Political Punch

The South should find a new symbol that truly represents true Southern values like home cooking and hospitality. They cling to a symbol that represents slavery and treason against their own nation. They can spin it anyway they want to, the Civil War was about states' rights. The truth of the matter is that the Southern elite conspired to leave the Union to preserve the expansion of slavery into the West. For African-americans and everyone that knows the truth about the Civil War, the Confederate flag has the same connotations of opression as the Nazi flag has for the Jewish people. The Confederate flag IS a symbol of racism. Only true ignorance of history makes the Confederate anything other than what it really is.

ThE CONFEDERATE FLAG IS NOT A RACEST SYMBOL STUDY AMERICAN HIST ORY

the beauty of our counrty is that we have the right to believe what we want. The issue is not the confederate flag but our vice president giving a "political talk" in an enviroment that displayed an offesive symbol. As an african american, I raise an eyebrow to him and his staffs oversight of such a symbol. Do we believe that this would have occurred if Hitler's flag was hanging in the garage?
Slavery was and still is a bright stain on our country's history. I don't always agree with what Rev. Sharpton says but on this I agree in questioning the vice president. I didn't vote for him but he still represents me and my american values. I expect him and the rest of the adminstration to do this with ALL americans in mind.

Carl,

It's not a lie to say Bush and Cheney have mishandled the war on radical Islam by this detour into Iraq. One doesn't have to be a lib to see that. Libs don't realize we're in a war against radical Islam at all.

And sorry, but Bush and Cheney are not conservatives by any stretch of the imagination. I'm sure Cheney despises the flag hanging in that garage because it belonged to a group of Americans who fought against an increasingly powerful central government.

The TRUTH...what make it so desirable..??..there are plenty of resonable places in NY State..having a Dixie(what-ever)being the truth is not the real Eye-Catcher in being there(upstate)..I went to a wedding in the 1980's upstate NY..and when travelling on a secluded Hgwy saw a Statue of the Head-of-Jesus..did not even have a neck..it was standing in a field on a sloped hill..really large..like a small house...the HEAD-of-JESUS...never in my years have I had the thought---The HEAD-of-Jesus....if these types of stories really Sell-anything I quess its the Adirondacks....(stinky-stuff).

TCRNY - Political Prisoners, what planet are you from, First they are terrorists, not afforded the Geneva Convention coverage and DEFINITELY NOT the Constitution of the US.

If the libs win in 08 start building bomb shelters and storing supplies because the terrorist will be able to kill us.

The issue is this establishment chose to have a flag of the confederacy hanging in a garage. That is their right as it was the Clintons right to burn a flag in the 70's, no one here has commented on that yet?

The core fundamentals of this country allow people to have their own beliefs and not be persecuted for them. Sharpton wants black rights while ignoring the inate rights given to every american.

No one cried when the flag was put in the Dukes of Hazzard movie but as soon as a politician exercises the rights that they protect for all americans people get upset.

Do blacks really have to stand out and constantly complain about simple things? There was no swastica or kkk symbols so why are you complaining? The flag is the official flag of the south, same as every country has a flag. Also dont forget that the north did have slaves using the american flag, are you going to cry about that being flown to?

A note to Dunno - you may want to research topics before posting, the south never attacked the north to split up the nation, the north invaded the south and Lincol used a spin of slavery to cover it all up.

Sy
I really get where you're coming from. I remember those days too since I grew up in Georgia in the 50's and 60's right on through desegration in my school. Those were tough days for everyone. I understand how you see that flag but I ask you to let me see it a different way. Not as a symbol or white or black. Not as a symbol of hatred. Not as a symbol of the KKK, but as my symbol of home. Nothing more. If I flew it, (never have) I would not do it out of disrespect to you or to Black Americans, only to show I came from the South. And you know, the South has many good qualities too since you came from there also. I'd appreciate and welcome you as my neighbor.

Why isn’t Sharpton yelling about all of the Mexican flags flown in the US? When waved in the United States the Mexican flag is a symbol of racism, hatred, invasion and a war in the making. Yell about that Al.

