Do you want to see a Trump supporter crying his eyes out while being sentenced to prison for terrorizing a black child's birthday party? Of course you do.

Courtesy of Nova Magazine:  

Trump supporter has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for making “terroristic threats.” But now Jose Ismael Torres is hoping to get out. 

The racist and others associated with a pro-Confederate “Protect the Flag” group were caught on video disrupting a black child’s birthday party in Georgia. The incident occurred shortly after the massacre of nine black churchgoers in Charleston, South Carolina in 2015. 

Their taunts led to a confrontation with the family holding the party and Torres was accused of threatening to kill them with a gun. 

“Many people tried to make the case about simply flying the Confederate Battle Flag,” Douglas County District Attorney Brian Fortner said in a statement. “This case was about a group of people riding around our community, drinking alcohol, harassing and intimidating our citizens because of the color of their skin.” 

Torres was convicted on three counts of aggravated assault, one count of making terrorist threats and one count of violating of Georgia’s Street Gang Terrorism and Prevention Act in 2017. His girlfriend, Kayla Norton, was also sentenced to 6 years in prison.

Yeah, everybody is super tough when they are driving around in their pickup trucks, waving their Confederate flags around, and threatening children at gunpoint.

But it is a whole different story when they are sitting in a courtroom and being told they will be living in a cage for the next twenty years.

And what is with that young woman saying that what she and her boyfriend did, was "not them?"

Yes, it "was them."

That is why "they" are going to jail.

Donald Trump may be encouraging these people to come out of the shadows, but we still have laws in this country and the shadows are far safer than what awaits them behind bars.

South Carolina Republican lawmaker arrested for assaulting hi wife with a firearm after being caught cheating. Gotta love those family values!

Courtesy of Aiken Standard: 

South Carolina Rep. Chris Corley has been arrested after police say he assaulted his wife and pointed a handgun at her. 

Corley, 36, who represents Graniteville in Aiken County in the South Carolina House of Representatives, was arrested Tuesday by the Aiken County Sheriff's Office. 

Arrest warrants for Corley show he has been charged with first-degree domestic violence and pointing and presenting firearms at a person. 

Warrants state Corley, in the presence of an 8-year-old child, did "cause physical harm and injury" to the victim, by "striking her about the head and face with a closed fist and further did, after threatening to kill the victim, point a Smith & Wesson ... handgun at the victim causing her to fear for her life." 

Deputies responded on Monday to a home on the 100 block of Sugar Hill Drive in Graniteville, where a woman said Corley, who she identified as her husband, hit her in the face with his fist and said he was going to kill her while children were in the home, police reported. 

The woman told deputies Corley was "caught cheating."

Corley made national news last year after sending out a Christmas card featuring a confederate flag to his colleagues suggesting that they "ask for forgiveness of all your sins such as betrayal."

And yes of course he was a Trump supporter. 

Well I'll tell you right now that once Donald Trump is sworn into office it will once again be perfectly alright for a man to pistol whip his wife for catching him cheating on her.

Just like it says in the Bible.

Probably.

Mississippi man blows up Wal-Mart because they stopped selling Confederate battle flags. You're not helping.

Courtesy of the Clarion Ledger:  

A man is charged after allegedly setting off an explosive at a Mississippi Walmart Sunday morning. 

Marshall W. Leonard, 61, of Tupelo, will be charged with placing an explosive device. Under Mississippi Code 97-37-25 he could get life in prison if convicted, the Tupelo Daily Journal reported. 

Tupelo Police Chief Bart Aguirre said a vehicle pulled up to an entrance of the Walmart in North Gloster around 1:30 a.m. 

“A white male got out, lit the package and threw it in the vestibule,” said Aguirre. “There was an employee on break, and the suspect told him, ‘You better run.

The employee did run and the device went off harming no one and doing only minimal damage to the store.

The reason for the attack? I thought you would never ask:

A supporter of the Mississippi flag, Leonard railed against anyone who wanted it removed because it contained the Confederate battle flag. He spoke out against Walmart when the retail giant stop selling items that contained the Confederate battle flag. 

Last Wednesday, Leonard posted threats on the Daily Journal Facebook page. 

“Journal corporate, you are on final warning,” he wrote Oct. 28. “You are part of the problem. As a result of this, y’all are going down, along with Walmart, WTVA, Reeds department store, and all the rest of the anti-American crooks. I’m not kidding. No messing around anymore!”

