Wednesday, September 26

The National Review has started a running feature they're calling Kumbaya Watch, which keeps an eye on the most egregious, unrealistic let's-understand-where-the-terrorists-are-coming-from moments in our national life. I'm on the lookout for something else, but I'm not sure what I'll call it: maybe Yankee Doodle Watch or perhaps the Lee Greenwood Watch. I'm after examples of commercial exploitation of the current situation, in which the line between patriotism and marketing has clearly been crossed. The news networks all flying little flags in the corner of their screens would qualify. The most startling example this week for me has been the sight of a ceiling-height American flag built out of Coke cases at the grocery store - regular Coke for the red stripes and Diet for the white, with a square of blue paper in the corner. No stars yet. Maybe bottle tops?