Oh, Miss Scarlett, We Must Fight the Kenyan and Secession is the Only Answer

Last night after a Civil War lecture an acquaintance told me afterward that we, presumably the South, should secede again. In fact, he said, it is almost inevitable. That state's rights thing, he mused. I had to laugh, and that did not set well with him. He had just heard about secession, as it took place in our local county. He heard the list of reasons for secession, but he settled on something he referred to as states rights and immediately equated 1861 with today. He completely missed the discussion of options open to the southern states in addition to secession. It didn't occur to him that secession might not have been the correct choice.

He had not taken into consideration the inevitable outcome of that conflict and the devastation it wrought upon his ancestors and his "beloved" south. He missed the two common denominators that fed the fire as they feed all wars: money and power. The South had a landed gentry that was caught up in the tragedy of slavery. Slavery gave that socio-economic class the two things it wanted most: money and power. The loss of slaves meant a loss of power, both political and economic. These power moguls whipped unsuspecting southerners into a frenzy of a devastating conflict that left thousands of dead on the battlefields of this country and ultimately destroyed that which they so desperately wanted to save.

Should modern day southerners fall prey to the rantings of right wing extremists, who clamour for power and money, the results would be the same. This time it would be even worse. Simply the loss of Federal assistance programs would devastate the south. Social Security, Medicare, federal funding for law enforcement, medical facilities, emergency services, roads, veterans benefits... The list goes on and on.

Then there are the parallels with 1861. Few raw materials and little manufacturing would place the South at the mercy of foreign imports, which in the modern U.S. would be virtually impossible to obtain. Then there is the inevitable military action. Imagine a military conflict where the states had to complete with the United States military. The lost of life would be unbelievable. It would be a very short lived conflict to be sure. I don't think most southerners for all of their bluster would have the stomach for it. There was a lot of bluster in 1861 as well. It did not take long for them to figure that it was not going to be the pushover their leaders had promised.

No, secession is a folly. As in 1861, there is no real reason for it. No one's human rights are being trampled on. We live in a very free society with with a lifestyle so far ahead of most of the world it would be total stupidity to destroy it at the whim of a few power brokers, who are so far out of touch with reality that they seen an enemy behind every tree. Then there is that African-American, Muslim, born in Kenya President. He is the nightmare many southerners have been fearing since they lost the Great War.

In 1861, when slavery was king and African-Americans were considered to be no more than a draft animal to be worked, sold, and used to maintain a lifestyle, there was a great fear that slaves would somehow gain control and wreak havoc on their captors. Southerners feared that day when the Federal Government would free them, and they fought a war, ostensibly, against that day. Now one of them is President, an inevitability that southerners have feared for generations. It is now time to throw off the chains of the African-American led U.S. Government and yearn for that day when cotton was king and Scarlett held court on the veranda with a mint julep in her hand and her gallant admirers gathered around her before they went off to save the Confederacy.

Orly Taitz May Get Free Room and Board

Thanks to the Federal Judge of the Middle District of Georgia, Orly Taitz may get to spend some free time in a federal lockup. Judge Clay Land has fined Taitz for "wasting the judicial resources" of the Middle District of Georgia with her "frivolous and sanctionable conduct." He also said that she "borders on delusional" and "demonstrates bad faith." If you have ever listened to Ms Taitz, you know that the judge has hit the proverbial nail on the head with that description.

Taitz had filed a lawsuit against the Federal Goverment demanding that Obama had to prove his citizenship before a soldier could be sent to Iraq. However, that solder has disassociated herself with Taitz and has threatened to file a bar complaint against poor, delusional Ms. Taitz.

The best part of this story is that Ms. Taitz has said that she has no intention of paying the $20,000 fine. Good deal. I cannot wait to see the sentence Ms Taitz gets and whether she will finally go off the deep end while incarcerated. She may very well end up in a federal mental institution. The good Lord knows she is almost ready for the men in the white coats now.

Obama's Health Care - "Yo Mama Obama"

A must read from an Athens, GA publication. The congressman from that area is Rep. Paul Broun, i.e. "Brounie," who hails from one of Barney Frank's planets. I'm sure you have heard some of his rants.

Typical "Birther"

From Atlanta Journal - 8/1/09

Lou Dobbs on the Way to FOX?

Lou Dobbs has long railed against illegal immigration and has often had a valid argument. Recently, however, he made a move toward left field and the lunatic fringe. The latest ratings of his show, taken since he took up with the "birthers," have plunged. That is unfortunate, because the cable network news organizations need a balance, yet they are becoming more polarized. FOX, of course, has never had a balance.

If CNN eventually drops Mr. Dobbs, where will he land? FOX of course. That network usually picks up all of the fringe elements from CNN and others who will not have them. Glen Beck, Van Sustern , Hannity, North, Rivera; I could go on and on. Nevertheless, given his recent bit of lightheadedness Dobbs will make a good fit for this bunch of ne're do wells in the FOX lineup.

Why Doesn't Obama Show His Birth Certificate? Update

Pretty simple, really. Would you? If a group of mostly racist nutcases, together with some of their politician friends, fabricated a story about you in order to cast doubt upon your qualifications for political office, would you be willing to legitimize them by placating their demands? He has already done more than is required by posting a copy of his birth certificate on-line.

All of this "birther" nonsense is nothing more than racists and Republicans (some would argue that they are one and the same) trying to cast doubt among the electorate. The Republicans have done everything short of assassination to try to discredit the President. They, recently, have even gone so far as to say that defeating the President is more important than fixing the health care nightmare in this country. All that this nasty maneuvering has done is to dig them deeper into the permanent abyss that they are creating for their final fall.

Yesterday the House unanimously voted on a resolution, commemorating Hawaii's statehood, that included wording noting that Hawaii is the birthplace of the president. After an objection by a darling of the fringe, Michelle Bachman, the Repugs finally voted for something. I am amazed that they were able to press the yes button on their voting machine. It did nothing positive for the country, so they felt safe, I suppose.

The poor people in state government in Hawaii have had to put up with this birth nonsense for months. Even the Republican governor of the state confirmed the President's birth months ago. Yet the lunatic fringe, now lead by Lou Dobbs, continues to perpetuate the myth. It will live on the Internet long after President Obama has left office. Some will make it their life's crusade, ensuring that they have accomplished absolutely nothing constructive, when they cross over to the other side.

Update: For those unfamiliar with US law, let me refer you to Title 8, 1401, Section G of the US Code:

(g) a person born outside the geographical limits of the United States and its outlying possessions of parents one of whom is an alien, and the other a citizen of the United States who, prior to the birth of such person, was physically present in the United States or its outlying possessions for a period or periods totaling not less than five years, at least two of which were after attaining the age of fourteen years: Provided, That any periods of honorable service in the Armed Forces of the United States, or periods of employment with the United States Government or with an international organization as that term is defined in section 288 of title 22 by such citizen parent, or any periods during which such citizen parent is physically present abroad as the dependent unmarried son or daughter and a member of the household of a person

(A) honorably serving with the Armed Forces of the United States, or

(B) employed by the United States Government or an international organization as defined in section 288 of title 22, may be included in order to satisfy the physical-presence requirement of this paragraph. This proviso shall be applicable to persons born on or after December 24, 1952, to the same extent as if it had become effective in its present form on that date;

It does not matter where the President was born. His mother was an American citizen. In addition, I guess the commenter below has not seen the announcement of Obama's birth that appeared in the newspaper. I guess he/she will say that this was a conspiracy fabricated by Obama's father, knowing that he would one day be president of the US. He was born in Kenya, but the birth notice was placed in the paper to throw these "experts" off track.