At What Price Victory

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Nearly fifty years ago, during my tour of America on a Triumph motorcycle, I stopped at a Civil War Museum and burial ground for Civil War soldiers in Northern Alabama. I’ve been a student of history, and this seemed to be a curious part of America’s history.

The museum was run by the Daughters Of The Confederacy. A group that dedicated themselves to their work and the history of the Civil War Era. Their dedication to the memory of The Lost Cause or War of Northern Aggression and to the heroes of the Confederacy was awe inspiring if not a little frightening to a Canadian teenager. I paid to attend a formal history lesson and was barraged with a mass of history from the Southern perspective.

I admired the ladies with their period dress and astounding command of historical facts. I was also spellbound, while listening to the stories, but I noted a slight inconsistency with the history lessons I had studied; in their versions of history, the South was always victorious.

I have always been considered more horse than man; so it was natural for me to study the great cavalry men of the Civil War period. I knew the accomplishments of Nathan Bedford Forrest well and since he had operated in this particular theater, the lady mentioned him several times in her lecture.

If Lee would have had a few more Generals like Forrest and Jackson, the South would have won the war; at least, this is my belief. Jackson was a trained military man and veteran of the War with Mexico, but Forrest was an anomaly. A slave trader and plantation owner, he became one of the greatest cavalry generals in the history of the world, with no formal training. I’ll not catalogue his exploits and accomplishments, but they are filed away behind the screen you are reading if you doubt me.

Now as much as I loved reading about the strategy and audacity of Forrest, even he would have been surprised at his accomplishments during our informal history lesson. It was an excellent lecture, just a little bit over the top. However, our instructor was such a good lecturer, she left me wanting to review my books back home to check up on my memory.

I would have never challenged her historical views; I could have listened to her for hours or even days. Eventually, a man from the North rudely interrupted her lecture, “Yea, but we whipped you.”

He didn’t look to be over 35 and certainly less than 120 years old, but I think he was referring collectively to the armies of the North and thus he included himself in the glory of their victory.

She never broke stride, “You whipped us, and have you been to Baltimore, Philadelphia, Chicago, Pittsburg, St. Louis, and Boston. I think you should visit those cities and then tour the South and then tell me who won the war.”

I have no way of knowing whether she made an impression on the rude man, but she made a lasting impression on me.

A few hours ago, President Obama won reelection. He gets to keep the jets and choppers, but I am afraid he will realize a hollow victory when he looks upon an electorate that is in desolation; a condition he fabricated during his term and campaign. He has a large percentage of the electorate that no longer trusts his motives or loyalties, especially after the Benghazi Debacle. For the first time in history, five hundred generals and admirals endorsed the challenger, instead of an incumbent president. This is just one step below a vote of no confidence from the military.

He can still preen and pose with the not so bright hens on The View, but in an historical context, this type of behavior is not presidential, but good enough for a majority of Americans. However, after 50 years, I have a fairly good understanding of the victory that the Daughter Of The Confederacy was talking about, and when reality settles in on Obama, he will also realize the hollowness of his victory.

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Is the Reactionary Right—the modern throw-back to the John Birch Society—going to keep up this sham.

Very thoughtful piece, Skook, but I disagree that obama will ever realize it as a hollow victory. He is just not built that way. If he desolated the country – physically – he would still be happy that his ideology won. People do not matter to the likes of him. They are nothing more than a means to an end. He would rather be master of the kingdom, period, and that is what matters to him.

@Liberal1 (Objectivity): Shhh . . . Adults are talking!
Skook’s right. I’m afraid you are the one living in the sham. Let’s talk 20 years from now: Obama will be considered the worse President we’ve ever seen (at least 53% already think so). Learning how to manipulate the masses isn’t greatness, it’s tyranny, and the Dems have painted themselves into a corner they’ll never get out off. When the handouts stop, they will get ripped to shreds by those they’ve turned into beasts.

All in All, those in favor of a free-market capitalist state, the Constitution, and real civil liberties are the winners here. It’s only a matter of time.

Skook, the tide turned for the South when Lee refused to take the advise of Longstreet at Gettysburg. After the war, Longstreet ran for public office as a Republican. Not because he was a traitor to the glorious cause, but because he understood politics and knew that he would not win in a Reconstruction South as a Democrat. Longstreet knew that he had to do whatever it took to provide represenatation to his beloved South.

One only has to look at Detroit to understand what progressivism brings. Houses deserted, being bulldozed down, unemployment at Great Depression levels. Same with Chicago and its crime wave and murder rate which will go in the annals of our national history. New York, where a majority of women murder their children before birth; California which has just raised taxes but will instead see a train of U-Hauls fleeing the state, taking their business, and businesses, with them; Staten Island a disaster and no one seems to care but those religious “nuts” who are pouring into the area with aid.

