Today, I found myself wondering why we rarely say what today really is, "Independence Day", but more often than not refer to it as the date on the calendar, as in, "Happy 4th of July". Saying "Happy 4th", I believe, detracts from what we should be remembering, celebrating, and being thankful for, our declaration of independence and birth as a nation.
What other holiday or celebration do we reduce to a date on the calendar? Do we say, Merry December 25th, or Happy Fourth Thursday in November? In previous years, I've been guilty of nonchalantly and unconsciously calling today the generic and empty, "4th of July". No more! Today, I decided that I would forevermore refer to today as what it is: "Independence Day". Happy Independence Day, fellow Americans. God Bless the USA!
Here's a very good article by Heritage about why we celebrate today. Take a couple of minutes and read it with your families. Heritage Foundation: "Independence Forever. Why America Celebrates the 4th of July"
Oh Oh. It looks like Right Black Voice is becoming Right Black Censor. Sounds like Matthew doesn't want to answer questions about the military. LOL
ReplyDeleteRBV,
ReplyDeletePlease accept my apology. You were wrongly accused.
Wow, you love to insult, don't you? Doesn't surprise me though. I'm used to your type. Thanks for making an assumption about censoring. I have not censored in quite some time. I did, and I fully disclosed it, delete a highly inappropriate comment quite some time ago. As for Matthew, we are less than 2 months away from our primary. He is quite busy campaigning. If you, ANONYMOUS...wonder which anonymous this is....would like to see his thoughts on the military, please check out his issues section on his campaign website.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your apology. I'm curious, though. Why the quick accusation in the first place?
ReplyDeleteTHE CORE FUNCTION OF GOVERNMENT IS TO PROVIDE FOR THE “COMMON DEFENSE” as provided in the U. S. Constitution. Our military is the best and bravest in the world. Unfortunately, politicians are tying their hands. I believe we need to give our troops everything they need to win so they can come home.
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Sorry RBV....you had threatened to censor before, and I saw no posts where I thought I had posted. Jumped to conclusions, I did.
Here's (above) what I found at the web site. So, I gather that Matthew sees no need to cut back on the trillions of dollars we give to the military. Give them everything to win so they can come home??? Golly. We're getting our butts kicked in Afghanistan. How long is WINNING going to take?
Matthew also wants to continue huge tax breaks for the rich like the so-called "Death Tax"...So how do we get the deficit under control? Sounds like more GOP talk the talk while they're out of power...but having no intention to walk the walk.
Cutting the deficit will require some hard decisions. It shouldn't just be kids not getting decent school lunches, people not getting health care, people who havent' been able to find work being denied extended Unemployment benefits. The pain ought to be shared by the big boys. Right, Matthew?
It is glaringly obvious to me that certain people just don't get that, when small businesses and many family owned business have to pay the death tax, the business has to be liquidated in order to have the capital to pay for it. In the end, it is the very worker that you all claim to stand for who will also feel the effects.
ReplyDeleteI believe in free markets and think it is theft plain and simple to view death as a taxable event in taxing a business that a family worked hard to build. It is stealing the American dream. It's unfortunate that the American dream, for some, is now "the big boys feeling the pain" so that the government can redistribute their wealth while at the same time stealing dreams for others thereby keeping them wrapped in the slavery of the welfare state".
The output for the military pales in comparison to the amount of budget allocated for so called "entitlement" programs. We should all just probably agree to disagree. You obviously believe people should be punished for their success and I believe that success should be celebrated. The playing of the rich against the poor has done nothing good for our society than growing generations of people believing that the world owes them. As a teacher for 12 years, I can tell you, that is the battle faced every day.
In regards to unemployment benefits, having them set for 99 weeks is ludicrous. But, then again, Nancy Pelosi believes that artists and musicians should be able to stay at home and be creative since others can be made by the government to support them.
ReplyDeleteAnd, anonymous, if the military is sent somewhere, they should be given everything they need to win so they can come home. Exactly as Matthew said. If they are sent and not given the resources needed, then we are just setting them up for failure which in their case is more casualties. Plus, if you believe in the Constitution, which Matthew and I do, then you know that the core function of government is to provide for the common defense....not the feel good programs that many progressives, and some Republicans, have wanted to implement.
ReplyDeleteIn regards to unemployment benefits, having them set for 99 weeks is ludicrous. But, then again, Nancy Pelosi believes that artists and musicians should be able to stay at home and be creative since others can be made by the government to support them.
