Those bits of stupidity belong to someone else entirely.
No, Governor Palin's humungous error was to phrase things a bit inelegantly about Paul Revere's famous ride. Here's what she said, verbatim:
“He warned, uh, the British that they weren’t going to be taking away our arms uh by ringing those bells and making sure as he’s riding his horse through town to send those warning shots and bells that we were going to be secure and we were going to be free and we were going to be armed.”
Needless to say, George Soros' paid internet mercenaries were all over this one,just like they were all over Governor Palin's remarks encouraging Tea Party activists not to relax and that they can't 'party like it's 1773 yet'.
But whaddya know? She turned out to be essentially right again. I actually remember reading about this historical factoid, but a hat tip to Conservatives4Palin for saving me the trouble of digging it up. It turns out Paul Revere did warn the British they were headed for trouble if they thought they were going to take the colonists unawares and seize their arms...exactly what Governor Palin said.
From a letter by Paul Revere himself, in a 1789 letter maintained by the Massachusetts Historical Society:
I observed a Wood at a Small distance, & made for that. When I got there, out Started Six officers, on Horse back,and orderd me to dismount;-one of them, who appeared to have the command, examined me, where I came from,& what my Name Was? I told him. it was Revere, he asked if it was Paul? I told him yes He asked me if I was an express? {ed. note - a courier}
I answered in the afirmative. He demanded what time I left Boston? I told him; and aded, that their troops had catched aground in passing the River, and that There would be five hundred Americans there in a short time, for I had alarmed the Country all the way up. He imediately rode towards those who stoppd us, when all five of them came down upon a full gallop; one of them, whom I afterwards found to be Major Mitchel, of the 5th Regiment, Clapped his pistol to my head, called me by name, & told me he was going to ask me some questions, & if I did not give him true answers, he would blow my brains out. He then asked me similar questions to those above. He then orderd me to mount my Horse, after searching me for arms.He then orderd them to advance, & to lead me in front.
When we got to the Road, they turned down towards Lexington. When we had got about one Mile, the Major Rode up to the officer that was leading me, & told him to give me to the Sergeant. As soon as he took me, the Major orderd him, if I attempted to run, or any body insulted them, to blow my brains out. We rode till we got near Lexington Meeting-house, when the Militia {ed.note, the Americans} fired a Voley of Guns, which appeared to alarm them very much.
Let's parse this a bit, shall we? Revere admits here that he was stopped by the British, that they interrogated him at gunpoint and that he warned the British that he had already roused the countryside and that the American militia had gathered and would be waiting for them if they tried to take away the American's arms..which was the entire British objective in marching on Lexington and Concord.
Score yet another one for Governor Palin.
Frankly even if she had been wrong,( which she wasn't) I feel a lot more comfortable with someone who makes an honest error when it comes to the minutiae of American history than someone who apparently doesn't understand even basic economics, has no clue how to act with our allies, and has spent the country into a huge hole out of sheer cluelessness and incompetency.
4 comments:
The last paragraph pretty much natils it as does your first paragraph where the failings of Mr. Obama are highlighted. Placing a ban on oil drilling during a depression when our country depends heavily on people who don't like us for our supplies is not only one of the stupidest moves in American history but it is one of the stupidist moves in world history.
What Palin said was a gaffe, and she looks silly trying to act like it wasn't. Everyone misspeaks, and it is not that big of a deal, but she looks silly how she tries to act like no gaffe was made.
This letter details how Revere was apprehended and then interrogated during his ride.
Do you really think this is what Palin was referring to when she started talking about Revere warning the British???
When you start talking about Revere, do you lead off with a side note that is the direct opposite of what he is known for??
For example, does it make sense to say that Benedict Arnold was an outstanding member of the Continental Army. Of course it doesn't, because he is best known as being a traitor. But until he was a traitor, he was an honorable member of that army. So even though the original premise is true, it is not genuine.
And neither is Sarah Palin as she tries to act like she didn't make a gaffe.
This is absurd: the entire point of Revere's ride was to warn THE COLONISTS: that was his purpose and his mission and his stated goal. When he was captured by the british, and marched to within a mile of Lexington green, and the brits heard the sounds of the militia readying themselves, he "warned" them of what they already knew--that their attempt at secrecy had failed.
You invert the very purpose of his ride, as does she.
Well, let's see my Anonymous friends.
Both of you admit that Governor Palin was correct when she said that Paul Revere warned the British that the colonists were aware of what they were doing and were not going to be taken unawares, as Revere admits in his own words.
That's a lot more than the clowns at MSNBC and Think Progress were willing to do.
Anonymous 8:28 PM, you ask "Do you really think this is what Palin was referring to when she started talking about Revere warning the British???" Since I don't know what was in her mind,( and neither do you,BTW) I merely look at the facts and at Palin's exact quote and she's historically correct, although I'll concede she phrased it inelegantly. As I mention in the article, I happen have been aware of the same historical factoid.
Anonymous 6:59 AM, what's really absurd is the amount of attention this is getting when we have a president in the White House who is spending our grandchildren into crushing debt, has us involved in a neo-colonialist war in Libya in defiance of the War Powers Act, has appeased our enemies and distanced our country from its allies and seems to have no clue whatsoever about how to deal with America's energy needs, among his many other failings.
As Governor Palin has already proven, she has a common sense understanding of those problem lacking in the White House.
Regards,
Rob
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