I'm reading "Maine Accepting Designs for a New State Flag/Maine is seeking design ideas before voters in November determine whether to adopt a new, more distinctive flag" (NYT).
Maine is one of the many states with a flag based on the state seal. These flags are way too cluttered, the polar opposite of something a child could draw from memory. Central to Maine's flag, however, is a pine tree, and the contest requires continued focus on the pine tree. There's also a well-placed desire to return to something like Maine's 1901 flag, which is seal-free and seems to adhere to good principles of flag design:
But a pine tree at this screwy moment makes us think of trumped-up controversy surrounding Samuel Alito's wife:
The 1901 Maine flag has a pine tree in the center, which makes it resemble the “Appeal to Heaven” flag, which was used during the Revolutionary War but has in recent years been tied to a push to remake the American government in Christian terms. The “Appeal to Heaven” flag was carried by rioters at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
The New York Times revealed last month that the “Appeal to Heaven” flag was flown outside Justice Alito’s vacation house in New Jersey last summer. Justice Alito said in a letter to lawmakers that he was aware of the flag but he was not familiar with the flag’s meaning and that it had been raised by his wife, Martha-Ann Alito.
Fortunately, this small ripple in the ocean of time will not change Maine's rock-solid dedication to the proposition that a pine tree belongs in the center of its flag.
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49 comments:
Democrats launch a new smear campaign against inconvenient people.
Pine trees hardest hit.
If that’s the 1901 flag, I like it.
In the words of NASCAR hall of famer Smoky Yunik, “Don’t fix nuthin that ain’t broke.
Principle of the flag and its construction:
"The washing machine is so conceived that, having been filled with a heap of ignoble tissue, the inner emotion, the boiling indignation that it feels from this, when channeled to the upper part of its being, falls back down on the heap of ignoble tissue turning its stomach - more or less perpetually - it being a process that should end up with a purification.
"So here we are at the heart of the mystery. The sun is setting on this Monday evening. Oh housewives! And you, near the end of your study, how tired your backs are! But after grinding away all day long like this look at what clean and proper arms you have, your pure hands, worn by the most moving toil!
"Certainly the linen, once it went into the washing machine, had already been cleansed, roughly. The machine did not come into contact with filthiness as such, with snot, for example dried out, filthy, and clinging to the handkerchiefs.
"It is still a fact, however, that the machine experiences an idea or a diffuse feeling of filthiness about the things inside of itself, which, through emotions, boilings, and efforts, it manages to overcome - in separating the tissue : so much so that, when rinsed in a catastrophe of fresh water, these will come to seem extremely white.
"And here, in effect, is the miracle :
"A thousand white flags are suddenly unfurled - attesting not to defeat, but to victory - and are not just, perhaps, the sign of corporal propriety among the inhabitants of the neighborhood."
Francis Ponge
I suggest a plain white flag.
"Buff" is a bizarre choice for the background. No one has buff-colored pencils or pens. The design criteria effectively say that the flag should be easy to draw but impossible to color.
They could leave the flag alone and just label it "Appeal to Satan" and all would be good.
LOL “trumped-up” indeed.
NYT left out the part about the "Appeal to Heaven" pine tree flag flying in front of San Francisco City Hall for years until Mrs. Alito chose to fly it (which I think is charming) and then it suddenly disappeared. Why would that be?
Don't tread on me.
I am reading Vassily Grossman's masterful "Life and Fate", about the Soviet Union in WWII. The New York Times reads like an organ of Soviet state propaganda because of what they leave out. But I am sure with the best of intentions.
“The Pine Tree flag has become of symbol of independence. The Revolutionary War, of course, was a turning point in our nation’s history. It marked the end of oppressive rule by a foreign government and the beginning of a new, free government led by the people. The Pine Tree flag is a symbol of this independence. Even today, many Americans proudly display it in front of their homes and businesses.”
https://starspangledflags.com/5-facts-about-the-pine-tree-flag/
Fitting for Maine and for MAGA. Just needs a red-roofed lobster boat.
""Buff" is a bizarre choice for the background. No one has buff-colored pencils or pens. The design criteria effectively say that the flag should be easy to draw but impossible to color."
It's not bizarre when you realize the rules are mostly about returning to the 1901 flag. They just want a more stylized, simplified image of the pine tree.
Also, "buff" was the traditional word for this color and the color is a traditional color for states. I remember learning, back in the 1950s, that Delaware's colors are "buff and colonial blue."
From the Wikipedia article "Buff":
"Buff is a traditional European military uniform colour. Buff has good camouflage qualities as sand, soil, and dry vegetation are buff in many areas. The term buff coat refers to a part of 17th-century European military uniforms. Such coats were intended to protect the wearer, and the strongest and finest leathers tend to be buff, so the term "buff coats" came to refer to all such coats, even if the colour varied.
