Mullins McLeod ready to take Confederate Flag down

Posted by Greg Hambrick
Thu, Nov 19, 2009

As the topper on a job proposal, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mullins McLeod said Thursday that the state needs to bring down the controversial Confederate Flag on the Statehouse grounds and put it in a museum where it belongs. The whole debate sends the wrong message about South Carolina, McLeod said.

"The Confederate Flag debate continues to hold our state back," he said. " We are not going to compete in a 21st Century economy by prolonging 19th Century arguments."

The flag debate has been on the back-burner for nearly a decade after the flag was removed from the Statehouse dome and placed in front of the building. Some have argued that the move, which was pitched as a compromise, placed the flag in an even more prominent spot. The flag was first placed on the Statehouse in 1963 in the midst of the Civil Rights movement.

But the flag resolution is a novel accessory for a larger jobs-creation pitch. McLeod is also calling for an impartial analysis of state jobs data, middle-class tax relief, improved training resources (particularly in rural areas), and a focus on green jobs.

© Copyright 2009, Charleston City Paper

On The Web:   www.charlestoncitypaper.com/RockBottom/archives/2009/11/19/mullins-mcleod-ready-to-take-confederate-flag-down

 

11/16/2009

U.S. Supreme Court Puts an End to High School Valedictorian's Fight to Defend Right to Speak Freely About Her Christian Beliefs at Graduation

"This is a sad day for the cause of freedom. When the Supreme Court cannot clear their calendar to hear a case of this magnitude, then our freedoms are in jeopardy. Such censorship and discrimination should not be permitted in America."-- John W. Whitehead, The Rutherford Institute

WASHINGTON, DC -- The United States Supreme Court has refused to hear the case of a high school valedictorian whose microphone was turned off by school officials after she began speaking about the part her Christian beliefs played in her success in life. Attorneys for The Rutherford Institute had asked the Court to hear the case of Brittany McComb, charging that school officials violated McComb's free speech rights and engaged in viewpoint discrimination when they censored her speech because of its Christian content. The Court issued the order denying the petition without additional explanation.

"This is a sad day for the cause of freedom," said John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute. "When the Supreme Court cannot clear their calendar to hear a case of this magnitude, then our freedoms are in jeopardy. Such censorship and discrimination should not be permitted in America."

In the spring of 2006, Brittany McComb was one of three valedictorians chosen based on their grade-point averages to give a speech at Foothill High School's annual commencement ceremony. Each valedictorian was provided with "suggestions" for crafting their speeches. However, school officials neither encouraged nor forbade the students to include or exclude religious content from their speeches.

In her speech, Brittany reflected on past experiences and lessons learned at school and wrote about the emptiness she experienced from accomplishments, achievements and failures in her early high school years. She then mentioned the fulfillment and satisfaction she later came to experience in something greater than herself, namely, in God's love, and Christ. Upon receiving a copy of Brittany's draft speech, school administrators proceeded to censor her speech, deleting all three Bible references, several references to "the Lord" and the only mention of the word "Christ."

Believing that the district's censorship of her speech amounted to a violation of her right to free speech, on June 15, 2006, Brittany attempted to deliver the original version of her speech in which she talked about the role that her Christian beliefs played in her success. The moment Brittany began to speak the words, school officials cut off her microphone. Despite extensive jeers from the audience over the school officials' actions, McComb was not permitted to finish her valedictory speech.

With the assistance of The Rutherford Institute, Brittany McComb filed a First Amendment lawsuit against Foothill High School officials in July 2006. In June 2007, the U.S. District Court for Nevada rejected the school district's second attempt to have the case dismissed and affirmed that the lawsuit raises substantial claims of infringement of McComb's right of free speech. School officials subsequently appealed to the Court of Appeals, which dismissed the case, holding that McComb had no right to give her speech, which it deemed to be "proselytizing."

On The Web:   rutherford.org/articles_db/press_release.asp?article_id=793

 

Serious About the Constitution
Commentary by Steve Scroggins
11/12/09

Nancy Pelosi was reportedly asked a question by a reporter at an Oct. 29 press conference: "Madame Speaker, where specifically does the Constitution grant Congress the authority to enact an individual health insurance mandate?"

Her response to this query was quite telling. "Are you serious? Are you serious?" she replied. Pelosi then took another reporter's question.

Barry Goldwater's 1960 book, THE CONSCIENCE OF A CONSERVATIVE, expressed what’s now deemed a "radical" idea. Goldwater asserted that the first question a Congressman should ask about any proposed bill is NOT whether or not it is a good idea. The first question should be: "Does the Constitution authorize Congress to act?"

Since Goldwater left the Senate, flagrant trampling of the Constitution proceeds virtually unquestioned. Ron Paul is treated as wacky radical. The current Congress is continuing the open contempt for the Constitution demonstrated since the FDR period through LBJ to the present day. The D.C. Leviathan and our national debt are growing faster than kudzu on a manure pile in a rainy July. [The text of Walter Williams' commentary "Constitutional Contempt" is at bottom. ]

It's high time for the Enumerated Powers Act as proposed by Rep. John Shadegg (R, AZ). But if the Congress ignores the Constitution, should we believe they would obey statutory law?

The Constitution gave us the blueprint for a republic, not a democracy. It's an important distinction. The Constitution's focus and purpose was to limit government, specifically, what the central government may or may not do. Its fatal flaw is that it requires a virtuous and moral people.

    "We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry, would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a religious and moral people. It is wholly inadequate for the government of any other." --John Adams, 11 October 1798

John Adams noted that our Republic was designed and fitting only for a moral people. Moral people do not approve when government steals from some citizens in order to give benefits to others. Theft is always wrong, even when the government does it under the guise of "benevolent" purposes.

The Founders were very wary of "democracy" for they knew it always led to a tyranny of the majority. Thomas Jefferson expressed the beliefs of many of the Founders this way, "A democracy is nothing more than mob rule, where fifty-one percent of the people may take away the rights of the other forty-nine."

Our pretense as a nation under the Rule of Law is a farce. We are, at best, a mob rule democracy...on our way to the absolute tyranny we so richly deserve. As H.L. Mencken once wrote, "Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard."

The Founders provided a very specific---and onerous--- amendment process for the Constitution. That process requires deliberation and overwhelming majority approval, not only in D.C., but also in three quarters of the State capitols. The process was made onerous in order to check runaway passions and popular fads from leading to a tyranny of the majority. The process also was made deliberate to force proposed changes to be visible, understood as departures from the original intent and open to debate.

The States once had nullification and other checking powers but all those were destroyed (in practice) in Lincoln’s war. The 14th Amendment was never properly ratified but was declared so anyway. The 16th Amendment (income tax), the establishment of The Federal Reserve and the 17th Amendment neutered the States and released the D.C. Leviathan to grow out of control. Until The Fed and these Amendments are addressed, suggests Thomas DiLorenzo, we are stuck in a situation best described as "Constitutional Futility."

James Madison wrote in Federalist #10:

    "Democracies have ever been spectacles of turbulence and contention; have ever been found incompatible with personal security or the rights of property; and have in general been as short in their lives as they have been violent in their death."

The USA converted, in practice, from a republic to a democracy during the reign of FDR. Without a miraculous change of course, our democracy's brief life is almost over and its violent death is imminent.

Copyright © 2003-2009, GeorgiaHeritageCouncil.org

On The Web:   http://georgiaheritagecouncil.org/site2/commentary/scroggins-serious-constitution111209.phtml

 

State Secession: Trying To Beat the World’s Worst Record

by Russell D. Longcore

If you can’t think of reasons that state secession is a better solution for liberty than working within "the system," consider the record of the Federal Government of the United States.

Sure, you can ultimately lay the blame on all of us, since we are the ones who allow the atrocities of Washington to continue. But for now, let’s look at Washington’s record of achievement over the last 150 years.

War of Northern Aggression – 1860s: The North wages war on a confederation of seceding states who left lawfully. Over 600,000 men died on both sides.

Reconstruction: 1860s–1870s. The North plunders the South.

Fractional reserve banking: counterfeiting by another name. Born in the 1800s, perfected by the Federal Reserve and central banking system of the USA.

Spanish-American War – 1898: "Remember the Maine?" A complete lie told by newspaperman WR Hearst, bought by the public and Washington to go to war.

Federal Reserve: established in 1913. For 96 years, it has mismanaged the economy and counterfeited currency.

IRS and the Income Tax (16th Amendment): 1913. What starts out as a small tax becomes a leviathan. What starts out as a small division of the Treasury becomes the most feared weapon of Washington.

World War 1: 1914–1918. 117,000 dead Americans, 205,000 wounded. The US had no business in a European family war but President Wilson had other ideas.

Depression I: 1929–1940s. The Federal Reserve caused it.

New Deal: 1933–1936. FDR’s massive government jobs program, plundering the wealth of the USA. Fascism by another name.

World War II: 1941–1945. Another European war, we had no dog in this fight. FDR baited the Japs into attacking Pearl Harbor, giving him political cover.

Cold War: The US and the USSR escalate preparations for war to new heights, spending hundreds of billions of dollars on weapons.

Korean War: 1950–1953. 36,000 Americans dead, 96,000 wounded.

Viet Nam: 1950–1975. 58,000 dead Americans, 303,000 wounded.

Creation of three letter agencies: HEW, HHS, CIA, FDA, FCC, DOA, DOD, EPA, and the list goes on...

New Cabinet bureaucracies: Energy, Education, Homeland Security, etc.

Grenada invasion: 1983. 19 Americans dead, 116 wounded.

Panamanian invasion 1989: 23 Americans dead, maybe 3,000 civilians killed.

Bosnian War: 1992–1995: US sends troops under UN flag, millions of civilians made refugees.

Gulf War: 1999. President George HW Bush commits a massive force to Kuwait. 379 Americans die, 776 wounded in a 100-hour war.

Iraq: 2003–present. About 5,000 Americans dead, over 35,000 wounded (that they’ll admit to). That doesn’t count casualties of our mercenaries...I mean contractors.

Afghanistan/Pakistan: 2001–present. About 1,000 Americans dead, over 4,500 wounded. That doesn’t count casualties of our mercenaries...I mean contractors.

TSA: 2001–present. Domestic airline travel done "the government way."

Let’s not forget...

    * Counterfeiting, bailouts, nationalization and massive inflation: Just another way that Washington says "you belong to me."
    * Regulation of every facet of human life: Try to think of a second of your life that is not regulated in some way by Washington. Quick answer: that second does not exist.
    * Two-party political system: two sides of the same coin, both Washington cheerleaders and sycophants. Both want to spend unconstitutional money.
    * Out of control military, bases in 130 nations.

Here is the point to this litany of tyranny. The government of the United States of America has screwed up the entire planet through their actions over the last 150 years. The events of currency collapse and inflation in our not-too-distant future will reverberate throughout every nation on earth.

States of the United States that choose to secede will certainly be affected by the implosion of the Washington government. But, could any new nation ever match the "Hall of Shame" listed above?

New American nations, formed from the seceding United States, would be little pinpoints of light and liberty. If their only guiding principle was to not make the same mistakes that the US government made over the last 150 years, they would be destined for success.

How could they fail?

Copyright © 2009 Russell D. Longcore.

On The Web:   www.lewrockwell.com/longcore/longcore11.1.html

 

The South rises again

Date: Thursday, November 12, 2009

Battle of Myers Landing offers historians opportunity to teach about civil war

By Wyndi Veigel
Staff Writer
 
As smoke cleared the air it was evident that the Union soldiers were in a retreat.
 
Amid the cheers, the Confederates gathered in celebration and to care for their “wounded.”
 
Thanks  to the North Texas History Center, the Collin County Historical Commission and the Sons of Confederate Veterans Camp #1588 of Plano, history came to life at Myers Park in McKinney for a Civil War re-enactment titled the Battle for Myers Landing.
 
Though the battle was fictitious since there were no Civil War battles fought in Texas, thousands of students and history enthusiasts flooded the park in anticipation of seeing camps, cannons and soldiers.
 
The event also offered classes about civilian life, blacksmithing, uniforms, sewing and dress making, cavalry, and cooking over a campfire with period utensils. There were also open Army camps, allowing children to see how soldiers lived and slept, along with what equipment they had. There was also a clothing/fashion show, and classes in finding your Civil War Ancestor, and arms and artillery.
 
