After a week in which a celebrity called for the abduction of the president's young son, a restaurant kicked out Trump's spokesman, and a mob harassed the Homeland Security secretary, Democrats are starting to wonder if their "resistance" is getting out of hand — while refusing to take any blame for it.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi managed to perfectly encapsulate this when she said "Trump's daily lack of civility has provoked responses that are predictable but unacceptable."
The blame-Trump-first meme has been catching on fast.
"July 1-3 is the 155th anniversary of the bloodiest battle ever fought in the Western Hemisphere: Gettysburg. In the first three days of July in 1863, some 52,000 Americans were killed, wounded, or missing. The Union Army of the Potomac (about 90,000 troops) led by General George Meade clashed in a titanic battle with the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia led by General Robert E. Lee.
Gettysburg is the battle that almost every Civil War nerd (like me) loves to study because of so many "what ifs" and twists and turns. It could have gone so many different ways. However, I also love studying this battle because of the life lessons we can learn from the fascinating circumstances and the very fine men who fought on both sides. Here are a few life lessons we can learn today:
1. The small things count.
Gettysburg began by "accident" because some Confederate infantrymen were looking for shoes in that little town. No one planned on a battle there that day. Both armies had been looking for each other. Contact was made in the early morning hours of July 1 when some of Henry Heth's troops looking for shoes (thousands of Lee's troops were barefoot) "bumped into" John Buford's Union cavalrymen. Word went out to both armies and within hours troops came pouring in from every direction.
That little search for something as insignificant as shoes turned into the bloodiest battle of the Civil War.
On the second day of the battle, Confederate infantry was to assault the far left wing of the Union army. The hill known as Little Round Top was unoccupied. If the Confederates could take that hill then they could flank the entire army of the United States and possibly win the battle.
The men of the 15th Alabama and supporting units at first scrambled up Big Round Top. The temperature was in the low 80s but it probably felt hotter to all those troops clothed in wool uniforms and with a battle raging around them. They had been marching all day to get into position to fight, and they had given all their canteens to a few men to get water. Those men with the canteens were all captured by Union cavalrymen. Now, the Confederates climbing Big Round Top had no water to drink. When they reached the summit, they took a break for about 10 minutes.
While the Confederates were climbing the hill the Union general Warren realized they had left Little Round Top unoccupied! He quickly ordered the troops of Colonel Joshua Chamberlain's 20th Maine to occupy that critical position. In the 10 minutes that the Confederate troops were resting, the Union was fortifying the hill the Confederates needed to take.
The 15th Alabama, along with the 4th and 5th Texas launched their attacks against Chamberlain's men on Little Round Top, but it was too little too late. If only they had not stopped to rest for 10 minutes, if only they were not parched and sapped of strength for lack of water, if only they had been joined by one more Confederate regiment ... but the 20th Maine fought them off and the Union was able to hold that critical hill.
Colonel William Oates of the 15th Alabama, recalled many years later, "great events sometimes turn on comparatively small affairs."
During the third day of battle, when Lee ordered "Pickett's Charge" of some 12,000 Confederate infantry, he preceded the assault with an artillery barrage. His cannons missed the Union lines, shooting over them, and consequently did not take out the Union infantry. Were the Confederate artillerymen just really bad shots? No. Besides the fact that it's difficult to see over a mile away when the field is filled with smoke from 150 cannons, we now know that the fuses they were using for their cannon shells were from factories in Charleston and Selma (fuses they did not normally use).
These fuses burned for just one extra second, making the cannon balls explode later ... just long enough for them to blow up BEHIND the Union lines on July 3, 1863 and not on the Union infantrymen. Small things indeed matter.
One of General Lee's biggest problems throughout the Gettysburg campaign is that he simply did not communicate exactly and completely with his generals. His chief of cavalry, "J.E.B." Stuart, was off riding around the Union army and generally creating havoc against the enemy, but without his cavalry Lee was essentially blind. He did not know where the enemy was or how many troops he faced. His vague orders to Stuart gave the cavalry commander the liberty to go off and "do his own thing."
That lack of command on Lee's part cost him dearly. On the first day of battle the Union army was in full retreat. The Confederates were on a roll and all they had to do to seal the deal was continue the attack and drive the Union forces off Seminary Ridge. General Lee saw this moment of opportunity and told his Second Corps commander, Richard Ewell, to "take that hill if practicable."
What do you mean "if practicable?" If it's not too hard? If it seems like it's a good idea that day? Again, Lee was too vague. He should have said, "take that hill at all costs!" But he did not, and the opportunity to win was frittered away by his non-aggressive field commander.
Here is General Isaac Trimble exploding in frustration to General Lee over the failure to take Seminary Ridge on the first day (from the 1993 movie "Gettysburg"):
3. Be merciful.
One of my favorite stories from Gettysburg is that of General Gordon giving aid to his enemy, General Barlow. I fully realize that this story has come under fire in the past 30 years and some historians have called it "myth." However, here is a scholarly rebuttal to that charge.
