4th and Final Installment on the article on the Museum of (for) the Confederacy published on Black Commentator

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The 4th and final installment of of a series of articles on the Museum of(for) the Confederacy (MOC) is now online at:

http://www.blackcommentator.com/462/462_museum_confederacy_4_sebesta_guest_share.html

This article revisits critically the exhibit Before Freedom Came and the book associated with it. It recounts a visit by a distinguished person with museum expertise to the MOC. It examines how trivia and artifacts are used to obscure the story of the Confederacy. It examines how the MOC has co-opted the history profession.

This last installment also asks that the history profession in the future not accept awards from the MOC and those who have received repudiate them. Whether many or even a few historians in the future repudiate or refuse an award from the MOC isn't so important as the fact from now on when a historian accepts or retains an award from the MOC this historian is taking a stand and revealing their identity.

All the previous installments can be seen at:

http://newtknight.blogspot.com/2011/11/moc.html

Former Sons of Confederate Veterans Commander-in-Chief accused of defrauding investors, Updated

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Ron Wilson, one time columnist for the Council of Conservative Citizens and former Commander-in-Chief of the Sons of Confederate Veterans is accused of defrauding investors according to two news articles at the Independent Mail of Anderson, SC in an article titled, "Attorney general: Ron Wilson defrauded silver customers."

The articles are online at:

http://www.independentmail.com/news/2012/mar/14/attorney-general-ron-wilson-defrauded-silver-custo/

And another is online at:

http://www.independentmail.com/news/2012/mar/15/confederate-history-buffs-shocked-silver-fraud-all/

Quoting from the first article:

Former Anderson County Council member Ron Wilson told securities investigators he had at least $16.9 million of his customers’ silver in a Delaware depository, according to a complaint from the state attorney general.

But the complaint says the depository had no records of Wilson, his company or the silver.

The complaint says that Wilson and his company, Atlantic Bullion & Coin, collected millions of dollars from customers who thought they were buying silver but when customers wanted to cash out there was no silver in their accounts or the accounts had been altered.

A Complaint has been filed by the Attorney General's office. According to the article:

Five violations of the state’s security laws are alleged in the complaint, including making false claims under oath and the fraudulent sale of securities.

And

State Senior Assistant Attorney General Tracy Meyers requested Monday that prosecutors or a state grand jury take up a case against Wilson, according to a criminal referral request provided by the state attorney general’s office.

Evidently this isn't a new problem with Ron Wilson, the article reports:

Wilson kept selling the investments in South Carolina, and 24 other states, after agreeing in writing in 1996 to stop selling securities or similar investments because he was not a licensed broker or agent, according to state documents he signed.

The 1996 consent order signed by Wilson says he and any successors or representatives “are prohibited from making or causing to be made to any person or entity in South Carolina any offers or sales of securities by means of any false or fraudulent sales practices.”

In the second article one of the United Daughters of the Confederacy officer quips, "There is no silver lining in this." I always love a good humorist. Good for her.

Wilson used to run full page ads for his firm "Atlantic Bullion and Coin" in neo-Confederate publications.

It will be interesting what Wilson will say to his defrauded customers. Will he claim that an evil cabal of DC empire builders stole it, or it was a frame up by Obama and his minions?

The interesting thing about people in these right wing organizations is that they seem to be the targets of people selling investments. When they aren't being sold something as an investment to evade the New World Order or some imagined nemesis, they are being sold various quack health remedies. Some conspiracy is suppressing some health remedy and the persons advocating the conspiracy advocate some thing or food that you can purchase to cure what ails you. (Update: One website I am monitoring is selling a machine which generates electricity without inputs, essentially a perpetual motion machine, and also offering to sell gold wholesale.)

One thing that has to be asked is why it took 16 years for the South Carolina Attorney General's office to realize that Ron Wilson was violated an agreement to desist from selling securities. Lots of people suffering heavy losses.

Update:

I will update this as information becomes available.

