News From Around The Confederation

Florida Division Commander John Adams has been disciplined by CIC Wilson for causing harassing emails to be sent to a female employee at the Southern Poverty Law Center. Before being identified as the guilty party, Adams bragged to a GEC member saying "I signed her email address up for some 250+ porn, lesbian, and bestiality websites. I am sure she appreciated the love letters from "Mr. Binks - who is black and sports a 30" "tallywhacker"!"

Adams now only admits to sending a significantly smaller number of the emails, so he is either lying to the entire GEC or only to individual GEC members. His misconduct had been hushed-up until the incident was reported and condemned in a least two division newsletters.

According to CIC Wilson’s statement, Adams has been relieved of duty as Adjutant-in-Chief and as the SCV’s Webmaster. He is also relieved "from any and all other positions of trust and responsibility in the national command structure of the Sons of Confederate Veterans." Adams will keep his position as Florida Division commander, and presumably, will remain an SCV member in good-standing. The CIC can not risk suspending the membership and authority of a division commander who promises to deliver so many camp letters supporting the "emergency" convention. Adams still could face criminal prosecution relating to the dissemination of pornography through the Internet.

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Virginia Division Commander Brag Bowling, the man who was caught lying about supposed Save the SCV contributions to the Southern Poverty Law Center, has been chosen by CIC Wilson to replace Adams as SCV Adjutant-in-Chief.

Additional information received from Virginia suggests that opposition to Wilson’s emergency convention is continuing to grow.

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In North Carolina, at least two SCV camps are forming alternative history/heritage organizations in the absence of any action by the GEC to restore their suspended charters. In one case, members of the suspended camp will hold dual memberships in the camp and in the new organization. They will continue to pursue Save the SCV goals. In the other camp, a Robert E. Lee Society has been formed. Several lifetime SCV members in that camp have resigned from the SCV while others are taking a wait and see attitude. One North Carolina compatriot, an elected city official, will not renew his dues because the SCV leadership’s current and obvious connections with neo-secessionists. He says that SCV radical connections "make it impossible for me to stay in the organization." Not yet suspended SCV camps in the state that are opposed to the Wilson regime are maintaining a low profile. They stand ready with their votes to resist Wilson’s efforts to rewrite the SCV constitution at the so-called "emergency" meeting.

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Some Tennessee compatriots are circulating a petition calling for the removal of division Commander Skip Earle. Earle has alienated SCV members on a variety of issues that were reported on this website recently (see The latest news from friends . . . ).

A number of Tennesseans are in opposition to the CIC’s proposed "emergency" convention. According to one compatriot, there is talk of forming an "Independent Sons of Confederate Veterans" group in Tennessee if the special convention is held in February and the SCV Constitution is rewritten to CIC Wilson’s specifications."

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The Oklahoma Division newsletter, Rebel Yell, bravely continues to condemn the SCV’s direction under the leadership of CIC Wilson. Articles from that publication are reproduced below:

Call for "Emergency Convention" Floundering in the Trans-Mississippi and A.oT.

The campaign calling for an "emergency convention" by radical elements of the SCV is floundering and Commander-in-Chief Ron Wilson is attempting to salvage it.

Requests for this special convention started circulating on the Internet some two months ago and have not received a warm reception by the vast majority of the camps within the SCV.

The reasoning behind this "emergency convention" is an effort to adopt the constitutional amendments proposed by Wilson, but rejected by the membership at its August 2003 General Convention in Asheville, North Carolina. Primary among Wilson’s proposals was to eliminate the Past Commanders-in-Chief who he views as obstacles to his "progressive" plans in addition to their opposition to tactics employed to stifle voices of dissent within the organization. Also an important part of the overall strategy was to adopt an amendment that would permitted Wilson to succeed himself in SCV top position.

With the call for an "emergency convention" floundering, it is reported that Wilson will be appealing to the membership in the Confederate Veteran magazine followed by a mail out in an effort to gain support fro a special convention.

One source stated that even if this failed, "Wilson will go into Dalton next year knowing which camps are on his side and will form the nucleus for his efforts to move Denne Sweeney, current Lt. CIC, into the Commander-in-Chief office." Sweeney has rubber-stamped all of Wilson’s proposals and would likely continue efforts to implement them.

I read with great interest Division Commander Sohrwide’s comments in the last issue of the Rebel Yell. I too was present in Asheville, and concur in his assessment and evaluation. I have been actively involved in the political sphere for almost 50 years. Upon my arrival in Asheville, it was apparent that the CIC would attempt to ram his perceptions and ideologues upon the assembled delegates.

