[ebaines]

The dim bulb from Alaska is at it again. She shouldn't be traveling around the country, she should be in summer school to make up for the 4th grade history lessons she missed. From her recent travels in the Boston area:

"We saw where Paul Revere hung out as a teenager, which was something new to learn. He who warned the British that they weren't going to be taking away our arms by ringing those bells and by making sure that as he's riding his horse through town to send those warning shots and bells that we were going to be secure and we were going to be free and we were going to be armed.”

Wow...

[JudyKayTee]

Did I miss something? What dim bulb?

Well, if you copied and quoted at least this person can spell. That's highly unusual.

[Wondergirl]

She won't back down either and admit she was mistaken, that she had the story wrong. She also said, "This Statue of Liberty was gifted to us by foreign leaders, really as a warning to us, it was a warning to us to stay unique and to stay exceptional from other countries. Certainly not to go down the path of other countries that adopted socialist policies."

[excon]

Hello e:

Yeah, she said she was asked a "gotcha" question. You got to watch out for the lame stream media.. Here's the "gotcha" question:

“What have you seen so far today and what are you going to take away from your visit?”

Would you trust this woman with nuclear weapons?

excon

[tomder55]

To tell you the truth ;I'd bet most Americans do not know the whole story of the ride ,as so much of it is legend .

Technically she is correct on 2 counts although her phraseology is a bit muddled.

The Brits were on the march to seize the Patriots arsenal at Concord Mass. So on that count she is correct .

The truth is that the 'dim bulb' was doubly correct because part of the little known history of the ride was that Revere was captured by the redcoats and did warn them that the militia knew of their movement to Concord and was prepared to meet them.
This is from his own account of the ride in a 1789 letter maintained by the Massachusetts Historical Society.

I observed a Wood at a Small distance, & made for that. When I got there, out Started Six officers, on Horse back,and orderd me to dismount;-one of them, who appeared to have the command, examined me, where I came from,& what my Name Was? I told him. it was Revere, he asked if it was Paul? I told him yes He asked me if I was an express? I answered in the afirmative. He demanded what time I left Boston? I told him; and aded, that their troops had catched aground in passing the River, and that There would be five hundred Americans there in a short time, for I had alarmed the Country all the way up. He imediately rode towards those who stoppd us, when all five of them came down upon a full gallop; one of them, whom I afterwards found to be Major Mitchel, of the 5th Regiment, Clapped his pistol to my head, called me by name, & told me he was going to ask me some questions, & if I did not give him true answers, he would blow my brains out. He then asked me similar questions to those above. He then orderd me to mount my Horse, after searching me for arms

Edit... most Americans get it wrong because poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's account is often what's taught.

[excon]

There would be five hundred Americans there in a short time, for I had alarmed the Country all the way up.

Hello tom:

No, he didn't WARN the British. He LIED to the British. He was one of OUR guys..

But, it's a nice Sarah spin. She actually DIDN'T know what you suggest that she did, and I really don't believe you think she did either..

Look. I LIKE Sarah Palin... IF, after she lost her bid to become VP, she COULD have gone on a crash course in history and world politics. She COULD have used the time to educate herself so that she'd BE relevant today. She DIDN'T. She WANTED to remain as dumb as a rock, and she DID.

Would you trust this woman with nukes??

excon

[Wondergirl]

To tell you the truth ;I'd bet most Americans do not know the whole story of the ride ,as so much of it is legend .

Here's what my generation learned about the famous ride:

The Real Midnight Ride

[tomder55]

Yes his warning was mostly bluff ,and I did say her rhetoric was a bit muddled . As far as trust goes ,
I'd trust her as much as I trust the guy who sees fallen heros in the audience on Memorial Day ;whos reforms are intended to bring inefficien­cies to our health care system, who stated that 10,000 people died in a Kansas tornado that took 12 lives.
The problem is that politicians have made these type of statements for years . But now with the net everything goes viral.
So if that standard is to be applied to Palin;then it's fair to treat everyone's comments the same way .
You know and I know the point Palin was attempting to make as much as I know that the President doesn't really believe there are 57+ states .

[tomder55]

Here's what my generation learned about the famous ride:

The Real Midnight Ride

Pretty accurate summation. Many people are not aware that there were more than one rider ,and that Revere did not complete the mission. The fact is that shortly after he was released ,the first shot was fired ,and the Brits who captured him became nervous and concerned that his account of the Minutemen strength was correct. I'd bet by the time they made it back to Boston they thought they were opposed by 500 men .

