SCV WINS LICENSE PLATE LAWSUIT IN TEXAS

Texas Can't Prohibit Sale Of Confederate Flag License Plates, Court Rules

The Huffington Post  | By Mollie Reilly

Posted: 07/15/2014 12:18 pm EDT Updated: 07/15/2014 12:59 pm EDT

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A federal appeals court ruled Monday that Texas cannot prohibit the sale of a specialty license plate featuring the Confederate battle flag.

In a 2-1 decision, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the state's Department of Motor Vehicles had violated the First Amendment in rejecting the Sons of Confederate Veterans' application for the specialty plates. According to the court's ruling, the state engaged in "viewpoint discrimination" by turning down the proposal as the plates reflect the opinion of the car's driver.

"By rejecting the plate because it was offensive, the Board discriminated against Texas SCV’s view that the Confederate flag is a symbol of sacrifice, independence, and Southern heritage," reads the majority opinion, penned by Judge Edward Prado. "The Board’s decision implicitly dismissed that perspective and instead credited the view that the Confederate flag is an inflammatory symbol of hate and oppression."

Prado continued: "Given Texas’s history of approving veterans plates and the reasons the Board offered for rejecting Texas SCV’s plate, it appears that the only reason the Board rejected the plate is the viewpoint it represents."

“This is a sad day for African-Americans and others victimized by hate groups in this state,” Gary Bledsoe, president of the Texas NAACP, told the Dallas Morning News.

A lower Texas court had previously ruled against the SCV after the group sued following the DMV's rejection. In that ruling, U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks decided that the state did not have to issue license plates it deemed offensive.

While Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) has not yet commented on Monday's ruling, hespoke out against the plates in 2011.

"We don't need to be scraping old wounds," he said.

As the Morning News notes, nine other states currently allow the plates, including Virginia and North Carolina.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/15/confederate-flag-license-plates_n_5588241.html

 

California Goes More PC Than Ever

CALIFORNIA PASSES BILL BANNING SALE OF CONFEDERATE FLAG

Bill that would ban California from selling items featuring the Confederate flag clears the Legislature

Lawmaker says bill seeking to ban California sales of Confederate flag helps fend off 'ugly hatred of racism'

Only one California Assemblyman, Tim Donnelly, votes against bill seeking to ban Confederate flag displays

 

A bill that would prohibit California from displaying or selling merchandise with the Confederate flag is headed to Gov. Jerry Brown's desk, after getting final legislative approval in the Assembly on Thursday. 

The measure by Assemblyman Isadore Hall III (D-Compton) would prohibit the state from displaying or selling merchandise emblazoned with the Confederate flag. The ban would not apply to images of the flag found in books, digitial media or state museums if displayed for educational or historical purposes.

Assembly passes bill banning state from selling Confederate flag

Melanie Mason

Hall introduced the bill, AB 2444, after his mother, on a visit to the Capitol, saw a replica of Confederate money sold in the gift shop. The money contained a picture of the flag.

The bill passed the Assembly on a bipartisan 66-1 vote, a symbol, Hall said, of "standing together united to fend off the ugly hatred of racism that's been portrayed and demonstrated through the emblem of the Confederacy."

The sole no vote in the Assembly was from former GOP gubernatorial candidate Tim Donnelly of Twin Peaks, who said the bill would infringe on free speech.

"I'm a strict Constitutionalist," Donnelly said after the vote. "It's painful and lonely."

But Hall said the bill would apply to the state, not individuals, and therefore would not harm free speech.

"The 1st Amendment right applies to an individual, not the government as an institution," he said.

Follow @melmason on Twitter for more on California government and politics.

http://www.latimes.com/local/political/la-me-pc-confederate-flag-bill-20140820-story.html

Next Stage of Work on Hunley Begins

Conservators Begin New Work on H.L. Hunley

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Tuesday, August 12, 2014

(Courtesy Friends of the Hunley)

CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA—The Post and Courier reports that conservators have begun to scrape away the layer of sand and shell encasing the hull of the Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley, which went down in Charleston Harbor in 1864 just minutes after it sank the Union warship USS Housatonic. The layer, known as concretion, has obscured many of the specific features of the vessel that scientists are interested in studying, especially evidence of bullet holes or other damage that might reveal clues about why the submarine sank. "We have been waiting for this a long time," says Nestor Gonzalez, associate director Warren Lasch Conservation Center, which is responsible for the project. "We will know if there was any damage to the submarine pre-sinking or post-sinking." The painstaking work, carried out using dental chisels and small hammers to remove concretion that is in some places a couple of inches thick, could take up to a year to complete.

