No fireworks here. Just real patriotism.
Some of this I've posted before, but considering it's history, it never gets old. Every year on this holiday weekend I remind my daughters to say Thank You to their ancestors who fought the good fight and gave us the freedom we have today. Freedom that some would slowly but surely take from us if we aren't vigilant. So before entering into my rant for today:
Hats off to my childrens' forefathers:
Lemuel Sturtevant. Lieutenant, Massachusetts Line
Daniel Baldwin. Private, Connecticut Line
Elijah Baldwin. Private, Connecticut Line
John Dean. Corporal New Hampshire Militia, Battle of Bennington
Ambrose Barnett. Private, 14th Virginia Regiment
William Johns. Private, 5th Pennsylvania Regiment, at Valley Forge
Valentine Coosard. Private, New Jersey Militia, POW at Sugar House
Levi Davis. Private, Maryland Line
Gilbert Ritchey. Private Pennsylvania Line
Real Patriots. Real People. Who Deserve Real Respect. Read a little about what one such ancestor endured.
Valentine Coosard was taken prisoner at the Battle of Fort Washington, and jailed at the infamous sugar house. Interesting note about the Coosard family. While the spelling varies, their heritage does not. Huguenots fleeing repression. Landed in the New World with the promise of being free from religious and government persecution. This is what Valentine fought to protect. This is why he underwent the excruciation experiences he did. To preserve that precious freedom.
Years later, in a deposition claiming a pension, let's call it a little something for his troubles, he would state that he couldn't prove his discharge as he knew of no one alive that could prove his service...as those who served with him froze to death in the Sugar House. Valentine not only survived, he lived to be 104. He truly witnessed and participated in the birth of a nation, and the birth of an entire society. He eventually settled in the now famous Western Reserve of Ohio, where his daughter married a Miller and thus our family legacy was born.
And now, here we are on this 4th of July in Arizona. A state now infamous for its intolerance and general ignorance of world affairs, no doubt in part to our educational failures. And absolute idiocy in our state government. On the other hand, we're no longer alone in our quest to be the craziest state in the union. Wisconsin, South Dakota, Kansas, California, and, even yes, Ohio, all headed in the same direction.
This country was founded in personal freedoms, as long as they do not encroach on any other individuals rights and freedoms. It's that second part that too many politicians and their groupies don't get. So self-centered, so narcissistic, they cannot conceive that their right to personal freedom ends when they impact another's. Sure you can have a hunting rifle. As long as you are a hunter and are trained to use it. On wild game, not your next door neighbor. Get it? Concealed weapons in bars. There's just a murder waiting to happen. And calling it criminally negligent homicide will not change that. If it was such a good idea, so safe for all, why are those weapons banned in the new Statehouse Bar in Ohio? Only public officials deserve a safe place to tie one on?
There a plenty of examples, coast to coast, of legislative abuse. There is a reason the framers of the Constitution gave the states limits to their power. Because they knew that with too much rope they would hang all their citizens. And that is precisely what they are going to end up doing. The same is true for the Federal Government. Their power over the States is limited too. It's called balance of power, at all levels of government. It works too.
So I leave you with a final thought.
Michelle Bachmann wants to be President. A woman who has asked the media to investigate congress, as many (implied Democrats) might just be anti-American. The woman who said God took her to law school at the first "bible based" law school. Did he take her to the prom too? The GOP, the party of Lincoln, the party of smaller government with less interference in personal lives, is now the party of intimidation and right-wing conservative religion. Not to be confused with those registered Republicans who have strong faith and keep it private. They are being ousted now. Seems if you don't force your own fundamentalist religious views on your neighbors, you're, well, un-American. Hmm. Why does that sound so, I don't know, Talibanish?
"The Government of the United States is not in any sense founded upon the Christian Religion." 1797 the treaty of Tripoli, signed by President Washington, and approved by the Senate of the United States
Happy 4th of July. 1812 Overture, Op. 49
And for those of us in the dry state... enjoy.
Hats off to my childrens' forefathers:
Lemuel Sturtevant. Lieutenant, Massachusetts Line
Daniel Baldwin. Private, Connecticut Line
Elijah Baldwin. Private, Connecticut Line
John Dean. Corporal New Hampshire Militia, Battle of Bennington
Ambrose Barnett. Private, 14th Virginia Regiment
William Johns. Private, 5th Pennsylvania Regiment, at Valley Forge
Valentine Coosard. Private, New Jersey Militia, POW at Sugar House
Levi Davis. Private, Maryland LineGilbert Ritchey. Private Pennsylvania Line
Real Patriots. Real People. Who Deserve Real Respect. Read a little about what one such ancestor endured. Valentine Coosard was taken prisoner at the Battle of Fort Washington, and jailed at the infamous sugar house. Interesting note about the Coosard family. While the spelling varies, their heritage does not. Huguenots fleeing repression. Landed in the New World with the promise of being free from religious and government persecution. This is what Valentine fought to protect. This is why he underwent the excruciation experiences he did. To preserve that precious freedom.
Years later, in a deposition claiming a pension, let's call it a little something for his troubles, he would state that he couldn't prove his discharge as he knew of no one alive that could prove his service...as those who served with him froze to death in the Sugar House. Valentine not only survived, he lived to be 104. He truly witnessed and participated in the birth of a nation, and the birth of an entire society. He eventually settled in the now famous Western Reserve of Ohio, where his daughter married a Miller and thus our family legacy was born.
And now, here we are on this 4th of July in Arizona. A state now infamous for its intolerance and general ignorance of world affairs, no doubt in part to our educational failures. And absolute idiocy in our state government. On the other hand, we're no longer alone in our quest to be the craziest state in the union. Wisconsin, South Dakota, Kansas, California, and, even yes, Ohio, all headed in the same direction.
This country was founded in personal freedoms, as long as they do not encroach on any other individuals rights and freedoms. It's that second part that too many politicians and their groupies don't get. So self-centered, so narcissistic, they cannot conceive that their right to personal freedom ends when they impact another's. Sure you can have a hunting rifle. As long as you are a hunter and are trained to use it. On wild game, not your next door neighbor. Get it? Concealed weapons in bars. There's just a murder waiting to happen. And calling it criminally negligent homicide will not change that. If it was such a good idea, so safe for all, why are those weapons banned in the new Statehouse Bar in Ohio? Only public officials deserve a safe place to tie one on?
There a plenty of examples, coast to coast, of legislative abuse. There is a reason the framers of the Constitution gave the states limits to their power. Because they knew that with too much rope they would hang all their citizens. And that is precisely what they are going to end up doing. The same is true for the Federal Government. Their power over the States is limited too. It's called balance of power, at all levels of government. It works too.
So I leave you with a final thought.
Michelle Bachmann wants to be President. A woman who has asked the media to investigate congress, as many (implied Democrats) might just be anti-American. The woman who said God took her to law school at the first "bible based" law school. Did he take her to the prom too? The GOP, the party of Lincoln, the party of smaller government with less interference in personal lives, is now the party of intimidation and right-wing conservative religion. Not to be confused with those registered Republicans who have strong faith and keep it private. They are being ousted now. Seems if you don't force your own fundamentalist religious views on your neighbors, you're, well, un-American. Hmm. Why does that sound so, I don't know, Talibanish?
"The Government of the United States is not in any sense founded upon the Christian Religion." 1797 the treaty of Tripoli, signed by President Washington, and approved by the Senate of the United States
Happy 4th of July. 1812 Overture, Op. 49
And for those of us in the dry state... enjoy.
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