On the first day of the battle, Confederate General John Gordon of Georgia saw the Union General Francis Barlow of New York fall in battle. Gordon's forces drove the Union troops back, and Barlow lay wounded on the ground. Gordon saw a Union general on the ground, dismounted, and quickly gave him aid (water and brandy). He summoned his medical staff who rescued the critically wounded Union general. And that was the last Gordon saw of Barlow. It turns out however, that Barlow recovered and fought in several more battles during the war.
Many years later, they met at a party. Gordon was now a U.S. Senator from Georgia and Barlow was a successful lawyer. They each thought that the other had been killed in the war! Imagine their surprise when they "found" each other alive and well at that party! Gordon asked, "Are you the Barlow who was wounded at Gettysburg?" Barlow asked, "Are you the Gordon who gave me aid?" That started a friendship that lasted until Barlow's death many years later. There was mercy to a fallen foe, even in the heat of battle.
I can think of many leaders of the Civil War who were modest, humble men (Lee, Grant, "Stonewall" Jackson for starters). Abraham Lincoln, however, tops the list when I think of Gettysburg. He was not present at the battle, of course. But a little over four months after the battle he came to that town to help dedicate the cemetery and deliver the now famous "Gettysburg Address."
He was not the main speaker that day! A famous orator, Edward Everett was the main speaker ... and man did he speak! Mr. Everett's speech was two hours long! Then Lincoln got up. He spoke for about two minutes. And in those two minutes he spoke some of the most poetic, stirring, sublime truths ever uttered.
Even if you are not a Lincoln "fan" you cannot help but tremble when you read the Gettysburg Address. The whole speech is about the sacrifice of the soldiers and the urgency of the cause of the United States. He even says that the world will little note what he says there ... I chuckle every time I read that.
I doubt he thought that his short speech would become the greatest American speech ever. His words sink down deep into our souls ... because we know Lincoln had a humble spirit when he wrote it and delivered it.
5. Be courageous.
The Battle of Gettysburg is the story of one courageous man after another. Both armies were filled with men of valor. Every since I was a little boy I thrilled to hear the stories of men on both sides who fought with incredible bravery and honor.
My favorite story, however, is that of Colonel Joshua Chamberlain and his men of the 20th Maine who fought on Little Round Top. He had less than 200 troops. He was facing an attack of well over 1,000 in his sector. Chamberlain was given orders that they could not retreat. They could not surrender. They had to fight to the death that day. It would be their last day on earth.
When I tell this story to school kids (I'm all dressed up in one of my Civil War uniforms), I get to this point in the story where Chamberlain and his men run out of ammo and I ask the kids, "What would you do? It all comes down to just you now. Are you gonna run away and cry to mama? Or are you gonna fight?"
I'll never forget one little girl in the fifth grade, looking at me with all the determination in the world shouting in class: "I'm not running away! I'm gonna FIGHT!" I smiled and said, "I know you will. You'll fight just like Colonel Chamberlain!"
Then I go on and tell the kids the rest of the story of how he launched a bayonet charge and saved the United States that day. Here's his famous charge from the movie Gettysburg:
There will be times when we will be outnumbered. We will be "out of ammunition." The temptation will be great just to chuck it all and give up. But Chamberlain inspires me to dig deep, "fix bayonets," not give up ... and charge.
General Robert Lee, often maligned in these "politically correct" days, was truly a man of integrity. He ordered the largest infantry attack at that time, now known as "Pickett's charge" (named after General George Pickett). The attack was a colossal failure, resulting in over half the force being wiped out by the Union army.
Many men would try to pawn off the failure onto others. Maybe the troops were not brave enough or quick enough. Maybe the generals did not obey Lee's orders fast enough ... or misunderstood him. No, Lee would never blame others for mistakes that he knew were entirely his. That is why he rode out to his troops and told them that it was all his fault. He took ALL the blame. He later wrote a letter of resignation to President Jefferson Davis (Davis refused the resignation).
Do we have men and women in leadership today who take such responsibility for failure? I hear politicians whine excuses after excuses, but rarely do I hear a real person of integrity say, "Yeah I screwed up. It was all my fault and no one else's."
Lee's men loved him even more because they knew that in him, for better or for worse, they were following a real man who was full of integrity; not hot air.
I'm sure there are many other life lessons we could glean from this momentous battle, and from the whole war itself. God help us to learn good lessons, and not repeat the horror of a war that killed 700,000 of us, and left us scarred for generations."
