My Ramblings...

Sorry that I've been absent for a while. Just the usual, life kicking things into high gear. :)

Friends and Fellow Patriots: My heart yearns for our Nation to return to its original roots. A time when people "assumed" that everyone else believed in God--and it was true, so the assumption was a fair and good one.

It was a time of huge financial risk--most of the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence lost everything they owned or possessed, and some lost their families as a result of their signatures and pledge to each other when they signed that providential document.

Fast forward to our present day and time. Our Nation has drifted far from the principles upon which it was founded. Is there any hope? Are we to believe all the gloom and doom from conservative groups who urge us to stockpile food, water and ammunition? I suppose it doesn't hurt to take prudent precautions, although I'm not sure about all you tube videos showing barren crop land. Depends upon what time of the year the video was taken, doesn't it?

Let me ask you this question: what is your idea of the ideal congressional candidate? Must the perfect candidate embrace or deny the sanctity of human life? Should s/he be known as an honest person? Known as a "small government" person? Known for his/her integrity? Known for keeping their word? Known for valuing principle over party? Okay, that was several questions. :)

Let me ask you another question: are you tired of the way our present political system runs today? I know I certainly am. I'm tired of the democrats (and have been for years, decades), but now I'm tired of the republicans, too. It is abundantly clear that neither party functions with honesty or integrity. They are two wings on the same bird of prey! Their main objective is to retain the (unconstitutional) power they've grabbed over the years when I wasn't paying attention to what they were doing. It is a contest between the Ds and Rs, to see how many each one can get elected to Congress. It is almost a game with them. The House Speaker has shown me this year that she doesn't give a hoot about "we the people." She is so intoxicated with the new power she garnered in the last election that she can't see straight (she also has trouble recognizing the truth).

Tell me, do you have any concern about the way in which our democratic party leaders in Congress are holding private meetings and scheduling votes on volumes of legislation that no one even has the time to read? Do you have any concern about Mr. Obama paying so many attorneys to keep what would normally be public records private? Does it bother you when he goes to Europe and apologizes for the American people, saying we're arrogant? Does it bother you when he tells muslim nations that the US is not, nor has it ever been, at war with Islam? Does it bother you that he gave $20Million to Hamas refugees? Encouraging them to immigrate to the United States? Does it bother you that he wants to bring all the terrorists that have been housed at GITMO to the United States? Do you really want those evil minds here in our country? I guess my description of the terrorists betrays my feelings about the proposal. :)

If there were a political party in existence that valued grassroots politics and placed principle over party, would you be interested? A party that would support the principled conservatives no matter what their party affiliation? A closed association party that requires those wishing to affiliate to read, agree and sign an affiliation agreement? Would you be interested? I was. I was hooked from the first moment, and I have not been sorry! :D

America's Independent Party (AIP) makes it very easy to support principled candidates, regardless of party. If you are disappointed to see current leadership putting forth the same type of liberal candidates that has plagued them for the past several elections, you will find America's Independent Party refreshing.

As you can tell from what I've written above, I am greatly concerned about the future of our Nation. I believe that if we do not return to our founding roots that our nation will be lost. All the blood shed over our 233 years will have been in vain. Folks, it is time to take our country back to its conservative roots. I'm as serious as a heart attack here. If we do not regain control of the US house and senate with truly conservative SERVANTS (not dictators) in 2010, there may not be an election to worry about in 2012. The possibility even exists that there may not be elections in 2010. I choose to believe there will be elections, because I can't stand to think about it any other way.

I know that many of you can't stand to think about the viability of a 3rd party. I ask that you listen to two or three town halls and read our constitution and plaftorm at http://www.AIPnews.com/. AIP is a uniquely structured, closed association political party. I personally believe that once you take a look and listen, you will feel as though you've finally come home from a long wandering in the wilderness. That's how I felt, anyway.

I'll leave you with this question: Do you want principled politics or unbridled politics?

The Fate of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence

Flag day has just passed, and Independence Day is fast approaching. Perhaps as you celebrate the United State's independence you would like to know what happened to the original 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence. This information is not original to me, and you can find the original here: http://www.laughtergenealogy.com/bin/history/signfate.html. Please enjoy:

Fate of Signers of the Declaration of Independence

On July 4, 1776, the Continental Congress agreed to formally declare independence from the British Crown. The final vote was unanimous, 13-0. Prior to the vote there were dissensions among the various delegations but 56 delegates agreed to sign a finished document. A formal Declaration of Independence was delayed as the paper had to be hand scribed and required time for preparation.

On August 2 the 56 members began affixing their signatures.

They were:

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

• Delaware: Caesar Rodney, George Read, Thomas McKean

• Georgia: Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George Walton

• Maryland: Samuel Chase, William Paca, Thomas Stone, Charles Carroll

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

• New Hampshire: Josiah Bartlett, William Whipple, Matthew Thornton

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

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

• North Carolina: William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John Penn

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

• Rhode Island: Stephen Hopkins, William Ellery

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

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

See Biographies of the Signers


The Price They Paid:

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 in the revolutionary army, another had two sons captured. Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds or hardships of the revolutionary war.

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 McKean of Delaware 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, soldiers, or both, looted the properties of Ellery of Rhode Island, Clymer of Pennsylvania, Hall of Georgia, Walton of Georgia, Gwinnett of Georgia, Heyward of South Carolina, Ruttledge of South Carolina, and Middleton of South Carolina.

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

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

John Hart of New Jersey was driven from his wife's bedside as she was dying. Their 13 children fled for their lives. His fields and his grist mill 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. A few weeks later he died from exhaustion and a broken heart. Lewis Morris of New York and Philip Livingston of New York suffered similar fates.

Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin were among prominent Americans well known in England. Yet both signed enthusiastically knowing they would be hanged if caught and even if they escaped, Jefferson was risking Monticello and Franklin his wealth and world prestige if independence was not secured.

Such were the stories and sacrifices of the American Revolution. These were not wild eyed, rabble-rousing ruffians. They were soft-spoken men of means and education. They had security, but they valued liberty more. Standing tall, straight, and unwavering, they pledged:

"For the support of this declaration, with firm reliance on the protection of the divine providence, we mutually pledge to each other, our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor."