If You Post Confederate Flags on Facebook..........

........go ahead and unfriend me now.

I've been quiet about the riots going on in the U.S. now. I've thought, I'm not there now, let those folks sort this out without my comments. However, after seeing one of my Facebook "friends" post a Confederate flag onto his Facebook page, and write something about our heritage blah, blah, blah, blah, I've changed my mind about keeping silent.

Four years ago, when I discovered that someone I went to high school with was behind the movement to permit homosexuals into the Boy Scouts, I wrote a blog piece entitled Go Ahead, Unfriend Me. It that piece, I mentioned that I had "unfriended" four people over their support of homosexuals in Scouts, and asked that, if I had missed anyone then, by all means unfriend me now.

I feel the same now about this Confederate flag and monument dust up. Within the next 24 hours, after allowing one Facebook friend the opportunity to read this link on Facebook, I will remove him from my list. Should any of my other "friends" post the flag, and I'm not aware of it, go ahead and "unfriend" me.

To show the seriousness of this, I am uploading onto this post a photo of the man most hated by Confederate supporters, the man who burned Atlanta - William Tecumseh Sherman.

Paper Peso

It celebration of Memorial Day in the U.S., a friend on Facebook shared a photo, originally posted by her local newspaper, of the edition published on August 14, 1945 announcing the U.S. victory over Japan ending World War Two.

The item I found particularly interesting was the paper Philippine peso in the lower right-hand corner. The 1 peso paper bank note was withdrawn from circulation in the 1970s. The note in the photo is part of the VICTORY-CBP Overprints series printed in 1949, and were not in circulation (obviously) when the August 14, 1945 newspaper was printed.

It's difficult to read, but the note states that, on demand, the bearer could receive either silver peso or legal tender currency of the United States.

The Book List and Two Wars

Of the first six books in the top ten best sellers of 1917, three of those make reference to the First World War (AKA The Great War). The war, after all, was going on at the time so it's only natural that popular books would make some mention of it.

Of those three, two also reference the 2nd Boer War, which is why I've also made a detour to learn more of that conflict by reading The Great Boer War by Arthur Conan Doyle.

As I've mentioned in an earlier post, I've finished the first six in the list and have started on number seven, In the Wilderness by Robert S. Hichens. At this point, there is absolutely no question that I read this book in 2014, when I had read three other novels by Hichens as well. 2014 was the year my first Kindle was damaged beyond repair while flying to Dumaguete from the U.S. and I may simply have forgotten to take note of In the Wilderness at the time. That would explain why I don't have an earlier copy of the e-book.

Most of the book is coming back to me as I reread it. I had forgotten that this book also references the 2nd Boer War. At this point in the novel, the fighting at Ladysmith, Mafeking and Magersfontein had been fought and had led to a call for British men to volunteer to serve in the army. Dion, the protagonist of In the Wilderness has volunteered and is on a ship bound for South Africa.

At this point in Conan Doyle's book, I am just learning of Ladysmith, Mafeking and Magersfontein.

As it's been more than three years and probably 100 books since my reading of In the Wilderness, and I don't recall if Hichens mentioned the First World War in addition to the Great Boer War. I'll find out soon enough.

William J. Locke

As I've mentioned in posts before, I've begun reading from the top ten best selling novels of 1917. As of this writing, I finished numbers one and two - Mr. Britling Sees It Through, by H. G. Wells, and The Light in the Clearing, by Irving Bacheller. I'm currently reading # 3 on the list, The Red Planet, by William J. Locke.

World War I was still being fought when these books were published, so it's not surprising that two of these first three concern the Great War. The Light in the Clearing is an historical novel of sorts, but takes place during the time of U.S. President Van Buren.

William J. Locke was a very good writer - five of Locke's books made the top ten best sellers list in the U.S.. I was so impressed with the first few pages of The Red Planet that I considered reading Locke's other top best sellers after I've read all the 1917 books on my list. However, I'll wait and decide on that after I've completed The Red Planet. As I said, Locke was a very good writer, but unfortunately, at this point in the novel, I am not at all fond of the protagonist, Major Meredyth. Major Meredyth appears to be more chauvinistic than I would like - but who knows, in Wells' novel, the character Mr. Britling becomes less enthused with World War I as the novel progressed, so perhaps there will be a change in the character of Major Meredyth as well.

