Revolutionary War and Washington

After watching the History Channel for most of the day on the events following George Washington during the Revolutionary war I am burned out on information. It was interesting to see that George Washington was not a perfect human being but in all respects a General running a rag tag army of civilians. What really amazed me was his ability to keep an army together after one brutal winter after another and still come out with a fighting force each spring. To be honest with you, I was shocked to see how hard the troops in the Revolutionary War had it and the conditions they survived to fight another day.

One thing I was not aware of watching this all day long documentary was the fact that Washington faced so many crisis that seemed to pile one on top of the other but he still managed to control the situation even when it came to mutiny. Did you know that he ordered the trial and firing squad for mutineer soldiers that left in mass to confront the Continental Congress? I sure as hell didn’t! After the firing squad event where several people were shot to death for their actions in the mutiny there was no more talk or actions of abandoning the cause for liberty.

I was amazed to see that at any point in time Washington could have lost the war but his sense of perseverance and survival transcended the British desire to track him down. While the army of King George sat fat and happy Washington evolved into a man that saw that the battles could not be won on European tactics.

Make no mistake about it, George Washington was a great military leader in the sense of military objectives. Were he running for office today he would never have a chance in one million life times of being elected. Washington made hard decisions that I’m sure he had to think long and hard on and politics was always at the back of his mind with the Continental Congress forever on his mind. With the funds for his dysfunctional army at the mercy of the Congress his hands were tied. Their wishes and orders were his military duty to follow.

Washington did not win the Revolutionary War on his own, many other brilliant minds of the day contributed to the eventual result and it was a war of attrition. General Green of Rhode Island contributed greatly to the end of the war with his attrition battles with Lord Cornwallis. As he tracked through the countryside of the Carolina’s he moved his opponent too far from his supplies and thus manipulated him into a dead lock eventually at York Town. With the help of France and all of the diplomatic work Ben Franklin had been doing the siege of the city began with Cornwallis trapped. No escape from land, no escape from sea.

One of the things that surprised me was to learn how many slaves of African decent were participants in the Revolutionary War. Mind you the British used the freedom angle as well and many slaves in the south ran from their owners to the English army to enlist for the sake of freedom. Many more from northern states were signing up to fight even though Washington banned the use of slaves and blacks as soldiers at the beginning of the conflict. Later on in the war he simply ignored the order and the Congress because he needed the men to fight.

Having watched this series on the History Channel I am wiser and more informed on what America is really about. The suffering that all of the people faced in uniform during the Revolutionary War was horrid. How they actually won the war was indeed a gift from God. I thank God and all that gave the ultimate sacrifice to allow me to write these very words. Call it freedom of the press as a blogger or freedom of Speech, either way, Washington made the things we have all fought for generations possible to make America the place to live and prosper. Only in America is a phase that is to common on these shores of Liberty.

I'm not sure if the History Channel has a video you can view on line but I provided a link to get the video just for giggles. I'm new to being a history buff and this one all day long series has impressed me to no end. Just when I thought I was up on American history, the History Channel proved me wrong.

Papamoka

W W W?

President George W. Bush has done it once more. He’s taken the Constitution and pretty much shredded it this time. He wiped his backside with it over wire tapping, tromped on it over the Patriot Act and pretty much stuffed it in the trash with his personal war in Iraq. For a man that took an oath to uphold the Constitution before the people on his inauguration as President he sure finds it to be a pesky little thing to deal with. Apparently, none of the photographs showed his other hand that was not on the bible had his fingers crossed. This is not my President, not your President, this man thinks and acts like a damn King!

As a lame duck President he is enacting laws that no matter who is elected the next President will have a difficult situation to change. W is back room dealing to guarantee our military presence in Iraq permanently and without Congressional approval.

Over at the Washington Post they have this opinion piece on it…

An Agreement Without Agreement

By Bruce Ackerman and Oona Hathaway
Friday, February 15, 2008; 4:30 PM

The Bush administration is so intent on securing its legacy in Iraq that it is once again ignoring the Constitution. Without seeking the consent of Congress, it is well on its way toward a long-term agreement with the Iraqi government that threatens to deepen the American commitment without the congressional support the Constitution requires.

