July 4th

[Emperor Roland]

The following was contained in an email forwarded to me by Father Fuchs:

God Bless America!

Our 4th Of July:

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

Five signers were captured by the British as traitors, and tortured before they died.

Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned.

Two lost their sons serving in the Revolutionary Army; another had two sons captured.

Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds or hardships of the Revolutionary War.

They signed and they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor.

What kind of men were they?

Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists.

Eleven were merchants, nine were farmers and large plantation owners; men of means, well-educated, but they signed the Declaration of Independence knowing full well that the penalty would be death if they were captured.

Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his ships swept from the seas by the British Navy. He sold his home and properties to pay his debts, and died in rags.

Thomas McKeam was so hounded by the British that he was forced to move his family almost constantly.  He served in the Congress without pay, and his family was kept in hiding. His possessions were taken from him, and poverty was his reward.
Vandals or soldiers looted the properties of Dillery, Hall, Clymer, Walton, Gwinnett, Heyward, Ruttledge, and Middleton.

At the battle of Yorktown, Thomas Nelson, Jr., noted that the British General Cornwallis had taken over the Nelson home for his headquarters. He quietly urged General George Washington to open fire. The home was destroyed, and Nelson died bankrupt.

Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed.
The enemy jailed his wife, and she died within a few months.

John Hart was driven from his wife's bedside as she was dying. Their 13 children fled for their lives. His fields and his gristmill were laid to waste. For more than a year he lived in forests and caves, returning home to find his wife dead and his children vanished.

So, take a few minutes while enjoying your 4th of July holiday and silently thank these patriots.  It's not much to ask for the price they paid.


Remember: freedom is never free!

We thank these early patriots, as well as those patriots now fighting to KEEP our freedom!

It's time we get the word out that patriotism is NOT a sin, and the Fourth of July has more MEANING to it than beer, fireworks, hot dogs, and picnics......

[seabird]

No, Freedom is NOT Free. The young men and lately, young women have died to ensure our freedom. Each generation since this country was founded, has been faced with some conflict intended to take our freedom from us. Those who died were among the finest of their generation, their lineage lost to us as their ruined bodies were slipped into a grave, if even enough of them was found to bury.

 

 

Many times, we forget how we came by and kept that freedom that we all enjoy and, all to often, we fail to appreciate what we have. The "evil doers" have been pretty much kept from among our midst but, I fear that condition is deteriorating rapidly. Calls for unlimited crossing of our borders, throwing open our society and welcoming those who have no history OR desire to continue to sustain our United States do so at our own peril. The time is approaching when we can expect homegrown terrorism, riot, rage and destruction of all we hold dear. I would love to say it is not so, but we have seen the opening salvos already. The Twin Towers, the Boston Bombings and the unfettered race of individuals whom we do not know from where they come, cross our borders at will.

 

 

The tools of destruction are readily available in the world marketplace, some so terrible they boggle the mind. Weapons of mass destruction are available if one has the price, terrible diseases and man-made plagues abound and even conventional weapons of unimaginable power are available to whomever has a box of cash. All the while, we continue to fritter away our protective shield. Our "Modern Navy" is a hollow shell, Our Army is getting smaller and smaller in the name of economy. Our Air Force is quickly earning that old adjective of derision, "Air Farce." This is NOT the fault of those who have served or are serving, the responsibility for this rests  in Washington, DC and in ourselves whenever we vote, or, worse, do not vote at all. 

 

 

I have been preaching there is a collapse coming for several years and I see it all around me. I would like to think that it is not too late to correct the problem, but, I fear I am wrong, the problem is already here.

 

 

Charles Bird

SeaBird