It is official…….Gov. Tate Reeves signed the bill into law and made the loss of the state flag……Going….Going….GONE.
Some 155 years after the last battle of the Civil War, the Confederate battle flag no longer features on any state flags. Mississippi’s flag, the last in the nation to incorporate the Confederate emblem, became history Tuesday evening when Gov. Tate Reeves signed a bill to retire the flag the state adopted in 1894, the Washington Post reports. “This is not a political moment to me but a solemn occasion to lead our Mississippi family to come together and move on,” the Republican governor said at the signing ceremony. “A flag is a symbol of our past, our present, and our future. For those reasons, we need a new symbol.”
Mississippi lawmakers passed a bill to abandon the controversial flag Sunday. It calls for a “prompt, dignified and respectful removal” of the flag within 15 days. The move, which follows weeks of protest against racial injustice, had bipartisan support. Reeves said Tuesday that while he rejects “mobs tearing down statues of our history,” he understands “the need to commit the 1894 flag to history and find a banner that is a better emblem for all Mississippi,” CNN reports. Mississippi is now without an official state flag. The bill calls for a commission to create a new design by September, to be approved or rejected by voters in November. The only requirements set out in the bill call for the flag to have the words “In God We Trust”—and for the Confederate emblem to be excluded.
Mississippi has a long history with flags…..read and learn…..
Flags are powerful symbols that signify dominion and sovereignty and express personal and political allegiance to a state or nation. Mississippi did not officially adopt a state flag until 1861, when it seceded from the United States and joined the Confederate States of America. Prior to that time, several flags had flown over the territory that would become the state of Mississippi on December 10, 1817
And I’ll be damned….after many many decades of trying to change the racist symbol……the legislature finally did the right thing…..
It’s almost done: Mississippi lawmakers on Sunday passed a bill to change the state flag. After voting Saturday to suspend legislative deadlines and file the bill, the GOP-controlled state legislature held debates on the bill Sunday and voted, with the House passing the bill 91-23 and the Senate then opening its own session and ultimately passing the bill 37-14. The Mississippi Clarion-Ledger has a detailed timeline of how the day went. The bottom line: The current flag, which features the Confederate battle emblem and is the last remaining state flag to include the Confederate flag symbol after others dropped it, will be scrapped. A nine-member commission will start the process of selecting a new flag, and residents will vote on that new flag in November. If rejected, the process will start over again and another vote will be held in November 2021.
The bill prevents the Confederate battle emblem from being included on any future designs. The state’s Republican governor, Tate Reeves, who on Saturday agreed for the first time to sign the bill, said Sunday that he won’t do so immediately. “The governor does not want to rush this moment in history for our state,” a spokesperson said. “Once the legislature sends the final bill to his desk and he’s had the opportunity to review it, Gov. Reeves will sign the bill in the coming days.” Though polling had shown until earlier this month that a majority of state residents wanted to keep the flag as-is, the latest polling shows 55% of Mississippians are ready for a change, CBS News reports. “Big salute to EVERY university in this State that helped,” tweeted Kylin Hill, the Mississippi State All-SEC running back who, per AL.com, threatened to sit out the season if the flag was not changed. The NCAA, SEC, and Conference USA all decided not to hold championships in the state if the flag was not changed.
The governor has stated that if passed he would sign the bill of the change……we will see if that was just idle BS or he truly wants the state to move out of the past.
What flag will they use….a historic flag or design a new one?
I am proud of Mississippi for finally doing the right thing. Now the state needs to keep progress moving forward.
Over the past few years there has been a move to replace the flag from the Reconstruction years……and it appears that there is a good chance there could be some success…..
Mississippi lawmakers who want to remove the Confederate battle emblem from the state’s flag appear to have enough votes in the state Legislature to make the change, a senior state lawmaker said Friday.
State Rep. Robert Johnson III, the Democratic leader of the state House of Representatives, told NBC News that all the needed votes “appear to be there.”
A vote on the measure is likely on Saturday.
Mississippi is the last state in the nation whose flag features the Confederate emblem.
“Supporters of a flag change worked through the night to secure the remaining votes necessary for a successful vote to change the state flag,” Johnson said. “The votes to make that change are there in the House and appear to be there in the Senate. There very well may be a first step taken today in the House by passing a rules suspension to take up a bill to remove the current state flag.”
This is the statement released by the Lt. Governor Delbert Hosemann…….
“I rise before you today to discuss the flag of our State.
This discussion is not prompted by fear of loss of economic development, although virtually every economic developer in our State has indicated opportunities and employment of our citizens will be adversely affected. Further, it is not prompted by the impending loss of student athletes’ ability to compete for championships, although that has occurred. Further, I recognize many of our citizens are proud of their individual ancestors, some of whom fought in battle 150 years ago. I am one of those citizens.
While important, these issues are not controlling.
What is compelling to me is the future of our children and grandchildren. They will learn together, they will work together, and they will worship together. Those who wish to fly our flag should not be typecast in any fashion. Similarly, those who are offended by our flag are sincere in their beliefs. The physical acknowledgements of our history are our guideposts and buoys which helps us to avoid reefs in the future. Destruction of history fails to change it and, over time, opens us to repeat it.
This round of protesting over the death of a black person at the hands of the police….these protests turned violence laced with destruction and arson…..and once again the talk is about reform of the police departments and their attitudes toward the minority communities….
All the focus on the PDs and politicians to step up and do the right thing…..and Minnesota took a step backwards…..
Legislators in Minnesota—the state where George Floyd was killed—huddled all night over police reform and walked away empty-handed, the New York Times reports. Democrats called for major changes to police oversight and Republicans more “common-sense reforms,” leading the two chambers to adjourn at around 6am Saturday without a deal. “I am deeply disappointed Senate Republicans chose to leave before finishing our work,” said Susan Kent, Senate minority leader for the Democrats, per the Star-Tribune. Paul Gazelka, the state Senate’s Republican leader, said “if they’re not interested in” his latest offer, “I don’t think personally that they’ll ever be interested in something that we can agree to.”
Democrats wanted Minnesota to beef up deadly-force laws, allow convicted felons to vote, and let the state’s attorney general (a Democrat) oversee the prosecution of police killings. Republicans called for milder measures, like prohibiting chokeholds in most police encounters and requiring police to stop officers from using excessive force. Democrats called those half-measures that haven’t helped elsewhere, then made a counter-offer at midnight that didn’t include voting felons and AG investigations. But the Democrat-led House and Republican Senate still couldn’t reconcile. “Minnesotans expect us, like they do in their jobs, to finish when the work is done,” said Gov. Tim Walz, who added that this “is at the center of what we should be doing.”
My question is…if reforms cannot get a foothold in the place this round began is there any hope for real reform….anywhere?
With all the chaos and protests and NYPD Commission finds they acted properly…
The New York Police Department (NYPD) commissioner on Monday defended the officers who drove into protesters against police brutality late last month, saying they did not violate the department’s use-of-force policy.
Commissioner Dermot Shea testified in an online public hearing on the police response to the George Floyd protests, saying the officers shown in videos to be lurching into a crowd were complying with department standards.
New York Attorney General Letitia James, who is investigating the police response, asked the commissioner about May 30 videos that showed two police cruisers driving into a crowd in Brooklyn.
So it is perfectly alright to run down peaceful protesters with a vehicle in NYC, right?
Do you see the problem now?
Politicians are doing what they always do….Lots of talking loud and proud and saying nothing…..and inaction prevails.
What started in Minneapolis should never be allowed to cease…..if government will not listen then take it to the streets…..and stay there until these “fat cats” grow ears.
I recently wrote about my city voting to take down the offensive Mississippi flag….and flag another state flag…..the Magnolia Flag……read my thoughts on this…..State Flag Is Gone! – In Saner Thought
Now the beleaguered state flag is under assault again….this time from the NCAA……
Mississippi is the only state in the nation to still feature the Confederate symbol, which consists of 13 stars and a blue cross, on its flag—and that hasn’t escaped the NCAA’s eye. Now, the college athletic organization’s Southeastern Conference is warning the state that if it doesn’t nix the symbol from the flag, it risks a big consequence. “It is past time for change to be made to the flag of the State of Mississippi,” reads a Thursday statement from SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey, noting if that significant tweak isn’t made, the conference will mull keeping SEC championship events out of the Magnolia State. “Our students deserve an opportunity to learn and compete in environments that are inclusive and welcoming to all.”
ESPN notes there hasn’t been an SEC championship game held in Mississippi since 2016. In a 2001 referendum, voters in the state opted to keep the flag as is, but after the death of George Floyd and a resurgence of Black Lives Matters rallies, the outcry to change the flag was re-upped. Among those who’ve joined that call: the University of Mississippi and Mississippi State University, both SEC members that say they’ve been lobbying for years for this change. “Mississippi needs a flag that represents the qualities about our state that unite us, not those that still divide us,” reads a statement from University of Mississippi Chancellor Glenn Boyce and his vice chancellor for intercollegiate athletics, Keith Carter. A bipartisan proposal to change the flag has been submitted to the state’s Legislature.
We will see just how far a bi-partisan proposal will go n the “good old boys” club of Mississippi.
Before some unknowing dolt tries to give me heritage BS…the present flag was adopted in 1894….had more to do with post Civil War sentiments than anything historic…..read a book!
One of the most vocal governors about re-staring the state economy has been the governor of Texas…..and since the state has opened up is there anything to report?
Yes there is!
New cases of Covid-19 in the state is showing a steady increase….
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued an executive order March 31 that told Texans to stay home in April except for essential activity. On May 1, that order expired and Abbott announced his formal reopening plan, intended to be completed in phases. On Monday, gyms and fitness centers were the latest to be allowed to reopen, following earlier allowances for restaurants, retailers and salons.
On May 1, Abbott allowed restaurants, retail outlets, malls and movie theaters to reopen with restrictions. Malls, retailers and restaurant owners were told to keep capacity limited to 25%. But for rural counties with five or less confirmed cases of the new coronavirus, businesses were allowed to serve up to 50% of their regular capacity. Public museums and libraries were also allowed to reopen with permission from their local government, but were ordered to keep capacity to 25% and close down interactive exhibits.
Watch the rambling, Babbling president go on and on…..
President Donald Trump held a small official White House ceremony Tuesday to announce he’s handing America’s farmers and ranchers even more cash – this time in the form of a $19 billion bailout he says is because of the pandemic, not mentioning his disastrous trade war with China.
Probably the least reported news item over the last few days is the stand-off that is occurring between the Sioux Nation and the Governor of South Dakota…..
It all began when the Sioux set up check points to control the people that could expose the tribe to this virus…..then the governor decided it was time to open up the sent word to the Sioux…..
South Dakota is threatening legal action if two Sioux tribes don’t remove their highway checkpoints—and one tribal leader doesn’t seem too impressed. “We are strongest when we work together; this includes our battle against Covid-19,” Gov. Kristi Noem said in letters to the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe and Oglala Sioux Tribe, per CNN. “I request that the tribes immediately cease interfering with or regulating traffic on US and State Highways and remove all travel checkpoints.” The tribes have indeed posted checkpoints in an effort to curb the coronavirus; among the Cheyenne rules, reservation residents can travel to non-hotspot areas for essential activities, and South Dakota residents can enter reservations if they’re not coming from a hotspot or have a tribe-issued travel permit.
“You continuing to interfere in our efforts to do what science and facts dictate seriously undermine our ability to protect everyone on the reservation,” says Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Chairman Harold Frazier in a statement. “Ignorant statements and fiery rhetoric encourage individuals already under stress from this situation to carry out irrational actions. We invite you to join us in protecting the lives of our people and those that live on this reservation. I regretfully decline your request.” Last month, the feds issued a statement saying the tribes had to reach an agreement with South Dakota over the checkpoints. The Dickinson Press reports that South Dakota had 1,044 active cases on Friday, up by 198 from the day before, and a death toll of 31.
Now the governor has her answer from the Sioux….NO!
The Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe in South Dakota is refusing to end coronavirus checkpoints declared illegal by the state’s governor, saying they are the best tool they have to stop the virus from spreading.