It occurs to me that people like Sharpton cause more racial conflict than even the grand master of the KKK and the head of the American Nazi party. They must keep a lower profile because I don’t even know who they are! .... Please Al, stop stirring up trouble. America has enough problems without your constant creation of racial disharmony. May I suggest that you focus your attention on bringing us together rather than pushing us apart.

I think we should just get rid of all flags. Flags are only a symbol of oppression and pride in ones wrongs against the world. We should just fly a banner of a sheep or a dove and let love take over the world. Get rid of all weapons and use wooden forks and stone fire places. All of you should be ashamed of these flags like the stars and bars and that other one that has all the little stars in the corner. How are we ever going to help our children with self their self esteem if we keep trying to instill some lost and antiquated ideas that we are better than someone else. Dump all flags and peace and love for all. Remove the raciest symbols of our past. Remove all flags from the US cities, public events and most of all from the congress.

How about flying the flag of the United States if you want to be proud of your heritage? The Confederacy stood for protecting the immoral institution of slavery. It deserves its place in the dustbin of history.

I think that the problem is, we as African Americans see that flag and instantly think back to all of the pictures and media of the fifties when police officers, dogs, and the kkk were beating, torturing, demoralizing, and killing blacks. I understand the whole southern heritage thing ( Im from the south), It was those events of the past that gave that flag such a horrible meaning.

Big deal; so what? The confederate flag merely affords confrontational people on either side the opportunity to pick a fight. Cheney probably didn't see it and, if he had seen it, would likely have only calculated the political gain/loss to be obtained by, alternatively, provoking or avoiding a confrontation.

Everyone needs to grow up. The U.S. government is water-boarding political prisoners and planning to bomb Iran. Flag-waving by duck-hunters is a non-issue.

Who do the southerners who don't take this approach have to blame for the condescension with which their region is often viewed?

It's a sad day when the blowhard Reverend Al is right! Many Southerners will deny the racist tinge to the confederate flag. As these postings show, anyone who correctly interprets the flag as the emblem of slavery and takes offense is going to be labeled as prissy and politically correct.

The southerners who take this approach have only themselves to blame for the condescension with which their region is often viewed.

I fly The Confederate flag and damn proud of it.I also iam damn proud of all our vetarians.We need to be proud of who we are and protect who we are,its like protecting MOM,APPLE PIE,AND HARLEY-DAVIDSON MOTORCYCLES!.So one another on the square love and be proud of The South and America.

The confederate flag that we are talking about was a battle flag. Slaves were sold and came to America under the American flag

Seriously people, who cares... Just because he went to a place where that particular flag was displayed doesn't mean that he endorses it's many meanings.

I don't fly the "flag" but I would love for you know it all ,elitist, yankees to outlaw the "flag" You would then see it fly everywhere in the South, and Yes there are Americans in the South that are not passive sheep.
Baaa........................

Two words for sharpton and any other politically correct morons - and they are not printable.

Oh for God's sake people. There are other things in this country that we need to worry about.. WHO cares who ate and what flag was flying . People worry too much about the little things.

Most Americans just don't seem to care that our nation, along with the Constitution upon which it was founded, is being flushed-down the NWO toilet by our nations ruling elite. While Congress and the President warn and insite fear in the sheeple about the prospect of terrorism, they at the same time leave our border wide open, and fund and conduct illegal wars overseas that do nothing but encite the terrorism which their Draconian Laws like the Patriot Act and The Real ID Act pretend to protect us from. Think about it. What would you do, if someone invaded the U.S. for no reason, and took over. You'd be mad as hell, and you'd be making trips to their country in order to give a little payback. Wake up America! It's not about protecting you from terrorism, or saving our planet from Global Warming, or any of that fear-mongering garbage the tube feeds you 24/7. It's about feeding the military industrial complex and facilitating the ruling elite's ability to ratchet-down control over the American people, placing us into a total control grid where they can surveille, track and control everywhere we go and everything we do. It's the groundwork for totalitarianism. I weep for my country, and for those of you who are so distracted, dumbed-down, or outright brainwashed by mainstream media, which endlessly regurgitates scientifically-crafted streams of information aimed at keeping their eyes closed to the realities of the world around them, that they fail to recognize this. Go Ron Paul!.