"The Royal East Kent Regiment was nicknamed "The Buffs" from the colour of their waistcoats. The phrase "Steady the Buffs!", popularised by Rudyard Kipling in his 1888 work Soldiers Three, has its origins during 2nd Battalion's garrison duties in Malta. Adjutant Cotter, not wanting to be shown up in front of his former regiment, the 21st Royal (North British) Fusiliers, spurred his men on with the words: "Steady, the Buffs! The Fusiliers are watching you."
"The uniform of the American Continental Army was buff and blue.
"Buff is the traditional colour of the U.S. Army Quartermaster Corps.
"The U.S. Army Institute of Heraldry specifies a "buff" tincture for certain coats of arms, often treating it as a metal for purposes of the rule of tincture....
"The flags of Delaware and New Jersey, and the former flags of New York and Maine, officially feature buff...."
True about the crayons though.
I'd expect most of the drawing to be done with a computer program though, not crayoned. Maybe the rules for the context suggest a code # for the color.
I found the code right away: https://htmlcolorcodes.com/colors/buff/
Here's a post of mine from 2014: "In the buff":
"'What color is buff?' I was asked recently, after I mentioned that the English dandy Beau Brummel mostly only ever wore the colors white, blue-black, and buff. I answered 'in the buff,' as if the color is the color of a random naked person, but...."
Much more at the link!
But a pine tree at this screwy moment…
Phrases like this are pure poison- A critical rebellious act against a corrupt system turned into a belittling banality in the interest of making a different point.
IIRC the closest Crayola color to 'buff' was 'flesh', and today that's racist.
I treasured my box of 64.
The pine tree should be lying on its side next to a stump with a smiling logger standing there holding an ax.
Nix the pine tree for a lobster roll…
Buff is the color of the cheese on Chuck Schumer's burger, no?
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2024/06/16/chuck-schumer-roasted-placing-cheese-raw-hamburger/
Trusted Expert!
so the competition is for entry by children only?
[fun fact = all are children of parents!]
my friend stuffs cheese slice between 2 patties and then grills!
Will the re-designed flag of Michigan include a crescent?
I don't remember ever seeing a Mainer cabin flying the state flag next to the American flag. This redesign sounds like a revenue grab. A memorable flag will sell better.
Most state flags are crap, and look up your city's flag to get an idea of what not to do.
The Maine flag should have a lobster drinking a Moxie.
https://stock.adobe.com/search?k=south+carolina+flag
Easy
The first Navy jack in 1776 was a flag with 13 red and white stripes, plus a rattle snake across the middle and the words "Don't Tread on Me" under the snake. Since 1776, this naval jack has been traditionally flown from the jackstaff of the oldest commissioned ship in the USN when the ship is in port and also from the jackstaffs of all USN commission ships during centennial anniversaries of 1776. My own ship flew this flag during the centennial year 1976 as did every other ship in the USN. Today, that original jack is often placed on the left side of Navy organizational ballcaps and old glory on the right side as a unique symbol of the USN. I also personally fly this unique USN flag on my own flagpole at home, often to the consternation of some neighbors who are ignorant of its origin and the traditions involved, but erroneously consider it some type of right-wing political statement. When those neighbors questioned my patriotism or purpose in flying a USN approved jack, I took the time to explain its history to them and that I fly it (as do many other Navy active duty and veterans) to honor my 26 years of USN service. If they still have an issue with it after that, I respectfully invite them to go fuck themselves. I doubt they ever do, but then they neither do they bring up the subject of the flag again. I would recommend the same approach be applied to the Pine Tree flag.
None of the commenters have broken into the meat of the story, though.
..."Maine lawmakers agreed last year to let voters decide if they want to adopt a new state flag design that would be more distinctive than the current one, which has a blue background and the state seal, a man standing on each side of a shield that shows a moose resting under a pine tree. The Maine secretary of state, Shenna Bellows, announced on Friday a contest to determine which design would be used as the model ahead of a November referendum on a new flag."
Yes, isn't this the same SOS that attempted to have Donald Trump removed from the 2024 ballot, only to get her arrogant *ss kicked by the USSC? Is it unreasonable to suspect that the motivation behind this 'let the voters decide' is less about letting voters decide anything, and more about getting 2 white guys and a pine tree kicked off the flag, because someone might think they're Republicans? She's a Karen of the highest order.
The Maine secretary of state, Shenna Bellows, announced on Friday a contest to determine which design would be used as the model ahead of a November referendum on a new flag.
