Letter to the Editor…..

I am thankful Dr. Lesa Jacobsen took the time and effort to describe the failings of our bucolic, "third-world" culture in her recent Letter to the Editor. It allowed me to make an observation and later ask a question.

It is usually enlightening and educational to read comments about our southern way of life from refined centers of learning such as St. Paul, Minnesota. Instead her letter called to mind a previous encounter Tennesseans endured with citizens from her state. Minnesotans know "belligerent response(s)" and "general callousness". They descend from the men of the 5th, 9th and 10th Minnesota. These men witnessed their own Brigade Commander, William McMillen, use his sword to "gig" and assault Gen. Thomas Benton Smith following Gen. Smith’s surrender at Shy’s Hill near Nashville in 1864. Gen. Smith did not die from his gigging, but was institutionalized as an invalid and died an extremely "slow, agonizing death". He was a breathing example of the "cruel torture mutilation" Minnesotans practiced until 1923. Frog hunting is tame in comparison to such brutality.

Since Dr. Jacobsen monitors our daily activities, I take the opportunity to pose a question to the letter writer from the North Star State. I know the state bird is the common loon, but does your state constitution require you to vote for the bird as well? Why else would this educated electorate select professional wrestlers and late night comedians as their leaders?

W. Michael Corley

Commander, Savage –Goodner Camp

Sons of Confederate Veterans