When will all thoese idits stop being lead around by the nose and read the true facts about the War of Southern Independance. (1) The North (ATTACKED) invaded the south. We did not invade the north. (2) get the fact about slavery. (True Facts) Not facts those who stand to profit from keeping the issue up front and all people miss informed.If there wasn't money to be gotten AL and Jessie would never be heard from.

Where were all of you flag defenders when the KKK & Nazis used your flag? Why didn't you demand that they stop? I think the symbol of your heritge was lent out by you to these groups and it now belongs to them. Maybe it's time to find another.

OH NO... Cheney is on the same planet the as Confederate Flag... what are we going to do !!!!!!!! .... this symbol bull-c-r-a-p is getting to be REAL IGNORANT..... GET A LIFE...

I don't want to sound as though I'm being arrogant or even ignorant, so if I come across as such, I apologize.
It seems to me that the percentage of today's population is made up of a very small group of wealthy indivuals, and that for most of us that are not wealthy, we would makeup a much larger percentage of the whole. I have to believe that same situation occured duing the Civil War Era. That being said, it seems unfair to catogorize the entire south as a racist group of slave owners, when it would appear that only those of means could afford such a horrible thing as slavery.
SAying that all southern people are racist or support that way of thinking is a dangerous generalization.
The efforts of the non-wealthy during that war spilt the most blood and I would have to believe did not purchase slaves.
Just as I would hope that my children have learned not to think in such generalizations, i would also hope that black families do not think that all southern people are racist.

Posted by: kaypleasant "For Blacks in America the flag is and always will be a symbol of racism, oppression, and violence. Those who embrace the flag now and deny how it was used in the past are just plain ignorant."

I understand what you are saying kay, I agree that the flag is offensive - however in America the ignorant have the right to be ignorant just as the offended have the right to be offended. That is what is so great about America and what is so bad at the same time.

Al Sharpton is a demagouge plain and simple. On the other hand, the Confederate flag is a symbol of oppression and racism for most Black people. As other have mentioned the south seceeded from the Union largely because of slavery (for those of you who would argue it was because of "state rights," be sure to acknowledge that it was over the "right" of the southern states to own slaves). The economy of the South in the antebellum period was based on slave labor (which partially explains why the economy tanked after the Civil War and why so many whites were eager to exploit Black labor through the advent of the system of share-cropping during Reconstruction). Therefore, it's really disengenous to say that the Confederacy had nothing to do with slavery and everything to do with "pride," and "heritage."

I have never been able to figure out white Southerners who embrace the flag are so enamored of a flag and a cause that is a constant reminder of their utter humiliation and total defeat, but, they were able to resurrect the flag as a symbol of defiance during the modern Civil Rights era. Few people who've posted messages here that are crticial of Al Sharpton seem to have overlooked the fact that when Martin Luther King, Jesse Jackson, and countless others were marching for civil rights, they were greeted by violent and angry mobs of white folks who were happily waving the Confederate flag. The dusted off the flag and waved it because they saw it as a symbol of their proud and defiant past. A hundred years before the flag represented their fight to maintain an economy and way of life that was built on a foundation of slavery. A hundred years later, the same flag represented their fight to maintain and economy and a way of life that was built on slavery's surrogate, Jim Crow.

For Blacks in America the flag is and always will be a symbol of racism, oppression, and violence. Those who embrace the flag now and deny how it was used in the past are just plain ignorant.