One of the most interesting aspects of the battle was the information about history from many of the participating soldiers. Various flags were flown as Confederate and Union soldier regiments approached one another.
 
“The Bonnie Blue flag was one of the original flags flown for Texas. It was solid blue with a single white star with the word ‘Texas’ on it,” said Mike Holbrook, a re-enacter who played battle calls on his trumpet. “The Confederates took the Texas off of it and adopted the flag for their own. The flag was later replaced by the ‘Stars and Bars’ flag that everyone knows as the Confederate flag.”
 
Holbrook also shared the history of the closest “almost battle” to Texas.
 
“In 1864 the Federals traveled up the Red River to Shreveport, and they were going to attempt to capture Jefferson,” he said. “At that time Jefferson was a huge steamboat town which would have been very valuable to them. They were stopped in Mansfield, La. before they could make it to Jefferson.”
 
For Holbrook, being a part of history is nothing new.
 
His great-grandfather fought and was captured at the Battle of Gettysberg.
 
Since the Battle for Myers Landing was not a real battle, the organizers of the event let each side win one day.
 
“Though we knew who would ultimately win today, the South, a lot of on-the-spot strategy goes into the battle,” Holbrook said.  As Confederate calvary approached the Union soldiers, they gathered ammunition for their cannons.
 
As cannons were loaded, the calvary would retreat until both sides had exhausted their cannon shots.
 
Then hand-to-hand combat occurred with each side shooting at each other with rifles from the time period.
 
Regardless of which side won, in the end all of Collin County did as a piece of history was relived at the Battle of Myers Landing.
 
On The Web:www.farmersvilletimes.com/articles/templates/news.asp?articleid=1304&zoneid=3

 

Park plan sails along

Posted November 14, 2009

Not to jinx the thing, but we've been waiting to hear objections to the renovation plans for Confederate Park, and so far there don't seem to be any.

Could a riverfront improvement plan be under way, and nobody is against it?

To be sure, the plan has a lot going for it. To make the 2.68-acre park more compatible with the adjacent University of Memphis Law School, scheduled to open in January in the former post office, Confederate Park will get additional lighting, improved landscaping, new benches and trash cans, and a pedestrian bridge over Court connecting it to the law school.

Not even the Riverfront Development Commission's involvement -- the same group that has encountered everything from stubborn resistance to outrage toward many of its ideas -- has caused a stir.

But Confederate Park is no land bridge across the harbor, no high-rise office buildings on the bluff, no Beale Street Landing.

The removal of some artillery pieces from the site is no big deal. They're not from the Confederate era, anyway.

As long as nobody touches the Jefferson Davis statue, this project could go forward without controversy. Wouldn't that be a nice change?

2009 The E.W. Scripps Co.

On The Web:   www.commercialappeal.com/news/2009/nov/14/park-plan-sails-along/

 

Kilgore had a problem with Phil Sheridan

By Van Craddock
Saturday, November 14, 2009

Constantine Buckley "Buck" Kilgore was one of those larger-than-life Texans.

At his death in 1897, a newspaper described him as "one of the most famous backwoods characters that ever went to Congress and attained high federal office."

In 1872, the future four-term U.S. congressman deeded East Texas land to the International and Great Northern railroad. In gratitude, the I&GN named a new town site "Kilgore."

"Buck" Kilgore had been a Confederate cavalry officer during the 1861-65 Civil War, during which he was wounded and taken captive by Union soldiers. He remained in a Yankee POW camp until war's end.

That may explain why Kilgore became embroiled in a bitter dispute with a former Union general ... more than two decades after the war had ended.

A promotion

In May 1888, a New York congressman introduced a bill to promote U.S. Lt. Gen. Philip H. Sheridan to "general of the army," a title that hadn't been used since the Civil War. It was an effort to honor Sheridan, who had taken ill and wasn't expected to live.

Kilgore and many other Southerners didn't like Sheridan, who initiated a "scorched earth" policy while leading Union troops in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley late in the Civil War. In 1864, under Sheridan's orders, the troops destroyed crops, seized livestock and burned barns and mills.

It also didn't help that in 1866, Sheridan had been appointed commander of the Fifth Military District (Texas and Louisiana). The general didn't have much sympathy for ex-Confederates and ruled with a heavy hand. After numerous complaints, U.S. President Andrew Johnson removed Sheridan from his post.

So when the 1888 proposal was made to promote the ill Sheridan to general of the Army, Kilgore took the lead in opposing the bill. The East Texan used "points of order" and other legislative tricks to delay a vote on the issue for several weeks.

The result was a sort of "civil war" in Congress. Northern lawmakers were outraged that Kilgore would try to stymie the bill. Southern congressmen still smarting from losing the Civil War threw their support to Kilgore.

One Lone Star congressman backing Kilgore insisted, "No man who loves Texas and its history could support anything that might be favorable to Sheridan." Another Southerner said approving the bill would mean "sacrificing principle, manhood and state pride."

'Grenadier'

The dispute resulted in a national debate and newspaper editorials from coast to coast. Finally, after weeks of debate, compassion won out over old war wounds. The Congress, with support from former Confederates in the House, approved the measure in early June 1888. President Johnson signed the bill into lawJune 8.

"Buck" Kilgore voted "no."

Phil Sheridan officially became "general of the army." He diedAug. 5 and was buried in Washington's Arlington National Cemetery.

Kilgore continued to serve in Congress until 1895. In March of that year, President Grover Cleveland appointed Kilgore as U.S. judge in Oklahoma's Indian Territory.

Kilgore died in Ardmore, Okla., on Sept. 23, 1897, and was buried at his adopted East Texas home of Wills Point. The Dallas Morning News at the time called the colorful Kilgore "the ideal grenadier – tall, sinewy, handsome, brave, cool, with hair and beard white as snow."

The Galveston News noted the former Confederate cavalryman "could ride anything in the way of horse flesh. (Kilgore) often astonished friends by picking up stones from the ground to throw at them while riding at full gallop."

Copyright 2009 Longview News-Journal

On The Web:   www.news-journal.com/featr/content/features/stories/2009/11/14/11142009_craddock.html

 

The Fight Over a Song at Ole Miss

Posted Nov 12, 2009
Clay Travis

When Ole Miss hosts Tennessee Saturday, the school's band will not play "From Dixie WIth Love," a song that features an incongruous pairing of "Dixie" with the "Battle Hymn of the Republic." Why? Because some students and alumni chant, "The South will rise again," at the end of the song.

For Ole Miss' first-year chancellor, Dan Jones, this chant is unacceptable behavior.

"Here at the University of Mississippi, there must be no doubt that this is a warm and welcoming place for all," Dan Jones wrote Tuesday in a letter to the university community. "We cannot even appear to support those outside our community who advocate a revival of racial segregation. We cannot fail to respond."

So Jones has responded.

And so, "From Dixie With Love" has gone the way of Colonel Reb, the original song Dixie, and the Confederate battle flag, excised from Vaught-Hemingway stadium as offensive relics of a bygone era.

But in his response, Jones has opened another series of debates. What are the obligations of a generation born two or three decades after James Meredith integrated Ole Miss' campus with regard to racial sensitivity? And, in taking this stand to combat an offensive phrase, are Jones and members of his generation fighting the ghosts of their youth more than they're fighting a present-day ill? Are Jones and his ilk the true heirs to the Lost Cause mythology for fighting against an evil that doesn't actually exist?

Unlike Dixie, or Colonel Reb, or the Confederate battle flag, the "South will rise again" addition to the song is a recent incarnation, originated, by most guesses, in the past five years or so.

Let's add a few years of leeway there and say that the chant began in the neighborhood of the year 2000, the dawn of the 21st Century.

So the chant itself, though the phrase has long since existed, is not connected to a time before the university's integration and is not an embodiment of past values. If it were a vestige of years past that had existed for decades, this would be a much simpler argument. Traditions of racial intolerance should be left in the past. But if, as it would appear, the chant is of a more recent vintage at football games, how do we assess the relative offensiveness of the language when standing alone the language is not inflammatory?

The Watergate investigations became framed by the single question, "What did the President know and when did he know it?" The question that emerges from the "The South will rise again" imbroglio is: Who is chanting it and why?

After all, isn't it the intent behind the phrase more than the words that matter? While men and women of generations past might hear this language and think of a monolithic and ethnically divided South rising again, "a revival of segregation" in the chancellor's words, why can't the young Ole Miss students be advocating a particular form of regional pride? "The South will rise again," is hardly a universal phrase of racism like an ethnic slur, something students are chanting, knowingly espousing an idea of a racially divided South.

After all, think about this: Today's Ole Miss freshmen were born in 1991.

1991!

The vast majority of these students, then, have grown up in an era where they can't even remember the O.J. Simpson trial, much less Meredith and the race riots that preceded his enrollment at Ole Miss. Systematic segregation is as remote to them as a world without air conditioning. And if it is, in fact, a chant that evokes regional pride for students, as I believe is likely, what, I would ask, in the student's mind, distinguishes a chant like this from one that is universally beloved, "SEC, SEC, SEC?"

Does any thinking person really believe that modern day college students watching and rooting their hearts out for a team that is majority African-American are actually, simultaneously, rooting for a return to the era of plantations and slavery? It's laughable beyond belief.

If, in fact, some fans are doing this, aren't they likely to be such a clueless and antiquated minority that engaging them in a battle of ideas is self-defeating, relying on the false assumption that all ideas are worthy of debate?

In waging this battle, is Ole Miss allowing the defenders of the Old South to win by engaging a ludicrous idea and considering it worthy of debate? For instance, if a few Ole Miss students decided to form a club that argued against man landing on the moon, would the university really feel compelled to debate them? Ultimately, there is probably nothing anyone at Ole Miss could have done to draw more attention to the chant, than attempt to ban it.

In fact, in a bit of counterintuitive spin, the chancellor would probably have been more successful in eradicating the chant if he'd actually requested that the entire student body do it. And then attempted to lead them in it himself. Because there is nothing less cool on a college campus than doing what an old white man suggests.

All of that, of course, doesn't even consider how stupid the chant itself is. And that's probably my primary issue with the chant, not that it's offensive, just that it's stupid.

Breaking down the language of the chant, as I wager most students have not, what magical and halcyon "again" do you want to return to? The "again" of a pre-Civil War South? When a few rich plantation owners lived lives of luxury while poor whites and enslaved blacks lifted them to their exalted stature? All while breaking their backs in menial and difficult labors beneath a harsh and unrelenting sun?

Why would anyone in their right mind ever yearn for a return to those days?

Or is it an "again" that exalts the South's rise from the ashes after the Civil War? And if it is, in fact, that, hasn't the South already risen? And, more accurately, not "again" as the chant would suggest, but for the very first time. Put it this way, has there ever been another day or era when the South was more ascendant than the present? And if that's the intent of the chant, to represent Southern pride, wouldn't, "The South has risen," be more accurate?

Of course, there's a bigger issue at play too. To what extent are modern generations of Southerners, people like me who only attended integrated schools, held hostage by the conditions that predated our birth? Is it our responsibility to be schooled in the specific racial insults of years past so that we don't inadvertently make that mistake again? Do young whites and blacks need to hear old stereotypes, maybe for the first time in their lives, solely to be aware that the terms are offensive, should they ever happen upon them in their modern lives, a sort of social inoculation? Are we, as the chancellor would suggest, beholden to link arms with those of older generations and fight the ills that existed in their lives even if they don't exist in our own?

I think that's an awfully difficult question.

Meanwhile isn't it every bit as troubling that the head of a university would cancel the playing of a song because he doesn't like the way some members of his student body, those chanting "The South will rise again," react to that song? Doesn't this sound like something that would have happened oh, I don't know, in a Mississippi of 1957? In a 21st century of open discourse, does stifling that conversation when you disagree with the statements of others really defeat the same American values that you're seeking to protect?

And here's one final question, why has every other university in the SEC moved past these racial issues so seamlessly -- cite me another SEC school with these controversies in the past decade -- while Ole Miss, despite having made bundles of progress, still seems stifled in bygone battles from eras long ago?

While the rest of the SEC seems focused on winning championships, Ole Miss hasn't hoisted an SEC trophy in football or basketball since 1963.

Is it so coincidental, then, that Ole Miss is still fighting battles from way back in 1963?

Maybe.

But I don't think so.
 
© 2009 AOL LLC.

