Showing posts with label patriotism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label patriotism. Show all posts

Friday, September 11, 2020

Never Foget What They Did To Us

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Even with all the current unrest and disruption to our lives, the people who attacked us nineteen years ago still want to destroy us.  They may even be behind some of the current troubles.  Therefore,
We must never forget what Islamist terrorists
did to us in 2001.  


If you have forgotten, or were too young to remember the devastation on our own soil of the 9/11 attacks, look here for a short review.   The blood shed by over 3000 people is not visible in the photos. 


NOT ONE of the five masterminds of the 9/11 attack have been brought to justice!   Their trial is set for 2021.  
How is it possible that it could take 20 years to bring them to trial? 

We must stand strong against these terrorists and our sympathetic politicians forever and always, lest the freedom of this greatest country on earth be lost forever.  
While we are at it, add to that the current rioters, looters, thugs, and fake news purveyors.   They are just as much a threat to our freedoms as the terrorists of 2001. 
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Saturday, June 20, 2020

Immediate Danger and Politicians Keeping Us "Safe"

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I went for a ride yesterday.  I went up to Whitewater Falls, just into North Carolina -- about 45 miles from my home in Easley, SC.  You take South Carolina route 130 (that turns into North Carolina route 281), a fairly smooth road with many sweepers, to get there.  It is one of my favorite roads and favorite sights to see in the area. 

As I reach the entrance, there are cars parked everywhere along both sides of the road, even though there is no real place set up for such parking.  People are walking and standing along the road for a considerable distance.







They are in harm's way.

Why?  Simply because they came there to see what they own: Whitewater Falls is administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Forest Service.

Here is a look at what they own, taken on one of my previous visits. 


But the gates are closed and locked. The usual volunteer who stays there in his camper and oversees the area is not there because the park is closed. 

Even though the park is administered under the Forest Service, they say that their "decisions [on closings] will align with local city, county and state actions to provide for human health and safety (ie. quarantine, curfew, and other social restrictions)." 

So I suppose that North Carolina's Democrat governor Roy Cooper is responsible for the closing and endangering visitors who have to park and walk along the road. 

Again I ask, why?  The reason given by leftists like Cooper is that they are protecting our health from a virus.  Remember though, that this virus is not significantly different from past influenzas.  Old people and those already sick with some other troubles should be very careful, but the rest of us should not be punished and treated like disease-carrying vermin, keeping us out of places like this one for no good reason. 

So Cooper is putting people in imminent and immediate danger along that road so they might not get a virus while they are in the wide open outdoors.  Read that again, if you will.  Does that make sense to anyone? 

Being in the indoors has now been determined to be more likely to spread the virus than being outdoors.  So closing facilities like Whitewater Falls makes a lot of sense, doesn't it?  NOT. 

Well, I note that there is a parking lot just a tenth of a mile south of the falls entrance.  This lot is for hikers on the nearby Foothills Trail.  That trail goes many places, but one of them is to Whitewater Falls right next door. 

See the immediate surroundings on this map:

So that parking lot would be a good place to park, right?

Unfortunately, since the main Whitewater Falls parking lot has been closed, and the volunteer made to stay home, people parking in the gravel lot have experienced vandalism to their vehicles.  Just two months ago, one visitor reported that they "had somebody come and knock my car window out while we were hiking. There were probably 10 other cars parked there when we first arrived and 3 of them (including me) got their windows knocked out."

So, if you can't park in the lot where there is a volunteer who can watch over it, you are subjected to vandals who break out your car windows.

You can always park on the road, remember!  Ah, yes, with cars whizzing by a few feet away from you. 

Note on the map above that the trail from the gravel parking lot has a spur that goes to the restrooms at Whitewater Falls.   Don't be expecting to use them, though, because they have been locked for months now.   You have to use the great outdoors if you need to go!


Think about how much this reaction to a virus is costing us in enjoyment, damage to vehicles, accidents, inconvenience, higher costs, and on and on?  They say that suicides and depression are on the rise, and some of the 40+ million people who have lost their jobs will never recover economically. 


Well, back to the ride today.  I manage to turn around near the entrance to the falls parking lot, but the view of oncoming traffic is poor.   Another danger. 

