I was confused when I saw the flag being flown at half-staff last weekend and this week. I wondered if it were for the Pope. I didn’t think that foreign leaders or religious leaders were accorded this great American honor. However, from searching flag etiquette sites on the internet, I found that the president can direct that the flag be flown at half-staff as a symbol of respect for other officials and foreign dignitaries. Traveling through Arizona, Utah and Nevada this past week, I found that that there was some inconsistency in lowering the flag. Some flags were up and some at half-staff. I wonder if this was intentional or not.