Veterans & American History

U. S. Military Veterans (News & Updates)

A SAILOR’S CHRISTMAS AT SEA
USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71)

USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71)

The sea is cold, the night is dark… the blowing wind is crisp,
I stare across the ship’s huge deck… I did not get my wish.
I wanted so, to be at home… this year on Christmas Eve,
But this will be the year that I… did not get Christmas leave.

I stand and think about my family… gathered by the tree,
I know that one will say my name… and then they’ll think of me.
I am not there to share their joy… my country needs me here,
But I am not the only one… who won’t get home this year.

I miss my family but I am… on guard for my country,
Protecting those who can have Christmas… is my first duty.
Many men have given all… for us to have that right,
And I feel honored just to sacrifice… a Christmas night.

But still I’m feeling so alone… as many of us are,
As I just stand here on the deck… and watch a Christmas star.
I guess it is a Christmas star… it shines for all it’s worth,
And I think back to when a star… foretold His peace on earth.’

If only people felt this calm… as on this Christmas Eve,
And not create hostilities… that make their brothers grieve.
Then we could have a peaceful world… as it was meant to be,
But until then we must stand guard… and this night it is me.

Once again my thoughts turn home… my family safe and sound,
Because this ship and other men… are ready to stand ground.
The Navy and the other branches… keep us safe and strong,
So those at home can celebrate… and sing their Christmas song.

But knowing that I must do this… I can’t hold back a tear,
Wishing I was home this Christmas… sharing in the cheer.
Seeing all my families faces… lights and Christmas trim,
Now the night is getting darker… as I think of them.

Trying now to fight this feeling… of such loneliness,
Softly speaking to myself… a lonely Christmas wish.
Actually my Christmas wish… is now a Christmas prayer,
Thank you for the men who serve… our country everywhere.

Thank you for our families… who enjoy this Christmas free,
Thank you for the other men… who serve this ship with me.
Thank you for allowing me… to make this sacrifice,
A joyous Christmas for our families… makes it worth the price.

May there be peace within you today.
May you trust that you are exactly where you are meant to be.
I believe that friends are quiet angels who lift us to our feet when our
Wings have trouble remembering how to fly.

~Author Unknown~

This former “WIN” (Such was the PC term for ‘Women in the Navy’ during the over 11 years I served on active duty) salutes ALL of my brothers & sisters currently serving in the Navy, Marine Corps. Air Force, Army & Coast Guard throughout the World Today~ Yesterday & Tomorrow! I salute ALL U.S. Military Veterans who have or ever have taken the following oath & most especially, those that have Given Their Last Full Measure of Devotion to the Citizens & People of the United States of America.

 ‘I, (state name of enlistee), do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.’ 

Who am I? I am a Christian! I am an American! I am a U.S. Navy Veteran. I am a Woman & Proud Wife of a Retired U.S. Navy Chief. We are so much more than this but we owe our lives to our God & the Country we each served for over 32 years combined. To that end, I’d like to wish you ALL a Very MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY NEW YEAR! And~ God Bless Us~ Every One! -JGT

FRAUD! Michelle Obama’s Mom Will Receive HUGE Taxpayer Funded Pension FOREVER Just For Doing What Americans Do For Free EVERY DAY!!!

I haven’t fact-checked this story yet but if it is true~ I believe it really is time for a second American Revolution! The very idea that anyone who babysits for their own grandchildren for 8 years while their parents lived at tax-payer expense~ in the White House should receive a government  pension at the additional expense of American Taxpayers is appalling! Who the hell came up with the figure of $160,000? Who the hell decided that this was to be paid for by the American People? Granny Robinson should be paid a pension by HER daughter, Michelle & son-in-law, Barack! NOT THE AMERICAN TAXPAYER!  In my opinion, it is long past time for ‘legal’ Americans to do whatever tit takes to help drain the swamp of corrupt Washington DC & all corrupt Politicians!  ~JGT

screen-shot-2016-10-19-at-1_20_57-pmWho could’ve imagined when Barack Hussein Obama, took to the podium and spoke so eloquently those immortal lines; “we are 5-days from fundamentally “transforming America,” did we envision the implication hidden within those words.   Most ignored the fact that standing before us at the podium was a young and inexperienced individual with no executive experience, and with a few worrisome skeletons hidden within his closet, and most (I didn’t’), overlooked the apparent inconsistencies and his ties to leftist and violent radicals, most felt it was time for a change, regardless of those implications…we were making history and showing the world how morally advanced we were as a nation in voting for the “FIRST AFRICAN AMERICAN PRESIDENT.”

Now 8-years later we see what “Transforming America” has inflicted upon our Republic, and aside from our continued journey into the abyss, the Obama’s are making sure to take care of their own before leaving the White House, by pillaging, looting, robbing, ransacking, and stripping the American taxpayer once again.
This time with the help of congress who’ve apparently worked out another deal behind closed doors, this one allows Marian Robinson, 79, dubbed “First Grandma” to receive a lifetime 160K GOVERNMENT PENSION…get this, for taking care of her own grandchildren.

The scam was uncovered by documents obtained through the “Freedom of Information Act.”
The pension scam was for “services rendered as full-time/in-home caregiver” for taking care of her granddaughters.
Moreover there’s little doubt that this two-bit “Chicago hustler” has indeed “transformed” his own net worth, at the expense of the American taxpayer.
Do you think Michelle Obama’s mother should get $160,000 a year for the rest of her life for baby sitting her own grand daughters?

Original Article courtesy of US Herald 

What do you think? Feel free to let me know. ~ JGT

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Me & Mom after I graduated from US Navy Boot Camp 1979

TWENTY YEARS LATER~ A MEMORIAL TO MY FATHER

Daddy & Me 1958

Today, October 3, 2016 marks the Twentieth Anniversary of my father’s passing.

