This is a beautiful sunny Sunday here in Maryland. So peaceful. Not a worry in the world. This day is truly a masterpiece created by God.
God created this beautiful day and my surroundings and my life and all things. Our brothers and sisters in uniform put their lives on the line everyday to preserve it and make it possible for me to enjoy it.
My very dear friend, Bruce Salisbury sent this video to me. It brings up deep feelings within me, so strong and so humbling, that all I can say is "Thank you! Thank you with all my heart. Thank you for putting it all on the line everyday to keep me free. Job well done!"
I think the following video is appropriate at this time.
American Valor Salutes Freedom and Those Who Protect It
I Am an American
The gate is closing rapidly
We are on the verge of losing ALL FREEDOM in America.
This is not about Democrat or Republican. This is about right versus wrong.
What is going on in Congress right now is wrong. Whether you agree with me or not, it is still wrong.
I have selected some videos for you to watch and make up your own mind, while it is still legal.
Allow me please to start out with quotes/truisms from over the years and then we will get to the videos.
"You cannot tax a nation into prosperity."
"This is America! You do not and WILL NOT redistribute wealth…you EARN it!"
"If an American cannot run a business and make a profit from it, there is no way in creation that the Government can."
"Our healthcare system is in trouble. It desperately needs to be FIXED! Do you want our government treating our health the same way they run everything else?"
"This is America! So why do I have to press 1 to hear English?"
"Congress is not about a Democracy. Congress does not represent and look out for the benefits of it’s voters. If Obama and Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi want it, it is done."
"There have been more laws and more appropriations fast-tracked this year than ever in the history of our country. Is that because they were good laws or because of EFFECTIVE spending? No! It was because Obama and Pelosi wanted it."
"We’ve worked hard all our lives scrimping and saving and paying taxes and obeying laws and playing by the rules so that we could look forward to a comfortable retirement. Now we are in grave danger of losing all of it so that people who don’t work, who don’t try to save, who don’t pay taxes, who break the laws, who break the rules can have the same thing."
"Obama and Pelosi have been moving about Washington like gigantic earthmovers to pour billions of dollars into saving banking institutions that couldn’t make profitable decisions. They’ve poured billions of dollars into the auto industry because they could not make profitable decisions." It is a fact of like that most new businesses fail with the first five years after startup. It is a fact of life that if you don’t run your business in a profitable manner you will go out of business. We just don’t learn. Years ago we bailed out Chrysler. Now years later they have failed to survive without intervention. Why will General Motors be any different. If GM cannot make profitable decisions, then let them fail. This is America! Someone will step in, start making dependable vehicles at affordable prices and employ American workers. Stay out of our business.
Now all that being said about all the billions and billions of dollars they are throwing around like confetti showering it upon people who don’t deserve it. Think about this: "they just announced that there will be no cost of living increases for those living on fixed incomes with Social Security for the first time in twenty years. Budget problems you know. Things are financially tight for the government this year you know. BULL BUNGEE! The pharmaceutical companies are making gigantic profits this year as they continue to increase the prices of the medications these people must have. Other companies are raising prices to compensate for a loss of sales due to the bad economy. So everything is increasing in cost to everyone in the country, including these people on Social Security.
The government has taken several steps this year to reduce military benefits for our sons and daughters, moms and dads, brothers and sisters in uniform. They put their lives on the line everyday of the year, year in and year out to protect our country and our freedom and we are going to cut their benefits? BULL BUNGEE! You know, just once in a while there is nothing wrong with taking care of the people who have earned the right to be taken care of.
OK, OK, OK I’ll stop ranting and get on with our videos. I’ll just leave you with these thoughts:
I think it is time we put Americans in office. I think it is time that people WE put in office should start looking our for us. I think that immigration is at the foundation of the development of our great nation. Without immigrants, we would not have America. I think immigrants who choose to stay here should apply for US citizenship within a reasonable time or they should leave. I think they should learn to speak English and begin contributing to our economy. We should not walk into department stores or pick up packages and have to look for the English version. I think that every person from every country who immigrates to America brings a valuable contribution to our history and our system of values. We are a melting pot of nationalities. As we come together as Americans we build a unique system of values for our country that has made it one of the greatest nations on earth in all of history.
