Post by Robert Braun on Jun 2, 2004 16:49:10 GMT -5
What if Today's Media Were Around After the Battle of Long Island?
by Phil Brennan
Wednesday, June 2, 2004
A New York Times editorial, August 30, 1776, would surely have told us:
The shameful defeat of the rag-tag so-called "army" of General Washington provides anew proof that this foolish rebellion against our mother country is a hopelessly lost cause, as well it should be. The slaveholding Virginian proved to be utterly incapable of leading a military force. Dug in on the heights of central Brooklyn, Washington failed to make adequate plans to oppose an overwhelming force of British and German units, leaving his northern flank exposed - a fact of which his foes took immediate advantage, sending the colonials into a disorganized rout. British casualties were around 400 while the inadequately equipped and untrained colonials lost around 2,000 as well as several of their guns.
Yesterday, the farce continued when, instead of surrendering as the rules of civilized warfare demanded, Washington staged a shameful and cowardly withdrawal across the river to New York under cover of darkness like a thief in the night, where the sudden presence of this ragged band of unshod, ill-clothed malodorous malcontents shocked the city's better classes.
This whole episode once again demonstrates the futility of the ill-advised preemptive revolt against our British cousins, here only to restore order and rightful obedience to his gracious Majesty, King George III, who seeks only to re-unite the colonies with their mother country. The fact remains that the struggle is already lost even if the foolish and illegally constituted Continental Congress and their incompetent general refuse to admit it. This revolt against the legitimate authority of the Crown must be brought to a speedy end. Enough is enough.
The Boston Globe on The War of 1812 - August 26, 1814:
Two days ago, our former British countrymen burned Washington, including the Executive Mansion, hurriedly vacated by James Madison and his publicity-seeking wife Dolly. Once again we have proof that the late rebellion was an unwise adventure that has left a bitter taste in the mouths of the English, which is rightly driving them to seek vengeance for their humiliating defeat brought about not by the colonial army but by French intervention.
What are we to make of this disaster, other than that we must finally admit the foolishness of our separation from our mother country and our embracing of the popish French. Mighty England will never forgive this upstart nation, and we can be sure that they will never give up until their colonies here are once again in possession of the crown from whom it was illegally wrested. We should acknowledge our mistake and beseech the Crown to readmit us to the family of the British Commonwealth where we rightly belong.
The New York Times on The Battle of Fredericksburg - December 14, 1863:
Our correspondents have reported on yet another catastrophe in Mr. Lincoln's war against our southern neighbors, brought about by the incompetent general officers given command over American boys by a president with little or no experience in warfare as well as a shocking inability to account for his whereabouts during part of the time when he served in the Black Hawk War.
Despite the fact that the Army of the Potomac faced a well-entrenched army at Fredericksburg, commanded by superb officers, the demonstrably inept General Burnside, better known for his hirsute adornments than for his ability to command troops, sent his men against a superbly entrenched Army of Northern Virginia time and time again, leaving the field in front of Maryes Heights littered with the bodies of thousands of brave young Union army soldiers.
Without gaining international approval from the crowned heads of Europe, and unmindful of their economic need to have an uninterrupted flow of Southern cotton, Lincoln unilaterally recruited an army and sent it south, where instead of greeting Union army soldiers as liberators the Southerners mounted an insurgent guerilla war conducted against our men, by men such as the rebel terrorist John Singleton Mosby, killing hundreds of American soldiers in areas declared pacified by the administration.
And even though Mosby continues to threaten Union forces, striking them time after time from his base in a small area of Virginia where he should be easy to locate, the Union intelligence services under Allen Pinkerton, a Scottish immigrant and a professional private detective better suited for capturing train robbers than for running a wartime spy agency, has failed to capture him or even learn of his plans.
Add to all of these disasters the rumors of mistreatment of captive rebels brings added shame to this unnecessary and ill-advised war against our southern brothers.
