MY FLAG, YOUR SHORTS

You'd think it would be a simple matter to draft a constitutional amendment prohibiting the burning of flags. Flags and fire: two fairly straightforward concepts. And everything was going smoothly with the House Judiciary Committee's deliberations earlier this month until one of the amendment's supporters, Jack Reed, a Rhode Island Democrat, whipped out a Bloomingdale's catalog showing Tommy Hilfiger men's briefs in flag motifs. The ensuing discussion raised profound issues, which deserve our full attention as the amendment proceeds to the floor of the House and thence to the states. Take the question, for example, of whether underwear can be a...