A question about postal stamps

It's not only the French who fly the Union Flag upside down - we do it
here in the Uk all the time with red faces all round when it is pointed
out to the relevant officialdom.

I remember that as a very young Boy Scout (eons ago!), one of the first
things we had to learn was the correct way to fly the aforementioned
flag, together with some history about its development. It seems to me
that the average Brit knows nothing ( and cares less) about basic
patriotic knowledge. Who cares you ask - however lack of such knowledge
leads to apathy in other things national and civic - which appears to
not be the case in the US, where saluting the flag etc ( a bit OTT in
our cynical British eyes) is normal. At least people in the US seem to
CARE when their national sensibilities are trodden on.

Regards from an apathetic UK
Regards
Malcolm

Roger Smith wrote:
"Tony Clayton" wrote in message
...
In a recent message wrote:

[snip]

Everyone just loves to burn our (The U.S.) flag. It's a fad. It's
the "thing" to do. It's chic, on time and in tune. It's also a
boring old cliche...

There always needs to be a bad guy so others can make / lay claim to
being the good guys. The U.S. just happens to be the flavor of the
day - week - decade. Next week, who knows - it might even be
Luxembourg!

Is not one factor in the delight some have in burning the US flag
because in the US the flag is a particularly important cultural symbol.
Almost every office seems to have a US f;ag in the corner, and I am
told that in schools there is a regular ceremony involving the flag.
Thus those who feel anti-US use this to aggravate the US.

We are proud of our Union flag, but the closest anyone gets to
being heated up about it is when someone flies it upside down,
which is all too easy if you do not know how to tell!
I spotted this on the fortress of Sedan in Northern France,
and got a Gallic shrug of the shoulders when I commented on
it to our guide!

Tony

That is because the French couldn't care a damn if you flew their flag
upside down.

Regards, Roger

"Dennis M" wrote in message
...

I have no problem at all with the commemoratives, which are probably only
a
tiny share of the USPS' total budget to produce. My problem is the
customer
has to explicitly request them. When a new commemorative is issued, it
should be sold in book form until that branch office runs out, then revert
back to the flag books. Most people aren't going to take the time and
trouble of requesting a specific commemorative, assuming they even know
it's currently available. Also it holds up the line if the clerk has to
open up a drawer and fumble with counting and tearing off a block of
stamps
from a big sheet.


I don't know how sales are handled where you are, but if my post office were
to follow your suggestion, I would almost never be able to buy any new
commemoratives there. Many times, only a few panes of a new commemorative
arrive, and those are snapped up within the first week. Under the scenario
you suggest, those stamps would be gone in less than a hour.

The clerks in my post office all know me, and know I am going to request the
new commemoratives. Sometimes they even keep a pane or two aside for me,
which is really nice. And they are always apologetic when they don't even
get one of the new issues.

The real problem in my area is a lack of appropriate distribution. Somebody
somewhere up the chain of command apparently doesn't think the post office
in the county's biggest city (22,000) "deserves" to be adequately served.

Aside from the Madonna and Child stamp at Christmas, I use commemorative
stamps almost exclusively, for the same reasons as other posters have
previously outlined.

Mike