Thursday, March 28, 2013

Patriotic Brahmin Manhood Beneath a Surface of Froth and Scum


http://reflectionsgallerytn.com/images/troiani/barksdales_charge_lg.jpg
                                                          
   "Barkesdale's Charge"

On July 2,1863, Gen. William Barksdale's brigade, the 17th Mississippi, descended on the Union position in the Peach Orchard bordering Gettysburg's Emmitsburg Road.

 Frances Parkman was a militant New England war hawk who disliked the black man but considered the Boston aristocracy superior to the Southern leadership, though it must emulate the military expertise exhibited by Southern men.  The Brahmin class may have indeed been tested by the battles Parkman lists, but they were no great victories. At Ball’s Bluff, for example, Northern scouts mistook a row of trees as Confederate tents and the nearby 17th Mississippi delivered the Brahmins a severe thrashing while their regiments assaulted the “tents.”  
Bernhard Thuersam, Chairman
North Carolina War Between the States Sesquicentennial Commission
"The Official Website of the North Carolina WBTS Sesquicentennial"

Patriotic Brahmin Manhood Beneath a Surface of Froth and Scum:

“Parkman had always detested the abolitionists, and he had little concern for the Negro, but he was [Col. Robert Gould] Shaw’s cousin, and he took great pride in later years pointing this out to distant correspondents. One suspects, however, that he was almost ashamed that Shaw led Negroes [of the 54th Massachusetts], since he never mentioned this fact.  

[In] two letters [of November 1862], he further developed the odd propaganda line that the best way to whip the South was to emulate certain aspects of its civilization.  He went from praising the military education of the Southern aristocrat to praising his political education. Compared to the North, where an “organized scramble of mean men for petty spoils” had driven the better elements from politics, the South had made politics “a battleground” for the well-born, “where passion, self-interest, self-preservation, urge to [the most intense] action every power of their nature.”  This explained “the vigor of their development.”

By comparison, the education of Northern gentlemen had been too academic. Now, however, the war was altering the picture. The South, which had identified the North with three classes: the merchants, the politicians and the “abolitionist agitators” and therefore, with “extravagance, fanaticism and obstreperous weakness,” was learning how, “under a surface of froth and scum, the great national heart still beat with the pulsations of patriotic manhood.” In other words, they underestimated the ability of the Northern gentry to adapt to military life.

It was in his letter of July 21, 1863, published only three days after the death of Shaw,  that Parkman revealed most fully what was really on his mind. Repeating his charge that “the culture of the nation” had become a “political nullity,” Parkman referred specifically to the “Brahmin cast”, which had “yielded a progeny of gentlemen and scholars since the days of the Puritans,” but had “long since ceased to play any active part in the dusty arena of political turmoil.”

This class, however, had at last found an outlet for its energies. Brahmins had been tested in battle at places like Ball’s Bluff, Antietam, Fredericksburg, and Gettysburg and removed all doubts about their vigor and character. Pointing to the “necrology” of Harvard University” as an example to the nation, Parkman clearly suggested that the American people had no further excuse for rejecting the political and social authority of what was now a tried and true aristocracy.  Perhaps a patrician could finally say that the age of “ultra-democratic fallacies” was coming to an end.

There were very genteel New Englanders who professed to see the war as a vindication of democracy and egalitarianism.  Charles Eliot Norton and others claimed that their wavering belief in democracy had been revived by the proofs of obedience and endurance shown by the common people and by the Negroes in the struggle. 

It depended on the preservation of the model which had been suggested by the assault on Fort Wagner. If the “inferior elements,” whether Negro or white, consented to be led by “the best culture [of aristocratic New England],” then their rights were assured; if however, they struck out in directions of their own, democracy and equality might again be questioned.”

(The Inner Civil War, Northern Intellectuals and the Crisis of the Union, George M. Frederickson, Harper & Row, 1965, pp. 161-165)

Hagan 'Out Of Closet' on Gun Control

 

As Senate floor vote looms...