Nothing says supporters of the Confederate battle flag are non-racist rational people who are only concerned with preserving their Southern heritage like blowing up the local Wal-Mart with a homemade bomb, don'tcha think?

My favorite part is that his tiny little bomb was essentially just as impotent as his ravings on Facebook.

"Y'all are going down."

boom!

"Y'all down yet?"

Perhaps the most American thing I have ever seen.

Source

I really think it is the completely unnecessary addition of Spongebob and his friend Patrick, two American icons, that really sells this thing for me. 

George Zimmerman is teaming up with the Muslim-free gun store owner to sell paintings of the Confederate battle flag. Oh that's just wrong.

Courtesy of Mediaite:  

George Zimmerman, the man who became a pariah after killing Trayvon Martin, is teaming up with the controversial owner of the Muslim-Free gun store in order to sell signed prints of his take on the Confederate Flag. 

Zimmerman’s joint venture with Andrew Hallinan comes one month after the latter drew national attention after responding to the Chattanooga Shooting with a video saying, “I will not arm and train those who wish to do harm to my fellow patriots.” Zimmerman decided to team up and split the revenue for their legal fees after hearing that Hallinan was being sued by the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR). 

“The caption, ‘the second protects the first’ is a double entendre,” Zimmerman said to Hallinan. “The 2nd flag I painted was the Battle Flag — which we need in America in order to protect the first.”

George Zimmerman, a gun store owner who refuses to sell to Muslims, and the Confederate battle flag. It's like a potpourri of horrible.

But hey if you are looking for the biggest racists in the country, I am pretty damn sure they will be showing up at this store in Florida.

This video is for the next time that your obnoxious Southern relatives try to convince you that the Civil War was not fought over slavery. Spoiler alert: Yes it was!

This is Colonel Ty Seidule, Professor of History at the United States Military Academy at West Point, so you know he has some understanding of the topic.

In a nutshell certain people in the Southern part of the country thought that owning people was a good idea, one that they felt the Bible supported by the way, and people in the North thought otherwise.

If you are a supporter of the Confederate flag you are a supporter of the types of abuse they inflicted on their fellow man, and the treasonous acts they perpetrated against their own government to protect those acts.

White supremacist blows off own leg making bombs. And they say there are no happy endings anymore.

Courtesy of Raw Story: 

An upstate New York man who blew his leg off in his garage making improvised explosive devices will be held in federal custody without bail because law enforcement found white supremacist paraphernalia and believe he’s dangerous, WGRZ reports. 

Michael O’Neill, 45, a former Niagara County corrections officer, is accused of making seven bombs and was arrested two weeks ago after one of the devices accidentally went off. O’Neill was rushed to a hospital where his leg had to be amputated. He was the only one injured, WGRZ reports. 

“Luckily, he is detained,” Assistant U.S. Attorney John Alsup told Time Warner Cable News. “He is no longer at large in the community with or without some of the physical disabilities he’s going to have going forward, but luckily for the community, he only hurt himself.” 

Pictures of the KKK, Nazi imagery and the Confederate flag were found inside his home, which he lives in with his stepfather, William Ross, who chairs the Niagara County Legislature, WGRZ reports.

Even with his leg blown off New York prosecutors are saying the man is too dangerous to be allowed back on the streets.

Here is what he was brewing before karma kicked his ass:

The explosives he created contained nails and BB pellets, according to reports. One was labeled “powder with nails.”

However his lawyer suggests that this is all a big misunderstanding and that his client was only making the explosives in order to remove some tree stumps.

Because we all know how effective BB pellets and nails are for accomplishing that. Am I right? 

Of course we have to remember that this guy is not one of the really bad Islamic terrorists that the conservatives are always telling us to fear. He is simply one of our homegrown cuddly ones that  nobody really needs to worry about.

After all you cannot justify the purchase of more submarines, tanks, and fighter jets, just to kill some dipshit living in New York now can you?

I think Bristol Palin just went full retard. Never go full retard. Update!

Courtesy of Bristol Palin's Facebook page, I kid you not.

As if there is any comparison between an organization that allows women of all colors to control their own reproduction, and the flag of a traitorous army that fought for the right to own their fellow human beings. 

(For those who want to get all bent out of shape about my "full retard" comment, the source.)

Update: Like daughter, like mother.

