Creating a More Perfect Union

 

The Confederate Constitution represented an important effort to better incorporate sovereign State principles into the organic law, and repair the failings of the original document.  The Confederate preamble omitted the “general welfare” clause “which had been used to add imperial powers to the United States Constitution,” and it referred very pointedly to sovereign and independent States. 

Bernhard Thuersam, Chairman

North Carolina War Between the States Sesquicentennial Commission

"Unsurpassed Valor, Courage and Devotion to Liberty"

www.ncwbts150.com

"The Official Website of the North Carolina WBTS Sesquicentennial"

Creating a More Perfect Union

“Jabez Curry was a deputy from Alabama to the Convention of the Seceded States which met at Montgomery on February 4, 1861.  [Jefferson] Davis said: “The Constitution formed by our Fathers is that of the Confederate States, in their exposition of it; and in the judicious construction it has received we have a light which reveals its true meaning.” 

Curry participated in the creation of this fundamental document.  He said the Constitution was an object of veneration.  Attachment to it was akin to idolatry.  Curry noted, with great pride, that the United States Constitution was the work of Southern statesmen, adding that “the Federal government, the creature of the Constitution, had been shaped and administered for years, by Southern men.”

In the deliberations to create a permanent Confederate Constitution, the convention looked to the history of the United States to find the weaknesses and failings of the original.  Alexander Stephens said of the men who put this new instrument together: “They were men of substance, of solid character, or moral worth, versed in the principles and practices of government, and some of them were amongst the first men of the continent.”

Curry emphatically claimed that the Confederacy was not dissatisfied with the United States Constitution, only with its administration; and its avowed purpose was to restore its integrity and secure its faithful observance with a goal of taking away from the majority in Congress unlimited power.  He described how this was achieved:

“Every possible infringement upon popular liberty, or upon State rights, every oppressive or sectional use of the taxing power, was carefully guarded against, and civil service reform was made easy and practicable.  Stubborn and corrupting controversies about tariffs, post offices, improvements of rivers and harbors, subsidies, extra pay, were avoided.  The taxing power was placed under salutary restrictions. 

Responsibility was more clearly fixed.  Money in the treasury was protected against purchasable majorities and wicked combinations.  Adequate powers for a frugal and just administration were granted to the General Government. The States maintained their autonomy, and were not reduced to petty corporations, or counties, or dependencies. 

The study of the Confederate Constitution would be useful at present, as there was never a time when the need for restrictions and guarantees against irresponsible power was more urgent.  The public mind has been schooled against any assertion of State rights or of constitutional limitations, and taught to look with aversion and ridicule upon any serious attempt to set up the ancient landmarks.”

The Provisional Constitution was no mere interim makeshift document. It represented a serious effort to incorporate Southern State rights principles into organic law.”  

(Destroying the Republic, Jabez Curry and the Re-Education of the South, John Chodes, Algora Publishing, 2005, pp. 32-33)

13 Southern Sayings That The Rest Of America Won't Understand

Via SHNV

 

 Language discrepancies naturally arise in different geographic regions, like the raging “pop” vs. “soda” debate.

But the South undoubtedly takes the cake.

Conversations south of the Mason-Dixon line will befuddle anyone not born there.

We chose 15 of the most ridiculous (to a Yankee) Southern sayings — and tried to explain them.

More @ Business Insider

Comment concerning the blathering of another know it all Yankee

Via SHNV 

 

Why Do Conservative Southerners Loudly Insist That Kids Be Taught Lies about the Civil War?

Jum1801  

 

One of the major causes of the war, and among the chief motivating factors behind the deep Southern commitment to the fight evidenced by the widespread volunteerism of the so-called "Southern yeoman" who owned no slaves and had no stake in slavery, was the smug presumption to moral and even spiritual superiority of so many in the North, abolitionists and New Enlganders in particular. The stench of condescension and hypocrisy was particularly foul to Southerners of the day, which is not surprising since so many of them were of "Scots Irish" descent and within at most three generations of having escaped the grinding poverty and horrific political oppression of a Great Britain which reviled them. So the South as a whole tended to have a chip on its shoulder about anything which smacked of the establishment, entitlement or the upper class. In short, the North. You can't continually insult a man - or a region - and pretend surprise when he wants to step outside with you.

This is a casus belli which has been routinely overlooked by Northern commentators, many of whom today persist in the same offensive, contemptuous behavior which came so naturally to their forbears, particularly academics. As self-identified members of the elite and claimants to membership in the intelligentsia, they were representatives of that entitled class which led the North, and as such were simply incapable of recognizing their own egoism, prejudice and presumption. These representatives of the Northern elites were far more likely to understand Swahili than they were to grasp what it meant to live a Southerner's life, and to understand the factors which formed his character and personality.

