Saturday, June 14, 2008

The Foundation Of Our Civilization

During Memorial Day I got pretty depressed over where our culture is heading - right into the trash can. How can a pussified nation produce warriors? How can young men brought up in a politically correct environment become the fearsome, relentless soldiers that our nation requires in these dangerous times? I see the impact of useless metrosexual so called men at all levels of our society and the reckless, angry reaction of young men against the lack of true men who will be fathers to their sons.

In Why Can't a Democrat be More Like a Man? , One Cosmos uses an anthropological study "The Human ANimal", by Weston LaBarre to analyze child rearing and the damage done to our society by feminism.


LaBarre notes that “a society’s attitudes toward women and toward maternity will deeply influence its psychological health and all other institutional attitudes.” He wrote in 1954 -- well before the degradations to womanhood brought about by the feminist movement -- that “It is a tragedy of our male-centered culture that women do not fully enough know how important they areas women.” Sadly, today so many women only know how important they are as men.

This is a tragedy of monumental proportions, in part because it also results in men not understanding their own role in terms of being men.

[...]Femaleness as a category is secure: its undeniable signs are menstruation and maternity. But manhood -- as opposed to mere biological maleness -- has no such obvious visible markers. Rather, it is something that must be constructed and achieved. The adaptive mechanism that allows males to become men is culture.

[...] This is why something very psychologically noxious happens when government becomes mother. A similar thing happens when God becomes mother or mother becomes God. It interferes with the primordial basis of culture qua culture, which is to convert boys to men. If that fails to happen -- as with the left -- then civilization either cannot form or will not be able to sustain and defend itself, since there will be no men or manhood, only Democrats, or women and children.

This would explain the (until recently) universal practice of various male initiation rituals, in which boys are sometimes brutally wrenched away from their mothers in order to facilitate male “rebirth” and full membership in the fellowship of men. Again, femaleness is given by biology, but maleness must be proven, not just to oneself, but to the group. If appropriate models are not given for this drive, we will simply have pathological versions of it, such as the urban youth gang, which is all about proving one’s manhood, only to other female-centered boys.

In fact, this is why so much contemporary rap and hip hop is so perversely male. In a matriarchal culture so lacking in male role models, these clueless boys are constantly trying to prove that they are what they imagine a man -- and themselves -- to be.

This is why they are such pathetic, brooding, aggressive, and hyper-sexualized caricatures of manhood. (And ultimately this results from female sexuality reverting back to the mother-infant diad, with no role for men.)

Other males -- we call them liberals -- often take women as their role models, with predictable results. They regard auto-castration as the quintessence of civilization and sophistication. They aren't really assertive in a male way, but a catty or bitchy way, like the New York Times or their quintessential shemale, Obama.

[...]Someone once said that men marry women hoping they'll never change, while women marry men hoping to change them. Someone wants to change us, big time. But a big part of manhood is preserving and defending the precious things that were created and handed down to us by our forefathers.

We are about to elect a feminized man whose official policy is to surrender to our enemies, so we have moved well beyond the theoretical to the actual. In the triangulated war between liberals, Islamists, and the left, only one side can win. Our side will lose if we run out of real men because we simply do not create enough of them. We will lose if we allow the new cutural ideal of the feminized adultolescent male to become the ideal. We will lose if we forget that an upright and noble man with the capacity for righteous violence is at the very foundation of civilization. [emphasis mine - Sig94]

I wonder if one of the reasons why the Roman Empire collapsed was because their emperors were catty and bitchy?

When Rome fell in 476 AD (the western empire in Italy, not Byzantium in Constantinople) to the barbarian Odoacer , he didn't even bother killing the last Emperor - Romulus Augustus. Augustulus was not perceived as any kind of threat and was allowed to retire. He was perceived to be a useless pussy.

Romulus Augustus, the last emperor of Rome, was a target of much mockery, already in his own day. For his name alone invited ridicule. Romulus being the legendary first king of Rome, and Augustus its glorious first emperor.

Hence both his names were at times transformed to reflect the public's disrespect for him. 'Romulus' was changed to Momyllus, which means 'little disgrace'. And 'Augustus' was turned into 'Augustulus', meaning 'little Augustus' or 'little emperor'.

It was the latter version which stuck with him throughout history, with many historians today still referring to him as Romulus Augustulus.

And this is where we are headed. Our sworn enemies, Islamists, support the trainwreck with ears as President. They know they can do much damage and be safe while they do it if this pansy is elected.

Some surveys indicate that the USA is not well respected or loved - fuggitaboutit. I would rather be feared and hated by our enemies.

Friday, June 13, 2008

Kiss My Royal Irish ,,,,

Remember what Mike Moran, the FDNY firefighter, said during the 9/11 memorial service?

Well, on Friday the entire nation of Ireland said the same thing to the European Union.

The long campaign to forge a new dispensation for the European Union descended into panic and uncertainty yesterday when Ireland turned its back on its 26 EU partners and voted down the Lisbon Treaty.

EU leaders in Brussels and governments across the union, particularly Germany and France, were stunned by the Irish verdict, which amounted to a huge vote of no confidence in the way the EU is run.