Has anybody thought to think that we don't even know what the confederate flag means to Cheney? People give their own opinions of what it means to them, but if it doesn't mean a racist perspective to him, why does it matter what everyone else thinks? Saying he should disassociate himself from controversial issues such as this, the flag was hung in the garage, there is a possibility he didn't even see it. This is like seeing him walk by a guy with a swastika tattoo and saying that that guy must be his friend so he must be supporting him. We cannot think with closed minds and judge him so easily based solely on what was seen near him with our eyes when this is exactly what we are trying to get ourselves away from.

We should do away with buses also as they are a symbol of whites oppressing blacks. Let's get rid of all the water fountains as well. Might as well do away with doors as they could be symbolic of opportunities that were denied to blacks. sheesh.

It's not a slam-dunk but score one for Al.

Stop. Think. Take a deep breath and don't try to defend the confederate flag - it's an elephant trap. I know the flag is ubiquitos and I know for most people the flag was just a badge of pride for country music fans, southerners, racing fans, hunters and fishers. And I know the flag has been "branded" into a plethora of merchandise i.e. license plate covers, country music album covers, cars (i.e. Dukes of Hazard General Lee), bumper stickers, fishing and hunting gear - the list goes on and on.

But not anymore. Al has chosen to "check-mate" the confederate flag and if you try to resist, you will be branded a racist. There's nothing you can do about it. Resistance is futile - assimilate.

Not only that but if your photo was ever captured with you wearing a confederate flag bandanna, hat, t-shirt, bumper-sticker or whatever, you'll never be able to run for public office or attain employment in any public position i.e. author, newscaster, journalist, pastor, motivational speaker, comedian, actor, director, screenwriter, singer, musician - the list goes on but it's not just in entertainment industry where you'll get burned; if you become "too big for your britches" as just a regular businessman, your competition will smear you if they can dig up a pic of you wearing a confederate flag. Can you imagine what could happen if a pic of a teenaged Bill Gates wearing a confederate flag ball-cap surfaces? He would have to make a public apology for being insensitive and then hopefully, his business wouldn't be effected, or maybe it would, or perhaps his reputation would be permanently ruined. You can't predict it.

Sorry to all you people who listened to country music as teenagers and ended up with some merchandise featuring a confederate flag - your now have something shameful to hide.

This is where we are - this is reality - and there is no stopping it.

Rev. Al Sharpton save the drama for your momma!

Rev. Al Sharpton is drama,drama,drama!

I must admit, Black Americans don't have many example to look up to. Truly great examples... From my own readings and experience I think of MLK, George Washington Carver, Colin Powell, Conde Rice. These individuals have tried to unite, not divide America, either to a cause or an ideal. Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson have done exactly the opposite, divide the races by their endless retoric and hatred of whites. They truly are racists of the highest order and they will be remembered that way by most Americans. They will eventually lose their voice in public matters and hopefully more moderate voices will prevail. The Civil War is over ladies and gentlemen and history will not be changed but hopefully forgotten as a sad page. Today we are friends with the Japanese and the Germans, those who would have taken over the world and how do you think blacks would have fared under their yoke? I would say to Black Americans, let the past lie and look toward the future and how you and your loved ones can compete and succeed in this modern world. Nothing will change the past but if you dwell only on the past, you stand still on your way to success. None of us were alive during the civil war, had nothing to do with it or even supported any of it's actions or causes. We were not alive then. Those events were of a different time, different ways and different individuals. The world was a very different place then. True, slavery still exists in the world, especially in Africa and the Middle East. Slavery doesn't exist in America, only the memory of it. If Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton has no racial causes or political causes that revolve around race, they would ceace to exist in the minds of all Americans. That is their source of fame in their lives. Without it they are nothing.

Has anybody thought to think that we don't even know what the confederate flag means to Cheney? People give their own opinions of what it means to them, but if it doesn't mean a racist perspective to him, why does it matter what everyone else thinks? Saying he should disassociate himself from controversial issues such as this, the flag was hung in the garage, there is a possibility he didn't even see it. This is like seeing him walk by a guy with a swastika tattoo and saying that that guy must be his friend so he must be supporting him. We cannot think with closed minds and judge him so easily based solely on what was seen near him with our eyes when this is exactly what we are trying to get ourselves away from.

