Remembering the veterans who fought for our flag

 Last Wednesday was Veterans Day. President Brandon a speech somewhere. I didn't hear all of it [Did you hear any of it? Ed.] but understand he paid homage to all the men and women who fought and died under the American flag, not just in the Great War, but in all the wars in which Americans fought and died. 

I wonder if that includes the Glorious War of the Secession, aka the Civil War aka the War Between The States. Assuming that to be the case, I wonder which flag he was referring to. Was it this one?

I hope Sleepy Joe hasn't forgotten [Go on... Ed.] that, while over 360,000 Americans went to war under the Stars and Stripes and never came back, some 258,000 other Americans died fighting for this flag.

Yes, those people were Americans, and just as patriotic as those who fought for the Union. They deserve to be remembered.

Yet statues of Confederate soldiers and leaders are being pulled down all across the South, and the display of the Confederate battle flag is prohibited, because it's "hateful", unlike the Stars and Stripes, which is only called "hateful" in this Babylon Bee spoof.   

Such is life in today's ultra-woke America. Pity.

Footnote: The statues of Confederate and Union soldiers erected in parks and village squares across America were largely produced by one manufacturer. They were identical, but for one detail: On the soldier’s belt buckle, the "U.S." is replaced by a "C.S." for "Confederate States." To the Monumental Bronze Co., of Bridgeport CT, it was all just business. Union or Confederate, a customer was a customer, another $450 for a zinc statue that could mean whatever you needed it to mean. Source: WaPo.

It's NOT over ???

 Seen inside the Capitol yesterday...

Recommended reading: "Siege of the U.S. Capitol is an ominous sign of things to come" by Father Raymond J. de Souza, National Post, 7/1/21.

Michiganders* demand removal of racist flag, but guess what...

In St. John's MI, about 20 miles north of the capital of the Karen State, there is a charming bed and breakfast called the Nordic Pineapple. Kind of a strange name, informed perhaps by the owners' (Greg and Kjersten Offenbecker) being Norwegian-American -- kind of like those Nordic types Garrison Keillor used to talk about on Prairie Home Companion. [Whatever happened to that show? Ed.] For more on those fun-loving Norskes, see Scandinavian Humor & Other Myths, by John Louis Anderson (Nordbooks 1986).

According to Mr Keillor, Norwegians do have a sense of humour. They also have a sense of national or -- dare I say it -- ethnic pride, the kind of pride that makes them fly the Norwegian flag outside their homes, just as Italian-Americans fly the Italian flag and Japanese-Americans fly... well, maybe not.

Unfortunately for the Offenbeckers, the Norwegian flag, when hung on a pole at an angle to the upright, looks -- to those untrained in vexillology -- not unlike the Battle Flag of the Confederate States of America. And we all know what that means! Although they never received any direct threats, Greg and Kjersten were accused more than once of "promoting racism", a notion they find particularly hurtful, as they're raising two adopted black kids. So after receiving “at least a dozen hateful emails,” and twice as many rude comments, they decided last week that enough was enough. [Are we still allowed to use that expression? Ed.]

On her Facebook page, Mrs Offenbecker wrote: "This flag is so often mistaken for the Confederate flag and people are often offended by it before they realize that they are mistaken. I am very proud of my Norwegian heritage and will fly it on special occasions like Norwegian Independence Day and maybe I will find a less conspicuous place to fly it but, for now we feel that it is the best decision to take it down."

In reporting this fine example of the triumph of political correctness and the cancel culture, RT.com adds that this is not the first time the Norwegian flag got mistaken for something else. Two years ago, bestselling true-crime author Rebecca Morris alerted the Seattle Times to her sighting of a Confederate flag in her neighbourhood. What reporters found instead was a Norwegian-American homeowner showing the support of his Scandinavian country of origin during the Olympic games that were taking place the time.

Where will it all end? Walt says enough is enough! But you know and Walt knows that for the woolly-minded liberal SJWs, enough will never be enough.

