"As a member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, I have been to their gatherings. I spoke at the 2001 SCV convention in Lafayette, La. The Military Order of the Stars and Bars presented me with a battle flag and a wooden canteen like the ones my ancestors carried."

-- Patrick J. Buchanan, defending the Confederate Flag.

I did not realize Mr. Buchanan's deep rebel roots. It does amuse me how deeply patriotic sorts such as he do so much to defend those who committed treason against the U.S. government. [Well, surely, they did so technically, right?] I am actually sympathetic to the overall tone of the article, but isn't there a certain disconnect to displaying the flag of a defeated nation (aka the Confederacy) on the statehouse of a state in the United States of America? Y'all fought that battle already, bravely it's true, but you lost it all the same. I reckon some of the states in the Southwest should fly a Mexican Flag underneath the Stars and Stripes, since they too fought the good fight, against foreign invaders that supported slavery and conquest.

But, then again, we don't usually display the flags of countries we fought against on property of a state of the United States of America, even if they did so courageous, and their descendants still live among us. I understand the cultural messages the article speaks of, but (maybe it's the Yankee in me) it still seems a tad bit strange.

....

An interesting argument in support of Wes Clark. BTC News today also had a couple interesting links to contrasting analysis of this intriguing candidate.