If you want to sneak into this country, operate on the black market economy, not pay taxes, not contribute to society, not obey the laws of our land then all I have to say to you is "Leave now. You are no longer welcome here. And those BULL BUNGEE slurping nimrods in Congress who want to give everything to you while denying it to American citizens should go with you. The leader of our country should not kneel before the leader of any other country in this world. Kneel only before God.
I think by now most of you get my drift. The problem is this: most people in the United States (legally) feel the same way. We are referred to as the great silent majority. We know what is happening is not right, but we are comfortable with just sitting around mouthing off about it because just maybe some day we will be the ones getting the free lunch. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, there is no free lunch. The gates are just about closed. It is just about over. Big Brother 1984 is just about in control, total domination. There will be nothing we can do to change it when it happens. Get off your collective duffs and speak up. Vote when you can. Do everything possible to get the nimrods out of office. If they don’t like our country let them go to China or Iran or Russia.
The Videos:
I Am An American!
In 1954 an Akron, Ohio, high school girl, Elizabeth Ellen Evans, wrote a prize-winning essay titled "I Speak for Democracy." Carmon Dragon, conductor-composer of the School Broadcast, and Adrian Michael’s, the Broadcast’s program manager, read the essay and were impressed by its sincere patriotic feeling. Michaelis developed and adapted the words for musical presentation and Dragon composed the choral-orchestral background for a dramatic narration. The result: "I am an American." It was first heard on The Standard Hour, broadcast on "I am an American Day," September 12, 1954, from the War Memorial Opera House in San Francisco. (Narrator: Edmond O’Brien)
Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May (on May 25 in 2009). Formerly known as Decoration Day, it commemorates U.S. men and women who died while in the military service. First enacted to honor Union soldiers of the American Civil War (it is celebrated near the day of reunification after the civil war), it was expanded after World War I to include American casualties of any war or military action.
Many people observe this holiday by visiting cemeteries and memorials. A national moment of remembrance takes place at 3 p.m. Eastern Time. Another tradition is to fly the flag of the United States at half-staff from dawn until noon local time. Volunteers often place American flags on each gravesite at National Cemeteries. Many Americans also use Memorial Day to honor other family members who have died.
Members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars take donations for poppies in the days leading up to Memorial Day; the poppy’s significance to Memorial Day is the result of the John McCrae poem "In Flanders Fields."
In addition to remembrance, Memorial Day is also used as a time for picnics, barbecues, family gatherings, and sporting events. One of the longest-standing traditions is the running of the Indianapolis 500, which has been held in conjunction with Memorial Day since 1911.
Some Americans view Memorial Day as the unofficial beginning of summer and Labor Day as the unofficial end of the season (with the 4th of July as the very hot middle). In the Northern United States, it is the traditional weekend in which people reopen pools that had been covered for the winter. The national "Click It or Ticket" campaign ramps up beginning Memorial Day weekend, noting the beginning of the most dangerous season for car accidents and other safety-related incidents. The United States Air Force’s "101 Critical Days of Summer," marking the period that statistically has shown an increase in accidents, begin on this day as well.
Memorial Day formerly was observed on May 30. The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) and Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War (SUVCW) advocate returning to this fixed date, although the significance of the date is tenuous. The VFW stated in a 2002 Memorial Day Address:“ Changing the date merely to create three-day weekends has undermined the very meaning of the day. No doubt, this has contributed a lot to the general public’s nonchalant observance of Memorial Day.”
Since 1987, Hawaii’s Senator Daniel Inouye, a World War II veteran, has repeatedly introduced measures to return Memorial Day to its traditional date.
Following the end of the Civil War, many communities set aside a day to mark the end of the war or as a memorial to those who had died. Some of the places creating an early memorial day include Sharpsburg, Maryland, located near Antietam Battlefield; Charleston, South Carolina; Boalsburg, Pennsylvania; Richmond, Virginia; Carbondale, Illinois; Columbus, Mississippi; many communities in Vermont; and some two dozen other cities and towns. These observances coalesced around Decoration Day, honoring the Union dead, and the several Confederate Memorial Days.
