Free Republic

A couple in St. John’s, Michigan recently took down the red, white and blue flag of Norway displayed on the porch of their bed and breakfast after receiving continuous complaints by ignorant liberals who accused the couple of flying the Confederate battle flag. The Nordic Pineapple, run out of a mansion built in 1861 by a Union general, was started two years ago by Greg and Kjersten Offenbecker. The couple flew the flag of Norway from a pillar opposite the American flag to honor Kjersten’s Norwegian heritage (her grandfather immigrated from Norway.) Both the U.S. and Norway flags were taken...

The teardowns get all the attention, Walter “Donnie” Kennedy grumbles. Every time a local government votes to remove a century-old Confederate war monument, every time activists swing ropes around statues and yank them to the ground, “our enemies claim victory again,” said Kennedy, the chief of heritage operations for the Sons of Confederate Veterans. “We know America doesn’t agree with us - heck, they fought a war against us - but we’re going to tell our story.” Their membership might be dwindling, and their popular support seems to shrink by the day, but the guardians of America’s 700-plus Confederate monuments...

statue of Gen. Robert E. Lee and busts of seven other confederate leaders were quietly removed from the Virginia State Capitol under the cover of night Thursday by order of its Democratic House Leader. The 900-pound, bronze Lee statue and busts of Gen. Stonewall Jackson and Confederate President Jefferson Davis and other members of the Confederacy were removed from the old House chamber under orders from House Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn, a Democrat from Fairfax. The additional monuments removed were of Fitzhugh Lee, J.E.B. Stuart, Matthew Fontaine Maury, Joseph E. Johnston and Alexander Stephens, plus a plaque honoring Thomas Bocock. All...

A lawsuit was filed today in Federal Court, along with a request for a request for an Emergency Temporary Restraining Order that seeks to prevent the City of St. Augustine, Florida from removing the oldest Confederate monument in Florida, in the state’s oldest City. The primary plaintiff on the lawsuit is HK Edgerton, past President of the National Association of Colored People “NAACP” in his home town of Asheville, NC and includes 10 counts including violations of the plaintiff’s Constitution rights under the 1st and 14th Amendments. There are nine other plaintiffs in the case including the Ladies Memorial Association...

President Trump signaled expectations that a provision to rename military bases named after Confederate leaders will not make the final version of the National Defense Authorization Act, despite the House and Senate overwhelmingly approving such defense legislation this week with veto-proof majorities. Trump, who previously has threatened to veto legislation to rename such bases, tweeted Friday that he's found an ally in Sen. Jim Inhofe, who serves as chairman of the Armed Services Committee that manages the bill.

The U.S. Senate on Thursday passed its version of the National Defense Authorization Act, a $740 billion bill setting policy for the Pentagon that President Donald Trump has threatened to veto over a provision removing Confederate names from military bases. The vote was 86-14, one of the few times the Republican-led Senate has broken from the president, and could pave the way for a fight later this year with the White House. The Senate and Democratic-led House of Representatives each passed versions of the bill, known as the NDAA, with far more than the two-thirds majorities needed to override a...

Walmart has donated $100,000 towards efforts to replace Arkansas' Confederate-linked statues at the U.S. Capitol with new statues of singer Johnny Cash and civil rights activist Daisy Bates. The private sector donation comes as the nation is facing a racial reckoning in the wake of protests over the death of George Floyd in police custody that has led to the toppling of many Civil War-era statues across the country. "We support the effort by the state legislature and Governor Hutchinson to honor two prominent Arkansans, civil rights pioneer Daisy Bates and music legend Johnny Cash, with statues in National Statuary...

The House voted Wednesday to approve legislation to remove statues in the Capitol of people who served the Confederacy or otherwise worked to defend slavery, a moment sparked by the demonstrations for racial justice across the country. The legislation was approved in a 305-113 vote. All of the "no" votes came from GOP lawmakers, while 72 Republicans voted to remove the statues. “Just imagine what it feels like as an African American to know that my ancestors built the Capitol, but yet there are monuments to the very people that enslaved my ancestors,” Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.), the leader of...

A descendant of Confederate General Robert E. Lee argued in favor of removing a statue of his ancestor at the Antietam National Battlefield in Maryland during a House subcommittee hearing Tuesday morning. Reverend Robert Wright Lee, who identified himself as a distant nephew of the Confederate general, said the statue at Antietam and others "must be removed for a more perfect Union." He spoke before the House Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands to weigh in on the proposed Robert E. Lee Statue Removal Act, a bill Rep. Anthony Brown of Maryland introduced nearly three years ago.