* Footnote from Ed.: If men from Michigan are called "Michiganders", are women from Michigan "Michigeese"? Just askin'...

Canuck newspaper apologizes for printing flag on Canada Day

Canada's government and its lamestream media have earned a reputation for extreme liberal wussiness, pandering to every minority "cause" and ignoring Canada's white native sons and daughters. The TDS, BLM, LGBTQ2S propaganda machine has been in overdrive this year. Dare we hope that running about the red line [Nice pun! Ed.] will cause the machine to burn out? Perhaps not!

"Down East" (as Canadians call their maritime provinces), the population is still mainly white, English-speaking or French-speaking, and heterosexual. But Maritimers are a friendly lot, and typically Canadian when it comes to saying "Sorry!" and apologizing for themselves. Still, many Haligonians (denizens of Halifax) must have been shocked, shocked to see this "trigger warning" across the front page of the Halifax Chronicle-Herald this past Saturday.

Can't believe your eyes? Yep, it says: "To our readers: inside today's edition, on page A9, you'll find a Canadian flag to clip and post to help celebrate July 1. We understand the flag doesn't mean the same thing to everyone, however, we hope our readers recognize their ability to play a role in shaping Canada's future is a freedom worth acknowledging."

The flag then appears on page A9, well inside the first section of the alleged newspaper.

The flag, with its stylized maple leaf, has been a source of pride for Canadians since it was adopted in 1965. Will it soon become like the Confederate Battle Flag, vilified for symbolozing racism, colonialism, white supremacy and all the other evils that the liberals their controlled media see in our society? Must it be taken down -- or, better, burned -- lest it offend some snowflake who feels entitled to reparations for wrongs done a century ago? It's sad that the question should even be asked.

As a public service to all our friends and reads in Canuckistan, Walt Whiteman, Poor Len Canayen [and Ed.! Ed.] are pleased to show the Maple Leaf Flag.

Long may it wave!

HAPPY CANADA DAY!

2020 re-enactment of battle of Gettysburg CANCELLED... why???

Agent 78 has just sent us a disturbing report from WGAL-TV, Channel 8, "covering Gettysburg like the dew". They reported on September 4th that the committee that organizes the annual Battle of Gettysburg reenactment says the re-enactment of the key battle of the Civil War won't be done again next year. Here's a clip from last year's event.



Too bad if you missed last year's re-enactment, because it may turn out to be the last of its kind. A leader of the Gettysburg Anniversary Committee, which staged the events for the past quarter-century, said the cancellation was due to a combination of factors, including:
- Aging re-enactors, causing a decrease in participation.
- Changing interests from Gettysburg visitors.
- The weather-dependent event creates risky economic dynamics.
And, he told the TV station, the hobby is moving toward smaller, living history types of events.

You have to wonder if the reasons given for the cancellation are the real reasons. Surely the decision has nothing to do with political correctness! Surely no-one would have objected to see a reenactor playing General Lee astride "Traveller", or Confederate battle flags waving bravely in the breeze. How could I think such a thing? Well, which flag did you see displayed in the clip?!

But who knows... Maybe it's just as well that the re-enactment has been cancelled. Anything "divisive" in an election year would be unthinkable, wouldn't it?

What's wrong with this picture? More Canuck political correctness

Scott Moe is the Premier (kind of like a US governor) of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan, the heart of flyover country. Mr Moe is a small-C conservative, opposed to carbon taxes and other forms of liberal insanity. He is, therefore, an easy target for the progressives, SJWs, snowflakes and the Canuck (((controlled media))). Knowing that, you'd think that he'd have more sense than to pose for a picture at the wheel of this beautiful car.

That's right, folks. It's the "General Lee", not the original 1969 Dodge Charger which starred (?) in The Dukes of Hazzard TV series, but a replica which is going to be auctioned off this weekend, with the proceeds going to the Saskatchewan division of the Canadian Mental Health Association.

