After the surrender of Vicksburg to union forces in July, 1863, there was a lull in the prosecution of the war. So true was this that many union officers sent for their families to come and spend some time with them in the area where only a short time before Vicksburg had been under siege for forty seven terrible days. Grant had some of his family present even before the surrender, and afterward William Tecumseh Sherman was among the officers who sent for family.

Sherman had a son who was named after him, Willie. Willie was nine years old. The boy became positively enthralled with everything military  particularly Captain C.C. Smith's battalion, Thirteenth United States Regulars. He was thrilled watching this battalion march and drill. So noticeable was Willie at battalion functions that the men more or less adopted him as a sort of mascot. The boy became seriously ill and was diagnosed with Typhoid.On doctor's advice the Grants and Willie headed for Memphis where there were reportedly newer medicines and a better doctor. All of this was to no avail and the child died.

The following letter from Sherman to Captain Smith speaks for itself, but do have a tissue handy for more than likely you will not be able to read this without shedding a tear.

GAYOSO HOUSE, MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE
October 4, 1863, Midnight
 Captain C. C. SMITH, commanding Battalion Thirteenth United States Regulars.

 MY DEAR FRIEND: I cannot sleep to-night till I record an expression of the deep feelings of my heart to you, and to the officers and soldiers of the battalion, for their kind behavior to my poor child. I realize that you all feel for my family the attachment of kindred, and I assure you of full reciprocity. Consistent with a sense of duty to my profession and office, I could not leave my post, and sent for the family to come to me in that fatal climate, and in that sickly period of the year, and behold the result! The child that bore my name, and in whose future I reposed with more confidence than I did in my own plan of life, now floats a mere corpse, seeking a grave in a distant land, with a weeping mother, brother, and sisters, clustered about him. For myself, I ask no sympathy. On, on I must go, to meet a soldier's fate, or live to see our country rise superior to all factions, till its flag is adored and respected by ourselves and by all the powers of the earth.

But Willie was, or thought he was, a sergeant in the Thirteenth. I have seen his eye brighten, his heart beat, as he beheld the battalion under arms, and asked me if they were not real soldiers. Child as he was, he had the enthusiasm, the pure love of truth, honor, and love of country, which should animate all soldiers.

God only knows why he should die thus young. He is dead, but will not be forgotten till those who knew him in life have followed him to that same mysterious end.

Please convey to the battalion my heart-felt thanks, and assure each and all that if in after-years they call on me or mine, and mention that they were of the Thirteenth Regulars when Willie was a sergeant, they will have a key to the affections of my family that will open all it has; that we will share with them our last blanket, our last crust! Your friend,

 W. T. SHERMAN, Major-general.

Now for the lessons from the past, lesson number one: The newspapers of the day were rather constant in reporting that Sherman was crazy, insane and otherwise unfit for duty and many implored President Lincoln to relieve him of duty.The similarities in reporting about Sherman and G.W. Bush to this day are not unnoticed. The question screams out, how could someone so out of touch with reality, so crazy, ever manage to write such a letter as Sherman wrote regarding his beloved Willie? There's also another question begging for an answer. Has anything changed? Do we not still have a news media largely as overtly rotten as it was in Sherman's day?

Lesson Number Two: And this is for our President, Barak Obama and his minions who seem not to think that our country shines above the rest or that it should. It is also for our president who has difficulty with the concept of victory because it makes him think of Hirohito surrendering to Mac Arthur on a battleship in the pacific, and a nice United States would not want to whip someone in a war and then see the whipped in an  uncomfortable situation.By the way, Hirohito surrendering is an event that never occurred.  But then why would Barak Obama bother to know enough U.S. history  to know that the emperor of Japan was not involved in the surrender of  Japan? It is rather hard to believe that a young mover and shaker being  formed for bigger and better things by the Chicago political elite would have much time to devote to  the history of a nation he evidently has little respect for. That was not the agenda then and does not appear to be now.

 General Sherman wanted our "flag adored and respected by ourselves and all the powers of the earth." He also wrote of the childlike "enthusiasm, the pure love of truth, honor and love of country" he found in his son.

Oh how very much our young president could have learned from Young Willie Sherman.

No body said it would be easy, this Obama presidency. One prediction that has  proven 100% accurate was that made during the 2008 campaign. Dennis Prager, conservative radio host, author, philosopher and more, read the tea leaves thus. He let it be known that if Barak Obama was elected anyone questioning any Obama policy or plan would be labeled a racist. This is exactly what has occurred over and over and over again. It is what will continue to happen.