Edit... here is link to Revere's account
http://www.americanrevolution.org/revere.html

[JudyKayTee]

I obviously don't even bother reading what Sarah Palin has to say - or else I would have known who was being discussed a very long time ago.

[Wondergirl]

Pretty accurate summation.

edit ....here is link to Revere's account
Revere Speaks

What I posted was from his own account, from his journal.

[ebaines]

I obviously don't even bother reading what Sarah Palin has to say - or else I would have known who was being discussed a very long time ago.

I thought it was pretty clear from the title of the thread...

[Wondergirl]

I obviously don't even bother reading what Sarah Palin has to say - or else I would have known who was being discussed a very long time ago.

I haven't read anything about it either. The weekend newscasts on all stations were full of it. Even Fox News was laughing.

[speechlesstx]

Historians agree: Palin was right about Revere

[tomder55]

The thing is people are quick to jump at any chance to add to the perception that she's stupid. That is not the case . Recall she made the comment "Let's party like it's 1773 " ,and it went viral . Everyone thought she was speaking of 1776 Declaration of Independence when in fact she was speaking to the Tea Party movement and was referring to the date of the Boston Tea Party.

[excon]

Hello:

More Palin spin... Where, in your historians account, are the bells and warning shots?? Toms too...

How come you guys skip over that bunch of crap?

Besides, if she was RIGHT, how come she blamed the "gotcha media"?

excon

[speechlesstx]

Read it:

Sarah Palin yesterday insisted her claim at the Old North Church last week that Paul Revere “warned the British” during his famed 1775 ride — remarks that Democrats and the media roundly ridiculed — is actually historically accurate. And local historians are backing her up.

Palin prompted howls of partisan derision when she said on Boston’s Freedom Trail that Revere “warned the British that they weren’t going to be taking away our arms by ringing those bells and making sure as he’s riding his horse through town to send those warning shots and bells that we were going to be secure and we were going to be free.”

Palin insisted yesterday on Fox News Sunday she was right: “Part of his ride was to warn the British that were already there. That, hey, you’re not going to succeed. You’re not going to take American arms.”

In fact, Revere’s own account of the ride in a 1798 letter seems to back up Palin’s claim. Revere describes how after his capture by British officers, he warned them “there would be five hundred Americans there in a short time for I had alarmed the Country all the way up.”

Boston University history professor Brendan McConville said, “Basically when Paul Revere was stopped by the British, he did say to them, ‘Look, there is a mobilization going on that you’ll be confronting,’ and the British are aware as they’re marching down the countryside, they hear church bells ringing — she was right about that — and warning shots being fired. That’s accurate.”

Patrick Leehey of the Paul Revere House said Revere was probably bluffing his British captors, but reluctantly conceded that it could be construed as Revere warning the British.

“I suppose you could say that,” Leehey said. “But I don’t know if that’s really what Mrs. Palin was referring to.”

McConville said he also is not convinced that Palin’s remarks reflect scholarship.

“I would call her lucky in her comments,” McConville said.

Meanwhile, the state’s Democratic Party held a thin blue line on the issue, insisting on mocking Palin despite a brief historical review of the matter. State party chairman John Walsh wise-cracked that the region welcomes all tourists, even those with “an alternative view of history.”

“If you believe he was riding through the countryside sending text messages and Tweets to the British, still come to Boston,” he said. “There are a lot of things to do and see.”

But Cornell law professor William Jacobson, who asserted last week that Palin was correct, linking to Revere quotes on his conservative blog Legalinsurrection.com, said Palin’s critics are the ones in need of a history lesson. “It seems to be a historical fact that this happened,” he said. “A lot of the criticism is unfair and made by people who are themselves ignorant of history.”

[tomder55]

The facts are clear . Bells were ringing and gun shots were firing . You don't think she's saying that Revere was ringing church bells as he raced through the town... do you ?

Where, in your historians account, are the bells and warning shots?? Toms too...

Indeed the bells in Lexington did begin to ring.
I already linked to Revere's account of the ride . Here's another .

In the rider's wake there erupted the peeling of church bells, the beating of drums and the roar of gun shots - all announcing the danger and calling the local militias to action.
Battle at Lexington Green, 1775

[Wondergirl]

Indeed the bells in Lexington did begin to ring.

Later. Not before and during the ride.

[tomder55]

And ? That's the point of contention that makes her a "dim bulb " ;or the subject of ridicule by the media ? I bet Chris Wallace and the rest of these media experts didn't know a thing about the ride until now . And people wonder why she points a finger back at them over such minor nitpicking.