Don't blame me, I voted for Jefferson Davis!

A reader responds:

Actually, I came to a different conclusion than the one reached in your fascinating and well-written piece, [ah, shucks! - MT] albeit one that basically accepts most of your premises and factual elements.

This past week I cast my vote for Hillary. While I totally accept your negative assessment of McCain (and he has done nothing recently to change that), I have come to the realization, based on various (and in some cases, fairly tenuous) factors, that, incredibly, Senator Clinton is now the "lesser evil." I never dreamed I would say this--my dear parents must be turning over in their graves!

I must admit that I never had the temptation to stray to Obama; his messianic, politically-correct Marxism, his quasi-religious commitment to remodel what is left of the USA (and the South), without recourse to any realistic understanding of history or our traditions---scares me even more than the worn-out liberal left nostrums of Hillary. At least with her we know what we would get; it's all there for anyone to see. And, perhaps even more significantly, when it comes down to it, the lady (if I may call her that) is willing to sacrifice just about anything (including some of her principles) to succeed. Is there any better comparison than with Lady Macbeth? In a sense, then, she is a wheeler-dealer. Perhaps that is not much, but for me that is preferrable to the messianic, unyielding ideologue that Obama assuredly is.

Our experience as a people with ideologues in power has not been a particularly felicitous one. One can certainly argue whether Lincoln was one, and the verdict of history seems to offer a lot of confirmation. Woodrow Wilson's intransigeant internationalism, it may argued, was the product of a warped Protestant messianism, and the results were disastrous for both Europe and the United States. And, then, there is a whole series of national leaders since World War II, some influenced by various socialist visions of utopia and egalitarianism, others, more recently, infected with neo-conservativism, who have continued to attack what was left of "old" republicanism, constitutionalism, and states rights. Obama seems to me to combine the very worst of these strains in American intellectual history, and that, very frankly, sends shivers up my spine.

In the end, if Obama is nominated (as it looks now), I suspect that I shall do what I did in 2004, the Bush vs. Kerry election. I wrote in the name of "Jefferson Davis," with the view that it is better to vote for a good president who is dead, than a bad one who is alive.

So, you see, I can indeed proudly sport that bumper sticker on my car: "Don't blame me, I voted for Jefferson Davis!"

Boyd Cathey

Everything you say about the Great O is true. He is indeed a HallMarxist, spouting off a revolutionary creed in the soothing tones of Grandpa Walton. The great threat here is that McCain also has a revolutionary agenda; it begins with amnesty for illegal alien invaders and ends with unleashing the fires of hell in the Mideast -- which will no doubt ignite similar fires around the globe, including here. If it could happen in New York, Madrid, and London, there's no limit to where such a malfire could reach. (Malfire may not be a word, but it sure wouldn't be a bonfire, now would it?)

I voted for Hillary, too (yes, like you, I registered to vote in the days when all Southerners were yellow-dog Democrats -- and was too lazy to change it). I think -- I hope -- that Southerners and conservatives will react to the socialist agenda the Democrats will attempt to force down our throats. While McCain could get away with pushing through his globalist agenda in the name of "conservatism," neither Hillary or the Great O could. So when they do it, people should react -- assuming there's any backbone left out there among the people. I think there is, and that's what I'm betting on.

Broadcasting Obama

Great post here on the Great Scam of Multiculturalism. It's an ideal so other-worldly and unworkable that only Americans could believe in it. And the notion that electing the son of a Kenyan ne'er-do-well will dazzle the world with our goodness makes even less sense, especially now that the rest of the world is putting the brakes on their own discredited Open Borders policies. The old imperial goal of forcing different peoples into a one-size-fits-all political system is being energetically rejected:

As you read this, Europe grows less tolerant still, with far-right nationalists making their way to higher and higher office. Still, Europe is a hippie musical compared to Asia and Africa, where ethnic and religious segregation is not only institutional, but fatal. Moving east to west: There are frequent, sometimes deadly, clashes between Hui Muslims and Han Chinese. Throughout the Arab world, racism against blacks is rampant, and in Mauritania pockets of Arab-on-black chattel slavery still exist. Then backtrack a little to the Levant. In 2006, when Condoleezza Rice was on a diplomatic mission to the Middle East, the daily Palestinian Authority periodical, Al Hayat Al Jadida consistently referred to her in racist terms and ran a cartoon of the Secretary of State pregnant with a monkey.

Once again, the world is learning that good fences make good neighbors. The solution to ethnic and racial conflict is not to subdue others, and force them to live under a hated regime, but to let them go their own way. And remedial tolerance classes will not accomplish anything but provide jobs to otherwise unemployable tolerance coaches.

