Restaurant owner says nearby Confederate flag is hurting his business

A Confederate flag flies high above a South Carolina restaurant.

Some customers hate it, including the restaurant's owner, but he says he can't do anything about it.

A broad stretch of John C. Calhoun Drive is flanked by two unambiguous landmarks. And each, in its own way, signifies exactly where you are.

On the right, a sign welcoming you to Orangeburg, South Carolina, population roughly 13,000. More than three-quarters of the population is black. On the left, a confederate flag.

The flag flies atop this pole, right next to the sign for the Edisto River Creamery.

By now, you know the flag's divisive history and seemingly everyone in Orangeburg has an opinion about the flag at the ice cream shop.

And what does the owner of this restaurant have to say?

"That flag needs to be moved and if there's any possible way that I can do it, it's going to be done," Tommy Daras said. "Right now, we're gridlocked."

To understand why Tommy Daras cannot remove the flag you need to know about Maurice Bessinger.

Politician, activist, and founder of Maurice's Piggie Park chain of barbecue restaurants across central South Carolina.

In a 2008 interview with Newsweek, Bessinger showed off his collection of Confederate memorabilia that filled his restaurants. He was a fierce defender of states' rights and segregation. In his 2004 autobiography, Bessinger called the Civil Rights Act "unconstitutional" and the Supreme Court ruling that integrated public schools a "really bad" decision.

And in 2000, when this happened at the South Carolina state capital.

"I raised the flag out here on the flagpole to protest the taking down of our heritage flag," Bessinger said.

Maurice Bessinger died in 2014. Of the flags outside his stores, Bessinger wrote "there they will stay. I will fight on because this is what God wants me to do."

A year after his death, Tommy Daras and his wife bought the Orangeburg location from Bessinger's children, but not all of it.

Before Bessinger died, he sold the tiny bit of land surrounding this flagpole, a little more than three-thousandths of an acre, for just five dollars to the Sons of Confederate Veterans Camp 842.

"And we've been trying ever since to honor, honor the Confederate soldier," said Buzz Braxton.

Braxton is commander of the group's eighth brigade and a member of Camp 842.

"He put it in the hands of people that he trusted because he loved his confederate ancestors and his confederate history just like we do. So, there was nothing sinister," Braxton said.

Initially, Daras accepted the flag and the nearby marker. But that changed weeks after his grand opening, the group flew a larger flag in the aftermath of the 2015 church shooting in Charleston where Dylann Roof killed nine church members after calling for a race war.

"From that day forward, all hell broke loose for me," Daras recalled. "My windows were broken out, by phone was ringing off the hook, my employees were harassed. I was fist-fighting with people in the parking lot. Everyone in town assumed it was my property because it looks like it's attached to this building."

Maurice Bessinger's battle for the flag rages on. Daras has hired a lawyer.

The sons of confederate veterans say they're ready.

The attorney for the ice cream shop's owners says that corner is zoned for commercial use and the flagpole and marker are should be moved because they've violating the zoning rules. The city has rejected that approach. The attorney plans to appeal.

Police arrest black teens at the National Mall. Their crime? Selling water

While the violent crime rate in D.C. continues to soar above the national average, the U.S. Park Police appear to have other priorities.

Three plainclothes police officers went undercover at the National Mall to bust three young black teens on Thursday as they were breaking the law in our nation’s capital. Their crime? Selling water bottles without a permit for some extra cash.

 Yes, these young people were arrested for “vending on the National Mall,” and according to police, they were detained and handcuffed for “the safety of the officers and of the individuals.” The story went viral on Friday after a tour guide named Tim Krepp tweeted photos of the officers and turned it into a lesson on race.

“My kids sell water and everyone smiles at them,” Krepp wrote. “These kids do it and get arrested. It IS racist.” He later added, “God forbid the actual free market be allowed on our National Mall. There’s obviously a racial disparity in how they are treating these young men and other vendors that we see on the mall.”

Of course, the mainstream media jumped on this, and one local politician even lashed out.

Democratic D.C. Councilmember Charles Allen responded by asking the police chief to explain why the officers decided to handle the incident with such severity. “While still the same violation of selling a beverage without proper permits and licenses,” Allen wrote. “I doubt we would have seen little girls in pigtails handcuffed on the ground.”

