The State Department authorized pride flags to be flown at U.S. embassies in 2021, reversing a Trump-era ban.
  • LovingHippieCat@lemmy.world
    10512·
    3 months ago

    Important note for those who dont want to read the actual article: the ban is essentially saying only some flags can be bought with federal funds and then hung up officially, and the pride flag isn’t one of them. It also doesn’t prohibit personal displays, so while they can’t be on flag poles or bought with federal funds, they can still be displayed. Interestingly, the bill also bans the confederate flag. It’s still just bigotry being forced by the GOP but there’s always more context than a headline can provide.

    • KevonLooney@lemm.ee
      201·
      3 months ago

      And the State Department can do whatever it wants. Why would Congress have oversight of a routine maintenance issue for the Executive Branch? They can fly all the pride flags they want and no one can stop them.

      The House’s budget power only exists until the item is purchased. It’s actually not very strong. Literally how are they going to enforce this? The Justice Department will be defending the State Department. The House will have… who?

      • False@lemmy.world
        2·
        3 months ago

        The House should be about to pass laws that curtail the rights of the executive branch. This is a key part of the system of checks and balances.

  • alcoholicorn@lemmy.ml
    12027·
    3 months ago

    It’s also giving 1.8 billion dollars in weapons to Israel. Fuck every single dem who voted for genocide, and the few republicans who didn’t vote for it because it was insufficiently genocidal.

    • takeda@lemmy.world
      4328·
      3 months ago

      This was included in a funding bill. If that wouldn’t pass the government would shut down. You can blame Republicans for those extra things added.

      • bdonvr@thelemmy.club
        458·
        3 months ago

        Then the government should’ve fucking shut down. Not even close to an excuse for voting to fund genocide and I’m utterly baffled as to how you could possibly make such an argument.

      • octobob@lemmy.ml
        374·
        3 months ago

        I’ve been hearing this excuse for like a decade now.

        Shutting down the government to refuse weapon sales to Israel would be a good thing, goddammit. I’d feel that maybe there’s a shred of humanity left in those ghouls if they had.

        • takeda@lemmy.world
          419·
          3 months ago

          Yeah, let’s hurt others for your own protest. Maybe you should do your own hunger strike?

          • bdonvr@thelemmy.club
            213·
            3 months ago

            Us privileged asses in the US will suffer exponentially less harm, especially in the long term, than those of the tens of thousands we’re helping fund the slaughter of.

      • DingoBilly@lemmy.world
        93·
        3 months ago

        People are missing the forest for the trees but you are right.

        If Republicans force this through on every bill then at some point it would have to pass. You can’t just shut down the US government indefinitely in the real world.

  • Alsephina@lemmy.mlOPEnglish
    385·
    3 months ago

    Maybe the US’s adversaries could learn from this and go the opposite way to improve LGBT rights instead. Would decrease western govs’ ability to pinkwash imperialism, spread atrocity propaganda etc.

    So far, the only governments I can think of that seem to have realized this and vastly improved LGBT rights accordingly have been the GDR (which would’ve likely spread to the rest of the socialist states) and Cuba.

    • hydroptic@sopuli.xyz
      7·
      3 months ago

      Maybe the US’s adversaries could learn from this and go the opposite way to improve LGBT rights instead

      Nah: right wing extremists are getting more and more power everywhere so looks like it’s worse LGBT+ rights for everyone.

      The future ain’t looking too bright.

  • ezchili@iusearchlinux.fyi
    237·
    3 months ago

    The US is always so disrespectful flying their flag higher than others

    I thought it was common knowledge that to fly two flags you need two poles

    • MrStankov@lemmy.world
      142·
      3 months ago

      I think it stems from our domestic flag rules which have state and local flags flying below the US flag, even if on different poles. The US flag must always be the highest.

      • ProfessorProteus@lemmy.world
        English
        8·
        3 months ago

        I was gonna say that Texas’ flag is the only one “allowed” to be at the same height as the U.S. flag, but apparently I’ve been taught a big ol’ lie.

        In fact it looks like we’re both wrong, according to Snopes.

        • Maeve@kbin.social
          52·
          3 months ago

          In some cases, the acceptable way to display the flag is to burn it. Is day now is such a time.

  • deweydecibel@lemmy.worldEnglish
    2416·
    3 months ago

    Should note this is not permanent. It’s only for the extent of the spending bill, which is until October, and can be easily removed from the spending bills after the election, when hopefully we have a more blue congress that won’t need to make these shitty concession just to fund the damn government.