Daddy wasn’t perfect but despite many unforeseen circumstances and in spite of his being diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease just before I was born, my father never complained about his progressing and incurable disability. Indeed, in many ways I believe it made him stronger.

AsDaddy and Me abt 1957 or 58 a child and young teenager, my father taught me about movies, baseball, carpentry and cars. He taught me how to fry bacon and eggs, how to throw a baseball & hit one out of the park. He watched closely while he instructed me in changing out electrical outlets, the proper use his power tools as well as how to miter wood & swing a hammer. By the mid-late 1960’s I knew how to do all the ‘male-dominated’ chores around the house including cutting the grass. And~ until this day, I can tell you the make and model year of any car built between 1930 – 1985!

Daddy got me my first Transistor Radio and bought me my first car. He took me to the Circus & the Zoo and somewhere along the way, he managed to explain to me how things were for him during his service in the US Army Air Corps during Daddy & Me about 1963WWII and teach me what it is to be an American, & how lucky we are to have been born here.

Through the years, the lessons I learned from my father gave me the courage to eventually serve in the military as well and to courageously stand up for myself against all of life’s challenges as well as  any adversity I faced or would eventually face as I grew older. 

So today, October 3, 2016,  I thank you, Daddy~  for my life & for all the wonderful things you taught me during your lifetime. As always, all my love~ the Mooch!

 

 

DONALD W. FLINT USAF WWII 1942 to 1945

Donald W. Flint~ Jan 27, 1923 to Oct 3, 1996

 

 

GETTYSBURG (July 1 – July 3, 1863)

civilwarcrossstitchBrief Reasons & Events leading up to Gettysburg:

Prior to 1861, the United States of America had always been considered as separate states wherein they created most of their own rules and regulations. A long-lasting debate argued whether to have each state, or a singular central government, decide issues such as taxation, commerce of products and, in particular; the issue of slavery. While the northern states opposed slavery, the southern states (whose economy depended on it) supported slave labor.

By 1861, after realizing that debating the issue could no longer resolve the argument between the northern and southern states, the southern states seceded from the United States and formed their own Confederacy of States. Jefferson Davis, (who graduated 28 out of 34 in his West Point class) was elected as their president. President Abraham Lincoln, who was then president of the United States, believed that, “A house divided cannot stand.” and therefore, a Civil War between the northern and southern states, (the Union vs. the Confederacy) broke out to decide once and for all, whether the United States would remain one country or split be into two individual countries.

In 1861 and 1862, Confederate armies achieved several victories over their Northern counterparts but by the summer of 1863, when General Robert E. Lee was put in command of the Army of Northern Virginia.  Lee decided upon an invasion of the north, which he thought would pull both armies out of war-torn northern Virginia, where most of the fighting had previously been. He thought that by invading the north and in particular, possibly winning a victory in the north, it might cause embittered northerners to put pressure on the Lincoln Administration in Washington, to seek a settlement toward peace and thus bring an end to the war.

Lee’s fateful decision, eventually brought the war to the doorsteps of a small, rural south central Pennsylvania town called Gettysburg!

General Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia was 75,000 strong & was traveling north into central Pennsylvania. He felt confident. However; on June 30, Lee learned that 95,000 soldiers of the Union Army of the Potomac, led by Major General George G. Meade, were following closely behind.

Here’s the Timeline:

WEDNESDAY, July 1, 1863

battle-of-gettysburg-oak-ridge-july-1General Lee ordered several brigades to travel east to check their location and to forage for supplies for his troops. Northwest of the town of Gettysburg they met. A skirmish ensued and as the battle heated, word was sent back to both commanders that the enemy was found and reinforcement troops proceeded to the area. Over the next 2 days Lee’s army converged onto Gettysburg from the west and north while Meade’s army arrived from the south and southeast. Thus a battle never planned, occurred simply by circumstance.

As Lee’s southern forces continued a persistent attack against the entrenched Union troops, additional arriving Confederate forces launched an all-out offensive which eventually drove the Union forces through the streets of Gettysburg and to a defensive line just south of town. By the end of the first day of battle (July 1st, 1863) a five-mile Confederate line covered the area stretching from Seminary Ridge on the west side of Gettysburg, through the town and on eastward toward the area called Culp’s Hill. As additional Northern reinforcements arrived on the field, they occupied a two-mile defensive position commonly referred to as a fishhook formation along Cemetery Ridge and Culp’s Hill. 

Commanding General Meade & his entourage arrived just after midnight.

THURSDAY,  JULY 2, 1863

gettysburg-devilsden-and Little Round TopThe second day of battle began as a series of disorganized and disjointed Confederate attacks on the Union defensive position south of the town. Though simultaneous attacks were supposed to have occurred on Culp’s Hill and Cemetery Ridge, the attacks took place at least six hours apart and ended with consistent retreats. Union forces held onto Culp’s Hill but the Confederate forces eventually drove back the Union troops in the areas referred to as Peach Orchard, Wheatfield, Valley of Death and Devils Den. Each one and each side, had a stunning amount of casualties. The Confederate troops advance of the Union right flank had initially succeeded but was finally stopped by the heroic efforts of the Union forces and most especially~ in an area known as Little Round Top.

“In this writer’s opinion, the defense of Little Round Top is a pivotal win for the Union Forces during the three-day battle at Gettysburg. Union Colonel Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, Commanding Officer of the 20th Maine Regiment~ was one of the most instrumental leaders during the battle at Gettysburg.” Historic account of the battle at Little Round Top may be read here.