Gov. Kristi Noem sent letters Friday to the leaders of the Oglala Sioux and the Cheyenne River Sioux tribes demanding that the checkpoints along the US and state highways through tribal land be removed.
Her office released an update Sunday clarifying the request: “The checkpoints on state and US highways are not legal, and if they don’t come down, the state will take the matter to Federal court, as Governor Noem noted in her Friday letter.”
On February 27, 1973, a team of 200 Oglala Lakota (Sioux) activists and members of the American Indian Movement (AIM) seized control of a tiny town with a loaded history — Wounded Knee, South Dakota. They arrived in town at night, in a caravan of cars and trucks, took the town’s residents hostage, and demanded that the U.S. government make good on treaties from the 19th and early 20th centuries. Within hours, police had surrounded Wounded Knee, forming a cordon to prevent protesters from exiting and sympathizers from entering. This marked the beginning of a 71-day siege and armed conflict.
It is the weekend and the virus is still killing Americans…..Thursday we got new orders from the mayor’s office…..
I shall do as advised…..MoMo will be walked at 5 am….and I will stay as a hermit.
I must have been thinking out loud…..someone heard the word “walk”….
Now the big thing around this virus is that we should wash our hands often……but are we washing them in a proper way to prevent the spread of Covid-19?
I can help…..
If you’re not washing your wrists, you could be doing it wrong. And forget hand sanitizer. A primary care doctor explains how to most effectively get germ-free hands.
Finally is your choice of news about this pandemic the right call…..are they truly giving out accurate information?
Should you wear a mask when you go out in public? Yes, according to revised guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But at one of President Trump’s daily press briefings, he said that “It’s only a recommendation,” adding, “I don’t think I am going to be doing it.” What about taking hydroxychloroquine, an antimalarial drug, to fight COVID-19? The Food and Drug Administrationhasn’t approved it, but that hasn’t stopped Trump from encouraging its use despite inconclusive scientific evidence regarding its effectiveness.
When the president contradicts agency officials and medical experts (oftentimes from behind the very same podium), it can be difficult for Americans to keep the facts straight. That is why the media’s role as a watchdog is vital to democracy — its job is to hold government officials accountable and investigate the veracity of the administration’s claims, especially when they are in response to rapidly evolving events.
The president and those rabid idiots that follow him blindly keep trying to get the lockdown overturned…..is there a way to do this safely?
The COVID-19 pandemic has put the world to the test. Never before have we been so aware of the many ways we come into contact with innumerable others. We have been forced to reassess and retrain common habits, from the handshake to the simple act of opening a door.
This is because the virus spreads via physical proximity: direct contact between people (handshakes, kisses and hugs), coughs, or even touching objects with contaminated droplets. The sum of all of these contacts forms a large and dynamic network – just like Facebook maps out our social interactions online. Disconnecting or weakening this extensive network is the key purpose of social distancing measures, currently experienced across the world.
But wait! Donald the Orange has a new plan to fight this disease…..
President Trump is facing widespread backlash after musing during a Thursday news briefing that bleach or other disinfectants could be injected into coronavirus patients’ bodies to kill the virus. Bleach is a toxic chemical, and medical professionals immediately took to Twitter to urge people not to consume bleach or other household disinfectant.
Someone has called him Trapper Don, MD……he is batcrap crazy and a worthless lump….but where did this damn silly idea originate?
The leader of the most prominent group in the US peddling potentially lethal industrial bleach as a “miracle cure” for coronavirus wrote to Donald Trump at the White House this week.
In his letter, Mark Grenon told Trump that chlorine dioxide – a powerful bleach used in industrial processes such as textile manufacturing that can have fatal side-effects when drunk – is “a wonderful detox that can kill 99% of the pathogens in the body”. He added that it “can rid the body of Covid-19”.
If you think that is one of the dumbest things you have ever heard…..then this report from Vietnam should impress you….
