Thursday, January 20, 2011

Remembering The Greatness of Lee

Remembering the Greatness of Lee

Mike Scruggs

January 19 was the birthday of Robert E. Lee, perhaps the most revered general in American history despite being on the losing side in an uncivil war. Lee’s brilliant military tactics were often successful against the substantial manpower and logistical advantages of his Union adversaries. Lee, however, considered his victories to be the result of the uncommon valor of his Confederate soldiers. Lee was, to be sure, an inspiring leader, but he was man of great humility, whose leadership style with his subordinates could best be described as a form of shepherding. Lee also attributed many of his successes to his dedicated lieutenant, Lt. Gen.Thomas H. “Stonewall” Jackson. The famed British Field Marshall, Frederick Sleigh Roberts, sometimes referred to as “Kiplings General,” because of Rudyard Kipling’s admiration for him expressed through the common British soldiers of his poetry, called Jackson “one of the greatest natural military geniuses the world ever saw.” Indeed, some of Jackson’s military achievements under Lee can only be described as spectacular. Both men were also well known for their sincere and dedicated Biblical faith. In fact, Lee had many subordinates who distinguished themselves in both faith and battle, but we do not have space to speak of them here.

Six Southern states—Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, and Virginia still celebrate Lee’s birthday as a state holiday in conjunction with the birthday of Martin Luther King. Yet in the last two decades, Lee’s memory has been slowly shoved aside in those and other Southern states. Much of this has to do with the demonization of Southern heritage by the establishment media, which too few elected officials in the South now have the courage to challenge. They have allowed the valor and character of Lee, Jackson, many other Southern leaders, and the Confederate soldier to be buried under the blanket of political correctness—the modern era’s totalitarian shackle on free speech. The great tragedy of this suppression is that our country has in recent decades fallen into a moral and spiritual tailspin. The whole nation desperately needs to recover rather than suppress examples of heroic courage and character.

Following Lee’s death at his home in Lexington, Virginia, on October 12, 1870, former Confederate President Jefferson Davis gave a eulogy of him at a memorial meeting in Richmond on November 3. This was probably the largest gathering of Confederate generals and officers since the end of the war. In the course of his speech, he gave this praise of Lee:

“This good citizen, this gallant soldier, this great general, this true patriot, had yet a higher praise than this or these; he was a true Christian.”

John Brown Gordon, Confederate Lieutenant General and later Governor and U.S. Senator from Georgia, said this of Lee:

“Intellectually, he was cast in a giant mold. Naturally he was possessed of strong passions. He loved the excitement of war. He loved grandeur. But all these appetites and powers were brought under the control of his judgment and made subservient to his Christian faith. This made him habitually unselfish and ever willing to sacrifice on the altar of duty and in the service of his fellows…He is an epistle, written of God and designed by God to teach the people of this country that earthly success is not the criterion of merit, not the measure of true greatness.”

When told that his chaplains were praying for him daily, Lee responded:

“I can only say that I am nothing but a poor sinner, trusting in Christ alone for salvation.”

Responding to public praise, Lee said,

“I tremble for my country when I hear of confidence expressed in me. I know too well my weakness, that our only hope is in God.”

In General Order Number 83, April 13, 1863, he wrote:

“Soldiers! We have sinned against Almighty God. We have forgotten His signal mercies, and have cultivated a revengeful, haughty, and boastful spirit. We have not remembered that the defenders of a just cause should be pure in His eyes; that our times are in His hands; and we have relied too much on our own arms for the achievement of our independence. God is our only refuge and strength. Let us humble ourselves before Him…”

To a friend who condemned the North at the end of the war, Lee said,

“I have fought against the people of the North because I believed they were seeking to wrest from the South dearest rights. But I have never cherished toward them bitter or vindictive feelings, and I have never seen the day when I did not pray for them.”

The self-appointed Political Correctness Police have tried to push Lee aside because of slavery, but they know neither Lee nor the real causes of the tragic Un-Civil War. Lee believed slavery was an evil influence on both master and slave and wanted to see an end to it. Before the war, Lee inherited some slaves from his father-in-law, but after assuring that they were able to prosper on their own, he freed them. Lee showed courtesy and respect for people regardless of rank or color and never spoke disparagingly of any race.

