Thursday, March 18, 2021

Part One of a Two-Part Review of Robert E. Lee and Me


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 [Publisher's Note, by Gene Kizer, Jr. : I am honored to present Col. Jerry D. Morelock's review, below, as Part One of a two-part review of Ty Seidule's Robert E. Lee and Me. Next week will be Part Two, by me.

I was originally going to include Col. Morelock's review in one blog post, together with my own, but quickly decided his should stand on it's own.

Below, is Col. Morelock's bio followed by his excellent assessment of Robert E. Lee and Me.]

JERRY D. MORELOCK, PhD, Colonel, U.S. Army, ret., is a 1969 West Point graduate who served 36 years in uniform. A decorated Vietnam War combat veteran, his assignments included Pentagon tours on the Department of the Army staff and in the Strategic Plans and Policy Directorate, Joint Chiefs of Staff. His final active duty assignment was head of the history department of the US Army Command & General Staff College. An award-winning author, he has published several books and hundreds of journal and magazine articles. His books include Generals of the Bulge: Leadership in the U.S. Army’s Greatest Battle (Stackpole, 2015) and (as a contributing author) Pershing’s Lieutenants: American Military Leadership in World War I edited by David Zabecki and Douglas Mastriano (Osprey, 2020).

After Army retirement, he was Executive Director of the Winston Churchill Memorial & Library at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri (2000-2004) and is adjunct faculty professor of history and political science at Westminster. He was Editor in Chief of Armchair General magazine (2004-2015), and currently is Senior Editor/Senior Historian for three military history magazines.

More @ The Charleston Athenaeum

Honoring Calhoun

 

 

Editor’s Note: This speech was delivered before the Senate on March 12, 1910, at the dedication of John C. Calhoun’s statue in Statuary Hall at the United States Capitol.

Address of Mr. (Henry Cabot) Lodge, of Massachusetts, United States Senate, 1910

Mr. PRESIDENT: When the senior Senator from South Carolina (Mr. Tillman), whose illness we all deplore, did me the honor to ask me to take part in the ceremonies connected with the reception of the statue of Mr. Calhoun I was very much gratified by his request. In the years which preceded the civil war South Carolina and Massachusetts represented more strongly, more extremely, perhaps, than any other States the opposing principles which were then in conflict. Now, when that period has drifted back into the quiet waters of history it seems particularly appropriate that Massachusetts should share in the recognition which we give to-day to the memory of the great Senator from South Carolina. If I may be pardoned a personal word, it seems also fitting that I should have the privilege of speaking upon this occasion, for my own family were friends and followers in successive generations of Hamilton and Webster and Sumner. I was brought up in the doctrines and beliefs of the great Federalist, the great Whig, and the great Republican. It seems to me, I repeat, not unfitting that one so brought up should have the opportunity to speak here when we commemorate the distinguished statesman who, during the last twenty five years of his life, represented with unrivaled ability those theories of government to which Hamilton, Webster, and Sumner were all opposed.

More @ The Abbeville Institute

When will U.S. corporations finally close doors in China?

 Uyghur prisoners

While those mega-corporations show no signs of closing their China-based factories, a Gallup poll released just days ago found that 45% of Americans view China as our greatest threat. That number is more than double that same poll from last year, Fox Business reported.

Americans are waking up to China’s totalitarian threat to its own people and to the world, says a veteran of conservative politics, and it’s past time for greedy corporations to be held accountable for doing business with an enemy of our country.

China’s literal enslavement of its Muslim citizens was raised last week at a March 10 hearing by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. The commission not only discussed the Uighurs, who are routinely rounded up and imprisoned for their ethnicity, but commissioners also pointed out that U.S.-based companies, despite evidence of abuses, continue to do business with China and benefit from forced labor.

More @ ONN

Could We Spot China’s New H-20 Stealth Bomber Flying Over America?

Via Hal 


The H-20 could bring a new level of threat to the United States, for a number of reasons.


Here's What You Need To Remember: China appears to be preparing to unveil its new H-20 stealth bomber, an emerging platform expected to massively extend China’s attack range and present a rival platform to the U.S. B-2 and emerging B-21.

China appears to be preparing to unveil its new H-20 stealth bomber, an emerging platform expected to massively extend China’s attack range and present a rival platform to the U.S. B-2 and emerging B-21.