While these officers had every right to enforce the (pretty dumb) law, they might have benefitted from some discretion in how they handled the situation. In the age of smartphones and social media, anti-police activists have more tools at their disposal than ever before, and more ways to propagate their narrative. Couldn’t they predict that the image of three white police officers arresting three black, unarmed kids might make headlines? Is arresting people for selling cold water really worth it?

Town Seeking 'Termination' Of Employee Who Posted Hate Speech On Video Of Muslim Teen

A Town of Babylon employee faces disciplinary action after he posted profane hate speech on a Facebook post highlighting the accomplishments of the Lindenhurst High School Class of 2017 salutatorian.

The Lindenhurst School District posted a video (watch it at the bottom of this story) on Facebook Thursday morning featuring salutatorian Yasmin Zohny along with co-valedictorians Sofiya Yanyak and Ziad Sabry. The video was shared to a local Facebook group in the afternoon. A few minutes later, Andrew Vita posted two comments under the video. Both directed vile hate speech toward Zohny, who is Muslim.

"This type of hateful language has no place in our society, let alone in our Town of Babylon workforce," Babylon Town Supervisor Rich Schaffer said of Vita, who has been employed with the town's Department of Public Works since 1985. "Mr. Vita will be subject to disciplinary action, particularly if records show these offensive statements were posted during work hours."

Vita's comments were quickly deleted by the admin of the Facebook group, but screenshots of his comments have spread across town and unleashed a torrent of support for Zohny, particularly from fellow members of the Lindenhurst Class of 2017, which will graduate on Friday evening. 

"I am completely and utterly disgusted that Andy Vita has commented such disgusting things on a post celebrating our salutatorian Yasmin Zohny," Paige McDonald told Patch in an email. "She is indeed Muslim and wears a hijab. I can promise you she is the SWEETEST person you'll ever meet and today on Facebook she was attacked for being Muslim."

Another member of the Class of 2017, Shannon McCann, called Zohny "kind, generous, caring and compassionate." McCann said Vita should be fired immediately.

"We need to step up and denounce these unspeakably hurtful people from our workforce in order to maintain a peaceful and safe environment for all," McCann said. "Yasmin has worked diligently and consistently her entire schooling career, inside the classroom and out, and she deserves to see this action be condemned."

Schaffer said Vita, who made $78,577 in 2016, will be "mandated to apologize in-person to this impressive young woman and go through sensitivity training so that we can determine the cause of the hate-driven anger he displayed in his posting."

Schaffer also said he will personally be offering Zohny, who will attend The University of Texas at Austin in the fall, a paid internship with the Town of Babylon if she does not already have plans for the summer.

Sahil Kapoor, another Lindenhurst High student and a friend of Zohny's, told Patch that he's faced "many racial comments" himself as an Indian-American in a family of Indian immigrants. 

"It is one of the worst things a human can face," he said.

Top 10 quotes from PM Modi's address to the US Indian diaspora in Virginia

Here are the top quotes of PM Modi at the event: 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is on a two-day official visit to the US, on Sunday addressed the Indian diaspora near here in Virginia.

Here are the top quotes of PM Modi at the event:

1/ When India talked of terrorism 20 years back, many in the world said its a law and order problem and didn't understand it. Now terrorists have explained terrorism to them so we don't have to.

2/ When India did surgical strikes the world experienced our power and realized that India practices restrain but can show power when needed.

3/ When growing aspirations of people are given right leadership, they turn into achievements.

4/ Through technology driven governance we are creating an 'Adhunik Bharat'.

5/ Govts in India have been ousted due to corruption; in the last three years no one has been able to put any such charge on us.

6/ Transparent policies of our government have create an environment of trust among the people.

7/ I can see that every Indian wants to contribute towards India's development. India is progressing at a record pace today.

8/ The Indian diaspora rejoices when there is good news from India, it wants India to scale newer heights.

9/ I promise that I will fulfill all your dreams of making India as good as US.

10/ When I meet you all I experience the kind of joy one feels while meeting his/her family. You fill me with new energy.

Words of Wisdom for Every Man (7 pics)

Great advices. 

How Banning Alcohol Can Change Your Looks (5 pics)

40 year old Laura Hogarth regularly drank 15 units of alcohol per week, which equates to around 5 large glasses of wine. As part of an experiment, she stopped drinking altogether for four weeks. Here are the dramatic results seen in her appearance.

