Unbelievable. This sign is one of the funniest pro-war ones I've seen yet...it reveals so much about the man holding it. Oh, if he had only consulted a dictionary. Oh, wait, he probably doesn't have room for one in the trailer. Ah, well.
Notice the star-spangled bandanna...wow, such class. Nice mullet, too!
TJ & Susan Gobreski sent me this story about the Great Flag Balloon Debacle. I see the dilemma here: mock the balloon as an example of tasteless flaggetry, or blast the people who are stealing the image for their own gain? That's a tough one. Is it possible to ridicule both? I do believe it is!
I saw this today and I knew you would be interested. It's from a suburban Philadelphia paper. As a capitalist should I root for the mom & pop? As a patriot should I disdain them for tainting Old Glory with the stink of crass commercialism? Should I side with the state for saving tax dollars by using this photo for free? Or should I hate big government for screwing the little guy? A little story in an obscure paper raises many deep questions for true American flag wavers.
Couple Says NY Stole Their Balloon
By Bill Lawrence
The couple who own the landmark U.S. Flag Balloon- America One don't love New York as much. The government there anyway. Our neighbor to the north has robbed them, they say.
"It's the first time a state has hijacked an aircraft," said Barry DiLibero.
Barry and his wife, Teri, of Chester County, do business under the name of The US Flag Balloon (www.usflagballoon.com.) This business includes being hired by fairs and other public events to display a 78-by-53-foot hot-air balloon in the shape of Old Glory.
It was most recently seen at the Rally for America, March 16, in Valley Forge albeit that one was a freebie to support our troops according to the DiLiberos.
The balloon was acquired in April 2002 and was custom designed. It is the only American flag balloon.
"It is the largest flying flag in the world," says Barry. He noted that the only other one is the flag of Belgium and it is significantly smaller. Nobody really knows what the Belgian flag looks like anyway, Barry notes.
Barry, who owns several businesses including a title and tag company, and Teri who owns a small sign company says the flag isn't his livelihood, although it was a substantial personal investment including the trucks and paraphernalia.
"Every time I look at (the balloon) I see a new house," says Teri.
The motivation for the DiLiberos is mostly patriotism. They often hand out pocket Constitutions.
The DiLibero balloon was a notable attraction at Spiedie Fest last August, in Binghamton, N.Y.
It was a typical late summer New York weekend. The sky was blue. The clouds were few. The smell of spiedies -- the regional sandwich in whose honor the event was held -- filled the nose. The DiLiberos flew their balloon, mingled with the spectators, answered questions and handed out pocket Constitutions, then went home.
At the Rally for America, a police officer remarked she had seen the balloon in Yankee Magazine.
Barry was pleased.
"I thought that it was an article about Spiedie Fest," Barry said.
Then he saw the May edition of Better Homes & Gardens. It included a full-page ad for the "I Love New York" campaign with them taking off in the foreground.
"We were the feature of the entire photograph," Barry said.
"It is the cover of a one-six page color insert booklet for I Love NY," says Teri.
He learned the same ad appeared in the April edition of Reader's Digest and many other magazines.
The DiLiberos never gave permission that their balloon be used for commercial purposes. This poses a problem.
"New York has attached themselves to us. We've had people tell us we are the New York flag balloon. Wherever we go we represent New York whether we want to or not," Barry says. He fears that event organizers may start charging -- a customary practice in dealing with those seeking to promote corporate entities -- rather than paying them to appear.
"It puts our ability to pay for the whole project in serious jeopardy," says Teri.
Barry also points out that they can now no longer sell exclusive use to a potential paying advertising customer.
Alex Dudley, spokesman for the Empire State Development Corp., the state agency that oversees the "I Love New York" campaign, says the state has the legal right to use the image.
"They brought the balloon to a public ballooning event in Binghamton, N.Y. where it was photographed," said Dudley.
He said the ad campaign has run its course and that New York did the DiLiberos a favor anyway.
"The I Love New York program is one of the 10 most recognizable brands in the world," Dudley said. "The exposure the balloon received will benefit them tremendously."
Teri disagrees.
"It gives us no exposure," she said. "They didn't even put our web site on the page. Most people's reaction is, 'When did NY buy a flag balloon?'"