Erin Go Brea!

The referendum in Ireland was the sole popular vote in the EU on the grand plan to give Europe a sitting president and foreign minister, and reconfigure the way the EU is governed. The result left the project severely wounded, perhaps fatally.

The Irish voted by a 7% margin, 53.6 to 46.4, against the treaty, which has already been ratified by 18 EU countries and is expected to be endorsed by the other eight.

[...]Berlin and Paris moved swiftly last night to try to limit the damage, pressing Downing Street, according to sources in Brussels, not to make matters worse by abandoning Britain's ratification of the treaty, now in its final stages in the Lords.

When Hell Freezes Over, Drill It Too

That's what ANWAR looks like according to this editorial from Investor's Business Daily:

We already drill in Alaska. More than 15 billion barrels of oil have been sent down the Alaska pipeline from Prudhoe Bay, just 60 miles west of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, over the last three decades, much more than the six months' supply predicted by critics.

As Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman notes, the development "footprint" would be minimal: "ANWR, in its totality, is about the size of South Carolina, and the area where we believe the hydrocarbons are located is about the size of Delaware, not to mention the exploration site would be no larger than about the size of (Boston's) Logan International Airport."

As for the "pristine" wilderness, the tiny portion of ANWR where drilling would occur is what hell would look like if it ever froze over. Winter on the coastal plain lasts for nine months. Total darkness reigns for 58 days. The temperature drops to 70 degrees below zero without the wind chill. Your spit freezes before it hits the ground.

Drill early, drill often and drill now. Set those oil rigs up so thick that ANWR looks like a porcupine's asshole during a quill eruption.

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

In The News

Call Hillary and see if she's missing a broomstick:

A UFO had a mid-air collision with a fighter jet over central Europe, a leaked report has revealed.

Defence chiefs are investigating claims that the Romanian MIG 21 fighter plane was struck by 'strange objects'.

The official report says the cockpit of the jet was shattered.

The impact on a training flight above Transylvania took only 67 milliseconds and was recorded on an in-flight video camera.

Pilot Marin Mitrica was slightly injured but managed to land the plane safely after the incident last year.

Maybe They Were Wearing Tights:

A SYDNEY teacher who filmed up the skirts of two teenage girls was not acting indecently even though the act was "offensive", his lawyer has argued in court.

Teacher Robert Ian Drummond, 41, allegedly used a camera hidden in a plastic bag to film up a 14-year-old's uniform at Warringah Mall on May 1 last year.

He is also charged with filming another teenage girl, believed to be 16 at the time, after a police search of Drummond's home after his arrest turned up another video.

Drummond has been charged with an act of indecency, an aggravated act of indecency, and with making and possessing child pornography. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

His lawyer Peter Gow told the court said the act of capturing the images was not indecent, and his client had never intended the girls to know what he had done.

All For About A Buck-Fifty, They Should Burn In Hell:

FOR a wad of worthless Zimbabwean banknotes, President Robert Mugabe's militias burnt six-year-old Nyasha Mashoko to death.

The target of the ZANU-PF thugs had been the boy's father, Brian Mamhova. They came for him on Friday night - three truckloads of them, plus a Mercedes-Benz from which alighted three armed men in suits, Mr Mamhova said. The militiamen had been promised $Z25 trillion to kill him, which seems a high price on the head of a district councillor but is no problem for a government that sees printing money as the best way out of a crisis."

[...]They locked the door where my wife was. They smashed the windows and threw petrol inside. Then they lit it," he said.

"Inside the house, my young brother broke the door. I thank God, otherwise they would be burnt, all of them. He took my nephew out of the room. Then he went back into the room and he took my wife, but it was late. She got 80per cent burnt. My son was burnt to pieces.

Good Luck With That:

Three islanders from Lesbos told a court Tuesday that gay women insult their home's identity by calling themselves lesbians.

The plaintiffs _ two women and a man _ are seeking to ban a Greek gay rights group from using the word "lesbian" in its name.

Also known as Mytilini, Lesbos was the home of the ancient poet Sappho, who praised love among women. It is a major travel destination for gay women.

The Homosexual and Lesbian Community of Greece "causes confusion by using a geographic term in connection with (the group's) special character and social action," said Dimitris Papadelis, a lawyer representing the plaintiffs.

Saturday, June 07, 2008

IMPORTANT - LISTEN TO THIS

This is the story of Tony Martin, a man who is now pining away in a British prison because he had the termitiy to defend himself with a firearm. What happened to him WILL happen here if this Country doesn't wake up to the threat posed by the gun control fanatics.



Once you are done watching this video report, ask yourself this question:

"Why aren't British politicians being strung up from light poles?"

UPDATE:
This is hilarious. At Transsylvania Phoenix, read a liberal's response to the video above and then the smackdown that follows. This definately left a mark and a brown streak besides.

wstpwstp said... Tinker45, Thanks for the thoughtful response (unlike glenn and bill07407 whose coments are kind of bone headed) Yes, I am a liberal and not a gun owner. But, NOWHERE in my post, do I suggest that Americans should be denied their right to bear arms, or support the idea of the US Government confiscating guns.

