Gettysburg 150 Years ago Today Continued

Today, June 25,1863, General Fighting Joe Hooker of the Union Army of the Potomac has now started to make a significant pursuit of the Confederates with the bulk of his army upon learning that the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia has crossed the Potomac River. He  has ordered the Army of the Potomac to cross into Maryland and concentrate at Middletown (Slocum's XII Corps) and Frederick (the rest of the army, led by Reynolds's advance wing—the I, III, and XI Corps)

Meanwhile  there are reports that:

 Advanced Confederate troops in  E. Rodes' Division (under Ewell) occupied Chambersburg in Pennsylvania and are marching eastward toward York, Pennsylvania.

Thus, long lines of troop both blue and gray are marching through Maryland in an almost parallel course in anticipation of a large battle somewhere in Pennsylvania or possible Maryland. Confederate forces under Lee invading Pennsylvania number approximately 75,000 and the Union forces in pursuit number approximately 100,000.

http://www.militaryhistoryonline.com/gettysburg/leemarch.aspx

Gettysburg 150 Years ago Today Continued

(General James Longstreet C.S.A.) 

News reports from imbedded correspondence say Confederate units including  Generals A.P. Hill"s Corp and General James Longstreet's Corp. are now crossing  the Potomac River into Western  Maryland. Now that "Stonewall" Jackson is dead Longstreet is considered General Lee's principal subordinate who Lee calls his "Old War Horse" and it will later be said: "was the finest corps commander in the Army of Northern Virginia; in fact, he was arguably the best corps commander in the conflict on either side."

 

General Lee has given his cavalry under General Jeb Stewart permission to leave the main body of the Army of Northern Virginia and is circling the Union Army of the Potomac to the East of Washington D.C.

 

Meanwhile President Lincoln has vetoed Union General "Fighting" Joe Hooker's plan to march on Richmond now that the "road is open" and ungraded. Lincoln sternly reminded him that Lee's army was the true objective. His orders were to pursue and defeat Lee but to stay between Lee and Washington. General Hooker is already moving his army North out of northern Virginia  in pursuit.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Longstreet
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gettysburg_Campaign

Gettysburg 150 Years ago Today Continued

There are reports in Washington  that President Lincoln has lost faith  in General "Fighting" Joe Hooker's leadership of the Union Army of the Potomac after being caught by surprise and defeated at Chancellorsville in Virginia a little more than 7 weeks ago by Confederate General Robert E Lee. However, Lee in that battle lost his best General when "Stonewall" Jackson was killed in a friendly fire incident. Lee is reported to have said after hearing of the loss of Jackson: "I have lost my right arm."

Meanwhile , General Hooker has sent cavalry to western  and  central Maryland to scout out movements of Lee's Army of Northern Virginia to see if he has moved in force across the Potomac River into western Maryland near Hagerstown.  What with Confederate forces clearing the Shenandoah Valley in northwest Virginia of Northern troops he is concerned Lee may be "invading" the North again as he did late last summer at Antietam also in western Maryland.

There are also reports that Lee has weakened his forced between Hooker and the Confederate Capitol of Richmond.  Sources in Hooker's command are theorizing this may be a good time to strike toward Richmond and are drawing up contingency plans.

**************

As a side bar, woman who are camp followers of Hooker's soldiers are getting a new nick name for their profession.   Will this be General Hookers lasting legacy?

Battle of Gettysburg - The Invasion of the North

It was 150 years ago on July 1, 2 & 3rd, 1863 that the decisive battle of Gettysburg was fought in southern Pennsylvania. In order to commemorate the 150th Anniversary of the  battle I will be posting "news reports" of the  lead up to the battle and the battle itself  between now and July 4th as if reported today in contemporary terms assuming the knowledge we now have of the battle.


 In June 1863, Confederate general Robert E. Lee and 75,000 soldiers of the  Army of Northern Virginia invaded the North in hopes of relieving pressure on war-torn Virginia and  defeating the Union Army of the Potomac guarding Washington D.C.  and striking a decisive blow to Northern morale and thus ending the war with the 11 state of the Confederacy to create  separate country.