On The Web:   ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2009/11/12/the-fight-over-a-song-at-ole-miss/

 

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Cultural genocide at Ole Miss

Some cultures can be celebrated. Others must be snuffed out:

Tempers are flaring all over the Ole Miss campus. They're fighting over a fight song.

The school's chancellor says the band must stop playing "From Dixie With Love" because of a chant students added to the lyrics.

'No love for Dixie' read the headline Wednesday on the Ole Miss student newspaper. School leaders pulling the piece from the marching band's playlist is something everyone on campus is talking about.

Dean Reardon, who banned the song, dismisses the students' complaints with the Roman Polanski defense -- the kids brought it on themselves:

The students who chose to say "The South will rise again" killed the tradition” says Dean of Students Dr. Thomas Reardon.

Reardon says there were several warnings to stop the chant. When it continued at a game last weekend, that was the final straw.

“That does not convey who we are” says Reardon. “It also does not convey the progress we've made as a university or show any respect to the people who have made tremendous sacrifices to bring us where we are.”

Whoa, there, Dean. Shouting "The South will rise again" fails to show respect to the people who brought us where we are? So these young Southerners should respect the Yankee invaders who subjugated their ancestors?

Memo to Ole Miss students, from the office of the Dean: Stop this talk about wanting to rise back up. Accept the fact your people were defeated, and we won't take anything else away from you.

On The Web:   www.dixienet.org/rebellion/2009/11/cultural-genocide-at-ole-miss.html

Let Ole Miss be Ole Miss

By Robert Lee Long
Published: Wednesday, November 11, 2009

I am not an apologist for the Southland that I love, nor do I make excuses for the racist demagoguery and violent excesses of its often tumultous history.

However, the decision by the University of Mississippi to abolish the playing of the beautiful anthem “From Dixie With Love,” is just downright silly and foolish. Political correctness run amok.

My friend, the late great Mississippi writer Willie Morris, used to say that the anthem often brought tears to his eyes. In his later works, he championed the anthem as a medley of reconciliation of sorts, blending the Confederate Army’s “Dixie” with the Union Army’s “Battle Hymn of the Republic.”

I wholeheartedly agree. As a version of the “American Trilogy,” it’s the same anthem that Elvis Presley sang each night as the television station in my hometown signed off the air.

It’s a peculiarly American anthem, evoking feelings of pride, sadness, pain and glory of the tragedy and triumph that helped shape and unite this nation. I used to stay up late just to hear the haunting medley before I drifted off to sleep.

When I wrote for The Reflector, the college newspaper at Mississippi State University, I defended the right of students at Ole Miss to brandish their school symbols without fear of reprisal. The cowbell had been a similar target at MSU.

I caught flak from fellow MSU students at the time, who were of the opinion that a wounded and dispirited foe whose long-cherished symbols had been stripped away was easier to defeat on the football field.

Ole Miss has taken great steps, some might say quantum leaps, to put its racist past behind it.

A statue of James Meredith, the U.S. Army veteran who broke the color barrier at Ole Miss, now adorns the Grove.

I had the pleasure of attending the 2008 presidential debate on the Ole Miss campus and my chest swelled with pride at how effectively the university pulled it off.

The vision of a tall black man, who was running for President of the United States, and his pretty wife striding into the Gertrude Ford Center as they waved to the crowd outside, is a sight I will never forget.

I had to remind myself this was Oxford, Mississippi, the same town that songwriter Bob Dylan wrote about in his 60s-era ditty, “Oxford Town,” about the Ole Miss riots of 1962 which left two persons dead.

I had goosepimples at the irony of it all.

The fact is the South has, and will, continue to rise as it comes to terms with its past and paves the way for its future.

The region is an emerging economic power, and it’s high quality of life and rich culture attracts an estimated 40 million people a year, many of whom decide to call Mississippi home.

Fight prejudice, fight racism at every turn, but for goodness sake, let Ole Miss be Ole Miss.

This State fan wouldn’t have it any other way.

Copyright © 2009 Desoto Times Tribune

On The Web:   www.desototimes.com/articles/2009/11/11/opinion/editorials/doc4afaf82deb2e2765469140.txt

 

Confederate flag swept to sidelines in Homestead parade
Written by ELGIN JONES  

HOMESTEAD _ A handful of Confederate flag wavers who wanted to participate in Wednesday’s Veterans Day parade were relegated instead to spectators on the sidelines.

“This is a great day, but also a sad one,” said Gary Kalof, commander of a Sons of Confederate Veterans camp in Miami-Dade County. He watched the parade from a sidewalk.

“This is what the NAACP wanted, for us to be banned,’’ Kalof said. “They wanted to divide this community, which is what they always do.”

Dressed in clothing with Confederate battle flag designs on them, four members of two different Confederate states organizations; the Sons of Confederate Veterans and the Southern MC [a Confederate motorcycle club] stood in one location, waving their flags.

Banned from participating in the parade procession, the men gathered in a single location along the parade route.

“The parade is great, and I don’t think anyone ever doubted it would be,” Southern MC member James Myers said. “We’re all Americans, and it’s just sad to see a veterans organization banned from a parade in this country.”

Other people who watched the parade had a different reaction.

“This is absolutely great! It’s the most dignified Veterans Day parade I’ve seen in Homestead, and I’ve seen many,” said Rosemary Fuller.

Pat Mellerson, a local business owner, expressed similar views.

“It was a very nice family event, and we look forward to many more,” Mellerson said.

Fuller and Mellerson are the two women who expressed outrage at seeing the Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV) in last’s year’s parade. The next day, they began a successful effort to have the groups and their flags banned from future events. The Miami-Dade NAACP joined their efforts to ban the flag from the parade and other publically sanctioned events.

In the process, they galvanized widespread support from a cross-section of the community in a movement that also saw four Homestead city council members defeated in last week’s municipal elections here.

“This is what we wanted. Respect for others’ feelings, and now we have it,” Mellerson said.

This year’s parade included over 30 organizations, including school bands. Fuller, a regular attendee of the parades, said it was about a quarter of the usual number of floats and organizations, and attributed this directly to the flag controversy.

“Who wants to come to an event where all of this nonsense is going on?” Fuller asked over the blare of police sirens and marching bands. “There are some people who wanted to kill the parade, instead of telling the Confederates now way, but the people spoke, and this just great.”

The Boy Scouts of America did not participate due to the flag controversy, which was not resolved in time for the organization to reconsider. However, a local troop did lead the pledge of allegiance, and stood next to the grand stand during the parade.

The controversy first began during last year’s parade when some black residents expressed outrage at seeing people dressed in Confederate soldier’s uniforms, marching and displaying Confederate battle flags.

Some people associate the Confederate flag with slavery, lynching, and racism. Others view it as a symbol of southern heritage, pride and that of a patriotic veteran’s group.

Mellerson and Fuller said they accomplished their goal, but will continue monitoring the parade and other public events to make sure the ban is not lifted.

“We made sure we stayed until the end of the parade, to make sure no one would try to pull anything, and this is what we will do throughout the year,” Mellerson said. 

On The Web:   www.sfltimes.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3535&Itemid=199

 

From: Valerie Protopapas, vaproto@optonline.net
Date: November 12, 2009

Subject: Please disseminate if you wish to do so.

A call to war!
 
I recently watched Bill O’Reilly as I often do. I like O’Reilly personally. I believe that he is intelligent and sincere. He does not stand for prevarication or attempts to weasel out of answering hard questions and for that he should be praised. On the other hand, he has a particular set of opinions that make me wonder if at heart he isn’t a liberal or at least inclined that way. And, of course, coming from a lower middle-class Irish background, this would be understandable. The Irish as well as the Jews are a distinctly liberal bunch (except, of course, when it comes to the English). I have written to him from time to time when I thought that he really wasn’t “connecting the dots” with regard to the Obama Administration and Obama himself. He always wants to give the President “the benefit of the doubt” as he himself has often said. All that I am willing to give Obama is “the benefit” of a ten minute head start! I figure that he has already proven what he is and what he wants to do. He doesn’t need people making excuses for him in the name of “fairness”.
 
During O’Reilly’s “Talking Points” (the first segment of the show which can probably be viewed at O’Reilly’s website) the host commented upon Obama’s remarks about the attack at Fort Hood. O’Reilly, in addressing the attitude about Muslims in general and Hasan in particular, alluded to the fact that decent people have fought for wicked causes in the past but that the soldier’s basic decency had no bearing on the worthiness of the cause for which he fought. As many may know, while O’Reilly is presenting his “Talking Points” there is a screen behind him which illustrates the point or points he is making. And so, as he went on to mention “decent Germans” who fought in World War II, the word “Germany” appeared. Almost immediately, I was astounded to see the world “Confederacy” appear under the word Germany. And, of course, O’Reilly then said what I had dreaded that he would say, that is, something to the effect that decent men also fought for the Confederacy! I was appalled! Here was a direct correlation between Nazi Germany and the Confederacy! I can only assume that O’Reilly is the victim of ignorance, but even so to make such a foul comment is beyond the pale. He cannot be ignorant of men like Robert E. Lee! Does he put Lee in the same category as Erwin Rommel? Rommel was a decent man who chose to ignore the Nazi government and fight “for the Fatherland”. But in the case of the Confederate States of America, no such connection can be made! The Confederacy was not a tyrannous regime ruling a formerly decent nation. The Confederacy was that nation!
 
I was enraged – and I’m STILL enraged! I most strongly urge everyone to spread this far and wide among Southerners and friends of the South so as to make Mr. O’Reilly know and understand that while he’s busy being kind to the communist usurper and his unconstitutional minions in the White House, he has defamed a nation and people whose worthiness far surpasses the feeble remnants of the Republic they tried to maintain when they left the federal empire! There is not one decent person who should not call this man to account for his calumny. Bill O’Reilly has a big idea of himself, but last night he proved that he is nothing more than just one more historically ignorant purveyor of federal propaganda – a hack who owes an apology for his calumny to the men and women who lived and died for the very principles upon which this nation is – or should I say was - based.
 
In the name of justice and truth, I issue this call to war! Stand up and speak out lest we prove by our apathy to be unworthy of their sacrifice.
 
Valerie Protopapas

**************************************************
 
My letter to Mr. O’Reilly:
 
oreilly@foxnews.com
 
Dear Mr. O’Reilly:
 
The other night I was appalled to see you make a direct correlation between Nazi Germany and the Confederate States of America. Of course, you are not entirely to blame for this grievous error. You are, after all, just one more victim of federal propaganda which began even before the War of Secession (it was not a “civil war”).
 
Obviously, I have not the time nor you the desire for me to give you even a small amount of the information you would need to form an educated  opinion in this matter, but just to help at least pique your curiosity, I will present two items for your consideration.
 
The first is an historical fact: the South did not fight for slavery although that was a very important issue – just not for the reasons people believe. However, if slavery had been the issue, then Lincoln’s offer to the Southern states to immediately pass the 13th Amendment to the Constitution – entitled the “Corwin Amendment” – would have kept the South in the Union. Why? Because the Corwin Amendment protected slavery directly and in perpetuity within the Constitution, forbidding any future efforts to change that situation! So, you see, the South had no need to secede if all it wished to do was maintain the institution of slavery.
 
The second matter is a quote which clearly illustrates just why the South did go to war. In a personal conversation with author Walter Donald Kennedy, Professor Jay Hoar of Maine stated: “The worst fears of those Boys in Gray are now a fact of American life – a Federal government completely out of control.” Now, Professor Hoar is from Maine, not Mississippi; he has no sectional axe to grind. But he certainly understands and elucidates the over-arching reason for the secession of the Southern states – the fear of an increasingly powerful federal government and its symbiotic relationship with Northern commercial interests (fascism). The fact is that the South paid over 75% of the taxes into the federal coffers as the result of confiscatory tariffs - while the North received the benefit of that money (sound familiar?). With immigration increasing the population of the North and the new states in the Mid-West and West being allied with the old Northeast (to their commercial benefit), the South was fast becoming a permanent minority as well as a “cash cow” for a nation that as long ago as the Mexican War had gone from being a “republic” to an “empire”. The South politically ascribed to Madison and Calhoun; the North to Hamilton and Clay; these two governing principles were totally incompatible and the Southern states determined to return to the Founding Principles through the process of secession and confederation as guaranteed them in the Constitution.
 
When you compare the Confederacy with a rogue state like Nazi Germany, you not only do a terrible disservice to patriots and heroes like Robert E. Lee, but you expose your own ignorance and thus lessen your impact on the present political, economic and cultural state of affairs.
 
