Inaugural Dipping of the Big Toe:

I do not have the literary skills of FDChief, nor the credentials of Aviator47, but will do my best to fill in occasionally. Please don't spare the criticism. There is nothing worse than a group of people that turn into a self-licking ice cream cone. For starts, I thought maybe a goulash of two or three things that caught my interest.

1] The Art of War at Fort Ticonderoga

I hope they have some of the paintings of John Turnbull on display at Fort Ti. Yes much of his work like that of the deaths of Warren and Mercer could have been classified as propaganda. But his 'General George Washington Resigning His Commission' is IMHO a classic.

With my mother's family from Maine and a father from Virginia I have never been big on Civil War battlefields. My entire Civil War library consists of Grant's Memoirs, bios of Farragut and Jackson, and a Naval history of the time, nothing on the bloody land battles. Seems there were family folk on both sides and even a great-great grandfather who was a bounty jumper and fled to Canada after enlisting for cash. No shame there, he made his living as a steeplejack a hundred feet up back in the days long before steel scaffolding and cherry pickers so I never considered him a coward.

But as much as I am repelled by the CW, I am fascinated by the history of our Revolution. I have visited Yorktown, Valley Forge, Saratoga, Stanwyx, Brooklyn Heights, and most of the New England sites. I regret though that I have never been to Fort Ti. I need to make that trip soon.

It was a small victory against a few pensioners. Stop me if you did this before Chief, in your Decisive Battles series, I could not find it. The entire Brit force at Fort Ti was only two officers, two artillerymen, a couple of sergeants, 44 privates (many of whom were invalids) and 24 women and children. Reportedly only two(?) musket shots were fired by the defenders and one was a flash in the pan. Even so, the effects of that battle were enormous. Knox's transport of the Ticonderoga big guns and their use at Dorchester Heights is the stuff of legend. But some of those guns were used throughout the war. According to Christopher Ward’s history, although many of the captured guns from there were unserviceable, we did get 78 good cannon ranging up to 24-pounders (I reckon that is close to 150mm, what say the redlegs, Chief?). There were also six mortars, three howitzers, thousands of cannon ball, nine tons of musket ball, thirty thousand flints, plus tons of miscellaneous equipment. This was a small battle that changed the calculus of the war.

Our leadership at Fort Ti (Tyconderogo in the old vernacular) would not be considered top rate today. Arnold's ego eventually drove him to treason. Ethan Allen spent more of his time fighting the State of New York than he did fighting the Brits. Last year when I visited Bennington Vermont, imagine my surprise when I found the actual battlefield is now in New York. Old Ethan would be turning over in his grave.

2] Book Review: 'Diary of an Eco-Outlaw: An Unreasonable Woman Breaks the Law for Mother Earth' by Diane Wilson. I have always considered myself a conservative, but I have never been one of the new whiney, corporate Koch-sucker types who currently lay claim to the conservative label. I am more of the old school who believes we should be stewards of the earth for our grandchildren and their grandchildren. I always had a soft spot in my heart for environmental authors. So when I saw this title I immediately got a copy.

This is a good book. It is easy to read, and contains some very strong allegations against corporate polluters on the Texas coast. Wilson writes in an entertaining style like the downhome Texas woman that she is. A former shrimp boat owner and captain, and bayside seafood restaurant manager, she was one of many whose livelihoods were trashed by Union Carbide, British Petroleum, and Formosa Plastics. I note that Formosa Plastics plants were shut down in Taipei and also in Illinois for safety violations, but not unfortunately in Texas even though there was a huge explosion there horribly injuring up to 16 workers as well as massive chemical spills.

Wilson was also reportedly a former Army medic. She has been in jail several times for her environmental activism. She has been threatened, her dog was shot, she was called a communist, and been pressured by some in her family to cease and desist. Many employees of the polluters eventually came to her with information on chemical spills. They generally started all conversations with her by saying: ‘Now I am not a treehugger, but…’. One thing I like about her approach was that she never did espouse Edward Abbey’s proposed monkey wrenching or arson and the tree spiking that we saw here in the NW. I think she understands that civil disobedience was a better answer than sabotage that could kill or maim Joe Lunchpail and antagonize the people you needed to convert.

Imagine my surprise when I found halfway through the book that she was one of the founders of Code Pink which I always considered a group of loosey-goosey media whores. Or maybe she is not one of the founders as she is not listed as so on the CP website? Perhaps she was just a founder of a local chapter in TX, or perhaps one of the first activists but not actually a founder? She is probably a fan of Bradley Manning which would drive me crazy. Oh well, even angels sometimes have feet of clay, or at least a terra cotta toe. They, at least her and maybe some others, have earned my respect regardless of their methods. We need more like her.

It was published by Chelsea Green, from Vermont (like Ethan Allen above). I need to look into more of their environmental titles. NOTE: No gratuities have been accepted from the publisher or from booksellers.

3] What can be improved on this blog: Not much. And who would I be, a rank newcomer, to make recommendations? But alas, any self-respecting saloon that would take me as a bartender is probably not worth drinking in. BG or Andy would serve up stronger spirits. Pluto has a better handle than I on economics which is THE major issue for America at this time. And perhaps Svenn could be persuaded to occasionally cross post one of his zingers of interest to American readers? Make them an offer they cannot refuse.

PS - sorry if I stepped on your post Al, I waited two days. Not sure how the blog self-regulates that.

R/S - mike