In the face of all these problems it comes as no surprise that no less an heroic and highly decorated figure, General George Brinton McClellan, has signaled his disgust with the progress of the war brought on partly by his shameful removal from command of an army he created, and announced his plans to run for the presidency and to end this foolish struggle.
It is clear that the Confederates want no part of a nation dominated by anti-slavery fanatics and hordes of ignorant Irish and other recent immigrants. We should end this war and let them go their own way. And when we have, the American people should vote for General McClellan and send the failed Lincoln home to Illinois.
The New York Times on World War II - December 30, 1941:
As the nation continues to reel in the wake of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor it is becoming clear that the Roosevelt administration was utterly unprepared for a tragedy that left most of the Pacific fleet on the bottom of Pearl Harbor.
At the very least, this was a massive failure of our intelligence agencies, and at worst, an indictment of an administration asleep at the switch. It is time for President Roosevelt to appoint a commission to investigate the reasons for his failure to anticipate the attack and get to the bottom of the whole affair. Nothing less will satisfy the grieving relatives of those who died at Pearl Harbor on December 7.
Clearly the blame lies at the door of the Oval Office as well at the feet of Army Secretary Stinson and Navy Secretary Frank Knox, a crony of the president, and Vice President John Nance Garner, rumored to be the real brains behind a disabled and martini-drinking, meretricious chief executive. They should be forced to appear before an investigating commission to account under oath for their laxity in the face of an aggressive Pacific power, which is obviously bent on dominating the Pacific and determined to force the United States back to the shores of the West Coast.
To those who say that such a commission would distract the administration from the war effort, it must be explained that nothing must stand in the way of the media's right to know and report the facts.
There is no need to create imaginary editorials for the Korean, Vietnam and Iraq wars - the real ones are no different from the above fakes. They are all designed to help the enemy and dishearten and discourage the American people. And in the case of Vietnam the editorials prevailed over our troops. They did the job for the enemy, who graciously credit them, and their hero Mr. Kerry, for America's defeat and their victory.
Now they are at it again. If we allow them to influence us and cause us to retreat in the face of an enemy bent on our destruction, we'll deserve what we get.
================
Copyright: 2004 Newsmax.com
by Phil Brennan
Wednesday, June 2, 2004
A New York Times editorial, August 30, 1776, would surely have told us:
The shameful defeat of the rag-tag so-called "army" of General Washington provides anew proof that this foolish rebellion against our mother country is a hopelessly lost cause, as well it should be. The slaveholding Virginian proved to be utterly incapable of leading a military force. Dug in on the heights of central Brooklyn, Washington failed to make adequate plans to oppose an overwhelming force of British and German units, leaving his northern flank exposed - a fact of which his foes took immediate advantage, sending the colonials into a disorganized rout. British casualties were around 400 while the inadequately equipped and untrained colonials lost around 2,000 as well as several of their guns.
Yesterday, the farce continued when, instead of surrendering as the rules of civilized warfare demanded, Washington staged a shameful and cowardly withdrawal across the river to New York under cover of darkness like a thief in the night, where the sudden presence of this ragged band of unshod, ill-clothed malodorous malcontents shocked the city's better classes.
This whole episode once again demonstrates the futility of the ill-advised preemptive revolt against our British cousins, here only to restore order and rightful obedience to his gracious Majesty, King George III, who seeks only to re-unite the colonies with their mother country. The fact remains that the struggle is already lost even if the foolish and illegally constituted Continental Congress and their incompetent general refuse to admit it. This revolt against the legitimate authority of the Crown must be brought to a speedy end. Enough is enough.
The Boston Globe on The War of 1812 - August 26, 1814:
Two days ago, our former British countrymen burned Washington, including the Executive Mansion, hurriedly vacated by James Madison and his publicity-seeking wife Dolly. Once again we have proof that the late rebellion was an unwise adventure that has left a bitter taste in the mouths of the English, which is rightly driving them to seek vengeance for their humiliating defeat brought about not by the colonial army but by French intervention.
