As the NYS legislative session continues past its scheduled end last week, the action is on the second floor, where Gov. Andrew Cuomo has his offices and the "three men in a room" meet. Also on that floor is a public exhibit on the 150th anniversary of the death of Abraham Lincoln, which I checked out when it opened in April. The highlight is a facsimile of the first version of the Emancipation Proclamation, in the president's handwriting except for pasted-in legislative language.
It was under the authority of that document that most American slaves were freed by the U.S. Army, culminating on Juneteenth. (The rest were liberated upon ratification of the 13th Amendment.) And 150 years later, to the credit of Nikki Haley and other South Carolina leaders, it looks like the Confederate flag will no longer fly at their Capitol.
So check out that moving piece of history if you're at the NYS Capitol -- and if you see our governor, urge him to hang tough for his education tax credit.
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