The only thing the flag code says about the design of the flag itself is below. Everything else is about how the flag should be treated, used, and displayed:
"§1. Flag; stripes and stars on
The flag of the United States shall be thirteen horizontal stripes, alternate red and white; and the union of the flag shall be fifty stars representing the fifty states, white in a blue field
§2. Same; additional stars
On the admission of a new State into the Union one star shall be added to the union of the flag; and such addition shall take effect on the fourth day of July then next succeeding such admission"
The case involved a grain buyer sending out a mass text to drum up clients and a farmer agreeing to sell 86 tons of flax for around $13 per bushel. The buyer texted a contract agreement to the farmer and asked for the farmer to “confirm” receiving the contract. He issued a thumb’s up emoji as receipt of the document, but backed out of the deal after flax prices increased.
The buyer sued the farmer, arguing that the thumb’s up represented more than just receipt of the contract. It represented an agreement to the conditions of the contract, and a judge agreed, ordering the farmer to cough up nearly $62,000, likely causing a string of puke emojis.
What a bunch of horseshit. I can see a thumbs-up emoji being used as an explicit sign of confirmation, but even in the context, the farmer never indicated any willingness to sign the contract. Receiving a contract and signing a contract are two entirely different things.
I mean, teeechnically he's still right. It doesn't ban water breaks, it bans mandating water breaks. Companies are still free to give people breaks, but not because they're legally required to. All that being said... for all intents and purposes, it's a water break ban.
I wouldn't say it's as easy at Twitter. Twitter has an algorithm so you can be lazy. Mastadon requires that you actually go find the stuff that you want to see. The upside is that Mastadon doesn't waste your time with a bunch of garbage that "tHe AlGoRiThM" forces in front of you: it just gives you exactly what you asked for, instead. But you can't brainlessly scroll for hours with zero input the way you can with Twitter.
It's appropriate because that kind of shit happens irl, too. Small city with a cool local vibe becomes popular, people move to the city because it's popular, all the popular stuff gets priced out and paved over to make room for more Starbucks. Then people whine about how cool the city used to be. Gee, I wonder what happened to it?!
The theological answer, as I learned it, is most clearly spelled out in James 2:14-26, often referenced through the phrase "faith without works is dead". The short version is: faith in Jesus will save you, not good deeds. However, if you have faith in Jesus, then that faith will manifest itself through good deeds. If someone proclaims their faith but doesn't act lovingly, then they don't actually have faith and won't be saved. So a Christian should be a good person not because being good will save them, but because being good is a result of genuine faith.
The only thing the flag code says about the design of the flag itself is below. Everything else is about how the flag should be treated, used, and displayed:
"§1. Flag; stripes and stars on
The flag of the United States shall be thirteen horizontal stripes, alternate red and white; and the union of the flag shall be fifty stars representing the fifty states, white in a blue field
§2. Same; additional stars
On the admission of a new State into the Union one star shall be added to the union of the flag; and such addition shall take effect on the fourth day of July then next succeeding such admission"