The nation is full of idiots that thinks the saying “The South will rise again” means another war. It doesn’t. It means the South, unlike the North, is resiliant, and will continue to prosper while the North will watch as its cities decay, and its citizens become nothing more than wards of the state.

The pendulum will eventually swing back, and when it does, it will smack every progressive in the head.

Lib1, probably our president’s most memorable quote came forth, early on in his presidency when Republicans were seeking a bipartisan measure. Obama asserted himself and the tone of his tenure by saying “I won;” effectively, bringing an end to any notion of bipartisanship during the Obama presidency.

Obama finished his presidency as an impotent statesman, who could only govern by executive order. He is beginning his second term with the same situation, but without the support of the military, with a huge disgruntled portion of the population, an economy that is about to crash, the truth of Benghazi is about to explode in his face, his wasted and corrupt stimulus dollars used to back his cronies will eventually permeate even the thickest skulls eventually, and the storm ravaged citizens of New Jersey and New York will soon realize the full extent of electing incompetents to care for them as winter increases the horror of their tragedy. Yes, the king of the pig pen is still the king, no matter how horrible life becomes in the pig pen. This was the basic point of the article for you Libs with thick craniums; victory in the pig stye is still victory in the pig stye.

History has not necessarily been directed by men of vision; nay, most of history has been an agonizing ordeal and brought about by arrogant buffoons who acquired power. There are exceptions: Obama isn’t one of them.

as insightful as you are I find it surprising you were not able to forecast the results of this election

Occam, I hinted at a Romney victory, but after spending years on our race tracks, I have learned it is foolish to predict winners. All too often, those who are correct revel in the glory of being correct to the derision of those who are wrong; yet, it is often only a slight twist of fate or a fat man loving a skinny man that turns the tide.

I profess no ability to guess or predict the future and I continue to regard modern-day soothsayers, with disinterested curiosity.

ThomNJ, I assume you are from New Jersey and away from the ravages of Sandy. Years ago, I worked in New Jersey and marveled at the high water table of the soil. I assume that much of the state is a soggy bog despite being beyond the devastated areas.

It was with shocked disbelief that I watched electric line crews from hundreds of miles away offering to help restore power as humanitarian aid, being turned back by union goons, right after the fat man and our president had a heart warming embrace over easing the suffering in New Jersey.

This is the new face of America as Obama’s thuggery and Christie’s acceptance become the way of the future. It left the taste of bile in my throat, but I seem to be one of only a few who saw the thuggery being accepted by the highest authority in our country.

Yes, Obama is a self-absorbed narcissist who will take longer he is governing a country where an increasing majority of the people no longer regard him seriously or even care about his buffoonery. It will take him longer to realize that only a minority of the country is comfortable with thuggery and foolishness. But eventually every leader begins to recognize when he loses the confidence of the electorate.

Nathan, I am glad to see other thinking in an historical context. Obama will be facing the stark reality of being an historical figure who is regarded as an abject failure. A more pragmatic figure would change course and try to recover, but since Obama is an ideologue and consumed with his narcissism, he is doomed to failure before he starts.

A rancher, farmer, or business owner who realizes his business is failing will, out of necessity for the dumbest ones, change course to try and recover. The ideologue is incapable of changing course due to the definition of his neurosis. He is obsessed with his belief system and like the Captain who would stay with his ship as it sinks to the bottom, Obama will ride out his failed ideology into oblivion; unfortunately, he will take us with him.

Very insightful Skook

I watched the talking heads of the Establishment Republicans when asked if the Republican party needed to be reorganized and even after losing TWO elections with candidates that never really had a chance of winning they still wouldnt accept responsibility. They forced on the Conservatives members candidates who are not popular and in Romney case was already a previous Presidential loser, what did they expect? I shudder to think of who they will put in front of us in 2 years, Bob Dole, John Beohner??

too bad he’ll get over it and get right back to destroying what’s left of the country anyway…

Retire, I have walked the path of Pickett’s Charge several times at different stages of my life. The first time was life changing, and nearly as frightening as being entombed in the frozen moose carcass or falling through the ice and seeing the glowing red eyes of the devil walking toward me. Without knowing the history, I probably would have walked that slight uphill grade without incident, but knowing the history and appreciating the drama of death that transpired was overwhelming.

I feel as if we are once again walking over an exposed corn field with an uphill grade and our artillery has missed its mark. We will soon realize the fury of massed musketry with no way to return fire effectively.

Skooks I say do not despair Marine. The world is not coming to an end, Keep working. Keep writing You]re a smart guy. Please keep an open mind. Our country is strong.Our economy will recover.
We will work together. Thanks for your contributions to F.A. Keep up the great work.

