Ironduke

Ann Coulter should be embarrassing to any conservative:
Our military bases are named after Confederate officers like Eisenhower and Nimitz.... ooooh-kaaay.

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lwarmonger

I believe those were two separate thoughts... "the majority of of military bases in this country are named after Confederate officers; Eisenhower, Nimitz." (as in, examples of high ranking officers from the South) ect.

Every time I hear Ann Coulter she seems like she's on crack, however if you interpret what she's trying to say from what she is actually saying she is correct some of the time.

And the Army at least has a pretty southern mentality... sometimes I acquire a southern accent, depending on where I'm at and who I'm training with... something I have to ditch when I head back to Washington State.

Ironduke

No, they're not.

Eisenhower's not a Southerner. His parents were Pennsylvanians who lived in Texas very briefly. They moved to Kansas when Ike was a year old.

There are no military bases named after either Eisenhower or Nimitz.

They were both born decades after the Civil War.

The majority of US military bases are not named after Confederate officers.

Ann Coulter has a tenuous grasp on the facts in this example, and her Romney article is pathetically weak.
Hmm... looks like there are a few other issues as well. I could dig up enough to fill the maximum allowed length of several posts, but I think I've made my point.

dalem

I like Ann's stuff and style, by and large. Most of the contoversy over stuff she's said or written has turned out to be largely context (or lack thereof) driven. I'd think that in the above she's jumping thoughts from bases named after Confederate generals (Pope, Hood, etc.) to ship names (Ike, Nimitz).

As far as Romney and his flip-flips, well, like I said, we'll see. If McCain gets it, like I said, I'll hold my nose and support him. Or at least vote for him.

-dale

Ironduke

That's a big jump. The only common thread is military. Is she that unfamiliar with American military history?

lwarmonger

Look, I don't really want to argue about this because, like I said, I think she sounds like she is on crack most of the time. I'm just pointing out that just because most of what she says doesn't make much sense doesn't mean that she is always wrong... at least once you rearrange the words a bit.

dalem

Dunno. Maybe. Do you have the whole cite or transcript? Was it an article, a speech, and interview, or what?

I get veeeeeeery cautious when reading quotes on the interwebs. If I'm to believe stuff I've read from Giuliani then McCain has "voted to increase taxes" a jillion times. If I'm to believe McCain supporters, he's never ever voted for a one. It's a crap accusation regardless because without the context of the vote you can't really know what a legislator was doing or trying to do.

That's one of the reasons I don't like Senators as candidates - too easy to make them look stupid, foolish, duplicitous, or all three.

Anyway, I need context before I get excited either way about someone.

-dale

Ironduke

It was on Hannity and Colmes yesterday. The full quote:
An unedited seven minute clip of the Hannity & Colmes show with everything she said:

donnie

Sir. In all fairness he was born in Texas, he was stationed in Texas after west point, and all of the great accomplishments that led to his appointment to Supreme Commander Allied Expeditionary Forces, were commands he held in the south.

Sir. I can’t believe for a second she thought they were civil war officers. From my view of the video; my humble opinion is that she was spouting a stream of thought, listing 3 separate examples of the US's respect for southern commanders, and the south’s devotion to the military. i.e.

1. The majority of military bases in this country are named after Confederate officers.

2. Eisenhower, Nimitz

3. The list of southerners in our military is legion

I saw them as 3 separate statements

If she thought just before she spoke it would probably sounded more like this "Many military bases are named after confederate officers, you have other great southern officers like Eisenhower, and Nimitz, and the list of southerners in our military is legion.

Your right they are not the majority, but it is probably the largest pool of base names post civil war. Of course that’s anecdotal, because I'm too lazy to look up the facts at the moment. Im sure you will be able to correct me if I'm wrong.

I think she over reached in a fast paced response, but I agree her Romney article was very weak; she could easily tear him apart if she wanted. Fortunately I put her right up there with Al Sharpton.

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Ironduke

None of that matters one bit. It is inconsequential. He was never a Southerner.
She speaks without thinking. Name-dropping Eisenhower and Nimitz... they simply have no place in whatever point she was trying to make.
Three military bases are named after Confederate officers.

JAD_333

The way the written quote is edited, with a colon after "Confederate officers" certainly makes it seem she was saying Ike and Nimitz were Confederate officers. But is that what she meant? On listening to her, it seemed to me a comma belongs there. She never got the chance to develop her thought.

She's a smart, quick witted satirist who seems to be on a mission to expose the crasser side of people's motives. Maybe we need people like her to balance the books. But I don't think so. She is too divisive. Ridicule hardens people into their positions and makes reconciliation all that much more difficult. Her attack on the widows of WTC victims was outrageous, even if it is true of some of them. It put them all in the same box, and we know that's not true. Anyway, it's one of those nasty half-truths that are better left to each individual's personal judgement. The fact that she is labeled a conservative commentator is not a good thing for conservatives in general.

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dalem

Oh I think she's a good firebrand and funny as heck most of the time. After that clip I stand by my original interpretation - talking too fast rather than pure ignorance.

And sure, she could've torn Romney apart instead of supporting him with the article I linked to, but that's hardly the point, seeing as she supports his candidacy. I could pick and choose my words and post things that make "global warming" seem like something other than superstitious bedwetting, but why would I?

-dale

donnie

I guess I'm not sure how one equates being a Southerner, I was born in Cherry Point and consider myself a Southerner, even though I spent most my life in the North.

I'm no fan, and Eisenhower and Nimitz realy had no place in the subject unless they were known to have supported the confederate flag. But i dont believe she thought they were confederate officers.

Sir, I respectfully disagree. .

Bases that were named after confederates; General Edmund W. Rucker, Major General Henry Lewis Benning, Major Gen. John Brown Gordon, General Leonidas Polk, General Braxton Bragg, John Bell Hood, Ambrose Powell Hill, George Edward Pickett, General Robert E. Lee.

But alas, confederate soldiers only ranked 2nd in the pool of base names, (I was sure they would be #1) but all were named for their efforts in the Civil War, Of the Union Forts, some had the Civil War as a foot note to their military careers, and some no longer exist.

There was only one base I could not find its origin, Fort Story, who I gathered was named after Gen. John Patton Story, some famous coastal artillery soldier, but could not find what military actions he took part in.

These represent American Army Bases in the US, I did not include Air bases, as almost all are named after aviators, (Unfair to confederates and everyone else pre-aviation alike) and almost all Navy bases are named after the locations which they reside

Civil War (Union) 13
Civil War (Confederate) 9
WWI 8
WWII 5
Mexican War 4
Spanish American War 4
Revolutionary War 4
Pioneers (ie.Clark) 3
Indigenous Word (ie. Huachuca) 3
War of 1812 3
Politicians/Landowners 3
American Indian Campaigns 2
Unknown (ie. Story) 1

These were US Forts and Camps only, as most of the overseas bases have local significance to their name, although there are a couple named after veterans of WW2. Plus as I said before I am a little lazy, I did not count All Military instalations like Depots, because like I said, I'm lazy, and most are in Cali, so who gives a hoot.


Reference: List of United States Army installations: Information and Much More from Answers.com
Also This help fill in some gaps: Barracks - 1