Navy Veterans

THE HISTORY OF MEMORIAL DAY

THE HISTORY OF MEMORIAL DAY ~ by Dorian F. Howard© (Jersey Girl & U.S. Navy Veteran)

Three years after the Civil War ended, on May 5, 1868, the head of an organization of Union veterans — the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) — established Decoration Day as a time for the nation to decorate the graves of the war dead with flowers. It started as an event to honor Union soldiers, who had died during the American Civil War and was declared that Decoration Day should be observed yearly on May 30th. It is believed that date was chosen because flowers would be in bloom all over the country. The current name for this day, Memorial Day, did not come into use until after World War II. The first large observance was held that year at Arlington National Cemetery,** across the Potomac from Washington DC. The ceremonies centered around the mourning-draped veranda of the Arlington mansion, once the home of Gen. Robert E. Lee. Various Washington officials, including Gen. and Mrs. Ulysses S. Grant, presided over the ceremonies. After speeches, children from the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Orphan Home and members of the GAR made their way through the cemetery, strewing flowers on both Union and Confederate graves, reciting prayers and singing hymns.

NOTE**Arlington was for many years the estate of Colonel Robert E. Lee. At the onset of the Civil War, after first refusing the command of all Union forces, he volunteered his services to the Confederate Army. During the course of the war, his former estate was seized by the Union Army, which made it a headquarters. In 1864, with Union dead piling up throughout the Washington area, the search for a suitable site for a military cemetery resulted in a recommendation that Lee’s former estate be converted to a burial ground. Out of the death and destruction of the Civil War, was born Arlington National Cemetery.

By the end of the 19th century, Memorial Day ceremonies were being held on May 30 throughout the nation. State legislatures passed proclamations designating the day, and the Army and Navy adopted regulations for proper observance at their facilities. It was not until after World War I, however, that the day was expanded to honor those who have died in all American wars. In 1971, Memorial Day was declared a national holiday by an act of Congress, though it is still often called Decoration Day. It was then also placed on the last Monday in May, as were some other federal holidays.

Decoration Day and then Memorial Day used to be held on May 30, regardless of the day of the week, on which it fell. In 1968, the Uniform Holidays Bill was passed as part of a move to use federal holidays to create three-day weekends. This meant that that, from 1971, Memorial Day holiday has been officially observed on the last Monday in May. However, it took a longer period for all American states to recognize the new date.

To ensure the sacrifices of America’s fallen heroes are never forgotten, in December 2000, the U.S. Congress passed and the president signed into law “The National Moment of Remembrance Act,” P.L. 106-579, creating the White House Commission on the National Moment of Remembrance. The commission’s charter is to “encourage the people of the United States to give something back to their country, which provides them so much freedom and opportunity” by encouraging and coordinating commemorations in the United States of Memorial Day and the National Moment of Remembrance.

The National Moment of Remembrance encourages all Americans to pause wherever they are at 3 p.m. local time on Memorial Day for a minute of silence to remember and honor those who have died in service to the nation. As Moment of Remembrance founder Carmella LaSpada states: “It’s a way we can all help put the memorial back in Memorial Day.”

“Changing the date of Memorial Day merely to create a 3 day weekend has undermined the very meaning of the day. No doubt this has greatly contributed to the general public’s nonchalant observance of Memorial Day.” ~ VFW 2002 Memorial Day Address.

Memorial Day has become less of an occasion of remembrance. Many people choose to hold picnics, sports events and family gatherings on this weekend. This day is traditionally seen as the start of the summer season for cultural events. For the fashion conscious, it is seen as acceptable to wear white clothing, particularly shoes from Memorial Day until Labor Day. However, fewer and fewer people follow this rule and many wear white clothing throughout the year.

It is traditional to fly the flag of the United States at half mast from dawn until noon. Many people visit cemeteries and memorials, particularly to honor those who have died in military service. Many volunteers place an American flag on each grave in national cemeteries. Memorial Day used to be a solemn day of mourning, a sacred day of remembrance to honor those who paid the ultimate price for our freedoms. Businesses closed for the day. Towns held parades honoring the fallen, the parade routes often times ending at a local cemetery, where Memorial Day speeches were given and prayers offered up. People took the time that day to clean and decorate with flowers and flags the graves of those the fell in service to their country. We need to remember with sincere respect those who paid the price for our freedoms; we need to keep in sacred remembrance those who died serving their country. We need to never let them be forgotten. However, over the years the original meaning and spirit of Memorial Day has faded from the public consciousness. I consider it to be a national day of mourning. Do you?