Semper Fi

Nathan, I pray you are right, but I fear what this president will do to our country. One of my friends told me yesterday the Lord allows us to get what we desire in our hearts. Our collective hearts in this country have been inclined toward evil for a great majority of my life, and we are getting our just due.

I only hope that there is time to stop this man’s agenda before he is finished. I fear it is too late, we older people will be allowed to die with the death panels, the younger people will never again be able to build a profitable business, and the supreme court will be stacked with more liberals.

Personally, I think we are no longer a great nation and our run is now up.

Aleric: it is an interesting conundrum, and we continue to exist in the shade of the cowardly and timid East Coast Rinos. Until we strip that power away from these Obama Republicans, we will be without a voice in Washington. The Progressives will beat the drum and offer their deceitful advice on how we can once again have a voice, but their advice is to be like them and stop with the pretenses we value from the Constitution. They like the idea of pitting Liberal Republicans against Progressive Democrats; it becomes a never losing proposition for them.

We can only continue with the good fight and look for grass roots Conservative leaders of the type that frighten the progressive Socialists to their core.

@Skookum:

History has not necessarily been directed by men of vision; nay, most of history has been an agonizing ordeal and brought about by arrogant buffoons who acquired power.

History is replete with such leaders, Skook. And this isn’t a left/right thing. A liberal/conservative thing. It is because often the best men to lead are the ones who aren’t seeking the glory of “leading”. Men of vision are too engrossed in seeing the what the culmination of their efforts brings than to change course midstream and seek out power instead.

This is why in the military, the best leaders are the junior to midgrade officers and non-coms. The ones who aren’t engaged in political power plays to gain commands as stepping stones in their careers.

Obama reminds me of those “just here for a stop” type officers, who have seen the path they need to follow to attain the power they desire.

Lib1 doesn’t seem to understand that the election unfolded with roughly half the voters rejecting Obama, and just a bit more, relatively, voting to continue the course. This election was not a repudiation of the right. Of conservatives. But that’s what people like Lib1 would have you believe.

And this electorate is more divided than it was in 2008, as evidenced by the many who voted not ‘for’ Romney, but against Obama. And that is all Obama’s doing. Even after declaring, in 2008, that he would bring people together. Fat chance of that when he started out by piddling away our money to his friends. Then shoving a healthcare bill down the throats of over half the population who didn’t want it.

Power, combined with ideologues, is a dangerous combination.

@Richard Wheeler:

We will work together.

Please provide evidence of Obama and Reid being willing to do so with the GOP. We will wait patiently for your answer.

J.G, This is my belief and my hope.Best to you. Richard

@Richard Wheeler:

That only happens if Obama decides to conduct himself more closely to Clinton. He hasn’t shown that he is willing to, even after the House went to the GOP in 2010. And his campaign rhetoric was doubling down on his ideological viewpoints as a contrast to Romney. So why in the world would you ever think that he might be willing to work with the House GOP? And, what’s more, and despite the narrative of the left, the House GOP more than once attempted to work with Obama, only to be turned away.

You can hope that Congress, along with Obama, will work together. But that may be the wrong thing to hope for, considering Obama and the Dem’s willingness to piss away our wealth, and the GOP establishment’s willingness to do so as well, when they are able to. Spending money doesn’t make government work, Rich. Spending money wisely does. And neither the Democrats, nor the Republicans, have shown they have any aptitude for spending wisely. It may be best that there is complete gridlock for the next four years.

Whether Obama is considered a success or a failure would depend on what his/their goals are. From what I know of the Progressives’ goal, he has been a huge success. Cloward and Piven is going exactly as planned. I expect the fiscal cliff will be the next crises providing him an excuse to grab more power.

Individual, as an author of historical fiction, who researches the subject matter, I have found the writers of history to be a contemptible bunch. So egregious are their attempts to influence history, they remind me of our laughable Fourth Estate as they once so arrogantly referred to themselves, but Obama shills and propaganda writers is a more accurate description of their continuous fraud in the service of Obama.

The real history will be found in the personal journals of the little people who actually lived the particular phase of history, and oh, what a different picture emerges from these often undramatic but heart wrenching accounts. Objective historians of the future, assuming there is still freedom of expression in the future, will find a wealth of historical notes on the cyber pages of the present and how the curious will wonder at the magnitude of corruption and stupidity that passes for governance in the this the fall of freedom.

