Back in the day when I worked in local radio, we did a lot of local promotional appearances and gave away lots of free stuff. Those who showed up for the free stuff were rather rudely referred to in the biz as “contest piggies”. It seems that the “contest piggies” are now a majority of our fellow citizens, and they’ve brought swine flu with them….

I always though that the greatest knock on Southern white elites was the tactic marginalizing of black citizenship post-Reconstruction.

Interesting news stories out there this morning on the black / white divide in perception regarding Obama’s first 100 days. Obama has sky-high approval ratings among blacks on EVERY damned stupid thing he’s done or not done. Less than not-so-much approval among whites. I wonder how the black population of Greenville, South Carolina would rate him and his performance in his first 100 days.

So Lincoln arranged events so that the secessionists would be the first to resort to violence. They had already done so at Fort Pickens and Fort Barrancas in Pensacola harbor.

While of interest, your posts don’t seem to address the thread.

Greenville, South Carolina still has unworthy political leaders.

IOW, the incident was in no ways the historical image of a bunch of Yosemite Sam yahoos letting fly with powder and ball on the signal of secession.

Look at the dates between seccession and the shooting.

During that (i’m using memory) 4 month interval the south was trying –this is historical record –to buy the federal installations in the south. These delegations were in DC, actively seeking resolution, but were not being recognized or allowed plenary sessions in federal facilities with counterparts.

The mayor of Charleston and his civic delegation made several trips to (and endured several long waits in) DC trying to get a meeting with President Lincoln or an assignee. The president refused to meet with them.

When the Feds announced intent to resupply the fort, to as it were insert a foreign flotilla into sovereign Charleston Harbor against the wishes of the citizens, the Charlestonians redoubled to no avail efforts to gain agreements w/ USA to allow them to feed and transport the federal garrison at their own expense back to federal territoty.

In the end, the flotilla in transit, port defense units announced they would fire on the fort at a certain hour on a certain day, in order to allow garrison to cover. This they did, and the military theater of a pro-forma bombardment followed by a surrender was observed and played out by both sides, with no casualties either side.

Indeed the only casualties occured when, as per agreement, the garrison fired a flag salute, and one of its cannons exploded and killed one (or was it two?) of its own crew.

I say all this not to rebel-rouse, but to counter with the record, regarding the usual notion of what took place there and then.

The second issue was pulled by the high profits from plantation cotton. Some states like Virginia made their money in breeding and exporting slaves to be “sold down the river” into Texas, Mississippi, and Alabama rather than in direct products envolving slaves.

Ultimately, slavery would have been uneconomic and would have vanished on its own.

However, the Southerns fired the first shots by trying to take-over Federal property. If they were so passive, why did they do that?

Back to Greenville. Politicans like Ms. Childs are unprepared with useful guidance and do not really serve their constituants’ interests. Nor do the voters seem to understand the effects of their votes.

Lincoln had a good line to the effect that sometimes the voters stand too close to the fire and they have to suffer the blisters.

OK. Let me try again.

I believe that almost all of the liberal left leaning thoughts are based on the following process.

1. Pass this bill.
2. ???
3. Everything will be great.

We then suffer the consequences.