By we've all seen the images and videos of the mindless and wanton destruction of statues and iconic structures. The BLM/Antifa excuse for it was to remove the vestiges of the Confederacy, racism and slavery. In their reckless haste and painful ignorance the rioters proceeded to topple the statues of US Grant, Matthias Baldwin, Hans Christian Heg and even Frederick Douglass. That is proof of just how damnably stupid BLM/Antifa are. Over the last week it has become more and more apparent what motivates these pathetic cretins. Catholic churches across North America suffered a devastating week of vandalism and arson...

Three bills to identify and remove Confederate monuments on federal land, including a privately funded statue of Robert E. Lee in Maryland, will get a hearing from a House Natural Resources subcommittee on Tuesday. Rep. Anthony G. Brown, D-Md., is scheduled to speak on his bill to remove the Lee statue, which sits on the Antietam National Battlefield and has been vandalized with graffiti in support of the Black Lives Matter movement twice this summer. The battlefield is in the district of Rep. David Trone, D-Md., who, along with Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., is a co-sponsor of the legislation.

The Pentagon on Friday laid out a new policy on Friday that will ban displays of the Confederate flag on military installations, in a memo that avoids mentioning an explicit ban or the controversial flag itself. “Flags are powerful symbols, particularly in the military community for whom flags embody common mission, common histories, and the special, timeless bond of warriors,” the memo, obtained by Fox News, says. The memo, signed by Defense Secretary Mark Esper, lists the type of flags that may be displayed at military installations -- including the American flag, military service flags, flags of U.S. states and...

A Confederate flag banner was flown over the Bristol Motor Speedway in Tennessee on Wednesday ahead of NASCAR’s All-Star Race. The banner flown over the Wednesday race also included the website “SCV.org,” a website operated by the organization The Sons of Confederate Veterans, USA Today reported. The organization also claimed credit for a banner showing the Confederate Flag that was flown over a race in Talladega, Fla. last month. Bristol Herald Courier reporter Tim Dodson shared footage of the banner Wednesday. NASCAR in June banned displays of the flag at all of its events and properties, saying that it “runs...

"I have never had an African American come up to me and have any problem with it whatsoever," said Schneider, 60, who added that "the whole politically correct generation has gotten way out of hand." Schneider went on to call the series, which was set in fictional Hazzard County, Georgia, "a unifying force."

Across America, protesters and city leaders are removing monuments of Confederate soldiers. Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, is home to more than 40 Confederate monuments. The park is roughly 6,000 acres, attracting nearly a million visitors each year. Are the Confederate monuments educational or do they glorify slavery? It depends on who you ask.

Dukes of Hazzard co-stars John Schneider and Tom Wopat addressed the long-time controversy over the show's iconic General Lee car, saying political correctness has gone too far as protests mount over the Confederate flag that the famed vehicle features prominently on its roof. Both stars defended the customized 1969 Dodge Charger used in the hit action and comedy show about cousins Bo and Luke Duke, former moonshiners who live in rural Georgia.

Virginia's James Madison University is renaming three buildings that bear the names of Confederate leaders. The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that university’s board of visitors voted to change the names of three halls following requests by students, alumni and campus organizations.

For a century, Monument Avenue has showcased some of the Confederacy’s most revered figures. Soon, there will be a blank canvas. Over the past week, the Richmond Times-Dispatch asked demonstrators, residents, artists and community leaders what they'd like to see on the new Monument Avenue. There were suggestions of new statues, honoring a more inclusive set of heroes. Others wanted a space for performance or reflection, while some felt the empty pedestals should stay as a historical testimony of their own. One point of agreement was that it must be a communitywide conversation. Through restrictive covenants, real estate companies long...

Gov. Ralph Northam wants school systems across Virginia to change the names of schools honoring Confederate leaders. In a July 6 letter to the heads of school boards in the state, Northam says the names and mascots have a "traumatizing impact on students, families, teachers and staff of all backgrounds." "When our public schools are named after individuals who advanced slavery and systemic racism, and we allow those names to remain on school property, we tacitly endorse their values as our own," Northam wrote. "This is no longer acceptable." The names have come under increased scrutiny during ongoing civil...

Democrats on the House Appropriations Committee on Monday released a draft of a funding bill that includes a provision to remove statues and busts of those who served the Confederacy or have "unambiguous records of racial intolerance" from the U.S. Capitol, setting up a potential fight over the issue as President Trump emphasizes preserving such tributes in at least some circumstances. The bill, which provides more than $4 billion to fund the legislative branch as part of the fiscal year that begins in October, is almost certain not to pass in its current form due to how Congress has run...