41.   Alexander, Dole and Forbes all said the Confederate battle flag was entirely a matter for South Carolina.

42.   Bush, during the Republican presidential primary in South Carolina, said the Confederate flag was a matter for South Carolinians alone to decide.

43.   But an American flag is like a Madonna, too loaded, too sacrosanct, too corny and complex to mess with.

44.   But enough warning flags are up to invite comparisons with the other great periods of prosperity in modern history, and how they ended.

45.   But for many, the flag is no laughing matter.

46.   But the congressman, testifying Wednesday before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, said flag burning is not speech or expression.

47.   But sometimes the flag is hard to spot, or boaters do not know what it means.

48.   But that flag is still the evidence of things unseen.

49.   But there was a flag, so the rules were handled properly.

50.   But the flag is a symbol of this country, it is not the country itself.