[maine-iac7]

I'm not always too sure about the testimonies of Internet "eyewitnesses."

I didn't quote the Internet - but the histories of the priest, Bartolome De Las Casas, (1474-1566) who was there. I credit his eye witness accounts over today's history apologists or revisionists.

De Las Casas is an historical figure - not the product of an Internet not can he and his accounts be wished away.

Here's a current printing of his history - his EYE WITNESS account:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/sitbv3/reader/ref=sib_dp_pt/104-4554785-7018323?%5Fencoding=UTF8&asin=0140445625

"Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies" by De Las Casas

Here's another site:

http://www.webster.edu/~corbetre/haiti/history/spanish/lascasas.htm

[Theoden]

George Washington owned slaves. Let's stop celebrating his birthday!

Abe Lincoln did not willingly want to free the slaves. Let's stop honoring him!

Davy Crockett killed indians. Let's write him out of history!

Leif Eriksen killed indians. Let's write him out of history!

The Pilgrims fought and killed indians. Let's write him out of history!

General Custard killed Indians! Let's write him out of history!

FDR let Pearl Harbor happen! Let's posthumously impeach him!

General Patton had atrocities happen under his command. Let's strip him of his medals posthumously!

What other great men from American history can we defame for their actions that were the social norm of the time? Hmm, American history itself is very violent, maybe we should completely forsake our past, and sit around and be self-loathing?

[AlaninSA]

Look, everything written has a bias of some sort. We have no way of knowing if De Las Casas was the Teddy Kennedy of his era.

Imagine your great-great-great-great-great grandkids looking back at Howard Dean's comments and taking them as the truth about today's USMC and their actions in Iraq. There's little difference.

What matters is not that a Viking MAY have arrived sooner or that an Irish monk might have gotten lost in his boat and arrived before Columbus. What does matter is that Columbus arrived and was the first to actually share the information that yes, indeed there was a "new world."

His trip took guts and faith.

As for the subjugation of the folks he ran into when he arrived - well, what do you expect? This was a military force that was sent to find, claim and conquer any new territory for Spain.

Columbus completed the mission, got back alive and lived to tell the world about it.