7/28/07

I am A......


CONFEDERATE!!!!

I did my Reserch Lydia....

1. We protest the tyranny of the 1954 "Black-Monday" edict, which forced minorities
into schools. We vow to take our schools back.

2. We protest the infamy of the 1962 Invasion of Mississippi, which forced bayonets
over ballots. We vow to take our democracy back.

3. We protest the usurpation of the 1964 "Civil-Rights" Bill, which forced minorities
into the workplace. We vow to take our workplaces back.

4. We protest the despotism of the 1965 "Voting-Rights" Act, which forced minorities
into offices. We vow to take our offices back.

5. We protest the brutality of the 1967 "Forced-Housing" Act, which forced minorities
into neighborhoods. We vow to take our neighborhoods back.

6. We protest the disgrace of the 1997 "Ole-Miss Rebel-Flag Ban," which forced the
"Black Caucus" over students. We vow to take the Chancellor's office back.

7. We protest the abomination of the 1999 "Jackson-City-Council Flag Banishment,"
which forced "New-African" over American colors. We vow to take our capital back.

8. We protest the intrustion by the 2000 "Nissan Ban-the-Flag Ultimatum," which
forced foreign occupation of our soil. We vow to take every inch of our turf back.

9. We salute the defiance of the 2001 "Save-the-Flag" uprising, which forced the
majority over the minorities. We vow to defend and advance our rights.

10. We honor the life of Governor Lester Maddox, in behalf of private property and freedom. We vow to restore the Confederate flag in the Georgia flag as a Maddox Memorial.

Background

When the Berlin Wall fell, the Confederate flag was raised to symbolize defiance of tyranny. When Lithuania gained independence, the Confederate flag was flown to show defiance of despotism. And when Mississippi stands against attempts by Negroes, communists and Japanese to take over the state, the Confederate flag is there to signify defiance of oppression. Lenore Prather barred the Mississippi Supreme Court from receiving the Nationalists' amicus curiae brief in suport of the flag, but was promptly voted out of office. Ruth Ginsberg prevented the United States Supreme Court from accepting the Nationalists' petition for writ of certiorari, but the publicity generated by the litigation kept momentum behind the flag. Richard Barrett vowed, "I will stick in this ring until I knock the flag-haters out."

Huge crowds turned out to support the flag at public meetings, overwhelming Clinton Race-Board Member William Winter, who sought to replace the flag with a replica of the Red-Chinese flag. When the Nissan automobile company joined the Black Caucus in opposing the flag, Nationalists reminded that Negroes were defeated in the Reconstruction and the Japanese in World War II. Resentment, sparked by L. E. Matthews III, Joe McNamee, Tony Thomas and Greg Stewart, reached a fever-pitch, forcing the flag-issue onto the ballot. Seeing the "handwriting on the wall," at the last minute, even former Governor Bill Waller and Kirk Fordice weighed in on the side of the flag. Voters buried flag-opponents in an historic landslide.

The petition drive continues in order to keep the Yellow and Black Caucuses down, move Mississippi and America closer to majority-rule and thwart any efforts to hi-jack, compromise or sell out the victory. The Clarion-Ledger newspaper said that it feared that Mississippi would become a "magnet" for rightist social activists. Legislator Mike Chaney even demanded that flag-victors "cool it." But Eric Jamison of Mississippi, who attended pro-flag rallies, said that he welcomes new organization and offensives. "Flag-foes are telling us to 'move on,' but we are going to 'march on.'" Richard Barrett even hoisted the flag beside the Liberty Bell, as the vote was announced.

