4/16: Was the Confederacy really about slavery?

Southern Political Report: John Tures: Was the Confederacy really about slavery?

"By now, you’ve probably heard all about that fuss over Confederate Heritage Month declarations in Virginia and Mississippi. It may make you wonder why the Southern States seceded. Was it really about slavery, or was that more of a side issue? Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell declared April to be “Confederate History Month.” According to David Paul Kuhn with realclearpolitics.com. “The proclamation recognized the ‘sacrifices of the Confederate leaders, soldiers and citizens during the period of the Civil War.’ It did not mention slavery.” According to “On McDonnell’s Confederate Mistake,” Kuhn’s article, “McDonnell explained the immense omission to The Washington Post: ‘There were any number of aspects to that conflict between the states. Obviously, it involved slavery. It involved other issues. But I focused on the ones I thought were most significant for Virginia.’”

"Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour defended McDonnell, having issued a similar proclamation. And Rev. Cecil Fayard, chaplain in chief for the national Sons of Confederate Veterans said “The War Between the States was fought for the same reasons that the tea party movement today is voicing their opinion. And that is that you have large government that’s not listening to the people, there’s going to be heavy taxation…And the primary cause of the war was not slavery, although slavery was interwoven into the cause, but it was not the cause for the War Between the States.”

"So I ran a hypothesis test to determine if states left the Union to join the Confederacy over slavery, or whether that was more of a side issue. I located the declarations of secession for four different states that were available: South Carolina, Georgia, Mississippi, and Texas." (More)

Also in the South:

ALABAMA: Report says Alabama should stop segregating prisoners with HIV

ARKANSAS: AG says judging constitutionality of health care law is not his job

FLORIDA: Gov. Crist's veto of merit-based pay a victory for teachers

GEORGIA: Thousands attend Tea Party rally in Atlanta

KENTUCKY: Gov. Beshear 'disgusted' - Legislative session ends without a state budget

LOUISIANA: Gov. Jindal to address another budget shortfall

MISSISSIPPI: State College Board votes to increase cost of room and board

NORTH CAROLINA: State's tax revenue projection drops by $788 million

SOUTH CAROLINA: Report card on state's schools shows little improvement

TENNESSEE: Day of Prayer ruled unconstitutional by federal judge

VIRGINIA: Commonwealth Institute says state budget raises taxes on the poor

If you have a news story about public policy to suggest, send an email to info@bettersouth.org

3/18: Report says most power plants still emitting toxic mercury

McClatchy: Report says most power plants still emitting toxic mercury

The nonpartisan Environmental Integrity Project reported that 10 plants with the highest amount of mercury emitted are in Texas, Georgia, Missouri, Alabama, Pennsylvania and Michigan. Alabama has one of the top five highest mercury emitting plants in the U.S., and Arkansas has two plants, ranked 32nd and 33rd on the list.

Coal-fired power plants are the largest source of mercury pollution, generating more than 40 percent of U.S. emissions. Mercury released into the air settles in rivers and lakes, where it moves through the food chain to the fish that people eat.

Mercury exposure can harm the brain development of infants and children. Each year more than 300,000 babies may have an increased risk of learning disabilities as a result of exposure to mercury before birth, the report said.

Also in the South:

ARKANSAS: Attorney General rejects proposals on recall, term limits

FLORIDA: Lawmakers seek tax breaks, fee cuts despite budget shortfall

GEORGIA: State's unemployment rate hits record high of 10.5%

KENTUCKY: Senate passes bill to block some drug offenders from buying cold medications

LOUISIANA: State officials make pitch to get federal school funding

MISSISSIPPI: State prison to stop segregating HIV-positive inmates

NORTH CAROLINA: A look at state guidelines on government e-mails

SOUTH CAROLINA: House approves 30-cent tobacco tax increase

TENNESSEE: State senate votes to approve fish, birds in barbershops

VIRGINIA: AG's office confirms state will sue over health care

If you have a news story about public policy to suggest, send an email to info@bettersouth.org