flotsam
flotsam's JournalTime was you had to watch your mouth. An intemperate word could have dire consequences.
American Duels went Like this:
May 16, 1777: Button Gwinnett, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, dueled his political opponent Lachlan McIntosh; both were wounded, and Gwinnett died three days later.
November 24, 1801: Philip Hamilton, son of former U.S. Secretary of Treasury, dueled George I. Eacker; Hamilton was killed.
July 11, 1804: U.S. Vice President Aaron Burr, while in office, dueled former U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton; Hamilton was killed.
Main article: Burr–Hamilton duel
May 30, 1806: Andrew Jackson and Charles Dickinson. Dickinson was killed and Jackson wounded. Upon his election to the Presidency in 1829, Jackson became the only U.S. President to have killed a man in a duel.
August 12, 1817: Thomas Hart Benton and Charles Lucas, attorneys on opposite sides of a court battle, dueled on the famous Bloody Island after Lucas challenged Benton's right to vote and Benton accused Lucas of being a "puppy"; Lucas was shot in the throat and Benton shot in the leg, upon which Benton released Lucas from his obligation.
September 27, 1817: Benton and Lucas rematch, again on Bloody Island; Benton challenged Lucas after Lucas said the first fight at 30 feet (9.1 m) was unfair because Benton was a better shot. Benton killed Lucas at nine feet and was unhurt.
March 22, 1820: Stephen Decatur and James Barron. Decatur was killed.
June 30, 1823: Joshua Barton and Thomas C. Rector on Bloody Island. Barton's brother, Senator David Barton, sought to block the reappointment of Rector's brother, William Rector, to the position of Surveyor General for Missouri, Illinois, and Arkansas. Barton was killed and Rector unhurt.
April 26, 1826: Henry Clay and John Randolph of Roanoke at Pimmit Run, Virginia. Both men were unhurt.[2]
September 22, 1826: U.S. Representative Sam Houston of Tennessee severely wounded General William A. White in a pistol duel near Franklin, Kentucky, over the patronage political appointment of the Nashville Postmaster.[3]
September 19, 1827: A duel between Samuel Levi Wells III and Dr. Thomas Harris Maddox turned into a brawl involving notable figures such as Jim Bowie.
Main article: Sandbar Fight
January 25, 1828: George W. Crawford, then attorney general for the state of Georgia, killed Georgia state legislator member Thomas E. Burnside (Ambrose Burnside's uncle) in a duel, answering Crawford's challenge over published defamation of Crawford's father which Burnside had written.
Main article: George W. Crawford § The code duello
August 26, 1831: Thomas Biddle and Missouri Congressman Spencer Darwin Pettis on Bloody Island. Biddle challenged Pettis for comments about Biddle's brother, who was president of the United States bank. Both men were mortally wounded after firing from five feet.
August 10, 1832: Savannah physician Philip Minis shot and killed Georgia state legislator James Stark, after which Minis claimed that a valid duel had occurred. Minis also claimed his right to self-defense, saying he had not agreed to the duel and that he shot Stark to save his own life. Minis was found not guilty by a jury. While it is not clearly eligible to be on this list, the deceased had claimed his shooting and threatening fell under the law of duels, which is legally giving permission for his opponent to take shelter in the law of duels.
Main article: Stark–Minis duel
September 25, 1832: James Westcott and Thomas Baltzell; Baltzell unhurt, Westcott injured but survived to become a U.S. Senator.[4]
February 24, 1838: U.S. Representative from Kentucky William Jordan Graves killed U.S. Representative from Maine Jonathan Cilley in a pistol duel. Afterwards, Congress passed a law making it illegal to issue or accept a duel challenge in Washington, D.C.[5]
December 12, 1839: Florida Militia Brigadier General Leigh Read and Colonel Augustus A. Alston, a Whig Party leader, with rifles at 15 paces. Read had been challenged twice by Alston, an overconfident duelist, and unexpectedly killed Alston.[6] Tallahassee Mayor Francis Eppes, also Thomas Jefferson's grandson, was elected in large part to put down dueling and other lawlessness in the territory.
September 22, 1842: Abraham Lincoln, at the time an Illinois state legislator, accepted a challenge to a duel by Illinois state auditor James Shields. Lincoln apparently had published an inflammatory letter in a Springfield newspaper, the Sangamo Journal, that poked fun at Shields. Taking offense, Shields demanded "satisfaction" and the incident escalated with the two parties meeting on a Missouri island called Bloody Island, near Alton, Illinois, for the duel. Just prior to engaging in combat, the two participants' seconds intervened and were able to convince the two men to cease hostilities, on the grounds that Lincoln had not written the letters.[7]
July 26, 1847: Albert Pike and John Selden Roane. The duel was declared a draw, with no injuries.
June 1, 1853: U.S. Senator William McKendree Gwin and U.S. Congressman J. W. McCorkle. No injuries.
August 26, 1856: Benjamin Gratz Brown and Thomas C. Reynolds on Bloody Island, in what would be called the "Duel of the Governors". Brown was then the abolitionist editor of the St. Louis Democrat and Reynolds a pro-slavery St. Louis district attorney. Brown was shot in the leg, which caused him to limp for the rest of his life, while Reynolds was unhurt. Brown would later become the Union-sanctioned Governor of Missouri and Reynolds a Confederate Governor of Missouri.
September 13, 1859: U.S. Senator David C. Broderick and former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of California David S. Terry. Broderick was killed.
Main article: Broderick–Terry duel
September 6, 1863: Brig. Gen. Lucius Marshall Walker, the nephew of President James K. Polk, and General John Sapington Marmaduke, the future Governor of Missouri, dueled over differences on the Confederate battlefield at the battles of Helena and Reed's Bridge in Arkansas. The duel took place at 6 am near the north bank of the Arkansas River, just outside Little Rock (now within eyesight of the Clinton Presidential Library). Both men missed their first shots, but Marmaduke mortally wounded Walker with his second shot. Walker died the next day.
July 21, 1865: "Wild Bill" Hickok and Davis Tutt, in Springfield, Missouri. Hickok had lost a pocket watch to Tutt in a card game, and when he demanded its return, Tutt refused. Tutt was shot and killed. The confrontation is often remembered as the first instance of two gunmen participating in a quick-draw duel.[8]
Main article: Wild Bill Hickok – Davis Tutt shootout
July 22, 1867: John Bull killed Langford Peel in a quick-draw duel in Salt Lake City, Utah. Peel challenged Bull after the two argued about their business, an argument which culminated in Peel slapping Bull. Bull reasoned that he did not have a gun, but Peel told him to get his own and come back. Peel waited in the saloon for an hour but left, not knowing that Bull had not refused his offer but was simply late. After meeting again in another saloon, the two drew their weapons and Bull gunned down Peel.
March 9, 1877: Gamblers Jim Levy and Charlie Harrison, in a saloon in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Levy challenged Harrison to take it outside, Harrison agreed, and the two squared off in the street. Western novelist James Reasoner claimed in a recent issue of Esquire that this was "the most 'Hollywood' showdown". During the duel, Harrison shot wild, while Levy took more careful aim and shot Harrison.[9] Levy had previously participated in another quick-draw duel with gunfighter Michael Casey, who challenged him in an alleyway in Pioche, Nevada.
March 22, 1882: Wyatt Earp killed an outlaw named Florentino "Indian Charlie" Cruz in a duel in the Dragoon Mountains of southeastern Arizona. Although the actual events are still debated by historians, Earp left his own account claiming that after capturing Cruz, Earp told Cruz to face him and draw his weapon. Earp ended up gunning down Cruz.[10]
June 7, 1882: Louisiana State Treasurer Edward A. Burke was seriously wounded by C. Harrison Parker, editor of the New Orleans Daily Picayune, in a duel with pistols. After Parker published unflattering remarks about Burke, Burke challenged him to a duel.[11]
February 8, 1887: Jim Courtright was killed by Luke Short during a quick-draw duel in Fort Worth, Texas.[12]
Now in the last several weeks Donald Trump has accused 60 million democratic voters of supporting the murder of viable children, Also of treason, and finally of engaging in a coup. Do you imagine for a minute that a coward who hid from combat in Vietnam would answer every honorable duel challenge and put his life on the line 100's or 1000's of times??? We are not talking Jerry Nadler or Adam Schiff here- we are talking every fucking democratic voter who is a small arms or even fencing expert. Picture this moron facing 50 or more legitimate challenges a day...And here's the thing-he transgressessed every modern standard because he saw at the end no actual consequences-I wonder if his invective would soften in sight of a dueling pistol?
On oaths
Oath #1
"I, _____ , having been appointed an officer in the _____ (Military Branch) of the United States, as indicated above in the grade of _____ do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign or domestic, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservations or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office upon which I am about to enter; So help me God."
Oath #2
“I, _____, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion, and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.”
Pretty close, huh?
So why are soldiers court martialed for failing to engage the enemy while people who take the second oath-US Representatives-are free to ignore their oaths and duty to impeach a president who is a clear and present danger to the republic and the constitution?
Here's a plan...
quietly prepare democrats in the house for a marathon session tomorrow. Let the Barr dog and pony show run and then introduce and the initiate ON THURSDAY whatever procedures are needed and begin the impeachment of William Barr. Lock down every session of the house until impeachment is achieved. Pass it off to the senate and begin the death by 1000 cuts. Win lose or draw at the trial his name is smeared for life and there is nothing Trump can do to save him. Make it a 90 day shit show trial of his malfeasance over 35 years and multiple republican administrations. Then let him hold all the fucking press conferences he wants.
In the Battle of Minorca (1756)
a naval squadron commander failed to be sufficiently aggressive which led directly to the Fall of Minorca.
The British failure to save Minorca led to the controversial court-martial and execution of the British commander, Admiral John Byng, for "failure to do his utmost" to relieve the siege of the British garrison on Minorca.
Byng's execution is referred to in Voltaire's novel Candide with the line Dans ce pays-ci, il est bon de tuer de temps en temps un amiral pour encourager les autres – "In this country, it is wise to kill an admiral from time to time to encourage the others."
Although his comments were written as a form of mockery, surprisingly, the observation was entirely accurate. Byng’s role in the Minorca fiasco led to what was darkly termed in the Royal Navy the “Byng Principle,” which meant that “nothing is to be undertaken where there is risk or danger.”
This sardonic term served as a cautionary reminder to naval officers of the sort of conduct that should be avoided in battle. And just or not, Byng’s death was to instill in them an aggressive fighting spirit that would succeed in turning the war in favour of Britain.
We need someone involved with Trump to be sentenced to the maximum possible jail sentence. We need to encourage others in the regime to tell the truth.
You want to know what else is contempt of the law?
Having the power to impeach the President and then sitting on the sidelines mouthing bullshit about the best course is to have the voters vote him out of office. You were given power and took an oath to uphold the rule of law and to protect the constitution and if this is your response, you are exposed as a bigger coward than Donald Trump was when he faked bone spurs-at least his cowardice was of the chance of death. But you, given a great honor cringe away from your duty in fear of losing your next election. Some will say just losing an election is punishment enough for Trump-that he will be crushed and disgraced, yet not one of you would dare suggest that would be punishment enough for a black man who committed multiple felonies, would you?
It isn't the voters job-you campaigned and argued and pleaded for the responsibility and now is the time for action and never mind if republicans will convict. Do the right thing because it IS the right thing and is what you promised. Fail to do that and you are in contempt of the law and beneath contempt for me.
Not heard at the Alamo: "Men-I took a whip count of the Mexicans and there's no use stirring up trouble!"...
In response to another thread I wrote this:
Not just for this post but for all posters in all posts. Is it too much to ask "in what state?" ? You don't say and the article doesn't say. You mention "in Durham" I suspect it's probably in the Carolinas...But I live in New Hampshire less than 25 miles from Durham NH and New Durham NH. At the link I get the name of a local newspaper but no mention of state. All posters need to identify location whether it's news or info-"It's snowing here" tells me nothing and "it's snowing in Portland" could mean Oregon or Maine. Don't just write a post-consider if it tells the reader what they need to know.
FOWDC
This needs to be the new Democratic meme to answer attacks on our people by the GOP and their stooges...
"He touched my fat roll when I took a selfie!"-answer Fuck off!-We don't care!
"She's mean to her staff"-Fuck off!-We don't care!
"It wasn't sexual but he invaded my personal space!" "Fuck off!-We don't care!
For their every concern this should be the only answer. And only we can eat our we can own or recognize that while their candidates are evil ours are human. Realize the same attacks used against a republican would be laughed off as petty bullshit. It is only fake equivalency that gets this BS the airtime it gets.
Now Kiddies! Repeat after me, "Fuck off! WE DON"T CARE!!!
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