I go about four tenths of a mile south on 130 and turn onto the Bad Creek Pumped Storage Facility road, and follow it to the overlook on Lake Jocassee.  The view is always nice here, but there is a little rain so I don't tarry.



Instead I go back to 130 and the Wigington Scenic Byway to the overlook onto Lake Jocassee. 


A bit hazy today, unfortunately, but the rain has stopped.

Then I turn back and follow SC-130 and SC-11, then US-178 back nearly to home. 


It was a nice day for riding.  I hope they open the parks again soon.

Email, call, or write Governor Cooper to urge him to do so:

  • email  
  • 919-814-2000
  • North Carolina Office of the Governor
        20301 Mail Service Center
        Raleigh, NC 27699-0301

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Monday, May 27, 2019

Memorial Day Rememberance

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Flags  

Your grandma might have called it Decoration Day.  It was called Decoration Day because, in the immediate aftermath of the American Civil War, it was a day when the graves of soldiers were decorated in remembrance of their ultimate sacrifice while serving their country.

We call it Memorial Day now.  That name was first used in 1882, but it did not become common until after World War II, and was not declared to be the official name of the day by Federal law until 1967. 

(Memorial Day is not to be confused with Veterans Day, also known as Armistice Day.  Memorial Day is a day of remembering the men and women who died while serving, while Veterans Day celebrates the service of all military personnel not currently serving.  
Armed Forces Day is a holiday to honor servicemen who are presently in the military.) 

We are not so thankful for their sacrifices these days, I think, but we certainly ought to be.  Our very freedom in these United States was won by -- and is defended daily by -- the blood of our servicemen and women. 

In fact, our young people used to aspire to serve our country, like in this cartoon from around the year 1900. 


 "On Decoration Day" Political cartoon.
Caption: "You bet I'm goin' to be a soldier, too, like my Uncle David, when I grow up."

I wonder how many young people now even know they can serve. 

Why not take a little ride today and decorate the grave of some soldier, known to you or not?

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Sunday, November 11, 2018

Veterans Day -- A Salute to Those Who Fought for Our Freedom

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Veterans Day  
(from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs)

World War I – known at the time as “The Great War” - officially ended when the Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919, in the Palace of Versailles outside the town of Versailles, France. However, fighting ceased seven months earlier when an armistice, or temporary cessation of hostilities, between the Allied nations and Germany went into effect on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. For that reason, November 11, 1918, is generally regarded as the end of “the war to end all wars.”

In November 1919, President Wilson proclaimed November 11 as the first commemoration of Armistice Day with the following words: "To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations…"

The original concept for the celebration was for a day observed with parades and public meetings and a brief suspension of business beginning at 11:00 a.m.

The United States Congress officially recognized the end of World War I when it passed a concurrent resolution on June 4, 1926, with these words:
Whereas the 11th of November 1918, marked the cessation of the most destructive, sanguinary, and far reaching war in human annals and the resumption by the people of the United States of peaceful relations with other nations, which we hope may never again be severed, and

Whereas it is fitting that the recurring anniversary of this date should be commemorated with thanksgiving and prayer and exercises designed to perpetuate peace through good will and mutual understanding between nations; and

Whereas the legislatures of twenty-seven of our States have already declared November 11 to be a legal holiday: Therefore be it Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring), that the President of the United States is requested to issue a proclamation calling upon the officials to display the flag of the United States on all Government buildings on November 11 and inviting the people of the United States to observe the day in schools and churches, or other suitable places, with appropriate ceremonies of friendly relations with all other peoples.
An Act (52 Stat. 351; 5 U. S. Code, Sec. 87a) approved May 13, 1938, made the 11th of November in each year a legal holiday—a day to be dedicated to the cause of world peace and to be thereafter celebrated and known as "Armistice Day." Armistice Day was primarily a day set aside to honor veterans of World War I, but in 1954, after World War II had required the greatest mobilization of soldiers, sailors, Marines and airmen in the Nation’s history; after American forces had fought aggression in Korea, the 83rd Congress, at the urging of the veterans service organizations, amended the Act of 1938 by striking out the word "Armistice" and inserting in its place the word "Veterans." With the approval of this legislation (Public Law 380) on June 1, 1954, November 11th became a day to honor American veterans of all wars.

