Fox & Friends a has problem with truthiness. Thus, one wonders if Fox & Friends will add, to its list of official corrections, their latest whopper - a bogus story about how, OMG, the Chinese Communist flag was flying in front of the Washington State House until "patriots" took it down!
Monday, Fox & Friends provided their paranoid and angry audience with more red meat. (Pun intended, as you will see) They reported that tea party "patriots," angry over seeing the evil Chinese Communist flag flying next to Old Glory, saved our flag from this ignominy by single-handedly taking down the Chinese flag. As reported on Rachel Maddow's blog and on last night's show (video not available), this just.wasn't.true.
During a Fox & Friends "headlines" segment, it was reported that, at the capitol of the commie state of Washington, the "Chinese Communist flag was flown right next to the American flag" on orders from the Governor (cue the death threats) who was meeting with the Chinese ambassador. It was then noted that "some local patriots were not pleased about that" and, with the help of a capitol official, took down the Chinese flag because flying the Chinese and American flags, at the same height, was disrespectful. The banner for the segment: "Taking Care of Business, Patriots Take Down Chinese Flag at WA capitol."
The Maddow blog provides us with the information that Fox excluded. Whenever a foreign dignitary visits the Washington State Capitol, the flag of their nation is flown during the visit. There was no mention of the fact that when the Chinese president visited Pres. George W Bush, the White House flew the Chinese flag at the same height as the US flag.
But here's the most important omission. This was not a redux of "Red Dawn."The "patriots" had NOTHING TO DO with the lowering of the flag. It was in the process of coming down because the official visit was over. The guy actually lowering the flag is a state worker whose job is raising and lowering State House flags. The state trooper was there to guard the flag guy - not as an escort to the motley militia.
Fox New Insider story reinforced the lie with title, "Patriots Helped Take Down a Communist China Flag at a US State Capitol." The story includes a video from the protesters which, LOL, shows that the patriots didn't "take down" the flag.
We don't know if their crack team of researchers is asleep at the switch or if the hosts of Fox & Friends deliberately lie in service of an agenda. But what we do know is that when they present misinformation, it becomes part of a false narrative used to further divide America. Not for nothing is Fox & Friends, "the morning happy-talk show that Ailes uses as one of his primary vehicles to inject his venom into the media bloodstream."
Funny, Steve Doocy actually claimed that "we here at Fox still do journalism." Really?
Just curious as I consider myself a patriot but didn’t know.
Per Section 7g of the Flag Code:
“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. International usage forbids the display of the flag of one nation above that of another nation in time of peace.” (Bolding mine)
Now, they might have had a genuine reason for concern if the US flag were in the wrong place but that doesn’t seem to be the issue at hand. Also, per the Flag Code (Section 7f), “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.”
It’s akin to a stage. “Stage right” is on the audience’s left while “stage left” is on the audience’s right. The US flag must always be placed to its own right with nothing to the right of the US flag; to an observer on the street facing the Capitol and looking at the flags, the US flag would be on the far left.
The following diagram shows a proper display:
+++++Capitol Building+++++
US Flag+++++Chinese Flag
+++++++Street+++++++++
But, again, patriots would know this. Teabaggers are merely “patriots.”