Indeed, says the author, the multicultural ideal can only be propped up by constant effort within a society possessing unlimited resources and the willingness to remain blind to reality:

The notion that there’s a soft and cuddly world just waiting for America to catch up is not “global consciousness” but the very opposite: it is an American fantasy born of prosperity and isolation. If neoconservatives are criticized for their arrogance in assuming the universality of American ideals, how will Obama supporters of this stripe answer similar charges?

Community colleges should admit illegal immigrants

So says Governor Weasel of North Carolina:

Gov. Mike Easley says the state's community colleges should stick to a policy of admitting all eligible illegal immigrants.

Easley made the suggestion Thursday, a day after Attorney General Roy Cooper's office said the lenient admissions policy should be dropped.

So now the sovereign people of North Carolina have to get permission from DC before we do anything?

Oh, for the days of Ellis and Vance, when North Carolina governors represented their people, rather than serve as the local administrator of Federal control.

MLK national memorial said to be reminiscent of art in totalitarian states

You don't say?


AP photo
Looks like a perfect tribute to me. After all, the mythology of Martin Luther King justifies DC's unconstitutional power to reconstruct the world according to his vision -- and if politically connected persons and groups make a few billions in the effort, then so much the better.

Quote of the day

...I know not what treason is, if sapping and betraying the liberties of a people be not treason... Cato

Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right

What's a Southerner to do?

This is clearly the most repulsive set of choices for president I've ever seen. Judging by the remarks of other bloggers, even those who still support the Neocon Wars, and conversations with other activists, I'm not the only one who feels that way.

Yes, it remains true that we cannot look to DC to restore our stolen liberties or preserve our way of life -- not when DC is the chief threat to both. But we cannot ignore what goes on there. Every independence and autonomy movement is and has been a reaction to the goings-on in the seat of an oppressive government, and we need to know what to expect from it.

Clearly, we don't want John McCain, the Neocon dauphin who promises to accelerate the multicult and militarist agenda under the cover of conservatism. Southerners in particular feel betrayed by a candidate who seemes to go out of his way to spurn us and our concerns.

Here's just one example:

"The Confederate flag is offensive in many, many ways, as we all know. It is a symbol of racism and slavery." — John McCain, January 9, 2000, South Carolina

Since supporting McCain was out of the question, I considered either Democratic prospect to be useful to our long-term goals. So at first, I felt a victory by either Hillary of Obama would rile enough folks to jump-start a healthy backlash against the Democrats' socialistic agendas, which we could expand into a larger movement toward self-determination. After all, the League grew nicely under the first Clinton administration, and languished during W's reign, especially in the immediate days after 9/11 days when "we were all New Yorkers." I saw a Hillary Rodham Clinton regime as a reprise of the good ol' days of taking in new members angered by an openly hostile and leftist Federal government, and a Barack Hussein Obama regime as the same, only super-sized.

But here's what I'm afraid of now. Supporting Obama may be over-reaching. His voting record is the most liberal in the US Senate. While Obama may do well in Democratic primaries, he's poised to fall flat on his face in a national contest -- and the Republican knives will be dangerously sharpened and shining by then. Besides, the demographics indicate he really doesn't have a chance:

What do you call a candidate who wins 90 percent of the African-American vote, between 30 percent and 50 percent of the Hispanic vote and 40 percent of the white vote in a tight Democratic primary race? A general election loser.

Even Hillary agrees that Obama's success will be pretty much confined to the racial and ethnic groups that have already gravitated to the Democratic party:

"I have a much broader base to build a winning coalition on," she said in an interview with USA TODAY. As evidence, Clinton cited an Associated Press article "that found how Sen. Obama's support among working, hard-working Americans, white Americans, is weakening again, and how whites in both states who had not completed college were supporting me."

"There's a pattern emerging here," she said.

Yes, and it isn't a very pretty one. While Hillary would have a good chance to win in a general election, an Obama candidacy could very well guarantee that Mad John McCain would be a shoo-in.

Bottom line: I'll vote for Obama before voting for a man who will very likely blow the world up. The question is: does he have a chance?

Will we?

Paulville?

Here's an idea I think we'll see more of in the future. Small, self-selecting groups will organize themselves into self-regulating communities -- like this one:

The goal of Paulville.org it to establish gated communities containing 100% Ron Paul supporters and or people that live by the ideals of freedom and liberty.

The process is forming a co-op of people buying shares in the community and these people would be granted land use at a minimum of 1 acre per share, for as long as they homesteaded the land. The community would be privately held by the co-op to establish private property for the general community thus preserving the community is 100% freedom and liberty lovers.

