Free Republic

One of the advantages of the present media-driven furor to remove or demolish monuments to the Confederacy is that it is forcing numerous Americans, myself included, to dig deep into the history of the Civil War. And what a strange, convoluted period of history it is! The primary sources are plentiful, rich and deep which makes for endlessly fascinating reading. If the aim of the iconoclasts was to push this period of history even further from the national consciousness, or gloss over it with cherry-picked anecdotes allowing for knee-jerk verdicts, they have failed miserably. For my own part, I have...

President Trump's former campaign adviser and close personal friend Roger Stone told TMZ on Thursday that an effort to impeach Trump would result in a literal "civil war." "Try to impeach him. Just try it. You will have a spasm of violence in this country, an insurrection, like you have never seen before," Stone said. "Both sides are heavily armed, my friend." Stone additionally claimed "any politician who votes" to impeach Trump "would be endangering their own life." "There will be violence on both sides," Stone said. "Let me make this clear: I'm not advocating violence. I am predicting it."

I wrote and published this article on December 27, 2011. Providing historical perspectives on the constitutional ramifications of the war, it has had more than 46,000 views. Perhaps it may provide useful perspectives now, as we seem to be heading toward another potentially more deadly and divisive civil war.Only we can prevent another civil war. Will we?Formerly great universities, once bastions of constitutionally protected free speech, are now trying -- often successfully -- to kill it. Fake news abounds increasingly in our "mainstream" media, which neglect or minimize legitimate news. Our history, good and bad, are being relegated to the...

Researchers say they’ve solved one of the most enduring mysteries of the American Civil War: what caused the puzzling demise of the H.L. Hunley, the first combat submarine in history to sink an enemy warship. The Confederate craft famously disappeared with all its crew on 17 February 1864, just after destroying the USS Housatonic in Charleston Harbour. The Hunley’s wreck was not found until 1995. When it was raised from the seabed in 2000, the skeletons of its eight-man crew were still at their stations, with no evidence of escape attempts.

A celebration of Appalachian Heritage, Educational Demonstrations, featuring Indigenous and Bluegrass music concerts, Native American Style Dancing, Chainsaw Carvings, Gristmill demos, Homestead Activities, Photography, Needle Arts and Quilt Show, Antique Tractors and Engines, Carriage Rides, Civil War Encampment, Top quality Artisans, a Zip Line for the active ones, and Kid’s Land for the younger festival participants. Foods – BBQ (Chicken, Beef, & Pork), homemade ice cream, steak sandwiches, and more. Fun for the entire family.

CNN host Don Lemon said President Donald Trump is "clearly trying to ignite a civil war in this country" after his speech to supporters in Phoenix, Arizona, on Tuesday night, also pondering whether the president had dementia. "He has given oxygen to racists," Lemon said. "He hasn't really said anything [to] denounce the alt-right … He is clearly trying to ignite a civil war in this country. He has not tamped down race." In what CNN described in its chyron as an "angry, divisive speech," Trump lit into the media and also defended his criticized response to the white supremacist...

(Video at link) Full Title: Don Lemon: Trump ‘Is Clearly Trying to Ignite a Civil War in This Country,’ May Have Dementia. CNN host Don Lemon said President Donald Trump is "clearly trying to ignite a civil war in this country" after his speech to supporters in Phoenix, Arizona, on Tuesday night, also pondering whether the president had dementia. "He has given oxygen to racists," Lemon said. "He hasn't really said anything [to] denounce the alt-right … He is clearly trying to ignite a civil war in this country. He has not tamped down race." In what CNN described in...

In the ongoing debate about Confederate monuments, Slate has republished a 2011 article by professor James M. Lundberg attacking Ken Burns’ monumental “Civil War” documentary. Although he concludes with an appreciation of Burns’ achievement, he disapprovingly notes the series’ sentimental tone and points to problems such as its “tidy vision of national consensus,” being “deeply misleading and reductive,” and its “careful 15 minute portrait of slavery’s role in the coming of the war” being nearly negated by Shelby Foote’s 15-second anecdote about a “ragged Confederate who obviously didn’t own any slaves” telling his inquiring Union captors that he’s fighting “because...

It’s wrong to pre-judge a human being based on their racial characteristics. Beyond that, it’s stupid. Any marginally intelligent person knows this. A Christian, certainly, has no excuse for treating someone badly simply because they are of a different racial category. For a Catholic, it's a sin to do so. At the same time, as we watch political agitators wantonly destroying symbols of our country’s history in vigilante mobs, one can not help but be struck by their profound ignorance of said history. For these simpletons, the Confederacy equals racism, and everything having to do with it equals racism, and...