Barry points out that New York used their image for commercial purposes without permission or compensation.
"If we don't stand up to them, they're going to do it to someone else," he said.
Legal action looms.
"We would love to settle this without a fight," Teri said. "But, they have stopped answering our inquiries."
She also wants to make clear they have no problem with the good people of the Empire State, where they will be making several appearances.
"Our problem is not the people of New York, but the state's governmental agency that just thinks it's OK to steal someone's property for their fiscal gain," she said.
©CountyPressOnline.com 2003
Here is Rick Abruzzo's contribution to the Department of Homeland Security's logo contest. This is great stuff!
You amused me, so I amuse you... Here is something I wrote. So the finalists are in for the logo for the newly-minted Department of Homeland Security, the freshest-smelling department in the Federal Government. The link goes to a site where you view the selected pieces and submit comments, with a note from the site: "PLEASE, BE CONSTRUCTIVE WITH YOUR COMMENTS." They don't know me too well, do they? Well I grabbed a few and decide to make my own snarky comments.
 Oh this nice, trying to out-creep the DARPA logo, who needs all-seeing pyramids when you have Robo-Bird: Postmodern Protector of the World. Please save us, Federal Gov't! Federal Gov't here, we'll protect your Prada purse with our Laser-Eye Eagle-Shaped Cookie Jar. I also like how the stars are fucked up and unevenly spaced. |
 I didn't realize the Government started a title company. These will look nice on the insurance adjustor's truck. |
 Department of Shitty Clipart. I also like the Skittles Security Alert colors around the bottom, it deftly reflects our Taste the Rainbow attitude towards terrorism. The gray gradient-faux steel look: Homeland Security-faux sense of security. |
 Our anime eagle warrior will defeat you in an intimidating staring contest. |
 En garde! I Can't Believe It's Not Bureaucracy. 11 stars, wtf? Each star represents each minute you spent designing this cottage cheese label. |
 Homage to the energy companies that run this country. Where's Captain America's lawyer? |
 I really like this one. It was created by a blue ribbon panel. It was their group wisdom not to put an eagle on the logo, but instead have Old Glory protected by massive wingspan of the majestic Duck-billed Flatasquish, a rare bird known for their one-dimensional feel and have been recently saved from the brink of destruction as they were hunted and made into Chinese fans. Nice aim on the stars, Tex.. way to think outside the lines. |
 Stark, clean, simple, boring. I'm glad to see they didn't exclude Microsoft Word users. What hell is wrong with this guy, United States of America up-side down? Gives me the impression that DHS is crushing USA under it's weight. |
From David Craighead:
A scan of some advertising I received in the mail. Unfortunately the company that sent it out was serious and I'm sure the irony was unintentional.
Made in China? Oh, that's just precious.
From K.H. Ranitzsch:
Hello, I am writing this from Germany after reading your nice website :-) Nice to see there are still sane people in the US. All too many overzealous people over there remind me of attitudes popular around here 70 years ago. But I sincerely hope your better minds will prevail.
Anyway, I am writing this because I came across a website that would fit perfectly into your collection. Have a look at Star Spangled Ice Cream. Can you believe that?
Greetings,
K.H. Ranitzsch
Absolutely incredible. They turned ice cream into a political statement simply because they can't stand the success of the lefty folks at Ben & Jerry's. "I-Hate-the-French Vanilla"? God help us. Imagine, an entire business founded on spite. But I guess I can admire that in a weird sort of way... But hey, they're endorsed by gun-totin' neanderthal Ted Nugent, so that's gotta count fer somethin'!
From Lisa Bennett:
"I have been taking pix of bizarre flag sightings. Here's a nice billboard pic I think you'll like, from right here in Atlanta."
I really can't add much to this... It's just a staggering (yet hilarious) example of in-your-face arrogance. I think healing our land will take a bit more action on our part, wouldn't you say? But just for fun I created a companion image for this billboard, depicting Jesus wrapped in the American flag. Can't you just picture this printed on a Franklin Mint plate or something??
Beautiful U.S.A. paper bags. Perfect for hwarfing up your lunch anytime, anywhere...especially after one of those Dubya speeches.