On Memorial Day we need to stop and pay with sincere conviction our respects for those who died protecting and preserving the freedoms we enjoy, for we owe those honored dead more than we can ever repay. How many graves of our fallen do we in America leave dishonored by leaving their resting places forgotten and neglected? Unfortunately, when Congress made Memorial day into a mandatory three-day weekend in with the National Holiday Act of 1971 (P.L. 90 – 363), it made it all the easier for us to be distracted from the spirit and meaning of the day.

However, during their 2010 legislative session, the State of New Jersey passed legislation urging congress to Restore Memorial Day to its original observance day of May 30^th. Their bill is SR17. Thank you New Jersey. You make this Jersey Girl and U.S. Navy Veteran very proud! ~ JGT

In my opinion as well as those of others; in order to keep the number of three day Federal Holidays the same, Armed Forces day, the third weekend of every May, could easily become a three-day holiday. On that holiday we can celebrate our freedoms won and maintained by our Armed Forces – a three-day holiday to focus on our active duty men and women in uniform and to expressively show them our love and support.

IN FLANDERS FIELDS

~ By Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae (1872 – 1918)

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place: and in the sky
The larks still bravely singing fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead: Short days ago,
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved: and now we lie
In Flanders fields!

Take up our quarrel with the foe
To you, from failing hands, we throw
The torch: be yours to hold it high
If ye break faith with us who die,
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields….

Composed at the battlefront on May 3, 1915
during the second battle of Ypres, Belgium

DEMOCRATS PUT BOTH FEET IN THEIR MOUTH!

pelosi-watters-idiots

A History of the New Year

A Move from March to January by Borgna Brunner

The celebration of the new year on January 1st is a relatively new phenomenon. The earliest recording of a new year celebration is believed to have been in Mesopotamia, c. 2000 B.C. and was celebrated around the time of the vernal equinox in mid-March. A variety of other dates tied to the seasons were also used by various ancient cultures. The Egyptians, Phoenicians, and Persians began their new year with the fall equinox, and the Greeks celebrated it on the winter solstice.

Early Roman Calendar: March 1st Rings in the New Year

The early Roman calendar designated March 1 as the new year. The calendar had just ten months, beginning with March. That the new year once began with the month of March is still reflected in some of the names of the months. September through December, our ninth through twelfth months, were originally positioned as the seventh through tenth months (septem is Latin for “seven,” octo is “eight,” novem is “nine,” and decem is “ten.”

January Joins the Calendar

The first time the new year was celebrated on January 1st was in Rome in 153 B.C. (In fact, the month of January did not even exist until around 700 B.C., when the second king of Rome, Numa Pontilius, added the months of January and February.) The new year was moved from March to January because that was the beginning of the civil year, the month that the two newly elected Roman consuls—the highest officials in the Roman republic—began their one-year tenure. But this new year date was not always strictly and widely observed, and the new year was still sometimes celebrated on March 1.

Julian Calendar: January 1st Officially Instituted as the New Year

In 46 B.C. Julius Caesar introduced a new, solar-based calendar that was a vast improvement on the ancient Roman calendar, which was a lunar system that had become wildly inaccurate over the years. The Julian calendar decreed that the new year would occur with January 1, and within the Roman world, January 1 became the consistently observed start of the new year.

Middle Ages: January 1st Abolished

In medieval Europe, however, the celebrations accompanying the new year were considered pagan and unchristian like, and in 567 the Council of Tours abolished January 1 as the beginning of the year. At various times and in various places throughout medieval Christian Europe, the new year was celebrated on Dec. 25, the birth of Jesus; March 1; March 25, the Feast of the Annunciation; and Easter.

Gregorian Calendar: January 1st Restored

In 1582, the Gregorian calendar reform restored January 1 as new year’s day. Although most Catholic countries adopted the Gregorian calendar almost immediately, it was only gradually adopted among Protestant countries. The British, for example, did not adopt the reformed calendar until 1752. Until then, the British Empire —and their American colonies— still celebrated the new year in March.

Article written by: Borgna Brunner & Reprinted Courtesy of http://www.infoplease.com/spot/newyearhistory.html

I’d like to wish a very Happy New Year to ALL of my brother & sister Military Veterans & those brave Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Army, Coast & National Guard personnel currently serving on Active Duty around the world! God Bless You ALL & Thank You for Your Service to our Country! ~JGT

US NAVY SAILOR’S “T’was The Night Before Christmas”

USS John Paul Jones (DDG 53)

T’was the night before Christmas, the ship was out steaming,
Sailors stood watch while others were dreaming.
They lived in a crowd with racks tight and small,
In a 40-man berthing, cramped one and all.