When the news came out that a Civil War reenactment scheduled to take place at the Manassas battlefield in Virginia was being cancelled due to fears over possible violence from leftwing groups like Antifa and Black Lives Matter, I saw a tweet from some guy saying something to the effect that “The Civil War was 152 years ago – why can’t black people just get over it?” Now, I’m a conservative and I’m pretty sure I had ancestors who fought for the South in the Civil War, since both sides of my family came into this country in the late...

The conversation about monuments — particularly which should stay and which should go — has eclipsed nearly all other conversations in the week following a rally-turned-near-riot in Charlottesville, Virginia. CNN's Kate Bolduan spoke to liberal analyst Angela Rye on Thursday, asking her whether the uproar was truly just about the monuments. Rye claimed that the problem ran much deeper than that: .. Rye concluded her argument by asserting that America was very close to once again being a nation of slavery: “We definitely need to learn about it so that we don't repeat it, because we're very close to repeating...

Officials in Manassas, Virginia, say they are canceling an upcoming Civil War Weekend due to safety concerns. The event had been planned for later this month. "Recent events have ignited passions in this country surrounding the Civil War and the symbols representing it. The City of Manassas is saddened by these events and abhors the violence happening around the country," according to a statement from the city's communications manager Friday.  The statement went on to say Manassas doesn't want to "further exacerbate the situation." The city's Civil War Weekend had been scheduled to be held Aug. 25-27. Officials have called...

The American Declaration of Independence was written by a vile slave owner, Thomas Jefferson of Virginia. The American Constitution was written, at least in part, by vile racists and other "America Firsters." They tried, but fortunately failed, to prevent noncitizens from exercising their sacred right to vote in national elections. Both demonic documents must be repealed and we must rejoin England, nay even better the European Union, to signal our virtuous multicultural nature and emphatic rejection of all evil past and present.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urgrF6OBuZc Antifa, Black Lives (only) Matter, La Raza, adherents to Islam (the Religion of Peace and tolerance), CAIR, the...

Rare Footage of Civil War Veterans Doing the Rebel Yell In this exclusive clip from the 1930s, Confederate veterans step up to the mic and let out their version of the fearsome rallying cry.

The events in Charlottesville and the media-hyped aftermath of it are being used to destroy the Trump presidency. All mainstream media guns are being pointed at the president in an effort to paint him and his followers as racists and bigots, thereby proving their point that this man is not suited for the office of the presidency. Give me a break. Propaganda news like NBC and NPR have no interest in reporting the facts about Charlottesville. They have chosen their distorted narrative and are sticking to it. Interviews of politicians on both sides of the aisle but mostly on the...

OAKLAND, Calif. — Last weekend, when a 27-year-old bike messenger showed up at the “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Va., he came ready for battle. He joined a human chain that stretched in front of Emancipation Park and linked his arms with others, blocking waves of white supremacists — some of them in full Nazi regalia — from entering. “As soon as they got close,” said the young man, who declined to give his real name and goes by Frank Sabaté after the famous Spanish anarchist, “they started swinging clubs, fists, shields. I’m not embarrassed to say that we...

ADDISON — Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said Thursday that cities should not get rid of Confederate statues and monuments in order to "sanitize history." "I don't think we should go through and simply try to erase from history prior chapters, even if they were wrong," Cruz said during a news conference. "But I think that's a decision each community has to make. ... I suspect different communities will approach this decision differently." President Donald Trump said Thursday that he was disappointed with the removal of Confederate monuments, saying on Twitter that the nation's cities were losing some of their beauty.....

In the wake of the violence that took place in Charlottesville over last weekend, numerous activists and politicians have called for the destruction of more historical monuments, although a significant majority of Americans (62 percent) think the monuments should stay put. Only 27 percent of Americans think these statues should be removed for fear of offending some people. As usual, public opinion’s not stopping liberals from pursuing an unpopular agenda. Though by no means comprehensive, here’s a list of the monuments that are facing calls for removal or have already been torn down. 1. The Jefferson Memorial in Washington DC...

Hate is hate, dead is dead. We should stop politicizing bigotry and violence by demonizing some demographics and giving others a veritable pass. The demonstration by white nationalist haters in Virginia last weekend resulted from the removal a statue of confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. Confederate flag and statue controversies are raging throughout the South. Some view Confederate symbols as disgusting tributes to slave states defeated in the Civil War. Others warn against censoring symbols of a history we should never forget. On the margins are people who wish the South had won. The movement to eradicate confederate symbols began...

Reflections on the anatomy of a setup… The news of the hour is about Charlottesville and its many copycats. For decades, there have been people agitating to take down monuments to Confederate heroes, and for just as long, there have been people defending them. But only in the summer of 2017 did this issue vault to the top of the headlines, above far worthier issues. The question of the hour should not be what to do about the statues. The question should be "Why?" Why is this issue arising, when there is so much in the world that is so...