Just to set the record straight. I have lots of respect for the US Constitution. The UK has the right to make their own laws, and right or wrong, thousands of people there are in favor of very strict gun laws.

I DO think that laws should exist to control access to guns and how they are used.I have no objection to a sane adult owning a gun after mastering basic gun safety and legally obtaining a license.

It's like driving a car -- cars are useful, handy tools. However, in the wrong hands, a car is a deadly weapon that can be used to kill innocent people. Driving a car requires training and a license and sanity. When cars first were popularized a drivers license was as easy to get as a fishing license -- no test, no training, no requirements. Just plunk down a few dollars and away you go.

I don't believe that there is a god given right to drive cars and that anyone who can afford to buy a car should be allowed to drive it on the public roadways without jumping through all the hoops to help ensure public safety. Same thing with airplanes, for that matter.

I don't believe that any yahoo with cash and a copy of the Constitution in his pocket has the right to buy a gun and shoot anyone he wants whenever he gets scared or angry.

It's all a trade off -- responsibility for one's actions. You get a car to take you places etc. If you get drunk or scared or angry and run over someone with that car, you must assume responsibility for your act.

Mr Martin bought his gun and got a feeling of security from it. He got scared and killed a stupid kid. Maybe he could have scared him off with a warning shot, maybe he could have been a better shot and only wounded the kid. But, he killed him and must take responsibility for his action. That's the trade off for his feeling more secure. Maybe he could have gotten a little feeling of security by buying a can of Mace instead of a gun and still have driven off the burglars.

Yes - he was the victim of a crime, but his response was death-dealing, and there's a price for that. Had these guys attacked Mr Martin with a sword or a chain saw, the law would have allowed him to take a life to defend his life. To kill another human being to defend your television set -- not so much.

In the other case I mentioned, a mental patient waltzed into the local sheriff's office and walked out with a concealed weapon permit. The Sheriff's excuse was that the mental patient didn't mention that he was a mental patient at the time. This guy ended up shooting several people at a public festival filled with thousands of innocent people. Might have been MUCH worse.

Shouldn't there be a system that actually prevents this sort of thing from happening? In the UK, a person applying for a gun permit must submit two letters from responsible members of his community vouching for the applicant's character. Maybe that's not ideal, but it would probably stopped the mental patient from arming himself so easily.My post was mostly about that crappy propaganda film. I wonder who produced it - the NRA or the NRC?

Just as an aside, in NYS you must pass a criminal history check and have THREE responsible members of the community vouch fpor your character.
Now the RESPONSES

jlg said... wstpwstp said, "I have no objection to a sane adult owning a gun after mastering basic gun safety and legally obtaining a license."

Let's apply that idea to a reserved right other than the one covered by the Second Amendment. Start with the First:"I have no objection to a sane adult operating a printing press after mastering basic English and legally obtaining a license to speak freely."

"I have no objection to a sane adult being religious, after attending a government-run course on tolerance, and as long as his church is legally licensed."

"I have no objection to sane adults associating together, after they have submitted their fingerprints to the FBI for background checks, informed local law enforcement that they are associating, and their group is legally licensed with the state."

Fourth?"I have no objection to sane adults maintaining their privacy, after submitting a video montage containing their daily life routine, along with a list of their possessions, to the state, and obtaining approval for keeping these things private."

Or how about the Fifth?"I have no objection to a sane adult refusing to incriminate himself of a crime, as long as he has fully informed the state of his actual state of innocence or guilt, and has legally obtained a Non-Self-Incrimination license.

"Is any of this starting to make sense?


john said...
Let's just look at the comments from wstpwstp, you will see that liberal logic is birdbath deep and twice as filthy :

"I don't believe that any yahoo with cash and a copy of the Constitution in his pocket has the right to buy a gun and shoot anyone he wants whenever he gets scared or angry.

Yes, I am a liberal and not a gun owner."

This is the kind of retarded thinking that falls forth from a liberals mouth as a brilliant idea. Let's just parse our comrades first dictum, yes you can own a gun with just cash and the constitution because........the constitution says so (you gibbering idiot). Once again we must parse the twisted verses and logic of the cloudy liberal brain to ordain the true depths of stupidity : This person did not shoot "just anyone he wanted", he shot an invader in his house and his intent was not known because he assumed room temperature before he could continue with his rudimentary business model. We don't know if he was a burglar, rapist, vandal or someone who simply steals the man's porridge and dashes the contents on the cobblestone roads of Britain....thus making him a cereal killer. Anger or fear can be interchangeable in such situations and are not the catalyst of the process but instead the byproduct of it.

Admitting you are a liberal negates the need for stating "not a gun owner", oxymoron. It's like stating that I am welfare recipient and own cold fusion technology or particle accelerators as a hobby.

Now to analysis a statement so profoundly stupid that simply by reading it should negate the need to critique the cavernous holes of logic.

Maybe he could have scared him off with a warning shot, maybe he could have been a better shot and only wounded the kid.

