More than a week after the initial melee, the New York Times picked up the story on the Naval Academy chapel practice of dipping the US flag at the altar (previously noted here).

There is nothing significantly new in the article, though it does seem to indicate that the initial hysteria over the incident (generated primarily by Weinstein’s Military Religious Freedom Foundation) was misplaced.  (For example, no one “disobeyed a direct order.”)

Interestingly, columnists are quick to reference the US flag code, which says the flag should never be dipped.  However, the US flag code is a guide, not a punitive regulation.  Previous attempts to make it punitive were struck down by the Supreme Court as unConstitutional.  Thus, while someone may disagree with the practice, it is not prohibited.

NYT reference courtesy of the Religion Clause, and recently updated on ADF.