Saturday, March 3, 2018
A Long Farewell: The Southern Valedictories of 1860-1861
This essay was originally published in Southern Partisan Magazine, 1989.
As we conclude bicentennial celebration of the drafting and adoption of the Constitution of the United States, it may be hoped that we have finally arrived at the proper moment for looking back and appreciating the importance of those even more heated discussions of the document which occurred in the nation’s capital during what Henry Adams called the “great secession winter” of 1860-1861.
Those exchanges took place in an atmosphere dramatically colored by contemporary disputes concerning the origins, true meaning and continuing authority of that fundamental law as do the equivalent conversations of our day. For the relation between current arguments and those of one hundred twenty-eight years ago is direct and unmistakable. The connection is one which reminds this generation of the special status of the Constitution as symbol and sovereign authority over us: as the structure/process/compact to which all Americans swear allegiance in place of king or people.
For Southerners the moment for this retrospection is even more propitious in that many of our countrymen are now, as never before, prepared to penetrate the curtains of their own inherited mythology, and discover in the process how prescient our Southern forefathers were in predicting what would happen once they gave up on “the Union as it was, the Constitution as it is.” The paradox which I here explore—as significant now as it was when South Carolina seceded in December of 1860—is the one defined in March of that year by Senator Robert Toombs of Georgia when he asserted to his fellow senators that it would be “treason to the Constitution” to “maintain a political connection between the sections” once the predicate for that connection had been “annulled” or “overthrown.” What, we must ask, are the present implications of this position vis a vis the Constitution which the South, through the official statements of its emissaries to the United States Senate, assumed in the very act of separating itself from its sister commonwealths above the Old Surveyors’ Line?
For, contrary to what we are taught by the most recent generation of radical historians, secession was about the Constitution, a positive commentary or reading. And. as Southerners took pains to specify, not a rejection of it.
More @ The Abbeville Institute
David Hines: How the Left Runs Psyops On Allied and Enemy Americans
Via WRSA
...
Active opponents are against you, and fighting you.
Passive opponents are against you, but they're not fighting you.
Neutrals are neither against or for you.
Passive allies are with you, but they're not fighting for you.
Active allies are with you and are fighting for you.
...
The point of spectrum of allies analysis is figuring out who you can move one notch. Who can you move toward you? Who can you move away from your enemy? And how do you make sure you don't push people away from you?
The way spectrum of allies analysis works is: you categorize people and groups by where they stand in relation to you and your target on whatever issue you're working on...tweets below are taken out of tweet format and just printed as normal text, in blockquotes. But they come from David Hines (@hradzka on Twitter).
...
Active opponents are against you, and fighting you.
Passive opponents are against you, but they're not fighting you.
Neutrals are neither against or for you.
Passive allies are with you, but they're not fighting for you.
Active allies are with you and are fighting for you.
...
The point of spectrum of allies analysis is figuring out who you can move one notch. Who can you move toward you? Who can you move away from your enemy? And how do you make sure you don't push people away from you?
More @ Ace of Spades
Italy fed up with migrant invasion
Via Billy
The main leaders of the right wing coalition likely to win Sunday’s
Italian legislative election (L-R: Giorgia Meloni, Silvio Berlusconi and
Matteo Salvini) at a joint press conference in Rome, Thursday.
Millions of Italians head to the polls this weekend for an election which could have far-reaching consequences for both Italy and the EU, in a vote seen by some as the historic nation’s last chance to change course from a disastrous trajectory.
Flooded by spectacular waves of migrants from Africa and Islamic world, drowning in public debt and suffering from the consequences of widespread economic malaise, frustration and anger are the order of the day among jaded Italian voters, sentiments that an array of anti-establishment and populist parties hope to capitalize on as voting day arrives.
Beyond economic gloom, immigration has been the dominant issue of the campaign, expected to sweep nationalist parties to prominence in a right-wing coalition which polls predict will form the next government.
Millions of Italians head to the polls this weekend for an election which could have far-reaching consequences for both Italy and the EU, in a vote seen by some as the historic nation’s last chance to change course from a disastrous trajectory.
Flooded by spectacular waves of migrants from Africa and Islamic world, drowning in public debt and suffering from the consequences of widespread economic malaise, frustration and anger are the order of the day among jaded Italian voters, sentiments that an array of anti-establishment and populist parties hope to capitalize on as voting day arrives.
Beyond economic gloom, immigration has been the dominant issue of the campaign, expected to sweep nationalist parties to prominence in a right-wing coalition which polls predict will form the next government.
More @ The Gateway Pundit
How many airline passengers does it take to kill a $40 million tax break for Delta Air Lines? Only 13.
