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Maggie’s Funny & awesome pics, vids and memes thread (work safe, no nudity)

One of the dumbest questions that I get regarding my blackpowder firearms is, "do you think this thing could kill someone?"

My response is usually something like, "eegads, ye simpleton! Whilst you were just a dream in ye ancestor's eyes and should thou thinkest not in ye tiny cranium that wars were not fought and won with the noble fusil and arquebus? Whilst fair maidens fretted with corsets and powdered wigs gentlemen of noble breeding settled differences on verdant greens under leaden skies with dueling pistols in hand. Thinketh not that the lowly fowling piece was hoisted off a simple mantle to repel ruffians and varlets trapesing upon the threshold of ones abode?"

BTW, make dueling great again!
Your writing reminded me of this. Quite funny.
 
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The absolute best small kitchen appliance ever made available to the American consumer.

Close the Faberware Stainless are better. Heavier construction and no teflon.
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I own a musket for home defense, since that's what the founding fathers intended. Four ruffians break into my house. "What the devil?" As I grab my powdered wig and Kentucky rifle. Blow a golf ball sized hole through the first man, he's dead on the spot. Draw my pistol on the second man, miss him entirely because it's smoothbore and nails the neighbors dog. I have to resort to the cannon mounted at the top of the stairs loaded with grape shot, "Tally ho lads" the grape shot shreds two men in the blast, the sound and extra shrapnel set off car alarms. Fix bayonet and charge the last terrified rapscallion. He Bleeds out waiting on the police to arrive since triangular bayonet wounds are impossible to stitch up. Just as the founding fathers intended.

Sirhr

It’s been proven…….wish he was still alive.

 


View attachment 8389748


I own a musket for home defense, since that's what the founding fathers intended. Four ruffians break into my house. "What the devil?" As I grab my powdered wig and Kentucky rifle. Blow a golf ball sized hole through the first man, he's dead on the spot. Draw my pistol on the second man, miss him entirely because it's smoothbore and nails the neighbors dog. I have to resort to the cannon mounted at the top of the stairs loaded with grape shot, "Tally ho lads" the grape shot shreds two men in the blast, the sound and extra shrapnel set off car alarms. Fix bayonet and charge the last terrified rapscallion. He Bleeds out waiting on the police to arrive since triangular bayonet wounds are impossible to stitch up. Just as the founding fathers intended.

Sirhr
That intruder got 1776ed!
 
Well, yes and no.

You are correct that Lincoln and his cabinet were careful to NOT make the war about slavery in the early stages. It was about preserving the Union. And though anti-slavery himself, Lincoln was not about to risk the Union to emancipate slaves. He figured it would burn itself out eventually. But was not about to risk the Union to free anyone.

BUT... the roots of the Civil War were based on slavery. It was the basis of the Southern economy. The 'wealth' of the small percentage of Southerners who owned the vast majority of slaves was based on... slaves as capital. The value of slaves added up to more than the entire value of all the railroads and Industrial companies in the North. And Southern Agriculture, heavily driven by cotton to feed the mills of the North and of England... was totally based on slavery. Sugar, too. Plus there were fears that 'emancipation' would result in massive bloodshed or strife... what were you going to 'do' with slaves?

Then there was the political angle. Up until the 1850's, there was a careful balance in Congress of Slave vs. Non-slave states. Remember, each 'slave' was 3/5ths of a (non-voting) person in allocating congressmen. So Southern plantation owners were loath to allow anything change that balance and strip their power. They felt the Northerners would crush them politically if the balance were tipped.

So when new states were being added to the Union (Kansas and Missouri and California, etc.) big fights were coming up over slavery's spread. It was not a moral issue of 'do we own slaves or not.' It was all about 'do we keep our power in the Congress!

Add in the toxic effect of the abolition movement... the nutballs of the Nineteenth Century. These folks ranged from the "Meh, I don't like this" to the utter murderous zealots like John Brown (who hacked up people with swords and fomented actual revolution." These zealots were like BLM or "Occupy" today. And they turned the Southern Militia systems from sort of a joke... a local society phenomena... into a serious movement of arming aganist rising slaves, abolitionists and preparing for succession.

On the other side, you had radical secessionists. Again driven by various causes, but largely to 'protect the Southern livestyle' which was utterly dependant on maintaining slavery.

This was what led to the events of late 1860/early 1861. And while noone 'said' slavery up front when the war started... the whole thing was most definitely rooted in slavery and the ripples it caused through society at basically every level. With the flames fanned by the new availability of "cheap newspapers" and pamphlets... the 1850's version of the Internet. Along with more leisure time brought on by wealth and industrialization (and slavery) that let people engage in 'causes' for the first time in America. Causes like secession and abolition.

Lincoln absolutely kept the war from being about 'slavery' for some two years. I think it was after victory at... Antietam? That he felt he had enough momentun to change the narrative to slavery. Pushed hard by rich Boston and NY Abolitionists and Frederick Douglas and his (white) followers. Who were all endless pains in the ass when it came to waging the war.

And, as you point out, as soon as the narrative shifted, there was a massive outburst of "pissed off" in the North. Ranging from the NY Draft Riots to whole units deserting the Union Army. Political fallout. Huge anger in the Irish community in particular (they were the 'low wage' outcasts in Northern Society -- and felt freed slaves would lower their wages and compete for jobs.) Sound familiar? So the shift from "Preserving the Union" to "Emancipation" was not an easy or popular one. And in hindsight caused a lot of issues we still feel today.

But to say the Civil War was not about slavery is only part of the story. It was 100 percent 'based' on the fact that America was founded with Slavery still permitted. It was the 'unfinished business' of the Constitutional Convention. And the compromises that allowed it to stand were destined to cause 'issues' in the future. They did. A shooting war that killed more Americans, if my numbers are right, than all our wars put together. (That may have changed.) Was it about slavery? Not if you read the period history prior to the Emancipation Procolamation.

But that's not the whole story. It was about slavery. Even if it wasn't.

Pardon the rant. Er... diatribe. Er... history blathering. Whatever. My coffee isn't working yet. Excuse for controversial remarks.

Sirhr
well thought out and reasoned. a bit "revisionist",to coin a phrase. can see nothing contained that i can call in error. would be interested in you assessment of the motivation of the common rankers in both armies who did most of the dying. the actual start of the fighting was manipulated by lincoln. he did want a war once succession was committed to by the southern states,or at least their elites. the whole business with fort sumter being left in and supplied to a self identified "foreign" country is a bit of a separate issue. in fact,it reminds me of the ukraine,nato,russia manipulation by the NWO and the subseqent war there. the absolute constitutionality of succession and it's subsequent denial by a captive supreme court ex post facto is also an additional issue. the economic benefits to the northern elite's by political control of the south also sounds familiar in recent events to my mind. well done essay.
 
Nice summary.

The South felt it was about States' Rights, something that has/had been a wrench in the works since the beginning. Where does the Federal Government stop and State Government start? We still are having "difficulties" with this to this very day.

The Missouri Compromise was just that, a temporary method to keep the balance where the South felt they had a viable stake in the Union but the feeling that their ability to protect their economic interests were being whittled away just lead to that belief with each subsequent incident that came down the pike. Unequal numbers in the Senate was a real fear for the South. Their economy depended on agriculture while the North was becoming more industrialized and outstripping the South's ability to compete economically.

Harper's Ferry and Lincoln's election made those fears of being able to govern themselves, that slavery would be abolished, which would wreck the economy of the South, became a distinct probability.

Slavery was an important aspect of this but losing a say in what happens to you was a bigger driving force.

Red counties feel it today with the blue urban centers and their numbers controlling elections/policy. DDSOS.
another erudite take. shows the value of this forum for serious exchange of opinion.
 
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New car smell has more cancer causing shit in it than slapping on the occasional Curad.

These fucks are distracting you from the real cause of cancers these days… all those Covid Vaxx injections you took in return for free fries and a “I am a vaxx hero”’sticker so you could feel like you were a life-saving hero… instead of a stupid dupe who is in the “died suddenly” class of walking dead.

Oh and after 7 miscarriages you’ll have a three headed Kumkwat for a daughter.

Band Aid didn’t cause that.

Sirhr

im not distracted. i now exactly whats causing cancers. its the ones that are in denial that need their eyes opened.

this image looks like a supermarket here, but when i searched the manufacturer, it came up with the fda in the top 10 results (i use startpage). no the fda isnt the manufacturer, but the fda approved it for "cleaning" the produce. i suspect its happening here too with similar if not the same products.

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