The Ghost of Bobby Lee – Ta-Nehisi Coates – The Atlantic

This isn’t about “honoring” the past–it’s about an inability to cope with the present.

Ta-Nehisi Coates on how – yes – the Confederacy was about slavery and any whitewashing of the past ignores both that truth and that much of the “honoring” of the Confederacy these days has more to do with the racism and fear of “others” in those suggesting that honoring treason is patriotic.

The Rachel Maddow Show – Just in time for the OKC anniversary, a new militia movement in Oklahoma

One of the most haunting and moving experiences I’ve had is visiting the Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial. It really hits you when you are there the depths of the hatred that live in some people’s souls. As a whole, Oklahoma once was unified in it’s opposition to violence as a means of political discourse. They had seen the face of evil and wanted nothing to do with it. The monsters that dwell in this trade are those like McVeigh.

The days of Oklahoma learning a painful lesson in the costs of violent extremism are apparently over.

Oklahoma has moved towards creating a traitor militia. I used to only be ashamed of having lived in Texas. Now chalk up Oklahoma to that list.

Honestly, watching Inhofe and Coburn over recent years has done the job, but this is beyond the pale. These folks – literally – should know better.