These banners don’t just signal ‘Pride’ — they announce conquest



On September 11, 2001, three New York firefighters raised an American flag above the wreckage of the World Trade Center. That moment was more than an image. It was a declaration that the country had buckled but not broken. That flag rallied millions, inspired enlistments, and stiffened a nation’s resolve mere hours after the most devastating attack in modern U.S. history.

In 2025, the opposite message is taking root in some of America’s cities. In Boise, Idaho, and Minneapolis, Minnesota, local leaders elevate symbolic banners that compete with, sidestep, or openly contradict the national and state standards that define shared civic space.

If we want unity, we must lead with the symbols that foster it. Because if we don’t plant our flags, someone else will.

In Boise, a blue island in a bright red state, Mayor Lauren McLean (D) kept the Pride flag flying over City Hall despite Idaho’s HB 96, a law restricting public property to the U.S. and state flags. After Attorney General Raúl Labrador (R) issued a cease-and-desist, McLean responded with a letter threatening legal action and framed her stance as “standing with my community.” The city council followed with a 5-1 vote to adopt the Pride flag as an official city emblem to get around the law.

In Minneapolis, state Sen. Omar Fateh (D) waved a Somali regional flag at an October campaign rally. Supporters defended the gesture as cultural outreach to the city’s large Somali population. Opponents saw something else: a political statement that placed clan or regional identity ahead of shared civic loyalty.

At first glance, these acts look harmless. But historians — and anyone who has studied conflict or national movements — know that flags communicate power. A flag marks territory, signals allegiance, and announces who intends to lead.

A banner raised in a civic space says something about the future of that space. It’s a symbol of conquest — in this case, conquest without firing a shot.

Minneapolis illustrates the stakes. Somali-Americans represent a large and active community, and political leaders court their votes aggressively. But clan politics from Somalia’s fractured landscape often follow families to the United States.

Analysts noted that Minneapolis’ recent mayoral race reflected clan splits, with blocs supporting or opposing Somali candidates not on ideology but lineage. That tension influences local elections and creates new pressures on civic life.

Political imagery matters when communities already navigate competing loyalties. A foreign regional flag held aloft at a campaign rally isn’t a neutral gesture; it’s an invitation to organize political power around identities that do not map cleanly onto American civic culture.

History amplifies that point. For centuries, flags have signaled triumph or defeat long before a treaty forced anyone’s hand. At Fort McHenry in 1814, the sight of the American flag still flying after a night of bombardment, energized defenders and inspired the poem that became our national anthem. At Iwo Jima in 1945, Marines raised the U.S. flag atop Mount Suribachi, transforming a brutal fight into a symbol of American resolve and shifting the morale of both sides.

Flags shape memory. They mark identity. They tell people who stands firm and who gives ground.

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Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images

That is why the flags flown on public property matter now. McLean’s use of the Pride flag isn’t just about “love is love.” It supplants the symbol that binds Idahoans across differences. Fateh’s regional Somali flag isn’t simply cultural pride; it injects external political identities into municipal politics and signals a shift in who claims influence over public life.

Americans can shrug at this trend or take it seriously. Civic symbols either unite a people or divide them. A city hall flagpole should unify, not segment communities into competing camps. A political rally should appeal to voters as Americans, not as factions drawn from overseas allegiances.

The answer is not outrage or retaliation. The answer is clarity: reclaim civic symbols that express shared loyalty to a shared country. Fly the U.S. flag. Fly state flags. Encourage communities to celebrate their heritage while affirming the nation that binds them together.

A nation confident in itself does not surrender its symbols. It presents them proudly — on porches, at city halls, and at the center of public life. America’s strength begins with the values and commitments those flags represent.

If we want unity, we must lead with the symbols that foster it. Because if we don’t plant our flags, someone else will.

Why the English flag now terrifies the regime



The United Kingdom is embroiled in a strange controversy: Officials are trying to ban the English flag from the public square.

As immigration-driven violence rises, national identity has become central. Many Englishmen, watching as immigrants pour in and grooming gangs prey on their daughters, have begun raising the red-and-white St. George’s Cross. Officials invent excuses to tear those flags down — even as immigrant groups replace the Union Jack with the flag of Pakistan. To outsiders this may look like a petty fight over fabric, but it is a symbol of the existential struggle gripping Britain. When citizens clash over flags, it signals that civil war could be near.

In a regime that sacrifices free speech for 'multiculturalism,' flying the English flag has become an act of rebellion.

Modern elites tell us flags are meaningless scraps from a barbaric age. The notion that a simple banner could hold sacred status seems absurd in an era that prizes materialism. Yet ruling classes know symbols matter, which is why activists worked to replace national flags with the Pride flag in so many public spaces. Joe Biden’s administration gave the rainbow banner a place of honor at the White House and at U.S. embassies around the globe.

Swapping a flag is never a trivial gesture. Battles are fought in the spirit as well as on the field. When a flag falls, so does the resolve of the people behind it.

Britain’s history rests on forging many peoples into a single polity. The English flag merged into the Union Jack as the emblem of that union. As the empire expanded, “Britishness” widened in scope, but English identity remained its core. Today that identity is under attack from the very state the English created, with politicians insisting that the English “ethnos” does not exist. The Union Jack, once imposed on conquered peoples, now serves as a symbol of English subjugation.

This is not mere neglect. The U.K.’s leadership often appears actively hostile to its majority people. Immigrants refuse to assimilate, demand special treatment, show open contempt for the English, and commit horrific acts of violence — yet the government welcomes more boatloads. Social media is censored to shield newcomers from offense. Protests are suppressed. In a regime that sacrifices free speech for “multiculturalism,” flying the English flag has become an act of rebellion.

National media scorn this flag-waving trend, but the state has wisely avoided an outright ban. Instead, local officials hide behind obscure ordinances to force flags down — all while Pride banners and foreign symbols fly unchallenged. Each removal is met with more flags raised. This is a clever, nonviolent protest that exposes the regime’s double standard. Every crackdown vindicates the English right to resist.

Immigrant communities have noticed. Coming from societies where ethnic solidarity is openly encouraged, they know what the St. George’s Cross means. In response, some have stripped Union Jacks from poles and replaced them with Pakistani flags. For all the insistence that flags are “outdated,” people show their true loyalty when conflict looms. They fly the banner they are prepared to defend.

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Photo by Evgenia Parajanian via Getty Images

We’ve seen this dynamic in America too. When anti-deportation riots broke out in Los Angeles earlier this summer, protesters flew the Mexican flag, not the Stars and Stripes. They weren’t signaling solidarity with the country they demanded to remain in, but dominance in the name of another. Until very recently, everyone understood that raising a foreign flag on someone else’s soil was a declaration of conquest.

The situation in Britain today is much worse than circumstances in the United States. Despite the best efforts of the media, judges, and even a would-be assassin’s bullet, Americans re-elected Donald Trump to secure the border and deport illegal aliens. His administration has largely shut crossings and begun deportations (though not nearly enough). Still, the people here found a political solution — or at least the beginning of one.

In the U.K., no such option exists. Conservatives broke their promises and imported record numbers of migrants. Labour under Keir Starmer has gone to authoritarian lengths to suppress opposition. Nigel Farage’s Reform Party has softened its stance to avoid being called “radical.” Only Rupert Lowe seems to understand the crisis, but he lacks the political infrastructure to change course. The absence of representation has led experts like David Betz, a professor of war at King’s College London, to warn of civil war ahead.

Yet even in this bleak landscape, the persistence of the flag-flyers signals hope. Elites may seek to crush the English in pursuit of a multicultural utopia, but the native people refuse to yield. Protesters are jailed, flags are torn down, posts are censored — yet the banners keep going up. That stubborn spirit is dangerous to ignore. The English still know who they are. Unless their rulers recognize it soon, the conflict now symbolized by a flag will erupt into something far more serious.

Pride flies a flag — why don’t the other deadly sins get one?



The first sign of spring is said to be the appearance of a robin. That sign is followed by the first sign that June has arrived: a Pride flag, festooned with what seems to be an ever-increasing number of colors and symbols, hoisted up the flagpole, right under (or alongside) Old Glory.

For as long as most folks living in a civil society can remember, pride and lust have been counted among the infamous list known as the seven deadly sins. The list varies slightly in order and phrasing, but they are: lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, and pride.

To my knowledge, only "pride" has a flag designed specifically to celebrate its practice. However, the Pride flag doesn’t just encompass pride — it glorifies lust too — even though you can attach the spirit of pride to any of the other bad behaviors found on the infamous list.

Of course, the Ten Commandments outline the evil of all of these sins, warning of the danger of being controlled by them. Pride, along with the other deadly sins, is spiritually dangerous — and it often carries psychological and physical consequences too.

Flags, of course, are symbolic and used to unite those of similar viewpoint and allegiance. But we are aware that they can also rally people to lethal ends.

What started out decades ago as the statement, "What we do in our bedrooms is our own business," has now morphed into, "Celebrate the many ways we transform your children into our own image and indoctrinate them into our devious lifestyle."

Simply put, evil has become good, and good evil (Isaiah 5:20).

This distortion of God and nature would be comedy to the max if it weren't so pathetic and dangerous.

A bit of lampooning

At the risk of making light of this very serious practice of our downward-sliding nation, might I suggest decadent flags for several of the remaining sins?

The flag for greed would be filled with dollar signs; for sloth, well, that’s easy — a giant sloth! We could pick any of the remaining 11 months that don’t have “official” flags and send one of these beauties up the flagpole.

I had a couple of ideas for gluttony, which I would like to suggest could fly through the entire month of November. Why November? Well, for one thing, we all know what happens on Thanksgiving Day.

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Johnrob via iStock/Getty Images

And the official flag for gluttony? Might I offer a colorful, eye-catching beauty that displays a giant glazed donut with sprinkles? Or perhaps even a tempting array of hot dogs? Or better still — both!

The official gluttony flag could flap in the breeze with (dare I say) pride all November long. (Heck, you might even want to keep it flying all through the Christmas holiday season and into Super Bowl Sunday, for that matter!)

Meanwhile, back in reality

As a nation, we need to turn from our dangerous obsession with coddling a variety of evil ways. “Speaking the truth in love,” at a minimum, is suggested by St. Paul (Ephesians 4:15). It’s obvious, though, that we must keep in mind that certain bad habits and practices have become ingrained in our culture, and pushing back against them, even gently, could have unintended consequences.

However, we need not, simply by our silence, encourage an ever-expanding drift into decadence. After all, if it is indeed true that "pride goes before the fall," we are very near the precipice. We must begin — and continue — to pull back.

Certainly, that serious effort begins with prayer to see where the spirit of our loving God leads.

And, hey, there's even a flag for that! George Washington and America’s founders flew “An Appeal to Heaven” banner — which, by the way, I suggest you display every month of the year.

Editor's note: A version of this article appeared originally at American Thinker.

Woke Boise mayor tosses Appeal to Heaven flag aside like trash, raises LGBTQ flag in defiance of state law



The radical mayor of Boise, Lauren McLean, took time on Easter Sunday to crumple up an Appeal to Heaven flag like trash so she could hoist an LGBTQ flag unobstructed at city hall in direct defiance of a new Idaho law.

Earlier this month, Republican Gov. Brad Little signed into law H.B. 96, which strictly regulates the flags that counties, municipalities, and other governmental entities in Idaho may fly on public property. The law mainly permits only those flags representing the U.S., the military, the state of Idaho, schools, and Indian tribes.

Despite this new law, Boise has continued to fly the "Progressive Pride" flag, depicting the rainbow associated with non-heterosexual identities, the colors affiliated with so-called transgenderism, and black and brown stripes that pay fealty to non-white skin colors.

"We will continue flying it because we are a safe and welcoming city that values all comers," McLean said in a statement.

'Now this is a mayor. We gotta re-elect her. She stands for all the people.'

Early Sunday morning, some area activists attempted to beat McLean at her own game. They brought a ladder, positioned it on the city flagpole, then proceeded to make some changes to the flags blazing there, video showed.

For one thing, the two men placed black trash bags over the Pride flag and a flag promoting organ donation.

They also clipped to the pole an Appeal to Heaven flag made famous during the American Revolution. Because of its official association with the state of Massachusetts, the Appeal to Heaven flag does not violate H.B. 96, the Idaho statesman said.

Later that morning, undeterred by the attempts to bring Boise into compliance with the new state law, Mayor McLean and an assistant went to the flagpole and restored the flags to the way they were.

