Author Topic: 4th of july coming up, talk about BALLS  (Read 2109 times)

Offline StSanta

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4th of july coming up, talk about BALLS
« on: July 03, 2001, 08:20:00 AM »
Heh, misleading topic   :).

Anyhow, i just read the Declaration of Independence (dunno why i haven't before).

Those guys had balls the size of a large planet!

 
Quote
The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

And then follows a long list.

Sheet man, considering the way the world was back then, that is really...dumb? Brave? Heroic? Insane? Whatever it was, it worked.

Good going yanks. Now friends with a former enemy in a good and procutive alliance, essentially protecting the same rights.

I dinnae think the declaration of independence was *that* harshly worded, but ya live and learn   :).

Oh, and the author would find a spell checker very valuable. Now I gotta compleat this post before my house get burnt down  :).

"King of Limeyland, bugger off!"

  :)

[ 07-03-2001: Message edited by: StSanta ]

Offline Ripsnort

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4th of july coming up, talk about BALLS
« Reply #1 on: July 03, 2001, 08:42:00 AM »
Whats very funny is the fact that by December 1776, the rebel cause was fizzling, the rebellion almost to a stand still after repeated losses to the brits.  It was all ressurected by the arrogance of a certain British General who had the responsibility of  the protection of the city of Trenton.  He considered the rebels not be be a fighting force, and let them slip into Trenton on December 26th, 1776.  That turned the war around for the rebels, and is the key battle that ended up losing the war for the Brits.

Sorry, can't remember the British Generals name, but apparently, he was very hung over when the rebels struck at midnight, crossing a frozen river to invade Trenton.

Offline Eagler

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« Reply #2 on: July 03, 2001, 08:51:00 AM »
found this:
December 26th, 1776, Col. Rall received a message from a British spy which said that Washington planned to attack them that day.  However, Col. Rall was Hessian and couldn't read English.  Moreover, the troops were groggy from celebrating.  As a result, Washington won.
What if Col. Rall could read English and was able to beat Washington?  I believe that the loss would demoralize the Americans and cause them to lose the Revolutionary war.

http://groups.google.com/groups?q=battle+of+ trenton&hl=en&safe=off&rnum=2&ic=1&selm=20010128121232.19028.00000624%40ng-fm1.aol.com

Funny how some things work out   :)

   
Happy 4th to All!

[ 07-03-2001: Message edited by: Eagler ]
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Offline Toad

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« Reply #3 on: July 03, 2001, 08:55:00 AM »
Here ya go, Rip.


British General Howe had sent his forces away from Trenton and Trenton was now being protected by Colonel Johann Gottlieb Rall.

General Washington guessed that the Hessians would probably be celebrating Christmas...

...attacked the Hessians, who were still sleeping and drunk from their celebrations.


Santa, yes, BIG brass ones.  ;)
If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animated contest of freedom, go from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen!

Offline Eagler

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« Reply #4 on: July 03, 2001, 11:14:00 AM »
sad, sad,...

but I bet they know the latest mm song title or password cheat on their video game ...

U.S. Teens Struggle With History

Tuesday, July 03, 2001

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NORFOLK, Va.  — One in five American teen-agers doesn't know the answer to this grade-school history question: From what country did America declare its independence?


Twenty-two percent of those who responded to the survey commissioned by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation did not know the answer was England. Fourteen percent thought it was France.

``When you look at these numbers, it means that more than 5 million U.S. teen-agers don't understand the true meaning of Independence Day,'' said Colin Campbell, president of the foundation that runs Colonial Williamsburg, the restored 18th-century capital.

The nationwide telephone survey of 1,020 youngsters ages 12 to 17 was conducted May 31 to June 5 and has a margin of error was plus or minus 3 percentage points.

Nearly all those surveyed knew that Washington, D.C., is the U.S. capital and that George W. Bush is president. However:

—One in 10 did not know George Washington was the first president.

—17 percent did not know there were 13 original colonies.

—15 percent did not know the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776.

—Nearly one in four did not know who fought in the Civil War; 13 percent thought it was the United States and England.
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Offline Yoj

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« Reply #5 on: July 03, 2001, 11:25:00 AM »
Hmmm!  Not as bad as I thought.  Maybe the educational system is doing a better job than I would have guessed.

- Yoj

Offline Ripsnort

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« Reply #6 on: July 03, 2001, 11:32:00 AM »
I was gonna say Rall!  Really!  Anyway, he was known for his hatred of the rebels, and considered them very inept when it came to fighting, also, it wasn't that he couldn't read the message, he chose NOT to read the message and simply stuck it in his pocket!(You see, he was still celebrating the afternoon of the 25th, and, he considered the forces of Washington a non-threat, so, why even bother to read the message, in his mind, nothing would become of it if indeed they did attack)  From the book "Military Blunders"
Also, Washington attacked from the North, there was a north wind blowing that night, and the picket line troops that were at the cities edge had their backs to the north, due to wind chill...Rall was killed when they retreated to a bridge, he tried to rally his troops by going back across the bridge, waving his sword, and was subsquently hit in the head, before he died though, he gave the command to 'retreat'.  The rest, as they say , is "history".

[ 07-03-2001: Message edited by: Ripsnort ]

Offline Serapis

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« Reply #7 on: July 03, 2001, 01:16:00 PM »
Quote
Hmmm! Not as bad as I thought. Maybe the educational system is doing a better job than I would have guessed.

Yoj


My thoughs exactly Yoj as I read the paper this morning. IMO, Part of the problem is the way history is taught -- rote memorization of dusty dates and places. Many of us, if not most, are history buffs who read books that bring history to life. Of course, some of these are dry as dust as well and almost unreadable -- "Arms for Spain" being a brutal read I recently encountered.

Those who are not history buffs from an early age find few compelling reasons to explore the subject in greater detail after they enter mifddle and high school. The average high school text book reads like a farm equipment catalog (at least they did in the early 1980s), and, IMO more effort needs to be focused on humanizing the subject matter.

For every Gerorge Washington there were hundreds of average joes who shouldered a musket and fought to make a country. In many ways, their stories are more compelling -- you can identify with them and ask questions like, "what if I was alive back then?"

Ken Burns, with his documentaries, and writers like Walter Lord do a particularly good job with this in addition to covering the leaders and overall strategies. And, a polished multi-media presentation of history would go a long way towards opening it up to the TV generation. Sadly, many will learn about "history" from movies like Pearl Harbor and Titanic, and worst of all, Disney.

Charon

Offline texace

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« Reply #8 on: July 03, 2001, 10:58:00 PM »
One reason I think is it's because no teenager really cares about history. Think about it...what are most kids interested in now? Piercings, video games, sex, you name it. I asked a fellow high school student (senior, 12th) why he was failing history (when a football player fails it is fast news) He told me "Because it is boring. We sit there and learn about dead guys from way back when. I like stuff that's "in" today! F**k the past." BTW, on his history term paper, "independance" and "England" were misspelled, along with numerous historical mistakes.

This is the same mentality of most high schoolers today. 65% of the senior class failed the first semester of their history class.

Offline Swoop

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« Reply #9 on: July 04, 2001, 12:01:00 AM »
Quote
Originally posted by Toad:
Santa, yes, BIG brass ones.   ;)


Do your big brass balls stick to the monkey in cold weather?  


10 points to anyone who actually gets that one.   ;)

 

Offline funkedup

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« Reply #10 on: July 04, 2001, 02:24:00 AM »
Santa you brown-noser.   :)

Offline Toad

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« Reply #11 on: July 04, 2001, 04:58:00 AM »
Those big brass ones seem to have stuck it to Georgie, didn't they?  :)
If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animated contest of freedom, go from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen!

Offline StSanta

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« Reply #12 on: July 04, 2001, 07:15:00 AM »
Funked, you're right.

I should mention that it's odd how a people descended from such big balled people now are a mixture of Rikki Lake/Jerry Springer moronic idiots, with little understaniding of the fact that there's a world around them, and with no understanding that other states may, in fact, be better than the US in certain areas.

There, now *I*  feel better about myself.

Offline Cobra

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« Reply #13 on: July 04, 2001, 08:32:00 AM »
Actually, at the time, the Victory at Trenton was considered only a minor military victory.

It's real importance was as a morale booster among the Continental Army, and as a confidence booster among the general population.  From this point on, the mood of the people became more resolute towards nothing short of Independence.

Up to that point, the Army was on the verge of collapse and the mood among the population was one of trying to find a way out of the fighting.

Cobra

Offline Dowding

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« Reply #14 on: July 04, 2001, 11:21:00 AM »
lol Santa  :D

It's good to see someone keeps history alive by celebrating it (even if it is Ripsnort's version). I would say that 95% of British people know nothing about the American Revolution, and probably couldn't care less. In actual fact, most people know very little about Korea, a war fought 50 years ago, nevermind one that occured several centuries ago.

Besides, it was just some backwater skirmish, not a real war. The fact that Hessians were involved at all shows how much regard the British government had for America; the British were too busy killing Frenchmen and protecting India, which was regarded as a much more valuable asset.  ;)

The principles behind the Declaration of Independance are commendable - but the reality was a little different if you happened to black or native American. I doubt things really changed for them, and the way they were treated was equally as bad as when they were under British rule.
War! Never been so much fun. War! Never been so much fun! Go to your brother, Kill him with your gun, Leave him lying in his uniform, Dying in the sun.