History for July 3 - On-This-Day.com George M. Cohan 1878 - Entertainer, playwright, composer, Franz Kafka 1883 - Author, Tom Stoppard 1937 - Playwright Dave Barry 1947 - Humor writer, Montel Williams 1956 - Talk show host, Tom Cruise 1962 - Actor 1608 - The city of Quebec was founded by Samuel de Champlain. 1863 - The U.S. Civil War Battle of Gettysburg, PA, ended after three days. It was a major victory for the North as Confederate troops retreated. 1922 - "Fruit Garden and Home" magazine was introduced. It was later renamed "Better Homes and Gardens." 1924 - Clarence Birdseye founded the General Seafood Corp. 1940 - Bud Abbott and Lou Costello debuted on NBC radio. 1954 - Food rationing ended in Great Britain almost nine years after the end of World War II. 1986 - U.S. President Reagan presided over a ceremony in New York Harbor that saw the relighting of the renovated Statue of Liberty. 1986 - Mikhail Baryshnikov became a U.S. citizen at Ellis Island, New York Harbor.
Despite the fact that the 30-year-old male suspect was arrested last night at 8:50 p.m. and his arrest record and mugshot were posted on the Ada County Sheriff's website at 3:46 this morning, none of the articles identified the suspect.
CNN left the suspect's identity out, too, while pushing the refugee status of the victims:
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is at the top of the headlines Wednesday for her stunning victory over Rep. Joe Crowley (D-NY) in the Democratic primary...
How did the 28-year-old political phenom pull it off? On May 30, Ocasio-Cortez released a two-minute ad — which promptly went viral and gave her the momentum she needed to gain traction in a race which reportedlysaw her trailing by 35 points as recently as two weeks ago..."
Explicit calls for open borders and the abolition of immigration enforcement, once on the fringes of the immigration debate, were widely on display at MoveOn.org’s “Families Belong Together” rally and march in Washington, DC, Saturday, along with attendees from various far-left socialist organizations.
During the Sunday broadcast of MSNBC’s “AM Joy,” Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin declared White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ “life sentence” for being in President Donald Trump’s administration and “inciting against the press” should be being made uncomfortable.
“[N]o one is telling them to be violent protesters, but we’re not going to let these people go through life unscathed,” Rubin told host Joy Reid.
“Sarah Huckabee has no right to live a life of no fuss, no muss, after lying to the press, after inciting against the press.
These people should be made uncomfortable, and I think that’s a life sentence, frankly.”
The biggest losers in Mexico's election? The Democrats "Every election has winners and losers, and Mexico's is no exception. While the press is making much of Mexico's centrist PRI and center-right PAN parties being the big losers in last night's election of socialist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador in Mexico, the real loser is actually up north, in the U.S. Democratic Party.
Sounds strange, until you look at the details. After all the ideological compatibility between AMLO's new lefty MORENA party and the increasingly socialist U.S. Democrats seems to be identical. Both favor heavy social spending, forced unionization of workers, political patronage, Chicago-style political muscle, and fealty to the ideals of the Socialist International. It's what most socialists do, until they run out of Other People's Money. Democrats have staked their future on uneducated, needy illegals forming the base of their party's fortunes. In Mexico, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has done the same thing. The problem comes because the Mexicans in question are the same people. AMLO's social spending policies are likely to draw Mexicans illegally here in the U.S. quite likely back to Mexico. If you have a choice of taking welfare benefits here, or welfare benefits there, it's very likely you'll go for them in your home country, where the language is the same, the Migra isn't out looking for you, and you know your way around the culture. That's bad news for the Democrats..." Read on.
The Clintons and their associates, Byrne says, have effectively run what amounts to an organized crime syndicate.
“This is sedition, bordering on treason, and patently illegal,” Byrne concludes.
He’s suing for more than $1.5 billion in damages for alleged violations of nearly 500 statutes.
Writing in Time magazine in 2003 — just two years after Bush took office— Charles Krauthammer (a trained psychiatrist) noted that "Democrats are seized with a loathing for President Bush — a contempt and disdain giving way to a hatred that is near pathological." He coined a phrase to describe it: "Bush derangement syndrome."
What was the left's excuse back then for its gleeful indulgence in hatred and incivility toward friendly George Bush? Simple: They didn't like his policies. That's always been the left's response to politicians they don't agree with: Harass, attack, belittle, demean, threaten, scream … and repeat. Unlike Republicans, however, the left never gets called on its hate-mongering.
"As the Left continues to spiral out of control -- foaming, spitting, frothing in rage -- it's time to state the obvious: that in the battle for the soul of America, there can be only one winner. Either we retain as much as possible of the country-as-founded, including its national character, or we watch it "fundamentally transformed" into a "social democracy" of the kind envisioned by the adherents of Critical Theory, and brought to us courtesy of the Frankfurt School's ideological seizure of academe. Although some might wish otherwise, there is no middle ground, no accommodation, no splitting the difference.
Our opponents on the Left understand this perfectly well.
Their motto, for decades, has been "there is only the fight," which also happens to have been the title of Hillary Rodham Clinton's senior thesis at Wellesley.
They've made it very clear all along that they're in this for the long haul.
Conservatives like to think that history, tradition, logic, and morality will win out in the end, and that our opponents will eventually see the error of their ways, if not the light.
But as history shows, that's simply not true. The Left won't stop unless it is stopped.
Which means that, for us, total victory in the defense of Western civilization and the American ideal is the only option..."
