Ku Klux Klan robe to be auctioned on MLK's birthday

[Lefty48197]

http://www.freep.com/news/metro/robe8e_20050108.htm

Of all places, the robe was being displayed in a storefront in Howell, MI. For years, nearby Cohoctah Twp was home of Ku Klux Klan Imperial Grand Poobah John Miles. The Howell area was considered the midwest capital of the Klan up until Miles' death a few years back.
Today, many of the residents of the Howell area are embarrassed by their town's racist history. Unfortunately, the hate isn't entirely in Howell's past yet. I'm also sure it's just a coincidence that Howell's Livingston Co. is represented almost entirely by Republicans at just about every elective office.

"Robert Miles, former grand dragon of the Michigan Ku Klux Klan. Until his death in 1992, Miles lived just northwest of Howell in Cohoctah Township. His 70-acre farm was the scene of cross burnings and Klan meetings."

Apparently, the area IS starting to change. They now allow Mexicans:

"Nearly 96 percent of Howell's 9,232 residents are white, according to the 2000 U.S. census, but longtime residents say things are getting better.

"Has our diversity changed enormously? No. Has it changed somewhat? No. We are still predominantly white. I won't lie to you," said Pat Convery, a 20-year resident of Howell and president of the Howell Area Chamber of Commerce. "But when you're out and about, you see many ethnic types in the stores. We have a Spanish-speaking population in our schools"

[Liberty Belle]

1. Maybe this racist Repug will buy it... (thanks, genius!)

genius (1000+ posts) Sat Jan-08-05 11:12 PM


Original message

Poll question: Does Gonzales's history of bending the law to kill blacks in Texas and approving the torturing (to death in some cases) of Middle Easterners make him a racist?


Poll result (10 votes)
Gonzales is a racist (9 votes, 90%) Vote
Killing blacks and torturing Middle Easterners is not racism (1 votes, 10%) Vote

[Donald Ian Rankin]

2. While Gonzales may well be a racist,

(I'm from the UK, and I know very little about him) and is certainly a nasty piece of work, I still don't approve of the poll. Visibly not playing fair is just playing into one's opponents hands. The purpose would have been far better served by writing it as an argument.

Oh, and no, sentencing black people to death is not proof of racism. For that you would also need to demonstrate that the fact that he wouldn't have sentenced them if they weren't black. So both "yes" and "no" answers to the poll are probably correct if taken literally.

[Name removed]

3. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.