By Bob Gaydos 

The original Stars and Stripes

     Sunday, June 14, is the 251st anniversary of the birth of the U.S. Army. It is also the 249th anniversary of the birth of the Stars and Stripes, the American Flag. (Priorities. The colonials needed an army before they could declare their own flag.)

     It is still known as Flag Day, but it never had enough pull in Congress to be declared one of the “official“ federal holidays, meaning it’s celebrated but nobody gets a day off. So, no day off for Flag Day, but you wouldn’t even know it exists since the so-called mainstream media have ignored that fact in reporting on the mixed martial arts fights that are scheduled to take place on the torn up White House lawn on Sunday to celebrate Donald Trump’s birthday.

      Yeah, June 14 is his birthday, too. The gods must have been angry or drunk. So, no, there will be no ceremonies at the White House to honor the flag, its history and protocols surrounding it. (For example, civilians not in uniform do NOT salute the flag, as Trump does, but rather place their hand over their heart.) For that, you’ll have to go to the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. The Stripes and Stars Festival, honoring the flag, will take place there and at the Betsy Ross House and on Independence Mall. They get it in Philly.

      If you’re around New York City and in a patriotic mood the Committee for the First Amendment is presenting a Concert for the First Amendment at Town Hall Sunday night. Bette Midler, Patti Smith, Julia Roberts, Rufus Wainwright and Jane Fonda are among those scheduled to appear.  It will also be streamed for viewing at watch parties nationally. Local veterans groups also sponsor events to honor the flag.

     At the White House, you’ll get seven matches in which two men get into an octagonal “ring“ and try to beat the crap out of each other any way they can. No Marquis of Queensbury Rules. It’s kind of like the way the birthday boy approaches politics. Reports of cockfights scheduled on the back lawn for July 4 could not be verified.

     The grotesque fighting structure on the White House lawn, which Trump says he might want to just leave there when the fighting is done, joins the demolished East Wing and rising skeleton of a grand ballroom, the outdoor dining patio that replaced the torn up Jackie Kennedy Rose Garden and all the golden glitz inside as part of Trump’s focus on redecorating a house in which he is only a temporary tenant. An odd preoccupation for a man who has a war to fight.

     In any event, the Ultimate Fighting Competition Freedom 250 event (the 250 is the obvious token effort by the White House to make this seem like a patriotic event in honor of the 250th birthday of America, not Trump’s birthday) is scheduled to go on Sunday night with the full fight card, although some of the RSVPs might not be to Trump’s liking.

    Reports say some of the scheduled fighters weren’t too thrilled with appearing and some of Trump’s special invited guests were apparently not ready to cough up $1 million to sit in the box next to Trump as he dozes through seven matches. And the viewing screens set around the city were not expected to draw the huge throngs Trump typically predicts for events he sponsors. Also, it’s going to be brutally hot and it might pour. One can always hope.

     Maybe the gods will have sobered up.