100 Year Old Best Sellers

As mentioned in an earlier post, I've begun reading the best selling novels from 1917. The first on the list is Mr. Britling Sees It Through., by H. G. Wells. The novel begins just before the start of World War I and tells of the experiences of a writer and his family and acquaintances during the war. It's a thought provoking  novel and it's being on the best seller list of 1917 is perfectly understandable.

At the end of the book, Wells uses a letter written by Britling to the parents of a German friend to voice his views on how the world should evolve after the war. Unfortunately, Wells was not able to visit the future as a character from another of his novels was able to do, and Wells' idea for a one world government haven't panned out quite the way he would have wanted.

Like a good many following the Great War, many felt that the League of Nations would make certain that it would be the War to End All Wars. Hindsight is 20/20, and we can see now that the treatment of Germany following their loss in the Great War help bring about the Second World War.

The second novel on the list of best sellers of 1917 is The Light in the Clearing by Irving Bacheller. . As I write this, I am 31% into the e-book (downloaded from Project Gutenberg. I tend to agree with the review (linked to above).

"The Light In The Clearing is a book that is worth a read, but not so much for pleasure as for studies of history. For history it is a fantastic fictional source but for pleasure the dampening of themes and 180 degree changes are too irregular to invite particular acclaim. It’s a good book, but its purpose has been served better elsewhere".

The reviewer also writes that the book "has not stood the test of time as well as it could have, and that is a shame". That said, I will do my best to finish the book. The reviewer says the "last few chapters are excellent, but it’s difficult to get that far". I'm going to try.

Trump Wrong on Torture

As anyone who has read my blog for any length of time should be aware, I did not support either Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton during the campaign and I did not vote for either candidate. I've stated on several occasions, that choosing between Clinton or Trump is like choosing either mayo or mustard on your shit sandwich.

That said, I decided, after Trump was elected, that I would give him the benefit of the doubt and support him as POTUS up and until he proposed something which I believe goes beyond the pale, morally speaking.

With this article on Trump's support of torture, it appears that time has arrived. As a Catholic, I cannot support the use of torture under any circumstances. Trump believes torture "works". There may be disagreement on the effectiveness of torture, but that is beside the point. The Church has made it perfectly clear that "there exist acts which per se and in themselves, independently of circumstances, are always seriously wrong by reason of their object" and like homicide, genocide, abortion, euthanasia and voluntary suicide, mutilation, physical and mental torture is included among those intrinsically evil acts.

Trump recently took the appropriate step of reinstating the Mexico City Policy which stops U.S. taxpayer funding of the abortion industry overseas. While he deserves praise for that particular Executive Memorandum, his views on torture are unacceptable.

The Book List Turns to WWI

Having finished reading The Adventures of Elizabeth in Rügen, I've begun reading the first of the top selling books of 1917, Mr. Britling Sees It Through, by H. G. Wells. It was one book in particular which lead me to the decision to read the 1917 best sellers - Christine by Alice Cholmondeley. Alice Cholmondeley was a pen name used by Elizabeth von Arnim.

The last five books I've read were written by von Arnim, and it was my plan, originally, to read Christine first. However, after The Adventures of Elizabeth in Rügen, I changed my mind. That book did not impress me as much as the other four von Arnim books and I decided to take a short break from her.

Mr. Britling Sees It Through begins just prior to World War I. There are references to the Irish War of Independence which escape me, but overall, the book is enjoyable.

Following H. G. Wells, The Light in the Clearing by Irving Bacheller is next on the list.

1917

In 2015, after watching probably every film version of The Hounds of the Baskervilles ever produced, I decided to download a copy of the book from Project Gutenberg and re-read the novel. As I mentioned in a post from that time, I learned, shortly after reading the book, that The Hounds of the Baskervilles was among the top ten best selling books of 1902. Knowing that lead me to take a look at the entire list for that year and a desire to read a few of the books that were best sellers in 1902. As it turned out, counting the Conan Doyle novel, I read five of the top ten books for that particular year.

