Mississippi votes in favor of adopting new flag absent confederate battle cross

Another attempt to hide history

Mississippi has formally rebuked the confederate battle cross that once adorned its state flag. Voters cast their ballots in favor of Measure 3, a referendum adopting a new state flag featuring a magnolia surrounded by 21 stars signifying the states that joined the union before Mississippi, along with the words "In God we trust."

With 79% reporting, voters chose to adopt the new design by more than 69%, according to The Clarion Ledger. Mississippi had used a flag featuring the confederate battle cross for 126 years and was the last state to do so. Georgia changed its flag to remove the symbol in 2001.

A law signed by Governor Tate Reeves in July removed the flag from state buildings. Its removal came following the fatal police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, which sparked widespread protests and the reconsideration of leaving many Confederate monuments standing.

A subsequent contest saw thousands of entries from the public. A nine-person commission ultimately winnowed down the choices and picked the flag featuring the state flower, which was designed by Hunter Jones, Sue Anna Joe and Kara Giles.

This isn't the first time Mississippi has opted to reconsider its flag. A similar statewide referendum failed to pass in 2001.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/confederate-flag-removed-mississippi-votes-in-favor-of-adopting-new-flag/

New threats to Free Speech

As we’ve learned over the last four years, the threat to free speech doesn’t just come from government. We can also look at the odyssey surrounding Silicon Valley’s censorship. The attack by Facebook and Twitter on the New York Post was the high-profile breakthrough moment for many Americans, but it certainly wasn’t the first such transgression. Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia that could, ostensibly, be edited by anyone, has reportedly banned the use of conservative sources. And while Parler and Gab are among a number of potential Big Tech communications competitors, they don’t have nearly the reach of the mainstream social media companies.

That said, there exists another threat to free speech — one that doesn’t come from the halls of government power or a cubicle somewhere in Silicon Valley — that has to be addressed: the use of tech for the formation of mobs bent on sowing unrest or engaging in violence. One disturbing sign of the times is the formation of a MAPPING SITE that, according to Law Enforcement Today, will provide an online map with the names and address of donors to President Trump’s campaign. This goes further than even the actions of former San Antonio Mayor Joaquin Castro, who doxxed his political opponents but didn’t include a map.

If you think this sounds familiar, you’re right. Something similar happened in 2008 in the wake of California’s Prop 8, which upheld the age-old belief that marriage is between a man and a woman. One need not even have supported Prop 8 to be concerned about its implications for free speech. What happened after its passage, as related by The Heritage Foundation, is a potential preview of what could happen to Trump donors after the 2020 election. The chilling pattern of vandalism, boycotts, harassment at home and work, and even professional repercussions was aided by a customized version of Google Maps.

The ultimate goal of using such maps would, of course, be to intimidate Americans from taking part in the many public political debates that are the sign of a healthy republic — especially those that challenge the prevailing views of the Left. Needless to say, this is a dangerous development, a significant escalation from merely engaging in various smears.

Free speech is, obviously, crucial to our form of republican government. In conjunction with freedom of the press, it helps keep the peace by ensuring that Americans have the chance to engage with and persuade their countrymen in the marketplace of ideas. Nothing good can happen if this vital feature of the democratic process is infringed upon.

https://patriotpost.us/articles/74606-post-election-priority-one-protecting-free-speech-2020-11-03/print

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