Were the Confederates Terrorists?

CNN Roland Martin has taken alot of heat for calling the Confederate soldiers terrorists. Martin’s comments are in light of the fact that Virginia Governor McDonnell’s  signed a proclamation honoring the Confederate soldiers and the first proclamation made no mention of slavery.  After public outcry McDonnell did amend the proclamation to reference the atrocities of slavery, but never the less the confederacy is being honored by the state of Virginia. Martin said “Gov. Bob McDonnell’s decision to honor Confederates for their involvement in the Civil War — which was based on the desire to continue slavery — the one consistent thing that supporters of the proclamation offer up as a defense is that these individuals were fighting for what they believed in and defending their homeland. In criticizing me for saying that celebrating the Confederates was akin to honoring Nazi soldiers for killing of Jews during the Holocaust, Rob Wagner said, “I am simply defending the honor and dignity of men who were given no choice other than to fight, some as young as thirteen.” Martin went on to say ”We can’t on the one hand justify the actions of Confederates as being their duty as valiant men of the South, and then condemn the Muslim extremists who want to see Americans die a brutal death. These men are held up as honorable by their brethren, so why do Americans see them as different from our homegrown terrorists? The fundamental problem with extremism is that when you’re on the side that is fanatical, all of your actions make sense to you, and you are fluent in trying to justify every action. Every position of those you oppose is a personal affront that calls for you to do what you think is necessary to protect yourself and your family. Just as radical Muslims have a warped sense of religion, Confederate supporters have a delusional view of what is honorable. The terrorists are willing to kill their own to prove their point, and the Confederates were just as willing in the Civil War to take up arms against their fellow Americans to justify their point. Even if you’re a relative of one of the 9/11 hijackers, that man was an out-and-out terrorist, and nothing you can say will change that. And if your great-great-great-granddaddy was a Confederate who stood up for Southern ideals, he too was a terrorist. They are the same. As a matter of conscience, I will not justify, understand or accept the atrocious view of Muslim terrorists that their actions represent a just war. They are reprehensible, and their actions a sin against humanity. And I will never, under any circumstances, cast Confederates as heroic figures who should be honored and revered. No — they were, and forever will be, domestic terrorists.”* what do you think were they terrorists or were they proud patriots defending their way of life? Tell me what you think.

*CNN

Is Michael Steele Trying Too Hard?

 Sunday Michael Steele was interviewed on Roland Martin’s show. During the course of the interview Steele said that some Republicans are scared of him. Over the past few days his words have come back to haunt him. This morning Joe Scarborough laughed about this comment as he did verbal impressions of the chairman, but does Steele have a point? Steele was elected to the chairmanship at the same time as America got its first black president. Steele has always felt his ascension to the chairmanship was an accomplishment on par with the president’s win. He takes himself seriously and he has attempted to reach out to people that his party has always ignored. This is why it is possible that there are some in the party that might distrust him, but they are not afraid of him. He is probably not regarded as one of the “boys”, but he is attempting to make his mark. Michael Steele is trying hard and while he will never bring me into the fold you have to admire the guy for trying and for that reason he deserves our respect even if we would never give him a vote.

Miss California Took A Stand, and it Probably Cost her the Crown

Sunday night the Miss USA pageant was held. Miss California was asked if she believed gay marriage should be the law of the land? The judge that posed the question was gay blogger Perez Hilton. She responded that she believed that marriage should be between a man and a woman. What is interesting is this is the same opinion that then candidate Barack Obama expressed on the campaign trail. She did not win and she contends her answer to the question cost her the crown. Hilton has since called her “stupid” on his video blog. The fact is Hilton probably gave her a low rating after her response, but that opens up another issue. On this kind of contest should the contestant be penalized for what they think or is this a beauty pageant? If the judges are not analyzing looks why are the contestants parading around in swimsuits? Are they being judged on poise when answering a question or is it content? The beauty of America is that opposing viewpoints are tolerated, but with every action there is a reaction. The beauty contestant had a right to speak her mind and Hilton had a right to vote his conscience.

Why Was Fox News Analyst Juan Williams Bashing the New First Lady on the Tom Joyner Morning Show?

Juan Williams is what one would call a “good Negro”. He says whatever he believes will please his bosses. He recently criticized our new first lady. He called Mrs. Obama “Stokely Carmichael in a dress”. He said this in the friendly confines of Fox news and he probably received a pat on a head and a good boy after the segment, but today he had the audacity to take the show on the road to the Tom Joyner Morning Show.  He proceeded to criticize her and talk about her “victim mentality” and suggest that she must be especially careful since she is the first African-American first lady. Well Mr. Williams got off at the wrong stop this morning because Sybil Wilkes stepped up her game today and challenged him on the danger of his hate speak. He contends he just wants the new first lady to be careful, but this is a classic case of crabs in the barrow. You never have to put a top on crabs in a barrow because the other crabs will always try to drag them back to the bottom. Clarence Thomas tried it when he tried to get the Supreme Court to look at a challenge to President Obama’s citizenship prior to the inauguration. The court decided not to hear the case, but ole Clarence gave it his best “good Negro” try. Both Juan Williams and Justice Thomas are those crabs that will always be tugging on the ankles of the Obamas, but they do not have the juice to pull them down to their level..