Launched in August 2007, the Phoenix Mars Mission is the first in NASA’s Scout Program. Phoenix is designed to study the history of water and habitability potential in the Martian Arctic’s ice-rich soil.

I can almost understand the “Just for Kids” part of the Mars mission.

Note the American flag in the photo.

mars-lander

14. Texas is the only state to enter the U.S. by TREATY, (known as the Constitution of 1845 by the Republic of Texas to enter the Union) instead of by annexation. This allows the Texas Flag to fly at the same height as the U.S. Flag, and Texas may divide into 5 states.

Having read and heard these two facts quoted for years, I decided to go to the source and see whether they were true or not. The short answer is, one is true and the other is not.

A copy of the entire 1845 Constitution of the State of Texas is available online from the Tarlton Law Library and the time I spent reading the document was worth the time. It is an enjoyable way to spend an hour if you want to know more about 19th century Texas. The Tarlton website includes the text of the 1845 Constitution and scanned images of the original documents on the website, so examination is very easy.

First, the provision to divide the state into additional states is valid according to the section of the constitution titled, An Ordinance. This part of the document was the "counter offer" from the Congress of the United States back to the Republic of Texas as a condition for entry. There were three conditions listed with number three being …

Third. New States of convenient size, not exceeding four in number, in addition to said State of Texas, and having sufficient population, may hereafter, by consent of said State, be formed out of the territory thereof, which shall be entitled to admission under the provisions of the federal constitution; and such States as may be formed out of that portion of said territory lying south of thirty-six degrees thirty minutes north latitude, commonly known as the Missouri compromise line, shall be admitted into the Union, with or without slavery, as the people of each State asking admission may desire; and in such State or States as shall be formed out of said territory north of said Missouri compromise line, slavery, or involuntary servitude, (except for crime,) shall be prohibited:"

The first condition concerned legal boundaries of the Republic and the second outlined the properties the Republic would relinquish to the United States upon entry. That confirmed one of the Texas facts.

I continued reading and upon completing the entire document, there was no reference to the Texas flag or U.S. flag. Even running a search through the document produced no reference to flags.

U.S. Flag Code

Frequently, the Texas flag/U.S. flag fact says Texas is the only state that can fly their flag equal in height to the American flag, which is not accurate according to the U.S. Flag Code.

The U.S. Flag Code allows all states to fly their flags at the same height as the U.S. flag according to Section 7 (f).

(f) When flags of States, cities, or localities, or pennants of societies are flown on the same halyard with the flag of the United States, the latter should always be at the peak. When the flags are flown from adjacent staffs, the flag of the United States should be hoisted first and lowered last. No such flag or pennant may be placed above the flag of the United States or to the United States flag’s right.

You’ll notice the bold text, no flag can fly above the U.S. flag, but all state flags can fly the same height if they are on adjacent poles of equal height. There are other sections of the Flag Code that address other situations with flags, but none contradict this section.

Even though the U.S. Flag Code wasn’t passed by Congress until 1942, it was codified in 1923 by the National Flag Conference, which met in Washington D.C. for that purpose. The final Flag Code was a composite of the various State Desecration flag laws in existence as early as 1897, meaning, flying a state flag at the same height as the U.S. flag was not a new concept in 1845.

Republics Entering the Union

Texas was not the first Republic to join the United States nor was it the last. Vermont was a Republic immediately prior to joining the United States as the fourteenth state, and in fact, Vermont was a Republic longer than the Republic of Texas (see list below).

After Texas was California, though it wasn’t a Republic for very long. The last Republic to join the United States was Hawaii, with a large asterisk*. Hawaii was a U.S. territory immediately prior to joining the Union, but was a Republic before that. Heck, Hawaii was even a Kingdom, and that may trump a Republic.

• Vermont was a Republic for 14 years: 1777 – 1791
• Texas was a Republic for 9 years: 1836 – 1845
• California was a Republic for 25 days: June 14 – July 9, 1846
• Hawaii was a Republic for 4 years: 1894 – 1898

The document never refers to a treaty and, in fact, Texas sought statehood as protection from Mexico. Mexico didn’t recognize the newly formed Republic and was readying a new invasion into Texas. The Mexican-American war began in 1846 as a result of Texas entering the United States December 29, 1845.

Requirements to Enter Union

At the time Texas became a state, all petitioners for statehood were required to submit a working state constitution to the Congress of the United States for approval, so the 1845 Constitution was not unique, and in fact was fashioned after the Louisiana constitution. Louisiana became a state in 1812, thirty-three years before Texas. The 1845 Constitution of the Republic of Texas addressed the same items the U.S. Constitution did. It established a government with three branches, Legislative, Judicial, and Executive, outlining the election procedures of each along with the requirements to run for office.