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4: In the fourth and final week you can see just how much Laura’s appearance has improved since she stopped drinking.

Week 1 VS Week 4

Potatoes: Good, Bad or Fattening?

Potato Health Benefits

1. Protection from Heart Disease and Cancer
Potatoes contain flavonoids. With protective antioxidant activity, flavanoids protect against cardiovascular disease, respiratory problems and certain cancers.

2. Rival Greens for Phenol Activity
They contain equal or higher amounts of certain phenols than broccoli, spinach or brussel sprouts.

3. High in B Vitamins for your Brain & Athletic Performance
One cup of baked potato contains 21 percent of the daily requirement for B6. B vitamins are essential for growth, your nervous system and cardiovascular health.

Potatoes also contain significant amounts of folic acid, which is essential for pregnant women.

4. Contain Resistant Starch
Many vegetables contain small amounts of resistant starch but potatoes that have been cooked and then cooled down have high amounts. Resistant starch’s benefits are similar to that of fiber, meaning you’ll stay fuller longer and with less calorie consumption.

Since resistant starch acts like fiber, it is either poorly digested or not digested at all. This lowers the glycemic index of potatoes, which is normally higher than white sugar, (averaging 70 – 110) down to reasonable levels of 25-72!  Bring on the potato salad!

5. High in Vitamin C
Who would have thought! Vitamin C is the key to healthy skin. 

Potato Health Concerns

1.  Potatoes are part of the nightshade family
Nightshades have varying amounts of alkaloids, compounds produced by plants to prevent themselves from insects and disease.

Potatoes don’t have high amounts of alkaloids like the 3 powerful nightshades (mandrake, tobacco, belladonna).  IF YOU ARE SENSITIVE to alkaloids, even potatoes could cause a reaction. The level of alkaloids varies greatly depending on the variety of potato and how it is produce and handled

Hey maybe that’s why I don’t like potatoes. I also don’t like tomatoes and eggplant, two other nightshades.

Note: Green potatoes (caused by exposure to the sun) have large amounts of alkaloids as do the sprouts. Therefore avoid green potatoes and cut out the sprout and its eye before use.

2. Fried potatoes contain acrylamide, a neurotoxin and possible carcinogen.
Fried, potato chips and French fries are a greater risk of acrylamide exposure than any other food.  One single ounce snack-sized bag of potato chips contains 20% of the maximum safe intake of dietary acrylamide as established by the EPA. Most people consume a lot more than one ounce.
Suggestion: Baked potato chips are safer with less oil.

3. Commercial potatoes contain high amounts of pesticides.

Potatoes are one of the “Dirty Dozen” group of twelve foods that contain the highest level of pesticides. You can avoid this in your own cooking by just buying or growing organic. As for potato products, assume that all potatoes not in your control (like those in French fries and chips) fall in the “dirty” category.

4. Most potatoes are monocultured
Although there are thousands of varieties of potatoes, most of the potatoes we eat are monocultured.
Monocultures destroy the genetic diversity of the planet and are susceptible to possible disease. The potato blight of the Irish was caused because they all ate a single species of potato which happened to be susceptible to a certain disease.

Suggestion: Look for colored potatoes; the insides have more nutrition. 

Potatoes & Weight Gain

Many people are scared of potatoes because they are OBVIOUSLY a carbohydrate and as a culture we are now scared of carbohydrates because we all want to lose weight!

The truth is that a potato is MOSTLY water so if you don’t eat too many you will not take in too many carbohydrates or calories.

The second consideration is their high glycemic index, which is higher than white sugar, ranging from 80 – 110.  Again, potatoes are not that dense so the glycemic load from an average serving of potatoes is actually not more than any other carbohydrate.

The study that got me thinking about potatoes was a large population study of 120,887 people whose eating habits and weight gain was analyzed over four years.

The average of all types of potatoes for weight gain was more than any other food group studied, which included meat, processed meat, sugary beverages, sweets and desserts and dairy products.

This average was only high though because it contained the category of potato chips and French fries. The weight gain from boiled, baked, or mashed potatoes at (0.57 lb) was only a fraction compared to potato chips (1.69 lbs) and French fries (a whopping 3.35 lbs).

You didn’t need a study to tell you that potato chips and French fries are fattening. Many potato products are NOT a weight loss food like fruits & leafy vegetables but that just means you don’t overeat.