Posted on 06/13/2005 4:41:07 AM PDT by stainlessbanner
VERBENA (AP) — A huge Confederate battle flag flying over Interstate 65 north of Montgomery will become a permanent fixture, according to officials with the Sons of Confederate Veterans.
The organization bought land on the side of the interstate near Verbena and put up the flag, which has been flying for several months above the tree lines from the top of a large pole, easily visible from the heavily traveled interstate.
Leonard Wilson, commander of the Alabama division of Sons of Confederate Veterans, said the flag will be dedicated in a ceremony at 5 p.m. on June 26.
The flag is located on a little more than half an acre of land just north of where Autauga County 68 crosses over the interstate, about six miles south of the Verbena exit.
"We put the flag up so people could see it," Wilson said. "We are showing off our heritage. The flag is part of our heritage."
Critics of Confederate flag displays say they are reminders of the slavery era and Alabama's racist past, and can damage Alabama's image when flown beside a busy interstate route to Gulf beaches.
Did they take them there in a U-Boat?
Perhaps. When do you think it will be free again?
THOSE TRAITORS???
i would certainly agree that lincoln, the TYRANT & WAR CRIMINAL, & his coven of cheap scheming politicians & HATE-MONGERS were TRAITORS to the Constitution.
free dixie,sw
What are the exact hours the staff allows you out from the 'Home for Little Neo-Confederate Wanders'?
you, sir, are NOT smart enough to be a FReeper. Head over to DU & be "one of the finest" of DU-dummies.
Whisky Papa, cvn76 , #3fan & a host of other EX-freepers are there waiting for you.
free dixie,sw
You do realize, don't you, that you're the real laughingstock of these threads? You've convinced at least one southern partisan that you're actually a SPLC troll.
This is the same rep who claims that legislative moves to protect the definition of marriage in Alabama are similar to Nazi war crimes:
State Rep. Alvin Holmes, D-Montgomery, an outspoken critic of the Confederate flag flying from public buildings or on taxpayer owned property, said he's concerned the location of the flag along a main route from northern and midwestern states to Gulf Coast beaches will hurt the state's image.Holmes has no ethical and moral compass to be pronouncing judgment on these keepers of history.
"But legally I don't think there's anything we can do about it because it's on private property," said Holmes, who was once arrested along with other black legislators for trying to remove a Confederate flag that at the time flew from the dome of the state Capitol.
Holmes said he believes for many people the flag "represents slavery, racism and oppression" and urged the Sons of Confederate Veterans to take it down. -- AP article
come dixie LIBERTY, the lot of a scalawag will be UNpleasant.
NATURE is UNkind to turncoats.
free dixie,sw
In its recent eminent domain decision, the Supreme Court blocked the U.S. power to override a local government decision. That was not an example of the federal government over-extending its power; unless you are arguing that the precedent (or renewal of existing precedent) makes it more likely that the federal government could also exercise eminent domain for the benefit of private parties at some future time.
free dixie,sw
Neo-confederate types are quick to point out that Northerners and unionists weren't wholly behind 21st century ideas of racial equality. They make a point of that. I'd almost say they do a good job of it, but they don't. They get dishonest and deceptive about the Emancipation Proclamation and why the last stage of abolition had to wait until 1865. But at least they are trying to get underneath what they take to be the "official story" of history.
When it comes to the Confederacy itself, they lose all their critical powers and skeptical faculties. Everything is devoted to "proving" that the defense of slavery wasn't a major reason for secession and the formation of the Confederacy. They try to whitewash or sanitize Southern history by portraying the leaders of the 1861 revolt as more or less like 21st century Southerners, as people for whom owning and keeping slaves wasn't a central part of their lives.
Clearly not everybody was putting slavery first all the time. But if you could somehow be transported to Mississippi or South Carolina in 1860, you'd very quickly see how important slavery and race were to voters and their representatives. Follow the debates of the 1860s and you'll find that the defense of slavery was a crucial issue for the Old South, that outweighed all other questions of practical politics. The deception enters when people try to hide or deny that.
What you get from "Dixie Net" or the League of the South is a simplified whitewash that's more of a deception that whatever most people find in their history books. There are plenty of hucksters out their who prey on people's desire to hear the "real story" and simply provide a cheap comic book "North bad, South good" version of history.
People are deceived because they want to be deceived. The irony is that they think they're getting some deeper and truer understanding of history when all their really getting is a rehash of Old South propaganda and postwar excuses and evasions.
The neo confederates seem to forget that for the Southern landed gentry who dominated their states politically, their slaves had more market value than their land. Follow the money.
As long as we keep history alive and telling our story, the truth will abound.
I like his message: Heritage, not hate.
LOL, I must admit, that is a pretty good bait line for a Confederate thread.
I rate your attempt a good 8 of a 10.
The other night, when I heard the news that Shelby Foote had passed away, I was fortunate enough to listen to an interview he gave about the South several years ago. Even though it appears on the NPR Web site, it's definitely worth a listen, especially for Northerners who have a tendency to stereotype the South:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4722305
Click Listen.
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