I Pledge Allegiance To Scott Brown...

Senator Scott Brown's campaign office sent out a fundraising email today, inviting donors to submit an essay on "what the Fourth of July means to you" -- with the best essay to be awarded a trip to Boston for a Red Sox game. (During his Presidential campaign, Mitt Romney did something very similar.)

Apparently, Patriotism comes with a price:

Please contribute $50 for your essay to qualify in this contest.

If I was entering, I'd start off my essay like so:

To me, the 4th of July holds great meaning -- especially in this increasingly cynical world, where some politicians see the holiday merely as a fundraising gimmick for wringing 50 bucks out of suckers who want to express their patriotism....