According to Professor David Blight of the Yale University History Department, the first memorial day was observed in 1865 by liberated slaves at the historic race track in Charleston. The site was a former Confederate prison camp as well as a mass grave for Union soldiers who died in captivity. The freed slaves re interred the dead Union soldiers from the mass grave to individual graves, fenced in the graveyard and built an entry arch declaring it a Union graveyard. This was a daring action for them to take in the South shortly after the North’s victory. On May 30, 1868, the freed slaves returned to the graveyard with flowers they had picked from the countryside and decorated the individual gravesites, thereby creating the first Decoration Day. A parade by thousands of freed blacks and Union soldiers from the area was followed by patriotic singing and a picnic.
The official birthplace of Memorial Day is Waterloo, New York. The village was credited with being the place of origin because it observed the day on May 5, 1866, and each year thereafter. The friendship between General John Murray, a distinguished citizen of Waterloo, and General John A. Logan, who helped bring attention to the event nationwide, likely was a factor in the holiday’s growth.
Logan had been the principal speaker in a citywide memorial observation on April 29, 1866, at a cemetery in Carbondale, Illinois, an event that likely gave him the idea to make it a national holiday. On May 5, 1868, in his capacity as commander-in-chief of the Grand Army of the Republic, a veterans’ organization, Logan issued a proclamation that "Decoration Day" be observed nationwide. It was observed for the first time on May 30 of the same year; the date was chosen because it was not the anniversary of a battle. The tombs of fallen Union soldiers were decorated in remembrance.
Many of the states of the U.S. South refused to celebrate Decoration Day, due to lingering hostility towards the Union Army and also because there were relatively few veterans of the Union Army who were buried in the South. A notable exception was Columbus, Mississippi, which on April 25, 1866 at its Decoration Day commemorated both the Union and Confederate casualties buried in its cemetery.
The alternative name of "Memorial Day" was first used in 1882. It did not become more common until after World War II, and was not declared the official name by Federal law until 1967. On June 28, 1968, the United States Congress passed the Uniform Holidays Bill, which moved three holidays from their traditional dates to a specified Monday in order to create a convenient three-day weekend. The holidays included Washington’s Birthday, now celebrated as Presidents’ Day; Veterans Day, and Memorial Day. The change moved Memorial Day from its traditional May 30 date to the last Monday in May. The law took effect at the federal level in 1971.
After some initial confusion and unwillingness to comply, all fifty states adopted the measure within a few years. Veterans Day was eventually changed back to its traditional date. Ironically, most corporate businesses no longer close on Veterans Day, Columbus Day, or President’s Day, with the day after Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, and/or New Year’s Eve often substituted as more convenient "holidays" for their employees. Memorial Day endures as a holiday which most businesses observe because it marks the beginning of the "summer vacation season." This role is filled in neighboring Canada by Victoria Day, which occurs either on May 24 or the last Monday before that date, placing it exactly one week before Memorial Day.
Waterloo’s designation as the birthplace took place just in time for the village’s centennial observance. The U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate unanimously passed House Concurrent Resolution 587 on May 17 and May 19, 1966 respectively, which reads in part as follows: "Resolved that the Congress of the United States, in recognition of the patriotic tradition set in motion one hundred years ago in the Village of Waterloo, NY, does hereby officially recognize Waterloo, New York as the birthplace of Memorial Day…"
On May 26, 1966, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed a Presidential Proclamation recognizing Waterloo as the Birthplace of Memorial Day.
Today, take a few minutes out of your busy schedule and say a prayer of thanks for each and every man, woman and child who has made the ultimate sacrifice while in service to our country.
Dad wishes to thank Wikipedia and all it’s supporters for this ongoing work in support of Memorial Day. Thank You!
Today is a special day to pay tribute to all our veterans. We love them dearly. We respect them with all our might. We are ever grateful for the personal sacrifices they made for us. Please take a moment to say a prayer of thanks for all our veterans and enjoy the videos paying tribute to them.
Happy Veterans Day!
Amazing Grace Veterans Day Tribute
A montage honoring U.S. war veterans from World War 1 to present day. Pictures and clips together with “America the Beautiful,” performed by Lee Greenwood.
We forget that everyday, they are veterans, and too many of them are homeless.
A video trailer of a final piece that will be aired on November 11, 2008. Created by a middle school teacher to be used during an annual Veterans Day Program sponsored by the school each year
This is a commercial that has been airing on Veterans day. It is a very special commercial because they used actual veterans, including myself to do the run. A tight salute to Boeing for this one… Thank you Veterans…. God Bless you all American Valor salutes the veterans of America and offers up to them a full Military Tribute for all time!