Seeing as how the Homeowners' Associations at most gated communities are composed of nit-picky control freaks with toooooo much time on their hands, an association of libertarians sounds pretty good.

The Cascadian Independence Project

The US northwest and British Columbia compose "Cascadia," a region characterized by spectacular beauty and limited development. The independence movement seeks to preserve the unique bioregion, as well as the spirit and way of life in the mostly rural communities. There's no loyalty toward the distant seat of government in DC, which the Cascadians see as the greatest threat to the environment and way of life they are determined to preserve.

Their strategy can be described as "creeping secessionism":

It is the goal of the Cascadian Independence Project to strengthen and build our communities and neighborhoods to decrease our dependence on the federal government, while strengthening and building our own base of operational support. We are a non-electoral party, choosing instead to accomplish our long term goals through the use of referendums, legislative policies and initiatives of the people.

Too far-fetched? Unthinkable? Not when the mayor of Seattle has already brought the idea of secession before the public (see Greg Nickels' rebel yell).

As hundreds, then thousands, of similiar movements spontaneously arise in reaction to DC's short-sighted, exploitative policies, the dinosaur will find itself helpless to stop them. Now that's progress.

Abbeville Institute

If you haven't checked out the Abbeville Institue, you don't know what you're missing. When you visit, be sure to stop by the Lecture page, which connects you to great on-line lectures.

And they're free! What are you waiting for?

Florida secession debated

I love reading about modern-day secession, even on a scale as small as this -- because it clears the path toward bigger projects.

The seeds of secession have been planted in the sandy soil of South Florida.

Discontented by what they perceive as a Capitol snubbing, the mayors of two small Broward County cities have raised the battle flag of rebellion, pitting, once again, north against south.

North Lauderdale, a 5-square-mile city of about 42,000 in the center of Broward County, may become the cradle of the new confederacy. The city commission there recently passed a resolution on forming two Floridas: one in the north and one in the south.

I have suggestions for names -- Southern Manhattan and North Cuba. And for the remaining Southerners left in the Sunshine State, there's always Lower Alabama.

Who will Watch Over Ya?

What a perfect metaphor for what illegal immigration is doing to this country:

Federal prosecutors are investigating Wachovia Corp. as part of a broad probe of alleged laundering of drug proceeds by Mexican and Colombian money-transfer companies, according to people familiar with the matter.

The first lesson we can draw from this is that if you stick your toe into the seductive world of lawlessness, you're only going to be drawn in deeper. And that's exactly what Wachovia did.

Lured by the prospect of handling all those millions illegal immigrants wired annually from the US to Mexico, Wachovia cozied up to the casas de cambio, or money-exchange houses near the US-Mexican border that specialize in remitting money to Mexicans.

Problem was, those casas were also involved in laundering drug money. Oopsies.

But what did these financial geniuses expect? Illegality breeds illigality. We already know that illegal immigration spawns identity theft, gang crime, and routine tax evasion as employers pay illegal immigrant labor under the table. And the same routes used by human smugglers are used to bring in illegal drugs, as documented in this National Public Radio story:

"Ice" is a crystallized form of meth also known as crystal. It is produced in relatively larger quantities in so-called "superlabs." Most are based in Mexico; they ship drugs to the United States by UPS, FEDEX and Greyhound bus, as well as in cars and trucks with secret compartments. For more than a year, a two-story Victorian home in Aurora, one of the nicest in the neighborhood, was at the receiving end of one trafficking route. "This individual had the direct contact in Mexico," Batson noted. "[He] brought the crystal meth from Mexico to this location
and dispersed it from here." The Mexican dealer in Aurora distributed 100 pounds throughout southwest Missouri. That's as much as 180,000 doses, with a street value of as much as $4.5 million. Southwest Missouri and northwest Arkansas are home to poultry farms and processing plants that hire Mexican workers. "The Hispanic population in town here is a hardworking bunch of people," Batson said. But "there are those in the group who go in the other direction. They have access to [meth] in Mexico, so they take advantage of that."

Notice that report didn't come from those terrible nativists at VDARE or the League of the South, but from the liberal NPR.

So you have to wonder -- what ELSE is coming across that border we're not supposed to monitor, since to do so would be "xenophobic"?

But we're not supposed to ask questions like that. Instead, we're supposed to focus on all the money we're saving by importing cheap immigrant labor, and how all these illegal immigrants are going to finance Social Security for retiring Baby Boomers. Now when I hear that, I wonder who's going to finance all those immigrants when they retire -- but then, I'm not a financial genius like the management of Wachovia.

Supporting the troops

How could keeping our troops in this never-ending nightmare be considered "supporting" them?