Finally, a warning: you will not find the pertinent facts in what passes for “history” today. You are going to have to go to sources that today’s “scholars” label “unreliable”, “suspicious” and “dishonest”. But it is they who are unreliable, suspicious and dishonest, not those who are trying to overcome over 150 years of “the Big Lie”. However, if you are really interested in the facts, they are out there – and I strongly suggest that you educate yourself before making any more outrageous and atrocious comments such as this.
 
Ignorance can be cured, but deliberate ignorance is the path to slavery.
 
Valerie Protopapas
Huntington Station, New York

***************************************************************************************************

From: Bill Vallante, wildbill4dixie@yahoo.com
Date: November 12, 2009

Subject: Re: Please disseminate if you wish to do so.

I have been yelling about crap like this until I am blue in the face! Fox is not your friends!
 
O'Reilly wouldn't know about "liberty" or "limited government" if either of those got up and kicked him in the ba**s! All he knows is ".....THERE SHOULD BE A LAW...."
 
You're suprised about his lumping Confederates in with Germans? Do you think he'd risk putting them in any other category and incur the wrath of those who wear the holy cloak of civil rights? Fox has done this type of thing repeatedly in the past. This is not a big surprise or out of character for either Fox or O'Relly.
 
Newsflash. Lincoln "united" this country and to people like O'Reilly, this is a good thing. The confederates tried to prevent it and that is a bad thing. Newsflash - O'Reilly and his bosses at Fox LOVE big government.... so long as it's THE REPUBLICANS who are running the show. When the Dems are in, suddenly, the Constitution, the Founders, and Liberty, all matter..... the only guy on Fox who's ever stood up for "liberty" is Judge Andrew Napolitano.
 
Last year, when Orlando Salinas covered the raising of the big confederate flag in Tampa, he wrote a glowing report of his experience. Does anyone remember me writing him, and does anyone remember his response to me? He said his bosses at Fox were unhappy that his report was so positive!!!! If that doesn't remind you folks of what I have been saying, ever since "the ONE" took office, I don't know what will?
 
And what have I been saying?
 
"FOX IS NOT YOUR FRIEND! FOX HATES YOU AND YOUR ANCESTORS! FOX IS NOT YOUR FRIEND! FOX IS NOT A FRIEND TO LIBERTY OR THE CONSTITUTION! THE ONLY THING FOX CARES ABOUT IS VIEWERS!"
 
As far as O'Reilly's so-called knowledge, I haven't seen much coming out of his cheese brain that I think would light the world on fire. His knowledge of most subjects barely rivals what the average guy on the street knows. He may have gone to Harvard, but so what? George Freakin' Bush went to Yale.... it proves nothing.
 
Remember what two faced sacks of crap like O'Reilly and Hannity are good for.... they are good for driving "the ONE" nuts, and that's it. They don't love you, they don't love limited government, they don't love liberty, they love the Republican party, and when the current pack of democratic commies is thrown onto the dung heap, it'll be the Republicans who will be back in and doing the same things they were doing under George the Idiot Bush and the boys and girls at Fox will be cheering to beat the band.  Nothing will have changed...Need I remind y'all that it was not Obama who called the consititution a "scrap of paper", it was George Bush.
 
Remember what the arabs say..."the enemy of my enemy is my friend." It does not mean that he is really your friend, as in a friend who stands behind you, shares your values, is there for you, etc.... he is a friend of CONVENIENCE! He is a friend only until the guy you both hate is gone...then, all bets are off
 
Republicans are not your friends. Fox is not your friends. Don't be surprise whenever either of them decides to take a big crap on your head when it's convenient for them.
 
Sorry, but there's no other way to put it.
 
Bill

***********************************************************************************************



From: rick boswell, rick.boswell@gmail.com
Date: November 12, 2009

Subject: Re: Please disseminate if you wish to do so.

This is not news to me.  I've heard O'Reilly's "politely disparaging" remarks about the Confederacy before.  I won't disagree with Wild Bill that "Fox is not your friends" but they are a hell of a sight better than the alternatives, the other networks, which I no longer even bother to watch.

I long ago ceased to seek perfection; it's simply a matter of degrees of imperfection and Fox is far less imperfect in my opinion.  I don't like Glenn Beck's personality but I think he's doing a lot of good.  I enjoyed Judge Napolitano hosting Beck's show better than Beck but I admire what Beck is doing.

Do I believe everything I see or hear on Fox?  I don't believe everything I see or hear ANYWHERE.
 

Ole Miss Fight Song Banned at Games

Last Update: 11/10

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) -- University of Mississippi Chancellor Dan Jones is asking the band to stop playing "From Dixie With Love" after some Ole Miss fans continued chanting "the South will rise again" at the end of the medley.

The student-run newspaper, The Daily Mississippian, reported Tuesday that Jones wrote about his decision in a letter to the university community.

Jones said last week he would ask the band to stop playing "From Dixie With Love" if the chant continued during the football game this past Saturday. Jones said he is following through with what he promised.

Jones did not specify how long the song will be off limits. It blends the Confederate Army's fight song, "Dixie," with the Union Army's "Battle Hymn of the Republic." The band has played it about two decades.

------
Information from: The Daily Mississippian, http://olemisslife.com/

Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press
 

On The Web:  www.myeyewitnessnews.com/news/local/story/Ole-Miss-Fight-Song-Banned-at-Games/MOLVziCc7EW67MaR4hLzVg.cspx

Ole Miss chancellor halts song with segregationist baggage

By Jody Callahan
Posted November 10, 2009

Ole Miss fans won't be hearing the song "From Dixie With Love" at athletic events anytime soon.

Because some fans continued chanting "The South will rise again!" at the end of the song despite requests to refrain from doing so, Chancellor Dan Jones has asked the school band to discontinue playing the song.

Many associate the chant with both the school and the area's segregationist past.

"Here at the University of Mississippi, there must be no doubt that this is a warm and welcoming place for all," Jones wrote in a letter to the Ole Miss community. "We cannot even appear to support those outside our community who advocate a revival of segregation. We cannot fail to respond."

Jones said he would consider lifting the ban "if the chant stops and our elected student leaders ask for the song to return."

Jones said previously that, if the chant continued during last Saturday's game against Northern Arizona, he would ask the band to discontinue the song.

"Yet some have chosen to continue the chant," Jones wrote. "Sadly, we have also heard from a few outside our university who support the chant as an expression of values associated with a segregationist movement discredited so many years ago."

2009 The E.W. Scripps Co.

On The Web:   www.commercialappeal.com/news/2009/nov/10/ole-miss-chancellor-halts-song-segregationist-bagg/

 

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

SCV Issues Statement on VFW Flag Ban in Homestead Florida

Sons of Confederate Veterans Headquarters
Columbia, TN

The Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV) has been informed that they may not march in the Homestead, Florida Veteran's Day Parade with the Confederate Battle Flag. The SCV is quite surprised by this anomaly. The SCV honors and respects the members of the VFW, in fact many veterans are members of both. All across the nation the SCV and VFW have worked together in harmony and many occasions to honor America's Veterans.

However, the SCV condemns the decision by the local chapter of the Veterans of Foreign Wars in Homestead, the sponsor of the parade, as the Confederate Battle Flag is a banner which denotes the valor and bravery of some of America's most renowned veterans - the Confederate Soldier. By denying the SCV participation in the parade the Homestead post of the VFW has shown that it is no longer an organization that supports the memory of Veterans but is instead more interested in promoting an agenda of political correctness.

For the last 90 years Confederate Veterans have been recognized as US Veterans by the United States Congress. The actions of the VFW show that they believe they have the authority to re-define who qualifies to be recognized as a veteran in defiance of congressional statue. Further, the actions of the VFW, in denying the SCV entry into the parade, are repugnant to the sacrifice made by many millions of veterans who have fought to preserve the Rights of Americans as established in the Constitution.

This arbitrary action of the Homestead VFW Post is an affront to Southerners of all colors and ethnic backgrounds whose ancestors served honorably in the military of the CSA, and today continue to lead the nation in voluntary service and casualties suffered by U. S. forces in conflicts around the world.

In these times all Americans should be drawn together, and American veterans equally recognized, rather than be torn apart by a small group who wishes to inject controversy and disruption into the rightful recognition of ALL American Veterans. It is also greatly disappointing that the local Veterans of Foreign Wars post is allowing itself to be used in this manner.

The SCV urges the community in Homestead, Florida to express their rightful disappointment that the memory of one group of American Veterans, Confederate Veterans, are being disparaged by the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

For more information contact
Chuck McMichael, SCV Commander in Chief, at 318-963-9892 or scvcic72@gmail.com
Chuck Rand, SCV Chief of Staff, at 318-387-3791 or chuckrand3@gmail.com

The SCV is a 501(c)3 non-profit historical and educational organization founded in 1896. See www.scv.org.

On The Web:   shnv.blogspot.com/2009/11/scv-issues-statement-on-vfw-flag-ban-in.html

 

Lincoln Was a Traitor . . .

Posted by Thomas DiLorenzo
November 8, 2009

. . . and would have been justifiably hanged for treason (and for war crimes) had the Republican Party lost its war on the South.  I have argued elsewhere that this is probably why they “had” to wage total war on the civilian population of their own country, killing some 50,000 Southern civilians in the process:  They knew they were war criminals, and could not risk even a stalemate.

For the record, here’s Article III, Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution on the subject of treason:

“Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort.”  (emphasis added).

As with all the founding documents, “United States” is in the plural, signifying that the free and independent states are united in forming a compact with each other.  Treason means levying war against the free and independent states, as the Lincoln regime did, not against the governent in Washington, D.C.  The Republican Party was born of treason.

On The Web:   www.lewrockwell.com/blog/lewrw/archives/042323.html

 

Controversial cartoon from WA pokes fun at South Carolina

Posted: Nov 05, 2009

By Bob Behanian
 

CHARLESTON, SC (WCSC) - A cartoonist from Washington state has released a picture about South Carolina, depicting its workers as lazy, incompetent, redneck and racist. The controversial cartoon is in response to South Carolina winning the contract for Boeing's second 787 assembly line.

The drawing is done by two-time Pulitzer Prize winning cartoonist, David Horsey, who is known for his controversial drawings. The cartoon was featured on the website for "The Post Intelligencer" newspaper, based in Seattle, WA.

"I'm offended because that is not what our workers are like here.  I work here and that is not the environment that we have here," said Charleston resident Tanika Reaves.

In addition to a lazy environment featured in the cartoon, the plane has an outhouse door.  The drawing also features a noose and the Confederate flag, a symbol Charleston residents say is outdated and demeaning.

Boeing is based in Seattle, and while workers there are angry over losing the Boeing bid, some say the drawing goes too far.

Some residents on the west coast have commented about the cartoon being distasteful. One comment from a reader of "The Post Intelligencer" said, "I understand people are hurt and betrayed by Boeing's disloyalty to the region, but this was really a cheap shot."

Steve Stegelin, a cartoonist for "The Charleston City Paper," says cartoonists have to get their point across in a small amount of space. He said he thought the ideas used in the cartoon were out of touch with South Carolina, especially after all the political scandal that has hit the state in the past year.

"I was a little surprised they went in this direction for South Carolina.  With the humor our state has provided in the last year as fodder, to go with the redneck stereotype was surprising," said Steglin.
 
©2009 WCSC.

On The Web:   www.live5news.com/Global/story.asp?S=11451479

 

VFW will avoid Homestead parade flag flap

A local VFW post decided not to invite to the Veterans' Day Parade in downtown Homestead the two groups that had been fighting over last year's display of the Confederate battle flag.
BY TANIA VALDEMORO
tvaldemoro@MiamiHerald.com

One of Miami-Dade's oldest events -- the Veterans' Day parade in downtown Homestead -- will take place Wednesday without the two groups that have been fighting over last year's flying of a Confederate battle flag.

The Arrant-Smith Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 4127, which is sponsoring this year's parade, invited several groups to march.

But no invitations were extended either to the Miami-Dade branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People or the Sons of Confederate Veterans.

Only the American flag, the Florida state flag and military flags will be permitted, said Louis Melara, a parade organizer.

The Confederate veterans' group marched with the rebel flag last November. The one-time appearance of the flag sparked a controversy among the NAACP, Sons of Confederate Veterans, the city of Homestead and the Greater Homestead/Florida City Chamber of Commerce.

