Portland Flag Association 1

Portland Flag Association “Free, and Worth Every Penny!” Issue 57 April 2016

INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Psephology and NZ; Mississippi

Psephology and NZ; Mississippi 1 By Ted Kaye March 2016 Flutterings 2 Roundup 1 4 As this issue, while dated April, New Zealand’s Flag Referendum 5 comes out in mid-March, the out- Flag Design Questions 9 come of the second New Zealand South Bend, Indiana 9 Flag Referendum is still undeter- Roundup 2 10 mined. Although the polling The Flag Quiz 11 shows a strong preference for Portland Flag Miscellany 12 keeping the current flag, we’ll only Next Meeting 12 know for certain after 24 March.

www.portlandflag.org Meanwhile, we are very pleased to present an insightful exploration of the first referendum from an expert in psephology—the scien- tific study of elections (and you On another subject—is anyone as thought “vexillology” was a chal- amazed as I that Oregon legislative lenging word!). While the compet- leaders just removed Mississippi’s ing designs and the debate over state flag from the capitol’s 50-state whether to change the flag at all flag display? It’s one thing when have received most of the atten- citizens of Mississippi decline to fly tion, the actual decision-making their state flag because of its inclu- process used by New Zealand to sion of the Confederate Battle Flag, but it seems quite another thing divine the “people’s will” is an under-appreciated but significant when one state says to another aspect of the exercise. state: “we disapprove of the sym- bolism you choose to represent We’re grateful to Dr. Herron for yourself”—usually when a flag is sharing his expertise with us on the taken down the message is “we eve of the outcome of the Kiwis’ disapprove of YOU as an entity”. ... surely something is desirable decision—the first time we know In this case, Oregon seems to be regarding the flags of foreign of that a national flag choice has telling Mississippi what to do. I nations beyond a hazy acquaintance with a few of them and the limited been put to popular vote. believe it is the first state to do this. knowledge of flag etiquette that leads to so many unintentional breaches of courtesy. If you wish to compliment the editor, or to contribute in the future, contact Ted Kaye — W. J. Gordon, Flags of the World at 503-223-4660 or [email protected]. If you wish to complain, call your mother.

2 The Vexilloid Tabloid March 2016 Flutterings You Need to Know In our March meeting, hosted by John Schilke, 16 PFA members enjoyed a lively evening of flags. As the host, John led the introduc- tions and moderated the discus- sion. We began by welcoming Michael Orelove back from his heart attack and surgery.

Michael started by commenting Award-winning Portland animator on the similarity between his latest Joanna Priestley created this Freak Flag flag acquisition—Madison, for Ted Kaye at Burning Man 2015. Wisconsin—and New Mexico. one, created for him by an artist John Schilke recounted his recent friend at Burning Man 2015. He experience seeing an actual St. Becky Olson challenges the group also gave away tribal flag posters. David’s cross flag on the Welsh with “name that flag”. patron saint’s day, 1 March. Using his fine Minecraft talents, Becky Olson brought a “name that Nathaniel Mainwaring made a PFA Wondering about his fellow flag- flag” item—initially appearing to flag image in the colors of quartz, lovers’ experiences explaining their be the flag of Costa Rica, it turned gold, diamond, and slime. passion, Jessie Spiller related often out to be regular U.S. bunting. how Sheldon Cooper’s name Scott Mainwaring celebrated the Ted Kaye shared several small comes up (see VT#56). PFA’s reaching 300 Facebook fol- items. In response to David Ferri- lowers with a special flag design. John Niggley, with his flag-retail day asking for an explanation of a He shared a college student’s pro- experience, provided expert opin- New Yorker cartoon describing a posal for a new flag for Imperial ions on flag identification. “Freak Flag”, he actually produced County, California, which was accompanied by a 15-page report for explanation (!). And he announced the results of the South Bend, Indiana flag effort (see p. 9).

Scott Mainwaring’s image says Michal Orelove and his “driver”, Kathleen Forrest, share tribal-themed flags. “300 PFA followers on Facebook”.

April 2016 Portland Flag Association 3

Leo Gardella shares a replica 1903–1918 war ensign of Germany, acquired at Goodwill for his extensive collection, as host John Schilke (left) looks on.