It's like trying to explain physics to a gerbil but the honor will be in the attempt :

So the mere presence of the handgun itself was not enough for this poor innocent child of nature to flee into the lush green landscape like Bambi, he needed to hear the thunderous roar of a hand cannon to perceive that mortal danger was present. Better yet, you are to shoot up your own house first or sling shell into the atmosphere and put some other shmuck in London in the path of an "incoming" rather than drilling the miscreant where he stands.

Now for my favorite, where should I have wounded him? In the fleshy part of his head since so little is being used for thought? How about in the liver, a lifetime of dialysis would provide invaluable lessons in life, no....messy and someone has to pay for the dialysis. How about a nice leg shot? Well unless it hits a major artery in the leg and he bleeds out like a deer, guess that plan has more holes in it than a liberals skull. By the time a liberal has even made a decision to defend his silly house the thief has pawned the goods, copped a bag, got a bottle of malt liquor, has a mind numbing good buzz going and is coming back around to get the big screen TV that is playing the coronation of the ObaMessiah.

Friday, June 06, 2008

Le Grande Armée

French Army Falling Apart, Documents Show
Most of France's tanks, helicopters and jet fighters are unusable and its defence apparatus is on the verge of "falling apart", it has emerged.

From the UK Telegraph:

According to confidential defence documents leaked to the French press, less than half of France's Leclerc tanks – 142 out of 346 – are operational and even these regularly break down.

Less than half of its Puma helicopters, 37 per cent of its Lynx choppers and 33 per cent of its Super Frelon models – built 40 years ago – are in a fit state to fly, according to documents seen by Le Parisien newspaper.

Two thirds of France's Mirage F1 reconnaissance jets are unusable at present.

In 2006, France's total military forces were comprised of 254,900 personnel. In this respect they rank behind:
#1 China (2,255,000
#2 USA (1,474,000)
#3 India (1,325,000)
#4 North Korea (1,106,000)
#5 Russia (1,037,000)
#6 South Korea (687,700)
#7 Pakistan (619,000)
#8 Turkey (514,850)
#9 Vietnam (484,000)
#10 Iran (420,000)
#11 Germany (284,500)

(Source: Based primarily on material in the IISS Military Balance 2005-2006, London, Routledge, 2005 plus data drawn from USPACOM sources and US experts. Some data estimated or corrected by the authors.)

The disclosure comes just ten days before President Nicolas Sarkozy announces a major reform of the armed forces, with a defence white paper outlining France's military priorities for the next 15 years.

He is expected to argue that the situation can only improve by reducing the number of France's operational troops from 50,000 to 30,000, and its fighter aircraft, as well as closing military bases.


Instead of fixing busted tanks and fighter jets, the French want to reduce the number of men who need them. France's 2008 defense budget will drop to about 2% of GNP; the US is about 4%.

Eternal Father

Posting about the death of Karl Sensmeier and his service to our nation has put me in a very melancholy mood.

Where do we find the people to replace them? I thank God for the men and woman who serve in our Armed Forces, but what about the citizens who are supposed to stand behind and beside them? Our GI's cannot do it alone. Love of country, honor and obligation to serve seem to have been abadoned by our youth.

Because we are a republic and not an autocracy, our strength as a nation has always been in our commitment, our focus and our culture. Our culture was strongly bound in our faith and this has been severely weakened through decades of neglect and abuse.

In the Old Testament we see time and again how Israel turns from God, faces devastation and ruin, repents, and finds all over again that they can conquer adversity through their Creator.

Our great Nation, perchance, is on the cusp of such a lession. May God help us all.

I come from a Navy family. The hymn, "Eternal Father Strong To Save" was first published in 1860. In 1879 it was first used to conclude worship services at the Naval Academy and it still is today. It is also known as the Navy Hymn.

The lyrics were written by Rev. William Whiting of the Church of England. The music was written by John B. Dykes, also of the COE, in 1861.



Original Lyrics:
Eternal Father, Strong to save,
Whose arm hath bound the restless wave,
Who bid'st the mighty Ocean deep
Its own appointed limits keep;
O hear us when we cry to thee
For those in peril on the sea.

O Christ! Whose voice the waters heard
And hushed their raging at Thy word,
Who walked'st on the foaming deep,
And calm amidst its rage didst sleep;
Oh hear us when we cry to Thee
For those in peril on the sea!

Most Holy spirit! Who didst brood
Upon the chaos dark and rude,
And bid its angry tumult cease,
And give, for wild confusion, peace;
Oh, hear us when we cry to Thee
For those in peril on the sea!

O Trinity of love and power!
Our brethren shield in danger's hour;
From rock and tempest, fire and foe,
Protect them wheresoe'er they go;
Thus evermore shall rise to Thee,
Glad hymns of praise from land and sea.

D Day

The Courier Press has an article about a D Day veteran who passed away last February at the age of 89. He brought back from the war a priceless memo of the greatest invasion in military history. This is Karl Sensmeier, an Army MP who landed at Omaha Beach on June 6, 1944.

"It was so hot with fire that many GIs died before leaving the boat. I had to jump over the bodies when I hit the water."

[...] For years, memories of the carnage made him wake up screaming in the middle of the night.

Do you remember the horrific opening scenes from the movie, "Saving Private Ryan," where US soldiers are landing on the beach? The film representation of the violence was stunning, shocking.

Karl Sensmeier also watched the movie with his family; his reaction?

"As bad as the beginning sequences were, Dad said the real thing was much, much worse," Jeff Sensmeier says. "I don't think enough people realize what that generation went through so we could enjoy the lives we have today. The Depression. Global war. You can't say enough about their sacrifice."


This is the top secret map he was issued that shows the staging areas for all the troops landing at Omaha Beach. The map is now framed, hanging on a wall in his widow's house.

The carefully drawn scale representation shows where air corps personnel would be deployed as well as locations set aside for naval units and transportation elements.

"If the Germans had gotten hold of this before the invasion, they would have had a great deal of information about the landing and things would have been even worse for our forces," says Jeff Sensmeier, one the Sensmeier's four children.

We have already lost so many WWII vets. In perhaps fifteen years there may be none left.

We salute these brave men and women, all of them, who gave so much that we might enjoy the privileged lives we have now.

And God Created .....

A big B/T to my brother Bob for this.

A newly discovered chapter in the Book of Genesis has provided the answer to 'Where do pets come from?'

Adam and Eve said, 'Lord, when we were in the garden, you walked with us every day. Now we do not see you any more. We are lonesome here, and it is difficult for us to remember how much you love us.'

And God said, I will create a companion for you that will be with you and who will be a reflection of my love for you, so that you will love me even when you cannot see me. Regardless of how selfish or childish or unlovable you may be, this new companion will accept you as you are and will love you as I do, in spite of yourselves.'

And God created a new animal to be a companion for Adam and Eve. And it was a good animal. And God was pleased. And the new animal was pleased to be with Adam and Eve and he wagged his tail.
And Adam said, 'Lord, I have already named all the animals in the Kingdom and I cannot think of a name for this new animal.' And God said, ' I have created this new animal to be a reflection of my love for you, his name will be a reflection of my own name, and you will call him DOG.'

And Dog lived with Adam and Eve and was a companion to them and loved them. And they were comforted. And God was pleased. And Dog was content and wagged his tail.
After a while, it came to pass that an angel came to the Lord and said, 'Lord, Adam and Eve have become filled with pride. They strut and preen like peacocks and they believe they are worthy of adoration. Dog has indeed taught them that they are loved, but perhaps too well.'

And God said, I will create for them a companion who will be with them and who will see them as they are. The companion will remind them of their limitations, so they will know that they are not always worthy of adoration.'

And God created CAT to be a companion to Adam and Eve.
And Cat would not obey them. And when Adam and Eve gazed into Cat's eyes, they were reminded that they were not the supreme beings.

And Adam and Eve learned humility. And they were greatly improved.

And God was pleased

And Dog was happy.

And Cat didn't give a shit one way or the other.

Wednesday, June 04, 2008

Your Attention Is Requested

My brother retired cop/blogger Cookie is busting his hump trying to set up a military hospitality room at the Syracuse International Airport. It seems like they roll up the runways and deflate the terminal around 2200 or so until 0700, stranding military personnel who are in transition from one assignment to another.

This is a pretty miserable way to treat men and women in service to their country.

Well, this situation got Cookie kinda riled and he is doing something about it. He sold his favorite French Maid outfit pestered the Airport, The Mayor of Syracuse (take my word for it, Cookie can be a major pain in the ass), local veteran organizations and the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Transgender Cocker Spaniels (Cookie is also a little strange) to secure a lease on a small, unused room at the airport.

The room has been freshened (those weird cocker spaniels really stink) and it is scheduled to open on July 3.

Now Cookie needs some cash in a big hurry to purchase food and beverages so volunteers can provide our armed service people some simple comforts 24/7. Even if it is just a hot cuppa and a donut it is much better than what they have now, especially with a sympathetic ear doing the serving.

To make your tax deductible donation, please make a check out to "The Marine Corps League", and make an entry into the "memo" line in the lower left of your check, "Airport Project." Please send your check to:

Loren Davies, Commandant
Emerald City Detachment #877
Marine Corps League
P.O. Box 393
Chittenango, New York 13037

or email Mr. Davies at usmc1970367@hotmail.com for other arrangements.

Cookie has given me his personal assurance that he will not use these funds to buy the fancy fishnet stockings he always had a hankering for and that the French Maid outfit didn't fit anyway.

That is all.

Monday, June 02, 2008

Small World

I was downloading pictures of our weekend in Lake George. My daughter who recently graduated from college was looking at them when she yelled, "That's John!" John was in one of her classes at Binghamton University.

This is John. He is in the uniform of a British Grenadier.

John was part of the history tour at Fort William Henry. He did an excellent job and he is a literal fount of information about the Fort and the events of the era..