The VFW stepped in last month to host the parade after the chamber's military affairs committee canceled the event, saying there was not enough time for them to organize it.

``Commander Joe Stahl pointed out to the Sons of the Confederate Veterans that they and the NAACP would not be allowed to participate in the parade,'' Melara told members of the Homestead City Council, ``because they would detract from our focus of honoring the veterans.''

On Thursday, the city council unanimously approved a permit for the parade.

Stahl leads the VFW Post 4127. The reaction to his decision was mixed.

Gregory Kalof, commander of the Miami camp of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, said in a written statement: ``We are very disappointed in the decision that the VFW has made by electing to cast out another veterans' organization to appease obvious political forces that have held our community to boycott.''

But Brad Brown, political action chair of the Miami-Dade branch of the NAACP, praised the VFW.

``The NAACP commends the Veterans of Foreign Wars for their principled stance to hold a parade that truly honors veterans of the United States military,'' he said.

Copyright 2009 Miami Herald Media Co.

On The Web:   www.miamiherald.com/news/miami-dade/communities/south/story/1319232.html

 

Confederate flag controversy shook up Homestead

Written by ELGIN JONES  

HOMESTEAD – The year-long controversy over the display of the Confederate battle flag at publicly sanctioned events in Homestead divided the city.

Some say the issue also led to the ouster on Tuesday of four incumbent politicians who took no action on cries from some residents to ban the flag from the Veterans Day parade.

Now, the contentious flag fight may be over.

At their very first official meeting on Thursday, Nov. 4, the new slate of Homestead city council members voted unanimously to approve a permit application for the Veterans of Foreign Wars organization to hold the Veterans Day Parade on Nov. 11.

The approval came after VFW parade organizers told commissioners that they barred Confederate States groups and their flags from the event.

“They [the former commissioners] could have done this a year ago, and maybe they would still be in office,” said Rosemary Fuller, who was one of the people who led the effort for the flag ban.

The development came days before the annual Veterans Day parade, and a day after the Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV) group announced that the Confederate battle flag had been banned from the event. The parade approval also came two days after an unprecedented voter revolt against most city hall incumbents.

Political observers say the long-simmering feud over the Confederate flag issue contributed to the ouster of Mayor Lynda Bell and three council members: Tim Nelson, Melvin McCormick and Nazy Sierra, in Tuesday's election.

Voters preferred former Council Member Steve Bateman over Bell as the mayor.

The Rev. Jimmie L. Williams III defeated McCormick. Newcomers Stephen Shelley and Elvis Maldonado also joined the dais, in place of Nelson and Sierra, respectively.

Councilwoman Judy Waldman, a frequent Bell critic, openly expressed opposition to the Confederate flag and sought city action to address it. She was the only incumbent to win re-election. She crushed her opponent, Angel Garrote, and is now the city’s vice mayor because, among the council members, she received the most votes for the post.

Officials with the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) group, which is organizing the Nov. 11 parade, could not be reached for comment about the flag ban. The decision likely brings to an end the controversy which garnered the attention of the U.S. Department of Justice, which sought to resolve the matter through mediation, and the threat of an economic boycott from the Miami-Dade branch of the NAACP.

"The NAACP commends the Veterans of Foreign Wars for their principled stance to hold a parade that truly honors Veterans of the United States military,’’ Brad Brown, first vice president of the Miami-Dade NAACP, wrote in an email to the newspaper on Thursday. “Veterans concerns are at the forefront of NAACP issues today and our Miami-Dade Branch's Veteran's Affairs Committee is working to make sure all veterans get the information and assistance they so well deserve. We are pleased to be able to concentrate on issues such as those without the distraction of having to address insults such as the public supported flying of the Confederate Flag.”

To some, the Confederate flag is a symbol of southern pride; to others, it is a reminder of slavery, lynching and racial mistreatment.

The Sons of Confederate Veterans issued the following statement on Wednesday:

“On Monday, November 2, 2009, the Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV), the oldest veterans group established in 1896 was notified by the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) post commander Joseph Stahl, that we would not be allowed to enter the Homestead Veteran’s Day parade,’’ Gregory Kalof, commander of the Miami-Dade based Sons of Confederate Veterans camp 471, wrote in a press release sent to the South Florida Times Wednesday morning. “He stated that there were still strong feelings against the participation of the SCV but did not specify if it were the participants, organizers, or outside organizations.’’

The flag controversy in Homestead first erupted after black citizens, including Rosemary Fuller and Pat Mellerson, objected to seeing Confederate soldiers with their battle flags marching in last year’s parade.

“I am a child of the civil rights movement. My parents and grandparents suffered through a lot of discrimination and abuse during those times and that flag was a direct reminder of those things,” Mellerson said. “It’s offensive and represents brutality and oppression to so many people.”

The groups opposing the flag called on the Military Affairs Committee of the Greater Homestead/Florida City Chamber of Commerce, which originally organized the event, and the city of Homestead, which provided in-kind support, to bar Confederate States groups and their memorabilia from future parades.

Homestead elected officials reacted by explaining that the city was not the parade organizer, and therefore had no authority to ban any organizations from the parade.

The chamber initially could not reach any compromise on the issue. But after months of wrangling and pressure from the NAACP and officials in neighboring Florida City, the Military Affairs Committee decided in September to cancel the parade altogether.

The local post of the Veterans of Foreign Wars in Homestead took up the mantel, and applied for permits to organize this year’s parade.

Mellerson said the issue may now be resolved.

“The flag should be in a museum, in their homes, or on their personal cars,” Mellerson said. “I love parades. They are good for the community and I will have no problem attending.”

In the press release about the flag ban, Kalof tied the fate of the Confederate flag's display at the parade to that of Bell and the three other incumbents who lost their seats.  Observers on both sides of the issue say they believe the election was a referendum on the flag controversy.

“In our opinion, their standard of what has become a politically correct stance against the Confederate Battle Flag and all those that would support it are nothing short of political blackmail,’’ Kaloff wrote in his SCV press release. “The NAACP doesn’t have a record of Veteran’s support but instead only promotes its own agenda of erasing all aspects of Southern heritage. It has contrived a crisis for political ends: to remove Mayor Lynda Bell and council members from the Homestead City government. It seems very clear now that their threats have produced the desired results. For shame, for shame, on the voters and residents of Homestead by not voting or submitting to the sham that has been placed over the City.’’

Fuller, who lives just outside the city’s limits in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, agreed that the flag controversy is what galvanized voters. But she, said, other issues were also at play.

“This was never about Lynda Bell, and it wasn’t politically motivated. She [Lynda Bell] said that. Our focus was always on keeping those offensive flags and symbols from this community event,” she said. “They [council members] just blew it, and the voters spoke on Tuesday. If you go back and look at the council meetings, you will see where people who opposed the flag were demeaned and insulted.”

Fuller continued: “This is a good community and the people were just fed up, and it’s a refreshing day, and I do plan on going to the parade if they are banned.”

Kaloff said his Confederate organization would not challenge the VFW’s decision.

“We may attend the parade only as spectators. I'm not sure if it's too late to get into another parade but we are exploring that possibility,” he wrote in an email sent to the newspaper on Thursday, Nov 4.

When asked if the Sons of Confederate Veterans is considering any legal challenges to the ban, he responded, “No, there will be no legal steps taken against the VFW. We are a non-affiliated, non-political organization and would never sue another veteran’s organization just because of an error in human judgment.”

The Veterans Day parade in Homestead is a 47-year tradition that will now move forward.

“It looks as if it’s over, but we will still be watching,” Fuller said of the flag fight. “But this should be a lesson for everyone, particularly our elected officials, who should have respected everyone’s views.”

On The Web:   www.sfltimes.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3513&Itemid=1

 

Black soldiers honored with new markers dedicated Sunday in Pulaski

By Associated Press
November 5, 2009

PULASKI, Tenn. (AP) — New markers honoring 18 black soldiers who fought for the Confederacy will be dedicated Sunday at a cemetery in Pulaski.

All of the soldiers were from Giles County, and records show many of them received a military pension.

Cathy Wood is president of the Giles County chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy. She says her group and the Sons of Confederate Veterans chapter joined to buy the footstone markers, which will list the names, lifespans and unit numbers of the men.

Four of the soldiers are buried at Maplewood Cemetery, where the stones have been placed. The others were buried in small family cemeteries at farms around Giles County.

A cannon crew and color guard will take part in the ceremony at 2 p.m.

Copyright © 2009, WREG-TV

On The Web:   www.wreg.com/sns-bc-tn--civilwarmarkers,0,3260703.story

 

Ole Miss may drop fight song if fans don't stop chant

By Associated Press

For the AJC

JACKSON, Miss.-- University of Mississippi football fans who refuse to stop chanting "the South will rise again" are on the verge of losing one of their favorite fight songs, the school's chancellor said Monday.

Ole Miss Chancellor Dan Jones said "From Dixie With Love" will no longer be played at games if fans continue the racially offensive chant.

Last month, Jones asked the band to abruptly end the tune to discourage the chant, but he says that didn't solve the problem.

Jones said fan reaction during Saturday's game against Northern Arizona would decide the fate of the song, which blends the Confederate Army's fight song, "Dixie," with the Union Army's "Battle Hymn of the Republic." It's been played for the university's band for about two decades.

"The University of Mississippi is a warm and welcoming place. So many have worked hard to make sure our image moves forward, and we don't want anything to hurt that," Jones said during a luncheon sponsored by the John C. Stennis Institute of Government and the Capitol Press Corps.

"If the chant continues, we will discontinue the music that's associated with it," he said.

All of the university's head coaches, including football coach Houston Nutt, have endorsed the effort to end the chant, said athletics director Pete Boone.

"The chant ‘the South will rise again' reflects negatively not only on the university but also on the progress we have made in athletics over the past two decades," Boone said in a recent statement. "We join the super majority of the Ole Miss family in calling for discontinuing the chant."

Jones said the words in the phrase are "harmful" because they've been used by integration opponents in the past. For years, the university has worked to rid itself of an Old South image that included the 1962 violent standoff over James Meredith's admission as the university's first black student.

"I think the vast majority of our students don't understand the significance of this. I think most of the students who are participating in saying those words, don't know how painful they are," Jones said.

The move to abolish the chant began in October when the Ole Miss student government association passed a resolution to change the phrase to "to hell with LSU." The Faculty Senate later took a vote in support of the association and Jones.

Ole Miss has worked to improve its image as a racially diverse environment for decades after the 1962 admission of James Meredith as the school's first black student led to a deadly standoff.

Geoffrey Yoste, 45, a former Ole Miss instructor and retired Army National Guard major, said he agreed the chant is divisive and should stop, but he believes the university has mishandled the situation.

Yoste said Ole Miss officials should have held a convocation for freshmen to discuss what's acceptable on campus, rather "trying to tell a bunch of 21-year-olds what they can't do."

"I would hate for the Ole Miss band to stop playing ‘From Dixie with Love.' That would be a terrible tragedy. Even opposing teams that visit, they just think it's something new and special," Yoste said.

The Ole Miss band also plays "Dixie" itself. That song is not at issue in the current controversy.

© 2009 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

On The Web:   www.ajc.com/sports/uga/ole-miss-may-drop-184268.html

 

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Cable News Anchor Appeals to Ole Miss Students About Chant

Southern pride continues to frighten our handlers, so much so that they have to ask government shills to quell the rebellion:

Ole Miss has emailed to students a video of Fox News anchor Shepard Smith asking them not to chant "the South will rise again" at the end of one of the school's fight songs.

Smith says the phrase, considered by some to be racially offensive, "sends the wrong message about who we are" and will hurt the university.

The appeal comes after Chancellor Dan Jones said the fight song "From Dixie With Love" will be eliminated if fans continue to chant the phrase about the South.

Jones says fan reaction during Saturday's football game against Northern Arizona will decide the fate of the song.

Suitable replacement chants include, "Reconstructed and proud!", "Subjugation is our birthright!", and "Happy to live in Lower New England!"

On The Web:   www.dixienet.org/rebellion/2009/11/cable-news-anchor-appeals-to-ole-miss.html

 

Confederate flag banned again

Written by ELGIN JONES  
 

HOMESTEAD – Just days before the annual Veterans Day parade in Homestead, the Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV) group announced on Wednesday that the Confederate battle flag has been banned from the event.