Everyone knows that racism and racists exist in the U.S. They always have and always will, but the numbers are clearly going down. Everyone knows that bigotry and bias of all sorts are human traits and that as long as humans exist there will be bigots and people consumed with all manner of bias. Some people will behave  badly, but only some. If the percentage of racists, for example was as high as some would have us believe, Mr. Obama could never have been elected, period.  There were lots of people who hated J.F.K. because he was catholic. Many would not vote for Romney because he is a Mormon. Those who hate President Obama because his father was black are no different than these others.

The long and short of it all is that it is perfectly possible to disagree with the president on issues and not be a racist. It is real easy for the administration to brush off all who disagree as racist or liars or a host of other names and never have to address the issues, but it is not without it's costs. Witness the ever growing number for whom the magic and masterful PR  are no longer working. Lincoln said it, "...but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time".

The blogs at Townhall.com, pretty neat. We can come in, blow off a little steam and perhaps get to feeling a little better. It would be swell to know how many got to partake of our words of wisdom. Lord only knows, but a counter would be great just for letting us know how many had partaken of our wisdom and thoughts of singular import. Then again it could be an ego buster when never moving off of zero. How would we explain that to our adoring fans?

It would be a means of letting us know if the powers that be actually ever read any of  what we contribute, should a counter mysteriously appear on each post. Does anyone care or are we providing only ballast. That some golden phrase, plump with wisdom and loaded with whatever it takes to evoke a torrent of tears among the dear readers, was ultimately fill or drivel or both muttered only to four bare walls  would be a bitter pill for those who are so hopeful that their words really mean something. If nothing else we can have a counter of sorts right here right now, if we dare. If we all made our email addresses part of what we wrote, the rest of us could then say, hey, I read that. I may not really want to know, but let her rip.  agrisolia5@gmail.com                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

It's been a while so maybe we need  to meet again and talk about our problem. We're running on empty, and it is becoming more and more apparent to more and more people. It is not a very good feeling. It is not unlike being on a flight that has a lot of turbulence. The cockpit door opens revealing an empty cockpit. Not a very good feeling. The mountain man hears the grizzly bear dismantling the cabin door. He eases the heavy revolver from  his belt and flips open the cylinder to reveal the back end of five shiny brass cartridges, but sees only empty holes. It is not a very good feeling.

We elected an empty human being as president. Good looking, charismatic, articulate, intelligent, empty. And oh, did I say he's a killer with a teleprompter? Pretty much no better than the rest of us without one, but boy, can that man read. If we can be honest for a minute, he is not all that pretty and the rest of those adjectives are all just part of the hype.

There was a lot of, "well this young man knows nothing but he's sure to surround himself with lots of experience". Really? Perhaps like Rahm "Never Waste a Crisis" Emanuel or maybe Hillary who would be a shoe in for white house laundress. As we become more and more familiar with young Mr. Obama and more and more embarrassed with his un scripted ramblings, we see the severity of our situation. A ship without a captain is not a good idea nor is a country without a leader. As a nation we will sputter and flounder and it will not be pretty, but we must survive and we must throw the bums out. If we're able to survive with nobody in the cockpit and with six empty chambers in the revolver, we will come out the other end a new  wonder of the world. Let's do it.

Sad to say, gang, this presidency is for real. If there was any glimmer that it might not be too bad, that perhaps we would escape the real, brutal four year hit parade of horrors, that tiny light has been snuffed out. We have a genuine liar in chief at the helm as we speak. True it is not the first one and won't be the last, but he is a doozy.

"Liar, liar, pants on fire. Nose is as long as a telephone wire". The old school yard taunt really does apply to President Obama with one correction only. That "telephone wire" would be a long distance line in his case. Along with the championship talent for world class lying are several other attributes that contribute to a total package worthy of  genuine disgust. Think about it. Narcissism and pride on top of lying. Can this be the package that will make the world love us again?

Examples? Examples are good. In speaking of the "stimulus" the president borrows a page from Al Gore. That cannot be good. The debate is over or words to that effect, and there is no need for any further conversation. Barak speaketh. Never mind a continuing flow of articles to the contrary by economists of note from institutions of note. He condescends to speak of "revisionist" historians who question if it was F.D.R.'s programs or World War Two that ended the great depression. That discussion has been going on for seventy years, but our illustrious leader has never heard it before. His general attitude is, "I have spoken now can't I just finish my waffle"?

The leaders of the world do not care if he ever finishes his waffle. they have been at their game infinitely longer than he, and cockiness will not impress them. Nor will they be charmed by his so called rock star like qualities. Mostly they will have a laugh or two then brush him off as a pesky knat. The world who have fallen for an empty suit and a dream will have to reckon with the truth that charisma cannot lead. It spends way too much time looking in the mirror.