I’m confused on two points.
How are cities in the south better than cities in the north?
I’ll take Boston and NYC over Atlanta and New Orleans any day.
Also you are more horse than man?
I found this picture of you.
http://www.signalblog.ca/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/centaur.jpg

@Skookum: Great points. It’s amazing that people “assume” an historian is “right” just as they “assume” a climate “scientist” is right. The die hard victims of public education go on and on about the war being fought to “end slavery”, what mallarcy. It’s analogous to saying that WW1 was fought for Serbian independence.

@Matthew Brulotte: I notice you conveniently left Detroit, Chicago and DC out of the mix.

Some thoughts:

— Romney is most probably a few million dollars richer right now. Chillin’ in the Caribbean, as Marcellus Wallace said to Butch in Pulp Fiction. Unlike Tarantino’s Butch, the GOP’s Butch really did take the dive.

— Then there’s that citizen-spying Internet Data Center being built in Romney’s home state, a monstrosity the size of a college campus.

http://rt.com/news/utah-data-center-spy-789/

Just some things to think about. McCain also performed well as the GOP”s “anti-Butch”. And was, in all likelihood, similarly rewarded.

Obama celebrates his victory:

@JustAl:

Especially Detroit. No where else in America shows the price for adherence to a nearly complete liberal/progressive ideology.

:

Off Topic
When is your book coming out? I’m anxious to read it

@Skook:

Eastwood expressed it more simply with “Deserve’s got nuthin’ to do with it”.

Yours, in #29, was more eloquent and wordy, but no less effective.

No pity. Just the sheer reality of it.

@Skook:

What goes around comes around:

My great-grandfather rode a horse, but wouln’t ride a train.
My grandfather rode the train, but wouldn’t drive a car.
My father would drive a car, but wouldn’t ride in a plane.
I will ride in a plane, but won’t ride a horse.
My daughter will ride a horse, but won’t ride a train.

Great, Canadian slave sympathizers, just what we need. Yeah, you lost, and good. Visit hicksville Mississippi, real growth industry there, no California with it’s Silicon Valley, but this slave-loving fool thinks it’s all that, and a a pile of hay for his half horse mouth. Giddy up, you and Romney can lead the calvary charge.

:

I hope that as your books go on sale that you let us know. Title & puplisher. Thanks.

@Skook:
Yeah, people like you who point out how shark like you are to strangers on the internet, dangerous. Yeah, maybe my written game needs t be improved. I’ll type slower for you.

@Lonesomebri:

Yeah, people like you who point out how shark like you are to strangers on the internet, dangerous. Yeah, maybe my written game needs t be improved. I’ll type slower for you.

So says the person who used the anonymity of the internet to put down another person. Don’t type slower. Type smarter. We’ll all be better off for it. Or not.

@Skookum: #12,

“I feel as if we are once again walking over an exposed corn field with an uphill grade and our artillery has missed its mark. We will soon realize the fury of massed musketry with no way to return fire effectively.”

Admittedly, I remain confused with the limited shift which we witnessed in the middle ground of the electorate yesterday. Attempting to understand it through boiling, one element floats to the top – the onslaught from up the hill is the lie.

Truth simply is. The veracity of its retelling is completely dependent on the reteller. Lies on the other hand, aren’t. They are ephemeral, malleable concepts, manipulated by hypocrites. Lies demand effort and to make them affect consciousness, require much repetition.

Exactly half of America has been influenced by a reteller very confident of his own ability to persuade the masses through telling lies. Every speech I have listened to from him for 4 years contained lies. The musketry’s ammo is lies.

Lies boomerang on those who launch them. This march may be on an uphill grade, but the seeds of its own destruction have been well planted by this Administration. The hilltop is within view. Keep pointing out the “truth.”

Gen Forrest was accused of war crimes when his troops massacred Union POWs who were black. He was also the first Grand Wizard of the KKK

@occam:

And Confederate blacks were shot when captured when put into Northern prison camps.

Also, I suggest you research Ebenezer Creek.

SKOOKUM
WHAT’S HIS NAME , remind me of my first visit here at FLOPPING ACES,
liking it but very low possibility on giving my opinion,, even then I went for it,
because I liked what I was reading, and my poor skills in the ENGLISH language was miserably noted by some, I THEN BACK UP FOR A WHILE, and came back for an assault on the typo of ENGLISH words,
than you found me and began to help me, on many ways to formulate a sentence, you did follow my efforts for quite a while, and I still am so grateful to you for allowing me to express and answer and exchange sentences on favorite subjects,
now that I consider myself perfect?!!!, there is always at time the lone arrogant tormenter sneaking in to note an error, but it has became less often , now, or they gave up on me, or they found me human,
since 2009, I must say I enjoyed reading you’re wonderful POSTS, and inter change with the people who comment, with enthusiast ,
you have entertained us and took us where you where with a rare skill, all this time, thank you for it,
and the books for me soon I hope,
bye