Everytime you hear about the ' honor of the Old South', NEVER forget what it was built on

I found these pictures at Zimbio:

This is a Civil War Era Slave Sale Re-enactment in St. Louis.


A mock flyer is posted advertising the re-enactment of a mid-19th century slave auction January 15, 2011 in downtown St. Louis, Missouri. Some 150 re-enactors participated in the mock-auction on the steps of the city's Old Courthouse, as the first commemorative event in Missouri marking the 150th anniversary of the Civil War. With other sesquicentennial events in the South emphasizing "states rights" as the cause of the conflict, organizers in St. Louis said they wanted to stress slavery as the central issue of the war. Before the war, St. Louis, with its location on the Mississippi River, had been a primary hub for the sale and movement of slaves. The U.S. Civil War, which lasted from 1861-1865, resulted in the death of more than 600,000 Americans, more than in all of the country's other wars combined.
----Photo by John Moore/Getty Images North America


In This Photo: Jannett White
Slave re-enactor Jannett White is led off in shackes after being "auctioned" during a re-enactment of a mid-19th century slave auction January 15, 2011 in downtown St. Louis, Missouri. Some 150 re-enactors participated in the mock-auction on the steps of the city's Old Courthouse, as the first commemorative event in Missouri marking the 150th anniversary of the Civil War. With other sesquicentennial events in the South emphasizing "states rights" as the cause of the conflict, organizers in St. Louis said they wanted to stress slavery as the central issue of the war. Before the war, St. Louis, with its location on the Mississippi River, had been a primary hub for the sale and movement of slaves. The U.S. Civil War, which lasted from 1861-1865, resulted in the death of more than 600,000 Americans, more than in all of the country's other wars combined.
---Photo by John Moore/Getty Images North America




People portraying slaves are led down the street during a re-enactment of a mid-19th century slave auction January 15, 2011 in downtown St. Louis, Missouri.
---- Photo by John Moore/Getty Images North America


Robert Andel, portraying an auctioneer asks for bids during a re-enactment of a mid-19th century slave auction January 15, 2011 in downtown St. Louis, Missouri. Some 150 re-enactors participated in the mock-auction on the steps of the city's Old Courthouse, as the first commemorative event in Missouri marking the 150th anniversary of the Civil War. With other sesquicentennial events in the South emphasizing "states rights" as the cause of the conflict, organizers in St. Louis said they wanted to stress slavery as the central issue of the war. Before the war, St. Louis, with its location on the Mississippi River, had been a primary hub for the sale and movement of slaves. The U.S. Civil War, which lasted from 1861-1865, resulted in the death of more than 600,000 Americans, more than in all of the country's other wars combined.
----- Photo by John Moore/Getty Images North America


A person portraying a slave stands on the auction block as an auctioneer asks for bids during a re-enactment of a mid-19th century slave auction January 15, 2011 in downtown St. Louis, Missouri.
------ Photo by John Moore/Getty Images North America


A person portraying a blacksmith inspects a "slave" during a re-enactment of a mid-19th century slave auction January 15, 2011 in downtown St. Louis, Missouri.
---- Photo by John Moore/Getty Images North America


People portraying slaves prepare to be carted off during a re-enactment of a mid-19th century slave auction January 15, 2011 in downtown St. Louis, Missouri.
----- Photo by John Moore/Getty Images North America


The public takes part in a discussion inside St. Louis' Old Courthouse following a re-enactment of a mid-19th century slave auction January 15, 2011 in downtown St. Louis, Missouri.
----- Photo by John Moore/Getty Images North America


A person portraying a blacksmith carries shackles ahead of a re-enactment of a mid-19th century slave auction January 15, 2011 in downtown St. Louis, Missouri.
---- Photo by John Moore/Getty Images North America


Slave re-enactors weep during a re-enactment of a mid-19th century slave auction January 15, 2011 in downtown St. Louis, Missouri. Some 150 re-enactors participated in the mock-auction on the steps of the city's Old Courthouse, as the first commemorative event in Missouri marking the 150th anniversary of the Civil War.
---- Photo by John Moore/Getty Images North America


Spectators watch a re-enactment of a mid-19th century slave auction January 15, 2011 in downtown St. Louis, Missouri.

Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour Also Ignored Slavery in His Confederate Heritage Proclamation

They Are Yearning for the Days of the Old Confederacy

After he defended Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell for omitting slavery from his States Confederate remembrance, it turns out that Haley Barbour made the same glaring omission in his State's proclamation. He seemed to go out of his way to purposely leave out any mention of slavery. I suspect they may be doing this to rile up their supporters. Both Governors may be interested in running for President or VP in 2012. This may be red meat for the Conservative Tea Party base.

Yes, there are definitely more important concerns that we should be focused on... and Republicans would probably love it if we were distracted by Barbour's antics. However, these reports, along with the other comments and activities by the Right point to a certain kind of state of mind that I believe should be illuminated. I think it says a lot about how they view the world, what they believe in, and who they really are. Eugene Robinson points this out very nicely in his commentary on the subject.

These kinds of political antics are taking place at the same time that we are hearing reports about segregation in Mississippi schools. Post racial my ass. I'm not even sure what year this is. I had to check the calender, not sure if I had slipped back in time into some other decade. But the calender says 2010. Notice the overriding pattern? There is a larger context to all of this. It pisses me off when apologists for the radical Right discuss these matters in a vacuum.... in separate little pieces, ignoring patterns and the larger context. Facts tell us one thing, but some in the mainstream corporate media suggest that we should ignore what is right in front of our faces. They want us to believe that the sky is pink, and that the earth is flat....that what we are seeing is just a figment of our imagination. It's not just the wider context of current events that they seem to ignore, they also love to ignore historical context, as Eugene Robinson pointed out.

What's even more annoying than all the talk about the loony Tea Party, the radical Right, and their romanticizing of the Confederacy, is the fact that thickheaded American voters are going to put these jackasses into office, certainly at the State and Congressional levels, in November of this year and in 2012, despite these reports, and despite solid recent history that shows their policies failing. This whole thing (the Right's activities over the past decade and their use of propaganda, especially since 2007) says more about the deficiencies of Progressives and their complete lack of an effective media infrastructure, than it says about how crazy the Right is. If you can't effectively mount a defense against such incredibly crazy propaganda and effectively educate the American public (which is in desperate need of good information and deprogramming).... then to me, this may be the more pressing issue. It points to an emergency within the Progressive movement in this Country. If there is no effort to fix it and fix it soon- with a complete revamping of Progressive strategy, infrastructure... and with policies like the Fairness Doctrine - then this Country is going to be in serious trouble. Progressives & Democrats are certainly going to pay a price.

I'm losing more faith in this Country and the World with each passing day.