Later that same year, on October 8th, President Dwight D. Eisenhower issued the first "Veterans Day Proclamation" which stated: "In order to insure proper and widespread observance of this anniversary, all veterans, all veterans' organizations, and the entire citizenry will wish to join hands in the common purpose. Toward this end, I am designating the Administrator of Veterans' Affairs as Chairman of a Veterans Day National Committee, which shall include such other persons as the Chairman may select, and which will coordinate at the national level necessary planning for the observance. I am also requesting the heads of all departments and agencies of the Executive branch of the Government to assist the National Committee in every way possible."

On that same day, President Eisenhower sent a letter to the Honorable Harvey V. Higley, Administrator of Veterans' Affairs (VA), designating him as Chairman of the Veterans Day National Committee.
In 1958, the White House advised VA's General Counsel that the 1954 designation of the VA Administrator as Chairman of the Veterans Day National Committee applied to all subsequent VA Administrators. Since March 1989 when VA was elevated to a cabinet level department, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs has served as the committee's chairman.

The Uniform Holiday Bill (Public Law 90-363 (82 Stat. 250)) was signed on June 28, 1968, and was intended to ensure three-day weekends for Federal employees by celebrating four national holidays on Mondays: Washington's Birthday, Memorial Day, Veterans Day, and Columbus Day. It was thought that these extended weekends would encourage travel, recreational and cultural activities and stimulate greater industrial and commercial production. Many states did not agree with this decision and continued to celebrate the holidays on their original dates.

The first Veterans Day under the new law was observed with much confusion on October 25, 1971. It was quite apparent that the commemoration of this day was a matter of historic and patriotic significance to a great number of our citizens, and so on September 20th, 1975, President Gerald R. Ford signed Public Law 94-97 (89 Stat. 479), which returned the annual observance of Veterans Day to its original date of November 11, beginning in 1978. This action supported the desires of the overwhelming majority of state legislatures, all major veterans service organizations and the American people.

Veterans Day continues to be observed on November 11, regardless of what day of the week on which it falls. The restoration of the observance of Veterans Day to November 11 not only preserves the historical significance of the date, but helps focus attention on the important purpose of Veterans Day: A celebration to honor America's veterans for their patriotism, love of country, and willingness to serve and sacrifice for the common good.



If you see a veteran, take a minute to thank him for his service, and for his helping preserve our freedom.  
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Saturday, October 27, 2018

What is at Risk November 6th?

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Election day is coming upon us rapidly, and this election is very important to our future -- yours and mine. 

If the Democrats take over the House or Senate, then everything Mr. Trump has accomplished in two years will be lost.  If you would like to see a list of those accomplishments, then look here. 

And remember, Mr. Trump campaigned on many issues.  At that time, it was just talk.

Now, two years later, we can see that he has achieved many of those promises. 

So what do we as citizens stand to lose? 

Here is the short list:
  • Lowest unemployment in years, and in some cases, in history.  The tax cuts, new incentives to business, and the reduction in regulations would be wiped out along with those jobs that have been created.  Democrats have vowed that they will reverse all this to take money out of your pocket. 
    Read this.  
  • Our sovereignty.  In plain language, illegal immigrants are set to invade us, and more are on the way.  These are able-bodied young men with almost no women and few children.  These are not refugees, nor are they seeking asylum.  If we let them in, they will become a surge of Democrat voters who will never again vote in a Republican to any office.  They will take our jobs, use our health care system without paying, bring in disease, increase gang activity, and allow terrorists free entry to destroy us. 
    If you think this is not true, then why is the latest wave of illegals waving the flags of the countries they claim they want to leave?  See this story.  


Other risks of electing Democrats:
·        Your right to bear arms would be threatened, preventing law-abiding citizens from defending themselves, their families, and their property. 
·        Health care would be even less affordable than Obamacare is now.  …and watch out for what Democrats are calling “Medicare for All.”  It is a way to provide health care for more people, but made possible by taking away health care benefits from the rest of us. 


·        Democrats not only would destroy a good man and his family, but our entire nation to gain power for themselves.  The recent Supreme Court hearings are an example of the power the Democrats so desperately don’t want to lose.  They would destroy a good man at any cost and destroy our nation to regain power for themselves. 


