Comments on Pro Libertate: Fool's Gold

I am familiar with Scharff. His effective intellig...

2008-03-25T19:28:00.000-06:00

I am familiar with Scharff. His effective intelligence gathering techniques were being used to prolong the unjust aggression of the Third Reich. His end was execrable, no matter what his means may have been.

-Sans Authoritas

"There is no way to be honorable, noble or full of...

2008-03-25T15:42:00.000-06:00

"There is no way to be honorable, noble or full of valor while prosecuting an unjust war."

Sans Authoritas should read this: George W. Bush Hates America

Read about Hanns-Joachim Scharff.

As a Southerner of Scotch-Irish descent, and one o...

2008-03-22T12:01:00.000-06:00

As a Southerner of Scotch-Irish descent, and one of several generations of career soldiers, I have always taken some pride in the fact that Southerners, particularly of Scotch-Irish descent, have accounted for so many of the awards for valor through out many wars. It is a sad pride, however, as I lament that our bravery in battle was matched with the wisdom to ally ourselves with noble causes, and more importantly a biblical response to war. Far better that we realize that our greatest hero was Saint Patrick and his wisdom in refusing to fight secular enemies with secular weapons, but, instead, took up spiritual weapons to fight spiritual forces in high places.

Ah, I see now. You were discussing Lee's role in t...

2008-03-20T09:28:00.000-06:00

Ah, I see now. You were discussing Lee's role in the Mexican-American war, not comparing it to the self-defense of the South during the War of Northern Aggression.

While I understand where you are coming from, even in this case, I must disagree. There is no way to be honorable, noble or full of valor while prosecuting an unjust war. The only way to remain noble is not to participate at all. This latter, as you wrote, was the chosen course of the Irish.

There is nothing honorable in tipping one's hat while taking someone else's money or land at gunpoint.

One can't be "good" or "noble" while prosecuting the unjust war. In such a case, one's actions can only be less evil.

-Sans Authoritas

Sans Authoritas, my point -- which I made poorly -...

2008-03-19T21:47:00.000-06:00

Sans Authoritas, my point -- which I made poorly -- was not that the Confederates were uniformly fighting to preserve slavery, but that the chattel slave lobby was an unambiguous beneficiary of the war with Mexico.

The North's war of aggression against the South had almost nothing to do with emancipating anybody, black, white, or of any other shade. Lincoln "un-emancipated" slaves within his jurisdiction (reversing Fremont's emancipation order in Missouri, for instance); the two US presidents who succeeded Lincoln were both slave owners. And the impact of Lincoln's war has been to make everybody within the involuntary Union a serf. So much for the "Great Emancipator"....

Dear Mr. Grigg, I almost always enjoy all your pos...

2008-03-19T18:45:00.000-06:00

Dear Mr. Grigg, I almost always enjoy all your posts, and this one was no exception, but I couldn't help but balk when reading this:

"There were American soldiers -- Robert E. Lee, to cite the most obvious example -- who distinguished themselves for valor and leadership on behalf of an ignoble cause."

If you believe that the South was fighting to keep slavery intact, you're right: Lee was fighting for an ignoble cause. That's not what Lee was fighting for.

I'm not going to go into why Lincoln's army decided to attack the South. As intelligent and as well-read as you are, you have no excuse to be ignorant of the real reasons.

As it is, the North wasn't fighting to "free the slaves." Lincoln sent troops to the South to make sure everyone labored under the same Master.

I was born and raised a Connecticut Yankee. I once believed the fairy tale of Honest Abe and his "war to free the slaves." Then I wised up, studied up, and discovered the truth of the matter.

Please tell me you'll do the same.

-Sans Authoritas

In his comment above, Keith doesn't mention FIJA (...

2008-03-19T09:12:00.000-06:00

In his comment above, Keith doesn't mention FIJA (Fully Informed Jury Association), although he is fine exponent of FIJA's principles.

http://www.fija.org/

My wife was facing possible jury duty this week. I directed her to FIJA, but added, "Don't say a word about FIJA or jury nullification, unless you want to be excused for cause -- GUARANTEED."