According to Wikipedia:

Shortly after the Army of Northern Virginia won a major victory over the Army of the Potomac at the Battle of Chancellorsville (April 30 – May 6, 1863), Robert E. Lee decided upon a second invasion of the North (the first was the unsuccessful Maryland Campaign of September 1862, which ended in the bloody Battle of Antietam). Such a move would upset Federal plans for the summer campaigning season and possibly reduce the pressure on the besieged Confederate garrison at Vicksburg. The invasion would allow the Confederates to live off the bounty of the rich Northern farms while giving war-ravaged Virginia a much-needed rest. In addition, Lee's 75,000-man army could threaten Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, and possibly strengthen the growing peace movement in the North.

By mid-June, the Army of Northern Virginia was poised to cross the Potomac River and enter Maryland. After defeating the Federal garrisons at Winchester and Martinsburg, Ewell's Second Corps began crossing the river on June 15. Hill's and Longstreet's corps followed on June 24 and June 25.

To screen his movements from the Northern Army, Lee kept the Blue Ridge Mountains and it's northern extension "South Mountain"  between him and the Union Army around Washington DC. He had his Calvary under Jeb Stewart guard the passes to keep the Union from knowing his movements. His army crossed the Potomac River near Hagerstown  Maryland.

Jon Anderson of the Army Times gives us a report:

HARRISBURG, Pa. — The capital of Pennsylvania is in panic today amid reports that Confederate troops are crossing the Potomac River.
Harrisburg residents are packing into trains and wagons, loaded down with luggage and whatever cherished items they can carry. Government officials in the capital are also preparing to evacuate.
Governor Andrew Curtin has ordered local militia units to defend Pennsylvania's border from “the Rebel Invader.”
Gen. Robert E. Lee’s of Army of Northern Virginia will have to get through Maryland first.
Fresh from their victory in Winchester, Va., Lee’s lead units — including a brigade of cavalry — began crossing the Potomac near Hagerstown yesterday afternoon, now followed by major units from at least one of his three corps.

http://www.armytimes.com/article/20130616/OFFDUTY/306160004/June-16-1863-Lee-crosses-Potomac-Pennsylvania-panic

 

TO BE CONTINUED:

 

 

 

 

Summer 2013

We have now passed all three of the three markers for the beginning of Summer. Memorial Day Weekend,  the day school is out  and now June 21st have come and gone.. It's now the official start of Summer. Medford seems deserted since school "let out".  It seems like "everyone has gone to the moon." It's been in the 70's and the summer stretches before us in all it's splendor. Plans are already being made for the 4th of July! 

This should be a fairly quiet summer.  No political conventions and no Olympic games. I have some work to do around the house cleaning windows, carpets and paint touch up.  I may try and even clean the garage.
Neither of our adult kids will be coming home but we will try and get together in the fall for a football game. More on that later.  We have our  38th wedding anniversary and my wife's birthday in August and throughout the summer the anticipation of Oregon Duck Football.

I love this time of year.  As a kid growing up in Coos Bay/ North Bend on the Oregon coast we never had a real summer...... it was always cold and windy. We have set up our gazebo on our back deck and have already had several lunches out there.  We have already done a lot of yard work.  We had fresh bark sprayed and spend a hard weekend spreading pea gravel on the paths in the back and side yards.

Been watching the Summer series on A&E, Longmire season 2 . Hope to see the new Western, "The Lone Ranger" when it opens and have already seen the new "Iron Man" movie.

Now, if only I could find a drive-in theater! Time for ice tea.

Stand for Freedom!

Peggy Noonan:

The purpose of the surveillance is enhanced security, a necessary goal to say the least. The price is a now formal and agreed-upon acceptance of the end of the last vestiges of Americans' sense of individual distance and privacy from the government. The price too is a knowledge, based on human experience and held by all but fools and children, that the gleanings of the surveillance state will eventually be used by the mischievous, the malicious and the ignorant in ways the creators of the system did not intend. For all we know that's already happened. But of course we don't know: It's secret. Only the intelligence officials know, and they say everything's A-OK. .......

It is a great irony, and history will marvel at it, that the president most committed to expanding the centrality, power, prerogatives and controls of the federal government is also the president who, through lack of care, arrogance, and an absence of any sense of prudential political boundaries, has done the most in our time to damage trust in government.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324188604578543721259199626.html

Oregon Ducks: "Double Secret Probation"

"An inside source at the NSA has given ATQ some leaked recordings from the NCAA. We have an exclusive on what punishment for the Ducks is about to be handed down"

Addicted To Quack has a very funny post on former Washington Huskie and current  NCAA President Mark Emmert and his dislike for the Ducks!

http://www.addictedtoquack.com/2013/6/13/4425410/quack-fix-double-secret-probation

Mark Emmert aka Dean Wormer: "I hate those guys!"

One of the Guideposts to Summer!

First College Football Magazine. Picked it up at Fred's yesterday. One of the Guideposts to Summer! Yes, that is Oregon QB Marcus Mariota on the cover.

Stop the Domestic NSA Surveillance

Yesterday Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner sent the following letter to Eric Holder, Attorney General of the United States

 

“As the author of the Patriot Act, I am extremely troubled by the FBI’s interpretation of this legislation. While I believe the Patriot Act appropriately balanced national security concerns and civil rights, I have always worried about potential abuses. The Bureau’s broad application for phone records was made under the so-called business records provision of the Act.  I do not believe the broadly drafted FISA order is consistent with the requirements of the Patriot Act. Seizing phone records of millions of innocent people is excessive and un-American.”

I too have been a supporter of the Patriot Act but the present interpretation of the law is wrong and if necessary should be amended to limit the power of the National Security Agency (NSA) to monitor domestic calls and internet in the United States.  If I post something on this blog it’s for the world to see.  However, who I call and for how long I call is my business!  The same is true for my email and my searches  on Google or other search engines.  I have no problem with the NSA monitoring calls or emails from the United States to other countries or calls or emails coming into the United States from other countries.  But, short of probable cause the government should not be able to monitor domestic communications within this country.

This is not a partisan issue.  I find it hard to believe that I stand with the ACLU, The New York Times, Al Gore, and Oregon Senator Ron Wyden on this issue.  I find it more comforting that Kentucky  Senator Rand Paul, lawyer & radio commentator Mark Levin and Judge Napolitano also stands with me on this issue.

It is becoming clear to me that the Federal Government of the United States is out of control.  Neither the President or Congress is able to take control of the large bureaucracy. The President needs to give up his job of “Campaigner in Chief” and sit in the Oval Office and run the government. The Congress of the United States needs to create less laws and government and limit the rule making authority of the bureaucracy.  


There is no greater supporter of the War on Terrorism than I am.  In fact, I even acknowledge we are WAR on terrorism but I also do not trust big government and there must be check on government power and constant vigilance by free men and women to guard our freedom. We must draw a line and make a stand!

Jonah Goldberg in his column today said it best:

No, I don’t have much confidence in this administration. But I don’t have an abundance of confidence in government generally. That’s one of the things I love about America: The default position is to be skeptical of government, no matter who’s in charge.

 

 

 

This is Getting Very Depressing !!

This from today's Washington Post:


"The National Security Agency and the FBI are tapping directly into the central servers of nine leading U.S. Internet companies, extracting audio, video, photographs, e-mails, documents and connection logs that enable analysts to track a person’s movements and contacts over time....

The highly classified program, code-named PRISM, has not been disclosed. publicly before......

The technology companies, which participate knowingly in PRISM operations, include most of the dominant global players of Silicon Valley. They are listed on a roster that bears their logos in order of entry into the program: “Microsoft, Yahoo, Google, Facebook, PalTalk, AOL, Skype, YouTube, Apple.” PalTalk,......

 Firsthand experience with these systems, and horror at their capabilities, is what drove a career intelligence officer to provide PowerPoint slides about PRISM and supporting materials to The Washington Post in order to expose what he believes to be a gross intrusion on privacy. “They quite literally can watch your ideas form as you type,” the officer said."


http://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/us-intelligence-mining-data-from-nine-us-internet-companies-in-broad-secret-program/2013/06/06/3a0c0da8-cebf-11e2-8845-d970ccb04497_story.html

ACLU: Massive NSA Phone Data-Mining Operation Revealed

The ACLU issued a press release tonight in response to a  news report in the London Guardian newspaper that the National Security Agency (NSA) under President Obama  is monitoring the phone call records of millions of American including domestic local calls!

