There are dozens of American flags with 51 stars in downtown Washington ahead of a hearing this week at the House Oversight and Reform Committee. They’ll be considering a bill to make the District of Columbia the 51st state of the union. I don’t give it much of a chance of passing the Republican-controlled Senate since the district is heavily Democrat, and DC statehood would mean two more Democratic senators in the chamber. However, people here are sick of our license plates having to read “Taxation without Representation” because we aren’t represented in the US Congress, and sentiment is strong for passage of the legislation.

Drive-by shot on Pennsylvania Avenue, in front of the US Capitol, where 140 of these flags are flying.

Best to view in "Original" because other versions resized by Pbase are decidedly unsharp.

Exception to the rule, posted earlier: