Congressman Flies UN Flag Outside Washington Office

Jeff Johnson, CNSNews.com, June 02, 2003

Capitol Hill (CNSNews.com) - Walking down the hallway of any congressional office building on Capitol Hill, visitors see a myriad of flags on display at the entryways to members' offices. Most senators and representatives display only the flags of the United States and their home state, although many include flags of the branch of the military in which they served or the Prisoner Of War - Missing In Action remembrance flag.

In many ways, the doorway into the office of Rep. Sam Farr (D-Calif.) is not unique. The U.S. flag is on one side of the entryway, and the California flag is on the other. Next to the California flag is the flag of the Peace Corps, in which Farr began his public service career in 1941. But what stands next to the Peace Corps flag is what makes the office - and Farr himself - completely unique.

Farr is the only one of the 535 members of the United States Congress to display the flag of the United Nations outside his office. The congressman was working in his district Friday and was not available for media interviews, but Rochelle Dornatt, his chief of staff, told CNSNews.com that Farr flies the U.N. flag outside his office because he believes in the ability of the U.N. "to work toward global solutions to global problems.

"The United States cannot be a sole player out there," Dornatt said. "We need the support and assistance of other countries in the world to make sure we have a world that can function as a civil society." Farr, who was born on the 4th of July and now serves on the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction, "believes in the U.N.," Dornatt added.

"He thinks that it is the appropriate forum to discuss issues of war and peace," she continued. "And, as a person who has served in the Peace Corps, the congressman feels very strongly about the need for international collegiality, and that is what the U.N. flag represents."

Some of Farr's colleagues in the House, however, are not quite as excited about the body many fear may one day try to challenge U.S. autonomy. Jeff Deist, spokesman for Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas), believes most U.S. citizens would be "outraged or shocked" if a member of Congress was honoring the flag of another nation and compares that situation to Farr's display.

"It would be obnoxious enough, I think, to most folks if you had another country's flag, but to have the U.N. flag, which, to me, is worse than another country?" Deist questioned in an interview with CNSNews.com. "That's an organization that is actively hostile to us, that actively wants us to change, wants us to conform to another way of life.

"Our Constitution is incompatible with having laws and rules made for us in Geneva or Brussels or even at the U.N. Headquarters in New York," he added.

Rep. Paul shares Deist's passion for U.S. autonomy. Paul recently reintroduced the American Sovereignty Restoration Act (ASRA, H.R.1146).

The ASRA would repeal the United Nations Participation Act of 1945, which authorized U.S. membership in the body. It would also direct the president to "terminate all participation by the United States in the United Nations and any organ, specialized agency, commission or other formally affiliated body of the United Nations" and to close the U.S. Mission to the United Nations.

In an April 29 speech, Paul warned about the ambitions of U.N. bureaucrats and their supporters.

"U.N. globalists are not satisfied by meddling only in international disputes. They increasingly want to influence our domestic environmental, trade, labor, tax and gun laws," the Texas Republican, who previously ran for president as a Libertarian, declared. "U.N. global planners fully intend to expand the organization into a true world government, complete with taxes, courts and possibly a standing army.

"This is not an alarmist statement," he added. "These goals are readily promoted on the U.N.'s own website."

The ASRA would also repeal the United Nations Headquarters Agreement Act and withdraw the United States from the agreement granting the U.N. the use of its current headquarters property. The appropriation of any taxpayer money for any U.N.-related purpose other than withdrawing from the organization would be banned, including the expenditure of any U.S. funds for so-called "peace keeping" operations.

The act would also revoke the diplomatic immunity of U.N. employees and evict them from all U.S. facilities worldwide, and it would take effect two years after the date of passage, allowing time for relocation of staff and resources. The legislation currently has 12 cosponsors.

"The choice is very clear: We either follow the Constitution or submit to U.N. global governance. American national sovereignty cannot survive if we allow our domestic laws to be crafted or even influenced by an international body," Paul concluded. "If we continue down the U.N. path, America as we know it will cease to exist."

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U.S. Congressman Ron Paul, one-time Libertarian candidate for President, is the "standard bearer" of the Republican Liberty Caucus of Texas, the Libertarian wing of the Republican Party.