Far from passively rearranging the flags, McLean took a knife of sorts and cut part of the Appeal to Heaven flag before her assistant finished the job, tearing away the flag and the black bags covering the Pride and organ-donation flags. McLean then balled the flag up into one of the black trash bags and tossed it on the ground like garbage.

Their actions were so politically charged that the Idaho statesman criticized McLean's lack of "respect" for a flag "which has a lot of historical significance for Americans." Yet McLean was so nonchalant about it all that at one point, she paused and wished some passersby a "happy Easter."

Pam Hemphill — a rabid leftist who claims to have previously supported President Donald Trump and the MAGA agenda but who now takes every opportunity to excoriate MAGA and trumpet Democratic talking points — filmed McLean and her assistant and could barely contain her enthusiasm for their woke flag stunt.

"I am so happy. ... This is wonderful," Hemphill gushed.

"Now this is a mayor. We gotta re-elect her. She stands for all the people," Hemphill continued, even as McLean and the assistant basically ignored her.

Hemphill also characterized her detractors as "idiots" and "haters." "All you know is propaganda and hate," she said.

Mayor McLean has managed to flout H.B. 96 so brazenly because the law is basically toothless. Even Ada County Sheriff Matt Clifford, whose office has been bombarded with complaints about the flag mess in Boise, has admitted there's little he can do.

"The law, as it stands, doesn’t provide any enforcement mechanism," Clifford said in a statement posted to social media.

Clifford further noted that criminal laws generally "apply to individuals, not institutions," but H.B. 96 applies mainly to local governments and government bodies.

Idaho Attorney General Raul Labrador, a Republican, also acknowledged that "the law does not allow for criminal prosecution in this situation."

"I cannot prosecute conduct that is not a crime, and I will not distort or stretch Idaho law to invent one. What I can do — and am actively doing — is reviewing every available civil legal option under Idaho law in response to this situation," he added.

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Leftist mayor ignores deep-red state law, flies racial LGBTQ flag



A leftist mayor has opted to defy a new law in her deep-red state by flying a flag that represents the woke racial and sexual agenda.

Less than two weeks ago, Idaho Republican Gov. Brad Little signed into law H.B. 96, which strictly regulates the flags that counties, municipalities, and other governmental entities may fly on public property. Introduced by state Rep. Heather Scott (R-Blanchard), the bill basically restricts public flags to those representing the U.S. and its military, the state of Idaho, local cities, schools, and Indian tribes.

Scott indicated the purpose behind the law was to keep flag-flying from becoming too "political."

"I believe this bill is necessary for government to be neutral and unified and that government buildings should represent all Idahoans and not be used for political movements or social movements," she said, according to KIVI-TV.

The law took effect immediately. However, Lauren McLean, the radical mayor of Boise, does not seem to care.

According to reports from over the weekend, Boise City Hall still flies a flag known as the "Progressive Pride" flag, depicting the rainbow associated with non-heterosexual identities, the colors affiliated with so-called transgenderism, and black and brown stripes that pay fealty to non-white skin colors.

The Idaho Dispatch reported that the flag was momentarily removed, but the mayor's administration raised it again.

McLean indicated in a statement that the sex- and race-based flag represents the inclusiveness of the Boise community. "We will continue flying it because we are a safe and welcoming city that values all comers," she said.

'I never looked at her as a law breaker, but I guess she is.'

McLean also claimed in her statement that flying the Pride flag has been a Boise tradition that dates back almost a decade. "For nearly ten years the city has been flying the Pride flag," she said.

However, keen observers at BoiseDev noticed that the flag that flies over the city currently appears in better condition than the one that flew as recently as February. The colors on the current flag "now appear more vibrant, and a small hole in the flag is no longer present," the outlet reported.

The city did not respond to questions from BoiseDev about whether a new flag had been used.

BoiseDev also noted that McLean and other city leaders quickly abided by another state law, S.B. 1141, that prohibits sleeping in outdoor public places or inside cars, even while they continue to ignore H.B. 96.

The difference may be that S.B. 1141 imposes penalties for noncompliance. Cities that fail to enforce S.B. 1141 can be hit with a $10,000 fine imposed by the state attorney general. Even McLean admitted that she would work with the police department to enforce S.B. 1141 "because we must."

H.B. 96 has no such enforcement mechanism. Still, Scott is shocked by McLean's defiance.

"I just assumed [McLean] would follow the law," Scott told BoiseDev. "It’s interesting that she’s not going to follow the law. I never looked at her as a law breaker, but I guess she is."

In a conversation with KIVI, state Rep. Monica Church, a Democrat who represents a district that includes Boise City Hall, seemed to relish the fact that there is no way to enforce H.B. 96 at the moment. She also views H.B. 96 as "an opportunity for political grandstanding," the outlet added.

Gov. Little and Attorney General Raul Labrador did not respond to a request for comment from the Idaho Dispatch.

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Trump State Department reportedly tells embassies: Scrap the LGBT and BLM activist flags. Only Old Glory flies.



Under the Biden administration, the non-straight activist flag and the colors of the identitarian leftist group Black Lives Matter were routinely hoisted above American embassies and consulates, both suggesting Old Glory needed the banner equivalent of addendums and insinuating the nation was torn between competing allegiances.

The Trump State Department reportedly issued a "One Flag" policy on Monday, bringing this shameful practice to an end.

According to a copy of the corresponding memo obtained by the Washington Free Beacon, which first reported on the policy change, "Starting immediately, only the United States of America flag is authorized to be flown or displayed at U.S. facilities, both domestic and abroad, and featured in U.S. government content."

Keen for a symbolic change after the first Trump administration rejected embassies' requests to fly the non-straight activist flag, former Secretary of State Antony Blinken issued a blanket authorization for diplomatic outposts worldwide to raise the activist colors. Foreign Policy reported at the time that Blinken specifically authorized diplomats to fly the flag before May 17, a day activists annually spend complaining about "homophobia" and "transphobia," as well as through the month of June.

Sure enough, American diplomats gleefully raised the non-straight flag not just for the duration of so-called "pride season" and on gender ideologues' various days of self-honor but to celebrate or commemorate various milestones on the country's deviation from the straight and narrow.

'It is fitting and respectful that only the US flag be flown or displayed.'

While they refrained from doing so in Islamist nations over fear of "backlash," Biden diplomats proved alternatively keen to antagonize conservative Christians. For instance, the American embassy to the Vatican repeatedly flew the non-straight activist flag while flooding its social media pages with the flag and activist messaging.

Various embassies also hoisted the flag of BLM, a Marxist group led by scandal-plagued radicals apparently committed to acquiring luxury real estate and enriching family members at true believers' expense as well as advancing the global cause of a single race, in part, through the elimination of prisons and police.

The American embassies and consulates in Brazil were among the many diplomatic outposts that raised the BLM flag during the Biden years. Despite the racist and divisive nature of the group signified, the U.S. embassy in Brazil stated that the phrase displayed on the flag "is connected to collective efforts to mitigate racism and build a more equitable society."

The Trump State Department underscored in its Monday memo that the "flag of the United States of America united all Americans under the universal principles of justice, liberty, and democracy. These values, which are the bedrock of our great country, are shared by all American citizens, past and present."

Diplomats who violate the new policy will "face disciplinary action, including termination of employment or contract, or reassignment to their home agency," said the memo.

The Beacon noted that the only flags permitted besides Old Glory are the Prisoner of War/Missing in Action emblem and the Wrongful Detainees Flag.

"The U.S. flag is a powerful symbol of pride and it is fitting and respectful that only the U.S. flag be flown or displayed at U.S. facilities, both domestically and abroad," added the memo.

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Content advisory: Footage captures disturbing child drag show in Dallas, Texas



June may be over, but we’re certainly not done talking about the nefarious ripple effects of Pride Month.

Two summers ago, Alex Stein busted an event hosted by Mr. Misster, a gay bar in Dallas, Texas, for exposing children to sexually explicit content.

To say the video footage is disturbing is an understatement. Viewer discretion is advised.

EXPOSING Disturbing Child Drag Show In Dallaswww.youtube.com

The footage captures several drag queens dancing erotically in front of a neon sign that reads, “It’s not gonna lick itself,” while taking money out of children’s hands. Some of the kids even got to strut the catwalk alongside the performers.

What’s even more disturbing is that several policemen were present at the event, and all of them were perfectly content to allow children to enter a bar where they would be exposed to sexually explicit content.

At least none of them got away without facing some of Alex’s infamous trolling. Check it out for yourself in the clip above.

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