The Georgia legislature removed a
jet-fuel tax break from a larger tax package Thursday. Lawmakers were
upset that Delta, which is headquartered in Atlanta, dropped the
National Rifle Association from a discount-fare program in an effort to
appear neutral on gun policy.
After the firestorm,
Delta will review all its marketing programs to avoid those that might
become political, CEO Ed Bastian announced Friday.
But
the airline said only 13 passengers ever bought tickets with an NRA
discount. That translates into each discount costing the airline about
$3 million in tax breaks.
More @ USA Today
Contradictions In Seth Rich Murder Continue To Challenge Hacking Narrative
As rumors swirl that Special Counsel Robert Mueller is preparing a case against Russians who are alleged to have hacked Democrats during the 2016 election - a conclusion based solely on the analysis of cybersecurity firm Crowdstrike, a Friday op-ed in the Washington Times by retired U.S. Navy admiral James A. Lyons, Jr. asks a simple, yet monumentally significant question: Why haven't Congressional Investigators or Special Counsel Robert Mueller addressed the murder of DNC staffer Seth Rich - who multiple people have claimed was Wikileaks' source of emails leaked during the 2016 U.S. presidential election?
Mueller has been incredibly thorough in his ongoing investigations - however he won't even respond to Kim Dotcom, the New Zealand entrepreneur who clearly knew about the hacked emails long before they were released, claims that Seth Rich obtained them with a memory stick, and has offered to provide proof to the Special Counsel investigation.
More @ Zero Hedge
The New York Times publishes a politically biased and inaccurate ‘fact check’ of Trump’s gun remarks
Via Billy
Fact checks by the media ought to be factual. The New York Times failed to do this with an error-filled piece that
incorrectly claims President Trump “peppered his remarks with
inaccurate facts about mass shootings and gun policy” Wednesday in a
meeting with members of Congress.
I have a bit of a personal stake in
this, as President Trump was using arguments that I have been making for
many years in my earlier academic research at universities on gun
control laws and public safety and in my role as founder and president
of the Crime Prevention Research Center.
More @ Fox
PA Radio Host: Trump Steel Tariffs Could 'Mean a Lot' After Decades of 'Jobs Disappearing'
A Pennsylvania radio host praised President Trump's new steel trade policy, which enacted tariffs on foreign imports of the material.
However, he warned that the "nuances" of any new trade policies should be fully examined by experts.
Harrisburg's R.J. Harris recounted the rich regional history of metallic manufacturing throughout the Keystone State, saying that the new policy could be the shot in the arm the struggling industry needs.
Harris pointed out that manufacturing in once-bustling steel towns like Pittsburgh, Steelton, Aliquippa and Bethlehem has slowed over the years.
More @ Fox
Mike Huckabee booted off CMA Foundation Board -- Conservatives need not apply
Via Billy
The message country music fans received this week is
that if you share Huckabee’s conservative political views there’s no
room for you in country music.
Huckabee was right when he said “hate won” this week, but this isn’t the end. There are countless conservatives and people of faith in this country, and now more than ever we are very well aware that our beliefs are under attack.
Former Arkansas Gov. and GOP presidential contender Mike Huckabee – long an advocate for music and the arts – was forced to resign
from the Country Music Association Foundation Board Thursday, less than
a day after being appointed, because of backlash against his
conservative views.
Country music, once an inclusive
industry that welcomed conservatives and people of faith, has now become
an exclusive, politically correct group, indistinguishable from the
rest of the entertainment industry.
More @ Fox
Overwhelming Majority Of Studies Find That Gun Control Policies Don’t Work
An analysis of thousands of gun control studies claims that just 63 of those studies found connections between more stringent gun control laws violent crime and suicide reductions.
The non-profit RAND corporation spent two years and $1 million on the analysis, searching for evidence of benefit from gun control policies. RAND’s analysis looked to establish connections between gun policies and rates of homicide, suicide, self-defense gun use, hunting, and other categories. The vast majority of those categories went unaffected by legislation, however, according to NPR.
More @ The Daily Caller
Trump to Sign Taiwan Bill Opposed by Beijing
President Donald Trump is expected to sign into law new legislation opposed by China that calls for increasing high-level visits with Taiwan, according to administration officials.
The president could sign the measure into law in the coming days, said officials familiar with the issue.
The action has set off a vigorous internal debate between White House advisers who favor conciliatory policies toward China and others pushing for tougher trade and security policies toward Beijing.
A White House spokesman said he had no announcement on the legislation
.More @ The Washington Free Beacon
Zogby: Trump Approval 48 Percent, Millennials Grow
A new nationwide Zogby poll of likely voters showed President Donald Trump's job approval standing at 48 percent, with his popularity growing among millennials, where he registered an approval of 50 percent, as opposed to voters age 65 and up, where he came in at 44 percent.
More @ News Max