Time Line

* 1787. The United States establishes citizenship for the American People from which Indians, slaves and foreigners are excluded.
* 1857. The United States Supreme Court, in the case of Dred Scott v. Sandford, rules that Negroes are an inferior race, not entitled to be part of the body politic.
* 1896. The United States Supreme Court, in the case of Plessey v Ferguson, rules that the American People cannot be forced, in public places, to associate with Negroes against their will.
* 1962. Minority James Meredith is forced into the University of Mississippi at bayonet point by President John F. Kennedy. The entire State of Mississippi rebels. Confederate and Mississippi flags are central to the protests against oppression by minorities, tyranny by government officials and intrusion by communist-instigated agitation. Clean-cut, all-American youth raise their fists -- and their flags -- in defiance. Governor Ross Barnett, in Mississippi's Finest Hour, waves his own Confederate flag at the Ole Miss football game. In one of the most dramatic events in Mississippi history, Barnett declares: "I love Mississippi. I love her customs. I love her people." Observers say that every white man in the state would have laid down his life at that very moment for freedom.
* 1977. Governor Ross Barnett appears, in his last, major public appearance, at the Mississippi War Memorial draped in Confederate and American flags, and voices his defiance of tyranny and minority rule. This time, he symbolically "passes the torch" to a young Vietnam War veteran, Richard Barrett, who stands beside him at the podium. Barrett has been organizing youth and speaking throughout the nation for a patriotic and nationalistic resurrection.
* 1987. Minorities invade Forsyth County, Georgia, demanding that land be confiscated and turned over to inner-city slum dwellers and that students be bussed into minority-controlled, downtown Atlanta. To the nation's surprise, thousands of young people, waving Confederate and American flags, led by Richard Barrett, march in opposition in the Majority Rights' Freedom Parade. Defiant, proud and wholesome-looking, they are in stark contrast to the mean, hateful and unkemp minorities whose demands they reject. The nation now has a choice between the majority and minorities. The Confederate flag becomes a symbol of protest, patriotism and victory. All of the minorities' demands are rejected. A warrant is sworn out to arrest Barrett for waving his flag, but the court dismisses the charges. The Nationalist Movement is born and wins in the Supreme Court when officials try to ban it.
* 1989. During the Phil Donahue Debate on the Confederate Flag in New York, Thomas Reed, the minority who was arrested for trying to tear down the Confederate flag atop the Alabama State Capitol, tells a nationwide television audience that Richard Barrett is "the best representation of the Confederate Battle Flag that I have ever seen in my life." Barrett vows that "you will see the victory of us flag-wavers over you flag-tearers."
* 1990. Jackson, Mississippi public schools try to ban students from displaying the Confederate flag in meetings at Forest Hill High School. Nationalists, led by student Joe McNamee and his father, sue the school on the grounds that their constitutional rights have been violated. They win a court order reestablishing the meetings and the flag in the public schools. Soon after, the NAACP sues the State of Mississippi to ban the Confederate flag from being part of the state flag. Chancellor Chet Dillard throws out the case.
* 1997. Lebanese Chancellor Robert Khayat, bowing to demands of the "Black Caucus," threatens to arrest Confederate-flag-wavers. Nationalists sue, launch petitions and hold the rousing Stick the Ban Rally on campus. Students hoist flags on staffs fashioned out of paper and on cardboard, by the thousands.
* 1998. Negroes sue to have the flag removed. Nationalists file an amicus curiae brief stating that the court has no jurisdiction to remove the flag. The court rules that it has no power to remove the flag. Judge Lenore Prather opposes both the flag and the Nationalists. She is overwhelmingly voted out at the following election.
* 1999. Nationalists succeed in having Negro Fred Banks tossed off the case in the Mississippi Supreme Court in which Negroes had, also, been seeking to have the Confederate flag removed from the state flag. The court, again, turns the Negroes down. Richard Geldreich, David Edwards, Arthur Baker and others who Khayat threatens with arrest for displaying the Confederate flag are hailed as heroes.
* 2000. William Winter of the Clinton Race-Board, named by Governor Ronnie Musgrove to a "Flag-Commission," vows to abolish the flag to appease the Black Caucus and prevent a vote on the issue. Richard Barrett re-posts the flag in Jackson City Hall, after Negro Councilman, Kenneth Stokes, pilfers it. Barrett delivers his I Am Offended speech on the same spot. Huge crowds turn out at public meetings to oppose Winter. Hinds County Circuit Judge Swan Yerger rules in favor of placing the issue on the ballot. Winter demands that the flag be replaced with a replica of the flag of Red China, but L. E. Matthews III and others display the flag in his face. Legislative leaders rebuff Winter. The Commission then caves in to demands for a popular vote.
* 2001. The Nissan automobile company demands that the Mississippi flag be taken down. Nationalists receive overwhelming support for their campaign exposing the Red-Flag as subversion by both the Yellow Caucus and Black Caucus. Charlie Capps and Japanese "businessmen," realizing that they are doomed, secure "permission" from Winter to change the replica of the Red-Chinese flag from red to blue, but the public remains outraged. Richard Barrett says that "dyeing Lenin's beard will not change the face of communism." He dubs the "revised" Winter flag the "Bluebeard" flag. Some call it the "pizza" flag. On April 17, 2001, the people vote for the Confederate flag, 2-1. Barrett proclaims the vote at the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia. Banks resigns.
* 2003. Lester Maddox, Confederate-flag-supporter and staunch segregationist, dies, without ever recanting, having stated that he only wished that he had fought harder for segregation. Nationalists call for the restoration of the Confederate flag in the Georgia flag as a memorial to Maddox.
* 2006. The flag is re-posted, each year, symbolically, at Jackson City Hall. Negro Mayor Frank Melton threatens to block the ceremonies, but is backed down.
* 2007. Negroes demand that the flag be placed on the ballot, a second time, in Mississippi, so that they may defeat it, but they fall flat. Senator Harry F. Byrd, Jr. expresses appreciation to Mississippi for keeping up the fight against the Voting Rights Act.

