July Fourth Flub: American Flags, With 61 Stars, Now on Sale

[teko]

July Fourth Flub: American Flags, With 61 Stars, Now on Sale
By: Megan Friedman
Topics: Oops, fourth of july, independence day, american flag, dollar tree, dallas
Wrong Flag

WFAA screenshot

On July 4, the stars and stripes are everywhere, from bandanas to napkins to bathing suits. But when you buy a certain flag, you may be pledging allegiance to some other country - one that has 61 states.

WFAA in Dallas discovered their local Dollar Tree store was selling plastic American flags, featuring 11 more stars than there are states in the U.S. An assistant manager at the store said it was mean to be a "patriotic banner" and not a regulation flag, but come on - it looks like a flag to anyone with eyes. Consumerist may have the explanation - the Dollar Tree must have annexed Canada. (via Consumerist)

Read more: http://newsfeed.time.com/2010/07/02/july-fourth-flub-american-flags-with-61-stars-now-on-sale/#ixzz0sco7Q1zY

[Sarajmt]

Statehood is a hot topic in Puerto Rico.  Many want it, others want to remain a territory and a vocal minority want autonomy.  From a selfish American point of view, we need a strong presence in the Caribbean.   Too close to Castro and Chavez.  For more information please see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Puerto_Rico#Struggle_for_autonomy

I failed to clarify something in my previous post.  The  entidades federativas. to which I'm referring are in Mexico.  I failed to specify this.  My bad.

[adgal]

Consumerist needs to do their homework....annexing Canada won't explain anything.  We have 10 provinces and 3 territories.....

[SeriousSam]

Or maybe it was just a simple decoration and people are so unoccupied in their lives they read too much into it.

[ILADVOCATE]

It would be worthwhile to have a definitive vote on whether Puerto Rico is to be considered a state or to be an independent nation. The way it has been left in the status it is now is neither beneficial to it or the United States but that's a separate issue. Many of the other territories are specifically used for military bases and do not have enough of a population that they could define themselves either way. I believe 4 of the states we have now only obtained statehood in the 1900's. Until Oklahoma obtained statehood it was designated specifically for the relocation of what we now would call native Americans. The public school system is terrible on teaching the specifics of American history and neglects it at the expense of a broader based cultural history that is not well defined unless things have changed since I was taught history but I don't believe they have.

[Sarajmt]

Or you know it could be that in anticipation of what some hope to become reality, we've already added 11 of the 31 entidades federativas.    Maybe Dollar Tree is a visionary!

[Sarajmt]

And to think, we poor ignorant Texans found that mistake.  If our public school system is as horrid as has been portrayed, it is a miracle that we even knew the difference!

[SeriousSam]

Actually if you included the following territories it might be an honest mistake on the flag.  Though it is still a mistake.

    * American Samoa
    * Guam
    * Northern Mariana Islands
    * Puerto Rico
    * U.S. Virgin Islands
    * Minor Outlying Islands
          o Bajo Nuevo Bank
          o Baker Island
          o Howland Island
          o Jarvis Island
          o Midway Islands
          o Navassa Island