These things affect everybody, including ordinary blokes like you and me.  Our standard of living would fall, and more of us would be stuck without jobs or in lower-paying jobs.  Many more would have to go back on welfare, supported by those who are still working.  


Don’t let that happen.  Vote Republican on election day.  

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Tuesday, September 11, 2018

We Must NEVER Forget 911

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We must never forget what Islamist terrorists
did to us in 2001.  





Think it was just isolated to 9/11/2001?  


It was not.  We are still in danger from these people.  



 Here is a page that shows all of the 104 terrorist attacks and threats since 9/11.  
Note that this page has not been updated, except for the graphic that looks like this: 


Scroll to the right in the graphic in the link above to see each specific incident.  


 "This graphic does not include activities that are merely linked to terrorism, such as traveling abroad to join a terrorist organization.  Each plot requires some threat directed at the U.S. homeland. Additionally, to be included, the primary motivation of the terror plot or attack must be a radical Islamist ideology, which supports the use of violence as a means to achieve the long-run objective of imposing Islamic law."  


All attacks were committed by Islamist terrorists.  

If you have forgotten the devastation on our own soil of the 9/11 attacks, look here for a short review.   The blood shed by over 3000 people is not visible in the photos. 

NOT ONE of the five masterminds of the 9/11 attack have been brought to justice, some 17 years later!  


We must stand strong against these terrorists and our sympathetic politicians forever and always, lest the freedom of this greatest country on earth be lost forever. 
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Tuesday, July 3, 2018

July 4, 1776


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Flags

In between your morning ride on the bike, your afternoon of hot dogs at the lake, and your evening of fireworks, consider the real meaning of the day we celebrate.


A History of Independence Day
from the History Channel

When the initial battles in the Revolutionary War broke out in April 1775, few colonists desired complete independence from Great Britain, and those who did were considered radical.

By the middle of the following year, however, many more colonists had come to favor independence, thanks to growing hostility against Britain and the spread of revolutionary sentiments such as those expressed in the bestselling pamphlet “Common Sense,” published by Thomas Paine in early 1776.

On June 7, when the Continental Congress met at the Pennsylvania State House (later Independence Hall) in Philadelphia, the Virginia delegate Richard Henry Lee introduced a motion calling for the colonies’ independence.

Amid heated debate, Congress postponed the vote on Lee’s resolution, but appointed a five-man committee – including Thomas Jefferson of Virginia, John Adams of Massachusetts, Roger Sherman of Connecticut, Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania and Robert R. Livingston of New York – to draft a formal statement justifying the break with Great Britain.

On July 2nd, the Continental Congress voted in favor of Lee’s resolution for independence in a near-unanimous vote (the New York delegation abstained, but later voted affirmatively). On that day, John Adams wrote to his wife Abigail that July 2 “will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival” and that the celebration should include “Pomp and Parade…Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other.”

On July 4th, the Continental Congress formally adopted the Declaration of Independence, which had been written largely by Jefferson. Though the vote for actual independence took place on July 2nd, from then on the 4th became the day that was celebrated as the birth of American independence.


Our freedom comes from that document declaring our independence and from our Constitution, both so masterfully crafted by the patriots who came before us. 

Enjoy your day!






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Thursday, June 14, 2018

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Celebrate our freedom symbolized by this wonderful banner.


...and keep this in mind,that Winston Churchill, in the U.K. House of Commons, November 11, 1947, had this to say: 

Many forms of Government have been tried, and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed it has been said that democracy is the worst form of Government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.…
Churchill clearly did not originate this famous remark about democracy, but it is certainly true. 

It is good to remember that about our form of government amidst this world of chaos.   Remind your kids, too, that their freedom depends on it.


References:

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Tuesday, April 10, 2018

A Constitutional Right, Plainly Stated

I recently heard something about the mayor of Greensboro, NC, Nancy Vaughn.


Ms. Vaughn says she recently had a conversation with her daughter, a high school student, about the Florida school shooting.

Now that is a topic of discussion in many families nowadays, unfortunately, because mentally deranged people go into places like schools where the occupants are defenseless, and open fire on them.

