Guard Dog

Last Weeks Results: Enoch: 13-3 Kelverin: 12-4 Volo: 11-5 GD: 10-6 Season Standings: GD: 105-54 Volo: 105-54 Kelverin: 105-54 Enoch: 100-59 Enoch wins the week, three way tie for the top spot.

Nooo Gorth don't! It's too late for the rest of us... we've already heard of it. Save yourself! Just walk away Gorth.... just walk away...

You and Shryke are giving me way too much credit, I was only barely aware of what that movie was even about. I was just watching HER. I didn't notice if she could even act at all. Heck I didn't even watch the last one because she wasn't in it. I could say the same about Van Helsing but it was a little hard to ignore how bad that movie was.

Hmmm. In hindsight this really wasn't such a good move was it?

Sorry but no. I only watch vampire movies that have Kate Beckinsale in skin tight leather in them.

In those days all Army Marine and Naval officers were academy graduates. The Union and Confederate officeres we ALL in the US Army prior to the split. In his memoir From Manassas to Appomattox James Longstreet recounts a farewell party in California with a Civil War all-star guest list. Pickett, Hood, Hooker, Reynolds, Stuart, Doubleday, AP Hill, etc. They were all fellow US Army officers who had know each other since they were beardless boys at West Point, VMI, etc. They had fought Mexico and the Indians together and now they were going back east to fight each other. Longstreet often wrote that "The boys in blue never quite seemed like the enemy". Another true story, following the massive CSA victory at Fredricksburg General Thomas Jackson was assesing the battlefield. He happened on one of his own soldiers digging a grave to bury a fallen Union soldier. Jackson asked the man why he was taking such pains to bury an enemy. The man replied "He is my brother". I think the thing about the Civil War I have always found so compelling is the personal stories like that. More Americans were killed in those four long years than in all of our other wars combined. I've always wanted to visit Gettysburg, Harpers Ferry, and other places like that. I have visited a few right here in Tennsessee I was was strangely moved by the experience. I think next summer I might go. The Sioux have a saying, "The land remembers". I really believed that after visiting Shiloh last year.

Attention all: At the risk of blowing my week I am changing my pick on the Saints - Bucs game . A little bird told me that with Bush and Ellis out, Drew Brees suffering a personal tragedy, and Tampa finally playing good football, the Bucs are ready to pull off the upset of the season! Buccaneers for the win!

@Wals: Most of the command level officers (regimental commander and higher) were West Point, VMI, and Citidel grads. I would not call them amatuers by any means. At least in the beginning. As the war continued there were a lot of promotions from the ranks especially on the Confederate side since many of the higher ranking officers had been killed or incapacitated. After Lee surrendered the remaining CSA units were commanded by non-military types like local poiticians who were comissioned out of necessity rather than ability. Thats why after 1864 the CSA's battlefield performance really fell off and victories were few and far between. In the first two years, the CSA was winning handily despite being outnumbered and out supplied and that really was because they had really good leadership. But you are completly correct in pointing out that Great Britian did far more to end slavery than the fall of the CSA did. The CSA was just one of the last powers to use it. British interdiction and destruction of the slaver strong holds in Sierra Leone brought the trans-atlantic slave trade to a near halt. For that the whole world is grateful. It was Slavery that prevented the British Crown from recognizing the legitimacy of the CSA despite the fact that they were supplying arms, ships and advisers. It was just good business because GB did a lot of trade with the South. If the CSA had won, British insistence would have done what Lincolns Emancipation Proclimation had not. That is just my opinion but I think it is sound base on what I've read. To quote the memoirs Confederate General James Longstreet "We should have freed the slaves first, then fired on Fort Sumter." @Gorgon, rifles were rare in the US during those years. The .40 Cal muzzleloaded musket was the standard infantry weapon and they are as you know very inaccurate. Formation fighting to maximize firepower effectiveness was still sound strategy. Bayonet charges were also common to break a stong defensive line and that kind of hand to hand stuff is only effective when done en mass. It was the rifle than made formation fighting obsolete. Plus as I mentioned above most of the senior commanders were USMA, VMI, etc grads and those institutions taught Napolionic strategy.

No the symbolisim would not have mattered that much and Lincoln would not have been captured. Control of DC mant control all of the Potomac river crossings keeping the Union Army trapped in Virginia between two advancing Confederate armies would have though. Destroying the Union Army all together at Gettsyburg would have won the war all together as well. Those were the real objectives. The Union Army at Gettysburg was the only real fighting force the North had at the time. There was a second Corps forming in New York and a third in Boston but they were not battle ready and beyond that there were only state militias which stood no chance against Lee. As you correctly pointed out the North had a far superior industrial base, larger population, and long term the South could not match it. Their best hope of victory was in convincing the North the war was not worth fighting. After the intital major Confederate victories at Chancellorsville and Fredricksburg the sentiment in the North was turning away from holding on to the south and more towards letting it go. A major victory on Northen soil might have sealed the deal.