New PFA member Leo Gardella described his 400+ flag collection and how he displays them on the proper days—with an explanation on a public whiteboard. Max Liberman shares Tony Burton’s new book, Vexillogistics. David Ferriday brought flags to identify—the Coast Guard, the Max Liberman described the new Christian flag—and his latest David Ferriday with his latest poser— book on flag design by Australia’s “hidden text” artwork. a three word epigram with “v” words. Tony Burton and a Portland Flag- themed notebook sold by Powell’s. Sharing his great Goodwill finds, Patrick Genna gave away flags of Alexander Baretich has created Indiana, Israel, piracy, and the U.S. more Cascadia-themed designs, including one used at the Cascade Carl Larson brought another item Locks protests against the Nestlé he’d obtained from a local ship- bottled-water proposal—it symbol- breaker’s inventory: a nicely- izes water resistance in the region. embroidered Ecuador flag. Robert Izatt provided details. Our next meeting will be at the residence of Patrick Genna on 12 May. He took the Portland Flag Association flag with him—the Carl Larson retrieved this stained flag customary task of the next host. of Ecuador from a ship-breaker.

Alexander Baretich shows his latest: a “Roger” is very “Jolly” in the hands The PFA flag rendered in Minecraft, salmon-themed flag in Cascadia colors. of Patrick Genna. by Nathaniel Mainwaring.

4 The Vexilloid Tabloid Roundup 1 A Design Challenge

At our March meeting, we posed a challenge: bring to the May PFA meeting your best single version of a re-designed U.S. flag. Ignoring the political near- NAVA 50 impossibility of change...simply Make your plans now to attend the from a DESIGN perspective, how could the U.S. flag be improved? 50th annual meeting of the North American Vexillological Associa- A PFA member received this empty Readers of the Vexilloid Tabloid box as a Christmas present—recalling tion., October 14–16 in San Jose, are encouraged to send proposals the time when toddlers got as excited California. to [email protected]. by the box as by the gift inside... See www.nava.org for more info.

State of Jefferson’s Symbols Evolve

By Ted Kaye So a sweatshirt worn by young vis- The short-lived 1941 secession itor from Siskiyou County recently movement which attempted to caught my eye in downtown Port- create a new state from 12 counties land. It bore a new Jefferson seal. around the Oregon-California It combines the 1941 rebel imagery border lives on as the rebellious (the “double cross” and gold- “State of Jefferson”. It had a seal mining pan) with today’s evocation then, but no flag. of the Gadsden Flag (rattlesnake In an article on how its flag was and “Don’t Tread on Me” motto), later created based on that seal, newly-popular with Tea Party-ers. which appeared in the Flag Bulletin An updated variant seal of the modern XXXII:1 (150) Jan.-Feb. 1993, State of Jefferson. See http:// portlandflag.org/2015/12/10/gadsdenoids/ I described how the flag places the 1941 seal on a green field. Another version of that new seal adds the concept of the “51st state” to the text (ironically, in 1941 Jefferson aspired to become the 49th state).

A quick web search yields much more information about Jeffer- son’s symbols—reminding me how The usual version of the flag of the A visitor to Portland from the much easier the research process State of Jefferson. State of Jefferson. has become since 1990–92!

April 2016 Portland Flag Association 5 New Zealand’s Flag Referendum and Theories of Voting By Erik Herron To cast a valid ballot, the voter had Introduction to indicate a first preference for at The disciplines of vexillology and least one design, and was permitted 1 psephology (the scientific study of to rank-order the five alternatives. elections) have many commonali- The first design (Option A ), ties: both focus on how design features a white fern frond extend- Option C: Koru. and representation intersect. ing diagonally from the bottom left New Zealand’s 2015–16 Flag Ref- white (left) half. The Koru is a and dividing the flag into black traditional Maori fern symbol, erendums caused these two worlds (left) and blue (right) sections. to collide. This article assesses the representing “…new life, growth, The black section occupies the strength, and peace…” and is process and the results of the first canton area, but is roughly triangu- round of voting and links the flag featured on the national Maori flag lar in shape. The blue section as well. referendums to fundamental theo- covers approximately three quar- ries from the scholarly literature on ters of the flag area and includes Option D (Silver Fern D) is also voting. While the first referendum four red stars, outlined in white, in black and white, with a fern frond produced a winning design that is the shape of the Southern Cross extending from lower left to upper facing off against the current na- (I call it Silver Fern A). right. The right side of the flag is tional flag during the second black with a white frond; the left round, the outcome of the vote side features the opposite colors. may not reflect the “people’s will”.

