Independence Day – Brought To You By Patriots

This was sent to me in an email.

Have you ever wondered what happened to the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence?

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.

So, take a few minutes while enjoying your 4th of July holiday and silently thank these patriots. It’s not much to ask for the price they paid.

Remember: freedom is never free!

I hope you will show your support by sending this to as many people as you can, please. It’s time we get the word out that patriotism is NOT a sin, and the Fourth of July has more to it than beer, picnics, and baseball games.

American Independence… As It Should Be

The other day, I drove past a house that was decorated in confederate flags.  Not one American flag was displayed on this person’s property.  It made me start to wonder why is this person still living in the United States of America.

After Christopher Columbus sailed to these shores and back, more Europeans decided that they were no longer happy living in England, France and Spain, just to name a few.  They left their homelands and ventured across the Atlantic ocean in the hopes of finding a place that better suited their ideals.

If these unpatriotic Americans, the ones flying the confederate flag which is a symbol of secession, are so unhappy, then they should do what the Europeans did 400 or more years ago, pack up and leave.  Find another country.

Happy Independence Day!

Notice all the happy faces in the crowd.  That’s because they know that George W. Bush will be out of office within 7 months.  Now that was something to celebrate!

Specter Now Supports a Public Option

Senator Specter has been traveling the state of Pennsylvania these past few weeks.  He has taken the time to meet with his constituents.  This past weekend, he attended the Berks County Democratic Committee Meeting and spoke with precinct leaders from Berks County.  Yesterday, he met with a group of health reform advocates from Pennsylvania.  He now supports a public option.

Speaking moments ago to a large and animated crowd of union organizers and health reform advocates in a brewing house just North of the Capitol, Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA) said he supports a public insurance option.

“Schumer has it right about having a public component,” Specter said.

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has taken a lead role on negotiations over the public option in the Senate Finance Committee, and earlier this year proposed a compromise: the committee’s health care bill should include a public plan, he said, but one that competes on a level playing field with other insurers. Such an entity wouldn’t be able to use its sheer size to set prices the way Medicare does–but it could nonetheless incur savings in a host of other ways, and in so doing drive down the cost of health insurance in the private market.

Perhaps more importantly, though, the Schumer proposal is in line with the principles of the major reform campaign Health Care for America Now–and, as such, just about every major health care and labor organization in the country.

Sounds like Senator Specter may be listening to the voters of Pennsylvania.

“Health care is a right,” Specter said. “Your presence here has a big effect. You will get health care this year.”

I’ll still be watching his voting record.

Health Care Forum

Healthcare Forum July 9th, 7pm in Reading Hosted by Berks for Obama

Moderated by
Valerie Arkoosh, MD, MPH, President-Elect, National Physicians Alliance
Speakers:
Manan Trivedi, MD, health policy advisor to the Obama campaign
Peter Rye, Executive Vice President, Brentwood Industries
SEIU union representative

Healthcare policy is one of the foremost issues of our time, but also one of the most confusing and contentious. This important public forum is designed to help us understand the issues from a variety of perspectives. Presentations will be followed by a Q&A session, as well as recommendations for further action.

When: Thursday July 9, 2009
Where: First Unitarian Universalist Church
416 Franklin Street, Reading
Park in the Cherry Street lot
Time: 7pm-8:30pm

View invitation and submit response

Bill Maher – New Rules June 19, 2009

A Public Health Care Plan

Americans, it’s time to organize for a public health care plan.  We did it before and we can do it again.

President Obama’s Public Health Care Option…

The Republicans DO NOT WANT to cover all Americans.  They want the insurance industry to continue to make big profits while Americans lose their homes and life savings because of a major illness.  One thing that the Republicans have not been talking about is how we the taxpayers pay for their health insurance premiums.  They are not about to give up their benefits.  We still have the “let them eat cake” mentality in Congress.

If you can, call your Senator or Representative and DEMAND that health care reform must include a public plan.  There will be a health care rally in Washington, DC on June 25.  If you can attend, please do so.

You can read about the “nothing burger” here.

Destroyed by Coal

Centralia, Pennsylvania…

There’s enough coal underground to continue to burn for 1000 years.

Here’s the buckled closed Route 61 two years later… look at all that smoke coming out of the ground.

The hottest town in Pennsylvania

More about Centralia, PA and how the fire started.

Specter And The Insurance Money UPDATE

From project at Crooks and Liars…

Here is a list of elected people taking payoffs to cheat the American people and the amounts of bribes being taken. This is just from health care and insurance.
It is mind boggling to think how much these people are taking from others!
Arlen Specter (R-D- PA- $4,026,933)
Max Baucus (DLC- MT- $2,833,731)
Mitch McConnell (R-KY- $2,758,468)

And when you just go right to Big Insurance, the non-presidential candidates who got the biggest legalized bribes were the 7 senators who have been tasked with the job of killing single-payer:

Ben Nelson (DLC-NE- $1,196,799)
Max Baucus (DLC- MT- $1,184,113)
Joe Lieberman (DLC- CT- $1,036,302)
Arlen Specter (R-D- PA- $1,035,530)
Chuck Schumer (D-NY- $981,400)
Mitch McConnell (R-KY- $929,207)
Chuck Grassley (R-IA- $884,724)

There will be a health care rally in Washington, DC on June 25 starting at 11:30.  This is your chance to meet with Senator Specter and tell him how you feel about the public option for health care.

