The star spangled banner ~ Francis Scott Key
Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?
On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:
'Tis the star-spangled banner! Oh long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion,
A home and a country should leave us no more!
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
And let us never forget that our country was founded "One nation, under God!"
The day that we lose sight of our history is the day that the future is marred forever.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
HR 3200
One of my greatest concerns regarding the healthcare bill remains not so much the issue of the extreme price tag on the bill as the greater issue at stake that tends to be hidden behind the price tag.
Money is not the sole issue here. Certainly, it is an important issue, and one to be considered with all discernment. Yet Americans today are riled because this healthcare bill attacks our freedom.
The freedom that our founding fathers fought and died for is being siphoned away through bills like this that tend to slip under our guard. We have had enough of it!
The problem with the healthcare bill is that it takes away the peoples right to decide whether they need healthcare or not, whether they want a large family or not, whether they want elderly family members to die by natural death or assisted suicide. Those issues will be decided by a “committee.”
We, average American citizens, want our voices to be heard. We do not want this bill. It is not “free” to the people. It will cost us heavily in our personal wallets, and it will cost us our independence.
Money is not the sole issue here. Certainly, it is an important issue, and one to be considered with all discernment. Yet Americans today are riled because this healthcare bill attacks our freedom.
The freedom that our founding fathers fought and died for is being siphoned away through bills like this that tend to slip under our guard. We have had enough of it!
The problem with the healthcare bill is that it takes away the peoples right to decide whether they need healthcare or not, whether they want a large family or not, whether they want elderly family members to die by natural death or assisted suicide. Those issues will be decided by a “committee.”
We, average American citizens, want our voices to be heard. We do not want this bill. It is not “free” to the people. It will cost us heavily in our personal wallets, and it will cost us our independence.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Behind the Scenes: Fight for the Second Amendment
“The beautiful thing about the second amendment is that it won’t be used until it is needed.” ~ Thomas Jefferson
How true! In this modern day we are beginning to catch downdrafts of what may force us, in the coming years, to hold the 2nd amendment in the faces of our legislative workers and say, “No. You cannot take away our firearms. It is unconstitutional. Look, here’s the amendment from the founding fathers to prove it.” We can all thank the powers that be that our founding fathers had the foresight to include this amendment!
In my many social conversations with people, (where we inevitably speak of current political issues) nobody is enamored with the visualization of firearms confiscated. The firearms in question are just for hunting and self-defense purposes—we aren’t talking about keeping grenades and bombs out of the hands of average citizens. Average citizens want to defend themselves and their families—they couldn’t care less whether they’re allowed to keep a nuclear bomb in their backyards.
Lest you think me biased and only listening to the opinions of other like-minded right wing extremists, let me reassure you: I have spoken with right-wingers and left on this topic.
The truth is that the concept of being powerless to defend one’s own person/family/possessions strikes perturbation into the soul of the most liberal of us!
Every human knows instinctively that they have a right to defend themselves against oppression. It is part of our nature. Epics in history revolve around the defense people put up when they are endangered. The wars in history were fought for the ongoing safety of loved ones.
Why should we even need to have the second amendment? Shouldn’t it go without saying that it is a personal right to keep and bear arms for personal defense?
The thirst for power is the only possible reason. Thirst for power by corrupted authorities becomes a threat to all physical safety and peace of mind. We know that all the regulations on firearms in the world wouldn’t stop criminals from finding lethal weapons and using them against innocent citizens.
If you need proof of this, look at every other crime-regulating law. Dealing drugs is illegal. It still happens. Murder is illegal. It still happens. Fraud is illegal. It still happens. Look at the statistics from countries that have already banned guns. Crime rates sky-rocketed after those laws were enacted. The long and short of it? Crime still happens and banning weapons of personal defense leaves the law-abiding citizens on the hangman’s gallows.
We need to realize what we are combating. We are combating the threats to our personal rights and safety, but if that is our sole aim, we’ll only hang onto our freedoms by the last straw. We must make a degree shift in our focus and begin to combat the powers that might try to dictate these things to us. Don’t be blinded by looking only at the current issue. If we are to ride out the wave, we have to see past the first crest. Our efforts should be directed to containing the corrupted powers and demanding that, as the government of ‘we, the people’ they stop purloining our rights.
~ For Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness ~
How true! In this modern day we are beginning to catch downdrafts of what may force us, in the coming years, to hold the 2nd amendment in the faces of our legislative workers and say, “No. You cannot take away our firearms. It is unconstitutional. Look, here’s the amendment from the founding fathers to prove it.” We can all thank the powers that be that our founding fathers had the foresight to include this amendment!
In my many social conversations with people, (where we inevitably speak of current political issues) nobody is enamored with the visualization of firearms confiscated. The firearms in question are just for hunting and self-defense purposes—we aren’t talking about keeping grenades and bombs out of the hands of average citizens. Average citizens want to defend themselves and their families—they couldn’t care less whether they’re allowed to keep a nuclear bomb in their backyards.
Lest you think me biased and only listening to the opinions of other like-minded right wing extremists, let me reassure you: I have spoken with right-wingers and left on this topic.
The truth is that the concept of being powerless to defend one’s own person/family/possessions strikes perturbation into the soul of the most liberal of us!
Every human knows instinctively that they have a right to defend themselves against oppression. It is part of our nature. Epics in history revolve around the defense people put up when they are endangered. The wars in history were fought for the ongoing safety of loved ones.
Why should we even need to have the second amendment? Shouldn’t it go without saying that it is a personal right to keep and bear arms for personal defense?
The thirst for power is the only possible reason. Thirst for power by corrupted authorities becomes a threat to all physical safety and peace of mind. We know that all the regulations on firearms in the world wouldn’t stop criminals from finding lethal weapons and using them against innocent citizens.
If you need proof of this, look at every other crime-regulating law. Dealing drugs is illegal. It still happens. Murder is illegal. It still happens. Fraud is illegal. It still happens. Look at the statistics from countries that have already banned guns. Crime rates sky-rocketed after those laws were enacted. The long and short of it? Crime still happens and banning weapons of personal defense leaves the law-abiding citizens on the hangman’s gallows.
We need to realize what we are combating. We are combating the threats to our personal rights and safety, but if that is our sole aim, we’ll only hang onto our freedoms by the last straw. We must make a degree shift in our focus and begin to combat the powers that might try to dictate these things to us. Don’t be blinded by looking only at the current issue. If we are to ride out the wave, we have to see past the first crest. Our efforts should be directed to containing the corrupted powers and demanding that, as the government of ‘we, the people’ they stop purloining our rights.
~ For Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness ~
Friday, August 28, 2009
Patriotism and History
Now, more than ever before in my life, I am beginning to realize exactly how incredible the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution are, not only as prime specimens of how far grammar and syntax have fallen since 1776, but for the way they make allowances for all kinds of change in the government. I don't have time to write a real post right now, so I'll leave you with my favorite paragraphs of the Declaration.
When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the Powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.
Reading those words sends thrills up my backbone every time--our Founding Fathers knew their business!
When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the Powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.
Reading those words sends thrills up my backbone every time--our Founding Fathers knew their business!
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