The Bridge to the Future is Closed

This is what we have in Virginia right now: real cultural collision with a huge dash of irony.

The sign, at left, is up at the Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) letting everyone know that the office will be closed today for "Lee-Jackson Day." I took this picture with my cell phone earlier this week.

What the hell is Lee-Jackson day??

Lee-Jackson Day is the day Virginia closes down State Government to celebrate the day that two slavery-loving Virginia Generals, Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson, rose up in armed insurrection against the United States Government.

In their quest to preserve slavery and divide the nation, they and their armies killed scores of thousands of good American boys who sought to preserve a nation and secure freedom for all.

And please don't try to tell me differently.

I know what the Civil War was about; I'm from Virginia, and live less than a mile from Robert E. Lee's ancestral home. I dig my dogs on what was once part of the Antietam battle field. The soil of my state has not been watered by revisionist political theories; it has been watered by human blood, sweat and tears.

You will also note that the DMV will be closed on Monday, which is Martin Luther King's birthday.

Martin Luther King's birthday is the day Virginia closes its office buildings as a kind of pantomime that the state ever cared about civil rights except in opposition to the idea.

A popular Virginia state bumper sticker says that "Virginia is for Lovers," but as late as 1967 the state was before the U.S. Supreme Court in Loving v. Virginia (yes, more irony) arguing that a black woman should not be allowed to marry a white man and vice-versa.

You want to Remember the Titans? Well I do. I went to high school during that period of time, and only a few miles away.

So don't try to tell me that all of this is ancient history.

Tuesday, of course, the DMV will also be closed, as it's the inauguration of Barack Hussein Obama as President of the United States.

And yes, I add the middle name to make a point: If you care about crap like that, you are the kind of biggot we need a lot less of in this country.

There, I said it. Now go away.

On Tuedays, Washington D.C. is expecting over two million visitors from out of town.

Virginia, always a paean to sensibilities and sensitivities is closing all the bridges between the state and Washington, D.C.

They are saying it is to help "control traffic," but you will pardon me if I think it's really just to discourage participation in the festivities. If people can "catch queer," no doubt some politicians in Virginia think they might be able to catch other stuff -- like civil liberties.

No matter. My folks live in the City, and the Mall is an easy bicycle ride from my house. I will be there, with Bruce Springsteen and the rest.

This Virginian, at least, will represent.
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