Now that Arlen Specter is a Democrat, let’s see if he chooses his constituents over the insurance industry.

UPDATE:  Here’s a link to the Rovian talking points.

Short Shorts – Summer Begins 2009

It’s time to bring out the short shorts once again.

Starting off with some comments about homegrown terrorists.

• The white supremecists, you know the groups that the conservatives got their panties all bunched up about when Homeland Security classified these groups as terrorists, have been on a rampage.  Today, one of their members walked into the Holocust Museum and shot and killed a security guard.  An innocent American just doing his job.  What excuse will these right-wing conservatives give this time for this needless murder by a homegrown terrorist?  They are so worried about the detainees from Guantanamo being transferred to a maximum security Federal prison and not at all concerned about these terrorists that threaten hardworking Americans day after day.  Hey, the prisoners at Guantanamo don’t have guns.  These homegrown terrorists do have guns and plenty of them.
• This leads me to another murder committed by another homegrown terrorist… the assassination of Dr. Tiller by a self-righteous mother-f**ker who believes it is his duty to kill doctors.  The anti-choice hate groups encourage this behavior. They try to wipe their hands clean and claim that they are not responsible.  Sure, and neither was Pontius Pilot responsible for handing over Jesus of Nazareth, an innocent man, to his enemies only to be murdered by these conservatives.
• Question… where was Homeland Security?  Are they still concerned about a group of peace protesting Quakers?  They should be out there protecting us from these homegrown terrorists.
• Is this a serial killer in the making?  Someone is brutally killing cats in Florida.  It’s another terrorist in the making.  I sure hope they find this person because the next step is people.  The cat killing is only practice.  More about this serial killer here.

Now for some observations.

• While taking a short vacation from Pennsylvania to New York, I noticed that every major bridge that I crossed was having major repair being done.  Is this the “Stimulus Package” being implemented?  I must say, seeing the workers repair the bridges reduced any anxiety that I might feel when crossing a bridge.
• I also noticed some other major highway repairs along route 84 in New York State.

As for the Cheney’s… aren’t they a despicable family?

• Whatever makes Dick Cheney think that he can change “history” when all his craziness is recorded on Youtube?  Dick Cheney is now trying to say that Iraq was never about September 11.  Oh really?
• Then Dick’s daughter, Liz Cheney, has been all over the networks defending her father for promoting torture.  WTF does she know?  Oh yeah, we can do without her, too.

Is the GOP or more correctly called the Party of No (G-NOP) a ship without a captain?  A recent Gallup Survey indicates that 52% of respondents don’t know who leads the G-NOP.

• There’s America hating Rush Limbaugh that keeps hoping that Obama fails, meaning he hopes that America fails that some consider the leader of the Republican Party.  He received 10% of the vote.
• Next we have Newt Gingrich, an adulterer and former member of Congress who was one of the leaders of the Impeach Clinton for having consentual sex with someone other than his wife.  Newt claims that citizenship started with “our creator“.  Since when did he get religion?  Oh, and btw, he, too, received 10% of the vote.
• Dick “The Liar” Cheney, he received 9% of the vote.
• Former Republican Presidential nominee, Senator McCain, well, he only got 6% of the vote.  What’s that tell you about support???
• Both Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele and former Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney received a mere 2% of the vote.
• Where’s Sarah Palin?
• Ah, Republicans… nothing more than repeat, repeat and repeat again.  They wouldn’t know a new idea if it hit them in the face.  Such a boring group of old, white men.  As for Steele, Uncle Tom anyone?
• Why do these right wingers hate the American worker?

If you have the time, click on the links provided in this post.

Now for some music.

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A Real Democrat for Senator

Let me introduce you to a real Democrat, a lifelong Democrat, a Democrat that didn’t switch parties just so he could get elected… Bill Kortz.

Learn more about Bill Kortz at http://www.kortzforsenate.com/

Be sure to view the video at Bill Kortz’s website.

Legislator Bill Kortz will be at the “Rally for Single Payer Health Care” in Harrisburg on Thursday.

RALLY ON THE CAPITOL STEPS
for
SINGLE-PAYER
June 11th
Get the latest info here!

Meet Bill Kortz, Democratic State Representative from the 38^th Legislative District in Allegheny County, a candidate for the United States Senate in 2010.

Bill Kortz, life long democrat entered this race “For All the Right Reasons”, just as he entered the race for State Representative in 2006 when it became abundantly clear that’s some of our State Representatives were out of touch with the citizens of Pennsylvania. As a member of the Appropriations Committee for the State House of Representatives Bill Kortz the working class candidate is in the unique position to see first hand the economic devastation tax breaks for the wealthy and the unjustified Iraq War Policy by the Bush administration and his republican allies, including now long time republican, conveniently turned democrat, Arlen Specter, have reeked on Pennsylvania and our nation.

As one of the political enablers, Specter helped devastate our economy by way of a wink and nod attitude to the corporate greedy on Wall Street, wealthy bankers, and predator lenders. With the end result being a cost in dollars and broken lives that is immeasurable.

It will take hard work and dedication by elected U.S. Representatives that truly aspire to public service, “For All the Right Reasons”, to reverse this problem. Bill Kortz has proven to his colleagues in the State House with untiring commitment to his duties and dedication to constituents in his district, that he is that person.

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