There were some other fascinating tidbits about the Fort. The French captured over forty cannons when Monroe surrendered. Some of them ended up in the bottom of Lake George for one reason or another. This is one of them:


When this 32 pounder was dredged up some fifty years ago it was thought to be a French cannon as it had French markings on the breech. But as the corrosion was cleaned off the original British castings were discovered. The gun carraige is that of a field piece and is obviously not the original. But there was something interesting. Someone spiked the gun so it could not be used. So who spiked it? The English when they lost the fort or the French when they were driven out of Northern New York?

Lastly, there is this interesting memento from the French and Indian War. Aside from the seige of Fort William Henry, there were many skirmishes between British and French scouting parties around the Lake. One of those skirmishes involved two British soldiers who were on a small lake craft when attacked. They threw or dropped their muskets overboard. It would seem that they were captured as British soldiers were required to pay for any weapons that they lost.

These muskets were also recovered - still loaded with powder and shot as the following shows.


The musket stocks were already well vitrified after 200 years in the lake. To vitrify means to turn into glass. I am not sure if this is what the authors of the following article in the display case meant to say.


We're going to go back either in the fall or next summer, 'cept next year we'll go during the Americade. The bikes that we did see were incredible. Plus we want to go to Fort Ticonderoga.

There is an interesting story about Fort Ticonderoga. The famed Black Watch suffered one of their greatest military defeats here in July of 1758.

Before the Civil War and Antietam, the bloodiest battle fought on American soil was here, on a narrow but strategically vital strip of land between Lake Champlain and Lake George.

A 15,000-strong British army sailed up Lake George 250 years ago this summer, intent on taking Fort Ticonderoga, France's southernmost outpost in the region. The French, outnumbered nearly five to one but well fortified, hastily built 8-foot-high log barriers as the enemy approached.

The name Ticonderoga still resonates among veterans of Scotland's most revered military regiment, the Black Watch, but not because the fight went well for their predecessors.

[...]"They go in 1,000 strong and lose 500," British author Stephen Brumwell said of the Black Watch casualties as he stood on the fort's wind-swept ramparts, not far from where hundreds of his countrymen are buried.

There is a ceremony at the Fort this July commemorating the 250th anniversary of the battle.

Almost 2,000 British troops in all were killed, wounded or captured at Ticonderoga, along with some 440 Frenchmen.

Veterans of the Black Watch, which has been merged with other British military units after nearly three centuries as an independent regiment, will join British, Canadian and American active military personnel here in July for a memorial service marking the 250th anniversary of the Battle of Carillon, also known as the Battle of Ticonderoga.

The name Ticonderoga lives on at a desert base camp in Iraq named by a British unit.

"They still haven't forgotten," Brumwell, author of several books on the 18th-century British military in North America, said during a recent history conference. "For them it's a very poignant moment, this massive shedding of blood. The British are great fans of these glorious defeats."

[...] The Ticonderoga battle, fought on July 8, 1758, saw about 3,200 French troops under the command of the Marquis de Montcalm turn back several frontal assaults on their defenses. The Black Watch was held in reserve, but the kilt-clad Highlanders couldn't stay out of the fray and rushed the French lines without orders.

The British took the fort a year later after a siege and renamed it.

It Brings Tears To My Eyes


H/T to Paul Clithero

Sunday, June 01, 2008

Tomahawks, Tatoos And Sideburns

We had a great time in Lake George (originally named Lac Du St. Sacrement by the French). The weather wasn't all that great but the restaurants were. We toured Fort William Henry and got to see the newest in rescue and tow equipment at the conference center next door to the fort.

There was a rather bizarre confluence of tatoos and sideburns though,; we arrived just before the opening of the annual 2008 Americade motorcycle festival and the closing of the Elvis Impersonators festival. Between the early arrivers for the one and late departures for the other, it made for some interesting dinner companions.

But all in all it was a real slice of Americana in a small village situated at the end of a lake that 220 years ago dominated world events. I was surprised that the movie, "The Last of The Mohicans" starring Daniel Day-Lewis was a fairly realistic protrayal of the role that Lake George played in the French and Indian Wars.

The seige of Fort William Henry actually did occur in Agust of 1757. The Fort was surrendered by Colonel Monroe when General Webb refused to come to his assistance. And after the surrender there was a massacre, well - sort of, by the Indian allies of the french general, General Marquis de Montcalm. But it appears to be mostly pillaging by the Indians of the defeated Redcoats with some loss of life, but no where near the scale depicted by the movie.

Col. Monro, speaking of his regular troops, gave 129 killed and wounded - including the siege - as his estimates. Regarding the militia, he says, "No Regular Accot Could be got from the Provincials but their Numbers Kill'd Could not be Less than Four Officers & about 40 Men. And very near as many Men Wounded." Roubard stated killed could number "hardly more than forty or fifty." Another man stated, "Near Thirty Carcasses, however, were actually seen ..." There is no doubt some killing occurred, but, by and large, the picture was one of Indians taking, from terrified soldiers, baggage and clothing they felt was due them.

