Never Forget Our Veterans

"When I go home people'll ask me, "Hey Hoot, why do you do it man? What, you some kinda war junkie?" You know what I'll say? I won't say a... word. Why? They won't understand. They won't understand why we do it. They won't understand that it's about the men next to you, and that's it. That's all it is. "
-"Hoot" Gibson, in Blackhawk Down, 2001

Health Care

"With Republicans in power, man exploits man. With Democrats, just the opposite."

So reads the bumper sticker on the back of an anonymous Alabama pickup truck.

From the beginning of time, man was hardwired to obtain two things: comfort and happiness. The harder he tries to obtain these things outside of God, the more elusive they are. The Israelites of the Old Testament are a prime example of this. They were directly ruled by God, yet they still went astray, seeking comfort and happiness.

Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are God given rights... within His parameters. The ultimate guide to comfort and happiness is the Bible. However, as the Israelites before them, everyone has sought comfort and happiness without God. It's part of our sin nature.

The government of the United States is seeking to gain the status of God by rejecting it's Biblical role of wielding the sword and seeking to provide health care. The communistic manner in which this has been and continues to be thrust upon us is wrong. The number of so called Christians who have compromised and accept the government's ownership of their lives is appalling. So-called Health Care is the biggest lie since so-called Reconstruction.
The challenges we face in the upcoming months will be real and serious, but always remember, God is in control, and take heart in the examples left behind by our forefathers, who combated tyrannical governments similar to the one we face today.

That picture at the top of this post is of my great-great-great-grandfather's family. Looks like they did alright without the government, scrapping out a living up in North Carolina. Notice all the kids are clothed and seem to be in their right minds. Doesn't look like they're suffering from not being able to socialize either.

Patriotism

Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth.- Albert Einstein

I am proud of the small warrior heritage God has blessed me with. It stretches back at least to the 1100's, when the Celts fought battles between themselves. Even on this continent, some of my Scotch-Irish ancestors fought in every major battle of the Southern theater during the War for Independence. I'm a direct descendant of six Confederate soldiers. My grandfather was in the Air Force and I have an uncle currently in the National Guard.

As a child, patriotism to the United States was very important to me. It was a big deal to stand up and put my hand over my heart and recite the pledge or sing the anthem. I remember, before I had an interest in the War for Southern Independence, rooting for the Stars and Stripes. I couldn't believe my home state had fought against that flag!
However, as I got older, I discovered that blind obedience to a flag is a bad idea. Even though the United States is represented by "Old Glory", she is still ruled by mortal man (under God, of course).

My heroes are men like Carlos Hathcock, Leonard Holifield, Gary Gordon, Randy Shughart, Jeff Struecker, Hal Moore, Dick Winters, and many others. These guys paid a tremendous sacrifice. They were dedicated to completing their orders and endured incredible hardship. The physical and mental pain the men in our armed forces have gone through, and continue to go through, can be accurately described as hell.
They were told that they were fighting for their country, and that's what they thought they were doing, but were they really?

The way in which the United States has conducted warfare since the War for Southern Independence, with the possible exception of WWII, has been completely unbiblical. The politicians who run this country are the exact opposite personality type of the rank and file military man. One seeks compromise and is concerned with how he looks in the eyes of the public. The other seeks to kill people, break things, and is only concerned with the welfare of his buddies.
Today, there is nothing I would rather do than enlist in the military. However, I can't do that because my commander in chief is a pagan and will order me to do things contrary to the law of God. Much as I would like to follow in the footsteps of my fathers, it would be unwise to do so at this time.

So, dear government:
Do right by our fathers before you come for us.

Great Essay On The French Revolution

My good friend Johnson has posted an excellent article on the French Revolution and the problems that proceeded from it. He presents the information in a very "unbiased" manner...well, as unbiased as is possible.

"Justice Is The One Thing You Should Always Find"...

Al.com reports that Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford was convicted of all 60 counts.

I have not given proper background to his story, you can read that in the papers. But Langford was a major real life demonstration to me that an individual doesn't have to be qualified for a job in order to obtain it in a political race. Now, in a free market system, this shouldn't work because unqualified people will fail. However, people who refuse to acknowledge God as the source of government will cease to act in a rational manner. This was ultimately demonstrated in the election of Barak Obama. How many things in history would have turned out differently if people had just looked at the facts, instead of letting their emotions take over?

God gave us these examples to show his power in the affairs of men, and to warn us, lest we make the same mistakes. He always writes the last chapter!

Barn Dance

Here's a short video a friend put together of the famous annual Bailey Barn Dance. Our bluegrass group played and sang, along with "special guests", the West Girls.
These are so much fun to play at!
I hope everyone enjoyed our music as much as we enjoyed playing!

A Message From Officer Phillips...

To whom it may concern...

Hey Steven and all other male readers of this blog.
My name is Zachary Phillips and I was a squad officer (Steven's officer coincidentally) at Challenge Basic '09. So if you would like to attend Challenge, you don't have to be a member of TeenPact to do so. I oversee the Challenge blog so I will post dates and info on next years events at the appropriate time. Challenge will happen again sometime next fall. So until then follow the challenge blog and get to meet some of the men who have been through the training (online of course).
Zach
1st Timothy 4:8
HOOAH

Meanwhile, Down On The Farm...

We are ready for the sun to come out!

Several weeks ago, our poultry netting came in, and that is really working well.
We dried our cow up today, she's due in December.

Last Saturday several families from our area got together at the fall festival. Some of us guys played bluegrass. Here's a short clip of Rawhide.

After Action Report: Challenge Basic

As some of you may know, my brother Michael and I just got back from attending Teenpact Challenge Basic at Fort Benning, Georgia.

It was an awesome experience! As we drove through the checkpoint, it was an indescribable feeling, just thinking about all the great infantry warriors of the past who had trained here, since World War I!

I hardly know where to start.

I guess I could say it was the most miserable and yet the greatest week of my life. Essentially, we were conditioned to do difficult tasks with minimum strength, wholly relying on the Lord and our buddies for the power to take the next step. During the week, we learned rappelling, hand to hand combat, land navigation, and basic first aid. The majority of the last two days were spent on the Yankee Road Land Navigation course.

The staff was absolutely awesome! Officer Stansbury, the program director, is one of the Godliest men I have ever had the honor to meet. He is a former Ranger, and, as one of the other recruits said, "He eats nails for breakfast every morning...without milk!".

The other staff, Officers Nathan and Caleb Hudson, Creswell, Zmudzinski, Chase, Schmidt, Phillips, Alasu, and Schalchlin, were phenomenal. We really drew together as a unit under their training.

Officer Phillips told me that he would be uploading some of the pictures that the staff took at the event on the Challenge blog, after Extreme.

Unfortunately, we took very few pictures, but here are a couple.

Michael on the left and Joel F. on the right...with some other folks in the background.

Officer Schalchlin and myself.

Blue Hen's Chicks, Part 6

On this day, 229 years ago, the battle began.

British Captain Chesney, having made the rounds of the pickets which were posted at the base of the hill, heard a shot. "I immediately paraded the men and posted the officers", he later said. Without further ado, the battle began.
The militia had surrounded the British position and began to take it apart, flitting between the trees, never providing an open target for the enemy.
The British made several sallies out from their position but these became weaker and weaker as the fight continued. A distant witness reported that "the mountain was covered with flame and smoke and seemed to thunder."
As the battle progressed, the battle lines desinegrated, and the Americans clearly had the upper hand. The British rallied at the extreme crest of the hill and made a desperate charge to cut their way out, during which, Major Ferguson was felled by a volley. Command devolved to a Captain dePeyster, who immediatley attempted to surrender. Although the white flags had begun flying, the shout "Tarleton's Quarter" was often heard and it was with great difficulty that the officers finally restrained their men. But as soon as the shooting ceased, a single shot rang out, killing one of the militia generals, and the slaughter commenced. After this too was stopped, the work of burying the dead commenced.
They slept on the field of battle and began their journey homeward the next day. Hurrying along with their prisoners, they feared that Tarleton himself would soon be upon them. But Cornwallis was thinking of everything but sending a force after the mountain men. While the patriots fled north, Cornwallis fled south and the soil of North Carolina was free of invaders.

The implications of this battle were enormous. Because of this defeat, Cornwallis would be unable to advance north to the destruction of Washington. Several months later, Cornwallis would lose again at the battle of Cowpens. He would ultimately be defeated at Yorktown. Ferguson's defeat was considered to be the turning point in the war. The loss of the battle would have meant the loss of American independence.
The British had learned to their own detriment the cost of messing with the Scotch Irish.

After the fashion of Davy Crockett, Joseph McDowell later wrote:
"We were the bravest of the brave. We were a formidable flock of blue hen's chickens of the game blood, of indomitable courage, strangers to fear. We were well provided with sticks; we made the egg shells- British and Tory skulls- fly like onion peelings in a windy day. The blue cocks flapped their wings and crowed."


Author's note: The majority of first hand accounts that went into the creation of this series comes from Hank Messick's most excellent book King's Mountain. I highly, highly recommend it.