Friday, July 06, 2012

The Council Has Spoken! This Week's Watcher's Council Results



Me too, lil' weasel.Me too!Because there was certainly a lot of information, entertainment and stimulation in this week's entries...but then, there always is.

The Council has weighed in, made its judgment known and the results are hereby engraved in our marble archives here in deepest cyberspace.






The above is a tweet posted by lefty comedian Chris Rock on July Fourth, America's Independence Day. One of the added benefits of writing this week's winner, Joshuapundit's Gettysburg - A Fourth Of July Long Ago was being able to reply to this ignoramus, include a tiny url link to it and remind him that today was also the anniversary of a great many white people dying to free his ancestors..and that he should be ashamed of himself.

I doubt it had any effect (it seldom does with that mentality) but it did make me feel good, and apparently a few other people as well.

In any case, here's a slice:

Two years, ten years, and passengers ask the conductor:What place is this? Where are we now? I am the grass.Let me work. - Carl Sandburg

One hundred and forty-nine years ago today, brave men fought in and around a small town in Pennsylvania to determine whether the Union would endure or whether it would not.

The Battle of Gettysburg broke the tide of the advance of Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia and while the war itself didn't end for another 22 months, Gettysburg decided the outcome.

Lee's objective was psychological as much as strategic. By 1863 there was substantial sentiment in the North to allow the Confederacy to go its own way and end what had become an increasingly bloody, unpopular and costly war. By subjecting the North to the same sort of invasion the South had been subjected to - in essence, bringing the war home - Lee hoped to increase this sentiment and force the North to negotiate a settlement.

Gettysburg was very much an accidental battle. Neither side was really looking to fight here, but the armies accidentally collided, largely because Lee was deprived of Jeb Stuart's cavalry in the early stages of the battle and thus lacked his usual awareness of where the Union forces were. Once the initial impact was made,on July 1st 1863 in a battle between Brigadier General John Buford's Union cavalry division and two corps of Union infantry and two large Confederate corps that attacked from the north and northwest under General Richard Ewell, the armies came together and the battle was on.


In our non-Council category, the winner was PotluckA Tale of One Tragedy and Two Campaigns submitted by The Watcher. It's an absolutely wonderful piece that perfectly illustrates the difference between Mitt Romney and Barack Obama, and I'm sure you'll find it as illuminating as I and the Council did.

Here are this week’s full results. Only The Independent Sentinel was unable to vote this week and was affected by the 2/3 vote penalty:

Council Winners



Non-Council Winners



See you next week! Remember to tune in next Monday for the Watcher's Forum question, where the Council and invited guests provide pithy short takes as a roundtable on a cutting edge major issue...don't you DARE MISS IT! And don't forget to like us on Facebook and follow us onTwitter..'cause we're cool like that!

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is a contrived and trumped up "anger" by blacks. Because 150 years ago some blacks sufferred at the hands of some whites today with all our freedoms and opportunities blacks choose to hate whites!!?? Any white, doesn't matter that they were not related to or connected in any way to crimes of the past. And the blacks who harbor this violent racism themselves usually don't know who those slaves might have been or what harm they might have sufferred all that matters to them is their race. Everyone should understand that more white slaves were captured in Europe over the centuries and brought to Africa then black slaves where brough to America.

Roland said...

Because 150 years ago some blacks sufferred at the hands of some whites today with all our freedoms and opportunities blacks choose to hate whites!!??

I think you mistakenly put a '1' in front of your '50' there. You see, before the civil rights era, blacks were denied a lot of those 'freedoms and opportunities' that you're ranting about. Maybe if we denied conservatives the right to vote, gave them separate drinking fountains, kept them attending universities, etc. they would find something real to complain about instead of the trumped up (to use your term) outrages-of-the-day that they're constantly whining about.

Everyone should understand that more white slaves were captured in Europe over the centuries and brought to Africa then black slaves where brough to America.

Uh, okay. I understand. So what's your point? That blacks shouldn't complain because they were outnumbered in the slave trade? I guess that means I can dismiss those whiny Jews because their holocaust wasn't nearly as big as others. Thanks for the go-ahead on that.

Anonymous, please don't stop talking. Every word out of your mouth (and those like you) contributes to an Obama victory. Even a dismal economy can't stop his reelection when people are faced with this kind of mindset as the alternative.

Rob said...

No hateration, but one important caveat, Roland.

Are you seriously comparing the American slave trade with the Holocaust? I hope not. Among other things, their objectives were quite different, keeping people alive to work as an item of trade value versus killing them outright just because.

If you really want to discuss the matter, I can tell you about a number of other ways the Holocaust was unique in human history.

Regards
Rob

Roland said...

Are you seriously comparing the American slave trade with the Holocaust?

Not at all. I'm merely pointing out that this isn't a numbers game. Black slavery happened and white slavery happened. I don't give a rat's ass who involved more people. That doesn't change the fact that slavery is despicable period. By Anonymous' logic, the Holocaust is no big deal as there were other mass killings that were worse. This is a very strange argument.

So, no, I don't feel the need to discuss how the Holocaust was unique in human history. It's bizarre to compare genocides as if it's some sort of race for superiority of which ethnic group had it worse.

Sorry to repeat myself here, but I thought the point was obvious the first time.

Rob said...

Roland, I'm afraid you actually don't understand the Holocaust if you think it's uniqueness had to do merely with numbers.

It is not merely about 'seeing which ethnic group had it worse'.

You've said you're unwilling to discuss that, and I'll respect it. But I must point out to you that this is exactly the kind of ignorance that leads to constant misuse of the words 'genocide' and 'Holocaust' to score political points.

In my view, it is major disrespect to those that experienced it.

Roland said...

Argh. I don't think the Holocaust was unique merely due to numbers. I think that all suffering brought on by one group against another is bad. The numbers are irrelevant. There should be no one-upmanship when it comes to suffering. This is a rather straightforward point. I can only imagine how it will be misinterpreted next.

Rob said...

Argh. I don't think the Holocaust was unique merely due to numbers

Well, we're making progress Roland. At least you now concede that the Holocaust was unique.That's an important step.

I likewise don't approve of grievance mongering, by the way, which is why I answered Chris Rock as I did.

But understanding the Holocaust and why it was unique provides a good window of understanding on a number of topics.

Roland said...

Well, we're making progress Roland. At least you now concede that the Holocaust was unique.

Geez, Rob. Seriously. Can you actually find where I said the Holocaust wasn't unique? I said I didn't feel like discussing it, but that doesn't mean I think it wasn't unique. I didn't feel like discussing it because I don't disagree with you. I seriously wonder if you're incapable of reading or if you're playing some sort of weird practical joke. Maybe the text becomes garbled and contradictory on your end.

The Holocaust was unique. The Armenian genocide was unique. Each fingerprint is unique. I can only imagine what you'll quote me as saying next. If you want to argue, at least do it honestly. This pulling quotes out of thin air thing you do is annoying.

Rob said...

I thought the quote was pretty clear - if one understands English.The phrase I don't think the Holocaust was unique merely due to numbers would imply to anyone that the Holocaust was unique for other reasons, as in 'I don't think Ted Williams was a great ball player merely because of the home runs.'

However, if you are under the misapprehension that the Holocaust was just another massacre.you're certainly welcome to continue being mistaken.My apologies for misunderstanding you.

BTW. just to throw more inconvenient facts your way, the Armenian genocide was closer than most other similar historical events to the Holocaust, and was at least part of Hitler's inspiration for it, but again, there are a number of important differences....not that I'd want to go over them since you've already said you're not interested in them.

-Rob-