Latest news with #Appomattox
New York Times
3 hours ago
- Politics
- New York Times
Why a ‘Paleo-Confederate' Pastor Is on the Rise
I'm going to share with you two remarkable quotes, both from the same evangelical pastor. First, here is a reflection from 2009 on the Civil War and the Confederate States of America: You're not going to scare me away from the word Confederate like you just said 'Boo!' I would define a neo-Confederate as someone who thinks we are still fighting that war. Instead, I would say we're fighting in a long war, and that was one battle that we lost. And lest you think this pastor has only a passing interest in the Confederacy, consider these words, from a 2005 book called 'Angels in the Architecture' When the Confederate States of America surrendered at Appomattox, the last nation of the older order fell. So, because historians like to have set dates on which to hang their hats, we may say the first Christendom died there, in 1865. The American South was the last nation of the first Christendom. These words were written by Douglas Wilson, whose home church is based in Moscow, Idaho. He has described himself as a 'paleo-Confederate' — he believes that Southern slavery was wrong, but that the Confederacy was otherwise 'right on all the essential constitutional and cultural issues surrounding the war.' He's the founder of a church, a denomination and a publishing house. He's influential in both the Christian home-schooling and the Christian classical school movements. Pete Hegseth, the secretary of defense, belongs to his denomination, and Wilson's words above are no aberration. They are but small drops in an ocean of ignorant, malicious and unchristian commentary. He has referred to women he doesn't like as 'small-breasted biddies' and 'lumberjack dykes.' He has said: 'The sexual act cannot be made into an egalitarian pleasuring party. A man penetrates, conquers, colonizes, plants. A woman receives, surrenders, accepts.' To simply call him patriarchal is too mild. The body of churches he co-founded, the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches, includes pastors who believe that the 19th Amendment, which granted women the right to vote, should be repealed and replaced by something called 'household voting,' where it's no longer one person, one vote, but one household, one vote. And who is the head of the household? The husband — a man who might consult with his wife, but would absolutely have the authority to make the final decision. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Wall Street Journal
3 days ago
- Politics
- Wall Street Journal
‘Midnight on the Potomac' Review: The Civil War's Last Gasp
Twelve months before Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered to Gen. Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox, Union victory in the Civil War was far from certain. The capture of Vicksburg in 1863 had riven the Confederacy, but in the spring of 1864 Lee's Army of Northern Virginia remained a powerful force. Commander in Chief Abraham Lincoln worried not only about military prospects but also an impending presidential election in which he would face George B. McClellan, the popular Democratic candidate. Defeat would frustrate Lincoln's plans to stamp out the Southern rebellion, end slavery and reunite the nation. The stakes are high in Scott Ellsworth's fast-paced 'Midnight on the Potomac: The Last Year of the Civil War, the Lincoln Assassination, and the Rebirth of America.' Mr. Ellsworth, a former historian at the Smithsonian Institution and the author of 'The Ground Breaking,' about the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, argues that, in early 1864, 'the fate of the United States of America lay in the balance.' He takes readers on an action-packed journey, beginning with the launch of Grant's Overland Campaign that spring and ending with Lincoln's shocking murder at Ford's Theatre one year later. Mr. Ellsworth has crafted a suspenseful narrative brimming with engaging insights, highlighting some lesser-known historical episodes and individuals. For instance, most Americans think of Gettysburg as the war's deadliest battle: More than 51,000 soldiers perished, were wounded or went missing in July 1863 on the blood-soaked fields of Pennsylvania. But Mr. Ellsworth draws our attention to a different encounter. After Grant launched his Overland Campaign, the first two clashes between Gen. George Meade's Army of the Potomac and Lee's troops lasted from May 5 to May 21, 1864, and resulted in more than 60,000 casualties. 'Taken together as one single conflict,' Mr. Ellsworth writes, 'the bloody side-by-side battles of the Wilderness and Spotsylvania was the largest battle ever to occur in the Americas.' Neither side could claim victory afterward, a fact that must have produced deep anxiety in Lincoln and the members of his administration. The president recognized, Mr. Ellsworth argues, that the war had become one of attrition and 'the trick now, as the summer weather rolled in, was to hang on.' But June and July brought new troubles. Munitions exploded at the Washington Arsenal on June 17, killing 21 workers and producing a damaging fire. The city came out in full force to honor the dead, with Lincoln joining the long march to the cemetery. One month later, Gen. Jubal Early brought his Confederate troops within 5 miles of the White House and contemplated an invasion to level the president's home as well as the U.S. Capitol. For unknown reasons, he decided not to attack. Union reinforcements reached the District of Columbia the following day and Early was forced to retreat. 'The audacious plan to capture Washington—and possibly end the war,' Mr. Ellsworth concludes, 'disappeared as quickly as it had begun.'