I had come down the stack with presents to give,
And to see inside just who might perhaps live.
I looked all about, a strange sight did I see,
No tinsel, no presents, not even a tree.

No stockings were hung, shined boots close at hand,
On the bulkhead hung pictures of a far distant land.
They had medals and badges and awards of all kind,
And a sober thought came into my mind.

For this place was different, so dark and so dreary,
I had found the house of a Sailor, once I saw clearly.
A Sailor lay sleeping, silent and alone,
Curled up in a rack and dreaming of home.

The face was so gentle, the room squared away,
This was the United States Sailor today.
This was the hero we saw on TV,
Defending our country so we could be free.

I realized the families that I would visit this night,
Owed their lives to these Sailors lay willing to fight.
Soon round the world, the children would play,
And grownups would celebrate on Christmas Day.

They all enjoyed freedom each day of the year,
Because of the Sailor, like the one lying here.
I couldn’t help wonder how many lay alone,
On a cold Christmas Eve on a sea, far from home.

The very thought brought a tear to my eye,
I dropped to my knees and started to cry.
The Sailor awakened and I heard a calm voice,
“Santa, don’t cry, this life is my choice.”

“Defending the seas all days of the year,
So others may live and be free with no fear.”
I thought for a moment, what a difficult road,
To live a life guided by honor and code.

After all it’s Christmas Eve and the ship’s underway!
But freedom isn’t free and it’s sailors who pay.
The Sailor say’s to our country “be free and sleep tight,
No harm will come, not on my watch and not on this night.”

The Sailor rolled over and drifted to sleep,
I couldn’t control it, I continued to weep.
I kept watch for hours, so silent, so still,
I watched as the Sailor shivered from the night’s cold chill.

I didn’t want to leave on that cold dark night,
This guardian of honor so willing to fight.
The Sailor rolled over and with a voice strong and sure,
Commanded, “Carry on Santa, It’s Christmas, and All is Secure!”

Merry Christmas to all my brothers & sisters currently serving on active duty, in the reserves, retired or veterans (like me). Fair Winds & Following Seas! Never Forget; WE OWN THE SEAS!~ JGT

USN 1979 – 1990

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

Who 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

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

GETTYSBURG (July 1 – July 3, 1863)

Brief 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

General 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 1^st, 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

The 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 20^th 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 3^rd). 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.

FRIDAY, 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 4^th. 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 4^th 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

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, 1776

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

IS HILLARY DISQUALIFIED FOR THE PRESIDENCY?

American Democrat presidential candidate, Hillary Rodham Clinton cannot, by U.S. law, hold any office — presidency included.

According to 18 U.S. Code § 2071: PART I- CRIMES, Chapter 101- Records & Reports; Concealment, removal, or mutilation generally.

(A) Whoever willfully and unlawfully conceals, removes, mutilates, obliterates, or destroys, or attempts to do so, or, with intent to do so takes and carries away any record, proceeding, map, book, paper, document, or other thing, filed or deposited with any clerk or officer of any court of the United States, or in any public office, or with any judicial or public officer of the United States, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both.

(B) Whoever, having the custody of any such record, proceeding, map, book, document, paper, or other thing, willfully and unlawfully conceals, removes, mutilates, obliterates, falsifies, or destroys the same, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three year’s or both; and shall forfeit his office and be disqualified from holding any office under the United States. As used in this subsection, the term ‘office’ does not include the office held by any person as a retired officer of the Armed Forces of the United States.”

Clinton willfully violated this law!

source: US 18 USC 2071: Concealment, removal, or mutilation generally Text contains those laws in effect on June 25, 2016 Title 18-CRIMES & CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

So, after reading this; what do you think? `JGT

A PERSONAL NOTE TO MY DADDY ON FATHER’S DAY

Our fathers carry half of our genetic makeup and our relationship with our fathers play such a huge part of who we will become as adults. In many segments of society, people grow up without ever knowing their fathers. This is unfortunate because all fathers should play as important a role in raising their children as do their mothers. A father is the model of a man for his daughter~ and because of that, he is the ideal that she will model her future relationships after in her search for her future mate. She will inevitably choose a man who is very much like her father. A father is also the model for his son as well. However, since I was a “daddy’s little girl”, I’ll let my brother come up with his own opinion. This one is mine.