#DefundPlannedParenthood
Posted by Sarah Palin on Sunday, July 26, 2015

So does this mean that Nancy French is writing both Bristol AND Sarah's Facebook posts these days.

So this is what was greeted President Obama when he arrived in Oklahoma yesterday.

Courtesy of the Washington Post:

President Obama was greeted by protesters waving the Confederate flag during his visit to Oklahoma.

Gee, it's a good thing the Confederate battle flag is not racist or anything.

P.S. By the way Oklahoma was not even a state during the Civil War. 

The reason for the Confederate flag in the words of its creator.

Courtesy of William Tappan Thompson's Wikipedia page: 

Thompson supported the Confederacy during the American Civil War. In 1863, as the editor of the Morning News he proposed a design that would ultimately become the Confederacy's second national flag, which would be come to known as the "Stainless Banner." 

In a series of editorials, Thompson wrote: 

"As a people, we are fighting to maintain the Heaven-ordained supremacy of the white man over the inferior or colored race; a white flag would thus be emblematical of our cause… Such a flag…would soon take rank among the proudest ensigns of the nations, and be hailed by the civilized world as the white mans flag… As a national emblem, it is significant of our higher cause, the cause of a superior race, and a higher civilization contending against ignorance, infidelity, and barbarism."

And there you have it.

Any questions?

If the whole country is moving to put racism behind them, you just know that Florida is going to go the opposite direction.

Courtesy of the Ocala Star Banner:  

An estimated 2,000 vehicles, mostly motorcycles and trucks adorned with Rebel flags, took part in a rally and ride Sunday afternoon in support of keeping a Confederate flag flying in front of the McPherson Governmental Complex in Ocala. 

The event was organized by David Stone, of Ocala, and was called the Florida Southern Pride Ride. Police officials estimated participation at a couple thousand vehicles. 

The ride started at about 1 p.m. and, as of 1:30 p.m., could be seen winding its way through Ocala. 

Participants were wearing shirts that said "heritage not hate" and talked of defending a way of life rooted in Southern traditions. 

Danny Hart, of Dunnellon, had two Confederate flags and the American flag in the back of his truck. He pointed out that the U.S. flag was flying higher and said that he had come to participate in the ride to "defend freedom." 

Another ride participant, Rick Hart, said, "It's a history thing. The flag is also a military flag. It's not a race symbol."

Yeah except that it is a race symbol. Just like the Nazi flag is a symbol of antisemitism.

Which is why groups like the KKK fly them both. 

So here we have both Alabama and South Carolina taking the Confederate battle flag off of the state Capitol grounds, and Mississippi poised to vote to change their flag entirely, yet in Florida there is a rally 2,000 strong of supporters who are just like, "Fuck it, we're racist and not afraid to let EVERYBODY know it!"

Let's end our day on a high note.

Courtesy of CNN:  

It took just a few minutes, simultaneously somber and festive, to put a bookend on the Confederate flag's 54-year run at the South Carolina Capitol grounds. 

A crowd of hundreds erupted in cheers, and sang a farewell refrain more associated with sports arenas, as uniformed highway patrol officers lowered the flag from a pole next to a soldiers' monument shortly after 10 a.m. ET Friday. 

"Hey, hey, hey, goodbye!" the voices sang. 

It was a move stemming from years of deep-rooted controversy over the banner that gained steam after last month's massacre of nine black churchgoers in Charleston. 

"Finally we can breathe, we can sigh, we can cheer," said former state Rep. Bakari Sellers, one of the onlookers. "This is why Rosa sat and Martin marched, so that we can have events like this." 

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I simply never thought I would see this happen in a place like South Carolina. 

As a skeptic I am not prone to believe in miracles, but this felt pretty damn close to one.

Another historic day in America, South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley signs bill to remove the Confederate battle flag from the state Capitol.

Courtesy of NBC News:  

South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley on Thursday signed into law a measure to remove the Confederate battle flag from the state Capitol, the culmination of a years-long movement that was reignited by the murders of nine members of a historically black Charleston church. 

Before adding her signature to the legislation, Haley spoke of the black victims, who were killed by a white man after they welcomed him into a June 17 prayer meeting at Emanuel African Methodist Church in Charleston. 

Their act of love and faith, Haley said, set into motion a chain of events that led to the flag's removal less than a month later.

Man just when you think you have seen everything.