The Defense Department estimates that slightly more than 4,500 troops have been killed in combat in Afghanistan and Iraq. The RAND study determined that up to 300,000 returning U.S. troops from those wars suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. The same study concluded that 320,000 troops returning from Afghanistan and Iraq have suffered traumatic brain injury, with only half of those veterans seeking treatment.

During Tuesday's hearing, Peake told lawmakers that the number of suicide attempts could be more than 1,000 a month because of "underreporting" within the VA. Dr. Ira Katz, deputy chief patient care services officer for mental health at the Veterans Health Administration, testified that his earlier estimate of 1,000 suicide attempts per was based on only three months of data from the department's mental health co-coordinators.

I think I'd rather not have this kind of support.

Come Home, Conservatives!—to the Antiwar Conservative Movement

Real conservatives oppose war -- except as a last resort, and then only to protect lives and liberty. Think of war as the outward expression of an interventionist government; one form of aggression fuels the other, as Robert E. Lee warned us years ago when he wrote, "... the consolidation of the states into one vast republic, sure to be aggressive abroad and despotic at home, will be the certain precursor of that ruin which has overwhelmed all those that have preceded it."

Thomas Woods, Jr. has written a review of Bill Kauffman's Ain’t My America: The Long, Noble History of Anti-War Conservatism and Middle-American Anti-Imperialism. It's not just about famous men such as Russell Kirk and Robert Taft, but it's also about others, including a Southern opponent of the Neocon Wars, Congressman Jimmy Duncan (R-TN). And here's another Southern conservative few readers have encountered, one who bravely voted against America's entry into WWI, probably the most senseless of the military adventures DC has launched:

Along the same lines Kauffman cites Senator James K. Vardaman, Republican [actually, a Democrat] senator from Mississippi, who like most Americans at the time believed neither in integration nor racial equality but who sacrificed his career for the cause of peace as Woodrow Wilson was pushing his country into the Great War. His friends tried in vain to persuade him to support the president, but he would not budge. Losing his Senate seat was as nothing, he said, compared to the lives and liberties that Americans would lose if the country entered the war. In 1918 he was defeated for re-election by Democrat Pat Harrison—who, by the way, was pro-war and pro-segregation.

Great ammunition as we fight to reclaim America's soul, starting with reclaiming its past.

Is DC enforcing immigration law to help McCain?

WSPA photo

Hmmm -- I don't usually go for conspiracy theory -- as I've mentioned before -- but stories like this are getting a whole lotta play these days, and the timing -- and the closeness to home -- bother me:

A News Channel 7 photographer was on the scene as 16 people were taken into custody. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Washington D.C. tells News Channel 7 that a Spartanburg County Deputy stopped a van on I-85 and called the ICE team to investigate. 14 men and two women were taken into custody. Immigration and Customs Enforcement says all are from Mexico and Quatemala and appear to be in this country illegally.

In light of my previous post about how the pro-war crowd is tip-toeing around McCain's past efforts for amnesty, this makes me wonder if the Bush regime is trying to help McCain's campaign by creating the illusion Republicans are dealing with the illegal alien issue.

McCain courts Hispanic voters

Have you noticed how the war bloggers have put their bloodthirsty hopes behind John McCain? (Despite the fact that Hillary's trash-talking against Iran has made her the Neocons' favorite pin-up girl.) Those once mortified by McCain's amnesty bill for illegal aliens seem to have forgiven him -- his promise of unending war and glory in the Middle East apparently compensates for his cultural betrayal. Even FrontPageMag, which used to feature good articles about illegal immigration, has backed off the issue in favor of banging the war drums against Iran.

McCain backed away from his Open Borders policy when he ran for president, telling voters that he "got the message." But you can bet he'll go back to his wicked ways as soon as he has the chance.

And this story makes that abundantly clear:

The senator from Arizona used Cinco de Mayo as a launching pad for a new Spanish-language Web site on Monday, and he emphasized his stance on immigration and border security as he tried to court the Hispanic vote.

Cinco de Mayo? Spanish-language Web site? And an appearance before the La Raza convention this July? Does that sound like someone who really "got the message" voters sent him? The same article about McCain's pandering to Hispanics gives some mighty strong hints about his actual agenda:

In 2005, McCain angered some in his party when he and Democratic Sen. Ted Kennedy unsuccessfully pushed for a comprehensive immigration reform bill that included a path to citizenship.

McCain now says he would focus first on securing the borders before offering other ways to deal with illegal immigration.

Translation: McCain and the DC globalists will try to fake us out with a big show about border security -- and then they'll cram amnesty down our throats.

Then he can get around to launching his war against Iran.