ACLU Calls for End to Program, Disclosure of Program’s Scope, Congressional Investigation

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 5, 2013

NEW YORK – Using the Patriot Act, the U.S. government has been secretly tracking the calls of every Verizon Business Network Services customer – whom they talked to, from where, and for how long – for the past 41 days, according to a report published by The Guardian.

“From a civil liberties perspective, the program could hardly be any more alarming. It’s a program in which some untold number of innocent people have been put under the constant surveillance of government agents,” said Jameel Jaffer, American Civil Liberties Union deputy legal director. “It is beyond Orwellian, and it provides further evidence of the extent to which basic democratic rights are being surrendered in secret to the demands of unaccountable intelligence agencies.”

The program was put in place under the Patriot Act’s Section 215, a controversial provision that authorizes the government to seek secret court orders for the production of “any tangible thing” relevant to a foreign-intelligence or terrorism investigation. Recipients of Section 215 orders, such as telecommunications companies, are prohibited from disclosing that they gave the government their customers’ records.

“Now that this unconstitutional surveillance effort has been revealed, the government should end it and disclose its full scope, and Congress should initiate a full investigation,” said Michelle Richardson, legislative counsel with the ACLU Washington Legislative Office. “This disclosure also highlights the growing gap between the public’s and the government’s understandings of the many sweeping surveillance authorities enacted by Congress. Since 9/11, the government has increasingly classified and concealed not just facts, but the law itself. Such extreme secrecy is inconsistent with our democratic values of open government and accountability.”

The first information about the government’s use of Section 215 was made public in response to Freedom of Information Act litigation filed by the ACLU 10 years ago. More recently, members of Congress have warned that the government has secretly interpreted Section 215 in a way that would shock Americans. In 2012, Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Mark Udall (D-Colo.) wrote, “When the American people find out how their government has secretly interpreted the Patriot Act, they are going to be stunned and they are going to be angry.”

In May 2011, shortly before Section 215 was scheduled to expire, the ACLU filed a new FOIA request in an effort to learn more about the “secret interpretation” to which Sens. Wyden and Udall had referred. Congress reauthorized Section 215 without amendment until 2015, and for the last two years, the government has refused to describe its secret interpretation. Whether or not the program described by The Guardian reflects that “secret interpretation,” today’s disclosure confirms that the government has interpreted Section 215 extraordinarily broadly.

This disclosure is likely to have significant implications for the ACLU’s pending FOIA lawsuit. The Department of Justice is scheduled to file a brief in that case on June 13; the ACLU’s response is due on June 28, and oral argument is scheduled for July 11 in the Southern District of New York.

UPDATE:

Very interesting letter to Attorney General Eric Holder from Democratic Senators Wyden and Udall dated March 15, 2012

https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/325953-85512347-senators-ron-wyden-mark-udall-letter-to.html

Voice From the Past

"How the English-speaking peoples through their unwisdom, carelessness and good nature allowed the wicked to rearm"

Winston Churchill:  "The Gathering Storm"

"The kind of thing that can kill a country"

 Peggy Noonan:


 "...nothing can damage us more as a nation than what is happening at the Internal Revenue Service....."

" But this scandal is different and distinctive. The abuse was systemic—from the sheer number of targets and the extent of each targeting we know many workers had to be involved, many higher-ups, multiple offices. It was ideological and partisan—only those presumed to be of one political view were targeted. It has a single unifying pattern: The most vivid abuses took place in the years leading up to the president's 2012 re-election effort. And in the end several were trying to cover it all up, including the head of the IRS, who lied to Congress about it, and the head of the tax-exempt unit, Lois Lerner, who managed to lie even in her public acknowledgment of impropriety."

" What does it mean when half the country—literally half the country—understands that the revenue-gathering arm of its federal government is politically corrupt, sees them as targets, and will shoot at them if they try to raise their heads? That is the kind of thing that can kill a country, letting half its citizens believe that they no longer have full political rights."
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324412604578515673945731506.html

Eric Holder's Day's as U.S. Attorney General are Numbered!