It almost gives me hope that we might soon be able to do something about background checks and pass a ban on military style weapons.

I said "almost" give me hope.

South Carolina state senator on the removal of the Confederate battle flag and gay marriage, "The devil is taking control."

Courtesy of Raw Story:  

South Carolina state Sen. Lee Bright (R) began debate about removing the Confederate flag from the statehouse grounds on Monday with a passionate plea for lawmakers to focus on same-sex marriage instead. 

“I watch the White House be lit up in the abomination colors!” Bright said. “It is time for the church to rise up…. Romans chapter 1 is clear, the Bible is clear. This nation was founded on Judeo-Christian principles and they are under assault by men in black robes who were not elected by you.” 

Bright argued that lawmakers should be protecting county clerks from the “tyranny” of having to issue marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples instead of debating the Confederate flag. 

“Our governor called us in to deal with the flag that sits out front, let’s deal with the national sin that we face today!” he exclaimed. “We talk about abortion but this gay marriage thing, I believe will be one nation gone under like President Reagan said. If we’re not one nation under God, we’ll be one nation gone under.” 

“And to sanctify deviant behavior from five judges, it’s time for us to make our stand, church!” Bright yelled. “It’s time to make our stand and we’re not doing it.” 

The senator choked up as he continued: “We can rally together and talk about a flag all we want but the devil is taking control of this land and we’re not stopping him!”

WTF?

Uh, this guy did realize that he was standing before fellow state senators and not congregants from his fundamentalist church right?

You know it's really impossible to reason with a person who sees changes that he does not agree with as demonic or the work of the devil. I mean how do you even begin to have a reasonable conversation with someone who sees everything as either of God or of Satan?

And they keep saying that religion does no harm.

The hell it doesn't!

Fortunately this idiot's crazed rant did nothing to sway his fellow senators and in the end they voted 37-3 to remove the Confederate battle flag from the Capitol grounds.

That's one for the good guys, zero for the racists hiding behind tradition and the Christian Bible.

Most satisfying end to a Confederate flag parade ever. (Video NSFW due to language.)

Hey look racists can't drive!

I love that the guy narrating this video, who is clearly African American, is at first really irritated by the fact that the police are blocking off the streets for this debacle, and then becomes almost giddy after one truck rear ends another.

"God don't like ugly." 

By the way this is in Georgia where my daughter is currently staying for work. I REALLY do not like her being in Georgia.

Woman climbs pole to remove Confederate Battle flag in South Carolina.

RT @spinnellii: #BlackGirlMagic RT @Active_Voices: All Hail to the Queen B. @BreeNewsome #BlackGirlMagic #keepitdown pic.twitter.com/NNY7u85QIX

— ProfB (@AntheaButler) June 27, 2015

Courtesy of the New York Daily News:  

A woman was arrested for removing the Confederate flag from the South Carolina Statehouse Saturday -- only to have the banner raised again less than an hour later. 

Using a harness, Bree Newsome climbed the 30-foot pole in Columbia just after dawn, organizer Tamika Lewis told the Daily News. Newsome brought down the flag as officers yelled for her to climb down, and State Police took it out of her hands when she reached the bottom. 

"You cannot get to me with hatred and oppression and violence," Newsome shouted from the top of the pole, according to video. "I come to do this in the name of God. This flag comes down today."

Now THAT is some fearless activism. 

When your flag is too racist for Alabama and NASCAR, you know it's pretty damn racist.

Courtesy the HuffPo:  

Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley (R) ordered the removal of four Confederate-era flags from the grounds of the state Capitol Wednesday morning, saying it was simply "the right thing to do." 

The flags were part of a confederate memorial at the Capitol in Montgomery. Two state workers came out Wednesday morning and "with no fanfare quickly and quietly" took down the first of the four, the battle flag, according to AL.com. 

About 90 minutes later, workers came out and removed the three other Confederate flags that were part of the memorial.

I know right?

But if you think that is amazing, and it is amazing, get a load of this:  

"As we continue to mourn the tragic loss of life last week in Charleston, we join our nation's embrace of those impacted. NASCAR supports the position that South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley took on the Confederate Flag on Monday. As our industry works collectively to ensure that all fans are welcome at our races, NASCAR will continue our long-standing policy to disallow the use of the Confederate Flag symbol in any official NASCAR capacity. While NASCAR recognizes that freedom of expression is an inherent right of all citizens, we will continue to strive for an inclusive environment at our events." 