Ms. Vaughn's discussion was certainly an opportunity to explain to her daughter, who at her age, is formulating her views of the world, why these shooting are happening with alarming frequency, and what would be effective in preventing them. 

Unfortunately, instead of using logic, she took the shallow-thinker route and announced that she and the entire Greensboro City Council are in support of canceling a gun show scheduled for August 25th and 26th at the Greensboro Coliseum.  

That is what her daughter, with her limited understanding of the world, would probably believe to be an easy way to prevent such crimes -- ban the sale of firearms.  Her daughter would also likely believe that this effort should begin right there in Greensboro in late August at that gun show.

Her daughter would certainly feel good about that move -- that she had done something. 

But would it have any real effect on preventing that type of crime? 

Listen to what this Greensboro resident has to say:



His name is Mark Robinson.  He does not own a gun. He understands the United States Constitution clearly, especially its second amendment. 

I agree with his points in their entirety.

Ms. Vaughn, should stop listening to her child, and instead, use actual logic, not feelings, to put forth real-world solutions to major problems.

It is plain as day -- and should be to Ms. Vaughn -- that leftists like her, apparently, want to take guns away from law-abiding citizens, resulting in our having only those with criminal intent or those who are deranged to posses weapons.  They are certainly not going to turn in their weapons no matter what the laws say. 

Those defenseless school children in Florida were less well protected than the money in a Brinks truck or the jewels in a fine jewelry store because there is a sign on the door like this one:


Those children are sitting ducks for violence against them. 

By the way, the proposal by the Greensboro City Council is a regulation of the sale and purchase of firearms and components by an action of a municipality and, as such, is a direct violation of North Carolina law. 


Now read about a town in Georgia -- one of six nationwide -- that requires households to own a firearm.

I would think twice -- no at least three times -- about going there to shoot up a school or commit some other crime.

That is a good way to stop school shootings, and, indeed, almost all other kinds of crime. 

Oh, and reopening mental institutions to treat those with troubles like that instead of "mainstreaming" them into society is another facet of an effective solution.  


Nevertheless, Democrats and other leftists are working their hardest to further restrict the ability to own firearms.  Think about the misguided, naive Ms. Vaughn, her daughter, and the City Council of Greensboro. 

I am with Mr. Robinson.  How about you?


Write to your government officials, show up at their meetings, and visit them in their offices to tell them what you think about this serious matter. 

Here is where you find out how to contact them:  

Check the Internet to find your state and local politicians. 
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Friday, November 10, 2017

Remember a Vet Today -- and Always

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Flags   

For 98 years, Americans have remembered those who served our country in uniform on 11 November – first as Armistice Day, and then, since 1954, as Veterans Day.

Here are some pictures of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall that I visited on the bike today, though I couldn't get close enough for a picture of the bike and the monument together.



Lots of kids were there. 
I hope their teachers are telling them the
truth about our brave men who fought there.

Bucky reflecting on one of the panels
of names of those killed.




There were quite a few of these strange things with too
many wheels (except for the nearest one, that is). 












Actually, this is a display of the half-size version of the Wall that has been touring the country for over thirty years.  It is at the Blue Ridge Electric Coop garage on SC-123 just west of the intersection with SC-11. It will be there though November 13, 2017.

Tell a Vet today -- and every day -- that you appreciate the sacrifices they made for our freedom.





Sunday, July 2, 2017

Independence -- What Did It Mean to the Ones Who Founded Our Country?


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Every year on July 4th we celebrate Independence Day.

But what does it mean to us?

Well, Wikipedia says this: 
"Independence Day...is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence...on July 4, 1776.  The Continental Congress declared that the thirteen American colonies regarded themselves as a new nation, the United States of America, and were no longer part of the British Empire....

"Independence Day is commonly associated with fireworks, parades, barbecues, carnivals, fairs, picnics, concerts, baseball games, family reunions, and political speeches and ceremonies, in addition to various other public and private events celebrating the history, government, and traditions of the United States. Independence Day is the National Day of the United States." 
Somehow, they forgot motorcycle riding amongst the activities!
 
These are all good things we do to celebrate the founding of our great country, certainly. 

