Jobs, the economy, jobs, the recession, jobs, deficit spending, jobs, expanding the size, scope and costs of government, and jobs.

And , now, as Paul Harvey would have said, the rest of the story. In that recounting of the great Battle of the Golden Spurs in Flanders in 1302, I was reminded of some events much later in history and much closer in spirit to all of us. As I stated, those Flemish militiamen in 1302 were but the working class of their time — the butchers, the bakers, the cloth makers, the farmers, the carpenters, the blacksmiths, the small shopkeepers. Many brought their own armor and their own weapons. The men of the Butchers’ Guild of Brugges,for example, were said to have gone into battle wielding the great axes they used every day in their craft. The citizen militiamen came from all over Flanders to do battle against the French at Courtrai — from Brugges and Ypres and Namur and all the towns large and small. The men of the militia of Ghent had to literally fight their own way out of their city, which had been invested with French occupiers. They slew the occupiers and then battered down the locked and chained gates of their own city in order to take the road for Courtrai. They of Ghent were 5000 strong. 2000 of them never came back from Courtrai. And in those towns and villages, the Flemish mothers and wives and children, left alone and unguarded, began to panic. It is said that many of them started to run down the road after the militiamen. As one author wrote it, the road to Courtrai was spotted with the blood from their feet. But, in the end, those militiamen won a great and unexpected victory for Flanders, a victory fought under the unifying banner of the Lion of Flanders. And the golden spurs of the slain French knights and nobles hung in the nave of the Church of Our Lady at Courtrai for a long time.

The story reminds me so much of another time and place — Lexington, Concord, Bunker Hill, Saratoga, Cowpens. Men, just common men like all of us, came together, many carrying their own guns, and fought for and won their freedom against the greatest empire and military machine of their time. They became our heroes, just like those Flemish militiamen became heroes in Flanders.

And what is the rest of that story? Eighty years later, the French armies came back to Flanders under a new king. But this time only the militiamen of Ghent responded, and they were soundly beaten by superior forces at a place called Westrozebeke. All of Flanders fell under control of the hated French. And the French, bearing long memories, rode into Courtrai and burned the Church of Our Lady, the revered symbol of Flemish freedom, to the ground. The people of Flanders lost their freedom for 500 years.

Where is the lesson here? Well, there are historians who say that the disastrous defeat at Westrozebeke was apparently the result of a betrayal of the Flemish people by their own upper class, especially the mercantile class, who seemed to consider trading profits and wealth in league with the French far preferable to Flemish national freedom. It also seemed a handy way to maintain control over a troublesome and stubborn populace. Their machinations apparently resulted in only the brave militia from Ghent going out virtually alone to meet once again the French invaders. Divisive betrayal from within and superior force from without and 500 years of lost national freedom for the common man. Something for all of us to think about.

Robert N. Krentz, Jr.
June 3, 1951 – March 27, 2010

http://www.douglasdispatch.com/articles/2010/03/31/obituaries/doc4bb26c81cb22a151717157.txt

This is how Rob died;

http://www.wnd.com/index.php?pageId=136381

Of course the local media was not about to publish the story of Rob Krentz

RIP Rob

The government didn’t care that the illegals destruction cost Rob 8 million (another article) dollars or that Rob and his family never knew when they were going to walk up on a illegal(s), the government (Napolitano never made any efforts against illegals in Arizona) is responsible for Rob’s death.

And…..they don’t give a shit about you either.

10 illegal aliens in S.C. admit to bilking IRS out of $13 million

“Ten people illegally in the United States pleaded guilty for their involvement in a four-year, $13 million fraud against the Internal Revenue Service”

http://www.greenvilleonline.com/article/20100402/NEWS/304020019/10-illegal-aliens-in-S.C.-admit-to-bilking-IRS-out-of-13-million

The United States Of America……One Big Playground For Illegals.

You can’t begin to imagine the fraud and crime committed in this country by Illegals, the sad thing is that many of you actually don’t care.

Marsha….what’s another TRILLION Dollars? … that we don’t have? Healthcare just hiked over $1 TRILLION…..according to the CBO….exactly like many said it would.
China will probably have to step in and cut the US “credit cards” in two before we start dragging their credit down with us.