7/12/07

World War 1

Who started the "Great War"?


1. Serbia

* on June 28, 1914, the 19-year old student Gavrilo Princip, an agent of the Serbian Black Hand secret society, assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the throne of AH.
* Serbia had emerged victorious from the Balkan Wars 1912-13 over Turkey and Bulgaria, but AH had annexed Bosnia, Herzogovina, Albania and opposed the "pan-slavism" that Serbia represented.

2. Austria-Hungary

* on July 28, the AH Dual Monarchy declared war on Serbia.
* empire of Franz Joseph (ruled 1848-1916) was the best example of the "persistence of the ancien regime" (Arno Mayer). Alan Palmer in Twilight of the Habsburgs (1995) argues that the emperor was not so bad, sought peace and stability, that Vienna with a population of 2m. was a cultural center of Europe. He weakened the empire starting in 1908 by granting universal suffrage and opening the political system to ethnic minorities.

3. Russia

* on July 29, Nicholas II was pressured by his military to mobilize prematurely to defend Serbia. Ger. decd war Aug. 1
* Emperor Nicholas II was struggling to keep power from the revolutionaries who had established the Duma parliament in 1905.
* Gen. Samsonov invades East Prussia Aug. 13 but is defeated by Hindenburg and Ludendorff at Tannenberg Aug. 26-30

4. Germany

* on Aug. 1, Germany reluctantly followed its alliance with AH by declaring war on Russia
* Kaiser Wilhelm II (ruled 1888-1918) had ousted Bismarck and sought to keep government in his control, opposing the rising Social Democratic Party, favoring instead the Prussian aristocracy, von Moltke's General Staff, Tirpitz's navy
* Schlieffen Plan begins Aug.10 with huge wheel-like movemnet through Belgium by 1.5 million men in 7 armies, capture Liege Aug. 15, Brussels Aug. 20.

5. France

* on Aug. 1, France followed its alliance with Russia and mobilized - Ger decd war on France Aug. 3.
* Foreign Minister Delcasse had sought an Anglo-French front against Germany but fell from power 1905 as over the German-Morocco crisis and the Dreyfus affair. Church-state separation took place 1905 and Clemenceau led a radical majority in the 1906 elections to create a new French nationalism. Poincare was elected President in 1913 and saw the end of the Third Republic as war began 1914.
* French offensive in Lorraine is fails in the Battle of the Frontiers Aug. 14-25, and Joffre retreats to the Marne, but Ger. right is weakened to strengthen Lorraine

6. Britain

* on Aug. 4, Brit. followed its Triple Entente with France and Russia (formed 1907 by Edward Grey) and declared war on Germany, and after Ger. decd war on Belgium.
* George V (ruled 1910-36) struggled to work with the Liberal majority of David Lloyd George but faced growing turmoil of labor strikes, opposition to Irish home rule.
* Gen John French defeated at Battle of Mons Aug. 23 and joins French in retreat to the Marne. Gen. Joffre is able to stop Ger. Sep. 5-12 in the "miracle of the Marne"

7. Japan

* on Aug. 23, Japan declared war on Ger. and occupied Shantung



Why U.S. entry?



