For those DCI shows that have DCA corps present

[Gary Matczak]

DCA does not require corps to have an honor guard to compete in the circuits, nor its championships. There is a separate judging category for honor guards at championships. I do not know about the local regional shows, anybody? So, honor guard does not enter into your DCA Championship score, nor your placement. But, if you desire the honor and distinction of (American Legion?) Champion that dons the Orange flag, you must have an honor guard and carry (be sponsored by) an American Legion post.

To my best knowledge, I think that this is correct.

BT

there is no caption award persey at local shows, however, the shows held here in Erie, we have had an honor guard from one of the local American Legion posts choose and award the prize for best honor guard,................

[The Nagging Cough!]

Maybe if no one died fighting under that flag so you could have the freedom to do what you want to do and say what you want to say it would be a silly constuct.

Seeing that many did, your attitude is ill-informed, to say the least. Damnable, to say the most. <**>

Let's not get carried away.

[Orpheus]

Maybe if no one died fighting under that flag so you could have the freedom to do what you want to do and say what you want to say it would be a silly constuct.

Here's the question -- were they fighting for the flag (which is, after all, just a pretty piece of cloth) ... or were they fighting for the freedoms that it represents, such as those outlined in the Bill of Rights? For the record, BTW, there's an American flag flying from my front porch on every holiday and I always observe proper flag etiquette to the best of my knowledge. However, I also realize that this country is about more than that. We shouldn't treat the flag like some sort of bizarre religious icon. Rather, we should love and cherish the liberties that it is supposed to stand for. I would never deface an American flag as a form of protest, for instance, but I firmly believe that it would be unconstitutional and un-American for the government to punish someone who did.

And God help all of us if we lose that freedom paid for in blood. For DC will be the very least of things we will lose.

What's really ironic, though, is that some of the politicians who are most likely to drape themselves in the red, white, and blue are also the ones who seem to be doing the most to limit certain of our freedoms.

"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."

Edited July 3, 2007 by Orpheus

[84BDsop]

thanks for that clarification...after reading my post again with your reply, I realized it may have come off as sarcastic, but I honestly didn't know if band or corps uniforms "count" or not.

They do...in 03 I made it very clear that if we were heading to the stadium and heard the NA, I would call a halt, put hte corps to attention, and face the colors and salute on the behalf of the corps....which was my duty as the field commander. (Same as any military unit, as a matter of fact...everyone else comes to attention, but the unit commander salutes on behalf of the unit. As it happened, in 03 we were in the middle of the parking lot at Riverside....either 03 or 04 (don;t remember) we were entering the field at Long Beach, and 03 West Covina, we were across that huge field near the stadium....but I still called attention & saluted...from a few hundred yards off.

I even saluted our OWN colors as they passed me on the way to their place for 04 DCA prelims

Funny how I never got taken to task for it..

[The Nagging Cough!]

I think we need to change our national anthem from something as bellicose and aggressive as The Star-Spangled Banner to something else. Some people suggest "America The Beautiful," which is okay. Others suggest "My Country Tis Of Thee," but the United Kingdom already has that. Some people think we should use "This Land Is Your Land," but they tend to hang around Berkeley or Madison and refrain from showering.

My suggestion? Don't Stop Believin'. It highlights that people from disparate worlds can exist together, and its chorus is one that we can all agree on. If we stopped believing, how would we have emancipated the slaves? If we stopped believing, how would we have eradicated fascism? If we stopped believing, how would we have put a man on the moon? And how will we ameliorate the quagmire that is the Iraq war if we stop believing? Let's take a midnight train going not just anywhere, but to our nation's capital, and see if we can make a change for the better, my fellow streetlight people.

Edited July 3, 2007 by The Nagging Cough!

[uncle z]

Rock on.

[Meaghatron]

I think we need to change our national anthem from something as bellicose and aggressive as The Star-Spangled Banner to something else. Some people suggest "America The Beautiful," which is okay. Others suggest "My Country Tis Of Thee," but the United Kingdom already has that. Some people think we should use "This Land Is Your Land," but they tend to hang around Berkeley or Madison and refrain from showering.

My suggestion? Don't Stop Believin'. It highlights that people from disparate worlds can exist together, and its chorus is one that we can all agree on.

Have you watched The Sopranos' Finale a little too many times?

:P

[The Nagging Cough!]

Furthermore, our national anthem is a traditional English drinking song. Steve Perry is a red-blooded American. We shan't outsource our most precious national piece of music. Are these lyrics not those of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness?

"Some of them just sing the blues," a genre of music that was forged here in the United States. THINK ABOUT IT.

Edited July 3, 2007 by The Nagging Cough!

[Dave]

Furthermore, our national anthem is a traditional English drinking song.

A long-standing misconception. Here's the true origin of the song which provides the melody for the Star-Spangled Banner.

[The Nagging Cough!]

Fascinating story there, but it does nothing to change my stance that we shouldn't be indoctrinating our public with stories of mid-air explosions when there's a universal three-word message that encapsulates America so much better.