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I have to say, I am deeply offended by this post. I work with a lot of unemployed people, helping them find work. I have to say, they are not sitting home and "being creative" to avoid working, as you seem to believe. These are some very talented people, many of whom have never been out of work in their lives, yet they suddenly can't find a job for months--and even years. There is some real suffering going on in America, but the country club set seems to think they're just lazy. I guess it's pretty easy to think like that when you're biggest problems are sand traps and worryng that your kids might have to pay tax when you leave them billions of dollars.
It is glaringly obvious to me that certain people just don't get that, when small businesses and many family owned business have to pay the death tax, the business has to be liquidated in order to have the capital to pay for it. In the end, it is the very worker that you all claim to stand for who will also feel the effects.
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I'm sorry, but this is a fairy tale. The estate tax only affectts the richest 2% of American households. But suppose this is REALLY happening, and the GOP is REALLY concerned about small business being liquidated--and of course, the family farmer--how easy it would be to exempt them from this tax. The GOP found it very easy to exempt the Fortune 500 from paying corporate income tax. But they want to kill this tax altogether so NO ONE has to pay it. Let's face it, the truth is the GOP wants to make America safe for billionaires.
I never once said that they were lazy. I've been unemployed myself in the past and know others who are currently unemployed. I said that 99 weeks, nearly 2 years, of benefits is ridiculous. In regards to your reference to my statement of creativity in my post, you obviously did not read it carefully. I didn't say people were being lazy and creative to avoid working. I simply restated Nancy Pelosi's belief that artists and musicians should be able to work on their creativity and with the addition of ObamaCare they should be able to do just that. If you take offense to that statement, then please write the Speaker of the House an email to complain. Those are her words, not mine. If you took offense, it's because you read into the post what you wanted to read into the post. Again, my belief, to which I am entitled, is that 99 weeks of unemployment is ridiculous.
ReplyDeleteAt this point, Anonymous, I'm just going to agree to disagree. Have a good night.
One more thing....I take offense to your calling me part of the country club set. That is a stereotypical label on your part since I am a conservative. I happen to come from a working class background, shared a room with my 3 sisters in a small house growing up. My parents made lots of sacrifices and we didn't have much. So before you want to take some kind of moral high ground against your perceptions of the GOP, perhaps you should examine your own political incorrectness and stereotypical labels which undoubtedly drive your beliefs.
ReplyDeleteOne more thing....I take offense to your calling me part of the country club set. That is a stereotypical label on your part since I am a conservative. I happen to come from a working class background, shared a room with my 3 sisters in a small house growing up. My parents made lots of sacrifices and we didn't have much. So before you want to take some kind of moral high ground against your perceptions of the GOP, perhaps you should examine your own political incorrectness and stereotypical labels which undoubtedly drive your beliefs.
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I don't doubt your background...I'll take your word for it. I'm just saying that people like you ought to be paying more attention to the policies of the party you support. There's some intense class war going on here, sister. I know, I know, I'm a "ridiculous Marxist" for mentioning the words "class war." OTOH, what do you call it when my tiny business pays more corporate income tax than do many Fortune 500 Companies...and people pay tax on their Unemployment benefits, but the kids of billionaires inherit fortunes tax free?
Also, as I mentioned, the Republican candidate for Senate in Kentucky thinks that it is infringing on people's rights to demand that they allow persons with your skin color to eat in their restaurants, stay in their hotels, etc. I note that the State Republican Senate commendably rebuked him, but I haven't seen that the national party has (maybe they have, but I haven't seen it?). He is still the leader in the race. How do you feel about that?
Also, Republican appointees to the Supreme Court are ready to get rid of the Voting Rights Act--despite the electoral shenanigans in FL in 2000 and Ohio in 2004 and elsewhere. The Republican recipe for victory is suppressing the vote--i.e. keeping the black folks (and other riff raff) away from the polls. Are you fine with a party that is OK with keeping people like you from voting?
Matthew,
ReplyDeleteI know you read this blog, as you do respond sometimes to people. I would really love a public answer from you. Your editor wondered whether I had similarly inquired of Obama. I don't feel I need to, as Obama has shown that he is in the pocket of the military industrial complex already.
