Not that we condone this sort of thing...but...since we're rather busy for the moment...and...since this exchange includes quite a bit of educational and historical material...and...since it's always nice to see an arrogant wingnut put into his proper place (back under the bridge with the rest of the trolls)...We elevate the following BRAD BLOG comments exchange (smackdown) to full-fledged blog item.
In our recent article introducing Velvet Revolution to the world, commenter "des" made the notable point that many of the revolutionaries who fought for America's freedom from King George (the original one), were ordinary working-class folk who had set aside their simple lives to take up the fight against corruption and oppression.
That notion did not sit well with commenter/Freeper/wingnut/historical-revisionist "Paul" who opined:
Never mind that neither the concept, nor word "communism" (small "c") even existed until the French Revolution of 1830. A fair number of years after said Founding Fathers would have "rejected" such a concept in Paul's World o' Make-Believe History. Or that the Communist (capital "C") Party didn't come into existence until several years later (under "Paul's" brilliant oratorical logic, we'd also have to conclude that both the Founder Fathers and the Pilgrims similarly "rejected cell phones")... It was the great American, and BRAD BLOG staple "Winter Patriot" who gave our confused and brain-addled and washed friend "Paul" the humiliating historical spanking that he so self-righteously deserves...
And Article 11 of the Treaty of Tripoli, drafted in 1796 (President Washington's last year in office), passed unanimously and signed into law in 1797 by President John Adams, says:
So there's that. But let's not dwell on one solitary lie. Let's look at some of the other nonsense which our friend Paul has so graciously posted...
For example, If LIBERTY is a GODLY idea, then why is our supposedly Godly so-called president leading an administration which is so determined to keep taking away of our [former] civil liberties?
And did the Pilgrims REALLY reject communism? That's a good one! People of the 16th century rejected a concept that didn't appear until the 20th century? How did they do that, Paul? Did they have a TIME MACHINE?
The Pilgrims came here for religious freedom? Good! We finally agree on something. But religious freedom means religious freedom for EVERYBODY. Not just for fundamentalist Christians!
And if the Founding Fathers weren't conspiracy theorists, then they must have been CONSPIRACY REALISTS, because they surely recognized a conspiracy when they saw one. Their writings make this abundantly clear.
The Founding Fathers would be UTTERLY HORRIFIED by what has happened to their country, and by what their country has done to the rest of the world. And they would be appalled if they knew that their names and their memories were being abused in an attempt to justify it.
So, Paul: Why don't you go sell your horse manure somewhere else? Maybe you should try to find a less educated audience, because we have a bunch of people around here who know horse manure when we see it. And we're looking at some right now!
(Brief pause while the applause dies down...)
And so, another Freeper is sent back to his cave with tail between his legs. Though he will no doubt return to "fight" another day towards yet another ignominious defeat at the hands of the educated and not-easily-cowed.
Until then, dear friends, we leave you with the sage words from whence our friend "Winter Patriot" takes his apt pseudonym (as posted at the top of his fine blog):
-- Thomas Paine, "The Crisis", December 23, 1776
Thank you to all the Winter Patriots out there in Bradville and beyond. You do indeed have our love and thanks for your brave and unshrinking service to your country in this time when the sun seems too-often darkened and the chill winds of winter sweep across the fruited plains.
Fight on Winter Patriots...