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Marc Thiessen: Want to protest Trump? Disrespecting the flag is a disgraceful way to do it

This weekend, the more than 100 NFL players who refused to stand during the national anthem were met with boos from crowds in stadiums across America — and deservedly so.

Playing in London, Baltimore Ravens and Jacksonville Jaguars players wouldn’t stand for the U.S. national anthem but did for “God Save the Queen” in the very country we fought to win our independence.
Worse, the players held their disgraceful protest on National Gold Star Mother’s Day, the day our country honors mothers who have lost children in war. A Gold Star mother whose son died in Afghanistan told CNN last year that when she first saw players taking a knee, “my heart kind of stopped and I lost my breath because the flag that I see is the flag that draped my son’s casket.” Imagine what she and other Gold Star mothers felt seeing 100 players do the same on the very day our country set aside to thank them.
Way to go, NFL.
In Pittsburgh, only one player — Alejandro Villanueva — a former Army Ranger who lost brothers in arms fighting under that flag — came out of the locker room to stand for the anthem. He was criticized for doing so by his coach. The fans’ response? Sales of Villanueva jerseys skyrocketed.
What these players don’t seem to understand is that Americans gave their lives so that they could have the freedom to play a kids’ game for a living. When players disrespect the flag, they disrespect that sacrifice. And it would not matter if they had done so to protest Donald Trump or Barack Obama — their actions would be equally offensive. If NFL players want to protest the president, they have plenty of other ways. Attend a rally. Speak out on Twitter. Tell the media after the game, “I stood up for America but I stand against Donald Trump.” But don’t show contempt for the flag.
Were President Trump’s comments urging owners to fire players who refused to stand incendiary? Sure. Were they politically calculated? No doubt. But that does not change the fact that he is right. And he did not start this fight. Colin Kaepernick and a handful of players did. Moreover, Trump is not the first president to speak out against disrespect for the flag. In 1988, Republican George H.W. Bush excoriated his Democratic opponent, Michael Dukakis, for vetoing a bill requiring Massachusetts teachers to lead their students in the Pledge of Allegiance. As president he proposed a constitutional amendment to outlaw desecration of the flag.
Yes, athletes do have a constitutional right to engage in speech that is offensive to millions of Americans. But the First Amendment does not protect them from the consequences of their offensive speech. There is no constitutional right to play professional football. If an NFL player stood on the sidelines and hurled racial epithets, his speech would be protected by the First Amendment. He would also be fired.
The NFL’s game operations manual says that “all players must be on the sideline for the National Anthem” and must “stand at attention, face the flag, hold helmets in their left hand, and refrain from talking” or face discipline “such as fines, suspensions, and/or the forfeiture of draft choice(s).” The league regularly penalizes players for dancing in the end zone, but it allows players to violate the rules regarding the national anthem with impunity.
The NFL is also selective when it comes to the kind of speech it protects. Last September, the Dallas Cowboys asked for permission to wear helmet stickers in honor of police officers massacred in Dallas earlier last year. The league refused. So the NFL will not allow players to express their support for police with a tiny helmet decal, but it lets them disrespect the flag while distorting the work of police officers across the country?
The players’ behavior is hurting the league. NFL viewership is at its lowest point since 1998, and ESPN reports that “national anthem protests were the top reason that NFL fans watched fewer games last season, according to a new survey released by J.D. Power.” Indeed, “Sunday Night Football” had its worst ratings of the season this weekend, as millions of Americans turned off their sets in disgust.
If the NFL won’t stop its players from disrespecting the flag, then maybe Congress should take a second look at some of the federal benefits the NFL enjoys. For example, the NFL gets a special antitrust exemption in U.S. law. Democrats in Congress have already been debating whether the league should be stripped of this exemption because of its weak response to domestic violence allegations against players. Perhaps Republicans angry over anthem protests will now be willing to join them? And this might also be a good time for some public hearings into the NFL’s efforts to interfere with concussion research at the National Institutes of Health.
Last year, National Hockey League coach John Tortorella declared, “If any of my players sit on the bench for the national anthem, they will sit there the rest of the game.”
Hey, NFL, take a cue from the NHL. Every coach and owner should tell his players the same.
Marc Thiessen is a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI). Thiessen served as chief speechwriter to President George W. Bush and to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

Fight in 'empathy tent' at UC Berkeley leads to 4 arrests

Yvonne Felarca, 47, was arrested for battery and resisting arrest, police said.  (Berkeley Police)

So much for empathy. Members of opposing political groups clashed Tuesday inside a so-called "empathy tent" on the campus of the University of California, Berkeley.

At least four people were arrested, police said.

The empathy tent was reportedly in place to offer protesters a calm place to unwind amid the choas around them. But the tent ultimately offered little respite -- and nearly toppled during clashes between conservative students and leftist activists, the Los Angeles Times reported.
“It’s tough, but we do what we can to foster dialogue,” said Edwin Fulch, who reportedly used the tent for talks about the virtues of meditation and the Occupy Wall Street movement.
The protest was led by Joey Gibson, leader of a group called Patriot Prayer. Gibson had called for a rally after student organizers canceled a planned "Free Speech Week.”
Counterprotesters determined to shut the event down got into shouting matches and scuffles with Gibson and his supporters inside the tent and later in a city park.
Left-wing activist Yvonne Felarca was arrested for battery and resisting arrest, police said. Three men were arrested on charges including possession of body armor, carrying a banned weapon and participating in a riot.
Berkeley's reputation as a liberal bastion has made it a flashpoint for the country's political divisions since the election of President Donald Trump.
Four protests have turned violent on campus and in the surrounding streets in recent months, prompting authorities to tighten security as they struggle to balance free speech rights with preventing violence.
David Marquis, who identified himself as a senior at the school, said he was tired of the protests on campus. Marquis was outside the protest area and described the scene.
“If you look at them, it’s ridiculous,” Marquis told the Los Angeles Times. “You’ve got a guy with purple hair with a f---ing lightsaber talking about Hitler. It’s hard for me to take any of this seriously.”

American sniper's wife Taya Kyle: An open letter to the NFL

Dear NFL,

You were doing your part to bring people together and heal the world. That’s really how healing works. We heal by loving each other and leading by example; showing people what is possible when we love each other just as we are and not only recognize our differences but celebrate them and look at how we can use them together to make us jointly better than our separate parts. You were doing your part celebrating each other based on skills, talent and a joint vision without regard to color and religion.
You were doing your part and we were doing ours. We showed up cheering and groaning together to as one. We talked in the concession lines and commiserated and celebrated our team together. Did it ever occur to you that you and we were already a mix of backgrounds, races and religions? We were already living the dream you want, right in front of you.

Your desire to focus on division and anger has shattered what many people loved most about the sport. Football was really a metaphor for our ideal world -- different backgrounds, talents, political beliefs and histories as one big team with one big goal -- to do well, to win, TOGETHER.

Your desire to focus on division and anger has shattered what many people loved most about the sport. Football was really a metaphor for our ideal world -- different backgrounds, talents, political beliefs and histories as one big team with one big goal -- to do well, to win, TOGETHER.
You are asking us to abandon what we loved about togetherness and make choices of division. Will we stand with you? Will we stand with our flag? What does it mean? What does it mean if we buy a ticket or NFL gear? What does it mean if we don’t? It is the polar opposite of the easy togetherness we once loved in football.
It was simple – we loved you and you loved us – with all of our races, religions, different backgrounds and politics. Simplicity in a crazy world was pretty awesome.
You dear NFL, have taken that. You have lost me here.
If you ever want to get off your knees and get to work on building bridges, let me know. I have found screaming about the problems in service marriages or even standing in silence in front of them, hasn’t healed even one of them.
On the other hand, funding the Chris Kyle Frog Foundation, building a team and rolling up my sleeves to get in the trenches during my “off time” -- volunteering there outside of my paying jobs -- has proven to make real change.
You have a lot of strong guys, I am sure in the off season a lot of them could build some pretty big bridges if they care enough to do the hard work. That would involve getting off their knees and getting to work though. If I can do it while I raise two kids as their only parent and work through the greatest pain of my life, let’s see if they can do it for the issues they say they care so much about.
Go Longhorns and Sic ‘Em …
Sincerely,
Taya
Taya Kyle is co-author of "American Wife: Love, War, Faith and Renewal" (William Morrow, May 2015) founded the Chris Kyle Frog Foundation in honor of her late husband Chris Kyle, legendary U.S. Navy SEAL and author of the bestsellers "American Sniper" and "American Gun." The foundation is devoted to strengthening the marriages of veterans and first responders. An active public speaker, Taya Kyle makes frequent appearances at fund-raisers and other events, inspiring others to find strength and persevere through struggles. She and her two children live in Texas.