I did find a few interesting laws in the 1845 Constitution.

Interesting Tidbits from the 1845 Constitution

• SEC. 3. Electors in all cases shall be privileged from arrest during their attendance at elections, and in going to and returning from same; except in cases of treason, felony, or breach of the peace.
• SEC. 13. Each house may determine the rules of its own proceedings; punish members for disorderly conduct; and, with the consent of two-thirds, expel a member, but not a second time for the same offence.
• SEC. 14. There shall be a seal of the State, which shall be kept by the governor, and used by him officially. The said seal shall be a star of five points, encircled by an olive and live-oak branches, and the words "the State of Texas."

And the most surprising of all;

• SEC. 27. Ministers of the gospel being, by their profession, dedicated to God, and the care of souls, ought not to be diverted from the great duties of their functions; therefore, no minister of the gospel, or priest of any denomination whatever, shall be eligible to the legislature.

So the facts are clear, Texas can constitutionally split off four new states besides the original State of Texas, but every state can fly their flag equal in height to the U.S. flag. As a native Texan, I am very proud of The Lone Star flag and all it stands for, but I also want to keep it real.

This morning Larry was going through his feed reader looking for news stories about flags, and his eagle eye spotted another unusual flag.

This flag obviously slipped through quality control: the entire star field of blue is sewn into the flag upside down.

Big oops

What bothers me about this flag is that thousand of people have seen it in person, not to mention in news videos and in photographs, and as of January 8, it was still being used.

Photos courtesy of Flickr.

Here is the most recent.

The Protest

Turning expectations upside down – The Boston Globe
Uhlendorf is not refusing to pay his taxes to protest a war. He hasn’t penned essays on issues of civil disobedience. But like Thoreau, who was frustrated with the Mexican-American War, Uhlendorf wanted some way to vent his opposition to the current Iraq situation. So, two years ago, when the Iraq War was at a low point, he began flying his American flag outside his home on Pepperell’s Brookline Street upside down, a maritime signal used on the high seas to show a vessel is in distress.

The move, which did not stir public outcry for the last two years, has touched a nerve in town of late.

He goes on to say in a later phone interview …

During a phone interview, Uhlendorf bristled slightly at any suggestion by others that what he was doing was unpatriotic or disrespectful to the symbolism of the flag.

“I’m a very patriotic person,” he said. “If there were more patriotic people who made a stand, then maybe this war would be over quicker.”

I must disagree with Mr Uhlendorf. I would never question his patriotism, but if he thinks he is not being disrespectful to the flag, he is dead wrong. By violating the very document that teaches us how to respect the U.S. flag, he shows his disdain for United States law.

Respect for flag

Respect for flag is the title given to Section 8 of the U.S. Flag Code, and it addresses this very issue. In fact, this issue is so important that it is the first article written in the Respect for Flag section. Here is the introduction and article (a) in Section 8 of the U.S. Flag Code.

No disrespect should be shown to the flag of the United States of America; the flag should not be dipped to any person or thing. Regimental colors, State flags, and organization or institutional flags are to be dipped as a mark of honor.
(a) The flag should never be displayed with the union down, except as a signal of dire distress in instances of extreme danger to life or property.

Disrespect

After reading the referenced story several times, I don’t see that Peter Uhlendorf is in extreme danger to either his life or his property. Maybe if he believes so strongly in protesting the war, he should stop paying his taxes, then he might have a reason to fly the flag in this manner.

The same section of the U.S. code containing the Tax Code also holds the Flag Code. There is one big difference though: there are no punitive repercussions for violating the Flag Code, whereas the Tax Code has the IRS to bring about “extreme danger to life and property.” Maybe he isn’t against the war as much as he wants us to believe. It’s easy pick on the American flag—and “protest” by flying it upside-down—but let’s see him pick on something with substance … the IRS, which funds the war he is against.

Protest? In this country we have the freedom to protest, and that’s good. We can disagree in many ways, but that doesn’t mean we should show disrespect for our flag. Write letters, send emails, attend meetings, stage marches with banners and hand-made signs. That’s what real protesters do.

Of course, the Supreme Court has ruled a protester can burn the American flag, but they haven’t ruled it’s OK to fly it as a sign of distress in protest.

Mr. Uhlendorf, you are showing contempt for a symbol I hold very dear, and that is disrespectful. Fly your American flag with respect, according to the U.S. Flag Code, and protest in ways protected by the U.S. Constitution. Then I will respect you.

The three flag poles are the same height, arranged in a triangle. The two back poles are used to fly the Texas and corporate flag, while flying the American flag on the center, front pole. The last few months, I’ve noticed more and more displays laid out in this manner. There’s only one problem … the flags are flying improperly.

