Hey... Happy 4th of July! (Livingston, Carter: lawyers, homes, bankrupt)

[Radek]

I see we don't really have one of these threads and its a bit late in the day (I was busy, okay?!), but still valid.


As much fun as it is to sit around, drink beer, and burn money with extravagant colors and sounds...

I think its equally important that we continue to remember what this day is about. This day is about freedom and equality for all people. This day is about what this country was founded on. Basic principles and rights that everyone should have.


I'm not trying to turn this into a political thing, and I feel that politics have no place on this day. This is merely a day where the american people said, "No more Tyranny" and took matters into our own hands and shaped their own destiny.


Constantly I am reminded of a quote I remember:

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." -- Margaret Mead

My point is simple folks. If you believe your house, your community, your city, your county, our state, our nation, our world needs change.. get people together and get it done. Its the only thing that has any success.


Happy 4th of July.
~Radek

[allforcats]

Nice thought, Radek. And nice quote from Ms. Mead.

[Reziac]

You betcha. Our country, and ours to keep free.

Not our country in California anymore, tho.... couple years ago one of the smaller cities cancelled its 4th of July parade, citing lack of funds. Somehow this didn't stop 'em from throwing a big Cinco de Mayo celebration...

So what did your town do for the holiday?? (I got dragged off to a BBQ in the hills, and have no idea what ANY town did this year!)

[rangerider]

This was sent to me a couple days ago and I think it has relevance. I sure enjoy the backyard celebrations and watching fireworks, but I can't help thinking about the thousands of troops scattered around the world who would like to be home with their families.

Happy (belated) 4th!




Declaration of Independence Facts

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 Corn wallis 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 about what happened in the Revolutionary War. We didn't fight just the British. We were British subjects at that time and we fought our own government! Some of us take these liberties so much for granted, but we shouldn't.

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. 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.

Remember: Freedom is never free!

[Reziac]

Originally Posted by rangerider

Declaration of Independence Facts

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

Very interesting. Now that you mention it... I don't think the personal aftermaths of the Declaration or the War for Independence were ever covered in Civics or History, despite that in MT schools we got WAY more of both subjects than I've ever heard of in any other school district. Too bad since these are exactly the sort of details that catch kids' interest, and make history REAL to them instead of just a recitation of dry facts.

This gap in our education seems kinda odd when I remember my 11th grade American History teacher, since she was so big on digging up small details like this (tho maybe it just wasn't her particular field of study... tho she had an endless supply of gossip about Civil War era figures).

[rickers]

Hey Radek, it's not the forth any more ! Have you been to sleep yet ? Just joking !!! Thank you for the great post Ya get a rep point from me for this one. Sorry every one for me not serving in our armed forces but they rejected me for being too light weight and too much of a misfit or jokester type, (lots of juvenile mischief type of behavior and such !)
Also hey Reziac, Don't get me started on the gaps in our educational system. I'm kinda bummed that so many schools are dropping basic trade skill shop classes.
Myself, besides taking a lot of shop classes I took typing. I never learned to type very fast but I sure met a lot of girls !

[Radek]

Originally Posted by rickers

Hey Radek, it's not the forth any more ! Have you been to sleep yet ? Just joking !!! Thank you for the great post Ya get a rep point from me for this one. Sorry every one for me not serving in our armed forces but they rejected me for being too light weight and too much of a misfit or jokester type, (lots of juvenile mischief type of behavior and such !)
Also hey Reziac, Don't get me started on the gaps in our educational system. I'm kinda bummed that so many schools are dropping basic trade skill shop classes.
Myself, besides taking a lot of shop classes I took typing. I never learned to type very fast but I sure met a lot of girls !

hahahaha, it was the 4th in Hawaii and Alaska

And no, I hadn't been to bed yet. We had just finished the celebrations and I decided to check City-Data before I went to bed.

Thanks for the rep point

[Reziac]

Originally Posted by rickers

Also hey Reziac, Don't get me started on the gaps in our educational system. I'm kinda bummed that so many schools are dropping basic trade skill shop classes.

They are? Damn... tho I guess that's predictable, since blue-collar jobs and anything where you work with your hands are kinda looked down on anymore. We're all supposed to become rocket scientists and doctors and lawyers. Who will all be living in the bushes and walking barefoot to get anywhere and eating berries off those bushes, cuz there'll be no more carpenters and mechanics and cobblers and farmers. Those tradesmen might not get much respect, but they do more than anyone else to make the world go around.

GtFalls system required everyone to take Home Ec and Shop and Typing. I sucked at all three.

[Timberwolf232]

Originally Posted by Reziac

They are? Damn... tho I guess that's predictable, since blue-collar jobs and anything where you work with your hands are kinda looked down on anymore. We're all supposed to become rocket scientists and doctors and lawyers. Who will all be living in the bushes and walking barefoot to get anywhere and eating berries off those bushes, cuz there'll be no more carpenters and mechanics and cobblers and farmers. Those tradesmen might not get much respect, but they do more than anyone else to make the world go around.

GtFalls system required everyone to take Home Ec and Shop and Typing. I sucked at all three.

I was a shop kid too... and I still work for a living actually working with my hands, and programming equipment with a computer. Best thing about being an evil, working class dude, is that when you are at the bottom of the barrell, the brass have to at least get their hands in the grease to getcha!! (Plus most of em have no idea how to do what we do, so we kind of have them by the b@##$ the same way they think they have us!)

[Radek]

Originally Posted by Timberwolf232

I was a shop kid too... and I still work for a living actually working with my hands, and programming equipment with a computer. Best thing about being an evil, working class dude, is that when you are at the bottom of the barrell, the brass have to at least get their hands in the grease to getcha!! (Plus most of em have no idea how to do what we do, so we kind of have them by the b@##$ the same way they think they have us!)

Its so true! I love job security like that. Except, I managed to train my replacement without knowing he was my replacement.


We didn't have shop in my highschool. We did have drafting and some tech courses, like A+ or Net+, but beyond that... arts, sciences and math were the specialties.