George Allen can't escape his past

Not sure if this is real or parody, but it reads like something out of The Onion - namely, a Confederate group is now blasting Allen for turning his back on the Dixie flag, and all that it stands for.

Allen's reversal irks supporters of Confederacy

But this time, it's not coming from the people who abhor the Dixie symbol. It's from the people who revere it.

State leaders of the Sons of Confederate Veterans have scheduled a news conference today to criticize Allen's recent remarks that the Confederate flag could be seen as a symbol of hate.

"George Allen was a good friend of ours, and we don't appreciate him turning on us to get out of political trouble," said Frank Earnest of Virginia Beach, commander of the Virginia division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans. "He's degraded us, the flag and our heritage."

... "All we're asking is that he cease and desist using the Confederate flag to get himself out of trouble," said Brag Bowling of Richmond, a member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans national Board of Directors. "The flag's too important to be turned into a political football."

Not sure that this particularly helps keep the story of how Allen is a racist out of the papers. If anything, it perpetuates a meme. Also, it is one of the funniest articles I have read in a long time. If satire, great job. If an actual story, I'm not sure how the reporter kept from cracking up while writing it.

And for your entertainment, Slate has created a hilarious George Allen insult generator. No, not something that makes up slights of George Allen, but one that allows you to pick a category that you belong to ("fat", "Indian", and "bald" are some) and it will spit out a George Allen customized zinger and subsequent nonapology-apology explanation. Via the always snarkalicious wonkette. Still gotta say, I think if anything, Wonkette has improved under Alex Pareene's tenure, and I didn't think it was possible. So thanks!