If President Obama were smart he would cut his losses and fire Attorney General Holder.  Holder has done something I never expected to happen he has alienated some of the Main Stream Media from their "Slobbering Love Affair" with Obama!

Time for Obama to tell Holder to take on for the team.

If I were purely partisan I would want him to stay because every day he stays as U.S. Attorney General he helps the Republicans.  However, our Constitutional rights are more important!

"The Way We Were"

http://fishduck.com/2013/05/misty-watercolor-memories-of-the-way-we-were/

Smiles we gave to one another

"Civil War" game in Eugene on Dec 3,2009; Oregon 37, Oregon State 33...... WE'RE GOING TO THE ROSE BOWL!

President Obama’s Insurance Policy against Impeachment!

Vice President of the United States, Joe Biden!

IRS "Church Lady"

 

Sara Hall Ingram was head of Non Profit Department of IRS while the IRS   was targeting  religious groups and Tea Party groups  and now has been put in charge of the Obamacare  enforcement by the IRS.

 

Marco Rubio: "Culture of "intimidation"

WHO said that????

"What part of the presidency does Obama like? He doesn't like dealing with other politicians -- that means his own cabinet, that means members of the congress, either party. He doesn't particularly like the press.... He likes to write the speeches, ........
.
"So what part does he like? He likes going on the road, campaigning, visiting businesses like he does every couple days somewhere in Ohio or somewhere,.... "But what part does he like? He doesn't like lobbying for the bills he cares about. He doesn't like selling to the press. He doesn't like giving orders or giving somebody  the power to give orders. He doesn't seem to like being an executive.”

WHO said that?  Rush Limbaugh, Shawn Hannity, Ted Cruz ?  NO!

Chris Matthews of MSNBC said that! Yes, that Chris Matthews!

We need a President in these perilous times ....... not a Campaigner in Chief!

DIsh Network after one week!

I love it and wonder why I stuck with our local cable company (now owned by Charter) for over 40 years.  I am getting more for less cost.  The picture is great and rain does not degrade my picture. I switched so I could watch my Ducks on the Pac 12 Networks, which Charter refused to carry, but there is so much more that is good about the Dish Network.

It started when I went into a local store here in Medford named "No Wires Media" locally owned by a couple who's kids attend the same school as my children when they were young.  The wife runs the store and husband does the instillation. No calling someone in some far away call center and taking potluck as to who shows up to do the instillation. They were also able to get me a discount from Charter for the Internet and phone that I was keeping.

I ordered the 200 station package with one Hopper and three Joeys to connect four TVs in our house.

Last Wednesday the installer arrived at 10 AM and had the system installed by 2 PM.  For the most part he was able to use the old cable wiring to the 4 TVs but did have to run a new line to the master bedroom because we are keeping Charter's Internet and phone service. He installed the dish on the side of the house under a window so if it snows I can reach out the window to remove the snow collection with a brush without going outside; but, yet it is high enough to have a great unobstructed  view of the southern sky and so I can walk under it outside  and not hit my head .  He put the main unit called the Hopper in the living room and the Joeys in my wives's sewing room, the master bedroom and the "Man Cave" downstairs in our half basement.

The Hopper unit has 3 separate TV tuners so we can watch three separate stations in the house or record on one tuner and watch two stations on the other two tuners. If all 4 TV's are in use, one  TV will have to watch the same station as one of the other TVs or watch prerecorded programs recorded on the Hopper which is also a DVR.  Not much of a problem since there is only my wife and I since the Kids grew up and moved out. Each TV gets a remote that controls the Hopper/Joey and the TV.There is even a feature that allows me to find a "lost" remotes!



This is the first time we have had a DVR. It's nice to graduate from the old VCR! I can program it to record any program I want on a regular schedule.  For example I programed it to record Bret Baier's news show "Special Report" which is broadcast on Fox News Monday through Friday at 3 PM here on the west coast. Best program on politics on TV. It has a feature that will allow you to record all four major networks (FOX, ABC, NBC CBS) prime time lineups  every night of the week and keep it for a week automatically.
I now get a "slug" of new TV Channels that I love, again at less cost than Charter such as:

Fox Business Network, Turner Classic Movies, Hallmark Channel, Lifetime Movie Channel, Sundance Movie Channel, NFL Network, CBS Sports Network, 2 Comcast sports channels from California and the Pac 12 Networks!!! Also get NASA and Pentagon Channels.

