Should Mississippi honor Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest by giving him a special license plate? Probably not, no. But the Mississippi Division of Sons of Confederate Veterans seems to think it would be a good idea, having proposed a commemorative Forrest License plate for 2014 as part of a series of license plates that "mark the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, which it calls the 'War Between the States.'"

And, yes, people who call the Civil War the "War Between the States" should not be making decisions about anything, ever, and yes, Forrest was a war criminal and a terrorist. But, God, there is something sort of demeaning and sad about being on a commemorative license plate, isn't there? It just makes us think—go for it, Sons of Confederate Veterans! Put Grand Wizard Forrest on the back of a thousand Ford F-150s! Right next to the pro-life bumper stickers and above the Truck Nutz! Congratulations, you have marked the 150th anniversary of the Civil War by commemorating the life of a racist traitor in the most aggressively banal way possible!

Ultimately, though, we mostly agree with state NAACP president Derrick Johnson, who said, on the record, "Seriously? Wow." Not that it matters:

State Department of Revenue spokeswoman Kathy Waterbury said legislators would have to approve a series of Civil War license plates. She said if every group that has a specialty license plate wanted a redesign every year, it would take an inordinate amount of time from Department of Revenue employees who have other duties.

Kathy Waterbury, what other duties could the Mississippi Department of Revenue possibly have?

[AP]