Feeling successful after two days of battle with the Union army, General Robert E. Lee, believing his army was invincible and undefeatable, decided to attack, what he thought to be the weakest position of the Union line the next morning. Unfortunately for Lee, Union General George Gordon Meade, had already held a council of war with his Corps commanders early that morning & had decided to remain in a defensive position for the battle anticipated the next day (July 3rd). Meade finally decided, that very evening, after listening to the advice of each of these Commanding Generals, as to which of their commanders would lead their individual armies into, which would become, one of the most famous days & battles of the American Civil War.

gettysburg-pickettsFRIDAY, JULY 3, 1863

The third day of battle of Gettysburg began with another unsuccessful attempt by the Confederates to take over and occupy Culp’s Hill. Meanwhile, a mile east of Gettysburg a Confederate Cavalry of 6,000 troops held orders to attack the Union rear but the Union cavalry with a strength of over 5,000, managed to confront them in a firefight that contained and forced the Confederates to retreat. General Jeb Stuart led the southern forces and among the Union leadership was General George Armstrong Custer. (Appointed Brigadier General in the Union Army at the age of 23.) Read about General George Armstrong’s contributions to the Battle of Gettysburg here. 

Robert E. Lee never explained Stuart’s actions that day. And Stuart, who was killed later in the war, also never wrote any explanation of what he was doing three miles from Gettysburg that day. Interesting!

At 1:00 PM, the largest cannonade that ever occurred on the North American continent thus far, assembled ahead of the planned rebel charge. Unknown to Lieutenant General James Longstreet, the cannon fire, which was to decimate the Union center overshot their target and only destroyed the farm fields far behind the Union troops. Once the cannon fire ceased, 12,000 Confederate soldiers marched in formation from Seminary Ridge to launch a famous, heroic attack upon the Union center. This would be forever after immortalized in history as the failed, Pickett’s Charge.

The Confederates hoped to reach a small clump of trees over one mile, away across an open field. Once the smoke from the cannonade had cleared the field, Union forces, though admiring the determination and desperate dedication of the men before them, began firing their own cannons once the Confederate soldiers were in range. The Union artillery hit and mowed down the columns of men like blades of grass. Only a small number of Confederate forces managed to reach the small clump of trees.  Once there, Union forces engulfed them from three sides. General George Pickett’s division and other elements in the attack were virtually destroyed.

Retreating back to Seminary Ridge, General Lee waited for General Pickett. Once he understood that a defeat had occurred, Lee ordered Pickett to reform his division in the event of a Union counterattack. Pickett’s response to Lee was, “General Lee, I have no division.”

And that was that. After three days of devastating carnage, the battle at Gettysburg has ended with the Confederates being defeated and retreating back to Virginia the next day. Unfortunately, the horrors of the Civil War would continue for another two long, bloody years.

Coincidentally, the next day happened to be July 4th. It was on July 4th, 1776 that the first 13 colony states formally broke away from Great Britain and formed a new nation called the United States of America. Indeed, also coincidentally, that the United States should be one country, this same day (July 4th 1863), the Confederate stronghold at Vicksburg, MS surrendered to a Union general, who two years later, would accept the surrender of General Lee and Confederate forces at Appomattox, VA.

That General was Ulysses S. Grant.

The American Civil War lasted 4 long years and resulted in over 600,000 deaths and 3,000,000 casualties of both northern and southern young men. However; our nation was reborn as one in 1865 at the end of the war.

From that time on, the United States would always be referred to with a singular verb: The United States IS one country!

GETTYSBURG (July 1 – July 3, 1863)  by D. F. Howard @July 2016

 

gettysburg-address

Click here to view all Civil War Photos

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AMERICA

Believe it or not, many people don’t know why we Americans celebrate the 4th of July.  Indeed, many have not ever read this very important and founding document. They used to teach it in grade school and I remember reading it way back in the 1960’s. When was the last time you actually read the Declaration of Independence? Did you know that the Declaration of Independence is the document that declared the United States to be independent of England and the British Crown? In celebration of this 4th of July weekend, I thought I’d publish the text for those who have never read it and for those individuals who choose to re-read it’s contents. Have a wonderful Holiday! ~ JGT

IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776declarationdunlap

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America

When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, 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, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. — Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected, whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury:

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:

For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these united Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. — 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.

New Hampshire:
Josiah Bartlett, William Whipple, Matthew Thornton

Massachusetts:
John Hancock, Samuel Adams, John Adams, Robert Treat Paine, Elbridge Gerry

Rhode Island:
Stephen Hopkins, William Ellery

Connecticut:
Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington, William Williams, Oliver Wolcott

New York:
William Floyd, Philip Livingston, Francis Lewis, Lewis Morris

New Jersey:
Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, Francis Hopkinson, John Hart, Abraham Clark

Pennsylvania:
Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Franklin, John Morton, George Clymer, James Smith, George Taylor, James Wilson, George Ross

Delaware:
Caesar Rodney, George Read, Thomas McKean

Maryland:
Samuel Chase, William Paca, Thomas Stone, Charles Carroll of Carrollton

Virginia:
George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson, Jr., Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton

North Carolina:
William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John Penn

South Carolina:
Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward, Jr., Thomas Lynch, Jr., Arthur Middleton

Georgia:
Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George Walton

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE ‘GOOD OLD’ USA?

I don’t get it!

The United States of America is a Republic; (re·pub·lic; noun \ri-ˈpə-blik\: a country that is governed by elected representatives and by an elected leader, such as a president rather than by a king or queen) and our founders intended that we be governed as a democracy, (de·moc·ra·cy  noun \di-ˈmä-krə-sē\:  a form of government in which people choose leaders by voting~ for a government by the people; especially: rule of the majority; a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections).

So why is it that our current elected officials appear and act as if they care more about themselves, their careers & political correctness than they seem to do about WE, the People? We, those very people that elected them into office? America was founded by revolutionaries who had a dream of independence, a longing for personal & religious freedom. Our forefathers were visionaries, certainly they were men of their times and flawed as ALL human beings are, but they had a vision and for over 200 years that vision was grown & nurtured by the American people. Indeed; America was built by men who had entrepreneurial imagination as well as on the integrity and ingenuity of its people and the independent spirit, hard work and longing for the ‘American Dream’ of our immigrant ancestors.    