More @ The National Interest

The Greatest of All Leathernecks


His father insisted he learned the exploits of Nathan Bedford Forrest, under whom John’s uncle had served and died, and his father’s hero Robert E. Lee. Lee’s published early recollections were a bedside favorite of Ovide’s to read to young John. Ironically, Lejeune would follow Lee’s footsteps in retirement after his Marine Corps career in moving to Lexington, Virginia, and taking on the superintendence of the other school in town, the Virginia Military Institute.

A review of The Greatest of All Leathernecks (LSU Press, 2019) by Joseph Simon.

Anyone who has spent any amount of time in eastern North Carolina along the Atlantic shore or was blessed to wear the insignia of the United States Marines is well-aware of the name John A. Lejeune.  In this biography by Joseph Simon we are introduced to the history, background, and legacy surrounding the man who made the modern Marine Corps. The work follows a largely chronological pattern from Lejeune’s time growing up on a post-war plantation in Reconstruction ravaged Louisiana in the 1860’s and 1870’s to his days in the Great War and later time as Commandant where he would change not only the Marines and their place in American life, but the entire United States military for a generation. To give an example, if you have ever seen a recruiting poster with a hard-looking Marine, or a television commercial advocating “the Few, the Proud, the Marines” you can thank Lejeune. His effect was wide-ranging and profound. Lejune’s early childhood on the shores of the Mississippi River shaped who he would become as he brought victory at Blanc Mont and re-organized the Marine Corps from sea-going bellhops to the most elite amphibious force the world has ever seen.

More @ The Abbeville Institute

Calls for Biden White House to act on border crisis continue to grow

 Via David

 

With the White House failing to act on the current border crisis, several GOP lawmakers are now stepping in.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) are set to lead a Senate delegation to the southern border. The two senators announced they will accompany a group of lawmakers at the Rio Grande Valley next week to give them a tour of the border and hold a roundtable with local leaders.

The number of apprehensions at the U.S.-Mexico border is set to hit a record high.

More @ OAN

GoFundMe Aimed At Paying Off Harry And Meghan’s Mortgage Folds Over Lack Of Interest After Raising $101 (Not a parody)

 UNSPECIFIED - UNSPECIFIED: In this handout image provided by Harpo Productions and released on March 5, 2021, Oprah Winfrey interviews Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on A CBS Primetime Special premiering on CBS on March 7, 2021. (Photo by Harpo Productions/Joe Pugliese via Getty Images)

A GoFundMe, set up to help Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, pay off the $14 million mortgage on their Montecito, California, home, has folded after less than a week.

An alleged Harry and Meghan mega-fan set up the fund after hearing of the couple’s financial troubles in their interview with Oprah Winfrey. Memorably, Harry, who has a trust fund from his mother worth millions and was, previously, supported by a generous grant from his father, Prince Charles’ estate, complained that he and Meghan had to find paying jobs in order to afford private security and their modest home.

More @ The Daily Wire

Cycles of History Ignored – Canceling History

 1933 Berlin Book Burning

Historians have incessantly warned us not to disregard the lessons of history lest we repeat failures that could have been avoided.  Nevertheless, humanity has habitually and often flagrantly ignored past mistakes regardless of how costly or disastrous.  History, however, teaches us the valuable lesson that not everyone disregards the past.  Evil never sleeps.

In ancient times, when a people or nation was conquered, the new rulers obliterated the history of the vanquished.  Prior to the availability of printed books, history was passed from one generation to the next orally, on handwritten scrolls, or carved in stone on monuments and shrines.  The conquering armies routinely destroyed statues, sanctuaries, tombs, and any physical trace of the previous civilization.  

 More @ Doctor Dan's Freedom Forum

Head of Black farmers association wants apology from Graham, accountability from Vilsack


 Via Cousin John "I want to know when my money is coming"


“If you’re a Black farmer, your loan will be forgiven up to 120 percent of your loan … if you’re African American (or) some other minority,” Graham said. “But if you’re [a] white person, if you’re a white woman, no forgiveness. That’s reparations.”

The head of the National Association of Black Farmers is calling on Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., to apologize for referring to relief money from the American Rescue Plan as “reparations” and separately asking new Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to prove himself to Black farmers for letting them down when he had the same role during the Obama administration. 

John Boyd, who grows soybeans in southern Virginia, told the PBS NewsHour he is optimistic about the $5 billion in relief targeted for farmers of color. Boyd, who helped found the National Association of Black Farmers in 1995, detailed his own experiences with discrimination, including seeing his loan application torn up and being spat upon by a federal loan officer. 

More @ PBS