We need to bring Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson, and many other Southern patriots back to their place in American history. The survival of the whole nation depends on it.

Governor Christie's Dirty Islamist Ties

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Speedloaders Heaven
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"New Jersey, the Garden State, has just taken its first step toward becoming the Sharia State, with Governor Christie's nomination of Sohail Mohammed, an attorney to detained terrorist suspects, to a Superior Court judgeship in Passaic County. The Sohail nomination continues Christie's unfortunate pandering to the American Muslim Union and the Islamic Center of Passaic County."

Via Western Rifle Shooters Association

Classic! Have You Stopped Beating Your Wife Yet?

"Three-fifths to two-thirds of the federal budget consists of taking property from one American and giving it to another. Were a private person to do the same thing, we'd call it theft. When government does it, we euphemistically call it income redistribution, but that's exactly what thieves do -- redistribute income. Income redistribution not only betrays the founders' vision, it's a sin in the eyes of God."

-- Dr. Walter E. Williams

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Hi Mr. Blogger,

My name is Matthew Baskin and I work for the NPR program On Point with Tom Ashbrook. I’m writing to ask if you’d be able to speak as a guest on Monday, January 17. We’re looking for a gun owner and 2nd Amendment supporter who is not opposed to the forthcoming McCarthy bill re: limiting magazine capacity. I’d be very grateful if you could put me in touch with any gun owner who is not opposed to regulation. Let me know if anyone comes to mind. Thanks very much.

Best,
Matthew Baskin

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Good luck, dorkhead.

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irony2

Nightmare On 38th Street

Family Research Council

WARNING: The following story contains graphic descriptions.

What is "choice?" In Philadelphia, it's a doctor who takes rusty scissors and cuts into the necks of living, breathing babies. It's an inner-city torture chamber where "semiconscious, moaning women sat in dirty recliners and on bloodstained blankets." It's a filthy basement where "fetal remains filled bags, milk jugs, orange-juice cartons, and even cat-food containers" and "jars of severed [babies' feet]" sit on shelves. "Choice" is the house of horrors where 15-year-old high school students "perform intravenous anesthesia on patients" and "fetuses frequently clogged the toilet." It's the word that protects monsters like Dr. Kermit Gosnell, a man arrested yesterday for murdering newborn children and slicing open the women who delivered them. In his West Philadelphia "clinic," the hearts of thousands of babies stopped beating in rooms that "reeked of urine" and look more like combat zones than surgical centers.

After years of preying on poor women, Kermit Gosnell and his wife may face the death penalty, according to local officials. A 261-page grand-jury report was released yesterday from Philadelphia District Attorney's office, where Seth Williams says his "comprehension of the English language doesn't and cannot adequately describe" the nightmares detailed inside it. Testimonies like this one: "One premature infant wiggled around on a counter for 20 minutes before an untrained worker slit his neck--after first playing with him." Another employee said Gosnell joked about a baby writhing in pain: "'That's what you call a chicken with its head cut off.'"

The millionaire doctor raked in $15,000 a day--more than enough money to afford clean equipment and a trained staff. But, like so much of the abortion industry, his business wasn't about caring for women--it was about profit. And while the political arguments rage on, an outraged Williams says that it shouldn't matter what you believe about abortion. "There's more oversight for women's hair salons than for abortion clinics in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania," he said. Who knows how many other operations are out there, piling up tiny bodies in freezers while women lie helpless in their own blood? We may never know. Until America gets serious about protecting women with airtight regulations for abortion clinics, this is "choice." The kind our President condones, and our tax dollars allow.

Keeping The Liberties Of The People Safe

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"Richard Henry Lee of Virginia was elected President of the United States, in Congress Assembled November 30, 1784 serving until November 22, 1785."
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"The recent explosion in the reach of federal government, with far more proposed, has made the question of limits on federal power once again the central political issue. But despite the fact that our founders, who led our move to independence and shaped our Constitution, left us an extensive and invaluable record of their views on that precise issue, modern ignorance of our history severely impoverishes current discussions.