As I noted, that same egotistical presumption and condescension is today routinely seen in the intellectual heirs of those elites who were so contemptuous of the South both prior to the North's military invasion and afterwards, when the South was crushed and humiliated for generations, unlike any other foe defeated by the United States. The most smug and condescending attitudes often come from academics, who rely on the same insulting behavior and presumptuous attitudes when speaking of today's South and its inhabitants. Often these academics retain the same smug pretensions of moral superiority as did their forbears. And, just as their forbears, they can exhibit a truly breathtaking hypocrisy and shocking degree of willful moral blindness, by praising as military geniuses and heroes men who intentionally made war on civilians, which included the same acts of barbarism, brutality and outright terrorism for which Nazi and Imperial Japanese generals were ignominiously hanged. Just think of the vanity necessary to accomplish such a neat intellectual trick.

Yes, such attitudes are still encountered today, when the same kind of moral egotists speak in terms of "lies" and "myths" on which Southerners "loudly" "insist". Because Southerners don't just have a different opinion - they're not even merely in error. No, they're perverse. Immoral. Evil. The familiar smug, scornful and patronizing words. And informed by the same narcissism and moral blindness which afflicted those who went before them.

Catching Wild Rabbits using Snakes

G-Code/HSP D3 Carrier System

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Mauser 98 Bolt Action Rifle, 8x57, German K98K Rebuilt

 

$249.95 @ J&G

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'Secede' Billboard in Tallahassee, Florida

  RedShirtArmy

Biggest Teachers Union Slams Common Core

 

The National Education Association, America’s biggest teachers union, is now taking back its once-enthusiastic support of Common Core. These academic standards have experienced a terrible rollout, something similar to Obamacare!

More @ Townhall

GoPro: Hovercraft Deer Rescue

Union Members Indicted for Burning Down Quaker Church

Via avordvet

 

The federal government on Tuesday indicted multiple union members for burning down a Quaker church in 2012.
 
Ten members of a Philadelphia ironworkers union face charges of arson and racketeering in connection with a fire against the church, which was employing non-union workers.

“Ironworkers Local 401 [was charged] with allegedly participating in a conspiracy to commit criminal acts of extortion, arson, destruction of property, and assault in order to force construction contractors to hire union ironworkers,” the FBI said in a press release. “Specifically, the indictment charges RICO conspiracy, violent crime in aid of racketeering, three counts of arson, two counts of use of fire to commit a felony, and conspiracy to commit arson. Eight of the 10 individuals named in the indictment are charged with conspiring to use Ironworkers Local 401 as an enterprise to commit criminal acts.”

More @ The Washington Free Beacon

Is Ann Coulter now turning on Ted Cruz?

 

Screw her.

First conservative icon Thomas Sowell turned on Ted Cruz, now it appears that Ann Coulter is souring on the Texas Republican as well.

Sowell published two columns this week slamming Cruz for being self-serving. Coulter praised the first of Sowell’s columns in a tweet Wednesday.

Later, in an appearance on Fox News’ “Hannity” Wednesday night, Coulter doubled down on her praise of Sowell’s anti-Cruz column: ”I never push anyone else’s column but mine. Today everyone has got to read Thomas Sowell’s article.”

More @ The Daily Caller

Video: Detroit mom repulses home invasion

More @ Bearing Arms

Girl Scouts chief threatens pro-life groups: Warns of legal action for reporting link to Planned Parenthood

 

The Girl Scouts of the USA has sent threatening letters to pro-life groups that have highlighted the youth organization’s cooperation with abortion-industry giant Planned Parenthood.

The editor of the pro-life news website LifeNews, Steven Ertelt, said he has been threatened with legal action for “articles that outline alleged ties to Planned Parenthood,” reported Breitbart News.

In a letter from Girl Scout executive Brian Crawford, Ertelt was told that the Girl Scouts organization has an obligation to protect its name and insisted it “does not have a partnership or any relationship with Planned Parenthood and does not intend to initiate one.”

WND, however, has documented the links between the Girl Scouts and Planned Parenthood.

In an interview with NBC in 2004, for example, Kathy Cloning, CEO of the Girl Scouts, admitted the group “partners with Planned Parenthood across the country to bring information based sex education programs to girls.”

More @ WND

Black attack: Robbing, stabbing, shooting, arson: 3 white victims dead after Detroit mayhem

 

 IQ: 78?

Four black people are in jail in Detroit for robbing, stabbing, shooting, torturing and killing three white people. Then burning down their house and stealing their car.

Police arrested the suspects last week when they found the murder victim’s car at one of their homes, along with bloody clothing and ID from the victim. In addition to charges for murder and arson and robbery, at least one of the suspects was charged with possession of heroin.

“The nature of the wounds were horrific, all three victims were stabbed multiple times,” said Sgt. Michael Woody of the Detroit police. “In addition, the fire had been obviously set to cover up what turned out to be a brutal murder in an attempt to destroy potential evidence.”