Political observers say the long-simmering feud over the Confederate flag issue contributed to the ouster of Mayor Lynda Bell and three council members from office in Tuesday's election.

“On Monday, November 2, 2009, the Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV), the oldest veterans group established in 1896 was notified by the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) post commander Joseph Stahl, that we would not be allowed to enter the Homestead Veteran’s Day parade,’’ Gregory Kalof, commander of the Miami-Dade based Sons of Confederate Veterans camp 471, wrote in a press release sent to the South Florida Times Wednesday morning. “He stated that there were still strong feelings against the participation of the SCV but did not specify if it were the participants, organizers, or outside organizations.’’

Officials with the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) group, which is organizing the Nov. 11 parade, could not be reached for comment about the reported ban.

To some, the Confederate flag is a symbol of southern pride; to others, it is a reminder of slavery, lynching and racial mistreatment.

The controversy in Homestead first erupted after black citizens, including Rosemary Fuller and Pat Mellerson, objected to seeing Confederate soldiers with their battle flags marching in last year’s parade.

“I am a child of the civil rights movement. My parents and grandparents suffered through a lot of discrimination and abuse during those times and that flag was a direct reminder of those things,” Mellerson said. “It’s offensive and represents brutality and oppression to so many people.”

The groups opposing the flag called on the Military Affairs Committee of the Greater Homestead/Florida City Chamber of Commerce, which originally organized the event, and the city of Homestead, which provided in-kind support, to bar Confederate States groups and their memorabilia from future parades.

Homestead officials reacted by explaining that the city was not the parade organizer, and therefore had no authority to ban any organizations from the parade.

The chamber initially could not reach any compromise on the issue. But after months of wrangling and pressure from the Miami-Dade branch of the NAACP and officials in neighboring Florida City, decided in September to cancel the parade altogether.

The local post of the Veterans of Foreign Wars in Homestead took up the mantel, and applied for permits to organize this year’s parade, which will take place next Wednesday. VFW organizers have yet to confirm if they will impose a ban.

Mellerson said the issue may now be resolved.

“The flag should be in a museum, in their homes, or on their personal cars,” Mellerson said. “We have not been told this, but if it’s true, then it is the right decision. I love parades. They are good for the community and I will have no problem attending.”

In the press release about the flag ban, Kalof tied the fate of the Confederate flag's display at the parade to that of Bell, who lost her re-election bid on Tuesday.

Five of the city’s seven council members were up for re-election. Only one, Councilwoman Judy Waldman, won re-election. Waldman advocated ending the city’s support of the parade if the Confederate groups and their flags were not banned from it.

In stunning fashion, however, Bell and the three other incumbents were defeated by challengers.

Observers on both sides of the issue say they believe the election was a referendum on the flag controversy.

“In our opinion their standard of what has become a politically correct stance against the Confederate Battle Flag and all those that would support it are nothing short of political blackmail,’’ Kaloff wrote in his press release. “The NAACP doesn’t have a record of Veteran’s support but instead only promotes its own agenda of erasing all aspects of Southern heritage. It has contrived a crisis for political ends: to remove Mayor Lynda Bell and council members from the Homestead City government. It seems very clear now that their threats have produced the desired results. For shame, for shame, on the voters and residents of Homestead by not voting or submitting to the sham that has been placed over the City.’’

Fuller, who lives just outside the city’s limits in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, agreed that the flag controversy is what galvanized voters. But she, said, other issues were also at play.

“This was never about Lynda Bell, and it wasn’t politically motivated. She [Lynda Bell] said that. Our focus was always on keeping those offensive flags and symbols from this community event,” Fuller said. “They [council members] just blew it, and the voters spoke on Tuesday. If you go back and look at the council meetings, you will see where people who opposed the flag were demeaned and insulted.”

Fuller continued: “This is a good community and the people were just fed up, and it’s a refreshing day, and I do plan on going to the parade if they are banned.”

On The Web:   www.sfltimes.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3511

 

The Hunley II – Commentary by Frank Gillispie 10/23/09

Some time back, I acquired a copy of an unpublished manuscript written by my great uncle Ace Argo entitled, "The Heirs of Peggy," and written in the 1950's as near as we can tell. No copy I've seen has a copyright date on it. It contains a number of interesting stories about the lives he and his relatives experienced. There are probably a hundred or so copies spread among various family members. What follows is Chapter 8 from that manuscript.

Chapter 8 chronicles the tale, as told to Ace Argo by his father (my great-grandfather), William David Argo. He is known as "Dave" in the story. To the best of my knowledge, the story is authentic, however, I understand by way of Uncle Ace that some of the family names were changed because at the time it was written, a number of the participants or their close relatives were still living.

My great grandfather was a devout Christian and southern abolitionist. He and his siblings rejected an inheritance because it had been earned with slave labor. Some areas of the book contain terms that are no longer politically correct and would be deemed offensive by today's standards.

It is shared here as a tribute to my ancestors and the people of the South. I believe it illustrates their humanity and fallibility, the tragedy of war, but most importantly, their patriotism, loyalty, dedication and ingenuity.

From The Heirs of Peggy by Ace Argo, ca. 1950.

Chapter Eight - Huntley II

By spring of sixty—four, the war was bearing down on everyone in the south. Food was scarce and some items such as coffee were unobtainable except for the little bit that trickled back from, the front. During lulls in the fighting, soldiers of the opposing armies would meet secretly between the lines and sugar, tobacco, and rice would be swapped with the Yankee soldiers for coffee. When the boys would come home on furlough, they would bring a little coffee to dad and mom or to the wife. Some was brought in by blockade runners, but the price on this was prohibitive to any but the rich. There was a shortage of almost all drugs, especially quinine, and epidemics of typhoid fever raged.

Confederate commissary wagons would pass through the country, escorted by a patrol of cavalry, and a percentage of everything on the farm in The way of food would be taken and sent to the front. By year sixty—four, one third of everything edible was being requisitioned. People began to resist and many would drive their best cattle and hogs to the back fields or hide them in the swamps. Cured pork such as hams, shoulders, and side meat were removed and concealed in caves along the creek banks. There were complaints that much of the foodstuffs collected never found its way to the front. This was true, but usually it was due to a lack of transportation.

There was much concern that the slaves would rise in rebellion and the Patteros, a sort of vigilante group, were on patrol almost every night. Any slave caught out at night without a pass from his owner was lashed and trotted home. Most of the people had guns around their homes but there was little ammunition. No powder, shot or caps were used for hunting. What little was available was reserved for emergencies. Game became very plentiful, and to those resourceful enough to improvise traps and snares, it helped to augment their dwindling food supply.

Wounded soldiers and those home on furlough reported that the army was short of almost everything; food, clothes, ammunition, and especially in manpower, Battle losses had been heavy the year before and sickness was taking a still greater toll. Desertions and defections had also increased. General Grant had been put in charge of The new Army of the Potomac and everyone knew that he would soon move south with the largest and best equipped force ever to take the field in this country. Lee would have to oppose him with less than half as many men and very inadequate equipment.

Up to this time the attention of the people around Anderson had focused on the northern front for most of their men folks were serving in that theater. The hostilities there were several hundred miles away. But in the spring of sixty—four, General Sherman moved out of Chattanooga and headed south toward Atlanta. General Johnson checked him at Kennesaw Mountain but was unable to hold him and Atlanta fell. Immediately, attention turned to the west. Atlanta was scarcely more than a hundred miles away, and no one knew which way the Yankee army would turn from there but feared it might be east. A Home Guard unit had been organized consisting mostly of youths sixteen and seventeen and men who had lost a limb in the war but could still handle a gun to some extent and provide leadership and stability. They were drilled by a one—armed sergeant and commanded by a wounded captain home from the front. Their duties were mostly to guard supplies and be ready to quell any uprising of the slaves, if such should occur. Dave enlisted along with the first group and did duty until the end of the war.

The Guard seemed to function somewhat as the National Guard does today, the boys working most of the time and doing duty one or two days a week. It was probably exciting and eventful enough, but compared with what was going on elsewhere, it seemed pretty tame to Dave. He remembered the amusing incidents more than the serious ones.

They were grinding sorghum cane for syrup making with a mule pulling a beam ‘round and ‘round for power. Someone galloped up yelling at the top of his voice. "The Yankees are coming, the Yankees are coming!"

Everyone scattered with members of the Guard heading for their headquarters to assemble and arm themselves and others headed for home. One excitable old man jumped on the mule hitched to the syrup mill, popped spurs to him, and galloped around and around until one of the Guard boys ran up and stopped him and headed him for home.

The Guard assembled and marched out of town toward the west, taking along their supply wagon. By nightfall they were on the banks of the Savannah River at Browns Ferry, had bivouacked for the night, and posted sentries. The captain had inquired along the way. Ho one had seen any Yankees, but the ferryman reported that he had an arrangement with a family across the river to signal him if any showed up by hanging garments on the clothes line in a certain way. The signal had been out since early morning and he had not operated the ferry all day.

One of the sentries was posted near the supply wagon where they had eaten their supper and had fed the horses. In the early morning hours, Dave had relieved this post and was on duty there. It was quiet, nothing happening at all except that a pine rooter hog kept nosing around the wagon. Dave chased him away half a dozen times but he kept coming back. Finally he lost his temper and took a shot at the troublesome pig, wounding it, and it started squealing at the top of its voice. The shot and the commotion in the dead of the night was too much for the inexperienced boys of the Guard; they panicked and ran off into the woods. It took the captain half an hour to get them all back together and restore order. When he did he was raging, both at Dave for shooting and at the men for running.

When it was light enough they found a bateau and three men went across the river to look around and talk to the people who had hung out the signal. It was all a mistake. The lady of the house was sick and had hired a colored woman to do the wash. She had hung a union suit on the line in such a way that it formed a perfect "Y," the prearranged signal.

Before the mistake was discovered and while everyone was believing that a Yankee patrol was in the area one of the boys casually remarked, "I’ll bet they are looking for that submarine Thad Wehunt is building." When the excitement was over the captain called the young man aside and inquired further about the supposed submarine because, to his knowledge, Thad Wehunt had lost an arm in the fighting around New Orleans and had been discharged from the Navy. The young man told him That Wehunt was indeed building a sort of half—submersible craft right on his father’s farm along the Savannah River, and which he hoped to float dawn The Savannah when The river was at flood and attack the Union fleet lying off the river’s mouth, and at Fort Royal. The captain had heard nothing of this project but decided that if such a craft was really being built, it would become the duty of The Guard to protect it. So he picked Dave and two others who had mounts and set out for the Wehunt farm to investigate, sending the troop back to town in charge of the sergeant.

None of The family was at home. The captain looked around a little but noticed no signs that anything unusual was going on around there. Then one of the boys who was familiar with the place commented, "I wonder why they moved that old fodder shed? It used to set up here by the barn. Now it is down by the river, and it has been lengthened."

They rode down there and noticed signs of much activity around it. The doors were tightly closed and locked, and there were no cracks that anyone could see through.

The family owned a few slaves and soon one of them, a big, burley fellow, came down and wanted to know what they were doing nosing around there. The captain introduced himself and The boys but made no mention of what They had heard, "We have business with Mr. Wehunt," he explained.

"Mr. Wehunt and his son went into town early this morning and should be back soon now. Make yourselves comfortable and I will get you all a cup of cider. But you must go back up to the house. Marse Thad don’t want nobody messing around his fodder barn." And The big man led them back up The lane.

The father and son arrived an hour later, but at first they were non—committal and would tell them nothing about any boat project. But when the captain explained that he was there to offer the services of the Guard to help in any way possible, the younger man relented and told them the story.

Thad Wehunt had won an appointment to Annapolis Naval Academy and was there for two years before the war broke out. Shortly after the incident at Fort Sumter he left the Academy, returned to South Carolina, and enlisted in the Confederate Navy as a lieutenant. At the Academy he had majored in Naval Design and Construction, and The Confederates made use of his training to assist in the design of the Huntley, the world’s first workable submarine. The vessel successfully attacked and sank a Union warship but went down with it, so the project had to be put down as a failure. Lieutenant Wehunt was transferred to New Orleans and assigned to a small ram Boat. When Admiral Farragut successfully attacked the small Confederate fleet above New Orleans, Wehunt’s ram was among those destroyed. It was broken in two and the after section remained afloat with the lieutenant and several others staying aboard.