A good example of someone very important but overlooked in the debate we are currently rehashing is Richard Henry Lee, whose birthday is January 20."

The Arizona Shootings, The Second Amendment, And Aaron Zelman


WWII German MP 40 Full Auto "Machine Pistol"
Link

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"I just spoke last week to a packed house here in my home State of Montana (with more than 500 people in attendance who came out on a Tuesday night in sub-zero temperatures to hear me), and I would estimate that twenty percent of them (or more) were carrying their own personal side arms. I would pity the poor idiot who would have attempted to duplicate Loughner’s attack in that assemblage. Obviously, guns in the hands of the citizenry are far and away more of a deterrent to violent crime than a contributor to it."

Lee Strikes The Enemy’s 140,000 With 54,000 Men

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Remembering Robert E. Lee: A Week-Long Observance

North Carolina’s Legal Holiday Observes Lee’s Birthday January 19th

Dwight D. Eisenhower said of Robert E. Lee: “

General Robert E. Lee was, in my estimation, one of the supremely gifted men produced by our Nation. He believed unswervingly in the Constitutional validity of his cause which until 1865 was still an arguable question in America; he was thoughtful yet demanding of his officers and men, forbearing with captured enemies but ingenious, unrelenting and personally courageous in battle, and never disheartened by a reverse or obstacle. Through all his many trials, he remained selfless almost to a fault and unfailing in his belief in God. Taken altogether, he was noble as a leader and as a man, and unsullied as I read the pages of our history. From deep conviction I simply say this: a nation of men of Lee’s caliber would be unconquerable in spirit and soul. Indeed, to the degree that present-day American youth will strive to emulate his rare qualities…”

Lee Strikes the Enemy’s 140,000 with 54,000 men:

“There was a Confederate scout, Stringfellow by name, who on the 4th of May, 1864, the eve of the opening of that [Wilderness] campaign, reported himself to [General] Lee, when the following colloquy took place:

“Well, Captain Stringfellow, where do you come from?”

“From Washington, General.”

“What number of men has General Grant, and what is he doing?”

“He has about 140,000 men in front of you and is about to move on you.”

Without a moment’s hesitation Lee said: “I have 54,000 men up, and as soon as he crosses the river I will strike him.”

Grant crossed the Rapidan on the following day, and as soon as he was entangled in the Wilderness Lee struck him a staggering blow. In the four weeks’ campaign ending with Grant’s bloody repulse at Cold Harbor on June 2…Lee had put as many of Grant’s men out of action as he himself had under his command during the entire campaign – viz., 64,000.”

(Robert E. Lee, H. Gerald Smythe, Confederate Veteran Magazine, January 1921, pp. 6-7)


Via Bernhard
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Lee Strikes The Enemy’s 140,000 With 54,000 Men

Free Black Slaveowners In South Carolina

"To get the inestimable good that freedom of the press assures one must know how to submit to the inevitable evil it gives rise to."
--Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America, 1835
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Domestic slavery was quite common in West Africa, although the Europeans organized the trade to a much greater magnitude and value. Free black slaveowners resided in states as north as New York and as far south as Florida, extending westward into Kentucky, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Missouri. According to the federal census of 1830, free blacks owned more than 10,000 slaves in Louisiana, Maryland, South Carolina, and Virginia. The majority of black slaveowners lived in Louisiana and planted sugar cane. The majority of black masters had not been slaves themselves. Yet, the ranks of black slave masters were diverse: some acquired slaves as soon as they had accumulated enough capital after their own freedom, others received slaves with their own freedom from their white masters, and others had been free for several generations."

Via Billy
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Free Black Slaveowners In South Carolina

TUNISIA And OPEN SOURCE REVOLT

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"........ the conditions within which the revolt spread are becoming pretty common. Here they are:
  • Extreme price shocks in basic commodities. Food and energy.
  • Extreme corruption. A globally connected elite appropriating everything.
  • Extreme connectivity. Cell phones and other social media."