Despite media attempts to lure you to sleep by claiming demand for gun control is waning, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) plans to bring his new and more draconian "universal background check" bill, S. 649, to the Senate floor sometime after Easter. Make no mistake: "Universal background check" is gun control code speech for "universal gun registration," and would make you a criminal for something as inoffensive as leaving a gun at home with your spouse.

Equally premature are predictions that Sen. Dianne Feinstein's (D-CA) ban on semi-automatic firearms is dead. Reid has said he will allow a vote on the measure as an amendment to S. 649 -- potentially avoiding the requirement for 60 votes for "cloture."

MAIG Targets Hagan

Amid all of this, Michael Bloomberg's "Mayors Against Illegal Guns" (MAIG) is making a $12 million multi-state media push, including targeting our own Sen. Kay Hagan (D, GRNC 1-star). Why Hagan? Because her party affiliation and poor 64% pro-gun voting record while in the NC Senate predispose her to support gun control, but the tough reelection bid she faces in 2014 means a vote for gun control might cause her to lose the election.

So where does Hagan stand? Despite her claims to a hunting heritage and her assertion to constituents that she will not "unnecessarily" infringe on your Second Amendment rights, she has dodged the issue until recently, when she first went on record with leftist Chris Fitzsimon of "NC Policy Watch" in favor of some form of background checks. More telling, however, was a recent article in the "Greensboro News & Record," which said:
  • "U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan likes the idea of expanding background checks for gun purchases, but her vote on legislation nearing the Senate floor will depend on the details, her office said Tuesday."
  •  
  • Immediate Action Required

Alabama lawmaker's email: 'Slave-holding, murdering, adulterous, baby-raping, snaggle-toothed kin folk'

Via Billy

mitchell_j.jpeg

State Rep. Joe Mitchell, D-Mobile, had an outlandish exchange via email with a Jefferson County man who asked him and other lawmakers not to pass any laws that would restrict gun ownership.

Eddie Maxwell sent a mass email to state legislators at 10:54 p.m. on Jan. 27, warning them that even attempting to introduce a gun control bill was, in his opinion, a violation of state law.

Mitchell responded from his public, ALHouse.gov email account at 11:59 p.m., telling Maxwell:

"Your folk never used all this sheit (sic) to protect my folk from your slave-holding, murdering, adulterous, baby-raping, incestuous, snaggle-toothed, backward-a**ed, inbreed (sic), imported criminal-minded kin folk."

"That’s not the type of reply I expect to receive from a state legislator," Maxwell replied on Feb. 11.

"I’m not a racist and I find your reply to be especially offensive considering the position you hold."
Copies of the email exchange were provided to AL.com by state lawmakers who were included in the correspondence. The emails are printed below, edited only to remove the specific addresses.

Mitchell, who is black, did not respond to email and telephone messages from AL.com seeking comment this week. He told the Associated Press today that he was explaining that citizens who descended from slaves and were disenfranchised by the state constitution have a different view of history and the constitution than white citizens.

Maxwell, who is white, verified that he wrote the messages sent from his email address and said he was "surprised at the racial tones" in Mitchell's responses.

He said the exchange was the first and only contact he's had with Mitchell, who has served in the state House since 1994.

"It just makes me more determined that we the people need to stay involved," Maxwell said in a telephone interview today. "It's up to us as citizens to watch our government."

Maxwell, a retired coal miner, said he'd heard from two state lawmakers who told him they regretted Mitchell's comments. One of them was state Rep. Patricia Todd, D-Birmingham, who said in a Feb. 11 email to Maxwell that "this member hears you loud and clear."

"I just received this chain of emails and wanted to let you know that I am with you on the gun issue and am saddened by the tone of my colleagues email," Todd wrote, copying all members of the legislature, including Mitchell. "All of us have suffered from the racism of the past and I thank you for your civic and thoughtful response."

Maxwell said he hoped that legislative leaders would discipline Mitchell for his comments.

"I think (Mitchell) needs to be called in to face his actions. I think he at least needs to be questioned about it," he said.

 Here are copies of the emails, as provided to AL.com:

More @ AL

Charles Alan Dyer Innocent: Oklahoma Marine Still in Prison

Via walfred

 Valerie Dyer

  It only takes an accusation! Imagine spending years in prison for something you were accused of, but didn’t do. 

Now imagine yourself as a decorated Marine who has served his country during one tour in Japan, one tour in Iraq, been honorably discharged, and has never before been arrested for anything. Welcome to the world of Charles Alan Dyer of Duncan, Oklahoma.

Dyer’s unjust incarceration began on January 12, 2010 after his wife, Valerie Wylie-Dyer, allegedly falsely accused Dyer of molesting the couple’s then, 8-year-old daughter Hayley Dyer. Eight days later Mr. Dyer was formally charged with one count of Child Sexual Abuse and so began a trail of lies and legal malfeasance that would ultimately lead to Dyer being convicted and sentenced to 30 years in prison.

The alleged lies began with Valerie Wylie-Dyer approximately seven months before Mr. Dyer’s arrest when he was still in the Marine Corps and living in California and Valerie and Hayley were living in Oklahoma. This separation was reportedly agreed upon by both Dyer and Valerie as a way for the couple to save money for Dyer’s approaching discharge from the Marines. It was during this time of separation that Valerie reportedly began abusing prescription drugs to cope with depression and also began “drinking heavily”. It was also during this time that Dyer states that during a phone conversation with Valerie he found out, “my wife was cheating on me, doing drugs, and having group sex parties.” 


According to Charles Dyer, as a result of his wife’s admission, his growing concerns that she was an unfit mother intensified and he began to fear for Hayley’s safety. He then threatened Valerie with divorce and loss of custody of the child. In response, Valerie reportedly “vowed to do whatever it took, including lying, to maintain custody of her daughter.” According to records obtained, Valerie would later admit, on multiple occasions and under oath, “that she would do or say anything – including committing perjury to keep Appellant [Dyer] from attaining custody of Hayley.”

According to Dyer, around this same time, apparently in a panic over possibly losing Hayley, and to make good on her threat, Valerie called Dyer’s commanding officer to accuse her husband of threatening to kill both her and their daughter. Although Dyer was arrested and briefly held while an investigation was conducted, these initial allegations proved to be unsubstantiated and Dyer was released. 


More @ US Observer

I Remember, I Remember

 http://www.waterfordvillage.org/graphics/houses-views/marshallclaggett.jpg
 
I remember, I remember,
The house where I was born,
The little window where the sun
Came peeping in at morn;
He never came a wink too soon,
Nor brought too long a day,
But now, I often wish the night
Had borne my breath away!

I remember, I remember,
The roses, red and white,
The vi'lets, and the lily-cups,
Those flowers made of light!
The lilacs where the robin built,
And where my brother set
The laburnum on his birthday,—
The tree is living yet!

I remember, I remember,
Where I was used to swing,
And thought the air must rush as fresh
To swallows on the wing;
My spirit flew in feathers then,
That is so heavy now,
And summer pools could hardly cool
The fever on my brow!

I remember, I remember,
The fir trees dark and high;
I used to think their slender tops
Were close against the sky:
It was a childish ignorance,
But now 'tis little joy
To know I'm farther off from heav'n
Than when I was a boy. 
 
Thomas Hood

Senators touring border witness woman scaling 18-foot fence

 https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/ff/US_Navy_090317-N-5253T-016_Two_men_scale_the_border_fence_into_Mexico_a_few_hundred_yards_away_from_where_Seabees_from_Naval_Mobile_Construction_Battalions_(NMCB)_133_and_NMCB-14_are_building_a_1,500_foot-long_concrete-lined_dr.jpg/200px-thumbnail.jpg

Sen. John McCain and members of the bipartisan “Gang of Eight” tasked with carving out a comprehensive immigration package got a firsthand look at the difficulty involved in securing the U.S.-Mexican border when a woman literally climbed over a border fence right in front of them.