More on this scandal:


http://www2.wspa.com/news/2012/mar/15/16/anderson-co-councilman-accused-running-scam-25-sta-ar-3411539/

http://www.wyff4.com/news/30676173/detail.html

Secret Service hauling off boxes of records.
http://www2.wspa.com/news/2012/mar/16/20/anderson-co-councilman-accused-running-scam-25-sta-ar-3411539/

Another article on the scamming.

http://thewilliamstonjournal.com/2012/03/15/sc-attorney-general-files-complaing-against-wilson-atlantic-bullion/#more-3122

Legislature decides to close barn door after horses have left department.

http://www.independentmail.com/news/2012/mar/17/anderson-legislators-react-investigation-ron-wilso/

Class-action suit: Lawyer conned by Wilson thinking of class action suit.

http://www.independentmail.com/news/2012/mar/16/class-action-lawsuit-proposed-against-ron-wilson/

"Politics and the History Curriculum" is now available for advance sales

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The Palgrave Macmilian website has this listing which isn't very informative:

http://us.macmillan.com/politicsandthehistorycurriculum/KeithAErekson

Amazon has this listing which tells a little bit more:

http://www.amazon.com/Politics-History-Curriculum-Struggle-Standards/dp/1137008938/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1332812307&sr=1-1

And this is the link at Barnes & Nobles:

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/politics-and-the-history-curriculum-keith-a-erekson/1107885815

However, Keith Erekson's page is the most informative I have found so far:

http://www.keitherekson.com/books/politics-and-the-history-curriculum/

There is also this flyer for the book which describes the contents.

http://www.keitherekson.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/PHC_Flyer.pdf

You will notice in the flyer that yours truly is the author of the chapter on the teaching of the Civil War and Reconstruction.

The following are the book blurbs by distinguished scholars:

"What's the matter with Texas? Outsiders too often dismiss it as an overgrown and ignorant child, shrouded in right-wing politics and fundamentalist religion. But that view is itself a gross caricature, as this close study of history and myth-making in Texas demonstrates. Rooting their story firmly in the social and political history of the Lone Star State, Keith A. Erekson and his colleagues bust a few big myths themselves. Read this book if you want to understand why Texans continue to contest their shared past, and why the rest of us should stop condescending to them." --Jonathan Zimmerman, professor of Education and History, New York University

"In these behind-the-scene essays, history educators and all citizens interested in history education will find chilling accounts of how the conservative Christian right played power politics to ensure that young Texans learn a largely white-washed U.S. history while remaining uneducated about world history. The essays in this important book give voice to teachers and history professors who were steamrollered by the Texas Board of Education."--Gary Nash, Professor Emeritus, Department of History, UCLA; Director, National Center for History in the Schools

"Politics and the History Curriculum offers the most comprehensive, thought-provoking, and timely examination yet of the ongoing controversy over history standards in Texas and across the nation. As an historian and textbook author, I especially appreciate the range and analytical quality of the essays collected here. This book is a must-read for any teacher, administrator, or citizen engaged with these issues." --Daniel Czitrom, co-author, Out of Many: A History of the American People

The book is to be released June 2012.

Finished Reading Dr. Hayes-Bautista's "Cinco de Mayo"

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I just finished reading "El Cinco de Mayo: An American Tradition," by Dr. Hayes-Bautista of UCLA. It is a good read. It provides some background of the history of Latinos in California as context for the development of Cinco de Mayo as a holiday in California.

Cinco de Mayo was developed in California, though over time it has been picked up by other regions.

Its origins come from the Civil War where Latinos saw fighting the Confederacy and the French invaders of Mexico as part of one common struggle for democracy and against slavery, for the republican form of government and against aristocracy and oligarchy and racism.

In the original Cinco de Mayo celebrations in the 19th century pictures of Lincoln and Juarez were carried in processions. The American flag and Mexican flag were always paraded together as symbolic of the struggle for freedom in both countries.

Hayes-Bautista also explains how the meaning of Cinco de Mayo was lost as subsequent immigrant groups adopted it as a popular holiday but weren't connected to its past tradition in the past when there wasn't a developed body of Latino intellectuals as today.

The concluding paragraph of the book is very interesting as Hayes-Bautista speculates what a future Cinco de Mayo might be like. I quote as follows:

"It is interesting to speculate about what form future celebrations of the holiday might take, should its true origins and heritage become better understood. Naturally, the blatantly commercial aspects will not disappear; by now, virtually no American holiday has escaped some degree of commercialization. But future celebrations might also include California mission-era songs, dances, and costumes; uniformed Civil War reenactments featuring the Native California Cavalry and the unofficial Latino militias; images of Abraham Lincoln, Benito Juarez, and Ignacio Zaragoza; and of course liberal displays of American and Mexican flags side by side. Likewise, there might be uniformed reenactors of the French Intervention, including the Californios and Latino immigrants who traveled to fight for freedom and democracy in Mexico. In addition to the "Battle Hymn of the Republic," one might hear Mexican soldiers' songs of the 1860s, such as "Adios, Mama Carlota" or "Batalla del Cinco de Mayo.' It might be fitting as well to remember the Latinos who, in the same spirit, fought for the United States in the Spanish-American War, World War I, World War II, and the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and subsequent conflicts. As in the nineteenth century, there might be speeches and pageants recalling these historical events, reminding listeners of the motivating values they share, showing the continuing relevance of those events to modern-day issues."

