Fifty-six Men

Mostly Sunny - Hi 75 Lo 58 for Baghdad, Iraq
Rain - Hi 67 Lo 55 for Qandahar, Afghanistan
Mostly Sunny - Hi 65 Lo 40 for Northern KY, USA

Song of the week: Gimme Some Money, Spinal Tap



Podcast of the week: Kate Obenshain: America—The Greatest Nation on Earth Young America's Foundation - running time 31:58. "And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor." An excellent reminder of why this country has been blessed

Ramble:

Friday night my niece spent the night with us. Man-- she is one really cool kid. Sweet, painfully shy, but incredibly observant of the world around her, she is the future of this country and I feel horrible a million... uh billion.... no.. a trillion different ways. She and her Dad and her Obasan went to the Cincinnati Zoo. Terry reconnected with an old friend and had a "behind the scenes" tour of the zoo. I wish I could have taken the day off from work to go, but alas... staying employed is kind of critical these days. In any event, here are a couple of photos Kamae took. The polar bear pic-- which is my favorite was taken by my niece. The other is a picture of Kamae standing in front of a baby Okapi. She also had the opportunity to feed and pet a manatee, rhinoceros and got to hang out with penguins... now that is a good day.

A bad day is when I read that my Representative Jeff Davis voted to impose an additional tax on certain TARP recipients.... (AIG) ok... first don't even go there with TARP--- but no taxes... means no taxes... I love the indignation of the likes of Charles Rangle.... Who does he think he is fooling? Good Grief! A bill like this can (and will) be a slippery slope to tax others...I like that... "We the Government do not like this bonus you are receiving... therefore we will tax it by 90... 95... 99... ok ok 100%!! Sucks to be you... Have a nice day you moronic little piece of dung idiot citizen who keeps getting up and going to work."

A nice little email will be going out today.

Jean Schmidt, Representative for Ohio also voted in favor... She really ticked me off-- she was at the Cincinnati Tea Party last Sunday... GRRRRRRR....

If you want to see how your representative voted, go a here... Also, here is a link to GPO Access. Here you can find Bills that the 111th Congress has in front of them..

Please listen to the podcast... it is real important that we find strength in the Classics... you know the Bible, The Constitution, The Declaration of Independence, The Gettysburg Address... Please take a few minutes to read them... We are in a weird place... But it is not yet the darkest of times.

Five signers were captured by the British as traitors, and tortured before they died. Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned. Two lost their sons serving in the Revolutionary Army, another had two sons captured. Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds or hardships of the Revolutionary War.

They signed and they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor. What kind of men were they?

Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists. Eleven were merchants, nine were farmers and large plantation owners; men of means, well educated. But they signed the Declaration of Independence knowing full well that the penalty would be death if they were captured.

Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his ships swept from the seas by the British Navy. He sold his home and properties to pay his debts, and died in rags.

Thomas McKeam was so hounded by the British that he was forced to move his family almost constantly. He served in the Congress without pay, and his family was kept in hiding. His possessions were taken from him, and poverty was his reward. Vandals or soldiers looted the properties of Dillery, Hall, Clymer, Walton, Gwinnett, Heyward, Ruttledge, and Middleton.

At the Battle of Yorktown, Thomas Nelson, Jr., noted that the British General Cornwallis had taken over the Nelson home for his headquarters. He quietly urged General George Washington to open fire. The home was destroyed, and Nelson died bankrupt. Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed. The enemy jailed his wife, and she died within a few months.

John Hart was driven from his wife's bedside as she was dying. Their 13 children fled for their lives. His fields and his gristmill were laid to waste. For more than a year he lived in forests and caves, returning home to find his wife dead and his children vanished. A few weeks later he died from exhaustion and a broken heart. Norris and Livingston suffered similar fates.

Such were the stories and sacrifices of the American Revolution. These were not wild-eyed, rabble-rousing ruffians. They were soft-spoken men of means and education. They had security, but they valued liberty more.

Standing tall, straight, and unwavering, they pledged: "For the support of this declaration, with firm reliance on the protection of the divine providence, we mutually pledge to each other, our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor."

They gave you and me a free and independent America. The history books never told you a lot of what happened in the Revolutionary War. We didn't just fight the British. We were British subjects at that time and we fought our own government! Most of us take these liberties so much for granted...We shouldn't.

Brief Biographies of the 56 Signers can be found here.

Have a great week everyone!