I did a google search to find the % of the budget that goes to the military, and I found this site:
http://www.warresisters.org/pages/piechart.htm
Although it is the War Resister site, I think the numbers should be reasonably accurate. It says defense takes up 54% of the federal budget--54%!! So, deficit reduction doesn't seem likely to happen unless we do some serious cutting in this area.
Seems to me that what you say at the web site is pretty uncontroversial. If we go to fight, give the troops the tools they need to win. OK. This begs some important questions:
--Should we be in the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan the first place? Neither country attacked us...9/11 was the work of the Saudis.
--What does "winning" mean? This is not so clear in conflicts like those in Iraq/Afghanistan.
--What price are we willing to pay to win?
--What about the hundreds of military bases we have in other nations like Spain, Germany, and Japan? Why are they still open? Surely, the Spaniards and Germans are not in imminent danger of attack.
---Is this about defense, or is this about Empire Americana?
Are you really serious about cutting the budget--or is this just Snake Oil talk?
Would love to hear your comments.
David,
ReplyDeleteYour numbers are more or less, right, depending on who's giving them. Military spending is roughly half of the federal budget...at least, that's what they tell us. I don't know how much additional spending is "off budget." I'd be interested in what Matthew has to say too.
BTW, speaking of Independence Day, our Founding Fathers were opposed to entangling alliances. We didn't keep large standing armies when we weren't fighting a war.
ReplyDeleteIt's so far the other way my country's gone.
Not sure what is the point of having a blog if Matthew won't respond to questions.
ReplyDeleteAlso, as I mentioned, the Republican candidate for Senate in Kentucky thinks that it is infringing on people's rights to demand that they allow persons with your skin color to eat in their restaurants, stay in their hotels, etc. I note that the State Republican Senate commendably rebuked him, but I haven't seen that the national party has (maybe they have, but I haven't seen it?). He is still the leader in the race. How do you feel about that?
ReplyDeleteAlso, Republican appointees to the Supreme Court are ready to get rid of the Voting Rights Act--despite the electoral shenanigans in FL in 2000 and Ohio in 2004 and elsewhere. The Republican recipe for victory is suppressing the vote--i.e. keeping the black folks (and other riff raff) away from the polls. Are you fine with a party that is OK with keeping people like you from voting?
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Very good points. Then, they get black faces like Michale Steele to represent the party. Kinda like Jews for Hitler....
Seems to me, the RNC is running his campaign, and he doesn't have much command of the issues. I see lots of hateful nonsense and rah rah patriotism (the vague sort no one can argue with) on here, not much intelligent discussion of the issues.
ReplyDeleteSteve F. You obviously don't subscribe to Martin Luther King's vision of a color blind society, as you continue to divide people according to race. It's sad that there are still people like you who are still fixated on the color of people's skin. Those who cry out false charges of "racism", when they can't win debating the real issues, are obviously projecting their own internal racism.
ReplyDeleteGeorge Washington, “There is nothing so likely to produce peace as to be well prepared to meet the enemy.” So much for the myth that the Founding Fathers didn't understand the need for a strong military.
ReplyDeleteSteve F. You obviously don't subscribe to Martin Luther King's vision of a color blind society, as you continue to divide people according to race. It's sad that there are still people like you who are still fixated on the color of people's skin. Those who cry out false charges of "racism", when they can't win debating the real issues, are obviously projecting their own internal racism.
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False charges of racism? Where have you been? As has been pointed out, The Five on the Supreme Court think the Voting Rights Act is "outdated," the Republican Senate nominee in KY thinks people should be allowed to discriminate if they don't want the (shall we say) "darkies" coming into their places of business, and the GOP has for years been making it difficult for blacks to vote, because they tend to vote "incorrectly"-- for the Democrats.
Steve F, your embellishments do not help your case. Rand Paul never used the word darkies. As a conservative who happens to be black, I can tell you one thing from experience. Most liberals claim to love and support black people, unless they happen to be conservative. I guarantee you from my personal experience, I have experienced absolutely no personal attacks from conservatives, but battle it all the time from liberals who object to the fact that a black person (or darkies as you have called us) should dare be a conservative.
ReplyDeleteFrankly, Matthew, I was hoping for a more thoughtful response from you to some of the issues raised in your blog such as your views on taxes, the military, racism, and some other issues, but you haven't responded--EXCEPT with Rush Limbaugh style groin kicks aimed at the poster. Nothing about how you might agree or disagree.
ReplyDelete