What are we to make of this disaster, other than that we must finally admit the foolishness of our separation from our mother country and our embracing of the popish French. Mighty England will never forgive this upstart nation, and we can be sure that they will never give up until their colonies here are once again in possession of the crown from whom it was illegally wrested. We should acknowledge our mistake and beseech the Crown to readmit us to the family of the British Commonwealth where we rightly belong.
The New York Times on The Battle of Fredericksburg - December 14, 1863:
Our correspondents have reported on yet another catastrophe in Mr. Lincoln's war against our southern neighbors, brought about by the incompetent general officers given command over American boys by a president with little or no experience in warfare as well as a shocking inability to account for his whereabouts during part of the time when he served in the Black Hawk War.
Despite the fact that the Army of the Potomac faced a well-entrenched army at Fredericksburg, commanded by superb officers, the demonstrably inept General Burnside, better known for his hirsute adornments than for his ability to command troops, sent his men against a superbly entrenched Army of Northern Virginia time and time again, leaving the field in front of Maryes Heights littered with the bodies of thousands of brave young Union army soldiers.
Without gaining international approval from the crowned heads of Europe, and unmindful of their economic need to have an uninterrupted flow of Southern cotton, Lincoln unilaterally recruited an army and sent it south, where instead of greeting Union army soldiers as liberators the Southerners mounted an insurgent guerilla war conducted against our men, by men such as the rebel terrorist John Singleton Mosby, killing hundreds of American soldiers in areas declared pacified by the administration.
And even though Mosby continues to threaten Union forces, striking them time after time from his base in a small area of Virginia where he should be easy to locate, the Union intelligence services under Allen Pinkerton, a Scottish immigrant and a professional private detective better suited for capturing train robbers than for running a wartime spy agency, has failed to capture him or even learn of his plans.
Add to all of these disasters the rumors of mistreatment of captive rebels brings added shame to this unnecessary and ill-advised war against our southern brothers.
In the face of all these problems it comes as no surprise that no less an heroic and highly decorated figure, General George Brinton McClellan, has signaled his disgust with the progress of the war brought on partly by his shameful removal from command of an army he created, and announced his plans to run for the presidency and to end this foolish struggle.
It is clear that the Confederates want no part of a nation dominated by anti-slavery fanatics and hordes of ignorant Irish and other recent immigrants. We should end this war and let them go their own way. And when we have, the American people should vote for General McClellan and send the failed Lincoln home to Illinois.
The New York Times on World War II - December 30, 1941:
As the nation continues to reel in the wake of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor it is becoming clear that the Roosevelt administration was utterly unprepared for a tragedy that left most of the Pacific fleet on the bottom of Pearl Harbor.
At the very least, this was a massive failure of our intelligence agencies, and at worst, an indictment of an administration asleep at the switch. It is time for President Roosevelt to appoint a commission to investigate the reasons for his failure to anticipate the attack and get to the bottom of the whole affair. Nothing less will satisfy the grieving relatives of those who died at Pearl Harbor on December 7.
Clearly the blame lies at the door of the Oval Office as well at the feet of Army Secretary Stinson and Navy Secretary Frank Knox, a crony of the president, and Vice President John Nance Garner, rumored to be the real brains behind a disabled and martini-drinking, meretricious chief executive. They should be forced to appear before an investigating commission to account under oath for their laxity in the face of an aggressive Pacific power, which is obviously bent on dominating the Pacific and determined to force the United States back to the shores of the West Coast.
To those who say that such a commission would distract the administration from the war effort, it must be explained that nothing must stand in the way of the media's right to know and report the facts.
There is no need to create imaginary editorials for the Korean, Vietnam and Iraq wars - the real ones are no different from the above fakes. They are all designed to help the enemy and dishearten and discourage the American people. And in the case of Vietnam the editorials prevailed over our troops. They did the job for the enemy, who graciously credit them, and their hero Mr. Kerry, for America's defeat and their victory.
Now they are at it again. If we allow them to influence us and cause us to retreat in the face of an enemy bent on our destruction, we'll deserve what we get.
================
Copyright: 2004 Newsmax.com