Animal rights activists say black cats are being boiled, skinned, cooked then turned into paste sold as coronavirus medicine in Vietnam. Charity No to Dog Meat say the practice is centred in the country’s capital Hanoi, but bottles of the ‘remedy’ are also being sold online. One photo purportedly shows the mixture being fed to a baby. Graphic footage taken by campaigners shows rows rows of dead cats drying in the sun after being slaughtered. Another video shows a live cat being placed in a cooking pot as boiling water is poured over it.
Why did I give up smoking? (That was a rhetorical question…no need for an answer)
According to a major Paris hospital study, The Guardian reports, tobacco could be preventing smokers from catching COVID-19.
“Our cross-sectional study strongly suggests that those who smoke every day are much less likely to develop a symptomatic or severe infection with Sars-CoV-2 compared with the general population,” the study reads.
The researchers did have to state the obvious: Smoking is often-fatal, and almost certainly outweighs the negative effects of COVID-19 itself.
They say speed kills but in this time of crisis from this pandemic…stupidity will kill!
And there are governors that are doing a lot to kill people with their inaction.
As late as March 30, 15 states had issued neither stay-at-home orders nor ordered the closure of non-essential businesses. All 15 have Republican governors. Since then, most have finally taken too-little-too-late statewide measures.
In a target-rich environment, selecting (much less ranking) the five dumbest GOP governors is no easy task. But somebody has to do it. By focusing exclusively on their response to the COVID-19 crisis, the task becomes a bit easier.
With apologies to Greg Abbott and Jim Justice, here they are:
Well my state is in the list of governors that show NO concern for their citizens…..mine is Tater Tot Reeves……plus the population for the most part still does not take this virus seriously…..this will come back and eat the state in the unprotected ass.
This does not surprise me that my governor is one of the worse of the worst…..Mississippi has a propensity of electing those Good Old Boys that carry little for the population.
In these times of dire measure and dire results I wish I did not have to write about the idiots that are dealing with this disease in all the wrong ways.
We all have seen/heard the proper way to be dealing with this virus….and yet there are 9 states that a failing its residents…..let’s shame them as often as possible…..
Most governors have issued statewide stay-at-home orders amid the coronavirus outbreak, but nine have opted against it. USA Today, the New York Times, and ABC News take a look at the holdouts. One common denominator is that all nine are run by Republican governors, and the Times sums up a sentiment: “For many conservative governors who believe strongly in small government and personal responsibility, the prospect of mandatory stay-at-home orders is anathema and they rejected what they called a catchall approach that could wreck their states’ economies.” Generally, the governors argue that a shutdown is unnecessary because they have taken other steps such as shutting schools and nonessential business, and issuing social-distancing advisories. “I can’t lock the state down,” is how Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds puts it. “People also have to be responsible for themselves.” Here are the nine:
Arkansas
Iowa
Nebraska
North Dakota
Oklahoma
South Carolina
South Dakota
Utah
Wyoming
USA Today has comprehensive list of restrictions in place in all 50 states.
Most of us are doing what the experts are telling us….to shelter in place and go out only when necessary…..but with that comes an awful side effect…..
The leader of the UN has made a worldwide appeal related to the coronavirus outbreak, but it has nothing to do with equipment shortages or best practices while out in public. Instead, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is worried about “a horrifying global surge in domestic violence,” reports the AP. He didn’t call out specific nations, but he said calls to help lines have doubled in some places amid the lockdown, and he urged governments to make sure victims are safe. The problem is that police departments are frequently overwhelmed with other virus-related issues. Coverage:
Code word: Europe has been largely locked down for weeks, and the problem seems most pronounced in Spain and France. There, women can now go into pharmacies and use the phrase “mask 19” to alert the pharmacist to abuse, reports CNN. The pharmacist takes the woman’s information and calls police. “There has always been gender violence, but this crisis makes it all worse,” says a worker at a women’s shelter in Rome.
In the US: Women’s groups around the US are seeing an uptick in domestic violence calls, a sign that what’s been happening in Europe could follow suit here, reports the Wall Street Journal. The shutdown is “almost like a petri dish for violence to increase within families,” Barbara Paradiso, director of the Center on Domestic Violence at the University of Colorado Denver, tells the newspaper.