As always, let’s go back to the U.S. Flag Code to see what it says. Section 7(e) says,

(e) The flag of the United States of America should be at the center and at the highest point of the group when a number of flags of States or localities or pennants of societies are grouped and displayed from staffs.

… at the center and at the highest point of the group … The first position mentioned for the American flag is centered and highest, but how can that be with three poles the same height? If the front, center pole was noticeably higher, the display meets this protocol, but the poles are the same height. That means 7(e) might not work.

Section 7(f) says,

(f)… When the flags are flown from adjacent staffs, the flag of the United States should be hoisted first and lowered last. No such flag or pennant may be placed above the flag of the United States or to the United States flag’s right.

Ah … now we’re getting somewhere. 7(f) is about adjacent staffs, and gives another set of guidelines to meet. A closer look will tell us if the display meets these requirements.

The Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines adjacent this way.

ad·ja·cent
Function: adjective
1 a : not distant : NEARBY <the city and adjacent suburbs> b : having a common endpoint or border <adjacent lots> <adjacent sides of a triangle> c : immediately preceding or following

The three flag poles in the photograph are clearly adjacent, according to the definition and the state and corporate flags aren’t above the U.S. flag, but do you see the problem? The Texas flag is flying to the right of the United States flag, and that’s a no-no.

This style of triple flag display is quite common, but to fly the flags correctly would look strange. In fact, people who didn’t know better would think they were wrong if flown properly. From left to right they should be: corporate flag, Texas flag, American flag. This puts the Texas flag in front of the U.S. flag, but in the proper order.

Now you’re beginning to see the problem with this flag pole arrangement. Even when it’s right, it looks wrong. It is a no-win situation and very poor planning.

I don’t know who is selling or planning this type display, but it would be nice if they would make the center pole three feet higher. That would solve the problem. Or just put the poles in a straight line, again solving the problem.

The more I read and study, the more one big flag myth stands out. I read the following sentence in a California news article that I won’t even reference because it was filled with so much misinformation.

Protocol concerning the use of the American flag is that it must be higher than a state flag or the flag of any other symbol.

I don’t know where this myth got started, but that’s what it is—a myth. The U.S. Flag Code is very clear in this area, stating:

Section 7(f) When flags of States, cities, or localities, or pennants of societies are flown on the same halyard with the flag of the United States, the latter should always be at the peak. When the flags are flown from adjacent staffs, the flag of the United States should be hoisted first and lowered last. No such flag or pennant may be placed above the flag of the United States or to the United States flag’s right.

The section clearly states that the flag or pennants can’t fly above the American flag, with nothing about the U.S. flag flying higher, except on the same staff.

Let’s look farther into the code and see what is said about nations flags.

Section 7(g) When flags of two or more nations are displayed, they are to be flown from separate staffs of the same height. The flags should be of approximately equal size.

Flown on staffs of the same height … hmmmm. Do you think this means they should fly at different heights on the equal height staffs? That doesn’t make any sense.

Let’s back up a few paragraphs and see what (c) has to say in addressing the United Nations flag and headquarters, with a reference to national or international flags.

(c) No other flag or pennant should be placed above or, if on the same level, to the right of the flag of the United States of America, except during church services conducted by naval chaplains at sea, when the church pennant may be flown above the flag during church services for the personnel of the Navy. No person shall display the flag of the United Nations or any other national or international flag equal, above, or in a position of superior prominence or honor to, or in place of, the flag of the United States at any place within the United States or any Territory or possession thereof: Provided, That nothing in this section shall make unlawful the continuance of the practice heretofore followed of displaying the flag of the United Nations in a position of superior prominence or honor, and other national flags in positions of equal prominence or honor, with that of the flag of the United States at the headquarters of the United Nations.

Now here’s some real meat for digging into. The first sentence says, “or, if on the same level, to the right” of the American flag. Well, that seems to indicate the same level is okay.

Then is says, “no one can fly the UN or National or International flag equal or above the U.S. flag,” but it includes a thereof, which says it’s okay at the UN. This must be where they get off track.

The thing to keep in mind is that the different paragraphs refer to different entities, (c) to UN, National and International flags, (f) to States, cities, pennants, and societies, and (g) Nations.

The problem begins when someone tries to apply the UN paragraph (taken out of context) to states and cities. It’s all rather simple, really. Just grab a copy of the flag code and read it. That will end most discussions and disagreements quickly.

SkyTonight.com – Moon – What’s a Blue Moon?
Recent decades have seen widespread popular embrace of the idea that when a calendar month contains two full Moons, the second one is called a “Blue Moon.” The unusual pattern of lunar phases in early 1999 — two full Moons each in January and March, and none at all in February — triggered a groundswell of public interest. Countless newspapers and radio and TV stations ran stories about Blue Moons.