Lobster Boaty McBoatface
If you like a tree-featured flag, I've always liked the South Carolina flag. Maine might want to consider blending a bit of the SC flag along with the prominent beaver shown on the Oregon flag. Change out the SC palm for a Maine pine, show the beaver chomping away at the pine, and I think you'd have a winner there. Though...I'm not sure a school kid could draw that properly. I know I couldn't.
Narayanan said...
my friend stuffs cheese slice between 2 patties and then grills!
My father used to eat Steak Tartare, only with beef fresh from a butcher.
Check the color of Chuckie's patty. EEEEEWWWW.
Sorry, this new design is terrible. A star and tree. how minimal, how bland, how boring.
Keep the old flag. It was "Busy" but at least it had something. As stated above, the old flag has two white guys on it, so it has to go. If you really want something that says 2024 Maine Put Susan Collins face on it, with the motto "abortum in aeternum".
Lets be honest all these east coast "Postage stamp" states should be gotten rid of. Its absurd that New England gets 6 senators and Cal or Texas get two each. Or that Delaware or Rhode Island are states at all.
Merge Maine, RI and Mass into one state, and VT, NH into another. Merge delaware into MD. Then cut Illinois, NY, texas and Calf into 2 states each.
Arizona has the best state flag.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Arizona
>The contest rules specify that the design has to be an original work and not generated by artificial intelligence.<
Granted, I don't know much about AI, but it seems to me that it would be impossible to determine that a participant's design had been created by AI. Am I mistaken?
"but has in recent years been tied to a push to remake the American government in Christian terms. "
As if there were any chance of that.
A white banner would be inclusive. A black banner would be exclusive. Either banner would be a return to basics and easy to recall and reproduce.
Shenna Bellows once ran for the senate as a progressive Democrat. But hey, let's have her call the balls and strikes in an election!
The "Appeal to Heaven" flag..."has in recent years been tied to a push to remake the American government in Christian terms."
Tied? By whom (aside from Democratic activists), and by what criteria?
A push to remake the American government? Specifically, in what way? By whom and by how many? Is the "push" in any way comparable to Democratic efforts to "fundamentally transform" the country?
How about a Fungus Flag?
The flag shown is good but maybe put the star on the right side.
Better for 'motion' and won't 'crowd' the flagpole when it's (usually) on the left.
I think it is a good idea to remove the moose. In Maine moosehead will get you on the sexual offender's registry.
Unlike Canada where it is just a beer.
John Henry
RCOCEAN II said...
“...Merge Maine, RI and Mass into one state, and VT, NH into another. Merge delaware into MD. Then cut Illinois, NY, texas and Calf into 2 states each.”
Maine and Mass. were one large state until 1820 when Maine gained statehood as part of the Missouri Compromise. Even today, Patriot’s Day (April 19) is a civic holiday in both states.
While it appears that VT and NH would fit together quite nicely, they’re separated by more than just the Connecticut River, and a merge of those two states would not be accepted easily….
It occurs to me that we may be misreading the message of Martha-Ann Alito’s flag flying. The far left and far right would like us to believe that she and her husband are expressing support for the J6 rioters. Samuel Alito would like us to believe that his wife is a crazy flag lady who flys them as retorts in beefs with her neighbors. But “Appeal to Heaven” might be a coded message from the wife of a Supreme Court Justice, whose judgments are supreme and can only be appealed to heaven and the upside down American Flag is a symbol of distress. Could Martha-Ann be signaling there is distress at home? Blink twice if you need help, Mrs. Alito.
A year or so ago a YT channel "CGP Grey" put out a vid called "Does your flag fail?" and he goes through and ranks all the flags according to "good flag design" criteria that seem to match pretty well what this article states. His end conclusion -- the vast majority of state flags are poorly designed, and the worst offenders are the "SOS" ones -- "Seal on a Sheet"
It's about 18 minutes long and I found it quite entertaining - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4w6808wJcU
Great video about state flags! I still think AZ should have been up there with NM and TX...
Were it state slogans, Maine's could be "Hey, Over Here"
In 1894, Sarah Orne Jewett published a short story collection, “The Country of the Pointed Firs,” about Maine rural culture.
It’s a delightful local culture collection and one the best works of fiction about Maine. It’s dominant symbol is the ubiquitous
slender Maine pine tree. Stay with the pine tree; it is the quintessential Maine symbol.
You know what other flag was carried by protesters (and even by "rioters"!) on January 6?
Yessir--Old Glory, the Stars and Stripes.
I know the progs would dearly love to get rid of that flag.
Bring back the 1902 ME flag. Works just fine.
The musicians of the Titanic were a septet orchestra who performed chamber music in the first class section aboard the ship.
The group is notable for playing music, intending to calm the passengers for as long as they possibly could, during the ship's sinking in the early hours of April 15, 1912 in which all of the members perished.
Rehajm beat me to it --
Flaggy McFlagface!!!
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