USA Today
15-04-2025
- Business
- USA Today
Tennessee, Arkansas join states with extended tax deadlines: See list of states, counties
Tennessee, Arkansas join states with extended tax deadlines: See list of states, counties Show Caption Hide Caption Experts show how to avoid getting audited by the IRS Here's a look at how the Internal Revenue Service chooses taxpayers to audit — and how you can, for the most part, avoid being selected. Taxpayers in several states, including Arkansas, Tennessee, and Kentucky, have received tax filing and payment extensions due to severe weather. Residents of Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, and parts of Alaska, New Mexico, and Virginia have until May 1, 2025, to file. Those affected by the Los Angeles County wildfires have until October 15, 2025. People living in Tennessee, Arkansas and a handful of other states will have more time to file their taxes as the Internal Revenue Service accommodates victims of natural disasters. The postponement is meant to serve people and businesses impacted by severe weather that brought brutal storms, flooding and tornadoes earlier this month, according to IRS. The two states joined Kentucky and some West Virginia counties in having a deadline of Nov. 3, 2025, to file tax returns and make tax payments without having to request relief from the agency. "The IRS automatically provides filing and penalty relief to any taxpayer with an IRS address of record located in the disaster area," the IRS said in a Monday news release. A number of other states will also have later deadlines, including May 1 and Oct. 15. Those living outside the affected states have the option to request an automatic extension until Oct. 15 but still must pay the IRS any money they owe by Tuesday, April 15. Arkansas and Tennessee were among several states battered by severe weather that unleashed flash flooding and tornadoes on April 2. Fueled by a stagnant atmospheric river, the storms caused thousands of power outages, destroyed homes and killed at least seven people. The IRS also offered a deadline extension for victims of Hurricane Helene that devastated the Southeast from Florida to West Virginia in September, as well as victims of the Los Angeles County wildfires in January. Here's which deadlines apply to victims of natural disasters. Which taxpayers have until May 1, 2025? All taxpayers in the states of Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Florida Taxpayers in the city and borough of Juneau , Alaska , Taxpayers in Chaves County, New Mexico Taxpayers in the following 36 Virginia counties : Albemarle Appomattox Bedford Bland Botetourt Bristol City Buchanan Buckingham Carroll Charlotte Covington City Craig County Danville City Dickenson Floyd counties Galax City Giles Grayson Greene Lee Madison Montgomery Nelson Norton City Patrick Pittsylvania Pulaski Radford City Roanoke Russell Scott Smyth Tazewell Washington Wise Wythe : Which taxpayers have until Oct. 15, 2025? Taxpayers impacted by January wildfires in Los Angeles County, California Which taxpayers have until Nov. 3, 2025? All taxpayers in the states of Arkansas, Tennessee and Kentucky Taxpayers in the following 12 West Virginia counties : Boone Greenbrier Lincoln Logan McDowell Mercer Mingo Monroe Raleigh Summers Wayne Wyoming : Is the tax deadline April 15 at midnight? For those without extensions, the deadline to pay taxes is on April 15 at midnight in the time zone the taxpayer is based in, according to H&R Block. Those who mail in official tax forms will meet the deadline as long as they properly postmark it by the due date even if it is received later. Meanwhile, those who file online or through tax software must transmit on or before midnight on April 15 to avoid IRS penalties.
