• 38% of Mississippi GOPers wish the South had won source

• » There’s more: If you include the 41% that’s undecided, you get a whopping 79% of Mississippi Republicans who aren’t quite ready to throw their support behind Abraham Lincoln circa 1861. Also, 9% of African Americans in the state aren’t sure whether they like the NAACP more than the KKK; surely, this is the result of a typo, or some sort of methodological error, or perhaps a psychoactive pollutant in the drinking water. Oh well; at least 54% of the state agrees that interracial marriage shouldn’t be illegal. That’s right, a whole 54%!

• He said: ‘There are things I regretted in my youth; you may – you may know that.’ And I said: ‘None of us are absent some regrets, senator. That’s why we enjoy and seek the grace of God.’
• President Barack Obama • Giving the eulogy at Sen. Robert Byrd’s funeral in Charleston, West Virginia on Friday. He further noted that his indiscretions were made up for over time. “As I reflect on the full sweep of his 92 years, it seems to me that his life bent towards justice,” he said. Bill Clinton also spoke a little too, noting his KKK affiliation directly – he was the only speaker that did. But then again, a black president spoke at his funeral. So that’s definitely something to be said about the power of redemption. source

• Say what you will about Robert Byrd – career politician bar none, former KKK member – but he made it through health care. It probably took a lot out of him to make sure health care had his 60th vote, but he made it. Despite certain GOP members suggesting they hoped he missed the vote, he still made it. In a lot of ways, the endeavor speaks more of his career than anything else – a fighter, a guy who got beyond his racist past to have a heck of a second act. Some highlights:

• 9number of times he was re-elected to the Senate (totally unprecedented)

• a racist past, moderatedMaybe in another era, Byrd’s early association with the KKK may have been a career-killer, but many (many) apologies and the passage of time ultimately moderated his views on civil rights. It wasn’t instant – he famously filibustered the Civil Rights Act of 1964 – but the effect was lasting.
• Propping up West VirginiaByrd used his power in the Senate to help build jobs and infrastructure in a state that had little of both when he first started. To some, he earned the nickname “the prince of pork,” but to West Virginians, he was seen as a savior who was voted to both chambers of both the state and federal legislatures.
• A senate leaderByrd ultimately became much more than simply a West Virgina senator – first chairing the Appropriations committee, then later becoming Majority Whip, and spending two separate spans as Majority leader. “A leadership role is different,” he said, “and one does represent a broader constituency.”

Robert Byrd, in his own words

• It has been my constant desire to improve the lives of the people who have sent me to Washington time and time again.
• Sen. Robert Byrd • From his 2005 autobiography, “Robert C. Byrd: Child of the Appalachian Coalfields.” Say what one will about Byrd, but he’s always held up this part of the bargain for West Virginia. West Virginia has responded in kind, naming 30 federal projects after the senator. The state also voted him back into office by wide margins. If anything, he’s proof that a man with a controversial past can be moderated. He’ll be missed. source

• The good side Jim Burwell, a mechanic, was famous in Detroit as a businessman who was apparently color-blind. He helped out those in the community – especially the poor – who needed it. He gave generously to Detroit’s Black Panther party.
• The guy
• The evil sideYears after his death, it came out that Burwell was a top-ranking Klansman, a revelation which shocked many. “A whole lot of black people considered him their friend,” said civil rights activist Ron Scott. source