In an article “Once in a Blue Moon”, folklorist Philip Hiscock traced the calendrical meaning of the term “Blue Moon” to the Maine Farmers’ Almanac for 1937. But a page from that almanac belies the second-full-Moon-in-a-month interpretation.

With help from Margaret Vaverek (Southwest Texas State University) and several other librarians, we have now obtained more than 40 editions of the Maine Farmers’ Almanac from the period 1819 to 1962. These refer to more than a dozen Blue Moons, and not one of them is the second full Moon in a month. What’s going on here?

The United States Flag Code, Section 6(b) says:

The flag should be hoisted briskly and lowered ceremoniously.

Hoisting Briskly is easy. The definition of briskly is “quick and energetic.” That’s self-explanatory.

What about lowering the flag, though. “Lowered ceremoniously” is the phrase. It is normally said that the flag is lowered slowly, with reverence and that is the way most are preformed. Looking at definitions of ceremonious doesn’t support that, though.

Here a two:

1. rigidly formal or bound by convention
2. according to formal usage or prescribed procedures

These indicate that the lowering is more formal than the raising. Interesting, though, is the fact that “prescribed procedures” shows up in many dictionaries, yet the flag code doesn’t list any procedures for lowering the flag.

What’s all this mean? Slowly and with reverence is allowed, but so is example in this video. The word that captures it for me? Respect


Video is from a Cub Scout Adventure Camp July 2006

]]> http://www.flagsbay.com/flag/2007/05/11/lower-the-flag-ceremoniously/feed/ 0 http://www.flagsbay.com/flag/2007/05/08/folding-the-american-flag/ http://www.flagsbay.com/flag/2007/05/08/folding-the-american-flag/#comments Tue, 08 May 2007 15:58:39 +0000 Larry Hendrick http://www.flagsbay.com/flag/2007/05/08/folding-the-american-flag/ The United States Flag Code, Section 6(b) says:

The flag should be hoisted briskly and lowered ceremoniously.

That is the entire text that refers to lowering the flag. Yes, Section 9 refers to our conduct during hoisting, lowering and passing of the flag, but 6(b) is the only reference to how the flag is lowered. Notice that it does not prescribe a way to fold the flag.

The Myth

Where did the instructions come from—for folding the flag with thirteen folds, with the union and stars showing at the end? That’s a very good question. This particular myth causes more discussion than any other item relating to the U.S. flag. There is great debate over the origin, the scripts, and why it should be done.

The Confusion

The use of the trifold method presumably traces back to various historical events, depending on the person doing the tracing. Some say the origin started with WWI, some say the Revolutionary War, and some say even earlier. The fact is—we don’t know.

What we do know is that given the physical dimensions prescribed for the U.S. flag, it will neatly fold thirteen times when using the tri-fold method.



We know that the tri-fold currently is used for military funerals, and is conducted by the Honor Guard leading up to the presentation of the flag to the family. This folding ceremony is somber and respectfully silent.

We know that many scripts have been written for recitation during the flag folding ceremony. Some propose the thirteen folds are for the thirteen original colonies while others suggest a script written by an Air Force chaplain in the 1980s as the accepted script. Dozens of other scripts are available, or you can write one for your special occasion. Bottom line, there is no official script to recite when folding the flag, if you even fold the flag.

We know there are reasonable applications for folding the flag, so it is now used by all military branches and the Boy Scouts when the flag is lowered at the end of the day. From a practical stand point, it is a sensible and secure way of storing the flag, allowing a single person to hoist the flag at the beginning of the day.

The Fact

The facts are not confusing at all. The flag is lowered ceremoniously … period. Anything else is extra, but allowed.

]]> http://www.flagsbay.com/flag/2007/05/08/folding-the-american-flag/feed/ 1 http://www.flagsbay.com/flag/2007/04/16/us-states-that-were-republics-first/ http://www.flagsbay.com/flag/2007/04/16/us-states-that-were-republics-first/#comments Mon, 16 Apr 2007 18:25:56 +0000 Deborah Hendrick http://www.flagsbay.com/flag/2007/04/16/us-states-that-were-republics-first/ A recurring bit of Texas mythology and misinformation is that Texas is the only state that was a Republic before it joined the Union. This simply is not true.

The Republic of Vermont existed for fourteen years, from January 15, 1777 to March 4, 1791. Vermont was the first state to enter the Union that had not been part of the the original thirteen colonies.

For nine years, the Republic of Texas existed, from March 2, 1835 to December 29, 1845.

California existed as a Republic for twenty-nine days, from June 14, 1846 to July 9, 1846.

]]> http://www.flagsbay.com/flag/2007/04/16/us-states-that-were-republics-first/feed/ 2