President Bush's plan to cut out Congress has provoked a growing chorus of criticism, joined by both Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. In response, the administration has begun to back-track from its vision of a sweeping military and economic agreement. Speaking to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said that the agreement would not contain a security guarantee committing the country to fixed troop levels or permanent bases. Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates, speaking before the Senate Armed Services last week, stated that the agreement will be "like other Status of Forces Agreements," which deal with the rights and obligations of the military when operating on foreign soil.

Such agreements, the White House is quick to point out, are not usually subject to congressional approval. That is true. But this truth will not suffice, since the administration is still aiming for an agreement that moves far beyond the traditional scope of these limited military accords. We should not allow false advertising to serve as a cover for a constitutional fait accompli.

Snip the Constitution

Worse yet, the administration is keeping most of its plans secret. (Much of what we have learned comes from leaks reported in the press.) Congress has held two hearings -- on Jan. 23 and Feb. 8 -- on the legitimate scope of the Iraqi agreement, and the administration has twice refused to testify. While Gates and Rice have made a few reassuring remarks, they have fallen far short of full disclosure.

This is unacceptable. Sen. Joseph Biden, as chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, is a strong critic of the administration's unilateral approach. But if the stone-walling continues, he should make it his committee's business to sponsor a congressional resolution declaring invalid any military agreement that seeks to go beyond the traditional limits of the standard Status of Forces Agreement. No president has the unilateral power to impose broad international obligations on the nation without congressional support. But it is especially wrong for a lame-duck president to make such commitments about a controversial policy that is at the very center of the debate among the candidates vying to succeed him. - Washington Post

What is next for W? Is he going to annex Canada because he really likes their bacon? Then he moves on to Mexico because he just happens to like taco night at the White House and we all know them brownies make the best tacos. I didn‘t coin that phrase, the Bush family did… (No offense to Mexican American’s intended… I’m on a rant). W will probably next rename Iraq Haliburtonville in one of his notorious “Screw the Constitution Signing Statements” and his buddy Dick Cheney will have a shorter commute to work from the headquarters in Dubai when they leave office in 2009.

One thing that every President of America had in common prior to Bush was faithfully taking the pledge to defend the Constitution. In doing so George Washington built the Presidency from the ground up not as a King but an office based on the greater good. Thomas Jefferson propelled our nation out of a religious based government into a man made government. To which some today think and believe is wrong but isn’t that what Iran and every Middle East government is. How’s that looking lately? Abraham Lincoln divided but united our nation in the midst of a states rights issue that cost hundreds of thousands of lives but his integrity and place in history is sound because he believed in the greater good for all. Read any news report and you can clearly see that President Bush has no intention of legally upholding the office he was elected too. Full speed ahead for Bush and damn the consequences as he lets the chips fall where they will. There is no historical value to any action he has performed as President that is for the greater good. In all of his actions he has turned the people on themselves and not for the same reasons as Lincoln. He is a rogue President and if the Congress will not reel him in then they are a body without power and Bush has succeeded in his mission.

This is the reason why Republican’s will not see the White House in the next election. Our so called defender of our Constitution thinks it is just a piece of paper and it is not. In the same respects that our flag is just a piece of cloth, burn it, shred it, stamp your dirty boots on it will never kill or mame the meaning behind it. He hijacked our nation and his own political party to serve his own personal, political and financial gains. AKA Dick Cheney and his net worth going through the roof on a VP’s public servant salary. President Bush does not like our form of government and he has proven it over and over again and still he is not called to task for it. Both political parties should be screaming at the top of their lungs over this sidestep of the Congress ensuring our military presence in Iraq for any time the secret documents will make law. If our President is never to be held accountable then he does in fact have a monarchy. Should that fact alone inspire you to contact your representative in government with your anger?

Our Constitution is our government. That is the foundation of America no matter how we look at it from any perspective. No matter who you are as an American it still starts out with “We the People…”

W, W, W, what are we going to do with you? In less than a year there will be no problem with the door hitting him in the back side as the ghosts of Lincoln, Jefferson and Washington will be the ones slamming those doors on the White House as he exits. Thanks for visiting W. Somebody else will clean up the mess you left behind.

Papamoka

Cross posted at MichaelLinnJones.com and Bring IT ON!

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