When Premier Moe tweeted out this picture on Monday, it was received with shrieks of horror and clutching of pearls by liberals, "anti-racists", SJWS and other snowflakes. "Don't you know what that flag means?" they shouted, referring to the Confederate battle flag which adorns the General's roof. "It stands for racism and white supremacy!!!"

Mr Moe says he "doesn't endorse the flag or what it symbolizes" but does support the Parkside Community Club's hard work raising funds for local organizations. For its part, the Mental Health Association has wimped out with a typically Canadian apology. Phyllis O'Connor, executive director of the CMHA in Saskatchewan, said she only learned of the auction through the premier's tweet. "We rely very heavily on community support and that's a wonderful thing," she said. "The problem was they didn't come to us and tell us they were doing this and we certainly had no input into the theme. One of our core values is inclusion. There is no room for racism, discrimination, hatred, none of that."

And a spokesthingy for the charity auction says organizers merely sought an authentic replica of the General Lee and did not mean to offend. He said last year's auction featured a replica of Lightning McQueen from the Cars movies and the one before that had a car inspired by the Joker from Batman.

Confederate flag to fly at SC statehouse today

Today, a group protesting the hasty and ultra-PC decision of South Carolina's governor to remove the Confederate battle flag from its place in front of the statehouse will unfurl the banner once again. Walt can't make it to Columbia but will be there in spirit!

The South Carolina Secessionist Party will fly the Confederate flag on a temporary pole for several hours, to mark the third anniversary of the removal of the honoured symbol of states' rights. The SCSP says it will go on doing so every July 10th, so that a year will not pass without the Glorious War of the Secession being memorialized.

The flag to be raised, shown in the picture at right, is not the Stars and Bars, as many people mistakenly think. It is a version of the battle flag of the Confederate armies, carried proudly by legion of young men who died for the cause. If you believe in the values these men died for, don't be afraid to display the flag on your cars or at your homes. The times they are a-changin', and (Walt hopes) the end of political correctness is in sight.

VIDEO: Shelby Foote talks about the Confederate flag

Shelby Dade Foote, Jr. (17 November 1916 – 27 June 2005) was an American historian and novelist who wrote The Civil War: A Narrative, a three-volume history of the American Civil War (aka the Glorious War of the Secession). I have read this monumental work, every one of the 3000+ pages. In spite of its length, the work is a real page-turner, because of Mr Foote's style. He was a novelist first, then a historian, and The Civil War is not just a dry recitation of dates and battles, but an outstanding example of story-telling. I recommend it most highly.

Shelby Foote rose to prominence -- indeed, to celebrity -- as a result of his appearance in Ken Burns' award-winning PBS series The Civil War, which I also recommend. As he prepared to make the documentary, Mr Burns assembled a group of consultants he could interview. Although Mr Foote's trilogy was on the Burns reading list, the author was not included in the initial group. A phone call from Robert Penn Warren prompted Ken Burns to contact Mr Foote. Mr Burns and his crew travelled interviewed him on camera in Memphis in 1986 and Vicksburg in 1987.

When The Civil War aired in September 1990, Shelby Foote appeared in almost 90 segments, about one hour of the 11-hour series. His southern drawl and obvious erudition made him the star of the epic. He was described as "the toast of Public TV", "the media's newest darling", and "prime time's newest star". The result was a burst of book sales. In just one week at the end of September 1990, each volume of the paperback The Civil War: A Narrative sold 1000 copies per day. By the middle of 1991, Random House had sold 400,000 copies of the trilogy. This stunning literary and historical achievement is still available through Amazon and many other outlets.

Mr Foote's comments and stories in the Burns film deal with a wide variety of battles, characters (both military and civilian), and issues. For instance, he explains why does the same battle is sometimes called by two names, as in the case of Manassas/Bull Run and Sharpsburg/Antietam. (Sorry, you'll have to read the book or watch the film to find the answer!) One thing he does not talk about, though, because it became an issue only in recent years, is the characterization of the Confederate battle flag (aka The Southern Cross) as a symbol of slavery or racism. In this three-minute video he explains why this view of the flag is erroneous or worse.