On April 17, 1913 the balance of power in United States shifted from the states to the central government with the illegal ratification of the 17th Amendment to our Constitution. Without the ‘voice’ of the States,  that single amendment effectively stifled state’s rights and in 1933 the federal government under FDR began the systematic destruction of the Constitution of the United States. Today, the last vestiges of freedom remain tethered to the Bill of Rights by a thin, raveled thread.

When a government becomes so powerful that citizens become the servant, and government officials become the master and overlord it is no longer the country the Founding Fathers intended.

Considering all the candidates running for office this year, vote as you will in November, but please be advised, that if any American doesn’t vote out of spite~ it may be the last free-election they may ever have the choice or  privilege to vote in. The Politically Correct  left & radical liberals just may finally realize their dream of a Socialist States of America!

 As I said, I don’t get it! ~ JGT

I pulled the following Letter to the Editor from my Twitter feed and thought that the writer, Ken Huber really has his pulse on the thoughts of many Americans. Thank you, Ken. In my opinion~ you are the voice of the silent majority!~ JGT

 

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I Remember My America © d.f. howard

Liberty and Justice for AllI love America! I love MY country! I love what our Constitution stands for and I love it for the dream that our founding fathers imagined for us. I would give my life for my country!

Indeed, I’d give my life for the country that I grew up in and the country that I served while on active duty in the United States Navy from 1979 to 1990. THAT is the country I love! That America~ is the country I pledged to support & defend against ALL enemies, foreign and domestic! My pledges (two pledges taken during my 11 years in the U.S. Navy ) not only bound me with my fellow sailors, soldiers and American citizens but it also bound me to specifically support the Commander(s) in Chief of the United States Armed Forces, no matter what my political preferences were at the time. I Took An Oath! Under God! Twice!

I can attest that during my first year on active duty serving under then President Jimmy Carter, the military was pitiful & morale was at an all-time low. Iran had held 52 American hostages captive after sacking the American Embassy in Tehran 14 months earlier at the time & President Carter’s failure to secure their release through diplomatic means eventually led to the fatal “Operation Eagle Claw” mission that resulted in the deaths of 8 members of the Army’s 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta (popularly known as the Delta Force) & Naval Special Warfare Development Group (more popularly known as Seal Team Six) when their helicopter crashed on the night of April 24, 1980. I can tell you first hand that the entire U.S. Navy & our sister services mourned this horrendous tragedy!

Under President Ronald Reagan, we were proud, united and eager to serve! During THE GULF OF SIDRA INCIDENT on Aug. 19, 1981 two U.S. Navy F-14 jets shot down two Soviet-built Libyan SU-22’s about 60 miles from the Libyan coast after being fired on by one of the Libyan aircraft. While stationed overseas, I can tell you that we all went wild when we heard that! Tee-shirts, ball caps, pins etc., were printed up so fast and every Sailor or Marine I ran into on base (including me) had one on that read “USA=1 Libya=0”. What a kick!

Bush 41 carried Reagan’s legacy into the 1990’s but by then, I was a military wife & I observed much of this through my husband’s career which finally ended with his retirement (after serving 21 years) at the end of the Clinton Administration in 1999.

My father, uncles & father-in law all served in World War II. My grandfather(s) served in World War I. I have direct grandfathers, great grandfathers & direct ancestors that served in the American Civil War, the War of 1812  & the American Revolutionary War.  I have served and my husband has served in the U. S. Navy. Hey, I’m a Jersey Girl and I was born in the middle of the “baby boom”!

Over the years, I have watched our country’s military decline. I barely recognize this country anymore and am terribly afraid of where this country is going. Many people I talk to about this are afraid as well. I spit on the leadership (if you can call it that) and the politicians who are currently running this country! And I don’t care what color they are or what race they are or what nationality they are or what religion they are. They are ALL to blame!

Sadly, we have a president and his staff continually peddling bullshit to the American people. Our unemployment numbers are NOT approximately 5% because the underemployment rate is approximately 15% as of February 2016. I’m no financial genius but I’d say if we added those two figures together we’re at about 20% unemployment rate in the U.S. And since when do we include part-time employment in the weekly jobs report? Oh, I forgot~ it’s the hope & change Obama’s Administration & OUR White House has been peddling since 2008! And tell me, please~ what is this so-called “recovery” the White House is still babbling about? What recovery? I don’t see it. Do you? Indeed, once the Affordable Care Act (aka) Obamacare went into effect it’s costing hard-working American families thousands of dollars more every year all the while government employees, Congress, the Senate and ALL their staff(s) get the “Cadillac” plans that many of us once had & paid to have. (Take it from someone who actually pays for health care through employment & has seen her premiums go up over $3000 a year as well as co-pays & out of pocket costs since Obamacare took effect in 2009!)

Regrettably, most insurance companies no longer carry those plans because of Obamacare & due to the high federal taxes being imposed on it! Why can’t insurance companies compete across state lines anyway? Answer: Because Americans were suckered into voting for politicians promising to serve them in Washington but are now being ignored in favor of  big-money donors & lobbyists giving them perks & promising  to get them reelected! Therefore~ the American voter who elected them in the first place is then brushed aside because we’re not needed anymore! Did you know that insurance companies have pulled coverage out of so many states that many states are left with just one? How’s that for a monopoly? I thought monopolies were illegal in this country? Nonetheless, Obama- the Hope & Change Monarch of America- has decreed it is not! (What a creep!) And, Ditto~ for those slimy politicians WE voted for! 