Choosing Among Five In the first Flag Referendum, held 20 November–11 December 2015, New Zealanders voted on five Option A: Silver Fern A. designs to determine which would The second design, Option B, is challenge the current national flag called “Red Peak”. The flag fea- in March 2016. tures a large, white chevron, with Option D: Silver Fern D. The ballot included images of all the upper left colored black, upper five options arrayed horizontally in right colored blue, and the center The final design, Option E (Silver random order, an empty box below triangle colored red. Fern E), is virtually identical to Sil- each design for voters to enter ver Fern A stylistically, but features their rank-order, and the question a different color palette. Notably, “If the New Zealand Flag changes, the areas of Silver Fern A that were which flag would you prefer?” black are instead red.

Option B: Red Peak.

Option C, called “Koru”, features a black and white design. The right half of the flag is black, with a black spiral extending into the The ballot from the first referendum. Option E: Silver Fern E.

6 The Vexilloid Tabloid To win the first round of voting, a only the Fire Service Referendum were distributed to Silver Fern D flag design needed to garner 50% of 1995 (27.0%) and the Energy (37%), Red Peak (24%), Non- +1 of the first-preference votes. If Referendum of 2013 (45.1%). Transferable (22%), Silver Fern A no design received a majority in the (10%), and Silver Fern E (8%). first round, the lowest-performing The turnout data suggest that par- The second preferences for Koru design would be eliminated and its ticipation by Maori citizens was voters demonstrated greater sup- second-place votes would be dis- lower than non-Maoris. New Zea- port for the designs that did not tributed to the remaining designs. land has two types of districts: gen- feature the Southern Cross. The Any ballots from the losing design eral and Maori. The Maori districts second-preference votes of the two that did not have second- overlap general electorates, but are Southern Cross designs did not preferences selected would be designed to accommodate and bet- exceed the non-transferable sum; eliminated from the count, and the ter represent the Maori people in in short, more supporters of Koru majority needed to win would be parliamentary elections. Turnout preferred no other option than the recalculated based on the new valid in Maori constituencies, and in Ma- sum of those who preferred to re- vote total. If no design were to nukau City (South Auckland), was tain the Southern Cross. The top receive a majority in the second substantially lower than in most second-preference for Koru sup- round, the next lowest-performing other districts. While participation porters was the other black and design would be eliminated and its ranged from 37.9% to 60.1% out- white design, Silver Fern D; and lower-level preferences would be side of these areas, turnout in the Red Peak. With caution interpret- distributed among the remaining Maori regions and Manukau City ing individual preferences from designs. In the third round of ranged from 23.7% to 30.5%. aggregate vote tallies, it seems that preference vote distribution, third Voter Preferences Koru supporters generally desired preference votes might be included Unfortunately, New Zealand did a replacement flag with limited ref- as supporters of the design elimi- not publish constituency-level data erences to the status quo design. nated in the first round may have on voting preferences in the first chosen the design eliminated in Because the first round of vote re- round. If those data were availa- distribution did not yield a majority round two as their second prefer- ble, we would be able to investigate ence. Ballots without valid second- winner, a second design was elimi- how preferences in flag design var- nated and the votes were redistrib- or third-preferences would be ied by region, and we could devel- eliminated and the victory thresh- uted. Interpreting the second op some sense of the rank-ordered round of vote redistribution be- old once again recalculated. The preferences of different regions. process would continue until an comes more complicated as the option received the requisite ma- The first round results produced second preferences of the eliminat- jority of valid votes. clear preferences for fern-based ed flag are redistributed along with designs. Options A, D, and E gar- the third preferences of Koru sup- Results nered 87% of the valid first- porters who identified the eliminat- Turnout preference votes. Red Peak took ed flag as their second preference. 