Know your Confederate flags

Yesterday the South Carolina state senate, by a vote of 37 to 3, read for the second time a bill to banish the Confederate battle flag from a Civil War memorial on the capitol grounds, and put it in a museum where (the "civil rights" nazis say) it belongs. The bill is to be read for a third and final time today. Then it will go to the state House of Representatives. Click here to read the Reuters report on the rather one-sided debate.

Walt was dismayed [yet again! Ed.], while watching this news on the idiot's lantern, to hear a reporter for a major network refer [yet again! Ed.] to the flag in question as "the Stars and Bars". It is not!!! Would all reporters, commentators, pundits and other members of the chattering classes please look closely at the images below!

The Stars and Bars, shown at the left end of the top row, was the first flag of the Confederate States of America, deliberately modelled on the Betsy Ross flag popularly believed -- although the point is debatable -- to have been the first flag of the United States of America. The seven stars in the canton represent the original seven states of the CSA. More stars were added as more states exercised their right to secede from the Union.

The square flag which flies at the SC Civil War memorial is the Confederate battle jack, more accurately the flag of the Army of Northern Virginia. It's shown at the left end of the second row. The rectangular version, often called "the Southern Cross", was carried into battle by other units, along with a number of lesser-known unit flags, as shown.

The Confederate battle jack was (and still is) popular with the people of the South, and was incorporated into the second and third national flags of the confederacy. It still appears in the canton of the state flag of Mississippi, whose politically-incorrect legislature has so far shown no inclination to remove it. 

Confederate flags flying proudly in... wait for it... Brazil!

The pushback against the reverse-racist campaign to take down the Confederate battle flag is growing by the hour! Walt has just been alerted to a feature story on the BBC News website headed "The town in Brazil that embraces the Confederate flag". That would be Santa Barbara D'Oeste, where, once a year, the descendants of about 10,000 Confederates that fled the United States to Brazil after the US Civil War have a sort of family reunion. Here's a group of them, showing that, even after a century and a half, they're still proud to be Southerners!

Can you imagine the reaction in the state capitals of South Carolina or Texas or Virginia if the descendants of the sons and daughters of the Confederacy posed like this in public? Why, in Texas the state won't even sell you a vanity licence plate bearing the Dixie flag any more, because it's politically incorrect. Shame!

Asher Levine, Reuters' man in Sao Paolo, reports that despite being six or seven generations removed from their antebellum ancestry, many local Brazilians still maintain strong ties to Southern culture, and proudly wave the Confederate flag. At their annual get-together, he told BBC, "they all take part in stereotypically southern things like square dances, eating fried chicken and biscuits, and listening to George Strait." [George Strait? Who he? Ed.] Here's another photo.

Now there's something you don't see every day, even in the Ole South! Kinda warms the cockles of your heart, doesn't it? (If your cockles get too warm, rub them with ice.)
 
Over time, the article continues, the white Southerners who came from the USA [CSA, surely! Ed.] mixed with the darker Brazilians, resulting in people with a variety of skin colours waving the Confederate flag. "A lot of people who are descendants of these confederates have African blood as well, so you'll see at the party people with dark skin waving the Confederate flag."

Strange, isn't it, that people in Brazil and Canada (see previous post) are willing and able to associate themselves with the Confederate battle flag, in spite of its supposed negative connotations, yet Americans who are proud to be Southerners are being demonized and denied the right to show their Southern pride, all because of the actions of one deranged young man. But that's the USA in the Age of Obama. Political correctness rules!

UPDATED: Confederate flag still flies in Canada, EH!

All the hoo-rah and hoo-hah about the appropriation of the Confederate battle flag by a racist teenage nutbar -- see yesterday's post -- has been followed by a tsunami of overreaction and political correctness on the part of the lamestream meeja and black-vote-seeking politicians. Surprisingly, even retailers are jumping on the anti-South bandwagon. WalMart, Sears, Amazon and others are falling all over themselves to get the "Southern Cross" out of their catalogues and off their online shopping sites.

