11.   As the November elections near, candidates are planting their virtual battle flags in record numbers across cyberspace.

12.   At stake is whether its battle flag will continue to wave over the copper-clad dome of the South Carolina Capitol.

13.   A friend of mine once found herself embroiled in a bitter argument over the Confederate battle flag.

14.   A private school in Greenville fired him from his job as an American history professor because he refused to remove a small battle flag from his desk.

15.   A Union private captured the banner, along with another battle flag from the same regiment.

16.   Alexander, Dole and Forbes all said the Confederate battle flag was entirely a matter for South Carolina.

17.   Bush also refused to demand that South Carolina take down the Confederate battle flag that flies over the state Capitol.

18.   But in recent decades the Confederate battle flag has been used primarily as a symbol of resistance to civil rights and full equality for black citizens.

19.   But the issue really began flaring up in Texas and nationwide after the NAACP urged Americans to boycott South Carolina until it removes the battle flag from its Capitol.

20.   City officials in Jackson, Miss., also removed the Confederate battle flag from its buildings.