But what did the guys who thought up the way the country would work best?  The Declaration of Independence was certainly important.  The Continental Congress had appointed a five-man committee – including Thomas Jefferson of Virginia, John Adams of Massachusetts, Roger Sherman of Connecticut, Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania, and Robert R. Livingston of New York – to draft the formal statement justifying the break with Great Britain.  That document would become known as the Declaration of Independence. 

Some of its text is famous:
"...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"
Right from the start in this document, they declared some things that are vital to our freedom then and today.

A little more info is available here. 


Another important document that came later, in 1789, is the Constitution and the Bill of Rights that are attached to it. 

It starts out:
"We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America." 
It goes on to explain how the various branches of the United States government are to work, and more importantly, what the federal government is NOT to have anything to do with.  There are some posts that explain this too, found here and here. 


OK, but what did those founding guys who wrote these documents believe in so many years ago?

Here are a few quotations of people we should have learned about in history class.  These are from the Wall Builders website, where there are many more: 


John Adams
SIGNER OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE; JUDGE; DIPLOMAT; ONE OF TWO SIGNERS OF THE BILL OF RIGHTS; SECOND PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
The general principles on which the fathers achieved independence were the general principles of Christianity. I will avow that I then believed, and now believe, that those general principles of Christianity are as eternal and immutable as the existence and attributes of God.1
Without religion, this world would be something not fit to be mentioned in polite company: I mean hell.2
The Christian religion is, above all the religions that ever prevailed or existed in ancient or modern times, the religion of wisdom, virtue, equity and humanity.3
Suppose a nation in some distant region should take the Bible for their only law book and every member should regulate his conduct by the precepts there exhibited. . . . What a Eutopia – what a Paradise would this region be!4
I have examined all religions, and the result is that the Bible is the best book in the world.5


John Quincy Adams
SIXTH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES; DIPLOMAT; SECRETARY OF STATE; U. S. SENATOR; U. S. REPRESENTATIVE; “OLD MAN ELOQUENT”; “HELL-HOUND OF ABOLITION”
My hopes of a future life are all founded upon the Gospel of Christ and I cannot cavil or quibble away [evade or object to]. . . . the whole tenor of His conduct by which He sometimes positively asserted and at others countenances [permits] His disciples in asserting that He was God.6
The hope of a Christian is inseparable from his faith. Whoever believes in the Divine inspiration of the Holy Scriptures must hope that the religion of Jesus shall prevail throughout the earth. Never since the foundation of the world have the prospects of mankind been more encouraging to that hope than they appear to be at the present time. And may the associated distribution of the Bible proceed and prosper till the Lord shall have made “bare His holy arm in the eyes of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God” [Isaiah 52:10].7
In the chain of human events, the birthday of the nation is indissolubly linked with the birthday of the Savior. The Declaration of Independence laid the cornerstone of human government upon the first precepts of Christianity.8

Benjamin Franklin

SIGNER OF THE DECLARATION; DIPLOMAT; PRINTER; SCIENTIST; SIGNER OF THE CONSTITUTION; GOVERNOR OF PENNSYLVANIA
As to Jesus of Nazareth, my opinion of whom you particularly desire, I think the system of morals and His religion as He left them to us, the best the world ever saw or is likely to see.29
The body of Benjamin Franklin, printer, like the cover of an old book, its contents torn out and stripped of its lettering and guilding, lies here, food for worms. Yet the work itself shall not be lost; for it will, as he believed, appear once more in a new and more beautiful edition, corrected and amended by the Author.30 (FRANKLIN’S EULOGY THAT HE WROTE FOR HIMSELF)


