I believe that 'half mast' is a navy term and 'half staff' fordy landlubbers.

It just seems odd to me that the symbol of mourning should last 30 days when the person was not in office at the time.

I read that that this year will be the first year that the flags will be down in this country during Independence Day, July 4th. Kind of scary, in a way- I agree that we as a nation should be in mourning for our current misdeeds, but I'm not sure I want it to be made official!