Joshua Chamberlin looked over his men. They were tired.
Bone tired. It had been a long walk after another defeat. Now they were in Pennsylvania.
It was hard to conceive that things
would be better.
“Where are we Josh” asked Tom. Back from dashing to the back
of the column to the front again. Hard
to remember when he had that much energy.“In Pennsylvania. Close to Harrisburg I think. Tom remember you should call me Colonel when other people can hear.”
“Sorry Colonel.”
Ellis Spear walked up. “I think we are close to a small town called Gettysburg. I heard it from a Calvary captain who was passing by. He was with Buford. Said they are holding the high ground.”
“Aye and what else did you hear Captain” asked Buster Kilrean. “Who is in command? Hooker? Pope? I pray that it is Hancock.”
“No he declined. I hear that General Meade is in command.”
“Then we are well and truly damned Colonel Darling. Well and truly damned.”
64 comments:
Ah, the return of two series not seen in some years.
Welcome back, Cauter
He is the kind of weasel who could work his way up to General.
Col. Hardin has proven to be an exceptionally skillful artillery officer.
Meaderation is in effect...
Is this what they mean when they say "Be civil"?
More like bend over and cough.
Col. Hardin has proven to be an exceptionally skillful artillery officer.
So noted! As MamaM used to say:
"Behind every chicken is a rooster, awaitin' his turn to crow!"
As for those long time lurkers, hanging about the edges of the encampment...check with Fighting Joe.
Lord, is Meade one spiteful little baby. To think once I respected him and the missus.
They fooled a lot of the people for a long time.
I had dealings with them outside the blog that thought me what they were like.
Actually double dealing if that makes sense.
They are bad people.
Now you have gone and insulted bad people.
I'm trying to follow the example of my betters (I mean that sincerely) and take the high road when trouble shows up in the comments at Lem's, but I still can't help but think some of those people are pretty naive with their aw-shucks-I-still-like-'em routine. After all we've seen, you'd think they'd wise up and recognize game-playing drama queens when they make themselves blindingly obvious, but no.
Well people gotta do what they gotta do.
They have accused me of running a cult here which is pretty funny. I don't want to control anybody. Shit I don't want to control myself. I am always up for another donut or beer or a slice of pizza. So why would I want to control you.
If you read what they posting now it is hilarious. They are the most pompous condescending pair of douchebags I have ever run across.
They are not just sad. They are comical.
Trooper--thank you for highlighting Col Chamberlain--a true hero--men of his caliber come very infrequently. The 20th Maine was instrumental in saving the day at Gettysburg.
They have accused me of running a cult here which is pretty funny.
Wait!!! This is a cult? And I didn't even get my t-shirt. Damn.
To think once I respected him and the missus.
Me too, Misplaced, me too.
Following the Meltdown, I felt sad and disappointed. Today, I'm feeling repulsed. Compassion for both may eventually arise, but I'm not there yet.
I don't like what I see happening at Lem's with the immediately observable surface stuff which can be directly attributed to Meade, and the remarks and odd interplay between several others which sound to my ears more like game playing than sincere comment.
Regardless of who or what else might be involved, Meade's dealings there do not reflect the person I thought him to be. That said, living with and loving someone who can't be wrong, is hell on earth.
.L. Chamberlain, a major character, recalls reciting to his father the speech from ''Hamlet'': "What a piece of work is man...in action how like an angel!" The father comments, "Well, boy, if he's an angel, he's sure a murderin' angel."
Gettysburg is one of my all-time favorite movies. Jeff Daniels is one of my all-time favorite actors. Chamberlin is mentioned in Ken Burns' documentary on the Civil War. Doctors told him he would die of his wounds, which he did...something like 40 years later.
I was always more of a fan of Stonewall Jackson, the "pious blue eyed killer".
We had a portrait of Robert E. Lee in our house - I later learned he graduated from West Point without a demerit.
I cannot imagine how much discipline that took.
I thew a couple of rather mild comments out this morning and they immediately went to moderation. It totally freaks them out that they can't just block people.
How can this be a cult? Crack's a member.
Exception that proves the rule.
Which is a nonsensical statement, as far as I am concerned.
Ommmm...
Sixty--
Most people don't understand the phrase "Exception that proves the rule" because they don't know (or have forgotten) that "prove" has more than one meaning.
Now we use it to mean "demonstrate the truth of something".
But it used to commonly mean "test the truth of something", as in "proving grounds".
The expression really means, then, "the exception that TESTS, or challenges, the rule."
Which makes perfect sense.
I believe I was well into my 30s before I put that together. Should've just used a fucking dictionary, I guess.
I posted this over at Lems
It is just weird. Althouse seems to think that the commenters belong to HER and Lem is feeling that he has stolen her commenters from her.
Well....this is my take on it.
Linking to that song because it is awesome and pretty much explains my attitude in life.
Then Meade demanded proof or why I think this way, so I answered
By the way she tends to talk down to them. Demand that they act in certain ways and objects when she is disagreed with. Tells them HOW to comment and scolds them when they don't comment 'correctly' or in 'good faith' (which seems to be an arbitrary and moving target). Gets annoyed when they don't seem to be able to read her mind and in general acts as if she is the school m'arm and they are children who need to be disciplined.
If she didn't think that she had some 'stake' or ownership of the commenters....YOU and she would be moving on with your lives and not hanging out here trying to disrupt the place.
You aren't fooling anyone, you know.
At which he deleted all of his comments to me. There is something seriously wrong with them.
Blake, dude, if you learned that in your 30s you are 30 years ahead of me!
Thanks for teaching me - I really appreciate that.
The prove is in the pudding, I always say.
Actually double dealing if that makes sense.
Yes.
A veritable pas de douche as it were.
What's Wrong With Althouse And Meade?
WAWAAM!
Hey! Quit hitting the house!
Sorry, Mom. There are TONS of mosquitoes out here on the deck! Nailed one that landed right near me!
Well, you're gonna knock a shingle loose, and you scared the hell out of me.
Sorry.
It was late. Pretty soon friends left, and the boys came in, counting welts. Hey! I gotta get in the shower! I'm itchy as hell. You wait! My face is on fire!
Tonight, everybody went to the high school fields to play ultimate frisbee. Tom says his disc technique is improving, so much he thinks he can make varsity in the spring. He says his speed is there already. I say, ultimate frisbee is a varsity sport?? He says, Yeah, of course. Didn't you know? I say, I thought, like, outdoor track and baseball were spring sports. He says, You're living in the past, again, Dad. I say, What about mosquitoes out there in those soggy fields? I remember being eaten alive watching you kids playing Little League. He says, We're not just standing around, tossing a frisbee, you know. It's Ultimate Frisbee. It uses every bit of speed I've got. Mosquitoes? Can't catch us.
Heh. The prove of the pudding is in the eating.
The prove of the pudding is in the eating.
It is.
Althouse and Lem both posted their go forward intentions tonight.
Althouse: Nothing but Althouse
Lem's: No Bashing Althouse
One "experiment" closed and another opened with a boundary. The pudding has been poured. The "prove" will be in the eating.
Lem's Place is run by Althousephiles, so what did you expect? And there is nothing wrong with that if you like living for Meade's ataboys.
I will see out outsourced comments work at Lem's.
Meh.
I think that that fiona person was too clever to be Inga. The tone was all different.
Ritmo is the best candidate I've heard, but it must have taken some real discipline to be so brief.
It's cooled off outside!
Wished I was young enough again to toss a frisbee with friends at midnight on the track infield.
Son just got back. He says they couldn't get into the track, as it's been torn up for construction, and the gate's locked.
Turned the floodlight on. Think we'll use our backyard.
Everybody's kinda ticked at the track closing. Used to be floodlit and open 24/7. Great resource for the town, but it needed maintenance and was too troublesome to keep open.
Speaking of being young again—DBQ, "You Don't Own Me" is a seriously brilliant blast from the past. Lesley Gore was damn good.
Her Dad, Leo Gore, was in swimwear and kids' clothing. I wonder if he had anything to do with Gore-Tex?
Wiki says "Wilbert".
At least it wasn't Albert.
yashu, I understand your need to vent about that stuff. Certainly I've done a lot of it here in the past week or so, as have others. It seems to be a necessary part of moving on for many of us.
But a great feature of the TY blog is that we have TTB, who moved on a long time ago, to show us the way.
I've pretty much weaned myself away from TOP, but after reading some of the late entries here I went back to read her latest farewell to comments. I was glad I did, b/c I got to read one last comment from Ron, who's always been one of my favorites.
Yeah, "Ron's Farewell."
Damnit.
Chip, yeah. My venting's a bit belated, but you're right, needed to get it over with to move on, and this is a good place for it (thank you Trooper).
It still smarts. Will miss engaging with A's blogwriting, along with the best gang of commenters anywhere.
I could continue to read her, but... the experience just pales dramatically. For reasons, beyond the obvious, I haven't quite figured out. (Not just the feeling of "constipation," though there's something to that.)
I don't wish her ill (and like I said, do feel somewhat sorry for her). If this is the direction she needs or wants to take her blog/ writing/ life in, good luck to her.
But she could have made that momentous move with... grace. But A/M mishandled it completely. What could have been a parting of ways (or moving on to a new phase) filled with goodwill and gratitude on all sides (certainly on my part), was just poisoned, petulant, petty.
Something really amazing grown over 9 years, ended in bitterness and recrimination.
That's sad. Oh well.
But I'm not that sad. It's the loss of community that hurt most; but since I'm still dialogically connected to so many commenters who've meant something to me for years... it doesn't hurt much at all.
The Crack Emcee said...
Sorry, but I simply don't have the gene that makes it possible to see passive-aggressive bullshit as anything other than a cowardly attack - the kind that should be punished the most severely because it's not respectable.
It's pretty obvious (after reading all this) the PC "don't bash" bullshit means even statements of fact aren't allowed - which means, just like in the ghetto, the bad guys already rule the roost. So Lem's can't be a place for me.
Goodbye and good night,...
Ann just wrote that Meade used to be mistaken for John Boy from the Waltons...
Okay then!
I too am sick of this obsessive commenting about Althouse. She is just not all that important. I do understand that people are upset about losing a favorite place to hang out and talk/argue/debate/joke with the others. A place that seemed more like a neighborhood bar and a familiar hang out.
So the bartender kicked us all out and shut down the joint. We found another place. Good.
The presence of Meade and his sheep herding tactics (thank you Yashu that is a very apt image) and the deliberate attempts of others to interrupt and divert the new place into another vortex of Althouse was what finally got me to respond to Meade.
I will do my best to not mess up Lem's new joint and frankly I am sick of discussing AA with the others over there.
Here, however.....well....that's a different story.
I must say I am really enjoying the lack of Inga at both places and the lack of those posters who would always engage with her in a thread death spiral.
And Lesley Gore is awesome. I remember people trying to torture their hair into that flip when I was in school. I was a failure at that because my hair is wavy and slightly curly. It just would NOT cooperate in forming that helmet flip style. LOL
As someone who owns and loves Border Collies I must object - no BC I have ever seen is as vicious or stupid as Meade - they could not be trusted around valued stock if they lashed out as he does.
Lem can have him. They deserve each other.
Lem may be a nice guy and all, but he is insufferable stupid.
If Meade were a dog, he would be a Havanese. Sort of gay looking and all bark. And perfectly worthless at herding or doing anything productive.
Here, however.....well....that's a different story.
Well, okay then! Here I go...
I see that Lem's asking everyone to lay off AA at his blog. As the saying goes, his blog and all that. Except...he established it expressly as a haven for commenters. So it seems weird to me that he'd want to muzzle the commenters.
Presumably this is to avoid more hurt feelings at Meadhouse. But there's a much simpler way for Meadhouse to avoid being hurt by the comments at Lem's: don't read the comments at Lem's.
As I said in what's now my Final Comment at TOP, for a law prof Althouse shows a remarkable unfamiliarity w/ the most important paper ever written on the subject of torts, by Ronald Coase. One of the applications of his analysis made by Posner was to establish the principle that in cases where transactions were impossible, it should be left to the "least-cost avoider" to avoid the harm.
Seems pretty clear to me who's the least-cost avoider when it comes to Meadhouse being wounded by comments at blogs other than TOP.
Meade is acting like the li'l old neighbor lady who's outraged b/c if she stands on the top step of her ladder and looks out the upper-right corner of her kitchen window she can see the privates of the man next door when he walks out of his shower.
Lem keeps looking for a good name for his blog.
Well, if he's determined to make it a Speak No Evil of Meadhous zone, then I'd like to suggest this name:
San Clemente
Meade likes what he sees.
I just sent Lem an email about his Althouse comment rule. His house, his rules. I also gave him this bit of advice
However, the presence of Meade and his deliberate stirring of the pot is not going to let the others who still have animus towards Althouse simmer down. Please.....if you have any ability to do so, ask Mead to stop being so disruptive. You may not see it, but frankly Meade is being a dick. I only responded to him last night when he asked me a direct question. He then proceeded to call me names and subsequently deleted his postings. Mead is not acting as a friend to you. I do not think that he has your best interest at heart and is a very disruptive person.
I hope you take my advice to heart.
DBQ
If he doesn't stop Meade or cannot see how evilly destructive Meade is, I guess we can just expect this experiment to crumble away. Perhaps another commenter will provide the next watering hole for those who wish to continue.
I am actually physically restraining myself from going after Meade full throttle.
What little things I have done are like love taps from his mother.
I hope Lem can succeed. We shall see.
51 bucks goes a lot farther than I'd've thought.
I think Lem is like Georgette from the Mary Tyler Moore show.
Sometimes I am afraid for him when he goes out to play in blog traffic.
But what can you do?
So we have not only settled what Lem is but have established how little he charges.
Troopski - cut loose, baby, I am here to learn. Blake has taught me, now it is your turn.
There must be some words I don't know.
I assume Lem got tired of the constant Althouse bashing.
Mixing it up with Meade is another category - all together.
Georgette was the funniest character on MTM next to Ted. I always thought Murray was lame.
I can't be mean to Lem. It is bad karma.
Plus don't worry. Trust Meade. He is cunt and will show it soon enough. Then we can pounce. Trust me it is only a matter of time.
Later, that same day...
...as the sun was about to set.
Then I walked across the street
And caught the Sunday smell of someone frying chicken.
And Lord, it took me back to something that I'd lost
Somewhere, somehow along the way.
Holy shit, Ritmo. I doff my cap.
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