Sharpton is one of the biggest racists I have ever heard open their mouth.

The gun club should have also flew a Nazi flag,Cheney would have loved that! Cheney is the most evil politician in the history of Washington,he would like nothing better then to start World War III. The yellow coward never served of course,he had "other" priorities.

I’m Native American, can I complain about the Stars and Stripes? . ..... Sounds stupid doesn’t it. Go find a job Sharpton. Burger King is hiring.

How unfortunate that I, a Southern born person, must endure a constant barrage of rhetoric from an obviously uninformed public. How the rants and raves of a religious fanatic as the "Blessed" Reverend Al Sharpton should once again thrust the nasty moniker of racism on the Southern people. How long must those of us who had nothing to do with the civil war or slavery be automatically associated with the past only because we choose to fly a certain flag. How long must people in the South bury their pride and hang their heads low because of one group's/individual's ideas of past events? MLK Jr. did a grand thing for civil rights and equality and now Mr. Sharpton and company are trying their darndest to destroy that. Did the Confederate flag represent slavery? Honor? Pride? At this point in our lives and this country's point in history, we should focus on what truly matters and not what Mr. Sharpton perceives as a threat to his freedom and the thoughts of others. Did this flag personally harm him, cause him physical pain? Maybe it came and pinched him on the butt, I don't know nor do I care. I want him to quit spewing his racist rhetoric and find a just cause in his life and not one that will put more bling on his neck and fingers. As for those who vilified the VP, to each your own. The man went "hunting" and there was a 3x2 Confederate flag in the garage of the hunting lodge. Ooooo, scary. Get a life and worry about the truly horrific issues of today. War, famine, joblessness, economy, oil prices. Anything but this frivolous spout by an equally frivolous person. Every race has their "Hate" groups and they all have their leaders. Everyday they appear in the news causing controversy. Just keep watching the news.

Andy:

You err in your understanding of the Confederate Flag.....This flag has no place in our culture.....get it???

Al Sharpton is doing a wonderful job exposing this symbol of evil....This flag should be aligned with the nazi flag.....A state flag? Are you kidding? This flag still flies at the state ground in Columbia, SC....for what? they already have a state flag....

The flag needs to go!!!!

I'm surprised that Al Sharpton isn't riding the coat tails of the lately OJ Simpson legal saga.

OK...fisrt of all...SHARPTON!--SHUT UP! I have heard enough of this "let's-feel-sorry-for-the-blacks" crap. The Conderate Flag was a STATE Flag. Learn to appreciate it and respect it! Should we take down the California flag because California has the highest black mortality rate in the U.S.? NO! Grow up and respect YOUR AMERICAN HISTORY and quite trying to change it. DEAL WITH IT! Instead of bring us all down with your "holyer-than-thou" attitude, try coming up with a way to educate, and I mean really educate everyone in a positve way. Enough lip flappin' and let's try to be a "kinder, gentler" nation. By the way, you ain't Afro-American! You're either and America, or you aren't. If you want to continue slapping us in the face with your "Afro" heritage...go back to Africa, because we're Americans...I'm not a "Caucasian-Anglo-European- American"...I'M AN AMERICAN AND I'M DAMN PROUD OF IT!

txmark
Well said.

At least that Dick Cheney didn't shoot anyone this time.

BTW it is a fool's errand to try and separate slavery from the confederate flag, no matter what else it may mean to you.

This riminds of the "Kick Me" paper that some jerks stick onto people's back. Sometimes one doesn't know it's there until someone like Sharpton tries to kick the one with the stick-on.

It seems clear to me that Mr. Sharpton has his own agenda that is based upon dishonest means and motives. He has a history of disgraceful actions that do nothing but shame upon the good works of others that truly represent those he claims to represent.
The Confederate flag is a symbol of many parts. To the thousands of good men and women that fought and gave their lives during that time of war, I find it difficult to think that the only reason they fought to was to keep slaves. I believe it was much more then that.
Mr. Sharpton's actions and motives bring nothing but shame upon himself and disgraces the ideas that he claims to hold dear.