1. Americans unneutral in "thought & deed" (Aug. 19 speech)

* hyphenates = relief committees, 1914 Czech lobby of Edward Benes, Thomas Masaryk
* pro-British = propaganda, blockade, no Declaration of London, loans
* "merchants of death" = Remington, DuPont, Hog Island
* Dacia case - Grey opp'd McAdoo plan to buy German ships

2. U-boat

* Sep. 5, 1914 - Brit cruiser Pathfinder first to be sunk by Ger. submarine - the U-boat fleet grows from 21 in 1914 to 127 in 1917, but only 1/3 at sea at any one time.
* Feb. 4, 1915 - Ger. proclaims "war Zone" around Brit. - also begin Zeppelin attacks on London by air.
* Feb. 10 - Wilson protest - declares Ger would be held to "strict accountability" but ambiguous on passenger ships. Protest also made to Brit - no use of U.S. flag allowed.
* Mar. 28 - Brit steamship Falaba sunk - 104 dead include 1 American, Leon Thrasher
* May 7 - Brit passenger liner Lusitania sunk by one torpedo from Ger. Capt. Walter Schwieger's U-20; 1198 dead, including 128 Americans.
* Lusitania notes: 1st U.S. note on May 13 demanded right to travel, disavowal, reparations - Ger. reply strong: claimed that the Brit. ship carried munitions, that sinking it was "just self-defense" - however, on June 6 Ger. issued order to U-boats to spare passengers; 2nd U.S. note on June 9 was strong, demanded "specific pledge" - WJB resigns; 3rd U.S. note on July 21 was an ultimatum: any more sinkings by Ger. subs would be "deliberately unfriendly"
"Standing Back of Him" from
the New York Tribune, Feb. 1917

Jeanette Rankin in U.S. Capitol
* Arabic Aug. 19 - 2 Amer killed - Bernsdorff pays indemnity and makes pledge (for 9 mos)

3. domestic frustration

* Mexican revolution worsens in 1915 - Pershing expedition begins March 1916
* intervention in Haiti July 1915 & Santo Domingo 1916
* spy expose Aug 15, 1915 - Franz von Rintelen arrested in Atlanta - over von Papen and Boy Ed - plotted with Huerta - Brit "Purchasing Comm" in NY - Wm Wiseman of Kuhn-Loeb - gave info to Col. House - Eman. Voska & Bohemian Alliance - worked for Brit SIS - McAdoo tapped tel of Ger & AH ministers - Brit Room 40 made decrypts - Ralph Van Deman is the "father of Am. military intelligence" due to his 1916 report that led to the reestablishment of MID
* Peace Movement - Am. Peace Society 1907 - Cosmopolitian Club at Univ of Wisconsin - Nicholas Murray Butler pres of Columbia - J.B. Moore's 8-volume Digest of International Law - Carnegie Endowment for International Peace - Edwin Ginn World Peace Foundation - Henry Ford Peace ship to conference of Neutrals in Europe Dec. 1915 with Rosa Schwimmer - Jeanette Rankin was 1st woman elected to House of Representatives, represented pacifist Montana 1880-1973
* Preparedness campaign - both WW and HC Lodge claimed it was their idea - due to Lusitania, growing domestic pressures, esp Republican Party - Wilson speech Nov. 4, 1915 - expand Navy, Army - new volunteer reserve "Continental Army" - opp'd by 50 Dem in Congress, esp S & W, led by House Majority Leader Claude Kitchin - Wilson national speaking tour Jan and Feb 1916, but Congress deadlocked
* Feb. 8, 1916 - Ger to sink all armed merchant ships (Sussex Mr 24 mistake)
* March 7 - McLemore-Gore defeated - would have prohibited all passengers on belligerent ships
* March 9 - Columbus raid by Pancho Villa caused western states to support defense bills
* March 23 - House approves compromise bill - National Guard to be under feds (reversed 140 yrs of state militia) and volunteer summer training camps created (Plattsburg)
* paid by Revenue Act of 1916 - taxes on the rich and on munition makers, new fed estate tax