It was a scene of pawing, grabbing, poking & touching. When a soldier resisted stiffly, he may have been knocked down, beaten, scalped or killed. Indians had learned from Oswego that a soldier was worth more alive than dead. The French would pay handsomely for the return of prisoners. So, as the soldiers broke and ran, the Indians pursued. They gathered booty, and collected prisoners. It was undoubtedly a scene of utter pandemonium and terror, but the "massacre" as film and some historians have presented it, just never did occur. At some point, the French did help restore some semblance of order. Though hundreds streamed in well before, the remnants of the column, including Col. George Monro, did arrive at Fort Edward, under French guard, on August 14.

Col. George Monro was not killed by an Indian Chietain who then cut out the Colonel's heart and ate it. The good Colonel's health was broken after the siege and it was reported that he died of apoplexy three months later on November 3, 1757. Others who are not so charitable say that he took a tumble while leaving his favorite Albany pub and died due to the consequences of his fall.

General Marquis de Montcalm did not live much longer than Col. Monro. He died on September 14, 1759 while fighting the British at Quebec.

Thursday, May 29, 2008

Time To Decompress

I'm finally done. Over $1.5 million project to support a multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional task force for the collection, analysis and disssemination of criminal intelligence.

As an anniversary present, our girls got us a week end at a resort on the west shore of Lake George. We start tomorrow and it's just in time. I am beat up, stressed out and ready for a break.

We'll pack tonight, meander down to IHOP tomorrow morning for breakfast and take the three hour trip at our leisure.

We'll be home Sunday and then I'll have a nervous breakdown because Monday it starts all over again.

Matt. 6:34 - "Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof."

I gotta keep that in mind.

Sunday, May 25, 2008

Home Depot Redux

Just when ya think ya got someone or a business pegged:

Every Memorial Day I put up a new flag in front of our house. It is a 3' X 5' flag and it gets pretty ratty by the end of the year. There are about a half dozen houses on my block that do this and I always like the way the neighborhood looks when all the flags are out.

Friday I drove down to Home Depot to get a replacement flag and was very disappointed that the store was just about sold out. The flags that I use were completely gone and the only ones left were little ones on sticks or much larger ones on a 20' pole.
As I was leaving the store I saw a flag that was exactly what I needed. It was sticking out of a barrel next to a table where you could sign up for a Home Depot credit card. I asked the clerk at the service desk if it was for sale. He came around the counter section and walked to the barrel with me. He explained that the flag was a return and that they were giviing it away to anyone who would open up a new account.

I explained that I already had an account, thanked him for the information and started to walk away. He stopped me and thanked me for opening an account a few years ago. He then asked me if I had gotten my free flag when I opened an account. Heh.

I walked out of that Home Depot with a brand new flag.

Memorial Day - Doug Patton

A Memorial Day to Remember 2008
By Doug Patton
May 26, 2008

This Memorial Day, I will remember the 4,435 Americans who died revolting against the tyranny of King George in the American Revolution.

I will remember the 2,260 Americans who died fighting the British again in the War of 1812.

I will remember the 13,283 Americans who died in the Mexican War.

I will remember the 558,052 Americans, on both sides, who died in our bloodiest war, the war between the Union and the Confederacy.

I will remember the 2,246 Americans who died in the Spanish-American War.

I will remember the 116,708 Americans who died fighting German aggression in World War I.

I will remember the 407,316 Americans who died defeating fascism in Europe and imperialism in the Pacific during World War II.

I will remember the 33,651 Americans who died battling North Korea.

I will remember the 58,168 Americans who died in Vietnam, including my best friend from high school, killed by a sniper in June of 1968, at the tender age of 20.

I will remember the 293 Americans who died driving Saddam Hussein out of Kuwait during the Gulf War.

I will remember the 2,464 Americans who were murdered by our Islamist enemies at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and in a field in Pennsylvania on September 11, 2001.

I will remember the 506 Americans who have died so far liberating and securing Afghanistan.

I will remember the 4,081 Americans who have died liberating and securing Iraq.

I will remember the simple words carved in stone at the Korean War Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, DC: “Freedom isn’t free.”

I will remember those who have paid the price for that freedom, which I so often take for granted.

I will remember that courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the willingness to act decisively in spite of fear.

I will remember that there have always been far more tyrants than freely elected statesmen, and that brave Americans have had to pay the ultimate price to preserve liberty throughout our nation’s history.

I will remember that the United States of America has always been a fragile experiment defended by ordinary men called upon to do extraordinary things in times of great peril.

This Memorial Day weekend, many Americans will visit the World War II Memorial in Washington, DC. It took our nation far too long to erect and dedicate it, and many who served in that epic struggle are no longer here to see it. In fact, we are now losing the members of that generation, most of whom are now in their eighties, at a rate of more than 1,000 per day.

There was never any adequate way for us to thank them for what they did. They never expected that we should. Like all those who have laid down their lives for freedom in all of America’s wars, they simply did what destiny called them to do. When their war was finished, those who survived returned home to resume their lives and stoically cope with the horrors they had seen.

This Memorial Day, I will remember that even as the free nations of the world could have lost World War II, without the will to be victorious America could still lose the worldwide war on terror.