Keith's transcript proves the accuracy of that prediction. "Jury tampering" -- that's calling a spade a spade, for sure.

Do we exist only to serve an economic system (?)

2008-03-19T05:23:00.000-06:00

Do we exist only to serve an economic system (?)

If the U.S. goes into a depression, I believe it m...

2008-03-18T21:36:00.000-06:00

If the U.S. goes into a depression, I believe it may come to fighting for our freedom against whatever evil controls Washington, just like the Irish. We know how they behaved in the first depression. We know they now have the hardware and software installed for martial law, camps, national "service" and all the rest. I'm almost bound to obey the government in all circumstances. However, kidnapping kids in a draft, submitting to death squads, or relocation to a state camp is where the line is drawn. True, fighting back is unlikely to make things better. But how shameful to sit back and do nothing when the only alternative is to be murdered.

I faced, and was excluded by, the same screening p...

2008-03-18T20:24:00.000-06:00

I faced, and was excluded by, the same screening process when I was summoned for jury duty in the State of Oregon. I later got the transcript, and posted it online. They are carefully trained in jury tampering, to exclude anyone who will not rubber-stamp the judicial opinion.

This sad story was, of course, played out again a ...

2008-03-18T15:56:00.000-06:00

This sad story was, of course, played out again a decade and a half later, on an even larger scale, when the next generation of immigrants from the Emerald Isle found themselves tricked or coerced into joining Uncle Abe's genocidal imperial campaign against the Southern States. Equally sad were the many instances (Fredericksburg by no means an isolated incident) in which Irishmen in both armies found themselves on opposite sides of the battlefield, mowing each other down in cold blood, for no sane or justifiable reason.

One wonders if the current hordes of foreign-born "volunteers" serving in Uncle Sam's current imperial legions will find themselves in similar situations as the Empire slowly collapses and fragments.

I was taught Texas history in Texas public schools...

2008-03-18T15:10:00.000-06:00

I was taught Texas history in Texas public schools, visited the Alamo, San Jacinto, Washington-on-the-Brazos, Goliad, etc. But today is the first time I ever heard of the Batallón San Patricio.

In my first visit to México (also my first time outside the U.S.), I was really surprised by this very different neighboring culture, about which I knew NOTHING. It was the first clue I had that there may have been some deficiencies in my education. I was also surprised by how friendly people were, despite the bloody history of the past century.

A bit off subject, but in Thomas Moore's historical fictional novel "The Hunt for Confederate Gold" (Fusilier Books, 2005), an Irish Confederate soldier (whose loyalty is unfairly doubted) plays a key role in helping a small band of soldiers escape from Virginia through Union lines with a chest of the legendary Confederate gold, to bury it secretly in South Carolina. The story is picked up again in the present day, when the gold is unearthed (thanks to a code based on the King James Bible) in a desperate race against federal agents, and used to restore freedom and sound currency. It's a book that Will and many of his readers here might enjoy.

Of course, the ultimate Irish-American fictional character was Gerald O'Hara. ;-)

Daniel, you're entirely correct, and the brutality...

2008-03-18T13:30:00.000-06:00

Daniel, you're entirely correct, and the brutality of the Mexican "republic" of that time helps explain my loathing for that government today. That's something I expressed, albeit in passing, in the essay.

And the fact that Riley and his fellows (who were animated by commendable motives) weren't much better off fighting for the Mexican side, given the duplicity and depravity of that government, is one reason why I chose the title. :-)

WNG, what you're leaving out - Mexico was hardly n...

2008-03-18T13:26:00.000-06:00

WNG, what you're leaving out - Mexico was hardly noble in the conflict either, considering just a few years earlier attempted to crush the secession of the Republic of Texas. A case could be made that the US was justified in defending itself over the Texas annexation, but not a flat out invasion of Mexico.

In modern revisionist tellings of this war these are too-often left out. I know you mean well though.