Journalists don't get invited to many parties that are actually fun. They always ruin the vibe. This sad truth was reiterated on Monday hours before Flagstock 2024 when a journalist from Politico (the news blog located many, many floors below the Washington Free Beacon) asked party organizer John Noonan about the lack of female artists scheduled to perform. Moments later, once the filthy journos had been escorted to the fenced-off fun exclusion zone where they belong, a group of supremely talented female artists arrived in the VIP tent—courtesy of Hooters, which also provided the catering. Representation matters, after all.

Flagstock 2024 was the culmination of a GoFundMe campaign Noonan launched in May to "buy a few kegs" for the UNC-Chapel Hill fraternity brothers who defended the American flag from a seething mob of pro-Hamas protesters. It ended up raising more than $500,000 from donors across the country who prefer freedom to terrorism. Noonan, a national security consultant, had no experience planning an event of this magnitude. Nevertheless, he persisted. Country music legend John Rich and others signed on to perform for free, vendors donated equipment and services, local veterans volunteered to help prepare the venue. A "rager" was promised, and that's precisely what Noonan and his team delivered Monday night at the American Legion complex in Chapel Hill.