We Americans have been shrouded in darkness by our government. We have been lied to and violated. We have been surreptitiously and methodically stripped of our rights as Americans by the politicians with whom we have voted for and placed our trust in for years! Our politicians are “in” the top 1% of the American “elite” who get rich while the rest of us get poorer. We, the working class (working poor in most cases) are left to eke out an honest living by working hard, paying our bills AND paying federal, state & local taxes in order to provide for our families every single day. It never stops! Have you ever heard the saying; “Death & Taxes”? I have~ and I know that in our country, even our heirs must pay taxes even after our deaths! But there again, it’s double jeopardy because the deceased has already paid taxes on the very money or property that their heir(s) have inherited. It’s mindboggling!

How about voting? Do you believe that as an American, voting should be sacrosanct? Isn’t it supposed to be one vote for each LEGAL and LIVING American citizen? I always believed that. Additionally many people have voted several times in several states! Did you know that thousands of dead people, convicted felons as well as dogs & cats actually voted for Obama in the last two election cycles? Amazing!!! How did they do this? It is “Houdiniesque” (my word). Meanwhile, there are several states that want to protect our right to vote under the Constitution by requiring that each voter (ONE vote per person) provide a photo ID and have passed bills into law in their respective state legislatures that require this. Indeed, don’t we have to show an ID to someone almost every single day? Ever try to rent a hotel room or a car without one? How about buying a beer a pack of cigarettes; using a credit card and being asked for a photo ID or cashing a check ANYWHERE without an accompanying photo ID? Ah, what to say about those airlines, huh? Try getting on a plane going anywhere without showing several IDs along with the added (dis)pleasure of a possible cavity search! Yikes!

Regardless, the federal government is currently in the process of spending taxpayer dollars in an effort to sue those states. Now I ask you; what is wrong with that picture? And why are WE AMERICANS allowing the FEDS to spend taxpayer dollars to do so? I believe it’s because they (the feds) figure that very few Americans (accept the state being sued) are actually paying attention. So what happens when we, Americans and the states try to correct this or any imbalance or uphold the constitutional rights promised to us in our constitution? We are sued and called racists. This, my fellow Americans is BULLSHIT!!!

A final thought. Now~ we are in an election year but I’ll reserve my opinions on the candidates of both parties until after the primary is held in my state of New Jersey on Tuesday June 7, 2016. Heaven help us all after it’s all over. Until then, I remain hopeful that America~ the country & land I love, will once again become the country I had always been proud of & that I once unswervingly served. 

For now, I can only remember~ My America!

 

 

 

COMMON SENSE By Thomas Paine (Published 1776)

DutyPublished in 1776, Thomas Paine’s Common Sense challenged the authority of the British government and the royal monarchy. The plain language that Paine used spoke to the common people of America and was the first work to openly ask for independence from Great Britain.

OF THE ORIGIN AND DESIGN OF GOVERNMENT IN GENERAL, WITH CONSISE REMARKS ON THE ENGLISH CONSTITUTION.

     SOME writers have so confounded society with government, as to leave little or no distinction between them; whereas they are not only different, but have different origins. Society is produced by our wants, and government by our wickedness; the former promotes our happiness POSITIVELY by uniting our affections, the latter NEGATIVELY by restraining our vices. The one encourages intercourse, the other creates distinctions. The first is a patron, the last a punisher.

     Society in every state is a blessing, but Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one: for when we suffer, or are exposed to the same miseries BY A GOVERNMENT, which we might expect in a country WITHOUT GOVERNMENT, our calamity is heightened by reflecting that we furnish the means by which we suffer. Government, like dress, is the badge of lost innocence; the palaces of kings are built upon the ruins of the bowers of paradise. For were the impulses of conscience clear, uniform and irresistibly obeyed, man would need no other lawgiver; but that not being the case, he finds it necessary to surrender up a part of his property to furnish means for the protection of the rest; and this he is induced to do by the same prudence which in every other case advises him, out of two evils to choose the least. Wherefore, security being the true design and end of government, it unanswerably follows that whatever form thereof appears most likely to ensure it to us, with the least expense and greatest benefit, is preferable to all others.

     In order to gain a clear and just idea of the design and end of government, let us suppose a small number of persons settled in some sequestered part of the earth, unconnected with the rest; they will then represent the first peopling of any country, or of the world. In this state of natural liberty, society will be their first thought. A thousand motives will excite them thereto; the strength of one man is so unequal to his wants, and his mind so unfitted for perpetual solitude, that he is soon obliged to seek assistance and relief of another, who in his turn requires the same. Four or five united would be able to raise a tolerable dwelling in the midst of a wilderness, but one man might labour out the common period of life without accomplishing any thing; when he had felled his timber he could not remove it, nor erect it after it was removed; hunger in the mean time would urge him to quit his work, and every different want would call him a different way. Disease, nay even misfortune, would be death; for, though neither might be mortal, yet either would disable him from living, and reduce him to a state in which he might rather be said to perish than to die.

     Thus necessity, like a gravitating power, would soon form our newly arrived emigrants into society, the reciprocal blessings of which would supersede, and render the obligations of law and government unnecessary while they remained perfectly just to each other; but as nothing but Heaven is impregnable to vice, it will unavoidably happen that in proportion as they surmount the first difficulties of emigration, which bound them together in a common cause, they will begin to relax in their duty and attachment to each other: and this remissness will point out the necessity of establishing some form of government to supply the defect of moral virtue.

     Some convenient tree will afford them a State House, under the branches of which the whole Colony may assemble to deliberate on public matters. It is more than probable that their first laws will have the title only of Regulations and be enforced by no other penalty than public disesteem. In this first parliament every man by natural right will have a seat.

     But as the Colony encreases, the public concerns will encrease likewise, and the distance at which the members may be separated, will render it too inconvenient for all of them to meet on every occasion as at first, when their number was small, their habitations near, and the public concerns few and trifling. This will point out the convenience of their consenting to leave the legislative part to be managed by a select number chosen from the whole body, who are supposed to have the same concerns at stake which those have who appointed them, and who will act in the same manner as the whole body would act were they present. If the colony continue encreasing, it will become necessary to augment the number of representatives, and that the interest of every part of the colony may be attended to, it will be found best to divide the whole into convenient parts, each part sending its proper number: and that the ELECTED might never form to themselves an interest separate from the ELECTORS, prudence will point out the propriety of having elections often: because as the ELECTED might by that means return and mix again with the general body of the ELECTORS in a few months, their fidelity to the public will be secured by the prudent reflection of not making a rod for themselves. And as this frequent interchange will establish a common interest with every part of the community, they will mutually and naturally support each other, and on this, (not on the unmeaning name of king,) depends the STRENGTH OF GOVERNMENT, AND THE HAPPINESS OF THE GOVERNED.

     Here then is the origin and rise of government; namely, a mode rendered necessary by the inability of moral virtue to govern the world; here too is the design and end of government, viz. Freedom and security. And however our eyes may be dazzled with show, or our ears deceived by sound; however prejudice may warp our wills, or interest darken our understanding, the simple voice of nature and reason will say, ’tis right.

     I draw my idea of the form of government from a principle in nature which no art can overturn, viz. that the more simple any thing is, the less liable it is to be disordered, and the easier repaired when disordered; and with this maxim in view I offer a few remarks on the so much boasted constitution of England. That it was noble for the dark and slavish times in which it was erected, is granted. When the world was overrun with tyranny the least remove therefrom was a glorious rescue. But that it is imperfect, subject to convulsions, and incapable of producing what it seems to promise is easily demonstrated.

     Absolute governments, (tho’ the disgrace of human nature) have this advantage with them, they are simple; if the people suffer, they know the head from which their suffering springs; know likewise the remedy; and are not bewildered by a variety of causes and cures. But the constitution of England is so exceedingly complex, that the nation may suffer for years together without being able to discover in which part the fault lies; some will say in one and some in another, and every political physician will advise a different medicine.

     I know it is difficult to get over local or long standing prejudices, yet if we will suffer ourselves to examine the component parts of the English Constitution, we shall find them to be the base remains of two ancient tyrannies, compounded with some new Republican materials.

First. — The remains of Monarchical tyranny in the person of the King.

Secondly. — The remains of Aristocratical tyranny in the persons of the Peers.

Thirdly. — The new Republican materials, in the persons of the Commons, on whose virtue depends the freedom of England.

     The two first, by being hereditary, are independent of the People; wherefore in a CONSTITUTIONAL SENSE they contribute nothing towards the freedom of the State.

     To say that the constitution of England is an UNION of three powers, reciprocally CHECKING each other, is farcical; either the words have no meaning, or they are flat contradictions.

First. — That the King it not to be trusted without being looked after; or in other words, that a thirst for absolute power is the natural disease of monarchy.

Secondly. — That the Commons, by being appointed for that purpose, are either wiser or more worthy of confidence than the Crown.

     But as the same constitution which gives the Commons a power to check the King by withholding the supplies, gives afterwards the King a power to check the Commons, by empowering him to reject their other bills; it again supposes that the King is wiser than those whom it has already supposed to be wiser than him. A mere absurdity!

     There is something exceedingly ridiculous in the composition of Monarchy; it first excludes a man from the means of information, yet empowers him to act in cases where the highest judgment is required. The state of a king shuts him from the World, yet the business of a king requires him to know it thoroughly; wherefore the different parts, by unnaturally opposing and destroying each other, prove the whole character to be absurd and useless.

     Some writers have explained the English constitution thus: the King, say they, is one, the people another; the Peers are a house in behalf of the King, the commons in behalf of the people; but this hath all the distinctions of a house divided against itself; and though the expressions be pleasantly arranged, yet when examined they appear idle and ambiguous; and it will always happen, that the nicest construction that words are capable of, when applied to the description of something which either cannot exist, or is too incomprehensible to be within the compass of description, will be words of sound only, and though they may amuse the ear, they cannot inform the mind: for this explanation includes a previous question, viz. HOW CAME THE KING BY A POWER WHICH THE PEOPLE ARE AFRAID TO TRUST, AND ALWAYS OBLIGED TO CHECK? Such a power could not be the gift of a wise people, neither can any power, WHICH NEEDS CHECKING, be from God; yet the provision which the constitution makes supposes such a power to exist.

     But the provision is unequal to the task; the means either cannot or will not accomplish the end, and the whole affair is a Felo de se: for as the greater weight will always carry up the less, and as all the wheels of a machine are put in motion by one, it only remains to know which power in the constitution has the most weight, for that will govern: and tho’ the others, or a part of them, may clog, or, as the phrase is, check the rapidity of its motion, yet so long as they cannot stop it, their endeavours will be ineffectual: The first moving power will at last have its way, and what it wants in speed is supplied by time.

     That the crown is this overbearing part in the English constitution needs not be mentioned, and that it derives its whole consequence merely from being the giver of places and pensions is self-evident; wherefore, though we have been wise enough to shut and lock a door against absolute Monarchy, we at the same time have been foolish enough to put the Crown in possession of the key.

     The prejudice of Englishmen, in favour of their own government, by King, Lords and Commons, arises as much or more from national pride than reason. Individuals are undoubtedly safer in England than in some other countries: but the will of the king is as much the law of the land in Britain as in France, with this difference, that instead of proceeding directly from his mouth, it is handed to the people under the formidable shape of an act of parliament. For the fate of Charles the First hath only made kings more subtle — not more just.

     Wherefore, laying aside all national pride and prejudice in favour of modes and forms, the plain truth is that IT IS WHOLLY OWING TO THE CONSTITUTION OF THE PEOPLE, AND NOT TO THE CONSTITUTION OF THE GOVERNMENT that the crown is not as oppressive in England as in Turkey.

     An inquiry into the CONSTITUTIONAL ERRORS in the English form of government, is at this time highly necessary; for as we are never in a proper condition of doing justice to others, while we continue under the influence of some leading partiality, so neither are we capable of doing it to ourselves while we remain fettered by any obstinate prejudice. And as a man who is attached to a prostitute is unfitted to choose or judge of a wife, so any prepossession in favour of a rotten constitution of government will disable us from discerning a good one.

Battle of Princeton (January 3, 1777)

‘Ten Crucial Days’, from Dec. 25th 1776 to Jan. 3rd 1777’

Prelude to the Battle:

map_trentonMany Americans don’t realize that George Washington & his troops crossed and re-crossed the Delaware River a total of four times in the waning days of 1776. The first time was in early December when he left New Jersey in retreat from the British.

The second was when he crossed back into New Jersey to attack Trenton (Dec.25-26). After Trenton was taken, Washington thought it wise to put the river between his army and the more powerful British army, and so back they went back to Pennsylvania. When Washington arrived back at the Pennsylvania camp, he received word that Brigadier General Cadwalader had not crossed the river on Christmas due to the bad weather and mistakenly assumed that Washington would not have crossed either.

Upon learning that Washington had not only crossed but had beaten the Hessians, the shame-faced Cadwalader finally crossed and entered the unoccupied Trenton. Washington did not want to put a negative spin on the so far victorious venture by ordering Cadwalader to retreat, and so crossed the river once again and joined the two commands together on the 29th of December. By this time British General Cornwallis had arrived at Princeton, New Jersey with 8,000 troops. Washington knew he could expect an attack by Cornwallis very shortly and was determined to make a fight of it. Instead of fortifying Trenton, though he put his lines just south of the town on the south bank of the Assunpink Creek.

On Dec. 27th General Cadwalader, who had been unable to land on the Jersey shore on the 26th due to the ice on that shore, reported he was crossing near Burlington, reinforced by militia which was turning up encouraged by the victory. Cadwalader was unaware that Washington had re-crossed the river. He moved into the now empty Burlington and then to Bordentown, reporting that the citizens were hastily removing the red rags nailed to their doors as symbols of loyalty to the crown. He entreated Washington to join him in advancing on the British who were in a panic.

Washington’s troops were at the moment in no condition to advance, further, he was short of food. Moreover, many of his New England troop’s enlistments were due to expire on the 1st of Jan. By the 30th he had improved his supply situation and re-crossed the river. On the 30th he made an impassioned plea to a regiment whose enlistments were about to expire. No one stepped forth to stay. Once again Washington spoke “My brave fellows, you have done all I asked you to do and more than could reasonably be expected. But your country is at stake, your wives, your houses, and all that you hold dear. You have worn yourselves out with fatigues and hardships, but we know not how to spare you. If you will consent to stay only one month longer, you will render that service to the cause of liberty and to your country which you probably never can do under any other circumstances. The present is emphatically the crisis which is to decide our destiny.”

Again the drums rolled, calling for men to step forward, and finally about half the men step out to reenlist. Other officers speak to other regiments with the same success. With the other troops on hand, it will have to be enough. If Washington could maintain the initiative, he might save the Revolution. If he loses a battle at this critical time, it was thought the revolution would collapse.

The Battle of Princeton

220px-Map_of_the_Battle_of_Princeton,_NJ_January_2-3,_1777British General Howe orders General Lord Cornwallis to Princeton to gather all available troops for a counter attack. On January 2nd, Cornwallis marches on Trenton with about 6000 men, leaving three regiments of the 4th Brigade at Princeton as rear-guard, under Colonel Charles Mawhood. At Maidenhead (now Lawrenceville) on Jan 2nd, the British meet with American units who begin a fighting withdrawal, ambushing and delaying the British. It is 4 PM when the British finally get to Trenton, to find Washington entrenched but out-numbered and outclassed. Washington has but 5,200 men, many unreliable militia. Washington has deployed his troops on the south side of Assunpink Creek, a strong position, and repels several attempts of the British to take the bridge. Night eventually fell. Since his troops are tired, Cornwallis decided to wait to attack until the morning, when he can “bag the fox” as he called it. His officers want to attack now, fearful of Washington’s known ability to retreat and escape but Cornwallis remained arrogantly steadfast believing that a mere rabble of farmers could never defeat British regulars.

During the night, Washington leaves a hand-full of his men to keep the campfires burning, make entrenchment noises, and keep up appearances, while the rest of the army sneaks around the British forces toward Princeton, where they can attack the rear of the British forces and maybe even capture the 70,000 pound sterling war treasury of General William Howe in New Brunswick. Washington orders his troops to silence and all orders are given in whispers. Taking back roads, the Americans move to the south around the British and swing towards Princeton. Main roads at this time are poor tracks-some of these back roads are little more than trails which had already become unused as the area was settled but the troops stagger along them in the dark all night. Luckily a freeze has set in with nightfall and the roads are frozen and unpassable for both men and cannon.

At dawn, Lt. Colonel Charles Mawhood has begun to follow in the wake of Cornwallis to Trenton, with his 17th Foot of the 250x167xbattle-of-princeton-wcpd_jpg_pagespeed_ic_lsJ-eaWBkx4th Brigade followed by the 55th, and the 40th regiment ordered to remain in Princeton. Now the Americans under General Hugh Mercer who had been sent to guard the left flank and the 17th under Mawhood discover each other at the same time, and move to attack. The 55th moves back into Princeton. Mercer and Mawhood each believe they have encountered a patrol. Mawhood has about 276 men, and Mercer 120 with 200 following. Both race to the high ground (now called Mercer heights). Mercer is surprised to run into Mawhood’s men deployed in line. Captain Willie Leslie of the 17th, and nephew of General Alexander Leslie, is killed in the first fire.