I've mentioned in more than one post that after learning of her through reading E. Phillips Oppenheim's memoir, Elizabeth von Arnim has become my current favorite writer. I ended 2016 by reading Arnim's most highly acclaimed novel, Vera, and began 2017 by reading Arnim's first book Elizabeth and Her German Garden. Although very different in tone, I loved both of the books and went to Project Gutenberg to download additional e-books of von Arnim's work. I immediately began von Arnim's 2nd book (and companion to her first) The Solitary Summer. Her third book is classified as "juvenile literature". Sadly, it is not available in e-book format. I downloaded the next two -The Benefactress and The Adventures of Elizabeth in Rügen. I've read 50% of The Benefactress and I'm looking forward to reading my 5th work by von Arnim.

I had already begun thinking of what books I might read following The Adventures of Elizabeth in Rügen and thought I might return to reading some of the top ten novels of years ago. Rather than go on to 1903 - which might have been a logical follow up to the 1902 list, I thought it might be better to jump ahead to 1917 and read the best sellers from one hundred years ago.

I looked at the list:

1) Mr. Britling Sees It Through by H. G. Wells
2) The Light in the Clearing by Irving Bacheller
3) The Red Planet by William J. Locke
4) The Road to Understanding by Eleanor H. Porter
5) Wildfire by Zane Grey
6) Christine by Alice Cholmondeley
7) In the Wilderness by Robert S. Hichens
8) His Family by Ernest Poole
9) The Definite Object by Jeffery Farnol
10) The Hundredth Chance by Ethel M. Dell

Number six, Christine by Alice Cholmondeley, threw me. Alice Cholmondeley was a nom de plume used by Elizabeth von Arnim.

Reading the wikipedia article of the novel, I've become fascinated by yet another side of Elizabeth von Arnim. The pen name was used by her in order to hide, from the public, the truth that the novel was not what the publishers claimed it to be. It was presented as a series of letters, written by a gifted young English girl studying in Germany just before the outbreak of World War I, to her mother in England. In actuality, Christine was a completely fictional work, written by von Arnim, for British propaganda purposes, in order to convince the American public to enter the war as Britain's ally.

In spite of this - or maybe because of this - I'll read Christine after I've finished reading The Adventures of Elizabeth in Rügen. It will be an appropriate way to begin my reading the 1917 best sellers. The rest of the list will be read in order.

French Terrorist Told Police, 'I'm delivering ice cream'.

According to mirror.co.uk, Nice terror attacker Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel told police 'I'm delivering ice cream' when questioned just hours before massacre.

Killer Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel was parked up on the Promenade des Anglais for almost nine hours before his horrific attack after telling police he was 'delivering ice cream', according to reports.

Judging by photos of the truck used in the terror attack, there does not appear to have been a refrigeration unit on the truck. Just how French police expected ice to remain frozen for nine hours in a unrefrigerated truck.....in July.....is beyond me.

Look for calls from POTUS Obama to call for a ban on ice cream in the United States.

Obama Responds to Terror Attack in Nice, France

Thoughts on Eid al-Fitr and the Islamic Calendar

Today, July 06, 2016 is a holiday in Philippines. In the Islamic calendar, today is Eid al-Fitr, an important religious holiday celebrated by Muslims worldwide that marks the end of the month of Ramadan and the first day of the month of Shawwal.

Although Muslims only make up apprx. 11% of the population, the Philippines adds many Muslim holidays to the country's list of days taken off in addition to the numerous Catholic holidays and secular, national holidays.

Most non-Muslims, like myself, know next to nothing about the Islamic calendar; if we know anything at all, it's the month of Ramadan that we're most familiar with, because of the usual increase in the number of terror attacks by radical Islamic jihadists during this "holy month". What about some of these lesser known (to non -Muslims) months.

The Islamic calendar is a lunar calendar so it doesn't line up exactly with the West's Gregorian calendar. This year, Ramadan aligned, more or less, with June; Shawwal aligns, more or less, with July. The next month in the Islamic calendar is Dhu al-Qi'dah and lines up, this year, with August. According to more than one source, Dhu al-Qi'dah, also spelled Thul Qi’dah, is one of the four sacred months in Islam during which warfare is prohibited, hence the name "Master of Truce".

Let me say that again - Dhu al-Qi'dah is a holy month during which war is banned. People are allowed to defend themselves if attacked.

Let's remember this come this August. Islamic jihadists are all for increasing terror during Ramadan, because they believe Islam calls for that. Will there be a truce regarding terrorist attacks during Dhu al-Qi'dah by these same jihadists?