This dates back a few years…nearly an antique. I was old enough to know better and young enough not to care about too much serious.
Robin Williams does this short take as the American Flag. A little humor is always good for the soul, especially clean humor. Not enough of that any more.
My hat is off to Robin Williams while he makes us laugh. While he portrays the American Flag he fills us with a deeper message of patriotism and honor.
With Veterans Day approaching, Dad wanted to share a site with you that, like American Valor, promotes respect and thanks for our veterans.
VetFriends.com — the largest Web site for reuniting veterans — has created an online Veterans Day Forum reaching out to U.S. veterans and anyone else interested in contributing their thoughts and insights in regards to our U.S. military personnel and Veterans Day. Personal stories, sentiments and words of thanks can be found online in a Veterans Day collection throughout October and November
at www.vetfriends.com/veteransday. VetFriends.com invites members of the media to visit the forum and utilize the quotes in their Veterans Day news stories.
In addition to the forum, VetFriends.com has posted a U.S. veteran and military tribute video thanking and honoring the many brave men and women who have and are currently serving the nation. The theme of the video: What do U.S. veterans and military mean to VetFriends.com, and moreover to America.
What does Veterans Day mean to you? They welcome you to add your thoughts and comments about Veterans Day, about people who serve or have served in the U.S. Military. Many of these additions will be shared on VetFriends.com and with television stations and newspapers.
Other features available on www.VetFriends.com include: search over 893,000 members to make contact with old friends; information on how to obtain military records and medals; message boards; upload past and present photos; military jokes; search and post reunions; military products and discounts; along with a variety of other features and services.
Founded in 2000 by Marine Corps veteran of Desert Storm, Dale F. Sutcliffe, thousands of people have been reconnected through VetFriends.com, spanning from World War II through to Operation Desert Storm and the present.
For further information and/or interview opportunities please contact Maynard Anderson at (843) 856-2867 or via e-mail at: publicrelations @ vetfriends.com.
Pact honors special bond, pledges to back soldiers, their families
American Valor is proud to offer this story that appeared today in the Daily Record in New Jersey. Our nation is coming together to show their gratitude for the self sacrifice so many have made in defense of our freedom.
Morris County community leaders recently joined military representatives from Picatinny Arsenal and the New Jersey National Guard to pledge their support to uniformed personnel and their families by signing the Army Community Covenant.
The covenant recognizes the special bond that exists between area military, their families and the community surrounding Picatinny.
The signing preceded a performance of the U.S. Army Soldier Show before a nearly packed auditorium at Morris Knolls High School in Denville on Oct. 10.
Following brief remarks made by U.S. Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen, R-Harding, Civilian Aide to the Secretary of the Army Robert J. Maguire and Picatinny Arsenal commanding general Brig. Gen. William N. Phillips, each of the participants walked to a podium and signed the covenant, which was affixed to poster board.
Maguire thanked community leaders for their support of service members and their families during military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"We are an Army that is stretched too thin," he said, describing the strain that a two-front conflict has put on deployed military and their loved ones back home.
Maguire noted that the Army is engaged in the third-longest war in American history and the longest war ever fought with an all-volunteer force.
More than a million men and women have been deployed into combat, 4,700 have sacrificed their lives and 11,000 have been decorated for valor, including two Medals of Honor, 14 distinguished service crosses and more than 500 silver stars, he said.
"That our soldiers and families so willingly sacrifice to preserve our way of life and to secure a better future for others says much about Army strength. A strength that comes from our values, from our warrior ethos and from our people," Maguire said. "This strength is making a difference in the nation’s fight against global terror, and it is what gives me great confidence that we will prevail in the current fight."
USO | Support our Troops | United Service Organizations | Support the USO
I know you’ve seen them all over the world as you grew up. Most of us are used to seeing the USO on TV hosted by Bob Hope and a bevy of the worlds most beautiful girls bringing cheer and hope to the men and women of the military serving around the world. They have given so unselfishly, never asking for anything for themselves, only asking for help to support their efforts and their programs. I think it’s long past time that we give back to those who have been helping our military men and women for so many years. Check out the USO now:
Posts
