I think those are plows on the NJ flag. I’m not sure what the story is behind the hat, though.
Oh, and you forgot to mention that it has writing on it, too.
I’m pretty sure that’s a Phrygian or Liberty Cap, a common symbol in the early days of the American republic.
Not any more, it isn’t. Not just green, anyway.
The significance of the green, and several points of flag design mentioned here, were addressed in the thread OK vexillologists, out there! Name your favorite flags and your most disliked flags
I’m pretty sure that it’s because the unit patch is on the left sleeve. You’ll notice that most military pins, badges and patches are placed on the left; the flag was simply placed in the available empty real estate.
In clothing, the left is the “heart” side, and thus the place of honor.
[QUOTE=pulykamell]
Personally, from a design perspective, I think it’s great. The stars are a bit much, but, otherwise, everything about is good: no boring static symmetry, good choice of contrasting primary colors, distinctive design elements, identifiable at any size or distance (well, I suppose there’s a far-off chance it might be confused with the Liberian flag at a long, long distance). In my opinion, it’s more than just a successful design. It’s great.
Now, the national anthem, on the other hand…
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takes a shot 
If you want something with the basic elements of the US flag, but much simpler, you might look towards the roundel used on American military aircraft.
Worth noting that our roundel originally was basically a palette-swap of the RAF bullseye (the French similarly did the same thing, with yet another arrangement of red-white-blue).
I think you’ve got it backwards. The flag goes on the right, because that’s where the flag goes (ditto for the US flag displayed with any state flags when they’re not stacked on the same pole). It’s the unit patches that got put in the leftover space on the left side.
Then you have the Air Force uniform, where we went from not wearing the US flag to not wearing unit insignia either. Except for the fliers, who get to wear whatever they feel like slapping onto their flight suits. not bitter at all nosiree
EDIT: And on the old BDUs, the patch arrangement varies from place to place (probably part of why they got rid of it, I guess it was simpler than just dictating how they should be arranged AF-wide). On my BDUs, I have my Command patch on the right upper pocket (a Command is the major AF level of organization), Wing Patch on the left upper pocket, and squadron patch above my nametape on the right side (a much smaller and less colorful Occupation Badge, dictating in very general terms what my job in the Air Force is, is above the “US Air Force” nametape on the left side).
Well, if the Tories won the war of 1775, they’d say exactly the same thing about the secessionists and their flag
But they didn’t. 
Besides, has anyone suggested replacing the British flag with the American one?
Good point.
Though, the Union flag isn’t the flag of the plucky but defeated rebels with some good ideas and some detestable ones.
Which was way cool until the Smurfs stole it.
Except that flags are a relatively new thing on uniforms, while unit patches have been around for longer, and insignia on the left for much longer than that. Look at this picturefrom soon after WW2 - as you’'ll notice, Ike isn’t weaing a flag on his right shoulder, but the guy he’s talking to has his patch on the left, and everyone has insignia on their left chest. I doubt you’ll find flag patches on uniforms from before 1980 or so.
Besides, my old (non-U.S. military) uniform had everything on the left and nothing on the right. We didn’t wear a flag.
The plucky Continentals actually were loath to completely sever their ties to Great Britain, vexilogically speaking: Continental Union Flag - Wikipedia
The Boy Scouts of America wear the flag on the right arm of their uniforms, but not with the “pole forward” orientation: http://www.worldofstock.com/slides/PCH6640.jpg
I had no idea that Libya had changed its flag in early August! I guess it’s provisional, until Gaddafi is completely toppled: Flag of Libya - Wikipedia
And it looks wrong! (That was the point, not that those don’t exist. I saw them on a military uniform. And thought, “that looks wrong!”)
Yes, well familiar with it. Flag displayed with star field at upper left, which is how the flag is supposed to be displayed.
Thanks for explaining what the hat on the NJ flag is all about. I still think it look hopelessly dorky.
I find the mullet (five-pointed star) to be the most overused and boring style element in any design. I think there should be a general moratorium on it.
… which is how the flag is supposed to be displayed when hanging on a wall or from a horizontal pole. Same rule doesn’t apply to shirtsleeves.
It’s too hard to draw. Say you’re a kid with some crayons. All of a sudden you realize you’re gonna have to go star star star star star star star star star star star star star and do a neat job of it, too.
That’s about how my criticism goes, too, Beware. I mean, if you’re a Canadian kid, you only need one crayon, and it doesn’t matter too much if your maple leaf is a bit blotchy.
The Confederate battle flag was the idea of a general (Beauregard, I think) who wanted Confederate Army troops to carry instantly identifiable colors. (He’d had a bad scare at First Bull Run, when he couldn’t identify a body of troops moving on his flank.) While the battle flag was eventually incorporated in the Confederate national flags, and then of course adopted by post-war white supremacists and assorted assholes, it originally represented the Confederate Army only, as distinct from the goverment or the nation.
Which is to say, the thousands of men and women who gave up part or all of their lives to serve what they thought to be their country. Or, otherwise, perhaps the only facet of the whole miserable mess that was the Confederate States of America that is worth celebrating and honoring.
Later the Confederate Navy, too, for two years: Confederate States Navy - Wikipedia