All I can say at this point is that if all those idiots who bayed about "Second Amendment Solutions" aren't storming Capitol Hill right now then they can just STFU forever after.
In a true democracy this would result in pitchforks and torches and the Swiss Guard dead at the gates of the Tuileries.
Which is another way of saying that we must destroy the GOP or bow before our New Plutocratic Masters.
I'm sure you've got plenty on your plate, Chief, but I wonder if you'd ever consider covering the Eureka Stockade of 1854? It's a December battle, which you've always been short of, and there's plenty to dig into as far as how it ultimately mattered, which you have a real knack for. Personally I'd just love to see what you could do with the incident. Either way, good luck to you and yours, and may your winter have a spring.
ReplyDeleteI had to look this up, and the politics look interesting. I'd have to dig pretty deep into Australian history and politics to do it justice, I think (as the actual military part is pretty blunt...) but it might make an interesting piece. I'll think about it.
ReplyDeleteAnd thank you. I hope so, too.
Seems like Eureka still has the power to start arguments today. Here's what the Lancashire Infantry Museum website says:
ReplyDelete"Eureka faded from memory until late in the nineteenth century when both disputing trades unionists and Australian nationalists identified with versions of the story. In the Great War, Australian soldiers called themselves diggers reflecting the ‘mateship’ and independent spirit of the Eureka men. At the same time, the anti-war and anti-conscription movement claimed the Eureka legend for themselves. Australian Irish organisations, the Australian Communist Party, dockers refusing to load iron exports to Japan in 1939, protesters against United States bases in the 1960s, Australian republicans, anti-Vietnam war protestors, student sit-ins, women’s groups, striking building workers and locked-out miners have all claimed the Eureka memory for their own ends. In the constitutional crisis of 1975, Australians protesting against the dissolution of Parliament waved the Southern Cross flag."
Seems like the heirs of the 40th Foot still carry a bit of a chip on their shoulders about December, 1854.
http://www.lancashireinfantrymuseum.org.uk/the-battle-of-the-eureka-stockade/