Thank you Michael! And may I say "Amen" to the citizens who took their county back. I would not like to take up arms against fellow Americans. I love the idea of the all GI ballot though. Maybe something in the future to think about as we start our recommendations for the 2010 elections?





Battle of Athens, Tennessee, 1946! GI's take up arms against corruption!

* Posted by Michael LeKites on April 23, 2009 at 9:11pm in United States Military
* Back to United States Military Discussions

Wondering how many here have heard of this story. I am sure it was not taught in schools.
GI's coming home from WWII took up arms against a corrupt political machine in Athens Tennessee. Here are some excerpts from the story and I am providing two links. American Heritage and Guns and Ammo.
Excerpts: "On August 1-2, 1946, some Americans, brutalized by their county government, used armed force as a last resort to overturn it. These Americans wanted honest open elections. For years they had asked for state or federal election monitors to prevent vote fraud (forged ballots, secret ballot counts, and intimidation by armed sheriff's deputies) by the local political boss. They got no help."
" These Americans' absolute refusal to knuckle under had been hardened by service in World War II. Having fought to free other countries from murderous regimes, they rejected vicious abuse by their county government."
At the end of 1945, some 3,000 battle-hardened veterans returned to McMinn County; the GIs held Cantrell politically responsible for Mansfield's doings. Early in 1946, some newly returned ex-GIs decided to challenge Cantrell politically by offering an all-ex-GI, non-partisan ticket. They promised a fraud-free election, stating in ads and speeches that there would be an honest ballot count and reform of county government."
" At a rally, a GI speaker said, "The principles that we fought for in this past war do not exist in McMinn County. We fought for democracy because we believe in democracy, but not the form we live under in this county" (Daily Post-Athenian, 17 June 1946, p.1 ). At the end of July 1946, 159 McMinn County GIs petitioned the FBI to send election monitors. There was no response. The Department of Justice had not responded to McMinn County residents' complaints of election fraud in 1940, 1942 and 1944."
Otto Kennedy, not an ex-GI himself but a political adviser to the veterans, entered the office and announced that Cantrell had posted armed guards at each precinct. They all knew that this move was in preparation for the 4:00 P.M. poll closings when the ballot boxes would be moved to the jail for counting. A small group of the veterans demanded an armed mobilization and called for a leader. Buttram declined. So did Kennedy, but he offered the rear of his Essankay Garage and Tire Shop across the street as a meeting hall."

"The group crossed the street, held a meeting, and agreed that those who did not have weapons should get them and return as quickly as possible."

Paul L.,

July 4th is suppose to be the date of the million man march. Additional tea Parties and marches will ring out across this land. Freedom will still ring in the hearts of true Americans across this land no matter what the current administration does.

Some bad analogy coming, but the heart of America is not in an individual's head, but in their heart, their soul, even in the blood which courses through the veins. I have said for years that my blood is red, white and blue. If you think about it, it is literal. Blue veins and red and white cells, but the analogy runs far deeper than a few quarts of blood.

The very fiber of our "being Americans" cannot be separated from our bodies. It is the Spirit of Americans that escapes the solid substance of body and permeates the very air we breathe. It cannot be contained, nor should it be. For that reason alone, America will survive.

A government administration cannot wipe out all that is good within the heart and soul of America. Even if a bare thread were to survive, which it will, then the fight continues and the thread will gather those together to once again make a strong cord.

Do not give up or give in. We are they who will keep America breathing.

I have contributed to this new book compiled by Anne Bradshaw. Enjoy the beautiful music and the sneak peek into "Famous Family Home Evenings" to be released September 2009.

In a day and age where families are torn apart and we wonder if we were ever sane enough to make the rational decision to have children, Anne Bradshaw releases her new compilation of family togetherness: success/disasters.

Stories that will touch your heart and make your soul laugh encompasses every page. Some how the message of "surviving" time with your family makes every day and every moment worth while. Families can be forever.

I have been challenged to know what a Constitutionalist means. The following is what I found. I can't find one point I disagree with. I am not sure what was expected of me in this challenge. It sounded negative in it's challenge, but I could not disagree with any of these principles.

I was also asked to check into Federalism, which follows the seven principles of the Constitution Party. I couldn't find fault there wither. My research however has just begun, so I am open to all comments.


Seven Principles of the Constitution Party are:

1. Life: For all human beings, from conception to natural death;
2. Liberty: Freedom of conscience and actions for the self-governed individual;
3. Family: One husband and one wife with their children as divinely instituted;
4. Property: Each individual's right to own and steward personal property without government burden;
5. Constitution: and Bill of Rights interpreted according to the actual intent of the Founding Fathers;
6. States' Rights: Everything not specifically delegated by the Constitution to the federal government, nor prohibited by the Constitution to the states, is reserved to the states or to the people;
7. American Sovereignty: American government committed to the protection of the borders, trade, and common defense of Americans, and not entangled in foreign alliances. (http://www.constitutionparty.com/)

Federalist
The party supports the repeal of the Sixteenth Amendment, which allows Congress to tax income, and the Seventeenth Amendment, which requires the direct (popular) election of Senators.[39] The party holds that each state's membership in the Union is voluntary,[40] this stance is known as the Compact theory.