Two of the victims, Larry and Nicholas Bowman, were father and son. Family friends sought out the comments section of local news stories to talk about the crime.

“These pieces of s–t killed my friend and his father,” said Jimi Dowling at the Detroit Free Press. “Larry Bowman has two more sons, one is autistic.”

More @ WND

Group puts Confederate flag on Georgia specialty tag

Via Steve

Georgia officials have once again approved a specialty license plate featuring the Confederate battle flag, infuriating civil rights advocates and renewing a debate among those who believe the symbol honors Confederate heritage and those who see it as racially charged.

The Georgia division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans requested the new plate design, and the Georgia Department of Revenue recently approved it. The group's old plate had a small Confederate battle flag. The new one features an additional, larger image in the background that covers the entire plate.

Spokesman Ray McBerry said the group meant no offense and views the plates as a way for people to honor their heritage.

"We believe that everyone has the right to preserve their heritage," he said. "Southerners have as much right to be proud of their heritage as anybody else."

More with video @ Yahoo

Eric Holder Can't Explain if Constitution Allows Obama's Executive Actions

Via Billy

Attorney General Eric Holder flubbed a question from Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) that is of vital importance to the rule of law.

While the Constitution allows – and sometimes requires – executive action on many matters, President Barack Obama has asserted executive authority in unprecedented ways. When Lee asked why one of Obama’s orders does not violate the Constitution, Holder – the chief legal officer of the nation – had no answer.

During a Senate oversight hearing, Lee asked Holder by what legal authority Obama suspended Obamacare’s employer mandate, which covers all companies with 50 or more employees. Holder admitted that he had no ready answer, that there were legal memos on this subject, but that he could not recall what they said. Lee sharply criticized this lack of an answer and requested that Holder provide to the committee copies of the legal memos making the case for Obama to be able to do this.

Video shows the details of the exchange, in which Holder said the President was on the strongest footing of taking action that changes the law governing the country.

More @ Breitbart

Truce Broken - At least 50 Dead As Ukraine Protests Re-Ignite - Live Feed

Via Johnathan

At least 50 are dead, according to Reuters, and hundreds injured as fresh fighting broke out in central Kiev this morning breaking the apparent truce that was in place last night. Who is to blame is up for discussion but of little import in the end as the death toll mounts and live ammunition is being used by the police. A Ukrainian presidential statement said dozens of police were killed or wounded during the opposition offensive hours after Yanukovich and opposition leaders had agreed on a truce... Other witnesses said they saw government snipers firing into the civilian crowds during the clashes.

The Protesters reportedly captured police...

More @ Zero Hedge

Troops left to fend for themselves after Army was warned of flaws in rifle

Via WiscoDave

Army Senior Warrant Officer Russton B. Kramer, a 20-year Green Beret, has learned that if you want to improve your chances to survive, it’s best to personally make modifications to the Army’s primary rifle — the M4 carbine.

Warrant Officer Kramer has been dropped into some of the most ferocious battles in the war on terrorism, from hunting Islamists in the mountains of northern Iraq to disrupting Taliban opium dealers in dusty southern Afghanistan. He was awarded the Silver Star for his bravery in Operation Viking Hammer to crush the terrorist group Ansar al-Islam in Iraq.

The warrant officer said he and fellow Special Forces soldiers have a trick to maintain the M4A1 — the commando version: They break the rules and buy off-the-shelf triggers and other components and overhaul the weapon themselves.

“The reliability is not there,” Warrant Officer Kramer said of the standard-issue model. “I would prefer to use something else. If I could grab something else, I would.”

More @ The Washington Times

NC: 'You're playing with a loaded gun:' Heroin use on the rise

Via NC Renegade

Rocky Mount, N.C. — Heroin addiction is on the rise across the nation and in North Carolina, according to law enforcement and health experts, who say the recent death of Oscar-winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman is a reminder that the drug knows no age or wealth limits.

From high school students to Hollywood actors, heroin has become a go-to drug for many because it is often cheaper and easier to get than prescription painkillers. In Vermont, Gov. Peter Shumlin devoted his entire State of the State address to drug abuse, saying that, in the past year, heroin overdoses there have almost doubled.

"In every corner of our state, heroin and opiate drug addiction threatens us," Shumlin said. "It threatens the safety that has always blessed our state. It is a crisis bubbling just beneath the surface that may be invisible to many, but is already highly visible to law enforcement, medical personnel, social service and addiction treatment providers, and too many Vermont families."

In North Carolina, especially the eastern part of the state, law enforcement officials say they are experiencing a surge in heroin that hasn't been seen in decades, especially among high school students.

“We’re arresting a lot of people who are 18, 19, 20, 21 years old who are supporting their own addiction by selling heroin,” said Lt. Dennis Wooten, with the Nash County Sheriff’s Office. “We’ve seen a lot of brown powder heroin, and our numbers have grown astronomically over the last four years.”

More with video @ WRAL