1,546,734 citizens submitted votes, 9%, and Koru 4%. Silver Fern D was eliminated sec- constituting 48.8% of registered ond, with 12,708 of its 98,595 voters. Overall, turnout was lower The first flag to be eliminated was votes (13%) deemed non- than in national parliamentary elec- Option C (Koru); its second- transferable. The remaining votes tions, and toward the low end of preference votes were distributed were allocated to Silver Fern A public referendums. Of the thir- to the remaining competitors. If (49%), Silver Fern E (23%), and teen past referendums held in New no second-preference was listed, Red Peak (15%). This redistribu- Zealand, the Flag Referendum has the votes were rendered non- tion favors both design and color the third lowest turnout, surpassing transferable. Koru’s 52,710 votes scheme. The black-oriented Silver April 2016 Portland Flag Association 7 Fern A design garnered far more tionally-colored alternative. features are related to voting pref- preference votes in this distribu- erences for one or more of the de- tion than the alternatives. These New Zealand’s Referendum signs is unknown. However, if votes likely include second- and Theories of Voting non-voters systematically favored preference Silver Fern D votes, Does the victory of Silver Fern A an alternative design, their non- and third-preference Koru votes. in the first Flag Referendum accu- participation could have altered the In other words, voters who sup- rately reflect the preferences of the outcome. ported black/white designs seem New Zealand electorate? Two is- to exhibit a preference for the ver- sues raise questions about the out- While some might dismiss this po- sion of the Silver Fern that refers come: the distribution of non- tential concern as citizens in demo- least to the current national flag. voter preferences and the prob- cratic societies exercising the right lems inherent in selecting a winner to abstain from voting, election Red Peak was eliminated in the among more than two alternatives. research raises another issue. The third and final distribution round. scholarly literature on voting, espe- This round of voting produced the From a normative perspective, the cially in the area of Social Choice winner: Silver Fern A. Red Peak’s turnout for New Zealand’s Flag Theory, raises doubts that any 149,321 votes were distributed to Referendum could raise questions method of voting for more than Silver Fern A (39%) and Silver about the representativeness of the two alternatives can unambiguous- Fern E (32%), with 29% non- outcome. Fewer than half of eligi- ly reveal the “people’s will”. Con- transferable. Red Peak’s votes— ble voters participated, and the fi- temporary Social Choice Theory,2 emanating from first-preference nal design was ultimately preferred developed from Kenneth Arrow’s votes for it as well as lower-level by just over 50% of the voters. Nobel Prize-winning work in the preferences for Silver Fern D and This means that only around 25% 1950s, demonstrates that no meth- Koru—were divided almost in of eligible voters cast a vote for the od of choosing a winner among thirds, with somewhat more sup- winning option. If we assume that multiple options satisfies all condi- port for the winning design and the distribution of preferences tions of logic and fairness com- somewhat less support for no among non-voters is similar to the monly associated with elections.3 alternative. If 35% of the voters distribution of preferences among whose ballots contained no addi- voters, then no concerns arise The New Zealand Flag Referen- tional preferences in the third about the appropriateness of the dum illustrates the voting problems distribution round had selected choice. Under these assumptions, noted in the Social Choice litera- Silver Fern E, it would have been full participation would yield the ture. A voting outcome that re- victorious. same outcome. flects the “people’s will” should not be contingent upon the rules Overall, New Zealand’s voters ex- But, if the distribution of prefer- used to select it. In the case of the pressed substantially stronger pref- ences among non-voters differs New Zealand Flag Referendum, erences for designs featuring the from participants, and non-voting different methods of selection, giv- Southern Cross than the alterna- is related to an important feature en citizen preferences, could pro- tives. Combined, Silver Fern A of voters, then the outcome may duce different outcomes. If we and E received 82% of first prefer- not reflect the “people’s will”. As assume that citizen behavior is ence votes. Silver Fern E, which noted above, turnout in Maori re- fixed, a plurality vote would have received the most first-preference gions seems to lag behind general selected Silver Fern E as the victo- votes, ultimately lost the balloting districts, suggesting that non- rious design.4 But the ranked- because transfers from losing op- participation may be linked system- choice method used for the refer- tions—especially Koru and Silver atically to meaningful population endum yielded Silver Fern A as Fern D—favored the less tradi- features. Whether or not these the winner. The rules selected to