"You cannot legislate the poor into freedom by legislating the wealthy out of freedom. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that my dear friend, is about the end of any nation. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it."

~~~~~ Dr. Adrian Rogers, 1931~~~~~

This is a comment I found on the 912 Military site. It was written by "Andrew" who gives an excellent opinion on Socialism. It is to the point and intelligent. I encourage all of you to read this detailed comment.

Socialism

Some would tell you that socialism is promoted in the Bible; I would argue that it is not. There is a vast difference between Socialism and charity. Those that can giving to those that need is far different than a group of self appointed academics taking from those that have worked hard for what they have and then giving it to those that choose to do nothing and look for handouts.

As a freshman in college I thought communism was a fairly decent idea, but the more I studied it the more realized how much it demoralized a society. Most idealists and academics who truly believe that socialism and communism are good forms of government look at history and think to themselves they would do a better job of running a socialist government than the Chinese or Soviets did. The academics who espouse these virtues have never really worked in the real world. They sit in their universities making $200,000 a year telling Americas youth about the evils of Capitalism. What bothers this writer is how someone living in a free capitalist society, will espouse the virtues of socialist societies that they have never really experienced first hand. In all honesty these academics may have been to socialist nations, but only for short visits, and then they never really saw how the subjects lived. Anyone visiting a country like China, North Korea or Cuba is given a tour of the best parts of that society; they never get to see it from the perspective of an average Chinese, North Korean or Cuban.

Discounting the unlimited power a government has over the people in a socialist society, and focusing on the economic problems all socialist and communist nation’s experience, it should be obvious to anyone how adverse this type of government is for the well being of a nation. In the name of making things “fair” for everyone, socialists are reducing the quality of life for their subjects. This writer is not rich, but I know that it is the rich owners of companies who have taken major risks (and deserve their rewards) that have produced most of America’s wealth. Those same owners have employed millions of Americans, giving those citizens good lifestyles and opportunities to succeed. Socialist countries suck the marrow out of these owners and their companies.

In the eighties China looked at the western world and realized they were far behind financially. They saw how much more successful Hong Kong and Taiwan was as capitalist countries. The Chinese loosened restrictions on private enterprise in the larger cities and their wealth has increased exponentially. This writer visited China and was surprised of the growth and freedoms in the larger cities. China is using capitalism to expand its wealth while the government remains communist. At some point the government will have to change or the government will have to pull in the reigns.









The United States headlong charge into socialism is being lead by those academics that have never experienced life under a socialist regime, and it is being cheered on by lazy and disgruntled Americans who are trying to get their piece of the pie handed to them without actually putting in any effort. As the nation becomes more controlled by socialists and “fairness” becomes the norm, we will see our quality of life drastically reduce. Ownership in business will not be a status symbol but rather a stigma. Intelligent, capable pragmatic people will not take on the risks of starting a business, but rather find a way to work up the latter in a government agency. The middle class will slowly disappear and we will become a nation of haves and have-nots. The haves will be the chosen whom the “leaders” post into positions according to their political beliefs and their connections, not to their abilities. We have already witnessed the failures of some of the appointees of the present administration. Things are defiantly going to get worse before they get better for the U.S.

People who believe in self reliance, capitalism and freedom (those on the right) have fallen asleep at the wheel. We were all so comfortable with the status quo that we did not see this coming. We let teachers and professors tell our kids how bad America was and how we were arrogant capitalists. That we walked on the backs of the rest of the world. While in reality the U.S. was giving more overall aid than the EU and other industrialized nations combined. Americans in general are more charitable than citizens of other nations. What we receive in return is not thanks but derision. Poorer nations that we give aid to do not thank us, they complain about the restrictions we place on that aid. Nations like France and Spain snub us, China just waiting for the best time to hit us with a Treasury bill sell off that will destroy our economy. All the while, we are throwing aside the virtues and economic systems that made our country strong. Lenin said “
Give me four years to teach the children, and the seed I have sown will never be uprooted” Well, once we watched the Soviet Union crumble under its own weight we let our guard down and American socialists started their climb in academia and government. Lenin’s “seed” grew and now has very deep roots in the U.S. and around the world. Pearl Buck, an American writer once said “Destroy the seed of evil, or it will grow up to your ruin.” This is precisely what is happening in America today. We did not fully discredit socialism and communism, so as it now rears its ugly head in America, we are at a loss for what to do. Those of us on the right knew back in the early 1990’s that the unjust system would never succeed, but those on the left thought that if they had the chance they could make it work. The question’s now are, how do we stop this, and how do we make sure it never happens again?