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A Few of FR's Finest.....
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Posted on 07/02/2002 7:19:33 AM PDT by Billie
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Birthday Sandwich Platter
We've come a long way, and have a long way to GO to counter the Democreep and Creepy Creepers
Yes, dear LadyX....those were dark dreary days and I remember how much it meant to me to find FR and learn that I was 'not alone'!
Thanks for your friendship over the years and for coming to celebrate my FR Birthday.....
Not to worry, Joe.....my 'alter ego' General Stormin Norma will take care of the RATs.....LOL......
Am in RANT MODE today, so will make myself feel TWICE AS GOOD and post here today's topic...:)))
Be kind and bear with me while I vent??
Bringing to our attention the kinds of hardships military men and women everywhere face is both sobering and timely.
Tennessee_Bob and lodwick and Tonk, thank you for the reminder we need to focus, too, on those who are our VERY OWN.
Going to the VA Medical Center in Augusta for treatment as I do, there are a hundred stories told by the faces there on each visit, and it is haunting to see old timers trying to maintain an erect posture in wheelchairs or as they are bent over hauling oxygen tanks or leaning on canes and walkers.
Many others have despairing countenances, though, and are hungry for contact and appreciation.
I make a point to sit next to the latter and accord them the recognition and dignity they deserve.
If you've never experienced this, GO to a VA facility, and then do something about what you see.
HAUNT YOUR CONGRESSIONAL MEMBERS, ordering them by mail or a personal visit to do something about their plight before their lives are over - not "SOMEDAY."
Dear Tonk, your experience and mention of the funding reminds me that the facility where I go had 250 beds - but reductions in monies by Congress NOW has only 83 beds open for veterans, despite the steady increase of those needing them!!
There has been reduction of manning in all areas - lab - X-ray, etc.
CONSIDER THIS PICTURE, everyone - HASN'T IT OCCURRED TO YOU THAT WITH EVERY WONDERFUL, DESERVED PAY RAISE FOR THE MILITARY, THERE IS AN EQUAL STEALING OF VETERAN FUNDS TO BALANCE THAT???????!!
Folks, they are merely robbing Peter to pay Paul - a mere sleight of hand to highlight they are being SO wonderful to the military.
I want to SCREAM over this insulting picture after seeing all the bleak and hopeless faces that I do.
There is no guarantee these men can get into a nursing home many need, their resources exhausted and no one to help them.
Many VA nursing homes have long waiting lists, and some even limit to six months time in one.
THEN WHAT?? KICK THEM TO THE CURB and look the other way???
Okay - you have two choices.
Look the other way, or besiege your Representatives and Senators to CHANGE THINGS.
Their kind of action - and inaction - is despicable.
They will underwrite grants for social issues and fund abortions in miitary facilities and for endangered species studies and protections - BUT VETERANS ARE THE ENDANGERED SPECIES!!!
right now, and I do know how much he'd have liked being here before you got here!
Congratulations, Julie. We are very proud of you and thank you for your tireless efforts for the conservative cause.
THE PRICE OF FREEDOM
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, Gwinett, 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 to find his wife dead and his children vanished. A few weeks later he died from exhaustion and a broken heart. Norris and Livingston suffered similar fates.
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 and straight, and unwavering, they pledged: "For the support of the 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."
They gave you and me a free and independent America. The history books told you a lot of what happened in the Revolutionary War. We didn't fight just the British. We were British subjects at that time and we fought our own government!
Some of us take these liberties so much for granted, but we shouldn't. 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.
Dear Billie....can't believe it is only four years.....so much has happened in that time.....the FR March for Justice; the Impeachment; the House Managers Tribute Dinner; joing in a few of the protests at the White House; marching in rallys during the post election days when Gore was trying to steal Florida's electoral votes from GWB..... Free Republic has truly had an amazing impact on our times!
Right On, Dude! (Or maybe that should be 'Dudess').
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I first met Julie on another political board before either of us found FR. If you're fortunate enough to be on her mailing list, you won't miss a good article on FR, a poll that needs bumping, or a petition that needs to be signed. Julie has been affectionately dubbed "The General" by one of her good friends, ST.LOUIE1, because of this photo, right, which was used in a collage for another thread. (BTW, Louie says she's the only one in all of FReeRepublic who can keep him in line.) : ) 