The US Civil was has been one of my favorite subjects for study and I am always amazed how close the Union came to losing the war. It really came down to the actions of one man that I'd bet none of you has ever heard of. John Buford. Following the Confederate victories at Chancellorsville, Upperville, and Brandy Station, Lee led his 70,000 strong Army of North Virginia in an invasion of the North. He cut north and west following the Battle of Brandy Station to the west side of the Blue Ridge Mountains then north into Pennsylvania with the Union Army commanded by Hooker on the east side unaware until several days had passed. Lee's plan was attack Washington DC from the north and if succesful the Confederate President Jefforson Davis had a letter offering peace ready to be hand delivered to President Lincoln. Hookers army pursues Lee on the east side of the Blue Ridge but they are too far behind. General John Buford was commanding the 1st Cavalry Regiment of the Union Army and was ordered to move ahead of the main army to scout the Confederates disposition. He arrived in Gettysburg Pennsylvania just hours before the lead elemements of Lee's army. Buford knew the two armies would meet there and realized the strategic importance of the hills surrounding the town. He also realized the the lead elements of the Confederate army will arrive first and capture those hills and have a strong defensive position once the Union troops arrived. He ordered his Cavalry to dismount and form a defensive position blocking the access to the high ground surrounding the town. The following day his 1,100 men were attacked by a 7000 strong 1st Brigade of the III Confederate Army Corps led by General Harry Heth. Despite being heavily outnumbered and out gunned, under constant artillery barrage with no Union artillery support, Bufords men held back the Confederates long enough for the 2nd Division of the Union Army to arrive and capture the hills. That engagement would set the stage for the Battle of Gettysburg and the rest is history. But had the positions of the armies been reversed and the Union was obliged to attack the Confederates on those hills the battle outcome, and the war outcome would have been different. John Buford lost 90% of his men that day and was gravely wounded himself. He would die by the end of that year, and the significance of his actions would be lost in history. But he saved the United States and changed the course of history.

I think this answer nails it down nicely. Had the Confederacy won, the world might be a very different place today. Slavery as an institution was doomed no matter the outcome of the war. Most of Europe had abandoned the practice in their colonies and the Confederacy woul d have been so reliant on Britan early on that economic pressure from that quarter alone would have been sufficient to force them to abandon it. Had they won the emnity with the USA would have been fixed forever, I seriously doubt any kind of reunification would have ever happenend. One thing the Civil War did do for us Calax is it gave the people something they never had before that, a national identity. Prior the the break up most people identified their nationality by their state. There was no real "American" national identity. After the war most people identified themselves as Americans rather than Virginians or New Yorkers. That continues to this day.

Not exactly, those were averages. Some classes also cost more per hour when you factor in lab and equipment fees (even though you pay those seperate). FSU and UF are pretty different schools. Even though their programs are similar. UF is better know for biological sciences (its vetrinary progam is one of the best in the world), political sciences and arts. FSU is mainly known for Engineering and other hard sciences. UF is a bit more expensive but they are pretty close.

No and no. Really, the trend for the last 25 years or so has been in the other direction. The Rehnquist Court in the late 80s to early 90s had a number of cases renewing federalism jurisprudence. (e.g., the "Violence Against Women Act" didn't have a sufficient grounding in interstate commerce and thus was beyond Congress' power.) Most of the justices who were in the majority back then are either still on the Court or have been replaced by Bush appointees who are unlikely to disagree with their outcomes. I don't think that these holdings are in jeopardy of being overturned anytime soon. On the legislative side, there have been a number of increases in federal spending (Medicare prescription benefit, bailout, stimulus, etc.), but not so much in regulation. It's likely to bounce back soon in areas of finance and insurance, but there are enough parochial interests in the Senate that state-level options and control will likely still be a feature of whatever ends up passing. Mostly, I think this kind of fear is a case of politicians using scare tactics to motivate their political base. ("Come out and vote for me, or the bureaucrats from Washington will be goose-stepping down Main Street!") And people tend to be eager to believe what they fear, and eager to attribute nefarious motives to people they disagree with politically. Oh I will admit there is plenty of hyperbole thrown around in election years but I am not given to paying that much attention (especially having done some of that once myself). And I will also agree that the decisions of the Rehnquist court, and the Roberts court so far with a few notable exceptions have been reliably in favor of the federalist philosophy. But looking at the actions of Congress and the Executive beginning with Johnson and going forward to today (the the Reagan years providing some much needed respite) I can cite at least fifteen examples of flagrant and extra contitutional power grabs by the federal government. This kind of thing worries be because they have gotten away with doing it, therefore are allowed to do it because they can. Since Obama took office the behind the scenes scrambling and positioning has hit fever pitch. They have not enacted any legislation yet but it is coming. There are a dozen or so things about the health care bills the scare me to death. This might sound nuts but I assure I am not the only one who believes it, our government left unchecked will succumb to it's basest nature and try to seize control of everything and everyone. Not all at once, little by little until any kind of real freedom is a dim memory. And they might not think it's nefarious, they will actually tell themselves and everyone else all the while they are doing it for our own good. But that will not change the ugly outcome. Fortunately I will not live to see it. One way or another.