After exchanging fires, Mawhood’s regiment charges with the bayonet. Only 20 or so of Mercer’s men have muskets and bayonets, most being slow reloading riflemen whose guns cannot use bayonets. Mercer is mortally wounded and his troops fall back, but Cadwalader’s 600 men of the Pennsylvania militia arrive. They fire and then start to fall back, even though they greatly outnumber the 17th. (Mawhood and the 17th regiment put up a terrific defense, still remembered and honored in Great Britain.)

Washington and his officers rally them, and more troops arrive and Washington himself leads them towards the British. Washington is only 30 yards from the British lines when he orders his men to fire. Both sides do fire, and Washington disappears in the smoke. When the smoke clears Washington is unharmed but Mawhood’s regulars have broken. Washington orders a charge. The British troops retreat, some scattering into the woods, others turning for Cornwallis or New Brunswick. Washington also leads the pursuit, calling “It’s a fine fox hunt, boys!”

In Princeton, the 40th and 55th regiments prepared to make a defense of the town. General Sullivan had his wing of the army moving to sweep into town from the other end, and the British sent out a platoon to outflank them. Sullivan in turn sent out 2 regiments to counter this flanking maneuver, forcing the British back. Now Sullivan’s men met an equal number of British deployed behind a dike in the area of Frog hollow. Sullivan had his cannon brought up, which sent shot into the dike and drove the British into the area of Nassau hall, the main college building at the time.

250x188xprinceton-washington-wcpd_jpg_pagespeed_ic_BhBEWJIwxuThe British took shelter in and around Nassau Hall in Princeton. The Americans brought up a cannon, and took two shots at the building. The first bounced off, but the second entered the main room where the troops were holding, and allegedly decapitated a picture of King George the 2nd on the wall! The British in Nassau Hall surrendered.

When the British Dragoons make a stand to defend the fleeing troops, Washington called off all pursuit. Washington knew that Cornwallis could move on his rear soon, and he had to keep the army together. Placing a militia unit to destroy the bridge over the Stony Brook, and gathering what supplies could be quickly loaded, he ordered his troops to march to Kingston. Here, it was decided that even though New Brunswick and the British treasury were only a few miles away, and lightly guarded, the exhausted troops could do no more for now. The American Army moved north along the Millstone River to Somerset Court House, now Millstone, where he had to rest his troops.

Back at Trenton on the 3rd, Cornwallis found that the Americans were gone by dawn and at first it was believed they had marched to Bordentown, but soon he received reports of fighting at Princeton and he marched toward Princeton. When his vanguard reached the Stony Brook they realized that bridge over the creek is broken up~ obviously destroyed by the Americans. The militia makes a short stand, forcing the British to stop and form for battle. Washington and the troops are able to get away, and Cornwallis rests his troops for a few hours.

At Kingston, Cornwallis heads for Brunswick and arrives at 6 AM where he deploys troops to defend the town. Washington is a few miles away at Somerset Court House (now Millstone), but his troops are exhausted, some have hardly eaten, and Cornwallis position was not known, except that he was close. Any attack is not considered possible.

On the 4th, after deciding not to attack New Brunswick, Washington continued north, and later that day they arrived in Pluckemin. Protected now by the Watchung Mountains to his east, and with Morristown units behind him, Washington was now safe. He would soon move the army into winter quarters at Morristown.

After The Battle:

The British, who lost 86 killed and wounded at Princeton and two hundred captured, were now ordered by Howe to abandon NJ, except for a line from Perth Amboy to New Brunswick. George Washington, who had about 40 killed and wounded at Princeton, had now driven the British from most of New Jersey, in what is called the ‘Ten Crucial Days’, from Dec. 25th 1776 to Jan. 3rd 1777.

More importantly, the Revolution now had a chance, morale was improved, and Americans once again believed they could stand and face the enemy troops. The British outrages in the invasion of New Jersey had turned many previously on the fence to the side of the revolution against the British. Paper money was acceptable once more and the rebel government and army found support again. General George Washington had learned to fight not the main British army, but its outposts which forced the British to give up any effort to control the environs of America. The French government, encouraged by the British defeats, released supplies to the American war effort. In England, the royal government started losing support for the war. The Crisis was past, even if severe hardship and fighting were yet ahead, in a long and bitter struggle for freedom and independence.

The Treaty of Paris was signed in Paris by representatives of King George III of Great Britain and representatives of the United States of America on September 3, 1783, thus ending the American Revolutionary War and recognizing the original 13 colonies (Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, Connecticut, Massachusetts Bay, Maryland, South Carolina, New Hampshire, Virginia, New York, North Carolina, and Rhode Island  ) as a new and sovereign nation.  GOD BLESS AMERICA! ~ JGT

 

 

 

 

VICTORY!: President Obama Guarantees All Military Working Dogs Retirement On U.S. Soil

Article Courtesy of World Animal News, November 29, 2015 By: Ginn Andrews

img_859858207President Obama has signed the 2016 National Defense Authorization Act, which guarantees all military service dogs a ride home and retirement on U.S. soil. 

In addition, the handlers who served bravely alongside them will be given the first rights to adopt these canine heroes. Previously, military dogs were retired overseas and it was extremely difficult for handlers to bring the dogs back to the U.S. 

There are many to thank for the passing of this act, including military dog advocates Congressman Frank LoBiondo and Senator Claire McCaskill who introduced this language in the House and Senate. Many animal lovers and supporters sent letters to their representatives asking them to support this essential bill.

“I am proud the President and Congress recognized the sacrifice and status of all of those that serve, including our military working dogs.  As someone fortunate enough to have a retired MWD in my family, I know that these brave dogs deserve an opportunity to return home and enjoy their retirement,” said Bonnie-Jill Laflin, founder of Hounds and Heroes, an organization dedicated to raising funds for ALL Heroes including military, vets, first responders and animals.

To support Hounds and Heroes, please VISIT: http://www.houndsandheroes.com.