 

 

http://www.archaeology.org/news/2427-140812-charleston-conservators-begin-work-on-hunley

 

 

 

POSSIBLE CHANGE IN VA HEADSTONE POLICY

Legislation would provide headstones for veterans' unmarked graves

The markers of local Civil War veterans can been seen in Cleveland's Woodland Cemetery, but many veterans' graves from that era lack a headstone. Legislation recently introduced in the U.S. Senate could make it easier to obtain markers for those final resting places. (Lisa DeJong/The Plain Dealer)

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By Brian Albrecht, The Plain Dealer 
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on August 08, 2014 at 5:18 PM, updated August 08, 2014 at 7:15 PM

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CLEVELAND, Ohio – The recent introduction of a bipartisan bill by U.S. Senators Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Jon Tester (D-Montana) to provide headstones for historic unmarked veterans graves came as welcome news to state and local historians.
The "Honor Those Who Served Act of 2014" would enable veterans service agencies, military researchers, historians or genealogists to request a free headstone or marker from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for a veteran's grave.
Until 2012 the VA provided headstones for unmarked veterans' graves based on documentation of that vet's identity and service provided by these groups or individuals.
That policy was then changed, limiting headstone requests to a veteran's next-of-kin or authorized family representative – a difficult requirement when dealing with graves dating back 100 years or more, and unknown family descendants. (The policy does not apply to replacement of worn, illegible or damaged markers.)
The Portman-Tester bill matches a similar measure introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives last year by Rep. Steve Stivers, a Columbus Republican.
Portman said in a news release, "This bipartisan legislation is a common-sense way to honor the men and women who have worn the uniform throughout our nation's history with the official recognition they have earned and deserve."
Todd Kleismit, director of community and government relations at the Ohio History Connection, also commented in the release, "Prior to the VA's policy change, organizations like ours had been working diligently to research and recognize military veterans buried in unmarked graves.
"We hope that this legislation can help us get back to that important work that has been postponed now for the past couple of years," he added.
Last year the VA said the policy is intended to discourage someone from marking a veteran's grave in a way that the descendants may not want or even know about. A spokesperson added that the VA was reviewing that policy.
But Bill Stark, a volunteer archivist with the Cleveland Grays and member of the Woodland Cemetery Foundation who has documented and obtained nearly 200 headstones for veterans' graves in area cemeteries, said the next-of-kin requirement still stands. "The VA hasn't moved on this at all," he said.
There are dozens of unmarked veterans graves in the area that he could request headstones for, but "I haven't tried because I know it (the request) would be rejected," he said.
Stark noted that in a section of Cleveland's Woodland Cemetery containing the graves of black Civil War veterans, there are a number of unmarked graves.
"There's nothing we can do about it unless a descendant wants to sign a form, but we don't know who they are, if there are any at all," he added.
He was encouraged by introduction of the Portman-Tester bill. "It's an excellent sign. I'm glad now because it's covered in the Senate," Stark said. "Both of these legislators seem to be very interested in getting this done. At this point, I'm optimistic."
However, being a self-described "pessimist by nature," Stark added, "If we're still talking about this next year, it wouldn't surprise me."
He told a story illustrating how seriously this matter can still be viewed by some veterans' families.
He was contacted last year by a man in South Dakota whose great-great grandfatrher had fought in the Civil War, then came to Cleveland where he died and was buried in theMonroe Street Cemetery.
Stark said the man was a serious genealogist – "as tenacious as a pit bull" -- and was able to provide the VA with documentation showing his family relationship, and obtain a VA headstone for the grave.
He drove to Cleveland to see the grave marker installed. Stark said the man stood there, then addressed his distant relative by his first name, saying, "John, you couldn't hide from me."
It's that important.
"Oh, definitely," Stark said.

http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2014/08/legislation_would_provide_head.html
 

2014 REUNION ITEMS STILL AVAILABLE

 

 

The 2014 Reunion Committee has the following items left from the convention to be sold:

 

12 - Reunion Medals - numbered (Gold tone) - $150.00 each

140 - Reunion Medals - non-numbered   (Silver Tone) - $35.00 each
75 - 2nd National Flags that flew over Fort Sumter (poly) - $10.00 each

Shipping is $6.00 - priority shipping.

Please send you requests and check or MO to:

Low Country SCV
PO Box 1170
Ladson, SC 29456-1170

Payments should be made to: Low Country SCV

These items will be sold first come first serve through Aug 31, 2014 after which the remaining items will be disbursed to the camps that participated in hosting for their quartermaster stores.

Regards
2014 Reunion Committee

NAACP Lies About Confederacy

NAACP, Sons of Confederate Veterans share Goose Creek welcome sign

Prentiss Findlay  Email  @prentissfindlay

Aug 4 2014 5:51 pm  Aug 4 6:29 pm

Welcome signs to Goose Creek now bear the emblem of the NAACP as well as the Sons of Confederate Veterans emblem. Leroy Burnell/staff

The NAACP logo has been added to two "Welcome to Goose Creek" signs after the local chapter of the civil rights organization objected to the Sons of Confederate Veterans emblem being displayed on them.

NAACP Goose Creek Branch President David Cakley said he called Mayor Michael Heitzler, who told him the logo, which includes the Confederate battle flag, was protected under free speech.

"When the Confederate logo was brought to our attention about six months ago, our first response was to mount a protest at City Hall," Cakley said.

"But over a period of time, we decided to request that our logo would be placed on the welcoming sign instead of requesting that the Confederate sign be taken down," he said.

What do you think?

Should municipalities include logos for organizations on their city/town welcome signs?

 

I have no strong opinion.

 

Yes. Any group that asks should get placement.

 

No. It can only cause trouble; there is no way to please everyone.

The symbol for the defunct local Kiwanis Club chapter was removed, making space for the NAACP logo, Heitzler said.

"Any civic or professional organization that meets within our city limits, we'll welcome them," Heitzler said.

The NAACP logo was added to the signs at Saint James Avenue and U.S. Highway 52 about two weeks ago.

Lonnie Randolph, the state NAACP chairman, said he applauded the Goose Creek chapter's efforts, but he was not in favor of the NAACP being included on the sign with the Sons of Confederate Veterans because he felt it presented a confusing, contradictory message.

"I am not in support of being included in anything that the Confederacy stands for," he said. "I have some problem making a statement that this is progress."

The Confederacy was against everything that the U.S. and state constitutions represent, he said.

Randolph said he needed time to research whether the NAACP logo is present on any other town welcome signs.

A spokesman for the Sons of Confederate Veterans in Goose Creek could not be contacted. The organization, known as Camp #2222, formed in 2012.

"The citizen-soldiers who fought for the Confederacy personified the best qualities of America," the Goose Creek chapter says on its website.

"The tenacity with which Confederate soldiers fought underscored their belief in the rights guaranteed by the Constitution," the chapter stated. "These attributes are the underpinning of our democratic society and represent the foundation on which this nation was built."

To be considered for inclusion on the city welcome sign, an organization writes a letter to the city administrator. The mayor approves the request, said Jesica Mackey, Goose Creek spokeswoman.

The same issue arose in 2008 in Mount Pleasant regarding a welcome sign. The Sons of Confederate Veterans have a logo on the sign that motorists see when coming off the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge just past the intersection of Coleman and Patriots Point boulevards. The sign is next to markers for civic clubs such as Rotary, Sertoma and Kiwanis.

The East Cooper branch of the NAACP requested that the Sons of Confederate Veterans logo be removed, but it remains there today.

http://www.postandcourier.com/article/20140804/PC16/140809734/1177/naacp-sons-of-confederate-veterans-share-goose-creek-welcome-sign