Good Wednesday Morning, Fellow Seekers.

Fresh off his whirlwind weekend with Breitbart maestro Steve Bannon, Republican gubernatorial candidate Scott Wagner has injected himself into the Trump White House's feud with NFL players who take a knee instead of standing for the National Anthem.

In an email to supporters on Monday, the York County state senator, who's cut from Trumpian cloth, laced into the players whom President Donald Trump says should be fired or suspended if they choose to sit out the "Star Spangled Banner" before America's other Sunday ritual.

"It can only be out of tragic misconception about what the flag and the National Anthem symbolize that one could fathom the idea of rejecting them," Wagner writes.

We'd remind Sen. Wagner that America has a long and proud history of people sitting down to make a political point - the late Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks among them. But, like Trump, Wagner has a keen sense of what will resonate with Republican primary voters, so he's off and running.

Thus, because any cheap political stunt needs a good prop, Wagner finds one in the example of a wounded Army vet from Maine named Travis Mills, whom Wagner says he met last year.

Mills, a former staff sergeant in the 82nd Airborne Division, lost both arms and legs to an improvised explosive device. He now runs a foundation that helps wounded vets and their families.

Wagner then writes:

"The flag is not a symbol of American policy or culture. It is, rather, a very real representation of the high cost of freedom and the many sacrifices made for its cause. Without the freedom our flag represents, positive cultural change is impossible, and improvements in policy are unattainable.

When we sing the National Anthem, we honor those sacrifices, and we acknowledge the power they invest in us. When we stand and sing the National Anthem, we recommit to freedom -- in honor of those who secure it for us.

"There is no debate that America has equality issues, and that we have much work to do. But we are an exceptional nation because we self-correct. We are not where we need to be, but we are on the way -- only because we have the freedom to make it happen."



He closes by asking supporters to "stand up for veterans like Travis Mills, for the hundreds of thousands of brave military members who are buried in cemeteries around the world, and for all veterans. Please honor them during the National Anthem the way they honor us on the battlefield -- by standing up."

Finally, he says, in a flourish that might come as a surprise to the state's proud Quaker population, "We aren't a nation that kneels for freedom. We stand for it. Together."

Wagner's email is just the latest entry into our ongoing national debate. And we'd humbly submit that he's having the wrong conversation.

With his comments, Wagner is stifling patriotism and debate by casting those who sit out the anthem as enemies. He's not encouraging it.

During an appearance on CNN on Monday morning, NBC sportscaster Bob Costas perfectly captured this dichotomy.

And if you haven't seen his comments, we commend them to you.

"This is no disrespect to the military," Costas told CNN's "New Day" program. "Martin Luther King was a patriot. Susan B. Anthony was a patriot. Dissidents are patriots. School teachers and social workers are patriots."

Costas told CNN that "Patriotism comes in many forms and what has happened is that it's been conflated with a bumper sticker-style kind of flag-waving and with the military only, so that people cannot see that in his own way Colin Kaepernick, however imperfectly, is doing a patriotic thing. And so too are some of these other players."

Wagner, who aspires to lead a state of more than 12 million, at least half of whom hold viewpoints entirely different to his own, might want to take that to heart.

The rest of the day's news starts now.

PennLive's Wallace McKelvey offers a few solutions to fix Pa's 'crazy' legislative and congressional districts.

Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto will take a knee when the Penguins visit the White House, The Tribune-Review reports.

Center City Philly is finally getting a ginormous movie theater with reclining seats and other amenities, PhillyMag reports.

The Daily News' John Baer: 'Here comes more on the election that will never end.'

Here's BillyPenn on a tripartite effort to help former convicts who are now re-entering socieity get a healthy start.

The more the Stillers talk about unity, the more they divided they look, The Incline offers.

Here's your #Harrisburg Instagram of the Day:

In Philly, prosecutors are seeking 20 more years for a juvenile lifer who killed a city cop, NewsWorks/WHYY-FM reports.

In Chambersburg, local teachers rallied as contract talks drag on, WITF-FM reports.

Writing for The Morning Call, veteran pol Don Cunningham offers that the 'Lehigh Valley is a suburb of nowhere.'

Speaking of

Scott Wagner

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PoliticsPA

reports. You can watch it in the video below. The

Wagner

content starts at the 51:04 mark.

Watch Paul live at Eagle Forum's Put America First Rally with Breitbart's Steve Bannon. Help Paul implement President Trump's America First Agenda here >>> https://secure.anedot.com/volunteers-for-nehlen/contribute Posted by Paul Nehlen on Sunday, September 24, 2017

Here's Politico on the very, very bad, horrible, no-good day that Mitch McConnell had on Tuesady.

Alabama's Luther Strange was the first appointed U.S. Senator to lose election in two decades, Roll Call reports.

What Goes On.

11 a.m., 586 Fulling Mill Rd., Middletown: L&I Deputy Secretary Cipriani to highlight importance of Pennsylvania STEM careers at U.S. headquarters of Phoenix Contact.

12:30 p.m. Harrisburg Hilton:

Auditor General Eugene DePasquale will provide information about his latest audits and his special report on the State of the Child during the 10th annual African-American/Latino Roundtable gathering.

House Committee Action:

8:45 a.m., LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMISSION: Monthly business meeting. Room 14 East Wing

9 a.m., AGRICULTURE AND RURAL AFFAIRS: Public hearing on HB 1463 - legislation which will increase dog license fees and authorize a Statewide online license registry. Room 205 Ryan Office Building.

9 a.m., PROFESSIONAL LICENSURE: Voting meeting on HB 1737. Room G50 Irvis Office.

9:30 a.m., AGING AND OLDER ADULT SERVICES: Informational meeting on Long Term Care Ombudsman Program and any other business that may come before the committee. Room G50 Irvis Office.

9:30 a.m., LABOR AND INDUSTRY: Informational meeting on the Protz v. WCAB case and the expected impacts of this decision and any other business that may come before the committee. Room 60 East Wing.

Call of Chair, APPROPRIATIONS: Agenda to be announced. Room 140 Main Capitol

WolfWatch.

Gov. Tom Wolf makes it easy for us - no public schedule today.

What Goes On (Nakedly Political Edition).

5:30 p.m.: Reception for Sen. John Rafferty

5:30 p.m.: Senate Democratic Campaign Committee Pittsburgh reception

Hit both events, give at the max, and you'll part with $3,018 today. That's because the SDCC has this adorable, $2,018 giving level (see what they did there?).

You Say It's Your Birthday Dept.

Best wishes go out this morning to longtime Friend O'the Blog, ex-Rep. Rick Taylor, of Montgomery County. Congrats, and enjoy the day with some 1980s college rock, sir.

Heavy Rotation.

Here's a slow-burner to get your Wednesday morning going.

Wednesday's Gratuitous Soccer Link.

Like academic disputes, soccer feuds are amusing because the stakes are so low. There's trouble in Eden at Paris St. Germain, The Guardian reports.

And now you're up to date. See you all back here in a bit.