Going through the motions

Ever get that feeling that you were doing just that, without really paying attention to the world around you? Apparently the Legislature sometimes has the same problem:

…lawmakers, meeting in an informal House session, recited the Pledge of Allegiance. Halfway through, they realized that the flag they were pledging to, normally propped up above the rostrum in the rear of the chamber, had been taken down…

From State House News Service (sub. req.).