The admiral’s flagship came alongside and he called to them to surrender and he would send a boat to take them off. The lieutenant refused rescue and began to berate the admiral as a "damned traitor to his country" because Farragut was a native of Tennessee. The admiral then ordered him shot and the bullet shattered his arm, which had to be amputated later. Farragut then called to him, "Why don’t you damned fools surrender? Don’t you know the war is over?"

"Only the first phase of it is over," the wounded lieutenant replied. "The second phase begins here, and when it is over you will not have a warship afloat."

During his convalescent period, Lieutenant Wehunt used his right hand to draft the design of a new and revolutionary war vessel embodying a modification of the submarine principle combined with the ability to ram. He presented it to his Admiral and he thought it had great potentials, but the South did not have the money and materials to build one, so the lieutenant was thanked for his efforts and given his discharge.

But his interest continued, and after he arrived home he modified the original design to a more crude form that could be made of wood, a material readily available from his father’s sawmill. He sent the drawing to the Admiral. He believed it had possibilities and promised to give him as much help as possible and restored him to duty status.

The ambitious lieutenant set to work, using a few trusted slaves and a few of the young men thereabouts who were too young for military service. His boat was to be called, The Hunley II, in honor of the men who had lost their lives on the first submarine which he had helped to design.

Thad’s father walked with a heavy limp. He had been a railroad man for many years until he was injured in a wreck and had to retire. He believed that through his connections with the shop where the people knew him well he could obtain most of the bolts and rods that would be needed in the construction of the Hunley II.

Thad pledged them to secrecy, then took the group down to the shed and explained the construction and what he had in mind to accomplish. Dave was tremendously impressed and years later could give a minute description of the boat, mostly from memory, but he also had made a few sketches.

The Hunley II was to be forty—eight feet long and eight feet wide in the center. It would taper to a point at each end, much like a large canoe. It would flare slightly at its flat bottom and would be eight feet deep.

The heart of the boat and its ramming power would be in its massive keel, a piece of timber eighteen inches square and fifty—four feet long, extending six feet forward of the boat proper. To this projection was to be attached a cast iron ramming head. The hull would be double—planked with one inch boards to within three feet of the top, but the last three feet would be six inch oak timbers, hewed to the contour of’ the boat, and it would be decked with oak crossties, a supply of which they had on hand at the mill.

Unlike the Hunley I which was propelled by its crew turning a huge crank, the Hunley II would have a power plant. Their saw mill was powered by a steam engine using the upright type of boiler. This boiler was to be used in the boat and would furnish steam for four engines, turning four propellers, two in the conventional stern position and two forward. The boiler could not supply steam to operate these four engines continually, so the designer intended to use only the two stern engines for normal cruising and to use all four when a short burst of speed was needed, and to pull clear of a vessel that had been rammed.

The boat was expected to draw about two and one—half feet of water in the "high" position, and portholes along each side would provide light. There were compartments fore and aft that would be flooded before going into action and the vessel taken down until only two feet of its structure was above water. This would put the ramming head six feet below the surface, and an eighteen inch hole in the side of a wooden warship at that point would be enough.

It was to be a triple—threat craft. In addition to its ability to ram it was to be armed with two cannon, one fore and one aft, and these could be raised into firing position by a system of windlasses and a portion of the deck would be raised with them. It was hoped that with its low profile and great speed it could be brought in under a warship’s guns and fire solid shot into its sides at the water line with little risk of damage from return fire.. A crude periscope would provide vision when the guns were in the "up" position.

For its third threat, two heavy rings protruded from the sides near the stern. From these, "drag mines" would be towed. Workable mines had been developed by that stage of the war and the South had a few on hand. It was believed that these could be altered to put the detonating rods forward. Ironclad warships, which could not be effectively attacked by ramming or cannon fire, would be targets for drag—mine attack. The lieutenant’s plan was to come up behind a moving iron clad with a mine in tow at the end of a one or two hundred yard rope, run past it and across its bow and drag the mine beneath it.

Another unique feature Dave remembered was that the vessel was to have giant Eye—bolts near each end, reaching from the deck down through the keel. With these the craft would be lifted by two railroad cranes working from each end, loaded on a flatcar, and transported quickly from one seaport to another.

But why build it here, three hundred miles from the sea? The lieutenant’s answer made sense.

"It is the only place I can build it. No government funds or materials are available, and if they were I probably would not be able to get the approval of the proper officials, for I am only a lieutenant. The Admiral, though sympathetic and cooperative, nevertheless regarded it as a "hair brained" project. But he agreed with me that hair brained projects were about all we had left. And who can tell, this one might just work, and if it does the blockade can be broken, for we have ample materials to build more.

Plans were to take the boat down the river to Savannah during one of the many winter floods which occurred regularly in that country, practice on the half sunken ships in the estuary there until his ramming technique was perfected, then attack the Union warships at night just before dawn so there would be light to get back into harbor. If successful to any degree, he would then move on up and attack the fleet at anchor at Fort Royal.

Construction was already under way. A large virgin pine that stood on a rise of ground above the shed had been cut, the fifty—four foot log rolled into place by muscle power and hewed to shape by hand axes, for it was much too long to be handled by their small sawmill. The fodder shed had been dismantled and rebuilt over it. The bottom was completed and the sides were in process of being raised.

But a tragic ill wind blew against the endeavor and the boat was never completed. If it had been, who knows? The entire story of the War Between the States may have had a different ending.

Both the Wehunts reasoned that certain essential metal materials should be acquired before further effort was expended. These would include; the ramming head, three more engines and four propellers. Friends in The navy at New Orleans had promised to get the propellers from sunken boats and ship them to Augusta. From here and there they gathered enough scrap iron to make the ramming head and prow. The material was loaded into the wagon and the senior Wehunt started on the four-day journey to the foundry in Augusta.

Thad knew that the river was navigable for tugboats and barges as far up as Augusta, but from there to their place it was unknown to him. Water was low at that time of year and all navigational hazards would be visible, so on The same day his father left with the wagon of scrap iron he and Big Tobe, a trusted slave, left by boat to float to Augusta and chart the stream.

They never made it. Mr. Wehunt stayed with relatives in Augusta for Three weeks, hoping and praying, then gave up and donated the scrap iron to the war effort and came back home, a bereaved, discouraged, and beaten man.

No one knows what happened but most likely they both drowned while attempting to negotiate one of the many rapids. Tobe was a good hand with a boat but had had no experience in handling one in fast water, for the river near the Wehunt farm was relatively smooth.

There was no one to carry on with The project, so after a few months it was dismantled, The big keel timber was cut into shorter lengths and sawed into lumber.

Months later the badly decomposed body of a negro man was found entangled in some muscadine vines in The river just below Calhoun Falls, and was thought to be that of Big Tobe. But the body of Lieutenant Thad Wehunt was never found that anyone around Anderson ever heard of.

In this work of limited vision, recognition is only given to those who try and succeed. What a pity that those who give such effort to noble projects and fail through no fault of their own are not also appropriately recognized and honored.

Originally published at www.frankgillispie.com/scvcamp1526/id16.html

Copyright © 2009 by Frank Gillispie

On The Web:   georgiaheritagecouncil.org/site2/commentary/gillispie-hunley2-102409.phtml

 

Gettysburg chief reassigned over explicit images
 

HARRISBURG, Pa. — The superintendent of Gettysburg National Military Park told a newspaper he is being reassigned because U.S. Interior Department investigators discovered that he used his federal computer to view sexually explicit images.

John Latschar will begin Monday at the Historic Preservation Training Center in Frederick, Md., as a special assistant to the National Park Service's associate director for cultural resources.

Park service spokesman David Barna would not say why Latschar had been reassigned, calling it a personnel issue, but Latschar told the Evening Sun of Hanover he is being reassigned because of his misuse of the federal computer.

Latschar told the newspaper that "there's no excuse" for his behavior. He said he was "going through some rough personal and professional times" from 2004 to 2006, when he used his computer to search online for the images, which he said were like those found in a Playboy magazine.

Latschar didn't immediately return a message left by The Associated Press at his Gettysburg park office. Latschar, in an e-mail to park employees obtained by the AP, apologized but did not mention the images.

"As I say goodbye to all you good folks, I would like, once again, to offer you my heartfelt apologies for what has happened," Latschar wrote. "My greatest sorrow is the embarrassment I have brought upon my family, my friends, and you — my former employees — of whom I have always been so proud."

In his new job, Latschar will make the same $145,000 a year salary as he did while running the 6,000-acre historical Civil War site, Barna said.

Latschar began working at the park in south-central Pennsylvania in 1994 and clashed repeatedly with preservationists.

The Interior Department's Office of Inspector General investigated anonymous allegations that Latschar had committed misconduct and engaged in criminal activity during his stewardship, but said last month that it had found no evidence to back up the accusations.

The Washington Post reported Monday, however, that the inspector general's public account did not mention another finding: that investigators found that Latschar used his computer to view thousands of sexually explicit images.

Mary L. Kendall, the department's acting inspector general, declined to say why the discovery of the images was left out of the report, the Post reported.

The park was the scene of a bloody three-day battle in July 1863, a major turning point of the Civil War that hastened the defeat of the Confederate Army. It now draws more than 1.4 million visitors a year.

In recent years, the park also has been the center of hot debates involving its preservation and nearby development.

Investigators looked into claims of fraud in connection with the park's new $103 million museum and visitors' center, built and operated by the private, nonprofit Gettysburg Foundation. The inspector general's report acknowledged that the agreement between the park and the foundation makes for a controversial partnership, but it said investigators uncovered no evidence of fraud.

It also detailed how Latschar had agreed last year to take the $245,000-a-year job as the foundation's president. Latschar subsequently changed his mind after meeting with federal ethics officials.

Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press.

On The Web:   www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iW5ldfu_MFoPGZpKynrmmopNiMIAD9BGVBFO0

 

Church, school, community leaders talk about race after Confederate flag incident

October 23, 2009
Amanda Memrick

It will take cooperation from both the community and the schools to conquer racism, local leaders say.

Gaston County Schools Superintendent Reeves McGlohon, the Rev. Benjamin Hinton of Tabernacle Baptist Church, community activist John Barnette and former school board member Jennifer Davis met Thursday to talk about respect for diversity both inside and outside of schools.

“I think there is a tendency to think that this issue that North Gaston (High) has faced in these past weeks was unique to North Gaston, and that’s not true,” McGlohon said. “It’s not just a school problem. If we’re going to make sure that we all respect diversity, it’s something that we’re all going to have to work at in our schools, our churches and throughout our community.”

Two weeks ago someone taped up a Confederate flag on the school’s flag pole. The next morning three students — one black, two white — received five-day suspensions for a verbal argument. Barnette, serving as family spokesman for one of the suspended teens, said last week the argument occurred when two white students wearing Confederate flag shirts told the black student to take off his President Barack Obama T-shirt. All of the students are now back in school.

McGlohon said the group was in the process of forming plans over the next few weeks to get started in the right direction. Students and parents will also be involved in deciding how to address the issue, he said.

The group will meet again next month to look at ways to educate students, teachers and staff from not only the school perspective but the community perspective, said Hinton.

Hinton said he understands the pride that some feel about their heritage, but need to be mindful of what kind of reactions the Confederate flag might spark in others.

“To me, that’s ignorance right there. To me that’s dishonoring their history and their heritage,” Hinton said. “I can respect the historical heritage of those Confederates who fought and died. Their blood, sweat and tears were just as valuable as the slaves that lost their lives.”

Hinton said the faith community needs to be at the forefront of diversity discussions.

“I think we need to take the lead, both the black pulpit and the white pulpit,” Hinton said. “We’re going to have to take the lead in preaching and teaching and demonstrating.”

But it’s not going to be easy.

“How do you change a mindset? It’s going to take re-programming almost,” Hinton said. “Some of it’s never going away. We can’t change everybody. Until the hearts of people change, the community won’t change.”

It’s going to take everyone’s help, Hinton said.

“We’ve made some strides but we still have a long way to go,” Hinton said. “What we don’t need to do is turn back the hands of time.”

On The Web:   www.gastongazette.com/news/community-39403-schools-church.html

 

MOTHER OF ALL FALSE FLAGS

By Andrew C. Wallace
October 23, 2009
NewsWithViews.com

This was written for the misinformed Black and White victims living under Fascism in the inner cities; and for those who have been screwed out of everything, and will join them in that soon to be much worse living hell. The Inner Cities are “Marxist Utopias” set up for the profit and power of your elected officials who are Parasitic Traitors to you and to the Republic. Both Democrat and Republican Officials are Progressives, that is Marxists, Communists and Fascists, who take orders from the Super Rich Elite owners of large corporations, the media and most of the world.

