawlessness of the summer of 2020 is a vision of justice that Kamala can get behind, America will not survive a Harris presidency.

These 2 leftist bills will REVERSE Trump's immunity and EMPOWER faceless bureaucrats

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The Democrats in Congress have been trying to slip a few dangerous bills under our noses, and Biden and Kamala Harris came out today publicly backing their efforts. These bills are aimed at undoing two landmark Supreme Court cases that significantly reduced the power of the federal government: Trump v. United States and Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo. Here's a brief summary of each of these cases:

Trump v. United States

This case granted presidents immunity from criminal prosecution of official acts in office. This pumped the breaks on the onslaught of lawfare against former president Trump, putting an end to the left's persecution of their political opponent. This ruling also got Trump out of the classified documents case in Florida and has the potential to get his 34 convictions in Manhattan overturned.

Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo

This case overturned the longstanding Chevron deference, which has historically empowered federal agencies to make and enforce regulations that aren't explicitly made clear in statutory law. The Chevron deference was first articulated in the 1984 Supreme Court case Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council,which required courts to defer to the appropriate federal authority when an ambiguous regulation comes under question. This gave the federal bureaucracy far too much regulatory power and greatly expanded the influence of the administrative state. Fortunately, the Supreme Court overturned this doctrine earlier this month, returning power to lower courts.

Long story short...

Over the summer, the Supreme Court dramatically reduced the power of the Federal government and practically dismantled the administrative state. Naturally, the Left was angry.

Last Wednesday, Democratic Congressman Joseph Morelle proposed a new Constitutional Amendment that would reverse the ruling of Trump v. United States. The proposed amendment would prohibit a president from pardoning themselves and remove "immunity from criminal prosecution for an act on the grounds that such act was within the constitutional authority or official duties of an individual." This amendment has been endorsed by President Biden, who has also called for dramatic changes to the Supreme Court, well overstepping his presidential bounds. Biden wants term limits and an enforceable code of ethics for the high court, which would destroy the delicate system of checks and balances created by our founders. It is clear that the objective behind this unconstitutional escapade is the destruction of Donald Trump, no matter the cost.

Additionally, the Democrats have just introduced a bill into the Senate that would codify the Chevron deference into law, restoring the power of the regulatory federal agencies. Sponsored by Elizabeth Warren and 10 other Democrats, the Stop Corporate Capture Act seeks to take the power to interpret regulations from the lower courts and give it back to the federal government. This is all in line with the progressives' larger goal to centralize power and keep Americans poor and reliant on the government.

The progressives have taken a major blow this summer, their authoritarian grip has been loosened, and they are desperately trying to gain it back. While neither of these bills is likely to pass, it shows that we have to keep up the fight. This election is FAR from won, and it is more important now than ever to take to the polls and vote!

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