Lower That Flag

Starting now, you may notice the flag at your federal building flying at half-staff more often than it used to. That's because, as the New York Times reports, President Bush signed a law Friday saying that all federal buildings in a state have to comply when a governor orders flags lowered to honor fallen military service members. Before, some federal officials said they weren't under governors' jurisdiction, so they left their flags flying high, to the consternation of some families of troops killed in action.

The law also grants flag-lowering power to the mayor of the District of Columbia, so federal buildings in Washington will have to comply if he orders flags lowered.