Warning, Political Correctness is a restriction of Free Speech and is not to be found in this paper. My creditability depends on truth, I encourage you to question my facts, but you cannot do that by using information from politicians or the media. “Am I therefore become your enemy because, I tell you the truth? Galatians 4:16.

The Inner Cities are “False Flag Operations” because average White Americans, who mostly don’t have a clue as to the underbelly of the toxic propaganda being spewed in them are taxed to support them; and are falsely blamed for their existence .The real perpetrators of hell in the inner cities are your elected Progressive, mostly Black Traitors and related Parasites who prosper from your misery, while wanting you dead. You will turn on these lying oppressors when you learn the truth.

If most Americans were Racists, Obama would not have been elected; and Federal and State governments would not be spending one dollar out of seven on means tested welfare for one third of the American population, most of whom reside in the inner cities. Means tested welfare spending is $28,000 per household of four, for a total of 714 Billion dollars, 5% of GDP, which means that two thirds of American households are paying $6,720 a year to support the less productive one third. Social Security, Medicare, Police, and Education are additional costs not included in the preceding. Facts from Robert Rector, Special report #67, The Heritage Foundation.

Brian Riedl of The Heritage Foundation just reported “that our Federal Government will spend $33,880 per household in 2009, the highest level in history adjusted for inflation which is $8,000 more per household than last year. $18,277 per household of the $33,880 will be in taxes and the remaining $15,630 will be debt”. This is impossible to sustain and will quickly result in recognized Bankruptcy and abject poverty for all Americans, except for the Traitors who did the looting. Worthless paper money will not pay for benefits.

Oh, how we are being screwed, let me count the ways. Your fascist government allowed corporations, with the eager support of unions, to employ low skilled foreign born workers for cheap wages to take our jobs. Taxpayers are forced to subsidize these exploited workers, most of whom are illegals, in the amount of about $900 for each American household, (based on Heritage Foundation figures) which are also included in the preceding Brian Riedl figures. Each illegal head of household costs American taxpayers about $25,000 a year after deducting any taxes paid.

Most Racists are the 95% of Black Inner City residents who have been misled to vote for the same Progressive Officials who are responsible for their deprivations and want them dead. It is sad reality, but a large percentage of inner city residents have been taught to blame and hate the White man by Marxist Parasites, such as elected officials, school teachers, ministers of black liberation theology, community organizers like ACORN, labor unions like SEIU, AFL-CIO, and organizations like The Black Panthers, Nation of Islam, Rainbow Coalition, et al. These organizations and people are responsible for preaching hatred of our country, White people and the economic system that allows those so inclined to escape poverty, if they can survive the crime, and overcome the mismanaged and ineffective schools run by their own people. White racism does exist by the Elites, government officials and by those born with a silver spoon in their mouth, but they are also equally prejudiced against poor Whites. Many average white people do harbor resentment because of perceived preferential benefits for Blacks, and for crime rate in the Black community.

If the Marxist System advocated by Traitors you support is instituted , you will lose what you have and end up with less than nothing; because a productive society will no longer exist to subsidize mismanagement, theft and crime in the inner cities. This is an absolute economic and historic fact.

It must be strongly stated that the Treason by Progressive Usurpers in our government who pass and enforce unconstitutional laws is a national problem; as is the reality of a totally corrupt judicial system. All of these Traitors are going to jail if they are lucky. This treason would have been impossible without the corporate owned propaganda media , which refuses to this day, to tell the truth contrary to the intent of the Constitution resulting in a largely uninformed and misinformed population. Thank God for the Internet and Talk Radio.

Cong. Jim Clyburn, third ranking House Democrat, and black caucus member, admitted that he repudiated his solemn oath and was a Traitor to our Constitutional Republic; when, as reported in Star Parker’s column, “he was asked where the Constitution gives the federal government authority to regulate health care delivery, Clyburn replied, "There's nothing in the Constitution that says that the federal government has anything to do with most of the stuff we do." Clyburn pulled no punches that our Constitution, which is the basis of his authority, is irrelevant to him.”

The greatest political awakening in our lifetime was the Massive Protest March by both White and Black Patriots to the nation’s capital on 9-12-09 which demonstrated to Patriots and Fascists alike that rule by Unconstitutional Corruption and Treason was going to end.

This incredible, first time ever, Protest March on Washington of upwards of Two Million unpaid Patriots is representative of a Massive Grass Roots Rebellion by a majority of the people which cannot be defeated. But, we are also in imminent mortal danger because the Traitors are now like cornered rats; and may resort to the MOTHER OF ALL FALSE FLAG events in a dangerous last ditch gamble; pitting their misinformed inner city Black victims against informed patriots who mostly did them no harm. This would allow the Elites to have their enemies decimate each other, which is part of their ultimate goal.

Another, among many possible False Flag events would be to secretly offer amnesty and other benefits to the illegals to expedite their ethnic cleansing of both poor blacks and whites as they are already being allowed to do. Remember that the Progressives have been trying to kill poor Blacks and Whites for the better part of 100 years. Where do you think Hitler got many of his ideas? For documented details click here.

Hilary Clinton proudly proclaimed that she was a Progressive and was recently awarded the “Planned Parenthood Margaret Sanger Award.” ”Sanger was a proponent of eugenics and initiated the Negro Project to infiltrate the black community to initiate abortions resulting in fewer and fewer black people.”

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said "Frankly I had thought that at the time [Roe vs. Wade] was decided, there was concern about population growth and particularly growth in populations that we don't want to have too many of “ Reported by Jonah Goldberg, 7-14-09, latimes.

Pastor Stephen Broden reported that “14 million Black babies have been womb lynched since 1973 which is over 37% of all abortions . The history of Planned Parenthood and its goals to eliminate black folk is common knowledge among blacks in the pro-life movement. It is well documented that Margaret Sanger sought to exterminate the black race here in America and across the world.”

Pastor Arnold Culbreath added that “abortion remains the leading cause of death in the Black community.”

Professor Carol Swain said “As a Christian, I believe that nations will be judged on the basis of how they treat the most vulnerable among them, and that "We the People" will be held responsible for the collective actions of the leaders whom we elect.”

Forget right and wrong for a minute, and just realize how taxes from those aborted 50-60 million babies of all races, could have saved your Medicare and Social Security from bankruptcy.

Your mostly Black Elected Officials from the inner cities sold you out to their Elite, mostly white bosses, for power and luxury, just like the Blacks who sold their own people into slavery in the first place. Your members of Congress were bribed to vote for Amnesty, Worker Visas, Free Trade, Open Borders, Benefits for illegals, and Massive Payoffs for Banks, Insurance Companies, Auto Companies, Unions and assorted Looting, this is how and why we have all been screwed. We call this Treason.

There would be no more Unemployment, and Wages would go up, if you had the Testicular Fortitude to force your officials to obey the Constitution; by closing the borders, and deporting every illegal in sight, while using whatever deadly force is required. This would end the ethnic cleansing of neighborhoods by illegals who are killing and driving Whites and Blacks out.

You are damn right, if you say I am anti-illegal, they are our enemies who take our jobs and are responsible for either the murder, killing, rape, molestation, or robbery of millions of Americans; while our government refuses to perform their constitutional duty to stop the invasion and deport the illegals. The Progressive Officials you elected allow this for their share of profits from drugs and cheap labor. I dare you to contest these facts, or to call me a racist?

I fear that the Fascist Traitors who have so much to lose will have their Acorn and Union Thugs attack the average White or Black Patriot. This has already started with Union Thugs supporting Obama by attacking old men at the town hall meetings. These attacks were deliberate, knowing that old men realize they can’t win a fight, and rather than being stomped to death, would have no choice but to kill the attackers giving government an excuse to declare unconstitutional Martial Law.

Bray like a Jackass, if you don’t understand now, that Your elected officials support Illegals, Amnesty, Worker Visas, and Free Trade which allows corporations to exploit foreign born workers while firing Americans. A NBER study found that 40% of unemployment of Black males was due to foreign born workers. The corporations and your elected officials get rich while leaving you without a pot to pee in. . Most of us have our roots in the Inner Cities and the only way you will get us back is to bury us there.

Many of you in inner cities like New York are also being deprived of your Constitutional right and obligation to protect yourself from criminals and a rogue government with firearms. If you think our Communists and Fascists are less ruthless than others like Hitler and Stalin, who killed millions, and won’t kill you, think Waco and Ruby Ridge. The only reason to deprive citizens of firearms is so government can take your freedoms and do with you as they please. Firearms reduce crime. The police have never been responsible for protecting you, that is your Constitutional Responsibility. Demand your rights to keep and bear arms so you can defend yourself and family.

You don’t need to be an economist and attorney, to know that government printing of money and looting on such a large scale, while destroying the private capitalistic job creating economy is unconstitutional; resulting in abject poverty and Fascist slavery for all of us.

Most of our officials and judges at every level of government are corrupt. Obama refuses to meet the constitutional requirements to be president, and not one single official or judge, had the courage to enforce the constitution, but that will change. The Patriots in this country, both Black and White, will stop the Fascist Treason of our elected officials and take back our country by throwing them out of office. Arm yourself with the truth by verifying what I have written and join us in our fight for survival.

The Elitists who control the Traitors in Corporations, Foundations, Media and Government are now known; and would be well advised to be guided by Galatians 6:7 Be not deceived: God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

© 2009 Andrew Wallace   

On The Web:   www.newswithviews.com/Wallace/andrew121.htm

 

Ole Miss changes football fight song to discourage "South will rise again" chant

School alters wording to drop offensive lines

By Shelia Byrd, Associated Press
Posted October 23, 2009

JACKSON, Miss. -- The University of Mississippi has shortened one of its fight songs to discourage football fans from chanting "the South will rise again" during part of the tune, which critics say is an offensive reminder of the region's intolerant past.

However, some fans have continued to recite the chant at the end of the song, "From Dixie With Love," despite the change made last week at the chancellor's request. The Ole Miss band performs the medley before and after games.

Earlier this month, the Ole Miss student government passed a resolution suggesting the chant be replaced by the phrase, "To hell with LSU."

Dan Jones, who became Ole Miss chancellor in July, said he asked the school's band director, David Wilson, to modify the song to support the efforts of the Associated Student Body.

He said he has received complaints from alumni that the slogan is offensive.

"The fact is, the phrase 'The South will rise again' is not part of our tradition or spirit, and it is inconsistent with the university's values and what Ole Miss stands for -- a great public university with a focus on the future," Jones said in a phone interview Thursday from the campus in Oxford.

The modified version of the song ends abruptly before the chanting phase starts. It was first played Saturday at Ole Miss's homecoming game against the University of Alabama at Birmingham, but that didn't stop some fans from chanting.

Brian Ferguson, 26, head of the Colonel Reb Foundation, said he views the university actions as an attempt to silence students.

"I think it's a big to-do about nothing. There were very few people other than the students who knew to say it," said Ferguson, whose organization works to preserve traditions at Ole Miss. But Ferguson agreed that the chant really isn't a tradition.

"If the students get fired up and upset enough about it, they're going to continue to say it. Our biggest fear is that that's going to lead them to eliminate 'From Dixie With Love,' altogether."

The song blends the Confederate Army's fight song, "Dixie," with the Union Army's "Battle Hymn of the Republic," according to Peter K. Frost, a visiting professor of history and international studies at Ole Miss.

The school has worked to erase its image as a bastion of the Old South, which was solidified in 1962 when James Meredith's admission as the first black student led to a bloody standoff.

The university six years ago decided not to have an on-field mascot during sporting events, getting rid of the long-standing Colonel Rebel, a white-haired old man who carries a cane and resembles a plantation owner.

At the time, school officials had said they needed a more athletic-looking mascot. The teams are still called the Rebels.

Sophomore Cortez Moss, director of communications for the student body association said the organization is trying to explain to students why the phrase is offensive.

"You take back on that slave mentality," said Moss, who is black.

"I know the South won't rise again and the South can't rise again."

2009 The E.W. Scripps Co.

On The Web:   www.commercialappeal.com/news/2009/oct/23/ole-miss-wont-let-fight-song-go-easily/