Quote of Day II: Flags Banned, Are Baseballs Next?

It's the week to wave the flag, as millions did on the Fourth. However, in the case of Minnesota, perhaps we should say "waive" the flag -- at least if it happens to have been made overseas.

In St. Paul this week, the legislature passed a law making it a misdemeanor to sell a non-made-in-the-USA flag anywhere in the state. Minnesotans will be able to legally burn an American flag made in America, but could go to jail for selling one made in Shanghai. Splendid.

Proponents say this protectionism is about national symbolism, so let's not tell them that Major League baseballs have been made in Costa Rica for years.

Old Glory stands for freedom, including the right to trade with people of other nationalities. We suspect that when most Americans wave the flag, they care more about the ideas it represents than where it was made.

WSJ Editorial Flag Banning (subscription required)

For more information about the hand-sewn baseball industry in Turrialba, Costa Rica (population 30,000) at the Rawlings Sporting Goods factory ("sweatshop"?), exclusive supplier of baseballs for MLB, read articles here and here (NY Times).

See previous CD post on flag banning here.