Civil War for the day

Rico says no pictures today, but some good news, courtesy of his friend John Robinson:

Senator Mary Landrieu, Democrat from Louisiana, nd fellow Democratic Senator Jim Webb, of Virginia, have introduced the Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission Act of 2009 "to establish a commission to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Civil War," a release from her office states. "We must remember the legacies of the Civil War," Landrieu said. "The United States emerged completely altered after the four years of struggle, and as a testament of American resilience, grew stronger than it was before. The cultural and political ramifications still shape the American landscape today. It was in the era of Reconstruction that Congress adopted the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments to the Constitution, acknowledging black Americans as free and equal citizens of the United States. The Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission Act of 2009 is about preserving that memory."
As someone with ancestors who fought on both sides of the nation's bloodiest war, and a veteran himself, Webb said it has special significance for him. "It is important that all Americans are aware of the many sacrifices made, by soldiers and civilians alike, for which we emerged as a stronger, more diverse and free nation because of these sacrifices," he said. "The intention of this commission is to ensure the proper recognition of the sesquicentennial and builds on my other legislative efforts to support educational and preservation efforts for this turning point in American history."
It is the latest of a series of efforts to remember a war that still divides Americans of all races and political leanings. In 1996, Landrieu's predecessor, Senator J. Bennett Johnston Jr., sponsored legislation that called for the start of planning for the Civil War sesquicentennial and named the U.S. Civil War Center at LSU and the Civil War Institute at Gettysburg College as the co-facilitators. Later, Virginia was added to the mix of planners.
Earlier this decade, former U.S. Representative Jim McCrery, Republican from Shreveport, and some two dozen other members of Congress have attempted, without success, to pass legislation creating a U.S. Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission.
Planning for the national centennial of the war, observed from 1961 to 1965, began in 1957. It competed with Sputnik being put into space by the Russians, the Cuban missile crisis, the assassination of a president and the beginning of the Vietnam War. But the centennial still became a tourist draw, with a national commission directing activities, an esteemed figurehead in Ulysses S. Grant III, 34 state commissions creating brochures and pamphlets and 300 city commissions coordinating activities. None of that was in evidence before 1957, though.
The Landrieu-Webb proposed commission would consist of 25 members drawn from government, business and academia, and would be charged to develop and carry out programs to ensure suitable national observance of the anniversary.
It also would work with state and local governments, as well as various organizations, to assist with commemoration activities and ensure that remembrance occurs at every level.

Rico says the gummint can try and play catchup, but he's been planning his own Sesquicentennial for quite some time now...