Obama to Visit Hiroshima

Last week, I made what should have been an obvious observation; that is, you can't blame Obama or Trump for everything wrong with the world. In a post from May 16, I noted that a few of Obama's opponents had blamed the POTUS for apologizing for the U.S.'s WWII bombing of Hiroshima, during a Presidential visit that hadn't actually happened yet.

I'm reminded of this by a report of Obama giving an exclusive interview to NHK(Nippon Hōsō Kyōkai - Japan Broadcasting Corporation) in advance of his scheduled arrival in Japan. Again, according to the taped interview, Obama will travel to Hiroshima on Friday and said he did not intend to offer an apology in his message to survivors of the atomic bombing.

If, after the visit, we learn that Obama does apologize for the bombing of Hiroshima then, by all means, criticize the POTUS to your heart's content. But, please, don't lie about an event before the event even takes place.

Hardcore History and World War I

In a post from his blog, 2016.villageidiotsavant.com, my friend Dom Cimafranca wrote of his listening to podcasts from Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History website - particularly the episode, Prophets of Doom which chronicles the Münster Rebellion of 1534-1535.

I found this podcast so entertaining that, after listening to the entire 4 hour program (in several sittings) I went back to the website and downloaded Carlin's six part series on World War I, Blueprint for Armageddon. I am only two hours into this more than twenty hours long series.

People have a tendency to imagine that the history of the world really begins at their birth. Most people are unaware of how current world events are the result of chain reaction started with the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand. Learning about the Great War can help us better understand the political situation today.

Obama: US Misjudged ISIL Threat

In what was obviously a slip of the tongue, Obama stated in a "60 Minutes" interview that "US misjudged ISIL threat".

Surely, he does not mean "US", but "I".

Al Jazeera Gets it Wrong on Pope's Easter Message.

In the lede to it's story on Pope Francis' "Urbi et Orbi" Easter message, Al Jazeera could not have been more misleading. The headline reads:

"In Easter message, pope backs nuclear deal, decries 'absurd violence'
followed by

"In his 'Urbi et Orbi' message, the pope praised the framework nuclear deal with Iran as a way to make the world safer

Pope Francis does not, however, praise the deal. His one sentence on the nuclear deal reads -

"At the same time, in hope we entrust to the merciful Lord the framework recently agreed to in Lausanne, that it may be a definitive step toward a more secure and fraternal world."

He is neither praising nor condemning the deal. He is praying to the "merciful Lord" in hopes that the deal will "be a definitive step toward a more secure and fraternal world".

It is extremely unlikely that the Pope has any detailed information as to the contents to the agreement. Not knowing the details, he can merely "hope".

It appears that Al Jazeera received most of it's information on the Urbi et Orbi by way of The Associated Press. If that's the case, we will see further use of this propaganda in other "News" organizations' reporting on the Pope's recent message.

Predicting the Future.

If ever there was a failed hope, an unrealized dream or a prediction for the future which did not materialize, this quote by Sir William Sefton Brancker certainly falls into that category.

Writing the introduction to World War I flying ace, Alan Bott's book, Cavalry of the Clouds, Brancker - who was then Deputy Director-General of Military Aëronautics - made this comment:

"War has been the making of aviation; let us hope that aviation will be the destruction of war."
(August 1, 1917)



Brancker was killed when the R101 airship crashed on 5 October 1930, during its maiden voyage to India, years before the London Blitz.

The Politically Incorrect Guide to The Politically Incorrect Guide........

I'm not quite sure who determined that, in order to be a proper Conservative, one must also be an apologist for the Confederate States of America. Obviously, someone at Human Events magazine thinks so.

I recently received an email from Human Events offering to sent a copy of H.W. Crocker III's The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Civil War to me, free of charge, if I would subscribe to the magazine.




The email ad gives a list of 7 facts which "today's PC professors refuse to teach about the Civil War."

Being a descendant of more than one Confederate soldier, it's almost expected that I should take the bait.

Not so, I say.

Let's take a look at the list:

(1) Jefferson Davis and Robert E. Lee: Why they believed, and sincerely hoped, that slavery would fade away naturally.

