Free Republic

As a response to a federal order by the Department of Defense, West Point is starting to remove all Confederate statues and portraits from its campus. West Point Superintendent Lieutenant General Steve Gilland broke the news and stated “During the holiday break, we will begin a multi-phased process, in accordance with Department of Defense directives, to remove, rename or modify assets and real property at the United States Military Academy and West Point installation that commemorate or memorialize the Confederacy or those who voluntarily served with the Confederacy”. One of the most notable Confederate portraits that will be removed is...

At Ford's Theater in Washington, D.C., John Wilkes Booth, an actor and Confederate sympathizer, fatally wounds President Abraham Lincoln. The attack came only five days after Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered his massive army at Appomattox, effectively ending the American Civil War. Booth, who remained in the North during the war despite his Confederate sympathies, initially plotted to capture President Lincoln and take him to Richmond, the Confederate capital. However, on March 20, 1865, the day of the planned kidnapping, the president failed to appear at the spot where Booth and his six fellow conspirators lay in wait. Two...

Imagine that America had a Chief Justice of the United States who actually believed in enforcing the Constitution and, accordingly, issued an opinion that the war in Iraq was unconstitutional because Congress did not fulfill its constitutional duty in declaring war. Imagine also that the neocon media, think tanks, magazines, radio talk shows, and television talking heads then waged a vicious, months-long smear campaign against the chief justice, insinuating that he was guilty of treason and should face the punishment for it. Imagine that he is so demonized that President Bush is emboldened to issue an arrest warrant for the...

On a recent trip to Georgia, I visited the majestic Stone Mountain. Carved into the face of this sheer cliff of granite are the images of three Southern heroes: Confederate President Jefferson Davis, General Robert E. Lee and General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson. These men are among the most revered in that part of the country and are possibly even more popular than the "founding fathers" of America. Besides this towering monument, there are countless streets, schools and buildings named in their honor throughout the South. I finally had to ask myself: Why? Given our current war against terrorism and our...