John Hancock

SIGNER OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE; PRESIDENT OF CONGRESS; REVOLUTIONARY GENERAL; GOVERNOR OF MASSACHUSETTS
Sensible of the importance of Christian piety and virtue to the order and happiness of a state, I cannot but earnestly commend to you every measure for their support and encouragement.37
He called on the entire state to pray “that universal happiness may be established in the world [and] that all may bow to the scepter of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the whole earth be filled with His glory.”38
He also called on the State of Massachusetts to pray . . .
  • that all nations may bow to the scepter of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and that the whole earth may be filled with his glory.39
  • that the spiritual kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ may be continually increasing until the whole earth shall be filled with His glory.40
  • to confess their sins and to implore forgiveness of God through the merits of the Savior of the World.41
  • to cause the benign religion of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to be known, understood, and practiced among all the inhabitants of the earth.42
  • to confess their sins before God and implore His forgiveness through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.43
  • that He would finally overrule all events to the advancement of the Redeemer’s kingdom and the establishment of universal peace and good will among men.44
  • that the kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ may be established in peace and righteousness among all the nations of the earth.45
  • that with true contrition of heart we may confess our sins, resolve to forsake them, and implore the Divine forgiveness, through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ, our Savior. . . . And finally to overrule all the commotions in the world to the spreading the true religion of our Lord Jesus Christ in its purity and power among all the people of the earth.46

Patrick Henry

REVOLUTIONARY GENERAL; LEGISLATOR; “THE VOICE OF LIBERTY”; RATIFIER OF THE
U. S. CONSTITUTION; GOVERNOR OF VIRGINIA
Being a Christian… is a character which I prize far above all this world has or can boast.48
The Bible… is a book worth more than all the other books that were ever printed.49
Righteousness alone can exalt [America] as a nation…Whoever thou art, remember this; and in thy sphere practice virtue thyself, and encourage it in others.50
The great pillars of all government and of social life [are] virtue, morality, and religion. This is the armor, my friend, and this alone, that renders us invincible.51
This is all the inheritance I can give to my dear family. The religion of Christ can give them one which will make them rich indeed.52

Thomas Jefferson

SIGNER OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE; DIPLOMAT; GOVERNOR OF VIRGINIA; SECRETARY OF STATE; THIRD PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
The doctrines of Jesus are simple, and tend all to the happiness of man.63
The practice of morality being necessary for the well being of society, He [God] has taken care to impress its precepts so indelibly on our hearts that they shall not be effaced by the subtleties of our brain. We all agree in the obligation of the moral principles of Jesus and nowhere will they be found delivered in greater purity than in His discourses.64
I am a Christian in the only sense in which He wished anyone to be: sincerely attached to His doctrines in preference to all others.65
I am a real Christian – that is to say, a disciple of the doctrines of Jesus Christ.66

James Madison

SIGNER OF THE CONSTITUTION; AUTHOR OF THE FEDERALIST PAPERS; FRAMER OF THE
BILL OF RIGHTS; SECRETARY OF STATE; FOURTH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
A watchful eye must be kept on ourselves lest, while we are building ideal monuments of renown and bliss here, we neglect to have our names enrolled in the Annals of Heaven.71
I have sometimes thought there could not be a stronger testimony in favor of religion or against temporal enjoyments, even the most rational and manly, than for men who occupy the most honorable and gainful departments and [who] are rising in reputation and wealth, publicly to declare their unsatisfactoriness by becoming fervent advocates in the cause of Christ; and I wish you may give in your evidence in this way.72

George Washington

JUDGE; MEMBER OF THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS;
COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF OF THE CONTINENTAL ARMY;
PRESIDENT OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION;
FIRST PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES; “FATHER OF HIS COUNTRY”
You do well to wish to learn our arts and ways of life, and above all, the religion of Jesus Christ. These will make you a greater and happier people than you are.121
While we are zealously performing the duties of good citizens and soldiers, we certainly ought not to be inattentive to the higher duties of religion. To the distinguished character of Patriot, it should be our highest glory to add the more distinguished character of Christian.122
The blessing and protection of Heaven are at all times necessary but especially so in times of public distress and danger. The General hopes and trusts that every officer and man will endeavor to live and act as becomes a Christian soldier, defending the dearest rights and liberties of his country.123
I now make it my earnest prayer that God would… most graciously be pleased to dispose us all to do justice, to love mercy, and to demean ourselves with that charity, humility, and pacific temper of the mind which were the characteristics of the Divine Author of our blessed religion.124

Daniel Webster

U. S. SENATOR; SECRETARY OF STATE; “DEFENDER OF THE CONSTITUTION”
[T]he Christian religion – its general principles – must ever be regarded among us as the foundation of civil society.125
Whatever makes men good Christians, makes them good citizens.126
[T]o the free and universal reading of the Bible… men [are] much indebted for right views of civil liberty.127
The Bible is a book… which teaches man his own individual responsibility, his own dignity, and his equality with his fellow man.128