As always, this year I will commemorate the sacrifice of my grandfather and my father, who served in World Wars I and II, respectively. They are now buried next to their beloved wives in a small cemetery on a hilltop surrounded by rolling farmland in Montgomery County in Southwest Iowa.

I will remember their service, and the noble lives they led after returning home. I will remember that they helped to preserve a legacy of freedom and opportunity for those of us who came after them.

This Memorial Day, I will remember those who sacrificed to protect my God-given rights.
____________________________________________________________________________

© Copyright 2008 by Doug Patton
____________________________________________________________________________

Doug Patton is a freelance columnist who has served as a political speechwriter and public policy advisor. His weekly columns are published in newspapers across the country and on selected Internet web sites, including Human Events Online, TheConservativeVoice.com and GOPUSA.com, where he is a senior writer and state editor. Readers may e-mail him at mhtml:%7BB5A5E0E5-09A7-4E7E-ABCC-097CA314DBE1%7Dmid://00000015/!x-usc:mailto:dougpatton@cox.net.

Saturday, May 24, 2008

Trophy Dioramas

Things to do with old GI Joe toys.





H/T to Keith Sparzak

Friday, May 23, 2008

Thus We Honor Our Heroes

In 1971-72 I attended the Graduate School of Public Affairs in Albany, NY. There I met Lt. Col. Sandro Barone (USAF ret.) who was the assistant dean for the school. He was a great guy. I have never forgot what he told me.
When America stops being good, America stops being strong.
This weekend, let us praise the GOD of Glory, the LORD of Battle, Our Rock and Our Salvation, for the millions of good men and women who have so faithfully served our Country, even unto death.


Lay Me Doone (Sgt. MacKenzie)



We Were Soldiers Once, And Young



Soldier Music



US Air Force Tribute



Marine Tribute



Soldier Tribute



US Navy Tribute




The Women Behind The Heroes

The lament, "Sgt MacKenzie", is written and sung by Joe Kilna Mackenzie, son of Maria McCabe and the late Alex McCabe of Provost Christie Drive, Rothes.

Joe wrote the song in memory of his Grandfather, a Moray man from Bishopmill, who along with hundreds of other Seaforth Highlanders from the Elgin/Rothes area went to fight in the great war.

Sgt Charles Stuart MacKenzie was bayoneted to death at, the age of 35, while defending one of his badly injured colleagues in the hand to hand fighting of the trenches.

Film director Randall Wallace, who also won an Oscar for his screenplay of Braveheart, received a CD of the album and was haunted by the emotion and spirit of reverence captured in "Sgt MacKenzie. He arranged for Joe and band mate Donnie MacNeil, who played the pipes, to re-record 'Sgt MacKenzie' with the backing of an 80 piece orchestra and the WestPoint Military Choir at the famous Abbey Road Studios in London. The lament has been introduced into the film ["We Were Soldiers Once" starring Mel Gibson ~ sig94] during key scenes with Joe singing on his own and on the last track of the film with the orchestra and choir.

The above is from the Sgt. MacKenzie website - this is the most haunting dirge I have ever heard. It speaks to the sacrifice and the love for each other born in the heart of the common soldier, for Sgt. Charles Stuart MacKenzie did not die fighting for God and Country. He died defending his friend.

John 15:13: "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."

This lament has brought me to tears on more than one occasion. That's why I put it at the top of this post.

Thursday, May 22, 2008

I Agree, Home Depot Stinks

From MSNBC:

ATLANTA - Home Depot Chief Executive Frank Blake was grilled Thursday by investors, who also shop in his company’s stores, on the retailer’s commitment to customer service.

Several shareholders spoke at the Atlanta-based company’s annual meeting about poor experiences in Home Depot stores. They said some employees don’t seem well-trained in the store’s products, and they also criticized the performance of people who do home installations for the company.

We bought carpeting and new doors from Home Depot. I will never give them any business again where I need something installed. It took those incompetent idiots three years of fumbling with my carpet ($3,500 worth, they did almost the whole downstairs) before I finally got disgusted enough to give up. I also had to fix the install on the two new screen doors (a $500 purchase).

In order to maximize their profits, they award the installation contracts to the lowest bidders. These low bidders can only make $$$ if they rush like crazy from one job to another. Or the manager hires his friends and relatives who don't know one end of a hammer from the other.

You get what you pay for.

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Just What They Need

Hundreds of thousands of people in Myanmar are suffering wholesale displacement, hunger, thirst and disease.

So what kind of aid does the UN send?

Bangkok - The United Nations will send nearly a quarter of a million condoms into cyclone-hit Myanmar to help needy survivors with no access to contraceptives, a UN official says.

So far, the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) said it had sent 72,800 condoms to survivors struggling to maintain their family planning after the storm hit in early May.

A total of 218,400 condoms would be delivered, UNFPA aid advisor Chaiyos Kunanusont said.

"We don't want regular use of contraception disrupted. An emergency usually damages the health system, so people don't have access to condoms and contraceptives," said Chaiyos.

Are we surprised that these lunkheads in the UN equate access to condoms on the same level as access to food, water and shelter?

Idiots.