Yet the demand persists, not just across the Excited States of America -- and Walt means all 50 states, especially Alaska! -- but north of the world's longest undefended border. Yes, there are lots and lots of Canucks who aren't happy seeing their country becoming the Great Formerly-white North, and they're showing where their sympathies lie by displaying their own versions of the "rebel flag". Like this one.

"Rebel flag" stickers and decals are a common sight on highways in northern Ontario and the Prairie provinces, although (Agent 3 tells me) not so much around the Jane-Finch corridor in Toronto. In provinces which don't require a front licence plate, you can buy license plates merging the Dixie flag with a symbol of the province (the official seal of Alberta, in this case) or the Canadian maple leaf.

Then there's the case of Hillbilly Heaven, a restaurant in Hamilton ON mentioned in WWW just over two years ago. As you can see from the picture in Walt's post, the owners painted a large Confederate battle flag on a panel right over the front door. They said they were just using an iconic southern symbol to advertise their food -- barbeque, beans, pecan pie, that kind of thing. But, as their website says now "In this world, you can't do anything without someone getting upset", and the PC police made them take the flag down. Maybe they should have tried a Canadianized version, like this.

What does the Confederate flag symbolize to Canadians who fly, wear or otherwise display it? According to a story in today's National Post, the meanings vary, with defenders citing rural pride, redneck kitsch, or simply a generic statement of rebellion, like wearing a Che t-shirt.

During the War of the Secession, many residents of the British colonies which later became Canada supported the Southern cause. Although most British North Americans weren't in agreement with slavery -- it was outlawed in the British Empire decades earlier -- they did champion the Confederates as underdogs standing against the Washington government for the freedom to choose their own way of life.

Stop the press!!! Agent 3 just called with an update. Seems what he told me about not seeing Confederate flags in Toronto isn't entirely accurate. You can still buy the Dixie flag at numerous outlets in the GTA, he says, including Reppa Flags and Souvenirs, which is run not by a redneck but by... wait for it... and Indo-Canadian gentleman. Tell `em Walt sent ya!

UPDATED Thursday morning 25/6: CBC News reports "Confederate flag sales jump at St. John's shop as U.S. grapples with massacre". The subhead reads: "Business owner says limited stock sold quickly; more on the way". Looks like political correctness hasn't reached Newfoundland yet. But trust the CBC to get the design of the Confederate battle flag wrong!

DON'T tear down this flag!

Walt is incensed -- putting it mildly -- by the increasingly strident demands of the usual suspects (including Mitt Romney and a starlet posing as Governor of South Carolina) to remove the Confederate battle flag from its position next to the SC state capitol. Their argument is that since the "Southern Cross" (as it is sometimes known) has been appropriated by some racists and social misfits, including the nutbar who murdered nine black churchgoers in Charleston last week, the flag which the South has loved for a century and a half is no longer worthy of respect. They are wrong.

The Confederate battle flag was not intended to stand for racial supremacy, let alone slavery. THIS is what it stands for.

For over 150 years, the Confederate battle flag has been displayed throughout the Old South (and all over America) to honour the 260,000 Southerners who died in the War of the Secession fighting for the Cause in which they believed. That cause was not slavery, but the right of the people of the sovereign states to decide for themselves what form of society they wished to live in, and what form of government they wished to have.

Slavery only became an issue when Abraham Lincoln made it so, in his Emancipation Proclamation of 1 January 1863. He did this for political reasons, not because he was a believer in the equality of the races. Here, from "Abraham Lincoln Never Believed in Racial Equality", is a direct quote from a speech by "the Great Emancipator" at Springfield IL in 1858:

I am not, nor ever have been, in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white and black races, that I am not, nor ever have been, in favor of making voters or jurors of negroes, nor of qualifying them to hold office, nor to intermarry with white people; and I will say in addition to this that there is a physical difference between the white and black races which I believe will forever forbid the two races living together on terms of social and political equality ... I will add to this that I have never seen, to my knowledge, a man, woman, or child who was in favor of producing a perfect equality, social and political, between negros and white men.

