House Votes to Limit Confederate Flag Display
The U.S. House voted to accept a Democratic sponsored amendment to a veterans affairs bill that limits the display of the Confederate battle flag at national cemeteries. The 265-159 vote as opposed by a majority of Republicans, including the Georgia GOP delegation. The measure was also opposed by 2nd District Rep. Sanford Bishop.
According to a story in The Hill, Speaker Paul Ryan allowed the vote opposed by his caucus in order to move the first appropriations bill of the year. A similar amendment last year stopped progress on the bill.
The measure was not appreciated by one staffer for Rep. Lynn Westmoreland. From the Hill story:
“You know who else supports destroying history so that they can advance their own agenda? ISIL. Don’t be like ISIL. I urge you to vote NO,” Westmoreland’s legislative director, Pete Sanborn, wrote in a missive provided to The Hill, using an alternate acronym for ISIS.
He signed the email as “Yours in freedom from the PC police.”
A spokeswoman for Westmoreland later distanced the lawmaker from his staffer’s comments.
The amendment allows family members of those buried at a national cemetery to display small Confederate flags at graves on Memorial Day and Confederate Memorial Day.
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Jon Richards
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The National Cemeteries have always had some pretty strict rules limiting grave displays. I’m not sure where this went beyond mass graves but it smacks of a petty, cheap shot to gain attention and promote divisiveness.
http://www.cem.va.gov/cems/nchp/georgia.asp#regs
Two of my great-grandfathers served, as other kin did – maternal side a Reb and Paternal side, union. Neither family owned slaves. Both were American born. Both served either by conscription or answering the call. Both great-grandmothers got a Federal pension.
I find it interesting that Florida had two Union divisions. So they were really confused but went on fine after the war.
WWII vets don’t carry the hate for their adversaries, Japan, Germany, Italy we show our countrymen. Citizens displayed their hate for Viet Nam soldiers coming home and I imagine some still spit on their graves. Today many of the soldiers that served in the Republic of VIet Nam are over the top angry at Deal and other politicians honoring all Viet Nam Vets that served during the VN era including those that didn’t put a boot in VN.
Every war in history can be dissected to hell including the American Revolution that also divided families. As an old WWII vet told me, he answered his country’s call, he’s dead, he’s judged, let’s move on as honorable people.
Ohhhh, so it’s ok to supress and silence the 1st Amendment right of Free Speech of those who want to celebrate the bravery of members of that 160 year army? Ok to take down Confederate symbols? Where is that tolerance you libs bleat and whine about? Hypocrites!
So what you’re saying is we should also fly the Union Jack over the Revolutionary War mass graves in Savannah and Darin…? We should not silence those who want to celebrate the history and the bravery of the Georgia Royalist? We should also rename all the stuff after James Habersham Sr., James Wright and Henry Ellis?
“We should not silence those who want to celebrate the history and the bravery of the Georgia Royalist?”
Please re-read your sentence. “We should not silence…?”
You’re better than this.
I know you’re smarter than this.
Hell, no, we should not silence anyone.
And if there are those of Brit heritage who want to honor those of their brethren who fell during the Revolutionary War, well, swing that Union Jack flag all day long.
I didn’t think we were into censorship and the stifling of free speech here.
Whatever happened to that old saying of “I might not agree with your words but I’ll fight to the death for your right to say them”?
Just damn…We are so f****d!
My post might have been too cheeky a reply…
However, you go onto Revolutionary grave sites you don’t see British flags even though royalist are buried there.
Why? Because we are not British. Some might have English roots and a pride in history. As a country our collective back ground that shaped our shared birthright and influenced our founding fathers is mainly British.
Reguardless of where you were born in this country, who your ancestors may or may not have fought for, or your pride of place, this is the United States of American. We can respect the history and the influences of those a who came before us with out flying a flag of a country that is not the one we collectively share.
Some might be born in the south. Some might have deep ties to those who fought for The Confederate States of America. But at the end of the day, we are no more Confedrates then we are British.
And to further clarify, I am referencing nationally held or maintained cemeteries. A privately held cemetery can do what it pleases.
As to the old saying, of course I would fight to my death your right to say your opinion. You want a confederate flag on your grave when you go to your reward, if I’m still around, I’ll make sure you get a new one every season. And if your burried in a national cemetery, I will look at the flag of the United States of America and give thanks for what you have done for our country that I will most likely never know the true extent, knowing you helped to keep it in place.
Acp,
Then you wouldn’t have a problem if the soldiers were honored using the 1861-1863 stars and bars flag ?
One of my favorite Gary Larson cartoons was of Einstein standing at his blackboard with a dollar sign at the end of a long equation. The caption was Einstein discovers time IS money. I pull that out were we are training how to do Root Cause Analysis. The Southern Confederacy only lasted about 4 years yet every national sin is laid on the losers of that 4 years span. I think they are given too much credit. To limit the display of the confederate battle emblem somehow seems to dishonor the dead that paid the ultimate price for the abolition of slavery. I didn’t come up with that, Lincoln did and explained it in his 2nd inaugural address. It was a short address but pretty much came to the point of the reason for the war which was to punish the nation, north and south. You know the passage “…every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid by another drawn with the sword….” Slavery was the sin of the entire nation. Still we fret over one symbol from that very short 4 year era. I’ll remind everyone that those hate groups also carry another flag, one that flew over slavery in the US for 87 years.
Gary Larson is genuinely one of the funniest human beings that has ever lived. As a coffee table book, I have this huge bound volume of every cartoon he ever did. Same for Calvin and Hobbs. That one is a three volume treasure. Bloom County, too! Opus for Prez!
Bill the Cat is a better fit.
On second thought: Steve Dallas allllll the way!!!
Holy cow, we own the same coffee books…
That is funny as hell! My three volume Calvin, my two volume Far Side and my several Bloom County paperbacks! Andddd, I have the last Calvin Sunday strip on my frig from ’95! Bloom is my favorite, though! Humor is truly the only thing that keeps me sane!
What happens to the bronze markers provided by the Daughters of the Confederacy? Some of these date back to the 1880s though I’m not sure if they always had the St. Andrew’s Cross imagery that is all I have ever seen.