Oddly enough, I was just discussing that with my co-workers today. Someone mentioned that UC's are still less expensive than most schools on the East Coast, I wonder how accurate that is. I graduated from Florida Atlantic (a very small state U in Boca Raton) in '99 and then it was $84 per credit for in state. Now it's around $130. UF and FSU are around $175. I just looked up UC and at UC Irvine it's cheapest at $205 and Cal and UCLA are the highest with $295 average. That is pretty steep for in state.

Finished is last night, can't say I'd reccomend it to anyone. There was some interesting insight into the behind the scenes stuff during the election. But as far as any kind of political or philisophical discussion, there wasn't much.

MIA @ CAR Panthers PIT @ KC Steelers NO @ TB Saints ATL @ NYG Giants BUF @ JAC Jags IND @ BAL Ravens SEA @ MIN Vikings CLE @ DET Lions WAS @ DAL Cowboys SF @ GB Packers ARI @ STL Cardinals NYJ @ NE Patriots CIN @ OAK Bengals SD @ DEN Bolts PHI @ CHI Eagles TEN @ HOU Texans

Here is another nugget of news from the Peoples Socialist Republic of California (/sarcasm) Since the State is unable to meet it's obligations to the state university system the in state tuition will be increasing by 32% next year. All of the sudden Stanford doesn't seem all that expensive! But take heart Califonrnia students... State employees will still get their sex change and plastic surgery paid for, the medical programs for illegal immigrants is still funded, and the state assembly will still get their raise next year! http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D9...;show_article=1

Enoch, I have a lot of respect for you but the premise behind that statement is not only wrong, but beneath you. Would you agree we are fast approaching a breaking point when the Federal Government assumes so much power that American federalisim ceases to exist? Do you forsee a time when state and local government will see all of their authority usurped by Washington? I believe we are fast approaching that stage. It is not for nothing that State reps in Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana are throwing around the "S" word again. I said it before and I'll say it again, a permanent schsim between the states is invitable and necassary, but not a good thing. I seriously doubt it is imminent but I honestly believe we are seeing the groundwork laid right now in the news everyday.

Last Weeks Results: GD: 10-4 Kelverin: 9-5 Enoch: 8-6 Volo: 8-6 Season Standings GD: 95-48 Volo: 94-49 Kelverin: 93-50 Enoch: 87-56 We have a new leader! The mighty Volo has fallen! One bad week will just kill you.

The enviroment MUST come first. There is nothing wrong with that aspect. Business won't regulate themselves and will clear cut forests and dump in waterways if they could get away with it. All th the sake of making a $. If your company can't run without wrecking the enviroment maybe you deserve to go out of business. Thats fine. If a particular state decides to deindustrialize and return to feudal/agrarian economics it should not complain where there is insufficient tax revenue to fund its government. Thats why I said it is a self inflicted wound Here is a bit of news, Californias budget short fall is now at $21,000,000,000,000. Thats just the deficet! Just the difference between spending obligations and available capital. That is more the the GDP of eleven European countries! http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews...177233220091118 Here is another bit of funny enviormental politics in California, they want to ban big screen TVs. http://apnews.myway.com/article/20091118/D9C1S1080.html Once again, if the folks in Sacremento want to ban big screen TVs, that is their business. But don't be suprised when someone says "To hell with this, I'm moving to Nevada" and they take their income and tax dollars with them.

I usually read 10-12 books a month. All different genres fiction and non. A book like that you read it because everyone is talking about it. Most of the time they are fomulaic and drier than a popcorn fart. But sometimes one will come out that gives you a little insight into how someone thinks and why they believe the things they do. They might even get you to reexamine your own conclusions on an issue. I'm on page 110 of Going Rogue and so far it is looking very much like the former and nothing like the latter. I read both of Obamas books last year before the election. They were self-aggrandizing to the point you wanted to puke and only reinforced my dislike for the man. I respect him for how far he's come in life but his ideology is so repllent to me I could never vote for him. He either drew all of the wrong conclusions from his life lessons or willfully ignored them to practice his own particular ideology. But, I did read his books though because I did want to learn more about him.

A long time in coming it seems.

I stopped at Books A Million on the way home today and bought Going Rogue by Sarah Palin and Zeitoun by Dave Eggers. The latter is about a man trying to save his home and neighbors in New Orleans following Katrina. The former you all know what it is about. I'm starting that one right after V tonight.

The newset NWN1 stuff is looking great. Most of the new tilesets are 100x better than the ones that shipped with the game.

I really do believe that an eventual and possibly permanent schisim between the states is not only possible but necessary and inevitable. But I don't think it is going to happen relatively soon. Maybe not in my lifetime, but certainly not in the next few years which is all this (or any) economic downturn will last. Why do you think the break up of the US is a good thing? How will it improve your life?