But the civil war -- regarded by blacks as a white man's war -- was going badly. In the North, anti-war sentiment was growing, enlistments were declining, and morale was bad. However, there was a strong abolitionist faction in Congress and in the upper strata of Northern society, and Lincoln felt that making the conflict about slavery, rather than about states' rights, would get the "progressive thinkers" more engaged. So, "Free the slaves!" became the new war cry -- "the battle cry of freedom".

And so it was that the Stars and Stripes was made to represent "freedom" and the Confederate flag slavery, a mischaracterization which is being revived in the heat of overreaction to the Charleston shootings. The deranged kid had a Confederate flag sewed to his backpack. So what? Many of the cops, white and black, who shoot innocent people, black and white, have the Star-spangled Banner sewed onto their uniforms. Does that make them evil racists or advocates of a return to slavery? [Well? Does it? Ed.]

And how about the Sandy Hook massacre? The Stars and Stripes was flying outside Sandy Hook Elementary School on the day Adam Lanza shot 26 adults and children. The same flag was flying -- and still flies -- at the CT state capitol in New Haven. Does anyone seriously suggest it was the sight of that flag that fuelled the killer's depravity? Ridiculous?! Certainly. Just as ridiculous as the notion that banning the display of the Confederate flag will somehow end race hatred in America.

Footnote and recommendation: For an even-handed commentary on the reasons for the Civil War and the Emancipation Proclamation, Walt can think of no better reference than Ken Burns's superb TV mini-series, The Civil War, available as a boxed set  from Amazon and other sources.

Hamilton's Hillbilly Heaven draws flak over flag

Walt’s recommendation, a few weeks ago, of Hillybilly Heaven -- the Hamilton, Ontario southern BBQ restaurant -- drew a lot of interest. So did articles like this one in the lamestream media whining that someone should have the effrontery to put up signs saying he doesn’t serve "ethnic food" or "celebrate diversity". Business is picking up.

In fact, business is so good that owner Cameron Bailey is opening a second location on King Street East at Walnut Street North, in Hamilton's so-called International Village. (The original restaurant is still serving food for white folks at 647 Upper James Street, at the corner of Fennell.)

They've got some nice new signs, of course, featuring a symbol that shows clearly what Mr. Bailey and his establishment are all about.
 

(This photo by Glenn Lowson originally appeared in the National Post.)

Yessiree Bob, it's the Battle Flag of the Confederate States of America, known as "the Rebel Flag" for just over 150 years. To Mr. Bailey, the flag represents working class values, and the fight to protect a way of life.

Needless to say, the multiculti gang, leaders of the "diversity industry" and other "progressive thinkers" are up in arms. Many wrote letters to the city, and of course protests are planned for the second Hillbilly Heaven's grand opening later this month.

Is Mr. Bailey concerned? No way! "Is it against the law?" he asks. "No. Then no one should be complaining. If you want it to come down, take me to court and make it against the law. But until that's the case, I'm not doing anything wrong."

Chris Schafer, the executive director of the Alberta-based Canadian Constitution Foundation, told the National Post that as long as Mr. Bailey is not denying service to anyone, he has every right to post the Confederate flag over the door of his business.   "By putting a Confederate flag up, beyond the fact that it doesn't have...meaning necessarily in Canada, if it's bad for business let the business owner suffer the consequences of going out of business," he said.

That's pretty much what Mr. Bailey thinks. "That's how it works in this country. If you don't like something, don't buy it." Walt cannot but agree.

Footnote: Hillbilly Heaven now has its own website. Click here to see it. And if you go for some great BBQ, tell `em Walt sent ya!