4. mediation

House and Wilson

* House-Grey memo of Feb. 22, 1916 during Col. House's 2nd trip to Europe - Wilson to summon peace conference if requested by Brit, Fr - if Ger refused, U.S. to war - but Grey refused to set date for conference, Wilson added "probably" - rejected Mr. 8
* McLemore-Gore is defeated that would have prohibited all passengers on belligerent ships - a Wilosn victory
* Sussex incident Mr. 24 - Wilson wanted to be decisive, to assure Brit, Fr that he was determined to get peace, and to allow Ger alternative to war - must follow cruiser rules or U.S. will "sever diplomatic relations" (Wilson's speech of April 19)
* Wilson opp'd to both Ger and Allies - both still seeking military victory in 1916 - Battle of Jutland May 31-June is a tactical victory of Ger. Admiral Reinhard Scheer whose 99 ships sank 117,025 tons of Brit Adm. John Jellicoe's 149 ships that sank only 61,180 tons. But the battle was a Brit. strategic victory keeping the Ger. navy bottled up, tightening the blockade, causing 750,000 Germans to starve to death, and leaving the U-boat as Germany's only alternative.
* May 27 speech - Wilson advocates U.S. join postwar League - goal of collective security w/ guarantees
* 1916 - Wilson wins Dem Party nomination because "he kept us out of war"- gets strong League plank in party platform, but is attacked as pro-British - Chas "Evasive" Hughes nominated by Repub Party seeking Ger-Amer votes, but Hughes said he would be tougher on Mexico, Ger
* Nov. election was close - Hughes (46%, 254, won east) vs Wilson (49%, 277, won south and west) - no mandate for peace or war but Wilson continued diplomacy to end the war.
* Dec. 18 note to Ger offering peace, but was refused - Wilson rejected by both Allies, Ger
* late 1916 - new young Emperor Karl of AH supported by Wilson - but press campaign of Alice Masaryk, d. of Thos, released 1916 from AH prison
* Jan 22, 1917, speech "Peace Without Victory" meant for Ger, but was rejected

5. unrestricted sub warfare Feb. 1, 1917

* decline of Bethman-Hollweg, rise of military - violated Sussex pledge
* Feb. 3 - U.S. breaks diplomatic relations - endorsed by Senate Feb. 7 - Wilson policy of patience replaced by decisive action
* Feb. 25 - Brit Laconia liner sunk - 3 Am. killed
* Feb. 26 - WW asks Congress to arm merchant ships - passed by House but not Senate - Wilson goes ahead March 12 by executive order

6. Zimmermann telegram Mar. 1

* pub'd by State Dept, based on decryption by British Room 40 in New York of Ger. Foreign Secy note to Eckhardt in Mexico of Jan 16
* Mar. 12 - sinking of unarmed U.S. ship Algonquin, then March 16 City of Memphis, Illinois, Vigilancia

7. Democracy

* April 2 - Wilson delivers war message to Congress
* April 4 - passed by Senate 82-6
* April 6 - passed by House 373-50 and signed by Wilson
* "the U.S. was going to war to establish a new world order, to establish the principles of democracy." (The Great War, Episode 6)

7/11/07

Killing the Cat

Curiosity killed the cat

Meaning

Inquisitiveness can lead one into dangerous situations.

Origin

Everyone knows that, despite its supposed nine lives, curiosity killed the cat. Well, not quite. The 'killed the cat' proverb originated as 'care killed the cat'. By 'care' the coiner of the expression meant 'worry/sorrow' rather than our more usual contemporary 'look after/provide for' meaning.

That form of the expression is first recorded in the English playwright Ben Jonson's play Every Man in His Humour, 1598:

"Helter skelter, hang sorrow, care'll kill a Cat, up-tails all, and a Louse for the Hangman."