Best yet,  Dish has "TV Anywhere" so I can watch LIVE, all my TV channels  on my computer at home,  at the office and on  my iPad. Anywhere I have  an Internet connection.  So for example, I can program and watch live TV from my home at  McDonald's in Washington D.C. This is not just a few channels but ALL my channels and at no additional cost.

If you are a cable subscriber and are afraid to switch DON"T BE!

Even if Charter should in the future get the Pac 12 Networks there is no going back for me unless there is a substantial improvement in their system and features.

 With apologies to Peter Paul and Mary:  Charter......where have all your subscribers gone....... gone to Dish everyone.... when will they ever learn, when will they ever learn.

IRS & Tea Party; Justice Department & Associated Press; State Department & Benghazi Whistleblowers

Who is NEXT!

"Violets Flowers"

A few years before my mother died we accompanied her to the Blackberry Festival in Coos Bay where she lived.  While there she bought this sign from a vendor and placed it in her flower garden.

After she died I rescued the sign from the estate sale and placed it here in our driveway with a plant that was given to me by some friends in recognition of my mother.

Over the years the sign has deteriorated due to the weather and so my wife repainted the sign this spring. I think she did a great job!

Thanks Janie! 

Judge Jeanine Pirro - Obama Admin Lied To America!!- Opening Statement

On the  Benghazi Attack. Americans Died and Obama & Hillary LIED!!!! They have no honor! Judge Jeanine Pirro on her TV program tonight was "on fire" and gave the best summary of the evidence to date and a powerful indictment of our President and Hillary Clinton. 

The Dish has landed & Life is good!

I can get the Pac 12 Networks and otherwise the TV reception and channel selection is great.  Less expensive than Charter and we have joined the 21st Century with a DVR as part of the Hopper!  I can also watch all of the channels on TV anywhere on my iPad. Why did I wait so long!

Don't buy Charter's commercials telling you will lose reception in a rain storm. Tonight we inaugurated or system in the middle of a thunder and lightning storm with hard rain and there was no perceptible change in our reception.

I went through "No Wires Media" a local brick and mortar store here in Medford located at 1560 Biddle Road and locally owned. Nice folks.



Go Ducks!

Today is D-Day ..... DISH DAY!

Today is the day they install my Dish so I can watch my Oregon Ducks on the Pac 12 Networks.  Let's Go Ducks......... Win the Day!

Goodbye Charter!

James Carville: 'Ted Cruz Is the Most Talented and Fearless Republican Politician I’ve Seen in 30 Years'

JAMES CARVILLE on Sundays ABC "This Week" :

I think he is the most talented and fearless Republican politician I've seen in the last 30 years. I further think that he's going to run for president and he is going to create something. I'm not sitting here saying he's going to win, and I think Senator DeMint is right. I've listened to excerpts of his speech in South Carolina, he touches every button. And this guy has no fear. He just keeps plowing ahead. And he is going to be something to watch.

And a lot of Republicans feel this way George. And you hear this a lot. If we only got someone who is articulate and was for what we were for, we'd win elections. We get this John McCain's and these Mitt Romney's and these squishy guys that can't do anything. Well there's one thing this guy's not, he ain't squishy. Not in the least. (This Week, May 5, 2013)

As the conversation continued and others on the panel said that other conservatives such as Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fl.) and Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) will likely also run in 2016, Carville added:

CARVILLE: Ted Cruz is going to eat their lunch. That guy, I’m telling you, he will out debate. I am just saying, he is a talent. I’m not rooting. I’m really sincere here. We watch him, he does things, I mean when he started talking about William Travis in South Carolina and the Alamo, this is a guy, and you go, "This guy is something." Now I don’t agree with him. I think he’s out there. But I’m telling you, he’s more talented than all of these other guys.

From "This Week" on ABC



Watch Ted Cruz give the speech in South Carolina.  Wait till the end for the "Travis at the Alamo" ending to his speech.  LOVE IT!!!!