“Just witnessed a woman successfully climb an 18-ft bollard fence a few yards from us in #Nogales,” the Arizona Republican tweeted. 

Americans Are Migrating To More Free Republican States

 

Americans are migrating from less-free liberal states to more-free conservative states, where they are doing better economically, according to a new study published Thursday by the George Mason University's Mercatus Center.

The "Freedom in the 50 States" study measured economic and personal freedom using a wide range of criteria, including tax rates, government spending and debt, regulatory burdens, and state laws covering land use, union organizing, gun control, education choice and more.

It found that the freest states tended to be conservative "red" states, while the least free were liberal "blue" states

Obama Betrays Americans Again…with the Monsanto Protection Act

Via Teresa Sue


Of course, it’s hard to honestly expect President Barack Obama to do the right thing, but many people held out hope that he would veto the most dangerous food act ever to pass the US Congress.  After all, one of his campaign promises the first time around was to enforce the labeling of GMOs.  His wife has that famous organic garden on the White House lawn.  We can trust the Obamas, right?

Wrong.

Yesterday, that slender hope,  the hope that Obama might finally do something for the good of the people instead of the good of the special interest groups that donate heavily to his campaigns, was dashed.  Obama, once again, showed that he is for sale to the highest bidder – and this time that bidder is Monsanto.  Despite a petition that garnered over 250,000 signatures in just a few days, he signed the Monsanto Protection Act into law, completely ignoring the wishes of the people.  In fact, a press release has not even been issued by the White House to give the impression that the highly successful petition was considered.

Food Democracy Now has not given up the battle, however:

Civil War And The Litmus Test - "Will you shoot Americans?"

Via NC Renegade



Dr. Jim Garrow is a renowned author and whistleblower who has been nominated for a Nobel peace prize for his humanitarian work. He is the author of The Pink Pagoda: One Man's Quest to End Gendercide in China.

He has spent over $25 million over the past sixteen years rescuing an estimated 40,000 baby Chinese girls from near-certain death under China's one-child-per-couple policy by facilitating international adoptions. He is the founder and executive director of the Bethune Institute's Pink Pagoda schools, private English-immersion schools for Chinese children. Today he runs 168 schools with nearly 6,300 employees.

Dr Garrow was recently contacted by a high ranking military official who implored him to reveal the truth about a "litmus test" that is being proposed by the Obama administration to the military asking the question "will you shoot Americans if they won't give you their guns?"

For more info on the work of Dr.Jim Garrow visit: http://pinkpagoda.org

Pro-Gun Bills Filed In NC Senate



HB 17 & Restaurant Carry:

As you may know, on Thursday, Representative Larry Pittman (R-Cabarrus, GRNC ****) led a charge to return restaurant carry to HB 17 after it had been stripped from the bill in committee. With support from GRNC, including an alert to membership, Rep. Pittman challenged NC House leadership by attempting to amendment the bill on the floor.

Although the House had been scheduled to begin session at 12:30 PM, House Republicans delayed convening the session as negotiations continued. As information came in indicating that a fix might be in the offing in the Senate, HB 17 was displaced from the calendar to give more time for review.

After discussions over the weekend between GRNC and numerous current and former legislators, it was decided that sufficient time remains in the session to allow the Senate to either pass SB 342 for restaurant carry or to use other vehicles. Thus, in accordance with Speaker Thom Tillis' wishes, the onus for passing restaurant carry now returns to the Senate, where Senator Buck Newton (R-Johnston, Nash, Wilson, GRNC ****) has indicated willingness to move legislation. Please monitor future alerts on the issue.

Pro-Gun Bills Filed in NC Senate:

SB 342: "Amend Gun Laws"

As noted above, SB 342: "Amend Gun Laws," sponsored by Sens. Newton, Dan Soucek (R-Allegany, Ashe, Avery, Watauga, GRNC ****) and Jeff Tarte (R-Mecklenburg, GRNC ****), was filed last week using the same language for restaurant carry which died in HB 111 last year. The bill would also tighten the definition of "restaurant carry" being tortured by various municipalities in order to continue banning guns in parks in violation of our new law. GRNC recommends you contact your NC state senator and ask them to support the bill.