Roy Moore defeats Trump-backed Luther Strange in Alabama Senate runoff

Former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore was projected to soundly defeat Sen. Luther Strange in Tuesday's Senate primary runoff, overcoming heavy GOP establishment support for the incumbent, including from President Trump himself.

The hard-fought Alabama runoff battle had pitted Trump against some of his most loyal supporters including former chief strategist Steve Bannon, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and a slew of House conservatives who all backed Moore. Despite his outsider image, Moore seemed to have the edge over Strange from the start.

With 92 percent of the precincts reporting, Moore led Strange by 55 percent to 45 percent, a margin of more than 41,000 votes. State officials estimated a low turnout of between 12 and 15 percent of eligible voters.
The crowd at Moore's election party broke into loud applause as media outlets called the race. Bannon took the stage to introduce Moore as supporters waving flags cheered Tuesday night.
"We have to return the knowledge of God and the Constitution of the United States to the United States Congress," Moore told the crowd. He also said he supports the president and his agenda.
Bannon declared Moore's win a victory for Trump, despite the president's support for Strange. Both Trump and Vice President Mike Pence traveled to Alabama to make the case for the incumbent in the final week of the race.
In his concession statement, Strange thanked Trump and Pence for their support and vowed to "go back to work with President Trump and do all I can to advance his agenda over the next few weeks."
Addressing supporters in Birmingham, Strange admitted that "We're dealing with a political environment that I've never had any experience with."
"I'm telling you, the political seas and winds in this country right now are very hard to navigate," Strange added. "Very hard to understand."
After Strange's concession, the president Tweeted his congratulations to Moore and implored him to "WIN in [December]!"
Moore is now the favorite in December's general election against Democrat Doug Jones, a lawyer and former U.S. attorney during President Bill Clinton's administration. The winner of that race will complete the Senate term started by Attorney General Jeff Sessions and be up for re-election in 2020.
At a rally in Huntsville Friday, Trump portrayed Strange as loyal to him and said he appreciated how Strange agreed to vote for ObamaCare replacement legislation this summer without asking any favors from him. However, Trump’s endorsement was overshadowed nationally by his attack on NFL players who kneel during the National Anthem prior to games.
Trump also said at the Alabama rally that he would campaign for Moore in the general election if he secured the nomination, but he believed Moore would have a tougher time against Jones in the general election.
Pence also flew to Birmingham on Monday evening to campaign for Strange.
The Senate Leadership Fund, a group with ties to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., spent an estimated $9 million trying to secure the nomination for Strange. That support played into Moore's argument that the election was an opportunity to send a lesson to what he called the "elite Washington establishment."
SLF President and CEO Steven Law said Tuesday that Moore won the nomination "fair and square" and the group will now back him.
Law said Moore "has our support, as it is vital that we keep this seat in Republican hands."
Moore, known in Alabama as the "Ten Commandments Judge," has a colorful political history that has both fueled and complicated his rise.
Moore first received national attention in the 1990s as a county judge when he hung a wooden Ten Commandments plaque on the wall of his courtroom. The ACLU filed a lawsuit against him.
Benefiting from his popularity after the episode, Moore then ran and won a race for chief justice of the state’s Supreme Court in 2000. But he was ousted after refusing to remove a 5,280-pound granite Ten Commandments monument from the rotunda of the state judicial building.
Moore resurrected his political career in 2012, when he was elected chief justice again. But his second tenure was short-lived: in 2016, Moore was suspended as chief justice after he directed probate judges not to issue marriage certificates to gay couples.
Strange, the former attorney general in Alabama, was temporarily appointed to the seat in April by then-Gov. Robert Bentley, who has since resigned in disgrace. Opponents have used the appointment against Strange, accusing Bentley of naming him to the seat so he could install someone who might be more sympathetic to him in the state attorney general’s office.
On the outskirts of Montgomery, 76-year-old Air Force retiree John Lauer said Trump's endorsement swayed him to vote for Strange on Tuesday.
"I voted for Strange. I'm a Trump voter. Either one is going to basically do the Trump agenda, but since Trump came out for Luther, I voted for Luther," said Lauer said.
Merlene Bohannon, a widow with three grown children, said she had planned to vote for Strange until seeing Bannon stump for Moore on Fox News on Monday night.
"Steve Bannon and God spoke to me, and this morning when I went in I voted for Moore," said Bohannon, 74.