Not being an historian or an ACWF (American Civil War fanatic) I cannot state for a fact that this accurately represents Lee and Davis' view. True or not, it's rather beside the point, I think. The truth is, slavery was a central part of the economy of the states that attempted to secede from the Union. Support for the Confederacy was de facto support for the institution of slavery.

(2) The widespread belief among leading Northern abolitionists that the Constitution was "a covenant with death and an agreement with hell".

This essay written by abolitionist and mentor to Frederick Douglass, William Lloyd Garrison would bear that out. But, can the original Constitution of the United States be rightly called a "sacred instrument" when the document was dripping with human blood by its failure to address the issue of slavery from the beginning?

(3) The Emancipation Proclamation: It didn't free a single slave — and caused draft riots in the North.

True.

(4) How the Federals waged a war against Southern civilians — destroying their crops, their cities, and their homes.

Sadly, the Federals appear to have been engaged in "Total War", though some historians argue against that view.

(5) The real Robert E. Lee: He considered slavery a political and moral evil and opposed secession — and after the war, a New York newspaper thought he should run for president.

Lee may have "considered slavery a political and moral evil" but, it sounds a lot like a so-called Catholic politician being "personally against abortion, but pro-choice".

(6) Nathan Bedford Forrest: though allegedly a commander of the Ku Klux Klan, he wanted more free blacks — and Chinese — in the South.

Allegedly? Forrest was the first Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan. I can't address his motive for wanting "more free blacks — and Chinese — in the South".

(7) How both Grant and Lincoln thought the Mexican War was morally wrong, but had no qualms waging a far bloodier war to deny the South its independence.

And.........?

It's become popular nowadays to view the Confederates as the ultimate supporters of subsidiarity. There may be some element of truth behind that. As a boy, Jefferson Davis studied at Saint Thomas School at the Saint Rose Dominican Priory in Washington County Kentucky for a few years. Unfortunately, slavery trumps whatever good there may have been in the "Lost Cause".

HOLY SEE PRESS OFFICE DIRECTOR ON DEATH OF OSAMA BIN LADEN

VATICAN CITY, 2 MAY 2011 (VIS) - This morning the Director of the Holy See Press Office, Fr. Federico Lombardi, S.J., released the following declaration on the news regarding the death of Osama Bin Laden.

"Osama Bin Laden, as is known, claimed responsibility for grave acts that spread division and hate among the peoples, manipulating religion to that end. A Christian never takes pleasure from the fact of a man's death, but sees it as an opportunity to reflect on each person's responsibility, before God and humanity, and to hope and commit oneself to seeing that no event become another occasion to disseminate hate but rather to foster peace".

Obama and Gitmo.

In June, 2008, during the height of the Presidential campaign, the Supreme Court issued a ruling in the case Boumediene v. Bush, declaring that the detainees at the U.S.-run Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba have the right of habeas corpus and cannot be detained indefinitely, without being charged.

I noted in a post at the time [What's Wrong with Habeas Corpus?] that my candidate of choice, pro-life Libertarian, Bob Barr, was in agreement with the Supreme Court decision. Barr stated,

"The U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the importance of the ancient writ of habeas corpus, one of the bedrock guarantees of American liberty."

The Supreme Court decision came before the 2008 Democratic convention - I can't recalled how then candidate Hillary Clinton reacted to the ruling, but I remember that Barack Obama was in agreement with the majority on the Court.

This is the only time that Obama and I have agreed on anything. His view on Guantanamo was, however, not enough to get my vote. His views on abortion completely eliminate him from any consideration.

After he was elected, I expected him to take action on the detainees.....I actually thought he would close Guantanamo. Now, nearly three years after Boumediene v. Bush, Obama hasn’t fulfilled his promise to close the facility. The Washington Post article linked to above states, "Only a small fraction of detainees can be prosecuted, President Obama has been told. In many cases, court-worthy evidence is lacking."

"Court-worthy evidence is lacking" and we continue to hold the prisoners.

In the cartoon above (snatched from arabamericannews.com) we see Obama opening the door for Human Rights. A more accurate and up to date cartoon would show him closing the door.

SPIEGEL TV's 'Kill Team' Documentary.

I doubt I will gain many friends - from either the Left or Right - by posting a link to this video from Der Spiegel, but it should be viewed, never-the-less.

SPIEGEL TV's 'Kill Team' Documentary.