The play was one of the Tudor humours comedies, in which each major character is assigned a particular 'humour' or trait. The play is thought to have been performed in 1598 by The Lord Chamberlain's Men, a troupe of actors including William Shakespeare and William Kempe. Shakespeare was no slouch when it came to appropriating a memorable line and it crops up the following year in Much Ado About Nothing:

"What, courage man! what though care killed a cat, thou hast mettle enough in thee to kill care."

The proverbial expression 'curiosity killed the cat', which is usually used when attempting to stop someone asking unwanted questions, is much more recent. The earlier form was still in use in 1898, when it was defined in Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable:

"Care killed the Cat. It is said that a cat has nine lives, but care would wear them all out."

Curiosity hasn't received a good press over the centuries. Saint Augustine wrote in Confessions, AD 397, that, in the eons before creating heaven and earth, God "fashioned hell for the inquisitive". John Clarke, in Paroemiologia, 1639 suggested that "He that pryeth into every cloud may be struck with a thunderbolt". In Don Juan, Lord Byron called curiosity "that low vice". That bad opinion, and the fact that cats are notoriously inquisitive, lead to the source of their demise being changed from 'care' to 'curiosity'.

The earliest known printed reference that uses the 'curiosity' form is O. Henry's Schools and Schools, 1909:

"Curiosity can do more things than kill a cat; and if emotions, well recognized as feminine, are inimical to feline life, then jealousy would soon leave the whole world catless."

The earliest version that I have found of the precise current form of the proverb in print is from The Portsmouth Daily Times, March 1915, in a piece headed The Height of Curiosity:

Mother - "Don't ask so many questions, child. Curiosity killed the cat."
Willie - "What did the cat want to know, Mom?"

The frequent rejounder to 'curiosity killed the cat' is 'satisfaction brought it back'. I've not been able to trace the source of this odd reply. The first citation of it that I've found in print is from an Iowan college magazine The Coe College Cosmos, in February 1933.

7/7/07

Love is a...

Love is a serious mental disease.
--Plato

Love is a state in which a man sees things most decidedly as they are not.
--Friedrich Nietzsche

Love is an irresistible desire to be irresistibly desired.
--Robert Frost

Love is an ocean of emotions entirely surrounded by expenses.
--Thomas Robert Dewar


Love is a great beautifier.
--Louisa May Alcott

Love is a cunning weaver of fantasies and fables.
--Sappho

Love is a canvas furnished by Nature and embroidered by imagination.
--Voltaire

Love is a chain of love as nature is a chain of life.
--Truman Capote


Love is a friendship caught on fire.
--Northern Exposure

Love is a conflict between reflexes and reflections.
--Mangnu Hirschfield

Love is a friendship set to music.
--E. Joseph Cossman

Love is all you need.
--Paul McCartney

Love is a better teacher than duty.
--Albert Einstein

Love is a tyrant sparing none.
--Pierre Corneille

Love is all we have, the only way that each can help the other.
--Euripides

An Ode to Mothers

Being a mother isn't simply
A matter of having children.
To think that is as absurd
As believing that having a piano
Makes one a musician. (1)

It is true that you may occasionally overhear a mother say
"Children must have their naps,
It's mother who knows best."
When what she really means by that
Is that she needs a rest. (2)

And yet of all the home remedies,
A good wife and mother is still the best. (3)
For a mother is the only person on earth
Who can divide her love among ten children
And each child still have all her love. (4)

Why, some people even say
It takes a hundred men to make an encampment,
But one woman to make a home, (5)
And still others affirm that
An ounce of mother is worth a pound of clergy. (6)

And didn't Billy Sunday once say,
"Mothers... fill places so great
That there isn't an angel in heaven
Who wouldn't be glad to give a bushel of diamonds
To come down here and take their place." (7)

Most of all the beautiful things in life
Come by twos and threes, by dozens and hundreds.
Plenty of roses, stars, sunsets, rainbows,
Brothers, and sisters, aunts and cousins,
But you've only one mother in the whole world. (8)

A woman of noble character who can find?
She is worth far more than rubies.
Charm is deceptive and beauty fleeting,
But a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
Her children arise and call her blessed. (9)