Over 4,000 Black American men, woemen and children were lynched (this includes being burned alive and mutilation) most taking place in the states that formed the Confederacy. I see nothing to be proud of!

Get the facts
Darn! Seems you want to burn the south all over again for some reason, as if that would change history. Again the Southern flag means only where I grew up, nothing more. So there are some of us that don't belong to the KKK. Let's not forget who captured Africans and sold them to Europeans and the States. Africans, other Africans. Who forced Africans into slavery... By the way I have an interracial marriage if that makes any sense to you.

While I find the confederate flag disrespectful of our countries flag, I also take offence to our citizens flying flags of other nations, or prefacing their citizinery with another national origin. As far as Al Sharpton is concerned he is just a media hound, plain and simple.

There were a lot of people that came as indentured servants they were cheated out of their so-called pay and kept like slaves so you don't know everything.

Hey Tom..... About taxes, cotton, commerce and the cause of the Civil War .......The Reason (its slavery btw and I've even been book learned) South Carolina secceeded from the Union can be found in the Declaration of Causes of Seceding States. Hint: use Google.

"Our position is thoroughly identified with the institution of slavery-- the greatest material interest of the world. Its labor supplies the product which constitutes by far the largest and most important portions of commerce of the earth. These products are peculiar to the climate verging on the tropical regions, and by an imperious law of nature, none but the black race can bear exposure to the tropical sun. These products have become necessities of the world, and a blow at slavery is a blow at commerce and civilization. That blow has been long aimed at the institution, and was at the point of reaching its consummation. There was no choice left us but submission to the mandates of abolition, or a dissolution of the Union, whose principles had been subverted to work out our ruin."

There's more too. SC is really ticked at northern states for not enforcing fugitive slave laws. There are even some northerf states where Blacks can vote. Etc. And its all in their own words way back when.

And dunno's Irish ancestors came to America of their own free will TO ESCAPE oppression. They weren't kidnapped and brought here against their will to be sold as slaves. To be oppressed by White Americans.

How ignorant to believe that the ordinary tale of another American immigration is somehow the equivalent to the story of slavery. That poor wages for Irish immigrants is the same as being bought and sold as property.

Astounding!

The dumbing-down of America is completed. We're now entering the moron phase. I didn't grow up in the South, but standing on the field at Gettysburg, where the Southern men and boys stood shoulder to shoulder beneath the Stars and Bars... I felt pride. We should be ashamed of ourselves... cowed into staring at our shoes... afraid to show respect for our own culture, while fawning over and expressing wonderment at the quaint customs of every tribal group in the world who lands on our shores. Shame America... Shame on you.

The Stars and Bars are the American equivalent of the Swastika. If you fly that flag you are sending out a deliberate although coded message. A message that comes through loud and clear.

It has nothing to do with Southern pride. There are plenty of positive symbols of the South one can display, This has to do with Black oppression.

Dunno — There are history books available at your local library. The American Civil War was fought over the issue of state’s rights. Many in that day believed the United States not to be a nation but rather a group of states ( countries ) united for common good. Sort of like NATO. Many states even printed their own money. An in depth study of history will reveal that Robt. E. Lee didn’t own slaves and was opposed to slavery. Abe Lincoln did however own slaves at one time and US Grant did not free his slaves for several months after the war. ( I love irony ) Lincoln stated that if he could preserve the Union without freeing slaves he would do so. ... That’s past history now, the current issue is the meaning or intent of the flag. Some use it as a symbol of hate and some perceive it to be so. Some think of it as a symbol of the south. Nothing more than the palm tree is to Hawaii. Several cultures in the past have used a swastika. It is most know as a Nazi symbol but I doubt that is what the Cheyenne Indian brides were indicating on their wedding dresses 200 years ago. ... A symbol is what you make of it. .... I will not accept as fact that the flag was on the property or that Cheney knew about it based on a reporters word. Their word is questionable at best.