That is an official statement from NASCAR. Freaking NASCAR!

And that is after South Carolina's Governor Haley called for the flag's removal, Wal-Mart removed them from store shelves, and Mississippi lawmakers started the process to have it taken off of their state flag.

I swear it's like black is white, and up is down.

But you know in a good way.

Mississippi Republican lawmaker proposes removing confederate battle emblem from state flag and Wal-Mart removes Confederate flags from store shelves.

Courtesy of HuffPo:  

A top Mississippi lawmaker says the Confederate battle emblem is offensive and needs to be removed from the state flag. 

Republican House Speaker Philip Gunn said Monday that remembering our past is important, "but that does not mean we must let it define us."

And remember this is a top REPUBLICAN calling for this change. 

And now there is news that Wal-Mart is jumping on the bandwagon:  

Wal-Mart said Monday it is removing any items from its store shelves and website that feature the Confederate flag. In a statement, Bentonville, Arkansas-based Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said its goal is to not offend anyone with the products it offers. "We have taken steps to remove all items promoting the Confederate flag from our assortment — whether in our stores or on our website," the company said. "We have a process in place to help lead us to the right decisions when it comes to the merchandise we sell. Still, at times, items make their way into our assortment improperly — this is one of those instances."

You know it is not often that I want to be wrong about things, but I  have to admit that when I first started to cover this Confederate flag story I was skeptical that these stubborn southern folks would be willing to change.

But with Nikki Haley calling for the removal of the Confederate flag from statehouse grounds, and the two changes listed above, it looks like there is a real push by many to move past their historic racist past.

Well if I have to be wrong about something, this is exactly the kind of something that I want to be wrong about.

Nikki Haley to call for the removal of the Confederate flag from statehouse grounds in South Carolina. Update!

Courtesy of The Post and Courier:  

Gov. Nikki Haley will hold a news conference in Columbia at 4 p.m. today at which, sources said, she will call for the Confederate flag to come down from the Statehouse grounds. 

The move comes as lawmakers are exploring if the removal can be done legislatively in the coming days, tying their heightened attention to the recent shooting deaths of nine members of the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston.

Haley’s office would not confirm what the discussion would be. 

Lawmakers have an unfinished budget, but are considering using the current extended session to address wording that would remove the flag from the Confederate monument as part of the 2015-16 state spending plan.

Well as of right now it is not written in stone that the flag will be removed, and there will surely be a huge fight and political backlash, but I think that this news is somewhat encouraging.

Ultimately I believe that the flag will be removed.

Personally I like John Oliver's take on the Confederate flag controversy.

Update: Nikki Haley has now officially called for the removal of the Confederate flag:  

South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley called for the removal of the Confederate flag from the grounds of the state Capitol Monday, less than a week after a 21-year-old white man gunned down nine people at a historic African American church. 

Support for the flag to come down from leaders around the state and around the country has been steadily growing in the wake of the devastating attack. 

"Today, we are here in a moment of unity in our state, without ill will, to say it is time to move the flag from the Capitol grounds," Haley said during a news conference attended by Republican senators Lindsey Graham and Tim Scott, along with other state leaders. 

The announcement was met by applause and cheers from those in attendance.

"The announcement was met by applause and cheers from those in attendance." Okay, well that's a start. 

Surprisingly enough Mitt Romney takes a stand against the Confederate flag. The President tweets his response.

Take down the #ConfederateFlag at the SC Capitol. To many, it is a symbol of racial hatred. Remove it now to honor #Charleston victims.

— Mitt Romney (@MittRomney) June 20, 2015

This is how President Obama responded:

Good point, Mitt. https://t.co/Ryusfp8Xbh

— President Obama (@POTUS) June 21, 2015

See? Bipartisanship is possible when the response is obvious.

And the President was not done there either.

Here are the stats: Per population, we kill each other with guns at a rate 297x more than Japan, 49x more than France, 33x more than Israel.

— President Obama (@POTUS) June 21, 2015

Expressions of sympathy aren’t enough. It’s time we do something about this.

— President Obama (@POTUS) June 21, 2015

Well it looks like somebody is fired up and ready to go.

And as we saw yesterday, Hillary is right there with him.

Man, no wonder the conservatives are shitting bricks.