Opinions/Editorials
See other Opinions/Editorials Articles
Title: Haley Barbour's silence speaks volumes
Source:
Washington post
URL Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dy ... 1705445.html?hpid=opinionsbox1
Published: Feb 18, 2011
Author: Eugene Robinson
Post Date: 2011-02-18 09:39:26 by go65
Keywords: None
Views: 25939
Comments: 32
Does Haley Barbour really have a warped and offensive view of America's racial history? Or is he just playing a dangerous game? Perhaps both. The Mississippi governor, considered a potential Republican candidate for president in 2012, keeps displaying what appears to be an astonishing level of ignorance about our nearly 400-year struggle with issues of race. At this point, it's more than a pattern. It's either a pathology or a plan. The latest outrage - and I don't use that word lightly - came Tuesday, when Barbour was asked to comment on a proposal for a state license plate honoring one of the most notorious figures of the Civil War era, Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest. I question whether any Confederate officer is worthy of such recognition, given that they were all committing treason. But even for the Sons of Confederate Veterans - the group proposing the license plate - Forrest should be an embarrassment. For those who do not see the Civil War through a revisionist gauze of gallantry and Spanish moss, Forrest is an abomination. In 1864, his troops mowed down scores of black Union soldiers who were trying to surrender, in what became known as the Fort Pillow Massacre. After the war, Forrest became one of the founding fathers of the terrorist Ku Klux Klan - and was the group's first national leader, or "grand wizard." Barbour was asked whether he would denounce the idea of honoring such a figure. "I don't go around denouncing people," he told reporters. "That's not going to happen."
Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread
Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest
Begin Trace Mode for Comment # 21.
#3. To: go65 (#0)
That's because you are a fool with a piss-poor PC education. For one thing,it was NOT treason to exit a union you voluntarily joined with the understanding you were free to leave if they no longer followed the agreement that caused you to join. Secondly,Forrest quit and denounced the KKK when it was taken over by racists. The KKK was formed to protect the common people from the abuses of the carpetbaggers,NOT because of any bullshit PC lies you were taught and still believe.
U.S. Military Officer Oath: 1830-1862: Oath amended 2 July 1862: Any U.S. military officer who sided with the Confederacy violated their oath and was a traitor the United States of America. I took an Officer's oath in 1992. How about you?
I took the enlisted mans oath twice. The first time in 1964. AND......,that oath only applies as long as the feral government remains faithful to the Constitution. Which the Lincoln government didn't. THEY were the ones that opened fire,and it was Lincoln himself that threatened to have US Marshals lock the Supreme Court in a military prison without a trial if they disagreed with him,which they had said they were going to do. Any U.S. military officer who sided with the Confederacy violated their oath and was a traitor the United States of America. Not only a lie,but a damn lie. The feral government ceased to be a legal government when they decided they had the power to violate the articles that established the union. Or maybe you think today that military officers have a duty to bomb and shell US cities if the president orders them to do that?
Pete, you need to read up on your civil war history. Plan a trip to Charleston when you have some time. The Union didn't fire the first shot.
The Battle of Fort Sumter was the start of the War between the States, and the Confederacy fired first.
Yep, we visited Sumter and Moultrie last spring, fantastic trip though you only get an hour once you land at Sumter. I absolutely loved Charleston, we also saw the HL Hundley which is currently being restored after spending over a 100 years underneath the sea.
H. L. Hunley was a submarine of the Confederate States Navy that demonstrated both the advantages and the dangers of undersea warfare. The Hunley was the first submarine to sink a warship, though the sub was also lost following the engagement. Though some know the submarine by the name CSS H. L. Hunley, she was not commissioned and therefore does not warrant the "CSS" prefix. The H. L. Hunley, almost 40-feet (12-m) long, was built at Mobile, Alabama, launched in July 1863, and shipped by rail to Charleston, SC on August 12, 1863. On February 17, 1864, Hunley attacked and sank the 1800-ton, steam-powered sloop-of-war USS Housatonic in Charleston harbor, but soon after, the Hunley also sank, drowning all 8 crewmen. http://kasmith4.stu.cofc.edu/civilwar.html That is very fasinating. I had no idea they had brought her up from Davy Jone's locker.
#22. To: Ferret Mike (#21)
(Edited)
yes, several years ago, it's in a water bath for the next 15 years or so while they work to remove the scale. It is one of the more amazing stories of bravery (and maybe stupidity), I can't imagine what it must have been like to have been stuffed inside knowing you probably weren't going to come back alive. check out: http://www.hunley.org/
Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/LatestI question whether any Confederate officer is worthy of such recognition,
#5. To: sneakypete (#3)
(Edited)
For one thing,it was NOT treason to exit a union you voluntarily joined with the understanding you were free to leave if they no longer followed the agreement that caused you to join.
"I, _____, appointed a _____ in the Army of the United States, do solemnly swear, or affirm, that I will bear true allegiance to the United States of America, and that I will serve them honestly and faithfully against all their enemies or opposers whatsoever, and observe and obey the orders of the President of the United States, and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to the rules and articles for the government of the Armies of the United States."
"I, A.B., do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I have never borne arms against the United States since I have been a citizen thereof; that I have voluntarily given no aid, countenance, counsel, or encouragement to persons engaged in armed hostility thereto; that I have neither sought nor accepted nor attempted to exercise the functions of any office whatsoever under any authority or pretended authority in hostility to the United States; that I have not yielded voluntary support to any pretended government, authority, power, or constitution within the United States, hostile or inimical thereto. And I do further swear (or affirm) that, to the best of my knowledge and ability, I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter, so help me God."
That's because you are a fool with a piss-poor PC education.
#8. To: go65 (#5)
I took an Officer's oath in 1992. How about you?
#17. To: sneakypete (#8)
THEY were the ones that opened fire
#19. To: go65 (#17)
#20. To: Ferret Mike (#19)
The Battle of Fort Sumter was the start of the War between the States, and the Confederacy fired first.
#21. To: go65 (#20)
Replies to Comment # 21.
End Trace Mode for Comment # 21.
[Home] [Headlines] [Latest Articles] [Latest Comments] [Post] [Mail] [Sign-in] [Setup] [Help] [Register]