As an old professor of political science, I can personally attest as to the confrontational approach to doing business demonstrated by the CIC in Asheville. He effectively alienated a great plurality of the assembled delegates during highly questionable reports, amendments and procedures. In short, it was a fiasco of highest proportion, but it was one that the CIC created.

I have also discovered that the CIC is now calling for a "Special Convention" under the guise of settling the "unfinished business" from Asheville. To me this translates as, "I-botched-the-previous-convention-so-I-need-a-second-shot-to-ram-my-programs-through." But such is not the case. The CIC appears stunned by the lackluster appeal of permitting him to sit again as chairman of a convention. He cannot guarantee success, and he has not been a capable leader.

So why the fuss? Well any hack worth his salt knows you have to rally folk around ideas with bold statements. That is why hatred and intolerance make such great political tools. The CIC has consistently attempted to portray his internal opposition as members of the left wing causes and organizational threats to the stability of the organization. They must be suppressed, so the logic goes, to prevent the complete collapse of the Real Pro-Confederate Movement. If you disagree, you must be with the Enemy, and thus an "Enemy Of The People."

The "Internal Enemy" dogma has proven highly successful in history. During the English Civil War, self-styled "Lord Protector" Oliver Cromwell forcibly removed 110 elected members from House of Commons at pike point because they disagreed with him. Sounds amazingly like North Carolina where 8 Camps (300 members) and 4 Brigade Commanders were suspended for daring to speak out against the CIC's iron hand rule.

Cromwell dissolved the House of Lords because he could not control the gentry, the clergy and the monarchy. Wilson desires to [have] "axed" the past SCV commanders-in-chief from their historic membership on the board of directors.

The French Revolution led by Robespierre and his Committee on Public Safety determined the rule of law based upon fear, prejudice and social class. The CIC similarly rules with his war on the MOSB (the Old Guard) and Past CIC's on the General Executive Council. So far he has successfully guillotined two of the members of the council, long-time Editor-in-Chief Jim Vogler and ANV Commander Charles Hawks.

Finally, from a historical perspective, it is noteworthy that one of the central rallying cries of the National Socialist movement was the use of "traitors" to the New and Greater Germany. The Folk were told:

To be Good Germans requires strict adherence to the policies of the National Leader.

To be Good Germans you can not question what is happening around you.

To be Good Germans, your loyalty was to The Leader, not the State.

To be Good Germans, you must believe that any lack of success is due to the ever-present "internal enemy," the Bad Germans.

And of course, Jews and other undesirables were the obvious foil, because everyone knew Jews (and others) were not Good Germans.

And so it went.

Gentlemen, for close to 25 years I have been a faithful member of the SCV. I continue to support the SCV with my time and my bounty. But it is time for we, the members who joined a historical, genealogical organization to speak up. I do not object any voice to the concept of a Southern "civil rights" organization. Go form one somewhere else, and God's speed.

Just don’t try to put lipstick on that pig around this old bird (colonel).

Dr. James G. Castor holds degrees as a Juris Doctor and PhD. He is retired USAR with the rank of Colonel and is past commander of the Oklahoma Division. Dr. Caster is considered one of the foremost historians and political scientists in Oklahoma.

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And finally this from a Georgia compatriot, Judge Ben Smith:

In a recent piece titled "The Road to Anarchy," Judge Ben Smith denounced CIC Ron Wilson’s efforts to call an emergency convention.

"The Clement A. Evans Camp No. 64, Waycross, Georgia, desires to be on record as opposing Commander Ron Wilson's request for a special convention. The delegates at the Ashville Convention showed very good sense in soundly defeating all of Wilson's proposals aimed at installing him as a despotic ruler. When the CIC ignores the rulings of the Executive Council who are our very best people chosen by the entire membership of the SCV, he has shown that he does not intend to govern by the rule of law. Constitutions and gentlemanly behavior mean nothing to him.

The SCV has made considerable progress in the days since we acquired a headquarters at Elm Springs. We have had a series of imaginative and dedicated leaders. Our growth in membership has been phenomenal. Let's don't fix something that isn't broke. We must always be governed by democratic principles and enlightened leadership if we are to sustain ourselves as the true voice of Southern Heritage.

During the current regime we have been carried pretty far along the road to anarchy and chaos. Let's put the quietus on this alarming drift while there is yet time. A special convention would be counter-productive."