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.

As 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! Through the years, the lessons I learned from my father gave me the courage to eventually serve in the military and courageously stand up for myself against life’s challenges and any adversity I faced. Thank you, Daddy. I miss you very much. Happy Father’s Day! Love Always~ your little ‘Mooch’

He wasn’t a hero~

Known by the world.

But a hero he was~

To his little girl.

Poem YOU NEVER

FATHER’S DAY TRIVIA

In the year 1910 on July 19, it was said that the Governor of Washington state declared the first ‘Father’s Day’. The day of celebration for fathers did not meet the same height of enthusiasm as mother’s day because supposedly a father did not have an equal amount of sentimental value. It was not until July 5, 1908 in a West Virginia church that the very first celebrated, sponsored event for fathers took place. The sermon that very day was held and centered on the 362 fallen men that lost their lives in explosions that took place in the Fairmount Coal Company mines. This event, however, was only a one day thing and not the annual holiday that many know of today.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF FATHER’S DAY: A woman by the name of Sonora Smart Dodd had her place in the history of father’s day. As one of six children raised by a widow, she tried to create a day that would be an official day just like mother’s day for the counterparts to female parents. She wished to create this day in honor of her farther. It was said that Dodd went all over to places such as churches and the YMCA to gather some type of support for this thought. She was met with success as Washington then celebrated Father’s Day as a national holiday. However, despite Dodd’s effort and success of obtaining the male version of Mother’s Day, many men were seen to not partake in such a thing as they felt it somehow toned down their manliness with gift giving. In fact, most men back in that time scoffed at the very existence of the holiday.

Father’s Day took its place in history in 1966. President Lyndon Johnson made Father’s Day into the national holiday that is now as popular as Mother’s Day. Today, the holiday is met with an equal amount of love and affection, gift-giving, and bonding as seen on Mother’s Day. This day is the one of the largest card sending days of the year where about 87 million cards are given. Most of these cards come from the wives and daughters of the families. Sons are sometimes seen fishing with their fathers on this day. Other activities involve barbecues and family bonding.

The importance of Father’s Day from back in history to the present day is to help bring acknowledgement to the roles that father’s play within society and in families. The celebration, much like Mother’s Day, also gives children the opportunity to show just how much they love and respect their fathers. This is said to assist with strengthening the initial bond shared by father and child. Father’s Day is just around the corner now. The celebration and the honoring of those dads still here or that have passed away will be felt by many around the globe.

By Isis E. Stevens

Read more at http://guardianlv.com/2014/06/fathers-day-a-history/#C66vsPb4EeWSPEXv.99

I AM STILL HERE

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World Pet Memorial Day 2016

Throughout our marriage, my husband & I have loved and lost most of what we like to refer as “Our Children”. However; these children have all been furry, four-legged, loveable creatures that we have adopted and rescued. Each one was a unique individual and each had a strikingly different personality. We miss them every single day! We currently live with three children (1 cat & 2 dogs) which after all these years, we think may be the last of our brood, since the reality of our own mortality seems to grow closer with each passing year.

Wouldn’t it be comforting to know that this poem, “I Am Still Here” is true? I have posted it here in Memory of our Children in Heaven. We miss you all!

(Pictured above) Gulliver, Guinevere, Tiger, Pandora, Emmet, Marcus, Willow, Jasper, Misty, Buster, Bear, Heidi, Christian, Chloe, O’Reilly, Delilah, Angel and Barnaby.

Duffy

Bella

Rocky

Alas, these three “trouble makers are still alive & well! “We don’t miss them~ yet!~ JGT

Don’t forget to visit your local Animal Shelter before purchasing a pet from a pet store. Here are a few links to my favorite pet charities.

Popcorn Park

Adopt a Pet ASPCA

Angels of Animals

New Jersey SPCA

Pets for Patriots

Jersey Girl Today

Opinions & Observations of a Conservative Jersey Girl & U.S. Navy Veteran

Navy Veterans

THE HISTORY OF MEMORIAL DAY

DEMOCRATS PUT BOTH FEET IN THEIR MOUTH!

A History of the New Year

US NAVY SAILOR’S “T’was The Night Before Christmas”

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

GETTYSBURG (July 1 – July 3, 1863)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AMERICA

IS HILLARY DISQUALIFIED FOR THE PRESIDENCY?

A PERSONAL NOTE TO MY DADDY ON FATHER’S DAY

I AM STILL HERE

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