8 The Vexilloid Tabloid adjudicate among the choices af- the replacement cannot unambigu- signs imposed without public votes fected the outcome. Since differ- ously yield an outcome that can be can be embraced, as in Canada in ent rules could produce different labeled the “people’s will”. 1965, and they can be rejected, as winners, even if the voters’ prefer- was the proposed flag for Iraq in Conclusion ences do not change,5 the 2004. By engaging the public in “people’s will” may be unknowa- The first round of New Zealand’s the process, the final decision may Flag Referendum gave citizens un- ble. Thus, the policy outcomes have a better chance of being em- produced by voting procedures precedented influence over the de- braced quickly, whether or not it sign of the national flag. An open should not be interpreted as equiv- can be portrayed as a manifestation alent to the “people’s will.” process permitted thousands of of the “people’s will”. designs to be solicited and consid- The only method of choice that ered; a petition process allowed a Erik Herron, PhD, is Eberly Family satisfies the conditions of logic and fifth design to be added to the bal- Professor of Political Science, fairness outlined by Arrow is a ma- lot; and preference voting provided West Virginia University. jority vote with a binary choice.6 citizens the opportunity to cast sin- But true binary choices are rare. cere preferences rather than voting 1. Ballots without clearly defined first Often they are manufactured by strategically. The 3–24 March preferences were deemed to be “informal votes”. The total number of a mechanism designed to reduce 2016 vote will determine if Silver informal votes was 148,022. choices to two, but this mechanism Fern A will replace the current flag; 2. Riker, William. 1982. Liberalism does not meet the criteria for a majority vote of participants will Against Populism: A Confrontation Between logical and fair choice. determine the fate of the flag. the Theory of Democracy and the Theory of Social Choice. Prospect Heights: Wave- land Press. The second Flag Referendum is an If Silver Fern A is victorious, it is 3. The specific voting rules used for the example of ersatz binary choice. important to remember that it may Flag Referendum, a variant of Single Thousands of original designs were not be the most preferred alterna- Transferable Vote (STV), can fail the constrained to four by a commit- tive to the status quo, but simply condition of monotonicity. This condition requires that if a society makes a deci- tee, and this choice was subse- the design that successfully passed sion to select social choice x over the quently expanded to five through a through the process. Similarly, if alternative choice y, and the preferences petition and legislative action. The Silver Fern A fails to defeat the expressed for x are not lowered in any individual rank-ordering, then x should final step to a binary choice was current flag, it does not mean that remain the social choice. the first round of the referendum. New Zealanders are rejecting a 4. It is important to note that counter- new flag. It will only mean that factuals—or examples that assume a different historical path was chosen— However, if New Zealand voters they prefer the status quo to the had been asked a question about can be problematic. It is possible that alternative presented; a different voters would have behaved differently if retaining or replacing the current alternative potentially could have a plurality rule were used, voting strate- design (status quo) with a majority gically instead of sincerely. That is, if emerged victorious in a head-to- supporters of Koru, Silver Fern D, and vote, the outcome could have been head battle with the current flag. Red Peak understood that their pre- interpreted as reflecting the ferred designs were likely to lose, they “people’s will”. While it would not Regardless of the outcome, New may have voted for a more likely winner if the formula was plurality. STV sys- have yielded a new design, the re- Zealand has set a valuable prece- tems encourage sincere voting whereas sults of this vote would have an- dent for engaging the public in flag plurality systems encourage strategic swered a binary choice: to keep or design questions. Flags serve a voting. discard the current flag. But, even critical symbolic role, providing a 5. Saari, Donald. 2001. Decisions and Elections. Cambridge: Cambridge Uni- if the people of New Zealand sup- focal point for national pride and versity Press. ported the replacement of the cur- illustrating how a society views its 6. Black, Duncan. 1948. “On the Ra- rent flag, the method of choosing past, present, and future. New de- tionale of Group Decision Making.” Journal of Political Economy. 56(1):22-34.

April 2016 Portland Flag Association 9 Flag Design Questions South Bend, Indiana

Dear Vexillologists and Flag Enthusiasts of Portland, Oregon:

I am from Pembroke School in Adelaide, Australia. For my final year of school, I must complete a research project on a topic of my South Bend’s new flag. choice. For this, I have chosen to 5. Do you consider the aspect investigate the design of flags. ratio, and/or shape, of a flag to In honor of South Bend, Indiana’s This is a topic of personal interest play a role in its ability to evoke a sesquicentennial, the SB150 Com- due to the importance that flags sense of identity within the people mittee hosted a carefully designed have in societal identity. To it represents? process to design a new city flag. explore this social importance After selecting three finalists, gath- 6. What role does the colour of a and the reasons for this, I have ering public feedback, and creating flag play in its ability to evoke iden- proposed a research question of: a composite design, the city’s elect- tity or pride? ed officials revealed the final result, To what extent does the design of a flag influence its importance? 7. Is a flag necessary in order to officially adopted 14 March. create unity within a group of people? I was wondering if you could For more details, see http:// answer some questions for my 8. What kinds of symbols are most portlandflag.org/2016/03/09/south- bend-great-new-flag/ research to get an insight into your commonly used on flags and what opinions on the topic? principles should flag designers Regards, consider when using symbols on flags? Max Pickering 9. Other symbols, such as seals and [email protected] coats of arms, can be used to rep- resent groups of people. Are flags QUESTIONS: more significant in building unity 1. In what ways do ‘good’ flags and identity than other kinds of Finalist design by Jeffrey Koenig. evoke a personal response? symbols?

2. What are the most important 10. To what extent does the design design principles in order to create of a flag influence its ability to a ‘good’ flag? evoke a sense of identity and pride?

3. What are some of the most sig- [Readers of the Vexilloid Tabloid nificant flags throughout history? are encouraged to respond directly Finalist design by Jesse Villagrana. Do you consider these flags to be to Max with their answers; please ‘good’ flags? copy [email protected]]

4. Are there any examples of what you would consider to be poorly designed flags that have retained significance amongst the people they represent? Finalist design by Garrett Gingerich.

10 The Vexilloid Tabloid Roundup 2

The 39th Portland International Film Festival, the Northwest Film Center’s annual showcase of new world cinema, took place 11–27 February at the Portland Art Museum. It used doughnuts—many flag-themed—to transmit the message of internationalism in posters, on its website, and in its trailer (from which these images were clipped). Portland’s very own world-famous Voodoo Doughnuts provided the actual flag-pastries.

Iwo Jima Honored “Get Well” Flags By Michael Orelove While convalescing from my heart attack I have received “get well” emails, letters, and cards. But my niece and her family made and sent me “get well” FLAGS. Each flag has a “get well” message on the back and information about the symbolism of the colors, such as red for heart health.

The VFW in Canby, Oregon, honored Thank you Holly, Steve, Lia, and Iwo Jima’s 71st anniversary (Ken Dale). Helena. “Get well” flags for Michael.

April 2016 Portland Flag Association 11 What’s that Flag? What Was that Flag? Answers to the last quiz

By Tony Burton By Carlos Alberto Morales Ramirez

Can you name these seven flags, These seven flags, of course, bear and identify the linking theme? crosses; but all are also municipal Answers in the next issue… flags from Puerto Rico. The clue was my article elsewhere in the last VT on two Puerto Rican city flags. Congrats to Tony Burton, first to solve this. Prize? His own quiz. Comerio, Puerto Rico

Adjuntas, Puerto Rico Guaynabo, Puerto Rico

Anasco, Puerto Rico Hormigueros, Puerto Rico

Ceiba, Puerto Rico Mayagüez, Puerto Rico

12 The Vexilloid Tabloid Portland Flag Miscellany

Etsy.com, the “creative marketplace” platform for small independent crafts- MapOnShirt.com markets custom-made t-shirts printed with maps. people, sells this shirt “inspired by the Based in Riga, Latvia, the firm features among its “ready-to-go” designs the maps flag of the city of Portland, Oregon”. of dozens of cities from around the world—including Portland! This version depicts the city in two scales and in the colors of its flag. It is unusual in placing it on a background in the color of the flag’s field, which blurs the recognition of “PDX” is the IATA airport code for Portland, which stemmed from the 1930s-era the image as a flag and emphasizes two-letter National Weather Service code for Portland (PD) plus an “X”—like the “offset cross” design. Los Angeles [LAX], Phoenix [PHX], and Chicago—Meigs Field [CGX].

May Meeting

The next meeting of the Portland Flag Association will be at 7 PM, Thursday, 12 May 2016, in the community space at the home of Patrick Genna: 1865 N.E. Davis St., Portland, OR 97232.

See the map at right.

We look forward to seeing those of you who have missed recent meetings and engaging in provoca- tive flag-related discussion. Newcomers are welcome!

If you can’t get to the meeting, perhaps you can give the editor something to share with readers. The Vexilloid Tabloid , founded in 1999 by the late John Hood, is published bi-monthly by and for the Portland Flag Association—Portland, Oregon, U.S.A. Find back issues at www.portlandflag.org.

April 2016