here we all are fighting about racism and civil rights just as al hoped we would this message board is as divided as our country the point of the matter is that there is rampant racism and hate against everyone by everyone it is not just against blacks but hispanic white oriental gay straight republican democrat it does not matter who you are what color religion race or sexual orientation you are somewhere someone hates you and what you stand for its a fact of life we will never overcome with people like al sharpton around pointing out stupid sh@@ that no one thought twice about (including the black secret service agents) we will stay as hateful and distrustful as we always have been instead of fighting about this maybe we should be banding together to stop the war or homelessness or aids or or or ......

i wonder if all the people who see the "confederate" flag as an innocent representitive of their region are white? most black people in this country have a 300 year history in the south. they don't seem to feel that flag represents their heritage. hmmmmmmmm. what does that tell us?

So its a confederate flag, who cares. Im a democrat and cant stand what bush/cheney has done to our country but if its something they are proud of then let them fly it as long as its not in a hurtful way to offend someone, they are still americans too you know. Its just sad that neo nazi's and racist groups are using it as their symbol and ruining the image of it, making it seem bad for someone to own one and display it. I have southern roots, I dont own a confederate flag but I should be able to own one if I decide I want one and not offend someone in the process. I believe slavery was horrible and I regret that it played a part in american history but the flag stood for many other things, not just the slavery issue. There was a lot more involved in the flags use during the civil war, too lengthy to discuss on here. I do wonder why theres never anything mentioned about what white southerners and their families went through during the invasion by the north. I guess the prices some of them paid doesnt matter. Sharpton needs to educate himself further about the former CSA and not just focus on slavery.

Get the facts - you don't care where Thane grew up because you don't care about the south. And I can assure you the flag MAY mean more to some white southerners than just where they grew up but you are judging everyone in the south by the area that they happen to reside. There are still die hard northerners out there aiming to bring the south back to it's post-civil-war beaten and defeated state instead of what it is, a part of the United States of America. In many parts of the north an individual is more like than not to be killed for respecting the Confederate Flag. Some of those people are die hard serious! You can only determine what the flag means to you personally. I assure you, some might just have a different perspective than yours. You are trying to make the south appear to be an ugly, dirtier, nastier, and darker place than it is.

The good Rev. Al Sharpton does more to stir up the pot of racism and discontent than anyone else I know. His song is old, his words are hurtful and his message is FAR from the one Jesus taught.

I don't get this. The US flag means so little to some people they won't even wear a lapel pin of one because it's too phony of them to do so. Others take a flag that has no relevance today and claim it to be a big deal and use it as race baiting. Look, if you don't like the flag, do what you normally do, burn one. Get it out of your system and move on. I'd say fly one upside down, but you might not figure that one out and thought I'd pulled a fast one on you... Get over it.

Walker Evans - You seem to be a Democrat of past, when the party was true. Hopefully you can get the majority of the Democrats back from the left.

Get The Facts
I can see you have no experience or knowledge of the real south. You're a rumor kind of guy. Just keep on repeating it until it becomes true, at least in your own mind. And of course people in this group care where I grew up because I have a perspective they might not have. You are single minded, unwilling to hear another's experiences. You're the one who can never forgive or put the past behind you.

After the divorce Jake got a second on the double-wide to stay open. He has the all-you-can-eat with a $5 bucket-o-beer special on Saturday nights now a days :)

It's going to get so that visiting or traveling to a former Confederate state will get politicians in trouble. How Sharpton gets all this free press is beyond me. He should have been discredited long ago with the insane Tawana Brawley case. Only in America can we dismantle our history and symbols one ignominous step at a time.

Thane, not one cares where you grew up. And I can assure you the flag is far more to many white southerns than just where they grew up. You need to study more of your history. There are still diehard southerners out there angry about losing the Civil War or War Against The States, as it is sometimes referred. And they are aiming to bring the south back to its old misguided and twisted "glory." In many parts of the south an individual is more like than not to be killed for disrespecting the Confederate Flag than the American Flag. Some of those people are diehard serious! You can only determine what the flag means to you personally. But you are not everyone, and I assure you, most have a different perspective than yours. The south is, once again, trying to take an ugly, dirtier, nastier, and darker period in its history and make it out to be a thing of beauty.

southern-bell ... Really? I thought Jake went out of business a few years back, and it would be safe to use that name. Guess he must have found the financing to keep going after Wanda took him to the cleaners in that divorce. Does he still have the all-you-can-eat special on Sundays?

Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson are NOT the problems. They just expose America's continued denial that the problem(s) still exist and are driving constants in America. Forget about China ande their alleged human rights violations. America commits their own mass human rights violations on a massive scale, but most are so busy point fingers at China and other countries that you don't see and don't want to see your own inhumanity committed against American citizens. A young black boy brutally beaten to death at a death, torture camp under the pretense of being a boot camp. A 92yr. old Atlanta black woman gunned down in the privacy of her own home by rogue narc cops trying to meet drug bust "quotas", then planting drugs in her home to cover their as*s. A five months pregnant school principal forced at gunpoint to lie down on her stomach by police, with two small traumatized children in the backseat. And these are only a tip of the iceberg of "human rights" violations being committed in America against Americans. Take your blinders off people! America isn't any better than some of your most brutal countries when it comes to violating and disrespecting human rights.

Hey I eat at Jake's Garage and BBQ in Lower Sqaullor, MS all the time... little dry but good eating!!

Wow! So many people are so hot about both sides of this, but apparently have not done their homework. I have no axe to grind here; like some of the other posters I can be considered a "mongrel" (ie, German, Dutch, English, Irish, and a significant touch of Osage in my background). However, I did do some quick fact-checking when this story first broke, and discovered the following:

1) There are actual pictures of the flag available on-line. It hangs on a regular door on what may be a garage but note that it is NOT a "garage door". From other clues in the picture the door is a 30" people-door, which means claims that the flag is either 5'x5' or 3'x5' are completely bogus. The flag shown cannot be more than 28" wide by maybe 20" long. No one could honestly mistake this for a flag of the size reported.

2) There is nothing in the picture to identify where it was taken. It could very well be at this hunt club - it could just as easily be at Jake's Garage and BBQ in Lower Sqaullor, MS!

3) As has been noted by other posters, the job of the Secret Service is to protect the VP from physical harm. The agent in charge may have felt that the flag was not going to attempt to assassinate the VP and so did not fret about it the way the VP's press flack would have.

4) As has also been noted by others, it is extremely unlikely that the VP saw the garage, much less a small flag pasted against one door. He was there to hunt, not examine oil stains.

For those who are now foaming at the mouth about my status as a Republican nay-sayer, let me add that I am a registered Democrat and tend more toward conservatism than most. This removes me from the ranks of knee-jerk Cheney supporters. Truth be told, I don't like the man but I like distortions of the truth even less, and that is what we have here.

Al Sharpton either knew all of this, or could easily have discovered it before he started with his racist ranting. Big Al needs to start by cleaning his own house - he owes apologies to the police officer he charged with the rape of a black girl (proven not to be true, but Al never took back his florid accusations); he owes a lot to the mistress he got pregnant and then disowned; he owes apologies to the Duke players and their families for the ugly, defamatory remarks made about them - the list goes on and on. Perhaps when he does those things, and actually does something to help those of "his people" who are living in poverty and despair, perhaps then he will gain some credibility with me. In the meantime, he should shut up and slink away; he has no moral grounds for judging anyone else's actions. At this point, I too consider him to be one of the biggest racist hate-mongers in this country; we'd all be better off without his "help".

Get Ur Facts Straight
The little Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson clones are storming out of the closets!! I grew up in the deep South and the confederate flag is just a symbol of where I grew up, the South. Nothing more and nothing less. Let us not forget there are black racists too. Can't we all just get along and drop this 400 year old feud.

I am just glad that Al. is a Democrat.

A House cannot stand that is divided against itself.!!!!