If you see someone wearing this, do us all a favor and slap him.
Perfect for shoplifting, or carrying your sorry butt back to the store to return it.
The latest from Juvenile Mentality, Inc. Huh-huh-huh, that's cool, Beavis.
Wow! This propaganda notepad cube really empowers me. I feel like I can tackle the entire Al-Qaida network right from my office desk!
Ahhhh, the squeeze light keychain. What better way to remember the 9/11 victims than to buy one of these and...well, squeeze it. Or something.
Ya can't burn the flag, but by God, you can sure throw it around and stomp on it in the mud! Hot diggity!
Dear God. This platter has got to be the ugliest, tackiest, most horrendous hunk of ceramic peepeecaca I have ever seen. And mine will be shipping shortly! I can't wait to serve my favorite Middle Eastern dish with it.
Here's a letter which has been on the front page of the site for quite some time because it's a good read, so I wanted to bring it over here.
From: Porscha Porscha
Sent: Friday, June 13, 2003 12:21 PM
Subject: American flag-waving stuffI thought your site was an absolute riot. I work in a retail business (who's name has been omitted to protect the innocent... namely, me, so that I don't get fired) and was unpacking some freight, and making off-handed (probably rude) comments about how sick it is to exploit an American flag the way they are. My co-workers started busting my hump about being un-American.... funny thing about that right of freedom of speech...
My grandfathers were both army men, my father was, and so is my husband. They didn't risk their lives doing what they do to have plastic flag stickers stuck on the bumpers of those gas-guzzling soccer-mom SUVs that cut me off on the highway at a blinding 90 mph.
It's about damn time somebody realizes how terribly ridiculous it is to have American-flag shingles for your house (yes, they really do exist), American flag sunglasses (seen 'em), American flag toothbrushes (my MOTHER, of all people, has one of those), and American flag beer coolers (because, of course, nothing is more American than getting drunk and throwing empty beer cans into our nation's natural waterways, right?).
Anyhow, I just wanted to say thanks for taking the time to make people laugh (those of us with our heads NOT crammed up our asses, that is). You've got a great sense of humor, and it's definitely appreciated, even if only by those of us who smirk instead of smile.
~Lori~
I started the Flag-O-Rama site back in late 2002, and didn't get much feedback about it...until April 2003. I don't know what happened, but the URL must have showed up somewhere with some exposure because suddenly I was swamped with emails. All through April and May, I got a ton of mail as the link got passed around, eventually showing up on such admirable giants as This Modern World and Democracy Means You. But the mail was 95% positive, which kind of stunned me. I fully expected to get a lot of hate mail, but I really didn't. And it wasn't all simply "I love your site!" stuff...there were some very insightful emails from people who wanted to share their ideas and experiences regarding patriotism and what it means. Some were even military folks who hated seeing the flag used this way. It was interesting to see who came out of the woodwork to comment.
Since all these mails were posted on the original site, I wanted to bring them over here...not to toot my own horn, but because I appreciate people taking the time to express their opinion. It's nice to know that other people out there are sick of the flag being used and abused for profit and are able to laugh at such crapola. Anyway, the biggest surge of emails came between April and May of 2003, so if you'd like to read 'em, click one of those links!
I'm willing to post new emails here if they have something interesting to say, but people are always welcome to comment directly on the posts as well.
Meredith Hankins passed this along, and I'm so glad she did. The site is pure entertainment...from the grotesque train-wreck of HTML to the badly-Photoshopped images of this poor bulldog, this site is truly one in a million. This pooch has apparently endured many years of being dressed up, cutely positioned, and photographed as a means of expressing our country's pain. This dog is essentially a grown man's patriotic Barbie doll. God help us. Better yet, God help this poor bulldog.
And please...someone tell this guy to put a shirt on. I mean, really.
Sample image:
Actual caption:
We decided to send a personal message to bin Laden.
Wow, such a hard-hitting message! And that picture...it just drips with patriotic righteousness. It's enough to make any terrorist lay down his guns and surrender, shaking in his boots and praying to Allah for mercy. Or something. Oh, wait, where's Osama again?
Recent Comments