Noah Webster

REVOLUTIONARY SOLDIER; JUDGE; LEGISLATOR; EDUCATOR; “SCHOOLMASTER TO AMERICA”
[T]he religion which has introduced civil liberty is the religion of Christ and His apostles… This is genuine Christianity and to this we owe our free constitutions of government.129
The moral principles and precepts found in the Scriptures ought to form the basis of all our civil constitutions and laws.130
All the… evils which men suffer from vice, crime, ambition, injustice, oppression, slavery and war, proceed from their despising or neglecting the precepts contained in the Bible.131
[O]ur citizens should early understand that the genuine source of correct republican principles is the Bible, particularly the New Testament, or the Christian religion.132[T]he Christian religion is the most important and one of the first things in which all children under a free government ought to be instructed. No truth is more evident than that the Christian religion must be the basis of any government intended to secure the rights and privileges of a free people.133
The Bible is the chief moral cause of all that is good and the best corrector of all that is evil in human society – the best book for regulating the temporal concerns of men.134
[T]he Christian religion… is the basis, or rather the source, of all genuine freedom in government… I am persuaded that no civil government of a republican form can exist and be durable in which the principles of Christianity have not a controlling influence.135



Notice that all of them cited the importance of religion -- mostly Christianity -- related to our form of government?  That is one of the main reasons our country has survived these nearly 2½ centuries, and the reason why we have the freedoms we do. 

The government our founders gave us is still the most perfect form of government thus far conceived on this earth.

We had better not tamper with it, lest we lose it along with the many freedoms it gives us -- including riding our motorbikes almost anywhere we choose. 


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Wednesday, November 9, 2016

We Have One More Chance

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So, Mr. Trump is president. 

Trump
...by a large margin. 


Only the liberal Democrats on the east and west coasts and a few in the middle didn't vote for him.  

Here is what it looks like by county.  

By Mark Newman, University of Michigan
Notice that there are only a relatively small number of heavily-populated counties that voted Democrat -- the big Democrat-run cities, mostly.  The rest of us with some sense voted Republican. 

And lest you think that the Electoral College is obsolete, look at the effect just four high-population states would have had on the results if the presidential election were done by popular vote.  

From The Daily Signal
Besides those four states, none of us would have a say in the election if it were done by popular vote. That is why the founders devised the Electoral College -- a brilliant invention. 


The rest of us, who have been struggling for the last eight years to make ends meet and deal with big government are the ones who voted for a major change -- away from the failed, harmful policies of Democrats.

We have avoided the certain disaster of a Clinton presidency.  

We should first get on our knees and thank God for saving us, and ask His help to mend our evil ways of voting unsuitable politicians into office from now on. 

Then, get ready to tell Mr. Trump what he must do as your president.  

Here are four things you can tell him that would make a huge difference in our lives, and that he can accomplish immediately. 
  1. Close the borders to illegal immigrants.  He would just be enforcing the existing laws, so this can be immediate. 
  2. Drill for oil on our land.  There is more than enough to stop buying oil from the unstable Middle East.  This has already been approved by congress, so this can be immediate. 
    Approve the pipelines that have been held up by the Democrats.  The interruptions in service by the recent pipeline damage shows how vulnerable we are. 
  3. Appoint only Supreme Court justices who will interpret law, not legislate from the bench.  This will affect the basic freedom of our descendants for decades -- no, generations --  to come.  There is an opening now, so this can start immediately.  
  4. Stop voter fraud by purging the voter registration roles of people who have not voted in three elections or who have died, by requiring valid identification of every voter, and by rooting out those who during every election stuff the ballot boxes with false ballots.  

If he does nothing else, these four things will cause the greatest economic boom that we will experience in our lifetimes, and give back the freedoms we have lost to big government. 

But, the Republican Senate and House must now work with Trump on all things.

So, write to them too.  Tell them -- and to never try to compromise with the Democrats. They are the party of failed promises and oppression of us all. 


Here is where you find out how to contact them:  


OK.   

Now get busy, and send your instructions so they get there as soon as the officials get into their offices.   
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