SB 410: "Enabling Heroes Act of 2013"

In a bid to join Vermont, Alaska, Arizona and Montana by bringing "constitutional carry" to North Carolina, GRNC has worked with Sen. Jeff Tarte to draft SB 410, the "Enabling Heroes Act of 2013." The bill would remove the current blanket prohibition on carrying concealed weapons, instead making it illegal to carry deadly weapons for illegal purposes. SB 410 would leave the concealed handgun permit system intact, however, for the purpose of carrying firearms in more "sensitive" areas such as educational properties.

Along with eliminating the requirement to obtain a CHP to carry concealed in the state, SB 410 also provides for CHP permit holders -- not just faculty members or marshals, as other proposals have -- to carry concealed firearms in educational properties, as well as preventing prosecution for inadvertent carry onto an off-campus extracurricular school event.

GRNC applauds SB 410's sponsors, Sens. Tarte, Andrew Brock (R-Davie, Iredell, Rowan, GRNC ****), Shirley Randleman (R-Stokes, Surry, Wilkes, GRNC ****) and Ron Rabin (R-Harnett, Johnston, Lee, GRNC ****), for boldly stepping up for the rights of all of North Carolina's gun owners. We must all do our part by letting our voices be heard and showing our support for this bill. We urge you to contact the NC Senate Leadership and your State Senator and let them know that you expect their full support in passing SB 410 in short order.


Janet Napolitano: Immigrants will change Arizona from red to blue

Via Daily Timewaster

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Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano says the influx of immigrants into Arizona will put this conservative stronghold into the hands of the Democratic Party.

The former Arizona governor predicted her state would turn blue in coming elections — just like Nevada, New Mexico and Colorado has gained in Democratic popularity, she said in a Christian Science Monitor report.

“Arizona will be behind them,” she said to reporters on Tuesday. “I think it will be more purple over time, but ultimately blue. … It’ll happen, I think. The fact that I could win three straight elections there, I think is indicative that Democrats can win and do win in Arizona.”

Ms. Napolitano attributed her prediction to the influx of immigrants into the state, the Christian Science Monitor reports.

McClellan: One last call to service – end military funeral honors

Via Your Crazy Uncle Bubba

 

Blithering idiot.

Marc Garcia is a trumpet player who moonlights as a bugler at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery. He plays taps at the end of graveside services. If you have ever been to such a service, you know that the haunting notes of the melody provide an emotional end to the event.

Garcia contacted me recently to say that he and his fellow buglers have been replaced by a battery-operated bugle.

He wrote in an email: “When I sound live taps, I put all my spirit and soul into all 24 notes that I play, and that’s the same spirit and soul that our veterans gave to this country while serving. And now they are going to get a fake bugle? A live bugler adds that very important touch for the military service. To me, our veterans deserve the real thing and it’s a disgrace to present them with anything else!”

More @ STL

Did Hillary commit perjury?

Via Cousin John

hillary-clinton

Did former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton commit perjury when she claimed in a Senate hearing that she did not know whether the U.S. mission in Libya was procuring or transferring weapons to Turkey and other Arab countries?

The goal of the alleged weapons shipments was to arm the rebels fighting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

Any training or arming of the Syrian rebels would be considered highly controversial. A major issue is the inclusion of jihadists, including al-Qaida, among the ranks of the Free Syrian Army and other Syrian opposition groups

During the recent hearings over the Obama administration’s handling of the Sept. 11, 2012, attack on U.S. facilities in Benghazi, Clinton was directly asked about alleged U.S. weapons shipments out of Libya.

Clinton claimed she did not know whether the U.S. was aiding Turkey and other Arab countries in procuring weapons.

The exchange took place with Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky.

More @ WND