...For the from the Land of Bogs Potato Famine?

Just trying to formulate a thought. Having a hard time after 4 glasses of Scotch.

Damn it, if I had some good Absinthe, I'd be posting in Smutty's Sandbox!

(Well, maybe not.)

You wouldn't.

And I blame religion for almost everything.
I never thought about the potato famine, though.
But I recently found out that the potato famine in Norway drove my ancestors out and to America.

You have Nordic ancestors?!

Chime in anytime CG... I miss hearing from you!

I have Norwegian ancestors, yes.

They came from Odegaarde. Those of you who know me can guess where my last name came from.

That side came over in 1860, fleeing the Norwegian potato famine. Who knew?

That's cool! Not in the suffering part... just the history stuff.

My great great grandfather was paid $600 to fight in the Civil War in some rich guy's place.

He was unfortunatly discharged for being a little over-zealous.

North?

South?

Not sure yet. Still researching.
Fingers crossed for the North.

I have family on both sides though.
Pennsylvanians and Virginians and Minnesotans and Kentuckians.

It's a mess.

Yeah, it sounds like it.

I had a relative in the Civil War with the North in New York.

I have whats left of his bayonet on my wall.

What's the little mug on the right say?

I think religion is seldom to blame for such things. After all, religion is simply a system of moral or ethical instruction coupled with a spiritual cosmology.

I think rather that it's the political ambitions that people use religion to disguise that is actually at fault.

And sometimes I think it's the opposite.

Probabably poor farming practices are to blame as well as the poverty inflicted by early capitalism in the British Isles.

While the scam of "religion" causes much misery, ignorance and death, I think the greatest danger to us is fundimentalism of any kind; religious or political. The "True Believers" whose zeal and loyalty to a rigid set of beliefs that defy facts or observable reality will kill us all given the chance. This list includes narow minded capitalists, Mullahs, Maoist/Stalinist extremists, Charlatans who mix religious fundimentalism and nationalism for their own cynical purposes . . .

I think we can make a better world but it requires constant questioning, even of our selves, and scientific application (praxis) to keep us in tune with reality and with what works the best for everybody.

The the narrow soundbyte politics of the demopublican sham doesn't allow for the real democracy needed for this and will inevitably make the from the Land of Bogs potato famine look like a good time.

That doesn't look like a Civil War era bayonet... They were of a triangular design were they not??? Perhaps it's just a bad picture...

Does that poster say Max Meadows?

Remember, the root word of "fundamentalism" is "fundament."

Doesn't make it any better.

Nope, but it explains what it's full of and why.

"I care not for a man's religion whose dog and cat are not the better for it." - Mark Twain

I know it's the trendy intellectual viewpoint, but I've known many fundamentalists, evangelicals and other stripes of conservative Christian who were not idiots and who were good and intelligent people who were simply doing what they sincerely believed was true and good.

That is the unfortunate truth.

Yeah, most were... the one I have is what's left of a French 1866 Bayonet.

http://www.oldrifles.com/fre-bay.htm

I wonder if the norwegians actually didn't have enough potatoes back then. Or if they just used them all to make booze. They have tradition for moonshining up there.

I thought the tater famine was the result of some soil fungus.

Terrorism, if ya ask me.

1866??? The Civil War ended in 1865 though...

...

I don't know if this is a repro or not and actually I have no idea where it came from. It was a gift from a couple of years ago...

L'anse Aux Meadows, Newfoundland

Kudos.
Nice shelf.

[quote=AnimePimp,Sep 13 2004, 12:09 AM] [/QUOTE]
1866??? The Civil War ended in 1865 though... [/quote]
You're right!

You know for years, I just blindly accepted the story passed to me. I did find out that this M1866 was derived from the M1842 which was used by both sides in the Civil War but it doesn't explain this precise model that I have.

Hmmm...

I believe I will have to investigate this!

I know the exact location where this was found... and I know it was held by a relative for the reason I gave.

Would Union militants still be given arms a year later?

Whoever was responsible for the Bog Jumper potato famine - they failed. Damn!

greed was what made it the atrocity it ended up being.

and even though i'd like to place the blame entirely on the backs of the waste-of-life english fuckers.....

in much the same way the africans sold out their own people to the slave owners, the english landowners AND some rich from the Land of Bogs landowners EXPORTED potatoes whilst the famine was going on.

if it were not for the greed of the crown and the wealthy landowners, the famine could have been prevented. no shit.

such a fucking shame.

the mass graves that are marked with a large white cross really make an impact when you see them.

Yep, they made me laugh.

did it make you laugh more than watching schindler's list?

Of course, but I laughed more during Passion of the Christ.

Excellent!