Such a Cinco de Mayo would have revolutionary impact in Texas. Also, would the Jefferson Davis highway be able to persist in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas with such a historical consciousness amongst the Latinos in those states?

"Civil War Monitor" reviews favorably "Confederate and Neo-Confederate Reader."

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The glowingly positive review is online at this link:

http://civilwarmonitor.com/book-shelf/loewen-sebesta-eds-the-confederate-and-neo-confederate-reader-2010

To quote from the review:

"For those of us that study and teach issues of Civil War memory, one of our great frustrations has been the lack of easily attainable primary source material to thoroughly discredit and dismantle the mythological claims of Confederate and neo-Confederate revisionists. Loewen and Sebesta’s exceptional new text The Confederate and Neo-Confederate Reader is the first collection of primary sources focused exclusively on such documents, as the authors note, that have somehow remained hidden “in plain sight” since the end of the Civil War. The book provides teachers and researchers alike with an invaluable archive of speeches, images, political papers, and memoirs that graphically reveal what the Confederacy and its post-war nostalgists actually believed about slavery, secession, race relations, and the whitewashing of the southern past."

Cyndi Thomson - What I Really Meant To Say

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Western Wednesday this week is a little bit newer, but it is still a One Hit Wonder. This song was released in 2001 as her debut album. became a number one hit on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts. She later walked away from her recording career in 2002, but resumed recording in 2006. She has yet to release anything.  (Source)




So what do you think of Cyndi Thomson Goodman?

Chad Brock - Yes!

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It came as no surprise to me that this song was a One Hit Wonder because while it is one of my favorites, I can never remember who sings it. He is a former professional wrestler and he did have 2 “hit” songs, but it was “Yes!” that went to the top of the charts. Since then, none of his releases have topped #47. (Source)




I don't even know anything else he sings, so if you do please let me know.

Jana Kramer - "Why Ya Wanna"

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Feature Friday this week will showcase an up and coming country star. She has had a bit of radio time here in Cedar City lately. You may think here name sounds familiar. Well if you are a One Tree Hill fan it should. She played Alex Dupre in seasons 7-9. In February 2011, Kramer signed with Warner Bros. Nashville Records. A digital single, "I Won't Give Up", was released to iTunes and Amazon.com in February 2011 and was featured on an episode of One Tree Hill. The song reached number 75 on the Billboard Hot 100. Her first official single, "Why Ya Wanna", was released to country radio in late 2011. Jana recently announced her debut album "Jana Kramer" will be released on June 5, 2012. (Source)

Luke Bryan Two Videos That Go Together

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Luke Bryan's songs "I Don't Want This Night To End" and "Drunk On You" go together. They feature a girl and then waiting for the girl. according to the GAC TV blog, " In Luke Bryan’s last video, “I Don’t Want This Night To End,” Luke was left wondering where the girl he’d spent the night with was from, after she left him sleeping in a barn. In his new video, “Drunk On You,” set two months later, Luke makes good on his promise to leave her a ticket as he tours the country – but will she show up?" I guess you need to watch both to decide for yourself. Happy Monday everyone!

Does she show up? Find out in this video. To see what happens to Luke on his tour.

I Walk The Line

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Western Wednesday with Johnny Cash. Johnny Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century. Although he is primarily remembered as a country music icon, his songs and sound spanned many other genres including rockabilly and rock and roll—especially early in his career—as well as blues, folk, and gospel. This crossover appeal led to Cash being inducted in the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and Gospel Music Hall of Fame. "I Walk the Line" is a song written by Johnny Cash and recorded in 1956. After three attempts with moderate chart ratings, "I Walk the Line" became the first number one Billboard hit for Cash. The single remained on the record charts for over 43 weeks, and sold over 2 million copies. (Source)