More on the US: NBC News reports that 18 of 22 US law enforcement agencies that responded to a request for data saw a rise in domestic violence calls in March. “The financial stress alone creates a ticking time bomb for some families with a history of domestic violence,” says Sheriff Steve Mueller of Cherokee County, South Carolina, where calls rose 35%. “Unfortunately many of these domestic violence cases occur in front of children and often the children become victims of abuse and assault, as well.” The situation is made worse because shelters for abuse victims are generally struggling to remain open amid the shutdown.
All over: The National Domestic Abuse hotline in the UK saw a 25% increase in appeals for help since that nation’s lockdown began, reports the BBC. The AP adds that the “the killing of women has surged in Turkey” since the lockdown in that nation, and that Australia has seen internet searches for domestic violence resources jump 75%. The story collects similar stats from India and South Africa.
First person: The BBC talks to one woman in the UK about the tension in her own home, which worsened with the lockdown. “As soon as he gets up, he tries to cause an argument out of nothing, and if I fire back he’ll just hit me.” She has since fled to Wales and is being helped by a charity. Advocates say the abuse is wide-ranging, including men threatening to throw out women if they get sick, preventing them communicating with relatives, and barring them from leaving the house even for groceries
Our experts and health pros are telling us that the faux treatment that the president is pushing is worthless at this time and could be dangerous…..and yet Trump’s trade adviser knows better than medical people…..
“Doctors disagree about things all the time.” So explains the heated discussion between Dr. Anthony Fauci and Peter Navarro, PhD. The White House trade adviser said that and more when asked by CNN on Monday about a tense White House Situation Room meeting Saturday in which Fauci and Navarro reportedly clashed over the use of the anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine as a coronavirus treatment. Navarro, who is coordinating the purchase and distribution of medical supplies under the Defense Production Act, reportedly showed up to the meeting with documents that he said attested to the drug’s effectiveness; Fauci’s response was something along the lines of “what are you talking about?” Coverage:
In his comments to CNN, Navarro elaborated, saying, “My qualifications in terms of looking at the science is that I’m a social scientist. “I have a PhD,” he continued, with CNBC reporting it’s an economics PhD from Harvard. “And I understand how to read statistical studies, whether it’s in medicine, the law, economics, or whatever.”
Fox News describes the CNN interview as getting heated, with Navarro asking host John Berman if he would take hydroxychloroquine if he was infected with COVID-19. “I would listen to my doctor,” Berman replied. “I would consult my doctor… not someone involved with trade policy… do you want an internist striking trade deals?” “Touche,” said Navarro, who told Berman that Berman was “setting up a false narrative.”
In a subsequent Fox & Friends appearance, Navarro was again asked about the clash and distributing FEMA’s supply of 29 million tablets of hydroxychloroquine. His response: “The task force unanimously voted to [distribute it], with the provision that this can have side effects and that it has to be dispensed not by the federal government but by the patient-doctor relationship. I think history will judge who is right on this debate but I’d bet on President Trump’s intuition.”
Politico flags comments Fauci made on Face the Nation Sunday about how the data around hydroxychloroquine are “really just, at best, suggestive. There have been cases that show there may be an effect, and there are others to show there’s no effect. So I think, in terms of science, I don’t think we could definitively say it works.” It notes that Fauci was asked about that and responded that Fauci could “speak for himself,” but “I would have two words for you: second opinion.”
Another non-medical doctor who is actively pushing hydroxycholoquine: Rudy Giuliani. He tells the Washington Post that he’s been pushing the medication in private phone calls with Trump, and that he spends much of the day doing the same with doctors, coronavirus patients, and hospital administrators on the other end of the line.
The Post article notes Gov. Andrew Cuomo also has spoken about the drug’s potential. On Monday, the governor discussed tests with patients in New York, where doctors have been given the green light to use hydroxychloroquine in combination with an antibiotic. “There has been anecdotal evidence that it is promising,” he said. “That’s why we’re going ahead.” However, he added that it’s been too short a time to have official data, per the Hill.
Navarro is just another sycophant that will have oral sex if the prez demands it……amateurs have NO place in this pandemic……and Donald of Orange is surrounded by them and they are leading this country…..wake up before we are doomed.
